Kathy Foust

Tax Resources for Freelance Writers

2012-01-24T07:48:00.000-06:00

Tax season is here and that means you're either cringing or celebrating. Either way, I thought I would try to make things a bit easier by sharing some tax resources that can make your 2011 tax preparation a bit easier.

Do not go to HR Block. You'll pay hundreds of dollars for someone else to prepare your taxes and you won't get them any sooner than you will if you do them at home. As a freelance writer you are obviously capable of your own data entry and have access to the Internet. Use it wisely.

Learn from a seasoned CA (equivalent of a CPA) and freelance writer. In fact, read this book
before you even start your taxes so you have an idea of what you're working with. Angie Leamen Mohr shows you how to save on your taxes by letting you know about deductions and rules you may not be aware of. Seriously...self-employment tax isn't cheap so use very advantage you can get!

File for free. The government does have some mercy on us during tax season, or maybe they just wanted to make everything easier on themselves. Either way, they've created a list of places where you can file your taxes for free. It's called FreeFile and you have a wide variety of options to choose from. The government doesn't generally offer up a lot of free things, so take it while you can!

Keep an eye on your taxes. The IRS refund schedule makes it easy to find out when you can expect your refund back. Again, please note that HR Block no longer has refund anticipation loans, so there is absolutely no reason to spend your money there. As you can see, you can get your refund back all on our own within 1-2 weeks.

SEO for Google

2012-01-05T16:35:00.000-06:00

If you're an online freelance writer, you've more than likely had to write some articles that had to have SEO work into them. Sometimes the phrase seems almost impossible to incorporate into a normal sentence, but knowing how Google reads text can be a big help.

Google doesn't currently recognize punctuation or capitalization. Big deal, right? Actually, it is kind of a big deal when you consider how you can use this to your advantage. Let's take a look at a phrase that might be used when writing for SEO.

"south beach diet how"

Just try and fit that in one sentence and see if any native English readers will return to see what else you've written. But, since Google doesn't look at capitalization or punctuation this one is fairly easy to get into content that makes sense. Using that information you can write sentences like the ones below and actually look like you know something about the English language.

"You're going to live in South Beach? Diet how you want to but know that you're going to be scrutinized!"

"So, you want to try the South Beach diet. How do you know what to eat?"

As you can see, the keyword phrase exists in just the right order and the sentences actually make sense!

Work at Home Tips

2012-01-04T16:32:00.000-06:00

Being a work at home mom isn't for everyone. But, if you're going to do it, you're going to have to take a few steps to make sure that you do it well. Below are some work at home tips that work well for me.

Create an office space. You might think that working at home means you can sit with your laptop o your couch in front of the television. That might work for some, but for most of us, work has to be separated from the rest of life's events. Even if you don't have a separate room for your office, try to make an area in your house that is devoted just to your work.

Set a schedule. One of the great things about working at home is that you get to set your own schedule. You need to take that schedule seriously if you expect others to take it seriously. After all, if you don't respect your work time, why would anyone else?

Break your work down into manageable time slots. Recognize that part of working at home means you have to do it all. You'll be the accountant, the public relations and even the labor force. Don't forget to schedule time slots for all of these functions. Whether you do a bit every day or have specific days for each function, scheduling them in time chunks means that you can get into a routine, which leads to better performance and higher levels of organization.

Saving Money

2011-12-22T08:37:00.000-06:00

Guest post written by my buddy Aldo Mays
Saving money is the name of the game here at my office and a lot of that responsibility falls on me since I’m the assistant. People around here spend so much time working on their own jobs it’s always up to me to be looking into things like http://www.smallbusiness.xo.com/ and an IT consultant that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and cheaper cleaning services. I think there’s something to be said for being financially prudent which is why my boss is trying to be right now but you can tell she’s scared we won’t make it through this recession. I love my job but it’s not like event planning is a necessary service so we’ve definitely taken a hit in the last few months, for sure. A lot of our business came from big corporate entities and that’s been hard because they aren’t spending on things like teambuildings like they used to. I’m trying to save the company money so we can all stay on the payroll a bit longer…

Is Google Looking in Your Window?

2011-11-28T11:24:00.000-06:00

I've heard rumors that Google is stepping up their game again. They've been trying to drill it home that they are looking for quality content, while writers have been trying to learn how Google defines quality content. How does Google know if you're an expert in your field? As far as I can tell, they know the same way your friends do.

Imagine if Google could look in your window. Would your life show them that you're an expert in your field? For instance, if you run a daycare, it's obvious that you're an expert in your field if you maintain an educational atmosphere and are on a constant search to step up your game. People come to you with questions about child rearing and preschool education. You fairly breathe daycare language. You are an expert in your field.

Well, Google IS looking in your window (figuratively at least). It seems that what they're looking for now is social media optimization (SMO). What you do in Facebook and Twitter have an impact on how Google views you. So, those who write daycare articles but only post in Twitter and FB about their late night drinking crusades, well let's just say that if they ever saw the first page rankings before, they won't be there for long.

I'm not a math person. I'm not one of those search engine marketing experts who can sit down and tell you exactly how many of which keywords you need to use to get consistent page views. I write for several companies and they all have their own formula. I'm a writer. That's what I do. I try to keep my name on things that are relevant to me in real life. I will naturally have some leverage with Google using SMO because of the way I live. But, I'm going to have to step up my game when it comes to getting the numbers right.

For that reason, I'm considering hiring a search engine marketing firm. Writing is my speciality and search engine marketing is their specialty. If I hire a firm like this, I can focus on the things I'm good at and they can help me let the rest of the world know that I am the expert in my field. When it comes to being an online success, you have to create an online presence. Word of mouth is still the best advertisement. But, times have changed. You don't call your neighbor for advice anymore. You ask your Facebook friends. Social media marketing is the window that Google looks through to judge your level of expertise.

2011-11-23T09:28:00.000-06:00

Via: Tanda Skincare

Jerry Foust Speaks Out about Education

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

Jerry's Kid Side

Today we're talking with Jerry Foust about education and the arts. Recent cutbacks to funding in education have resulted in the decrease of the involvement of arts in education. For some, this could mean a complete lack of interest in academics as the arts help us to develop some core skills like critical thinking, decoding and the ability to generally relate unknown material to previous knowledge, experience or interests. Let's see what Jerry has to say about this.

KF(Kathy Foust): You've used your degrees in a somewhat nontraditional manner. What degrees do you hold?
JF(Jerry Foust): "Bachelor's in Music Education (all grades) from Butler University; Master's in Postsecondary Educational Leadership from San Diego State University. Currently finishing a second Master's in Music Education at Stephen F. Austin State University."

KF: You do quite a bit of work with children. Recent changes within the educational system have limited the involvement of the arts in public schools. How do you think this is going to impact future generations of students and educators?
JF: "California's education system was always the model for the world, but now very few schools have formal arts programs. As a music educator, I feel very strongly that music is its own individual, unique intelligence. And that kids (and adults, for that matter) get something out of music - performing, listening, understanding - that they can't get anywhere else. It makes me sad that, even though the Arts are considered a core subject in No Child Left Behind, music and the Arts continue to get short-changed.

In my current position, we serve about 1,500 kids a year with outreach programs. They get to come - some of them for the very first time - to our theater and see our professional shows. We see them fall in love with music and theatre and dance and technical theatre arts for the first time. It's pretty powerful."

KF: Since you do often work closely with children, you're able to see how music might influence them. What are the benefits that children might take away from their experience in your programs or from music in education in general?

JF: "The obvious ones are teamwork, focus, self-discipline, creativity, logical thinking, problem-solving, appreciation for culture and diversity. SELF-ESTEEM."

KF: What advice do you have for children and teens that have the desire to make music a part of their future career path?

JF: "Study hard, but never stop enjoying the creative part. And never lose sight of WHY you're making music. It's to give something unique to the world or to yourself."

KF: What advice would you share with those considering going into music education as a career choice?

JF: "I realized - at the age of 40 - that our goal as music educators should be to give people the tools they need to continue a personal relationship with music for a lifetime. Not to win competitions, or get first chair, or even to necessarily make a living at it. But to enjoy it, understand it, learn from it, participate in it for the rest of their lives. How many people do you know who took piano lessons or played an instrument in high school STILL do? That means we're not doing something right. Right?

One of the things I've learned in my old age is that there has to be joy in making music. That's why I love my men's vocal ensemble. Every Sunday night, we come together to rehearse, and we have so much fun and work so collaboratively that the concerts we do seem secondary. I as the conductor have created an atmosphere where the process of music-making is as important as the product. And I have people who come BACK to music after years or decades away from it.

So I guess I would hope people choosing this path would do it for the right reasons. Those who do it for the right reasons create lifelong musicians, and are able to advocate for music in a way that trophies and competitions and forced private lessons can't."

Interview with Starke County Native Jerry Foust

2011-11-08T08:40:00.001-06:00

As part of my series on creative people from Starke County, Indiana, I interviewed my cousin, Jerry Foust. I wanted to first give some background for my readers. Jerry was born and raised in Starke County, IN. This county is a rural community whose major industry is, you guessed it, corn. It's not really what you would consider the most conducive area for those with the arts in mind as they pursue their career goals. Jerry happens to be one of the people who went against the grain and turned his interest in music into something more than a hobby. As a personal side note, I'd like to add that I may be a bit overly impressed by this due to the fact that I have no musical talent at all and have great admiration for those that do. But, I can type. That counts for something, right? And...on with the first part of the interview.

KF (Kathy Foust): Jerry, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview. Let's start off by giving the readers some basics. What is your current position?
JF (Jerry Foust): "I am the Executive Director and Director of Education at Berkeley Playhouse, the resident company of the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. I've also served as lead producer, and have directed shows and taught adult workshops in music, theatre, and audition skills at the same organization."

KF: What degrees do you hold?
JF: "Bachelor's in Music Education (all grades) from Butler University; Master's in Postsecondary Educational Leadership from San Diego State University. Currently finishing a second Master's in Music Education at Stephen F. Austin State University."

