tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:14:43 +000090% Freelance Writing, 5% Angst, 5% Star Trekhttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)Blogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-4143810675050509602Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:48:00 +00002009-11-14T02:14:43.063-08:00I'm watching Beowulf right now. Somehow it has taken me awhile to see the latest adaptation. I think I have now seen every film adaptation of it and I will doubtless see any others that are filmed. I have always loved and been inspired by the great hall in which everyone slept. Imagine it- a dark night, no electric lights glowing outside, no 911 and no radio to find out what was going on outside.http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/inspirations.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-4212614634867719539Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:37:00 +00002009-11-07T22:49:03.604-08:00Getting insurance is a problem for a lot of freelance writers. For my foreign friends, here's the picture: if you don't have insurance, you're screwed. A lot of doctors won't see you at all. You can't get into hospitals unless it's an emergency and the charge to see a regular doctor is usually ridiculous and unreasonable. I have been self employed for eight years now and have usually maintained http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/insurance-and-freelance-writers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-3950124452445891021Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:16:00 +00002009-10-28T19:21:15.876-07:00I just ran across this today in a list of 15 high-stress jobs that pay badly. The pay is low, the hours are long and the stress is certainly high. It was the best job I ever had working for someone else. Web writing may pay a heck of a lot more, but there's nothing that can replace the rush of grabbing the news and seeing the town talking about the issues that you uncovered. Sigh.http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/low-doesnt-even-describe-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-3953616846238040258Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:49:00 +00002009-10-27T01:49:00.305-07:00I have several blogs that I'm reading right now, very few of which have to do with writing. But, if you read a blog and it says something to you, then it is about writing in a way. It's about how the message is presented to you and how those words affect you. Here are some cool blogs that always seem to have something interesting to say:The Bloggess: This is probably the most kick-ass blog ever http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/blogs-that-make-you-think.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-337830714053443729Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:28:00 +00002009-10-26T22:35:59.345-07:00Wil Wheaton recently tweeted something interesting (Yes, I am reading tweets now. Sue me.). He sent along a message that social media consultants are a waste of money and passed along this article as proof. I actually do know someone who works for a PR company that does this, teaching companies how to use different types of social media to promote their businesses. I think that she actually workshttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/social-media-marketing-messages-and-wil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-3644750364333518099Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:37:00 +00002009-10-21T20:45:38.513-07:00I came across this yesterday. I've been out of newspapers for a few years now, but it still pains me to see headlines like that. And, it's the second time in the last two years that they have cut 100 jobs. It's also coming on top of a pay cut that happened earlier this year. The article mentions that the layoffs are because of lost advertising revenue, but it doesn't mention anything about http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/print-publishing-woes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-4964439823017122307Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:35:00 +00002009-10-20T10:49:09.330-07:00I swore it would never happen to me. I tried to resist the dark side, but Wil Wheaton was there, so it wasn't always easy. I actually joined the rest of the herd and opened a Twitter account. I haven't really figured it all out yet, but there it is. I don't really understand why you do the @ thing before someone's username, and I don't really understand what that signifies or whether they know http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-confess-i-did-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-2142878508206052575Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:44:00 +00002009-10-21T20:54:41.436-07:00First of all, I'd just like to say that I don't give a rat's about controversies. The only time that I pay attention to them is if they (1) either affect me in some way or (2) if they unfold in an interesting manner. The controversy that has surrounded Demand Studios in the past has been firmly in scenario one. It's been just an interesting topic that I could chime in about because I have writtenhttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/great-demand-studios-controversy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-5853095719900755190Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:26:00 +00002009-10-14T20:31:28.729-07:00During any period when things are hard, when people are being difficult and the situation is sad, strange or just plain wrong, it is never hard for me to summon up the energy to write. I actually find that I go to that activity first before using any other types of coping mechanisms. If you are in the midst of an upheaval, it's soothing to make lists and write plans to make things feel more http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/writing-and-adversity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-6381104096820481653Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:40:00 +00002009-10-10T13:59:40.840-07:00A few weeks ago I alluded to a big PR project that I have been working on. It's a good project, and a challenging project and it's been going quite well. I think I realized during the course of it that I've been taking on a lot of easy work lately that doesn't challenge me as much as it could. Easy work is great, but it's the challenges that make you remember what you're capable of. Work isn't http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/art-of-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-3886054818501249328Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:16:00 +00002009-10-06T20:47:07.271-07:00If you haven't heard about this, you should probably study it. The same thing that's happened to a number of college students and families who have illegally downloaded music and been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars will inevitably happen to a few small-time bloggers who like getting free stuff and want to earn a little from their blogs on the side.If you haven't heard about this and can'thttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/warning-i-run-google-ads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-318751992534015681Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:48:00 +00002009-09-26T18:00:31.201-07:00Surfacing briefly... can't breathe... smothered in work...The work load at the moment is fairly extreme with a decent-sized content project, a large-sized PR project and all of my smaller contract work and other freelance writing stuff that comes up throughout the month. I'm accomplishing some fairly big things, but it's still some of the smaller stuff that catches my notice sometimes. I noticed http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-better-than-having-too-much-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-83076589049043917Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:02:00 +00002009-09-18T10:29:47.551-07:00If ye aren't knowin' about Talk Like a Pirate Day, ye