The Grapevine: For Writers

Yesterday, a local newspaper editor asked me for several writing samples. My heart lifted, as it always does when I get another "chance" to be published. It's happened a lot before, but the happy feeling never changes.


Thankfully, my husband was kind enough to set me up with a scanner some time ago. With a few clicks of the mouse, the scanner starts buzzing, and my screen magically displays a .JPG file of my work. I love this scanner! All it takes is a few more clicks and my samples are scooting across cyberspace. Now I'll just cross my fingers and hope the editor likes my style.

Yes, the story is simply fascinating, I know (NOT!), but I do have a point: ALWAYS keep your writing samples. Keep original copies of the published article if your can, and make copies to use as samples. Scanning is another convenient alternative. It gives the luxury of emailing your clips, or even posting them on your website.

Take care to categorize your samples, as well. If you're approaching a magazine, you'll want to find pieces that suit their style. If you're looking for a newspaper gig, try a third-person fact driven piece. While the styles don't have to match exactly, it will certainly give your stuff the extra edge.

If you have been writing online, you have invested considerable time in your blog, web page, or online articles. In most cases, your income depends upon your page views (how many people visit your page). So if you really want to increase your income, you need to work on promoting your website. After all, big companies spend millions of dollars each year on advertising; it must be a good investment.

Fortunately, investing in our articles is not as expensive. The real cost lies in the time spent promoting our articles, not in actual advertising expenses themselves. Thus, a portion of your day must be spent in promoting the articles that you have already written.

The two primary ways to promote your pages are through word-of-mouth and through the search engines. Over the next few days, I'll touch on both topics and discuss ways to advertise your website, blog, or articles without spending money.

If you have not already done so, sign up for Google AdSense and the Amazon Associates program. These sites pay as visitors click through and/or purchase items through their links. (All click throughs must be legitimate. Never click your own link or click a friend's link!)

Yesterday was an interesting day for eHow's writers. Their lucrative writing venue literally transformed overnight. We awoke to find a new message in a bright box in the middle of our screen. It shouted that all eHow articles would now be written through Demand Studios. (Demand Studios and eHow are owned by the same company.)

As a new eHow writer, I personally am not affected by the change. I have made exactly $0 in advertising revenue at eHow, although I have made a decent amount of cash at Demand Studios. Frankly, I find Demand Studios to be a nice broker for freelance writers; it creates an easy bridge between writing for enjoyment and writing for pay. They provide the topics, and I write what I like. But that's a story for another time.

Today I wanted to focus on other online writing sites. Writers like to get paid to write. We like to have articles that link to Google AdSense or another form of advertising revenue. We like royalties.

So where do we go?

In addition to Demand Studios, I have had a lot of luck with Suite 101 (www.suite101.com/invite/689124). It pays via advertising revenue, and I get to retain my rights (as outlined in the contract.) I like Suite 101, and highly recommend it to other writers.

So my question to you is this:
WHERE WILL YOU WRITE?

Oh my! It's been an interesting day for writers of eHow, who have been used to the revenue sharing program that has been in place for several years. Luckily, eHow's changes have not affected my writing, as I have only submitted several pieces. However, I do suggest waiting for the fall-out to finish before signing up.

In the meantime, I have written one more title for Suite 101. It's been slow going, but I have made a few dollars from Suite 101. Check out the article at http://dessert-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-to-make-thumbprint-cookies.

See you soon!

While I still prefer to write with pen and paper, I have found that there is a large online writing market. I've been experimenting with Demand Studios over the past few months, and I must say that it has been rather successful.

Demand Studios pays fairly well, and the work in interesting. The pay rates vary per article; when I began the pay rates were $3 for a short answer, $7.50 for a fact sheet; and $15 for a longer article. There is an application process, and all submissions must go through a copy editor.

In the meantime, I'm flirting with another online magazine, Suite 101. I'll fill you in on this one later. In the meantime, feel free to visit my newest article at Suite 101: http://dessert-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/fruit-cobbler--an-easy-cake-recipe-makes-a-deli.