KF: I've heard that you'll be moving soon. What will your position be then and what do you hope to accomplish in this position?
JF: "I don't know yet!!! Unlike me, I decided I wanted to move, regardless of having a job in place. I'm moving back to Chicago to be closer to my family, and enjoy those frigid temps and piles of snow (ha). I'm a finalist in two fantastic jobs where I get to keep being creative and working to grow programs, but I don't want to jinx it, so I'll keep you in suspense for another week or two until I know for sure."

KF: Many families follow along a traditional career path and tend to keep in a similar trade. How hard was it for you to make the decision to break away and follow a completely different career path than those before you?
JF: "For me, there was never any doubt about 1 - going to college, and 2 - leaving the small town I grew up in. I knew from the days you and I were playing school together in elementary school that I wanted to be a teacher. In high school, I fell in love with band, and so I decided to pursue music teaching. That's after I had decided to be a funeral director and a corporate communications specialist. I was accepted at Butler as a communications major, then in July 1989, decided to audition for music school.

I could never have followed in my dad's footsteps - to be honest, I don't have the nerve, strength, or stamina to do what he does. I respect it more and more all the time. Building houses - literally from the ground up - is his profession. I am grateful to both my parents for working hard to provide for us, and allowing me to do what I dreamed."

KF: Along those same lines, who was your inspiration as you were growing up and making the decision to follow along this career path?

JF: "I was inspired by great teachers, I suppose. I was inspired by my high school band director, whose philosophy and style I could not be more different than now - I am much more of a musical purist, and not at all about competition (which is what a lot of Indiana band directors use to motivate students). But he was a great model in terms of showing how to bring pride back to our organization, and how to build it. I've continued to be attracted to building programs and organizations."

Tomorrow we'll learn more about Jerry as he speaks out about the role of music in education.

Marketing Psychology

2011-11-06T15:11:00.002-06:00

One of the lowest paying writing jobs I've had was also one of the most educational for one very important reason. It taught me about positive marketing. If you happen to read my Student of Motherhood blog, you'll see that I am on a perpetual journey to increase the positive elements in my life. As such, and since I have such a fascination with psychology and how the brain works, I did some reading on positive thinking.

One of the things I learned is that the brain processes negative expressions in kind of a backward way. For instance, if I tell myself that I don't want a cigarette, my brain first understand that as I do want a cigarette, then kind of has to loop around to understand that I was trying to talk myself out of it. By the time that happens, I've probably already lit up.

Marketing is all about psychology and this is where the low paying site I worked for comes in. One of their main rules was to avoid negative expressions in any way. That's actually pretty hard to do sometimes. For instance, notice that I said "avoid negative expressions" instead of "not write negative things". One statement guides you toward what to do which your brain can process easily. The other makes your brain backtrack. Get it?

When you're doing your marketing, think as if you are the one being marketed to. That means thinking about everything, from color, to text, to how the brain processes information. For instance, the color red is commonly known for danger. Yes, it gets attention, but is that the signal you want to send? Positive experiences lead to repeat experiences. Hence the site that wanted me to only use positive wording. Their logic was that the brain would interpret positive messages and the idea of coming back to the site would stimulate positive memories, even if they are subconscious ones.

This post was actually brought about by a Facebook question asking how people felt when they read an author's statement of "Buy my book". As a reader, when you read that, it tells you to buy your own book. You interpret it the way it was meant, but the original impression on your brain is that you should buy your own book, which completely takes away from the idea of buying anyone else's book. Now, if you read "Buy <title>", then you just put a message into your brain that gives you clear directions. If you extend this by relating the phrase to a positive experience, like "<title> is the best <genre> work this year!", you're reading (or writing) a very powerful statement that makes a correlation between a specific title and a interest you have. Below is a kind of formula you might use to create such a positive flow.

"<positive action message><title><positive experience>"

Used in a message to sell a book, this formula might translate into something like this:

Read "How Men Can Survive PMS" for relationship survival tips and good laughs!

Note how there are actually 2 positive experience phrases. It's also a tight sentence, with no fluff; exactly what Internet readers are looking for. (That particular article also happens to be one that I had a blast writing.)

Remember that you can create a positive experience for the reader from beginning to end. That's a key point to remember when you're trying to create a fan base and at the same time, avoid annoying your Facebook friends.

Search Engine Optimization Basics

2011-10-29T12:28:00.000-05:00

Writing online is like no other kind of writing. In the past, even the worst writers could be a success by doing something called "keyword stuffing", which is when you fill an article with keywords in an effort to boost your search results. Since Google changed its methods of searching, writers have found that this method doesn't work anymore and that keywords need to be used naturally. But how do you know how to use keywords and which words to even use?

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn't really that difficult to understand if you relate it to something you know. for instance, if you go to the library and look up a book by subject, this would be considered similar to SEO practices in their earliest form. The difference is that when you do it online, you can really fine tune the subject you're looking for. Hence, writers and webmasters fine tune their text.

To face the challenges with search engine optimization, you're going to have to use a few tools. You can start by jotting down your ideas, then fine tuning them so that they aren't blending in with every other general article on the Internet. Most tools will even help you refine your idea. You simply type in a phrase you're thinking about writing on, then review the results.

