TITLE: Organizational Needs DATE: 02/11/2003 11:18:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I've recently realized I'm in need of a bible. Not the new & old testament kind, but a Jen Leo personalized don't-leave-home-without-it travel reference version. A collection of contacts from media and fellow travel writers, to event coordinators, to writing templates, to press releases and promo material for all that I endorse. Biz cards, blog samples, book post cards, resumes and testimonials. I'm not a handspring or Palm pilot type though much of this could be loaded onto my Jornada if I ever get a replacement battery. We'll see. I do need it to be put together and it has to be small enough that I can carry it around easily. I'm sure some of you must think that I'd already have all this set up, but half of it is in my head, the other half is in a rolodex I took home when I left TT a few years a go, and the rest I am carry around in efficiently in an overstuffed backpack that has all new people who meet me asking if I'm a student. Where's my personal assistant? I ought to add that to my wishlist. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 02/14/2003 6:08:00 PM Isn't Joe an absolute riot! I'm cracking my ribs here! This may sound simple and obvious, but everything needs to be in one place - whether it's electronic or not. Ask Anthony. He's super organized. And he wears pants, so I hear! -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:19:00 AM If you figure out the perfect solution to this, please let me know :) I have a semi-travelbible that I carry in the car with me, but it holds only destination and historical info. and that alone is a large ring binder. Everything else is spread between laptop, journals, and what little remains of my brain. I have a Palm Pilot, but can't get used to using it and I seem to need the tangibleness of paper. (I also seem to be inventing words within this comment, but I think it's just lack of caffeine ;) Greetings from Blowing Rock, NC. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Joe Ehrlich EMAIL: static@well.com URL: DATE: 02/11/2003 9:49:00 PM >Where's my personal assistant? He is at the office by himself, and from what I hear, he is not wearing any pants. ----- --------TITLE: I Don't Want A Lonely Life DATE: 02/10/2003 3:58:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I first got the notion that Iwanted to be a writer when Iwas disgusted with PR from my internship with Eco Challenge at USC. Yep, *the* Eco Challenge that is now famous and the same one where handsome Brit Mark Burnett is high on the hog from Survivor success. I don't remember the guy's name who worked for Mark, but I hated the way he seemed fake on the phone in order to get what he wanted. Or was he just like that naturally? Hearing "Hey Cowboy, let's do lunch," one too many times, I decided I wanted to be on the other end of the pitch. On a visit to San Francisco with my college boyfriend, I found Natalie Goldberg's book, Wild Mind. I read it slowly, carefully and with much curiousity as a little voice inside me whispered, "I want to be a writer." My college boyfriend's mom owned an SF bookstore and knew several authors. She told me that a writers life was a lonely one. I invisioned myself closed in a room and seated at a desk typing away book after book. Yes, that did sound lonely. And quite unappealing, I might add. Being a people person, I knew that isolated writing would never be for me and that rather I could take it with me wherever I went. This week I've been indulging in feeding that side of me that loves people and was reminded that I can be both — a writer and a socialite. The past four nights I've spent with three important families in my life. Each set of parents are good friends, and the six kids amazed me again with their generous love and laughter. At a time when I find myself wanting to go father and farther away from San Francisco to deepen my commitment to developing the writing craft, I found this weekend important in taking a time out to appreciate the loved ones in my life. My extended family will always be here for me no matter how far I roam, but in keeping the love in my life I'll be able to go farther and into temporary periods of isolation knowing that I can come back to a life full of friends. I don't think there have to be any extremes in writing, or building a writers life. Yes, dedication and obsession will get you to your goals faster. But if you want both sides of the coin like me, you can have that too. Why not? What do you want? Once you know, just go get it. With the right attitude, sometimes it's just that easy. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 02/14/2003 6:20:00 PM One's personality plays a huge role in any passionate endeavor. Is there one way of doing anything? And that's the beauty! So, Jen, if being out there is what turns you on, that's what you do. Just hold on to that energy when you're at the keyboard, and make your words sing, as you surely can do. You are fortunate having not one, but three loving families. And so are they. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: Jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 02/13/2003 11:02:00 AM Yes Rabbit, finding what energizes us is the key to fresh writing. Have you ever talked to someone who seemed boring, but then continuing on in conversation found what excites them? Suddenly the once boring person transforms into someone completely new and different. Knowing what excites us is key. If for you it is being on the road, use that. Put all that you encounter and discover in your journals and remember the energy you had when you were first experiencing it. Then what comes from the keyboard at home will exude what was felt on the road. We can learn a lot from books - style, technique, history, place - but the energy we pick up from people, even watching strangers in a crowd, is irreplaceable. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:23:00 AM People always say my writing is more energized when I'm on the road and I think the interaction with people is the key. Well, not just that, as the travel itself plays a part, I'm sure. But the months of hibernation in front of a computer that occur between trips definitely weigh me down emotionally. I think you've hit on some extremely valuable insights here. ----- --------TITLE: Magazine rankings by circulation DATE: 02/07/2003 3:16:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: This is fascinating to me to see what magazines Americans are paying to read. Ad Age's list of top 200 magazines by circulation Only four travel mags in the top 50. Three of which are related to AAA. 5. National Geographic 6,890,852 15. Westways 3,328,280 23. VIA Magazine 2,655,203 34. AAA Going Places 2,191,629 ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 02/14/2003 6:26:00 PM Found this fascinating also. Wondered about Modern Maturity as #1. Thanks, Rabbit. Not surprised with the low ratings on travel readership. How different this would rate in Europe and Australia. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:34:00 AM Actually, Home and Away (#16) is also AAA, for midwest regions. It's interesting (and makes sense) that these are magazines that are automatically sent to members (as is Modern Maturity - #1 on the list - which is now combined with My Generation and called "The Magazine" - an AARP publication and automatic subscription). Hence subscriber list = membership list. You do find the coolest things to post in your blog :) ----- --------TITLE: Two submission calls: Asia and America DATE: 02/07/2003 1:31:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Whether you're at home or abroad, there are current calls out for your stories. I've been keeping my eye on Inky Girl and often I find other writing opportunities stemming from the sites she's siting in her telecommuting job picks. Follow her blog if you want daily leads to submission calls. From WriterFind.com, writers are wanted for an Asian Water Magazine. "We are looking for experienced writers based in Vietnam, China and Thailand who can write on the water sector." This is a paying gig with an amount based on experience. From Freelancewriting.com, American Magazine is seeking nonfiction articles about America. "We want stories from all over the country, about everything from unique festivals to interesting places to travel to personal heroes." It pays $25-$100. I think this one is great for beginners because no matter where you live, you can write about your own hometown and send it in. Tell them what's going on in your neck of the woods. What's original, interesting or unknown about your small town? They seem open to new writers and you won't have to spend a lot of your own resources traveling to get the story. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:36:00 AM Ugh. Time for breakfast, I think. Please delete one, as well as this :) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:36:00 AM I'll have to take a look at this. I've got plenty of new small town America material :) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/12/2003 7:36:00 AM I'll have to take a look at this. I've got plenty of new small town America material :) ----- --------TITLE: 5 Clips DATE: 02/07/2003 1:18:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Yesterday I put together my application for the "Minority Writers" scholarship to a summer magazine writing program at the Academy for Alternative Journalism with Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. You might've seen my previous post about it. To apply you needed to turn in 5 published clips, 2 letters of rec, a query letter for a feature story you think is suitable for an alternative newsweekly, an essay on why you're intrested in journalism, and your resume. Fortunately I had the appropriate clips even if they all came from books, was loved enough to get the recs on 24hrs notice, and had a story idea that I've been stewing on and was ready for the instant print out. After putting it all in a portfolio and handing it to Dennis our FedEx guy right in the nick of time, I felt fairly accomplished seeing it all before me. Geez, I thought...if you've got five clips already, you think you wouldn't need the class. That's not always the case. Like me, someone can have the clips but still want to broaden their education and training in other fields. I know I really want to get into magazine writing and I'll take the extra incentive and sponsored six weeks in Chicago no problem. The funniest part about the whole portfolio building experience was that the letters of rec I got from James and Larry were nearly identical even though they were written at the exact same time in two different cities. I already showed James's to Larry and now I have to show Larry's to James. These guys have been friends since their radio Dj days at Dartmouth twenty years ago and I guess some of their thinking runs on the same line. ----- --------TITLE: SpoonFed.com DATE: 02/07/2003 1:04:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I just got off the CalTrain and the one thing I like about not having a car is that I can indulge in spending a generous amount of time mapping out my projects/todo lists/story ideas at Mach 5 while I'm forced to sit. This morning while enroute to Travelers' Tales I spent nearly all of my 45 minute ride laying out the site map for WrittenRoad.com. And let me tell you, I'm so flipping jazzed I can hardly wait to get it up. This site is going to be so cool it'll take 5 years off your journey to becoming a travel writer. In fact, it's going to be so easy for newbie travel writers to use that we might as well change the name to SpoonFed.com. Okay I'm excited. If you've spent time in Oz, just call me Big Kev. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Chris EMAIL: chris@bootsnall.com URL: http://www.bootsnalltravelnetwork.com DATE: 02/07/2003 5:20:00 PM And if you haven't spent time in Australia, here's what Jen's talking about: http://www.bigkev.com.au ----- --------TITLE: Namebuilding -- Covering All the Bases DATE: 02/05/2003 2:12:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I'm back at Travelers' Tales after a great breakfast with James O'Reilly, our publisher. He's been a mentor and friend for many years and continued to give me great advice this morning. In particular, how to maximize our PR efforts through Sand In My Bra. Not only will the promotion of the book help my own namebuilding, but he reminded me of how much I've already done in my career so far and to use that to help promote the book. The perfect catch 22: use me to sell the book, use the book to sell me. To cover all the angles of self promotion, we talked about using the details of my life to attract interviews. How'd I get here --to be an editor/author? How did I get into humor? Why is laughing an important part of my life? there are lots of answers behind all those questions. We talked about branching out from our normal travel/women's/book PR routes and making the most of other angles like my Chinese American heritage. A worthy angle I hadn't thought of. James also shared with me follow up techniques for making the most of radio interviews and fielding/steering event Q & A. At the moment I'm all fired up and thrilled to be back in San Francisco. Yes, it's a brief and compounded week of getting the PR for Sand flying, but so far I'm loving every minute of it. Especially the time to spend with good friends I haven't seen in months and months. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dina Di Maio EMAIL: editor@thesquaretable.com URL: http://www.thesquaretable.com DATE: 02/05/2003 6:24:00 PM Jen, I'm looking for writers of travel pieces to submit to my site. If you know of any, please pass this info along to them. I love Travelers' Tales! ----- --------TITLE: H e l l o Travelers' Tales! DATE: 02/04/2003 5:40:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I took the Greydog overnight from Eugene to San Francisco and it was as easy as it gets with both seats to myself and sleeping near the whole way. It's pretty cool to roll into a town and know exactly which bus to catch to where you're going. When I got to the Travelers' Tales office, Susangave me the kind of hug that reminded me just how much I'd been missed. Krista was right there behind her, and Larry said, "Jennifer Leo! Welcome Back!" Well, he also made a comment about how unnatural it was for me to come in so quietly, but I was surprised to hear the "back" half of the welcome, and it reminded me that yes, I was home again. Not an hour earlier I was writing my short bio to my "Prude In Patpong" story which will be included in Sand In My Bra. It started off, "Jennifer Leo has no permanent address but can be found entering movie theatres in..." Between that and showing up at my old crib, I'm transported back to high school clique days when I was a member of lots but belonging to none. Home. Home home. Eugene, San Francisco, San Diego? None of them. I don't really have one, I have people and have continued to find my comfort in returning to their hearts. We spent half the day working through the marketing and PR launch for Sand and we're really in crunch time. Krista, Larry and I divied up who was going to take care of which calls, pitches, and mailings and the agenda seemed to run on and on. "Hey, this is a lot of work, who did this anyway?" I laughed. What we had crossed off the list was quickly replaced by new to-dos that hadn't made it on the first draft. Tomorrow morning I have a breakfast meeting with James O'Reilly, and the Wild Writing Women salon at the Monticello Inn at 5:30. If you read this and are in SF, stop by there and please say hi. According to schedule I'll be back down every month through June. Good thing I just got offered a used car for $55. It's used to long trips, so maybe I'll take it. But that's all the fun stuff. What's on the line up first? Sealing the deal on our Intro, starting to check event dates for the May-June west cost tour, making calls and prepping galleys for endorsements, and beginning the first round of calls for advertising. Here we go! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sean EMAIL: sean@BootsnAll.com URL: http://www.BaliBlog.com/news/ DATE: 02/04/2003 9:35:00 PM Jen, Fresh off your Rolf Potts tour..you are sounding just like him... "Home. Home home. Eugene, San Francisco, San Diego? None of them. I don't really have one, I have people and have continued to find my comfort in returning to their hearts." Hope your trip to SF goes off well. ----- --------TITLE: Cranking Up the PR Machine DATE: 02/03/2003 9:40:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I'm headed down to San Francisco for a week. I'll be at Travelers' Tales every day working on kick starting the PR wheels for Sand In My Bra. I'm confident that between Krista and myself, we should be able to meet my high standards of expectations. Main thing is just push push push. I turned in the marketing plan a few weeks ago and James and Larry added some great things that I had forgotten. We only have three more months! My social time will be fairly limited as I'm trying to maintain some sense of sanity which usually gets lost in SF visits. If you have time, come by the Wild Writing Women literary salon Wednesday. Anneli Rufus, book editor of the East Bay Express will be our guest speaker. Show runs from 5:30-7:00pm and it's usually a'buzzin and a'hoppin with networking and activity. Hope to see you there! ----- --------TITLE: Getting Ready for Everything DATE: 02/03/2003 1:40:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Things are really coming together in the name building department this year. Sand In My Bra releases with Travelers' Tales in April. WrittenRoad.com is launching this spring on the Bootsnall Travel Network. If those weren't exciting enough, I'm pushing for more. But with all the little sidegigs I've got going on, focus is often difficult to attain. Now, the Book Expo America is nearly upon us and I've got it in the back of my head to show up with book proposals and personal portfolios so I can take that next step with other publishers and agents. You might say, "Come on Jen, how the hell are you going to do that too on top of everything else?" Well, I just might buy some focus and hand holding. I love personal attention and guidance and I found someone who'll give it to me. Yes I'm a sucker for advertising, but this one is cheap enough it just might be worth it even if it doesn't exceed my expectations like he says he will. OK, OK, enough of being vague. I've been patiently keeping the debit card in my wallet while I read through all the benefits of this program and now I'm nearly ready. It's Steve Manning's "How to Write a Book in 14 Days." I'm not quite ready to endorse it (because of how hyped and sales oriented it is). But I AM READY TO BE OUR GUINEA PIG. Besides, he does the smart thing and gives a 100% money back guarrantee. If he delivers half of what he says he does, the $297 fee will be worth it. The cost is about the same as hiring an editing coach for a magazine article. Or the same as participation in a writing conference (half of the Book Passage Travel Writers Conference). The way I see it. I don't have $297 to lose, but I also am desperate to start actualizing my potential. And that getting closer to that is worth much much more than $300. ----- --------TITLE: The Rolf Potts on Tour: Portland DATE: 02/02/2003 11:26:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: You know how you can tell a lot about a person by who their spouse is? Whether you’re married or not, the person who stands by your side reflects on you. It’s the same with friends. It didn’t take long for Chris and I to realize that Rolf kept good company. They met us for beers beforehand, and we all went for beers afterwords, but what really struck us happened late into the evening after another successful and standing room only crowd at Powell’s on Hawthorne. We had gone with Rolf and his college buddy Steve and his wife Hae-Song to meet their other college friend Jeff, who was hosting Rolf's Portland leg of the tour. Jeff was the bartender at an upscale restaurant called 21 in outer Suburbia. Jeff was handsome, considerate, charming, and even better – had his uncle right in front of him smoking a stogey. Uncle Paul owned the landscaping business where Rolf had earned his first $5,000 that sent him on the 8 month trip across the U.S. with Jeff in a Vanagon. Steve, Jeff and Rolf regaled us with old Rolf stories. But when Uncle Paul started reflecting on Rolf’s written stories, that’s when we realized how deep their friendships were. ----- EXTENDED BODY: I love my family, and my family loves me dearly also, but they rarely read my work. Chris and I were very impressed that Rolf’s friends not only recounted their travels with him, but could also laugh again at jokes he had written about. That’s support for you. It’s family. One might call it love, but what I call it is a positive reflection on Rolf and the kind of friend he has been to these guys. People don’t just follow you unless they like you, and more so, unless you are worthy of their time and attention. After our stint at 21, Jeff generously hosted us as his third room of guests. The guys joked that Jeff came from a long line of hospitality workers, but we saw more than that. When we awoke Jeff was busily making breakfast for his friends. I wanted to get out of there fast so as not to be more of a burden on them, but it didn’t work out that way. We joined them at the round table over fresh orange juice, fruit, toast and cereal. They welcomed us like we were old friends too, and in a moment of rare casual comfort, we all talked. About the past, the present, and about nothing at all. Old college stories were shared, jokes were told, and I enjoyed a moment with strangers unlike time I hadn’t spent in a long while. I left Rolf with a hug, and the incentive to tell him later what a treasure he has and is building. So, mush mush Jen, what about the reading? It went better than well. Near 100 again and people were standing in the children’s section and in the outer aisles craning to hear even when they couldn’t see the slides. We were surprised by Steve Wilson of Motionsickness and had a lovely talk with him about travel writing. Not how you do it, but more about what motivates you to do it. Seeing your name in print? Ego? That’s not all of it and a topic for another blog post. The crowd at Powell’s asked more thought provoking questions than the Elliott Bay crowd and though there were less jokes, Rolf still had us laughing. Chris was also approached by a BootsnAll Mexico Insider who didn’t even know he was going to be here. Dave and Mary Keener were there to meet and greet Rolf, even when Sean couldn’t be there himself. It was a good night, and an excellent trip. A well reminded lesson in the value of friendship – both old and new. Keep up the wonderful work Rolf. We’re all benefiting. (Even that old guy who came resisting you but in the end the memories of his travels had over come him to the point where he just needed to open his mouth and tell you how much he could relate). Find out more about Vagabonding at Vagabonding.net ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Paul Nienaber (Uncle Paul) EMAIL: URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 1:25:00 PM Hey, nice ink, thank you for the thoughtful comments Uncle Paul -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Paul Nienaber (Uncle Paul) EMAIL: URL: DATE: 02/19/2003 1:25:00 PM Hey, nice ink, thank you for the thoughtful comments Uncle Paul ----- --------TITLE: Diary from the 1930s DATE: 01/31/2003 12:42:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Yesterday Dale and Donna from the Busy Bee Cafe in Springfield, OR gave me the journal they've been promising. It is the diary of Dale's mom when she was 14 and coming across the US in a 1928 Chevy one ton truck. They left Kansas City on Aug 13, 1930 and made it to Klammath Falls, OR Nov 1, 1930. She titled it, "The Modern Trail Blazers On the Oregon Trail" by Iantha Franklin of Kansas City. I'm typing it up and make it into a book with maps and pictures. A fun project and a fascinating reminder to keep notes on our lives, no matter how little we write. They're priceless heirlooms. ----- --------TITLE: The Rolf Potts Is On The Road: Seattle DATE: 01/31/2003 11:47:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: What's that? You haven't heard of Rolf Potts? Well, you will. Believe me, you will. As I'm writing this Rolf has already finished his fourth author event —ever. (and hopefully off having a few drinks with fellow adventurers Richard Sterling and Ken Vollmer in Berkeley). On Monday I drove up to Seattle in the BootBus with Chris Heidrich, Editor and Co-founder of BootsnAll.com. We were going up to help kick off Rolf's national tour for his first solo book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide To The Art of Long-Term World Travel. Coined "The Jack Kerouac of the Internet Age," Rolf stands up tall to the title. 6ft and probably a half a foot more with a jaw to knock the socks off the ladies in the front, middle and back row — he has been traveling since he graduated college at George Fox University a decade ago. And his years and months abroad far outweigh his visits home to Witchita, Kansas. Following an event newbie's shaky head-in-his book reading of Chapter 1, (where he stumbled to remember the title) Rolf gave a whimsical and entertaining slide show and Travel Q & A to a buzzing standing room only crowd at Elliott Bay Books. The slides started off with Rolf's high school mullet days and went on to college, his first long trip (8 months across the US in a VW with his buddies), teaching English in Korea, and a mix of his other trips abroad including Burma, where he fasted in a cave on the West Bank of Israel, Mongolia (the Uber Kansas), a $60/day freighter journey, and a river trip up the Mekong. The crowd was laughing, oohing and awwwwwing, and Rolf seemed like he'd done it before as he told sideline jokes off the cuff. ----- EXTENDED BODY: I've set up events for Travelers' Tales for several years and my standards have been measured at 35 people (a good event) 50 (something to go home buzzing about) 100 (something to brag about!) -- and Rolf had a few over 100 on my count. What do I like about Rolf? He's smart. His writing and his tales reflect his literary passion. He's as comfortable with himself, his bestfriends, and strangers alike. He's passionate about travel, dedicated to his writing, and he loves learning. Rolf Potts is adventurous. AND he's funny. I know all this will be a part of him throughout his career, but what I hope he'll hold onto the most is his humility. Does that come from a rising author on his first book event or is that Rolf? Time will tell. But his selfdefacing humour is engaging as it is attractive. One of the women in the audience at Elliott Bay asked him how he got his start in writing.Rolf answered her in this way: He pitched his SEAsia travel stories on spec to Don George at Salon's Wanderlust. (On spec means that the publication hasn't assigned you the story, but that they will take a look at it and decide whether or not they want to publish your work after you've written it). He sold several pieces there and then went on to sell a piece to Islands magazine on spec back in the days when Joan Tapper was editor. From there Rolf's "Storming the Beach" story about crashing The Beach set made it into The Best American Travel Writing 2000 and that was his big foot in the door. So, what was Rolf's advice on how travel writers should get their start? That's great advice but my favorite question of the night was when a woman in the audience told Rolf that she's been trying to sell her house so she could travel. The house wasn't selling and she was tired of waiting. Ready to hit the road, she asked Rolf how he dealt with his sense of home. Rolf said, "Before I answer that, is there anyone here tonight that wants to buy her house?" The crowd ate it up and laughed till he moved on. Get hooked on Rolf here: RolfPotts.com for pics, newsletter sign up, interviews with travel writers, many of his stories, and the books he's contributed to including Travelers' Tales Turkey, Greece,and Not So Funny When It Happened Vagabonding.net for details to his new book, events, reviews, and other stories from other vagabonders through his partnership with BootsnAll Vagablogging.net a daily web log featuring his side to the book tour and launch, daily travel quotes, interviews with big name travel writers, links to travel articles and discussions, and more. Rolf's Events a listing of the rest of his tour ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 02/01/2003 10:17:00 AM Thanks for your comments everybody! Rabbit, Rolf will be in Texas on Tues 2/4. Maybe you can see him in Dallas. Check here for all his midwest events: http://vagabonding.net/events/ -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 02/01/2003 2:17:00 AM Ah...I have his book right here in my little Texas motel room :) Picked it up today in Mesilla, New Mexico, announcing quite excitedly to the store, "Oh good! I've been waiting for his new book!" So glad to hear his events are going well. Would have loved to be in Seattle for that. But I'm here. And then there. And then here...and then there ;) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Amy EMAIL: alscott99@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 01/31/2003 1:33:00 PM I saw Rolf in Berkeley last night, and I think I can say he's improving night by night! He did a great job last night to a standing-room only crowd. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 01/31/2003 12:17:00 PM Excellent, especially your take on Rolf and the very, very last bit of humor which I give credit to Rolf for using it so timely. Has he thought of becoming a traveling comedian? ----- --------TITLE: Submission Call for Moms DATE: 01/26/2003 12:28:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Hi Ladies, are you, or have you ever been a "Krackdpot mom?" They don't mean of the drugged up kind, but rather mom's who are "ready to pull your hair out or scream at the top of your lungs? Yet, even while you were standing there feeling like a lunatic with a bazooka, others couldn't help but laugh at your situation? Was there a day when you felt your life should have been in a sitcom?" If you can relate to that, Alyice I. Edrich wants your story. Here are her submission guidelines Upcoming titles include: Krack'd Pot Moms on Weight Loss... Krack'd Pot Moms in the Kitchen... Krack'd Pot Moms on Vacation... Krack'd Pot Moms in the Workplace... ----- --------TITLE: InkyGirl -- A Weblog For Writers DATE: 01/25/2003 6:04:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Ooooh the InkyGirl weblog is pretty cool. It's done by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, the founder of InkSpot, (I miss that zine!). The cartoons on InkyGirl are fun and the telecommuting job leads for writers are great. The jobs run the genre gamut including educational, tech, animal, travel and Christian needs. I'm going to have fun keeping up with this one. ----- --------TITLE: To Freelance Or Not To Freelance DATE: 01/24/2003 8:05:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I just got back from my Eugene writers group and I got great feedback on two magazine story leads I've got in the hopper. But writing and selling those, and then waiting for the check extends so far out on the calendar it doesn't count towards paying my rent. The appointment setting job I've been doing now because I thought the hours were going to be ideal is not shaping up fast enough. So, I've been confused all day as to how quickly I need to get out of there. The trouble is, I haven't been this inspired to write in a long time. Ideas are coming from every direction, and I'm treasuring the time at the cafe witb Donna and Dale. Today they brought me old magazines from the 1930s and told me about their parent's lives in the early 1920s. They are still waiting for the journal, but hopefully they got it tonight and will bring it to me tomorrow. Now I just need a new battery for my Jornada so I can camp out at the Busy Bee and crank out stories. Oh yeah, and someone to pay my rent while I tend to this active creative spirit. ----- --------TITLE: Great Resource for Writers! DATE: 01/23/2003 11:03:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Hey, if you thought Written Road was cool for giving you market resource leads, check this out: The Burry Man Writers Center I found it while doing a google search for submission guidelines for alternative weeklies. This website looks right up my alley. I have to find out more about this guy! The Burry Man. What the heck is a Burry Man? Seeya, I'm going to sift through his site and find out. Already I can see that it appeals for those into the international market. ----- --------TITLE: A Different Kind of Networking DATE: 01/22/2003 10:40:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I like to eat, and I like to talk. So, it's no surprise that I've taken up to making friends with the regulars at the diner next to my phone job in Springfield. The Busy Bee Cafe is a thriving reincarnation of a 50s soda fountain. I've been going there for the past week and sitting at the counter with the retired set. They like that I'm a writer and are starting to open up with their life's stories. I soak it all in and sometimes cut them off if they get to rambling. Being there to eat and make friends, it caught me off guard when they started offering me story leads. A humor story from LTD bus drivers, the chance to ghost write a historical memoir, and as of today, one I'll probably follow through on. Donna is brinigng me her mother-in-law's journal. We're meeting at lunch tomorrow to read it together. I think the journal, as well as the people that I'm meeting at the Busy Bee will make a great local feature. Donna can't wait to show it to me, and I'm feeling the same excited anticipation. There is a story in everyone. Don't underestimate the story leads that exist in new acquaintances. Sometimes just telling people you're a writer can open up a whole avenue of undiscovered gems. And maybe some rewarding relationships, too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 01/27/2003 6:00:00 PM This is really, really neat, Jen. As a child, I just loved listening to the old folks (I'm older now!) tell their stories. It's their voice, expression and personal touch that gives a unique flavor. You're so right. We all have our stories - some more boring than others!!! -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sean EMAIL: URL: http://www.BaliBlog.com/news/ DATE: 01/24/2003 4:10:00 AM Jen, Yes! I love these types of meetings. Folks that were not part of your life a few weeks ago. Start opening up. It rocks and thanks for sharing that. peace and love, sean -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 01/23/2003 11:48:00 PM And I can't wait to see your web site! Profile/story section sounds cool. I didn't get the journal today because they're still waiting for it. But now it's turned into a freelance project. They want it transcribed and in print with copies for the family. A fun project! -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 01/23/2003 10:13:00 AM This is SO true. I'm excited for you about the possibilities here. When I'm on the road, one thing I never miss is the chance to talk to local people along the way - cafes, individual stores, bus stops, anywhere. I get some of my best ideas from these conversations. One of the sections in my (not yet launched) website will be people and their stories. Very cool entry, as always. ----- --------TITLE: Looking For An Agent? DATE: 01/21/2003 7:50:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I signed up for Todd James Pierce's Literary Agent Newsletter some time ago and forgot all about it. It came yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to find it more informative than I expected. Inside you'll find insider stories and experiences, details about agents that are currently looking for authors, and sound advice for writers just getting into the game. More agent news/tips as well as the newsletter sign up on LiteraryAgents.org ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 01/22/2003 1:25:00 PM Good advice, as usual. Will check this out. ----- --------TITLE: Been to Turkey? Here's a paying market lead... DATE: 01/19/2003 2:33:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The January edition of Writers' Weekly lists Cornucopia.net as a paying market for writers in their "Markets & Jobs" section. Cornucopia specializes in all things Turkey, and is targeted towards those who love the country as much as they do. Though the magazine is only published three times a year, they do pay $280 for the first 1,000 words. Photo submission are encouraged as well. Be sure to read the full guidelines on Writers Weekly before submitting. As with all submissions, it's better to familiarize yourself with the mag before you actually pitch or write your piece. It'll save you time and energy in the long run. ----- --------TITLE: SAND IN MY BRA: Update, I Can't See the Fat Lady DATE: 01/19/2003 1:32:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Well, we had to cut five more stories this week. Maybe only four...still trying to save one. I'm not too upset because these will go straight into the hopper for TT's next humor book, Hyenas Laughed At Me & Now I Know Why, due out Fall 2003. Speaking of that book, we just put it up on our Guidelines & Deadlines page, so if you have a hilarious travel misadventure to tell, read the guidelines and turn it in. Now I'm onto the PR and marketing for Sand. It's just the beginning, and I'm already behind (even if the book isn't due out till April/May), but things are kicking in gear. Right now I'm after a name brand Intro and some endorsements of worthy caliber. That and mailing out review galleys to the book reviewers and long lead women's/travel magazines. if you are in the press and would like a review copy, please email me. Unfortunately, I can only give out galleys to long lead press right now. It's a budget thing. When the book comes out I will be able to give review copies to midlevel print and online book reviewers. ----- --------TITLE: Rough News and Doug Lansky DATE: 01/16/2003 12:44:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I got my copy of Rough News this week. It was fun for me because it came all the way from the UK and they send it out for free! Then I was pleasantly surprised to see Doug Lansky on the cover and to find that he's just done another book. The Rough Guide First Time Around the World It seems like there are a few similarly related travel books coming out right now. Not exactly, but still... (Rolf's, Doug's, and Ken Vollmer's) Rough News gave us a snippet of Doug's book in the newsletter and I enjoyed reading the bottom ten modes of local transport, and the helpful best places to sit on a third world bus. While Rough News promotes Rough Guides books and writers, it's always done in an informative format to the budget/adventure traveller -- whether you choose to use their guides or not. And in case you didn't already know, they have their entire guidebook content online. Too cool Rough Guides. ----- --------TITLE: Guidelines Database and Travel Ezines DATE: 01/14/2003 10:06:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I love it when I find something really cool to share with all of you. And this morning, I found two. This, is a great page to read for any writer and I wish more would. You'd be surprised at how many writers I meet who are actually churning out pages and pages of the written word on their own computers, dreaming about making a living on writing, yet they haven't started checking out guidelines for how to submit. They just write what they want, wish someone would publish it without editing, but don't take the time to play by the rules. Well, here you go. Read this. NewsJobs.net's Top Strategies for Finding Guidelines Online I followed their instructions...and I'm not going to summarize so that you actually go read the whole article...and I found this database of 140 Travel Ezines, complete with contact information, website links, zine descriptions, and more. The site is no longer being kept up, so make sure you email for current ezine status before submitting. Also, check out their category page for links to many more Ezines sorted by subject. With all these leads, sometimes I feel like there really is no time to get a job. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 01/14/2003 4:03:00 PM More gold mine advice from Jen :) You are just too cool :) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: Jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 01/14/2003 1:01:00 PM So you know...those ezines are not necessarily paying markets and they might seem abstract. But they are good as regional target markets, and some for low level namebuilding. ----- --------TITLE: Travel-Writing Boot Camp for Journalists DATE: 01/12/2003 10:58:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The well respected MediaBistro has two classes that have just been added to my "I want list."Travel-Writing Boot Camp for Journalists and Boot Camp for Journalists which is also on that same page. For me personally, I think I'd get more out of the latter (D.C teacher). Though I have a degree in Journalism from USC, I firmly believe that anyone wanting to get into a journalistic career doesn't need one. If you are starting from scratch, whether changing careers or just acknowledging your burning desire to write, a class like this is all the jump start you need. After that it's about persistence, self marketing, getting your foot in the door and working your way up -- as with anything. They teach you the rules and after that it's up to you to get going on using them. So, no money for grad school? Take this for $475. Classes begin in early February, (Locations are in D.C., SF, LA, NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago) NOTE: They also have other boot camps with topics including sport writing, entertainment writing, and food writing. Thanks to Delara for sending in the link! ----- --------TITLE: Writer/Researcher Wanted DATE: 01/10/2003 4:27:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: There's an interesting $1000 job opportunity in the writing category of SF's Craigslist. If you want a staff or freelance writing/editing gig, keep an eye on Craigslist. Their San Francisco and Los Angeles branches are good for this kind of job hunting. And just because they're listed under those cities, doesn't mean that you have to live there. I've seen plenty of freelance/work from home jobs on their site. ----- --------TITLE: Elance DATE: 01/09/2003 1:13:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Elance.com I've been following some discussion on this site through my WorkForWriters listserve. Basically it's a website where subscribers offer up work to be bid on and sell the project in reverse auction style. Naturally, subscribing freelancers have the opportunity to get some freelance work. They have a variety of projects in their Marketplace ranging from