In case you missed them, check out
Weekly Writer Challenge #1 and
Weekly Writer Challenge #2. Oh, and
Weekly Writer Challenge #3. You can still catch up to us!
AND don't forget ... all this is free! Lots of other writers charge beaucoup bucks and call it a CLASS, but folks, I have no class, so this little situation here is FREE! Let's hold each other accountable and make some dang money writing for magazines, increasing our experience and pay as we go!
As with the last challenge, please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate. I have lately been seeing many writers making one red cent per word to write all day long to pull down the bucks, and I want so badly to pull them out of that situation and let them know their work is worth so much more than that, even if it DOES take weeks to get paid sometimes! (By the way,
I just wrote for one red cent per word this last week and it was not my thing. Blog post to come, but I make more proofing docs on Fiverr.com.)
Again, you have until Sunday to do this second challenge, then more challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didn't do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin' the challenge, either.
You don't have to sign up, just check in somewhere in the comments section if you would!
At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Don't forget there is also a
Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact about my FREE writer's boot camp.
Challenge #4 is to let the article you just sent to all the regionals go out of your head. Please don't sit around checking your email all day for acceptances to your ONE article you just sent, like you're waiting for a guy to call.
Don't worry, because I will occupy your time with the Art of the Query! Yes, I want you to write a query for an article idea you have. It can be one of those ideas from Challenge #1 or something newer and more thought-out. It's all up to you. Just craft a query, and next week you will be sending it to an appropriate place. So think about who you want to write for and craft that query to them. A lot of my stuff can be sent multiple places, and I have no problem with simultaneous submissions because what are the chances Parents and Parenting are going to want my article? And if they both do, what a great problem to have and I just give the gig to the person who showed up in my email box.
Here are just a few of the national magazines I have in the ebook, along with contact information (and in some cases, PAY INFO!):
American Baby
BabyTalk
Family Fun
Parenting
Parents
Working Woman
and others, like the Cricket Magazine Group and some homeschooling mags, which scare me a little bit with their persnickety guidelines. Those dang homeschoolers! Wait, I AM one of those dang homeschoolers!
So here is a sample query letter:
Subject:
Query: Desperately Seeking Sleep
Dear
Tricia,
Being pregnant five times has practically made me an expert on
sleep disturbances. If I wasn’t rubbing out a leg cramp, I was wrestling with four
pillows, eating Tums like they were M&Ms or laying awake worrying.
I would like to write a piece for you called, “Desperately Seeking
Sleep,” which would offer solutions to eight of the most common sleep
disruptions experienced during pregnancy. This piece was originally published
as “Pregnancy Sleep Solutions” in Kansas
City Baby (LINK TO ARTICLE) and several other regional parenting magazines,
and I know it would be a great help for your national readership, as well.
To make this article a knockout, I would interview national
experts about the latest sleep solutions, research and recommendations (e.g.,
if Ambien is alright to take during pregnancy, whether or not calcium tablets
work for leg cramps, etc.) and would get quotes from moms all over the country
about their pregnancy sleep woes and solutions they found helpful. It would
also include a sidebar of relaxation exercises to try before bedtime.
I have been published in over two dozen regional parenting
magazines, including Calgary’s Child,
Columbus Parent, San Diego Family, Family Time
and Washington Family. You can find
all of my publishing credits, as well as links to published pieces, at KerrieMcLoughlin.blogspot.com.
I would be happy to customize this piece in any way you might need
and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kerrie McLoughlin
The instructions and all the email addresses are in the ebook. You can click on "you have to have the resource I'm using" above or [shhhhh] you can save a ton by going
here. This will save you 50% and get you started.
You send 5 bucks (I only get 4), and I email you the 2012 version. Yes, there are some changes that are going into the 2013 version, so if you have emails that bounce back, I'm on top of it in the newer version. AND the 2013 version will be ready later this week and all you have to do (if you decide this niche is for you), is go back to Fiverr and order another gig for $5. So you get both versions for only $10 when ONE usually goes for $19.85.
