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Thursday Dec 21, 2006

Holla @ Your Girl

Many thanks to Jen A. Miller at Poets&Writers magazine for the mention in her article "Literary Journalists: How to Get on Their Radar". And hey, it's just the kind of article that could help you out as well:


Those authors savvy about acting as their own publicists also probably know, as any good (and not-so-good) publicist does, that freelance writers are invaluable contacts. Of the 320,000 editors and writers working in the United States, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that one-third are independently employed. That's more than 100,000 of us freelancers out there, searching for the next great story.

Many of us freelance full-time. We have established contacts at numerous media outlets. We specialize in ideas-and in understanding publication cycles, news pegs, and other aspects of timing. We know about a range of publications; we can see angles that literary writers may not have considered. And we often write about an author more than once. For example, a freelancer could write an author profile for a large newspaper, a trend piece about the book for a regional magazine, and a Q&A with the writer for a lifestyle Web site—all during the week of the book's publication. I, for one, tend to include books of authors I've profiled before in holiday gift guides or other roundups, such as Summer Reading or Fall Favorites.

The author-freelancer connection can be fruitful for both parties. So how can literary writers align themselves with freelancers? Not all freelancers are the same, of course, but knowing who we are, what we do, what we're looking for, and when, can help you on your way to forging that connection.

Read her tips (including her mention of moi) here.


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