Writers on the Rise

By Cindy Hudson

In her 11 years as a freelance writer, Jenna Glatzer has achieved the kind of success that most writers dream of. In addition to the seventeen books and hundreds of magazine articles she’s authored, Glatzer has also ghost written books, as well as penned greeting cards and slogans for bumper stickers and magnets. She founded and is former editor-in-chief of Absolute Write a popular, free online magazine for writers. Glatzer has written three books for writers: Outwitting Writer’s Block and Other Problems of the Pen (The Lyons Press, 2003), Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer (Nomad Press, 2004), and The Street-Smart Writer (Nomad Press, 2006).

Here Glatzer talks about some of the secrets of her success and shares ideas for writers of all types.

How did you get started freelance writing?

I became a freelance writer because I was agoraphobic, and I had to figure out something I could do from home. I was fresh out of college, so I decided to go with what I knew and I queried college-focused magazines, like College Bound and Link (which no longer publishes). For my first real credit I profiled some friends who had started up a web hosting company. From there I built up slowly and started writing for more and more magazines and websites.

How long was it before you made a living as a freelance writer?
For me it took two years but it varies a lot depending on how much work you put into it.

What’s a good way to get clips when you’re just starting out?
Getting those initial clips was more important than anything for me, and as long as it was a respectable publication I didn’t really care about the pay. You just never know where something is going to lead. I’d write this article for some low-paying magazine and some larger editor would find it and hire me to write something better down the line. I also recommend looking at local freebie magazines, like the ones you’ll find at delis and grocery stores. They are often looking for writers who can do local stories.

What other venues do you recommend?

I’ve written greeting cards and slogans for bumper stickers and magnets. And of course there are newspapers, websites, books and screenplays, and copywriting for businesses.

Is it easier to break into writing greeting cards and slogans?
It probably is easier, because there’s a lot of it and not a lot of people who know about those markets.

How do you find out about those markets?

I did a ton of research on my own. Some of the companies are listed in Writer’s Market every year. I wrote to every company I could find to ask if they use freelance material and I put together an ebook about it that has all the markets I could find. It’s a little bit out of date now, but it is available on absolutewrite.com. It’s called, Sell the Fun Stuff.

How important is it for writers to market themselves?

Very important, especially in the beginning. For the first couple of years I wrote more query letters than actual articles. I also wrote lots of articles for low-paying magazines. Once I broke into the national, grocery-store-type magazines, things began to snowball. Now editors come to me with assignments, so for the last six or seven years I’ve had to send out very few query letters. In the early years I also sent out general letters saying, “Hi, here’s who I am and I’m interested in assignments if you have anything available.” Sometimes I got calls years after I sent in samples and wound up with assignments.

Can you make much money selling reprints of articles?

Definitely. There’s one article that was rejected by Family Circle, which is where I wanted to place it. So I decided to try some of the local parenting magazines. Then I realized I didn’t have to stick to my own local parenting magazine, so I queried parenting magazines in other states. I wound up reselling it 18 times to different parenting magazines all across the country, making more in the end than I would have if I had just sold it to Family Circle in the first place. There’s also a market for re-slants. If you think about different angles for the same topic that you’ve already learned about, you can re-slant the article and you’re not starting from ground zero each time. You can use the same interviews and the same research you started with.

Tell me about your books for writers.

When I started absolutewrite.com in 1999, I would hear from writers all the time wanting to know how I became a freelance writer. To give them a step-by-step on what made me successful I had to write a book. Maybe the most important book I’ve ever written is The Street Smart Writer. I got scammed a couple of times at the beginning of my writing career by literary agents who weren’t real literary agents. They took my money and didn’t do anything with my work and didn’t have the ability to sell it. So I wrote this book because I don’t want to see other writers taken like that. It’s now free online at wowio.com. Search for it, and you can read it for free.

···································································
Cindy Hudson writes for national trade magazines, regional magazines, online publications and daily newspapers. Her website and its companion blog, publishes reading lists, book reviews, author interviews and other book club resources. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Portland, Oregon, where she writes weekly for The Oregonian. Visit her online at www.cindyhudson.com.
···································································

By Wendy Burt Thomas

Q: Queries seem to be hit or miss. What’s the best way to keep a steady income as a writer?

