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When writing for an audience, there are few more embarrassing things to discover after submitting your work than a mistake, or worse yet, mistakes in your submission. Not only are they embarrassing, but your mistakes could cost you future work with the publisher or diminish your credibility in the eyes of your readers. To avoid such mishaps there are aspects of your writing that you should review before you submit your work. Here are a few of the more common mishaps that might occur in your writing.
1. Proofing
Not proofreading your writing might be one of the greatest mistakes you can make. Even great writers must often read and reread their work to ensure that it is fit to be seen by others. Proofing your work is even more important if you know that the only editor reviewing and revising the work will be you. To ensure that you catch a majority of your errors, consider reading your work aloud to hear how it sounds as you speak the words. You may be surprised by how many additional mistakes you catch with this method, even if you’ve already proofread your work several times.
2. Improper Word Use
When you proofread your work, there is a multitude of issues for which you should be on the lookout. One of the more major and most common of these mistakes is improper word use. Mistakes like using ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’, ‘there’ instead of ‘their’ or ‘they’re’ and ‘it’s’ instead of ‘its’ are some of the likely culprits you might find lying in wait for you along the way.
3. Word Choice
If you aren’t sure of a word’s meaning, look the word up before you use it in a sentence. Using eloquent words just because they sound good could leave you looking pretentious, uneducated, and your readers left scratching their heads as to what you were really trying to say. Sometimes simpler is better.
4. Tense Change
Didn’t it sound weird when I am saying that I will not changed tense in a sentence? Moving back and forth between tenses can stick out like a sore thumb. We aren’t conjugating Latin verbs here. Chose a tense and stick with it.
5. Online Writing
One of the best ways to become frustrated with online writing is by using an internet site’s application in which to write your work. There is nothing wrong with writing your material in an application with which you are comfortable and then copying and pasting your work into the site’s submission area. Just ask someone who has spent an hour or so writing an article only to have it swallowed by the internet and not having a saved copy to refer to. As a side note to this tip however, be sure to check for glitches in the formatting of your work that may have been altered or affected by the move before you submit it.
6. Copy and Paste
When working online, you might find it beneficial to copy and paste the directions for your writing directly onto your work page. By having the instructions for your assignment available to you upon whatever software you are using to write, you can quickly and efficiently refer to the publisher’s or client’s guidelines. This reference tool can keep you on track and on topic. Just make sure you don’t forget and accidentally submit these instructions along with your work.
7. Long Sentences
In this day and age, people just aren’t up for long sentences like they used to be. Most readers want quick and easy information packed into short powerful sentences, and would prefer not to be lost in a sentence that just keeps going on and on for the sake of taking up space, and those same readers would likely be appreciative of sentences that are kept to a minimum of a line or two rather than three or four lines like this one is turning out to be.
8. Fragments
Sentence fragments can throw. Your readers for a loop. See! While short, compact sentences can often be a writer’s best friend, it helps to ensure that those sentences are complete and make sense. Otherwise, you may be leaving your work choppy and nonsensical.
9. Broad or Overly General Statements
Saying that Harry Potter is the best movie ever, might be true in your opinion, but that doesn’t mean it’s true for everyone. Saying stocks are a great investment, may be true to some extent, but are all stocks really a great investment? It is important to keep the opinions and statements you place in your writing, qualified and backed up with supporting evidence.
10. Slang and Abbreviations
In this age of quick texts and fast information, it’s often easy to forget that not everyone understands what LOL or BTW means. Those who aren’t familiar with such terms might think you are referring to the new NBA, MLB, or NFL, which in many areas of the world aren’t commonly known abbreviations either. My point here is that in a world globally connected through the internet, it’s important to remember that what is commonplace to you, might not be common knowledge to those reading your work.
This is a guest post written by Tom Walker, a writer and designer from the UK who works for a printer supplies company specialising in Epson Stylus cartridges, toner and paper. You can read more of his writing about print media and design on their blog.
(Photo: bookgrl)
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This paid to blog opportunity came in by email from Mary Ward (contact details below). I’m posting it here in case you’re interested – Sharon
I Will Pay You To Let Me Post To Your Blog
What I am looking for is bloggers with fairly established blogs who are willing to post a guest post article for pay. In other words, I will pay you to be a guest blogger on your blog.
This is basically how it works:
I will provide you with a professionally-authored guest post article of about 400-500 words. This will be an exclusive article that has not been posted anywhere else, and will not be in the future–a fair value all on its own–as long as your blog meets minimum criteria. I will pay you $10 USD via PayPal for the posting.
Minimum criteria are as follows: your blog must have a Google PageRank of 3 or higher, or PR 2 if you can show 9 months or more of regular archives and posting. OR your blog has 200 or more subscribers, as shown on the site via a Feedburner or Aweber widget (note that if you have the subscribers, your PageRank doesn’t matter and could be lower).
You must agree that you will not remove the post after payment is made, andthat you will leave the bio line and link, with the anchor text as provided, intact.
Email me when the post is up with a link, and I will process the payment via PayPal to the address you provide. This normally only takes a day or two, perhaps a few if over a weekend, and should not be any longer than one week (in the VERY rare circumstance).
I have a wide range of topics and this is an ongoing project, so do feel free to contact me. I have articles on topics such as health and beauty, green living, seniors, returning to school and online education, health careers, fitness, diet, nutrition, animals and pets, and many more. If I don’t have anything that suits you right now chances are I will in the near future, or can often work a piece in the next round that is tailored to your blog/topic.
Please feel free to contact me even if you are unsure if your blog qualifies, or if I have a topic for you–I’m happy to consider all inquiries.
Interested bloggers should contact Mary at pdposts(at)gmail(dot)com (please replace at and dot with approp.symbols . Please include a link to your blog.
Limit is one piece per blog, but if you have more than one blog that qualifies I will gladly place on each blog. This is an ongoing gig and new articles become available each month.
Disclosure: I have not been paid for this post – Sharon
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/7AVnSwO3-Jo/
Here’s a great testimonial from one of my recent clients, to start off the year.
“I must admit, I did the “happy dance” after reading the articles. They’re perfect! No edits necessary. I’m not accustomed to that.” – Vickie Perry Barker.
I love it when my clients are happy.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/rL9PXzErx_w/
I’ve written here in the past about what do when overwhelmed by writing work. But what do you do when you’re doing so much juggling that the balls start to drop? It’s time to take action fast otherwise the consequences could be dire: to your health, your finances, and your reputation.
Because freelance writing goes from feast to famine and then to feast again on a regular basis, many writers have trouble saying “No” to work. We don’t typically have job descriptions and a set schedule because most times, no two days are the same for us. The fear of famine is what gets so many of us in trouble. Sometimes we just overbook our schedules because work presents itself and we can’t bring ourselves to turn it away.
Life as a juggler, especially if you work at home and have family responsibilities, ain’t easy. When you start to drop the balls, it’s scary and things can domino out of control. It has happened to me more than once. Here’s what I do when I need to regain control:
Clean the Desk and the Desktop
When I’m feeling flabbergasted with my work load, my desk and my desktop both tend to get messy. When my environment is cluttered, I have trouble focusing. Taking ten minutes to clean up your desk can help you focus.
As for the desktop, I’m often teased about the fact that there can be more icons on my Windows desktop than room. When it gets like that, I know it’s time to reorganise. Sit down and clean up the files on your computer and you’ll be more organised when it comes to working as well. I use a system of files that go by client for freelance work and a separate folder for my own blogs and projects, and another folder for administrative stuff.
Email
If my email inbox has more than 1 page of emails, I know I need to wade through and figure out what really needs to be there. Taking a half an hour or so to clean up your email inbox will do wonders for you because it’ll help you see what you really need to get done.
To-Do List
Writing a list of what needs to get done in order of priority is a smart thing to do. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, I find that this often comes as not having a full grasp of just what needs to be done and when it has to get done by. By writing it down you can also cross off things as they’re finished. With each checkmark, you’ll feel better.
Tip: It might be tempting to get rid of the easy stuff on the to-do list first but my strategy involves getting rid of the hard stuff first. A writing client of mine had me help him with a self-improvement book last year and the thing from that book that stuck with me the most was a suggestion to get the dreaded things out of the way first. This really helps me focus because the cloud of dread doesn’t linger over me.
Get Moving
Once you know just what you need to do, it’s time to do it. Don’t let distractions get the better of you. Avoid all things shiny and just go. Then, once the backlog is looked after, plan to take the better part of a much-deserved day off for you.
I’m taking my own advice today as things have gotten a bit too hectic for my liking after my taking some time off over the holidays. If you have any tips for how you handle chaos in your writing life, please share! I’ll be trying to avoid “all things shiny” for the rest of the day, though
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A recent post by Allena Tapia made me think about the numbers that describe my freelance writing career in the past year. I think it’s important to conduct periodic reviews to assess the health of your writing business, so what did my assessment tell me?
