Gonna take a stab at this for money - Writers Forum

Write-o · 01-19-2008, 02:12 PM

Hi, folks:

The forum software is exhorting me to post an introduction here, and like the good little girl I am, that's what I'm doing.

I've been online since 1983 (no, that's not a typo), and running forums since 1987 (eeep! I need to get out more!). Over the years, I've gained a lot of fans of my writing (including Roger Ebert, who's pestered me for ages to write for profit), so I'm thinking that instead of writing for free in forums, this will be the year I finally monetize my writing. I've been reading The Writer's Market and daydreaming about writing magazine articles and being fabulous.

My writing style is a cross between Christopher Buckley and Dorothy Parker somewhere, I guess. I specialize in creating portmanteau words and manglating existing words (Norm Crosby is a friend of the family; I may have caught it from him), so I'm not sure whether, say, Allure magazine will appreciate me, but perhaps there's a niche I haven't even thought of yet. (If you have any ideas for me, I'm all ears, which suuure makes it hard to type!)

So there you have it. I'm introduced. Aren'tcha glad you read this message? (/snark)

Shinn · 01-19-2008, 02:34 PM

Hi there Write-o and welcome to the forum.

Olly Buckle · 01-19-2008, 02:59 PM

Welcome in to yet another forum, but how come you haven't been here before, we are the bestest.

Nickie · 01-19-2008, 05:07 PM

Hi there, and welcome!

Nickie

rumpole40k · 01-20-2008, 08:04 AM

Welcome, relax, stay a while. Congratulations on the more to actually profit from your writing. In my experience that is the single biggest (and hardest) step.

Rumpole40k

Write-o · 01-20-2008, 04:46 PM

Hi, Olly:

Quote:

how come you haven't been here before, we are the bestest.

Because I've been busy with my own forums, and it was only now that I decided to try to make money with my writing. And besides, I have a question, and needed somewhere to ask it! As soon as I figger out which forum is most appropriate, I'll post it!

Rumpole40k:

Quote:

In my experience that is the single biggest (and hardest) step

It sure is! I've spent a couple decades brushing off peoples' exhortations that I should write, going, "I can't do that!" when that's zactly what I've been doing every damned day ... for free. Der! I'm part Polish, so I blame my mother. Now to light a fire under my ass, and lift this seventeen-pound Writer's Market, pick a few places at which to inquire, and get busy! And then I'll have my topic: How to Fail as a Writer After Years of Wasting Time!

Had I saved all the stuff I've written over two decades (for free!), I could have manuscripts for several books, and I'd be sitting at a poker table in Monaco right now in beaded gowns dripping in jewels and furs. Grrrrrr! I'm changing my middle name from "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" to "Poor Planner."

Seeker · 01-20-2008, 05:11 PM

You've been on since 1983 and haven't saved your work? For shame! (It's ok, I've been online since 1977 [and no that's not a typo either], and wish I had some of the stuff I wrote back as well.)

Good luck on writing for profit.

Write-o · 01-20-2008, 05:37 PM

Hi, Seeker:

Quote:

You've been on since 1983 and haven't saved your work?

Well, no; how could I have predicted that I'd ever want any of it (or that I'd end up spending my entire adult life online)? Never dawned on me that I'd prefer cyberspace to the dirt world (at least until now, anyway).

(Akshully, I *did* have a fair amount of it until a disastrous head crash three years ago. (Yeah, I know: I beat the snot out of my members about backing up, and then my *own* backup failed. Urk!) It certainly wasn't an appreciable amount, but there was enough stuff there that I'd look back on some of it when I found it by accident, and I'd sit there and smile and think, "*I* wrote that? That's pretty damned good!")

And then, of course, a lot of it was arcane, technical stuff that'd be hopelessly outdated today, and would be interestingly only in a "Look how amusing this was, that I was soooo delighted about my five meg hard drive/2x CD-ROM drive/256K RAM stick/etc!" kinda way, you know? Or the amusing/frustrating/hopeless/confusing tech support requests. But the annual reports on what celebs wore to various awards shows? *Those* I'd love to have back again, or stories about various underappreciated actors. Alas, a lot of them were posted to online services which don't exist anymore. (sigh)

Seeker · 01-20-2008, 09:25 PM

Unfortunately, I know what you mean - all too well.

Arpanet emails; Tapcis and compuserve; early AOL; internal company emails on esoteric systems - very hard to keep it all together.

Take care - and again - good luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Write-o

Hi, Seeker:

Well, no; how could I have predicted that I'd ever want any of it (or that I'd end up spending my entire adult life online)? Never dawned on me that I'd prefer cyberspace to the dirt world (at least until now, anyway).

(Akshully, I *did* have a fair amount of it until a disastrous head crash three years ago. (Yeah, I know: I beat the snot out of my members about backing up, and then my *own* backup failed. Urk!) It certainly wasn't an appreciable amount, but there was enough stuff there that I'd look back on some of it when I found it by accident, and I'd sit there and smile and think, "*I* wrote that? That's pretty damned good!")

And then, of course, a lot of it was arcane, technical stuff that'd be hopelessly outdated today, and would be interestingly only in a "Look how amusing this was, that I was soooo delighted about my five meg hard drive/2x CD-ROM drive/256K RAM stick/etc!" kinda way, you know? Or the amusing/frustrating/hopeless/confusing tech support requests. But the annual reports on what celebs wore to various awards shows? *Those* I'd love to have back again, or stories about various underappreciated actors. Alas, a lot of them were posted to online services which don't exist anymore. (sigh)

Jacinta · 01-21-2008, 06:01 PM

Well hi there - maybe its just as well you didn't save it. Your writing has evolved to what it is today - you probably write better now than you ever did - so onward and upward I say and start keeping it all now.

I have had fiction books published and a non-fiction book on writing called Write A Book In A Year - so by this time next year you could have a book written - good luck with it. Jacinta McDevitt