As writers, we all have a natural tendency to be word nerds. That being the case, I thought you might get a particular charge out of this article published on LinkedIn. It's about "buzzwords" (and buzz phrases) -- and how the over usage of such can make us look, hmm... a bit less intellectual than we imagine ourselves to be. Guilty as charged! Some of my personal favorites are: "That said," "above my pay grade" and "zero sum game." And oh yes, "that being the case." I often use those as filler, thinking they make me look rather intelligent. Guess I was wrong.

What are your verbal crutches? Do share in the comment section. I need some new "filler." 

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

-- Laura Stigler

25 Buzzwords That Make Smart People Look Stupid by Dr.Travis Bradberry

There are some Chicagoans (probably thousands) who have never been to the top of the Sears-I- refuse-to-call-it-Willis Tower. By the same token, there are some IWOC-ers (probably thousands?) who've never really explored IWOC'S website - never so much as taken a peek to see all the benefits and hidden jewels available.

I can jump to such an assumption because more than once, IWOC members have approached me in a panic, not knowing what to do in various circumstances. ("Oh no! I can't make the meeting!" or "I've no idea how to write a contract!")

This has occurred often enough that it leaves me no recourse. Time to put on my Tour Guide hat and for the next few blog posts, show you around some not-to-be-missed IWOC attractions that exist on the "Member Resources" page of our website. My hope is that it will turn you into a regular visitor, a place you frequent often when looking for answers or inspiration. A place about which you can tell all your friends and fellow members. A place that in the professional sense, will make you proud enough to call IWOC "home."

So let us begin, shall we?

First stop: The Meeting Podcasts. Believe it or not, many members have no idea that we offer them. It's one of the greatest benefits of being an IWOC member, because come rain or snow, flu or work overflow, the podcasts mean you never have to miss a meeting. All the information and any handouts or PowerPoint presentations are right there, to be listened to and viewed while staying in your jammies. (I can hear you "ooo-ing" and "ahh-ing" already!)

Next stop: The Contract Link. Or more specifically, the "Letter of Agreement" Link. As Samuel Goldwyn once said, "An oral contract isn't worth the paper it's written on." So true. Coming to terms with clients when discussing the scope and cost of a project will go a lot smoother when you have it in writing. This Letter Of Agreement is ready for downloading, offering both you and your client a point of reference and peace of mind.

I'm going to let you off the bus now. Feel free to check out the above and maybe even make discoveries I might not be aware of. Share them in the comment section!

Meet you back here in a couple of weeks, when I'll show you some more "IWOC offers that???" highlights.

Happy exploring!

- Laura Stigler

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

It just so happens more and more job ops are trending towards the “gig economy” direction. Currently, the U.S. workforce is made up of 35% freelancers. That number is projected to expand to 43% by 2020! Got these stats from “How to Figure out What Your Side Hustle Should Be,” an article in the Harvard Business Review that you’re bound to find encouraging... especially if you’re starting out as or would like to be an independent contractor.

It also offers some terrific, common sense pointers—many of which we just happen to cover in our “Life in the Freelance Lane” talks we’ve been giving at libraries across Chicagoland. Here's the link: https://hbr.org/2018/01/how-to-figure-out-what-your-side-hustle-should-be

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

Maybe ChicagoNow is right for your blog

At our November IWOC meeting, Scott Winterroth of Content Academy said something about using WordPress that made me feel really good: WordPress was developed to make work easier for web professionals. It was not developed to enable all of us to single handedly create our own websites and blogs.

I felt guilty . . .

Winterroth made me feel good because I had been feeling guilty. My personal WordPress website had some obvious flaws, but I did not care to learn how to remedy them on my own. 

I probably could if I worked hard enough. However, I would be investing considerable time in improving my own website / blog but without the inclination or market to justify my time investment by taking on paying work.

I looked into hiring someone to do the work for me.