The Bottom Line
One of the most important figures is how much money I made (money isn’t everything, but a girl needs to pay the bills). All I’m going to say is that I earned double what I earned in my first full year of freelancing and made a significant improvement over 2008 earnings. There were three reasons for this:
First, I acquired a number of regular clients in late 2008 who provided a decent basic income in 2009. Some 45% of my income last year came from 13 regular clients. Seven of those provided regular gigs, while the other six provided work every couple of months.
Second, I raised my rates slightly as I have done again this year. When you are employed you often get a cost of living increase. When you freelance you have to arrange that yourself.
Third, I became more active in my local market and found a couple of clients were willing to pay the going rate for my services and were a joy to work with.
Of course, it wasn’t all gravy. There were a couple of clients who fell victim to the recession and stopped providing work. But in the main these were lower paying gigs so they didn’t affect the bottom line that much.
How My Writing Business Changed in 2009
I also made 3% of my income from blog advertising and affiliate product sales. It’s not a huge amount, but it gives me a base to build on. I have taken note of the products that have brought in income and will be focusing more on those this year.
The nature of my writing business has changed a lot in the past year as well. When I started I did lots of keyword rich articles and some rewrites. This year I have earned from journalism, blogging, reviews, writing press releases and other web content writing.
Finding Balance
I have also spent less time at my desk and more time on fitness while still managing to improve my earnings. This tells me that I am beginning to achieve the balance I have been chasing for a few years. For me, that’s just as important as being profitable.
So what do these figures tell me about how I should run my writing business this year? (I’m with Dana on the need to take action, rather than simply make resolutions.)
Making Changes For 2010
First, I will spend more time ensuring that those high-paying clients are happy and and will think of additional services that will improve my offering to them.
Second, I will search for one or two more high-paying clients to reduce my exposure to the major ones (one of my clients provides 22% of my income).
Third, I have discovered which jobs really aren’t worth my while and will phase these out across the year.
Fourth, I will increase blog promotion as my blog is now a viable source of income and create some new products which I think you will enjoy.
Fifth, I will look for a couple more affiliate products that I can really promote wholeheartedly (I’ve already found one) to improve my passive income.
Sixth, I will follow up with some of the clients who became dormant and see if they are interested in purchasing web content writing services at my current rate (they already know the quality of my work so it makes sense to do this). I’ve already started connecting with some of them on LinkedIn.
Seventh, I will increase my local marketing efforts.
Doing this should improve both income and job satisfaction in 2010. Have you run the numbers on 2009? How will it change the way you run your writing business in the coming year?
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This guest post has been contributed by Andy Walton of Wikinut, an ad revenue share writing market.
Been made redundant? Try sharing your knowledge for cash
The global recession has hit many people across all sectors, leaving millions of people looking for work. And finding the next job can be tough, and often dispiriting.
If you’re in this position, then read on for a suggestion to help keep you busy, motivated while also maybe earning you some cash.
A new site, Wikinut, allows you to write about pretty much any topic you like and then will publish your page to a global audience.
You’ll then receive 50% of the total advertising revenue generated by your pages as lifetime royalties.
Zero writing experience needed
No writing background is required for Wikinut. The principle is that everybody has knowledge, experience or thoughts that are useful to somebody.
Think of all the niche information you may have gained from your last job. Or though your hobbies and interests. Maybe you could write about your last holiday, or the recipe for a meal you’ve cooked. The possibilities on Wikinut are endless, and any of them could earn you money.
No technical skills required either
If you have the skills to find and read this article, you’ll be able to use Wikinut easily. A simple editor helps you write your pages, and Wikinut handle all the geeky stuff like hosting, advertising deals and payments.
You can just write pages and get paid through a Paypal account, the same payment system as used on Ebay. You can open a Paypal account for free if you don’t already have one.
Stay positive and motivated
For many people, being out of work can be a very depressing time. The combination of frustration, boredom and lack of structure is tough to deal with.
Writing for Wikinut will give you some positive tasks to work at. Once you’ve written some pages, you’ll also be able to see reader statistics and comments, which is a nice way of getting some feedback.
Enhance your CV
And even when you get interviews for future jobs, having Wikinut on your CV will be a great talking point with the interviewer. You be able to demonstrate your proactive approach, and ability to fill your time productively.
So why not make the first step towards a new positive stage in your life – visit www.wikinut.com now and sign up.
Andy Walton, co-founder of Wikinut, has over 10 years’ experience working for some of the UK’s biggest ecommerce businesses. He’s now inviting you to join www.wikinut.com, a new publishing platform that pays lifetime royalties for your writing on a massive range of topics.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/NY82oCiJrYo/
Are you sick of the talk about New Year’s resolutions yet? I’ve written quite a few resolution-related posts for clients in the last week as well as for my December 31 post here on Get Paid to Write Online but I’m not sick of it yet. I am ready for action, though. In fact, I am acting. I’m planning to make some moves this year to ensure I meet my goals. I need to work fewer hours. I also need to earn more. I deserve both! I’m talking to potential clients that are going to help me meet some of my 2010 writing goals already and it’s only the first week of January. Go me. (Hey, I’m self-employed. If I don’t pat myself on the back, who will?) I’m already doing things outside of my comfort zone this year. I’m acting with the belief that these things will pay off and help me elevate my career to a higher level.
So, what do you want to do with your writing career this year?
Earn more?
Work less?
Be able to afford to get rid of your lowest paying pain-in-the-butt client?
Write more in a niche you love?
All of the above!
Have you figured out how you’re going to get there or are you like a lot of people who write down goals and never actually do anything to make them happen?
Here’s what I suggest:
Spend more time marketing
Talk to other writers
Enhance your skills
Step outside of your comfort zone
Marketing
How much time do you spend marketing? I’m not talking about applying for jobs alone; I’m talking about marketing yourself. As I’ve said here in the past, marketing can become passive so that efforts you take today can pay off repeatedly for you.
Do you use social media? Are you using it to your advantage? I’m not talking about telling people you make the best grilled cheese in the world (although it’s perfectly fine to give a shoutout to your culinary prowess sometimes on Twitter. Ok… yes, I admit it—I sometimes tweet about my awesome grilled cheese sandwiches), I’m talking about using social media to network and to drive traffic to your website or blog.
Speaking of your website, when is the last time you updated yours? The act of updating your site alone will ping the search engines and could send fresh traffic your way. Maybe it’s time to take a look at your online profiles and fine-tune them a little. Want to be a well-known niche writer that commands top dollar? Start advertising that service and writing about it so that you can get the attention of people (and search engines) looking for that key phrase.
Bottom line: Allocate 1-2 hours to marketing next week (or, there’s no time like NOW…if you have the cycles today) and every week and watch what happens. I’d almost bet money you’ll see great results.
Talk to Other Writers
Other writers can help you with your career. I have a few close writing friends and we often help one another. We bounce ideas off each other, get sanity checks on contracts, sub work to each other when one is busy or the other is dead slow, and we even share writing leads and referrals at times, too. Some of us are even talking about potentially profitable joint ventures in 2010. Talking to and networking with other writers can help you tremendously with your writing career goals. (Plus having writing friends who understand your lifestyle and your work challenges really really helps when things are rough and tough.)
Bottom line: Join some writer networking groups. Make some writing friends.
Enhance Your Skills
How do you continue to develop your writing skills? Keep writing. Keep reading. Read about your craft, do writing prompts, take a writing class, read some writing e-books, follow an online writing course, follow some great writer mentoring blogs. Want do learn to do whitepapers? Want to learn to do press releases or e-books? Take time out of your schedule to work at developing these skills. Not only can they pay off, they help you move forward in your career. Too many freelance writers (myself included) find themselves losing the love with their work at times because of repetition. The “free” in freelance can mean you’re free to pursue any category of writing you’re interested in trying. You may not be a master at every topic or every writing style but why not dabble and see where it leads you? Avoid complacency in writing (there’s a 2+ year old post from me in that link that still applies today)! Is it time to step out of your comfort zone?
Bottom line: Only you can decide whether 2010 will rock for you or if you’ll just survive and float through it.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/ys24cmOFs_Y/
I’ve started writing for Suite101. It’s great because I can write about a wide range of topics. Here are the articles I’ve written so far:
Common Freelance Writing Scams
Resources for Setting Freelance Writing Rates
How to Create A Great Online Writing Portfolio
Brizzly, a Twitter Web Application
Book Review – Dreaming in Hindi
Book Review – The Snail and the Whale
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/j7ujArlQuV0/
I started a new blogging gig at BloggingTips in September. Here are the posts I’ve published so far:
Confessions Of A Theme-A-Holic, 03 Dec 2009
Four More Twitter Account Cleaners, 26 Nov 2009
4 Twitter Account Cleaners, 19 Nov 2009
Is Tweetvisor A Brizzly Beater?, 12 Nov 2009
Blogging For Revenue Share – Pros And Cons, 05 Nov 2009
The Case Of The Disappearing Blog, 29 Oct 2009
Five More Great Sites For Writers, 22 Oct 2009
Four Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Blogging, 15 Oct 2009
Three Challenges When Managing A Twitter Alter Ego, 08 Oct 2009
Why IntenseDebate Beats Echo, 01 Oct 2009
3 Easy Ways To Deal With RSS Overload, 24 Sep 2009
Rebadge Your Blog Content With Zinepal, 17 Sep 2009
Two Weeks With Echo, 10 Sep 2009
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/M1QiVGF_xNE/
Get Paid To Write Online welcomes guest posts. General guidelines are as follows:
Get Paid To Write Online welcomes guests - write for us.
