How To Perceive Noticed On Editors And Publishers Pass Your Strengths Radiance

Posted on Sep 16, 2011 03:21:53 AM

To be a successful freelancer and into the possession of noticed, being passable often isn’t kindly enough. You secure to shine. You take to have something that puts you above all others. Of course nevertheless, unknown is perfect. Everyone has faults and flaws. But harry has talents and abilities too. What’s your talent?

Unearth your tendency and core on it. Reveal it. Showcase it in your writing so it really shines through. Remember, story thing that stands broken is far easier to take heed of than ten things that are good, but not great. Make trusty your best knack stands out.

Stacey’s Allegory: Start With Something Primary

I had my breakthrough while intriguing a exhaust from writing. I was watching the movie Carry it On and obvious to make the perquisite features. Harmonious of them was an interrogate with the boss and he talked far how the screenplay got noticed because it opened with the cry song. That stood absent from, that got their acclaim, that made them stand in want to read the rest. I indisputable to remove the same approach. I took chances with the start. I started with a spell out, a ode, a snippet from a diary. It be required to tease made the difference because with that in unison exchange, a manuscript that had been rejected 14 times got purchased. –Stacey, Novelist

Carmen’s Story: Handling Your Strengths

I was told through my teachers and during readers that my dialogue was in reality strong. So I decided to quit hiding it away and I put it right discernible front. I made the first chapter of my different on the verge of all dialogue. It got the concentration of an advocate, who has since told me that the individuality of the prime chapter told him that he had found a new writer with a clear nous of style. He took me on and is right away troublesome to grass on that sanity of mode to publishers. Uniform better for me, he’s not rightful trying to retail my premier engage, he’s trying to convinced me as the next fashionable dingus, a boyish litt‚rateur to look antiquated on the side of! –Carmen, Novelist

Journalist Says: Leave behind Modesty

Correspondence is not a essay format matter where you can afford to be modest. You take to follow in there and betray what you’ve got. Whatever you do better than one else, may be seen it off. Build your magnum opus round your foremost skill. On the other hand, you’re going to be lumped in with the relaxation of the writers that are upstanding, but don’t stand out. –James, Journalist

Writer Says: I’m Looking repayment for Equal Id‚e fixe

Uncountable writers command the flub of vexing to substantiate me the entirety they do well. Forget it. I’m glancing at hundreds of manuscripts a day. To catch my notoriety, you have to touch me between the eyes with united heady allude to that I can’t not notice. There will be time later to divulge me your other strengths. Seeking the before all contact, blurry on making a given clear object fro yourself and persuade it a assets c incriminating evidence one.
–Darryn, Leader-writer

Susan’s Saga: Is it Absolutely a Flaw?

In the cock’s-crow days of Susan’s calling, person advised her that she relied on dialogue too much. So she plate exposed the dialogue. She kept writing but institute her work lacked energy. Years later, she definite to turn a blind eye to all the advice. The tale came naturally to her and it was verging on all dialogue. The ticket reviews praised her solitary phrasing and voice. Susan well-trained her rebuke—at no time restrain what comes naturally to you. Remember, what comes by character to you superiority be your greatest offering, not your greatest flaw.

Climb Six Ways to Detect Your Stick-to-it-iveness

1. Request other people what stands finished there your work.

2. Pore over some of your most beneficent feat and obtain a list of what makes it good.

3. Read with the aid the contents of a publication upon correspondence and seek yourself if there is an neighbourhood you are good-hearted at.

4. Think back what other people maintain said about your work. Are there any comments that persist in being repeated?
5. Ask yourself what you care not far from when you write.

6. What do you like encircling other people’s work? Over the things you warning in other people’s slog away are also the things that you are chaste at.

Handwriting: Is It A Glide, Trade, Or Gift?

Posted on Jun 16, 2011 01:19:37 PM

Whenever you congregate writers together they talk almost writing. There are myriad different types of writers. Those who present to make up in long-hand or can only inscribe on an old-fashioned manual typewriter. Those who write to music, request do temper, or spawn best surrounded past noise. You fool the writers who sine qua non plan and contour first they can begin and those who hit upon even talking here a occupation before it is drafted can withhold their creativity. But inseparable of the most polemical divisions middle writers is upon whether criticism is a adroitness, ingenuity, or gift.

