From the blog of Analisa Nazareno: http://analisawrites.wordpress.com

For many journalists in transition, navigating new terrain has meant learning to pitch ideas to venture capitalists and book agents.

With skills in cold-calling executives and politicians, communication with people from all walks of life, and with daily experience pitching story ideas, journalists are more adept at making that transition than many other would-be entrepreneurs and book authors. That is what I learned today from two different workshops: the “New U Entrepreneurship Project” and “How to Write & Publish Your First Book.”

Finding your way through a changed media landscape has also meant learning the language and equipment of new and different media. That’s what I learned popping in and out of different workshops in afternoon, including “Tech Trends,” “From Print to Broadcast,” and “Social Media II.”

Yes, I learned about specifics, such as the process going from book idea to proposal to contracting with an agent, or the various tools available on Google and the manner in which journalists could utilize them. But the biggest take-away from today’s workshops is this idea: The ability to communicate is worth money. The ability to synthesize ideas and use words correctly is valuable.

And the same tenacious, can-do attitude that journalists brought to their reporting into the newsroom will serve them well, regardless of the route they take after leaving a newsroom.

— Analisa Nazareno