Most tools will present you with a list of results for your search that may include some longer terms. You can see how many times that term is searched in a month. You might get excited when you see that a term ha been searched for millions of times, but that's not the end of your research.

You need to see what you're competing with. To do this, put your term in the search bar of your browser. A keyword term that has millions of searches a month is still going to be difficult for you to rank highly with if the term returns billions of results. Difficult, but not impossible.

Once you have the SEO term you want to use, you need to make sure that the search engines recognize that you have something substantial to say. This is where related search terms come in. Let's say you're writing an article on how to wash white clothes. If your SEO term is "wash white clothes", you need to make sure that the rest of the article has terms in it like "bleach", "laundry" and so forth. This tells the search engines that you're talking about doing laundry and specifically, washing white clothes.

Technology Law

2011-10-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

As a sole proprietor who works online, I've often questioned the value of hiring an international technology lawyer. I don't know all the laws that apply to working online or even using the Internet period. I'm a writer, not a legal aid or a lawyer. I sometimes pick up bits and pieces of information concerning technology law from my friends who work online, but that wouldn't do me a lot of good if an issue ever got as far as a court room.

For instance, a friend of mine recently had to take a client to court for nonpayment. Nonpayment seems like an easy issue to address, but what about the things surrounding nonpayment? For instance, if she doesn't get paid for her work, can she legally ask for it to be removed from the site it was published on? Is she due some kind of compensation for the lengths she has to go to in order to make that happen? You would think that it's a simple matter of selling the article elsewhere, but the value of the article was diminished as soon as it was published online. It can never again be sold for first rights.

Of course, this is just one of the many issues that can happen because there are thousands of other ways to make money online aside from writing. Having an international technology lawyer is probably a good idea just so you can cover all your bases. As for myself, I want to worry about getting my writing done, not worrying about how laws may be different for different areas. I don't know enough about international technology law to even begin to determine the details of what could happen in a court room!

The sad reality is that when you deal with money, there is always someone who wants to take it from you or refuse to give it to you when you've earned it. It's hard enough to know who to trust when you are able to look someone in the eye and have a conversation with them. But, when you're dealing with people who live across the country or maybe even across the ocean, you have nothing to go on but what they are able to give to you via the Internet. Checking people out to make sure they are legit or have no glaring issues is one option, but it isn't going to meet all of your needs. I personally would feel better if I had someone who knew all the details of international technology law on my side.

Tattoo Artist Scott Foust

2011-10-26T09:11:00.000-05:00

Poorly scanned copy of a drawing Scott did of my son from a wallet size photo.

The first in my series on creative people from Starke County Indiana is my tattoo artist brother, Scott Foust. On a personal level, Scott is my favorite sibling not only because he gets me and has the highest level of loyalty I've ever seen in a person, but because he's not afraid of work. The world has kicked him around and he just keeps getting right back up. He wasn't pampered through a college degree or congratulated on his every small achievement. Rather, he has made his own way on his own merit, something more people should take a lesson from.

Scott is a natural artist and some of his best work coincides with who he is as a person who places high value on family and children. My favorite work of his is what he does for families. See, there's been a trend for parents to have their children's face or name (sometimes in black light ink) tattooed on them somewhere --something not just anyone can do because first, you have to draw the picture. Then, you turn it into a tattoo. My father passed the skill of drawing down to my brother and I, but while I can only do things like portraits, Scott can literally draw anything at all. The tattoo pictured here was done based on a picture he received via Facebook.

Scott travels throughout the Chicagoland area to do tattoos. His prices are more than reasonable and he always throws some kind of bonus to the person hosting the tattoo party. In other words, he does great work and appreciates the people that he does the work for. You can contact him via his Facebook page or leave a comment here and I'll make sure he gets it.

Creativity Series from Starke County Indiana

2011-10-26T08:47:00.000-05:00

As a writer in a small town, you might think I'm kind of an oddity. After all, Starke County Indiana isn't exactly known for producing creative souls. That's what most people would think anyhow. They would be wrong. This area has produced quite a few creative souls who don't make a living in the ways that most would expect.

I've decided to start a series on people from this area. Whether the people interviewed or written about here are artists or just people who have in some way stood out above the rest, they'll be featured here. People from Starke County Indiana who read this probably won't be shocked, but the rest of the world might.

There's something about the way that time is slower here. It promotes some creative thinking. We aren't overcome with shopping malls and you won't see many protests going on here. It's almost another world. It's where I live and it's the place that has inspired creativity in myself and others. Some of us use that to get away from the area while others of us use it to make this our safe zone. Either way, we've figured out that even in times of recession, you can still build a future on your own skills and dreams, provided you do it with your own unique twist. In other words, the American dream can still be sought. You just have to build your own road to it.

Raise!