writing, production, design, web work, business strategies, legal work, advertising, audio-video -- and what interests me, travel planning and event planning. The basic subscription fee for freelancers is $70/month or $140 for the quarter plus 5% of what you make from the projects (double check that for accuracy). I'm thinking about signing up, but first I'm going to monitor it and see which projects are going for what rates. ----- --------TITLE: WWW: January Literary Salon — Bookpeople DATE: 01/08/2003 9:29:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Judy Wheeler, Director of Sales/Marketing at Bookpeople will be demystifying the world of distribution tonight at the Wild Writing Women's Literary Salon at the Monticello Inn. As noted in the WWW January newsletter, Judy will be "covering all the angles: wholesaling, exclusivity, fulfillment, self-publishing, small press, and more. Other Bookpeople people Leisa Mock (Indpendent Press Director for Words) and Ryn Speich (Sales Manager for Words) will also be on hand. At their display table will be sample contracts, distributor listings, and samples of books produced the right way." Special attention will be given to self publishers who want to learn how to make their books more attractive to wholesalers. Wild Writing Women Literary Salon Monticello Inn 127 Ellis Street (near Union Square) Wednesday January 8, 2003 5:30-7pm. ----- --------TITLE: Pay Off! Congrats Philip! DATE: 01/08/2003 9:11:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I woke up this morning to find that Philip Blazdell, a writer that I've been coaching for name building, just won a commendation for a writing award. His story, Falling was a top ten finalist from 577 entries in the TooWrite.com competition for a prize of L1,000. You know its funny, I remember reading "Falling" for the first time and nearly crying, I remember editing it with him, and I remember sending him the link to the contest -- but if he hadn't won, I would've forgot that he entered. We as writers plug, plug, plug a long, and then Bam! Pay off comes and reminds us that it's worthwhile. Now I don't think Philip will be winning any money, but the pay off comes in recognition. In that flash of excitement, pride and enthusiasm to do more now that someone noticed and appreciated our work. Philip Blazdell is one of the founding writers for BootsnAll.com He currently has more than sixty stories on their site. He is an absolute gem to work with, and I hope we both accomplish our team writing/editing/publishing goals for 2003. Read on for his bio and details on the next TooWrite.com competition. ----- EXTENDED BODY: Philip Blazdell was born and raised in Thatcher’s Britain. Understandably he left home at the first opportunity for healthier climes. In order to fund increasingly ambitious trips Philip has worked as a milkman, raffle ticket seller, social worker, rocket scientist, university professor and technology consultant. His travel writing is based on these experiences and has appeared in several international magazines, newspapers, and travel web sites. Blazdell's first book, THE BLACK PADDY AND I — a hilarious memoir of his observations while working in Japan — is nearly finished. When not reclaiming his baggage at Heathrow, looking for a connection in Copenhagen or eating sushi in Helsinki, he is at home with his family in a small village in the UK. Details for TooWrite.com's Next Competition. (1500 words, non published true life experience, L1000 prize, deadline May 9, 2003) ----- --------TITLE: What a day! DATE: 01/07/2003 5:02:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The past 24 hours have been so much fun. And yes, I mean working. It started off yesterday morning when I found a part time job where I can set my own hours and still be able to do my freelance gigs; then I got an email from the Bootboyz saying that their front page article on USA today, had garnered some attention and Mike Reagan, son of Ronald, wanted to interview Sean for his national radio program. I sent over some pre-interview tips, and walked over to BootsHQ to watch Sean on the phone. As he was being interviewed, Sean got more emails requesting radio interviews in reference to one of their newest sites, StudentSpringBreak.com;Then Sean, Chris and I went for a walk and did some dreaming about our futures about 1-2 years out; this morning I talked to Susan Brady of Travelers' Tales about the next pass on Sand In My Bra; Afterwards I went over to BootsnAll.com to finish up work on their 2002 Campus Crawl. Ever since I've been hopping. With their DSL I've been able to do the CC reserach faster, as well as shoot the good goss on Rolf Pott's blog -- he's got a great article, "Long Die Travel Writing," a response to an article by Edward Marriott. This article completely begs to have additional commentary from Travelers' Tales, so I've been emailing back and forth with James about it. Meanwhile, in the other room (I'm still at BootsnAll), the guys are getting more PR, and Sean will be on TV tonight in Louiseville, KY. Last but not least, World Hum is back from vacation! Breath. Diet Coke. Nutter Butter Bites. And now to plan out the Campus Crawl for 2003, and finish my marketing plan for Sand In My Bra. It's a damn good day. PS-- Did you catch Joe Millionaire last night? Hillarious fun. ----- --------TITLE: Written Road Gets Sponsorship from BootsnAll.com DATE: 01/07/2003 9:44:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: These are exciting times indeed. Sunday night I met with Sean Keener, President of BootsnAll.com to further discuss the details or a web site partnership to launch later this month. It was our third meeting and now we're just down to signing off on a profit sharing split as well as the actual contract. So...what's the dish? For three years, or maybe even more, I've been wanting to do a web site called WrittenRoad.com: The Online Community For Travel Writers. It would be one place where novice, intermediate, and veteran travel writers could go for all resources related to travel writing. I bought the domain name, but because of time and money, never got it off the ground. Heck, I've had two different designers and even did business cards for it. That was two and a half years ago. We all know that ideas are a dime a dozen and it's action that counts. So when Sean, one of my biggest WR blog fans, came to me and said that he wanted to enable me to run with these ideas and he could help in the areas that were holding me back the most...I said Yes! Are you kidding? I'm not that easy. I first said, No! End of story. Passion and protectiveness first. Then we met again to discuss mixing business with pleasure as I have very close personal relationships with the BootsnAll boys, and I didn't want to sacrifice them for the biz. In our second meeting we got the emotion out on the table, and then out of the way. So, in the third meeting, it was strictly business and we both agreed on what a strong partnership this could be — as well as an invaluable resource for both the BootsnAll community and the general travel writing public. Isn't this exciting? I am thrilled about it now because a vision is soon to become a reality. In phases of course. First step is moving this blog onto a much better format with Moveable type. Then we'll begin building WrittenRoad.com and soon it will make it's debut. Acquiring WrittenRoad.com is the first merger for the BootsnAll Travel Network and the deal was celebrated over two pitchers of porter at High Street Brewery, and then pizza at Bene's in downtown Eugene. Yes, we can have it all if we try. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 01/08/2003 9:17:00 PM Fabulous news! *tossing my full support your way* -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mary EMAIL: McKeener2002@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 01/08/2003 4:55:00 PM Best news yet, Jen! Go. Go. Go. Your flexible part time job sounds just right for now. Oh, Jen, I soooooo enjoyed Blazdell's "Falling" story. Loving, warm, intimate, human. Mental illness isn't accepted yet, although it definitely is better understood, more written about. Still..... Here's the best definition of depresssion I've read. "Depression is the flaw in love. To be creatures who love, we must be creatures who can despair at what we lose, and depression is the mechanism of that despair." "The Noonday Demon" by Andrew Solomon -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 01/07/2003 1:43:00 PM Thanks Amy, and if you want to put me in touch with the appropriate peeps over at Avalon, I'd be happy to make sure they get mentioned properly in the book publishers section. -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Amy Scott EMAIL: alscott99@yahoo.com URL: DATE: 01/07/2003 1:02:00 PM This sounds absolutely wonderful! Can't wait to see it unfold from the beginning (well, I guess the beginning was years ago, but close enough). ----- --------TITLE: SUBMISSION CALL: Blue Magazine DATE: 01/05/2003 1:07:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Blue Magazine's web site is looking a lot better than the last time I checked it out. Much more conducive for the dinosaurs like myself still on the abominable dial up. Now, it's very clear who they are and what they want. They're a global adventure magazine geared towards both men and women who are travelers, not tourists. Included in their Writers Guidelines is an editorial calendar of what they're currently looking for. "WATER THEMES, WATER PHOTOGRAPHY, INCLUDING IMAGES THAT RELATE TO WATER DROUGHT/SHORTAGES THE WORLD OVER, AND WATER IMAGES INCLUDING LAKES, RIVERS, SEAS AND WATERSPORTS. deadline: november 02 through february 03 -- ROAD TRIPS. IMAGES GLEANED FROM ROAD TRIPS. ROAD TRIP ESSAYS. PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON ROAD TRIP TRAVEL. deadline: february through may, 03 -- SOUTH AMERICAN SKI/SNOWBOARD IMAGES + EXPERIENCES. deadline: february through august 03 -- INDIA TRAVEL + PHOTOGRAPHY deadline: present through feb 04 And since I have a few photographer fans, here are your guidelines ----- --------TITLE: MARKET LEAD: Travel Articles About the West Coast DATE: 01/05/2003 12:53:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Sunset Magazine is a good and well respected regional magazine. Guidelines for Freelance Travel Writers ----- --------TITLE: SUBMISSION CALL: Women's International Issues DATE: 01/04/2003 6:24:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Nervy Girl Zine ...is taking submissions for their upcoming issue themed, "Small World - International Women’s Issues" Query Deadline: Jan. 31, 2003 What's Nervy Girl? The thinking woman's magazine. So they say. I haven't seen it, but I like the topic. And naturally I'm curious about their interest in comedic women. Here are their writers guidelines. Heads up photographers/artists, they're looking for photos/illustrations too! Now, what will I submit? ----- --------TITLE: Travel Associations DATE: 01/04/2003 12:57:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Not ready for the big dogs yet? Turn to Travel Association journals, newsletters, and magazines in the meantime. Membership benefits with travel associations, (whether they're about corporate, eco, or leisure travel), often include a subscription to their association's publication. List of Travel Associations A little bit of research on their website will point you in the right direction as to who to contact for freelance guidelines. First look for the magazine/journal, then see if you can find any info on the editor. It's worth a call/email to see if they take outside authors. I'm sure you have some travel tips, advice, or anecdotes that they could use. Let's try one here for a sample. ----- EXTENDED BODY: Travel Industry Association of America Then we go to their "Publications" page and they tell us that "TIA publishes a wide variety of reports which may be purchased individually or through a Subscription Package -- all substantially discounted for TIA members. " After we go to the subscription page we find double gold. Not only do they publish USA Travel News but the description of this newsletter tells us that "USATravelNews will also include press trips and complimentary accommodations available for working journalists. " Hello TIA. Hello USA Travel News. Then they show us that they have an archive of these newsies. At this point I see that this is useful info to have, but not a place where I could actually pitch an article to them. But now I go back to the main TIA and look for contact info so I can send an email or make a call and ask about writing for their other publications. Travel Industry Association of America 1100 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20005-3934, 202.408.8422, Fax 202.408.1255 Meanwhile I see that they have a job posting for an Intl Marketing Coordiantor...go figure...my specialty. ----- --------TITLE: Win A Free RTW Trip DATE: 01/03/2003 11:13:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: There's so much going on around the launch of Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts, I need five posts to do it! But lets get to the nitty gritty so you can quickly go check it all out: 1) Vagabonding.net is the new companion site to the book. It's awesome. I love that his resource section is online along with their "Dispatches" -- vagabonding type tales sponsored by BootsnAll.com. Reviews and excerpts from the book are also available. 