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Find articles from at least the last three months here, usually longer. We try to provide you with ideas and guidance to make your writing life a little bit easier by making you more knowledgeable.

Writing for the Other Parenting Magazines - By Renee Roberson - Like many aspiring writers, I sent off a few article ideas at the beginning of my writing career via snail mail to the big parenting publications like BabyTalk, Parents and Parenting. For the most part, I never got any responses back, except for one horribly photocopied stock rejection letter from American Baby that almost crushed my dreams of writing about parenting forever.

 Writing for Lou Grant and Those Dark Suits - By Kristine Meldrum Denholm - Back in journalism school, I pictured myself in a press office someday, phone ringing, pencil over my ear, typing with two fingers, with my editor, Lou Grant, grunting, “Give me fresh copy! Now!”

Stay on Top of the Freelance Game - By Susan Sundwall - Wow, there sure are a lot of folks out there writing nowadays. Could be the bad economy, latent writer’s syndrome or some random alien thing nobody can figure out. But as Hope recently pointed out, there’s more competition now than ever. So how do writers worth their salt stay on top?

 Research, Query, Write! - By Laura Townshend - When I scour the forums and work at home boards, I read countless posts about "Where can I write?" and "Who will hire me?" Say what? Is the “old fashioned” way of writing dead? Or is the market wide open for those who would research, query and write?

 Annual Reports = Annual Income - By Jessica McCann - Year-round work, year-over-year work, and four-figure projects: these are just a few significant benefits to annual report writing. Establishing yourself as a freelance annual report writer can help secure long-term income, even in uncertain economic times.

 Speed Writing - The Index Card Way - By Gilda V. Bryant - Non-fiction freelancers need to produce articles quickly, because “time is money.” Outlines intimidate some writers and for creative personalities, it’s time-consuming and frustrating to tackle the correct structure. Why not try the speed writing method using 3 x 5 index cards? For the past six years, I have successfully used this method to produce non-fiction articles.

 Self-Syndication - By Jill Pertler - I have a weekly syndicated newspaper column. I am self-syndicated, meaning I do all the administrative work myself.

Contract? … Don't Sign Yet! - By Valerie Coulman - The writer had a few questions and was asking for advice. The more questions this writer asked, the more my heart sank. I’ve been through my share of scams and bad publishers and I’ve learned some questions every writer should ask when an offer comes.

 Successful Writers Don’t Burn Bridges - By Alina Bradford - I stumbled upon a thread full of angry writers. They freelanced for a publication that had decided to place freelance projects  on hold while they sorted out financial issues. I understood and patiently waited to hear if I would receive future work. The group of writers didn’t feel the same. Many declared to never write for the company again.

 Nobody Home? - By Grace Tierney - Recently with my writing I’ve been knocking at a closed door, but nobody is at home.

 Become a Freelance Chameleon - By Ruth Schiffmann - Find a successful freelancer these days and you’ve found someone who can adapt to the ever-changing publishing world.

 University Writing 101- By Jessica McCann - Freelance writers who want to generate a steady income can check into their local university – not to take classes, but to write for university publications.

 Against All Odds - By Carol Alexander - How does a homeschooling mother of six children pursue a career in writing? One sentence at a time.

 How writing “green” can keep you in the black! - By Jennifer Brown Banks - Nobody likes to admit it, but sometimes the “green eyed monster” and a little friendly competition among fellow scribes can motivate you to move beyond your comfort zone and ultimately make more money.

 Increase Your Income with Resume Writing - By Christine Cristiano - With the downturn in today’s economy and new lay-offs being announced weekly, a talented freelance writer with an interest in the job market may discover a new niche for his writing skills.

 5 Tricks for Tracking Down an Editor - By Susan Johnston - Most writing books and blogs will tell you that you should address your query letter to a specific person, rather than opening generically with "Dear Editor." That's all well and good, but sometimes it's hard to find an editor's name, much less his email address.

