|
JOHN
CARLISLE: "Write about what you know. I am a therapist with advanced
degrees in psychology, so I write about poker psychology. A friend of mine
is a math professor, so he writes on the algorithms and statistics of the game.
Another writer I admire is a lawyer, so he writes all about the legal
aspects.... If you host a home game every Friday night, maybe you could write
about hosting the best possible home games. If you are a college student, you
could write about the college scene of poker playing...."
— John Carlisle may be the most well-published writer in the
field of poker psychology. With a Master’s Degree in Counseling from West
Virginia University and a Bachelor’s from Lock Haven U. in Psychology with
a minor in Sociology, John has found his niche as “the Poker
Counselor.”
JOHN VORHAUS: "Poker blogs are
big right now, and there's also work for anyone who can take hand histories and
post them fast to the web. There's a whole new breed of nomadic poker
journalists out there, going from tournament to tournament, providing coverage
to sites like pokerwire, cardplayer.com, pokerpages.com, etc. All it takes is a
passion for poker and a certain amount of hustle...."
— John Vorhaus has written more than two million words about
poker in a career stretching back to 1988 and including stints with every major
poker publication.
LISA DeVITA: "The poker
lifestyle is crazy. You are surrounded by people who are making obscene amounts
of money simply by playing a game. Every day somebody’s life changes in an
instant and you are there to witness it. In your writing you have to capture
that drama, excitement and energy...."
— Lisa’s work has been published in both print and
web-based environments and covers a variety of subject matter including travel,
entertainment and poker.
JENNIFER VARGIN: "The
gaming industry is mythical in a sense that it touches many people, but not
many people have in depth knowledge of the industry. If you want to write about
gaming, you must learn about it. If you know there's a new casino coming to an
area, you might approach the local newspapers or magazines and volunteer to
write an article on spec. Most of the time local publications are more than
grateful to get articles with a local slant...."
— Jennifer is a twenty-two year veteran of the gaming
industry. She has worked in Las Vegas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Oklahoma
gaming establishments.
PETER GROSS: "Don't give
up. Writing can be a lot like Texas Hold-em, you may have to fold several times
in a row before you win a big pot. The first time you get paid for writing is
more than worth the twenty times you were rejected!"
— Peter is a Professor of Radio News at Seneca College in
Toronto, Canada and an accomplished freelance writer with many published clips.
JAY GREENSPAN: "I've been very fortunate to
have had the opportunity to write a book and serve some terrific clients. This
summer, for the second straight year, I blogged for Full Tilt at the WSOP. Not
long before that, another major gig sort of fell out of the sky from someone
who needed my combination of poker and writing skills. I also have a couple of
steady, recurring gigs. Still, I need to keep my ear to the ground and let
people know that I could help them, maybe by suggesting projects or
interjecting myself in a spot where I could be helpful...."
— Jay is the author of Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search
for America's Worst Poker Players (St. Martin's Press, 2006). A
semi-professional poker player, his writings have appeared in Bluff Magazine
and All In Magazine and on PokerSavvy.com, Pokerpages.com, and
FullTiltPoker.com.
KENDALL HANSON: "Trade
magazines are almost always understaffed--even many of the larger national
publications. When an editor finds a good freelancer, they not only accept the
initial story but also ask if the freelancer will accept assignments. When I
first began freelancing, I sent in a short story on a local equipment rental
firm to a magazine, and then was assigned 19 more stories in the same vein.
This happened several times."
— Kendall Hanson is author of Writing for Trade Magazines: How
to Add $200 to $500 Per Week to Your Income. A professional writer and former
editor of three trade magazines for McGraw-Hill, Kendall Hanson has published
more than a million words in trade magazines, including more than 900 feature
stories.
LINDA FORMICHELLI: "I love reslanting
ideas. A reslant is when you take an idea you wrote for one market and
"reslant" it so it's appropriate for a different market. For example, if you
wrote a piece on dating for women, you can probably reslant the idea and send
it to a men's magazine. If you wrote an article on natural remedies for cats,
reslant it and send it to a magazine for dog owners. You can also turn a short
'front of the book' piece into a feature, and vice versa. Go through all your
old articles and see which ideas can be reslanted for different markets. You'll
get more sales with less effort."
— Linda is co-author of "The Renegade Writer: A Totally
Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success" and "The Renegade Writer's
Query Letters That Rock." She writes for Redbook, USA Weekend, Fitness, Women's
Health, Business.com, Writer's Digest, and other magazines.
BRAD "OTIS" WILLIS: "Successful writers seek out two things. First,
they find new markets. Second, they find markets that suit their personal
interests and expertise. As a long-time poker player, I recognized that gaming
media market was about to explode and I could use my poker experience to secure
writing gigs. Most writers understand that they can produce better work if they
are writing on a subject that interests them. In my case, I was already a poker
player and aspiring writer. The market just happened to open up at the right
time."
— Brad is an award-winning broadcast journalist and freelance
writer. He is a frequent contributor to Card Player and Casino Player
magazines.
GREG DINKIN: "The poker book market
is significant. I look at its future similar to the way I look at golf and
business books. They're always going to exist, but a small number of titles
will sell the majority of books. The key is the platform of the
author."
— Greg is co-founder of Venture Literary, a literary
management and production company. In five years, Greg has sold more than one
hundred non-fiction titles to major publishers, and he has represented World
Series of Poker champions.
TOM SCHNEIDER: "Being
at the WSOP is very exciting. Electricity and a sea of poker players best
describes the WSOP. Now that each tournament has so many players, it’s a
lot more like a bunch of people buying a lottery ticket, all of them standing
in the same room while an announcer calls your number to eliminate you. Good
players have a better chance than bad players, but it’s rare to see a
professional at the final table of the main event any more. Being a
professional player is not as exciting as I thought it would be. For a while, I
couldn’t get enough poker. Now, I look forward to doing other things."
