Edited by Lori Appling in Washington D.C.
"When I use a word," said Humpty Dumpty, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less." - Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking-Glass"Today:
- Contests, Contests, Contests:
- Win a Job Writing for Lonely Planet
- Photographers with Pets: The SPCA Wants Your Pictures
International Library of Photography Amateur Photography Contest ($10,000 Grand Prize)
- Nine Truths about Editors and Photo Buyers That'll Help You Land Your Next Assignment
- The Lucrative Traveler Conference in San Antonio, TX (February 10-12)
- This Week's Featured Travel Publication: DesertUSA
- More Opportunities and Resources for Writers
* Highly Recommended*
"Eric Taylor has done a masterful job of making a forbidding (and dare I say dry?) subject easily accessible. He knows his stuff inside and out... and he writes with a flair that belies his considerable accomplishment as a CPA. The Writer's Tax Guide is not only an easy, user-friendly read, it's downright funny at times. But best of all, it's full of advice I've relied on to save myself thousands of dollars this year alone." - Jen Stevens, Freelance Travel Writer and author of The Ultimate Travel Writer's Program
THE TAX YEAR'S NEARLY OVER - ARE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE TAX SAVINGS YOU'RE ENTITLED TO?
Especially designed with freelancers in mind - Find out where you can save... what the IRS really needs to know... how to make the most of those deductions for travel, meals, entertainment, home office, and more... including practical worksheets you can use to make sure you don't overpay Uncle Sam.
You'll find The Writer's Tax Guide: A Money-Saving Manual for Travel Writers and Other Freelancers here:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tax/website
Dear Reader,
Ever since we published The Ultimate Holiday Photo Guide (http://www.thephotographerslife.com/holiday), I've been praying for snow.
My neighbor has the cutest dog that goes absolutely insane in the snow. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. He does back flips when he jumps in the air to catch snow flakes on his tongue. Then he buries his head in snow drifts until he sneezes. By the time he's done he has so many icicles hanging from his face, he can barely lift his head. Last year he wore himself out and took a break on the front step. When he was ready to get up, he couldn't. All the ice on his face had him stuck to the door mat.
I'm dying to catch him on film. And I'm anxious to try out the tips I picked up in our Holiday Photo Guide about taking pictures in the snow.
Speaking of pictures (and pets too), check out these photography contests. This first one sounds like fun... but the second one comes with a $10,000 grand prize. If our Holiday Photo Guide doesn't move you to dust off your camera, maybe these contests will:
- Attention Photographers with Pets: The SPCA Wants Your Pictures
They're looking for pictures for their Ontario SPCA 2007 calendar. You'll find the details here: http://www.ospca.on.ca/photocontestform.htm
- International Library of Photography Amateur Photography Contest
Your favorite snapshot could earn you $10,000. You'll find the details here:
http://www.hcomite.com/CTHV12007_1/8329/dydlrqolqhG/vjvhthsoz/u.htmWARNING!! This contest is a scam. Don’t make the same mistake we did. See issue #96 on How to Recognize a Scam for details
Not a photographer? Try this one for writers then. One of your fellow readers passed it to me:
- Win a Trip to China and Write for Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is looking for three travel writers to join one of their writers on a trip to China. You win fame, glory and a free trip. What more could you ask for? Here are the details: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewCompetition
I hope you'll try at least one of these contests. But first, let me offer you a bit of inspiration this week by filling you in on what a few of your fellow readers have been up to...
Christopher Ruble started our photography course, Turn Your Pictures into Cash (http://www.thephotographerslife.com/ph2/website), back in July, and he's since taken his photography skills to a whole new level. He started a custom-made poster business using his own photo artwork. His new company, The Way of the Rose, has already made its first sale.
And Brenda McGill just got her first published credit at SensibleLife.com. Brenda was with us during our photo workshop in Washington D.C. You can see her article and some of the pictures she took on that trip at: www.sensiblelife.com/travel.asp
If you haven't yet gotten your own first published clip or photo credit, take a look at Ilise Benun's advice below. Ilise is a Self Promotion Coach who works closely with a lot of our readers here at AWAI, and I think you'll find her advice useful.
