Organically Inclined » writing

Top Five Ways to Make Sure You Never Get a Freelance Writing Gig

Mish — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:00:19 +0000

I get a lot of questions on how to become a published writer. I also get a lot of submissions to Organically Inclined from writers. In my many lives so far here on Earth, I have been the editor of a number of publications – and I’ve also been the one at the mailbox, waiting for the rejection letters to roll in.

Here are, then, my top five ways to make sure an editor never reads anything your write!

1. Spell the editor’s name wrong – also use the wrong address, bad punctuation and lowercase letters only in your email.

Want to be impressive? Utilize your initial email like a business letter. Put your address in the header; put the date in the upper right hand corner; address the person you are emailing with “Dear ….”

2. Don’t state your purpose right away. Open your letter with a lot of information about yourself that isn’t relevant and then load up the letter with lots of links to articles you’ve written that aren’t at all relevant to the topic you are proposing.

3. Don’t study the publication before offering to write for it. In fact, send the same query letter that you’ve sent to five or 10 magazines and don’t tailor the letters at all to the publication.

4. Do include a list of other places that you’ve submitted the article idea to that have rejected it. This will guarantee you a freelance offer! In fact, you might also want to pepper your letter with references to how long you’ve worked on the article, how many of your friends think it’s a great idea or how much you expect to be paid for said article.

5. Do insult the editor if he or she doesn’t believe that this article your proposing is the best idea they’ve seen in a long time. For example, I’ve seen letters that end like this: “If you don’t think that I’m the most qualified person to write for your publication then I’ll be happy to take my work elsewhere.” My response? “Please do!”

Technorati Tags: cover letters, editors, freelance, query letters, writing

Writing and Publishing an E-Book

Mish — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:04:32 +0000

I often get asked questions about how to get a book published. The hardest part about getting a book published is not the publishing part – it’s the writing part! Sitting down everyday and working on a book takes an extraordinary amount of discipline. But it’s the most important part of the process. There are many excellent resources on writing a book and one of my favorites is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I’m not a huge fan of King’s fiction, but this was one of the most complete books I ever read on the topic of becoming a better writer.

Let’s say, though, that you’ve done that work and you have a completed manuscript. What do you do now? How do you get it out to the public? One of the best ways is to start out with an e-book.

After you have edited your manuscript within an inch of its life – and then had a trusted friend or colleague also look it over,you are ready to publish. Lulu is a great site for publishing anything from a book to a calendar. Lulu is to publishing what Linux is to operating systems – it’s Open Sourceware for publishing. And it’s super simple to use.

Before you upload your file, you will need to lay out your book. Make sure it is in the font you like. Design a cover. Then design a title page. Add acknowledgments if you want. The great thing about publishing a book like this yourself is that you’re completely in charge. That’s also the biggest drawback! You have to remember everything.

I suggest grabbing a couple of books you really admire off your bookshelf, or getting a couple of e-books to look through. Look at how their books are laid out. You can do something similar – or completely different – it’s your book, after all.

When you are satisfied that your book looks the way you want it to, Lulu gives you the option to publish your e-book to sell or to share. Decide which you’re going to do – sell it or give it away. Really, all Lulu does is save your file as PDF and then publish the link for you. You’ll also get listed in their directory and have access to a few of their marketing techniques.

However, you can also publish your book as a PDF yourself. Upload the PDF file, put the link on your web site, then market away! You can also advertise the book and send people a password-protected link by email.

Through Lulu.com, though, you can turn your e-book into a regular paperback or hardcover book and offer it for sale on Amazon.com and a host of other sites.

Remember, publishing the e-book is simple! It’s writing it that’s hard!

Technorati Tags: ebooks, freelance writing, publishing

We've Moved…

Mish — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:26:08 +0000

Our blog is now located at www.organicallyinclined.org

Please update your links!

Thanks!

Misha

Submissions Needed…

Mish — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:38:59 +0000

Our November-December print issue deadline is Oct. 15 and we could still use a wide variety of frugal tips – particularly holiday-related! Also, any holiday craft or cooking-themed articles would be appreciated. Please email your submissions to Michelle Kennedy Hogan at kennedy.mish@gmail.com

I am also accepting submissions for future issues, so if you have an idea, send it to me! I’ll pay up to $25 plus a one-year subscription

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, green living, homesteading, submissions, writers

Submissions Wanted…

Mish — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:03:17 +0000

Real Living – the ezine, turned blog, is now becoming Organically Inclined. I had such an overwhelming response to that little bumper sticker I put out, that I’ve decided it’s a much better name! So – from now on, Real Living will be known as Organically Inclined and is becoming a print/pdf zine in August!

Inside the first issue will be a few reprints of popular articles as well as some great new stuff…including poetry, tips for the frugal, essays on the good – or simple life, birth stories, parenting stories and a new swap it section.

If you have a writer lurking somewhere inside you or you just have a great story to tell – or even a pretty good story that you tell really well – I’d love to hear it. In particular, I’d love to see some articles on practical things – like your lazy gardening tips or how you keep the diaper pail smelling fresh!

So, please email me at misha@mishakennedy.com and hopefully you’ll see your name in print. We are happy to offer contributions a one year subscription to the zine – as well as that super cool bumper sticker…