1. Search the blog to make sure that the topic you write about matches one of the categories on the blog and has not previously been covered in the way you intend to handle it. I am also open to new categories, but please check with me first.
2. Contact me to discuss your post idea – I’m open to any reasonable suggestion. I welcome posts from both new and experienced writers. You don’t need a CV or a long list of previous blogging credits to be considered.
3. Your post should be between 400 and 600 words; if you want to write a longer post, then maybe we’ll break it into two.
4. Please provide a link to an appropriate image (creative commons or public domain, please).
5. I do not pay for guest posts, but you will get credit for your work. Add a two sentence bio with one link at the end of the post.
6. Proofread the post to avoid spelling and grammatical errors; I’ll do that too.
7. Submit the post (if you have followed step 2 you will have my email address).
8. I’ve accepted most of the guest posts submitted in the past couple of years, but I have final editorial control; expressing an interest in seeing your post does not imply a guarantee to publish it.
9. Please disclose if you have a material interest in the subject of the post.
10. If your post is published, please reply to any comments left on the post. You can promote it via social media if you want, too, though I’ll do that anyway.
(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mithril/2614298620/)
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If you haven’t already heard that James Chartrand of Men with Pens is actually a woman, then you must have been hiding under a rock. I read the entire post with bated breath and then tried to work out how I felt about it.
I’ve always thought James rocks and that hasn’t changed. If anything I respect James even more for what must have been a tough decision to keep things together at home.
What I find disturbing is that in the 21st century, women are still having to deal with this gender bias cr*p! Writing doesn’t involve any heavy lifting – except of the mental kind – so the only important thing should be whether you can do the job or not. You should also get equal pay if you can do the job – that should be a given.
I never considered operating under a male pseudonym, though I had a friend who did a similar experiment and found that her earnings increased when she did. She got more respect and less haggling. But I do wonder whether all the times when – in spite of my 20+ years of experience and string of clips – I had to make a case for being worth my hire, it was because I am a woman. I’ll be thinking about that one for quite a while.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/VpgGp7Ik-YA/
I’m still posting on travel on the Taking Off Travel Blog. Here are more of my recent posts:
November 2009
26: Traveling The Blogosphere – November 2009
25: PRF Mentioned In CBS Thanksgiving Travel Spot
24: The View From The Wing – Photo Post
19: Reflections On A Year Of Travel Blogging
17: Sharing Travel Experiences – A Review
12: Easy Ways To Guard Against Airport Luggage Theft
10: More Airport Security On The Horizon
05: Three Travel Trends That Tick Me Off
03: The Best Free Blackberry Apps For Travelers
October 2009
29: Seven More Travel Bloggers You Should Follow On Twitter
27: Inside Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Airport
22: New Jersey Images
20: Top Tools For Staying Connected
15: PRF Offers Savings As New AARP Travel Provider
13: My Favorite Florida Eatery
08: Boo! Spooky Halloween Vacations 2009
06: Save Time And Money With Offsite Airport Parking
01: New Jersey In Pictures
September 2009
29: Traveling The Blogosphere – September 2009
24: One More Time, With Feeling
22: Ovi Maps – A Great Tool For Business Travel
17: Location Independent – Run Your Business From Anywhere
15: Coasting And Karting In Florida
10: On The Water In Florida
08: A Vacation In Hollywood
03: Working On The Road
01: Facebook For Travelers – Part 2
August 2009
27: What Kind Of Packer Are You?
25: Time Lapse Travel Moments
20: Travel Planning With GoPlanit
18: Traveling To The Hurricane Belt?
13: Traveling The Blogosphere – August 2009
11: Exploring Anchorage, Alaska Airport (ANC)
06: Couchsurfing Revisited
04: Carnival Celebrations Around The World
July 2009
30: How To Choose Offsite Airport Parking
28: Build Travel Packs With Planet Eye
23: Taking The Guesswork Out Of Trip Planning
21: Business Travel – Do You Dare To Unplug?
16: July Business Travel Gadget Roundup
14: Taking Off Travel Blog – Six Of The Best
09: Seven Long Haul Travel Tips
07: Best Job In The World – Where Would You Choose?
02: Exploring Birmingham, Alabama
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/aRhUyvTDI-E/
These are my latest website and tool reviews on PiggyBankPie.
TwitIQ – A Smarter Twitter?
Beyond The WordPress Comment Box
Wakoopa – App Tracking Gets Social
Brizzly – A Better Twitter?
The Value Of A Blog Series
Personalize Your News With Guzzle.it
Why Streamy Won’t Replace Friendfeed For Me
Feed Reading Gets Easier With Lazyfeed
Thesis – A Great Theme For Non-Techies
Skimmer – Skim Your Social Media Accounts
Does The Facebook-Friendfeed Marriage Work For You?
Manage Twitter Followers With Tweepular
A Dandy Way To Collect Your Social Media Identities
Apps – What’s The Alternative?
Managing Your Followers In Twitter
Five Plugins To Get You Started With WordPress
Stitch Your Feeds Together With Feedstitch
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/fB7AkZj4PyI/
I last updated you on my web activities in September. Since then, in addition to the new writing gigs I’ve landed, I’ve also been featured in an interview with John Bardos of JetSetCitizen about being a location independent freelance writer. It was a real pleasure. I’ve also been getting active on Brazen Careerist, where I wrote a post called Working From Wherever – Getting Into Location Independent Living. Suz James was also kind enough to describe me as one of the best self taught SEOs she knows in a post she wrote for Get Paid To Write Online. That means a lot coming from a qualified search engine marketer. Thanks, Suz.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/_Ll2pnWMNtU/
One of the projects I’ve been working on behind the scenes is a new site called Location Independent Parents. Lea Woodward, Amy Palko and I share our experience of being location independent parents. We’re all very different, so the site has something for everyone. Here are my first three posts (but be sure to check out the rest):
Can You Run Your Location Independent Business With The Kids At Home?
How To Integrate Your Location Independent Home And Business Life
Location Independent But Not Homeschooling? Tips For Finding the Perfect School Abroad
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/YGJTaJbtbGM/
Here are more of my website reviews on Appvita:
Wishpot – Manage Your Wishlist In One Spot
Toggl – Track Your Time Anywhere
Freckle – Time Tracking Gets A Facelift
EduFire – Get Fired Up About Education
23AndMe – Get The Inside Scoop On Your DNA
TSheets – Punch Your Timeclock the Modern Way
Ronin – Track Projects And Invoice Online
RatePoint – Complete Customer Feedback Management
Kickstarter – Get Funding For Your Project
Flixster – Discuss & Discover Movies
Spezify – Try A Different Kind Of Search
GDGT – Find And Discuss Great Gadgets
OwnerIQ – Get Easy Product Support
MagCloud – Publish Your Own Magazine
Fonolo – Don’t Spend Your Life On Hold
Tibesti – Earn Money From Social Shopping
The Big Picture – Task Management Made Simple
Litmus – Put Your Web Code To The Test
Geni – Build Your Family Tree With Ease
Aardvark – Get Quick Answers To Any Question
Kukoo – Singletasking Email
Mad Mimi – Create Stunning Email Promotions Fast
Zcope – Easy Project Collaboration And Communication
Wordnik – The Real Time Dictionary
Warranty Elephant – Get Timely Service Reminders
Suggestion Box – Get Easy Customer Feedback
Convos – Manage Multiple Groups With Ease
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/UWaz_UjK-dA/
Writing goals are good. Staying on track and reaching your goals is very fulfilling. They’re good if you’re a freelance writer and if you’re a fiction writer, and they’re also good if you write as a hobby as well. Whether you need to meet monetary goals, want to hit word count goals for a personal challenge (such as NaNoWriMo), here’s some help:
Write it Down
The first step to meeting writing goals is setting them. What is it that you’re after? If it’s freelance writing for pay, you might have a dollar figure per month that you want (or need) to hit. In that case, once you break it down by day, it becomes easier. If you’re trying to write a whole 50,000 words in the month of November, you’ll have to figure out how many days you want to dedicate to writing and what the word count per day you should strive for. Setting big goals is good but setting manageable goals is better.
Here are some helpful tips:
Write it down. Tracking goals on a piece of paper or spreadsheet and then tracking your results is a good way to measure your success. Rather than just keeping a number in mind, many writers feel something is more concrete if it’s actually written down. If you’re a Gmail user, there’s a handy task list you can use to set reminders and to mark things off as they’re done.
