In this Issue:

• "Welcome" - Dan Case, editor
  
• Feature "Taking The “PO” Out Of Poet by Jennifer Brown Banks
  
• 12 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

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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.

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Be sure to watch for even more features in the next few weeks.

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. DEVOTED TO WRITING by Nancy Robinson Masters & Maurice Parsley Mallow FREE SHIPPING!
   
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4. MAGIC STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS by Charles W. Sasser. FREE SHIPPING!
   
5. THE ORGANIZED WRITER IS A SELLING WRITER by Kathryn Lay. FREE SHIPPING!
   
6. WRITING HUMOR FOR MORE THAN LAUGHS by Phil Truman FREE SHIPPING!
   
7. BE YOUR OWN BOOK DOCTOR: So You Can Cure What Ails Your Writing by Robyn Conley.
   
8. JUMPSTART YOUR WRITING CAREER & SNAG PAYING ASSIGNMENTS by Beth Erickson.
   
9. 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
   
10. THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE, PUBLISH AND SELL YOUR BOOK by Patricia Fry
    

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

—“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

As a popular relationship columnist and features writer for over a decade, I have garnered a great deal of success, and have sustained a profitable business in the process. But, my first love is poetry. It speaks to who I am as a woman— unique, free flowing, real, and nonconforming.

Unfortunately, back in the ‘80s, when I first began penning pieces, there weren’t many paying outlets for poets other than greeting card markets and the occasional literary journal. ‘Dem days are gone! No longer are poets expected to take a vow of poverty likened to clergy. No longer are we the epitome of the starving artist.

In fact, many scribes would be surprised to discover that today’s poet can earn as much for his wares as other successful freelancers in the writing business. Poetry is indeed experiencing a “renaissance” of sorts.

Movies and movements like “Love Jones”, “Def Poetry Jam”, and Spoken Word, have taken poetry beyond the abstract language of academia, to common everyday audiences. Today’s poetry is topical, it’s controversial, it’s lyrical, it’s raw, and audiences from 15 to 50 are loving it.

You can find this art form featured at jazz clubs, bookstores, libraries, art galleries, and even business events.

So if you’re debating whether “to be or not to be”, here are four fabulous ways to get in on the gravy train!

TEACH IT— Last month, I landed a sweet gig that paid $250.00 as part of my city library’s CITY VERSE program. I had great fun, minimal expenses, and for one and a half hours of work, that’s not too shabby. In the course of the workshop, I instructed participants how to create different poetry styles—Quatrains, Haikus, Narrative, etc. For the Haikus, as visual aides and creative prompts, I simply purchased National Geographic magazines from my local thrift store for a quarter. I neatly tore the pages of beautiful landscapes; scenic mountains, animals and nature out, and had the students capture their visual responses on paper. These creative pieces could easily find a home at www.haikus.com. I also shared how “professional poets” are able to garner gigs via creating a web page through www.bookthatpoet.com.

PERFORM IT— Did you know that Open Mic nights and local contests pay handsomely for poetry recitals? I once won a contest at a neighborhood bookstore that paid 50 bucks in books! Being an avid reader, I was really glad that I was able to compete in this one.

PITCH IT DIFFERENTLY— As a self-publishing poet, I have sometimes been able to get my foot in the door at schools for Career Day programs as an entrepreneur. Think outside the box.

PRODUCE MULTIPLE PRODUCTS— The really neat thing about poetry is that it lends itself to so many creative forms of expression. Why not record your work and sell audiotapes or CDs? You can also design your own greeting cards and framed gift items.

By using these tips and techniques, you’ll soon discover that poetry can be a cash cow for your career too!

© Copyright 2008, Jennifer Brown Banks

Jennifer Brown Banks is an award-winning poet, columnist, editor, instructor and author of A Paradox In Pink available at AMAZON.COM. Email Jenniferwriter@Yahoo.com

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• Hunting The West Magazine - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Hunting in 11 western states, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia . 

• Milwaukee - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

• Minnesota Conservation Volunteer - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Accepts simultaneous submissions.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction. Subjects: Minnesota natural resources, wildlife, natural history, outdoor recreation, land use. 

Medium - $125 - $500

• Discipleship Journal - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Christ, evangelism, leadership, relationship with Jesus. 

• Minnesota Monthly - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments. Subjects: Stories with a strong Minnesota connectiono. 

• NewCity - Guidelines:  Pays on acceptance.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: Chicago, Politics, Art. 

• Toward Freedom - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: Human rights, globalization, trade, labor, environmental preservation, political prisoners. 

Low - Less than $125

• 4IndianWoman.com - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, fiction, columns/departments, fillers, photos/artwork. Subjects: Global writing platform for Indian women, family, work, female issues, global. 

• Dovetail - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, photos/artwork. Subjects: Jewish/Christian families. 

• Island - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction. Subjects: Political. 

• Nature Photographer - Guidelines:  Pays on publication.  Seeks nonfiction, columns/departments, photos/artwork. Subjects: How-To Photography.