Call for Submissions for Women Writers Anthology

Press Pause Now™ is accepting submissions for its first anthology. Press Pause Now™ is a unique retreat, workshop, and coaching program whose purpose is to help successful women rethink, refocus, and reenergize their lives.

Main Focus
Life is about change. As human beings we‟re always changing, growing, transforming, and transitioning our lives – whether we‟re seeking a new job, new career, or new direction. Whether it‟s our circumstances that lead us to take a new path or a desire to pursue a goal or dream, we learn that as women we have the power to choose who we want to be, what we want to do, and what kind of life we want to lead.
This inspirational and motivational collection of essays and articles will focus on stories about women and their “press pause moments,” those points of transition when they have decided to take a different path, pursue a passion, or go after a goal or dream. The catalyst and outcome of the journey may be personal, professional, or both. Most importantly we are looking for diversity in the types of stories. We want to hear from all kinds of women doing all kinds of things. (In other words, don‟t hesitate for fear your story won‟t “fit!”) This anthology will celebrate the “go for it” spirit shared by women everywhere who define success on their own terms and find the strength within themselves and among their network of supporters to make it happen.
Guidelines

• Nonfiction essays and articles should be between 800 – 2500 words in length, double-spaced.

• Only email submissions will be accepted and should be sent electronically as attachments (word or pdf format) to anne@presspausenow.com. Please put the word „Anthology‟ in the subject line.

• Please include a 65-70 word bio as you would like it to appear in the published anthology should your submission be accepted. You may include a website address for consideration.

• You will greatly increase your chances of inclusion if you take care to proofread your work and run a spell check prior to submitting.

• You may submit up to two essays or articles for consideration. Each submission should be sent in a separate email.

• Deadline for submissions is midnight September 25, 2009.

• Publication is anticipated by early 2010.

• You can stay up-to-date about the anthology‟s progress at http://www.ppnanthologyseries.wordpress.com .

About the Editor
Anne Witkavitch is currently president of C-Suite Communications, a strategic marketing and communications firm, and founder of Press Pause Now™, a life design and coaching program that helps successful women rethink, refocus, and re-energize their lives. She is a former Fortune 100 communications executive. Anne‟s press pause story began when she decided to pursue a lifetime dream to become a published writer by returning to graduate school at the age of 42. Juggling fulltime career, parenthood, and studies, she earned her M.F.A. in Professional Writing and has published her work in a variety of publications. She also teaches, mentors, and speaks about writing, communications, leadership, and work/life balance.

Please Note
Publishing this anthology is a new endeavor; unfortunately at this time we cannot pay for contributions that are accepted. However we will actively promote the anthology and your writing. Inclusion will provide writers with a focused publishing credit.

Thank you for considering a submission.

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Our Twitter profile is filled with different tweets from writers, agents, publishers, and journals sending out advice, links, news, and connections to good writing. Check it out and see what people are buzzing about. An imortant aspect of our community is to give writers a communty and share information. Check it out.

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Word Whore or Respected Professional Writer? Getting Published and Paid Without Having to Turn Tricks

By Anne Witkavitch

Now that I’ve grabbed your attention, let’s get down to business. I hear you want to be a successful freelance writer. That is great news! But I also get nervous, like I do when I hear about some young girl with starry eyes who quits college, packs her bags, and moves out west for her big break. It rarely happens. Those who do find success know it takes more than just good looks and talent to reach their dreams. They are willing to take small acting jobs to build their resume and hone their craft. They network and make reliable contacts. They have a strategy. And they slowly and deliberately develop a steady stream of work.

Many people mistake freelance writing as an easy way to make a living. Like the young girl who thinks because she has the face, body, and talent she’ll land the first audition and win her Oscar® next year, many freelance writers expect that their talents will get them the first assignments they go after, or worst yet, believe their ring tones will go off nonstop just because they’re open for business. But when that doesn’t happen, they get desperate and seek any opportunity to get their words in print, on computer screens or on paper, which could have disastrous consequences for a would-be career.

Be careful! Before you listen for that never-ending ring tone, make sure you:

• Research and Learn the Business. Read some of the excellent books by Bob Bly or visit his website www.bly.com . Bly is considered one of the gurus of freelance copywriting and has been around since I had my first business in 1991. Another great book is What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants by Laurie Lewis. An important read to understand how to price your time and talent effectively and realistically.

• Understand your mission. What kind of freelance writing do you want to do? Articles and features? Web content or promotional copy? Speeches and presentations? Or does your background and expertise warrant a unique blend of all of these?

