Mashable
Column: http://mashable.com/author/andrew-min/
In August 2007, I discovered a new writer I liked at Newsvine.com. In his bio, he mentioned that he was one of Mashable.com’s newest writers. I had been reading Mashable for quite some time, and really enjoyed the work. I thought about how cool it would be if I could get some work there, so I emailed Pete my request, not really expecting anything to come of it. To my surprise, he told me to write an article as a test to see how well I’d fit in. I wrote 60+ Download Managers (which almost didn’t get in, since Mashable really deals more with online-only programs). It was accepted, and I began working for Mashable. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that they paid quite well. Free Software Magazine had paid in books, but I had never actually received cold hard cash for writing until now.
Unfortunately, Mashable can be really demanding. I’m not going to blame them for this (it is Pete’s business, after all), but I just couldn’t commit to the schedule they set. So in the spring of 2008, I decided that I would stop writing indefinitely. One day, I may come back. I still have an account, and I still have Pete’s email address. But for now, it’s on hold.
Linux.com
Site: http://www.linux.com/
Linux.com is probably one of the oldest Linux news sites out there (how else did it get the Linux.com domain?). Owned by SouceForge, Inc. (which also owns SourceForge.net, Freshmeat, Newsforge, IT Manager’s Journal, Slashcode, Slashdot, and ThinkGeek), Linux.com was founded way back in 1999, back when I barely knew how to type. How did I get started with them? Believe it or not, through a fan of my column. In October 2007, when a reader of my column saw an ad on Craigslist asking for a Linux writer, she forwarded it to me. I did a little research, found out more about them, and started writing for them (my first article, How to make Firefox look and feel like IE, Safari, or Opera, came out in November).
Linux Journal
Site: http://www.linuxjournal.com/
I got my first article published in a print magazine thanks to Tony Mobily, head of Free Software Magazine. Tony had mentioned that he was doing work for the new LinuxJournal.com site. I later found out that he was also a close friend of the owner. Anyway, I decided that I’d send in my resume and an article proposal about Quanta Plus, a web programming tool. They knocked me off my feet with their price and I immediately accepted. In June 2008, I received my first copy of Linux Journal, with my article in it (you can see it right underneath the “Get Started with OpenLaszlo in the above photo). It was later published online and I was hooked. It’s really addicting to see your name in print.