Resources For Authors and Writers

3 Ways to Find Your Niche as a Freelance Writer

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:54:00 +0000

3 Ways to Find Your Niche as a Freelance Writer
by: Nick Usborne

To make a six-figure income as a freelance writer, to need to be an expert. You need your name to jump to people's lips when a particular job or challenge comes up.

"Direct mail for software? You should get in touch with Bob. That's what he does." Insert your own name and specialty where appropriate.

You can't get that kind of awareness or referral if you're someone who just writes about anything in any medium. Nobody is going to believe that you are a trusted expert in absolutely everything.

So how do you determine a viable 'niche'? You have three choices...

1. Niche by industry...

That is to say, work within a particular industry. For years I worked with pharmaceutical clients. All my clients were drug companies. I wrote direct mail, brochures, sales aids, video scripts. I wrote anything, so long as it was about pharmaceuticals. That was my niche. And my clients knew that I was knowledgeable in that area. So they came to me.

2. Niche by medium...

In this scenario, you make a particular medium your specialty. After my years with the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to specialize as a direct mail copywriter. And for that period, about 15 years, I ONLY write direct mail and associated media...like inserts, fliers, postcards etc. I was a direct response specialist. And I wrote for all kinds of different industries - financial, cable TV, magazine publishers and more.

My specialty, my niche, was as a direct response copywriter. Other writers have built their careers around writing annual reports, radio scripts, white papers etc.

3. 'Double-Niche'

When you double-niche you are making a specialty of serving a single industry through a single medium. For instance, writing direct response for the financial industry. And ONLY writing direct response for the financial industry.

In conclusion...

As I said at the beginning, you can't be an expert at everything...not within every industry, not with every medium. So you need to take some steps to find your niche.

How do you choose? First, know yourself. Know what you are good at. Know what you like.

Also, be smart. Create your niche where the money is. Find your niche where there is a strong market.

And be smart about the size of your niche. Don't go so narrow that you're forever starved of work. Don't go so broad that people view you as a Jack or Jill of all trades, a generalist.

About The Author

Nick Usborne is a freelance writer, author, speaker and advocate of good writing. For more articles and resources on making money as a freelance writer, visit his site, http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com

Create Your Own Products

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Create Your Own Products

If you have a popular blog, especially one that deals with topics that are important to others, you can earn money by selling your own products from your blog. People are always willing to buy merchandise that makes a statement, or support a cause they believe in. If your blog is popular you should consider making merchandise to sell on your blog.

You do not have to create merchandise that is branded to your blog, you can sell things that are relevant to your blogs topic and that relate to the content of your entries. Just make sure that your audience will be interested in the merchandise you create or you may find that you make few sales.

For example, if you blog about gaming, creating merchandise that relates to games and software will probably sell on your blog. You can also create merchandise that contains your blogs logo or other graphics, and get some free advertising every time a reader wears it as well.

Creating merchandise to sell on your blog is not as hard as it sounds. There are a few websites out there that allow you to create t-Shirts, mouse pads, mugs, hats, and other things that you can personalize any way you wish and sell for a profit.

Most websites handle orders, payments, and shipping, leaving you to do nothing but design your merchandise and profit. Here are some websites that you should consider if you want to create merchandise to sell on your blog:

Cafepress – This is a very popular website and allows you to create a variety of merchandise to sell on your blog, or anywhere else for that matter.

Basic membership is free and even includes a simple online store hosted on Cafepress. The merchandise you create has a base price and you mark it up to the price you wish and keep the profit. They handle orders, payments, and shipping.

Printfection – Printfection is relatively new and is similar to Cafepress. They have less merchandise you can create, limited mostly to different styles of shirts.

On the other hand, they offer a free online store that is comparable to the one you have to pay for on Cafepress. They also print with high quality and offer many color choices.

Zazzle – Another print on demand company, although they are more geared toward individuals rather than people trying to sell their products online.

The payment structure is different form Cafepress and Printfection where you set your markup. At Zazzle, you earn a fixed percentage. Prices are slightly higher at Zazzle than at Cafépress and Printfection as well.

Each of these websites allows you to create merchandise that you can sell on your blog, either with your blog logo, slogan, or something related to your blog’s topic.

Create a Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Create a Newsletter

If you have a successful blog with a large readership, you can consider branching out with a newsletter or email campaign to make some extra cash. Creating this type of campaign will require extra work, but if done correctly can ultimately leads to more profit.

Chances are if you have dedicated readers who enjoy your blogs, you can profit from giving them an interesting opt in newsletter or email campaign. This list can then be used for other marketing promotions or you can monetize your newsletter.

If your blogs offer something of value to your readers, chances are they will expect your newsletter or email campaign to do the same. This is a good thing because you will attract subscribers, but if you don’t deliver you will find that many of your readers end up unsubscribing. Add value to your email correspondences in the same way you make your blogs interesting to retain and attract subscribers.

Make sure you give readers something of value in these emails and give them a reason to read them so that your advertising methods have the greatest chances of being successful. If you promise little known tips or hard to find information, you better deliver or readers will unsubscribe.

A good way to drive subscriptions is to include extra information in your newsletter or to conclude a blog entry in an email for subscribers only. Readers will be eager to get the whole story and will be more likely to subscribe to your newsletter if you give them a reason. Free incentives are also a good way to get subscribers, it doesn’t have to be something fancy, a free e-book or list of tips is all you need.

Monetizing a newsletter or email campaign is similar to monetizing your blog. While you cannot use Adsense and other similar advertising methods, you can directly sell ad space, and depending on the size of your subscriber list you can charge a hefty sum.

