Response to Andra, re: lNew Career

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Andra, and thanks so much for your letter.

[And now please excuse me, everyone, for wandering off topic to one

of my personal favorite subjects.]I am wondering if you have checked

out free-lancing opportunities for writers and editors? I am also

trying to restart my writing career from home, having previously

worked as a medical writer and editor for 20-some years while free-

lancing on the side for all kinds of odd markets. I continued to

edit, write, and co-author various articlesin my field when I went

back to school for a law degree in my forties and then, after Bar

admission, while working as a consultant/administrator/rainmaker for

a research institute in forensic psychiatry. Three years into my new

legal career, my spinal column let me down badly, and the rest is

history.

Through the years, I have done more free-lance writing than free-

lance editing -- but I was surprised to hear that you are sure you

need to start (in the editing arena, that is) as a lower-level

employee in an office away from home. Have you checked the online

sites that advertise for free-lancers? I hear tell there are many

more home-based positions available these days. Some online writers

I know have never laid eyes on their bosses or co-workers.

Writing (vs. editing) for publication is something I know more

about. While it might help to have a few " clips " to show potential

buyers of your prose, there are many markets to try, and you should

never give up on selling your work! As a professional

psychotherapist, you probably have great credentials for covering

any number of topics in your own field, whether for colleagues or a

lay audience. As you know, psychology and interpersonal relations

are bigtime favorites, especially when it comes to women's

magazines.

One book you might find helpful is *Writing for Quick Cash*--despite

the emphasis on money in the title, it is primarily a good general

guide for newcomers wanting to break into publishing. You would do

well to google the many on-line writers' sites, too, if you have not

already done so.

You might want to consider starting out with queries to smaller or

more local publishers. Since becoming disabled, I have been slow to

revive an active self-marketing campaign, but even so, I " sold " a

couple articles almost in spite of myself during the past few years

(in between major surgeries!). I put " sold " in quotes because one

publisher paid me in copies of the publication, while the other paid

me $100 for a major effort. These were small newsletters or

quarterlies with micro-readerships, but at least I have some halfway

recent (and decent) clips for my portfolio.

You have probably heard all this before, but, of all the writers'

magazines on the newsstand, I think the best for newer (and older)

writers in need of encouragement is *Writer's Digest.* The best

magazine for a listing of current writing contests is probably *Poet

& Writer,* at least if you are writing for more general

(nontechnical) markets (or are a poet, of course).

Another area many people seem to do well in is corporate free-

lancing. I met one woman online who was supporting herself by

planning and editing a whole slew of newsletters for the oil

industry. (She lived in Dallas at the time, which may have been a

plus.) I also know someone who writes software manuals, for profit

and possibly for fun as well.

Assuming you are a capable writer -- which you obviously are -- the

most important qualities you need to develop are dogged persistence,

extreme stubbornness, and, as much as possible, imperviousness to

rejection! You might be amazed at how many of our greatest (or most

popular, if not great in the literaty sense) authors had to

persevere while serenaded by the sound of innumerable slammed doors -

- mingling, once they finally did get published, with the sweet

music of horrible reviews. You might enjoy reading a few writers'

memoirs, e.g., *On Writing* by King.

All best wishes to you as you embark on this new and exciting phase

of your life . . .

> >

> > How do you know it is time to leave the work force? I don't

want

> to be

> > seen as " weak " or not being able to handle pain. But I have to

> accept

> > the fact that I am not who I was even five yrs ago. Financially

I

> am

> > not secure enough to make the leap. I just don't know what to

> do. I

> > would love not to have to go to work and hurt everyday. I would

> love

> > to be able to lie down when needed and to have some quality of

> life

> > instead of going to work and then having to lie down and sleep

> until it

> > is time to leave for the rat race the next morning. How do you

> know?

> > Physically I can't take it. Emotionally it is wearing me down.

> Pain

> > consumes my life. It is better when I don't work. I find

myself

> > having to take off more and more. Fortunately I am covered by

> FMLA.

> > And I do get pain relief from the Duragesic patch with meds for

> > breakthrough pain. Unfortunately, I can't concentrate at work

> when I

> > take these meds. How do you make this decision?

> >

>

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>

>

>

> Support for scoliosis-surgery veterans with Harrington Rod

Malalignment

> Syndrome. Not medical advice. Group does not control ads or

endorse any

> advertised products.

>

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