be a scurvy dog. Ye need some vitamin C. I be talkin' like a pirate most of the time anyway, so this day be just like any other. Business meetings with this bilge rat never be boring!A few updates since last I wrote:Me crazy workload be driving me to walk the plank.I may have been exposed to TB, so that be pretty piratey.I got a pen stuck in http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/aaaarrg-it-be-talk-like-pirate-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-6719344947510689195Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:32:00 +00002009-09-06T01:48:50.840-07:00I'm embroiled right now in a massive PR project that is pretty much consuming my every waking thought. We went out for ice cream last night and I blurted out "machine parts" for no reason when we got there. Seriously. I've had a few projects like this, like Giant Soul-Crushing Project from a year or two ago. But unlike GSCP, this one is a challenge that doesn't feeling crushing.For the past http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/decisions-decisions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-4453805788619298212Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:56:00 +00002009-09-03T00:17:45.885-07:00If you're interested in creating anagram pen names for some of your work, I just found a great site that will give you instant anagrams for your name. They aren't necessarily names, but they are good starting points. It actually told me that there weren't any for mine at first. But um, I beg to differ- I did find a lot of high-quality anagrams in an earlier post. After dropping one of the Z's in http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/create-your-own-pen-names.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-489790929090237766Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:16:00 +00002009-08-29T23:41:43.491-07:00Other than being afraid of utter rejection and being guilty of some off-color content, there are plenty of other reasons to use a pen name for online work. One of the most prevalent that I have noticed is to hide gender. I started out using a first initial to do just that. I've had people read this blog and ask me whether I was male or female. I've been addressed as "man" and "bro" in blog http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-reasons-to-hide.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-4878029189315562991Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:37:00 +00002009-08-27T23:43:51.724-07:00A lot of people wonder why anyone would want to use a pen name for any of their writings. Those people are freaks. What? No, they are just hideously misguided. There are a lot of reasons to go into writing, but fame just isn’t one of them. There are very few writers, and virtually no Web writers, who actually become famous for their work- even if the work itself is well known. If you write onlinehttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/writing-with-pen-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-1594244698211008108Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:41:00 +00002009-08-16T22:50:05.573-07:00I started a new blog last week, mainly because I had a really boring project and anything else in the world sounded interesting. It's all about eHow, how to write for it, how to come up with ideas for it, how much you can expect to make when writing for it, etc. Anyone who reads this blog might have noticed that I've talked a lot about residuals over the last two months or so, and I may be http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-7348671055840876534Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:49:00 +00002009-08-15T14:00:15.499-07:00I have been avoiding Twitter at all costs. I hide behind large objects, stay out of open meadows and try to stay in crowded public places, but Twitter is coming for me. I can feel it. There's virtually no escaping Twitter right now, and it knows when you aren't a member. It does everything in its power to make you join. It is touted as a great marketing ploy to those of us who must market http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/twitter-is-watching.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-8302788717416620126Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:25:00 +00002009-08-12T20:12:12.755-07:00Well, if you didn't read my first impressions of Examiner, take a look here. I wasn't terribly impressed at first, but I have to say that my original impression has changed pretty dramatically. I'm actually doing fairly well there, surprisingly. For residual income I tried Bukisa and it was a complete waste of time. I tried AC and I make a modest amount every month from stuff I wrote ages ago, sohttp://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/examiner-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-8485299493933732366Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:08:00 +00002009-07-21T00:23:58.686-07:00Last week was a very mixed week in my freelancing world. On the bright side, I was invited to write a guest post for On the Money, and I enjoyed doing that. I don't know if I've done a guest post under my name before. I do a lot of ghost blogging, but a guest post was nice to do.On the dark side, well, there was a lot of it. I write quite a bit for a large content company, though I'm careful not http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/bubbles-and-bursts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-772558177448388287Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:46:00 +00002009-07-12T15:59:07.000-07:00Last year I found myself in a real quandary, wondering about the right thing to do. I won't mention the company names out of politeness, though I think a lot of Web writers may recognize them. Here's what happened:Early last year I was working for a Web content company that supplies articles to a large and popular website. You've heard of it. I had been working for this company, Company X, for http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/tale-of-nca.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-8974316720176405469Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:02:00 +00002009-07-08T15:31:48.048-07:00"Have you heard about Examiner? Maybe you should be an Examiner!" That's what is on the fingertips over every Web writer, both pro and amateur, these days. If you haven't yet heard about Examiner, you will. Actually, you just did. I wrote a general explanation of the company and sites that might clear it up. I've been hearing about it for about a year pretty much non-stop. I turned down a http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/yeah-im-examiner-too.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-2128590068737667381Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:38:00 +00002009-08-31T13:51:41.655-07:00Whenever we go out of town I have to drag a laptop to do work, so having a secure connection is extremely important to me. Every time I have gone out of town I have people telling me different things about how to connect safely. All of the men in my extended family are either programmers or scientists, so I have access to a lot of information that I usually ignore.I have been told by them before http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/safety-when-using-wireless-internet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4855950334653809254.post-9195757224845020173Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:26:00 +00002009-08-15T14:02:28.132-07:00I returned a few days ago from two weeks spent beachside. Unfortunately, I had to work pretty much every day of the trip. The photo is the Mighty Mac in my makeshift office during the trip. What other profession allows you to take off elsewhere for two weeks and work just as well wherever you go? A few highlights:I may or may not have told Rush Limbaugh to get his car "the hell out of the way." http://writersjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/ouch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (L. Shepherd)0