A typical magazine assignment goes something like this:

1. You send a query letter proposing an article you’d like to write for a publication.
2. The publication accepts your proposal and gives you a contract for the assignment.
3. You do the research, write the article and submit it.
4. The publication pays you.
5. You send another query letter to a different publication proposing a new article…

…and the cycle of “query-acceptance-research-write-get paid” starts all over again. You can double, triple or quadruple your profits with half the effort by doing this one thing: Read the rest of this entry

Last night I met up with a friend of mine, Lynn, to catch up on the news in each others’ lives. We’ve been friends for a couple of years and don’t see each other often, but when we do it’s always a great evening of conversation. At some point, she used the word “ephemeral” and was thrilled to discover that I knew what the word meant and understood what she was saying. I was thrilled that she was thrilled and we had a momentary love fest in the name of literacy.

After I returned home I couldn’t get that brief exchange out of my head and realized it is a good lesson for writers, so here’s my quick tip for the day: Find and spend time with people who widen your curiosity and interests, exercise your lesser-used vocabulary, and encourage you to rise above the limitations you all too easily accept in yourself. It will make you a greater student of the world and a better writer. It also increases your confidence in your skills and talents, which lessens the chances of experiencing an ephemeral career.

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I recently had a great “mail day.” I received a signed contract (and upfront deposit) to start a book ghostwriting project, a royalty check for quarterly sales of a book I authored in 2007 and payment for a short quiz recently published as a sidebar in a national publication. So which one of these brought in the most money for the time invested? Read the rest of this entry

“I have a great idea for a book. How do I get started?” I hear this question often when aspiring book writers discover that I have written and published several books. In fact, I often get this question from new visitors to the website. Whatever type of book you are writing (fiction, memoir, nonfiction, romance, science fiction, etc.), do this: Read the rest of this entry

This blog is focused on making money from your writing. But if you’re first starting out, a recurring roadblock to profiting from writing that many of us encounter is when you’re asked to provide samples of your writing, preferably published clips.

A good place to get nearly-instant published clips is through Read the rest of this entry