Q.
What is your office space?
A. Our office is
located in the back room of our 100-year-old house overlooking
the Penobscot River.
Q. What does a typical day at work consist of?
A. Since our
business is virtual, Richard and I both sit at our computers all day
long.
However, since we work for ourselves, we don't have to ask for
permission
when we want to take the afternoon off to go shopping or to sit by the
river.
Q. What inspired you to become a writer/publisher?
A. My 10th grade
English teacher at McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas.
She gave me an A+ on a book report I wrote
on a book I'd never read. At the top, she wrote, "Good BS." I
knew then, at that very moment, that I wanted to be a writer.
Q. What are some of the benefits and challenges to publishing your own
web 'zine?
A. The benefit is having complete editorial control over our creations.
We don't have to get anyone's permission to say what needs to be said.
And, of course, the income ain't bad either. The biggest challenge is
the long hours. It's entirely up to us to remain profitable and we
strive diligently to do so.
Q. Where do you see the trend of webzines headed?
A. Many traditional magazines and newspapers now offer ezine
counterparts. This will only continue as publishers realize higher
profits due to no printing and postage expenses.
Q. Where do you see Writersweekly.com in five years?
A. We're already the highest-circulation freelance writing ezine in the
world, and we have grand plans to keep it that way. We really have to
stay alert to the industry to maintain our lead over the competition.
Q. Is writing for the web a more suitable option for writers at
the beginning of their career?
A. The Internet has more than doubled the number of paying markets for
writers. However, the pay is
usually lower on average online.
Q. What advice do you have for people at the beginning of their
writing career?
A. First, download our free ebook, How to Be a Freelance Writer, by
subscribing to WritersWeekly at: http://www.writersweekly.com
Everything a new writer needs to know is right there. Then, surf to our
paying markets page at:
http://www.writersweekly.com/payingmarkets.htm
Q. What are some the mistakes that entrepreneurs make at the beginning
of their
careers?
A. Assuming that being an entrepreneur will be easy. Profitable
entrepreneurs work much harder and many more hours than employees.
Q. What do you do in your spare time?
A. Spare time? What's that? Seriously, I write fiction for fun
Q. Who are some of your role models?
A. Marvin Zindler of Channel 13 in Houston, Texas. He is a consumer
watchdog and I always wanted to be able to help people like he does.
We've been able to do this by making major changes to publishing
industry standards (setting a precedent for higher royalties on ebooks
and less greed in rights negotiations) and also by forcing deadbeat
editors to pay up what they owe to freelancers by threatening
publication of their debts in WritersWeekly.com.
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