2) To promote the launch of the book, BootsnAll is giving away a free Round-the-World ticket. Deadline to enter is January 12, 2003 3) EVENTS! Don't miss Rolf on tour! I think it's just great that two of my faves in the travel community, Rolf Potts have been able to work together on this. Go get 'em guys! ----- --------TITLE: Vagablogging Takes 2003 By Storm! DATE: 01/03/2003 9:51:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: No, I didn't tell you about this blog before OR right as it launched because I wanted to see how it took shape. And I'm happy to say that Rolf Pott's new Vagablogging.net is my new favorite travel blog. While other travel blogs report on where they've been and where they're going next, or for the more intellectual crowd...what's going on in the travel literature world -- Vagablogging is a Sunday brunch buffet for the literary travel enthusiast. Feast on "Travel Qotes of the Day" from your favorites such as Bill Bryson and Tim Cahill, while also reading poignant travel takes from Paulo Coelho and A.R. Ammons; Read interviews from big shots such as Pico Iyer; and if you're already a fan of Rolf, get tipped on his upcoming magazines articles. Heck, if you're an up and coming travel writer yourself, you'll be inspired by Rolf's amazing ability to network and market himself from the other side of the globe. However, Vagablogging will really light up when Rolf's first book, Vagabonding (Random House, January 2003) hits the shelves next week. Rolf will be on tour and you'll be able to get a behind the scenes look of a west coast book tour. Folks, this is a readable blog. Rolf Potts is personal, inspirational, informative, and if you're a sucker for the big names in travel literature, Vagablogging.net won't disappoint. TECHNICAL NOTE: View the site in Internet Explorer because the text is hard to read and looks like crap in Netscape. ----- --------TITLE: Travel Publications Update DATE: 01/02/2003 10:06:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Santa, wait! I've been wanting this all year and forgot to ask for it. Certainly don't wait for me, go get it yourself! The market possibilties are endless, and because the editors are telling you how/when they want the material sent in you'll save countless hours in research and post submission wondering! Travel Publications Update from Travelwriters.com Rates and Guidelines for 600 magazines and 200 newspapers! -- $39 Browse their complete list here if you think you already have a good list. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 01/08/2003 9:36:00 PM I'm so slow responding to this - sorry :( As far as I can see, there isn't an editorial calendar included with this list. It's simply publication names/contacts/misc. info. - List of mags, followed by list of newspapers. Feel free to email me about it, if you'd like :) (Extra note: Will the Boots Boys be able to have a feature that notifies by email when a comment is posted to a comment? On the new website you mention in the more recent entry? This would make it much easier to have back and forth exchanges of ideas :) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: URL: DATE: 01/02/2003 11:26:00 PM Thanks for your take on this Rabbit! I love feedback and I hope more people comment. I'd have to double check, but they might have a cd or database version that's considerably more expensive. Can you tell me if they still include the editorial calendar with it? The monthly part that lists which publications are excepting stories for which countries. Thanks! Jen -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 01/02/2003 12:33:00 PM Also, maybe I should mention being a little surprised after I downloaded this list, as I mistakenly thought it would have the clean appearance of the sample listings online. This is probably my error, as I usually do all my own research and am not familiar with the formats of lists. Still, times are lean and time is valuable, so as a reference tool (saved in Word, as they ask to be done), it seems worthwhile. I do wish for the fee they charge that they'd have it available online, like the Writer's Market listings, which I adore. Anyway, just impressions. Hope this helps :) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 01/02/2003 12:26:00 PM I just got this recently and must admit it has many publications not listed in the Writer's Market listings. I have found a few in the list that don't accept outside writing (hence, sort of pointless) but overall it seems to be worth the $39., at least as a time saver. ----- --------TITLE: The Journalist's Toolbox: Global Journalism DATE: 01/01/2003 11:32:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Holy global links Batman! Check out the Journalist's Toolbox: An Online Resource for Reporters & Editors A plethora of resources for the international writer. ----- --------TITLE: Worldwide Freelance Writer DATE: 01/01/2003 11:20:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I subscribe to the Worldwide Freelance Writer newsletter. While this website caters mostly to the novice writer, I still like having paying market leads delivered to my inbox for free. There's always a few global markets that I haven't heard of. Here's a sample newsletter. I did buy their list of 50 Travel Writing Markets for $5.95. While some of the contacts are out of date or the links don't work, the editor does send an occasional refresh list. At $5.95 you're not really losing any money if you find even one good lead that works for you. Right? ----- --------TITLE: Hey Writers, Here's to 2003! DATE: 01/01/2003 11:08:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I won't breathe a word about resolutions, but I will say that calendar moments like we're having right now get me thinking, dreaming, and yes — planning. Every year I tell myself that I want to grow and accomplish more than I did the year before. When my birthday rolls around, I want to be further along than I was on the last birthday whether that's personally or professionally. With 2003 on my doorstep, I'm realizing that I've helped more writers this past year than I have myself. And that's fine, I love that. But a friend recently reminded me that it was time to do some things for myself. To actually be selfish, (with my time). For me, it's much easier to talk about wanting something than it is to actually have it. So, as I think on previous speeches about wanting to write, now I'm going to take that leap of faith in bringing my words to action. Where to start? This month I'm looking forward to having a writing retreat day with a friend where we spend all day in various coffee houses, restaurants, bookstores, and newstands. We're going to outline some realistic goals, brainstorm story ideas/queries, do some writing excercises, pick one of our ideas and write a first draft, help eachother edit it, brainstorm market leads, and basically get it to the point where 48hrs later it can be in the mail and on the way to the editor. It's time to stop talking about it and start trying it. Good luck with spinning your byline dreams into reality. I'll keep the market ideas flowing. ----- --------TITLE: Seeking Minority Writers DATE: 12/30/2002 12:43:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: This was in the classifieds section of this week's Eugene Weekly —and I just might apply... WE WANT MINORITY WRITERS:
The Academy for Alternative Journalism, supported by alternative papers like this one, seeks experienced minority journalists and students (college seniors and up) for a paid summer writing program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Chicago. The eight-week program (June 23 - August 15, 2003) aims to recruit talented minority writers into the alternative press and train them in magazine-style feature writing. Ten participants will be chosen and paid $3,000 plus housing and travel allowances. For information visit the Web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/aajor write for an application: Academy for Alternative Journalism, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, 1845 Sheridan Road Evanston, IL 60208. altacademy@northwestern.edu. Application deadline February 7, 2003.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: andrea EMAIL: URL: DATE: 12/31/2002 8:41:00 PM Jen - Sounds like an incredible program, wish I'd taken more classes like this while I was at NU. Check out the "Global Journalism" program also - who knows where you may be able to base your work! ----- --------TITLE: Calling Women Writers DATE: 12/30/2002 12:29:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: In researching mkg leads for Sand In My Bra, I've found some leads for women writers. W Network in Toronto is looking for writers. Scroll to the very bottom of this page for details on how to submit to their 7 women's topics: Relationships, Career & Finance, Entertainment, Family, Health & Spirituality, Home & Garden, Style. Where does the travel fit into that you might ask? Well, crossing interests only specializes a piece further. Travel can fit into any one of those topics, get creative. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 01/01/2003 10:55:00 AM Great suggestion here - thank you for posting this :) And a very Happy New Year to you :) Looking forward to reading you in 2003. ----- --------TITLE: UK Travel Magazines DATE: 12/23/2002 9:56:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Believe it or not, if I could have a subscription to a travel magazine, I think I'd rather have a UK one. I love the NG mags over here, but between those, Outside, and big glossy travel slickers that seem to cater to the upper class -- nothing really fits ME. Who am I? A girl who wants to get out there, but isn't a newbie and isn't an expert. Someone who loves adventure, but isn't extreme. So, I got pretty darn excited when I found Global Adventure on the newsracks at Borders this week. What attracted me? Title and photos first. A global adventure is what I want, and the photos of Africa made me feel like I was right there with them. It didn't seem to have the megabucks advertising behind it, though there was still plenty in there. Somehow, and maybe this is the foreign thing going for it, but it seemed to address a variety of budgets both in the travel it was promoting and the products that were being advertised. Global Adventure is edited by Dominic Tombs, and directed by Steve Duffy. Write them for guidelines or read what this market listing has to say. Also new to me was Adventure Travel: Leave Home Now. And I can't seem to find it online. But think a hybrid of the now defunct Trips Magazine, and Blue -- only not nearly as in your face. Contact Steve Duffy for guidelines. And then of course there is the lovely Wanderlust Magazine which I've been fond of for years. Rachel Newcombe has written up tips for writing to these markets and gives a contact info for each of them in Writing for UK Travel Magazines ----- --------TITLE: Personal - fan mail DATE: 12/22/2002 11:03:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I just wanted to thank you all for the WrittenRoad fan mail this week. I'm glad that this is a useful place where you can find resources and inspiration to pursure your writing. Obviously I've been swamped this month, and it's been difficult to stay afloat. But the fan mail that I got a few days ago gave me a much needed kick in the butt. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that 2003 brings you more bylines. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 12/30/2002 11:09:00 AM Well, I'm guilty of being MIA during the holidays and not sending fan mail to anyone, but I do wish you a Happy Holiday :) Looking forward to reading your 'blog during the New Year :) ----- --------TITLE: Eugene Authors and Writers DATE: 12/09/2002 1:37:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I had a blast Saturday night at a celebration of Eugene Authors and Writers party. I put on my "author event clothes" and went down the street to join other locals in honoring the Eugene Public Library. They held this event as they clothes their doors. A new enormous public library is opening up down the street. But back to the event, there were over 30 authors, artists and musicians there not to mention tables from local wineries, restaurants and dessert shops. The library was packed with happy people milling around. I haven't seen so many smiles since the Eugene Celebration earlier this summer. The highlight for me? Meeting Jessica Maxwell and letting her know that we chose a chapter from Femme D'Adventure: Travel Tales from Inner Montana to Outer Mongolia to include in Sand In My Bra. She was thrilled and had a great story to go with why "Twelve Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is her favorite essay in the book. Jessica has a gift for networking and I was able to learn a few new tricks from her as she swept me from introduction to introduction. After the connections, I was eager to speak at one of the Willamette writers events, as well as drop in on Jessica's writers group where she assists beginning writers for no charge. Can we say, In my element! ----- --------TITLE: Travelwise Online DATE: 12/08/2002 8:24:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Travelwise Online At first glance this travel web site has the look and feel of an old cookie cutter personal page...but in reading the writers guidelines you'll see that this is a good resource for writers trying to make their start. If you're trying to get your first press trip, they give letters of assignment to "our multi-published freelancers" (which I'm taking to mean, repeat authors on their site). Travelwise Online Writers Guidelines They pay a $25 honorarium (waived if story is based on a press trip), and accept prepublished pieces. Writer's Digest voted them #8 world-wide, out of the 25 Best Places To Get Published Online. Editor is Vic Foster. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 12/19/2002 5:37:00 PM Thanks Rabbit. I'll take that as a hint to come back pdq! :-) Sorry for the delay. I received more blog fanmail today, so I will make the extra effort. I have tons of posts backlogged and finally a day off from the grind to get to it! -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 12/16/2002 10:26:00 AM This is a great recommendation. I have mixed feelings about their stated policy of taking additional rights to publish in their newspaper chain (without additional pay, from the way I read it). Good exposure and a way to gather clips, I suppose. But somehow it seems a small honorarium should be added if they choose to use it for other purposes. I assume they notify the writer if the piece is used in print, so at least a credit/clip is gained. Btw, I always find your weblog useful. SO glad you're here :) ----- --------TITLE: You Didn't Think Editing Was A Glamour Job, Did You? DATE: 12/07/2002 1:30:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I just found out tonight that we need to cut 30 pages, or about five stories from the humor book. In case you didn't know, that's not fun. Especially when the stories on the block belong to friends. We thought we had the book nailed down to a working TOC, minus one cut. Five is a lot different from one or two and the line up is now under the microscope again. The upside is I'm also working on the marketing plan this weekend. For me, that's the fun stuff. Either way you look at it, there's lots of work to do before I get to hold one in my hand. ----- --------TITLE: Award Winning Authors DATE: 12/07/2002 1:07:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The Wild Writing Women are officially award winning authors. We just found out today. Stories of World Travel, our first book together, just won Best Travel Book in the NATJA 2002 awards competition. Please read more about: North American Travel Journalists Association Stories of World Travel Wild Writing Women Buy Stories of World Travel at your local bookstore, or right here on Written Road. ----- --------TITLE: Kick It Up A Notch DATE: 12/04/2002 11:51:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Try pushing yourself a little bit harder for a day and see how you feel. I've been working hard the past two days on another deadline for the humor book. In the past I've used the words "final edit" but we're still not there yet. A few days ago Larry and I spoke about the TOC and we were both happy. Today I read a story that was a late addition, and suddenly I had a problem with the manuscript. In my opinion, we've got too much of one topic. I suggested deleting a previously "In" story, but I still need to talk to Larry and see how we can address this issue. Back to turning up the furnace...I pushed myself hard today. And it energized me. With at least seven projects needing major work if not completion by Monday, and me working 8 hour days out of my home office, I need the extra juice. Today reminded me of my old life in SF, even if I didn't have the commute. It's bitter sweet. The excitement of the deadline always gets me jazzed, but I've gotten accustomed to the peace of not running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Test your limits. Find that level of production in you where the adrenaline kicks in. Once you find it, remember it, and use it when you need to. Accomplishment is an all natural high. ----- --------TITLE: Travel Reading DATE: 12/04/2002 2:20:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Reading An Area's Soul from The Dallas Morning News Stephen Trimble takes a look at historic trailblazing journals. More than 20 classics, both new and old, are mentioned. ----- --------TITLE: Personal - Will Work Anywhere DATE: 12/04/2002 9:26:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: ...just about. As I come into the final final stages of editing the humor book. (Those of you who are reading this to see if your story was selected...please hold tight. I will be in touch with some of you soon, and others will receive their rejection letters in a few months.) Anyway, my work ends on 12/22 and after that I've got nothing to do until the book comes out in April. So — if you know of anyone who could benefit from someone with lots of positive energy, pr and event coordinating skills, or even someone who wants a writing/publishing pep squad to help them namebuild — just put them in touch with me. If you are in a far away country, I'm willing to do jobs I've never tried before. ----- --------TITLE: NotWriting.com DATE: 12/03/2002 11:51:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Did you see this week's Yahoo Picks? They featured a site called NotWriting.com and I think it's great. "What would happen if a writer, unable to write, got the idea to write about things the things he does when he really should be writing" This is hilarious. I'll have to check in with him to see if he wants to take guest commentary. I can't wait to go buy some of his gear on Cafe Press. Too funny. Too realistic. But that's not all, this week's Yahoo's picks were made for me. Check them out: Blo.gs Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel ----- --------TITLE: Five for the Wannabe Blogger DATE: 12/02/2002 11:25:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: My bit that ran in the East Bay Express Book section is online now. Take Five:Shopping lists for the bookworms in your life I was thrilled to see that Anneli listed me in the top spot. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 12/03/2002 9:20:00 AM Congrats! Great placement and super information. I must try to find those books and see what they say (having been a blogger for years here...) Very cool :) ----- --------TITLE: Wild Writing Women December Salon DATE: 12/02/2002 8:39:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Don't miss the last literary salon of the year. On December 4, the Wild Writing Women wil be hosting another fabulous get together. This month's guest is Camille Cusumano, author of the The Last Cannoli. More details can be found on our December newsletter. When? Every first Wednesday of the month at the Monticello Inn ----- --------TITLE: Personal -- sorry for the hiatus DATE: 12/02/2002 8:33:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I apologize for not warning you all about the hiatus. I was away for the holidays and at a new job before that...nothing to brag about...just holiday work. But let me tell you being away from the computer makes me realize what an email junkie I am. Thanks for your patience. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 12/16/2002 10:29:00 AM Slow here on answering this. Not sure what happened here. Last email from the editor was a solid "go" and the last two emails were from me, then nothing. I suspect it was lost in the shuffle of larger projects. Perhaps we'll do it in delayed fashion, or for the next cross-country run (which may be insanely soon, due to the need to reshoot some photos). -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: URL: DATE: 12/02/2002 11:26:00 PM And welcome back to you too Rabbit. What ever happened with Boston.com? -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 12/02/2002 10:08:00 AM Glad to see you back :) ----- --------TITLE: It's Webby Time Again DATE: 11/24/2002 6:35:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I can't believe it's already time again...but it is. Submissions for the 7th Annual Webby Awards end December 20th. For travel, I highly recommend my favorite, BootsnAll.com These guys always seem to be overlooked by the mainstream media. But hey, what can you do? Vote for them in the People's Choice that's what! Though this time around I might check out the community category and see if they're not better fit there. Don't worry, when I get going on my PC campaign, you'll be hearing about this topic again. On a side note, I wonder why blogging isn't a separate category. ----- --------TITLE: Wild Writing Women Travel Writers Conference DATE: 11/20/2002 9:11:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: By popular demand, the Wild Writing Women have put together a workshop for travel writers. The first one will be held January 25 & 27, 2003 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Wild Writing Women Travel Writers Conference Only five of the WWW will be participating, and I will not be one of them. But the ladies have put together a helpful and informative program for anyone interested in travel writing.
"The conference, designed for serious and would-be serious writers, covers many aspects of writing, editing, and publishing, with an emphasis on travel writing. Classes include: The Art of the Personal Essay; The Fine Art of Revision; Food, Glorious Food; Book Birthing; Weaving Your Writer's Website; Developing a Sense of Place; Travel Writing and more."
Check out which wild one is teaching which course here... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: rabbitcg@aol.com URL: DATE: 11/22/2002 12:46:00 PM Maybe, maybe, maybe. It looks great :) If only I could predict my whereabouts. Back and catching up slowly... ----- --------TITLE: DATE: 11/19/2002 9:34:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: ----- --------TITLE: Seal Press Call for Submissions DATE: 11/19/2002 9:34:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Women writers, turn in your stories. Seal Press has their call out. Afloat: Yarns by Seafaring Women Edited by Barbara Sjoholm Fall 2003 First person nautical narratives Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2003 Women Who Eat Deadline Dec. 1, 2002 Some Soul to Keep: Young African-American Women on Love, Relationships, Sex and the Search for Mr. Right Deadline January 1, 2003 Refer to the Seal Press Call for Submissions for full descriptions of the books as well as submission details and contact info. ----- --------TITLE: Lonely Planet Travel Writing Competition DATE: 11/18/2002 8:12:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Ok, travel writers. Here's your chance to become a Lonely Planet writer. Lonely Planet Kindness of Strangers Competition LP is looking for stories of high literary quality that illustrates the following theme:
"These spontaneous acts of goodness, given with no expectation of return, embody one of travel's fundamental lessons: that at heart everyday people want to help one another, to be good to their fellow humans. of strangers helping stranngers on the road."
All entries should be between 1,000-3,000 words and need to be unpublished. There are some travel gear prizes, but I think most people would do it to get published in their upcoming anthology The Kindness of Strangers(October 2003). Deadline for entry is December 31. Check out their competition details for more information and how to submit. ----- --------TITLE: Well Traveled: dispatches from the frontlines of travel DATE: 11/18/2002 7:31:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Damn, those World Hum guys are good. I don't know how they have the time to find the great scoops they do. Now normally I don't copy them, and normally they don't link to travelogues...but in this case...we're both breaking the rules. They found some fresh stuff from Tim Cahill. He's online writing for Slate's Well Traveled column. Tim has accepted a mission from Slate "to trace the history of the "deep" blues, from its birthplace in the Mississippi Delta to its ultimate migration to Memphis, Chicago, and eventually the far corners of the world as we know it." I can't wait to check it out. Another notable from this section is Richard Bang's, "Into the Heart of Africa" Thanks Mike and Jim, as you know Tim's one of my faves. Now if I can only get out from under this Sand In My Bra work and review his book! ----- --------TITLE: James O'Reilly recommends M.F.K. Fisher DATE: 11/18/2002 5:06:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: James O'Reilly, publisher of Travelers' Tales sent an email today to the TT staff, raving about M.F.K. Fisher. I thought I'd pass it on since there are several of you out there who email me asking how to improve your writing. "Reading M.F.K. Fisher for Travelers' Tales Provenceand DAMN is she good! I'd forgotten how wonderful, how extraordinary her writing is. Truly one of the Masters. Anyone who wants to write should read her books." The piece he was reading was from Map of Another Town. James added, "Her style is so warm, so unique, so perceptive, so female, so universal, so timeless but in her time..." Thanks James! Read on for a brief list of other books by M.F.K. Fisher... ----- EXTENDED BODY: With Bold Knife and Fork The Art of Eating The Gastronomical Me Long Ago in France: The Years in Dijon Among Friends ----- --------TITLE: A House Somewhere: Tales of Living Abroad DATE: 11/17/2002 1:41:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I missed Don George's book release party tonight at Book Passage! He was reading with Isabel Allende from his latest anthology
A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad. This collection is "filled with stories of folks who committed themselves to a place that wasn't their own, but that became home." If you're not familiar with Don George, he is Lonely Planet's Travel Editor-at-Large and his column appears on LP.com every two weeks. This year Don was given a Gold award by the Society of American Travel Writers for best internet travel article. It was from his column and can be ready in their archive: "Impression: Sunrise at Uluru." He is the former editor of Salon.com's Wanderlust and also the editor of Travelers' Tales Japan. Don't miss his other Bay Area events. Don always puts on a great show and his coversational style at events is always warm and inviting. He'll be reading at Easy Going in Berkeley on Tuesday Nov. 19, and at Get Lost Travel in San Francisco on Thursday Nov. 21. For location details and future events, keep your eye on the Lonely Planet Events page. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Joe Ehrlich EMAIL: static@well.com URL: http://www.geocities.com/seamallowance/ DATE: 11/17/2002 2:08:00 PM Great minds think alike. Just before I read today's JenBlog entry, I had been reading about that book here: "Love At First Sight For My California Dream," on the Guardian Unlimited web site as excerpted from Isabel Allende's story "A Home in Paradise." ----- --------TITLE: Free Travel = More Travel Writing Potential DATE: 11/16/2002 12:53:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Frommers.com announced in their newsletter last night that RyanAir.com is giving away 500,000 seats until Nov.18, 2002. It's for flights in Europe--London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Glasgow, Shannon-and any of their flight destinations within Europe. To look at their homepage is an instant rush —the kind you get from the excitement of possibility. You know what this means...more places you can check out to write about = more articles to write = more articles to sell = more bylines to attain. You get the picture. Go for it if you have the time and inclination. What's the catch? You pay the taxes. No biggee. ----- --------TITLE: Everyone Wants To Work At National Geographic, Don't They? DATE: 11/15/2002 6:47:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Come on, most likely if you're a travel writer now, at some point in your life you dreamed of working with National Geographic. Well, here's your chance. I'm a firm believer that dreams come true...and they happen a little faster if you're willing to put in a great deal of hard work, dedication and persistence. The $100 add on to this list is of course successful networking...but that's a whole different topic all together. For all of you NGS wannabes...get out there. Do it. Sign up. Get that foot in the door and work your way up to the position you want. Here's you lead. Here's the door. Open it. Job opening for a National Geographic Writer.
Here is the listing on JournalismJobs.com Job opening for a National Geographic Researcher.
