a.k.a writer

a.k.a writer

copy distinguished

You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys

Cognitive Connection January 15

January 15, 2010

If this week is any indication, 2010 is on fire with compelling content. (I’m a believer in “content is king.”) The articles and blog posts listed here are only a tiny percentage of the great pieces I read this week.

  • Bookends, LLC – A Literary Agency A Query on Queries. Agent Jessica Faust ponders whether “agent blogs and web sites have made things more complicated rather than simpler.” Which explains why she answers this seemingly no-brainer question.
  • Entrepreneur Magazine Freelancing? Think Like a Business Owner by Michelle Goodman. One of my freelancing gurus offers solid tips for growing your income and managing projects.
  • Marketing Profs Daily Mini Cooper Ad Fires on All Cylinders. Paul Williams discusses how this Mini Cooper campaigns hits all the right advertising notes: it’s attention getting; has a clear, memorable message; is brand appropriate; is locally/audience relevant and is remarkable. Although the campaign is image-heavy, Paul’s post is a perfect reminder of what’s required to pen compelling copy.
  • Social Media Examiner 13 Ideas to Inspire Your Blog Content Blogger Denise Wakeman offers tips for busting what I like to call the “blog fog.”

Two great Q&As with authors this week:

Your turn. What did you read this week that you’d like to share here?

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection January 8, 2010

January 8, 2010

How’s 2010 treating you? So far, I’ve had a great time with the kids in my life, including a birthday party for a one-year-old. And I’ve caught a sore throat and cold that left me voiceless—or sounding like Peter Brady in the episode where his voice was changing.

If this last week is any indication, this year will be filled with laughs and new adventures. I’m also eager to add new types of projects and clients. Variety always inspires me to be more creative.

This week’s reading picks range from a writing competition to great tips for landing new gigs to a helpful resource for grant writing. Here’s to the start of a fantastic New Year.

Did you read anything in particular that stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection December 11

December 11, 2009 — 1 Comment

Between trying to wrap up few copywriting and marketing projects, update addresses for my holiday cards and revise an essay, it’s been a hectic week. And scattered—it seems like there are a thousand things to do to close up this year and get ready for 2010.

But, you know me: there is always time for reading. Here are some of my favorites from this week.

  • Betsy Lerner One Love A “writer’s voice” has been a fairly popular topic here, so I thought you might enjoy literary agent Betsy Lerner’s pontifications on voice.
  • Editor Unleashed Dr. Wicked: NaNoWriMo’s Obstetrician Since I’d considered—but did not participate—in NaNoWriMo this year, I found Alegra Clarke’s tales of turning to “Dr. Wicked” highly entertainingly and intriguing. To quote her description: “Dr.Wicked is labor induction for words that need to get out. You choose the length of time you want to write and how fast and furious you want the pace to be set… ‘Evil mode’ meant that I was given maybe 3 seconds to pause during writing before ‘kamikaze mode’ kicked in and started erasing everything I had previously written.”
  • FreelanceFolder You May Be Addicted to Social Media If… Even if you’re sure you don’t have an addition, don’t miss this hilarious quiz. Chances are, if you don’t find yourself in it, you’ll find people you know. The stories in the comments are good for a laugh, too.
  • WritersWeekly I Was Sucked Into Content Mill Writing (By Anonymous) A writer (anonymously) shares a personal experience with a content mill (a popular topic on this blog). The article’s author provides a new insight into why content mills can be an especially powerful pull for new and/or inexperienced writers: it can feel like you’re a part of a writing community. Until it doesn’t.
  • I also want to call out Boomvang Creative’s Freelance Forecast 2009. It’s full of useful information provided by freelancers and the clients who hire freelancers. The 2010 Freelancers Perspective survey is now open. I encourage you to participate—it only takes a few minutes and you could win a $100 Staples or iTunes gift card. (Thank you to The Urban Muse for introducing me to Jake’s Freelance Forecast.)

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection December 4

December 4, 2009 — 1 Comment

Many of the blogs I regularly read have been on fire this week! It was hard to choose which posts to showcase here. If you found a particularly powerful post this week, please be sure to share it in the comments.

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection November 20: 5 Reads for Writers

November 21, 2009 — 2 Comments

Lesson, reiterated: always have a few blog posts written and ready to post at the click of the “publish” button. A deadline and a stomach bug seriously derailed my blogging commitments this week. Now that the deadline is met and I’m feeling better, here are my (late) reading picks from the last seven days.

