In a recent post to a list serv, I expressed my skepticism about the woman who runs a writers' website and their database/newsletter. Although she claims to have "more than 30 years" writing experience, her database and newsletter are often so riddled with errors and out-of-date info (although the "updates" are presented as breaking news) that I quickly realized that I could not blindly believe everything from that source of info.

After I made that post, several people contacted me off-list with their own thoughts and concerns about the website, and other resources and databases for writers. But other people admitted that they had never actually thought to evaluate the credentials of this person, or any other writing expert.

So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make this point...as with anything else, when evaluating writing advice, it's truly a case of Buyer Beware (even if the advice is actually free, you get my point).

Anyone can call themselves an expert. And, as a writer (or aspiring writer) it's good to become accustomed right from the start to seeing through all the layers of hype, exaggeration, etc. to determine a person's actual qualifications. When I'm seeking sources for Family Circle or one of the other mags I write for, I frequently hear from people claiming to be experts, who actually greatly exaggerate their credentials and experience -- or even just flat out lie and totally make stuff up. I've gotten pretty good at listening to my instincts as to whether someone is what they claim to be, but I also thoroughly investigate and verify their claims.

It's no different when determining the value of writing advice -- you must consider the source. Does that person come across as professional, organized, intelligent, etc.? If not, it may be a red flag that you should take their advice with a grain of salt. Anyone can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Check out their clips and previous work. In the case of the writers' website woman, she claims to send out 50 queries a week, but I've searched and can't seem to find a current byline of hers anywhere. Another common ploy is for someone to tout their hundreds of articles -- but when you investigate, you'll find that these articles were all "published" on their own website, or websites that don't pay at all and basically run anything they get.

Even an ad in Writer's Digest is not a guarantee that someone is being honest with their claims and promises, or that they know what they're talking about.

Take me, for example -- I do not consider myself a writing expert by any means, but I do sometimes blab about my writing experiences, and often give advice. But I still encourage anyone reading my posts to check out my credits, experience, etc. and judge for themselves my qualifications to dispense writing advice.

Just a little word of caution to keep in mind...

Okay, by popular demand (LOL!) I've put together a few of my thoughts on
spin-offs. While you won't get the full effect of my ASJA ramblings -- both
because this will be only the highlights, and because you're also missing
out on my creative visual aids (the one made by my son actually got a hearty
round of applause) - hopefully this info will be helpful to someone.

First of all, you may be asking "What the heck is a spin-off? You mean like
when they gave Joanie and Chachi their own show?"

Um, no...not exactly. In magazine writing, a spin-off is when you take one
main idea and "spin" it from as many angles, to get as many possible stories
for different markets, as you can.

Basically, it's getting the most bang for your buck. Milking every possible
assignment out of the same basic research, interviews, etc. When I take an
assignment, although I do have my mimimum per-word rate, more important to
me is my hourly rate. So, if I can do a quick $150 brief in 20 minutes, I
might be willing to take the assignment even if it's a little lower than my
usual per-word rate. Along the same lines, if a story has a good per-word
rate, but I can tell right off the bat that it's going to be a PITA and may
take endless hours of research and interviews, it may not actually turn out
to be worth it.

So by doing a lot of spin-offs, I really raise the hourly rate I'm earning
from one specific amount of time spent research and interviewing.

For example, I once did a celebrity interview that took about an hour. The
assignment was for a women's magazine. During that interview, I asked the
guy (who was a musician) about his upcoming album and tour. I used that info
to write a short piece for a music magazine. The guy also collects Harleys,
so I asked a few questions about his bikes, and had enough material for a
biker article. He also had a common medical condition, so a few questions
about that provided me with material for a mag on that specific condition.

Grand total: an hour's time, a little extra research, and about a half-dozen
paychecks.

Another example...I'm writing a book about a Samoan high chief. In gathering
material for the book, I've accumulated a lot of info on Samoa and its
people. I immediately realized I had a treasure trove of spin-off material
at my fingertips.

So, here goes..

• The guy's a wrestler, so of course I pitched an exclusive interview with
  him to a wrestling mag.

• He's the uncle of a famous celebrity, so I did an "I knew him when..."
  piece for an entertainment mag.

• I learned that Samoa has one of the highest alcoholism rates, so I did a
  psychology piece on the reasons behind that.

• Samoa has very "primative" (by our standards) medical care, so I did a
  piece for a medical trade mag on that

• Samoa has very strong traditions about women's role and how they should be
  treated, so I did something on that for a women's mag.

• There's some very interesting stuff I learned about the traditional Samoan
  tattoos, so of course I pitched that to a tattoo mag.

• I've been to lots of Samoan feasts by now, so I put together a piece on
  traditional Samoan gatherings, and pitched that to a food mag.

• This guy has a teenage daughter, so I did a piece on her for a teen mag.

And there's a few more that I'm possibly forgetting :-)

There are two potential pitfalls to keep in mind when planning spin-offs:

• Study your contracts carefully (which is always a good idea anyway). Some
  mags try to be sneaky and insert a clause that you can't write about the
  same subject anywhere else for X amount of time. Sign that, and you'll be
  killing the possibility of doing any spin-off articles for that amount of
  time.

• Be sure to get your interview subject's okay for each and every
  publication in which you're going to include his info and/or quotes. Some
  people feel very strongly about certain mags that they don't want to be
  quoted in, so you need to be sure they don't have a problem with any of the
  publications. And don't take anything for granted, because you'd be
  surprised at the mags some people may not like.