May 17, 2012

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5 Unlikely Spots to Find Writing Markets

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Lots of freelancers have a copy of Writer’s Market on their bookshelves. Me? I chucked my copy the last time I moved. These days, any print directory of writing markets is out-of-date almost the minute it arrives in book stores. The markets that are still around probably get inundated with queries from wouldbe freelancers, and a lot of great markets are conspicuously missing. That’s why I prefer to do my own sleuthing. Once you start thinking about scouting for new markets, they’ll crop up almost everywhere you look! Here are some spots to check out.

1. The doctor’s office. All those cumulative hours you clock in a hospital waiting room or in the examining room could pay off if you keep your eyes open. You’ll probably find a stack of year old consumer magazines in the waiting room, but sometimes you can also discover a gem you’ve never heard of. It could be a random magazine left by another patient or it could be a custom magazine published by the hospital or a medical association. For instance, Vim and Vigor or Spirit of Women.

2. The airport. Inflight magazines are a great market for freelancers, and they often include general lifestyle and business articles in addition to articles on travel. But that’s not the only place you can find freelance opportunities at the airport. Poke your head into the newstand, particularly at an airport far from home, and you’ll often find unfamiliar titles that could be open to pitches. Also keep your eyes peeled for magazines left by other passengers in the waiting area or on the plane. And these days, airlines aren’t the only ones with specially branded publications. Amtrak also puts out a magazine called Arrive.

3. The TV. Turn that time you spend vegging out in front of the TV into research! Most of us have read TV Guide, but there are tons of other TV-related markets. For instance, AOL has an entire blog, TV Squad, devoted to discussing and dissecting TV shows. Many TV networks have companion websites or magazines that feature original articles. CBS’s Watch magazine and websites like HGTV.com or SoapNet.com are just a few examples.

4. The grocery store. Obviously, you could check out the magazine racks in the checkout line. But food writers shouldn’t forget that many stores put out custom magazines to promote their products or provide customers with easy recipes using their products. For instance, Hannaford puts out (or perhaps hires a custom publisher to put out) a magazine called Fresh. Wegmans has a magazine called Menu. There’s also Costco Connection.

5. The internet. You’re smart enough to know that you can find writing markets on the web. No arguments there. But in addition to newsletters like Writing for DOLLARS!, FreelanceDaily, and Funds for Writers, there are lots of under-the-radar ways to find writing markets. You could check out other writer’s websites and see what publications they’ve written for. You could also use social bookmarking (see tip #5) to uncover new-to-you markets.

What about you? Where have you spotted potential writing markets lately?

Flickr photo courtesy of Sarah Sosiak

Filed Under: finding writing markets, magazines

Open Thread: What Are You Reading?

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I’m always on the lookout for cool new (or new-to-me) books to read. After receiving Baked In for Christmas, I’ve already gobbled up this smart marketing book. It’s a short read but it’s chock full of interesting case studies on companies that “get” the new marketing model (I was excited to see one of my past clients mentioned!). Right now I’ve just finished Susan Jane Gilman’s hilarious memoir Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven. Next up is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Web-Based Business, which was recommended by someone I interviewed a few weeks ago. What have you read recently? Anything you’d care to recommend?

Flickr photo courtesy of Dawn Endico

Filed Under: open thread, reading

5 Qs with Jenny Hall, Author of Ice Charades

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These days, you don’t necessarily have to wait for an agent and publisher to green light your book, because self-publishing tools make it possible to actually sell the book yourself. That’s what Jenny Hall did for her first novel, Ice Charades. In honor of the upcoming winter Olympics in Vancouver, Jenny shared her tips on self-publishing, balancing motherhood with writing, and more.

Urban Muse: Ice Charades is based on your experiences as an ice skater. Where’s the line between fact and fiction?
Jenny Hall: I wanted to keep the skating in the book real to document my life in an ice show, but I felt it would be more entertaining in novel format. The awkward and unusual situations are true, but plucked from different shows. We really did have to find and pay for our own hotels, which kept us constantly broke and we were weighed in every week, which kept us hungry much of the time. And neurotic. Take four showgirls, hungry and broke, sharing a cramped, run-down hotel room and you get dramatic dialogue.

After skating for thirteen years in various shows I also had countless costume malfunctions to pick from. These real events were the inspiration for the book, as I felt this was a world few people knew but many might find interesting.

The romantic storyline is more fictional. I didn’t have that great a love life when I skated.

UM: Tell us about your decision to self-publish Ice Charades. What was the biggest challenge?
JH: I was a good candidate for self-publishing because there aren’t other novels about ice skating, unless you count Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. There are hundreds of biographies, memoirs and historical non-fiction books, as well as some skating murder mysteries plus one gay erotic title. But there was no women’s fiction, or dare I say chick lit, on the subject.
I wanted to go the traditional route but agents don’t seem to be taking on many debut authors these days. I also felt a looming deadline with the Winter Olympics coming and I didn’t want to miss out on the time when skating gains many fans. So I changed tactics, stopped querying, and looked into self-publishing. I planned to focus on skaters and skating fans, a group which numbers in the tens of thousands, so that is not a bad niche market. The challenge now will be reaching them remotely. I currently live in Mexico City.