A freelancer friend gave me the answer: ChicagoNow.com.

It seemed that everyone either charged a substantial amount per hour or would only undertake web work if it was a total re-do with a fee in the thousands of dollars.

So, I put it on the back burner, somewhat embarrassed by website flaws but too cheap to do anything about them.

Eventually I found another reason not to put money in my online presence. I have decided to be more selective about freelancing in favor of more blogging simply because I feel like it.

How to do my unmonetized blog without spending any money?

A freelancer friend gave me the answer: ChicagoNow.com.

ChicagoNow was created by the Chicago Tribune Media Group. As the FAQs explain, "Chicago Tribune content is produced by journalists; ChicagoNow content is produced by the communities that make up the site."

The program was run by phenomenal community manager Jimmy Greenfield since its inception nine years ago. He recently left for a new opportunity with the Trib, and Matt Schwerha has taken over. (He is great too.) He reviews applications and approves bloggers for participation, sets up the blogs, and provides technical assistance, including phone help, promptly and for free.

Participation is open to Chicago-area writers writing on any subject and to those outside the area writing on a Chicago-oriented topic.

Some blogs are on a highly specific topic, for instance, local horseracing or quilting. Others are on business topics, political issues or other broad themes. Yet others are on any topic that strikes the writer's fancy.

There's no required frequency. Some blog daily, others monthly or even less frequently.

The one thing these blogs have in common is excellence. All show signs of thought and editing. While the blogs are not monetized, tasteful marketing of your freelance practice or other business is allowed.

The program is much more impressive than what is described to the public on the website.

There's a closed Facebook group where community members can discuss issues of all types. There's a program to recognize best posts for the month. A free bowling league is running this season.

Another plus: ChicagoNow has Google juice. As of January 31, its global rank is 45,372 and its U.S. rank is 13,337.

To determine a website's rank, go to Alexa.com. The page should say "Find website traffic, statistics, and analytics." Key in website of interest where it says "Enter a website." (This is at top of page directly under "Find website traffic.") Click "find." The lower the number, the higher the rank. (Google is number one, followed by YouTube.)

All is not roses. Apparently, the group has had a sponsored holiday party in the past. In 2017, however, there was no budget and it didn't happen.

Before signing up, look at the restrictions. One is that you must avoid duplicate content by not posting your full ChicagoNow post on other websites.

I'm a newbie. My first post went live on October 22. Here's my blog: http://www.chicagonow.com/girl-born-in-51/

I'm really enjoying this, especially the technical help when I run into a snag. Maybe it's right for you as well.

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

- Diana Schneidman

Diana Schneidman is an IWOC member and the author of Real Skills, Real Income: A Proven Marketing System to Land Well-Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in 30 Days or Less, available on Amazon.

IWOC's Got a Brand New Blog!

So what the heck is going on here? What happened to our venerable Stet Newsletter that has been a staple of IWOC ever since its inception?

Simply this: With survey results in tow, the Board has decided our members would best be served by morphing Stet into an up-to-the-minute, living, breathing, interactive blog. Personally, I'm agog. Because as captivating as all of Stet's previous incarnations were (and they were captivating, from the original hard-copy form, to the PDF's, to the e-newsletters), the Stet Blog will now be offering you more...

More interaction

All readers are welcome of course. But if you're a member, you'll have the opportunity to get your voice heard. Wish to sound off on some scathingly brilliant observation on IWOC, writing, freelancing? Whatever you believe would be relevant to writers, post it! Or...

Say you want to opine on one of the postings here. See those ellipses in the upper left corner by the post's headline? Click on that and "Add comment," and opine away!

More information

We'll always inform you about the latest goings-on on with your beloved IWOC. Beyond that, maybe you'd like to write a review on a recently read book. Or gush about a time-saving app you can't live without. And should you come across a fascinating writer-related article you've seen elsewhere, do share it with your fellow scribes merely by posting the link here.

