Writing For Regional Parenting Magazines Is Fun, Rewarding & Builds Core Freelance Writing Skills

Something cool happened in January 2013.

A regional parenting magazine came out and every single one of the articles by a freelance writer was written by mom writers I trained. Every single writer had taken my Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff (Especially for Moms) class.

I was pretty blown away when I saw this. I kept flipping through the publication to double check.

Yep, the rest of the content was not freelancer written. All of the freelance content was written by one of my freelance writer mom students—almost all students I am currently coaching.

I am going to frame the issue and hang it on the wall of my office, with some of my other work, not because I wrote any of the articles, but because I was a positive influence on these writers and I played a small part in their publishing success. Being a positive influence and always acting professionally is as much a part of what I do for a living as my own writing.

I have seen more than a dozen of my students’ articles appear in regional parenting magazines before, sometimes accompanied by an article or two by me. And this is always a big thrill. But what really makes me proud is when the articles by my students stand out. They usually do and often, they totally rock!

When I am impressed by the quality of writing of students I have trained, I feel psyched. But it makes sense, I guess, because one of the lessons I have tried to pass on to the writers I have worked with over the years is that quality writing is the top priority.

12 years ago I began teaching mom writers and I'm still teaching them -- I may have even gotten better at it!

Writing for regional parenting magazines Is fun, rewarding & builds core freelance writing skills. Writing for regional parenting magazines is how I got my start freelance writing and it’s still an important skill that I teach mom writers who take my writing classes today.

You may remember if you are a fan that my book, Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books 2007) is divided into four sections:

1. Preparation
2. Practice
3. Professionalism
4. Poise

I love when I can see all four of these qualities shining through in published articles by my former students. I have also noticed that the strong writing skills students learn in my writing classes carry over into other important arenas of a their writing careers.

I see the four qualities in their blog posts, in their newsletters, in their websites, in the way they behave on social media, and in their e-books and books. In their writing, my students are: Clean. Clear. Crisp. Professional. Helpful. Insightful. Thoughtful. Thorough. And generous.

I’m proud of them. And I’m proud of myself for teaching them to keep their eye on the prize: quality writing. Because quality writing speaks for itself.

I have been writing for regional parenting magazines since 2000–yikes, the turn of the last century!–and I still love it today as much today as I did back then. I know that my enthusiasm for writing for regional parenting magazines is contagious, and so is my love for producing quality writing. I hope you catch the bug too.

If you want to hear more about the power of quality writing and how it can solidly center and anchor your writing career, check out Writer Mama and The Writer’s Workout. LINK

They contain the same key lessons that I put into my classes and my coaching because they were both inspired by what I have learned teaching writers for the past twelve years.

I bet you can’t read either of them without wanting to write!

I bet you can’t read either of them without wanting to be the best writer you can be.

And that’s my job: helping writers become the best writers they can be in this crazy gig economy we are living in. Feel free to join in the fun. You’ll not only become a better writer, you will learn a ton about yourself, what you value, and how your creative process works.