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Writing Etc. – May 15, 2006

ISSN: 1545-5580

Tips, Techniques, and Resources to Transform You From An Average Freelancer to A Highly Paid Professional.

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Notes from Minnesota

On Dogs and Queries by Beth Ann Erickson

Paying Markets

You Speak Out: Q&A

~~~~~Highly Recommended~~~~~~~~~~

While many freelance writers struggle to earn a decent wage, Bob Bly has proven again and again, year after year, that it’s not only possible to earn far more, it’s possible to transform words into a $100,000 per year freelancing business.

And he shares all his secrets within these pages. Secrets like:

• The hidden market most freelancers overlook that can boost your income to unbelievable levels
• The “quiet” magazine market that’s easy to break into and often pays very well
• How to ask for (and get) the fees you deserve
• How to use Bob’s “positioning” techniques to set you apart from your competition
• How to write a “bullet proof” book proposal
• 22 rules for successful self promotion
• Insider secrets to effectively use the Internet to reach your income goals
• How to do more... in less time 

Bly goes on to list resources... books, websites, organizations and magazines... that are designed to help you succeed as a freelance writer.

Bob Bly’s Guide to Freelance Writing Success is an indispensable resource for the serious freelancer. Bly’s track record is impeccable. And now he’s spilling his secrets.

Buy your copy today: http://filbertpublishing.com/bob.htm

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Greetings from Minnesota!

I’m heading to Seattle at the end of this week.

Jeepers, what a year. First LA. Then San Fran. Now Seattle.

It’s amazing what happens when you hook up with an awesome mentor.

Yeah. I know. Travel’s expensive.

But I’ve discovered that to allow learning opportunities to slip through my fingers is FAR more expensive in the long run. Especially when every dollar I spend on learning how to market my writing crashes back at least thousand-fold.

So I’m off to learn some more. And if I’m not asked to keep what I learn confidential (I have a hunch it might be) I’ll pass on some of my newfound knowledge with you.

Lucy the Rat Terrier Wonder Dog and Rudie our Humane Society cutie are going to hang out with my dear 17 year old for an entire week.

Should be interesting…

To your success,

Beth

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~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feature Article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Dogs and Queries

By Beth Ann Erickson

I’m in love.

Totally smitten. Head over heels.

Guess I’m an odd duck. Come Mother’s day, I don’t ask for flowers. No candy either. Forget jewelry. Total waste of resources if you ask me.

Ah, but if you want the path to my heart… buy me a book.

And this is precisely what my dear husband did yesterday. Guess after twenty-some years, the guy knows me pretty well.

But, thanks to my DH, I now have a crush: Cesar Millan a.k.a the “Dog Whisperer.” He’s the guy I’m head over heels over today. J

Once his newest book, “Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems,” landed in my lap yesterday, I’ve been devouring it faster than Lucy the Rat Terrier Wonder Dog chows through her bones.

Utterly fascinating.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Lucy the Rat Terrier Wonder Dog is one of my joys. But on occasion, she can act a bit neurotic. Just a tiny bit, though.

However, once I began to notice Lucy passing on some of her more… hmmmm… “questionable” behaviors onto little Rudie, our Humane Society cutie, well I thought it was time to take action and nip some of this lip-curling, throat rumbling, erect-hair, crabby-dog behavior in the bud.

All without violence of any kind.

Tall order, eh? Well, Millan delivers.

And believe me, what I discovered in that little New York Times best seller will forever change how I write, and will probably transform how you approach your next writing assignment as well.

Here’s the drill:

Millan speaks extensively about becoming the “alpha male” in the pack.

Just a warning, I know. I’m probably about to butcher his theory, but here I go.

Dogs live in packs. Packs are deeply organized units with one leader and a hierarchy of followers.

In other words, you’re either a leader or a follower.

The leader of the pack achieves this honor by using what Millan calls a “truly universal, interspecies language called ‘energy.’”

I’d heard that dogs communicate nonverbally. And as owners of two dogs, both my dear husband and I have tried to use our bodies to communicate with these two crazy pups.

Actually, the process looks quite amusing, my dear husband strutting like a rooster, arms on hips, trying menace Lucy the Rat Terrier Wonder Dog into dropping the bone she’d just stolen from Cutie Rudie.

Didn’t work either unless your aim is to make your family (including the dog) collapse in gales of laughter.

But still we searched for a way to get these dogs to behave without resorting to violence.

(If you’ll remember, about a year ago, we dropped out of dog training/agility classes after the leader hung Lucy by the neck and repeatedly pummeled her little body into the “tunnel.” We vehemently opposed that behavior and swore we’d never use violent methods to get these pups to do what we wanted. You can read all about it in the archives.)

And although the “girls” are generally well-behaved, I knew we needed a way to stop Lucy’s bad habits from rubbing off on Rudie.

And according to Millan, what we lacked in our current training methods was the energy I just mentioned.

And here’s the exact spot where you come in.

Every query you write, every article you pen, every book you publish contains energy.

Don’t believe me?

I browse through hundreds of queries each week and I can attest that every one contains an energy.

Desperation. Frustration. Playful. Angry. Confident. Hopeful.

This energy goes far beyond nonverbal communication. It’s lays beyond word choice.

It’s… well… energy.

It’s the secret ingredient international stars possess that draws fans towards them.

It’s the “je ne sais quoi” that draws you to one person, and causes you to ignore another.

It’s not something you can muster… you just have to claim it as your own and totally believe you are what you set out to be. It’s not something you do, it’s something you already possess.

In Millan’s world, you ARE the alpha male if totally commit to that role in your mind. You are your dog’s calm, assertive leader… and the dog instinctually allows you to lead. It’s as simple as that.

As a writer, you’re probably already far more curious, talented, and tenacious than the average bear. Why not embrace that reality, drop all the other junk, and allow your career to take flight.

This comes from believing, truly knowing with all your soul, that you’re an intuitive writer who will write like their hair’s on fire to do the best job possible.

Once you truly believe this (because it’s true, after all), you’ll never write the same way again. Your queries will be so filled with positive energy, that even Cesar Millan will be proud.

Does this theory work?

Well, after nearly a week of not only wishing I were the alpha male of this little pack, but truly believing it, both pups are far calmer. In fact, twice today I reached down and slid the bone from Lucy’s little mouth… all without so much as a lip curl.

I like this new world we’re creating.

Yeah, we still have some work to do. All is not perfect yet, but I haven’t been alpha very long.

But most importantly, now I have a road map to the alpha male title. And I think I’ll use a very similar map in my writing career. Should be interesting.

Curious? You can read all about Millan here. Fascinating stuff.

