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

 

 

Next Seminars

I'm offering "Basics of Proofreading and Editing" and "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" at Rochester's Writers and Books in June and July (details below), and will be doing several presentations for Communication Central in the upcoming months. Watch this space for more details!

Basics of Proofreading and Editing

All about Newsletters
Communication Central, 2500 East Avenue, Rochester, NY
Thursday, July 17
$40/person - discounts for members of professional associations, etc. Payable by check or PayPal. Register at:
www.communication-central.com

Whether print or electronic, newsletters today remain a major factor in the communications programs of businesses, nonprofits, associations and even individuals. Find out the basics of putting together newsletters that actually get read, whether you’re launching a new one or wish to improve an existing one – from content and planning to design and “the look of the book.” I've been writing, editing and producing newsletters since before the days of desktop publishing or e-letters, and have lots of fun samples to share that demonstrate what to do – and not to do. Get the basics of planning, writing, editing and producing print and electronic newsletters, to result in a newsletter that your audience will read and remember.

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer
Writers and Books, 740 University Ave., Rochester, NY
Tuesday, July 22, 6–9 p.m.
JA8-B03
$35/person, W&B members; $39/person, general public

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. Details and online registration at:

http://www.wab.org/workshops/2008-summer/business.shtml#2

In the works

I may offer a seminar on freelancing, and possibly one on newsletters, in the fall in Chicago, when I'll be there for the fall Publications Management Conference of the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP). Details to come.

Latest Programs

Just back from being on a newsletter panel for the 2008 Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) spring management conference in Washington, DC, where I had the 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. I should be doing something similar for SNAP's fall conference in Chicago.

The room was packed for my session on"Finding and Working Well with Freelancers" at the 2007 SNAP preconference program in June 2007 in DC. I repeated the session for SNAP's Chicago conferenece, November 12-13. Details at www.snaponline.org.

My first-ever presentations to the annual spectrum conference of the Rochester, NY, chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), Rochester, on March 23, 2007 - "Newsletters are Not Technical Manuals! Tips for Newsletter Success" and "Sink or Swim: How to Take the Plunge into Freelancing" - went very well. 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 this year to talk about "Finding and Working with Freelance Writers and Editors," with colleague Kat Nagel to add insights on using freelancers as onsite contractors.

Participants in my March 10, 2007, workshop on "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing," in NYC for the Editorial Freelancers Association, gave the session high marks. This year, I organized the EFA's first-ever workshops in Washington, DC - one on "InDesign for Editors," presented by colleague Bevi Chagnon, and two that I offered: "Opportunities in Newsletters for Freelancers" and "Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing." We had about a dozen people in each of the three sesssions - not bad for a first-time effort!

My classes for Writers and Books in Rochester on "Basics of Proofreading and Editing" and on "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" have been going so well that I've been asked to do more classes for them. Details above.

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.

Seminar Topics

"Writerruth" can write - and talk - about anything!

Recent seminar topics include:

Why attend?

I am 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. I was the first freelancer to have a regular “gig” with the GWSAE magazine, and have special insights into getting published in the DC-specific sectors of associations and newsletters. My freelancing career began before I arrived in Washington, DC, in 1980, but flowered and flourished there; 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 the seminars I offer, 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.