Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member honey77

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1: 2-4 (NIV)

Many Bible verses keep me going, and when times get as tough as they’ve been for me these past few months, it’s this verse that lifts my spirits.

That nasty devil always tries to knock us down, but eventually (in my case anyway), the Lord intervenes. Although I recently lost all motivation to the point where I struggled to put words on paper, I never lost my faith. Rather than let the devil win, I prayed and spent more time than usual reading and studying God’s word. And that, my friends, is what got me through the tough times.

Once again, I refused to let the devil win, and my reward for holding on to my faith: I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all the words that have been flowing freely again. That, to me, is the greatest reward of all, because I felt lost when I wasn’t able to write as well as I usually do.

Photo courtesy of Flickr member Honey77

Final Thought

Photo courtesy of Fllickr member Kamalaboulhosn

No matter what the devil does to try and knock you down, do as I did: stay strong, keep your faith and pray. Sure, you may fall a few times, but you must get back up, take a deep breath to recuperate, thank God for what you do have, and keep on truckin’. Then in due time, the Lord will take care of everything. It’s just one of the many trials we have to experience as Christians, and although those trials will be tough at times, it’s not near as bad as what Jesus endured for us.

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Photo courtesy of LadyDragonfly from Flickr.com

I’ve been writing for several years now. Although I’m still not in the financial bracket that I’d like to be in, I do have many clients, and that list continues to grow. It took me a while to get to where I am today, because when I first started writing for a living, I spent a lot of time reading advice from more experienced writers. Furthermore, I started back when the Internet was just booming. At that time there weren’t many writing blogs to learn from, so I spent the majority of my time in writing forums. In addition, blog writing and SEO writing hardly existed. Therefore, I had to depend on assignments from magazine and newsletter editors to make ends meet, which meant writing and sending numerous query letters, and then waiting for editors to respond. On top of that, there was always the possibility of rejections.

Eventually, blogging and SEO started to grow in popularity, so after I honed my skills in those areas, things started getting better; however, I continued to send queries hoping for acceptance letters and steady assignments.

The good news for you is you don’t have to wait a year or more to really start doing well at writing for a living. Keep in mind, though, it will still take time, but if you follow the advice I’m sharing today, you should begin earning an active income within a few months.

Writing for a Living: Gaining Experience and Clients

1. Keep at least five query letters and letters of introduction (a.k.a. cover letters) in circulation. Create and send a minimum of five query letters to print and electronic publications. Also, send a minimum of five letters of introduction to websites, network blogs and publications that are within your areas of expertise. Coffee Break for Writers offers a three-part freelance writing exercise that will help you perform this marketing task in record-breaking time. The exercise also includes a sample letter of introduction.

2. Sell your writing services to potential clients (business owners, SEO companies, book producers, etc.). Scan writing jobs listed on writing-related websites and blogs. Respond to the jobs that apply to you. For example, if you want to write blog posts, articles and SEO content about the real estate market, parenting and green living, only reply to blog writing, article writing, ghostwriting and SEO writing jobs for those niche areas.

3. Don’t depend on content mills when writing for a living. Places such as Demand Studios (DS) and Associated Content (AC) are only good for when times are slow or you need a little extra spending money. I learned my lesson the hard way with these type gigs. Sure, if you write 25 articles a week for DS, you’ll earn $1,500 a month, but wouldn’t you rather earn $200 for one article instead of $1,500 for 100 articles? Here, let me give you a better example: You can write and sell two articles each week for $200 each and earn more than $1,500 a month. Plus you won’t be selling all your rights to the articles. Yes, when you write for DS and many of the other content mills, you’re selling all your rights, which means if they choose, they can make money off you by reselling your articles and claiming those articles as their own.

4. Resell your previously published articles. You can earn more money on articles you’ve already sold by searching for paying markets that buy reprints. Many times you won’t earn as much selling the reprint rights as you did when the article was original, but you can still earn a decent price by reselling those articles.

