simple hit counter

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Ha! I Coulda Told You That.

This info comes courtesy of Agora’s John Forde in his Copywriter’s Roundtable zine.

Enjoy!

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=48355

Beth

P.S. You can find John’s Zine here: http://JackForde.com Awesome zine. Highly recommended.

P.P.S. We'll get back to the queries tomorrow. :)

Monday, March 27, 2006

Query Letters Unleashed

Filbert Publishing receives between 20 – 30 queries per day. Every day. Nonstop.

We’re a very small publishing company, I’d hate to see how that number would increase if we released more books than we do.

Thing is, I’d guess that well over 99 percent of the queries we receive are totally and completely inappropriate for our company.

Sad, really.

You should see the staff when we receive a targeted query that pitches a project we’re equipped to handle. They dang near dance on the table and stumble over themselves to get that letter to me.

But that’s happened a total of one time this past year.

Wow.

So, what makes a great query?

That’s tomorrow’s topic.

Talk later,

Beth

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Got Questions? I Just May Have The Answer.

Wow! Time’s slipping away so fast this week.

My dear son turns 17 today. He’s in France sitting atop Mount Blanc.

Dang. I wish I was with him.

But he’ll arrive home on the 31st.

In the mean time, I’m busy writing, managing discussion groups, and answering your questions.

So… in case you haven’t jumped into the fray yet, might I ask you: What’s your biggest freelance question?

You can submit your question to Filbert Publishing and get it answered in an upcoming issue of Writing Etc.

Do it today. We’ve got some doozys coming up. I can’t wait to dig into ‘em.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/pesp8

Talk later,

Beth

Friday, March 17, 2006

So… How Would You Write This Ad?

Seems pharmaceutical companies are having a bit of trouble writing those annoying drug ads that inundate the airwaves during the evening news.

In fact, the makers of Viagra, in particular, are in a “tight” spot trying to weave their persuasive message around some pretty stringent FDA rules.

Hmmm… as a writer, how would you approach this project?

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/og2rj

Talk later,

Beth

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Freelance Writer Quits, Dismal Pay Rates

How sad.

http://tinyurl.com/owzqk

If a pro like him can’t demand better freelance rates…

Ugh.

Talk later.

Beth

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Great Freelance Article

I ran across this today. Thought I’d share it with you.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/03/11/130021.php

Now get writing and submitting. After you read this, of course.

Enjoy!

Beth

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Freelance Writers Who Use Paypal... Beware

This just in from Kimberly Teed at HomeBizLiving. She writes:

I usually don't pass on scams ... however ... this is a creative twist in the PayPal password theft world...

I received a standard receipt for a PayPal payment, complete with a dispute link ... of course, if I clicked the dispute link and signed-on, I would be giving the scammers my password ... groan!
Below is a text version, the original message ... I don't send this list in HTML format ...
Hope all your biz's are doing fantastic!

---Kimberly Teed
Sure! I'll host your site > www.teedhosting.com... and my homepage > http://www.kimberlyteed.com/

(Scam Paypal E-mail Follows:)

--- PayPal wrote:
From: "PayPal" service@paypal.com
To: psupdate-owner@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Receipt of Your Payment
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 07:27:05 +0600

---------------------------------

Customer,

This email confirms that you have paid PHONEDEPOTUSA
(sales@phonedepotusa.com) $239.95 USDusing PayPal.

This credit card transaction will appear on your bill
as "PAYPAL PHONEDEPOT*".
.......................................
PayPal Shopping Cart Contents

Item Name:New MOTOROLA V3 PINK RAZR
RAZOR QUAD-BAND CELL PHONEQuantity:1Total:$219.95
USDCart Subtotal:$219.95 USDShipping Charge:$20.00
USDCart Total:$230.05
USD
.......................................
Shipping Information

Shipping info:Bill Chang
202 N Magnolia Dr.
Saco, ME 04072
United StatesAddress
Status:Unconfirmed
........................................

If you haven't authorized this charge, click the link
below to cancel the payment and geta full refound.
Dispute Transaction

(Beth again:)

What a scam, eh?

Please, please, please watch your e-mails and don’t fall for this. Many freelance writers use Paypal to process their payments.

