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How did writing become your career? Did it find you or did you find it?

I began as a professional speaker. But after numerous people came up to me from the audience and asked for my book, I realized the marriage between speaking and writing. I also learned from other speakers that a book or some printed material (fact sheets, articles, etc) helps audiences take the message beyond the podium.

Since I don't have a journalism or English degree, I joined writers groups and attended writer's conferences to begin my learning curve. Even today after two self-published books, 19 compilations, and hundreds of published articles, I still go to writers' conferences to continue learning and, hopefully, improve my craft.

So, I guess you'd say I pursued and found writing.

On your website, you offer a reprint page filled with article titles and word count to help editors looking for reprints. How do reprints play a role in your writing income? What's the best way to market reprints to editors?

This is such an important and often overlooked way of supplementing writing income. Reprints are "the gift that keeps on giving" and provide a nice percentage of my income (in addition to writing original pieces, contributing to compilations, my own books, and speaking).

Once you do the work of writing a quality article, you can sell it to a publication as "First Rights" which means you keep ownership of the article. Then, you can sell it again without changing a word, as a reprint. As a courtesy, I always inform the editor that my submission is a reprint. Some want to know where/when it was published, others don't even ask me.

They key to successfully selling reprints is to write an "evergreen" article-that's an article which is useful year-round. You have less success selling articles you write that are useful for one time a year.

You're a contributing author to several books. Can you tell us how a new writer can break into this market? And how has it helped your writing career?

Actually, contributing to a compilation book (Life's Little Rule Book) was how I got into professional writing. It was so much fun to be part of a book, receive compensation, complimentary copies, and tell people "I'm published."

A new writer can do the same. First go to websites that list paying markets and compilations. A few of those are: http://www.chickensoupforthesoul.com/, http://www.godallowsuturns.com/, http://www.writersdigest.com/, http://www.craigslist.com/ or do an internet search for "Writers Guidelines."

Writing for compilations has helped my writing career by

1. giving me more exposure and networking with writers, editors, and opportunities,
2. supplementing my income,
3. giving me materials to sell on my book table when I'm at speaking engagements, and
4. giving me experience and confidence to write my own book.

As I look back, I can see how I improved my craft since that first compilation. With each new one, I get better and learn to adapt to different writing guidelines.

But beware, a legitimate compilation will not charge you to have your writing included in the book. YOU are to be paid, either with money, a free book, or both.

Visit her at http://brendanixon.com/