Turn off the distractions if you’re lagging. You probably know what your biggest potential distractions are. Everyone has them. For some it’s Facebook, for others it’s MSN, and for some it’s the phone or television. Buckling down and avoiding temptation is the best way to meet your goals.
Add a buffer. If you know you can complete 5,000 words in a day you might set your goal at 4,000 so that if you have unexpected things crop up, you can still manage to meet your goals and if you go over your goal number, you can pat yourself on the back. The same applies to money. You might set a primary goal of a dollar amount but add a stretch goal and plan for a reward if you hit that number.
Give yourself a pat on the back or a small reward (such as: chocolate, a glass of wine, a fancy new pen, a night out, etc.) when you reach goals
Give yourself a break once in a while. Setting aggressive and challenging writing goals is good but don’t burn the candle at both ends for too long or you’ll extinguish your energy creativity!
Feel free to share your goal setting (and goal reaching) tips. Are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? If so, how are you doing?
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I’m always interested in reading books about writing, so I was pleased when Andy Hayes asked me to review Write Right Online. Andy’s a travel writer and the 30 page book shares what he has learned about online writing.
Who The Book Is For
This book is aimed firmly at the new online writer. In 18 short sections, Write Right Online takes you through everything you need to know about online writing. What I love about the book is that it is a model of simplicity – anyone can follow it – yet it somehow gives new writers information – and examples – they can take away and use to improve their style, their visibility and the reach of their content.
Best Feature
For me, the best feature is the checklist, which goes with the book. Each point on the checklist relates to a tip in the book, so you can easily refer to it if you need a refresher. Even experienced writers will benefit from pinning this checklist up on a notice board in their office, as we all need a reminder some time.
Summing Up
What’s great about this book is that you can read it very quickly and start applying the lessons immediately. If you’re a new writer and want to get it right first time, then £17 ($27) is a small price to pay.
(Disclosure: I have not been paid for this review, though it does contain affiliate links.)
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I recently got this testimonial from Martha Isaac, for whom I did some proofreading and editing work. Thanks, Martha.
I have avoided editors because having an editor somehow seemed to me to be relinquishing control of my work. However, Sharon showed me that an editor could gently work with you, picking up pieces of carelessness or oversight in construction and generally streamlining a text without intrusion.
The experience of working with her has changed my thinking, and I now consider her work as an editor a necessary stage of assistance in completing the writing project.
My first e-mail of twenty- five queries at the end of the first chapter was alarming, but it also set the tone for work, I anticipated similar or greater numbers at every interval and because she was so well organized and focused, the task of responding was pretty painless.
When I saw the final version, I felt very pleased, because she had transformed the appearance of the text into a neat and organized entity.
I will work with her again and I recommend her highly.
Martha Isaac
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Unlike my last on the web post, this time I’m writing about interviews and mentions rather than guest posts. I’ll handle those in a follow-up post. This month I have contributed to a post on the cost of living abroad on Man vs Debt, a post on Brazen Careerist on the freelance writing jobs I refuse to take, and have been listed on Info Barrel among the top ten freelance writing blogs.
I have also been interviewed by Brooke Ferguson of Business Backpacker and hope to have another interview appear soon on Jetsetizen. I’ve also agreed to play a leading role in the Location Independent Parents site and have been busily getting content ready.
Stay tuned for a roundup of the blog posts I’ve published recently as well as a wonderful testimonial from a client which I’ll be adding to the site soon.
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Unlike my last on the web post, this time I’m writing about interviews and mentions rather than guest posts. I’ll handle those in a follow-up post. This month I have contributed to a post on the cost of living abroad on Man vs Debt, a post on Brazen Careerist on the freelance writing jobs I refuse to take, and have been listed on Info Barrel among the top ten freelance writing blogs.
I have also been interviewed by Brooke Ferguson of Business Backpacker and hope to have another interview appear soon on Jetsetizen. I’ve also agreed to play a leading role in the Location Independent Parents site and have been busily getting content ready.
Stay tuned for a roundup of the blog posts I’ve published recently as well as a wonderful testimonial from a client which I’ll be adding to the site soon.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/1a9StyCgyw8/
I’m now writing for Blogging Tips. I’ll be posting once a week and my first post has just gone live. It’s called: Two Weeks With Echo.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/hK7U0JO0JzU/
A lot of freelancers have been talking about vacations recently – how to take them, when to take them, how to manage your clients. I must admit that it’s something I’ve written about in the past and quite recently too. However, I’m not sure I ever achieve the right balance.
Retreating From The World
I have some friends who take an annual six week retreat, checking email only once a week. Although part of me was aghast at the thought of being cut off for that long, another part of me found the idea strangely seductive. This won’t be the year, though, and I’m not sure I could hack it for that length of time.
I’m not sure I really know how to switch off. My brain is always buzzing with ideas I don’t have time to realise. In addition, balancing schedules for home, school and client work means it’s difficult to find a completely empty window where I can take a proper vacation.
If At First You Don’t Succeed …
This year, I’m trying again. I’m heading off on a week long trip and although I’ll be taking a laptop (there was one deadline I just couldn’t shift), I don’t plan to spend a lot of time looking at it. I have future posted content for some of the blogs I write for and have told other people when I will be unavailable. I have outsourced some work and postponed other work, leaving me with just one job to do while I’m away. I hope it won’t be too onerous.
Do you manage to switch off? How do you do it?
(Photo: Alvimann)
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Simple Social Media Strategies For Location Independent Professionals is my first guest post on the Location Independent blog. A few weeks ago, Cath Duncan suggested that writing about how location independent professionals can manage social media without getting overwhelmed might be a good idea. This guest post is the result. (Thanks, Cath.) Here’s an excerpt:
I belong to dozens of networks but of late my interaction has been limited to just three. Here’s what I’ve chosen, why I’ve chosen them and what I get out of each
Hope you enjoy it.
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It’s always nice when someone features your blog, interviews you or otherwise helps boost your online presence. Here are some places where I, SharonHurleyHall.com and Get Paid To Write Online have been featured over the past couple of months.
Inspired By Water - guest post on Andy Hayes’ blog
How To Get A Big Job From A Small Country - guest post on Freelance Writing Gigs
Inspirational Destinations: Barbados - interview on Location Independent
155 Ways To Work From Home Without Distraction - my tip is no. 106
Get Paid To Write Online has appeared on
Websites for writers
100 Women Bloggers To Watch Out For In 2009
Cited incorrectly as a place to find job listings, but thanks for the mention
Listed in the top ten on Top Of Blogs
Doing quite well on the Invesp list of writing blogs
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I created an ebook/ezine in about 20 minutes today – and I did it using Zinepal. This handy online tool (which you can try without even signing up) allows you to pull together recent posts from your blog (via the RSS feed) or from any web page to create an ezine. You can download this ezine as a PDF (which makes it a great way to create an ebook too) and you get mobiPocket, Kindle and epub formats as well. I decided to turn my SEO Your Website Series into an ezine/ebook and this was the result.
How I Created An Ebook In 20 Minutes
Here’s how I did it. I navigated to the ‘create’ tab and clicked on the ‘from any website’ link. I then manually added the URLs I wanted in the order in which I wanted them to appear. I clicked ‘ add to zine’, waited a minute or so, then clicked the big ‘I’m done’ button near the top of the page. You can check the stories and order in a drop down menu, and also add new stories at any time before you publish the zine.
Tweaking My Ebook
Clicking the button took me to a list of the stories which I could reorder via drag and drop. I was also able to edit each story individually (doing things like taking out ads and so on) and to make formatting changes. In the middle of the page was a box where I could set delivery options, keywords (space separated), add a logo, add ads and use templates. I chose to save my customizations as a template but since I was creating a new publication, they were not available the second time around.
Useful Features
I thought adding a logo, an introduction and a couple of keywords made sense. Once those were done I hit ‘create my zine’ and it was ready. Attention! Once your zine is created, it’s like a print magazine – you cannot edit it, so you need to be sure you are ready before you press that button. I found it useful to use the preview button, which showed the PDF and also allowed me to save a copy. This came in handy, as Zinepal pulls in everything from the feed, so your end of post subscription options will be included. It’s also worth editing the chapter titles, as you may not want them to appear in the same format in your ebook as they do online.
Still Needs Work …
Of course, there are a few niggles. Occasionally, Zinepal was unable to retrieve my text and I had to copy it manually. And at one point, it had a heart attack and appeared to have lost my entire ezine (but it hadn’t; it was a glitch). Also, your ezine has a created by Zinepal strapline on each page and I’m not sure why some of my ezines were classed as recurring and some not.
What I Liked
Those niggles aren’t enough to stop me from using it. I love the fact that it creates different versions of my ebooks, that it automatically includes images from the original post, that I can have it sent by email and that people can subscribe to my feed. If you already publish quality content on your blog, this makes repurposing it very easy. Try it and see what you think. Did I mention that it’s free?
