JustMarkets

By Stephanie Olsen

Hi everybody,

When you're web writing, it pays to remember that you're addressing a global audience.

I was discussing this with Mary Anne Donovan, Writer Online's chief ed, when she asked me if I keep up back-home traditions while living abroad. I admitted to letting Thanksgiving lapse - and before you turkeys thank me, I'll come clean: it's not due to dietary or animal rights concerns.

Actually ever since I lived in Canada (where they celebrate their Thanksgiving in October), before moving to Europe (where they don't do it at all), the holiday has become rather distant to me personally. As a mother of two young children, however, I did hang on to the costumes and candies of Halloween trick-or-treating - parading my little witches around a very Roman-Catholic, very traditional Polish village on its most holy of days, All Saint's Eve.

And I'm not adverse to choosing to ignore or embrace new festivities (mine, theirs and ours!); to wit, we now have two Christmases. A little one on December 6 called St. Nick's Day and the "real" one.

So keep in mind that those traditional and important national holidays may not even be known to readers half a world away. Know your audience and write accordingly.

Now for this issue of JustMarkets , we've got kids' publications, both Christian and sports, as well as markets for animal lovers (but not turkeys...) and health writers.

You're very welcome and, as always, good writing!