 Wishing for a Break - by Shelby Oppermann - Consumers are looking for comfort and humor, and the newspaper is no exception. Yes, you hear that newspapers are on the decline, but most towns will still carry a weekly paper for residents to turn to for all their local events and news.

 How to Build Your Author Platform Effectively with Web 2.0 Tools - By Joanna Penn - The publishing industry is currently undergoing massive change because of the economic crisis and the advent of new technologies. Authors now need an “author platform” more than ever if they want to get a publishing deal, or to successfully self-publish.

 Missteps into Manuscripts - By Janet Hartman - If you're willing to tell the world about your foibles, you might discover a whole new set of ideas and markets. And you don't have to do extensive research or interview experts to write these articles!

 Find Your Next Writing Gig on Twitter - by Julie Bloss Kelsey - Posting your activities in 140 character increments and reading updates from others may appear frivolous, but Twitter is actually changing the way that writers and publishers do business. Here are some ways that you can cash in.

 Five Observations on Successful Writers - by W.E. Reinka -  When writers go on book tours, media escorts greet them at the airport and drive them to bookstore appearances and interviews. During my nine years escorting writers on San Francisco tour stops, I enjoyed quiet dinners with Pulitzer Prize winners and listened to the aspirations of writers with unfamiliar names. But whether the writers I escorted were famous or unknown, they were linked by common five traits.

 Build It and Maybe They Will Come - By Gwynne Spencer - Nobody warned me that building a website would be so hard.

 Agents: Are They Hard to Find and Do You Need One? By David Pereda - The answer to both questions is no. I had three agents in 2008 alone.

 Don't Take No for an Answer: Submit Until it Sells - By Ruth Schiffmann - If you've been writing for any amount of time you've heard the stories about rejections: Dr. Seuss collected 23 of them before selling his first book. C. S. Lewis and Ray Bradbury received over 800 a piece.

 Increase Your Income By Writing Close to Home - By Patricia L. Fry - Are you so busy searching for great stories in exotic places that you haven’t noticed what’s going on right under your nose?

 Three Offbeat Ways to Find Story Ideas - By Beth Bartlett - Every writer has heeded the call of 'write what you know,' and there are great story ideas right in your own backyard, if you know where to look.

 How to Break into Medical Writing - By Christine Buske - One market in desperate need of more writers is the medical field. Don't fret; you don't actually have to be a doctor or nurse to write for most publications. You do need to be able to come up with interesting ideas that appeal to a particular audience.

 A Writing Budget - Tips from the Pros - By Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz - Have you ever balanced your budget by putting money aside in separate envelopes marked for specific purposes, e.g., one each for rent/mortgage, food, medical bills, utilities, pleasure, etc? If you want time to write, you need to be sure the time is there when you need it, just as you want money to pay your bills.

Profiting with Corporate Newsletter Production - By Leigh Goodwin - Producing newsletters for companies can be profitable if you are willing to be organized and enterprising- and of course you want to help other businesses or individuals get what they want. You can profit handsomely by helping businesses strengthen their lines of communication with their clients.

 Turning Down Free Work - By Aline Lechaye - It seems that whenever the words “I’m a writer” leaves my lips, I’m bombarded by offers of free work.

 Writing Outside the Box: Alternative Sources for Making Money with Your Writing - By Kate Clabough - When I first started writing, I envisioned myself breaking immediately into the top women's magazines featured at the check stand at the local discount store followed directly by my Great American Novel's meteoric rise to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. The reality was a little less dramatic.

 6 Things To Do Before Sending Your Query - By Susan Johnson - We've all been there: precisely 2.5 seconds after you click "send" on your email query you wish you could take it all back and start over.

 Growing a Career in Garden Writing - by Cindy Kerschner - I'll let you in on a secret. You don't need to be an authority on plants to be a garden writer. There is a wealth of experts at your fingertips. Best of all, this information is free for the quoting.