• Position your business. Be able to articulate your value proposition (why should clients hire you? What makes you unique?) Know what kind of work you want to do before you write. This will most likely adjust as you grow your freelance business, but you need a starting point.

• Develop a strategy. Include clearly defined goals and objectives, a timeframe, and desired results you hope to achieve in the next three years. Think finances; in other words, how much money do you need/want to make each year and how will you do that?

• Build Your Target Market. Create a contact list of people who need your services and would be willing to pay for them. Be innovative. Check out creative service providers who represent contractors and freelancers. Attend networking events in your industry. Check out your local Chambers of Commerce and reach out to small business.

• Create an Online Presence. You at least need a simple website that tells prospects about who you are and what you do. Create an online portfolio that professionally presents your best work. Dedicate one page for your resume to give a comprehensive overview of your background if this strengthens support for your services.

About Anne Witkavitch: Anne is a published writer, speaker, and consultant. She holds an M.F.A. in Professional Writing. Her explication of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking was previously published in Miranda Literary Magazine. Read her thoughts about being a 21^st century working mother on her blog The Eclectic Writer. She also is the “resident sanity expert” and a blogger for TravelingMom.com.

Twitter and the Elections in Iran

by Ron Samul

I am really new to Twitter, but I’ve been waiting for more information about the elections in Iran and what is going on there. I found some good articles and video from the BBC and the AP – but once I got to Twitter and started following the protester directly, I was caught up in the movement.

Protesters, citizens, and students have been sending out little messages that create an amazing tapestry of information, visions, views, and opinions. It has been so powerful that the company that hosts and supports Twitter has postponed scheduled update outages so that the voice of the pro-democracy movement in Iran wouldn’t be turned off.

Now, the government has started shutting down access to the Internet. In response, people around the world are opening new IP addresses to help the people in Iran communicate to us and more importantly, to each other. Hackers are helping too. But they are hacking into the old regime websites and shutting them down. For them, it is there way of contributing to the cause.

CNN and other news media are too slow and too static to help and verify the information that is coming through twitter and other sites. People are helping inside and out. As we found out during the Obama election cycle, information is power and it can move people.

I have to say that I didn’t like Twitter when I signed on, but checking out what is happening is not only empowering and informational, it is a connection that a whole generation of young people have been shaping for years.

Following the posts on Twitter has been an inspiration to the humanity of it all. It has also been haunting and sad that people are fearing for their lives, changing locations so they aren’t caught by the police, and are still trying to reach out to the world.

Does technology shift the culture or has the culture made the technology a tool for change? We shall see.

Part II – Freelance Jobs: Making Money, Not Spending Money

by Ron Samul

It has been a five days since I engaged an online freelance writing service that appeared to be shady. They have emailed (because I have them my email) everyday since I looked into their web service. So, after this much harassment, I decided to Google this service. Quickly I learned what I suspected. One person wrote about “the catch.”

They draw you in – often with an email saying you have been “selected” to register with a special $2.95 registration fee.  If you read the small print, you will find that this is a seven day trial period and there is then a monthly charge of $49.95.   However, they also state that if you are not satisfied, there is an 8 week money-back guarantee. [CLICK for article.]

This person then read about an 8 week money back guarantee. When they requested it – they ignored them. Then they hit the writer’s credit card again for another $49.95. As this writer found out – the information on the website never got them any direct work and the information that was there was available in other sources for free.

This may be the only thing suspicious about the website. Maybe people are using the website and getting some kind of work. However, it is vital as writers (on any level) to understand the commitment that these companies are disguising as introduction offers and other package deals.

Always be vigilant and do your research before you put money into a subscription or web service. A writer in the freelance markets wants work and they are seeking it out. In this economic down turn – people are searching for jobs more than ever, but it should be done with resources that you can bank on. Personally, the Writer’s Market Guide is a better investment than a listing that you might find anywhere. To compare, the Market Guide gives you names of hundreds (if not thousands) of magazines and outlets for writers, including editors, what they are looking for, addresses, and how to them query. This would be  a better investment of $40.00 than subscribing to a website that offers little more than what you can find scattered all over the web. Not only that, but you can often go to the library and find the Writer’s Market Guide and photo copy the section that you need – for the cost of the copies.

It is important to be smart, professional, and make decisions that make money for you, not spend your money. People want to make money, but I will repeat – you can still get something out of a publication credit. Like all jobs, businesses, and work experience – you have to build up your credentials and credibility. If you have to give that away for a chance at exposure or a chance to break into a new market – it is better than throwing $50 into the electronic feeding frenzy of scams and slick marketing websites.