2011-10-21T23:33:00.000-05:00

Authored by Greg Fletcher

Big news! I’m two months away from graduating with a big ‘ol master’s degree and will start teaching with my new title (and pay grade) in August. As my mom says, the money is “burning a hole in my pocket”. Well, the future money, I guess. That’s even worse, huh? I have already prepared myself to not have to check my bank account before I eat sushi, spend weekends trying to Shop electricity rates TEXAS to get a better price on power, or count quarters to buy gas. In my mind, I make $1,000 more each month and own a beautiful, ruffly Anthropologie shower curtain, hand-painted art from Etsy, camel Frye boots, a few new Yurman pieces, and I can finally stop buying ‘two-buck Chuck’ and get some real vino. Of course, I admit my dreams to you, but if my mom knew the plans floating around in my little head, I’m sure she’s find some way to intercept that direct deposit and start making a college fund for my unborn children. You can keep a secret, right?

L.A. Banks Dies

2011-08-02T11:46:00.001-05:00

A while back a friend of mine introduced me to the work of L.A. Banks. I was so impressed with her work that I had to contact her for an interview.

Let me just say that this is a woman that I would have had in my home. When I contacted her, she replied by explaining that normally, all interviews went through her publicist. But, she happened to like my tone and could imagine herself having coffee with me in her kitchen. Hence, she agreed to do the interview.

Before I could turn the phone interview into text, my hard drive crashed. Since then I've been trying to catch up on things. It seems that I will have to put those things aside and get that interview down now so that her fans that didn't know her can have a chance to see what kind of a person she was.

In the interview, we discuss her vampire books. And, maybe you wouldn't think that someone who wrote about vampires was very spiritual, but authors like Leslie Banks and Anne Rice would tend to disagree with you.

L.A. Banks wrote about vampires because she saw them all around her. I don't mean that she saw people with fangs who were afraid of sunlight. What I mean is that in her interview she expressed how there were "vampires" all around, sucking off of the lives of people with their manipulations and offerings of drugs. If you've read her books you can see that she didn't judge those people so much as see how they could better put their skills to use for a higher purpose.

Leslie Banks wasn't just a great writer of fiction. She was a writer who was shocked by her success. She was a woman who stopped in the middle of an interview to say hello to my young son when she heard him come in from school. She laughed at life and herself.

My condolences to the friends and family of Leslie Ann Banks. She will be missed.

Photo credit: Taken from L.A. Banks' Facebook page

Site Review: Writing by Cyndi

2011-07-07T07:26:00.003-05:00

Writers are a pretty close knit group. As a member of that group, I sometimes have to share information on sites that are not what they seem to be. In the past, I've written about Mahalo and what they did to their writers. It wasn't a pleasant task, but it needed to be done. After all, Mahalo was pretty lucrative for some writers (including myself) for a decent period of time.

Every now and then writers in search of work will come across relatively new writing sites that look like a promising venture. The problem is that sometimes these sites and their owners get greedy or completely mismanage the site and the fall of them is heard throughout the online writing community. That's because they don't fall soon enough to prevent writers from being taken advantage of. Sadly, WritingbyCyndi.com is a site that currently takes advantage of select writers because of poor management practices and the presence of greed.

When I first started working for this site, the payments came as promised. Then, within a couple of weeks, payments were spotty or nonexistent. The reasons declared were that Paypal lost invoices, the site hadn't been paid yet or, when all else failed, the writing was rejected. Email correspondence from the owner was emotional and filled with name calling and confusion. Paypal reminders were met with hostility and confusion over which project the invoice concerned, though every invoice contained the details of the individual articles.

At this point, I was prepared to quit, but since invoices existed (and months later still do) that were not paid, I was afraid that I would never receive payment. I was chastised for questioning my "employer's" integrity. I was told to stop harassing her, yet my only initiation of correspondence was through Paypal reminders and every single invoice reminder I sent was met with childish multitudes of emails and threats of litigation with closing remarks in the form of questions on how I would like to proceed.

How I would like to proceed is how every writer would like to proceed. I'd like to get paid for work that was already published. Period.

This is just another reminder of why writers need to do research on sites before working for them. Happy writing to you all!

Signs of a Scam Writing Site

2011-07-06T12:31:00.001-05:00

When I talk about scam writing sites, I use the term "scam" loosely. It means that yes, your work might get published. You might even get paid. But, somewhere along the line the site will lose integrity and you as the writer will feel the effect of it. Below are some red flags that a site may not be all that you expect it to be.

No TOS or Contract: Most freelance writing sites have a Terms of Service (TOS) that you agree to or a contract. These are the places where your rights are spelled out as far as copyright retainment, reprint rights and so forth are listed. If you find a site that doesn't have one of these, that's a good indication that it isn't a professional site. For instance, one poorly run site that offered no TOS or even a loosely formatted contract was WritingbyCyndi.com. On the upside, that means that every article sold to the site can now be sold for reprints. The downside is that writers and clients alike can expect that lack of professionalism to cause problems down the road. (Hint: Google isn't all that fond of complete reprints.)

Lack of Writer Reviews: When you look into working for a new site, be sure to Google it and learn about the experiences of other writers. A lack of reviews can mean that the site is too new to have any reviews yet, so tread carefully. You don't want your finances wrapped up in a fly-by-night sort of site.

