Spring Break…

We’re in So. Cal for Spring Break. Happy vacationing!

Writer Mama Jenna Glatzer Featured on Metropolitan Mama

Stephanie over at Metropolitan Mama does a rockin’ good job of combining interviews with giveaways.

Check out her recent interview with writer mama Jenna Glatzer and photo with her cutie-pie baby, Sarina.

Last Chance To Take Pitching Practice at This Price

Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries in Six Weeks
Next Class Begins on April 16th
Prerequisites: Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff and/or Targeting Your Best Writing Markets are  recommended or Permission from Instructor. Contact Christina at writer mama at earthlink dot net.
In this class, pitching is all we do. Over the course of six weeks, we crank out six queries. Exactly the kind of practice you need if you want to get in the habit of landing better-paying assignments. After you write and send six queries, you will never again ask, “What makes a strong query?” You will have developed your own and style into prototypes that you can use over and over to obtain future assignments. And that’s what query writing is about. Not someone else’s formula, but finding your own.
Cost: $175.00 [Last time at this price.]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Can Anyone Relate? A Comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi from Inkygirl.com with permission. Please read the re-posting policy prior to posting here.

Three Cheers for Daddies Who Read Bedtime Books Aloud

Three cheers for daddies who read! Not only do daddies who read bedtime stories do something wonderful for their children, they can give moms a much-needed pre-bedtime break to hop online and connect with other moms or read or write!

My husband, I am proud to say, has been reading to my daughter, literally since she was in my belly. Guess whose voice she recognized first immediately after being born?

Yup. Daddy.

At a recent teacher’s conference, Samantha’s teacher mentioned what a good reader she is and that she can “sight read” almost all the kindergarten-level words.

She said she is one of the best readers in the class. [Blush.]

But who gets credit?

That’s right. Daddy.

I once asked my husband, Jason, for his top reading recommendations. This was a couple of years ago and my daughter must have gotten a hold of the paper because it is all torn and crumpled. But I saved it from a certain demise so that I could share the list of books someday.

It turned up while spring cleaning my office and I felt that someday had arrived. So here you go:

Jason’s Top Read-Aloud Books

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Dr. Suess’s ABC by Dr. Suess

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess

Olivia by Ian Falconer

Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Abuela by Arthur Dorros

Franny B. Kranny, There’s a Bird in Your Hair by Harriet Lerner and Susan Goldhor

I’ll ask him for a list of books for older kids next time. What are your favorite read aloud books?

What Will I Recommend Next?

One never knows.

You’ll have to come on over and find out!

Check out my new blog:

Christina Katz Recommends

Breaking News: Writersdigest.com Revamp

Hey, good news from Writer’s Digest. They’ve renovated their entire site.

It’s now cleaner, easier to navigate, and more visually appealing. Yum-yum!

And what good taste they have: they’ve even included an interview with yours truly, the writer mama!

In true butt-booting style, my interview’s tag line is: “Get to work! Stop asking if you have what it takes”

That makes me chuckle… 😉

There is definitely some good stuff to check out over there. Have fun perusing!

And this seems like a good time to mention that I’ll be heading to L.A. on Wednesday, May 8th to speak at the upcoming Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference.

My topic is: Get Known While You Sleep—A Platform Primer

Last year’s conference was quality. I got to hang out with Jodi Picoult and my glorious agent, Rita Rosenkranz. (You can download videos from last year’s conference at the bottom of this page.)

I’d love to see you in L.A.! Let me know in the comments if you can make it.

Being Enough: Closing Words for Busy Moms for March

“When one door of happiness closes another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
~ Helen Keller

Rejection is part of every writer’s life, and every mother’s. Editors nix countless manuscripts. Children ignore sage advice. This is part of the process. Use it. To get stronger. Then let it go. And notice, instead, the hour of free-flowing prose. Your child’s sudden hug. Shift your attention to the open doors and your life will feel full of acceptance and opportunity.
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Megan Pincus Kajitani is a California-based writer mama and recovering overachiever who blogs at Having Enough (In a “Have-It-All” World).

