November is a good month...

It has been a great month indeed. My article "Your Best Customer's Business Burned Down - Now what do you do?" appeared in Property & Casualty Magazine early this month.

A week later, Portland Family Magazine published "Getting to Know Your Parents." It's a great (new) free magazine on the Portland scene. I encourage you to watch for it in local coffee shops and restaurants, and beauty parlors.

And yesterday, American Digger, a treasure hunting magazine, published my article "Have All the Big Ones Been Found?" American Digger is mostly by subscription, but it can be found at The Lifestyle Store 2550 NE Hwy 20 Ste. 140, Bend, OR 97701.

The challenge, I am finding, is not in getting published, but in finding a pathway to earning enough to allow me to do what I love to do most - writing. For every article that I publish there are two or three magazines that wanted it for free. Trade publications, in particular, are apparently deluged with writer submissions that are offered to them for nothing. That's usually because the author is promoting something else. I will occasionally give something away to allow me to break into a new genre, but I'm trying to phase that out.

With that in mind, I am tinkering with an article idea that might be suitable for one of two magazines that pay a rate that might allow someone to develop a liveable wage. Wish me luck.

My pattern of publishing is "wrong" according to American patterns. I almost never write a query letter. Instead, I write a completed article, polish it like mad, and send it off. I have received a total of three turn-downs and have published 20 articles, so my success rate is good.

Attached is my American Digger article. I hope you enjoy it.

New Article - and Writing Update

My latest article, Getting to Know Your Parents, is out today in Portland Family Magazine. I will reproduce it here when it is off the stand. This is a fine magazine, and I encourage you to pick it up - it's free - in coffee shops, cafes, and nail salons around town. It's been a busy time: o My article Your Best Customer's Business Burned Down - Now What do you do? appears in National Underwriters magazine Property & Casualty appears this week. o I have two articles appearing in the December issue of Family Chronicle Magazine, a genealogy magazine. o I have an article appearing in American Digger, a treasure hunting magazine in January.

My Writing Progress Report

Last Wednesday I stumbled over a local magazine that I'd never seen before. It's one of those freebies that you see in beauty parlors and coffee shops. It's well done, glossy, and well-edited. I sent them a proposal for an article on Thursday. The editor confirmed that she liked my idea an hour later. I started the article Thursday night, but then it sat until Sunday because I was speaking (briefly) at church on Saturday morning. On Sunday I finished it, and I sent it off Monday at 2:00 pm. At 3:00 they accepted it for publication in their November issue. I think that's the shortest period between conception and acceptance for me. I've had good luck in recent months. At the moment I have four pending artciles, one for November, two for December, and one for January. Based on my over-confidence, I took a chance. I sent off an article that I have had sitting on the shelf for five years to a magazine that "doesn't pay for articles." In theory, I'm asking for the editor's comments and ideas, but what I'm really doing is asking him to make an exception and find some way to pay for this article. I've done that once before, and it worked, so I figured, why not take a chance? It won't always work. The article has to be very polished, I think. I won't give the article to them. I've done too much of that. He tried the "you'll see your name in print" routine, but I don't need a byline in his magazine, which is targeted towards the insurance industry. The old saying that you're "building your portfolio of published work" just doesn't wash for me any more. I have plenty of articles in print in fifteen or more magazines and one more magazine title doesn't do anything for me. I'll still write for free from time to time, but only for a charity or cause that I believe in. Robert Heinlein said keep trying until you publish everything you write. Well Bob, I'm trying. I think I have one or two more on the shelf. (I also have about five in various stages of production, but that's another story.) Stay tuned. I'll tell you if he finds the money somewhere in his budget. Stilo Arripere - Seize the Pen - and keep on writing.

Amazing Find! American History at my Fingertips.

I dropped into an antique shop in Eugene and prowled through their assortment of books, pamphlets, and ephemera. I was looking for things that might interest me - and I have a wide range of interests. Without going into detail about what I saw or where, suffice it to say that I came home with a small bundle of papers that I paid what, to me, was a lot of money. I paid $40. I didn't go through the bundle until I got to the office, and then I got a shock. The Continental Congress met three times. What most of us think of as "The Continental Congress" was actually the Second Continental Congress, which culminated in the Declaration of Independence. Before that, in 1774, the First Continental Congress laid the groundwork for what was to come. Among other things, they listed their grievances against Britain, and approved the first draft of the Bill of Rights. When they adjourned they contacted a local printer and commissioned a pamphlet called "Extracts from the votes and proceedings of the American Continental Congress held at Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774 containing the resolves, the association, an address to the people of Great-Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants of the British American colonies." It was dated September 5, 1774. You guessed it. In the back of the packet of miscellaneous papers that I purchased was an original pamphlet dated 1774. It needs some gentle restoration, which I will probably turn over to a professional. Then I probably need to find a museum to donate it to. I'm still shaking.

