Are you writing one-hit-wonders?
How to reconnect with old editors plus new workshops and book recommendations.
Hello there, long-time readers and brand-new subscribers. I’m thrilled to see you and so glad that this beautiful little community is growing every week.
The Clothesline is a weekly newsletter from Vanessa Chiasson offering cozy business content for writers who love to read, travel, and plan.
What I’m Reading
Moon Of The Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice: I’m still not sure what I think of this post-apocalyptic thriller set in a small northern Anishinaabe community, but it sure has me thinking of emergency preparedness in a new way!
The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley: What a delightful read! A young widow living in unusual circumstances on an isolated island crosses paths with a podcaster having an identity crisis.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: I’ve finally read what has to be one of the most popular books of the past few years! I loved it, but it was also exhausting in many ways.
What I’m Writing
Fresh from my blog, Tales From The Anti-Adventurist: Vanessa Rides Sidecar At The Calgary Stampede, is a fun look at my summer adventures in Calgary.
I highlighted the work of an incredible entrepreneur who is still a university student in Northern Ontario.
With International Pizza Day coming up on February 9, I wrote about unusual pizza toppings in Canada for Cottage Life.
(From my archives) I blogged about why pizza is the perfect travel food back in 2015.
Travel Tidbit
Ryan is back from Punta Cana! And, true to the budget travel roots of TurnipseedTravel.com, he did some sink laundry while he was there – and found a handy drying rack.
Upcoming Events
Need some extra business know-how as a freelance writer? Join me on March 22 for my next free workshop: So You Want To Be A Freelance Writer: Business Basics Every Writer Should Know. This 90-minute workshop covers everything from some of my biggest mistakes to how I organize my story ideas and tackle admin work.
Keen to get a headstart on your quarterly planning? Grab your spot for my Q2 planning workshop on March 28. Tickets start at $28.00
Join my next Pitching Power Hour on Tuesday, February 6. It’s a free perk for paid members.
Upgrade your subscription here.
Food For Thought
Are you a one-hit wonder? Or a one, two, or three-hit wonder. Do you write a piece or two for an outlet you admire and then just… don’t pitch them anymore?
I’ve been there. In 2017, I wrote two pieces for USA Today’s now-shuttered Eat, Sip, Trip vertical. It went really well. They followed up to share the kind of stories they were looking for in the coming season, and I… I just didn’t pitch them again.
In all honesty, I’m not sure why. It was probably because I didn’t have any story ideas that precisely matched what they were looking for, and I didn’t have the confidence to extrapolate from their list and generate more ideas. But really, who can say? By the time I came back around to them on my writing list, the editor had moved on, and the vertical was absorbed into another department. And even then, I should have pushed forward, but I didn’t.
I know I’m not alone in this. So how can you turn things around and capitalize on the foothold you once had?
