Tag Archives: freelance

Networking Opportunities for Freelance Writers

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“It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

I started writing for a local regional parenting publication almost 12 years ago. Well over a hundred articles later, the editor let me know late summer that they are closing shop and reassessing if, when, and it what form, they may come back.

A newly acquired book editor seemed like the perfect fit in September. In October email reads “moving on to new position in a different company.”

Sent a query to a local newspaper. “Like the idea, unfortunately no budget for additional stories this month.”

One children’s writer forum I follow has a new thread about disappearing school visit opportunities.

Interesting times in the life of a freelance writer. Some may see this news and think it’s time to reassess the writing career. Others may look at it and say get busy finding new places and ways to sell your words. I’m of the latter school.

There is no doubt that the publishing world in a state of flux. Budgets (or lack thereof) are a direct reflection of the current economic recession. There is a definite shift in delivery from paper to computer screen. But the sky isn’t falling in, it’s just clouding over. When the clouds clear, it may look a little different, but it’ll still be there.

Now’s the time to network (see my post on social media for writers). Contact other writers who’ve mentioned  potential new markets and follow through on those leads. Join writing organizations and attend the conferences and other networking opportunities. I’ve got to admit, this is harder than it sounds if you’re somewhat quiet in crowds, but the pay-off is there.

Ready, Set, Net (work!)

Children’s writers – check out the Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrator’s (SCBWI) 12th Annual Winter Conference ,Jan 28 -30, 2011.

Travel writers – check out the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC).

Social Media for Writers

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There’s been a lively discussion going on in my non-fiction for kids group  on marketing and social media for writers. The debate rages about whether or not one should toot their own horn and how loud, how often, etc. It’s stirred up a lot of opinions about the value of time spent on Facebook and Twitter.

I’ve questioned it myself. 

Writers are wondering where the line is drawn between self-promotion and annoying people.

I’ve wondered the same. 

What I do know is that I have had amazingly good fortune just talking with people, getting to know them and letting them get to know me.

True Writer’s Tale Number One
I was on a press trip to Kentucky. The trip almost didn’t happen because I was recovering a recent cycling accident. I reached my destination and found out that one of the writers was delayed. As a result, we had an hour of down time in the airport. Another writer and I started chatting and before long we were swapping tales of adventures and mishaps. I didn’t have a chance to talk with this writer again for the rest of the trip, but less than a week later, I received an email. One of her fellow editors was looking for a bicycling feature and she recommended me, would I be interested? Are you serious? I’m a freelance writer! That chance meeting turned into four years of cycling features for this publication.

True Writer’s Tale Number Two
I met a fellow writer for coffee and brought along my two newly released kid’s books. I was feeling proud and wanted to share this success. Pat took her time looking at the books and then threw out the name of another publisher in Calgary that I should contact because my work would fit perfectly with their format. Turns out I’d already approached the publisher, but never heard back. As luck would have it, Pat knew the managing editor and had her email address. I sent out an introductory query the next day. I’m now working on my third book for this company (thanks Pat!).

My thoughts on Social Media
It doesn’t matter if you toot your horn softly or blow it loud. Just make sure people get a chance to know you. If they know you, they’ll care about what you have to say. Share your passion, not your product. Don’t fret about self-promotion, be yourself. Do it through Facebook, do it through Twitter, or do it in person. Open up and let the writing/reading world get to know you. It pays off!

“One way to get high blood pressure is to go mountain climbing over molehills.” – Earl Wilson, columnist (1907-1987)

Get Outdoors

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“Some people dream of worthy accomplishments,
while others  stay awake and do them.” – Unknown

I read a blog post the other day that made sense. In a nutshell the piece reviewed a NYTimes article suggesting that getting outdoors was good for the brain. Getting unplugged helps improve brainpower – I could’ve told you so. Of course, as you probably realise (just read through my posts) it doesn’t take much to convince me to go play.  Yes, the life of this freelance writer is pretty good – and I’m smarter for it!

Looking up to the col and Northover Ridge (Credit: Megan Kopp)

From the col looking down at Three Isle Lake (Credit: Brad Kopp)

High point on Kananaskis Country’s Northover Ridge (Credit: Brad Kopp)

Find Your Writing Business Style

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Paddling the Bow River (Credit:Brad Kopp)

Paddling the Bow River from Three Sisters Campground to Bow Valley Campground the other day, we were taking it easy.  Less than 1/2 hour floating down from our put-in point, we pulled up on a gravel bar and hauled out the cooler for a little picnic lunch.  The sun was hot, the chicken bagels cool and we were enjoying watching the warblers flit in and out of the coniferous trees on the opposite shore.

