Comments on: The Business Rusch: Writers and Business

By: Tim Keating

Tim Keating — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:34:59 +0000

I want to point out that the Viable Paradise workshop *does* teach at least the rudiments of writing business. No less than one might expect from its founder, Jim McDonald, who coined Yog’s Law.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:24:38 +0000

I just finished reading “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell…. very relevant…. Successful people in all professions work very hard to achieve.

By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Kristine Kathryn Rusch — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:12:35 +0000

We’ll be announcing some soon. Probably next week. I won’t teach those, though. Dean will.

By: Martin Vavpotic

Martin Vavpotic — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:46:27 +0000

Kris, a direct question if I may: is there a chance to participate in your workshops without actually coming there physically? Do you have online workshops?

By: LD

LD — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:31:21 +0000

Kris is right: Those who treat their writing like a business will succeed. Those who treat it like ‘art’ may find personal fulfillment, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll earn a living from it.

As an editor of a magazine, I’m always on the lookout for reliable freelancers. They don’t have to be Hemingway, they just have to be consistent and, well, reliable. When you’re assigned a story, send it – with all 5 Ws answered – on time and to length. It’s not rocket science. I get queries every day from hopeful freelancers who want a shot at writing regularly. I say, “Send me your stuff,” and I get a grand total of one piece from them, if that. Or they ignore my ‘notes’ to them, which only creates more work for me. Given a choice between a great writer who is flaky or doesn’t provide what I specifically request and an average writer who consistently delivers, guess who’ll I’ll pick every. single. time.

When I was playing at being a freelance writer, I never appreciated how much ‘just showing up’ means to an editor. So for any aspiring magazine writers out there, if your query is accepted, TURN IT IN ON TIME AND TO LENGTH! In other words, treat it like your job, because that’s what it is. That’s pretty much all it takes to earn a good reputation, build profitable relationships and become published. That’s how, after publishing only three stories, I became a full-time writer/editor of a very popular niche magazine.

By: Diane Patterson

Diane Patterson — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:53:05 +0000

I have an MFA in Film from USC, and the best class I took while getting my degree was on the nuts and bolts of business in Hollywood.

In our year, however, taking the class changed from mandatory to optional…and over my half my class opted not to take it. “We’re writers! We don’t need that!” you know: “Math…it’s hard. I’ll never need it in the real world, nyuk, nyuk.”

They were the ones who kept repeating the very, very wrong things people say about the Biz. It astounded me.

Well, learn it the easy way or learn it the hard…

Fabulous post, Kris!

By: Kira Wilson

Kira Wilson — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:06:23 +0000

Wow. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut in the best possible way. I’ve wanted to be a professional writer since I was in 4th grade, and from those earliest memories I can trace back some of the misconceptions over what being a writer really means. Like so many, I fell victim to it all, because that’s all anyone knew.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that gut-punch you just gave me. Do you fully realize what you and your husband have been doing for the last twenty years? You’re helping writers take control back of their own businesses, businesses that most were probably even unaware they were building. Myself included. Thank you, ma’am.

By: Ferran

Ferran — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:16:59 +0000

Sorry, but I couldn’t avoid joining in.

On one hand, it’s shocking to see how much people can forget about economics with the right carrot in front. Spaniard, remember?

OTOH… I had a dyslexic teacher. Binary algebra. Impressive brain, but the blackboard was… quirky.

Take care.

By: Lauryn Christopher

Lauryn Christopher — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:10:19 +0000

Funny thing about using music as a timer – I’ll start an album playing, sit down to write, and sometime later (much later!) raise my head and wonder how long ago the music stopped…

By: Mercy Loomis

Mercy Loomis — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:35:07 +0000

I think writers do need some encouragement, but mostly to deal with when writing is tough. We need to encourage writers to get over the “writing is easy” myth, and encourage them when they get discouraged. We’ve all been there.

Kris and Dean do this wonderfully, of course, but the rest of us can do our part too.