Avoidance of Direct Answers: Lots of sites are too busy to answer every email. But, if you have a question about payment or the details of the writing and your email is ignored or responded to without actually answering the question, there are one of two things happening. Either the owner is avoiding the question or they don't even know the answer. I'm not really sure which is worse.

Payment Under Different Names: Again, WritingbyCyndi.com comes to mind. On that particular site, the payment comes from the owner's boyfriend rather than the owner or the site name. There are two things to consider here. What happens if the other person decides to take the money and run? You have no contract with them. Why doesn't the owner have their own account or the site itself have one for that matter?

Late Payment: There are some sites I write for that don't always pay on the exact day they are due. Sometimes this is because of a holiday or even a backlog. If payment comes within a day or two of when it's expected, this isn't always a big deal. After all, we've all had deadlines that were stretched because of a power outage or other technical difficulty. The problem is when it becomes a habit for the site to pay late or emails regarding payment are met with hostility. Unprofessional sites like this always go under. It's simply a matter of time.

Call Themselves Your "Employer": When a writing site starts taking out taxes and paying unemployment insurace, they are free to call themselves your employer. Until then, you are a freelance writer contracted to do specific tasks.

In short, it's always a good idea to get some background on online writing sites before you put too much effort into them. Unless you enjoy writing for free, do your homework to avoid online writing sites that are really just scams. Below is a list of places that is updated as I receive information about sites that offer insight into online writing site scams. Remember that a site that is listed even once as a scam has burnt at least one writer. Don't let your own name be the next one to get burnt.

Accentuate Writers Forum
Writers Beware

Book Review: The Birth of Jaiden

2011-05-12T07:20:00.000-05:00

The Birth of Jaiden by Jennifer Malone Wright is a fiction work that leaves the reader to ponder the depth of the impact that our histories can have on us and how the world is shaped by even a minute part of an individual.

Mrs. Wright brings the reader into the heart of a creature that is historically considered evil and leaves you to wonder if the fate of a spirit can be decided that easily. Her characters will leave you with an urge to know them in-depth while the story itself begs to be written through to the very end.

The main character, Alex give you insight into the concept of putting things behind you and moving forward, while the group as a whole reminds us that blood ties aren't the only thing that makes a family. Jaiden, a newborn and very powerful natural witch-even from the cradle is responsive in such a way as to make one wonder if true evil is something that one is born to or if it is something that needs to be cultivated.

Among the many elements of the development of the human (and immortal) character traits, one is led to question nature versus nurture and the idea that evil and good are marked by the milestones of our lives. Can something that is supposed to be inherently evil really bring the blossom of light from a human spirit?

Can a creature whose soul is doomed to hell not only learn to love again, but teach it as well? This reader is anxious to find out in Jennifer's up and coming book The Rise of Jaiden.

Read My Panic!

2011-04-27T07:23:00.000-05:00

The other day my son asked me how I got to be so smart. This followed a series of questions on a rather bizarre topic that I just happened to have done research on that same day. But, when he asked me how I got to be so smart, I told him the truth, the real reason.

"That's what happens when you spend most of your childhood in your room with books as your only friends" I said.

He knows my childhood was less than pleasant, but I don't think he ever connected my love of books with the loneliness and pain of my childhood. I know I had made the connection before, but I never actually realized until that moment how vital of a coping skill my love of reading was or how often I use it.

Every now and then I have panic attacks. Believe it or not, my love of reading even helps me through them. Panic attacks are pretty common for me when I do things like stand in line. If I'm in a very crowded area, they're almost guaranteed. Reading is the perfect solution for me and can even stave off a panic attack before it happens. I simply grab a magazine off the rack in the store and peruse it while I wait in line. This simple technique has helped me countless times. It distracts me from the fact that I'm anxiously waiting to get out of there and that I'm surrounded by a lot of other people whose anxiety is contagious.

There are tons of ways to avoid panic attacks. Reading is just one of them that works for me. And really, you'd be surprised by how many people suffer from panic attacks. For instance, fellow writer Rodney Southern not only has dealt with panic attacks, but made it a point to help others who suffer from them. He put together a collection of techniques that he used to avoid and conquer his panic attacks.

If you'd like a good read and some great tips on how you can get over your high points of anxiety, you'd do well to look into Rodney's book, How to Fight Panic Attacks and Win. Use the tools that Rodney shows you to avoid your own panic attacks. If you're wondering how much I make if you buy a book, I'll tell you right now that not only do I not make a dime, but I can even get you a 50% discount off the book. So, if you think you can't afford it, think again. You can't afford not to buy it!

If you're interested in purchasing Rodney's book with a 50% discount, simply send me an email at kathy@kathyfoust.com. I'm likely to respond within minutes!

Book Series Review: Vampire Huntress Series by L.A. Banks

2011-01-15T15:27:00.002-06:00

Before I review this series, I have to confess that my neighbor introduced me to them as a result of some lengthy conversations about spirituality. She and I discuss positive energy a lot. We talk about the concepts of light and dark and so forth. Of course, I had no idea why she thought I would like these books since I had never expressed an interest in vampires. Once I read the books, I understood. These books aren't about vampires. They're not even really about vampire hunting. What they are really about is the concept of light and dark.

