Each Day Already is a Challenge

Wake up! It's Monday!

Howdy, howdy, howdy! Are you ready for an awesome week?

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote the article about chain emails? (It's tucked away in my What's New? folder if you didn't read it. ) I also sent that article out to a few newspapers - the one I worked for in Texas, one in Pittsburgh (because I grew up there), and the Cincinnati Enquirer. Guess what! I heard from the editor of the Enquirer a few days ago. The article is too long for a letter to the editor (I knew that) but it's just right for a guest column or opinion piece (I knew that too.) The editor was writing to tell me they wanted to use the article and needed a picture of me and a few lines about me.

This is not a paid gig, mind you. But it is an opportunity for me to get a recent publication for my portfolio.

When I was in Texas, the 4 or 5 guest columns I did before working at the local paper were what got me my job there. I have also known freelance writers who ended up with contracts for weekly columns because they first submitted a few guest columns.

TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3 tells me that she likes contest without entry fees. Well, here's one that you can enter with or without a fee. With a fee, the prize is larger.

SIXTH ANNUAL FUNDSFORWRITERS ESSAY CONTEST - SPONSORED BY NABBW.COM

FundsforWriters and the National Association of Baby Boomer Women announce the Annual FFW Essay Contest with the theme: Make Us Want to Be You! In 750 words or less, either send us a remarkable promotional plan for your writing project or tell us what you'd do with your writing career if you had a year to devote to your passion. As always with a FFW contest, you choose whether to pay a $5 entry fee or not. The first prize for the entry fee division is $200. The first prize for the non-entry fee division is $50. Deadline October 31, 2007. Winners announced December 1, 2007. Visit our sponsor at http://www.nabbw.com
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm

By the way, in either her FFW Small Markets or Funds for Writers newsletter, C. Hope Clark included an article about writing for small markets by Nadia Ali . The writer said that in the summer, she doesn't like to write long articles or strict deadlines. She's trying to have fun in the summer months, so she concentrates on some of the small markets, where you can earn $10 for 400 words. Not a bad idea. For links to both of Hope's newsletters, just check the left side of my blog page.