(Photo: Clarita)
Related posts:Want To Publish Your Ebook?Writers – Promote Yourself On WrideoFree Ezine For Your Site
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Have you ever found that lessons from one area of your life can spill over to another? I gave my daughter some advice the other day that provides a valuable lesson for a successful freelance writing career. It boils down to two steps: admit when you’re wrong and know when you’re right.
Admit When You’re Wrong
Often, we want people, especially clients, to think that we know everything about a particular topic or business area. It’s a way of highlighting our expertise and justifying what they pay us. But everyone makes mistakes, and it’s the way you handle those that defines whether you are really a professional. I’ll give you an example. I wrote and published a post for a client of mine. It was factually correct and well written, but the client wanted it pulled for reasons of his own. Now, I could have raised a stink but what would have been the point. I simply pulled the post and emailed the client to let him know it had been done.
Another example. Suppose you get something wrong in a piece of writing. Despite fact checking and triangulation this sometimes happens and you may not realise until later. The best case scenario is that you catch it before the client does, in which case you send a revised version of the piece, noting that you found an error which you have now corrected. Everybody’s happy. If the client catches it first, all you do is apologise (not grovel) and fix it as quickly as possible. Then work out in your own mind where the process went wrong so you can avoid errors in the future.
Assuming that any mistake you make is minor (because you’re a professional writer and have done your best to meet the brief), I find that an early and sincere apology deflects anger and still leaves the client relationship intact.
Know When You’re Right
Of course, there’s another aspect of your relationship with your client. The client hires you as an expert writer, so there are times when you have to take charge and give that client your best advice. You also have to know when your research and groundwork are solid. I’ll give you another recent example. I had written a news piece for an online magazine. The magazine went live, and one of the subscribers queried something I had written as they had seen the story covered differently from another source. The editor passed me the query. To be on the safe side, I rechecked my information, saw that it was solid, took the chance to add some new information that had come in and sent it back to the editor with a note to that effect. A day later, it turned out that the other publication had changed their story to reflect the slant I had taken.
Another example: A client asked me to write some keyword rich articles, but was bothered by the fact that the keywords only appeared a few times. I explained that there were some important spots where they should appear, and if they appeared more often the article would be virtually unreadable. The client took my advice and got a better article because of it. I also got repeat commissions from that client.
Knowing when to admit a mistake or when to stick to your guns will help you go far in freelance writing. As the old song says: ‘You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em …’
(Photo: canonsnapper)
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Appvita has continued to give me the chance to test new sites and review them in the past few months. Here are some of my recent reviews:
Funnela – Simple Online CRM
Joobili – You Say When, They Say Where
Legacy Locker – A Safe For Your Digital Assets
Liquid Planner – Flexible Project Planning
WhoDoes – Teamwork Made Easy And Attractive
Mogulus – Make Your Own TV Channel
Bulbstorm – Communicate To Innovate
Flowzit – Streamline Document Sharing
Lifeblob – Share Your Life On A Timeline
Momversation – Interact with Mommy Bloggers. Become a Smarter Parent.
EveryBlock – Get Really Local News
A Better Office – Find The Perfect Workspace
BookArmy – Get Good Book Recommendations
Snooth – Find Great Wines at Affordable Prices
WizeHive – Collaborate Online
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One of the highlights of my recent posts on PiggyBankPie was a series on getting started in blogging. I’ve also reviewed several interesting sites.
Tweeting For Two - What I Have Learned
Getting To Grips With Your Online Contacts
Tools To Manage Your Online Reading List
Searching Your Desktop: What Are The Options?
How Do Your Posts Rank?
Seven Multiple Social Bookmarking Tools
Getting Started in Blogging: Blogging As A Business
Getting Started in Blogging: Monetization
Getting Started In Blogging: Advertising And Promotion
Getting Started In Blogging: Linkbuilding
Getting Started In Blogging: How To Improve Your Blog
Getting Started In Blogging: Stats
Filtering Out The Twitter Noise
Getting Started In Blogging: Planning And Management
Getting Started In Blogging: Getting Ideas
Manage Twitter Better With Hootsuite
Getting Started In Blogging: Customization
Getting Started In Blogging: Free Themes
Track Your Blog Conversations With BackType
WordPress Spam Protection: Aksimet Vs Defensio
Getting Started In Blogging: Platform Choices
Getting Started In Blogging: Hosting
Syncplicity - Simple Online Backup For Your Blog
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Well, recent is a relative term. The posts I’m going to list cover the period from November 2008 to June 2009. I enjoy writing about travel and these posts give a flavour of the topics I can cover:
June 2009
30: Traveling The Blogosphere - June 2009
25: Indy PRF Launches Reward Program
23: More Strange Festivals From Around The World
18: Would You Work For Free To Save Your Company?
16: Visiting Nottingham Castle
11: Pack It Up! - Online Packing List Tools
09: How To Cut The Cost Of Your Next Business Trip
04: Tips For Enjoying A Great Staycation
02: Using The New Indy Airport
May 2009
28: Ten Tips For Hotel Safety
26: A Whistle Stop Tour Of Chicago
21: Travel Tips For A Great Summer
19: How To Save On Your Summer Vacation
14: Explore The World With GoNomad.com
12: Inside Chicago O’Hare (ORD) Airport
07: I Want One Of Those - Must Have Business Travel Gadgets
05: Business Travel News
April 2009
30: Four Ways To Get The Best Offsite Airport Parking
28: Layover In HOU Hobby Airport
23: Fast Facts About Indiana
21: Top Tips For Healthy International Travel
16: Honeymoons And The Face Of Travel - Travel News
14: Make Timely Travel Plans With Joobili
09: How To Get Out Of Miami Airport In An Hour
07: Six Travel Bloggers You Should Follow On Twitter
02: Wine And Wildlife - A Trip To Cancun
March 2009
31: The Roaring Sea - A Trip To Cancun
26: Do You Really Need Travel Insurance?
24: Ten Things To Do Before Your Next Business Trip
19: Be Safe In The Airport Parking Lot
17: The ABCs Of International Business Etiquette
12: Layover In Albany Airport (ALB)
10: Interview With The Voluntourism Gal
05: Stress Free Business Travel
03: Exploring The Top Travel Blogs
February 2009
26: Responsible Travel Can Still Be Fun
24: Nine Places To Plan Your Next Trip
19: The Gadget Traveler - Interview
17: Popular Airport Parking Locations
12: The Best iPhone Apps For Travelers
10: Romance And Free Travel
05: Great Meals Every Time - Where The Locals Eat
03: Don’t Get Stuck At The Airport!
January 2009
29: How To Get First Class Travel At Coach Prices
27: Retreats And Room Rates - Travel News
22: The World’s Best And Worst Airports
20: Cowgirls And Log Cabins - Layover In DFW Part 2
15: Layover In Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
13: ESTA Is Live - Travel News 1/13/09
08: Layover In Miami International Airport (MIA)
06: Facebook Applications For Travelers
01: So You Wanna Have A Green Vacation?
December 2008
30: Taking Off Travel Blog - This Year’s Popular Posts
26: The Skinny On Frequent Flyer Programs - Part 2
25: Merry Christmas From ParkRideFlyUSA
23: The Skinny On Frequent Flyer Programs - Part 1
18: Business Travel Freebies - R.I.P?
16: Five Tips To Cut The Cost Of Holiday Travel
11: Feeling Festive? - Christmas Travel Videos
09: Christmas Gifts For The Business Traveler
04: Ten Things To Know About The New Indy Airport
02: Build Your Own Travel Guide
November 2008
27: Queen Of The Road
25: Offsite Airport Parking Tips
21: New Indy Park Ride & Fly Opens - Travel News
19: Stress Free Vacation Travel
13: Track Business Travel With Dopplr
11: Layover In Detroit (DTW)
06: A Mini Florida Eco-Tour
04: Layover In LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
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Summer and the freelance writer
It’s summer! For most people, the summer holidays are a time to rejoice and to plan vacations, but for work at home moms with school age children, there’s often a sense of thinly veiled panic. The question we don’t dare voice is: how the heck will I meet all my deadlines with all my kids at home?
Of course, being able to spend time with our kids is part of the reason we have this job anyway (that, and an inability to leave the computer for more than five seconds), so we should welcome the opportunity. However, there’s no denying that it can present challenges if you have a roster of regular clients with regular deadlines. So what do you do? Here are some of the strategies I have used.
Outsource
Pass some of your work onto a trusted colleague. It has to be someone who will deliver the same standard of work as you, and whose work you won’t have to check to often (spot checks are always sensible). Yes, you will earn a bit less, but it will free up some family time and ease the pressure.
Shift Your Work Patterns
During school time, I generally get my daughter ready for school and then start work at about 8am while my hubby does the school run. In the holidays, I may start later and work intermittently. Today, for example, I did an hour between 7 and 8, then came back to the computer at around 9 to do some more. Hubby’s taken our daughter out, leaving me a couple of hours to do client work and write this post. I’ll probably take a break when they return, and do an hour late this evening to catch up.