You can also use affiliate marketing in your newsletter, just be sure to have the bulk of your newsletter contains relevant content and not just ads or else your readership will fall. Make sure your affiliate marketing is related to the content of your newsletter or email and that your audience will be interested in what you are promoting.

You can also sell your own merchandise through your newsletter. If you have created merchandise with your blog logo or related slogans, adding a link in your news letter asking readers to check out your store or merchandise won’t hurt, just make sure it is paired with good content.

If you build up a large subscriber base, you can also use it to send other email campaigns and promotions for your merchandise, book, or affiliate products. A word of caution, however, no one likes unsolicited emails so you should be sure that you have permission to send additional emails and that they offer something of value and are not just viewed as annoyances.

Join a Blogging Network

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Join a Blogging Network

If you are just starting a blog, you should consider blogging on an established network. Most of the time, joining a network is free or low cost and can help greatly in driving traffic to your blog and with setting up advertising opportunities.

There are many blogging networks, some are more popular than others and depending on what your needs are, some may be better suited for you. Some of the most popular blogging networks are:

Weblogs, Inc – Weblogs is one of the most popular blogging networks. Sign up is free although you do have to apply for an account by submitting a few sample entries to make sure they are suitable for the site.

Blogger – Blogger is easy to use and free, and allows you to create your blog in a few easy steps. You can customize the look of your blog easily from the Blogger website and gain traffic from being a part of the Blogger network.

451 Press – Although they are still in Beta, 451 Press accepts bloggers who want to gain exposure and write about their passions. You can make money right from the site with your blog and there are plenty of blogging categories to choose from.

Joining a Blogging Network may be the best thing for you, especially if you are just starting out with your blog. You should consider all the benefits of joining a blogging network, with the drawbacks before starting your blog.

If you already have a blog, but it is not receiving much traffic, you can consider switching to a blogging network where your blog will receive more attention. If you are just starting out, a blogging network will help you to gain traffic but it may limit you in the long run if you want to make changes to your blog or if your blog becomes wildly popular.

If you already have a successful blog, then joining a blogging networks is probably not a good idea for you. You will be limited by the bandwidth your blog can receive and may not be able to carry over your existing design elements.

Review Products

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Review Products

Some bloggers do not participate in paid reviews and product inclusion because it can be misleading if you do not state that you are being paid for your testimonial or recommendation. If you feel as though reviewing products or recommending them to your readers without disclosing that you are being paid is dishonest, then the practice is not for you.

On the other hand, if you think the products you review are worthwhile and are worthy of mention in your blog, what better way to make money then sharing these products with your readers.

There are a few different websites that will connect you with companies that will pay you to include their product or service in your blog. The pay ranges per assignment and you may be required to write a few sentences about a specific product or a few paragraphs, or even a whole blog entry.

Generally your blog has to receive a good deal of traffic to get accepted by these websites, and depending on how much work you do for them payment can be slight or substantial. If you want to try your hand at reviewing products for payment, check out these sites:

Creamaid – While this site is not solely dedicated to reviewing products, many of their opportunities are for posting your opinion in your blog for payment.

Different “conversations” are started on the site and you pick the ones that look interesting to you. Some require you to review a product or website in your blog and other require you to post comments elsewhere; of course you can always include a link to your blog which will bring it more traffic.

Reviewme – This site is dedicated to connecting bloggers with companies who want reviews written. You submit your blog and if it is accepted, companies will request that you write a review for them depending on the content of your blog.

Reviewme states that you get paid between $20 and $200 per review. Your blog does have to have a minimum number of readers to qualify but you can always resubmit if it does not meet the criteria the first time.

Pay Per Post – Pay Per Post is similar to Reviewme. You submit your blog for approval and when it is approved you can start reviewing products and websites in your blog for cash.

Pay Per Post has a market place where you can pick which opportunities you want to write about and payment varies according to the assignment you choose.

Sponsored Reviews – This site lets you submit your blog and then pick from a listing of review opportunities or lets companies contact you directly and request a review. Payment varies by assignment.

Smorty – Smorty is all about providing your opinion in your blog about an available advertiser’s campaign. You may not be reviewing a product per say, but you will be giving your opinion. Your blog has to be indexed by Google, older than three months, and have at least two new posts per week.

Posting your opinion or review for advertisers is a good way to make cash from your blog. You should remember, however, that like affiliate marketing blatant attempts to advertise to readers does not usually work as well as naturally including a review or opinion in your blog.

Affiliate Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:45:00 +0000

Affiliate Marketing

If you do not want to run ads on your blog, or you are looking for an additional way to monetize your blog, affiliate marketing is a good way to make money provided you have plenty of readers to market to.

Affiliate marketing does not have to be blatant “hey buy this” advertising, rather bloggers can subtly slip in a review or recommendation for a product and include their affiliate link in their blog.

If you can find an affiliate product that is relevant to the topic of your blog and you do a good job of slipping it in, you can stand to make some tidy profits. Affiliate marketing generally pays more per sale than you would make per click with other forms of advertising, but you have to have visitors that both click on your affiliate link and purchase the product.

The best way to make sure readers purchase the affiliate products you market is to pick products your audience will be interested in and that are relevant to your blog. If you blog about outdoor living, chances are no one will respond to your affiliate marketing attempts at selling PSP downloads.

Make sure the product you are trying sell will appeal to your readers and that you can do a good job of including it in your blog without seeming to preachy or desperate. Keep your marketing attempts natural and make sure they fit in with the flow of your blog.