No Brainer of the Week: Stock Up On Forever Stamps Now

Typically, I like to use pretty or fun stamps for snail mail. But when I heard about Forever Stamps, available at a US Post Office near you, I scooped up a hundred of those suckers.

What’s a Forever stamp? That’s what I wanted to know too.

Postal prices are going up, which is always a bit of a hassle. But this time, according to the US Postal Service…

A First-Class Mail stamp will be 42¢. Customers can continue to use the Forever Stamps that they purchased prior to May 12 at 41¢, even after the price change. We will have 5 billion Forever Stamps in stock to meet increased demand before the price change. Forever Stamps are widely available through Post Offices, Contract Postal Units, consignment locations, Automated Postage Centers, vending, and at The Postal Store®. We also will have a 62¢ stamp available shortly after May 12 for 1-ounce nonmachinable First-Class Mail letters, such as square greeting cards.

Really, Forever Stamps are not just about saving a penny per stamp. They are about not having to get your mail back in May. And as Martha would say, that’s a good thing.

An article in Slate.com last year said don‘t invest in Forever Stamps. Clearly the writer is not a multitasking mom. 🙂

Unfortunately, I was not as lucky when I picked up my International Stamps for friends and family abroad. In fact, I just realized while writing this post that I’ll need to add those darn 1¢ stamps four times for International mail.

View all the price increases here.

And note to self: Stop buying square greeting cards. 🙂

Self-care for Mom Writers: March is for Money

Tax season is upon us and if you are anything like me, your chest constricts at the very thought of how to organize your freelance jobs and expenses. Take a deep breath. A part of taking care of yourself is being financially responsible, not just for tax time, but for always.

Put aside some time, when the kids are in bed or at school, and use a resource like Turbo Tax or Microsoft Money to organize your writing related income vs. expenses. It will make you breathe easier. If you work from home, there are many tax write off’s you might not even know about, such as that play room/office, or even all those writing magazines you subscribe to.

Financial worries are not uncommon for us stay at home mama writers, and easing or managing our financial stress is a necessary part of taking care of ourselves.

Tips:

1. One of my favorite features of Microsoft money is the “set up your spending limit” tool. Groceries are the biggest expense next to the mortgage in our house, and I breathe easier knowing Microsoft money is helping me keep an eye on my grocery bill. There are also all kinds of budgeting graphs and pie charts to customize for us visual learners as well.
2. Invest in Turbo Tax, it’s only 29.95$ (or free for simple forms) and it walks you through your taxes step by step.
3. Read “Tax Time Tips for Freelancers” (http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a9574.asp) from Mediabistro.
4. Start teaching your kids about money and you just might learn something yourself. Read Jeff Opdyke’s weekly column about balancing family and money as a writer, “Love and Money” (http://online.wsj.com/article/love_and_money.html) in the Wall Street Journal.
5. If managing money raises your blood pressure, make an appointment with a financial planner. Do your research; there are affordable options available for every writer mama.

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Amy S. Mercer is a freelance writer living in Charleston, SC with her husband and two sons. Her writing has been published in skirt! Magazine, Literary Mama, Diabetes Forecast and A Cup of Comfort for Writers. Amy is Blog Editor for Literary Mama and Associate editor for The Writer Mama Zine. More at Dreaming About Water.

How Did I Do?

Well, I finished spring cleaning this blog. How did I do?

It’s cleaner, yes?

More targeted?

Less dead links?

Less abandoned blogs?

More relevant, helpful information?

That was the intention all along. Not to leave people out, but to make room for the most relevant. Just like spring cleaning your home. (I’m doing that too.)

I hope the clearer intention is helpful.

If you’ve been added to my blogroll, I’d love to be added to yours. 🙂

Please let me know if you have any other comments or suggestions.

Bookmark These Sites, Mamas! Freelance Parent & Write-from-Home

Freelance Parent: Advice from the trenches
How do you know if you’re ready to jump into the freelance world? Head over to Freelance Parent and read Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Freelancer. Freelance Parent is part of eMoms At Home.com: The Internet Home Business Magazine for Moms & Dads and is for all freelancers, including writers. Moms Tamara Berry and Lorna Doone Brewer teamed up to start their own freelance business, and they share what they’re learning along the way. The site has tips on grant-writing, interviewing and finding time to work while parenting. The writing is smart, funny and helpful — a perfect combination.