Find A Camp
Despite the horrors suggested by summer camp in the Peanuts strip, not all kids hate it. In fact, many kids love the chance to do something different. Around here, camp breaks up around 2.30 so it’s a shorter day, but it means that I can get some of my work done if I’m organised, which brings me to my next point …
Be Efficient
When you have the whole day, you can afford to waste a little time. During the summer vacation, every minute counts, so make sure you use any free time wisely. During the summer I may post less on the blog and be slightly less active on some social media outlets so that I can make sure that my clients’ work gets done.
Take Some Time Off
Of course, you could just go with the flow. You will never get this time with your child back again. I’m aiming for a balance. My daughter knows that there are days when I have deadlines and I won’t be able to play, but on other days when it’s less critical, I can take a couple of hours off and revert to childhood - isn’t that the whole point of being a freelancer?
Another great post from Get Paid to Write Online Copyright 2005-2009
Freelancing Through The Summer Vacation
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/Z1369YWSwrw/
The results of the survey on lifestyle design by Free Pursuits and Location Independent are in – and I’ve found them fascinating. Here are ten reasons that writers and others were inspired to make the move.
1. Spending time with family and travelling
2. Boredom and the need for diversity
3. Unhappinhess with employment
4. Reading about someone who live the lifestyle
5. Annoyance with commuting
6. Dissatisfaction with the lifestyle in their home country
7. A desire to live like a movie star
8. The Location Independent blog
9. Lack of vacation time
10. A desire to be free
If you’re thinking about cutting those ties, or if you’ve already done it, what’s your motivation?
Get Paid To Write Online will be hosting the next Location Independent blog carnival in July. See the first one here.
Another great post from Get Paid to Write Online Copyright 2005-2009
Ten Reasons To Live The Nomadic Lifestyle
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The way you present yourself to clients can have as much to do with winning writing commissions as your skill level. Clients will never find out how good you are at writing if your initial presentation is offputting. So how can you put your best foot forward as a writer? Here are some tips.
Organize Your Website
Make it easy for clients to find the information they want on your site. Most clients want to see examples of work, rates, testimonials and contact details. Make sure these feature prominently on your site.
Be Responsive
When clients contact you, respond as soon as you can. Even if you are responding to say that you can’t speak right away, acknowledging the client makes them feel that you are on the case and that they can trust you.
Do Your Research
Even before you speak to or email a client, you can check them out online. Google is your best friend, as you can use it to see what the client’s business is about so that you can tailor your conversation and samples so that they meet the client’s needs.
Be Meticulous
Once you have got a commission, do what you promised. Meet the brief and deliver on time. If you are unsure about anything, ask questions early so you can still meet your deadline. Clients don’t mind answering questions if it improves the final product.
This article originally appeared in Writing Lab News.
Another great post from Get Paid to Write Online Copyright 2005-2009
How To Put Your Best Foot Forward As A Writer
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Almost three years ago, I published a list of some of the most lucrative writing markets I had found. At the time I listed the following places which had proven useful for me as a writer:
Exquisite Writing – an international copywriting agency
Blogitive – a blog advertising company
Lifetips – a site with mini sites about thousands of topics
Freelance Writing Gigs – a site which provided great job leads
My Client List
Three years on, the picture looks very different. My client list looks like this:
two online monthly trade magazines for which I source news and write feature articles, going back to my roots as a journalist
a travel blog where I post twice weekly for an offsite airport parking firm
a tech blog, where I post roughly ten times a month
a review blog, where I post batches of reviews of of new websites at intervals
a business consultant, for whom I write article marketing articles
a musical entertainment provider, for whom I write environmental articles for his local website and occasional travel articles on the destinations where he operates
a management consultant, for whom I write website materials as well as helping with other projects
two copywriting agencies
an education firm, for whom I do proofreading
a European bimonthly magazine which deals with development issues, for whom I do proofreading
I also do occasional guest blogs on topics such as parenting and finance, among others.
Great Places To Find Jobs
The places where I look for work include:
Freelance Writing Gigs
Rentacoder
The Writer’s Bridge
I also get a lot of work from referrals.
Places which have not provided much include Elance, Guru, Odesk – and let’s not even talk about GetAFreelancer. However, I would still recommend that new writers give Exquisite Writing a try.
Why This Matters
There are three points to make with this list. First, that having a varied client list will help insure you against ruin if one client disappears. (I have a couple of big clients in there and admittedly it would hurt if I lost their business, but I’d still have something to keep me going while I looked for a replacement).
Second, that you probably have a wide range of abilities – the more of them you use the more varied and interesting your writing career will be. At the moment, my current client list represents a good balance.
Third, that persistence is one of the keys to freelancing success. When I started freelancing, I took certain jobs just for the experience – the pay wasn’t worth writing home about – so I could build my skill level. That paid off by bringing me better paid opportunities and referrals from satisfied clients. Wherever you are starting from, you can do this too.
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Location Independent and Free Pursuits are trying to find out more about the growing community of digital nomads and location independent professionals. As Corbett Barr says:
Our community is full of people who ask “why wait until you’re rich or retired to live the life you really want to live?”
To do this they are doing a survey hosted on the Free Pursuits blog. I don’t know about you, but I’m curious about the rest of the community, so I’ll be taking part in the survey and waiting with interest to see the results. You can participate here.
Another great post from Get Paid to Write Online Copyright 2005-2009
Location Independent Survey Is Live!
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A couple of weeks ago, I published a mini-review of GetAFreelancer. George Angus stopped by to tell me about another freelance marketplace called Textbroker. I invited George to review it for Get Paid To Write Online.
Textbroker Review
One of the most common questions that I get from folks who are just starting out in the freelance writing business is, “How do I start earning some money for my writing?” This is a legitimate and powerful question. The answer won’t be the same for everyone, but I’m going to tell you what worked for me, and you be the judge.
When I started Tumblemoose Writing Services, I didn’t have anything in the way of clients. I ran across Textbroker.comas I was seeking work. The process was easy and straightforward so I signed up.
How Textbroker Works
Textbroker has two sides: A client base and a writer base. Clients post open orders for their projects. The client chooses the minimum writer rating that can do the work, and the number of words along with detailed instructions for the project. What they pay for the article is based on the rating system (one to five stars).
Writers log in and can see the open orders that clients have posted. As a writer, you will be assigned a rating based on a sample article that Textbroker requests you during initial sign up. Once you have been rated at say, 3 stars, you can select any article that is a three star or lower rating. There is no bidding! You select the article and start writing. There is a wide variety of topics, length of project and clients.
One of the biggest advantages to using Textbroker is that a vast majority of articles need to be keyword optimized. This is where I learned about SEO and it set the foundation for everything else I do.
The staff at Textbroker will periodically monitor your work and bump your ratings up as appropriate. It took about 6 weeks for me to move up to a 5 rating.
What you will find is that at the most, you are pulling down $2 to $8 bucks a post. It doesn’t sound like much but it really adds up.
Getting More From Textbroker
Now, the great thing is that clients can request a project be assigned to only you. When they request a direct order, the project is not seen by others and the applicable rate is whatever per word rate you select in your profile.
After about two months, direct orders started rolling in. I made a bit o’ change completing direct orders for clients and have several repeat clients that will only work with me.
One last thing to mention. I’ve had a few occasions to contact their customer service about projects. Their responses have always been prompt and helpful.
In a nutshell, I highly recommend anyone just starting out to head on over to Textbroker and give them a try.
If you have any questions about Textbroker, please let me know! george@tumblemoose.com
George Angus is the owner of Tumblemoose Writing Services and has recently authored the ebook, The Writing Experience
Another great post from Sharon Hurley Hall at Get Paid to Write Online
Writing Markets: Textbroker
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/cQZpf_VkH60/
The Tumblemoose blog has just published my guest post on: Six tips to avoid being an overworked writer:
When you focus on the financial bottom line, it’s too easy to forget to take care of other important areas of your life, such as friends, family and yourself. And that can do long term damage to your relationships and your health.
Check it out!
Another great post from Sharon Hurley Hall at Get Paid to Write Online
Guest Post On Tumblemoose: Overworked Writers
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/azg03usmPCA/
People always ask about making a success of blogging - how you get started, how you can earn money, how it fits in with the rest of your career. Over the years, I’ve answered a few of those questions and shared the lessons I’ve learned.
Getting Started
We all had to start somewhere. Here’s my story as well as those of several others.
The Born Again BloggerÂ
Blogging Start Writing Project Posts
Blogging And Writing
Writing and blogging go hand in hand for me. Here are some of the thoughts I’ve had about blogging over the years.
Blog Your Way To Writing Success
I, Ghost Blogger
Blogging and Creativity
When Do You Write?
In Defense Of Blogging
Promotion Plus
This section is about successful blogging - getting out there and letting people know you’re around.
