Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I'm about to need a change of undies over a little happening here in my world. A good friend has a contact with the editorial director of Kiwi Magazine. Last week, my friend suggested I send her a brief bio which she said she would forward to this editor to put in a good word for me as a possible freelance writer for them. Well, the editor has replied to say, "Have her email me directly with her clips and any article ideas." So now I'm hyperventilating! I am so new to the whole freelance writing thing that I simply don't know how to act. Clips? My previously published pieces aren't directly relevant to this kind of magazine's articles. Ideas? My friend embellished her message to the editor, saying "She's got a lot of great ideas." That may have been true ten minutes ago, but now that I know they're wanted, I can't think at all! :willy_nilly: If any of you read or subscribe to Kiwi and are able to speak to the content in the magazine....(I'll be checking our local newstand for a copy tomorrow)? Or, if you think there's a topic related to small farming, homeschooling, sustainable living, or organic growing that you've not read so much of you're burned out on the topic....? Please jump start my brain for me. This feels so important, yet here I am all butterflies and crossed legs. :scared: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 How wonderful! I'm sorry I'm no help, but I'll be happy to be a cheerleader for you! GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOO Doran!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 You can check them out online. Here is the link to their writer's guidelines page: http://www.kiwimagonline.com/sharestories.php I hope this is the same one you are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 You can check them out online. Here is the link to their writer's guidelines page: http://www.kiwimagonline.com/sharestories.php I hope this is the same one you are talking about. Thanks, Kathleen. I took a look at the Kiwi website the other day, before I ever sent my bio to my friend, and I referred back to it again this evening. Yes, you've got the right one. However, the page you've linked is, I believe, for a slightly different kind of writing submission - that is, for articles from readers rather than from freelance writers. But, I really appreciate you taking time to try to help. I need it! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Ooh! Ooh! Write about chickens! (I love to read your chicken advice.) :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Ooh! Ooh! Write about chickens! (I love to read your chicken advice.) :tongue_smilie: They're adorable! Where ever did you find them?! :D Funny you should mention chickens because the one idea that did manage to come back to me was to do something on starting a backyard flock. I do so luv them birdies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in Orlando Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 This is so exciting, Doran!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 What a great opportunity. I'll cheer as well. Look even the chickens are smiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Well, I figured you had already looked online being the computer savvy person you obviously are, but didn't want to leave any stone unturned. And since I have no advice to offer I will simply add that you definitely have a gift for writing so this really ought to be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I'm about to need a change of undies over a little happening here in my world. A good friend has a contact with the editorial director of Kiwi Magazine. Last week, my friend suggested I send her a brief bio which she said she would forward to this editor to put in a good word for me as a possible freelance writer for them. Well, the editor has replied to say, "Have her email me directly with her clips and any article ideas." So now I'm hyperventilating! I am so new to the whole freelance writing thing that I simply don't know how to act. Clips? My previously published pieces aren't directly relevant to this kind of magazine's articles. Ideas? My friend embellished her message to the editor, saying "She's got a lot of great ideas." That may have been true ten minutes ago, but now that I know they're wanted, I can't think at all! :willy_nilly: If any of you read or subscribe to Kiwi and are able to speak to the content in the magazine....(I'll be checking our local newstand for a copy tomorrow)? Or, if you think there's a topic related to small farming, homeschooling, sustainable living, or organic growing that you've not read so much of you're burned out on the topic....? Please jump start my brain for me. This feels so important, yet here I am all butterflies and crossed legs. :scared: Pros and cons of conservation easement with the new Farm tax bill, is it worth it. I have a ton of questions for articles. Hey, can I be your asst., I work cheap. Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Ooh! Ooh! Write about chickens! (I love to read your chicken advice.) :tongue_smilie: Thats another one, Guinea Fowl, seargents of the chicken world or lyme disease control. I got ideas and questions but cant write a lick, I leave that to my dd. Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Another one, I have hundreds of acres, what should I do? Farm hay or corn, sell off for wind farm etc.... Jet Are these stupid or am I just rambling. I do that often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Pros and cons of conservation easement with the new Farm tax bill, is it worth it. I have a ton of questions for articles. Hey, can I be your asst., I work cheap. Jet This is the kind of brain storming I thrive on! It's like lyrics to songs. Start me off, and I can sing almost every word. I just. can't. start. :D It might help you to know, however, a little factoid which was not at all evident from my original post. Kiwi is a parenting magazine -- so I think we'll need to refine the ideas to include the bambinos, 'kay? Thanks, Jet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Doran, Well, that throws a wrench in it. Hmmm, we live in a farming community. Dilemmas here are : Community meeting for fire prevention. Oooo another one I had a problem with , kid classes for rattlesnake awareness, they have it for dogs, why not kids. Starting Backyard Wildlife Habitat, how to get certified. Starting eco-clubs in your neighborhood. Conservation efforts depending on where you are located. We have elk in No CAl. I will keep thinking , but I am going to have to charge a .25 an idea. Is that the going rate. JEt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Here is something I'm interested in reading about: If kids are involved with raising a garden and producing other food, how does this affect their work ethic, self-confidence and empathy later in life? I know my poor kids have several hours of farm chores in addition to cleaning and schoolwork. I hope that they are building character while they are helping to provide food for the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Doran, Well, that throws a wrench in it. Hmmm, we live in a farming community. Dilemmas here are : Community meeting for fire prevention. Oooo another one I had a problem with , kid classes for rattlesnake awareness, they have it for dogs, why not kids. Starting Backyard Wildlife Habitat, how to get certified. Starting eco-clubs in your neighborhood. Conservation efforts depending on where you are located. We have elk in No CAl. I will keep thinking , but I am going to have to charge a .25 an idea. Is that the going rate. JEt Here you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Doran, I will have to give you my virtual Swiss Bank Acct. Nbr. , so you can deposit them appropriately. Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Congratulations, Doran! That's so exciting! Or, if you think there's a topic related to small farming, homeschooling, sustainable living, or organic growing that you've not read so much of you're burned out on the topic....? I would like to read more about how to extend your growing time with cloches or cold frames. I would also like to know tried and true ways to store root vegetables into the winter - for the average joe w/out a cellar. I've read some articles, but they were a bit lacking in real life details. Oh, and I would like to know the "why's" for companion planting. I have found some sources for what to plant w/what (and those sources are far and few between), but I need things spelled out - I'm a "why" sort of person. What bugs like what plant that works for the bugs on the plant next to it...that sort of thing. Just some suggestions. And again, way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 This is the kind of brain storming I thrive on! It's like lyrics to songs. Start me off, and I can sing almost every word. I just. can't. start. :D It might help you to know, however, a little factoid which was not at all evident from my original post. Kiwi is a parenting magazine -- so I think we'll need to refine the ideas to include the bambinos, 'kay? Thanks, Jet! What kid dosen't love bugs? I'd like to see an article about kids gardening using beneficial insects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Like the chicken idea too, or other small livestock (goats). Having a edible garden for your front yard instead of grass. :grouphug: Very exciting!!! Oh, I wish I could write! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 oh, golly! this is exciting. I haven't seen this mag, except on the shelf of my favorite food co-op. I'll actually open the thing next time I'm there. But off the top of my head, I'd say that the families I know who are living sustainably would want to read, especially now, about non-car transportation with the bambinos. riding the bus with kids, how to make it easy. things to know about biking with kids, and doing it cheaply and safely. or how about enticing children to eat good food? has that been done? is there a magic way to get them to stop complaining about living in Organic House or would they complain about anything I put on the table because that is their job? it's getting on past my bedtime, so I'll think about this and keep you posted if I have an inspiration. you go girl! this is very exciting indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 No help, but just wanted to say congratulations! How exciting for you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 I'm loving getting the synapses firing with your help! amy g. -- I don't think I'm ready to tackle your topic because it sounds like a long term study...but maybe an unofficial survey of kids from farming families would to it? It does sound interesting, and all the years we were at the farm, I had similar thoughts/concerns about how the constant work might impact our kids. percytruffle -- the bug thing intrigues me greatly because I love bugs. Maybe something about how to know which ones are the good ones and which are bad, and which are in between. I just had a whole conversation two days ago w/ a man friend of mine who was asking about harlequin beetles and how to manage them. Hmmmmm! LauraGB -- "root cellaring" without a cellar is something I have a little experience with, so that's something. Ditto extending the season w/ cold frames and cloches. We used unheated hoophouses (or tunnels), but it's the same idea. What I don't know is how any of those concepts work in places like Wisconsin where it actually gets cold! I'll have to interview some of you! :001_smile: Jenny in Atl -- Tip: Edible front yards is one of Nicole M's favorite ideas! Mine, too, though I've not actually done it. When we move into our "real" house (whenever that may be), I've been threatening to plant our front yard in edibles to avoid having to mow the lawn. Too bad our front yard is almost entirely shaded. How do you think the neighbors would take to mushrooms? Nicole -- not sure how well versed I am on the easy transport topic, but I agree that it's one many would enjoy reading about. Years ago, we had friends who had only one car and they both worked outside the home. The guy (a naval architecht) built a rack for their infant seat on the back of their bike (before their kids were big enough for Burley trailers) and off they went. Poor couple ended up the subject of a Letter to the Editor by a neighbor who was sure they were freezing their poor infant to death. If they had only known the truth (which I did!) --that baby was snug as a bug in a toaster oven! I'll keep noodling this one, Nicole. Thanks! You're all really helping. Forgive if I've left anyone's brilliant idea off the list. I'll keep checking back and making permanent lists to refer back to. Yea!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Congratulations~ I think Jenny, is onto something. I'm struggling to keep up with the veggies from my CSA. A way to use them all would something I'd read in a minute. We read a CSA article in the NYTimes on the 10th. Like the chicken idea too, or other small livestock (goats). Having a edible garden for your front yard instead of grass. :grouphug: Very exciting!!! Oh, I wish I could write! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kacifl Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 kind of like grow a garden, grow the child... Children need to realize that food doesn't come from boxes, or resturants! I noticed that there is a tremendous interest in home gardens, small farms... with the economy so scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Another brainstorm, making barnowl boxes, for your kids to take care of rodents in your yard. Tout benefits of barnowls and info. Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andie Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 How wonderful! I'm sorry I'm no help, but I'll be happy to be a cheerleader for you! GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOO Doran!!! Me too! Yay, Doran! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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