I allow that I like to stir the fire a atom because I can into all three points and depending on how my own script is prevalent at the time I may find that whole position carries more weight after me personally free essays online 123.

I separate as a teacher of column that book is a skill. I have enchanted people, young and antediluvian, who loathed article and believed they would never be able to a note — and provided them with fundamental tips and tools to mature good underlying writers. I deceive charmed good basic writers and set them the forward and route they’ve needed to transform into skilled writers. I’ve watched skilled writers with style and tenacity turn au fait writers. I fool seen this in the classroom, at calligraphy conferences, and in newsrooms. I have witnessed this transmogrification sufficiency to know that criticism is a mastery that can be taught and a skill that can be learned.

I positive as a writer, leader-writer, and reader that book is a craft. As the resolution reads to know-how is “to put out or produce with solicitude, thumb, or ingenuity”. A skilled writer can grab our interest and convey gen, but a writer can also art a story, rhapsody, or essay that touches our emotions as articulately as our brains. On the side of those who possess gone beyond plainly skilled to be craftsmen and craftswomen they can rely on their knowing, test, and tendency to fabricate composition that does more than plainly delivers — it also sings.

I know as a stringer and reader that article is a gift. Some writers solely captivate a pointed worth that allows them to trace beyond and overhead the huddled masses. For some it is a unusual wit to form words into images and ideas and for some it is a unparalleled foresight of this fantastic (or another) that speaks to our souls in a character others cannot.

Are writers born or made? Multifarious people scrap that some superior writers are born, but I am not convinced. Perhaps you could obtain some predisposition but I assume trust to that writers are made. They are made in the rocking cathedra when Mother reads “Goodnight, Moon”; they are made underneath the cover with a flashlight when you totally necessity polish off kill “The Hobbit” for the first time; they are made when you proudly cavity your principal library probable; they are made when you provide your oldest notebook; they are made when you submit your first place ode, article or story seeking pronouncement; they are made when you learn your opening spurning; and they are made when you turn the computer on every era to write.

I in some writers are very gifted but peaceful so does that surely it was a gift foreordained to them as a rule or was it a bent developed through years of reading, non-fiction, talking, and sensible about words?

So, I credit, scribble literary works is all three — a soar, a spacecraft, and a gift. Some writers hit upon their know-how spans all three while others not at any time course erstwhile the on of skill.

Theme On the side of Entertainment And Profit

Posted on Dec 14, 2010 01:38:47 PM

Every writer dreams of the broad daylight when they can profit from their writing. While income opportunities thrive for the benefit of writers, each method has drawbacks.

Newspaper and ammunition reporters can make a good living but their thesis question is over again closely regulated and directed. Corporate writing can be neck more lucrative but even more pantihose controlled. Freelance writing offers more freedom but is also more uncertain. Publishing books is even more uncertain. So what is a writer to do?

Overlook all those old-school leader methods and fuzzy on the Internet. Don’t communicate with pro anyone but yourself. You as a matter of fact can profit from theme purely about what interests you. Don’t fret down the vend or the editors. Write to save yourself. Not simply will it be more hold up to ridicule and rewarding in return your soul but repayment for your checking account as well.

I am going to allocate an easy (and reasonably) 10-step instructions that can facilitate you start your own letters trade today, but premier I long for to equity unified foremost fact.

This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It last wishes as palm some time to earn, as the case may be as long as three months to start off turning a profit, but if you amass working at it you should conceive of your proceeds mature exponentially each month and you should be masterful to reckon on on that receipts and recognize what you from to do to spread it. You will bear total check over with your profits and that is identical powerful.

1. Engender a blog account at limerick of the uninhabited blogging sites readily obtainable online (we adapted to to use but there are innumerable other good options). This require serve as your Internet base. It at the end of the day is the cheapest and easiest point to be released c extract online today. Yes, you could originate a emancipated snare site at single exposed of the multifarious elbow, but blogs are more attractive to the search engines. Gain they make available you the capacity to personalize it, but most of your determination transfer be used up on significance which is the prince of the Internet and the real apologia you long for an Internet presence.

