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As 2015 comes to a close, ASJA would like to wish its members, partners and other industry professionals a safe and happy holiday season. As we reflect on the past year for the industry, we would like to provide the readers of The ASJA Weekly Update a look at the most accessed articles from the year. Our regular publication will resume Friday, Jan. 8.
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Wendy Helfenbaum, ASJA
From April 17: It's the bane of every freelance writer's existence: tracking down the correct section editor/marketing manager/hiring person, figuring out the ever-changing email format, and then having your LOIs and pitches go to That Big Black Hole. You know the one – that elusive place where your finely crafted query lingers, likely never to be read or replied to.
And for those of us who have been trying to branch out into other writing opportunities – custom content, brand storytelling, content marketing, corporate work – this process can be even more daunting. That's because many of the folks who hire writers to do this kind of work fly way under the radar. Often, they do not even appear on their company's website. They're like ghosts, and it can be very challenging to find them.
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From Sept. 11: Hiring a custom content writer can feel a bit like hiring a gunslinger in the old west. You'll have a lot of potential applicants. Some will have lots of experience, and lots will have a little. But the business is so new, that there are no real standards. Very few people are likely to have done exactly what you want. And if you're not careful the process can misfire. This guide will help you sort the sharp shooters from the wannabes.
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Gwen Moran, ASJA
From May 15: Traffic-based compensation models — called pay-per-click by some — can be a double-edged sword. In some cases, such as at Inc.com, where they removed their $10,000-per-month pay cap because some writers were exceeding it, this type of pay model can be highly lucrative. In other cases, it can leave writers vastly undercompensated.
I moderated a panel on this subject at ASJA's 2015 "Connect for Success" conference in New York City. Panelists Laura Lorber, executive editor at Inc.com; Allison Mezzafonte, general manager, Home, at About.com; and Laura Shin, prolific freelance writer, all shared tips for success in traffic-based compensation.
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Catherine Dold, ASJA
From April 24: Many years ago here in Boulder, a local writer was working on a book about an infamous crime. It was his first book, and he'd quit his newspaper job to take on the project. He was collaborating with a well-known crime writer. It was his big break.
Only it wasn't. When the book came out, the local writer's name was nowhere to be found. It wasn't on the cover next to the "big" writer. It wasn't below it in smaller letters. It wasn't anywhere on the cover. It was buried in the acknowledgments, with a line that said, in essence, "Thanks for the research help."
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Scott Sowers, ASJA
From Feb. 13: I know what you're thinking. If this is another new skill I have to learn – please shoot me now. Before you click off, listen to the pitch. Writers are now expected to be marketers, promoters, social media experts and occasionally – video producers. Enrolling in film school may be cost prohibitive and not a practical use of your time.
Maybe you’ve thought about producing your own book trailer, recording interviews for a biographical ghost writing project or turning a non-fiction piece into a film. If you want to learn some of the basics, I'm hosting a hands-on session dedicated to Video for Writers at this year's ASJA Conference and here's a sneak peak at what we'll be covering.
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Randy Stapilus, ASJA
From Oct. 30: Self-publishing, especially on the ebook front, seemed to go through a gold rush a few years ago when ebook readers came out and a bunch of new and little-known writers sold tens of thousands of copies of their books.
If the rush has settled a bit, that doesn't mean good times are gone. Self-publishing has eased into a more stable environment, less exciting in some ways but closer to the sensibilities of professional writers. Self-published books are gaining in cachet, and becoming a useful piece of any writer's work efforts, often alongside working with traditional publishers. In recent years I've been producing books both ways, traditionally through a large publisher and through publishing books (written by myself and others) in my own company.
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Tam Harbert, ASJA
From Sept. 18: It's hard to be optimistic about the state of journalism today. Newspapers and magazines are bleeding red ink; some are closing their doors altogether. Employment in the news business plummeted from 55,000 in 2006 to 36,700 in 2013. Reporters have even been replaced by computer algorithms that can string together data to assemble sports, finance and other formulaic news stories.
But Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum, thinks freelance journalists have a bright future. Policinski, who is also head of the Institute's First Amendment Center, was keynote speaker at "A Capital Event," ASJA's first regional conference to be held in Washington, D.C.
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Helga Schier, ASJA
From Jan. 30: Clichés weren't always clichés.
Once they were creative images or poignant observations that became clichés over time, precisely because they worked so well and were used so often. Everyone knows what you mean when you say, "it fits like a glove." In a conversation, the very fact that everyone knows what you mean makes your point. But clich's are predictable, and writing should never be predictable.
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Randy Dotinga, ASJA
From June 26: As a guy who's 5 foot 19 inches — I'll let you do the math — doorways are not my friend. Neither are chandeliers, ceiling fans and low-flying planes. But at least with doorways, I know what to do when one comes along: Duck. It's automatic, a subconscious protective mechanism that's prevented countless concussions.
But sometimes putting ourselves on autopilot is absolutely the wrong choice, like when we get a new contract and reach for a pen without even skimming the fine print.
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Joan Price, ASJA
From Nov. 6: How can busy writers find time for exercise with workdays filled with deadlines, pitches, and editors asking for one more rewrite? If you think you don't have time to exercise, you don't have time not to! You'll work more productively, decrease emotional stress and muscle tension, and have more energy all day if you take minutes of exercise many times during your day.
Notice that I say minutes of exercise — not hours, not even half-hours. The health benefits of exercise kick in when you accumulate 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day, even in little bursts of a few minutes at a time, gathered over the course of the day. Research shows that exercise in a number of short sessions enhances health, keeps the heart and lungs strong, helps with weight loss, and decreases the risk of premature death and a multitude of lifestyle diseases.
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