The Renegade Writer Blog

Denise asks, “I’m starting to comb press releases from my local university to find story ideas.  Is it ok to use the quotes from the release in your query to magazine editors?  Isn’t that why the PR guys are sending out this information?  I would of course do my own interview after landing an assignment.”
Denise, […]

K asks, “Not sure how to post this as a separate question for you that I’ve not seen addressed elsewhere. Since you’ve written books and magazines, I’m hoping you can help me. I’m in the middle of writing Book 2 of a 3-book series on assignment by a children’s book publisher. I’ve published 1500 magazine […]

Kayleen writes, “A couple of years ago in doing research for an article I ran across several photograph albums full of pics taken during the 1930s of an around-the-world trip that two very famous American composers took together. They were working on a musical during the trip. The photos were taken by a professional photographer […]

Katrina asks, “Recently, an interviewee requested an interview be conducted via instant messenger. Ultimately, we conducted a phone interview, but I was left wondering: How would quotes from an instant messenger interview be attributed? Can they be enclosed in quotation marks or should they be paraphrased? For that matter, what about email interviews? The only […]

Carol asks, “Over the years, much of my freelance work has come from a non-profit organization that is somewhat controversial due to its conservative views and religious affiliation. As a result, I’m hesitant to include this organization in my queries. My question: Is this fear warranted? I wonder if I’m doing myself in by […]

Kate asks, “I’ve been trying to break a certain section of a particular national magazine for a few months now, and have been considering re-packaging a nutrition article I did for [Magazine X] over the summer. When my subscription of the other national mag [Magazine Y] arrived in the mail yesterday, I saw that […]

Denise asks: I’m a full time mommy trying to turn my “hobby” of writing into a real profession. I’ve been stringing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, covering school districts and city halls for the Metro Briefs section. The trouble is that I don’t get a byline unless they deem the subject worth more […]

We had a forwarding problem with our e-mail address for the “You Ask/We Answer” blog feature. It’s now fixed. Unfortunately, if you sent us questions within the last couple months, they’ve disappeared into the ether. Sorry! If you can remember them, please resend to questions(at}therenegadewriter(dot)com and we’ll get this feature up and running again. [db]
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Carol asks: I recently submitted a health-related article to a local magazine, and my main source asked to be referred to by her first name and last initial. My editor replied that anonymity is reserved for sensitive subject matters, maiden names aren’t allowed (I thought that could be a compromise), and requested that I convince […]

Susan asks: Question about freelancers who are single (or have a spouse who is also self-employed)… How do you show proof of employment so you can get approved for credit cards or a mortgage?
When my husband and I bought our first house in 2000, we had to get letters from a few of our editors […]