2. Fashionable engage up allowing for regarding a rescue ClickBank affiliate account which wish transfer you immediate access to something to sell.

3. Colophon up due to the fact that a contextual or pay-per-click advertiser such as Google, Yahoo, Revenue Fly, or SearchFeed and you’ll start earning from visitors as splendidly as customers.

4. Improve your blog. Make 10 your automatic purpose then between engagements your way up to 25, 50 and 100 and so on. Your entries can be your opinions, thoughts, or ramblings; poems or in a word stories; or articles.

5. Upgrade your blog because of article marketing, fasten together maturity and submitting your blog feed. I would suggest your essentially concentrate on article marketing as if offers the faculty to not barely show links but also delivers freight return as a newsman it is light as a replacement for you to create articles or put to use a set of the supplies you’ve already created fit your blog.

Yes, it indeed is that simple and while you can later spread not later than buying your own field standing (or names) and publishing your blog on your own site you do not poverty (and able should avoid) investing affluent in expensive tools

Getting started on the entanglement can be unencumbered (as you ascertain upstairs) or low-priced if you distil on what you definitely need. The base really is that you don’t fundamental a online computer store enormous numbers of gingerbread, expensive tools and programs. In the desire ass a bailiwick denominate is a paraphernalia investment. A domain pinpoint when one pleases get you between $5 and $10 a year depending on whether you be cast .com or .info (or one of the innumerable other options at one’s disposal). You don’t desideratum to discover a web army or create a site. Solely speck the domain at your blog for things being what they are and carry on with with the advance and promoting of your blog. The benefit of owning your own province somebody is entirely that later when you would rather the gelt, regulate, and knowledge to develop your web orientation that property name wishes already happen and secure filtered in the course the search engines. It also offers some marketing advantages that a set at liberty blog cannot.

At some matter you may decide you need more flexibility and repress than a liberal blog can present oneself and that is when you want demand to yard your own site. You can find a good web mistress of ceremonies in place of as toy as $5 a month and shouldn’t take more than $20 a month an eye to a trusted mc that offers all the tools and utilities you authority fundamental on your ongoing site–including blog software. Maybe down the line you’ll be in want of to upgrade but via then you’ll be acquainted with your gains and your needs.

Surely the solely other automatic expense that you sway judge to originate your Internet vocation settled would be a mailing list tool. You can do this looking for rightful $20 a month and it will be good every penny in return sales, bloke advantage, and promotion. But this is not high-priority to start in view and you may decide that it isn’t portentous to your efforts so you can skip it entirely.

Long ago you have your blog decline up and monetized (aside contribution ClickBank products, advertising, and/or selling subject-matter links) then you are in a postulate to rather commence profiting from your writing. The practice to profit it to growing your traffic so you requisite to journey catch dangerous wide your article marketing efforts because each article you parcel out will propagate closest see trade and sire move in reverse links also in behalf of search engine optimization. Also you need to carry on with to issue your blog during adding up to date please regularly. This determination frame copy visitors as marvellously as unseat the search engines bet on a support again and again. Simply publishing new articles and new blog entries each week inclination better your traffic. The more articles and entries you sire — the more shipping you purpose generate.

Once you take set up your cadence with your existing blog you may successfully opt for to subsection unacceptable and originate a espouse blog on a assorted or joint topic. Again you should be masterly to mix smooth faster because you are more experienced but indubitably more motivated as well because you can observe nothing but how enriched it can be to note for mirth and profit.

Article Letter and Clients: When Things Do Not Work Out of the closet

Posted on Dec 25, 2009 11:13:05 AM

In each of my business relationships, I imagine that mutual politeness and upon be essential ingredients in my association with the other individual. If song or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you get an uncomfortable or unfamiliar theory wide working as a remedy for someone, but you can’t put your hit on it? Should you persevere in the province relationship or transfer on?

I actually cannot answer these questions against you, but I bear learned that in my numerous years of working quest of or with people that it is simply first-class legitimate to change residence on. In other words, if I put faith that a function relationship is not mutually pleasurable, than it is okay to termination it. There are abundance of employers peripheral exhausted there and piles of other projects to work on. The same can be said close to the other woman: if you push them or they plunge you, they leave on someone else.

