Need to get creatively sparked?

Check out this blog (http://www.yourcreativespark.blogspot.com). She's interviewed plenty of creative bloggers and this includes many people in the book such as Christine Mason Miller and Andrea Scher! There's 2 hours and 57 minutes of audio, over 100 pages of full transcripts and plenty of bonus material!

So, here's an update about my quest to get published in bigger magazines.

I've been sending out queries and my gosh, it can be so frustrating. Just the act of tracking down the current names of editors, and sending things to the right editors. Spending my time attaching clips and customizing query letters. Only to be told--yet again--that the idea is spot on but they just covered it, or that it doesn't suit their readers. (I think these magazines want the same ideas regurgitated because they don't like anything too focused; and I read some of these mags and would love to see some of these ideas covered.)

I told my husband the other day that I felt like a failure. I just wanted it to happen so bad--but I am confident it's just a matter of time. So the real problem is that I'm impatient (I knew that!)

So it's a waiting game.

But I'm armed. I've been churning out a few query letters each month and have a massive golden rolodex ala Excel constantly being added to. It's making the query process much easier.

I'm wondering what types of creative dreams you have, and what aspects of them drain you?

ONLINE SEMINAR: Cold Calling is the Brussels Sprouts of Marketing

Done wrong, cold calling is every bit as loathsome as the vegetable we all grew up hating. But just as with the humble sprout, if you approach it the right way, not only will you enjoy the benefits to your business from reaching out to total strangers, you'll actually come to enjoy the process itself. Marketing pros Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and Colleen Wainwright (a.k.a. the communicatrix) will teach how to make this invaluable tool work for you via stories, role-playing, and actionable information.

Want a preview? Listen to this short, short audio tidbit:
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WHBh1xy7

WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 - 8:30 pm EST
WHERE: Your computer and phone
PRICE: $30 Freelancers Union members, $40 non-members

(and membership is free! so you do the math)

Register online here now:
http://tinyurl.com/8umlju

I was happy to see a post on The Renegade Writer Blog about the topic of "extreme self care." If you don't know what that is, it means putting yourself entirely first above everything on a regular basis and making time for yourself frequently.

This can mean doing something as simple as taking a walk to your favorite outdoor spot, taking a bath, getting a massage, or going on a vacation. Whatever appeals to you, it's important to do it and do it regularly.

Why? Because as creatives, we tend to burn out. No one wants to admit it because we adore what we do -- but if you do anything extensively you'll get fried from it. And building a business certainly constitutes a case for burnout.

I just finished rereading Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson, a life coach who has written extensively on extreme self-care. I am starting to read her newest addition The Art of Extreme Self-Care and encourage you to do the same.


How do you practice extreme self-care? Why do you think it's important? How has doing so helped your creative business?

I know that many creatives out there use the Web to propel their business. My website, www.kristenfischer.com, features a portfolio of my work, an explanation of what it is like to work with a copywriter and how I do business, as well as a bio and listing of press clips.

I'm wondering what you feel that a website for a creative business should entail. Do you think you need your own domain? Do you put your resume online? Do you feature rates for your work? Share your link and let's chat!