Studio Blog
For azcentral.com Healthy Living:
Sam Ellyn
Mike Samuels
M.L. Rose
And SFGate Healthy Living:
Chris Daniels
Serena Styles
Jessica Bruso
Congratulations winners! And thank you to all the writers in these communities for all their hard work during the week.
- Tracy Williams
- Carlos Fournier
- Rosemary Peters
Each of these editors will be getting the $50 bonus, in addition to a $1 per article bonus for every article they edited beyond the necessary 25 to qualify. Congrats!
We’d also like to thank all of the other editors who qualified for the $1 per article bonus for the week:
- Howard Witt
- Debbie Swanson
- James Russell
- John Kreiser
- Mark McKillop
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more incentive programs like this in the future!
"A big “thank you” goes to the DMS Work-Life Balance program for helping me to reconnect with a brother I haven’t seen in about 20 years and who is terminally ill. Last week, my husband, Mark, and I traveled to Ohio to see Jack and his family. We visited a living history farm, went to the county fair and enjoyed breaking bread daily. Our niece’s lively children were lots of fun and full of giggles. They treated Mark like a human Jungle Jim. It was a week of good medicine."


Alicia's brother, Jack, and his grandchildren visit with Junior, the donkey, at a local living history farm.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and family photos with us, Alicia! We're glad to have helped you afford this visit to see your family.
Our first Work/Life Award goes to writer and editor Jennifer Maughan. Jennifer and her family have been saving up for their family vacation for a while now. Unfortunately, some recent car trouble forced them to dip into their fund. But now, Jennifer, her husband and their three children are back on track to visit Disneyland! Be sure to send us some photos, Jennifer!
Our second Work/Life Award goes to writer Bertha Chambers. Bertha has unfortunately been fighting an ongoing battle with some pretty steep medical bills. Luckily her landlord has been understanding about rent payments, but the bills are starting to pile up. Hopefully this award will help Bertha catch up on some of her medical and rent expenses.
Our third Work/Life Award goes to writer and editor Amy Rosenstein. Amy is a mother of three and a busy freelancer. She knows that her growing children need as much attention you can give them, which is why she plans on using this award to help cover the cost of preschool for her youngest son. We hope he has fun, Amy.
Our fourth Work/Life Award goes to writer, expert and blogger Barbara Baker. Barbara and her husband just took on the big responsibility of guardianship of their eight-month old grand-nephew (but really, who could say no to that face?). While Bradley brings with him a lot of happiness, he brings a lot of adjustment, too. That’s why Barbara will be using this award to help hire a “mother’s helper” to give her a hand.

This month’s Laptop Award goes to writer Ellen Topness. Ellen is working on focusing more of her professional life around writing. Previously, Ellen was a full-time counselor. However, she had to give up that role due to the physical symptoms of multiple sclerosis. With the help of a new laptop, Ellen is going to be able to really boost her productivity and explore new ways to incorporate her counseling skills through video and email conferencing. Good luck, Ellen!
The All-Access Pass Award is going to writer Valerie Liles. Valerie has chosen to attend the Crossroads Writer’s Conference in Macon, GA. She has heard that this conference “literally bathes you in the light of success and motivates you in ways you never knew existed.” We certainly hope this gives you an extra boost, Valerie! Be sure to let us know how the conference goes.
The Co-Working Award goes to writer Lisa Chiu. Lisa has won a three-month membership to Affinity Lab in Washington, D.C. This space has the perfect mix of office, community, education, culture and fun – just what Lisa is looking for! Be sure to report back on what the space is like, Lisa, it looks great!
Remember that applications are accepted during the first seven days of each month. Be sure to apply come September!
Thanks and congratulations to all of our winners.
We absolutely love getting emails like the one we got this morning from Studio writer and editor Jennifer Pinto. Earlier this month, we announced Jennifer as a winner of one of the monthly Work/Life Awards. Jennifer’s application was all about how she wanted to use the award to take some time off and plan a trip for her 5-year-old son to his very first amusement park: the Land of Make Believe in Hope, New Jersey. Well, on July 21 the family trip happened and Jennifer sent us a few photos of her family enjoying themselves at the amusement park.
Thanks so much for sharing your family photos, Jennifer!
Remember, we give out four $250 awards every month as part of the Enrichment Opportunities Program. The Work/Life Award is a $250 gift from us that you can use for anything that will help you balance your work with the rest of your life. August applications are being accepted during the first 7 days of August, so don’t miss out on your chance to apply!
eBooks with Demand Media: Announcing Two New Series
Posted by Jordan | July 12, 2012 | Leave a comment
The Pets series is made up of five brand new eBooks that cover different behavioral and health issues for specific dog breeds including Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds. Each of these books is written by veterinarians who offer their own professional tips and advice on how to be your pet’s best friend.
The Wine series is kicking off with 13 different eBooks, with even more on the way. This series is the perfect beginners guide to the major grape varietals used in modern wine making. All of the authors for this series are sommeliers and wine experts, and their advice can help guide the way through complexities of win for any novice wine consumer.
The team here at Demand Media Studios is incredibly excited for this new endeavor. For more information about this new chapter, you can read through the blog post by our Senior VP of Content and Editorial, Jeremy Reed. You can also keep up with the new eBooks as they come out by following 101 Publishing on Goodreads.
