Category: Journalism

5 Tips To Help You Publish A Personal Essay

I love writing personal essays, and many publications have columns devoted to publishing them. Plus, they can be used in blogs, newsletters, e-zines, and many other places. Additionally, all you need to write them are your life experiences and some wisdom. Everyone has a story and the fact that they lived that story makes them [...]

Thursday November 4th, 2010 in Magazine Articles, Personal Essays, Query Letter | 1 Comment »

Sometimes an Article Leads to a Book Deal

For those of you who have never considered writing an article on the subject of your book, here’s some inspiration to become a journalist before ever beginning a book manuscript. New York Magazine contributor Jennifer Senior landed a book deal with Ecco following her popular article from July. “All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents [...]

Publishing Mentor Tip: Submit Your Work Regularly

Submitting your work ensures publishing success. I’ve heard it said that you can’t win the lottery if you don’t purchase a ticket. In much the same way, your writing will never be published if you don’t submit it to publishers and publications. How often do you submit or resubmit your work? Do you resend your [...]

How to Query a Magazine Editor and Land an Assignment

As a seasoned magazine journalist and a nonfiction editor, I know how to query a magazine editor and what type of pitch makes an editor sit up and take notice. I also know what mistakes will make one never get past the first sentence or two. These days, the best way to approach an editor [...]

How to Use Life Story and Personal Experience in Articles

Often writers want to use life stories and personal experiences in their writing. They think the only way to do so in the realm of nonfiction involves writing a memoir. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Yesterday I offered 10 ways to use life story in nonfiction writing. Today, I’d like to expand on [...]

Friday July 9th, 2010 in Journalism, Memoir, Writing Tips | 3 Comments »

10 Ways to Use Your Life Story in Nonfiction Writing

This evening I’m participating in a round table discussion on a teleseminar offered by the National Association of Memoir Writers. Our subject: the intersection between memoir and other types of nonfiction. That got me thinking. Lots of ways exist to use your life story in nonfiction writing besides writing straight memoir. You can use your [...]

5 Ways to Get a Magazine Article or a Book Published

Both magazines and book publishers purchase manuscripts for the same reason: to make money. Magazines make money with ad sales, subscriptions and newsstand or in-store purchases. Of course, many magazines now are available on-line as well; they may make money via subscriptions or a variety of types of on-line advertising. Book publishers make money purely [...]

Books and Articles Begin with an Angle on an Idea

A book or an article begins with an idea. That idea might be quite broad. It could be based on an opinion or a principle that has meaning to you about a broad subject. You might find it interesting. You might even think your idea has a purpose, achieves some goal. However, to really be [...]

Friday July 2nd, 2010 in Journalism, Writing Tips | No Comments »

How to Take the First Step Towards Becoming a Journalist

So you say you want to become a journalist…The first step you must take involves coming up with an idea you can pitch to a newspaper or magazine. If you want to write for a newspaper, look for news stories about which the local newspaper might not be aware. Maybe you know a local organization [...]

Thursday June 24th, 2010 in Becoming a Journalist, Journalism | No Comments »

Write About What You Know

When I attended journalism school at Syracuse University, my professors always taught me to write about what I know. I remember writing a wonderful piece while I studied abroad in England about a equine-related company. I have always loved horses and for most of my life I’ve been an equestrian. I found it easy to [...]