As always, remember to keep me up-to-speed on your success. If you have good news to share, send me a quick note at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com.
I hope you have a great weekend,
-- Lori
Lori Appling
Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program
P.S. Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter weekly at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter
* Highly Recommended*
"When I was 22 years old, I traveled all across Asia for six months. I dined with the Privy Counsel to the King of Thailand... met the late Mother Teresa... shook hands with the Dalai Lama. I took a week-long, four-wheel-drive journey across Tibet... went trout fishing in a pristine mountain stream in Bumburet, a hidden valley in the Hindu Kush... and I got to see secret religious ceremonies rarely witnessed by outsiders.
"When I returned home I was contacted by a text book company that offered me $6,000 for the pictures I took along the way. What's more, a few years later, the publisher offered to pay me AGAIN when it went to second edition." -- David Morgan, freelance photographer and travel writer
Now, you too can take pictures that look good enough appear in a magazine... pictures your neighbor will drool over. What's more, you can turn those pictures (and your writing) into a lifetime of lucrative travel.
Join us in San Antonio this February 10-12, 2005 for our Lucrative Travelers Conference where you'll learn you can travel the world and make a six-figure income doing it.
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/texas
NINE TRUTHS ABOUT EDITORS AND PHOTO BUYERS THAT'LL HELP YOU LAND YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT
by Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor
1. THEY NEED YOU. Do you imagine that by promoting yourself, you are intruding on or interrupting your prospect? Are you thinking, "They won't want what I have," or "They've probably already got someone else."
Well, stop. Even if this is true, you'll ruin your presentation if you go into it with that mindset. As Stock Photography Guru, Rohn Engh, likes to say, "At this very moment, they are waiting for you." If you approach each editor with the idea that they might, in fact, need you more than you think they do, you'll make a better presentation.
2. THEY WANT TO LOOK GOOD. Things are kind of scary out there. No matter the industry, from construction to graphic design, things aren't the way they used to be -- not for you and not for them. So what they want from you, over and above what they're asking for, is that you make them look good; that's your real job.
Send them only your best work and be sure what you're sending fits their needs. If you can't imagine them being proud to present your photographs or your article to their boss, then you might want to be more selective and only send them what you know they'd be proud to show.
3. THEY ARE, WELL, LAZY. That means you have to do some of their work: help them find you, help them contact you and then, of course, help them work with you. The fewer obstacles they have to surpass, the more likely they are to follow through, and the more likely you are to get the work. Put your name and contact information on every single piece of communication you send them.
4. THEY HAVE GOT A LOT GOING ON. Don't lose sight of their big picture. In the office, there are interruptions galore. They can't get anything accomplished, their desks are disaster areas, their voice mailboxes are jammed, their email is stacking up. And, to be honest, things are out of control. You are just one of the many things they are trying to focus on. Now try to ask: why aren't they calling me back?
5. THEY ACT ON IMPULSE. We all do this: we see something interesting, we get excited, we call for information and when it comes, we put it in a pile.
Determine as quickly as possible if you're dealing with an impulse inquiry and waste as little time as possible with them. But don't write them off entirely; just put them on your quarterly mailing list and let them come back to you. Real needs and desires will stand the test of time.
6. THEY NEED TO PIGEONHOLE YOU. Although you hate it, let them do it; in fact, help them. Give them a box to put you in, and a label to put on your box. (I'm speaking figuratively here.) If you want to be known as a photographer first and foremost then don't tell them from the start that you're a photographer/copywriter/graphic designer, etc. There's plenty of time to tell them more later about your full range of services.
