Poetry and Fiction Course Dropped
After due deliberation (internal link), I have dropped my poetry and fiction class. I just have too much to do at the moment. Perhaps I can come back to personal enrichment at another time.
Newsmastering Example
My newsmastering work (internal link) continues at a furious pace. But it’s not writing all the time, far from it. Most of the work consists of searching for the one, two, or three stories that will make a day a success. Take a look at the screen shot below. In a four hour period, twenty leads have come in. I’d say I’m getting at least sixty Google alert leads a day. Each of these entries, many of them duplicates, have to be looked at to see whether they could make up a suitable entry for the trial lawyer I am blogging for. It’s rather like fighting a never-ending snowstorm; the leads pile up higher and higher the longer I go between looking at my mail.
Book Pitch Sent In
Any day I send in a book proposal is a good day. In this case, I wrote out a few paragraphs to an editor I had corresponded with before. There’s no need, I think, to do a complete proposal to an editor once you have established your credentials. By this, I mean if the editor is familiar with you, even if he or she has turned down all of your proposals before, I think you can do pitches (internal link) like you might do with a community newspaper or a hardcopy magazine. The idea is not to waste anyone’s time. They’ll let you know if your idea warrants refining. You won’t get a book deal with a short pitch, but you might get the go ahead to develop your idea further.
Ham License Exam Study Continues
I continue to study online for my next amateur radio exam (internal link), this time for what is called a General License. The General allows one to transmit on HF or high frequencies, what most people know as shortwave. The technician class license I have now is mostly limited to local working, although some repeaters in my area are linked to the internet. Through these “repeaters,” I have the possibility of talking to people in Japan, Russia, and Norway. All with a handheld radio.
BioBlitz is Getting Closer
I’m also preparing for the lichen BioBlitz (internal link) coming up at Great Basin National Park. I am looking forward to the lichens and to the deep, dark skies. My big disappointment is that I so far have no magazine or newspaper that wants me to write about it. I think it’s an interesting story, certainly, but no one else does. For my part, I really haven’t pursued queries like I should have. Instead, I’ll take my good camera and record as much as possible in writing about my experience. Perhaps I’ll find a home for an article sometime down the road.