I highly suggest you become hyper-vigilant in protecting all your online accounts, particularly Paypal, or find another way to receive your monies owed.

Talk later,

Beth

Monday, March 13, 2006

5 Words You Should Never Say

Jim Edwards is an absolute hoot. If you don’t smile when you watch this guy in action, you need to get your funny-bone checked out by the local doc.

I’ve been watching Jim’s writing career for a while now and recently ran across the following video. As I watched it, I immediately thought of you.

You see, Jim’s advice to marketers is most applicable to writers as well.

Just think, when you write your next query, you can avoid these five words and *poof* your query’s automatically stronger. Or suppose you’re selling your book online and avoid these five words… your sale’ll jump.

Check out this video. Absorb it. Enjoy it. Apply the information.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/rwjus

Talk later,

Beth

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The Next JK Rowling?

This company claims anyone can (potentially) become the “next JK Rowling” just by using their technology to print books.

Yeah right.

I don’t want to sound cynical, but sheesh.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2073717,00.html

Never forget the writer’s mantra: money flows towards the writer, not away from them.

Unless you truly want to self publish and totally understand the process, never ever pay to get your book in print. Ever. Period.

Talk later,

Beth – still trudging towards my biggie deadlines.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Still On A Writing Binge

I’ve got a ton of big-time deadlines this month.

Nothing like a deadline to get those creative juices flowing.

Well, maybe not.

Yesterday afternoon, I went through one of the driest writing slumps of my career.

I sat down to type and nothing. Ab-so-lute-ly NOTHING. Blank page. Blank mind. Blank everything.

Talk about terrifying.

I stared at the screen as pure panic rose in my throat, fingers silent on the keyboard.

How could this happen? Why me? Why now?

I sat back, stared at Lucy the Rat Terrier Wonder Dog and decided not to push it.

I snapped on her leash and headed outside. After I got home, I read a ton of recipe books deciding on what to make for supper. (I settled on Taco John’s take-out. That’s what happens when you forget to combine planning with action.)

This morning I read. And read. And read some more.

As I sat to write, words began to flow.

That’s when I realized I’d been neglecting to “fill my cup.”

How can we writers expect words to flow when we don’t regularly “fill our cup” by reading at least as much as we write?

I’ve been disseminating this tid-bit of advice for years. I hate it when I forget to follow my own recommendations.

Now go forth… avoid my newbie mistake. Fill your cup.

Talk later,

Beth, who’s back to enjoying her writing (and reading) binge.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Hot Romance Novels

Yahoo News tells us that romance readers want “more” and romance.

In fact, they go so far as to say:
“More women want more fiction about what's going on between the sheets, book publishers say.
"’If you had said five years ago, 'erotic, hot, sexy romances,' people would have said 'What, are you crazy?' " says Kensington editor in chief John Scognamiglio. "Publishing goes in cycles. Erotica now seems to be the new hot thing.’”
Wow. Erotica?

Could be interesting, eh? Bet this bit ‘o news will have an impact on the next “romantic” scene you write.

Here’s the whole story:

http://tinyurl.com/pmkr2

Talk later!

Beth (whose first novel “The Almach” was said to have had “sex scenes hotter than desert sand." Guess I was ahead of this trend…)

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Simpsons Versus the Constitution

Big hmmm today.

Seems more Americans could name two members of the Simpson family (of Fox cartoon fame) than could name two of the five rights granted by the first amendment of the US constitution.

Is that a commentary on the power of the media or what?

As Roy H. Williams said so eloquently in last Monday’s Monday Morning Memo:

Salience + Repetition = effective branding

This new survey illustrates this concept brilliantly.

The Simpsons offers biting commentary of American life. Great illustration of salience. And repetition? Jeepers, how often is that show on? Pretty much every day, perhaps more.

The Simpsons represents one particularly strong “brand” which makes them very memorable, as evidenced by the survey.

Read more here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4761294.stm

Read the Wizard of Ad’s Monday Morning Memo here:

http://www.wizardacademy.com/showmemo.asp?ID=290

Now for the obvious question: How do you use this information to strengthen your freelance writing career?

Talk later,

Beth