The Writer's Journey

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Freelance Bidding Sites vs. Freelance Job Sites
2008-04-21 00:00:00
This is a post that I've had in mind for awhile but wasn't sure I should post. But, in the interest of sharing useful information and helping other freelance writers, I feel the need to write it. Let me preface by saying that I don't mean any disrespect to any one site, nor do I think that there's anything wrong with any site or its intentions.There are those who visit freelance writing sites that post jobs regularly and apply to the many jobs that are listed. There are several interesting jobs sites that post jobs daily or every few days. I have heard from several people that they get most of their clients from those sites. I also hear that there are people who have gotten lucrative gigs from them. However, that has not been my experience and I don't think it's the norm. I believe that the people like me who have had nothing but bad luck with them are afraid to say anything because it will make them look like a loser. Well, so maybe I'm a loser, but here's why I don't see ...
More About: Sites , Freelance , Bidding

The Weirdness of Ghostwritten Blogs
2008-04-14 21:26:00
Blogs are proliferating so rapidly because they a) are fun to read b) rank better than just about anything in search engines and c) provide a personal way to get information. When you read a blog, you get the information from a real person, or group of people, rather than from a faceless website. You build up trust in the person you're reading week after week. I personally think that's the main draw- you get to know these people through what they write and how they deliver their information. So, what if the whole thing is put on? I'm mainly a ghostwriter, meaning that I'm undead and float around. Ok, it just means that my name doesn't go onto most of what I write and often someone else's name does. It can be irritating to see something you slaved over being published with someone else's name on it, but that's the nature of the biz. The buyer pays, they own the work and they can put Bozo the clown's name on it if they so choose. The only time it really feels weird is when th...
More About: Blogs

Creative Writing and Writing Jobs
2008-04-14 05:49:00
Anyone who writes for a living is a writer, I believe. Sometimes I wonder, however, how much of my job is really writing and how much is marketing? Most of what I do as a web writer is work for hire- someone tells me how long the work should be and what it will be about. Sometimes I cam given keywords to add, and more often than not I am given a title. So, when I put it all together, can that be considered writing or marketing? After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it's writing. I am not a marketer by trade, and yes, writing strictly-defined articles can be considered creative writing.What you write, even if you are given a very detailed guide about what to write, is extremely colored by your own skill and attitude. You can make anything funny, sad, sympathetic or straightforward and unbiased. The particular path you take is a footprint you leave behind. Sometimes I think that having to work within such tight constraints and still being able to make the ma...
More About: Creative , Writing , Jobs , Creative Writing

Not Looking for Work
2008-04-08 06:31:00
It can actually happen. You can get to a point in freelance Web writing where you don't have to actively search for work. It took awhile, but I am so grateful that I don't have to search for a couple of hours every day before I start the actual work.How it Happens:The first step is to have a visible Web presence. I have a writing sample site, Squidoo lenses and a couple of blogs to keep my name out there. Clients write to me through the sample site or the lenses and ask me about rates and tell me about their projects. Most of them then disappear, perhaps believing me to have too high a price, perhaps simply capturing my email for the purposes of evil. But, some offer little projects that I can do without having to search out the gigs. I also frequent a fabulous writing forum full of women writers. I regularly do projects for some of those ladies and have had nothing but good experience with them. I have a profile on Elance full of good feedback and a portfolio full of writing samp...
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Selling the Rights to Web Articles
2008-04-03 06:32:00
For Web writers, the issue of rights can be a sticky one. When writing for magazines or anthologies, many writers keep the rights to their work after giving up the first print rights or first North American rights. I see a lot of writers who are transitioning into Web writing and are shocked at the idea of giving up all rights. But, that's what work for hire is. You are hired to write on a specific topic and the article that results is transfered to the buyer. The writer has no rights in those cases.Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with giving up rights to an article when I have been paid for it. The only time I don't want to give up rights is when the site or client in question is paying on a profit-sharing basis. I write for several sites that pay based on pageviews or a portion of the revenue generated by pay-per-click ads. If you want to write for a website and keep the rights to your work, there are several that allow it. Suite101 allows its writers to keep the rights...
More About: Selling , Articles , Rights

