Oh, gosh, you've made my day. :) Thanks so much.

Hope you guys don't mind me posting here! I'm never sure whether it's rude to post your own freebie or whether it's rude not to, so I'm erring on the side of generosity. (Please don't throw cupcakes. :)) Through July 31, you can get a free copy of the summer issue of home/school/life magazine with the coupon code OUTFORAWALK. (You can see what's in the summer issue here.) To use the coupon, just add the summer issue to your cart and enter the code when you see the coupon prompt. The store is here.

Reporting back: The conference was on the small side (maybe 100, 150 attendees?), but there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I was only there for the last day, and I had to spend most of my time person-ing the home/school/life magazine table, so I am sure I missed lots of interesting stuff. There were a handful of excellent presentations (the one on putting together a homeschool science co-op was great, with lots of nuts and bolts), and I hope they'll have more of those in the future. There weren't a ton of vendors, but it was great to chat about secular science with the folks at Pandia Press and to meet the lovely couple behind the Build Your Library curriculum, both of which I am a fan. A big portion of the conference was dedicated to talking about NASH and what it should be and what it should do. One of the projects that they're working on that I think is just great is putting together a master list of secular curriculum materials, starting with science. It felt like a first conference, if that makes sense, but I liked what I saw and will definitely be planning to attend the next one. (And I did mention the WTM boards to a couple of people who knew what I was talking about, so there were definitely some other WTM-ers there. :))

I'm going on Saturday. I'll report back!

I can't tell if I understand the problem, so ignore if this isn't helpful. I use Zamzar (http://www.zamzar.com/) to convert .docx to .doc files when I need to. It's free, quick, and easy.

In the U.S., designers can't prohibit you from selling something you make with their pattern. (From the current draft of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices: "A registration for a pattern book generally does not extend to individual pattern pieces that may be used to create a useful article, such as shapes that may be traced and used to make a sleeve for a dress, because they have an intrinsic utilitarian function. Nor does the registration extend to any useful article that may be created with the pattern, such as an item of clothing. For a general discussion of useful articles, see Section 924.") Other countries have different rules, though, so if you aren't in the U.S., you'd have to check the laws for your country. And knitted toys seem to be a gray area that may be protected by copyright. But most things you'd knit -- dishcloths, hats, sweaters, etc. -- count as useful articles. The Copyright Matters group on Ravelry is a great place to keep up with this issue, if you're interested. ETA: I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. :)

I like television knitting (knitting that is forgiving if you get a little too caught up in Benedict Cumberbatch for a few rows), and I've made Brickless about a dozen times now because it's great for that. It's a light, lacy-but-not-frou-frou, scarf-shawl.

FWIW, there are good class options in both areas: GA-EPH in Acworth (near Kennesaw) and LEO in Duluth. (I know that's not your question, but I thought it was worth mentioning!)

(I hope I pasted your comment correctly!) As you say, you'll do research for a story, so that's where books, other articles, documentaries, what-have-you come in. As you're familiarizing yourself with the topic, jot down names that come up a few times -- those are the people that you'll want to contact for interviews. Tracking down people is much easier thanks to Google! (You can also look for people who've written books about a topic.) You will want to interview people for your story rather than relying on quotes from other media. My first (and favorite) editor told me that to write 250 words well, you had to do 2,500 words worth of work, and I think that's true. You may need to interview three or four people to find the one quote you need. (Start a file with material you didn't use because you may find another angle on your story to pitch, and you've already done all the research.) I would say definitely don't quote other articles in your article -- that's more of an online writing thing, I think. Most magazines will want you to do your own research. HTH! I wish you the best of luck!

I don't think there's one right way to start freelancing, but if you want a book, I like The Renegade Writer. If you decide to pursue freelancing seriously, a subscription to Freelance Success is well worth the money, in my opinion. The newsletters and the private forum are excellent resources. Other people recommend the Absolute Write forums -- I think they're very hit-or-miss, but I bet they are a good place to find answers to some beginner questions. Really, though, the best way to get started is to read magazines. A lot of them. Pay attention to the ways topics are covered in different publications -- for instance, Esquire, Parenting, Real Simple and Marie Claire might all have a story on finances, but the way they approach those topics will be totally different. Writing for a magazine is different from writing fiction because you're trying to capture the magazine's voice -- your article (and your pitch!) should sound like it fits perfectly into the magazine. The more time you spend reading a magazine, the better grasp you will have of its voice. Pitch a short piece for a department if you don't have much professional writing experience, and make your pitch so good an editor won't want to say no. Once you have a few short pieces, you can start pitching longer pieces. And keep the magazine in mind -- I cannot stress that enough. As an editor, I can tell two sentences into a query if someone has read my magazine, and I'm not going to keep reading something from someone who hasn't read the magazine he's pitching. When you get an assignment, do an amazingly good job. Then edit it again and again until it's even better. Do a little extra research and edit it again. Turn it in on time. Turn it in two days early! Your editor will notice, and after a couple of good experiences, she'll start thinking of you when she needs to make an assignment. Eventually, you won't have to pitch at all (which is certainly one of the hardest parts of the job) because you'll be getting so many assignments from editors. I think it's easier to break into magazines than people think IF you are willing to write the way a magazine wants you to. I get very few usable pitches from writers, but it's usually obvious that the writer hasn't tried to figure out the best piece for my magazine or the best way to approach it or why she's the right person to write the piece. The very few writers who do those things really stand out, at least for me.

