Tuesday, March 13
IWOC Program Meeting
Hands-On Social Media Workshop
IWOC’s March program promises to be a very exciting event. We'll do hands-on basic training in social media. Bring your laptop, netbook, iPad, or other internet-connected device and get one-on-one coaching on how to use tools like LinkedIn and Facebook more productively, i.e., use them to promote yourself and your business. Members who regularly use social media will show us where to find the good stuff, how to avoid the bad stuff, and what tools to use to manage our online time efficiently. More details are coming soon so watch this space, but mark the date now. You won’t want to miss this meeting!
The meeting will be held in Room 5033 (Note the room change; this will be our room for 2012) at National-Louis University, 122 S. Michigan Avenue (across from the Art Institute) in Chicago. Networking with snacks and beverages begins at 5 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m. The meeting is free for all IWOC members. Nonmembers pay $15 or $10 with online preregistration. Click HERE to preregister. Plan to stay for a buy-your-own dinner at a nearby restaurant afterward, where we'll continue our networking over dinner.
Holiday Party Reprise
Members and guests gathered at the Star of Siam for a festive evening of good food, sparklling conversation, and general hilarity to mark the winter holidays. People came with their party moods on, and everyone had a fabulous time. The book table was a great success, and we all came away with a new read that we’re anxious to dive into. Santa, aka Jim Kepler, didn't disappoint either, as he ho-hoed around the table distributing useful gifts. All in all, it was an A-plus event that sent us out into the night filled with the spirit of holiday cheer and good will.
November Meeting Reprise
 November's IWOC meeting was lively, entertaining, and informative. Writing for the food industry was the topic under discussion, and speakers Lisa Bertagnoli and Mike Gebert filled our plates with lots of tasty ideas. Bertagnoli cheered a lot of us up by proclaiming that print journalism is not dead: she writes exclusively for that medium. She said that Chicago is a great food town. “There is a grace and rhythm to food writing,” she said. Her advice for writing winning food articles: make the reader hungry.
 Gebert, who began his career in advertising, got started in writing about food by posting comments on food-related blogs. He also set about seriously marketing himself, and that led to jobs. Gebert did a video that he posted on the web, which helped him get recognition. ”It's important to have yourself and your point of view out there,“ he said. He practices what he preaches; his HD video podcast ”Sky Full of Bacon“ represents his personality. Another tip from Gebert: edit what you write ruthlessly.
October Meeting Reprise
 The October meeting brought a first for IWOC: one of our speakers, Sam Bauch, came to us via Skype from New York. Bauch is a member of the talent and marketing team for Solvate, an online nonbidding site that matches freelancers with their clients. Solvate has a freelance database — not all who apply are accepted — that lists a freelancer’s skills and areas of expertise. Clients choose a good match and negotiate the rate with the freelancer. Solvate tacks on ten percent for their services, but the freelancer can set a rate with that in mind.
 Our other speaker, Angela Atkinson, travelled from St. Louis to speak to the group. Atkinson is a freelancer herself as well as the manager of the WM Freelance Connection on LinkedIn. She stressed the importance of having an online presence, and she offered tips on what to include on one’s website to be sure of getting exposure. Among her recommendations were to include links to everything: samples, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, IWOC, and any other relevant sites. She also suggested posting recommendations from satisfied clients. In addition, Atkinson gave us a marvelous, and very inclusive handout that should be "must" reading for freelancers who want to build up their businesses.
September Meeting Reprise
 A good crowd was on hand to see the changing of the guard at IWOC’s annual business meeting, which was followed by an excellent program. Speaker Judi Wunderlich, co-founder of WunderLand Group, a staffing and search firm for contract and fulltime job opportunities, gave us a complete rundown on what to expect when one works for a staffing firm. Most jobs are onsite, and the writer will ordinarily earn somewhat less than his/her typical hourly rate since the client sets the fee, and the staffing firm takes its share before the writer gets paid. Mostly, the writer works as an employee of the staffing firm, which can result in benefits like insurance and even paid vacations for long-term assignments.
Antonio Hernandez, who leads corporate internal communications at ComEd, told us he hires freelancers, often from recruitment firms. If you want to work for him, “do your homework, and sell yourself, ” he advised. His firm gives a writing test, and he expects to see samples. Hernandez uses freelancers for annual reports, educational campaigns, press releases, and legislative efforts, among other things. Most writers who work for ComEd start out working on site, but later there may be opportunities to work from home. Both speakers mentioned LinkedIn as a very useful resource for their recruitment, and both suggested joining as many relevant groups as possible on that site.
IWOCFest Reprise
A festive crowd gathered for IWOC’s annual August soiree on the rooftop of Pegasus Restaurant in Greektown. Weather-wise it was a gorgeous evening — balmy breezes and a fabulous sunset — and revelers were in great spirits as they feasted on platter after platter of Mediterranean delicacies, washed down with various libations. A particularly delicious baklava brought a perfect end to the meal. Everyone agreed it was great fun and just the pick-me-up we all needed after weeks of scorching temperatures and gloomy business forcasts that have made us all as jumpy as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. Who cared? It was a party, and we made the most of it. Kudos to Betsy Storm, who handled all the arrangements. To see pictures of some of the partygoers, click on the thumbnail of Betsy and Laurel below, and you'll get the gallery. (If you use the IE browser, you may have to click on "allow blocked content" — it’ perfectly safe — to get more than the first picture.)
July Meeting Reprise
  A good crowd was on hand to hear Katie Hammel, editor of BootsnAll Travel Network (www.bootsnall.com.), a resource for independent travelers who aren't looking for packaged tours, and IWOC's own Jeff Steele, both of whom have extensive travel writing experience. Stewart Truelsen tossed out questions for the two, and we really got an excellent picture of what the travel writing biz is all about and how to get started.