Back Again
2008-03-28 23:34:00
When you're self employed, it can be pretty rough to take even one week off. I was out for eight days and had to prepare for it for weeks, taking care of work plus advance work plus notifying people plus planning and packing. I did work for regulars in advance, but had to end up turning away some work because there simply wasn't any way to take on more work at the time. I hate to turn away any work, but there are only 35 hours in a day.Vacation!I was in Orlando visiting the parks during my vacay, and it was a very different experience than it had been the other times I've been over the past 20+ years. Back in the day the park were insanely crowded with American families that rushed the park with their kids and grandmas. Since 9/11, the parks have been far less crowded. Chatting with employees last year I was told that the Disney park empire had not recovered since that time and that the parks were getting desperate to attract tourists. People have been much more hesitant to fly a...

Writing While Away
2008-03-21 16:41:00
In theory, it should be fairly simple to keep working while on vacation. I'm currently in Orlando for spring break and purposely stayed in a place that has high-speed internet just for that purpose. Unfortunately, when you aren't at home, there are far fewer factors that you can control. The main issues are:Internet access has been intermittent, as the hotel is new and they still have some kinks to work out. There is some kind of insane firewall here that is making it difficult to do much. The schedule during vacation is not as easy as sitting around at home, and some days the time to complain about the internet access and to try to conquer the firewall is just not there.My Spanish is not that great. Most of the people that are here to complain to can't speak fluent English, and some not at all. My Spanish is fair but not good enough to communicate seamlessly.So, I am available, sort of, if a client has a problem and needs to get ahold of me. But, getting real work done is diffic...
More About: Writing

Weird and Not About Writing
2008-03-14 08:08:00
I saw this footage the other day and keep thinking about it. It's the kind of thing you see and then desperately want to know answers about, but there may never be any. Is it real? I think no one but the one coming out of the bushes knows for sure. It could be a prank, it could be someone who was simply misunderstood or it could be something else entirely. I showed this to my spouse, who decided, sight unseen, that it was a fake. Yes, before even viewing it. I think that says a lot about the general lack of open mindedness that's the norm these days. If it's not explainable, it must be fake. I've seen people all over the Web say that the people in this area are poor and uneducated and that's why they believe this. Are they poor? It's pretty likely that most of them are. Are they uneducated? Probably. But, what kind of effect does that really have? People who have a great deal of education sometimes start believing that they know everything they need to. With that mindset, it'...
More About: Weird , Writing

How People Get Here
2008-03-10 21:45:00
I check every once in a while, ok, every day, to see how people are getting here. Some people have subscribed, some people click on links, but the vast majority get here through a Google search. Sometimes I see a search and I wonder if that person got the information they were looking for. In case they haven't, I'll try to help. Here are some of the searches that have brought people here:Elance sucksYes, I actually get people coming here regularly after searching for this term. For awhile I was #1 on Google for this phrase which is kind of a sad claim to fame. I'm happier with the site than I once was, especially since the price hike got rid of so many people that there is very little competition for projects. They made a mistake raising rates, and they have a few other flaws, but for right now I don't think they suck too badly.The Writer's JourneyI thought that sounded like a fun title for this here blog, but apparently there is a book by this name. If you have come here looki...
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Freelance Writing Roundup
2008-03-05 03:16:00
Today was the day that Elance dropped all of the people that they had invited to be in their Premier program but who didn't meet the guideline of having two verified credentials. I only have one, so I was dropped a few minutes ago. Yes, they did invite me to be a premier member, knowing that I didn't have two verified credentials. Why? I have absolutely no idea.I've gotten a little more serious about my Suite101 articles lately. My readership was nil for awhile, but it seems to be picking up now. That has gotten me a lot more interested. I don't mind talking to myself. Heck, I write this blog, don't I? But like a lot of sites these days, their payment is based entirely on page views. One interesting site that I have never mentioned here on the ol' blog is EditFast. This site allows clients to find editors that have the type of experience they're looking for. I have a profile set up here.
More About: Writing , Roundup , Freelance