Our first Work/Life Award goes to writer Meghan Campbell. Two years ago, Meghan had to return to the U.S. from Argentina to deliver her daughter due to medical reasons. She had thought that her daughter’s father would be able to secure a visa without any problems, but the process has been very slow-going. So now, Meghan will be putting the funds from this award towards returning to Argentina so daughter and father can meet in person for the first time. Safe travels, Meghan!
Our second Work/Life Award goes to writer Brian Hill. Brian has decided that his goal for the next six months is to work on improving his physical fitness. His hope is that this will give him additional physical and mental energy which will boost both his productivity and creativity. Brian will be using this award to purchase a membership to his local health club where he will take advantage of their large swimming pool. Good luck, Brian!
Our third Work/Life Award goes to writer and editor Jennifer Pinto. Jennifer has been working some long hours lately in order to make all of her freelancer deadlines. Jennifer is going to use this award to take a much needed weekend off while taking her 5-year-old son to his first amusement park: Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. Be sure to share some pictures with us, Jennifer!
Our fourth Work/Life Award goes to writer Leslie Truex. By day, Leslie is a freelance writer and non-fiction author. But by night, Leslie’s true passion is mystery writing. So far, Leslie has managed to complete one novel and one novella, with second drafts of two novels and first drafts of three other works. Now her goal is to start publishing. With the help of this award, Leslie is going to be able to purchase ISBN numbers for her first few books. Congratulations, Leslie!
This month’s Laptop Award goes to writer Robert Gandini. The laptop Robert is using is definitely beyond repair. On a daily basis, he is forced to rig old, discarded chargers with a pair of pliers and a bookend in order to keep his laptop running. On top of that, Robert and his wife are expecting their first child, so money is tight and a new laptop just isn’t in the budget. Thanks to this new laptop, Robert will be able to work a little easier while helping to support his growing family.
This month we didn’t get any applications for the All Access Pass or the Co-Working Award. These awards provide great opportunities to attend a conference of your choice or try out a co-working space for three months with the bill picked up by Demand Media Studios.
Remember that August starts the beginning of a new quarter so we will be looking to give out awards in all categories. Applications are accepted during the first seven days of each month.
Thanks and congratulations to all of our winners.
As our recent Author Publicity Sweepstakes contest has now come to a close, it’s time to announce our winners. To recap, in order to enter this sweepstakes, writers and on-screen talent needed to get started with Google Authorship, a Google-operated initiative that creates a connection between the sites where your content lives and your authoritative voice online. Google Authorship makes it so that when someone searches on Google for something you have content about, results containing your content can appear in results with your name and Google+ profile picture.
It’s our pleasure to congratulate community members Bennett Gavrish and Deb Powers!
For participating in this sweepstakes, both Bennett and Deb will be receiving a brand new 16GB iPad 3 courtesy of Demand Media Studios. Please join us in sharing our congratulations with these two lucky winners.
Thank you to all of the participants, and be sure to keep an eye out for future sweepstakes and contests here on the Studio Blog.
If you spend any amount of time in the forums, you no doubt recognize Ruth. Since joining the writing community two years ago, Ruth has been a constant positive voice in the forum community. Ruth joins in on many of the conversations in the forums by sharing her stories, helping answer questions, and starting up motivational threads about setting goals.
Be sure to keep an eye out for Ruth in your forum interactions.
Our first Work/Life Award goes to writer and editor Bonny Brown Jones. Bonny and her husband Dave are celebrating their second anniversary after having quite the road to getting married. As friends in high school, Bonny and Dave both ended up getting married to other people and moving away from their hometown of Columbus, Ohio. But in 2009, they both ended up single again and reunited, and the rest is history. Bonny and Dave will be using this award to plan an anniversary weekend getaway. Congrats!
Our second Work/Life Award goes to writer Linsay Reece-Evans. Linsay is a self-proclaimed domestic goddess and mother of two. Now that summer is here, the kids are out of school and Linsay is left with very little time to work on her writing. Thanks to this award, Linsay will be able to hire a babysitter for a few hours each week this summer. Good luck with your writing, Linsay!
Our third Work/Life Award goes to writer Mary Davis. Mary and her husband are fast approaching their 45th wedding anniversary. More than anything, Mary’s wish is to celebrate the occasion by spending a weekend with their grandchildren. But with recent medical expenses, the cost of the trip didn’t appear to be in the cards. Now thanks to this award, Mary and her husband will be able to spend some quality time with family. Enjoy your trip, Mary!
Our fourth Work/Life Award goes to writer Josh Fredman. Josh is looking to start growing his career as a writer, editor and web developer. With the financial assistance of this award, Josh is going to design, develop and publish an online portfolio site in order to market his professional services. The site will include his resume, work samples, and other helpful links for prospective clients. We hope this helps you in your career goals, Josh!
This month’s Laptop Award goes to talent producer Brigitte Taylor. While Brigitte may not have been with us long, she is already an incredibly active and passionate member of the producer community. With this new laptop, Brigitte will be able to be mobile and work on her talent recruitment efforts on the go. Keep up the good work, Brigitte!
This month we didn’t get any applications for the All Access Pass or the Co-Working Award. Remember that July starts the beginning of a new quarter so we will be looking to give out awards in all categories. Applications are accepted during the first seven days of each month.
Thanks and congratulations to all of our winners.