Out of nowhere, two racing boats powered upstream.  The tandem paddlers in one of the boats called out to switch sides every few seconds as they ploughed through the current.  We said hi, they said nothing, concentration written all over their faces.  The single paddler granted us a brief smile.  We wanted to tell them they were going the wrong way, but didn’t think humour was part of their makeup this morn.

I admired their skill at navigating rather tippy-looking racing boats upstream along this glacial waterway.  I appreciated the effort they were putting into the task at hand.  I envied their obvious physical fitness.  But even still, I wasn’t slightly tempted to give it a try.  I enjoy drifting downstream on a sunny summer’s day watching osprey hovering over shadowy movements beneath the water’s surface.  I like listening to kingfishers chatter their way along the riverbanks.

As I watched the racers turn around and head back downstream, paddles flashing, I recalled a recent post on a listserv for travel writers with a slightly heated discussion about writing goals versus actual business plans.  Personally I don’t have a business plan – but I have plenty of goals.  And I enjoy the leisurely route I’m taking to reach these goals.  Could I make be working harder and making more money? Absolutely.  Would I have as much fun?  Nope.  I think each writer needs to find what works for them, in their own situation.  Maybe you want to race, and maybe you just want to go with the flow and enjoy the journey.

What’s your writing business style?

“Once you make a decision,
the universe conspires to make it happen.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Real-Life Vampires and Scary Folktales

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They’re here!   My first two children’s books for Capstone Press arrived in a big white box this past week.  It felt like Christmas as I sliced through the tape on the lid, pulled aside the crumpled newsprint paper and smelled the ink of a newly pressed book.  The binding creaked as I opened “Scary Folktales.”

I itched to open “Real-Life Vampires.”

My neighbour’s little girl came over for a visit and I showed her the books.  She read the name beneath the titles and looked up at me.  “Does this mean you are a writer now?”

Four hundred articles in magazines, newspapers and online. Twelve years as a freelancer.  A room dedicated to computer, desk, writing supplies and reference books.

“Yes, sweetie, I’m a writer now.”

“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”
– Arthur Brisbane

Book Proposal

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“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”
– Booker T. Washington

I did it.

I sent away a book proposal a couple of days ago for “Wild Ice & Other Travel Adventures“.  And I got a very nice – and prompt – note from the publisher of Red Deer Press saying “… Wild Ice doesn’t fall within our current editorial focus” but “thanks for considering Red Deer.”  I was impressed.  This is a busy editor and he took the time to thank me for my query.

I re-visited my proposal, tweaked a few things and fired it off again.  Not expecting such a quick response this go ’round, but I’m buoyed by the prospect of editorial feedback.

This anthology is a collection of adventures garnered through years of travel – backpacking into Rainbow Bridge, last-minute travel to Hawaii with baby in arms and no set plans, encountering rattlesnakes in the Red Deer River,

Canoeing Alberta’s Red Deer River (Credit: Megan Kopp)

driving Grey Pass and discovering we’ve not one, not two, but three flat tires…

Having the adventures is easy, selling the work – not so much.  But like Booker T. says, if you don’t have to work for it, it’s not really worth much!

Have you ever sent off a non-fiction book proposal?  Was it accepted on the first go?  The second?  How many submissions did it take before it was accepted?  Let me know on the comments link below!

Wild Ice & Other Adventures

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Lake of the Hanging Glacier (Credit: Megan Kopp)

We hiked in B.C.’s Invermere Valley these past days off and re-visited Lake of the Hanging Glacier.  Our first trip to the area was an overnight backpack trip years ago with our five-year-old daughter.  Back then, it took us most of the day to wind our way through the forested trail alongside Hell Roaring Creek, up the switchbacks, across the avalanche slopes and out onto the subalpine meadow camping area. 

After setting up our tent, we strolled the 1/2 km or so up to the lakeshore.  The Commander and The Lieutenants stood guard at the end of the glacial blue lake.  Jumbo Glacier flowed over the mountaintops and down the valley, one finger reaching into the water.  My daughter was captivated by the icebergs bobbing in the lake. 

“Do you want to try a piece of ice?” my husband asked her.