Sci-Fi and Jane Austen
2008-03-02 09:26:00
Yes, it's a weird title, but hear me out...I know I'm not alone in my sci-fi/fantasy obsession, nor in my obsession with Regency/Georgian fiction. The thing is, it has occurred to me over time that they're pretty much the same thing.The thing that interests most readers in sci-fi and fantasy is that a book in either of these genres is a world unto itself. It has its own rules, etiquette and reality that you simply don't get in everyday life. The same is true of period fiction. In its day, Pride and Prejudice was a fairly simple tale told eloquently. The same could be said of the rest of Austen's works, Thackeray's and most of the Bronte novels. But, 200 years later, they are something else entirely. Entering that world is much like entering a Star Trek episode or a Pern novel. You get accustomed to the world over time, but it's not anything you are ever likely to see in real life.Every great work of fiction is like that- a world to itself that is unlike any other. Some worlds...
More About: Jane

Are You Making Excuses? Unless You Have Plague, Think Again
2008-02-25 23:59:00
After getting the flu and still having deadlines to meet, it got me thinking about the many excuses that I hear about. Elance buyers often mention the problems they have with getting people to turn in work on time and citing random excuses. I know there is one provider who has had a mother die at least three times over the course of a year or two. Maybe there are times when people simply can not turn in their work on time. So what are they?Here are a few excuses that I see bidding site buyers talking about:Death in the family- I suspect that less than half of the people who say they have a death in the family really do. Maybe that's harsh, but I think people do use that as an excuse for just being slow or disorganized. Sure, it may happen to some providers, but because so many people claim that, there's no way to be sure when it's really happened. Even if I did have a death in the family, I probably wouldn't mention it out of fear of not being believed. It's kind of like carry...
More About: Excuses

The Five Best Things About Getting the Flu
2008-02-20 00:27:00
I've recovering from the flu right now. I can sit up and walk around but my mind is still a bit fuzzy. Getting the flu is one of the least enjoyable things that humans go through, so I thought I'd try to find a few bright points in the influenza darkness:1. You lose weight. Yeah, it's perverse, but I think I've gone down by about a pant size. Woo hoo!2. You catch up on sleep. I hate to sleep. Seriously. It's nothing more than a big swath of time cut from writing. But, getting caught up on some of the missing sleep will probably be beneficial in the long run.3. People bring you stuff. That's right- I'm thirsty, darn it. I usually feel bad if I ask someone to bring me something, but that's certainly not the case during the flu. Bring me drinks, lunch, a better mouse- whatever I need. Thanks.4. Dreams get freaky. I'm not sure if it's the Darvocet, the Tamiflu or the fever, but my dreams have been epic tales of wonder. I'm thinking about basing a children's book on one of th...
More About: Things

New York Times Lay Offs Planned
2008-02-15 17:27:00
Here's a scary look at the future of newspapers. This is just the latest in a long line of newspaper layoffs. Here's an insanely long list of media layoffs this decade. Getting that journalism degree right on the cusp of the Internet age probably wasn't the wisest choice, in hindsight. But, I still don't see the newspaper dying out any more than I can see it with magazines. People still like to have something tactile to hold and carry with them. Sure, you can get the same information online, but imagine a doctor's office without magazines. Imagine sitting outside and reading news sheets that you printed out on your computer. The habit of picking up a newspaper to read the latest is ingrained in us. Because of this, newspapers will be around for at least a few more decades. After that, there's a chance of them being replaced by news that's read over a Kindle or a similar device. The Kindle already gets the New York Times and a few other large newspapers. It may be just a matte...
More About: New York Times , New-York

Elance Changes to the Changes to the Changes
2008-02-13 20:09:00
The latest changes to the revised changes are here, apparently. The newest word from Elance is that they are extending the free time for the Premier designation. They aren't saying yet how long the extension will be, but my guess is for eternity. No one was willing to pay $20 a month for something that was supposed to be merit based. An extra $240 a year was ludicrous, and I'm glad that Elance finally agrees. They are also "enforcing" the requirement of two verified credentials to be a Premier member. I found "enforce" an odd way to phrase it, since they extended the invitations to the ones they chose, and not the other way around. I only have one verified credential, my degree, and they sent me an invitation to be a Premier member. The cut off day is March 4. Should everyone run out and get more credentials verified? Doubtful.First, it's difficult to do. The third party that they use for the verification process are, in my opinion, extremely inept. They basically had me verify i...

