Monday Musings

It's so funny how people get anxious around me if they haven't read the blog. I'll see someone outside the blog world (in real life) and I'll say, "Did you see in my blog…?” so that I’m not repeating something they already know like the cart crusade or my DCC tryouts or the Ziploc omelet. But this is what happens:


"No. I'm sorry. I haven't had time to read it because my uncle got this weird infection and his kids were worried they were going to get it too so I had to go take care of them and there are like twelve of them plus two dogs and then it turned out it wasn't an infection but just an allergic reaction to beef jerky..."

Hey, it’s okay. You don't have to read it every day. I know you have a life (sort of).

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And speaking of the Ziploc omelet, Safety Dave and his girlfriend, Laura, (who IS a daily blog reader, not that I’m playing favorites), tried it out:

They put in green peppers, onions, garlic, tukey, mozerella, and a little salt & pepper. YUM!
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While they were putting the blog into action in Durango, I was bringing a newspaper recipe for fish tacos to life. I took this “beauty shot” (as we say in the biz) of it next to the article:

And here’s me with them (my own version of a beauty shot).

Frank, who doesn’t even like fish because it’s too “fishy,” gave it an eight!

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“Hey, what’s that you’re wearing in the fishy picture, Writinggal?” I’m glad you asked. This is a shirt that my sister saved from the lost and found of her high school drama class, circa 1988. I have always loved this shirt and although I rarely wear it, I can never bring myself to throw it out. I’m not the type to have a bunch of clothes in my closet that I don’t wear so this is big for me.

In fact, as you can see, it literally is big for me.

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Sometimes people ask me, “Hey, Writinggal, how did you get started as a freelance writer? How did you get magazines/newspapers to publish your stuff?"

My answer is always the same as the one a Writingguy once gave me: http://www.writersweekly.com/. It’s a freelance writing newsletter that has tips, advice and paying markets and jobs. I look forward to Wednesdays when it comes in my email. Here’s the thing, though. It’s rare that one of the paying markets is in my niche. I thought this one was a good example of way out of my niche but maybe it’s yours:

Miniature Donkey Talk, 1338 Hughes Shop Rd., Westminster, MD 21158. F(410)857-9145. Email: minidonk-at-qis.net. Website: http://www.miniaturedonkey.net/. Bonnie Gross, Editor. 75% freelance. "Everything on donkeys." Welcomes new writers. Circ 5.8K. Quarterly. Pays on publication. Publishes ms 3-4 months after acceptance. Rights purchased vary. Accepts reprints. Responds 30 days. Sample $5. Subscription $25; $32 Canada; $55 foreign. Guidelines by mail or email and online at http://forums.writersweekly.com/viewtopic.php?p=39011.CURRENT NEEDS: "Historical and/or present day, anything relevant to donkeys. Ownership, care, health care, management, non-show events donkeys are involved in." Payment varies per word with a 700-word minimum. Submit query. PHOTOS/ART: None.

My favorite part is “everything on donkeys.” What if that was your niche and you waited years for Writer’s Weekly to post a market about it? You’d be like, “Finally, an outlet for all my prose on donkeys!”

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COMING SOON TO THE BLOG!!

Since I get asked that and other questions a lot, I thought I’d start a NEW feature on the blog. I call it “Hey, Writinggal…” and it’ll be YOUR questions. Email your questions to elsasimcik@hotmail.com. They can be about anything from writing to recipes to fitness to the cart crusade. Just nothing about donkeys, thank you.