I wasn't quite as caught up on reading my magazines and newsletters as I thought I was. One day this weekend I saw the book bag I had packed for our two summer trips. In it was one volume of The Annals of America, which I use for history article and essay ideas. Also in it were about five mags/newsletters I had taken on the trips but never read. So I put them back in the mag pile, along with two others that have arrived since I wrote my last blog post. Maybe I'll read and finish one tonight. I'm way ahead of where I expected to be on my current book.
But my mag piles at work seem to be growing. I didn't think I received that many. I don't subscribe to a lot, but some come to me as a result of having attended a conference and visited a booth and been put on a mailing list. Then there are three or four that the chairman of the board sends me. I try to go through something in a mag every day, but still never catch up.
Because these are piling up, and because magazines were on my mind, I decided to go through my piles and make an inventory of what comes my way, and how many issues per year.
Arkansas Asphalt News - 4
Stormwater - 6
Environmental Connection - 4
Geosynthetics - 6 (gonna ditch this one soon)
Grading & Excavation Contractor - 6 (this one as well)
APWA Reporter - 12
CE News - 12
Journal AWWA - 12
Erosion Control - 7
Standardization News - 6
Opflow (newsletter) - 12
Pollution Equipment News - 6
Missouri PE newsletter - 4
Kansas PE newsletter - 4
Arkansas PE newsletter - 4
Arkansas Drinking Water Update - 4
Land & Water - 6 (not sure I'm still subscribed)
Water Environment & Technology - 12
If my non-calculator math is correct, that's 129 mags a year, which I should get through in 220 or so working days. No wonder they are piling up.
For the more important mags, I try to read them closely. Many articles and news items are of importance to my work. Heck, even most of the ads have information in them about products I ought to know something about.
So they pile up. I get through at least one article a day. Some days I do more, even a whole magazine of the lesser important ones. I think, because I've been diligent with these as of late, the piles are actually a little shorter than the were at the beginning of the summer.
Right now, I'd better close this and see where I left off in the May 2010 issue of Erosion Control.
Showing posts with label Magazines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magazines. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Reading Magazines
Last night, about 9:45 PM, I pulled a book off the reading pile and began reading, mug of coffee at the ready. I'm sure I'll give a report on it, 510 pages from now. For the last three weeks or so I've been concentrating on reading magazines. On the end table between Lynda's and my reading chairs, we each have a stack. Actually I have two. One is a stack of books; the other a stack of magazines and newsletters. I tackle each as the spirit moves me. Actually the stack of books is not my reading pile. It is the current book I'm reading, plus a Bible or two, and maybe a study book. My reading "pile" is actually out of sight, on a bookshelf in my closet.
The magazine pile is quite varied. I only subscribe to one magazine, Poets and Writers, and that's a one-year experiment. I'll see in February if I'll renew it. But we get lots of other mags or newsletters. There's alumni magazines from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Missouri, the UoM College of Engineering, and I think Lynda may get something from the University of Kansas. We get a magazine twice a year from our timeshare organization, every month from our rural electric cooperative, and one a month from AAA. They pile up.
Then add to that the newsletters: Prison Fellowship, New Fields Ministries, our water utility, Focus on the Family, the Bella Vista POA, the non-official Bella Vista newsletter (almost a mag), and a couple more. These pile up as well. Lynda gets a couple every month from various stock trading organizations, though those may be more "buy our service" type of ads rather than true newsletters. I also classify as "magazines" things such as annual reports from insurance companies and stocks. We get a few of those.
Then add the mags we pick up at thrift stores, yard sales, or the recycling place. That one is amazing. When the magazine box is full, you have your pick of hundreds within reach. Conversely, when they've just emptied the box, you can't reach any. We normally come away from there with just about the same number that we drop off. The National Geographic I've read recently came from there—though we've got years of the Geographic on shelves downstairs, waiting for me to get to them.
I try to read them all. Why? I feel like I'm probably missing something if I don't read them. They come to me to impart knowledge, maybe even wisdom on occasion. How can I simply trash them? Certainly what I pay for I'm going to read. Every page. Even the ads. Those that come free I might skim. Oh, wait, most of those I actually pay for. The cost is just hidden in the utility rate or the overhead of the organization. The ministry newsletters are always interesting. New Fields is an organization of Russian-Americans who provide a wide range of Christian ministries in the countries of the former Soviet Union. They do a great work, including much humanitarian work.
So for the last three weeks, when reading time materialized, rather than go to my reading pile I grabbed something off the mag pile. As of Monday night the mag pile was left with only two things it in. One was something from Blue Cross Blue Shield that I just didn't feel like reading. The other was the timeshare org mag, and that is almost as much sales pitch. So I felt caught up and grabbed the book from the reading pile. While it's a rather large book, it will feel good to get back into that kind of reading. At ten pages a night and a few more on the weekend, I should finish this around the end of September or early October. By then another ten to fifteen magazines should have piled up.