L.A. Banks has created a master collection that literally leaves the reader feeling as if they have just taken a "white bath". Her characters are vibrant and sexy, yet suffer from the same flaws of humanity that the rest of us do.

You won't find codependent teenagers that sparkle in the sunlight in this series. Nor is it a collection of historical romances. What you will find is yourself, questioning everything you ever knew about the black and white lines that define right and wrong.

L.A. Banks doesn't just tell a great story, she motivates her characters to become acutely aware of their senses even as her stories bring the reader in touch with their own. It's impossible for the reader to not be able to relate to at least one character and to feel compelled to search their own concept of good and evil and how they are sometimes intertwined.

Whether you read just one book or the entire series, you'll be able to imagine the characters come to life as you feel the hot breath of a leathery wingspan or the heat of passion that makes one want to "drop fang". If this series isn't made into an epic movie series soon, I'll have to wonder if Hollywood has given up on the idea of blockbuster profits!

In fact, I was so impressed with this series that I had to interview the author herself. Look for the interview with L.A. Banks to be published here in the near future so you can get a glimpse of the woman who so masterfully developed such intricate characters in the Vampire Huntress series and created some new ones in her latest book, Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books).

Buy a Book, Help a Writer

2011-01-02T11:16:00.003-06:00

I happen to be privileged enough to have some very talented writer colleagues that I'm proud to call my friends. I have to admit that I even have a special amount of respect for my friends who write fiction because it's something that I haven't quite had the guts to tackle. It's the great unknown to me.
Today I wanted to share some of the fruits of labor from some of those friends. It's my version of showing pride in them and promoting their efforts. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Never before have I worked with such a creative and caring group of people-which brings me to the other reason for this post.

Writer Rissa Watkins has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia. Rissa happens to be one of those people with such a warped sense of humor that she can make you laugh 'til you cry even on the worst of days. If you know her then you know how much she loves her family and what a blessing it is to have her as your friend. If you don't know her, then just think of that friend you have who you can call up in the middle of the night because you know that she can put a smile on your face.

Since we writers tend to band together during times of need, when you purchase any of the books below, you will be helping out Rissa Watkins. Twin Trinity is giving a portion of the proceeds from their sales to help Rissa cover medical costs. If you buy through the links here, I'll get a referral fee which will be donated to Rissa. Other authors featured here are donating as they can, so when you buy one of their books you'll be indirectly helping them to help Rissa. That means you get some great reading material and get to help someone out at the same time. What could be better?

Dark Christmas: A collection of tales by the Circle 8 Writers group including Angle Sharum, Theresa Lashmann, Lucinda Gunnin, Robert L. Arend, Amy Browne, Laurie Darroch-Meekis, Stephen Thor Gunnin and Tamara L. Waters. These authors offer a glimpse into the dark side of Christmas. You won't be reading this one to your children on Christmas Eve! Creatures of the night and revenge come together for a whole new perspective on Christmas.

Consequences: A Short Story Anthology: Another collection from the Circle 8 Writers group, these tales feature characters that attempt to control their own fate and the consequences that follow.

Elements of Time: Published by Twin Trinity, this collection of 15 short stories and 10 poems offers a variety of views on the past, present and future. This is perfect reading for those that get gripped by a tale and don't have the time to get through an entire book before they end the suspense!

Elements of the Soul: Another Accentuate Writers anthology published by Twin Trinity Media, this collection of tales and poems gives the reader a glimpse into the elements of life that can change a soul. Take a ride on the roller coaster of love or to the depths of the seventh circle of hell with stories that unabashedly show elements of humanity that we don't always talk about in polite society.

How to Create a Writing Schedule

2010-12-04T17:04:00.000-06:00

A professional freelance writer has to have a schedule of some sort. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be on a certain task by a certain time of the day because most writers simply don't function that way. There actually has to be some sort of motivation to write and when it comes, nothing else matters. But, deadlines don't work that way, as most professional freelance writers know and as all potential freelance writers will learn.

You have to create your schedule in a way that works for you. Hopefully, it works for everyone else in your house as well, but the main concern is that it works for you. Create a writing schedule that's based on your own details of life and what you hope to achieve.

For me, that means working based on deadlines. Sometimes it even means breaking up tasks into parts that I can deal with and often rearranging those parts so that they correspond with my abilities. For instance, some days I'm not feeling creative at all and I can't get out a great article no matter how hard I try. These are the days when I set up my schedule and take my tasks as far as I can get them. My method for creating and working within a writing schedule is listed below.

Organize deadlines. Sometimes I work best under pressure. So, every week I make sure to post my deadlines on my calender. This tells me what I have to accomplish each day and also allows me the ability to check over scheduled tasks before adding new ones. I write the site, article titles and the actual due date on the calender. So, if I have something due Monday, I will write it on Monday, but I will also write it on Sunday and other "free" days with the actual due date included. I mark them off as I go. If that means I get to mark something off of the Monday slot because I got it done early, I do that and it only serves to make me feel as if I've accomplished something before I've even started the day.

