I’ve seen some chatter on a few writers’ forums lately about rights, especially when it comes to freelancing for a publication that wants to re-use your work in another medium (i.e. your print piece gets posted online). The American Society of Journalists and Authors has lots of free resources on this topic, including RIGHTS 101: What Writers Should Know About All-Rights and Work-Made-For-Hire Contracts and HOW TO DEAL WITH INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSES - both are excellent reads and essential knowledge for negotiating contracts.

Plus, just found this terrific collection of resources for writers and editors compiled by Pat McNees, including stuff on finding agents, writing book proposals, entering contests, finding networks, exploring new media trends, trying alternative marketing strategies and much much more.

Cheers!

The Independent Writers of Chicago has a policy against writing on spec. Speechwriter Dan Conley did it. What’s your stance? (If you’re not a writer, still feel free to chime in.)

After reviewing this e-mail checklist I realize I’ve too often overlooked using the phone (#14).

You may want to consider this update I received from colleague and Kyle Shannon mystery series author, Linda Mickey. An excerpt:

“Happy Spring. There is some big news in the publishing world that has a direct impact on me and thousands of other writers.

Amazon announced that unless certain publishing companies (mine included) use Amazon’s printing company, Amazon will not sell the book. An article in Business Week points out that Amazon’s real goal is to print ALL the books it sells on a print-to-order basis. Why? Because warehousing is costly. If Amazon switches to a print-on-demand business model, it will save millions of dollars. It’s a smart business move on their part and they have the marketplace muscle to pull it off.

There’s only one problem. Amazon’s print company, Booksurge, is not a good printer. iUniverse (my publisher) and others switched to Booksurge’s competitor because of quality issues. The Internet is full of complaints about Booksurge’s quality. (Some copies of my first book, Greased Wheels, had green pages that matched the cover.)

Why am I telling you all this? Because I want to assure you that my books are available at www.bn.com and www.powells.com and many other book selling sites. If they order from Amazon, I cannot guarantee the books will ever ship. Barnes and Noble also has a $25 free shipping program.

As always, thank you for your support. Keep reading!”

The Trib featured ideaxchanger Jackie Sloane this month discussing the benefits of virtual networking. If you would like to learn more about e-networking and e-marketing, come to my presentation tonight. Hosted by Independent Writers of Chicago, I’ll be highlighting the work of several ideaXchangers in a discussion titled “Writing for the Web: How to Find, Get, and Do Your Next Writing Gig Online.”

On Thursday, mix your virtual and physical networking at the mediabistro.com Chicago party for creative, content, media, and publishing pros at D4 Irish Pub & Cafe, just in time for the holiday. My cohosts and I enjoy getting to know your professional endeavors and introducing you to people with similar goals. Hope to see you at one or both events!

This week’s writing assignments have me researching ancient Egyptian art and history, the New York stand-up comedy scene, bridal industry trends, a fancy garden party benefit for a charity that helps the developmentally disabled, and much more.

Sometimes I find myself wishing I had a 9-5 communications gig with a big company in the Loop — downtown Chicago is such a magical place, and at this point, employer-supplied health insurance would also be magical. But I know myself well enough to know I’d get bored writing the same stuff in the same style about the same people again and again.

I like the random element of freelancing. I like making phone calls to people in a wide range of professions, across thousands of miles, and getting to know them and their work. I like being prompted to learn more about something that otherwise may not have bleeped across my radar.

And now, to add even more variety to my writing day, I’m going to polish off another press release, and tackle my new gig writing greeting cards. I wonder how many versions of “Happy Birthday To My Wife” I can come up with in a half hour?

Like many idea-Xchange members, I am a professional writer. My livelihood depends on my ability to wrangle the written word well — and my personal satisfaction depends on it too.

Last night I discovered a book at Barnes and Noble called “On Writing Well - The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction” by William Zinsser. This book is an absolute must-read for the nonfiction writer. After having read only one-third of it, I rewrote my last lenablog post. I couldn’t help it. Clutter (unneeded words) were everywhere. Eep!

Oh, by the way, Zinsser is an excellent pianist and also writes about jazz musicians, among other things. He’s my people! Enjoy.

If you’ve got the pitch but no cash, apply for financial assistance through The Nation Institute Investigative Fund.

Brian Clark has penned a terrific post: “The Nasty Four-Letter Word That Keeps You From Writing” on copyblogger (which happens to be a terrific blog if I haven’t already mentioned it). This would be an excellent topic for an upcoming discussion (if we haven’t already had it). Sorry but my brain cells are saturated with stuffing and gravy so I may be repeating things.