There are plenty of places to go to find affiliate marketing opportunities. Many websites such as Amazon and eBay have affiliate programs. Your favorite website or company may even have an affiliate program and it can’t hurt to look, especially if they are related to your blog.

You can also find affiliate marketing opportunities on websites that specialize in connecting companies with publishers. The good thing about using one of these websites is that you have a huge list of products to choose form and the website will manage your payments and track your selling statistics. Here is a list of websites you can use to find affiliate marketing opportunities.

Clickbank – The most popular affiliate marketing website, Clickbank offers bloggers a dizzying array of products to market as an affiliate. All of their products are digital products, such as e-books and reports.

You can find things on virtually every product, arranged by category. So no matter what you blog about, chances are that you can find an affiliate product on Clickbank. Payouts range from a few dollars per sale to fifty dollars or more.

Commission Junction – This affiliate website operates in much the same way as Clickbank. Companies add their products to the Commission Junction marketplace and publishers add links to these products in their blogs. Commission junction offers a wider variety of products, however, some require visitors to buy a product for you to get paid and others require visitors to sign up for newsletters or fill out a form.

Link Share – Another affiliate website that connects affiliates with products to market. You can pick from a wide variety of products to market on your blog and like Commission Junction, you do not always have to sell something in order to get paid. Sometimes the required action is to get visitors to sign up for a newsletter or fill out a form in order to get paid.

Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make money from your blog. Remember to keep your marketing attempts natural and try not to “sell,” rather rate or inform. Most affiliate websites that connect you with products to market will keep track of your earnings and statistics which makes them very convenient.

Other Advertising Options

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Other Advertising Options

There are plenty of other advertising options if you do not want to go with Adsense. A search for “Adsense alternatives” will net you a long list of other advertising opportunities.

Some work in much the same way as Adsense, others provide inline ads or banners. You should try a few different advertising programs to see which one works the best for your blog.

Some advertising opportunities are similar to Adsense and display text ads; others display contextual ads, the double underline words in the body of your text, and others work with graphic ads. Here is a list of other advertising sources for your blog, any of which may be the perfect advertising solution for you.

Clicksor – This advertising solution serves contextual ads within the body of your blog. These ads are simply words that are underlined twice and when clicked, send users to the sponsor’s website.

TargetPoint – Cost per click ads that display ads relevant to your content. They claim to pay out 50% of click revenue and offer many customizable features.

Adbrite – They have a few different advertising options including text ads, banner ads, inline ads, and full page ads.

Chitika – This advertising option is designed specifically for blogs and there are different advertising programs to choose form including text ads, inline ads, and graphic ads. Most of them operate on a cost per click basis.

Veoda – They also have different ad options including text, graphical, flash and inline ads. The good thing about Veoda is that they do not require a minimum number of visitors to sign up and do not require tax information which is good for small blogs that are just starting out.

Kontera – This is another inline advertising source where ads are placed as highlighted words that display a message when they are hovered over.

Text Link Ads – This site allows purchasers to buy text ads on blogs for a fixed monthly fee. The more popular your blog is, the more your ads will cost and the more money you will make.

Affiliate Sensor – This advertising solution combines the best of text ads with affiliate marketing. You earn revenue through Clickbank, an affiliate marketing program, without having to market directly in your blog. Text ads are placed, matched to your content, on your blog that link to Clickbank products.

AllFeeds – You can display a variety of ads through AllFeeds, from contextual ads, popaway ads, and text links. You can also display news and whether right form your blog with this service.

Bidvertiser – You only display ads from the highest bidder with this advertising soloution and you can block ads that you do not want to appear on your site. The payout level is set relatively low at just $10.

As you can see, there are plenty of other advertising solutions for your blog, and there are plenty more out there besides the ones mentioned here. You can always sell ad space directly, to companies or businesses that are related to your blog topic.

There are a few things you should remember before placing ads on your blog, however. Unobtrusive ads will seldom drive traffic away, but too many tacky ads will cause visitors to leave. You want to find a good balance where you can earn income but not chase off visitors. Make sure your ads are relevant and not annoying. Make sure that they do not take up too much space or become the focal point of your blog.

Creating a Popular Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:11:00 +0000

Creating a Popular Blog

If you want to make money through blogging, creating a popular blog is the key to success. If your blog receives very little traffic, you will not have much success monetizing it. No matter which method you use to make money from your blog, you will find the most success if you have a large readership. Because of this, making your blog popular and growing readership should be one of your primary concerns.

There are many ways to make your blog more popular. The first thing you should consider is who your audience is and who you are writing for. You should always write about something that interests you, and that will interest others. You may think that your new kitten is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but there are probably not very many other people who want to read a blog about it. It is best to find a niche audience that is large enough to support a wide readership but not to vague.

One of the great things about blogging is that you do not have to be a professional writer to have a popular blog. You do have to obey common grammatical rules and at least be able to put together coherent sentences, but you do not have to be a highly skilled writer.

Blog readers are looking for interesting, relevant topics to read, not the next work of Shakespeare. Make sure what you write is interesting, edgy, or even controversial. Popular blogs are never boring and add value to reader’s lives either through information or entertainment. Make sure your blog adds something of value to your reader’s life otherwise you will not develop a large fan base.

Making your blog popular is a lot like driving traffic to a website. You can use many of the same techniques to drive traffic to your blog. Finding places to link back to your blog is a good way to drive traffic. Social sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and You tube provide lots of opportunities for this. You can also use social book marking sites such as Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg to promote your blog. Blogging on a popular blog site such as Wordpress and Blogger are also good ways to make your blog more popular as these blogging sites help to bring in traffic for your blog.