Dear Diary…(How to go from private pain to public acclaim and profit!) - By Jennifer Brown Banks - “He was right for all the wrong reasons,” my diary read. This simple journal entry, chronicled to bring closure and perspective to a failed relationship with a sinfully, sexy “bad boy” type, brought more than therapy. Years later, with some creativity and emotional distance behind me, it brought a writer’s fee of a hundred bucks and publication in Simon and Schuster’s best-selling “Chocolate for Women” series.

 Flying Away From Rejection - By Gwynne Spencer - Rejections! If there were a prize each year for the most, or the best, or the most cheeky, I'd win for sure. I know I haven't studied the magazine or the publisher deeply enough whenever I get one in the mail. How do I know that? Because one article I wrote for a magazine called Pilot Getaways taught me how to really study the market I intended to write for.

 Making Money from your University Essays (without cheating) - By Stephanie Green - I arrived at university with a single suitcase and a desire to write. I hadn't counted on the long hours of library research and essay writing that left me so drained that I couldn't bear the thought of writing for fun.

 Writing: A Defense Weapon - By Joan Foley Baier - Someone refuses to return your refund (mine was over $4,000); another person claims the product you bought is not faulty; a third company has Customer Service personnel speaking to you from another country, often in barely understandable English. Several calls later, you still have no results.

 Filtrips for Writers - By Gwynne Spencer - In our town, almost everybody has a box, so everybody comes
and goes once a day. If you have a cute dog like I do (weener dogs rule) you could sit out front with said irresistible dog and ask people to hold your dog while you go in to get your mail. You know, no dogs allowed. When you come back, there will be a story waiting, I guarantee you.

 'Tis the Season - by W.E. Reinka - The most common question writers get after “what sort of writing do you do?” is “where do you get your ideas?” I start with the calendar. Good seasonal articles are not only annual but, in a sense, perennial.

 How to Negotiate So Everybody Wins - By Mridu Khullar - Many a writer has missed out on an extra $100, a bigger bio, a kill fee, or even just quicker payment, by failing to ask for more.

 Small Publishers: The Good, the Bad and the Fine Print - By Christine Cristiano - Every writer dreams of being published by a major publisher; however, most will find their way to a small publisher instead.

 Cultivating Clients - Common Courtesy is Most Powerful Marketing Tool - By Jessica McCann - Super models get to say, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” As a full-time freelance writer, I get to say, “Don’t hate me because I turn away new clients.” Oh, and don’t hate me because I spend almost no time (and almost no money) marketing my services to new prospects.

 Coining a Phrase - By Nadia Ali - The greeting card market pays top dollars per-word than most markets. For a two sentence phrase – one for the outside of the card and one for the inside you can make anywhere from $50-$200.

 Educational Book Publishing - By Anne Vize - Educational books are created by writers with an understanding of teaching, or by teachers with some writing skills. Specialists from areas such as art, physical education, math, literacy or health often write educational books in their field. Writing an education book is a great way for an unpublished writer to get a start.

 Punctuate Your Piece with the Perfect Picture - By Courtney Mroch - It’s clichéd but true: a picture is worth a thousand words. But pictures don’t replace words. If used right, they enhance them.

 From Writer to Translator - By Aline Lechaye - With everything going global nowadays, people who speak more than one language are invaluable. Being a writer also helps because you know how the sentence patterns flow, and how a piece sticks together.

 Write Yourself a Check - By Gwynne Spencer - The danger of reading Funds For Writers is that you really do get used to being paid for what you write, to the detriment of family stories that need to be written before you are dead, when it is much harder.

 Creative Collaborations: Two Heads are Better than One - By Jennifer Brown Banks -
Creative collaborations can be a great way to expand your portfolio, increase your bottom line, and partner with someone whose artistic strengths complement your weaknesses.

 Raised By a Community of Writers - By Dawn Goldsmith - Some of us are born with a fondness of stringing beads, others, for stringing words together. But whether beads or words, to get really expert, two things must happen. We must practice, practice, and practice some more. And we must find a band of people who generously help us learn our profession.

 Go Figure - By Skip Maloney - I think the fact that the urge to write is universal and as old as cave drawings by human beings who never had to worry about re-booting a system to finish the work, speaks to a hidden measure of inspiration for all of us who ply this trade.