I think of this book as a hobby, but getting it into print felt like a full-time job at the end. That was the biggest challenge. I needed to research publishing companies, chose the right fonts and layouts, decide whether to own the ISBN number, figure out where to spend on marketing and promotion, and learn how to create a website. My husband and I did most of it ourselves, but used professionals where I felt I needed it – book cover and editing.

In the end, I published this book for show skaters and they are grateful to see their story told, but the response from everyone has been great. That makes me glad I did it.

UM: Any tips on balancing writing and motherhood?
JH: Dependable naps! But I only have one child and no job, so I have no excuses. Guilt is a good motivator for my writing. Now that my daughter is in school, I have free time that I don’t want to waste. I don’t know how someone with a full-time job, with or without kids, has the time and energy to write.

UM: What are some of your favorite books?
JH: My favorite classics are Main Street, Jane Eyre and Animal Farm. More recent titles include non-fiction favorites like Deborah Copaken Kogan’s Shutter Babe and Scott Anderson’s The Man Who Tried To Save The World. Not only are these books all over the map, all are outside the chick lit genre, so in the five years it took to write Ice Charades, it was truly a guilty pleasure to read countless chick lit books for “research” purposes. Even though I’m not a shopper, I do like Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series and anything by Meg Cabot.

UM: What’s next for you?
JH: The Ice Charades sequel, of course. Next stop, Japan. Having skated there for six years, starting in the late 80′s, there is a wealth of culturally bizarre and wacky episodes to draw from.
From mixing with the Japanese mafia to locals wanting to touch blond hair or toilets that made bird sounds, I’m excited to fold this and more into another story.

Thanks, Jenny! Congrats on Ice Charades and best of luck on the sequel!

Images courtesy of Jenny Hall
Filed Under: self-publishing, writers on writing

What [title of show] Taught Me About Creativity

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It’s no secret that I’m a huge sucker for musical theater. Last Friday, I had the delightful experience of attending opening night of the New England premiere of [title of show] at Speakeasy Stage Company. Partway through the performance, I decided I needed to blog about it, so whipped out a pen and started jotting down memorable lines and themes.

The musical follows two guys (“schomos” as they would say) and two of their female friends as they attempt to write a musical for the New York Musical Theatre Festival based on their experiences writing a musical. The Broadway production starred the creators as themselves, so it’s very funny and self-referential, but it also explores issues that are universal to creative types, like writing, rewriting, and staying true to your vision versus selling out.

How could I not love a musical that uses terms like “Mexcellent” and “hangry”? (Not to mention that there’s a character named Susan, who announces melodramatically that she’s stopped auditioning because she’s starring in a little show called Corporate Whore.) Here’s what writers and other artsy types can learn from the show.

  1. Taking criticism from the wrong people can lead to mediocrity. As Hunter and Jeff discuss their show with potential backers, they get all kinds of crazy criticism and suggestions. They initially try to incorporate this feedback into the show but realize they need to stay true to their original vision, even if it means making obscure theater references that the matinee ladies don’t understand. Besides, much of it is conflicting anyway! The point is to consider the source when considering feedback and weigh it against your overall artistic goal.

  2. Fixating on commercial viability can make you crazy. One of the guys (Hunter, I think) gets a little tunnel vision envisioning his show on Broadway. He starts talking about replacing one of the women with Sutton Foster (for the uninitated, she’s a really big name on Broadway right now) and making the set crazy elaborate. But the appeal of the show is that’s small and scrappy and has a whole of heart, not that it has these amazing production values or big stars. In fact, since it’s a relatively inexpensive show to produce, it’ll probably live on through college and community theater products for years and years to come.

  3. Listening to doubters can kill your creativity. One of the women sings this fabulous song called Die, Vampire Die (watch the YouTube video but beware of slanguage). She makes this incredibly valid point that if someone came up to us on the subway and told us we suck, we’d think they were crazy. But if our inner voice tells us that, we believe it! How crazy is that? Also, if we try to sanitize our work for Mom or Grandma, then we’ll end up with “two tight paragraphs about kittens.” Who needs that?
  4. It’s better to be “nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.” There’s a video of this song above, and it should every creative’s anthem. Seriously, bookmark that video and the next time an agent tells your novel isn’t saleable or an editor tells you her readers aren’t interested in the topic you suggested, hum along. Then work on making your piece nine people’s favorite thing.

  5. Eventually, you gotta let go. Since the guys in [title of show] are culling scenes and dialogue from their own life, it’s hard to know when to stop. How will they know when the piece is finished if funny stuff keeps happening? But like all composers, screenwriters, novelists, choreographers, and artists, at some point you just have to trust that the piece is complete.

Your turn! What inspires you? Have you seen a play, movie, or other piece that spoke to the creative process?

Filed Under: creativity, selling out, [title of show]
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