What are the topics that are hot on the mb bulletin boards this Friday, hmm? Let's take a look, shall we? OK!

Speechwriter/ghostwriter Jane Genova continues to guest moderate the topic "Speechwriting: The Drift Towards Reality."

Other topics being raised:

"I periodically freelance for a magazine that prints and writers nothing but fluff, the type of stuff that is really reaching for cool factor and trendiness. This comes at the expense of publishing stories about anything of substance or real impact. Ideologically, I am questioning my involvement with this publication. If I didn't write for it, I'd rarely, if ever, even pick it up. I am solely a part of it at this point for the extra cash I earn from writing trash. Have you ever freelanced in for an entity that ran counter to your journalistic standards?"

more

"Being new to the blog world, I wonder if anyone out there knows about copyrighting and blogging.

I began a blog recently, in part because of a thread on here from people saying they've gotten assignments and recognition for their writing. My blog is the basis of a non-fiction book idea (I'm chronicling my attempts to get pregnant as a high-risk patient).

What's the risk of publishing so much on the blog that a publisher wouldn't want to publish a book itself? How do I copyright the work so that it gives me a legal leg to stand on if someone reprints the work?"

"I have a job in communications and I work for a non-profit organization. I took the gig because I thought there would be great opportunities for me to expand my horizons, and also because it would basically almost triple my salary. I started my new job last spring, but soon found myself harassed by the manager of my department, a very hyper-competitive person, to the point where I was starting to have trouble breathing. I handed in a resignation letter, but was promised by higher-ups that things would get better. They haven't.

I recently won a small public grant to finish a short story collection, and also have a Pushcart nomination under my belt. I'm now on a leave of absence from my job, and I have written about 4,500-ish fairly good words in the past three days.

I guess I'm trying to figure out if the market for part-time or contract writer and editor types is becoming stable again, as I think that's where I'd thrive best.

What should I do?"

"1) I'd like to freelance/apply for full time fact-checking work at consumer magazines. If on the masthead there is no research chief, who logically then, is the editor that would deal with freelancing the fact-checking work? Managing editor?

2) Is it safe to assume that if a pub doesn-t have a research chief, that the pub freelances most, if not all, of its work? Who else, and under what title, would fact-checking/research duties fall upon?"