Returning to work - How to cope with a new world after a hiatus

‘I’m having a baby!’ I announced at work.

After the initial wave of congratulations had subsided, conversation turned to the inevitable question. ‘Are you planning to return to work?’ asked my colleagues, some with amusement, others in tones more anxious. ‘I don’t really know at this point,’ was my truthful answer. What I did know was that it was going to be an important, serious and potential uncomfortable choice to make, and one that could be life-changing.
 
A year later, as I neared the end of my maternity leave and the manic feeding-changing-sleeping frenzy settled into a regular and...

Read the full article in the September 2013 issue of Cairns Parenting Companion

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

1415 words
Nonfiction
Australia publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I liked the piece very much"

John Feister

Editor-in-Chief

St. Anthony Messenger

"It's a great article"

Melody Tan

Associate Editor

Sign Of The Times

"That kind of article is perfect for our website"

Lydia Stone

Director Editorial Content

Together Moms

"It is well written, covers an important topic and provides helpful tips"

James D. Standish

Editor etc.

Record

"I'd love to publish this"

Sandy Pedrogao

Editor

Oh Baby!

"It looks quite interesting!"

Kristy Pillinger

Editor

Nurture Parenting

"We really like your article, and we'd love to publish it. It's an excellent article"

Jill Snider Lum

Associate Publisher

Canadian Newcomer/Settlement Roadmap

"We find your ideas and your article to be quite interesting"

Nina Kruschwitz

Managing Editor

MIT Sloan Management Review

"It contains some useful ideas"

Bill O'Sullivan

Senior Managing Editor

The Washingtonian

Love thy enemy - How your competitors can help you make money

We all can do without competition. Be it for the time of that much sought after nanny for the children, that plum freelance assignment, or that exclusive house in the highly desirable and posh neighbourhood, competition can sour things up pretty rapidly and thoroughly. As professional writers, we are particularly vulnerable to competition, which comes not just from our contemporaries but also from those who are long dead and gone but have left their lasting mark in the annals of literature.

However, did you know that your competition can actually come to your aid? Other writers help us...

Read the full article in the August 2013 issue of FellowScript

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

1520 words
Nonfiction
Canada publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"That's definitely a good article... The article felt richer and more detailed. I particularly liked your example of coming up with the piece on titles -- it struck me as a great example of what one can do if one thinks creatively."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"My editor and I love this piece. It's a topic we haven't seen covered before. We look forward to working with you! I think this is an interest(ing) topic and one our readers probably haven't considered before. :)"

Angela Mackintosh

Editor

Women On Writing

"Our editor Joanna expressed great appreciation for your writing :)"

Bonnie Way

Editor

Fellowscript

Top 5 irritating habits of editors - And how freelance writers can handle them

On a whim they can subject us to torture of the vilest bilge. On a fancy they can deny us the pleasure of a beautiful composition. They control what comes into the market and what remains. They are the demi-gods of the publishing industry. They are, of course, the Editors.

Where would the writing world be without these paragons of the paragraph? They are the proverbial woman behind the successful man, the unsung heroes of the war of words. It takes a lot to be an editor and then some to be a great one.

Writers interact with editors on a daily basis: when querying, when speculating, when being profusely...

Read the full article in the August 2013 post of Freelance Writing

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

2150 words
Humour/Writing
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I enjoyed your article... I enjoyed reading your articles at your website which focused specifically on the freelance writer."

Brian Scott

Editor

Freelance Writing

"I thought your article had a creative approach"

Angela Mackintosh

Editor

Women On Writing

Writing myths busted!

Novice writers have abundant advice available to benefit from – keep practising, join a writing group, network online and read widely. Experienced veterans have already established a strategy of what works for them and they proceed to do enough of it to keep their fans happy.

However, for the intermediate writer – one who has just begun to get published – the waters are murky. Such a “developing writer” has not yet mastered sufficient skill to churn out a sure-fire winner each time he writes. Yet he is not a complete novice and knows the rules of what he is doing. For the benefit of all of us “developing...

Read the full article in the August 2013 issue of Writing Tomorrow

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

3350 words
Nonfiction/Writing
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I think this is a very valid article"

Suzanne Ruthven

ex-Editor

The New Writer

Writing my own destiny

As writers, we know better than anyone the power of the right word. A carefully picked verb, an aptly placed adjective – these are the things that make us tick. We could probably live forever off the high of a perfect rhyme and a thundering opening paragraph. But I could never have imagined the far-reaching effects of what started off as a hobby.

I like writing. A new idea for a story makes my eyes shine with excitement. An unusual sentence construction makes my heart flutter. Expanding my vocabulary in the English language is a goal that seems inexhaustible and unattainable, no matter how long...

Read the full article in the July 2013 issue of Author

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

1135 words
Nonfiction/Writing
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I would love to publish the piece in our July issue."

Bill Kenower

Editor-in-Chief

Author Magazine

Your prose or mine? Have YOU ever been tempted to plagiarise?

'No! Not ever!' cry famous writers in unison when asked if they have ever felt like using a piece of writing not their own. 'There's plenty of good writing out there, but I've never been tempted to lift anybody else's material,' says Janet Evanovich, who writes the popular Stephanie Plum adventure books. Fellow author David Nobbs, famous for his Reggie Perrin series, agrees. 'I don't think I've ever deliberately plagiarised anybody.' And Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the best-selling novel The Deep End of the Ocean, echoes the sentiment. 'Never on purpose. The only time I wrote something...

Read the full article in the June 2013 issue of Writing World

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

1550 words
Nonfiction
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I think you've identified an important issue"

Lauren McKeon

Editor

This Magazine

"I like the piece"

Stuart Woods

Editor

Quill & Quire

Right on time - Getting the timing right (Is there a perfect time to pitch?)

‘Thank you for sending me your wonderful article,’ read the editor’s reply. I smiled. ‘I would have accepted it but...’ I frowned. This did not bode well. ‘...but in the next issue we are publishing a similar article. So I am sorry but I cannot use your piece – bad timing!’ Damn. I swallowed my disappointment and got to work with my next story. But two weeks later when the same thing happened again (‘We just did a pretty major feature on this in our June issue, hard luck!’), and yet again (‘We have covered similar themes in the not-too-distant past, I’m afraid’), I was really upset. Three commissions...

Read the full article in the June 2013 post of AWP Career Advice

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

2625 words
Nonfiction/Writing
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I like it"

Jonathan Telfer

Editor

Writing Magazine

"Thank you very much for sending your work to us...I think your article contains plenty of things that our members would really love to read...it is a well written piece as is. Thank you once more for bringing your article to us--we will be very pleased to share it with our members (who will be very pleased to read it)."

Daniel D'Angelo

Associate Editor

Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)