The Writers' Strike is Over!
2008-02-13 07:34:00
It's finally over! Now I can get back to work. Kidding, kidding. I don't have the luxury of striking, even if I wanted to. If people didn't pay me to write I'd probably scribble things down on scratch papers and go around handing them to strangers.Actually, one of the deals that I have in the works was specifically because I don't belong to the union. Some of the union wages for writers are extremely high. I think I've mentioned it here before, but I know a few people in the (B) movie industry, one of which is an investor interested in one of my stories. In the B movie realm, they don't have a budget for union writers, and usually pay about half of the union screenwriter's fee. There have been a few talks this year about turning my thing into something for the Sci-Fi Channel. All they are waiting for right now is a treatment. The problem is, it scares the life out of me. My fiction is always an evolving process, unlike the non-fiction that comes flying out daily. If I finis...
More About: Writers , Strike

What Won't You Write About?
2008-02-11 21:04:00
Normally I hate it when people ask questions in blog posts in an attempt to get comments, but hey- I'm curious. I think that most freelance writers have topics that they won't write about. Usually this happens after they're faced with topics that make them uncomfortable. That's certainly the case for one of my Topics I Won't Write About. I'll write about a lot of weird stuff- I actually welcome it. But there are a few things just aren't going to come flying out of my fingertips.1. Questionable nutritional supplements: I got roped into writing a series of articles about some very questionable supplements once, and it won't happen again. I accepted a project to write about the health benefits of various types of teas. Tea is high in antioxidants and I'm a big believer in these types of natural foods for overall health. Great! After I accepted the project and the money was escrowed I was told that the topic had changed to a type of health supplement. At that point, there wasn...

Made it Through the Tornadoes
2008-02-06 19:26:00
Last night was one of the worst tornado nights we've had in years. Something about the darkness makes any tornado night much more frightening than the same weather during the day, though. I waited up for quite a while to see what was going to happen, but ended up going to bed figuring that if one got close the sirens would wake me up. They certainly did. There were two tornadoes in town and a few others in the surrounding counties by about 3:30 a.m. The worst point was when the local news zeroed in it's street map on the "danger zone." My subdivision was on it. One of the tornadoes ended up passing about a mile from us at one point. At the time it was closest, that eerie calm descended. If you've ever had a tornado close by, you may know what I'm talking about. As long as the rain is coming down, the tornado is usually not that close. But, as soon as the rain stops and it looks like nature is trying to lure you outside with false promises, you're screwed. We had a few minutes o...
More About: Tornadoes , Made

Is Wikipedia a Good Resource for Writers?
2008-02-03 23:20:00
In short, yes. It is. But, but, everyone says it isn't accurate and should never be used as a source. Yes, everyone does say that. Here's why they're wrong:Wikipedia was studied by the journal Nature and found to be about as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. If you have experience in researching and disseminating information, you may know that Encyclopedia Britannica is well-respected for its information, but it has as many errors as most other respected sources. Actually, I've seen errors in Nature before as well. You have to expect a certain margin of error, no matter what resource you use.The publisher of Encyclopedia Britannica admitted on NPR that his publication and Wikipedia have about the same accuracy. Of course, he is now debating the findings in the press. And, that's fine. The test appeared to be a fair study, consisting of a blind comparison of 50 articles from each publication. I do use Wikipedia as a starting point, and I do think that people who are afrai...
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Elance Account Changeable
2008-01-30 01:17:00
Ok, so earlier this month I decided to break down and buy a pack of Elance connects (used to be called bids, used to be readily available with a paid account). The thing that got to me was that you couldn't jut buy a pack, you had to change your account so that you now get than number every month. I have news about this on two fronts:1. I got an email saying that my account was about to renew, and that I can change the account at this time if I want to. I don't remember them doing this before the changes, and I'm sure I'd remember because it's highly annoying. Don't get me wrong- it is a good thing to be able to change the account so that you don't have to buy the extra connects every month. But, setting up the accounts this way is still ridiculous. I don't think that draining still more of our time is the best way to go with everyone still mad from the changes.2. The connects available in a pack are too expensive and don't get you very far. One pack of connects includes 10...
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Cheap Glasses Available Online
2008-01-30 00:18:00
Zenni Optical sells Rx glasses for $8, including the case!If you’re a self-employed writer like I am, you know how annoying it is to buy anything vaguely medical. There is a place, though, that sells prescription glasses for just $8. Freaky, but true. Eight dollars buys a complete set of glasses, including the case. That’s less than most people with vision insurance pay for a co-pay. This is a sponsored post, but I think I see new glasses in my immediate future.
More About: Online , Cheap , Glasses

