Friday Find: Hot Freelance Tips from Kelly James-Enger

by Erika Dreifus on
23

The primary concerns of the Practicing Writing blog focus on the craft and business of writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. But you’ve probably noticed that freelance writing is something of an overlapping concern here. Speaking personally, I’ve been trying to sustain a part-time freelance practice alongside my “creative” writing AND my “day job” for the past several years, and lately, I’ve been trying to take a good hard look at how I can improve it.

All of which is by way of explaining why I’m so pleased to learn that Kelly James-Enger, another contributing editor for The Writer magazine, has published a new book: Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets for Freelance Success. And to help introduce it, Kelly is featuring a series of “Hot Freelance Tips” on her Dollars and Deadlines blog. (She was also kind enough to arrange for me to receive a complimentary review copy of Writer for Hire.)

But wait—there’s more! Kelly has agreed to provide another free copy of her new book to one lucky Practicing Writer. All you need to do to be eligible is to read the Hot Freelance Tips and come back here to comment on this post. Please tell me (and Kelly) something you’ve learned from the tips, something they make you wonder about, or something that simply “speaks” to you when you read them.

We’ll collect comments until through next Friday (May 11), and then the trusty random number generator will do the work of choosing a winner. Thank you for playing along!

UPDATE: The random number generator has selected CAROL J. ALEXANDER as the giveaway winner. Carol, please email me with your mailing address and I’ll get it to Kelly ASAP. Thank you all for participating–I enjoyed (and agreed with) your comments, and I’m sure that Kelly appreciated them, too.

Thursday’s Work-in-Progress

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Remember a few weeks ago when I outlined some of the assignments and projects that were on my to-do list? Remember how several of them had May 1 deadlines?

Well, this week, I’m happy to report that every deadline was met.

This week has also brought the publication of my latest micro-essay, “Comprehension,” which found a lovely home with Hippocampus Magazine. (If you haven’t already checked out the anniversary celebration on the Hippocampus site–replete with daily giveaways–go take a look.)

And over on Fiction Writers Review (FWR), Short Story Month is in full swing. I’m proud to have led this month’s “Stories We Love” posts with some thoughts about Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.”

Finally–and in case you missed it–this week I’ve also announced which title(s) I’ll be giving away as part of my participation in the FWR Collection Giveaway Project. I’m happy to see so much early interest.

P.S. This week also brought my birthday. Check out the delightful illustration my niece included with the card she gave me.

The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
2

Another midweek medley of writing-related finds culled from the Web.

  • Let’s begin with some application advice (mainly for academe, but with crossover appeal for writers-who-don’t-teach but are applying for grants/fellowships/awards/etc.). (via Wordamour)
  • Five Ways to Celebrate Short Stories is a post I wrote for Fiction Writers Review last year, but the beginning of Short Story Month 2012 seems to be a perfect time to “recycle” it.
  • Speaking of Fiction Writers Review: My “reviewlet” of Anne Korkeakivi’s The Unexpected Guest posted last week. One of the things I discuss in that piece is the author’s use of French words and phrases, so I was of course interested to discover Korkeakivi’s thoughts on handling languages other than English in fiction (thanks for the link, Writer Abroad!). (By the way, you can read some relevant thoughts of my own archived on the Brave New Words blog, too.)
  • May is apparently prime giveaway season. Don’t forget about this practicing writer’s participation in the Collection Giveaway Project. And over on Hippocampus Magazine, there will be one giveaway every day of this month to celebrate the publication’s anniversary. You need to delve into the current issue to participate–may I humbly suggest that you check out my own micro-essay in that issue, “Comprehension”?
  • For those who ask am I a writer, Cathy Day has some answers.

    • Announcing the Yugntruf Zhurnal Writing Contest

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    From Yugntruf (Youth for Yiddish): the Yugntruf Zhurnal Writing Contest:

    Are you the next Sholem Aleichem or Avrom Sutzkever?
    We’re looking for young emerging Yiddish writers and poets who need a modern literary platform suited to their unique voices.

    That’s because Yugntruf – Youth for Yiddish is reviving its Zhurnal – its Yiddish-language literary journal of poetry, short stories, editorials and articles.

    Debuting this August 2012, our new Zhurnal, co-edited by Jordan Kutzik and Leyzer Burko, will be available to Yugntruf members and to subscribers worldwide in both full-color hard copy and online download.

    So, if you’re 35 years of age or younger, you’re invited to submit your original, unpublished Yiddish poetry or fiction to our ZHURNAL YIDDISH LITERATURE COMPETITION to win cash awards — and publication in our new Zhurnal! (more…)