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Earning the Dog Food
By Lisa Price ©

Three months after I’d quit my job as a newspaper reporter ... I’d used up nearly all of the advised “six months salary” I’d banked in preparation for the venture. Reminder cards from my vet for the annual check-ups and shots for my three dogs lay unanswered in my “bills” file, appropriately, a wooden box with its back wall shaped and painted as a rooster. It was time for me to wake up.

A Turkey the Size of a Fullback
By Mike Levy ©

Being of the old school of two-finger typists who never really made the switch to the electric typewriter, let alone the narrow-spaced computer keyboard, I often make typing errors. Last week was a doozy!

Digital Devils
By Kevin Rhoades ©

OWAA headquarters is actively deleting e-mails of unknown origin without proper identification. Also, 10 tips for avoiding e-mail viruses.

Selling Your Outdoor Book
By Kevin Michalowski ©

Let’s face it, outdoor writing, especially when it comes to book-length work, is the very definition of niche publishing.

10 Tips for Writing Ugly
By Gary Turbak ©

As a former English teacher, I get annoyed by the little language glitches that show up in professional writing. I probably make my share of miscues, too, but – of course – I notice only other people’s. Here are 10 common mistakes that bug me most.

Writing 'In the Tunnel'
By Tom Stienstra ©

There’s a place every writer should dare to venture at least a few times. Novelist Po Bronson of San Francisco calls it “In the Box.” John Lescroart, another bestseller from California, calls it “The Writing Mode.” I’ve been there a few times myself and I call it “In The Tunnel.”

One Solution for Writer's Block
By Tony Dolle ©

In the next six days, I have four free-lance magazine assignments due, two out-of-town trips to opposite ends of the country, a proposal to write, and I volunteered to come up with a craft improvement piece.

Keep the "re" in Your Writing
By Gary Lantz ©

It helps to let a story sit for a while before undergoing the editing process. Errors that hide in the dusty recesses of blind ego have a way of glaring like a neon sign in the desert following a sabbatical of say, three days or so.

When Radio Calls
By Slaton White ©

I was asked six years ago to launch “Field & Stream Radio,” a one-hour syndicated radio program. When I was handed this assignment I mentioned to our marketing director that I had no previous radio experience. “No problem,” he said, “you’ll learn as you go.” Here are three tips I picked up that may help when your boss asks you to do radio.

How to Better Manage Your Business
By Tom Carney ©

After 25 years as a teacher and with 20 years as a part-time free-lancer under my belt, I left one career to pursue the other full time. One thing I learned on my odyssey is this: If I could give you tips on improving your writing or increasing your sales, I would have followed them myself and spent fewer years in the classroom.

False Subjects Flatten Your Prose
By John Swinton ©

The lengths to which outdoor writers go to deaden their prose and blur their images can surprise and amuse me. Among the various and regrettable obfuscatory strategies I encounter, let’s focus here on one of the oftener seen and least understood: the false or anticipating subject.

Changing it Up
By John McCoy ©

I must have a poverty wish. Why else would I risk my livelihood by allowing my craft – writing – to topple into a rut? I do, though. Fortunately, a quarter-century in the business has taught me to recognize the symptoms and to administer the necessary remedies.

The Business of Writing
By Carolee Boyles ©

... Circumstances have dictated that I no longer limit what I do to “outdoor” writing; I am, simply, a writer. In my transition from free-lancer to business writer, here are 11 principles that I apply to the business of writing.

... In today’s publishing world, you may limit your income if you specialize in only one or two branches of outdoor writing.

... Get the idea. Find the story. Then tell it well. If you succeed, that’s good television.

… I cherish editors who cherish me. And that doesn’t mean they buy everything I send, only that they respect my intentions and are gentle with my feelings.

Recently, I received a compliment. A magazine editor told me he liked my writing because I didn’t write like a woman. Why was this cause for flattery? Why is “writing like a woman” not good?

… Writers and photographers are faced with the dilemma of deciding whether to solicit a publisher or to self-publish. There are pros and cons to both, and the decision largely rests on the willingness and ability of an author or photographer to handle many tasks in addition to writing or taking photographs.

… Did you ever wonder why, as Andy Rooney would ask, that highway slopes are often measured as a percent? For example, “it’s a steep 8 percent grade.” My question is, 8 percent of what?

… When is the “best” time to become a full-time outdoor writer? Answer: Now. I know several people who have quit their day jobs and evolved from part-time to full-time free-lance outdoor writers. Not one of them has ever regretted doing so, even though they lost a regular paycheck and the benefits and security that come with a 40-hour workweek.