 10 Ways Linked In Can Help Your Writing Career - By Mridu Khullar - Social networking has caught on in a big way not only for your personal keeping-in-touch needs, but also in the professional world. Linked In (www.linkedin.com ), one of the major players in professional social networking is one of the websites where you can expect to find your boss, the manager from your previous company, and your current freelancing clients.

 Focus on the Rocks, Not the Pebbles - By Laura Gater - At a recent writers' conference, the analogy of rocks and
pebbles in a vase attracted my attention for a particular reason.

 Growing Market: Green Writers- Green Topics - By Wenona Napolitano - Green is the hottest trend right now.

How to Get Grants - By BJ Epstein - This article was a two-part-er in the newsletters. Here you get the whole piece from her personal perspective as a grant writer and grant recipient for her personal writing.

 Increase Your Success Ratio: The Benefits of Hiring a Professional Editor - By Christine Cristiano - A common reason for a manuscript rejection is a lack of proofreading and editing skills exhibited by the writer. With the competitive climate of the freelance writing community, hiring a professional editor can make the difference in your work being accepted or filed away for eternity.

 Blogging - From a Different Angle - By Dawn Goldsmith - Blog. It is the new hoola hoop. Everybody’s got one. Blogging began as a way to make your personal voice heard. Open your own personal space at cost-free websites and say whatever you want.

 How to go from $200 per assignment to $2,000 per assignment - By Mridu Khullar - If you write 4 articles per month at $200 per assignment, you make $9,600 a year. If you write the same four articles at $2,000 per assignment, you make $96,000. The trick is to go from that $200 to $2,000. How do you do it?

Tap Into the Seniors Market - By Susan Sundwall - Not too long ago a good friend and I giggled like teenagers as we contemplated what we were about to do; get our first “senior discount.” We were about to join the millions of other men and women of a certain age who had worked in earnest at a productive life and were now reaping a small benefit from a grateful merchant. Another benefit out there is the many publications that cater to the needs, desires, hobbies and overall changing lifestyles of the well-aged citizen. It’s
occurred to me more than once what a rich bounty this is for writers!

 Confessions of a Reluctant Gambler - By Anne Walls - I’ve recently come to realize that my love of writing and my disdain for gambling must meet and make beautiful music together. Why? Because getting your work out to the world and, better yet, published is a crapshoot. To be a success, you’ve got to play the odds.

 Free Software Options for Writers - By Thursday Bram - There are software programs available that make Word look only marginally more advanced than pen and paper. Even better, many of these programs are available for free as downloads from the Internet — far cheaper than the cost of a license for a Microsoft program.

 Fair Game: Making the Most Out of Fairs, Tradeshows and Conferences - By Lisa Tiffin - Attending tradeshows, fairs and other similar events can net you valuable article ideas, interview sources and article assignments. In fact, one such event has netted me a half dozen articles, plus several active queries!

 The Dynamic Duo-The Beauty of Corporate and Creative Clients - By Jennifer Brown Banks -
You’ve probably discovered that e-zine and magazine markets won’t pay the mortgage, or sustain an ongoing profitable business. Competition is fierce, publishers don’t always pay as promised, and the typical rate is ten cents to a dollar per word, usually paid after publication.

 Getting Paid...How Much is Enough? - By Amy Munnell - Figuring out what your work is worth as a freelance writer is sometimes difficult. Here's a brief guide to the average pay rates for freelance writers.

 Nine Ways to Make More Money—Instantly - By Mridu Khullar - While writing isn't, and shouldn't be, solely about the income, money does play a large life in a freelancer's life, mostly because of the lack of high-paying markets and the fluctuating pace at which checks arrive. If you're looking for some quick ways to increase your cash flow, here are some tips.

 Reputations, Accreditations and Scams of Literary Agents - By C. Hope Clark - Yes, sharks swim in the sea. Arm yourself with information to avoid predators that could take off with your book or worse, lock it up in a contract and do nothing but charge you fees for the privilege.

