COMPANY PRINCIPALS

 About Joyce, Managing Editor: In 1998, Joyce took leave of her senses and quit her day job as a full time grant writer/therapist to become a freelance writer for the web. She would wake up in the middle of the night, sit up straight in bed and scream, "Oh My God, I don't have a job; how am I going to feed my child?" After six months of getting out bed to write, she had 3 PAID writing jobs. Mind you, this was not a livable wage but they were paying her for her words. "I was paying my dues," Joyce says. Since that time, Joyce has published hundreds of articles all over the web and many more in print publications. She did it and she's happy to show you how to do the same.

Keep in mind, though, staying at home writing 12-14 hours a day creates a psychosis. She found out three years of staying at home in front of her computer is not all it's cracked up to be. All you're talking to is a computer screen. You need human contact with breathing people or you'll wind up 24/7 in your writing endeavors. You CAN make a livable wage and more but you have to remember to stay connected physically with the outside world.

Also, keep in mind that writers and teachers are frustrated actors. We tend to come up with the oddest premises in our work. The popular phrase "Those who can't do, teach" was never more obvious as it is in the writing profession. Most teachers and writers never make it into an acting career, mainly because it doesn't occur to them that's possible so they turn to the next easily (relatively) available art form: writing.

Joyce now not only continues to write but she teaches psychology and writing classes at the local community college. This allows her to continue her writing, stay in touch with the outside world (which helps to hold psychosis at bay!) and spend more time raising her son, Carter.

Joyce is a single parent with a 13-year-old (going on 30) son in New Mexico. Sadly, Joyce reports that at 42 she never planned ahead when it came to procreation. All she could think about was cute baby clothes. Reality set in as her son started to walk. At present, at the same time Joyce is experiencing the joys of menopause, her 13-year-old son is going through adolescence. Their battles are sometimes ugly; they're bloody and by God, mom is always going to come out on top . When Carter is 18, he can come out on top. Until then, she's the boss.

The extended menagerie at the Jace residence includes 2 cats with a propensity to hog the couch and a parakeet who won't shut up. One cat was rescued from the Humane Society pound and the other one was a kitten who took to sleeping, begging and yelling on Joyce's doorstep. The panicked mother told her pleading son, "We can't have 2 cats!" Carter won.

One can deduce that Joyce questions her sanity on a regular basis.

 About Lyne: Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Lyne is a married writer and geek-girl in Arizona. Two years after Joyce became a writer, Lyne decided to take her wealth of experience as a marketer for her (and her husband's) eight previously successful technology companies and use that experience in a writing career. After 27 years in the technology and marketing fields, she realized that marketers are writers. People who market, write. Lyne realized that her marketing skills as a writer could produce a career for her in the writing field. Based also on her experience in the technology field and since Lyne taught software classes for ten years, Lyne now writes technology articles and teaches workshops for writers who don't understand technology.

Computers are lifelines to writing jobs and Lyne can teach you, in plain vanilla English, how to use that technology to your benefit. If you can't organize your work, create organizational folders, and manage where files are stored and retrieved on your computer, you're dead meat. You have to learn to back up your work and protect it from viruses. That's also what Lyne teaches you to do: keep viruses at bay, using firewalls and anti-virus programs, keeping spam at a minimum and protecting yourself from malware and spyware programs.  Performing these chores will eventually free up 50% of your time to do more of what you love: writing.

Lyne's family is described as five stray cats and one 24/7 technology husband, otherwise known as "Mr. Tough Guy". Mr. TG noticed two cats outside one of the computer stores we owned. Since there is a rumor that he has a kind heart, he took food and water out to the cats. Cats have owned us for some time so he's familiar with what cats will tolerate from humans. Mr. TG noticed that in a few weeks there were now eight cats and two of them were new kittens. He built a shelter for the food and water containers and one for the cats to sleep in out of what little rain we get here in the desert. By the time we sold the store in 1999, Mr. TG was taking care of 37 cats. When we accepted our offer for the sale of the store, we made the stipulation of 45 days before vacating so we could find homes for his furry charges. We found homes for all except four, which we kept. We have brought in over seventeen feral and unwanted cats over the last twenty years and made them a part of our lives. These cats are given regular checkups at their veterinary clinic; fed the very best food and are even the stars in our calendars. You can see some of these little heart-breakers on our website on the "PetWell" page where you will also see Joyce's cats.

Yes, we're both nuts.

 ABOUT US:

 Here's how simple this is: We have scoped out the web on a regular basis for years and good writer's sites have been falling off the grid faster than a stampede of six-year-olds after a teacher shouts "Recess!"

So we decided to join the few good writer's sites that are left on the web and help encourage people with a passion for writing and just haven't discovered how to go about accomplishing that feat. We want to remove the fears and black holes of starting this kind of career and we want you to have no misgivings. We want you to have hope and courage to stay with your dream because it will be a life-changing experience for you.

Both of us knew we had writing talent when we were youngsters. We had writing talent that was ignored. And because of what we've learned after our years of experience we can break down any barriers you might have. Writers can have this career in their 20's OR their 50's. We're going to empower you with information you need now so you can create your own experiences. And, if you're our age, (yes, that would be the 50's part) don't give up! You can still do this. We haven't given up and look at what we've created. Peruse our web site. Read our articles. Take a workshop. We’ve both been on the web for years (please see the pictures on the Home Page – present day pictures, Folks, and we're STILL gorgeous!.), we just recently formed a collaboration, now known as WrittenWell.com – so watch out and get out of our way!

Not only are we women writers but we live in two different states in the Southwest. Living seven hundred miles apart has no effect on our ability to work together. We have phone meetings at least twice a week and Skype meetings three times a week to work out our coming newsletter features and future columns. (For those who are unaware, Skype is another VOIP company. Go to www.Skype.com to investigate.) And we fly back and forth at least three times a year to brainstorm in person. How's that for organization?

And now for the serious-up part of our opinions About Us.

 There is no quick way to succeed. We found out the hard way but we found out by researching EVERYTHING "writerly".

We are really nice people and our work is "in your face". We are telling you there are no quick fixes and you have to pay your dues. Everybody. All writers. New writers and pros alike.

 Persistence, Perseverance & Patience.

 Hard work helps, of course. It could take 2 months; it could take 2 years for you to be published successfully. It depends on your commitment and your quality of writing and your belief in yourself.

 Now for the good news: you CAN do it!