Attendees Share Best Tips from Conference Day 3
To recap the third and final day of the ASJA 2025 conference, I’m turning things…
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ASJACon2025 Day 2 Recap: Improve Your Writing and Storytelling Skills
In challenging times, writers play an important role, and honing your skills makes you a…
ASJACon2025 Day One Recap: Stay Optimistic in an Era of Uncertainty
It’s always been hard to be a freelancer, but in 2025 it’s getting even harder….
Pulitzer Winner Lane DeGregory and NY Times Editor Mike Wilson on Making Writing Come Alive
Lane DeGregory wants you to forget everything you ever learned about the inverted pyramid. The…
Author Wil Haygood On Topics, Process, and Telling Stories That Address ‘Black and White' America
In honor of Black History Month, we’re re-running this Q&A between ASJA lifetime member and…
Meet the Member: Darcy Lewis, “Accidental” ASJA President
When Darcy Lewis said yes to an invitation to help ASJA develop and launch a…
Navigate the Path to Publish at ASJA 2025 Conference Book Sessions
ASJA’s mission is to help independent writers survive and thrive, and we’re dedicated to being…
ASJA Offers 5 Scholarships to 2025 NYC Conference
ASJA will offer five scholarships to the 2025 conference, ASJA: Always in Fashion, NYC 2025,…
ASJA Offers Emergency Funds for Freelance Writers in L.A. and Beyond
Established nonfiction freelance writers affected by the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles can apply…
Update: 28 Freelance Outlets Are Coming to Client Connections 2025
As of Jan. 8, more than two dozen editors, agents, and content outlets have signed up for ASJA’s signature ‘speed dating for freelancers’ event at the conference.
On Fear, Freelance Writing, and What I Learned Serving as ASJA President
On Jan. 1, I will join an illustrious club: ASJA past presidents. It’s something I…
WSJ Custom Content Head, FIT Professor to Keynote ASJA 2025 Conference
It’s hard to predict exactly what 2025 might have in store for freelancers and other…
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What to Expect at #ASJA2016: Change. Challenge. Opportunity.
You’ve scoped out the schedule, prepped for your Client Connections meetings, and have your New…
What Is the Caldecott Medal?
“I was laughing and sobbing. I think I was also possibly going to fall over,”…
7 Reasons I Love Renting an Office
For about six years, I worked at home using my home office, or a couch…
Making the most of Client Connections before, during and after the event
It’s no fun to slave over a fabulous story idea, tailor your pitch until it’s…
BE CURIOUS!
I don’t think my latest book, BECAUSE OF EVA: A Jewish Genealogical Journey, would have…
Teaching the Next Generation of Newspaper Editors
I’ve turned into the crazy lady who writes letters to the middle school newspaper. Just…
Newsworthy Clients: How Much Media is Too Much?
As a long-time ghostwriter, I can often anticipate the reasons publishers may turn down a…
Being an ASJA Panelist Helps Me Pay it Forward
I love to teach – maybe that’s why I love the type of writing I…
Retracing History through Digital Newspapers
When researching American Reconstruction for my novel, I was grappling with both the appropriate language…
What My Dogs Taught Me About Freelancing
When I showed my then five-year-old niece a picture of a puppy I fostered, she…
Nine Twitter Tips
I’m getting better at Twitter. I’ve been launching words into the world by the handful….
Why Risk is an Integral Part of Freelance Writing Success
By many accounts, I’m a writer who should have never gotten a book deal. I…
From Science Dunce to Science Writer?
I was never a good science student. While I excelled at other subjects, science made…
Spin a Topic in Many Ways for Maximum Income
My first exposure to ASJA happened more than a decade ago, when I was asked…
Remember This: Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud
Sure, the U.S. economy is doing well, and so are plenty of independent writers. We’re hearing from…
Overcome “Lost Writer Syndrome” and Create a New Writer Identity
A few months I ago, I was interviewed for the ASJA’s Weekly Bulletin. I talked…
Need motivation? Focus on “I CAN”
The “I CAN” Project began with a simple online conversation early one summer morning in…
The One Trait You Must Have to Earn a High Income as a Freelance Writer
Every Wednesday, Without Fail Back in 2009 I emailed the editor of the local section…
Video Calls for Writers (Or Anyone Who Is Not a Supermodel)
Writers don’t always like being in front of the camera. We’re more at home behind…
A Natural Overlap: Journalism and History
Journalism is the first rough draft of history, Alan Barth declared. Or is it the…
Cut Through the Networking Noise
Freelance writers have sooo many ways to connect with one another these days. On LinkedIn…
I Bet You Have Great Stories
Years ago I was called to a Beverly Hills hotel to care for a screenwriter…
Writing is Murder
According to Forrest Wickman at Slate, the term “murder your darlings” or “kill your darlings,”…
Revenge: A Cold Dish, Never Served
What motivates you to write? Are you driven to write by an inner fire, or…
Nice to Meet You!
Over the past week, I’ve been seemingly unable to escape the Adele song, “Hello.” (For…
What We Lose When We Spout Off Online
About a zillion years ago—in the early 1990s, to be exact—I worked as a rookie…
Staying Sane on a Book Tour
I’ve done many book tours over the years, most recently when my publisher, Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books, sent me on the road this…
Reasons for Rejection
You don’t like to be rejected—no one does. But it’s part of being a freelance…
What Was I Doing? Procrastination and the Writing Process
“Writing process: Hang out on Facebook until bored. Then hang out on Facebook more. Ignore…