Whether you blog on a blogging network or you have an independently hosted blog, you need to make sure your blog is designed well. It is true that content is king and if a blog has great content is may receive lots of traffic even though it is ugly, having a well designed blog that is not ugly or annoying will help to drive repeat traffic. You want your blog to look unique, but not too unique. Keep with internet formalities such as blue links and use large font for headings.

You should break your post up into small paragraphs each with a headline if possible as internet readers tend to scan the screen looking for relevant information rather than reading everything word for word. Make sure your colors do not contrast too harshly and that the text is easy to read. Using good design will make your blog aesthetically pleasing and make readers more likely to come back and remain on your page.

No matter where your blog is hosted, you should try to get it indexed by all the major search engines. Some forms of blog monetization require that your blog be indexed by search engines before they will allow you to participate in your program. The higher ranked your blog is, the more visitors you will receive and the more popular your blog will become.

All forms of monetization for your blog require readers to work successfully. Before you try to implement your monetization strategies, make sure your blog has enough readers to make your efforts work. If there is no one to click your ads, visit your affiliate sites, or read your reviews, you do not stand much of a chance of making money.

Cool Blog for writers

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:42:00 +0000

http://ow.ly/4rwf

I found this through twitter.

I checked it out and it had some cool stuff.

Mostly about writing.

Guidelines For Reviewing Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:56:00 +0000

Guidelines For Reviewing Writing
by: The StoryMaster

Writing detailed reviews is time well spent.

Reviewing itself is a writing exercise. At Writing.Com, creating detailed feedback for a fellow writer is one of the best tools available for improving your own writing. That said, if you're going to spend the time to do it, helping the author is important. There is a better chance for the ideas in a review to get through to an author if they are well presented.

Key Characteristics For Reviews

* Reviews should be honest. Helping writers improve their craft should be the mission of any reviewer. Honest opinions are what help writers improve. Giving false feedback doesn't help anyone and can lead an author down a long road to bitter disappointment.

* Reviews should be encouraging. Everyone at every level should be encouraged to continue writing! Encouraging reviews are more likely to be used by an author which means the time creating the review was well spent. Whether the author decides to use the reviewer's honest suggestions or not, the review should be motivating and encourage the author to keep writing.

* Reviews should be respectful. Regardless of an author's level of skill or talent, a reviewer should always respect that the author is an individual person. A reviewer flaunting that they are better than the author they're reviewing is not respectful and is counter productive.

* Reviews should be well rounded. While honesty is very important, a review that points out only flaws without any mention of an item's positive points is not nearly as helpful to an author as a well rounded review with both positive and negative remarks. Don't forget, the same goes for reviews that only point out positives! Even the greatest pieces of writing have room for suggestions and opinions.

* The rating should reflect the review. If you're sending a review full of corrections, it's important to consider that with your star rating selection. 5.0's shouldn't need any corrections. On the other extreme, a 1.0 should have endless errors and you couldn't possibly list them all. Offering to return and rerate the item after a round of updates makes it more likely your suggestions will be considered.

* Reviews should make good use of color, bold and italics. When reviewing, presentation is very important! Color can be used to make corrections stand out or quote small portions of the work. Emoticons can highlight important points in the review and can be creatively used to make the review feel more friendly.

The Content Of A Review

Keeping in mind the six (6) points highlighted above, a review should contain your opinion. While grammatical, typographical and other errors can be included within a review, don't forget to tell the author how the piece made you feel. Give them your thoughts about the inside of their writing, not just the outside.

Some example questions you may ask yourself about the piece to help you get your opinion across are as follows: Did the plot interest you? Were the characters believable? Did the story fit the time, place and other setting characteristics? Is there anything you would change within the story?

Incorporating these thoughts within your reviews will expand your own analytical skills allowing you to better analyze your own writing. Whether the author agrees with any of your suggestions or ideas is not relevant. You have given them another perspective on their work they would not have otherwise had. They may hear the same thoughts from a number of different people which may give them a better understanding of their readers as a whole.

Use "copied and pasted" portions of the item you are reviewing as little as possible. Posting sections of an item within your review leads to "review bloating" and takes away from the impact your comments and suggestions will have on the author.

Your Own Review Format

Developing your own format for reviewing can be a great asset. Determine what aspects of writings you like to focus on most, create a short outline to follow and start reviewing. Following this process will help keep your reviews honest and consistent. As your experience grows, you'll find ways to improve your format and your skills.

Get into the good habit of using a custom tag-line of encouragement within your reviews. Including a "Keep Writing!" or something unique and individual within your reviews goes a long way to motivating an author. We know you mean it, so don't forget to say it!

Make Reviewing a Daily Creative Writing Exercise

Remember, reviewing grows your own writing skills unlike any other writing tool. Critically analyzing and reviewing others' writings makes a writer stop and think about what works and what doesn't. Putting that into words and communicating that to another writer, ultimately helps the reviewer to improve his or her own writing skills, as well. So it's about helping others, but it's a valuable way to help ourselves!

Have Fun & Happy Reviewing!

About The Author

The StoryMaster is WebMaster @ Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests. Whether you're a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you!

Writing Help for College Students

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:34:00 +0000

Writing Help for College Students
by: Tamara Owen

Your literature professor has asked you to write a 7-page essay comparing Medieval and Renaissance poetry; your economics professor wants 15 pages on how globalization is affecting the economy in three different countries; and your mathematics professor has forgotten this is a mathematics class, and wants 5 pages on the quadratic formula. And you have been staring at the computer screen for over an hour wondering how on earth you are going to do all of this in the next four days.