Here is the listing on JournalismJobs.com ----- --------TITLE: Google Travel Heavyweights & Featherweights DATE: 11/14/2002 3:39:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Have you seen Google Fight yet? It does Google searches for keywords and lets you know who has how many. For example, when Mac Donalds fights Burger King...here are the results. So...I've put some travel notables in the ring. Pen In Hand Bill Bryson vs. Tim Cahill...and the winner is Paul Theroux vs. Peter Matthiessen...and the winner is Rolf Potts vs. Pico Iyer...and the winner is Marybeth Bond vs. Thalia Zapatos...and the winner is Peter Mayle vs. Frances Mayes...and the winner is Richard Sterling vs. Doug Lansky...and the winner is From the Bookshelf Lonely Planet vs. Rough Guides...and the winner is Fodor's vs. Frommer's...and the winner is Behind the Desk (Travelers' Tales) Larry Habegger vs. James O'Reilly...and the winner is (World Hum) Michael Yessis vs. Jim Benning...and the winner is (BootsnAll) Sean Keener vs. Chris Heidrich...and the winner is Read All About It Los Angeles Times vs. New York Times...and the winner is San Francisco Chronicle vs. Seattle Times...and the winner is Outside Magazine vs. National Geographic Adventure Magazine...and the winner is Conde Nast Traveler vs. Travel & Leisure and the winner is What Everyone Wants To Know Traveler vs. Tourist...and the winner is Think this is fun? Read more for non travel fights. ----- EXTENDED BODY: Go to Googlefight.com to see their classics, hall of fame fights, or to make your own. Now here are a few more... Jennifer L. Leo vs. Jen Leo Jennifer L. Leo ( 165 000 results) versus Jen Leo ( 64 400 results) Bill Gates vs. Donald Trump Bill Gates (1 540 000 results) versus Donald Trump ( 103 000 results) Russell Crowe vs. Mel Gibson Russell Crowe ( 318 000 results) versus Mel Gibson ( 335 000 results) Matt Damon vs. Ben Affleck Matt Damon ( 210 000 results) versus Ben Affleck ( 248 000 results) Tom Cruise vs. Brad Pitt Tom Cruise ( 628 000 results) versus Brad Pitt ( 234 000 results) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: Jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 11/15/2002 11:27:00 AM Ha! That's funny Susan. The reason why is because Brady is a very popular surname. More so than Leo anyway. So combined, both of the words in your searches are more popular than both of the words in my searches. But I guess I can say that now I'm happy Jennifer L. Leo will be on the cover of Sand instead of Jen Leo :-) -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: susan EMAIL: susan@travelerstales.com URL: DATE: 11/15/2002 10:13:00 AM Susan Brady vs Jen Leo - 166,000 for SB and 64,000 for JL. Who'd of thought? Actually, how realistic can this be, when I am a nobody and you even have your own website and blog, and books, etc? ----- --------TITLE: Almost done DATE: 11/13/2002 6:47:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The editing session for Sand In My Bra & Other Misadventures was fairly productive even if we didn't get as far as we'd hoped. A couple of things... 1) We've got 36 stories and I'd say they're 96% nailed down. Only 6 of those are from books. This is great because I thought originally we were shooting for a book with only 25 stories. We might end up cutting one or two, but I'm liking the variety and the book is still right around 200 pages not including front and backmatter. 2) We're having fillers. Or epilogues as we used to call them. These are the anecdotes at the end of the main stories. They're longer than a sidebar which are the boxed quotes or anecdotes within the story. But back to the fillers. I'm happy to have a few of those in the book because there were lots of submissions that had funny parts to them, but the story as a whole just wasn't going to work. Whether the rest was poorly written, didn't fit our mix, or just wasn't funny enough -- now we get to include more contributors AND funny bits of travel. I still have to find a bunch of sidebars and write more teasers. Not to mention starting on the PR, writing the acknowledgements, coming up with my photo montage, and more. But yes, we are getting closer. Did you know it took so long to make a book? It releases in April 2003. ----- --------TITLE: Travel stories I don't want to read DATE: 11/13/2002 6:36:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I would love to do an anthology of the worst submissions ever. The mass market wouldn't understand the humor, but I think editors would. It'd be the perfect bathroom book for any travel editor/writer. Here are a four types of cliche stories that I would be happy to never read again: 1.It took forever to get there. 2000+ words of whinging about how awful the plane ride was, how they couldn't get a cab, how they got lost getting to the hotel, or the wrong hotel, and how awful it was once they got there. 2.Turkish baths. Nearly all these stories sound a like, and so many people feel compelled to tell it. In theory, it would be a great story, except on my end, I've heard it already. 3.Buying a rug in Morocco.Complete with tout's uncle, and how they got you in with the tea. 4.Me and my husband... It's not that a story about a couple will be a bad story. Not at all. It's when they start off that way. Me and my husband went to Mexico for our vacation. It reminds me of the 5th grade English exercises where we had to write a page about our summer vacation. Lacking spunk and originality. So, if you are working on a story similar to one of these, please rethink your angle and try to make yours as unique as possible. And give it a decent lead. P & T. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 11/14/2002 10:41:00 PM Then again, think of the time it saves to have someone start with something as horrid as "Me and my husband..." - Where's that waste paper basket? *two points* ;) (Greetings from Oklahoma City, westbound :) ----- --------TITLE: Curious about publicity? Get your name out there! DATE: 11/12/2002 10:47:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Here's a quick overview of publicity. One of the members from WorkforWriters sent it in and it grabbed my eye. I love this listserve. More info at: WorkForWriters@onelist.com ----- --------TITLE: 2 more travel magazines DATE: 11/12/2002 12:05:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Here are two travel magazines that I came across this week. They're new to me. Audience? Travel + Life: This magazine looks good visually, but I have yet to sit down and read it. It is put out by a company called Virtuoso. Elite Traveler: For the luxury set...they have a cool looking web site, and for all you travel writers —a handy editorial calendar. I've emailed for submission guidelines. Will add them here when I get a response. ----- --------TITLE: Sand in My Bra DATE: 11/11/2002 11:51:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I rode the dog down to SF for a whirlwind edit session with Larry on the humor book. It's coming along. Getting closer. We added five stories today and cut two. I think we're over 35 stories but still under 200 pages, or right there abouts. It takes a lot more to get me to laugh out loud at this point. But right in the middle of working on this I looked up at Larry and smiled, "Hey Larry, this is going to be a fun book." And I do think that. I think that some people will really get a kick out of it. The cover might target a younger audience than usually makes up our fan club, but that's fine. I'm concerned we don't address the cynical sense of humor, the older crowd, and there's definitely not enough mush. But hey, you can't win 'em all. That's the nature of anthologies. When you're publishing anthologies you learn real quick that you won't be able to make everyone happy. Tomorrow we nail down the final TOC. I can't wait! ----- --------TITLE: Final Edit For Sand In My Bra & A Humor Contest DATE: 11/08/2002 4:53:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Well...it's time for the final edit. Part of which I'll be doing this weekend, and then I'll be doing the rest in San Francisco with Larry Habegger on Monday & Tuesday. We've got story selections to finalize which will probably mean cutting nearly 10 stories from the last go round, writing teasers, adding sidebars and possibly fillers. The last one is a stretch...it's just that I have a few smaller pieces that I don't know what to do with. But hey speaking of humor, here's a contest for you that I found today: The Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Non-Fiction. Entry fee is $5, and max word count is 750, but you could win as much as $500. Worth a shot. ----- --------TITLE: It's Time To Write DATE: 11/06/2002 3:50:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Last Friday someone on the WorkforWriters listserve posted a whole bunch of market leads and links to submission guidelines. I got excited thinking about story angles that I could work on for many of them. I was really motivated...though the 16oz cup of coffee could've had something to do with it, too. I planned some of them out over the weekend, and now midweek, I'm wondering where the time has gone. I don't dare say "I can't findthe time to write" because that couldn't be farther from the truth. I've got heaps of downtime here in Eugene. You could say that I'm making up for the last five years of crazy double job city life. No, what I'd rather say is "I need to makethe time to write." Some might not see much of a difference, but there is. A canyon of difference. Stay positive, keep excited by projects that inspire and challenge you, and believe in yourself. Time-wise, mornings work best for me. That's when I feel the most focused and have good energy. When's the best time for you? ----- --------TITLE: Adventure Travel Writing Contest DATE: 11/04/2002 10:02:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Knowing what it costs to put an anthology together, The Narrative Press seems to have the right idea for making the most of a small budget — A contest. The Best True Adventure & Exploration Stories of 2003 Contest 30 winners will be selected to be included in "a collection of over 30 adventures, from jungle treks to mountain climbing, desert crossings to south seas sailings, from treasure hunts to espionage, from archeological digs to river running." Stories must be true, first person accounts, maximum word count is 5,000 words, and the entry fee is $15. Top three winners will receive large gift certificates. Check out the contest details for more info. Here is an excerpt of their definitions of Adventure and Exploration:
Adventure is when someone sets out to have one, and the narrative is basically just a good story. Sometimes we describe it as travel writing in which the itinerary is out of control. These stories tend to be more recent. Exploration is when someone goes somewhere or does something and is among the first to write about it, and for that reason the narrative is historically important. With the world having shrunk in the last century, these stories tend to be vintage.