We learned that starting a travel-writing blog will get you noticed, and pretty soon you'll likely get some invitations to go on press tours. Both speakers stressed that press tours are not vacations: you'll probably be herded from one place to another from morning till night, though some press tours allow you more choice in what you do. Naturally, the sponsors of the tour expect that you'll write something that gets published. Hammel and Steele mentioned many places that publish travel writing, including newspapers, magazines — many that aren't travel magazines use travel articles — and all sorts of online sites.
In most cases, pay for travel articles isn't as high as for some other types of writing, but free trips to exotic places aren't to be sneezed at, even if you're working hard while there. Also, you'll be widening your list of contacts through the people (other writers), you'll meet on the trips. Steele has found that very fruitful. Hammel suggested that, as your experience grows, you try to develop a niche in the field, such as a particular country or area of expertise.
Both speakers gave us many, many other tips. You shoulda been there! Those who were left with a yen to put on their travelin' shoes and hit the road.
June Meeting Reprise
  IWOC members and visitors eagerly anticipated IWOC’s June program on medical/healthcare/dental writing, and they weren’t disappointed. Despite the slow economy, the market for healthcare writers is, well..., healthy, and particularly in Chicago. There are no fewer than 21 medical professional associations, advocacy organizations, and lobbying groups headquartered in the Windy City, and many of them use freelancers. But both Matthew Weinstock, who is senior editor of Hospitals and Health Networks (H & HN) Daily business magazine, and Judy Jakush, editor of ADA News, the official organ of the American Dental Association, stressed that would-be healthcare writers need to be conversant with the field and the specific organs for which they hope to write. Weinstock’s target audience, for example, is healthcare CEOs, so writers need to know the business end of healthcare. “Find out what your niche is,” Jakush said. “Go for what you know.” Weinstock says that his own employer has a client base for health information, and freelancers can grow in the field. “It may mean a blog … Build it that way,” he says.
Weinstock advises healthcare writers to stay current by reading trade pubs such as Modern Healthcare, Kaiser Health News, Health Data Management, and the varied electronic and hard-copy journals, newsletters, alerts, and blogs of JCAHO. Weinstock uses freelancers regularly, and though there is not much need in ADA News yet, Jakush says meaningful freelance opportunities are slowly evolving.
“I am open to pitching, but it is a matter of if we have a need,” she said. “I’m always developing ideas for features. [We are] more and more into the web … It takes a while for all of this to happen.”
May Meeting Reprise
 Writer and editor Barbara Ray revealed the secrets to her successful business, The Hired Pen, Inc., as IWOCers and guests hung on her every word. Ray long ago discovered her niche for taking complicated research and serving it up as easily digestible policy briefs or executive summaries. Policy makers ate it up. By writing for foundations, academics, and social welfare agencies, Ray built her business and never looked back. Gradually she added graphic design and project management to her mix of client offerings. Here, too, opportunities for social media services have continued to grow.
Ray encourages writers to use their skills in the public and social arenas and to work on topics that interest them — deeply. She suggested: issue labs, think tanks, foundations, and universities as possible resources. Each publishes annual reports, newsletters, and magazines. Stick with it, and your integrity will be rewarded, Ray says. News of good writers travels fast in these small communities.
Be prepared to do your homework, however, she warned. Certain projects like social welfare research may require background knowledge and analysis. On the other hand, executive summaries don’t need research and can pay handsomely. Another tip: follow the news to see where the government is allocating resources. Then, call a lead researcher. You may just land an assignment.
Luckily for us, Hired Pen also subcontracts writers, editors and proofreaders. To learn more, see www. hiredpenchicago.com.
IWOC Greet-Meet-Eat Local Get-Togethers
IWOC welcomes nonmembers at these informal gatherings. Come and network with fellow writers in your community. It's best to get in touch with the contact person first, though, in case of a time or venue change.
First Thursday of every month: IWORP
Monthly Breakfast (Independent Writers of Rogers Park). The Rogers Park and North Side IWOCers meet at 9:00 a.m. at the A&T Grill, 7036N. Clark St., Chicago. For more information, call Esther Manewith at 773/274-6215.
Fourth Tuesday of every month: IWOOP Monthly Lunch (Independent Writers of Oak Park). Join near western suburbanites at noon at Poor Phil's, 139
Marion Street, Oak Park. For more information, call Barbara
Dillard at 312/642-3065 or e-mail her at bdbusiness@sbcglobal.net
The
Far North Group and the Streeterville Group are currently
inactive. If you're interested in reviving them — or starting another group — check
out your directory and find others who live in your area.
It's easy to do via e-mail, and the get-togethers are a great
way to get to know other IWOCers better. If you get a group
going, notify webmaster@iwoc.org so we can post notices of your meetings.
Notices of Events of Other Organizations
Illinois Women's Press Association (IWPA)
Next event TBA.
email iwpa@comcast.net.
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
Next event TBA.
Contact: Kathy Short 773-262-2433, chicago-info@iabc.com
Website: http://chicago.iabc.com/
Chicago
Women in Publishing (CWIP)
Next event TBA
Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC)
Next event TBA
Mangiano’s Little Italy, 516 N. Clark St., Chicago
Online Payments: PCC accepts credit card payments online via PayPal. When you click the link above, you will be taken to a registration page. Select the type of ticket and quantity, then click "Check out with PayPal." You do NOT need to be a PayPal account holder to use this system.
Chicago Headline Club
Next event TBA.
Midwest
Writers Association
Next
event TBA.
American
Medical Writers Association
No
current information on scheduled events.
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