In this Issue:

• "Welcome" - Dan Case, editor
  
• Feature "Profiting From What You Know" by Kathryn Lay
  
• 13 Paying Markets - High, Medium, and Low
  

Want to contribute to this newsletter? We are a paying market. Read our guidelines for contributors here: http://www.writingfordollars.com/wfdguidelines.cfm

Welcome

Check out our new article database. We finished adding our whole inventory of past articles from WFD, now over 400 articles are available to search and read. Find just the right information you need to make a few more bucks in the new year.

Don't forget our database of writer’s guidelines is readily available to everyone for FREE! All links have been checked within the last year (the date that they were last checked is listed) so you can be sure to have the most up-to-date information.

Here are the top-selling writing books at AWOCBooks.com - FREE SHIPPING on selected books! ($2.95 value)

1. CONFESSING FOR MONEY 2nd Edition Writing and Selling to the SECRET Short Story Market by Peggy Fielding FREE SHIPPING!
   
2. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING & SELLING MAGAZINE ARTICLES 2nd Edition by Peggy Fielding and Dan Case. FREE SHIPPING!
   
3. DEVOTED TO WRITING by Nancy Robinson Masters & Maurice Parsley Mallow FREE SHIPPING!
   
4. BOB BLY'S FREELANCE WRITING SUCCESS (How to Make $100,000 a Year as a Freelance Writer and Have the Time of Your Life Doing It) by Robert W. Bly
   
5. JUMPSTART YOUR WRITING CAREER & SNAG PAYING ASSIGNMENTS by Beth Erickson.
   
6. MAGIC STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS by Charles W. Sasser. FREE SHIPPING!
   
7. BEYOND THE BRANCHES: Writing and Scrapping Your Complete Family Tree by Robyn Conley
   
8. THE ORGANIZED WRITER IS A SELLING WRITER by Kathryn Lay. FREE SHIPPING!
   
9. WRITING HUMOR FOR MORE THAN LAUGHS by Phil Truman FREE SHIPPING!
   
10. BE YOUR OWN BOOK DOCTOR: So You Can Cure What Ails Your Writing by Robyn Conley.
    

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

They say that you should “write what you know.” Granted, that can’t always be done. Not everyone has ridden in a space ship, climbed to the top of Mt. Everest, spent the night in a haunted house, or other things writer’s write about.

But, there is a time when “write what you know” can be a great way to share your knowledge, interests or abilities with readers, while adding to your byline clips and making some extra income.

1. What do you really love to do?

Make a list of your hobbies and interests. Maybe you are a scrapbooking genius and have many new ideas you could write about. Or maybe you love to decorate and have a thousand and one tips on decorating specific rooms in the house? Perhaps you enjoy camping and have information on great campsites, ways to organize a camping trip, or ideas on a group campout. Think of the hobby magazines, the parenting or women’s publications, local newsletters and papers. Interview experts in this field and throw in your own tips and ideas. Explain how to start a collection and a little about the history and what to look for and how to find it.

2. What “can” you do that others might be interested in doing and would like to learn how?

Are you great at speaking to groups? Can you understand the stock market and explain it to the beginner? Are you a craftsman who can explain how you build a bookcase that everyone will love and can be done in 5 easy ssteps?

I write about writing because I have experience, an interest, and a background in it.

Maybe you have an ability that will help homeschoolers or teachers or businessmen. Think of the things that you do, things that you find easy and enjoy so that you can share it with other people. You become the expert.

How-to articles are popular whether it’s a physical creation of a project, a way to make things easier as a parent or spouse or friend, or 99 Ways to Grow the Perfect Garden.

3. What have you experienced and learned about that can be shared to help others?

Perhaps you’ve dealt with an illness in your life or your family and can share with others what you’ve learned, emotionally as well as health information, ways to overcome and so on. Maybe you’ve been the victim of a crime and have learned how to protect yourself or your belongings. Maybe you have experienced specific travel issues that you can write about clearly that will help other travelers.

Many of my personal experience pieces are designed to help others, whether in a specific situation or an emotional help. I’ve written about our daughter’s adoption, losing my mother, purchasing our first home, dealing with cancer, taking what I have learned from people helping me when I’m in need to then do it for others.

When I read an article where the author is sharing their own experience and what they learned from that experience, it helps me if I am going through the same thing or an emotion that I am feeling.

Submitting:

Technical magazines, hobby magazines, specialized magazines, and magazines from businesses are great places to market your experience and knowledge pieces. Parenting magazines are always in need of helpful pieces that readers can use for their own children.

One of my interests is in the old, hand-carved carousels. A few years ago when I learned that our local amusement park had recently refurbished their old carousel, I contacted the park, got the name of the person who had been in charge and arranged an interview. I included my own insights and memories of this carousel as well as what I had learned about carousel history because of my own interests. I approached a publication for carousel enthusiasts since it was a magazine I enjoyed reading and they purchased the story and photographs.

Spend a little time putting your area of interest into a search engine and see what you come up with. By typing in Gardening magazine, I came up with thousands of large and small publications, print and online.

You may not know how to film a blockbuster movie, but you are a whiz at creating perfect home videos. You may not know how to run a gourmet restaurant but can put together the best parties for less than $50. Everyone knows something and can share it with others. What do you know?

© 2008 by Kathryn Lay

Kathryn Lay is the author of Crown Me! a middle grade novel and Josh's Halloween Pumpkin, a picture book due out in 2008. She has had over 1400 articles, short stories, and essays published for children and adults, as well as her book for writers, The Organized Writer is a Selling Writer, AWOC.COM Publishing. Check out her website at www.kathrynlay.com and email her at rlay15@aol.com.

• Essence - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: African-American women, fashion, careers, celebrity, health, money, beauty. 

• Fast Company - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Business, technology, economy. 

• Fiberarts - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: Textile Arts and Crafts. 

• First Things - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments. Subjects: Religious and ethical perspectives on society, culture, law, medicine, church and state. 

Medium - $125 - $500

• Beckett Magazines - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Anime and Manga, Baseball, Basketball, Historic sports memorabilia, eSports, Football, Hockey, Magic: The Gathering, Online Gaming, Yu-Gi-Oh!

• Canadian Aviator magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Flying. 

• Florida Wildlife - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Hunting, freshwater fishing, conservation, outdoor ethics. 

• Katy Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Children, heathcare, education, quality of life to residents of Katy, Texas. 

• Nuestra Gente Utah - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Hispanic fitness, food, parenting, politics, travel, lifestyle, sports, entertainment, and health. 

• Sailing World - Guidelines:  .  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: Performance sailing. 

Low - Less than $125

• Canadian Dimension - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Socialist Perspective. 

• Driftwood - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction. Subjects: Travel essays, literary translations, photography and art. 

• Island Angler - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Fresh and saltwater fisheries of Vancouver Island.