A: There’s a difference between gigs and clients. By my definition, gigs are one-time assignments –such as an article that you write for a magazine. Although you can certainly get repeat assignments from editors, they can still be sporadic, and therefore you can’t always count on that income. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t continue sending queries. You should. But consider any assignments you land as supplemental income.

Build your security by obtaining clients. These are people for whom you do regular work–weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annually. Here are a few examples from my own clients:

• Weekly: I do 10 hours of PR a week for a national company. I write and send press releases and articles and do one-on-one media consulting with the franchisees.
• Monthly: I write a regular column for a women’s business magazine.
• Quarterly: I write and edit articles and ad copy for two quarterly magazines.
• Annually: I write and edit articles three to four months out of the year for a national magazine that comes out once a year.

I still send occasional queries and write greeting cards, but I don’t count on that income to pay my bills.

···································································

Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer, editor, copywriter and PR consultant. Her more than 1,000 published articles, essays and stories have appeared in such varied publications as Family Circle, American Fitness, ePregnancy, NYTimes.com, MSNBC.com, Woman’s World and Home Cooking. Wendy’s columns - on business, marketing, parenting, writing and healthy living – have appeared in countless newspapers and magazines. Wendy’s first two books for McGraw-Hill include Oh, Solo Mia! The Hip Chick’s Guide to Fun for One and Work It, Girl! 101 Tips for the Hip Working Chick. Her third book, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Queries; Landing articles, agents and book deals comes out December 2008. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband Aaron, toddler Gracie, baby Ben and two black labs.

···································································

Are you lighting some fireworks under your writing career? For me, summer has always been a good time to create excitement about my work. And this summer is no exception. Read on for lots of news.

Check out “Dear Christina” my first podcast
The first one might be a little bumpy but they will definitely get better. One thing is certain, I will not run out of my former student’s success stories any time soon. They just keep rolling in! So I thought, why not feature them in a series of short podcasts? And now I am. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

July 20th: Deadline for Applications for the Fall Writer Mama Scholarship
The next available Writer Mama Scholarship is coming up for the August 20th Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff Class. Applications will only be accepted from Saturday, July 12th - Sunday, July 20th. One full scholarship will be granted with a value of $199.00. The scholarship application will be posted on Friday, July 11th in the Writer Mama Riffs Blog. Please feel free to post the badge in your blog or e-zine with a link to the Writer Mama blog so others can take advantage of this opportunity. (If you are planning on signing up for an August class, I wouldn’t dally. They are filling up!)

September 1 - 30: The Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway
This giveaway was a huge success last year. You don’t have to be a mama, just a writer. This year we’ll have more books to give away and more thought-provoking career questions for you to answer to qualify to win. Participants last year commented on how much they learned both from answering the questions as well as from each other. Don’t miss it! Please share the WM Back to School Giveaway badge with all your friends with a link to the Writer Mama blog!

September 22: Get Known Before the Book Deal Amazon spike on the first day of Fall
Order Get Known Before the Book Deal from Amazon on the Autumn Equinox and receive a great platform-development freebie! Details coming in the September issue. Please mark your calendar and tell all your friends. (More about why authors do stuff like this in September too, in case you are curious.)

October 22: Publication Date for Get Known Before the Book Deal
Lots of books talk about what to do once you become an author. No other books go into as much depth about how to position yourself to become an author before you have a book and even before you have a book deal! If you are local, I’ll be speaking at the Wilsonville Public Library on November 16th. I’ll also  be speaking about at the Willamette Writers Monthly Meeting in Portland on Tuesday, December 2nd. Final tour dates TBA in The Writer Mama blog.)

Purchase Writer Mama & Receive a Free List of Markets
But wait! Before we move on to my second book, Writer Mama is still selling strong. In fact, I  appreciate all the word-of mouth you  can put behind it, whether that means suggesting Writer Mama to your friends, your writing association, your writing conference bookseller or your local library. For the months of July and August only, there are two ways to get the list of free markets (because I know many of you own Writer Mama already): you can either purchase the book and e-mail me a copy of the receipt or you can  act on any of the word-of-mouth suggestions above. Let me know that you have helped spread the word and that you already own Writer Mama, and I’ll send you the list of markets. Send all request e-mails on this topic to writermama2@earthlink.net.