More member news

What's new with you? Consider the Stet Blog as a members' megaphone: Just been published? Staging a reading of your works? Conducting a seminar? Whatever career- or ego- boosting news you're itching to announce, brag about it on the blog. You've earned it!

One caveat

The Stet Blog can only be as good as its participants. To be sure, there will always be something to read, whether it's coming from yours truly, Stet Blog Editor Cynthia Tomusiak, or any one of our regular contributors. Even so, the more you're involved, be it with postings, comments or news, the better the blog will be. Because if there's one thing we IWOC'ers should never tolerate, it's a blah blog.

(To partake in this intellectual playground, please email all posts to Cynthia for review. Thoughts about this posting? Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

- Laura Stigler

Good, Better … and Better … and Better

I just read “Ph.D.s Are Still Writing Poorly” in the January 22, 2018, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author is Rachel Toor , an Eastern Washington University professor of creative writing, whose blog is full of great articles about writing. One of her statements is, “Writing well does not require brilliance or innate talent. Like most things, prose style improves with attention, practice, and discipline.” That struck me as good advice for IWOC members, regardless of their areas of writing concentration.

How long has it been since IWOC had a presentation centered on improving our writing skills—the art and craft and process of writing? Sure, we’ve frequently heard speakers talk about breaking into new markets, independent writing as a small business, self-promotion and networking, and other practice builders. But it seems ages since we addressed improving what it is that we all do and how we do it. 

I recall a couple of programs from several years ago that focused on writing as a discipline. At one a journalism professor from Northwestern University brought along a bag of oranges and tossed one out to everybody in the room. Gimmick? Sure, but instantly engaging and effective. He then told us to write about the item he had just given us. We could not use the word orange. Nor could we say anything about its taste because we had no way of knowing what that might be without altering the item. There were a few other constraints that I no longer remember. We had five minutes and only paper and pencil.

It’s what we do, and we’re good at it.

The speaker critiqued the work of two or three volunteers. Then he spent the rest of our time together discussing clarity, brevity, structure, vocabulary, and other elements of spare but descriptive writing. We had to stand back and look closely at what we had produced. Many commented that if they had heard what he had to say up front, they would have approached our “assignment” differently. Sometimes we need reminding.

Another time we were joined by a creative writing instructor from Columbia College who demonstrated the utility of mind mapping, fish boning, arranging sticky notes, and asking the five whys when structuring and evaluating the effectiveness of our writing. Deconstructing was hard for some of us, certainly for me, but the result was that we discovered ways that we never knew or had forgotten about efficiency, direction, and economy of expression. Again, the speaker shared useful feedback.

We all know how to write, and we know that good (and profitable) writing involves more than a piece of paper and a crayon—or a computer and a printer. Note the examples above have nothing to do with anything electronic. They’re about thinking, staring into space for a few moments, gathering and culling ideas, judgments, assumptions, introspection, content, and the process of putting words onto a page. It’s what we do, and we’re good at it. But maybe we could do it better.

- Jim Kepler, Member since 1982

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Holiday Party Play-by-Play

If you didn’t happen to attend IWOC’s Holiday Party at Marcello’s on December 12, bet you’re dying to know the details. If you were there, here’s your chance to relive them!

First, the food: As you see in the photo, showcased by IWOC’s Parliamentarian Tom Lanning with a flourish worthy of P.T. Barnum, the meal was served buffet style. What can I say. Every course was non plus ultra. All 30 guests started off with a deep dive into warm homemade Italian bread and Marcello’s signature focaccia chips with garlic herb butter. (Oh, that butter!) These were the perfect sidekicks to the mixed green salad, chockfull of crunchy cukes, ripe tomatoes, carrots, and seasoned croutons. If the meal ended there, I would have been happily sated.