Trade on your mood. If I'm not in the mood to actually write, that's okay. Instead of writing full length items, I simply create the documents in a site specified folder so that part of it is already done and when I open that folder, I'm ready to go. I also sometimes do my intros on those articles so that I have some progress even if I haven't written the entire article. Reading those intros later also helps to keep me focused on the actual article. If I absolutely can't write anything, it's time to do some networking. This is a time to share my work and read other writers' works so that I can build a good network and knowledge base.

Don't take on what you don't have an interest in. From time to time I have to write to pay the bills instead of writing for the pleasure. It happens to the best of it and when it happens, I simply try to stay in my area of interest so that it isn't completely depressing. I have learned not to take on topics that I cannot complete or have no interest in because it serves my writing career poorly. The last thing I want to do is develop a reputation for not completing tasks.

Prepare for life. Sometimes no matter how well I schedule things, life happens. I may have to take time out to work on my truck or deal with an illness. If I cannot complete my scheduled tasks, I try to give my clients as much notice as I can so that they don't get in a bind themselves. I also try to work ahead as much as I can just to prepare for these incidents.

Professional freelance writing is a challenge to every sense a person has. You have to be creative, timely and even if you aren't organized at all, you have to be able to meet deadlines that aren't always easy to meet. Of course, it can be a lot of fun and the pleasure of getting a "thanks" from a reader who needed the knowledge that you shared cannot be outweighed. Don't forget to schedule in something fun so that you have something to look forward to after you meet all your goals!

Book Review: Walk in My Soul

2010-12-01T04:07:00.000-06:00

I've had the pleasure of reading Walk in My Soul by Lucia St.Clair Robson several times now. It's one of those books you find a new pleasure in every time you read it. This masterpiece of historical fiction lends details and emotions to the life of the legendary Sam Houston and his Cherokee wife, known as Tiana.

This isn't exactly a historical romance, though there are certainly romantic elements woven through out the book. It's more of a detailed documentation of the lives of the Cherokees before and during the infamous Trail of Tears.

Lucia St.Clair Robson gives us a glimpse into the childhood of the one who would become Beloved Woman to her people as well as the glory and pains of the one we know as the father of Texas. With excellent character development and a plot that grips the reader to the core, Lucia St.Clair Robson has brought not only her characters to life, but has given us invaluable details so that we may better understand the times they lived in.

Set in times when land seem to hold more value than human life, the struggles of a nation who seemed to live as one with nature are pitted against those who would destroy the very land they hungered for. This isn't just an account of two people's lives. This is a wealth of insight into an entire matriarchal society that struggled to hold onto its heritage even as that heritage was systematically being disassembled.

Why I Write for the Yahoo! Contributor Network

2010-11-15T11:12:00.000-06:00

The Yahoo! Contributor Network, formerly known as Associated Content, has provided me and many more professional freelance writers with the ability to post articles based on our own interests. It's a great place for new as well as seasoned writers to post on a variety of topics.

I've written for a fair share of content sites and while they all have their own benefits as well as downfalls, there is one fact that sets the Yahoo! Contributor Network apart from the others. They are one of the few sites that actually listen to their writers.

Personally, I loved AC from the moment they published my very first piece of online writing. It felt great to just be given that chance. As my skills developed, I became more appreciative of the community aspect of AC. It wasn't just a place to put words on the Internet, but a place where I could develop skills and meet fellow writers who were just as helpful to me as they were to everyone else.

Today, Associated Content is a part of the Yahoo! presence on the Internet. For some of us contributors, that transition has been a somewhat shaky experience. Changes at places like Mahalo have made us leery of what may be around the corner when it comes to content sites. I have to hand it to AC err..the Yahoo! Contributor Network. They may not give us writers everything we want when we want it, but they do give us some semblance of hope that writing for content sites isn't the absolute worst thing we could be doing for a professional freelance writing career.

Book Review: House Rules

2010-11-04T08:08:00.000-05:00

by Kathy Foust
House Rules by Jodi Picoult is one of those books that grips the reader in such a way as to make it impossible to put down once the cover has been opened. Jodi Picoult does an excellent job of providing details and insight into the minds and actions of her characters so that the reader ends up with a sense of affinity for each and every one of them.

The plot of the story itself is written using the voice of each character. As the story unfolds, the reader is entranced by the variety of perspectives that are offered. This makes for a great method of story telling with a story so heart wrenching that putting the book down before finishing it feels almost like abandoning an old friend.

Autism takes center stage and makes for a unique persepctive as each individual deals with the issue of Asperger's in their own way. Not only is the reader introduced to the details of the family dyamics of dealing with Asperger's, but they are introduced to a different kind of concept of truth and rule following right up until the very end when the basic 'who done it' question is answered.

For anyone with a penchant for mystery, this novel will take them through unexpected turns and twists. For those that have a personal interest in autism and Asperger's in general, this novel provides incredible insight into the inner workings of the autistic mind.

In the end, hats off to Jodi Picoult, an author who puts her heart and soul into her characters and story line. Whether you love a good mystery, want characters that you can personally relate to or are just interested in the facets of autism through the eyes of those closest to it, this book makes for a wonderful read. Truly, this book is a masterpiece, story telling through character development at its best!