hey freelancers…looking for a writing challenge?
Ok, I’ve been tossing around an idea in the old noggin for the last few days but am not sure I have thought it all the way through.
I’m having fun (yes, honestly) challenging myself by getting queries in the mail, and wondered if other freelancers might be interested in coming along for the ride. I just read an article in a previous The Writer magazine (forget the issue) where, in the column on how I broke in, the girl interviewed mentioned that she had no fewer than (I believe) 18-20 queries in the mail at a time. Once one was rejected, she reworked it and sent it off to another potential publisher.
So now I’ve been thinking…what if…a small group of freelancers interested in a fun little challenge all came together to try and get 20 (or another arbitrary number) queries into the mail (or email) in a certain period of time? Maybe even have a little prize for the winner?
Personally, given my competitive nature (so they say…lol) I think it’d be fun.
What about you? If you’re a freelancer, would you be interested? Fiction writers…sorry about your luck, but this one wouldn’t really apply. I hate to think you have twenty queries in the pipeline for one story…!!
Think about it, zip me a note or post a comment and let’s see what we can come up with. Anything in the name of writing!
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It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)
Martha Alderson
April 30, 2008 at 3:26 AM
Hey, Beth, thanks for your kind words on both my blog and Lee’s, too.
I want to link to you on my blog. Should I put you under non-fiction or romance or both?????
Please advise.
Oh, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for novelists to have 12 or more queries out at a time……..
Beth
May 1, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Martha–
I love your blog. Your book is the first (and only) to help me truly comprehend plot. No small feat
hmmm….my blog? let’s go with nonfiction. You *do* know how much I change my mind about my preferred genre, don’t you? LOL.
I’ll catch up with you soon!
Martha Alderson
May 1, 2008 at 3:28 PM
Got it! I put you under General Writing Blogs.
A new post needs your comments…….. :>)
Sarah Lange
May 1, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Hi Beth,
I think that gathering fellow freelance writers together for a query competition is a terrific idea. In fact, freelancer Sue Marquette Poremba belongs to a writers group that holds regular pitch challenges, and she suggests that others try this strategy in her short piece that will appear in an upcoming issue of The Writer.
If you’d like to contact her for specific tips, I’m sure that she’d be happy to share hers with you. You can reach her through her Web site, http://www.sueporemba.com.
Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!
Sarah Lange, associate editor of The Writer