From The Urban Muse
September 1, 2010 at 8:37 am
I'll you let you in on a little secret: I don't spend hours obsessing over queries, polishing each one to Pulitzer-worthy perfection. Most of my queries are written in under an ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 30, 2010 at 9:17 am
This month's Entrepreneur Magazine has a great article entitled Freelance Nation. Those of us who freelance for all or part of our living know that companies have been hiring writers, ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 27, 2010 at 8:58 am
By Kelly Watson A new trend has gained popularity among writers in recent years. Many swear by this technique, saying it brings new clarity to their writing. When done over time, ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 25, 2010 at 8:56 am
Like Linda Formichelli, I've begun to feel overwhelmed lately, which has prompted me to think about ways to simplify and streamline my business. As a generalist with a few specialties, ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 23, 2010 at 9:17 am
Even before I could read, I loved libraries. All the pretty pictures and nice, smiling librarians reading stories aloud! I still love the endless shelves brimming with possibilities, ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 20, 2010 at 8:52 am
By Alyssa Martino"You might get burned out,” my mother suggests after I receive the job offer. "Writing may come easy to you now, but you may find differently when it's a full ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 19, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Psst! In case you missed it the first time, one of my blog posts is featured on BlogHer today! Hop on over and check out Why You Need a Freelance Resume. Do you agree or disagree ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 18, 2010 at 8:37 am
Some writers post PDFs on their websites. Some go old school and snail mail paper copies. Others have text versions on their website or attach Word docs to their queries. So, how ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 16, 2010 at 9:40 am
I'm getting ready to travel for a few days, so instead of a full-blown blog post, I wanted to share some of the links that caught my eye in RSS and social media over the past week:A ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 13, 2010 at 8:25 am
By Stacy Lipson I have a corkboard behind my desk. On it, I’ve posted a sign: Never give up.No one ever said freelancing was going to be easy. Still, I was unprepared when my ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 11, 2010 at 9:47 am
This topic came up during last night's freelance writing class: Is it better to specialize or be open to any topics that come up? That depends. Specializing allows you to become ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 9, 2010 at 8:35 am
I'll be the first to say that being a successful freelance writer requires more marketing and business savvy than writing skill. Writing beautiful, flowing prose won't make you ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 6, 2010 at 8:42 am
By Sunday O'BrienAs writers we can get caught up in the description of an object. We note size, shape, and every other detail imaginable. The one element that is often lost in ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 4, 2010 at 8:44 am
Earlier this week, I wrote about participating in the writing community by helping others. But there is a darker side to these connections, and that’s the ugly green monster ... (
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From The Urban Muse
August 2, 2010 at 9:00 am
When I tell people I teach a class on freelance writing and wrote an eBook with tips for fellow writers, the common response is “great, but don’t you worry about creating even ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 30, 2010 at 9:14 am
"Don’t get it right, just get it written." ~James Thurber, The New YorkerAwhile back, a guest blogger proclaimed writer's block a lie. And many of you weighed in for or against ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 28, 2010 at 8:54 am
Is it a catchy title? Colorful graphics? Punchy prose? Students in my blogging basics class frequently ask this question, and I feel like the answer really depends on the person. ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 26, 2010 at 11:01 am
A few weeks ago, I decided to hire a business coach to help me work out some communication issues with a client. It's a long story, which you can read about here, but I didn't ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 23, 2010 at 9:51 am
By Kelly KinnardLike any art, writing comes from the soul, and exposing it to the public eye leaves us vulnerable to judgment. We pour ourselves into our projects and pore over ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 21, 2010 at 9:39 am
From addictive websites to annoying neighbors, there are plenty of distractors vying for our attention when we really ought to be writing. I know a few people who are obsessed ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 19, 2010 at 9:35 am
For a few years now, skeptics have been sounding the death knell for traditional print magazines. Now, I don't necessarily agree (and a glance at my income spreadsheet shows that ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 16, 2010 at 8:43 am
By Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro Writing for pleasure is great, but writing for money has its appeal doesn't it? What's even better is writing, getting paid for it and learning during the ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 14, 2010 at 9:59 am
It's always interesting to see what fellow freelancers are working on, so that's the topic of today's open thread. I'll start. Right now I'm juggling articles on careers and personal ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 12, 2010 at 10:21 am
Mr. Muse and I moved this weekend, so things are a little chaotic here on the home front. I have a long list of things to do today (both domestically and professionally), so I'll ... (
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From The Urban Muse
July 9, 2010 at 8:12 am
By Louise CurtisI love writing, because it gives me god-like powers. Since I write fantasy, even the climate is mine to choose. The only down side is that a lot of people enjoy ... (
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