The Renegade Writer Blog

I'm a blog addict, but yikes, it can be hard to keep track of all my favorite places. Many moons ago I discovered Bloglines. Once I set up my (free!) account, I subscribed to all my favorite blogs and haunts, including the Post's Page Six, Miss Snark, Chocolate and Zucchini, and Romenesko. One stop shopping ... gotta love it.

Oh yeah, and if you'd like to subscribe to our blog, just plug in our web address, hit subscribe, et voila!

There are some good tips over at the Never Eat Alone blog this a.m. about overcoming shyness in social situations. Like the author, I'm in the "dread going but glad I went" camp -- even for stuff like vacations! I'm criminally shy at heart but over the years I've learned to work with my hermit tendencies. People are always surprised when I confess how nervous and shy I get around people I don't know too well, but I guess that just means my coping skills work pretty darn well.

Other tips I'll add to Mark Goulston's:

* Everyone else in the room is too busy worrying about themselves to pay you too much attention -- unless you're Britney Spears with a drink in one hand and a baby in another. When I remind myself of this, it really helps take the pressure off.

* Pretend you're the person whose job it is to put other people at ease. In other words, "act as if." When you focus your attention on helping someone find their way to the crudites, you don't have time to worry if you're looking like a fool.

* We'd worry less about what others think of us if we knew how little they actually thought about us. Think about it -- do you go to a social event and fret over other the other people there as much as you fret over yourself?

So, how do you cope with shyness?

Folks, July 1 is coming up fast, and we want to make sure you get your chance at 500 buckaroos and assorted swag by entering our publisher's "Ultimate Renegade" Freelance Writer Contest.

Entering the contest costs nothing -- well, except time. One "Ultimate Renegade" and two runners up will be chosen. The Ultimate Renegade will win:

* $500 cash
* Free entry into Linda Formichelli's Eight-Week Write for Magazines E-Course, including one-on-one consultation time with Linda.
* A Signed Special Second Edition Copy of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success.
* A signed copy of Linda and Diana's new book, The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock, coming out this fall.
* A complete set of Marion Street Press books for writers and word lovers.
* A cool gold-plated pen and pencil set.

The two runners up will win the same package, except the cash.

How do you enter?

Write a quick essay about your renegade writer lifestyle, including info about rules you've broken and how breaking those rules helped your career. Feel free to mention broken rules from The Renegade Writer, or rules not found in the book. Email your essay and your snail mail address to Renegade Writer publisher Ed Avis at edavis@marionstreetpress.com. Then get back to your renegade writing ways!

The deadline is July 1, 2006. Winners will be announced September 1, 2006.

During my morning dose of snark, I learned that our friend Jenna's site Absolute Write had been shuttered. Seems that one Barbara Bauer took offense being included in a list of the 20 worst literary agents on Absolute Write's watercooler board.

Check out Bauer's website here. The author matching form was especially humorous. Yeah, I'm sure Penguin, Viking, and Workman are finding hot new authors by filling out web forms. Not.

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Barbara Bauer

Linda wrote a reported essay in a recent issue of Women's Health about being a self-help junkie. I'm one, too, and have been one since I was a tot. (My mother claims she found my first list of personal goals when I was around six or seven. I'm sure many of the goals involved candy or cute boys.) Today I devour books on goal-setting, time management, etc., and the Internet -- specifically blogs -- has given me even more reading material.

Thanks to Lifehacker, I found Scott H. Young's blog, where he talks about all my favorite subjects ... goalsetting, eliminating bad habits (who me? procrastinate?), developing self-discipline, and more. I especially liked his post called "The Smallest Step." Even more impressive: Scott is still in high school. Enjoy!

Linda and I will be at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA, the weekend of June 9-10. Oy, this job sometimes -- it's going to be tough to wrench ourselves away from our computers so that we can spend the weekend conducting writing workshops at one of the best health spas in the world. Sigh. We'll have to console ourselves with deep tissue massages from twin blonds named Thor and Sven.

If you'd like to join us, call Canyon Ranch Resort Reservations: 800-742-9000.

No, it's not the mating call of a California sea lion -- it's an advance reading copy of The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock! (Please disregard piles of paper and books on kitchen table.)