"I can write (and talk) about anything!"™

 

 

Upcoming presentations

Classes at Writers and Books in Rochester

Basics of Proofreading and Editing
September 21, 2010, 6-9 p.m.
Writers and Books, 740 University Ave., Rochester, NY
Learn the essentials of proofreading and editing, including marks and symbols, essential style manuals, using Microsoft Word as an editing tool, and working effectively with clients and colleagues, as well as helpful organizational resources. I bring more than 25 years of experience as a freelance writer, editor and proofreader to this essential nuts ‘n’ bolts class.

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer
October 12, 2010, 6-9 p.m.
Writers and Books, 740 University Ave., Rochester, NY
You need more than writing skills and a computer to be a successful freelancer. You also need business sense, knowledge of the market, and a firm grasp of the tricks of the trade. I'll share tips garnered from my 25-plus years of experience in this tough but highly rewarding arena, working from my booklet, Get Paid to Write! Getting Started as a Freelance Writer. The main focus will be on freelance writing, but I'll cover freelance editing, proofreading and other editorial areas as well if participants are interested.

Websites for Writers
November 16, 2010, 6-9 p.m.; June 15
Writers and Books, 740 University Ave., Rochester, NY
Writers today have to get noticed on the World Wide Web, and that means having our own websites. Find out the basics of getting a domain name; using it for a permanent e-mail address; and creating an effective, attractive website that will help bring readers and publishers to your work. Tips are based in part on maintaining my own website and creating and/or managing content for several others. I'll include examples of writers’ good and bad sites to use as inspiration. Feel free to bring printouts from your own site, if you have one or have some ideas in mind, for critiques and suggestions. (Note: This is a general class, not a high-tech offering.)

More presentations to come

I'll be making several presentations for Communication Central in Rochester at this year's Build Your Communications Business conference, Oct. 1-2, 2010. Details will be at:
www.communication-central.com

Seminar Topics

"Writer Ruth" can write - and talk - about anything!

Recent seminar topics include:

Why attend?

You and your staff can learn from my experience as a long-time, successful freelance writer, editor and desktop publisher, published locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally, in a wide range of publications, including dozens, if not more, based in the DC area. These seminars are a way for me to “give back” to the professional organizations that have helped me advance and to colleagues who have been supportive of my career.

Here’s what colleagues have to say:

• "I've been to Ruth's seminar, and it's a not-to-miss event."

• "I had been freelancing successfully for 7 years when I attended her seminar, and I still learned things from [Ruth]! … it was my good fortune to learn much by [attending]. It takes quite a lot to get me into the city from the West Virginia countryside, and [this] was definitely 'time well spent.'”

• "I have attended your seminars in the past and found them to be quite useful."

• "... You have much to offer, and your insights are rare and valuable."

• "Ruth E. Thaler-Carter is adept not only at the craft of writing, but also at the business of freelancing. An active member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, she is always among the first to share her expertise with fellow freelancers in need of help or support. I have found her advice to be invaluable ... I'm not new to editing, but I am new to freelancing as my serious, fulltime occupation, and [her] advice has been invaluable."

• "I would definitely go to a seminar like Ruth's. She's a veteran freelancer so hers would be a good one, if you can make it."

• "Now I see why Ruth is so successful! She looks for opportunities wherever they may be!"

I have made versions of my freelancing presentation to the National Press Club, National Writers Union/DC Local, Editorial Freelancers Association, Society for Technical Communication, Washington Independent Writers, Society for Professional Journalists, Maryland Writers Association, Women in Communications, International Association of Business Communicators and other organizations, with highly positive evaluations and several repeat presentations.

For more information about upcoming seminars, just follow the links to the topic descriptions. If your organization would like to host a similar program, please let me know by phone (585-248-8464) or send an e-mail message to ruth@writerruth.com.

Latest programs

My session on "The Freelance Option for Copy Editors" at the 2010 conference of the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) in Philadelphia not only went very well, but received complimentary coverage at the ACES site and in its newsletter. Very rewarding!

I presented a session on freelancing at the national conference of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in Indianapolis on August 29 (www.spj.org). I hadn't been in Indianapolis since making an overnight stop there when I moved from St. Louis to DC, many years ago - I still remember every detail of making that long drive all by myself! The session went great, and I also had the pleasure of meeting online colleagues in person over brunch, as well as reconnecting with a few old friends from St. Louis and DC.

My workshops for the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) — one on freelancing in Seattle in October and ones on websites for colleagues and on getting started in freelancing in May DC and June in NYC — all went very well. It was great to meet colleagues and share information about ways to develop a freelance writing, editing or other freelance business. Everyone appeared to enjoy the interaction with colleagues and I've gotten several very nice expressions of appreciation for the information I provided.

My sessions on "Finding, Hiring and Working Well with Freelancers" and "Getting Started as a Freelance Tech Communicator" at the 2009 Society for Technical Communication (STC) national Tech Comm Summit, in Atlanta on May 5 and 6, were quite successful. I've spoken at the STC-Rochester chapter conference several times now, and it was very flattering to have my first-ever proposals accepted for the prestigious national event.

The freelancing presentation was a real challenge, since conference organizers squeezed it into a one-hour session with a co-presenter - my friend and colleague Kat Nagel, whose topic was "Growing Your Freelance Business." We crafted a tightly organized session that participants seemed to enjoy, although each of us could easily have filled more than an hour on our own!