What have you read that made your heart clamor for more, more of this?

I remember the first time that I read a book by Robert Heinlein. It was one of his juveniles adapted for publication in Boy's Life, a magazine that I started reading when I was twelve. I was amazed. Is it possible that there can be more writing by this man? It was possible, and thus began my forty-plus year love affair with Bob Heinlein. Some of his stuff was great, most of it was very good, and only a few pieces, thankfully, were bad. He's not the point of this blog post, but rather the moment that I stumbled over his writing. Sparks flew. I have heard of other authors having that impact on readers, most notably Mark Twain. I had that same feeling this past week. I ducked into a small estate sale in Gresham, Oregon on a Sunday, which is a great day to visit an estate sale. Magazines were free, and I quickly piled up several copies of "Firsts," a magazine about first editions, and then more than fifteen copies of a magazine called Biblio, which I had never seen before. Biblio is also about first editions, but is broader in its approach. Auction results are given, bookstore owners are highlighted (including Michael Powell), and collectible ephemera is discussed. One article discussed more than a dozen English-language bookstores in Paris. Another dealt with the original Tom Swift series. I have told my wife that I won't subscribe to any new magazines unless I drop one. I would have to find a way to make room for Biblio. It was that good. Reading my first issue of Biblio was bittersweet. By the time I read my first copy Biblio was already a thing of the past. It lasted just three or four years, and was gone by 1999 or 2000. I have little room in my den for more magazines, but it will be hard to not find room for these 25 issues that I picked up. But I will find the space, I think. It was that good. And I'll watch, I think, for the issues that I am missing, to complete my set. What book or magazine did you read that caused sparks to fly, that made your brain or heart clamor for more, more of this? Add your comments to my blog. Thanks for reading.

Free Books, They Told Me.. A Dangerous Thing to Say to To a Leslie

Kristi and I stopped by an estate sale on Sunday. Their internet listing said that they closed at 3, and also that they closed at five, which gave us an advantage. Most people left, but they let us stay and root around without competition Almost everything was picked over, but four bookshelves were labeled "free books on Sunday." They meant that ALL books and magazines were free. That's a dangerous thing to say to a Leslie. Kristi helped me haul more than 40 books to the car, including several dozen kids' books from the 1940's to mid-1950s in new or almost new condition. They included the Real Book of Daniel Boone, All About Dinosaurs, eight books from the Landmark series of books, including books about the Marquis de LaFayette, Lincoln, The Battle of Britain, the U.S. Air Force, and others. It appears that a small, two-shelf bookshelf had been slid in front of a tall bookshelf, and no one troubled to move it. They snooze, I win. Most of the books are on eBay, with more to follow. I also picked up several dozen issues of "Biblio" and "Firsts," both books for book collectors. So the hint is, if you love books, go to estate sales on the last day. You won't always find free books, but you may find some bargains. Good reading.

What Books have Impacted you?

A recent Facebook post challenged me to list ten books that have impacted me. Fortunately, there was no requirement to explain why you had been impacted. Here's my list, which is not in any particular order, and which is not complete. The Power of one, by Bryce Courtenay Don Quixote de la Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes Shibumi, by Trevanian The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Robert Heinlein The Honor Bound series, by W.E.B. Griffin Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsberg My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George The Immigrants Saga, by Howard Fast Winds of War and War and Remembrance, by Herman Wouk All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot. Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis Money, Possessions, & Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. Okay, I cheated. That's more than ten. The powerful impact that two of those books had on me came back to me as I wrote the list - Mixed Up Files and My Side of the Mountain. Both of those are kid's books, but I can still remember how I felt when I read them, approximately 1.2 million years ago. I decided that the thing to do was right to Jean Craighead George and E.L. Konigsberg and say "thank you." Sadly, both of those authors have passed away in the past two years. I'll never have the chance to say thanks. I looked through my list and quickly determined that the authors of 10 of my 11 favorite books have passed away. See if you can see the one that remains. My challenge is for you to write to your favorite author, not to request an autograph, but to say thank you. If your favorite isn't alive, write to your English teacher, or to the librarian who introduced you to those books. We are in debt to anyone who introduces us to a writing that impacts us.