Your cart is currently empty!
-
On the In-Person Q&A
A few months ago, my friends Kristin and Ali (founder of Indigo Editing) asked if I would be available to answer questions about the freelance life. I said sure. Ali mentioned that I was requested by someone, which was flattering. She never said who the requester was, but she doesn’t know my mom, so it…
-
Freelance Tip #2: Twitter
Though Twitter has only been around a couple of years, it’s spawned a little industry of books on how to effectively use it — and a big group of Twitter haters. I use Twitter and have for a long time, if we’re measuring time in internet terms rather than, say, geologic terms. Here’s my Twitter…
-
Freelance Tip #1: Lunch
Basically, you have two options for lunch as a freelancer: eat in or go out. Let’s explore the options for and implications of each. Eat In Do not eat at your desk. That is for people with “regular” jobs who have to work in cubicles. You are a freelancer. So eat somewhere nice, like at…
-
On New Pens
During the last session of the Willamette Writers Conference on Sunday, the workshop I was really looking forward to, my pen died. Nothing but dry scratches on the paper. Luckily I was sitting next to a friend who is also a mom, so she had a pen I could borrow. Moms are more prepared than…
-
On a Change of Plans and Serendipity
We have been planning for months to attend an old friend’s wedding out of town. We made arrangements for the dog and put off adopting a kitten. I made the painful choice to not attend the Willamette Writers Conference in my own city, despite having two book proposals ready to go, plus two completed novels,…
-
On Great Expectations
Surprisingly, I’ve never read Great Expectations, though I bet I would like it. (Anyone who slogged through the middle of The Count of Monte Cristo would probably like GE, right?) I experience great expectations every 20 minutes or so. This is usually useful, but the letdown can be awful. I have been a fount of…
-
On Freelance Breathing Space
Recently one of my favorite editors at one of my favorite freelance gigs sent out an email announcing that we all — staff and freelancers alike — were being given “breathing space” for a few weeks. I don’t know if this is a euphemism for being a bit broke or if things really were getting…
-
On Taking a Break
I have been practicing aikido, a non-violent Japanese martial art, for over five years. Thanks to work, family, and adopting an active dog, my four-times-a-week regular practice has crumbled over the last few months. And I felt terrible about it. My first stab at a solution was to train through it, as they say. I…
-
On Having Time and Space to Think
After a hectic couple of weeks where I’d overbooked myself (literally — I was editing two books at once), I got a reprieve. I took two days mostly off, followed by a light workweek. Rather than spending that time playing video games or watching afternoon TV talk shows, I spent it thinking. Just thinking. Some…
-
On the Importance of Being Mobile
Last week, I cleared out some time in my schedule to bring my car in for a recall repair at the dealership. (No, it’s not a Toyota, and it has nothing to do with brakes.) I had visited the manufacturer’s web site — that’s how I found out about the recall — and made my…
-
The Monday Morning Freelance Plan
As a freelance writer and editor working from home, getting out of the house is always nice. So I’ve instituted a new ritual: the Monday morning freelance plan. It gets me out of the house and makes the rest of my week far more productive. The basic idea: This takes about an hour, maybe a…
-
Some Not-Resolutions for 2010
I don’t usually do new year’s resolutions. I would rather fix what needs fixing when it needs fixing rather than make a list in the last week of December of things I’d like to do in the next twelve months. But, of course, there are things that happen to need fixing right now — not…
-
Learning the Automotive Photography Ropes
I went to SEMA in Las Vegas this year, and then the Los Angeles Auto Show a month later. The Lexus LFA supercar was at both shows, and I’m my own automotive photographer. So I took lots pictures to share with my readers on About.com. I’m the Guide to Exotic Cars there, and a $400,000…
-
A Summer of Driving and Drag Racing
There are two events for automotive journalists I’m most looking forward to this summer (so far). First up is the the Northwest Automotive Press Association’s Run to the Sun driving event. Then I’ll attend the National Electric Drag Racing Association’s Wayland Invitational IV. NWAPA’s event involves driving 18 or so sports cars and convertibles through…
-
Kinds of Editing: Developmental, Line, Copy, and Proofreading
You’ve finished your manuscript, and you know you need an editor. You start looking online and see there are different kinds of editing, and editors who specialize in each. How do you know which you need? How do you know what your book needs? What’s the difference between the types of edits? I’m going to…
-
Automotive Journalism in 2008
I just got back from driving a Maserati, a Dodge Viper, a C63 Mercedes-Benz tuned by AMG, and the Audi S5, among 15 others, through the mountains of Central Oregon. I drove faster and pushed harder through corners than I probably ever have, and the people on the rally were as nice as the cars.…
-
Two Days of Driving for Fun and Profit
I leave bright and early tomorrow morning to join my fellow Northwest Automotive Press Association members on a two-day jaunt through Central Oregon in a string of fast cars. The organizers lined up everything from a Mazda MX-5 (that’s a Miata) to a Maserati, with the likes of Audi, Volvo, and a Dodge Viper thrown…