Dear Readers:
When I took a mental holiday from working on Chasing the Strawberry Moon, I decided to catch up on the many writer’s magazines piled on my bedside table. I came across an issue devoted to freelance writing as a career. I was interested in an article that focused on healthcare – something I had been practicing for 40+ years. I decided to fill up my “free time” before my beta readers returned my MS by researching the this aspect of the writing industry. Suddenly, my eyes were opened to the dozens of magazines I had previously read (and apparently skimmed past the freelance pieces) that were filled with information about this aspect of creative writing. I learned that many articles in publications are written, not by magazine staff, but by independent authors who focus on the hundreds of speciality publications that find their readership by producing information for a niche population. So I decided to try a long-shot and send out queries to several periodicals. That was September, 2012. I suspected there wouldn’t be any response but was most pleasantly surprised to receive a message several days ago from one submission asking for further details on exactly what topics I could write about. So now I am adding on some hours daily to developing a response to the inquiry. And, oh yes, I am also working on the updates for my first novel. Could be a bad case of bitin’ off too much to chew but I don’t intend to let this unexpected, golden opportunity pass me by. The plot thickens.