Seriously good stuff for writers in this Cognitive Connection—from dealing deliberately hurtful comments to struggling with the sound of silence that follows so many queries.

  • In Betsy Lerner’s You Light Up My Life post, she shares a hurtful comment made to her writer-husband and invites readers to share their own doozies in the comments. The 80+ responses prompted her to follow up with I Hate Myself for Loving You. Don’t miss a word—or comment—from either blog entry.
  • Nathan Bransford’s Waiting is the Worst Part , a delightfully personal post on how long it took this literary agent “to crack” after sending out his own book and waiting for responses.
  • Speaking of waiting, check out Reject Me, Please by freelance writer Chris Rodell on the Media Bistro blog We The ’Bistro. “It’s a Twilight Zone existence where I spend my days yelling down a long canyon and hearing no echoes.”
  • The Renegade Writer Blog Reach Out and Touch an Editor (No, Not Like That!) Linda Formichelli shares her personal efforts—and results—from following up with editors.

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection November 13

November 13, 2009 — 3 Comments

Cognitive Connection. Thinking. Image courtesy of stock.xchng®Google has me hooked. From gmail to Google Voice to Google Reader, I am a fan. One thing I love the most about Google Reader is that I can access it on my Blackberry—which means I always have something to read right at my fingertips. But when I recently returned from my brief vacation, I found nearly 300 new posts waiting for me.

Now, that’s obviously my own fault even though I could say Google is my enabler. How can I manage my blog reading addition? How do you do it? Do you limit the number of blogs that you subscribe to? I would love for you to share your tips in the comments!

  • Chip Macgregor Creating a Critique Group Having a trusted critique group is one of the best tools any writer can have. Since moving from Seattle to Denver, I’ve relied on a small, dispersed collection of writers and editors to give me honest, real feedback. Chip Macgregor offers some straightforward tips on building a tribe of your own.
  • Freelancedom Coworking: The Cure for What Ails Me? Steph Auteri’s pondering of a debate that seems to be growing more common in the freelance community. At this week’s Denver Indie Arsenal meeting, several long-time independent creatives mentioned coworking spaces as keys to keeping themselves motivated.
  • Freelance Folder Four Guaranteed Ways to Keep Freelance Work Coming I enjoy blogger Ritu’s posts on Freelance Folder and this one is especially good. In addition to marketing tips, he shares his personal freelancing and blogging story. Definitely worth a read!
  • Nathan Bransford Moving the Needle An insightful piece on making an impact in the publishing industry by one of my favorite agents-who-blogs.
  • Paige Bowers Pumpkinpalooza I don’t usually post food-related links here, but Paige (a writer who can really cook) had me at “pumpkin” and made me drool with the pumpkin risotto recipe. I know what I’m cooking this weekend!

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Got any tips to help me manage my blog reading mania? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection October 30

October 30, 2009 — 1 Comment

Cognitive Connection. Thinking. Image courtesy of stock.xchng®Happy Halloween! I’m off to another state so I can take my nieces and nephews trick-or-treating. The treat for me: leaving my laptop at home. I’m even turning on my e-mail out of office—a first in more than a year. It’s a short, but much-needed mental refresh.

With that, I’ll start of my favorite reads of the week with Michelle Goodman’s piece on NW Jobs: Connected to the office 24/7? Break free from the digital leash

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Cognitive Connection October 23

October 23, 2009 — 3 Comments

Cognitive Connection. Thinking. Image courtesy of stock.xchng®How is it possible that October is nearly over? I just wrapped up a big copywriting job, creating the content for e-mail marketing and web landing pages across four different industries. I give some credit to my time spent on Twitter for helping me whittle e-mail subject lines to under 60 characters each!

This week’s Cognitive Connection brings you three blogs you haven’t seen here before and a do not miss post that furthers the discussion on writer mills.

Writer Mills Update

Deb Ng of the Freelance Writing Gigs community has frequently been mentioned in posts about writer mills. I’ve also seen Deb take quite a beating in the comments sections of blogs. Why? Because of her professional alignment with Demand Studios. This week, blogger and founder of Writers Worth Day Lori Widmer invited Deb to “to state her case and list her reasons why Demand Studios was a good choice for her.” Like me, Lori is opposed to writer mills and I have huge respect for Lori opening up her blog to give Deb a chance to share her story. Don’t miss this post—or the comments that followed.

Did you read anything that particularly stuck with you this week? Share, please! The floor is yours.

Bookmark and Share

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.