The magazine pile is quite varied. I only subscribe to one magazine, Poets and Writers, and that's a one-year experiment. I'll see in February if I'll renew it. But we get lots of other mags or newsletters. There's alumni magazines from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Missouri, the UoM College of Engineering, and I think Lynda may get something from the University of Kansas. We get a magazine twice a year from our timeshare organization, every month from our rural electric cooperative, and one a month from AAA. They pile up.
Then add to that the newsletters: Prison Fellowship, New Fields Ministries, our water utility, Focus on the Family, the Bella Vista POA, the non-official Bella Vista newsletter (almost a mag), and a couple more. These pile up as well. Lynda gets a couple every month from various stock trading organizations, though those may be more "buy our service" type of ads rather than true newsletters. I also classify as "magazines" things such as annual reports from insurance companies and stocks. We get a few of those.
Then add the mags we pick up at thrift stores, yard sales, or the recycling place. That one is amazing. When the magazine box is full, you have your pick of hundreds within reach. Conversely, when they've just emptied the box, you can't reach any. We normally come away from there with just about the same number that we drop off. The National Geographic I've read recently came from there—though we've got years of the Geographic on shelves downstairs, waiting for me to get to them.
I try to read them all. Why? I feel like I'm probably missing something if I don't read them. They come to me to impart knowledge, maybe even wisdom on occasion. How can I simply trash them? Certainly what I pay for I'm going to read. Every page. Even the ads. Those that come free I might skim. Oh, wait, most of those I actually pay for. The cost is just hidden in the utility rate or the overhead of the organization. The ministry newsletters are always interesting. New Fields is an organization of Russian-Americans who provide a wide range of Christian ministries in the countries of the former Soviet Union. They do a great work, including much humanitarian work.
So for the last three weeks, when reading time materialized, rather than go to my reading pile I grabbed something off the mag pile. As of Monday night the mag pile was left with only two things it in. One was something from Blue Cross Blue Shield that I just didn't feel like reading. The other was the timeshare org mag, and that is almost as much sales pitch. So I felt caught up and grabbed the book from the reading pile. While it's a rather large book, it will feel good to get back into that kind of reading. At ten pages a night and a few more on the weekend, I should finish this around the end of September or early October. By then another ten to fifteen magazines should have piled up.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Waiting for the Other Shoe
That's a horrible cliche, I know: waiting for the other shoe to drop. But that's the way I feel today. My reason for saying that is that today I took a big step in terms of writing assignments. I applied to an on-line magazine for a writing position. It appears it can be part time, and either replace my Suite101.com writing or go along side of it.
The magazine is for the construction industry, both buildings and infrastructure, and includes engineering topics. They pay very well for on-line writing. If accepted, and if my articles pass muster, I could make some real spending money through this site. They have several types of articles to write, of varying lengths and for different payment. I don't know how long the evaluation process will require, but at midday, Wednesday June 16, 2010, I'm optimistic.
So why am I waiting for the other shoe to drop? It seems that every time I try to ratchet up my writing activities, something gets in the way. My time gets usurped for things that must be done. My CEI work suddenly increases. I'm expected to do something else. Computer crash, car crash, home repairs, etc.
It is predictable. If I try to increase the time I spend on writing, something will come into my life that prevents my doing so. I have wondered if this is God's way of presenting closed doors, an indication that writing is the wrong direction for me to go. When I put writing aside for a time to do some other needed item, nothing ever interrupts my doing that item.
So we'll see what happens. Maybe this e-zine won't accept me. Maybe I'll get into it and discover it's not as lucrative as it appears. Maybe I'll find it's not a good site to write for after all. We'll see. If the other shoe does drop, I'll fall back on one of my standard comforts: Retirement is only 7 years, 6 months, and 14 days away.
The magazine is for the construction industry, both buildings and infrastructure, and includes engineering topics. They pay very well for on-line writing. If accepted, and if my articles pass muster, I could make some real spending money through this site. They have several types of articles to write, of varying lengths and for different payment. I don't know how long the evaluation process will require, but at midday, Wednesday June 16, 2010, I'm optimistic.
So why am I waiting for the other shoe to drop? It seems that every time I try to ratchet up my writing activities, something gets in the way. My time gets usurped for things that must be done. My CEI work suddenly increases. I'm expected to do something else. Computer crash, car crash, home repairs, etc.
It is predictable. If I try to increase the time I spend on writing, something will come into my life that prevents my doing so. I have wondered if this is God's way of presenting closed doors, an indication that writing is the wrong direction for me to go. When I put writing aside for a time to do some other needed item, nothing ever interrupts my doing that item.
So we'll see what happens. Maybe this e-zine won't accept me. Maybe I'll get into it and discover it's not as lucrative as it appears. Maybe I'll find it's not a good site to write for after all. We'll see. If the other shoe does drop, I'll fall back on one of my standard comforts: Retirement is only 7 years, 6 months, and 14 days away.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Platform, Part 2
My last post was about the somewhat new-fangled notion that the unpublished writer needs to bring a platform to a publisher before the publisher will consider the wannabe writer--platform being defined as credentials and/or a ready-made audience.