Seven Effective Blogging Habits
How To Promote Yourself Through Guest Blogging
Welcome To The Carnival
Earnings/Monetization
How do you earn money with your blog and what’s the minimum you should accept? My thoughts are in these posts.
Ad Revenue Share Is NOT A Paid Blogging Job
Blogging For Smarties
My Two Year Adsense Experiment
Get Paid To Blog - Program Reviews
There have been some changes since I wrote this series, but some of these programs are still running under different names.
Bloggerwave Pays You To Blog
Blogitive: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Blogsvertise Wins On Ease Of Use
Big Payouts With PPP
Get Paid To Blog With LoudLaunch
Reviewing ReviewMe
Bigger, Better Blogging Ads?
Thumbs Up For Smorty
Get Paid To Blog With Sponsored Reviews
Get Paid To Blog With The Linky Love Army
PayU2Blog Review
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/H1zacTHTLbU/
Just over a year ago, I wrote about my initial experience using bidding site Get A Freelancer. At that time I spent about $13 to land a project worth around $750 and considered that fair enough. GAF got a bad press from many of my readers. With the exception of a few who had been lucky like me, most comments were similar to this one from James Chartrand:
GAF was bad back then. It’s still bad now. I think all writers should stay away from the place, because it’s a definite arena where 98% of the buyers don’t give a crap about quality work.
One Year On
So, a year later, am I still using GAF? Am I heck! By the end of last year, as recession started to bite, it seemed to me that potential clients used that as an excuse to offer projects that paid even less (if that’s even possible), while asking writers for even more. It just wasn’t worth it for me. I believe that writers should be paid fairly for their writing skills. Although I haven’t deleted my account, I’ve stopped subscribing to email updates and don’t plan to use the site again.
Who Should Use GAF?
I’m not writing Get A Freelancer off altogether. If you want to get paid to write and have absolutely no experience, sites like that can sometimes offer a way into the writing business. Just be careful not to take on so much work that you don’t have time to take advantage of better opportunities. Or spend the time writing articles for article marketing or your own blog - you might find that’s even more useful in the long run.
Related PostsFirst Experience With GetAFreelancerI signed up with GetAFreelancer a couple of years ago, yet I've only just completed my first project...When Is Your Money Not Your Money? We've all been there. You get a job, work for the money and wait to get paid. And wait ... and wait...Freelance Writing Questions: How To Bid SuccessfullyOne of the mysteries for new freelance writers is how to bid for jobs. As a new writer, you often ha...Writing As Art - UpdateUltimate Freelancing Guide Review
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/hHREPyXdrss/
Here’s a list of everything I’ve published on PiggyBankPie to date. These are mainly about blogging, but also include website and tool reviews.
2009
Five Plugins To Give Your Blog Content A Boost
Who Are Your Twitterfriends?
Three Twitter Tools I Can’t Live Without
Lessons From Choosing A Premium WordPress Theme
Put Your Life Online With Storytlr
RSS Mixers: The Options At A Glance
Four Ways To Beat Blogger’s Block
Short Guide To Lifestreaming
The No-Frills Guide To Web Analytics
Three Abandoned WordPress Plugins
Twitter Backgrounds Made Easy
Promote Your Blog With Blogrize
Time Tracking For Professional Bloggers … And Others
Five Free Keyword Research Tools For Bloggers
2008
Feedly: A New Face For Google Reader
Two Tools For Tracking Research
How To Run A Group Writing Project
How To Save Your Blog From Extinction
Making Your Content Work Harder: Eco-Friendly Blog Promotion
Getting Into Iminta?
Profilactic: Lifestreaming Made Simple
Twitter in the AIR
Exploring The Plurkiverse: Microblogging Gets Conversational
Tuning In To Twitter
Coming Out As A Blogger
The Joy Of Blogging
2007
Want To Drop One On Me?
Are You Being Kind To Your Readers?
Ten Paid To Blog Programs At A Glance
Five Ways To Kill Your Blog
How To Make Your Blog Work For You
How To Find Blogging Success
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/pUqBT9Mm4x0/
Get your writing career on track with these promotion tips
I’ve been writing about promotion since 2005 and over that time, I’ve learned a lot about the topic. Many people think Self Promotion: What’s The Point? My question to you is Are You Invisible? If you are then it’s time to find out about How To Build Your Own Buzz. If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few of my other popular posts on promoting yourself, both generally and as a writer
Promote Yourself With A Portfolio
Blogging As Portfolio
How To Prove You Can Write When You Have No Clips
How To Create A Writing Portfolio
Writer Without Portfolio
Article Marketing
Writing for ezines - a good way to build site traffic
How To Market With Articles: Shameless Self-Promotion
The Long Reach Of Article Marketing
Social Promotion
Why Writers Should Use Social Bookmarking
How To Promote Yourself With Squidoo
The Promotion Power Of The Email Sig
How To Promote Yourself Through Guest Blogging
Finally, check out my Promotion Is Free series, which looks at several aspects of self promotion.
Related PostsWriter Promotion Is ImportantIf you are going to get paid to write, then you need to make sure that prospective clients can find ...Promotion, Promotion, PromotionAnd I'll say it again - promotion. No-one knows you're out there if you don't tell them, so you have...How Do You Promote?Promotion is a key aspect of freelance writing success. Here's what I say about it in one of my new ...Blogging Around: New FeatureWriting Tips October 2007
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/qRnNVUyQOnQ/
In the last edition of my free newsletter, I outlined five writing blogs that I can’t live without. These are blogs that I rush to every time there’s a new post to see what gems are waiting for me. To add to that, I’ve decided to feature five posts from these blogs that really resonated with me. Hope you enjoy them too.
2009 Writing Goals: Staying Afloat As A Freelance Writer During A “Recession” - The Writer’s Blog by Dana Prince
Recessions are the Best Times for Business - Men with Pens
Are You Cut Out for Freelance Writing? - Scribizzy
How to Build Your Ultimate Contact List- Freelance Switch
My Top 5 Biggest Freelancing Mistakes - Freelance Folder
Now it’s your turn to share. Feel free to add a link to the best post on writing you have read this month.
Related PostsTop Blogs For Writers - Your Vote CountsMike Stelzner of Writing White Papers is once again running his top blogs for writers competition. L...Blogitive: The Good, The Bad And The UglyBlogitive was the first paid to blog program I used, so it's a good place to kick off my series of r...Top Ten Writing Blogs - Winners AnnouncedMike Stelzner has published the winners of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers – 2007/2008 competition. C...Men With Pens ReviewHow To Promote Yourself Through Guest Blogging
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/o9wzAI7Hajg/
Shortly after I published the list of my latest posts for the What’s New Online kiosk, the site author contacted me to say that the post were doing double duty and could also be found on the Appvita blog. Those are the links I’ll be publishing in future. Here’s a full list of what I’ve done to date:
2009
Producteev - Work Collaboratively Online
Setster - Book Client Appointments Online
ManyMoon - Collaborative Online Task Management
Floorplanner - You Are The Designer
BackType - Keep Track Of Your Comments
Seat Karma - Finding The Best Ticket Prices
Dashboard - The Online Lead Converter
Contxts - Create SMS Business Cards
ccBetty: Smarter Email Management
AskItOnline - The Easy Survey Builder
Vet Help Direct - Online Help For Your Pet
Syncplicity - Online Backup Made Simple
Plinky - Microblogging With Purpose
Dial My Calls - Make Group Calls In Seconds
Storytlr - Tell Your Story With A Lifestream
Wufoo - The Easy Form Creator
Zilok - Make Money By Renting Your Stuff
Rypple - Get Constructive Feedback Fast
MailChimp - Easy Email Marketing
FastDue - The Invoicing Tool Suite
Story Of My Life - Share Your Story Forever
Lifetick - Manage Your Tasks and Life Goals
I Vote For Art - Rate And Buy Artwork
Do My Stuff - Get Help With Your Dirty Work
Cookstr - Find Great Recipes From Top Chefs
2008
Bitstrips - Create Your Own Comic Strip
Etsy - Buy And Sell Handmade Items Online
Tripit - Your Personal Travel Assistant
YouTube - View And Share Videos Online
PageOnce - Your Online Personal Assistant
Profilactic - Aggregating Your Online Identity
Remember The Milk - Never Forget Another Task
RescueTime - What Do You Do All Day?
