Re: GWL quotes and rants

**N* S* <s*@earthlink.net>**

For 14 years I've written a weekly gardening column published in both  
The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press with a weekly state wide  
circulation around half a million, give or take, depending which  
Detroit team is playing in the play offs, semi-finals or finals.   
 From the onset I  made new tools and products my speciality and my  
readers love it.  I make it a point to test drive the toys so I know  
they work. I spend a good percentage of my income from that column  
traveling to trade shows, garden shows and Garden Writers in search  
of new stuff.  In the 14 years I have had one complaint about tools  
and few whines about plants.

A couple of years ago I was invited to the Hardy Plant Society for a  
tool talk - a combination show and tell using the actual tools and  
power point, and received rave reviews.

Many newspapers have strict rules about taking freebees, and in the  
old days writers were given a budget to travel,  buy new products and  
assistants to ship back test products. But those days are long gone  
folks.

I don't sell unwanted products, plants or books at garages sales,  
flea markets or on e-bay,  I donate them to Master Gardener groups  
and libraries or give them to friends to use and grow for feedback.  
If I am a product pimp, so be it, I consider it part of the job.

Nancy Szerlag

On Jun 12, 2007, at 12:23 PM, Cottage Garden wrote:

> Hey all, I lurk and rarely post but this time I need to speak up.  
> In this day and age it is unreasonably to think your posts to an  
> open list are "private" -- five or ten years ago one might have  
> thought so (and still been mistaken) but in today's environment  
> that is just naive, to use Susan's expression.
>
>   I am sorry I missed the original rant intact with quotes. Maybe  
> that would explain why folks are upset about it.
>
>   Anyhoo, let me add that in re the PANTS show hype:
>
>   As much as I personally detest the "what's hot -- what's not" go  
> go sales mentality when it affects garden writing, in all fairness  
> that particular talk in your rant is being done at the PANTS show  
> -- where folks actually go specifically to catch up on what's new.  
> I feel writers should be and need to be well informed, but what  
> they do with that information is up to them. Whether or not knowing  
> what's new turns them into "product pimps" is another issue.
>
>   Ok, I'm done. :)
>
>
> Barbara Martin
>   FLOWER GARDENS
> http://flowergardens.suite101.com/
> Member, Garden Writers Association
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> The fish are biting.
>  Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing.
> _______________________________________________
> gardenwriters mailing list
> gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
>
> GWL has searchable archives at:
> http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
>
> Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
>
> Post gardening questions/threads to
> &quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;
>
> For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters

Nancy Szerlag
Columnist for Detroit News
szerlag@earthlink.net
Check blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters