The Renegade Writer Blog

The Care and Feeding of an Editor: Building Relationships That Will Help You Succeed as a Writer is tomorrow, Tuesday, March 9 2010 at 8:30-9:30 pm ET (Note that this is East Coast time; please check for the correct time in your time zone.) This class will take place via teleconference.
To be a successful [...]

I’ve just scheduled my next free teleclass for writers!
The Care and Feeding of an Editor
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 8:30-9:30 pm ET (Note that this is East Coast time; please check for the correct time in your time zone.)
Topic: The Care and Feeding of an Editor: Building Relationships That Will Help You Succeed as [...]

Angie asks: In your e-course, you recommend that we come up with an elevator speech about our idea in case an editor picks up the phone when we call the magazine to ask for contact information. Can you tell me more about this?
I’ve had students call a magazine’s editorial department to ask for an e-mail [...]

Desiree asks: I have written several pieces that were well received by editors, but seem to be on perpetual hold to be printed. These have not been officially killed, and I was paid in full for each piece. In one case, I was told that the magazine will not be printing a 500 word [...]

Since I teach an e-course that tells writers how to write queries that will hopefully land magazine assignments, one question I get a lot at the end of the course is, “What happens if I do get an assignment? What can I expect?”
Well, first, you do the happy dance. Then you e-mail me and let [...]

This is a guest post by Pat Curry, who teaches our e-course on writing for trade magazines. Next session starts January 11!
I took my daughter’s car in today to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed, largely because we had a $3 coupon. It was a $32.99 service. I walked out having paid $76, singing [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a question from a reader who wanted to know if he should mention his copywriting creds in a magazine query. Thanks to all of you who answered him in the Comments!
I also asked an editor of mine at a national magazine, who just sent me his reply because [...]

Julia asks: “I’m attending a conference where I’ll be doing one-on-one pitch sessions with magazine editors. Can you give me any advice?”
I have done these one-on-one pitches before. I recommend reading through the magazines and coming up with a few short pitches for each. But at the conference, attend the editors’ workshops/panels, because they’ll give [...]

Lisa asked:
So, I simultaneously submit all the time, for obvious reasons (ssshhhh…) and I always do my best to make sure the idea would be suitable for the handful of pubs that I select. Of course I’ve never submitted to more than one person at each pub, but recently I’ve been told that I shouldn’t [...]

This week I posted Adding Value, about how we writers need to offer not just benefits but also value. The benefits I offer an editor are that I’m fast and a good writer who works well with editors — but those benefits don’t really distinguish me from other good writers. I struggled deciding what value [...]