Yesterday, a local newspaper editor asked me for several writing samples. My heart lifted, as it always does when I get another "chance" to be published. It's happened a lot before, but the happy feeling never changes.

Thankfully, my husband was kind enough to set me up with a scanner some time ago. With a few clicks of the mouse, the scanner starts buzzing, and my screen magically displays a .JPEG file of my work. I love this scanner! All it takes is a few more clicks and my samples are scooting across cyberspace. Now I'll just cross my fingers and hope the editor likes my style.

Yes, the story is simply fascinating, I know (NOT!), but I do have a point: ALWAYS keep your writing samples. Keep original copies of the published article if your can, and make copies to use as samples. Scanning is another convenient alternative. It gives the luxury of emailing your clips, or even posting them on your website.

Take care to categorize your samples, as well. If you're approaching a magazine, you'll want to find pieces that suit their style. If you're looking for a newspaper gig, try a third-person fact driven piece. While the styles don't have to match exactly, it will certainly give your stuff the extra edge.

The age-old advice is true: write what you know. When you speak about familiar topics, an air of expertise shines through. So examine your life, and focus on your interests. Your topics will find you.

It goes without saying (and yet I'll say it anyway), that you need to pick your genre first. Now my genre focuses on non-fiction articles. In particular, I am fond of the how-to article. I find that I enjoy hands-on experiences, and thus I'm able to guide my reader more easily.

(Now don't panic if you write in several genres, just apply this advice to each genre separately.) There's no long-term commitment involved.

You, of course, have a bevy of genres from which to choose. First, do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? What particular sub-category? What are your interests? Do you prefer first person or third person? Do you prefer writing articles, short stories, books, or something else? Do you prefer working for online editors, traditional publishers, or businesses? The choices are endless.

Once you've decided upon a genre, brainstorm about your ideas. Sometimes, they will come in fits and starts; sometimes they will flow freely; and sometimes they just won't flow at all. But THAT'S OKAY!!! Work through the pain, and keep going. Write every single day, even if you don't have much to say.

Here's a different approach: Every single time a new idea springs to mind, start a new Word file. Use keywords in the filename, so you can find it later. If you have five ideas in five minutes, then save five different Word files. Is it annoying? It can be. But when a new idea emerges, you can pop it into a new or existing file. Keep it up and you'll have an incredible brainstorming list for each topic. You never know when you'll want to open the file, rework it, and turn it into something remarkable.

I have a kazillion Word files on my computer (filed under "articles"). Some are merely flimsy ideas---they are only one sentence long. Others are full of pages and pages of material. Many articles are duplicated from a different point of view (POV). I may have the same article written in first person, and then rewritten in third person. Since every editor has a different style preference, I figure I'll cover all bases: I'm as flexible as possible when I'm "in the zone."

My topics also reflect my life's current events. When I was planning my wedding, I wrote numerous articles on wedding invitations, reception planning, and wedding decor. As my first child was born, I focused on pregnancy, childhood, and potty training. As my life reached the next stage, my writing evolved with me. Luckily, this works well for me: New ideas constantly emerge.

So now you're ready to go, but you don't know where to start? Just look around! Consider each aspect of your life. Did you hear a funny joke? Did you spend the afternoon stuck in traffic? Did your boss give you grief at work? Did your grocery bill shock you? Did your children argue about a trivial event? Turn each event into an article, and breathe life into your work. Your emotions will shine through.

There's been a lot of chatter about Constant Content and Associated Content. Are they legitimate companies? Are they worth the effort? Will I get paid?

Eager to learn more, I jumped into the arena and joined each one. What the heck, I figured. I have all these articles just sitting around my computer. Who knows if they're worth anything or not. But I haven't used them in a few years anyway.

