Why then do most of your neatly-crafted, SASE-containing queries come boomeranging back? Maybe you're making the mistakes no one's telling you about. Here's a rundown.

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Are You Achieving Your Writing Goals?
At the start of this new year, like at the start of every other new year, I came across dozens of articles about the importance of setting achievable goals, challenging myself to do new things and fixing measurable standards and working towards them.
 
But what happens when you mess up the goals from last year? Where’s the real advice about missed deadlines and lost goals that all but kill the inspiration to come up with new ones?
 
If you didn’t meet some of your goals last year, here are some questions that you need to answer honestly, so that you do this time around.

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Why the Editor is NOT the Enemy
They can be mean, unethical and downright unprofessional. But not all editors fit that bill. In fact, most editors would rather give you money that take it, make no changes than rewrite whole pieces two hours before deadline, and accept every piece of crap than start their mornings sending out rejection slips. But step into an editor’s shoes, and you’ll know why that’s not only hard, it’s just plain impossible!
 
Here are the most common complaints writers have, and why editors aren’t always guilty of them.

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7 Deadly Mistakes That Cost you Money and Assignments
Sometimes, you just don’t get second chances. Freelance writing works a little that way. If you’ve offended an editor, it’s quite unlikely that she’s going to work with you again. If you don’t muster up the courage and ask for a higher payment rate, you won’t get that chance till the next acceptance. And if you sell all rights for less, you write away all future income from the sale of that piece.

These seemingly small mistakes can cost you big money when done repeatedly. Avoid these common pitfalls and you’ll not only earn more from each sale, but ensure that you’re developing working relationships with editors who’ll look to you for regular work.

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How to be an Editor's First Choice
There are writers who editors like, and those they’d bet their careers on. How can you be that writer who the editor will call on every time she needs an important assignment to be done? Are you a hot favorite or a pass-on-for-another-freelancer who keeps querying but receives no response? Here are the qualities that will endear you to an editor.

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Writing For Teen Magazines
I would look at the magazines my teenage neighbor and her friends stashed away in their cupboards and think, “Heck, I could do that!” So one day, while she was away at school, I broke into her room and “borrowed” the magazines.

Teenage magazines have changed since we were teens, I can tell you that. No longer do they advocate sex after marriage and accepting everything for what it is. Teenage magazines today are a whole different gamut. So, if you go into shock mode quickly, this market may not be your cup of tea.

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The Stuff E-mail Query Letters are Made of
Your mother always told you how first impressions were extremely important. That’s why whenever you go to meet an editor, you dress impeccably, walk confidently and talk as if you just got out of training with Oprah Winfrey.
 
But as you sit down to write that email query, you forget everything your mother told you and send editors a query that couldn’t have lacked any more even if you wanted it to. The subject line reads “Query” or something in close proximity with the language spammers use—“Become Debt Free Today”. You write your email address and Web address, but leave out other information such as your address and phone number. And of course, since it’s an email query, you don’t include clips. After all, the editor explicitly mentioned no attachments, right?

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Negotiating Right: Get What You Deserve
If magazine publishing worked like any other business, writers would fix their rates, and magazines would run around trying to hire the best writer in the lowest possible cost. Sadly, that’s not the case. In this bizarre business, writers trying to compete with each other not only have to prove their worth once, but again and again, and each time they want an assignment. You’ve got clips. You’ve written the perfect query. You’ll even deliver the best assignment. But then again, you’ll have to ask for more money and negotiate your way into getting what you deserve.

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5 Queries to Ask about Every Article Idea

I know a good idea when I see one. So should you. Dump those time-tested ideas you’re sending off to editors every other day, and find ideas that will get you the assignment each time, every time.

How do you know whether your brilliant idea will strike a chord and get you the assignment or land your neatly crafted query in the slush pile? Use the following checklist to find out whether you have a winner or another stale idea that the editor’s been rejecting since she set foot in her editorial office.

Here are some of the questions an editor will ask of each article idea:

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Getting Started in Column Writing
You’ve written many articles for Websites, newsletters and now you’ve even conquered the territory of getting published in a magazine. What’s the next step, you ask? How to I make the editor ask for my work weekly or monthly?
 
Enter: the column.
 
Before you march up to an editor’s office or send her unsolicited mail asking to write regularly for a publication, learn all there is to know about this form.

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The Language of Freelance Marketing
Newbies usually enter the world of publishing with the notions of submitting articles, receiving prompt replies and getting published. After all, the next-door-neighbor did just that, and now she has a byline and everything. Maybe your neighbor’s lucky. Maybe she’s lying. In all probability, she’s established.
 
For freelancers, knowing the basic terminology before they begin can be a valuable lesson in earning a few extra dollars in that initial stage. When I started my freelancing career, I knew nothing of rights, simultaneous submissions, querying or varying payment rates. All I knew was—I could write. Everything else, I learnt on the job. You will too. But just to make your stay a little less frustrating, and a lot more enjoyable, I’ve listed a few concepts that will help you immensely as you contact editors and try to make them pay you for your words.

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Freelance Writing on the Internet
So, you’ve decided to take up a career in freelance writing. You’ve hooked up the computer, installed the printer, and learnt the nitty-gritty of your word processor. You’ve maybe even been published a couple of times. You’re all set to conquer the world of publishing. But wait. Do you know all the options available to you?

We’ve compiled a list of all the jobs a freelance writer can find on the Internet to keep the cash inflow steady:

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Beat the Block with a Journal
It’s nearing the end of summer, and I have no credentials to my benefit these holidays. As the end of the holidays approach, I keep wondering what I have to show for the summer other than the noticeable tan, and the load of incomplete articles adorning my computer.
 
Having nothing to write about can be exasperating. But having plentiful to do, and not doing it out of sheer laziness or lack of interest is a whole other story. I have articles months old that haven’t seen the light of day. Ah, if only I could complete them. But procrastination and laziness stand in the way. I’ve been telling myself that it’s the heat, but with the temperatures going down again, I'm not even left with that excuse.

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