Have you tried freelance writing? For magazines, I mean, not online or SEO writing. If you read any magazines regularly, those are a good place to start. You're reading, and you think, "Oh, they should do a story about xxx because yyyy." Then you pitch the story to the editor of the department it would fit in -- check the masthead or the website to find the right person. (I think getting started as a freelancer is easiest when you start with magazines you already read a lot -- otherwise, you have to do so much research.) I was our family's primary breadwinner for several years as a freelancer, and it's possible to make a good living, if you are persistent and totally, unfailingly reliable about deadlines and flexible about making changes. (Now I also edit a couple of magazines, so I freelance less. But I'm still the main moneymaker. :))

I mentioned this in another thread, but I'll repeat it in case you didn't see it: If you're a subscriber and WTM member, send me a PM, and I will add an extra issue to your subscription as a little bonus. These boards have been one of my favorite homeschooling resources, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

You can buy a digital copy of the first issue (as opposed to a subscription) for $5. It's a digital copy, though, not a printed one.

Yeah, nobody in her right mind would pay $19 for one copy of a magazine! (Clearly I am not in my right mind.) We really do hope to get the price for print down in time for the next issue.

I would settle for being able to see the table in my homeschool room! But hey, a girl can dream! I can read it on my Kindle Fire with no problem. I would guess that you could read it with no problems on anything that will let you read a PDF file, but if I am wrong about that, let us know!

I'm not sure what you're asking here, so apologies if I don't answer your actual point. I certainly wouldn't want to offend anyone (except possibly people who pluralize things with apostrophes ;)), but I think there are plenty of Christians who aren't offended by science. (Some of them work on the magazine!) For people who are looking for science materials that take a particular religious perspective, there are plenty of resources out there for that. When we say our magazine is secular, we mean it's secular. (I had to Google Paluxy River, so you can be sure it's not mentioned in the article. :))

Yes, sorry, it's $19 for one issue now -- yikes! If we could offer print subscriptions for $19 for the year, we definitely would have them available. Thank you so much for all the nice comments! And don't hold back if you feel like there's anything we could do better next time. :)

You *can* actually download the issue as a PDF. We want print copies, too! (In fact, I ordered one for myself, but I paid $19 for it, which just seems like way too much to ask anybody else to pay for one magazine. :)) As soon as we get to a place where we can charge a reasonable price for print subscriptions, we will make them available.

I actually edit the magazine, and I promise: We'll never have more than thirteen articles about submission in any issue. ;) (It really is a magazine about homeschooling, not a magazine about religion.)

Thank you! We thought there was no reason a homeschool magazine shouldn't have substance AND style ... says the girl who refers to her yoga pants as "real clothes." These boards have saved my homeschooling life many times, so if you're a WTM member and subscriber, send me a message (with the name you used to subscribe so I can find you!) and I will add an extra issue to your subscription. Call it the WTM discount. :)

I am so glad you like it! We had so much fun working on this first issue. I don't think there's a thread about it, but you could certainly start one if you think other people might want to check it out! :)

I hope no one's offended by this post, but when we started Atlanta Homeschool magazine a couple of years ago, some people on this board joked that we should start a magazine for their city -- and we kind of did. We're launching a national homeschool magazine this spring. It's called home/school/life, and we think it's going to be kind of awesome. (A couple of our columnists are Well-Trained Mind devotees, so at least you know they have good taste.) I hope it's okay to share this -- I know people are always searching for a smart, fun, engaging homeschool magazine.

Milo! I think I have knitted this pattern at least twenty times. It's cute, knits up fast, and even has a matching hat.

If you want to splurge, I think Bacchanalia is definitely worth it. Miller Union is also terrific. For more everyday fare, I like Holy Taco, Taqueria del Sol (hmm, apparently I like tacos!), Souper Jenny and Community Q BBQ. If you want the whole meat-and-three Southern cooking experience, I like Greenwood's better than Mary Mac's Tea Room -- but I know that's practically sacrilegious.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! They are much appreciated.