----- --------TITLE: Combat training for journalists DATE: 11/01/2002 8:32:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: "WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is offering to train journalists in the basics of military combat as part of its contingency planning for media coverage of a possible war with Iraq." Read the full Guardian Unlimited article. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Joe Ehrlich EMAIL: static@well.com URL: DATE: 11/02/2002 8:33:00 PM Does that mean that Jen will soon be shopping for some camo clothes and a copy of the 'Lets Go'Iraq guide? ----- --------TITLE: SATW 2002 Awards announced DATE: 10/31/2002 1:00:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room," can often be heard from award winning photographer and writer Alison Wright. Ali got her due respect this week from the Society of American Travel Writers. Yesterday they had their award ceremonies in Hawaii and Ali won SATW's Gold Award for Photographer of the Year. She also won a Gold award in writing for her story "If I Can Only Breathe," which was published in Outside. One of the Wild Writing Women, Ali is a continuous inspiration for traveling and living to the fullest. Check out her web site to see her books and a sampling of her photography. Additional kudos goes to Michael Yessis and Jim Benning of WorldHum.com. They won a Silver award for Internet Publication/Web site. Mike also took home a Bronze award for his story, "Traveling in Watercolor." World Hum is host to my favorite weblog, and they're damn nice guys too. Congrats fellas! More SATW 2002 Winners ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 11/03/2002 12:11:00 AM Just letting you know I'm following along and enjoying your entries. (This time from NY - ah, the power of the Internet ;) ----- --------TITLE: On a personal note... DATE: 10/30/2002 11:21:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: It's a bad week to not be in SF Jamie Oliver was in town ----- --------TITLE: Travel writing groups on Yahoo DATE: 10/29/2002 10:34:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I can't believe I'm making the time for these listserve writing groups, but I love hearing other peoples' news in our field, and there's good info to be found in them. Here is a link to Yahoo's groups on travel writing. I'm not sure how many of them are public since I saw the Wild Writing Women listed and I know we're private. BUT...I'm going to check them out. There's 41. Let me know if you join any good ones. ----- --------TITLE: Panic DATE: 10/29/2002 9:52:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I woke up this morning thinking it was after the 31st and that I'd forgotten to write up and turn in an entry for the Bakpak Travelers Guide Travel Writer Essay Contest. I just can't pass up an opportunity to try and get a free trip to Oz. Especially if the reward would be getting paid to do what I enjoy...travel and write. Want to know more about it? Read this past blog entry, "Write Your Way To Australia--CONTEST ALERT!" ----- --------TITLE: So, it's the author's job? DATE: 10/28/2002 5:36:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: When I worked at Travelers' Tales, we submitted several of our books for awards every year. And we won awards every year. The titles that did win often got award stickers to place on the covers and it was good press for us as publishers. Needlesstosay it was an ego boost for the authors as well. Last week when I found the NATJA deadline approaching, I emailed our Stories of World Travel publisher, Globe-Pequot Press, and asked them if they'd be entering us. Today I got a reply that said it was up to us as the authors. I then followed up and asked about some of the other standard travel book awards, and found out that they were only going to submit us for two trade awards. Knowing the benefit of an additional pr opportunity, I started researching the rest of the awards so that the Wild Writing Women could enter ourselves. Guess what I found out? One of the deadlines for 2002 book awards had already passed. And that was the 1/2 books that they were going to enter us in. So that this doesn't happen to you, here are links to some standard travel publishing awards. Ask your publisher if they'll enter you, and if not, do it yourself. SATW Lowell Thomas Award PMA Benjamin Franklin Award ForeWord Magazine Award Thomas Cook Award Independent Publishers Award NATJA Awards ----- --------TITLE: Story angle after story angle DATE: 10/25/2002 9:52:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I'm fascinated by this web site: Infiltration A zine about going places you're not supposed to go. Such as abandoned sites, hotels & hospitals, transit tunnels, buildings and offices. This could be just the thing to satisfy my crime fantasies without actually taking any gems. And as a writer, just think of the multitude of stories that could come from it. I've been needing a new adventure since I've haven't done anything eye opening in years -- and I'd like to look into this one. All for the story. ----- --------TITLE: 441 blogs on Writing/Publishing DATE: 10/23/2002 12:01:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Eatonweb's portal of blogs on Writing/Publishing. This is going to take me a while to go through, and I'll probably sift through the travel blogs first. I'll let you know if I find anything I get attached to. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: jen@jenleo.com URL: DATE: 10/24/2002 12:00:00 PM Hi Rabbit, I know what you mean and it's purely organizational. They list the blogs alphabetically by the title of the blog. What constitutes getting it in their travel category is merely the author listing that as some of the content included in his/her blog. You really have to search through and look for what you want. I'll be doing that in the coming days and culling some of the more worthwhile ones. Glad you're doing this from the road -- Say hello to the Camel Casino for me! -----COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 10/23/2002 10:57:00 PM You know, I looked through the travel blogs at this link (very slowly, old laptop on this trip...) and there seems to be very little travel in them. Maybe I'd better try to get my stuff organized soon. I don't really see one that's similar. (Note to self: Organize it so Jen can see what you're talking about, Rabbit...) ----- --------TITLE: Guerilla Marketing For Your Book DATE: 10/23/2002 8:17:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: An author is paying me to get more attention for his book by "recommending" it to other similarly themed books on Amazon.com. He has tried this out and it comes down to the fact that you can only do it twice a day otherwise the spam detectives delete your posts. How does it work? Each book page on Amazon has a section where customers can either recommend a book in addition to the one you're looking at, or recommend a book instead of the one you're looking at. When shoppers are checking out books and see your recommendation, hopefully they will take a look at yours as well -- and ideally add it to their cart. It's an easy way to reach your target audience. I've also started doing it for Stories of World Travel. ----- --------TITLE: More on the Corleones DATE: 10/23/2002 7:58:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Random House is on the big hunt for an author to continue writing the "Godfather" now that Puzo has passed. This makes me happy. Searching For The Next Puzo ----- --------TITLE: NATJA Awards--call for entries DATE: 10/21/2002 11:29:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: The North American Travel Journalists Association is accepting award entries until Nov. 1. It costs $50 to enter or $25 if you are a member and there are free domestic trips in the award packages. There are heaps of different catergories, but in my opinion light in the online department. In fact, there is no major category for online journalism. The only thing I saw was "Best travel article written for Internet". I'd have to make a call to them to see if it could over lap in sections such as "Sports in conjunction with travel." Anyway, good luck. Now I need to go tell my affiliated publishers so we can try out! The winners will be announced at Thanksgiving. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 10/23/2002 10:51:00 PM Somehow that strikes me as somewhat sad, as well as behind the times, that there's not more recognition of online efforts. (Then again, in the middle of the night in Amarillo, it only makes sense that just about anything would strike me as odd ;) ----- --------TITLE: Last push on Sand In My Bra DATE: 10/18/2002 9:24:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: New and edited stories have come in this past couple of weeks and I'll be working on that this weekend to put our final manuscript together. One of the hardest parts is working with friends. It's so much easier to send a rejection letter to a stranger than it is to tell a friend their story wasn't selected. And I've been doing an awful job of explaining why. One of my best friends reminded me of the Godfather take on it...it's business, not personal. I've been avoiding taking a look at the TOC that Larry and James turned in before they left. See, that's how we do it at Travelers' Tales. The outside editors work with the executive editors and it becomes a collaborative effort in the end. I've been a little nervous to look at what they've added since their decisions are pretty much a done deal. They are out of town and there's no more room for back and forth. But we shall see. I've held back this week to just take care of the whole lot this weekend. If I had done it earlier, and I wanted to fight, it would've been useless energy. Doing it at the end like this, it'll all just be final decisions as the deadline will call for it. No time to get upset about decisions I didn't like. So, here comes the last push. BTW, I got one story this week from an author who had heard about the final, final call from right here on Written Road. It was great as this person was a complete stranger and they turned in a story on a much needed topic. Which reminds me...if you've got any stories on traveling with hotflashes, or menopause, please send them in. I should've said that earlier, but forgot. We need one. Also, if you've ever read one *in recent years* please direct me to the source. Jen@jenleo.com Thanks! ----- --------TITLE: Book Expo America May 28- June 1, 2003 DATE: 10/17/2002 10:50:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Yesterday a reader wrote in asking about Book Expo America. I've been to at least three in Chicago, one in Los Angeles, and last year's in New York. They are great, and if you are involved in publishing in anyway, or want to be, this is the place to be. I've always gone through the umbrella of working the booth for Travelers' Tales. Last year I was also able to if needed, get an authors badge from Globe Pequot Press. If an outside editor unaffiliated with a publisher wants to go, maybe there are other ways to get in. Who do you write for? Can you get a press badge? Do you have an agent? Can he/she get you in? If you are self published and working with a distributor or fulfillment house...can you ask your connections there if they have an extra badge for you? Sometimes the BEA sells badges to individuals, but when I checked out the website just now, I couldn't find that. Last year I had referred a few people to it, so it just might be too early to try that route. However, here is the info for registration. Registration Customer Service Phone: 203-840-5614 800-840-5614 Fax: 203-840-9614 E-mail: Customer Service Give them a call and ask for the options for your exact situation. I'm sure I'll talk more about BEA as it gets closer. Last year my writing friends made several great connections with publishers for their books. Whether you have a book in the works and you're trying to get a publisher, or want to know more about how to self publish...BEA is the place to get lots of questions answered all in one place. ----- --------TITLE: Letting Go DATE: 10/16/2002 8:26:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: I'm in the process of cleaning up. The big house. Yesterday I let go of the radio stuff which had dwindled from an hour long weekly show, to interviews or spots on several shows. It's just out of my focus right now and I chose to give it up. Some of my projects end next month, others will end a few months after that, and overall I'm looking for additional ways to simplify my life. As if I'm challenging myself -- if I'm going to commit to improving my writing, I can't be participating in activities that are going to take my energy away from that. I feel like I'm preparing for a departure. Only I don't know where I'm going yet. And oh boy do I want to go somewhere far away. Badly. This tangent in Eugene has been great for me, and I'm nearly ready to use the new clarity and strength for the next chapter. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 10/16/2002 12:01:00 PM I love the feeling you're describing, that "something around the next corner" excitement. This is a very cool entry :) I hope a great adventure comes your way :) ----- --------TITLE: Sand in My Bra gets a great start! DATE: 10/15/2002 6:02:00 PM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: This just in...a sales and marketing meeting with our distributor went very well today. There was strong interest from our sales reps for Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com. Susan Brady of Travelers'Tales did an excellent job of getting them excited about the book that we hope will be a winning combo of our two most successful lines — women's travel and humor. The reps were happy with the authors we're including, the cover, and our investment in the book. Travelers' Tales will be doing a special month long promotion in June with the Independent Travel Stores Associaion that has participating travel stores across the nation, possible exposure at the 2003 Los Angeles Times Book Fair, in store marketing tools such as posters and post cards, and sending me on an eight city book tour on the west coast. This is on top of the normal print and broadcast efforts. Good stuff. Sand In My Bra & Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write From the Road releases in April 2003 and we'll make a splash with it at Book Expo of America in May. But that's still a long way away. There's PLENTY of work still to be done to make sure this book gets a proper launch. ----- --------TITLE: 2002 Frankfurt book fair ends DATE: 10/15/2002 8:52:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: TheBookseller.com did a wrap up of the enormous event. I used to want to go, but now I can think of better things to do. Still, I'd like to hear how it compares to the Book Expo of America — business and networking-wise. Besides the fact that it's bigger, of course. ----- --------TITLE: Both sides of the media fence DATE: 10/15/2002 8:06:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Yesterday was a bit of a strange day for me in the publishing sense. I was at a meeting at BootsnAll for some event coordinating that I'm doing for them, when the guys suggested we connect their efforts to open an office in Bali with the current news tragedy. I thought that a press release sent out to the national media covering the story would be a first start. A good story of balancing the continuation of the spirit of travel with such devastation. So, I spent a good part of the day writing the press release and pulling together the media list for our timely mailing. I was confident that this would be a good thing, and a great PR event for both sides of the media. BnA would get some good press, and the public would get a positive story. Later in the evening I had a completely opposite assignment — to research the World Travel Watch travel advisory column while Larry and James are away in Nepal. I read story after story about the Bali night club bombing, and now I was reporting on the dangers of traveling to Indonesia. I left feeling numb and cautious, but still wanting to support international travel. Today, I need to spend time and attention on both again. Instead of being a soapbox for either side, I'll just sit back and do my jobs. Journalism is an interesting thing. Sometimes I find myself thinking back to all the PR I studied in college and wished I'd specialized in print instead. Unfortunately, it's more in my nature to do the other. At the end of the day, all I know is that to get better at either, I'll need to take some grammar classes and really improve my techinical abilities. Not very exciting, but what's life without growth? ----- --------TITLE: Simultaneous Submissions DATE: 10/14/2002 8:44:00 AM AUTHOR: Jen ----- BODY: Q.The question is prompted by my starting to send off one article to a major newspaper, then realizing I hadn't had it ruled out yet by another, already submitted. It can be up to 6-8 mo. to hear back from some publications and meanwhile the piece just sits. I know, only submit to those who accept multiple or else just keep writing...but? Any advice? Well Rabbit, here's my take, and I've left a resource link for you to check out as well. If you are submitting to newspapers, you can submit simulaneously to other newspapers as long as you are out of their "area". That area is around 100-150 miles. So, you could submit the same story to The San Diego Union Tribune as you do the San Francisco Chronicle. And so on across the country. The only ones I would not put into this game of play is the big national five. New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Christian Science Monitor. For those, wait, and they're usually good about getting back to you in a reasonable amount of time. Just make sure that when you're submitting simultaneously, you let them know in your cover letter. Also, if you have their guidelines beforehand, that will help and it should state whether or not they accept it or not. ----- EXTENDED BODY: At Travelers' Tales we get the occassional call from writers who ask about their story. And this was always laughable to me. Because we don't buy all rights, or even first rights, they can send it wherever they want first. Sending it in to us did not prohibit them from sending it elsewhere. Also, books can take years to make. Especially ours. I found out that we don't even send our rejection letters anymore. And that's bad, but we're small staffed and on tight budget. I will probably do rejection letters out of my own pocket for the humor book. Here is a resource that I've found on the topic that you might find interesting. Simultaneous v. Sequential Submissions from Writing-World.com. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Rabbit EMAIL: URL: DATE: 10/14/2002 10:43:00 AM Thanks for your answer on this :) Both your comments and those at Writing-World.com confirmed what I thought - that it's best just to keep the new articles coming and be patient with the others. Most of my submissions are to magazines and I have to be careful. And the one article I was stressing over was to a major paper. So onward and upward :) Thanks so much for your response on this :) ----- --------TITLE: Submiss