This is an all-too-familiar scene to many students. Many students learn of these large assignments at the beginning of the semester when they receive their class syllabi, and immediately forget about them because November seems like years away. Other students are busy with extracurricular sports, trying to adjust to being away from home for the first time, and other events and issues. Still other students are quite frankly terrified of the writing process, believing the blank page to be worse than their worst nightmare, and so these assignments get shoved aside to remain untouched until the last minute.

It is an interesting fact of college life that all students, regardless of major or discipline, are asked to write about their subject matter -- often quite extensively. While it is certainly important that all individuals be literate, and know how to read and write in a variety of capacities, styles, and genres, it is also the case that not everyone has to be a professional academic writer (www.korepetycje.com/join_us.html). Engineers need to know how to design bridges or better towel racks; pilots need to be able to take off and land safely and smoothly; and physicians need to be able to diagnose illnesses and injuries and to prescribe the correct medical interventions. None of these people needs to know how to write a term paper.

What, then, are the options for the poor student struggling in the first paragraph? What will happen to the student who is a prodigy on the piano but is facing failure because she cannot write 10 pages on Beethoven? What will happen to the next Frank Lloyd Wright who is stuck in his psychology seminar, unable to write a series of vignettes portraying various mental illnesses?

There are a few options. Most college campuses have writing labs, where many students are helped with researching and writing their papers. Many students form study groups, where they help each other through the tough assignments. Some students write their custom essays and term papers (see: http://www.korepetycje.com/indexam.html) and then pay an editor to polish them. Still others turn to professional writing services for assistance with their assignments. This is where services such as CustomPapers.com come in. We have a large staff of professional writers who specialize in writing papers about a wide variety of disciplines ranging from economics to ecology, marketing to Mozart, Hemingway to heart murmurs. We can also assist students with related projects, such as PowerPoint Presentations. In the many years of our existence, we have found tremendous success helping students with assignments of all sizes, all levels of difficulty, and all subjects.

Regardless of what type of help you choose, the important thing is that you get through college as quickly and effectively as possible. College is a step leading up to the rest of your life -- don't let a term paper be the skateboard in your path.

You Could Be An Author!

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:54:00 +0000

You Could Be An Author!
by: Joaquin de la Sierra

I started writing when I was 16 years old. To this day I love writing; I love the fact that we can translate words into images. It is incredible when I think about it. Everyone should write, writing is a way to express your feelings, what you want, what you are.

There is no excuse. With word processors, which are a godsend by the way, you can just start writing and you don’t have to worry about spelling mistakes, having to retype anything, and many other things. If you are reading this is probably because you want to write, but for some reason you haven’t done so.

If you think that writing will only take time away from you, you are wrong. Writing improves you in every way you can imagine. So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of Microsoft Word, and start writing!

Before you do that, there is something you must ask yourself. Would you write even if nobody read it? If you answered yes to that question, you can be a great author. It is true that writing doesn’t become real until you have an audience, but remember that at first no one will want to read what you have to say. Perseverance is the key. If you want to write well, you have to practice, practice, and practice.

For your writing to be successful, you also need to read a lot. Reading is great. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. If you are deciding whether you want to be an author or not, keep reading.

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about authors such as Stephen King and Dan Brown. You probably think that they are the only authors that really make $$$, well that’s simply not true. When you go to a bookstore, you see thousands of books. That means that there must be at least a few thousand successful authors out there. That’s without counting e-books, online articles, newspapers, etc. And you can be part of that! The internet is growing like never before, people from all over the world are starting to read whatever you write. It’s just an incredible opportunity.

So what do you think now? Writing is not only good for making money. Writing is also good for advertising purposes. A teacher of mine once told me “There are only two useful skills in life; to read and to write.” That’s one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard.

You are probably thinking that if you want to write, then you will have to put aside other activities. That’s completely wrong. This day I write, I work, I have a beautiful wife, I study and I’m as happy as anyone can be. You tell me if you can’t do anything other than writing. I consider writing a hobby.

So now you are probably thinking what kind of author you want to be. That’s totally up to you. Remember that you must write about a subject that is familiar to you. Ideas will just flow through your mind if you write about something you like. If you decide that you want to write a book, do so. Perhaps write about something that happened to you, or about something that you thought about at some point in your life. The things you can write about are endless! If you write a good war book, be sure to tell me, because I’m going to buy it.

Remember that success is achieved by 99% of failure. So if you were to fall, remember this and keep writing. Never stop writing. One thing that the world lacks of are good authors, there are so many open positions. If you start now, who knows, in a few years you could be making more money than Bill Gates can count. There are more and more people every day that like to read. Not because of the TV, which doesn’t help at all, but because education is greatly increasing all around the world. And since you are reading this you know how to read English and therefore, you can take advantage of this revolution.

So the bottom line is that you should start writing, and keep writing until you think about writing when you are not even writing.

About The Author

I write for a hobby, I worked for a newspaper company in the past, and I consider myself to be good at it. My website is www.truewebsite.com my e-mail is ngi@truewebsite.com.

How Can You Find Freelance Writing Jobs?

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:52:00 +0000

How Can You Find Freelance Writing Jobs?
by: Niall Cinneide

Do you think that there is a big sign that reads, “Freelance Writing Jobs, Apply Within”? There just is not. In fact, you may have a hard time finding writing jobs of any type advertised in any employment magazine or newspaper either. So, how do you find freelance writing jobs? Let us talk about this for a moment and see if we can't find an idea or two that will work for you.