Attack of the 1099s
2008-01-27 23:54:00
One of the things about being a freelance writer, well, one of the many things, is that you end up writing for so many different people that tax time can get pretty crazy. If you haven't saved money throughout the year for the year-end money grab, there are a lot of ways to maximize deductions, so that usually isn't a problem for me. But, the volume of 1099s can get a little overwhelming.The first issue is just keeping track of how many you have coming to you and waiting for them all to come in. If one doesn't show up, you then have to remember who it was coming from and contact them about it. If they all show up in time, you then have to keep track of all of the little people who aren't required to send one but that you nevertheless owe taxes for. The combination of the 1099 avalanche and the small project record-keeping is enough to make you want to move to the woods and live on dandelions and wild hamsters.So, how to make sense of the mess? Well, I use a complex system of pro...
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Researching Online Casinos
2008-01-26 22:28:00
Online casino sites are a huge, huge niche topic right now. I've written countless articles about them, and I think most other web writers have as well. There's a good site for researching a vast number of casinos at once, called Pro360.com. The site looks at 75 different virtual casinos and gives you a quick look at the different features of each. If you need to find just the casinos that allow U.S. players, there's a quick link for those sites. There is also a FAQ section that provides detailed information about online gambling. And, if you are researching the topic for the first time, the beginner's guide is a good place to go for information about virtual casino basics. There's also a page for getting a few important gambling tips that you might need for specialized articles or ebooks, and who knows, you might just decide to use them for your own gambling endeavors. This is a sponsored review.
More About: Online , Casinos

When Freelance Writing Piles Up
2008-01-26 00:18:00
In freelance writing, it's often a case of feat or famine. Some weeks I have little going on besides regulars and a few residual income projects. Other weeks, last this week, I have slammed pretty much beyond capacity. How do you handle it when you're pretty sure that no human can do the amount of work you have?1. Breathe. Panic is not an option. Keep breathing, and believe you can do it- Little-Engine-That-Could style. 2. Rewards. Break up the work into smaller chunks and give yourself a reward after each one. I'm trying to keep some New Year's resolutions and not opting for food rewards as often. This month it has been YouTube rewards. After each successful increment of the mountain o' work, I give myself license to watch something cool on YouTube before delving back into the pile.3. Be more realistic. Three Elance projects, one RAC one, three regulars, a PLR package, a Bella article and four blogs probably wasn't the best idea for one week's work. Next week, anyone who can...
More About: Writing , Freelance , Piles