So first I jumped onto Constant Content, and uploaded a few articles. I had forgotten that I had submitted a movie review a few years ago. I mean, how long ago did Star Trek: Nemeesis come out in the theatre?

I was shocked to see that I had actually sold this article, and had a $5 commission sitting in my account. But wait, you say, big deal, it's only $5. Maybe so, but it was just sitting on my computer, not going anywhere. It's not like people are fighting for that particular review. It's old news.

Anywho, so I reworked several of my articles and submitted them. As it turns out, Constant Content is a little picky about formatting and things like that, but once you get the hang of it, it's not that bad. So far, I have six test articles accepted by their editors. Let's see whether it works or not.

Eager to try for more, I buzzed over to Associated Content. I signed up quickly and submitted several articles for their review. Their replies were extremely quick, although I'm not sure whether I'm pleased with the results yet.

Here's the info on my submitted articles:

Article 1: They liked the article, but had too many similar ones. They asked me to submit for no pay, which I did.

Article 2: They said it was interesting and well written, but it wouldn't appear in search engines. They asked to submit for no pay, which I did.

Article 3: This article was immediately accepted for an immediate payment of $3.69. I thought that it was $3.69 per download, but I think that it's just a flat fee. But there is some kind of bonus.

My other articles: They said they have similar content and asked me to submit for no payment. I don't want to start a trend here, so I'm leaving them alone for now (and not submitting them).

In my case, the jury's still out on these two sites. I've heard a lot of people say that there's money to be made, but I'm still a little leary. I've made a lot more money off small freelance articles; even my fillers bring in more cash. But on the other hand, it's like a bank account that's slowly earning interest. Someone else is doing the reselling, and I can focus on more important activities.

I'll let you know how it works for me!

When I opened my mailbox the other day, I was delighted to see a $100 check from Reader's Digest. They had accepted one of my submissions, and my quote appeared in July's "Quotable Quotes."

Fillers are short written pieces, such as reader tips, poetry, or small anecdotes. They offer a quick and easy way to earn a small check. I've been doing it for 15 years; it's easy to jot an email to a publication. Sometimes they pay only a few bucks, and sometimes they pay a hundred dollars or so. But either way, I don't mind. I enjoy it.

So are you ready to write some fillers? Consider writing short jokes or real-life funnies for a place like Readers Digest. You can fill out a form on their site. They also accept "Quotable Quotes," which pay about $100 a pop.

Household tips are always a valuable subject. Magazines like Family Circle, Woman's Day, Family Handyman, Woman's World, and Family Fun pay for these tips. To ensure success, make sure that your tip fits their style. Emails are a fast way to make some progress. Just send a few tips each day.

Creating this blog has renewed my energy, and I can feel the ideas flowing freely. At first, I simply typed the first entry into this blog. Then I decided to move onto my site and add as much information as I could provide.

The new site is coming along nicely. I has quite a bit of information, and I'm constantly adding new articles. While I hope to add some of my own soon, I've included articles written by others to spice it up a little bit. As things quiet down, I'll put the pen to paper, so to speak.

In the meantime, I'll see you at the website. Feel free to submit your articles, too.

Mdonnadesigns
http://www.mdonnadesigns.com/TipsAndTricks/default.asp

Someone once said that if "you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life." This is my career goal: To love my work, and enjoy every moment of it. And so far, I've been true to this goal.

My freelance career has lasted over the last 20-odd years, and friends are always asking me about my job. While I am very proud of my writing and painting work, I play it very low key. In fact, one of my friends recently told me that if she had co-written six books, she'd be shouting it from the rooftops. I just laughed and told her I was trying to decide upon my next project.

After I had spent quite a while hemming and hawing, my husband came up with the ideal solution: I could write a blog about freelancing, talk about my successes, and offer advice to beginner writers. And this, I believe, is the perfect solution.

So now the blog is born. Come back often to learn about improving your writing career. I'll be back soon with an update.

Mdonnadesigns
http://www.mdonnadesigns.com/TipsAndTricks/default.asp