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…
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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…
Increasing Content Writing Revenue is My No. 1 Conference Goal
Learning new skills to expand my career opportunities – and revenue – has always been…
My Fond Farewell to ASJA Confidential
I know I’m not the only ASJA member who likes to pick a word to…
Pitch Slams Are My Conference Jam
Pitch slams are my absolute favorite part of ASJA’s annual conference. That includes the pitch…
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What Is the John Newbery Medal?
If you’re a children’s book writer, I bet you’ve fantasized that your book will one…
From Manuscripts to Musicals
People who work with words occasionally decide that if they can do one kind of…
The ASJA Conference: Why It’s a Must for Me
My family knows not to schedule anything for the last weekend in April each year….
The Anniversary Edition
It’s a good thing that I don’t have to make my living writing books. Nonetheless,…
Those Pesky Ghosts of Journalism's Past
Quiz time! Think, for a second, about San Francisco, which played host to an ASJA…
Communicators and Customer Engagement: Why It Matters
Customers rule and it would be hard to deny that the continued quest for new…
Readers Hate Clichés. Except When They Don’t.
Clichés weren’t always clichés. Once they were creative images or poignant observations that became clichés…
Should You Find a Publisher or an Agent?
Should you pitch a project to publishers, agents, or both? While having an agent who…
Transformative writing, how to teach it
If we go deep within to the spaces we are scared to go, we defeat…
Pushing Your Limits
In 2010, I was told that my 29 assignments for the “Leaders & Success” column…
The Top 5 Mistakes Even Smart Essayists Make
Essay is a popular genre. Trouble is, the number of viable markets is shrinking while…
Five Ways to Put Your Heart on the Page: Putting Words to the Caregiver’s Journey
My mother’s Alzheimer’s drove me to write. My writing inspired me to speak. Over the…
‘Freelancing Sucks’: A Texas-Sized Whopper
Independent writers are used to being disrespected. It goes with the territory, along with all…
Writing Rituals that Make Things Work
I’ve always been fascinated by how creative people balance their work and personal lives. Recently…
The Trade of Trade Magazine Writing
I’ve taught “Succeeding As a Magazine Writer” for many years. Usually, my students’ main goal…
Speaking (and Signing) for the Work
What I’ve always liked about writing: it isn’t talking. But even in my earliest years…
Take a Hike!
I make this suggestion for two reasons. First, it removes you from your writing space…
Businesses are hiring writers who specialize
Recently I asked a technology executive if businesses value writers as much as lawyers or…
3 Ways Stats Can Screw Up Your Story
Whether you’re writing a non-fiction book or crafting a piece for one of the…
Sportswriting, anyone? 8 Tips from National Sports Editors
As a decades-long suffering Cleveland fan (read: no championships in my lifetime — yet), I’m…
An Impulse that Paid Off
I got a book idea over dinner with an opera star. My favorite Metropolitan Opera…
An Essential Tool for Writers: Building a Creative Community
I spent many years participating in career days at local schools, asking classrooms at every…
MFA Programs: What are they and how do they work?
You’ve been freelancing for years. Clients love your work. But something about your writing isn’t pleasing…
Small Writers Group Nets Big Results
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, FastCompany.com, Columbia Journalism Review,…
Take the Reins On Your Amazon Reviews
Your book’s Amazon page is part orchestration, part free for-all. Your publisher will set up…
Why I’m Glad to be an Office Nomad
For much of my freelance career I had a home office, a spare second-floor bedroom…
My Favorite Office Assistant: Freelancers have a special bond with their pets
When he was with me, my office assistant always let me know when a package…
No Tax Break If Client Stiffs You
Contrary to what many freelancer writers mistakenly believe, long-standing regulations usually prohibit most of them…