“Yes!”

He found a longer stick in the avalanche debris littering the shoreline, waded out in the frigid water and started to pull a small berg closer to shore.  My girl was dancing beside me.

“Why are you so excited?” I asked.

“I’ve never had wild ice before!”

This adventure came back in a flash as we stood on the shore a few days ago, watching the icebergs bob and dance in the waves.  It put my mind to thinking about all of the mini-adventures and stories that have come out of our travels.  “Wild Ice and Other Adventures” – sounds like a book title.  And why not? 

“Write it down. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants;
cant’s into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into reality.”  – Unknown

Writing and Hiking: The Perfect Combo

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Hiking Utah (Credit: Ally Kopp)

In my last post, I started with a Thoreau quote about moving feet leading to flowing thoughts. Apparently Henry David and I aren’t the only ones who have made this connection.

Writers Who Hike

1. Kevin J. Anderson. This whole blog is cool, but his best post (as far as I’m concerned) is the one where he talks about dictating while hiking. Now I haven’t given this a whirl yet – mainly because I’m a bit of a clutz and I can see myself so busy with the tape recorder that I’d walk right into a tree – but I can see its potential.  I think I’ll give a go while resting on a mountain pass or seated streamside at camp.

2. 100 Hikes.com. This is the inspiration of hiker/writer Kolby Kirk and I love the post where he scans pages from his hiking journal to share.  What I wouldn’t give for 1/10th of his artistic talent.  But beyond sketches, the information he records is used to help him write blogposts down the line.  I do the same thing with my Nomad Adventure Journal for articles, blogposts, and just to keep a record of trails hiked.

3. Hiking Lady blog. Carol Roberts is a hit for me simply because I’m a woman who hikes and the information contained within in her posts matches my interests.  Her goal is to “make it easy and fun for women to embrace the outdoors!”  Gotta love that.

Do you have a blog about writing and hiking (or canoeing or climbing or mountain biking or trail running or…)?  Post your link in the comments section!

 “At some time in everyone`s life they will stumble across opportunity.
Sadly, most people will pick themselves up and walk away
as though nothing had ever happened. ”
– Winston Churchill

Waterton Lakes National Park Sparks Creativity

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Overlooking Carthew Lakes (Credit: Brad Kopp)

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”- Henry David Thoreau

Sitting on a knoll above Carthew Ridge, I wasn’t counting the footsteps it took to climb 650 m (2132 ft) from Cameron Lake.  I was soaking up the views; laughing at the antics of resident marmots; and juggling story ideas that were flooding my head.

Waterton Lakes National Park – tucked in Alberta’s southwest corner – is wildflowers, wildlife and wickedly good hiking during summer months.  Relatively small (0.07% of Alberta’s landbase), the park boasts 50% of the province’s plant species.  With an unusually cool and moist spring, the wildflowers are blooming a few weeks later than norm – a boon for us! A seasonal story on Waterton’s wonderful wildflowers wouldn’t be amiss.

Up on Carthew Mountain, my hubby paused in wonder as he investigated wolverine tracks left in a snowdrift.  What brought it up to this barren summit?  Where was it going?  Do wolverines appreciate the view as humans do?  Research into these cool creatures in Waterton Lakes would be a interesting tale to tell.

On the drive back down Akamina Parkway towards the townsite, we slowed to snap a quick picture of a cinnamon-coloured black bear and her three wee cubs as they grazed on dandelions in their own roadside restaurant.  Waterton is well-known for its grizzly population, but I wonder how many black bears are in the park?  Or how many deer? It seems like there are hundreds of these brazen creatures wandering Waterton’s streets with impunity.  Wildlife management in parks is always topical.  And surely there’s a story in the success of salamander migration tunnels leading to Linnet Lake?

And there’s the hiking.  Early July in almost in any other national park is prime season.  Trails are packed with adventurers throwing off the chains of work and school and setting off to explore the wilderness.  Now don’t get me wrong, Waterton is a popular destination, but the trails we visited were refreshingly uncrowded.  When I asked about the name for the whitish-coloured lily with three petals (the Mariposa), parks staff said I must have been on the Buffalo Paddock Trail because that’s where it was in bloom.  Made me think there could be a short article about walking for wildflowers, e.g. want to see avalanche lilies and bear grass, hike Carthew Summit trail.

Thoreau is so right – taking a break from the computer keyboard and stretching the legs is always productive.