What Do Andy Bumatai & Imiloa Astronomy Center Have in Common?

We are about to announce the winners at our On The Cheap websites. We had several contests — 14 in all — to celebrate our big launch. Did you enter?
Andy Bumatai is choosing names out of a hat for the Honolulu On The Cheap contests, and he’s doing it live and on the air today. [...]

Read Full Post »

Our “On The Cheap” Sites To Launch 3/10

Leslie: “Oh, nothing much; what’s new with you?”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Leslie Lang
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
808 964-1494
Twitter: @LeslieLang  
Kris Bordessa
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
530 295-0887
Twitter: @KBordessa
“On The Cheap” Websites Highlight Best Bargains on the Big Island and in Honolulu
Hilo, HI – March 6, 2009 – Tuesday, March 10th is the official launch of two new online sites – Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On [...]

Read Full Post »

Honolulu On The Cheap

Here goes: A “soft launch” of my new project!
I’ll bring out the balloons and party streamers later soon, but for now, I’ll just tell you: 
I’ve launched a new website. It’s called Honolulu On The Cheap, and it’s all about cheap, discounted and free things to do in Honolulu and on O‘ahu in general. It will be [...]

Read Full Post »

Wired.com Article: Managing Your Freelance Time

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article Diary of a Self-Help Dropout: Flirting With the 4-Hour Workweek by Chris Hardwick, which is posted at wired.com. 
It’s about a busy freelancer who checks out three popular time-management systems and tries to apply them to his life. It’s a well-written and fun read, especially if you’re a busy freelancer yourself.
He writes:
…My days [...]

Read Full Post »

2009: My Power Freelancing Year, In Spite of the Economic Disaster

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, which usually just end up being rather disappointing.
But like many people, I do tend to get reflective at the end of the year. Doesn’t it seem like a perfect time to pull one’s thoughts together and plan for a fresh new year coming up? While our bodies are relaxed [...]

Read Full Post »

Procrastination and the Freelance Writer

Procrastination is not the freelance writer’s friend. 
Of all the suggestions I’ve heard over the years regarding being an efficient freelance writer, one of the best has been to start on an assignment as soon as you get it.
I try to do this and it really works. Sometimes it’s just getting started that’s the hardest part of writing something. So [...]

Read Full Post »

Books on Writing

I guess it’s no surprise there are so many books about writing. We writers need something to write about, and some of us write about writing. And then the rest of us read about it.
Writing is a craft that I continually work at. In college I majored in journalism, and since then I have continued [...]

Read Full Post »

Advanced Freelance Writer Organizational System

How do you keep papers organized when you’re working on 10 or 15 freelance jobs at the same time, or more, all at various stages?
I do it with file folders. That title above is tongue-in-cheek, of course. My system is pretty basic, but it truly helps me keep my head well above water.
Whether it’s a [...]

Read Full Post »

I Married The Photographer

I have an essay on the last page of Hawaii magazine’s August issue. It’s about living here in this beautiful place.
My husband Macario is a professional photographer who, among other jobs, shoots a lot of Big Island photos for the PacificBasin Communications magazines. So they called him to photograph me for the article. (How convenient is [...]

Read Full Post »

Freelancing in a Poor Economy

Someone told me recently about her son, a graphic designer who works full time for an agency and does freelance jobs on the side. She said he has considered leaving his full time job to freelance full-time, but worries about doing that in this poor economy.
Here’s my response to that:
Especially in this poor economy, I [...]

Read Full Post »