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Last updated on
8 September, 2007

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How-To Articles: Quick and Simple
with Mary Jo Rulnick

REGISTRATION:

COST, LENGTH, PREREQUISITES:

No prerequisites.

Regular course: $100 / 4 weeks. Click here to register

For questions about this COURSE, e-mail Mary Jo Rulnick at

Tap into the knowledge you already have inside your head from daily life and make money.

If I can sell a bingo idea to Disney, anyone can sell tips, advice and know-how. - Mary Jo Rulnick

Week 1: FINDING TIME AND IDEAS
What do you need to write How-To articles? What are the four categories of Tips, Advice & Know-How?
Quiz: Do you have what it takes?
Quiz: What type of How-To are you?
*Defining the different types?
*Finding Time
*Observe Your Life
*Expanding Ideas
*Tally Sheet--the easiest tip piece to write.
Exercise 1: Brainstorming for ideas.
Exercise 2: More Thoughts.
HOMEWORK: Scan various magazines. What type of article catches your eye and why?
Write five tips for a Tally Sheet.

Week 2: WRITE TO SELL
What do you need to know before submitting?
What are the three parts of an article?
*Pacing
*Advisory Page
*Leads
*Middles
*Ends
*Organizing
Exercise 1: Fleshing out the idea.
Exercise 2: Pacing for the reader.
HOMEWORK: Write a lead, middle and summary for an Advisory Page.

Week 3: GATHER THOUGHTS & EARN
Observe life around you, the places you go and the things you do.
*Common Points
*Markets
*Where to start?
*The Reporter
*Children's Market
*Rewriting Checklist
Exercise: Ten Questions to focus your writing.
HOMEWORK: Write a 200-250 word Reporter piece.

Week 4: DO IT WRITE! THE EDITOR'S WAY
Editor's have many pet peeves. One mistake and your manuscript is back in the same envelope without a glance.
*Do's and Don't's
*Format
*Queries
*Submissions & Tracking
*The "To Do Checklist
*Hands-On Project
Exercise: Decide which publications you should submit your work based on their articles and your writing.
HOMEWORK: Write a short Hands-On Project.
Write to one of your targeted markets for writer's guidelines.

Mary Jo Rulnick is the author of The Frantic Woman's Guide to Feeding Family and Friends: Shopping Lists, Recipes and Tips for Every Dinner of the Year (Warner, Sept. 2006), coauthor of The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Life: A Year’s Worth of Hints, Tips, and Tricks (Warner, 2004), and author of Easy Writing, Easy Money (JPP, 1998).

Mary Jo is the cooking, holiday and party expert on ClubMom.com. She is a regular feature writer for Pittsburgh Parent Magazine and Family Digest Magazine. In March 2006, she won the Bronze Award from the Parenting Publications of America for her feature “Can I Have the Keys.” She has self-syndicated many of her parenting articles to various publications, including Atlantic Family, Connecticut Country Kids, MetroParent, Michigan Parent, San Diego Parent, and Wilmington Parent to name a few. Also, she is a greeting card writer for Palm Press, Inc. She is a member of American Society of Journalist and Authors (ASJA) and Romance Writers of America (RWA).

Mary Jo has recently been a guest on such radio programs as The Pulse, Take Five XM Satellite Radio, KBRW Earl Finkler Show, Todd and Erin B98.7, and WJXA-FM.

Mary Jo teaches at Community College of Allegheny County and at WritersCollege.com. She’s presented workshops at conferences, including Business and Professional Woman’s Conference (Seven Springs, PA) Romance Writer’s of America’s New England Chapter (Boston, MA), Pennwriters’ Annual Conference (Pittsburgh, PA) Midwest Writer’s Conference (Kent, OH), and Columbus Writer’s Conference (Columbus, OH).