— Tom has been a professional poker player for the last four
years playing against some of the toughest players in the world and in some of
the biggest games. He is the author of the book, "Oops! I Won Too Much Money:
Winning Wisdom from the Boardroom to the Poker Table.”
EVA SHAW: "Work IS everywhere for enterprising ghosts. The biggest
challenge is asking for it, but as that famous philosopher and Stanley Cup
winner Wayne Gretzky said, 'You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.'
Ask for work, tell friends and colleagues, carry business cards, create a
website and if necessary do work pro bono for non profits to get credits."
— For more than 20 years, Eva has been a ghostwriter to the
rich, famous and infamous. With over 30 ghosted books and hundreds of articles,
Eva’s ghosted books have been award winners and best sellers.
LISA MANYON: "A strong portfolio is vital. Fledgling
copywriters often overlook this. Even if you don't have samples from paying
gigs, create some on spec and do a joint venture with a graphic designer so you
can showcase a polished product."
— Lisa is owner of Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC
(www.writeoncrative.com). Lisa is a writer and consultant with over 15 years of
marketing, writing and advertising experience.
NOLAN DALLA: "The poker world has diverse subjects and personalities
which falls into general poker writing. Tournament writing tends to be a bit
more confining. Even so, there are different types of tournament reporting and
writing -- blogging, feature writing, strategy analysis, and overall reporting.
Think of it this way -- the AP covers the WSOP differently than CARD PLAYER
magazine. Yet, both media outlets satisfy their respective audiences. It is
important to first know the audience you are writing for and write with that
audience's expectations in mind."
— Nolan Dalla's career as a poker writer began in 1994 when he
started writing for Card Player magazine. Since then he has written hundreds of
poker articles. He is the media director for the World Series of Poker.
PAUL "DR. PAULY" McGUIRE: "The perks can be
amazing. Poker is often played in some of the nicest casinos in the world.
I’ve stayed in five star hotels in Barcelona and Las Vegas. One client of
mine put me up in a Las Vegas Strip hotel for two weeks. I did some work for
the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City and they put me up in one of their amazing
rooms for two weeks. In addition, I got free food and was treated to a
delicious steak dinner at one of their best eateries."
— Dr. Pauly has covered over one hundred tournaments including
the WSOP, WPT, and EPT. He’s a regular columnist at Poker Player Newspaper
and has written for Fox Sports, Bluff Magazine, Lasvegasvegas.com, the UK
Racing Post, and Poker Pro. He runs Tao of Poker
(http://taopoker.blogspot.com).
LOU KRIEGER: "To
write professionally about poker is no different from writing about anything
else: The aspiring writer needs to be literate, and needs to know his
subject....Every writer needs to master the tools of his trade: an ability to
string coherent sentences together, to write with grammatical and syntactical
correctness, to understand punctuation, to respond to editorial demands and get
assignments done on-time, on length, and on target from an editorial
perspective. This is no different from a painter knowing his brush strokes or a
musician possessing sufficient instrument technique."
— Lou Krieger is co-author of Poker for Dummies, author
of eight best-selling books, and writer of more than 400 columns and magazine
articles of Poker strategy.
NORA CHEYENNE:
"Generally, the best paying projects are those that require writing about all
aspects of a venue. This includes the gambling, hotel, dining options,
activities other than gaming in the area, shows, concerts as well as poker as a
separate entity."
— Nora is a freelance writer who is known to produce quality
work for clients through Elance and other job sites. She has a lot of poker
writing experience and works in other areas as well.
SUSAN ALVIS: "I’m more of a gaming writer than a poker writer,
but I do write a lot on poker topics as a ghost writer. I began writing on
poker upon request and because I play (strictly as an amateur), I have
knowledge on the subject which has opened a lot of doors for me. After I had a
couple of requests to write about poker, I began to bid on some freelance work
through online forums. Now, my work is secured through word of mouth more than
anything else."
— Susan is a professional freelance writer who is the author
of over 800 gambling articles and tip sheets; she has also written many
excerpts as ghostwrites for online and offline markets.
SUZIE SINCLAIR: “There’s a huge demand for poker writers.
If you want to break into writing on poker, then you need to be in the field
now. Go ahead and get your feet wet with some smaller jobs while never losing
your focus on becoming a more recognizable poker writer."
— Suzie is a professional freelance writer and ghostwriter in
the gaming industry.
GARY CARSON: "If you're
doing magazine work dont' write for readers -- write for an editor. You find
what they're looking for by looking at the magazine and seeing what they've
been buying from others. If you're doing web work, don't write for readers,
write for search engines. If you're doing book work, have something unique to
say."
— Gary is the author of "The Complete Book of Hold 'em Poker"
(2001), "The Complete Book of Casino Poker," and scores of magazine and
newsletter articles on a wide variety of subjects.
ROB SCHMIDT: "Keep reading so you have a layperson's knowledge of
many fields. Find a niche where you want to work, but be flexible enough to
adapt to changing circumstances. (I wrote mainly for PC magazines until the
dot-com implosion.) Seek a regular gig so you don't have to constantly market
yourself and pitch ideas. Make yourself visible on the Web by posting articles
and running a blog. Become an expert in your field so others look you up."
— Rob has worked as a full-time freelance writer since 1993.
As a writer in the Indian and gaming fields, he has written for Casino Journal,
Indian Gaming Business, and Indian Country Today.
You can
find full-length interviews and many more inspiring quotes in FREELANCE
POKER WRITING: How to Make Money Writing for the Gaming
Industry.
|