Let us know how you feel. Sharing information on this topic is important so people can avoid costly mistakes and gain the insight to the legitimate writing markets.

Freelance Jobs: Making Money, Not Spending Money

by Ron Samul

Every few days I go through Craigslist in my area and see what kind of writing jobs and gigs are out there. I have worked as a freelance journalist and boxing writer for awhile and I had made some connections with people looking for content for their blogs. I saw a listing that paid for any kind of writing. I responded and was offered an email sign up. That should have been the first clue that something wasn’t right. During the sign up portion – it is explained in very simple terms that if you write a lot – you will get paid a lot. They want content and as long as you can write a sentence, you can make it work. The catch is the $2.95 sign up fee. Now, I can spare two dollars and ninety-five cents and I would do it willingly if I knew exactly what I was getting into. They promise a list of jobs that I can pick from and write and write until I am rich. The initial set up fee was $69.95 but it was reduced – if you act now. They had a timer running that showed me how long this offer will last. It had fifteen minutes on it – and counting down. When I refreshed – it rest back to fifteen minutes. That is where I stopped. Something was fishy – in fact, something was really fishy.

In writing, I’ve learned an important lesson – if agents and freelance sites are looking for your $25 or $50 dollars, they probably aren’t working for you, but collecting small increments of money in order to keep their business afloat.

I didn’t go beyond the registration fee at this freelance writing website, and perhaps it is a legitimate outfit. Yet, writers who are professional and value their work shouldn’t be misled into a service or agreement where they are shelling out any money for their work.

As writers, we are looking for affirmation and a break that will shift are writing career into gear. It might be that agent, or that three part article, or that technical manual that will be the break we’ve been waiting for. But when you add in the hours we spend writing, connecting with other writers, looking for jobs, education, and late nights working – it doesn’t justify paying any small fee to get in the door. Don’t be duped by marketing companies looking for ways to offer you that affirmation of a writing life by picking your pockets little by little. Always do your research with agents and make sure they have a code of ethics and belong to the Association of Author Representatives. I have discovered that if you find a legitimate space to place your writing, you should gain (at the least) a publishing credit that doesn’t cost you a cent. There are others who put a higher premium on their work and some may deserve it. However, small publications, e-writing, and blogs don’t always have money to pay contributors. But, it is possible to get your work out to a large audience and build some forward progress. You might not get paid, but you are not paying out.

An exception to this is the awards and contests, specifically for creative writing. Writers can submit to awards and contest that will require that you pay a fee. It is from this fee that they derive the funds to run the contest, hire a judge, and eventually print the winners. Simply put, always read the submission guidelines and understand what they are looking for. Understand the market and the contest you are applying for and see if your work is compatible. It will save you the time and money when you can avoid awards and contests that aren’t looking for your writing.

Professional listing, groups, and unions often require dues to participate. I appreciate that and it is very clear what is involved up front. These professional organizations are small and rely on membership and dues.  Yet, when an agent asks for $200 for copies, you might go along with it. But it makes you wonder if they are selling manuscripts or just collecting fees. Professional groups add clout to your experience and resume. It shows that you are not just interested in writing, but the profession at large.

With limited incomes and recession worries on the mind of writers, freelance opportunities are an option. But always work with people and editors, not computer interfaces, websites, and fee based membership clubs.  Always read the fine print when it comes to websites that promise a substantial income. It might be legitimate, but often it is too good to be true. Below are a few more tips.

• Work with people you know already. Ask an old assignment editor or query your old boss looking for freelance work.
• Network in your field of expertise.
• Check with your full time job and see if they have a newsletter, publicity department, or internal writing jobs that you can work on.
• Considering breaking into a market for free to build up some writing samples. If you write about dogs, write a few for a blog or website and build your reputation. Then you can begin to develop a fee schedule.
• Don’t rely on one particular source for work. Diversify your contacts and your writing and you will find more opportunity.
• If you can’t get paid for writing, think about how you can use it for your writing resume. If you don’t get compensation, gain a skill or background that can be applied directly into your writing resume. It may not be immediate gratification, but it might work out at a job interview.
• Join professional groups in journalism, writing, and professional associations. Showing your clients and editors that you are dedicated to your writing as a profession show a professional commitment.

All writers know they won’t get rich on freelance work, but if you stay focused and professional, you will see through the scams and the people who will waste your time, and begin publishing in a diversified area of print and new media.