Query Tools

Here are a few query tools to get yourself organized and eventually published:

A handy cheat sheet showing a 6-month lead time including major holidays to keep on top of your market's editorial lead time. Get it here.

If you are like me, your day doesn't fall into one of the typical daily agenda timelines. Use this daily planner to schedule in your early morning or late night To-Do's.

Start your day off with a To-Do list that makes you budget in how much time you will spend on the task, how much time it actually took and whether or not you got it done. Get it here.

This is my favorite one - Query Tracker. Print out a sheet for each of your query ideas and keep tabs on where you have submitted the idea, who your sources are and other pertinent details.

And don't forget to log all the queries you send out. Go through the list on a regular basis and either follow-up on a pitch you haven't heard back on yet or resubmit it to another market.

Happy Querying

Volunteer Editors

Over a year ago I wrote about a website that I subscribed to - Mastheads.org. You can read about the website and my opinions about it in my original post here.

I still have my membership and am starting to use it again. Today I noticed the call for volunteer editors on the site. Normally I wouldn't consider working for free but in exchange for browsing and updating mastheads for the website you can receive 5 - 1 year magazine subscriptions (no charge). In addition to the magazines, an associate editor position for my resume (or yours) is up for grabs. If this peaks your interest, go here to read the position details, the long list of magazines you can choose from and how to apply.

Good Luck!

New Blogs to Read and My Blogroll

I wanted to share two new blogs I have found since my return to the blogging world:

Diane Penna has started a new writing blog - Mindscribing It is a new blog but her first two posts are a worthwhile read.

Deborah Ng and Jennifer Chait co-blog at Network Blogging Tips. I have gone through the archives and there are tips here all bloggers should heed and read regardless of their experience level.

I've been doing my spring blog cleaning and have updated my links. If you are not in my blogroll now and would like to be, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to trade links with you.

Slow to Join

There are many online tools I have stayed away from for no other reason than the time it takes to explore the options and then decide if I really need to install/register/use said online tool. del.icio.us used to fit into this category, I have been getting by fine without it, why do I need it?

I have changed my mind, I decided to sign-up for my own account after reading The Urban Muse's guest post on Freelance Writing Jobs - 5 Ways to Boost Your Writing with Social Bookmarking. Susan uses del.ico.us and it is pretty hard to argue with any of her reasons for doing so, in fact it made me question why I haven't been using it all along.

If you don't have an account yet (or even if you do), read Susan's article and then add me to your network!

I've Become a Doer

This isn't to say that I never got things done before, but now being a mom of 3 with a husband who is unable to help out I have had to mend my ways. A few months ago, I considered myself a get it done kind of gal but can admit it was done after a lot of procrastination.


There is no time for procrastination in my life now and I have decided it is not going to be welcomed back into it either. Not only is it less stressful to get the things that need doing out of the way - down time is more rewarding because of it. I can sit back and catch up on my blogs, play blocks with my son or even have a bath without a chore or a deadline looming over my head.

We all know that habitual procrastination is hard to break and I do remember that some forms of procrastination can be good for you but I now consider myself a doer! And gosh darn it I am proud of myself.

Are you Twittering?

Over the past couple of days I have been catching up on the blogs I used to read on a regular basis and have been introduced to Tweets and Twittering. I have heard of Twitter prior but never associated it with my blog reading.

Not sure how it would benefit me or my blog, I started looking for some posts on it and found the jackpot at Problogger. If you are interested, here are a few posts that I read:

5 Tips to Grow Your Twitter Presence And then I thought, why should I? So I clicked through to this post: 9 Benefits of Twitter for Bloggers and then this one: How to Use Twitter - Tips for Bloggers.

My question is, are you Twittering (and if you are what are you gaining from it)? The last time that I freelanced full time, I remember all too well how easy it is to procrastinate. My fear of joining the Twitter community is that I am already finding ways to put off writing.

So leave me a comment, should I Twitter or not??

Lucky Number 3

If you are reading this - thank you for still stopping by!! I must admit I have not been the most faithful blogger since last July but here is to starting anew (for the third time). Between having baby number 3 (isn't he cute??) and my husband breaking both of his hands in a car accident (when baby number 3 was only 2 weeks old) I have had no time to think or put coherent sentences together.

Things are still hectic in my household, but I don't see that changing because I now have 3 kids and am relaunching my writing career (again).