 Join the Family - By C. Hope Clark - I search high and low for magazine guidelines, going to the actual magazine web sites and researching for the elusive rules and desires of editors. I adore it when I hit upon a family.

 Writing about Writing - By Aline Lechaye - You’ve written fiction, nonfiction, even poetry. You’ve suffered through writer’s block and money worries. It’s unlikely that you’re alone. Other writers, at one time or another, have suffered the same maladies.

 Exploring Your Inner Playwright - By Susan Sundwall - I’m a restless writer. I can only work on certain projects for so long and then I need a jolt of something new. This restlessness has led me down more than one writing path and quite often I’ve been surprised at my success on some of them. One such path was marked “plays and skits,” and I reluctantly set my foot on it.

 Market Yourself with a Nonfiction Book - By Laurisa White Reyes - Ms. Walters, best known for her book Speak and Grow Rich, urged those of us in attendance to discover our expertise, write a book about it and use it to market ourselves.

 Don’t Toss Away That Lost Contest Entry: The Hidden Benefits of Writing Contests - By Joyce Laird - Over three quarters of my work is for industrial magazines, with the balance divided between consumer magazine features and fiction. Those form the basis for paying my bills. However, I try to squeeze in at least one or more writing contests every month.

Markets That Pay for Essays - By Michele L. Tune - Love to write essays, but don’t think they’re worth your time? Well, think again!

 It Does More Than Pay the Bills: Lessons from Technical Writing - By Katherine Hauswirth - When I reveal that I'm a technical writer, I don't draw an interested crowd at parties.

 Make Money Writing Grants for Nonprofits - By Katie Krueger - Have you considered writing grants for nonprofits as a way to make money? Writers willing to sharpen their skills and learn the craft of grant writing can easily break into this high-paying niche.

Writing in the Midst of Tragedy - By Amanda Southall - Some stories are so powerful that they rattle even the writers to the core.

 Radio and Book Signings: A Marriage Made in Writer’s Heaven - By Dan Case - James Megellas, an unknown author, was a guest on “The Ticket” radio station. That evening at his first book signing, he sold 125 books—every book in the store.

Luck and Writing Contests - By Grace Tierney

 Serve Up Sidebars and Boost Your Sales - By Phyllis Edgerly Ring

 The Growing Genre of Erotica - By Roxanne Rhoads

 Lighten up! Great Advice for Humor Writing - By Terry Loncaric

 Conventions: Where Having Fun is Business and Business is Fun! By Trisha J. Wooldridge

 Teaching Writing in Juvenile Detentions - by Mindy Hardwick -

 Writer-In-Residence: Sharing our Talents with Youth - By Mindy Hardwick 

 Where to Find the Experts - By Patrizia M.J. Hayashi

 The Expatriate Writer - By Jens Porup

 Write, Speak, Sell - By Cynthia Brian

  You are the Box Office Smash: The Personal Screenplay - By Gordy Hoffman -

  The Complimentary Copy = Goldmine - By Kathleen Ewing

 Writing Real-life Stories For the UK Market - By Sally Aquire

  Everyone Loves a Collector - By Susan Sundwall

 Digital Photography for the Writer - Some Basics - By Catherine L. Tully

  Sky Writing - By Donna L. Hull

 Editorial Calendars: Doing the Editorial Juggle - By Christine Cristiano

  Emergency Resources for Writers - By C. Hope Clark

  Careers in Grant Writing - By Caroline S. Reeder

 Grants for Children’s Books - By Kathe Gogolewski

 Discover the Playwright in You - By Evan Guildford-Blake

 Educate the Masses - Writing User Manuals - By Thomas Bosch

 The Care and Feeding of Editorial Assistants - By Allyson E. Peltier

 Tapping Into the Teen Scene - By Jennifer Brown Banks 

 Going for a Grant - By Kirsten S. Traynor 

 Christian or Inspirational Fiction? What’s the Difference and Where to Market it - By Pamela S. Thibodeaux 

 Keep 13 in Play - By C. Hope Clark  

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