In that post I talked about my newspaper column idea as a platform-building effort. As I say that, I don't mean to suggest that would be a dreary task. I love studying those old documents, and the eighteen columns I've written have been a true joy, as was the studying for the next few to be written. My fear has always been that, once the column is functioning, whether in one newspaper or a hundred, it will sap all the time I have in my schedule for creative writing, leaving me no time for fiction or non-fiction books. I suppose if it did, I'd still have my writing, and it would be writing I'd enjoy. I should end the discussion and consideration there and just do it.
Another pathway to platform exists for me, as suggested by many writers and editors. Not for me only, but for any writer climbing the publishing mountain. That pathway is writing for magazines before trying to publish books. This could be non-fiction articles or short stories. Magazines abound, and are looking for material one a regular schedule. They tend to be more open to new writers than are book publishers, and the lead time to get something into print is much shorter. As far as reaching people, most magazines have a larger circulation than the number of books that a first time book writer will sell.
Moreover, writing for magazines gives you references, experience with editors, experience with deadlines, honing of writing skills, evidence that your writing has value, and perhaps a few fans who will be looking for your book.
I've written some articles for engineering magazines. This pays well, but doesn't actually build credentials or fan base for creative writing. I've written two short stories, one that is highly polished, and for the last month, off and on, I've conducted market research to try and decide where to send this. I'm probably one or two hours of final research away from having five or six magazines to send this to.
Thinking about other things I could write for magazines, I stumbled on an idea. A couple of weeks ago I was at Barnes and Noble in the evening, taking advantage of my wife being out of town to drink a large house blend and just enjoy an evening with writing magazines (I bought two). As I put the mags I didn't purchase back on the rack, I looked a little to the left and saw two military magazines, both of them about World War 2.
The idea hit me: I have a trunk in the basement full of copies of the Stars and Stripes, the army newspaper that Dad worked on in Europe during World War 2, which he mailed daily to his parents for keepsakes. Couldn't I use material in them to write an article, or two? Yes, and the perfect first article came to mind immediately. When the newspaper staff was working on the VE Day edition, it was Dad who chose the headline: "It's Over Over Here". Surely there is an article in that. Surely that trunk, full of 65 year-old newsprint, holds other things I could write.
So I'm brainstorming how to craft my article. Then I'll research the magazines and see which ones would work best. I'll pitch the idea to the mag(s) before writing the article, and see how that goes.
A small first step on the freelance road. Might it be successful as a platform-building measure? Stay tuned.
In that post I talked about my newspaper column idea as a platform-building effort. As I say that, I don't mean to suggest that would be a dreary task. I love studying those old documents, and the eighteen columns I've written have been a true joy, as was the studying for the next few to be written. My fear has always been that, once the column is functioning, whether in one newspaper or a hundred, it will sap all the time I have in my schedule for creative writing, leaving me no time for fiction or non-fiction books. I suppose if it did, I'd still have my writing, and it would be writing I'd enjoy. I should end the discussion and consideration there and just do it.
Another pathway to platform exists for me, as suggested by many writers and editors. Not for me only, but for any writer climbing the publishing mountain. That pathway is writing for magazines before trying to publish books. This could be non-fiction articles or short stories. Magazines abound, and are looking for material one a regular schedule. They tend to be more open to new writers than are book publishers, and the lead time to get something into print is much shorter. As far as reaching people, most magazines have a larger circulation than the number of books that a first time book writer will sell.
Moreover, writing for magazines gives you references, experience with editors, experience with deadlines, honing of writing skills, evidence that your writing has value, and perhaps a few fans who will be looking for your book.
I've written some articles for engineering magazines. This pays well, but doesn't actually build credentials or fan base for creative writing. I've written two short stories, one that is highly polished, and for the last month, off and on, I've conducted market research to try and decide where to send this. I'm probably one or two hours of final research away from having five or six magazines to send this to.
Thinking about other things I could write for magazines, I stumbled on an idea. A couple of weeks ago I was at Barnes and Noble in the evening, taking advantage of my wife being out of town to drink a large house blend and just enjoy an evening with writing magazines (I bought two). As I put the mags I didn't purchase back on the rack, I looked a little to the left and saw two military magazines, both of them about World War 2.
The idea hit me: I have a trunk in the basement full of copies of the Stars and Stripes, the army newspaper that Dad worked on in Europe during World War 2, which he mailed daily to his parents for keepsakes. Couldn't I use material in them to write an article, or two? Yes, and the perfect first article came to mind immediately. When the newspaper staff was working on the VE Day edition, it was Dad who chose the headline: "It's Over Over Here". Surely there is an article in that. Surely that trunk, full of 65 year-old newsprint, holds other things I could write.
So I'm brainstorming how to craft my article. Then I'll research the magazines and see which ones would work best. I'll pitch the idea to the mag(s) before writing the article, and see how that goes.
A small first step on the freelance road. Might it be successful as a platform-building measure? Stay tuned.
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