5. Market to local businesses. Mail a letter of introduction to local businesses. Along with the letter, include relevant clips or writing samples, your business card and a brochure about your writing services. Some things you can write for local businesses are blogs, obituaries for funeral homes and local newspapers, neighborhood guides, home buyer tips for real estate agents, columns for local newspapers, and contact schools with an offer to create newsletters for parents.

Words of Encouragement

No matter how rough things get, you must keep on writing for a living and marketing your services. Don’t let the big-name magazines and other publications scare you either. If you think you have an article that would benefit their readers, send the query letter. Yes, they may say no, but you’ll never know if you don’t try, and they won’t know if your articles or writing services are what they’re looking for, if you don’t let them know you’re out there.

Good luck and happy writing! May the Lord bless you with an abundance of words and many clients!

To receive all my articles within minutes after they’re published here on Life of a Writer, subscribe via email, or if you prefer to read my articles using your favorite RSS reader, subscribe to my full RSS feed.

Yes, I know it’s hard not to break bad habits, but if we try hard, we can train our minds to break those habits. What habits am I referring to? Poor posture, lack of movement, eating while we write… the list could go on, but I think you get the picture. The question now is are you ready to learn how to stay healthy while writing?

Stop slouching! I’m just as guilty as you are, but it’s a habit we need to break to avoid back problems. If you’re anything like me, I catch myself propping my head in my hand while reading. What about when I’m typing and have to use both hands? Well, that’s when I find myself slouching almost as bad. To change this, we should train ourselves to sit up straight and place our feet flat on the floor or prop them on a footstool. Personally, I think I’m going to invest in a comfortable footstool that will fit under my desk.

Take a break every once in a while to move around. In between clients you could take a walk to clear your head, put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, fold the laundry, load the dishwasher, tidy up the living room, vacuum the floors or just stretch and walk around for a few minutes. Taking short breaks between clients to carry out one or more of these tasks is good for the body and will help re-energize you.

Perform desk exercises to stay healthy while writing. Not all exercise requires you to go to the gym or get out of your chair. Although it’s probably best to exercise away from your desk, our job keeps us at our desk for hours. That said, here are seven exercises you can do at your desk:

1. Body Rotations: This exercise is courtesy of Break Pal. See their video below for instructions on how to do this desk exercise. If you’d like to see more of Break Pal’s desk exercises, visit their YouTube channel.

2. Chair Twists: While sitting straight with your feet flat on the floor, turn your body to the left, and then back to face your computer screen. Next, twist your body to the right then back to face your computer screen again. Repeat 10 times.

3. Butt Squeezes: Straighten up and place your feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your butt cheeks together using your butt muscles (like you would do if you had to take a dump but someone else was in the bathroom — pardon my language, but that’s the best way I know to describe it). Hold that position for about five seconds and release. Do this 10 or 15 times.

4. Leg Lifts: Raise and lower your left leg, and then raise and lower your right leg. Continue doing this until you’ve done 15 with each leg.

5. Heel Raises: Sitting straight, toward the edge of your chair, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, raise your heels until you come up to the balls of your feet. Then lower your feet back to the floor. Repeat 10 times.

6. Leg Spread: Scoot to the back of your chair and straighten your back. Spread both your legs as far as you can, hold for two seconds, and then close your legs. Do this 10 times as well. Yes, I realize this sounds horrible, but it’s also the best way I know to describe this desk exercise.

7. Sedentary Running: Once again, sitting straight but with legs together. Now raise both legs and kick really fast, like your running. Do this for at least two minutes.

Stay Healthy While Writing With Under-the-Desk Exercise Equipment

In addition to performing the desk exercises I described above, you can also purchase exercise equipment that will fit under your desk and use it while you’re working. Below you’ll find some exercise equipment small enough to fit under a desk that should give you a good workout and help you stay healthy while writing.

Are there other ways you stay healthy while writing? Share your advice in the comments area.

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