That’s enough about me. Shooting off some fireworks of her own lately, columnist Gigi Rosenberg is now writing for Parenting Magazine, among other national publicaitons. She has also been recently published in the Seal Press Anthology, The Maternal is Political, Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change, edited by Shari MacDonald Strong. Congratulations, Gigi! (You can order a copy of the book by clicking on it.)

Cindy Hudson will have some exciting news about her writing career in September. And don’t forget, former columnist Abigail Green, now a columnist over at The Writer Mama e-zine, has stepped up to teach Personal Essays That Get Published. Abby is a skillful and widely published essayist and I know that anyone who takes her class is going to be so glad they did. (More info below or stop by Abby’s blog Diary of a New Mom.)

There is a time to go into your cave and get your work done and then there is a time to crank up the excitement factor and reach out to others. Are you cranking up some excitement for your writing career? I sure hope so! If not, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of summer left.

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

P.S. You can always refer back to the Writers on the Rise blog, where these articles will be archived over the course of the upcoming month.
···································································

By C. Hope Clark
A busy writer who learns the ins and outs of the U.S. Postal Service can save hundreds of dollars in the course of a year. While it seems that  post office employees ask way more questions than necessary when you wait in line, in actuality, they may not ask all the questions needed to obtain the best rate for your mailings. Here are some tips for how to make the most of your USPS experience–and your budget.

First, request Media Mail (a lower rate for a slower delivery) if your package contains magazines, books, manuscripts, sound recordings, recorded videotapes, printed music, or recorded computer-readable media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail cannot contain advertising except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum weight is 70 lbs, and the delivery time is usually ten days.

For magazines, newsletters and newspapers mailed at least four times a year, you have another lower cost called the Periodicals Rate. You need to apply to the Post Office to receive this rate.

Bound Printed Rate is another reduced expense rate for advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material securely bound and not in a loose-leaf binder. It cannot contain personal correspondence or stationery.

Parcel Post is the standard way to send a package. It’s a higher rate usually than Media Mail, but these days the determinants for postage are based not only on weight but also on the shape and size of the package. The same weight in two different boxes can vary in cost. If you don’t want to wait the ten days for Media Mail, consider this rate.

If you are mailing books, sometimes Priority Flat Rate is best. Using the Postal Service’s Flat Rate mailing supplies, you get the same rate no matter how full you pack the box or envelope or how much it weighs. They charge nothing for these boxes, and you can keep a supply on hand.

Finding all these names and rates confusing? Want to make sure that you get the best rate? Visit the user friendly Postal Service website.

And while you’re shopping and educating yourself about postal options, don’t forget UPS, Federal Express and others. They offer competitive rates in many cases. (Note, however, they do not offer a reduced Media Rate.)

···································································
C. Hope Clark is founder and editor of FundsforWriters.com, annually recognized by Writer’s Digest in its poll of 101 Best Web Sites for Writers. She delivers four newsletters each week to thousands with her specialty being grants and income opportunities for writers of all sizes. She’s published over 200 articles on paper and online. Those reluctant to promote their writing cherish her trade paperback The Shy Writer: An Introvert’s Guide to Writing Success. Find more hope for your writing career at www.fundsforwriters.com & www.theshywriter.com.

···································································

Interview by Lori Russell

After writing and publishing a book, an author’s attention turns to promotion. One key to creating a successful author event is matching a particular book to the right community, says Deborah Schneider, public programming coordinator for the King County Library System in Washington State. With 43 libraries and a circulation of over 19 million items per year, King County is the second busiest library system in the country. It hosts about 100 events annually for local and touring authors. Here, Schneider explains how authors can benefit by including library events in their list of promotional activities and shares her tips for creating a memorable program.

How is a reading at a library or other venue similar to or different from reading and signing books in a bookstore?

There is actually very little difference in my opinion. We work with booksellers and have an author’s book for sale at all of our events. Part of the attraction to an author program is the opportunity to have a book inscribed to you. We have great meeting rooms and can provide audio-visual equipment, such as LCD projectors for presentations.

What is the most engaging author performance you have seen and why?

Charlie Williams, aka The Noiseguy, had a book release party for his children’s book, Flush: An Ode to Toilets in one of our meeting rooms a few years ago. He and his wife decorated the room with toilet plungers, toilet paper, and even toilets with plants. They had refreshments, including a punch “bowl” ice sculpture that was a toilet. He performed two shows, and we had over 100 people. A television reporter for a local show came. They even TP’d a librarian! It was all hilarious fun. He was interviewed on the radio and that segment from Evening Magazine has been shown at least three times. It was great publicity for the book.