~~~

Beth Ann Erickson is the “Queen Bee” of Filbert Publishing. She’s also the author of soon-defunct Jumpstart Your Writing Career (http://filbertpublishing.com/jumpstart.htm) and the upcoming 101 No Cost and Low Cost Techniques To Promote Your Writing Biz. Keep your eye out for it in 2006. She’s also a busy copywriter, speaker, and publisher of Writing Etc., the free e-mag for writers. 

P.S. You can use this article free of charge on your own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include the entire byline. Enjoy!

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Paying Markets – check ‘em out!

Government Executive

http://www.govexec.com/fyi/guidelines.htm

Canadian Biker

http://canadianbiker.com/contactinfo.html

Airline Pilot

http://www.alpa.org/alpa/DesktopModules/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=432

Flight Journal

http://www.flightjournal.com/fj/magazine/cguidelines.asp

Kitplanes

http://www.kitplanes.com/contact/writersguidelines.html

Plane and Pilot

http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/content/submsn.html

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You Speak Out: Q&A

Hope you enjoyed our Q&A session last week! Keep an eye out for next week’s Q&A!

In the mean time, got questions? Send ‘em here:  http://www.filbertpublishing.com/tinc?key=TTjJjZfx&formname=question

We answer each and every freelance question in the order they come in. You get your answer in an upcoming issue of Writing Etc.

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E-Mag And Web Site Owners! Did you know that Filbert Publishing has an entire cache of articles you can use FREE. Just click the “Freebie” link to your left.

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