Internet Advertising Possibilities
2008-01-18 19:07:00
I'm old enough to remember the dot com crash in the late 90's, and whatever they said caused it, I believe it was because internet advertising was overvalued. People spent waaaay too much on advertising when the internet just wasn't all that popular yet. Pretty much everyone is online now, but then...not so much. Buying stuff online wasn't as accepted back then either. Use a credit card online? You crazy!Now, I think things are different enough that internet advertising really is valuable. Advertising online stores, affiliate stuff, informational websites, movies and even TV shows is a worthwhile endeavor. And, The Guardian agrees with me. According to them, internet advertising will soon be bigger than magazine advertising. That will make the internet the third largest advertising market behind TV and newspapers. Everyone seems to be feeling the internet advertising surge. This lil' blog makes a (very) modest amount through advertising. Many other sites run either Text Link a...
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Valentine's Day Gifts
2008-01-18 18:17:00
Now that Valentin e’s Day is approaching again, holiday content is flying from Web freelancers everywhere. Just don’t get too distracted to remember to actually buy a few things for Valentine’s Day. You can get more than just flowers at 1-800-flowers, including candy, teddy bears and gift baskets. Not only can you get all of your Valentine's Day gifts in one place, but they deliver it and will include a customized note from you. It can be up to 210 characters, even though all you really need is those three little words- “here you go.” This is a sponsored post.
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Freelance Writing Residual Income
2008-01-17 18:29:00
A lot of writers that spend their days on Web content eventually seek out some residual income for the weeks when gigs are scarce. Aside from selling ebooks and seeing the sales trickle in over time, there are a number of sites that can supply you with a small residual income. All of these sites pay small amounts based on how popular your content is, i.e., how many pageviews and clicks you get. This can be simply from the number of people who look at your content, or it may be AdSense revenue.Triond- This is a revenue-share site, which bases its payments on the amount of revenue your articles bring in for the site. After you upload your file (one file per article), the site approves it and it's set up on one of their many content sites. You can track your pageviews and income per article on the main site. In addition to articles, it also accepts poetry, essays and pretty much anything that people may be inclined to look at.Squidoo- Squidoo is a place where members create "lenses," ...
More About: Writing , Residual Income , Freelance , Income , Residual

Bind Your Own Books
2008-01-17 01:04:00
If you've ever had the urge to publish or print your own books, you may have noticed how outrageous the cost of a vanity publisher is. The alternative is to find a way to print the things up yourself. Coverbind is a company that has sold small, personal binding machines for the last 20 years. The binding machines can be used for small books, reports, photograph albums and anything else you need to give off a professional image. The books and reports aren't just stapled together or glued in place- they're really bound. The binding machines range from the small personal model to the larger, commercial version of the binder. Any of them will create a professional-looking result.The binders are often used to bind a professional portfolio, such as writing clips or photography samples. If you’re familiar with how much professional photography supplies cost, a binder might be the least expensive thing in your studio.Binders are a useful thing to happen in small businesses, as well. Wi...
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Um, Elance? Breathe.
2008-01-14 06:56:00
Elance has visited this lil' blog no less than 11 times today. I'm not quite sure what to make of that one. That's pageviews also, so it may be less than 11 times that the site was brought up from scratch. But, several of those times were 20 minutes or more apart, and looking at the same page, so it may have been several different people. I just have to wonder what they're saying. They must bring up The Writer's Journey, close it out and then call a friend to come and look at it. "Hey! Marge! Someone mentioned Elance on a blog! Can you believe it? What the heck? They actually mentioned us!"Then of course, they close it out, but Bill walks in, and they know Bill wouldn't want to miss this. They bring it back up to let Bill share in the excitement."We've got one, Bill! Someone mentioned us! Do a screen capture! Get the camera out and take a picture! Can we get stationary printed up to mark the occasion? Check petty cash!"Then of course Lillian walks in, and they have to repeat ...
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New Article Directory Offers Profit Sharing
2008-01-14 04:43:00
If you’ve looked into the so-called bum marketing method, or other types of article marketing, you know about some of the biggest article directories out there. By choosing low-competition keywords, you can get in there and plug your site or pump those affiliate links out there. But, there’s a new site that gives you another opportunity to profit from your article marketing ventures. The 24Find Profit Sharing Article Directory is a new article directory that allows not only links in your article to your own site or blog, but it also lets you put your own AdSense on each article.This is a sponsored review, but I do think it’s a pretty neat idea. Since the site is so new, there aren’t that many articles on it yet, but that could actually work to your favor. The site gives out quarterly awards to the writers with the articles with the best ratings. The ratings are made by other members of the site, and the awards are $100, $200 and $350. Since the site is new, there’s a prett...
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