1. Begin at the beginning. Get the education you need to have. Learn what there is to know about the field in which you are looking for job vacancies. Having knowledge itself can open doors. This can help with step two as well.

2. When you do have that knowledge, do not forget to look towards the teachers you got it from for help in finding a niche to work in. They may have more resources than you realize.

3. Create a portfolio. Even if you never have any published work, you can still write, right? Write to fill your portfolio. Then, when a prospective employment opportunity arises, you’ll have something to provide in the way of samples.

4. Look online. Vast amounts of freelance writing jobs are offered there. If the work can be submitted online, why not look worldwide? Try doing a websearch for "freelance writing jobs".

5. Keeping striving to meet the needs of your clients 100%. When you make them happy, they will come back with other jobs for you. And, they will provide you with testimonials and referrals as well.

All of these things can work for you when you allow them to. You need to provide yourself with all the tools you need. Most importantly, this is writing. You must be able to meet your client’s needs and therefore will need to present your talents in the right light each time. When you are looking for freelance writing jobs you’ll find them across the world when you look in the right places.

About The Author

Niall Cinneide

Visit http://www.FreelanceWritingResource.com for more Articles, Resources, News and Advice about Freelance Writing.

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:48:00 +0000

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle
by: Katey Coffing, Ph.D.

Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in shape.

I realized how true that saying is when I took what I called "a well-earned break" after I finished my first novel. The last few days of writing that novel felt as sweet as whipped cream--I was in a writing groove, humming along. I figured I'd take a little hiatus for a few days, then start my second book. No problem.

Those few days stretched into a week. Soon two more weeks wandered by and thumbed their noses at me. I felt guilty every time I passed my PowerBook. Then I began to avoid the computer altogether, a beautifully self-defeating habit.

Finally, twitching with dread after more than a month away, I sat down at the screen and began my next novel. Trying to write after that time away was torture. My neglected writing muscle had become flabby and whiny. It protested my sudden demands and resented being drafted to work.

For many people, the key to productivity is making writing a habit. Consistent writing breeds easier writing. If that's true for you, create a new habit.

Make a commitment to a certain amount of writing every day--a length of time or a number of words or pages to reach before you lift your butt off your chair. Each day when you've reached your goal, do something nice for yourself.

One of my published clients who loves email has chosen to write five pages each weekday before she can log in. She made getting her email a reward for completing her writing goals, and every time she slows down with her writing she remembers how much she wants to read her newsgroups and see her friends' replies. That spurs her to complete her pages, and she feels doubly triumphant when she hears "you've got mail!"

Is email not a good enough carrot for you? Find one that is, then earn it. Setting goals and rewards that make you want to keep writing create a great habit that's win/win.

Write away!

About The Author

Katey Coffing, Ph.D. is a novelist and book coach who helps women delight in writing (and finishing!) their books. Visit her at http://www.Women-Ink.com/.

To receive additional articles and tips for women writers, subscribe to Katey's ezine, The Write Calling, at http://www.Women-Ink.com/the-write-calling.htm.

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:46:00 +0000

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
by: Nick Vernon

Creative Writing Tips –

The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.

Sound familiar?

I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.

Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….

* Our stories aren’t focused
* We lose our way
* Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
* We get stuck
* The story strays from us

And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.

Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.

Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.

If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.

Have you plotted your story before writing it?

About The Author

Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

Where to Find Writing Jobs Online

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:45:00 +0000

Where to Find Writing Jobs Online
by: Abdallah Khamis Abdallah

A freelance writer’s best resource of finding jobs online are Job boards or sites. While some boards are geared specifically to the freelancer, many others also list other type of jobs.

Some job boards allow freelancers to register their profiles and credentials for prospective employers to peruse, others allow resumes and classified ads to be posted. Other sites such as www.elance.com enable employers to post jobs and freelancers to bid fees for the jobs. The site earns a place for any jobs awarded. There are other sites similar to www.elance.com such as www.contractedwork.com.

There are many writing job boards online and it is not that difficult to discover them. Some Jobs boards provide links to other job sites and the list could be a bit long.

Searching through the major search engines can also provide an exhaustive list of writing jobs. Use key words such as:

* Freelance writing Jobs boards
* Writers Wanted
* Writing Jobs
* Copywriting Jobs
* Technical writing Jobs
* Submission guidelines.

To make your task of searching for writing jobs online, we have provided you with the following list of sites. We hope you will find what you want.

* http://www.emoonlighter.com
* http://www.elance.com
* http://www.burryman.com/freelance .html
* http://www.recruitmedia.co.uk/jobs.asp
* http://scriptlance.com
* http://www.ants.com
* http://www.e-work.com
* http://www.freeagent.com
* http://www.freelancejobs.com
* http://www.freelancers.com
* http://www.careerpath.com
* http://www.monster.com
* http://www.sunoasisjobs.com
* http://www.ajb.dni.us
* http://www.employmentall.com
* http://www.epclassifieds.com
* http://www.freelanceexperts.com
* http://www.copyeditorjobs.com
* http://www.mediabistro.com
* http://www.journalismjobs.com
* http://www.newsjobs.com
* http://www.freelancebbs.com
* http://www.freelancers.com
* http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com
* http://www.writergazette.com/jobboard.shtml
* http://www.freelancejobsearch.com
* http://www.freelancebank.com
* http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com
* http://www.smarterwork.com
* http://www.codelance.com
* http://www.looksurf.com
* http://www.csne.org/jobs/postings.html

If you have checked the above sites a number of times in two or three months and you have not got any job. I suggest you assess your skills and consider taking some relevant writing courses. You may also supplement these with a college degree in a relevant field to enhance your marketability. While doing so do some writing exercises and write articles on a wide variety of topics and post them on to articles submission sites online.

