Archives: October 2006

Apparently a lot of people have opinions on yesterday’s mb feature on how your crappy cover letter prevented you from getting a job. So if you need to sound off on it, we’ve provided a place right here.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion's Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook's Morin Oluwole, and bitly's Tim Devane. Register now.

The spookiest and most useful links I could find today:
“CCleaner optimizes your PC by removing various kinds of system detritus, such as temp files, old Registry entries, and invalid shortcuts. It also helps promote privacy by deleting your browser’s URL history, cookies, and so on.” (Lifehacker)
An online phrase thesaurus: “Enter a word and it will generate a list of phrases and sayings related to that word – often including interesting selections that you may not have anticipated.”
You’ve enjoyed a poorly worded or ripoff Craigslist help wanted ad or two before. Now find them all under one roof.
And finally, on this fine fine day, I present the Dark Erotica blog: Tips, Tricks, Rants and Raves on the Secrets to Writing Erotic Fiction

Our panel of journalists-turned-authors detail how reporting helped them author books. Check out mb’s transcript excerpt from the panel discussion, “From Journo to Big Book: How Five Journalists Became Authors” held in New York on June 28, 2006. Panelists included: Shari Goldhagen, author of Family and Other Accidents; Sebastian Junger, author of A Death in Belmont and The Perfect Storm; David Margolick, author of Beyond Glory; and Julian Rubinstein, author of The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber. The panel was moderated by Tom Zoellner, author of The Heartless Stone.
Tom Zoellner: A question that I certainly had when I was contemplating a book while working for a paper is, you know, not only where do you find the time, but how do you find the motivation at the end of a workday?

David Margolick: You can’t do a book unless you love it. And so the problem is often motivating yourself to do the day job. A book is like a love affair. It goes on for many, many years. It has its ups and downs. It’s something you have to commit yourself to, and really love. And you just, you have no business taking on something that you don’t really want to do. And the nice thing is that you don’t have to worry about the 90 percent of the drek that you’d normally have to write about. Because you’ve chosen something that you love, and that you can’t wait to get back to. At least that was the situation with me. I never felt at the end of the day, “Oh, God, I’ve got to pick up the book and start working on it.” I always looked forward to it.
Read more here.

Plenty’s not a strictly scientific or niche publication. Like Wired, the magazine has a definite lifestyle take that means articles like “Haute Cuisine for a Sustainable Planet,” which looks recycled fashions as couture, and another on which ski areas have the most earth-friendly policies. Pitch technology, travel, humor, big social and political issues, design, architecture. Don’t pitch nebulous but enthusiastic ideas about hybrid cars, windmill farms on Cape Cod, or other basic environmental topics. More details here.

If you’re working on a YA book, you might want to check with your editor about his or her thoughts on your level of sexual content and language. While Borders won’t give a specific reason, they’re refusing to carry Aury Wallington’s (who has contributed YA advice here) book Pop! (writes Jessa Crispin in The Book Standard.) It’s disappointing that there are some groups trying to water down YA fiction, as said YA’s are the readers most in need of honesty in their writing. Catch a YA reader now with a great book and they’ll be a reader for life. Talking down to them with whitewashed writing is no way to get kids interested in literature.

In just a couple weeks Jenny Sundel will be teaching the Interviewing for Beginners class in West Hollywood. She was generous enough to share some of her tips with us. If you’d like to learn more, make sure to sign up for her seminar–do it soon and get a break on the price!
Here is my recipe for the perfect interviewer. As I can’t cook to save my life, take it with a grain of salt. And of course mix to your own personal taste.
1 Part Hostess with the Mostest
· Break the ice: You want the interview experience to be as pleasant as possible, so greet your subject with a nice solid handshake and a smile. And remember: you’re the one in charge of the tone. Come prepared with lots of good questions so you can easily switch topics if your interviewee clams up. Look for common ground, even if it’s as simple as admiring the person’s shirt.
· Dealing with a bad guest: Grin and bare it for the better good of the interview. If you lose your cool, the interview could get cut short. And worse, if you ever deal with celebs, you could get banned from a publicity firm’s entire client roster.

Read more

…unless you don’t mind not getting paid. (NYPost. thanks for the heads up, Susan.)

Taffy Brodesser-Akner, West coast director of education at mediabistro.com, has a problem:

Recently, I tried to fill several positions, from paid intern to journalism instructor, and I understood why most people (even the ones with great resumes) aren’t getting interview calls: Cover letters, for the most part, tend to arrive in my inbox as sloppy cut-and-paste jobs that not only get my name wrong, my company’s name wrong, and the job position wrong, but also don’t give me information that helps me decide who is worth inviting for an interview. It’s not that my standards are outrageously high — what I want from a cover letter are just a few key assurances: that I’m dealing with a professional; that the candidate has experience relevant to the job, even if it doesn’t appear on their resume; and, most importantly, that the applicant can follow any instructions included within my original job ad. After all, if you can’t follow directions during the application process, why would I assume you’ll follow my directions later on?

Don’t worry, though: Taffy gives you tips on how to craft a cover letter that will catch her eye–in a good way.

As long as the writing’s as good as Southern sweet tea, Oxford American has room for stories ranging from fried green tomatos to Confederate war stories. What to pitch: The editors are looking for thoughtful, well-written pieces exploring Southern culture, landmarks, literature, and so on. What not to pitch: Read the magazine and know that you’re pitching to and writing for literate Southern types. Their stylistic tastes might be ranging, but the magazine’s focus is steady and clear. Etiquette: Send a query and clips by mail. More details here.

Been sitting around waiting for your agent or editor to get back to you, gradually working yourself into a hissy fit? Has it occurred to you to pick up the phone? Yes? Well maybe it’s their problem, then. Dystel & Goderich Literary Management has an interesting post on the problems of communication in the communications industry on their blog.