GEO Webinar Recap: What Writers Need to Know (Before It’s Too Late)
Key Takeaways* Generative engine optimization (GEO) helps content appear in AI search results.* Publishers are…
News
Featured
Read
How to Build a Writing Business Working With Retainer Clients
I started freelancing almost two decades ago after leaving a job in corporate marketing. I…
It’s Time to Renew Your ASJA Membership for 2026–and Celebrate!
The world of entrepreneurial writing is going through some changes, as reports from the news…
Virtual Pitch Slam is Back
The Next VPS is Dec. 9 with Award-Winning Trails Magazine It’s back! ASJA’s well-regarded Virtual…
AI Is Changing Ghostwriting, and Other Top Takeaways from 2025 Gathering of the Ghosts
If you went to this week’s Gathering of the Ghosts conference and haven’t started using…
How Content Writers Can Make the Most of 2026 B2B Content Marketing Trends
The Content Marketing Institute’s annual industry forecast is a reliable barometer for gauging where content…
I’m an ASJA Member and Librarian: Here’s My Advice for Supporting Banned Books All Year Long
Librarians love Banned Books Week, which this year took place Oct. 5-11. I left my…
Meet the Member: Robert Lerose on Winning a 2025 ASJA Book Award and More
Robert Lerose has been writing for as long as he can remember, and has freelanced…
ASJA’s 2026 Membership Drive Kicks Off With Lower Dues, Free E-Book, and More
When I started my independent writing career, I absorbed everything I could about owning a…
Almost There: How to Position Yourself to Win ASJA and Other Writing Awards
Do you find yourself entering awards competitions and coming up short? We asked ASJA members…
Jack El-Hai on Writing for the Silver Screen
This November, the movie Nuremberg, based on the 2013 nonfiction book “The Nazi and the…
Applause, Please, for The 2025 ASJA Book Award Winners
After months of serious reading, the judges for the 2025 American Society of Journalists and…
Superman’s Editor Had a Super Power Too – He Was a Long-Time ASJA Member
Any research project can lead to serendipitous discoveries. One such discovery for me was how…
Use the ASJA Paycheck Database to Find Out Who’s Assigning and What They’re Paying
When new issues of ASJA’s former print magazine were mailed, one of the most eagerly…
ASJA Is Evolving Membership Requirements to Meet the Current Publishing Landscape
To say that the world of freelance writing has changed dramatically is a huge understatement….
ASJA Conference April 20-24, 2026 – Your Blueprint for Navigating the Future
Following ASJA’s pattern of alternating in-person and virtual conferences to best meet the needs of…
Tips for Cultivating New and Existing Writing Clients
Mid-August is that time of year when vacation season is ending, kids are going back…
Featured
Browse by topic
The Trade of Trade Magazine Writing
I’ve taught “Succeeding As a Magazine Writer” for many years. Usually, my students’ main goal…
Speaking (and Signing) for the Work
What I’ve always liked about writing: it isn’t talking. But even in my earliest years…
Take a Hike!
I make this suggestion for two reasons. First, it removes you from your writing space…
Businesses are hiring writers who specialize
Recently I asked a technology executive if businesses value writers as much as lawyers or…
3 Ways Stats Can Screw Up Your Story
Whether you’re writing a non-fiction book or crafting a piece for one of the…
Sportswriting, anyone? 8 Tips from National Sports Editors
As a decades-long suffering Cleveland fan (read: no championships in my lifetime — yet), I’m…
An Impulse that Paid Off
I got a book idea over dinner with an opera star. My favorite Metropolitan Opera…
An Essential Tool for Writers: Building a Creative Community
I spent many years participating in career days at local schools, asking classrooms at every…
MFA Programs: What are they and how do they work?
You’ve been freelancing for years. Clients love your work. But something about your writing isn’t pleasing…
Small Writers Group Nets Big Results
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, FastCompany.com, Columbia Journalism Review,…
Take the Reins On Your Amazon Reviews
Your book’s Amazon page is part orchestration, part free for-all. Your publisher will set up…
Why I’m Glad to be an Office Nomad
For much of my freelance career I had a home office, a spare second-floor bedroom…
My Favorite Office Assistant: Freelancers have a special bond with their pets
When he was with me, my office assistant always let me know when a package…
No Tax Break If Client Stiffs You
Contrary to what many freelancer writers mistakenly believe, long-standing regulations usually prohibit most of them…
Writing a Children’s Book? Make It Predictable.
If you’re like many ASJA members, you probably write for adults. But have you ever considered…
Treasures in the Attic
Early in my writing career I attended a Golden Gloves championship on assignment for a…
Commitment or Obsession? When It's Time to Let Go
Where is the line between commitment to your pet project and manic obsession? It took…
Power of Memoir in Spotlight at ASJA 2014
Emma Brockes’ mother stood up against family abuse as a child in South Africa. Michael…
Negotiating a Publishing Contract
Identifying potential problem areas in publishing contracts is a primary focus of ASJA’s Contracts &…
No Sweat: Six Ways to Build Your Fitness-Writing Muscles
You don’t have to complete Ironman triathlons, bench-press your own body weight, or have washboard…
Inside the ASJA2014 Long-Form Narrative Panel
Anytime you assemble a crew like we had for the state of the long-form narrative…
Write Tweets People Read
What’s the secret behind a good Tweet? At this year’s ASJA conference, panelists Leslie Poston,…
A Ghost's Story: Can You Make a Living Writing Other People's Books?
The “Secrets of the Ghosts: Expanding Your Writing Horizons by Ghostwriting, Editing, and Promoting Books” panel for the…
Easy Ways to Market Yourself
As writers, we often don’t consider marketing our work as a way to secure new…
Finding Work You Love
Work advice that aims to reduce risk is all too common. We’ve all heard it….
The Basics of Online Retailers for Self-Publishers
Thinking about self-publishing and want to know about the biggest retailers for your digital and…
Baby Formula and Copyright Infringement
I woke up this morning thinking about copyright infringement, baby formula and Nigerian scam artists…
How to Maintain Momentum During Down Times
We all know this business is feast or famine, and when the down times hit,…
What You Should Know about WEAF and Why It Needs You
I hope you never need financial aid from ASJA’s Writers Emergency Assistance Fund, but you…