About The Author

Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghostwriter. To learn more about how you and your business can benefit from viral and credibility marketing solutions visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com.
quantumpro@lycos.com

Promoting Your Online Writing Portfolio

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Promoting Your Online Writing Portfolio
by: The StoryMaster

Dear Writing Reader,

One of the most popular questions from Authors on my site, Writing.Com, is: "How do I promote my Online Writing Portfolio outside of Writing.Com?"

Here are my top five tips for increasing the amount of exposure to anyone's online Writing Portfolio:

Tip #1: Add your Online Writing Portfolio URL to your email signatures.

The simplest way to promote your Portfolio's URL is to add it to the email signature of any and all email accounts you have. With just a few minutes of your time, you'll turn any correspondence you have into referral generating machines! Here's a couple quick examples:

Check out my portfolio!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

or

I'm an Author @ Writing.Com!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

Tip #2: Link to your Public Portfolio from your homepage or other sites you control.

Next on the simplicity ladder is linking to your public portfolio from your personal homepage or business website. You can provide your site's visitors with a text link or create a logo for your online portfolio.

Ebay and other auction sites are also great places to get added exposure. The next time you list something for sale, don't forget to add your portfolio URL and you'll have your site's visitor count on the rise in no time!

Tip #3: Directly invite family, friends, teachers, coworkers, publishers, agents, editors and more to visit your online writing portfolio.

Inviting your own family and friends doesn't always have the highest appeal... Afterall, its not necessarily their opinion you want and you can ask them to read your writing any time you want. But, reading something online is different and often opens up someone to provide a better and more realistic critique of your work.

Plus, these real life contacts may be the one to forward your portfolio URL to someone else's friend or family member who lends that helping hand or offers the right word of encouragement to brighten your day.

Teachers, co-workers, editors, publishers and other associates are also great people to refer!

Tip #4: Create business cards with your online writing portfolio URL and hand them to friends, associates and other people you may meet who are interested in reading or writing.

Anyone can create their own business cards. The least expensive route is to purchase ready-to-print business card paper sold at stores such as Staples, OfficeMax, Walmart and others. The paper is heavy cover stock and is perferated which makes each business card clean and easy to separate! If you'd like the whole thing done for you, Staples, Kinkos and others business shops offer complete and inexpensive business card creation services.

When you design your own cards to hand out, include basic information about your portfolio. Your Portfolio URL and email address are two things that everyone should include. You might also include a 'tag line' about your writing style or favorite genres. For example: "Specializing in Horror and Science Fiction" or "Writing Romance and Mystery Novels of Young Adults" or "Featuring the action packed adventures of 'Jack Rubble'".

Tip #5: Include your Portfolio URL when posting in relevant newsgroups, groups or discussion forums.

Posting your Public Portfolio URL on non-Writing.Com message boards, clubs and newsgroups can bring tremendous amounts of interest. There are countless online gathering places that focus on specific genres such as romance, sci-fi, fanfiction... or more general writing such as poetry or short stories.

Remember: Internet etiquette states that you should not post in a newsgroup or forum unless your post can stay on topic. Bulk emailing and other "spam" like tactics are NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated by most websites and webmasters!

Otherwise... Good luck and have fun promoting your writing portfolio!

~~ The StoryMaster
http://StoryMaster.Writing.Com/
http://www.Writing.Com/

About The Author

The StoryMaster is WebMaster of Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests.

Whether you're a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you! Over 295,000 members have joined and posted over 825,000 literary items.

Benefits of Journal Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:39:00 +0000

Benefits of Journal Writing
by: Richard Chapo
The benefits of journal writing are fairly well established due to the long history of journal writing. From Anne Frank to Di Vinci, journal writing has proven itself.

Benefits of Journal Writing

When considering the benefits of journal writing, it is important to set a few parameters. First, there is no age limit to using journals. There are distinct benefits for children of all ages, but journal writing is equally valuable to adults. The reason for this is journal writing is an act of personal reflection. Whether it is a teenager reflecting on the social nightmare of high school or an overworked parent taking twenty minutes a night to write is irrelevant. The point is, all age groups benefit from stepping back from their life for a few moments and reflecting on things.

Whether you recognize it or not, journal writing provides you with an anchor in your daily life. In the journal, you are free to write what you want without restrictions, to truly address the issues in your life without fear of criticism. Put another way, one of the benefits of journal writing is it acts as a self-help psychiatrist, but for MUCH cheaper!

As you write in your journal over time, you’ll also start to ascertain a second benefit to doing so. This benefit is one of self-criticism. Inevitably, you’ll read through past entries and review your life. Doing so will lead you to self-reflection as well as thoughts on how you might act differently should certain situations rise again.

Of equal importance, journal writing has health benefits. Before you click away from this article, consider a time in your life when you were extremely frustrated. Hopefully, you spoke to a friend to “get things off your chest.” Didn’t you feel a lot better afterwards? Getting things off your chest helps relieve stress, one of the biggest killers in our modern society. Journal writing acts in much the same way since you are able to write your thoughts without fear of criticism.

There are other benefits to journal writing, but all boil down to one simple fact. Writing in a journal allows you to express yourself without being judged. With the lack of privacy in our modern, digital world, that is hardly a small benefit.

