Thank you to everyone who made the conference call! For those who missed it, or who’d like all the resources on one page, please check them out below.
The audio is available right here.
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If you live in the Twin Cities, you can still sign up for the workshop at the Loft! It takes place on the 18th from 9AM to 1PM at the Loft Literary Center, located at 1011 Washington Ave S. in Minneapolis. The cost is $62, or $55.80 if you’re a Loft member. There’s also a low-income price of $43.40. (The Loft defines low income as an individual earning less than $25,000 a year, or 2+ people with the annual income of $45,000 or less.) In addition, I’ve left some slots open for scholarship applicants. The class is listed under “Writing Realities” in the adult class section. You can also contact the loft by phone at (612) 379-8999, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Writing Queries and LOIs
- Post Round-up, Redux: Everything You Need to Know About Queries by Kelly James-Enger. Also, she has thirteen templates for different types of queries, bids and LOIs… and a lot of information about ghostwriting.
- Free Packet of 12 Successful Query Letters, as compiled by Linda Formichelli.
Recording Interviews
- I use an iPhone app called Recorder, through Retronyms. You can order an hour of recorded time for $1.99 or 8 hours for $12.99, in addition to the cost of the app, which is $.99.
- Transcription Services: I use CLK Transcription to transcribe interviews when possible.
- Freelance Success: The Ultimate Resource for Established, Professional Non-Fiction Writers (though anyone can join). FLX sends out weekly market leads, and has an active message board with tons of successful writers.
- National Writers Union advocates on behalf of freelance writers, provides grievance assistance, helps with contract advice, and is a good old-fashioned union, helping writers band together to assert their collective power.
- MediaBistro has a “How To Pitch” guide with information on some consumer magazines, available with an AvantGuild membership.
- Society for Professional Journalists is more geared for staff writers, but they do have a great code of ethics and a lot of free information on their website.
- American Society of Journalists and Authors is a pretty amazing organization, and although you do need to be an established writer with notable clips to get in, their website does provide free valuable resources for non-members.
- Upod is a free listserv on Yahoogroups for freelancers. It’s run by David Hochman and stands for “under promise, over deliver.” Join the fun at groups.yahoo.com/group/upod.
- Writer’s Market is a book listing magazines and trade journals, as well as how much they pay, what percentage of their content is written by freelancers, and other tips. You can also subscribe online, which is a good idea since the information is updated regularly.
- Custom Content Council is the site I mentioned which lists custom publications.
- Throw Like a Girl: Pitching The Hell Out of Your Stories is the audio link for the event I mentioned on the call. That link also has links to three articles about the event, in case audio’s not your thing.
- HARO (Help A Reporter Out) may leave you inundated with PR pitches, but can be a helpful resource. Seek or Shout is another option.
- WikiMedia Commons and morgueFile provide copyright-free images you can use in your blog posts and online articles. iStock Photo will sell them to you at a reasonable fee. Sites with a bit more money to burn can get a subscription to Getty Images.
- There are a million great classes online, as well as some great coaches who do one-on-one consulting. Some of my favorites: Diane Benson-Harrington (query writing), Linda Formichelli (great for beginners, also does coaching), Amy Paturel (essay writing), Dan Ferber (science writing), Steph Auteri (coaching), Jodi Helmer (coaching), Erik Sherman (business of writing), Monica Bhide (food writing), and Ann Trubek (pitching). Many don’t have classes scheduled, but you can get in touch with them to see when the next course will be. Also, Poynter Institute has some good free classes online, and some paid options as well (make sure they are directed towards the type of reporting you plan on doing, though.)
Your posts are so helpful!!! Just signed up for Monica Bhide’s course, which I only learned about through this post. Thanks for sharing your wisdom. 🙂
Oh, thanks! Glad it’s helpful.