The Renegade Writer Blog

I’m reading a book by Lama Surya Das about Buddhist values, and there’s a lot of talk about the beginner’s mind. I also learned about this concept when I studied shorin ryu karate. The beginner’s mind is an attitude of openness and the belief that there’s always more to learn.
I think the beginner’s mind is [...]

When you don’t hear back from an editor regarding an article pitch, do you slink away and send your query to the next magazine on your list — or do you follow up?
Following up is an important part of a writer’s business. One writer I interviewed for The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock told [...]

The Ultimate Pastor: Uplifting Stories and Profound Advice about Faith and Fellowship with Rev. Todd Outcalt will feature full color photos and true stories from those who devote their lives to spreading God’s word.
From pastors and members of the Christian writing community, we are seeking stories that can be inspiring, humorous, enlightening, or motivating, and [...]

To find sources, I sometimes use Help a Reporter Out (HARO), a free service for writers that sends their source requests to thousands and thousands of members.
When I put out a request for sources, I like to thank all the people who get back to me. But with the overwhelming response I have gotten [...]

My new office doesn’t have phone service (because I’m too cheap to buy it), so I’ve been looking for ways to record interviews with my iPhone. The solutions I’ve read about sound not-quite-reliable to me — also, I have the cheapest iPhone plan, meaning I don’t have many minutes.
My writing buddy and fellow FLXer Elaine [...]

The debate is raging on whether writers should write for content aggregators like Helium. Some writers say it’s great to write an article and get it online sans query and editing process, and they boast that they can churn out several articles per hour; others point out that the pay is peanuts and the market [...]

This is a guest post by Jeannette Moninger, one of the authors of the e-book Cash in on Your Kids: Parenting Queries that Worked, which has tips on writing for parenting publications, along with samples of actual writers’ queries that landed assignments in top national magazines.
Every parent who leaves the hospital with a newborn also [...]

Just a reminder that my next e-course on breaking into magazines starts on Monday, June 8. In eight lessons, I tell you how to:
* generate salable ideas
* find markets for your idea
* find the right editors to pitch
* find and interview sources
* write a winning query letter
* get that thing out the door!
I recently signed [...]

Let’s face it: Many of us freelance writers are strong on the writing side of the business, not-so-strong on the business/money side. I know that once you turn in an article, you want to move on to the next writing project — not get bogged down in paperwork. But if you want to get paid, [...]