Newsletter: July, 2006
Plan your writing career
Getting published (first in a series of career opportunities)

Where do you want your writing career to go? How far do you want it to take you? You do have a plan, don’t you? Maybe you’re hoping to have your first article published, or perhaps you’re already a published writer but would like to produce a non-fiction book or a novel. Or could it be that you really want to use your skills to make loads of money, so plan to write for businesses. Might you want to do all three? Since each of you reading this probably has different goals, I’ll cover all of these very different types of projects in future issues.

This time, I’d like to talk about getting your first article published. How many magazines do you read each month? Yes, you must be a reader if you ever hope to get published! You must know what type of articles a particular editor normally uses; what type of writing they prefer (conversational, technical or literary); and who their readers are. Naturally, some publications are fairly easy to figure out, especially if it’s a men’s or women’s magazine, but do you know what age group it is targeting? If you write an article directed to young singles but the magazine clearly appeals to married men or women with families, you’ll never get it published. So, study advertisements throughout the magazine. Who are they targeting? Advertisers don’t waste their big bucks trying to reach the wrong market. You shouldn’t waste your time, either.

Once you’ve determined what type of people are buying the magazine, read the articles to see whether they’re chatty or extremely technical. Does the magazine use only literary pieces? Now you know how to focus your writing. Then study the types of articles used. Do they show readers how to save money, spend money, enjoy retirement, raise children, take care of elderly parents, start a business? Or does it cover a variety of subjects, but mostly short pieces that provide an overview of the topic. Do most of the articles provide detailed instructions for specific types of projects (crafts, home repair, etc.)? Does it offer personality or business profiles, and if so, what types of people are being interviewed?

After you’ve studied the magazines for content, focus and target audience, you’re finally ready to write a query letter to the editor offering your idea in a snappy format that will get attention and showcase your writing skills. We’ll cover query letters in next month’s issue, but in the meantime, study some magazines and come up with some ideas for articles. Get your ideas down on paper with an outline of how you propose to write your article. Prepare to launch!


Where there’s a dream, there’s a way?
Millions have it all figured out. You can do it too.

Traveling. That is the dream of so many people who never manage to get around to it. Some never seem to have enough money to simply take off and see the country (or world).

Travel can be accomplished in so many different ways. Some people take a cruise on an ocean liner each year. Others want to own their own yacht and see the world. Most people like to fly to their destination, maybe rent a car to see the sights or join a tour group once they get there. Some people seem to think there’s safety in numbers, so they always travel with a group.

Others travel in their car or a rented car to destinations on this continent, and stay with friends or family, or in inns, motels or hotels every night. Some venture into Canada, Mexico and beyond to Central America. Many travelers are rediscovering the magic of the rails and taking scenic trips through North America and Mexico.

Okay, so you know about all these ways to get there. You may have even traveled some of these routes. You just want to know how you can do more of it.

Writing offers possibilities to travel more and earn income while you’re on the move. If money isn’t the object, then writing provides a means of keeping friends and family informed about your adventures and a way to keep a record of your travels. You can always write a book that provides an armchair adventure for those who can’t travel.

I’ve known people who owned a not-so-large sailboat and traveled along the coasts and inland waters of the Northwest. We had a 21-foot sailboat and considered cruising the inland waters of Washington and Canada, but neither of us relished the thought of being tossed around at sea in a storm. Other wanderers, like my favorite writer, William Least-Heat Moon, hopped in a van and traversed the country in search of adventure and great stories to tell. His book, Blue Highways, was a best-seller, as was John Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley, which he wrote while traveling in a small truck camper with his standard poodle, Charley.

If you want to travel but money is a problem, then you have to start planning ahead of time on which way you want to go. We planned for years (literally). Now, many people we meet while RVing have sold the home they bought thirty years ago for as much as twenty times the price they paid, and plunked down the profit on a brand-new, fancy RV. Others have scraped up enough for a down-payment on a basic RV and plan to earn money while they’re traveling to pay for their adventure. We’re somewhere between the two extremes.

I planned my writing business so that it would earn income on the go because we needed it. We weren’t born with a silver spoon in our mouths, we didn’t inherit anything and we didn’t own a home that had increased enough to invest the proceeds and live off them. And we didn’t buy a brand new RV, and it’s definitely nothing fancy. I’ll tell more about how RVing and working has turned out next month.