What are the most effective promotional strategies for inviting people to an author event?

While having a big name author with lots of holds on their books is a sure-fire way to have a successful event, not every author is on The New York Times best seller list. It takes more energy to promote an unknown author. One of the mistakes authors make is to look around a room and only count “noses” to measure the success of the event. Even the big name authors who travel the country know it’s about the publicity, not the number of books sold. Book tours are created to generate “buzz” - publicity and talk about the book and author.

There are several factors that can benefit an author in creating a successful event. Put the event on your website. Have a great publicity packet with good photos, a JPEG image of your book cover and basic publicity materials like the blurb. You can’t rely upon your publisher to do this. They can give you the cover art, and you need to make it available for promoting your program.

What should authors keep in mind if they want to engage their audience at an event?

Start by not calling it a “reading.” Most people get an image of an author standing and reading to an audience for an hour. How exciting does that sound? Instead you need to find a topic you’d like to talk about (that relates to your book), and create a program around it. If your novel is set in a specific time, you can use that as a topic of interest and draw readers because they love those kinds of books. If you take the time to develop a program, you have more to offer. You can read from your book, but find a way to set the scene and leave the audience craving more from you.

How can authors find out about events at libraries in their region and whom should they contact if they want to participate?

Libraries love having author events, but the publishers don’t often consider sending an author to a library when they are on tour. Many don’t understand that books can be sold at the event, and quite honestly, they don’t know how many millions of dollars libraries spend purchasing books every year. You can easily discover what kinds of author events your local library is offering by visiting its website. You will find our author events listed on the front page at www.kcls.org. A great resource for those who want to plan successful author events is The Author Event Primer: How to Plan, Execute and Enjoy Author Events by Chapple Langemack.

Deborah Schneider can be contacted at dschneid (at) kcls (dot) org

···································································

Lori Russell is an award-winning writer who has had the pleasure to work with several great editors in her 17 years as a freelancer. She is a contributing editor to Columbia Gorge Magazine and has been a regular contributor to Ruralite for more than a decade. Her articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the country and her short fiction and poetry has been published in several journals and anthologies. Lori recently completed her first novel, Light on Windy River.

···································································

By Wendy Burt

Q: As a full-time freelancer, what essentials do I need to make a living?

Freelance writing has the lowest overhead of any business I know. And with the wonders of technology, it’s even cheaper than when I started 15 years ago. I very rarely spend money on postage, envelopes or paper and even my incoming faxes go right to my email. (I pay $12.95/month for unlimited faxes through eFax.com. I’m saving trees, I can store them on my computer, and there’s no loud fax to wake up my two little kids.)

Obviously, a good computer is your biggest investment. I have two Macs - a desktop and a laptop. They read PC and Mac files and include a new drag-and-drop program that lets users with no experience create websites for themselves.

I highly recommend that you create a website describing your experience and expertise. You can send a link to your site when you apply for gigs (rather than or in addition to sending a whole resume) and you can even post samples of your work, your photo, and links to your articles on the Web.

I also recommend a 3-in-1: printer, copier, fax (for sending). Nowadays, you can get one for less than $100 and it’ll save you trips to Kinko’s.

Spend the money on a comfy chair, as you’ll be sitting in it for many hours a day (and night). Ditto with a good wrist pad.

And finally, I highly recommend investing in high-speed Internet access. You can talk on the phone while you check email or download files, and big files download in seconds rather than minutes.

···································································
Wendy Burt is a successful full-time freelance writer and editor who has more than doubled her income since leaving her job as a newspaper editor just four years ago. With two women’s humor books for McGraw-Hill and more than 1,000 published pieces, Wendy’s work has appeared in such varied publications as Family Circle, The Writer, MSNBC.com, NewYorkTimes.com, Home Cooking Magazine and American Fitness. Wendy teaches “Breaking Into Freelance Writing” and still finds ample time to spend with her beautiful children, Gracie and Ben. Visit www.BurtCreations.com to see books by Wendy and her award-winning dad.
···································································

It’s June. Hooray! We’ve almost reached the half-way point of the year.

