Writer To Writer #3
by Karen O'Connor

Write Less and Earn More--With Spin-offs

I remember the day I completed my book on women and money addictions. I was free at last!  I decided to take a week off, sleep late, read a novel, have lunch with a friend, prune my roses, and clean out the office clutter.

As I reached that last item on my list, however, I took another look.  There were pages upon pages of research from my previous non-fiction books.  I had quickly jammed them in a cabinet after meeting each deadline, never giving them another thought.  After all, that was old stuff.  I was on to something new.  While straightening my files, however, I suddenly saw for the first time, the 'gold' in them thar pages!  Hidden in a drawer was enough material to keep me writing magazine articles for years. I had actually shoved aside potential income.

If you're ahead of me and have been doing spin-offs for years, then you can stop reading here. But if like me, you've been allowing your research to collect mildew instead of money, then read on, and I'll show you how to write less and earn more

1.   Set a monthly goal--to write five or ten articles a month--or whatever is realistic for you.

2.    Create a computer file to keep track of your spin-off submissions: date, title, magazine, results.

3     List the publications you wish to write for, including name, payment range, and type of articles needed.

4.    Establish a schedule for writing the spin-offs you’ve planned.  Devote one hour each evening, or use the time while a toddler haps, or write on your lunch hour at work, or as you wait in the orthodontist's office or at the soccer field.

5.    Look through your published books, magazine articles, and/or manuscript notes.  Match book chapter titles or magazine article topics with a potential market. For example, "Are You A Shopoholic?" was a spin-off from material in a chapter in my book A Woman's Place is in the Mall...And Other Lies.  An article titled "When Parenting Styles Collide" resulted from additional notes I had for my book, Innovative Grandparenting.

6.    Resubmit rejected articles to the next similar magazine in your targeted category, i.e.,  parenting, juveWnile, religious, camping, history, etc. They will find a home eventually.

Payment ranges from $50 or $75 to several hundred, sometimes more, depending on the magazine.  I can generally write such an article in about two hours, so you can see the excellent potential for earning extra income.  And if you write in volume, the potential is even greater. Editors are always in the market for sharp, informative pieces on a wide variety of subjects.  Below are some spin-offs I've written over the years.

Additional spin-offs can come from each of these.  Twist a title, turn a word or phrase, add or subtract an anecdote or piece of information not used before, reslant them for a different group or sell the same piece to a non-competing market.  Many editors accept simultaneous submissions.  There's no end to it.  So what are we waiting for?

Lunch with a friend?  Pruning roses?  Reading that long-awaited novel?  Not now. We're too busy--meeting new deadlines and collecting cash.

Copyright 2002 Karen O'Connor

Copyright 2002 Karen O’Connor Karen O'Connor from San Diego, CA is an award-winning author, (Mount Hermon Christian Writers Guild 2002 Special Recognition Award), a retreat speaker, and writing instructor for the Long Ridge Writers Group at:
http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com
Her latest book, Help, Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment… was released in June from Servant Publications. Visit Karen on the web at:
http://www.karenoconnor.com or contact her by e-mail at:
karen@karenoconnor.com