News & discussion on columns as blogs, blogs as columns
You may remember that National Columnists Day is also when we ask you to join us in celebration with a selfie and the hashtag #IAmAColumnist. You can take a look at last year HERE. We want you to join the fun again! Plus there’s more! If you want to go beyond the selfie and pen…
By Paul Lander NSNC Member Confession, on National Columnists Day = I’ve wanted to hold up a sign that says “I Am a Columnist” with an arrow pointing at an actual columnist. With that in mind, I spent what appeared to be most of July in court. Actually, it was only one day; but if…
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist A good awards banquet is not only about award winners but also about the spirit of the organization. Our 2018 awards banquet captured the strong playful spirit of our group along with many surprises. From a potential presidential candidate in the audience (Ohio Sen. Sherrod…
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist A media expert I know suggested to me that columnists such as you and I ought to go on Facebook Live and read our work aloud. How boring. But that night, I went home, turned on blue lights in my backyard, and launched the “Sunday…
Donate Now By Chandra Bozelko NSNC Vice President I found NSNC’s website when I was searching for information about syndication, back in early 2016. I noticed they had a contest going on and I was interested to see how I would do. I joined and entered without expectation. Then I received an email from Cathy…
By Chris Carosa NSNC President I admit it. I’m not enough of a jerk. I’m guessing that explains why I’m not as successful as I could be. Do you feel the same way about yourself and your own career? Here’s what I mean: At a recent journalism conference, I listened to a very dynamic speaker.…
By Curtis Honeycutt NSNC Member Earlier this year I was looking for some column advice when I stumbled into Suzette’s path. I didn’t realize she literally wrote the book on it. Not only that, I wasn’t aware of the existence of the NSNC. Suzette encouraged me to join the Columnist Clubhouse group on Facebook and…
By James A. Haught NSNC Member I’ve been a newspaperman for 67 years. I began in 1951 as a teenage hot-lead printer trainee at West Virginia’s Charleston Daily Mail. I developed a yen to be a news reporter, so I volunteered to work without pay in the Daily Mail newsroom on my days off from…
At the NSNC conference in Cincinnati, I taught the “Facebook for Writers” session. At the end of it, someone asked, “How much time do you spend on social media?” I had to think about that for a minute. I spend a lot of time on social media but only because it’s a big part of…
By Curtis Honeycutt NSNC Member June is LGBT Pride Month, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Since then, the U.S. cultural understanding of LGBT rights has progressed considerably, although we’ve still got a long way to go (which is akin to saying hammerhead sharks have more to learn about rules of the road before they’ll be…
You, the Columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist Isn’t it amazing what you do? Isn’t it amazing that you can… – Get an idea about something interesting and after you write about it, thousands of people know what’s on your mind. – Get paid for that. – Easily take high-quality photos to go…
Dear Alex: I have been working hard on my book. It’s a compilation of about 80 of my columns from the last seven years. However, when I uploaded the completed manuscript to my preferred self-publishing software, it was flagged because the content “is freely available on the web” and they were “unable to verify your…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Does this sound familiar? You’ve finally arrived home after numerous trips to the local strip malls to buy the latest toy for your niece, twinkle lights for the porch, ear warmers for your spouse, and supplies to bake 12 dozen pecan tarts for the neighborhood cookie exchange. Then, it…
by Rick Horowitz NSNC Member Can We Be Honest Here? “Society” is a ridiculous word to describe us. “Society” is posh. Precious. Pinkies are extended. Platitudes are uttered. We’re talking about columnists, for pity’s sake! A national “society” of columnists? You might as well speak of a “mob” of philatelists. A “coven” of neurosurgeons. An…
By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Communications Director Many of us are freelancing these days — which means we’re looking for leads, reading submission guidelines, and pitching stories to new publications on a regular basis. Ideally, every publication would have clear writer’s guidelines that include the managing editor’s name, contact, columns accepting submissions, and desired word count. However,…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President The theme for this month’s NSNC Annual Conference – “Live Free and Write – But Not for Free” – was no afterthought. We all know that column writing is a craft, not a job; a form of art, not a task; a manifestation of expression, not a business. However,…
By Chandra Bozelko Prison Diaries became the first regular, inmate-written byline in 2012. Consider that: with the wealth of knowledge and stories that incarcerated people have, no one gave even one of them a regular byline in a news publication until well into the 21st century. Sure, inmates published here and there, but a regular spot…