This month is the perfect time to assess how you are progressing on your annual goals, rechart your course to achieve those ever-elusive goals and celebrate what you have already accomplished.

As for me, let’s just say it’s been an extremely busy year so far. I’ve been pouring heart and guts into my second book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (October 2008 Writer’s Digest Books).

Writing is hard work, for me, but publicizing and promoting my books feels more expansive and gives me a chance to share the value I’ve worked so hard to create with others. So I know what I’m going to be doing this summer. An online presence revamp, including a much overdue website makeover for writersontherise.com.

Sharing my hard work with others gives me a chance to celebrate. And when you share your work with others I hope you will celebrate too. What are we celebrating? Our hard work, our commitment to our topic, our service to our readers, and the synergy that occurs when the writing finally ends up in the reader’s hands (or on the reader’s screen, as the case may be).

Since I haven’t had a lot of time this year to sit around and pat myself on the back, I plan to set aside some time this month to do just that. It’s a job every writer really needs to do for herself. I can’t wait to re-connect with writer friends, to catch up on all that we are celebrating so far this year and to spend some quality down time with my family.

What are you celebrating? I hope it’s something satisfying.

One of our contributors is celebrating a major milestone. Columnist and editor, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is cheerfully expecting with her husband Andrew over in Shanghai, China. You can follow their adoption journey over at Kristin’s blog, Shanghai Adventures of a Trailing Spouse. Congratulations to the O’Keeffe family!

In further WOTR news, former columnist Abigail Green (who is now a columnist over at The Writer Mama e-zine has stepped up to teach Personal Essays That Get Published. Of course, we have many excellent essayists who write for WOTR. I asked Abby to teach this class because she had a real knack for helping students as a former TA for my Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff class. Abby is a skillful and widely published essayist and I know that anyone who takes her class is going to be so glad they did. (More info below or stop by Abby’s blog Diary of a New Mom.)

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz

Editor and Publisher

Writers on the Rise

P.S. If you have a special writer mama in your life, feel free to swing by my blog for some great gift ideas for moms who love to write. And I hope you’ll consider my first book, Writer Mama, too.

···································································

By Wendy Burt-Thomas

Q: How can I cram in a full day of work when I’ve got meetings, appointments, errands, etc?

The phrase, “The work expands to fill the time allotted” is particularly relevant when it comes to freelancing. If you don’t create ways to make the most of the time you DO have to write, an entire day can slip away because you’ve got a meeting, doctor’s appointment, dental check-up, etc. Here are a few ways I “trick” myself into doing in four to six hours what might take others eight to ten.

1. Keep your “to-do” list full. Every night I make a list of all the things I have to get done in the next five to seven days – even if I can’t finish them all the next day. If I only wrote down “write column,” for example, because I knew I had a doctor’s appointment at 1 p.m., it would take me all four hours in the morning to write the column. But because I’m looking at a list of say, 10 assignments, I might get three or four done in the morning instead.

2. Break projects into smaller tasks. Writing a 2,000-word article can look like a daunting task on your list, causing you to put it off until you feel like you can get a huge chunk of time to do it all at once. Instead, break it up into segments: write intro, make outline, call one interview, etc.

3. Keep a running list of “blind” tasks. These are things you do without looking, like while you drive. You can brainstorm greeting card ideas, come up with a title for your article or even practice SAYING different openings for your query to Men’s Health. (I do this last one a lot while I’m in the shower. I can’t sing but I can belt out a catchy opening paragraph!)

4. Do the high-concentration tasks while you’re alone and multi-task the rest. Check email while you’re on hold, return phone calls while you wait for the kids at school, write thank you notes in the dentist’s waiting room, etc. If you use your pure writing time for non-essentials, you’ll fritter it away and the day will escape you. Use your time wisely and you will get a full day’s work done in half a day.

···································································
Wendy Burt is a successful full-time freelance writer and editor who has more than doubled her income since leaving her job as a newspaper editor just four years ago. With two women’s humor books for McGraw-Hill and more than 1,000 published pieces, Wendy’s work has appeared in such varied publications as Family Circle, The Writer, MSNBC.com, NewYorkTimes.com, Home Cooking Magazine and American Fitness. Wendy teaches “Breaking Into Freelance Writing” and still finds ample time to spend with her beautiful children, Gracie and Ben. Visit www.BurtCreations.com to see books by Wendy and her award-winning dad.

