Most major cities offer artist grants for those of us involved in the arts. In my town there’s an annual drive for locals to apply, and back in 2014, I gave it a go. According to the rules, anyone in the arts field, including literary arts, was eligible. “Hot dog, I’m going for it!” I […]
How Film Producers Analyze Your Screenplay
/ 2019-03-15When an actor reads a script, he’ll think about how to approach his character, his motivation, his arc. When a cinematographer reads that same script, he’s thinking about lighting, camera angles, and what cinematic style to employ. The art director thinks about how to use design principles and visual techniques, while the editor assesses how […]
Write the Nonfiction Book Proposal Before Writing the Book
/ 2019-03-15I finished a manuscript, set it aside for a month, then read it again. But I never even tried to publish it. Why not? Because as brilliant as it was (well, I thought so and so did my mother), it was doomed because it had no point. The book, overflowing with insightful arguments and powerfully […]
Query Letter vs. Letter of Introduction
/ 2019-03-15By C. Hope Clark The shortest, most blunt email anyone receives from me is “The guidelines are on the website,” and I send that email many times a week. The online guidelines at www.fundsforwriters.com/submissions clearly ask for articles on spec. Or if a writer isn’t sure, they can pitch ideas, and if one is selected, they […]
Optioning Your Screenplay to a Producer
/ 2019-02-02Congratulations! Not only did you finish writing your 120-page cinematic opus, but you have a motion picture producer interested in bringing it to the silver screen. You’re ready to sell. Ready to see your name on the back of a director’s chair. Ready to chow down on craft service while Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams […]
Making a Living as a Life Story Writer
/ 2019-01-25A business card left at a coffee shop that garners a $50,000+ writing gig. Same card, different coffee shop, that results in a feature story in a local publication. No, it’s not the card that’s magic, but the profession it advertises: life story writer. Those were only two of the many strokes of good luck […]
Make Time to Be Solitary
/ 2019-01-11Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone. ~ Paul Tillich Books take many hours to write, which gives the public the impression that writers are lonely, solitary creatures. The average person cannot stand being alone. However, it’s next to impossible to be alone anymore. I’m not talking […]
Cashing in on Local Copywriting Gigs
/ 2018-12-29When I began freelancing over a decade ago, I greatly enjoyed the challenge of pitching and achieving payment for writing magazine articles. But since the assignments weren’t easy to come by and patience is not one of my top virtues, I decided I’d rather target copywriting opportunities in my own backyard. My first step was […]
Ghostwriting: A Lesser Known Career Path that Pays Big
/ 2018-12-22Graduating with an engineering degree, I had no clue I would end up being a freelance writer. I chose to be one, as it best suited my life during the recession period back in 2009. Like many other writers who get stuck with low paying content mills like Elance (now Upwork), I started my career […]
Five Tips to Promote Yourself as a Newbie Freelance Writer
/ 2018-12-22It can get hard to get off the ground while starting your freelance writing business. This is especially true if you have quit your day job and you’re yet to get your first assignment. The pressure can be extremely agonizing. All you need to do is leave your worries aside and get down to business. […]
House-Sitting Puts Ink in the Travel Writer’s Pen
/ 2018-11-30Staying for extended stretches in exotic and culturally rich places for free? Then being paid for pieces you’ve written about your stay? Sounds unreal, but the reality is anything but: over the past several years I’ve spent one- to two-month periods in Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, the Bahamas and St. Vincent and the Grenadines with my […]
Multiple Submissions of Freelance Material
/ 2018-11-30A reader asked me to address this topic. She had an article to query to publications and didn’t want to wait for one answer at a time. Could she pitch to several markets at once, she asked. The answer isn’t a simple Yes or No. It’s actually Yes AND No. And I have my own […]