Rick Chapo is with Nomad Journals - makers of writing journals.

This article is free for republishing
Rick Chapo is with Nomad Travel Journals - makers of writing journals and BusinessTaxRecovery.com - recoverying overpaid business taxes for small businesses.

Are Writing Exercises Effective?

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Are Writing Exercises Effective?
by: Lana Hampton

It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis was once asked to give a lecture on writing to a group of college students: "Looking out at this gathering," he said to the assembled students, "makes me want to know how many of you really and truly wish to become writers?" Every hand in the room went up. Lewis looked at them for a moment and then folded his notes and put them away. "If that's true," he said, "then the best advice I can give you is to go home and start writing." He then turned and left the room.

If the first secret of writing is to write and if you've set up some sort of writing schedule, the next step is to figure out what to write.

Opening a brand new file and looking at a blank screen often results in a kind of brain-freeze; we feel as idea-less as the empty screen we're staring at. Writing exercises can help us thaw our idea bank. The goal of a writing exercise is to open your mind and allow you to hone your skills and experiment. The joy of such an exercise is it's not 'for real.' That is, there's no thought of pleasing an editor or finding a publisher or meeting a deadline or getting paid. You're just writing, with your internal editor turned off.

Some freelancers find writing exercises so effective and freeing they actually begin every writing session with a 10 or 15-minute exercise. Others use them more sporadically. But however you do it, writing exercises will help you with your writing. Use writing exercises in your writing schedule, as a natural part of your writing discipline; use the exercises often and watch your writing improve.

Ideally, a writing exercise is short, requiring you to spend no more than 10 or 15 minutes writing, thinking and feeling about something that's unrelated to the rest of your writing work. In a way, they are like mini-meditations and mini-vacations because they clear out the cobwebs and give you a new view.

It's that new view, that different way of seeing, of expressing, that's the key to a good writing exercise. Naturally, not every exercise blows your mind every time. Sometimes you are just not ready for the challenge presented, but even then, the seed is planted. Sometimes you are simply not up for doing a writing exercise, which is okay too. Again, simply reading can set some new thoughts in motion.

About The Author

Lana Hampton makes it easy to improve your writing skills. Visit http://www.yowswriting.com today for the latest writing tips and information.

Dont Pay for The Writers Market....In Book Form

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:26:00 +0000

I know its tempting to buy a new version of this book everytime it comes out, but there is a better, cheaper way.

You can buy an online subscription for the same or less than the book costs, and get instant updates. They keep the same info on the website as in the books, and its updated regularly.

No waiting until the next issue.

Go to http://www.writersmarket.com

Still Taking Submissions for the Cat Book

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Since I have decided to make the Cat book into 2 books, there is now more time to get in your submissions.

Taking true stories, short short stories, poems, and some artwork. This book is in black and white.

All contributors get a free copy of the book, full rights, a short write up in the book and on the website with links.

Please send submissions to stories@penelopesmithbooks.com

Freelance Job Feed Added...

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:41:00 +0000

I have added a Freelance Job Feed to the blog. It is on the right hand side of the blog.

Freelancing is a good way to get some extra cash while you are waiting for your book to sale. There are several people who make a living on just this alone.

Dont forget to check your local library for free information on just about anything.

Agent Info Feed Added...

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:37:00 +0000

I've added a feed to the site. It is on the right. It is from a feed that focuses on Agents.

Many of you I have talked to have asked me my opinion on this and I feel like that might help those out there that are needing more information.

Don't forget to check your local library too! The library is free and although they may not have the newest book just out, there will be information you can use in your writing pursuit.

Twitter is a Mini Myspace, Great Way to Reach People

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:09:00 +0000

For those of you who haven't heard of Twitter, it is a community of people that takes elements of myspace and a blog and minimizes it to 140 characters.

Users can post quick messages either to their followers or in replies to others post. The can only be a miximum of 140 characters, so it makes you have to get really to the point.

This is called a Tweet or a Twit.

I have seen this around for some time and finally decided to give it a try. It is not to hard to use and before you know it you are hooked. Even Obama had a Twitter account during the election. It is still up but hasn't had a Tweet since mid Dec.

It is a great way to connect with friends, customers, followers, or strangers. It only takes a click of a button to follow or unfollow anyone on Twitter.

There are newsgroups that will Twit the news regularly as well as many of the bloggers you follow are probably on there.

For those of you on Facebook, there is an application that will update Facebook with your Tweets. Now if they could just do that on Myspace, I would be killing 3 birds with one stone. Maybe it will come in the future and maybe we should send emails to Myspace to add it. If one exist that I do not know about, someone PLEASE email me.

------------------------------------------------------>

If you look to your right you will see that I included a whole section of just free Twitter resources. There are all kinds of apps, buttons, pictures, and more for Twitter.

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Last Call For Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Penelope Marie) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:45:00 +0000

This is the absolute last call for submissions for "Bald Spots Make Me Look Sexy: Humorous and Uplifting Stories About Cats"

If you have any funny stories, pictures or art, poetry, short stories, etc. Please send them to contact@baldspotsmakemelooksexy.

All contributors will receive full credit, a free copy, and free promotion both in the back of the book under contributors, on the website, and then eventually on my blog.

There will also be a charity list in the book. Each submission in the book will have a credit and charity notice.

Example: Mine would read

my name / website
My charity / their website

Portions of this book are also going to charity.

You can send multiple submissions and multiple categories.

You can also use that email to contact me for more info.

Please respond, no later than Jan 30th.

Thanks
Penelope