I made presentations on freelancing and on websites for freelancers at the Region 3 conference of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in Philadelphia on April 24 and 25. It was nice to go back to my newspaper roots! All but three of the conference attendees were in the room for the freelancing session, which probably says as much about the state of journalism as it does about my presentation skills. The websites session also drew a good crowd with very good questions.

In the first week of April 2009, I made a presentation on "Getting Started as a Freelance Tech Communicator" for the 50th annual spectrum conference of the Rochester, NY, chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. This was my third year of presentating at spectrum; being included in the chapter's special event this year was a real honor.

2008 programs

Being one of the speakers on a newsletter panel for the 2008 Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) spring management conference in Washington, DC, was an opportunity to offer a few tips on using freelancers for newsletter projects. To purchase a copy of the PowerPoint slides and handout, contact me at Ruth@writerruth.com.

The first-ever DC seminars of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) - my sessions on "Opportunities in Newsletters" on the afternoon of May 2 and "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing" on May 3, along with a May 2 morning session I organized featuring Bevi Chagnon on "InDesign for Editors" - were a great success! We had about a dozen participants in each of the three sessions, which I found quite gratifying for a first-time effort. Not only did participants relay glowing reviews of the programs, but we also garnered a volunteer to launch a DC-region chapter of the EFA.

My session on "Finding, Hiring and Working with Freelance/ Contract Writers and Editors" at the 2008 Society for Technical Communication (STC)-Rochester spectrum conference, on March 28 in Rochester, went very well. It was fun to offer something from the perspective of the employer! The nicest part of this experience was being told that I was asked back (I did two sessions for spectrum last year) because I'm a "power presenter"!

My "Basics of Proofreading and Editing" class at Rochester's Writers and Books in April was a great opportunity to finetune and update my thoughts on this topic. Participants included a woman wanting advice on editing her mother's diaries as a memoir and a newly minted graduate librarian thinking about doing freelance fact-checking, among others.

2007 presentations

The 2007 Communication Central "Build Your Communications Business" conference, at which I was one of the opening panel presenters, was a fantastic event! We brought several nationally known speakers to Rochester for the first time, from Montreal, DC, Seneca Falls and Poughkeepsie, along with several speakers from the Rochester area, to present sessions on everything from using Acrobat and doing onscreen editing to organizing, marketing and promoting your business to dealing with stress. New this year were two - count 'em! - pre-conference workshops on Sept. 28, with the conference on Sept. 29.

My classes for Writers and Books (Rochester, NY) on "Getting Started in Freelancing" and "Basics of Proofreading and Editing" in January, February and June went so well that I was asked to do them again in the fall as well, as in the new year.

The room was packed for my session on"Finding and Working Well with Freelancers" at the 2007 Society for National Association Publications (SNAP) preconference program in June 2007 in DC. I repeated the session for SNAP's Chicago conferenece, November 12-13.Both the DC and Chicago sesssions garnered a roomful of participants and were great opportunities to share tips with colleagues and prospective clients.

There was also a good turnout for my "Getting Started in Freelancing" program at the National Writers Union/DC Local in Washington, DC, on June 14.

My "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing" workshop for the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) in March in NYC was a hit, and forms the basis of a booklet of the same title that the EFA expects topublish sometime in 2008.

My first-ever presentations at spectrum, the annual conference of the Society for Technical Communication-Rochester, on March 23 - "Newsletters are Not Technical Manuals! Tips for Newsletter Success"
and
"Sink or Swim: How to Take the Plunge into Freelancing" - went very well and gave me a chance to retune these topics for a new audience.

Accepting a merit award for my co-authored book on eldercare at that event was even more exciting! Those sessions resulted in being invited back in 2008 to talk about "Finding and Working with Freelance Writers and Editors," with colleague Kat Nagel to add insights on using freelancers as onsite contractors.

2006 presentations

I presented a session on "Get Your Business Going" at "Build Your Communications Business," September 29-October 1, 2006, in Rochester, NY. This was in addition to organizing the event itself, with the assistance of colleague Kat Nagel. For details, go to www.communication-central.com.

About a dozen colleagues attended my "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" session on April 20, 2006, at the DC Local of the National Writers Union (NWU), where I provided a wealth of tips on freelancing, including new information about blogging, websites and other current aspects of finding work and promoting their writing skills or interests.

• "Newsletters that Work" brought a select group of colleagues to B'nai B'rith in DC on April 21, 2006, to hear me discuss planning, writing, editing and putting together newsletters that look good and read well, with new information about electronic newsletters, website versions, blogging and newsletters, resources, and more. The detailed handouts were a big hit!

• An enthusiastic group of colleagues attended "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing," my first-ever workshop for the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) educational program, on March 25, 2006, in NYC. This was a new twist on my popular "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" program, focusing on building a business in various kinds of editorial work, above and beyond writing.

Writers, editors, indexers and translators found out how to jumpstart their dreams of living the freelance lifestyle, with tips on setting up and organizing, finding work, networking, resources, getting paid, combating isolation and more. Participants came from as far away as Boston and DC, as well as NYC and Connecticut - I was very flattered!

• In addition to being coordinator of the first national conference of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) in 10 years, held in October 2005 in New York City, I presented a conference session on "Entering New Markets," aimed at helping colleagues move into new markets, whether in terms of new topics to cover, new genres to work in or new services to provide. For a copy of main points, contact me at Ruth@writerruth.com.

Detailed coverage of the 2005 EFA National Conference is available in my portfolio.