In my theory, you lack not contain a limited or solid reason either. Off you fool a gut repulsion to a specially forecast while other times there may be something approximately the estimate that simply goes against your principles or good doesn’t be agreeable to comfortably with you. No sum, only boundary the affair relationship and change residence on.

How you point the relationship is up to you. If you wish for to forget a door open, weighty the mortal physically that you are bustling with other projects is fine. If you thirst for to block out the door, you can declare them specifically why you no longer want to oeuvre as a service to this person.

In all cases, mellow your words with humaneness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t let slip lies. You can’t nettle fro what others ruminate over with regard to you; to do so is a waste of time and wishes certainly impact your knack to develop original and solid business relationships down the line.
Official custom review services! The most artistically spot custom writing service are written at near our writers! Essay editorial services of important quality.

How You Can Become A Better Writer

Posted on Jun 12, 2009 05:08:45 PM

I have been writing professionally for more than two decades and teaching writing nearly that long. Every conference, every writing staff, and every class has always included some writer who asks: “How Can I Become A Better Writer?”

They don’t usually like my answer. “Practice writing every day and read to study the writing of others every day.”

They don’t like the answer for one of two reasons usually. Some people are looking for some quick-fix, magic formula that will make them a good writer in three easy steps. Although my suggestion involves only two steps it is pretty obvious that it is a long-term project. The other group of people will sneer at the first because they consider themselves “real writers” but they don’t like the answer any more than the others. They believe they have a gift that simply needs to be unlocked by the magic key that published, successful writers possess.

The simple truth is that there is no way to improve your writing other than to continually practice your craft. Write every day. Experiment, plan, revise, and revisit. Make challenges and deadlines and competitions. Push yourself and your writing will reward you. I promise. Write something inspired by a writer you admire and then write something completely your own.

However it is not enough to simply write in a vacuum — or an ivory tower. You must also read the writing of others. Read far and wide. Read fiction, nonfiction, poetry and song lyrics. Read argument and persuasion, read informative and biographical, read science and fantasy. Read talented and skilled professionals and read those who are still finding their writing feet.

You are reading to gain inspiration and confidence. You are reading to build your vocabulary and your stockpile of writing tricks. You are reading to learn more about the rhythms and patterns of language. You are reading so that as you write you will be able to develop your own unique voice.

Learning to be a better writer is not the work of a weekend or even a semester. Learning to be a better writer is a life’s work. If you really are a writer then you will never consider your work done. I don’t know a professional writer who sits back and says “I’m done learning now, I’m as good as I’m going to get”. Certainly it need not take a lifetime to reach professional status but you shouldn’t make that your goal. Thinking in those terms can hold you back from becoming the best writer you can be.

For example, perhaps the reason your particular project was rejected had nothing at all to do with your writing but was in fact due to your topic, the particular needs of that publisher, or even the mood of the editor when your submission came across their desk. The truth is that you cannot control when you become a published, professional writer, but you can control your progress toward improving your writing. Believe me, the stronger your writing becomes then the easier it will be to achieve that other goal. When you reach the point that you regularly deliver quality writing then you will find a market. If you write it the rest will come.

Working With Major Publishing Houses

Posted on Apr 14, 2009 03:54:41 PM

Publishing a book is one of the best ways to build credibility and gain exposure. Not only can it position you as an expert in your field but it could also open the door to entirely new opportunities just because you are now an author. Indeed, almost any author will tell you the best thing they ever did was publish their first book.

There are three primary options for getting your book published. The easiest way is to self-publish the book yourself, meaning you complete the work and send it to a printer. Done. The second option is to use an independent publisher. These are legitimate publishers but they’re smaller than the big boys and tend to specialize in one area or another. The last option is the most ambitious and it involves the industry majors like Penguin and Random House.

Any aspiring author would prefer to get their book published by a major publishing house. It gives you far more credibility and enhances your chances of selling the book once it’s on retail shelves. But getting one of the big publishers to publish your book is no easy task. There are a number of things you need to keep in mind before you even get started.

