Alert readers might have noticed I’ve made some changes around here. I added a testimonials page (Thanks Bob, Kent, Tom, Devan and other Bob!). I cleaned up my portfolio (Thanks Kelly and Josh!). I have more changes planned for the next few weeks.

This is all in response to a class I took on making a perfect freelance writer’s page. This was through Freelance Writer’s Den. Look to the right for a link to the group. It’s a for-pay site with open membership only for the next week or so…and totally worth the $25 a month. Seriously. Go sign up. If you missed the deadline, you can still buy their books and ebooks.

On the subject of writer websites, here are a few belonging to colleagues and people I admire. Check them out. Compare them to your own. I’d love some comments about what you liked and disliked.

• April Moore, a Colorado-based freelancer who recently got her first book deal.
• Sarah Newton, freelance editor and writer with a beautifully simple site.
• Carl Pruit, a fellow travel writer based in Portland.
• Ian Scofield, our writing prompt guy.
• Lawrence Block, one of my favorite authors. “Uncle Larry.”
• Carol Tice, who ran the workshop that started this mess.
• Business Book Ghostwriters, home of my mentor Jack Rochester.
• Christopher Moore, another author who has definitely arrived. No relation to April.

Some of these are hand-made by part-timers. Others are the kind of professional design you see when a writer can afford to hire the best. Check them out. What can we learn?

One last note: as I revamp my blog according to Carol’s and others’ suggestions, I’ll be writing it all down. Look for my ebook: Extreme Home Page Makeover.

Thanks for listening.

Here’s the thing about print magazines: they’re sicker and weaker than they’ve ever been. Magazines with long histories of success close every month. Others rely on their online content for much of their profits, or have moved entirely to a web format.

But.

Magazines being weaker than ever is like saying an NBA center is shorter than ever. Even the receding magazine market is rich with opportunities to earn a living wage as a freelance writer. According to Wooden Horse Publishing, a resource database for freelancers, more than 400 active publications pay writers .$50 to $2.00 per word for articles in the 800 to 3000 word range.

That’s $400 to $6,000 for a single article. Not bad for a few days’ work.

Trade and special interest magazines are two of the best markets to start out with. They care more about your experience in the subject than extensive writing credentials, and they often get missed by the more active freelancers. Look into the industry and hobby magazines for your interests and send a pitch.

A final note

Getting in the door with a handful of magazines can make your life as a freelancer much easier. Take for example my experience with one magazine I write for regularly

First Article

• Step 1: Write query email
• Step 2: Wait two months, receive request for manuscript
• Step 3: Write manuscript
• Step 4: Wait three months, receive acceptance notice
• Step 5: Wait 22 months, see article in print

Second Article

• Step 1: Write query email
• Step 2: Wait 2 days, receive request
• Step 3: Write manuscript
• Step 4: Wait 1 day, receive acceptance notice
• Step 5: Wait 2 months, see article in print

Third Article

• Step 1: Email editor “Hey, how about this idea?”
• Step 2: Wait an hour for response “I liiike it.”
• Step 3: Write manuscript, get contract on same day

It’s good to write for multiple markets, but a relationship with an editor streamlines the process considerably.

Thanks for listening.

Short, simple and sweet from Ian today…

Spend sometime free writing, experimenting with a character doing something foolish. Something that he/she regrets and/or is mad at themselves for doing.

We will go again with the time limit style and say 7 minutes to work on it.

A great opportunity to practice writing the bad guy, or adding meat to a storyline through the main character’s own mistakes.

Thanks, Ian

It’s amazing what people can use to build an empire. Take for example Mignon Fogarty, a/k/a “Grammar Girl.”

Getting her start as a science writer, Grammar Girl started blogging about grammar to help her scientifically trained (read: not linguistically trained) colleagues write better.

Today she has a top-rated podcast, popular blog, network of other podcasts, highly followed twitter feed, solid Facebook presence and a series of books available at most major book stores.

Grammar Girl is my hero, and not just because of her grammar geekery mojo. She’s also a great example of how a writer can use multiple platforms to create real success. Follow any of the links below to Grammar Girl’s various products. Look at the scope and extent to really understand how she’s crushing it in her own little corner of the writing world:

• http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
• http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-write-a-blog-comment.aspx
• https://twitter.com/#!/GrammarGirl
• https://www.facebook.com/GrammarGirl
• http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/
• http://behindthegrammar.com/ (appears to have podfaded)
• http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AMignon+Fogarty&keywords=Mignon+Fogarty&ie=UTF8&qid=1329503218&sr=8-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B001JS0XMW

Enjoy. Get inspired. As always, thanks for listening.

We’ll be writing a short piece again this week. This time though your piece needs to include the phrase “What would you do?” somewhere in it. No, it does not matter where in the piece it goes. The beginning, the middle, the end, they are all fair game.

As opposed to word count we are going to try something different this week, spend at least 7 minutes working on it. Good luck and keep writing!

Find out more about Ian at his website: http://www.iandscofield.com/