Welcome to CMGR Writers! We’re self-taught journalists who went from blogging and writing humorous essays about motherhood to landing stories in national and international publications. Our goal is to help other writers learn from our combined 15 years of freelancing.

Over the years we’ve realized that getting our work published is a totally different animal than simply learning to write well. We’ve both gone through the highs and lows of freelancing, from the excitement of seeing our bylines in major publications to the frustration of having pitches go unanswered. We know a lot of writers out there are experiencing similar things, but too often, struggling alone.

We can support you on your writing journey. We’ll answer the questions we wish we’d been able to ask starting out, provide a sounding board for your creative ideas, and nudge you in a positive direction when you need it most. Because your story is worth telling — and you’re the only YOU who can write it!

Meet Cheryl & Gina

Cheryl Maguire is a Massachusetts writer who began writing parenting humor essays to cope with the stress of being a stay-at-home mom of twins. She decided to take some online writing courses to learn about freelance journalism. Eighteen years later, Cheryl’s twins are in college and she has a long list of bylines at outlets including National Geographic, The New York Times, and AARP.

Gina Rich lives in Wisconsin and began blogging in 2014 when her daughters were in preschool and kindergarten. One day in a caffeine-induced state of optimism, she decided to start pitching personal essays to Scary Mommy, HuffPost, and other national outlets. Many rejections later, she realized she had a lot to learn about freelancing. Since then, Gina has written for publications including The Washington Post, WIRED, Good Housekeeping, and Parents.