In this Issue:

• "Welcome" - Dan Case, editor
  
• Feature "Google and Beyond: Eight Internet Tools That Can Save Time and Money" by Susan Denney
  
• 16 Paying Markets - High, Medium, and Low
  
• Feature "Strangers-A Writer’s Greatest Resource"
  by Willma Willis Gore
  

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Welcome

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Dan Case, editor
editor@writingfordollars.com (put WFD in the subject line)

If you are serious about writing for dollars, then you know that time is money. And you also know that doing research takes time. Even the simplest article will require some kind of fact-check or information source. Though you might love spending hours in the library or on the telephone, by the time you've verified all the information for an article, you could find that your pay per hour is pretty low.

A great way to maximize research time is to start on the Internet. While the Internet is not always acceptable as a primary source, it is brilliant at finding those articles and experts which editors love.

How to find what you need? Here are some websites and tools that can help.

1. www.google.com This powerful search engine is so pervasive that it has become a verb around the world. "To google" in English and "googler" in French mean the same thing, that is, to look something up on the world's largest search engine. But what happens when I type the name of my hometown into the Google search box? The website brings up over two million websites for Denton, Texas. That seems like a lot, but remember that Google websites are listed by relevance. The first five or so are going to be the most likely ones to provide the information needed for a travel article about my hometown.

2. www.wikipedia.com Near the top of most Google searches are articles from the online encyclopedia that's written by people like you and me. Anyone who registers on Wikipedia can add or edit articles. This sounds scary and unreliable, but in fact, it works quite well. Controversies rage about its accuracy, but Wikipedia contains a lot more information than traditional encyclopedias. When I search for Denton, Wikipedia gives me a map, history, information about festivals, education and transportation. For research purposes, the most important part of the Wikipedia article is the section marked "external links." Many of the websites listed at the bottom would qualify as primary sources.

3. www.m-w.com The most basic fact check of all is spelling. The spellcheckers in word processors are getting better and better at finding misspelled words but they're not intended to spell or define them correctly. Enter Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and thesaurus. Not only is it quicker than looking up a word in a print dictionary, but it also contains the new words that are added to the English language each year. I'm not ready to give up on my print dictionaries, but a quick trip to this website saves time.

4. profnet.prnewswire.com Ever notice how consumer magazine articles are filled with quotes by PhDs? When you need someone with authority, try PR Newswire's database. You must register for this site but it can connect you to professionals, public relations specialists and experts who are willing to be interviewed on a variety of topics.

5. www.amazon.com This is another path to finding an expert. Looking up your topic on Amazon will find you the most recent books written on the subject. The authors of these books are anxious to be interviewed. Your mention of their book in an article means sales for them. This site also helps you decide if your slant on the topic is unique.

6. www.howstuffworks.com Not quite sure how a UPC barcode works? Confused by international exchange rates? Wondering about global warming? Maybe you're not a scientist or an economist but the information in your writing needs to be as accurate as you can make it. This website is the place that explains phenomena like rainbows, quarks or even barcodes. It's heavy on advertising but when you find the article you need, the site provides simple explanations and even charts, diagrams and videos.

7. library.uncg.edu/news/ This service which is provided by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro lists the best newspapers online. Brief descriptions of the online newspapers as well as information on archives, costs and registration make this site a valuable source of information.

8. Subscription databases. As wonderful as the Internet can be, not all the information is free. Your public library may be able to provide remote access to subscription-based databases. Using these services online in your home can save a time-consuming trip to the library. Less gasoline and more time means money for you. My local librarian gave me a card with the login and password for our public library's subscriptions. Now I can read articles from newspapers and scholarly journals as well as review genealogical documents, historical maps and other information not available to the general public.

Good information is at the tips of your fingers. The Internet is waiting to save you time and money. Happy researching!

© Copyright 2007, Susan Denney

• Elks Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Youth programs, veterans service, drug awareness, Elks National Foundation activities, fund-raisers. 

• Family Circle - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Women's interest, family and personal relationships, children, physical and mental health, nutrition. 

• National Geographic Traveler - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: travel. 

• WoodenBoat - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: design, building, care, preservation, and use of wooden boats. 

Medium - $125 - $500

• Dramatics - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Educational theatre for high schoolers, blocking, costume design, set construction, news, plays. 

• GRIT - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: family, arts and crafts, parenting, home and garden, nostalgia . 

• Pockets - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers. Subjects: Christian children 6-12, puzzles, games, stories, poems, recipes, pictures, scripture reading. 

• Professional Mariner - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: professional seamanship, maritime industry news, regulations, towing, piloting, technology. 

• Salt Lake City - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: people, outdoor activities and attractions, and historical aspects of Utah. 

• Weatherwise - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: weather, meteorology. 

Low - Less than $125

• Boys' Quest - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Boys 6-13, pets, nature. hobbies, science, games, sports, careers, simple cooking. 

• Cadet Quest - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Christian boys 9-14, hobby, crafts, sports, camping, nature. 

• Fun For Kidz - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fillers. Subjects: Pets, nature, hobbies, science, games, sports, careers, simple cooking. 

• Hopscotch - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Girls 6-12, pets, nature. hobbies, science, games, sports, careers, simple cooking. 

• Oatmeal Studios - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: greeting cards, post-it notes. 

• SageWoman - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: issues of concern to Pagan and other Goddess-friendly women. 

Casual meetings on trains, planes, at the mountain campsite, the zoo, at the restaurant overlooking the shore, on the bench waiting for the bus—these are sources of more contacts for great articles and profiles than I'll ever get around to writing.

I have an overloaded Rolodex, a long e-mail address list, a treasury of business cards, and addresses torn from envelopes. I may not re-contact every one of them, but each is a unique store of expertise. And no matter what vital technical information we can retrieve from cyberspace, the "personal touch" is the one that gets—and sells—the article.

I met a great "stranger" the day I was scheduled for jury duty at the San Bernardino County Court House. When I parked, a young woman in a pickup truck parked beside me. I asked if she could direct me to Court Three.

"That's where I'm going. Come along," she invited.

As we headed for the buildings, Karen told me that she and her husband had a home-based business. Also, she was home-schooling her children so it was difficult for her to serve on the jury. Although her husband was taking over teaching chores that morning, he might get a job call at any moment—the reason she planned to ask the Clerk to excuse her from jury duty.

At the time I was doing a series of profiles of families for the metropolitan daily, The San Bernardino County Sun. I asked for Karen's business card, thinking she, husband and kids might be good subjects. Within days I had re-contacted them. They were pleased to be interviewed, and I sold their "Family Portrait" to The Sun. Karen put me in touch with the provider of the home school materials she used and I later profiled that family.

My local weekly published a short piece about a young mother of four, a graphic artist, who was supporting her family with her talents. In the process of writing a profile on Jody I learned that she was the calligrapher for greeting cards produced by an enterprising 60-year-old who had founded his own business based at his mountain retreat. Jody introduced us and Senior World gave me a go-ahead for a story on him. Following that publication, I queried the editor of a journal for founders of small businesses. My story about John Wiedefeld and his "Inspirations Unlimited" greeting card company was the cover story on the next issue of Dream World magazine.

My hairdresser was a single mom and a Vidal Sassoon-trained barber. After I profiled her she referred me to a dozen additional families who became subjects. Over a period of two years through leads like this and other "satisfied" profilees, sixty-five of my "Family Portraits" were published in The Sun.

As a public service, this newspaper invited its readers to meet the editors and learn how the paper is assembled each day. I signed up. The managing editor, in charge of the meeting, asked each visitor to say something about himself. A man sitting across from me was flanked by two teenagers whom he introduced as his daughters. They were there, he said, because he took every opportunity to introduce the girls to professionals in as many different career areas as possible. What a story for a family magazine! The moment the meeting closed I intercepted Bob and his daughters. They became one of my profiled families and I'm following up with queries to magazines.

So far, any family I've contacted is happy to give additional information when I need it. The reason, I believe, is that all subjects of my profiles or articles see a copy before I send the story to the editor. This keeps the subjects happy, and the editors receive no complaints about errors in what I have produced for their pages.

My habit of checking copy with my subjects was a special help when I lived in a farming community and wrote articles and business features for farm magazines. People who love their work are normally enthusiastic about it and sometimes give more facts about finances, tons of fruit last shipped and acres under cultivation than they really want publicized. Through more than 40 years of marketing magazine articles, I have made certain the subjects of my profiles or the manager of the business I'm writing about see and approve what I've written and have the opportunity to red-line anything I've included. And always with this caveat: I have no control over what the editor may change or cut.

My local TV station one evening reported on women who were learning the Farrier trade. Young girls were shown cradling horses hooves in their leather aprons while they pounded square-head nails through the slots in horseshoes. A magazine, Farm Wife News (now Country Woman) had taken a number of my articles. I knew this one had to be queried. I got the assignment and my illustrated story was given feature placement in the magazine. While at the Farrier school, a part of the Regional Occupation Program (ROP) in Fresno, California, I met a young fireman. He was learning the trade as one he could practice on his days off from the firehouse. He became the subject of a profile for Firehouse Magazine.

Watch your local paper for leads. If the story's dateline shows it is syndicated (from AP or another wire service), forget it. Your best opportunity is the story about your neighbors, just around the corner, the ones the national press hasn't yet heard about .As many stories are available to us as there are "strangers" to meet in our neighborhoods, villages and cities. Helping them tell their stories and be proud of what you write about them turns these strangers into friends. In turn, they always have friends who would like to talk to a responsible "stranger" who happens to be a writer.

© Copyright 2007, Willma Willis Gore

Willma Gore, Freelance For You http://willmagore.com Blog: http://www.freelanceforyou.blogspot.com/