May is the month to honor mothers. That means celebrating the mothers among us (that’s Wendy, Tiffani, Lori, Cindy, Gigi, Hope and me), the mothers-to-be (that’s Sage!), the dog moms (that’s Sue, Sage, Wendy and me — those are just the ones I know off the top of my head!) and the folks who have mothers (that’s all of us or we wouldn’t be here). And I have not even mentioned all of the moms who are yet to come, the former dog moms, and those who voluntarily mother others.

I would also like to give a shout-out to the single moms, the moms of children with special needs, the moms with special needs, and any moms who have been hit by hard times lately.

I’d like to give a wave to my mother–Hi Mom!–who was a big influence on me as a writer when I was growing up. She tooks us to the library, was always reading herself (and therefore set a great example), and she and my dad always made sure we had the very best educations hard-earned money could buy. My mom has a great vocabulary and surely helped me excel in language arts and later English classes. (I was one of the few kids in school who was crazy about the weekly Worldly Wise workbook.)

Did your mother influence you as a writer? If so, how?

Every day that I’m a mom, I appreciate all the little (and big) things my mother did for me. (Not to mention the things she didn‘t do for me and made me do for myself.)

Happy Mother’s Day diverse mamas everywhere!

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

P.S. If you have a special writer mama in your life, feel free to swing by my blog for some great gift ideas for moms who love to write. And I hope you’ll consider my first book, Writer Mama, too.

By C. Hope Clark

I didn’t realize the complexity of mail management until I became a writer. In stocking up the materials I need for my regular correspondence, my office has become a mini-office supply store. I recommend that you do the same by stocking up on these mailing basics:

· #10 envelopes — 4 1/8″ x 9 ½” business envelope for a tri-fold letter. These are absolutely necessary for the SASE required by agents, editors and publishers. Use self-adhesive envelopes (with peel-off tabs) if you can afford them. The folks on the other end will appreciate not having to lick the envelope. Make sure not to use these for submissions, even if only sending a query letter. Unfolding paper is one more obstacle between you and that editorial assistant reading tons of proposals

· 9″ x 12″ flat white envelopes — Use this envelope for your submissions, as it will hold your query and sample chapter or your magazine pitch neatly with no folds. The white has a cleaner, more professional appeal than yellow or manila-colored.

· 8.5″ x 11″ bubble envelopes — The perfect size for a trade paperback or a side-by-side stack of postcards about your book or business.

· Manuscript boxes, white 9″ x 12″ x 2 ½” — These will hold your manuscripts in neat order. Papyrus Place offers a sturdy box at a low price.

· Stationery — If you can afford it, and if you have committed to your writing business, splurge for stationery with a logo, address and url. A ream of paper and a box of 250 matching envelopes will last forever, and the professional image may get your foot in the door of a writing gig that can easily pay for the investment.

· Return labels — Unless you have a logo, go with plain black text on white, preferably Times New Roman or whatever font best matches your mailing label.

· Mailing labels — If your envelope won’t fit in your printer, use address-size labels for smaller envelopes and mailing-size labels for boxes and large envelopes. Learn how to prepare them centered and place them perfectly straight on the outside of the envelope. Use your best print quality. To mail The Shy Writer, I put a picture of the book to the left of the mailing address so the recipient can see what’s inside the envelope before she opens it. For more ideas, go to Avery.com , a well-known label manufacturer . Even the infamous Miss Snark, the blogging literary agent, has an Avery address label recommendation.

Neatness and a professional appearance send a significant message to the receiver.

Don’t cut corners after devoting hours, weeks and months on your masterpiece. Treat the mailing container as tenderly as you do the manuscript. Show the recipient that you are a class act with everything you do.

···································································
C. Hope Clark is founder and editor of FundsforWriters.com, annually recognized by Writer’s Digest in its poll of 101 Best Web Sites for Writers. She delivers four newsletters each week to thousands with her specialty being grants and income opportunities for writers of all sizes. She’s published over 200 articles on paper and online. Those reluctant to promote their writing cherish her trade paperback The Shy Writer: An Introvert’s Guide to Writing Success. Find more hope for your writing career at www.fundsforwriters.com & www.theshywriter.com.