Making their way down the hedonistic display, guests treated themselves to picante chicken piccatta, lusty spinach lasagna and savory oven-roasted seasonal veggies. Was there dessert? Was there! Gourmet turtle, raspberry thumbprints and melt-in-your mouth dusted wedding cookies. Several guests made return trips for seconds. Of everything. I saw. I counted.

"I've been to a lot of IWOC get-togethers, but this was the best."

With plates piled high, we all retreated to three tables and between mouthfuls of gastronomic delight, engaged in lively (and often witty) conversation and laughter. As I looked around like a proud parent, it appeared everyone was having a grand time. It was a perfect mix of people – new and long-standing members, but also in attendance was Scott Winterroth, our November “WordPress” program’s presenter. Some non-members joined the festivities to get the feel of IWOC’s whole gestalt. They had to be mightily impressed. Let’s hope they become members. We’d be honored to have them.

For the grand finale, member Betsy Storm played “elf” – as she does every year, bless her heart, distributing charming gifts to each guest, compliments of IWOC. A warm touch typical of Betsy – and frankly, of IWOC!>

Eloquently summing up the evening was IWOC board member and Program Director Jeff Steele. “I've been to a lot of IWOC get-togethers, but this was the best. Everything from the way the room fit our group to the fantastic entrees (spinach lasagna, yeah! let's have the same thing next year!) to little touches like the hot coffee dispenser and the timing of the gift-giving to the way people mingled and got to know others was letter perfect.”

I agree wholeheartedly!

- Laura Stigler

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.) 

IWOC Resolutions 2018

Not that I always abide by this, but it never hurts to start out the New Year with a few solid resolutions – goals to achieve that represent an ideal, but not so lofty that they’re unattainable. Nor should the bar be set so low that to reach it wouldn’t engender any sense of accomplishment at all!

With those parameters in mind, I’m revealing some of the resolutions that were voiced in our Planning Meeting last October – actions/ideas we hope to see come to fruition this year that will keep IWOC vibrant, relevant and ultimately attract more members and keep current members happy and involved.

In 2018, we are resolved to...

1. ...continue bringing you the kind of programs you clamor for, chockfull of ways to improve your business, and even get you to thinking of revenue streams that may never have occurred to you. Such as Convention Writing (January) and Ghostwriting (February), to name two. Many other surprises are in the offing. Keep checking our event page.

2. ...reach out to the business community. Because businesses = jobs. We are in the process of making inroads with the Chicago Chamber of Commerce, raising awareness of IWOC among businesses so we’re top of mind as a primary resource for professional writers. We’re also creating business-targeted brochures and will have an ad run (free of charge!) in the January newsletter of the Far South Community Development Corporation.

3. ...encourage those aforementioned businesses to post job openings on IWOC’s Job Line. We want them to think of IWOC as naturally as LinkedIn when it comes to job recruitment.

4. ...reach out to University/College career centers and propose presenting our “Life in the Freelance Lane” series to soon-to-be graduates. Filled with practical advice on how to make it in a gig economy, it also may have the residual benefit of attracting millennials as members.

5. ...host more networking ops (aka “mixers”) with other professional organizations. Nothing wrong with mixing business with a good time!

6. ...conduct more extracurricular activities. Just as we were fortunate to be invited last year to special receptions at the American Writers Museum, we’d like to expand on the “fun stuff” to include events such as author readings by fellow IWOC members. Wouldn’t have to be limited to authors of any particular genre – but could extend to writers of all disciplines who are proud of their work and want to share!

7. ...continue having IWOC make its presence known at such city events as LakeFX Creative Expo, Printers Row Lit Fest – and even in community fairs. Writers are everywhere – let’s go get ‘em!

Any resolutions you’d like to add to IWOC’s list? Do tell! Our whole reason for being is to forge an IWOC that enhances your writerly life.

Until then, may all your personal resolutions come true. Wishing you a 2018 filled with happiness, good health...and winning!

- Laura Stigler

(Members can comment by clicking on the dots next to the headline.)