Write-from-Home.com keeps you coming back
It will take more than one or two visits to Write-from-Home.com to take in all the information. It’s filled with articles for writers on everything from insurance to queries to networking, as well as this one for writer mamas. Other features offer tips on paying taxes and breaking in with your local newspaper. Write-from-Home.com includes a blog that delves into the day-to-day business of getting the work done. The site also compiles fresh paying markets from trades to nationals from Web sites to newsletters so set aside some time to explore this one.
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Tiffani Hill-Patterson is an award-winning journalist with thirteen years of writing and editing experience. She’s a regular contributor to The Writer Mama zine and Birmingham Parent magazine, and her articles on health, parenting, fitness and pop culture have also appeared in The Huntsville Times, The Moulton Advertiser and The TimesDaily. She lives in Alabama with her husband and daughter. Read more at http://www.tiffanihillpatterson.com.

The Writer Mama Scholarship Winner for April 16th WPSS Class is…DRUMROLL PLEASE!

The recipient of the second Writer Mama Scholarship for the WPSS class that starts on April 16th is…

Mary Jo Campbell of Downers Grove, IL

Congratulations, Mary Jo!To everyone who submitted an application, it was a small but competitive group of writer mamas to choose from and, even though it was the second time around, it was not an easy selection process.

This was Mary Jo’s second time applying for the scholarship. I’d like to encourage everyone who applied to apply again next time.

Please help me congratulate Mary Jo!

The next round of scholarship applications will be accepted from Saturday, July 12 – Sunday, July 20th (only) for the August 20th Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff Class. I will post an announcement with the application on Friday, July 11th.

Gold Star: One More Time, Nice and Slow by The Writing Mother

The Writing Mother wrote a nice, thorough post on copyright over in her blog.

It’s a good reminder for all of us, mamas. 😉

Write Like a Pro: Creating Professional Materials

You’re meeting your potential client for the first time. Or maybe you’re pitching your proposal to an editor at a writers’ conference. What to bring? In both situations, you’ll want to arm yourself with professional materials you can use throughout your conversation and leave behind after the meeting. These printed materials represent who you are as a writer, so make them count!

Staples: Business Cards identifying you as a writer, your printed bio on high quality, ultra white (107+ euro bright or better) paper, two pocket portfolios, and 2 x 4 white labels.

Print your proposal title in the center of your label, and adhere it to the front of your two pocket portfolio. On the inside, affix your business card in the die-cut holder, provided. Your cards should include your name, address, phone, and email. You may also include a title, such as Freelance Writer, or Principal (if you own your own writing consulting service, for example). Your card should not include any titles from your past life vocation.

Tucked inside the left pocket should be your bio. It should be a summary of your writing achievements, not a chronological list of every job you ever held or irrelevant degrees and associations. If it’s iffy, show how the degree can translate into the writing world: “I have an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing, a skill set that might come in handy after my book has sold.”

If you’re fortunate enough to have clips, or past writing credits, include it with your bio or as a stand-alone sheet behind your bio page. Your rate sheet can also go here.

In the right pocket should be your proposal information, on top, your proposal letter; behind it, your book summary.

Your proposal letter should be printed on your “letterhead.” Take the time to create a word template that contains your contact info in the footer section. Consider formatting the font differently than Times New Roman to make it stand out from your query (or proposal) text.

Your book summary is a paragraph-by-paragraph summary of your proposed book chapters. As a “newbie,” you’ll need to prove to an editor that you’ve thought your book through to its final chapter.

Since the query letter is probably the most important item in your portfolio, we’ll devote the entire April column to this subject. In the meantime, get your supplies, prep your label, bio, and letterhead, and I’ll see you next month!
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Mary Andonian is the agents and edtiors coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference, one of the largest writers’ conferences in the United States. In past years, she was Co-chair and Program Coordinator. She just completed her second book, Bitsy’s Labyrinth. Contact Mary at maryandonianwwconference AT yahoo.com.