Squidoo - Show Off Your Expertise
aNobii - The Site For Bookworms
GoodReads - Read With Friends
HubPages - Easy And Rewarding Online Publishing
Iminta - Connect Your Online Life
LibraryThing - Your Online Book Catalog
Friendster - Social Networking For Adults
Second Brain - The Online Content Collector
Plurk - The Conversational Microblogging Site
Ustream - Produce Your Own TV Show
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/KH3rsbbzKlo/
Late last year, I posted a list of my articles on Life123. The site has since reorganised its navigation, so I’m posting the list again with the right links. Here they are:
Freelance Writing
Five Freelance Writing Lessons
How to Set Writing Goals
Organizing a Home Office for Writing
Dealing With Wrist Tendonitis
Essential Writing Tools for Freelancers
How Freelancers Can Build Web-Writing Skills for Free
Three Quick Ways to Create a Freelance Writing Portfolio
A Writers’ Guide to Provisions of Copyright Law
Get More Freelance Writing Opportunities: Know the Market, Know Thyself
A Guide to Ghostwriting
DIY Freelance Writing Self Promotion
Home and Garden
Quick Guide to Stain Removal
Save Money with Natural Cleaning Products from the Pantry
How to Organize Schedules for Cleaning
How to Buy a Used Car From a Private Party
How to Buy a Car From a Dealership
Six Ways To Find Cheap Airline Tickets
Pregnancy and Parenting
Understanding Pregnancy Ultrasounds
How to Prevent Stretch Marks
Coping with Postpartum Depression
A Guide to Fertility Treatment Options
Creating A Birth Plan
A Guide To Your Fertility Cycle
Facts About Open Adoption
Finding A Nanny
Understanding Closed Adoption
Health and Safety
A Parents’ Guide to Teenage Obesity
How to Stay Healthy Over 50
What Are ADD and ADHD?
Eating Well Over 50
Human Aging Process
Back to School Safety Tips for Parents
Vacation and Travel Safety for Kids
Water Safety for Kids
Issues with Teens and Social Networking
Air Travel Tips For Flying With Children
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/CmL4bsz9WnY/
One of my blogging gigs for last year was a site called TechGerm. Here’s a round up of my latest posts on the site. And if you’re looking for more techie goodness, you can find me blogging on PiggyBankPie.
January 2009
16: CommentLuv - WP Plugin Weekly
14: The Time Tracking Pick List
12: Is IE On The Way Out?
09: Simple Spam Filter - WP Plugin Weekly
07: Forum Matrix - Find That Forum
05: Tech News 1-5-09
02: Extended Categories Manager - WP Plugin Weekly
December 2008
31: Six Months Of TechGerm
29: What To Do When You’re Tired Of Blogging
26: WhyDoWork Adsense - WP Plugin Weekly
25: Merry Christmas From TechGerm
24: Analytics - What’s The Point? Part 2
22: Analytics - What’s The Point?
19: SRG Clean Archives - WP Plugin Weekly
17: The TechGerm Review List
15: First Look At Blogrize
12: Popularity Contest - WP Plugin Weekly
10: TwitBacks - Simple Twitter Backgrounds
08: Tech News 12-8-08
05: Better Comments Manager - WP Plugin Weekly
03: Eight Adobe AIR Apps
01: TwiTip - The Complete Twitter Resource
November 2008
28: In Series - WP Plugin Weekly
26: The Great Google Switcheroo
24: TweetLater- The Twitter Management Tool
21: Wordpress.com Stats - WP Plugin Weekly
19: Slife Offers Analytics For Your Desktop
17: SingleWrench Review
14: All In One Seo Pack - WP Plugin Weekly
12: Preparing For Interruptions (0)
10: Tech News 11-9-08
07: Theme Test Drive - WP Plugin Weekly
05: Lifestreaming With Storytlr
03: A New Way To Moderate
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/yURqUXRo_hk/
One of my occasional gigs is writing reviews of new sites for the What’s New Onine kiosk run by Appvita and CenturyTel. Since I love trying new things, it’s a match made in heaven. Here are my latest reviews on that site:
Story Of My Life - Share Your Story Forever
Lifetick - Manage Your Tasks and Life Goals
Cookstr - Find Great Recipes From Top Chefs
Do My Stuff - Get Help With Your Dirty Work
I Vote For Art - Rate And Buy Artwork
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/Hvwx22WUd6I/
I love writing about parenting, though I don’t do it very often, but the results of my last burst of inspiration have just been published on MommaHelpers. The first is an article on parenting style, called What Kind Of Parent Are You? See if you recognize yourself.
The second is related to a popular movie and show, Mamma Mia, illustrating a parenting lesson that you can gain from watching the movie. It’s called a parenting lesson from Mamma Mia.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/GOt8hGr02As/
Here are some of my most recent articles on EzineArticles. They are a good example of how article marketing can help you to promote a site. These can be informational articles, keyword based articles for SEO or a combination of the two.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SharonHurleyHall/~3/HAGGq_-uw9A/
What would you like to leave as your legacy?
A long time ago Mike Stelzner challenged me to a meme which should be right up any writer’s street. It’s called the six word memoir, where you effectively write a testament to your life in six words. Should be a cinch, right? Wrong! I am the soul of brevity, but that’s a challenge even for me. So I got to thinking about what I would want people to see as my legacy, both as a writer and as a person.
Great Copy
One of the things I would like people to think about me is that I did great writing. I’m not talking great in the sense of the but great in the sense of fit for purpose, achieving the aims that people wanted to meet with the writing. I would like people to be moved by what I write, whether to tears or to laughter or to action, and that’s something that I sometimes achieve. (I don’t think any writer achieves it all the time, but I’m pretty happy with my hit rate.)
Great Thinking
Next, I’d like to be known for the quality of my thinking. Again, I’m not looking for Nobel Prizes, but I like people who engage with me to gain something from the conversation and for us to learn from each other. I enjoy bouncing off people and ending up with something new. I enjoy persuading people to my point of view and seeing the logic of theirs. In other words, I love constructive debate.
Great Person
Finally, though perhaps it’s the most important, I would like people to think I’m a nice person. (Most people want to be seen that way, don’t they?). I’m sorry, but I am just not suited to the cut and thrust, high powered boardroom tactics. I like to be nice to people and I like them to be nice to me. In writing, that means answering questions from writers who are just starting out, or helping my writing friends craft bids or deal with tricky clients.
Great copy, great thinking, great writing - those are the six words I’d choose at the moment (that may change). What are yours?
Related PostsWithout Word: Free Online Tools For WritersI'm just starting a new gig for a writing website. (Sneak preview is available here.) While I was ch...Professional Pay PleaseWhen it comes to freelance writing, I have never been too proud to write for peanuts or even for fre...Free Is Good: More Free Resources For WritersWhen it comes to tools that help me do my job better, free is always good in my book. When writing ...Quiet Rebel Writer ReviewWe Made The Final!
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/XfSEsejVWQI/
Bidding can be one of the hardest things to get right. Someone asked me the other day if I had a bidding template. I’ve discussed bidding before, but for those who missed it, here’s a snapshot of my approach to bidding.
1. Read The Brief
I start by reading the brief carefully so that I can how my skills match what the client wants. If they don’t, then there’s little point in bidding.
2. Introduce Yourself
The people I am writing to don’t know me, so I start my bid with an introduction. It basically says that I am a freelance writer/ghostwriter/blogger (whichever is most appropriate) and mentions how long I have been doing this job.
3. Cut To The Chase
Freelance writers can improve their hit rate with a great bid.
My potential client has little time to waste, so my next sentence cuts to the chase. It says why I would be perfect for the job. This can take different forms. Depending on what seems most important to the client, I may:
list the different types of writing or blogging I have done that are relevant to the job
include the names of some of my clients (those who are happy to be >
highlight qualities such as being a native English speaker, good with deadlines and so on.
4. Back Up Your Claims
Next, I back this up with some proof, including links to my resume, testimonials and relevant examples of work (not too many), then I give my bid for the job. By the time I get to the figure, I hope I have already sold the client on my services.
5. Follow Up Info
Just in case there’s any doubt, I follow this up with:
any relevant information I haven’t already mentioned
the link to my professional website (as opposed to the specific pages I have listed earlier
an invitation to the client to get in touch to discuss the bid further
Within this general template, there is some flexibility. For example, if clients ask specific questions, then I include the answers in my bid.
6. Creating A Template
Once you’ve done a few of these bids, you will be able to put together a single document that has versions of the usual sentences you use. This will help you to bid faster and more effectively. (I’ll be honest: I haven’t actually put them all together - at least, not recently - but I do keep an email folder with the text of my most successful bids so I can adapt them if needed.)
7. Keep It Professional
One final word - tone. Some people are good at making cheeky, cheerful bids that make the clients laugh their way into handing over the job. If you can do it and it’s right for the job, then go for it. I’m not one of those people, though, so I tend to play it straight. Although I use an informal style, I still aim for a professional appearance - there is no text speak in my bids. My bid is the first chance clients have to see my writing, so I make sure each bid is properly spelled and punctuated and grammatically correct.
Related PostsWant To Be A Professional Blogger?Professional bloggers make money for a living. That's all they do - blog and promote, blog and promo...Crafting The Hard SellOne of my most recent writing jobs was to co-author an ebook based on the content of two websites I ...Posts On Writing April 2008I haven't been quite as rigorous in collecting posts in the last month. That was in part due to blog...Professional Pay PleaseHow To Build Your Own Buzz
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Getpaidtowrite/~3/9OIt1gP0LjY/
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