Writing for Money has been, well, you guessed it: writing for money

VALOIS, New York - My promise to renew Writing for Money in June was subverted by my writing for money in June. And July. And now August.

But as the school semester starts in a few weeks (GAWD!), I will be renewing it and using it as a teaching tool for my magazine writing class.

There has been plenty to write about this summer for anyone looking to freelance. It's been hotter than hell in most of the U.S., soldiers are dying in Iraq and people are barely noticing, and most recently Bob Novak walked off the set of CNN in a snit and got fired (ok, they call it suspended). All things to write about.

Since I last posted, I have noticed that Craig's List is becoming a good place to look for freelance writing jobs. (I applied for two just yesterday.) These are not high-paying, blockbuster novel type jobs, but steady stuff and best of all, stuff that can be done from a distance.

So there you have it. Writing for Money is back, sort of, but will be back at the end of August as part of Journalism 132 - Magazine Writing.

OP-ED IDEA - Going back to school means different things to different folks and already the Wal-Mart ads are overflowing the mailbox with all the crap that kids must have to be well-equipped for school. Lots of possibilities for op-ed articles, but they need to be timed to the first day of school, or else they lose their timeliness. Move quickly, too, because August is when editorial page editors try to take that last gasp of summer vacation and their vacation replacements are frequently a softer touch to accept freelance work.