10 Tips for PR Success (from a Cranky Editor)

Due to space limitations and staffing cutbacks, much of the everyday information found in print publications has been reduced to event and calendar listings.

It’s no secret that editors are the most downsized professionals in the workforce. They’re expected to do more with fewer resources and that means the editorial assistant who typed up and formatted this information is probably yesterday’s news.

This post was originally published on Linked In. Continue reading here.

‘Retirement’ – Week 1

Early this summer when my bosses announced their retirement and intention to scale back their business, I had mixed feelings.

My chronic Bag Lady Fear about finances immediately kicked in. I have never felt secure about finances. Any time I’ve been laid off during my 40-plus year career, panic had set in.

Writing is the hardest thing I do

My trusty iMac

I don’t really know why I write. I don’t write quickly, except when I’m really pissed off or on a rant.

I’m a lousy typist. In college I was wedded to erasable typing paper, and later to the correcting tape in the IBM Selectric. I would take illegible notes; later I learned to transcribe quickly after interviews while I could still understand them. I still take illegible notes.

Grammar and Your Writing: Don’t Ignore the Basics

--> Back in the day, magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, and, if you were very lucky, books, were the primary outlets for your written words. An editor sat as judge and jury over every query and article submitted for publication, which meant that a writer crafted each adjective, period, and comma in order to please him or her, and thus, become published.

Fast forward to today. Editors and proofreaders along with their attendant publications are dropping like flies. Blogs are the new way of communicating. They’re easy to set up. Write something, post it, and bam! Instant gratification. Right?

Not so fast.

Long time, no post

Seven months of unemployment and the economic insanity continues.

The good news: I’ve had an abundant amount of free-lance work and I believe that my writing is good and solid.

The bad news: Finances are still abysmal.