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Column Writing Spin-Offs
by Mary Emma Allen

Writing columns for newspapers, magazines and online publications can lead to various spin-off activities. These may include teaching classes, giving talks, collecting your columns into a book or writing a book about your topic.

These activities could involve teaching or talking about column writing for writers' groups at conventions or online. Or, if your columns are about other topics - cooking, quiltmaking, gardening, money matters, car repair, etc. - your workshops and talks could revolve around them.

Look at the topic you're writing about. Brainstorm about the types of groups/organizations/schools that would be interested in a talk or demonstration. You may start out by volunteering to give a talk to a small group, to your child's class at school, your writing group. As you become confident and gain recognition, you're likely to begin charging for these events.

Quilting Column

• When I was writing a column for a quilting magazine, our local historical society asked me to give a talk about the history of quiltmaking. I also displayed old quilts from my collection.

• A school asked me to teach their students a workshop about making a simple quilt square as part of their studies on Unites States Colonial Crafts. I also talked about the history of quiltmaking.

• At a quilt convention, I taught a workshop on quiltmaking as a business because some of my columns covered this topic.

• As I researched quiltmaking for my columns, I acquired enough information to write my book, "The Magic of Patchwork." This was not a compilation of my columns but a book for youngsters and beginning quilters which resulted from my research.

• Currently I'm compiling the information about quilting/patchwork as a business into a book.

  
  

Copyright © 2002 Mary Emma Allen

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