7. THEY NEED TIME. It's not always a put off. Believe them when they say they have to think about it, or that they have to sell the idea to someone else. We all need time to think, time to get ready, to adjust, to clear our plate. Give them the time they ask for, and then keep in touch (via a combination of email messages with examples of new work and phone calls to check in - every month or two is ideal), reminding them that they were interested. And remember that some things will never come to fruition. That's life.
8. THEY ARE PEOPLE. Your relationships are not with companies; like it or not, they're with human beings. And relationships are more important now than ever because, with everyone moving around, you better believe they're taking the Rolodex (or Wizard) along.
9. THEY ARE JUST LIKE YOU AND ME. Don't forget: you are a prospect to someone out there too. Which defenses do you use? How do you want to be treated when someone is marketing to you? How often do you want someone calling? How much freedom and time would you like to have to think about a product, to ask questions and to make your decision? How do you want to feel about the process when it is over?
[Editor's Note: Ilise Benun, author of "Self Promotion Online" and "Designing Websites For Every Audience," is the founder of Marketing Mentor, a 6-month program through which the self-employed learn how to promote their talents and services. She also gives self-promotion workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Sign up for her free email tips at www.marketing-mentor.com.]
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The Ultimate Holiday Photo Guide: 83 Quick Tips for Taking the Best Holiday Photographs Ever
Even an untrained photographer -- an amateur, who's only taken snapshots at birthday parties -- can learn how to take amazing pictures in just 23 short minutes.
Learn to snap expert-quality family portraits and transform standard-issue Thanksgiving dinner shots into pictures you'll pass down from generation to generation...
Opportunities like this only come once a year. Don't wait and let another holiday pass by with only average snapshots to show for it.
Click here to learn more: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/holidayTHIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION
DesertUSA is an online publication that publishes articles about travel, wildlife, geology and history in North America's desert regions. Articles generally run 1200 to 1500 words. Photographs are expected. Pay is $200 for an article with photos. Photo essays are also welcome. Send manuscripts or queries to jim@desertusa.com. View the complete guidelines at http://www.desertusa.com/who/du_submissions.html.
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:
HOW TO MAKE A SIX-FIGURE INCOME TRAVELING THE WORLD -- Learn travel secrets designed to fund your vacations and make you $100,000 or more a year as you explore the world like a VIP. Two days ago, five savvy, sophisticated travelers met for a special round-table discussion about the three tools they use to consistently fund and profit from their vacations. In the past, people have paid $1,597 to learn the secrets for mastering just one of these travel tools. But today you're invited to discover three lucrative travel tools... for less than $20: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/twcall
CAN YOU WRITE A SIMPLE LETTER? If yes, you could be in big demand, earning big money, writing just a few hours a day from anywhere in the world you choose to be. Here's how you can learn the secrets of this little-known, lucrative business:http://www.thewriterslife.com/ph/tw89
THE AWAI FORUM FOR TRAVEL WRITERS -- You'll find this excellent online resource at: www.thetravelwriterslife.com/forums . It's a place to get answers to your questions, discuss your story ideas, find readers to review your articles, and stay connected to a community of writers.
RETIRE...AND GET PAID TO TRAVEL -- Get the details and your free report at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/website
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF WRITING -- Learn how to find the best story ideas and places to publish them...how and when to follow up with an editor...what you need to know about buying rights, contracts, and agreements...how to use syndication to increase your exposure and boost your earnings...and more. You'll find "The Business of Writing Guide: A Practical Guide for Travel Writers (and Other Freelancers) Ready to Turn Words into Profits" here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/biz/website
TAX SAVINGS EVERY FREELANCER SHOULD TAKE -- Find out where you can save... what the IRS really needs to know... how to make the most of those deductions for travel, meals, entertainment, home office, and more including practical worksheets you can use to make sure you're paying as little as possible to Uncle Sam. You'll find "The Writer's Tax Guide: A Money-Saving Manual for Travel Writers and Other Freelancers" here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tax/websiteThe Write Way to Travel is a FREE weekly newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Institute, available to AWAI students and friends.
© 2004 American Writers & Artists Institute
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