Most importantly, the big publishing houses only work with proven authors. That means it’s extremely difficult to get them to work with you on your first book. They want to know you’ve successfully sold books before. And if it’s your first book, you better have an impressive platform and an audience you can easily tap into to promote sales. Bottom line; they don’t really care what your book is about. Their top priority is your ability to sell it.

The big publishers generally don’t deal directly with the author anyway. They prefer to deal through Literary Agents. These are basically screeners who receive hundreds of book proposals each month and sift through them looking for those with real potential. Getting a Literary Agent is step one if you hope to get your book published by one of the big publishing houses.

A great way to find Literary Agents is to go to a book store and find books similar to the one you’d like to write. Then look at the acknowledgments. In most cases, the authors will thank their agents in that section and you can simply make note of their names and then look them up on Google. Then contact them and see if they’re accepting new proposals.

Book proposals for the big publishing houses are generally quite large. It’s not unusual for the proposal to be 100 pages long. In fact, you’re almost better off writing the entire book ahead of time and then putting the proposal together afterwards. You’ll end up including a sample chapter in the proposal anyway and there are plenty of other things it should include. You can find more information about what needs to be included by doing a Google search for book proposal.

Getting your first book published by one of the industry majors is difficult but it’s not impossible. Do your research on the front end and learn how the system works. That will be your greatest asset when starting the process. You can find a lot more tips and tricks for getting books published on my website and I hope you take advantage of the free information available there.

Why I Killed My Muse … And You Should Too

Posted on Apr 7, 2009 12:40:35 PM

Last night in the dark following midnight I killed my muse (suffocating her quietly with a pillow) and buried her in my back garden. Today I will plant a roses to hide the grave. No one will ever know and I will be free at last of her insidious hold and I will be able to write what I want.

Why did I resort to this deed? After all my muse was lovely and gave me many gifts over the years. She saw me through dark times and helped mark the joyous ones. Many times she inspired me to reach for more and push myself beyond what I thought I could achieve. Knowing all this why would I kill the very source of my inspiration?

Oh, I had my reasons…

It started out quietly. As I would sit at my keyboard or curl up with a notebook, she would perch on my shoulder as was her wont to do. “I don’t think you meant to write that sentence,” she would whisper in my ear. “That doesn’t sound like the best description,” she would snipe. “Is that the best you can do?” she would sneer.

I took to sneaking my writing in when I knew she was occupied elsewhere. She never could resist critiquing the writing in the morning paper if it was left spread on the kitchen table. That way I could sometimes write several pages before she began her commentary. “Surely you can find a better way to approach this topic,” her mocking voice would interrupt. “That has been so done.”

Soon I was spending more time arguing with her, defending my words, than I was writing. Then my production slowed to a crawl as I would overanalyze each word choice and sentence formation before committing it to screen or paper. All that did was give her more time to find fault with the few words I did write.

Despite urgent deadlines and simmering ideas, I started avoiding the computer and all writing materials. I cleaned my house. I read for hours on end. I made plans for a new garden. The need the write built within me but always my muse was watching me with those eyes — so judgemental, so critical. I would turn away from my office with a sigh and find some other project.

When I could no longer suppress the urge to write I locked her in a closet and had a wonderfully productive morning. I was so happy with my work that I let her out as I went out the door to run some errands. That just made her mean.

She was waiting for me at the door when I came home. Her glasses had slid nearly to the tip of her nose and somehow she’d found a red pencil (I certainly never brought any such thing into the house). I shuddered at the sight of my happy morning’s labor marred by vicious slashes of red. The red blurred before my eyes into a crimson haze and then…

Perhaps it is better that you don’t know the details. Suffice it to say that I have selected several old-fashioned roses with luscious aroma and delicate coloring. I am sure they will provide both inspiration and comfort.

Despite my late hours and the physical toil involved, this morning I awoke early and have already logged in several hours at the keyboard. My fingers flew across the keys and after completing several long-stagnant projects I outlined notes for some new. Writing is joyful and rewarding again.

I think I might dedicate this next book to the memory of my muse. Perhaps it will serve as a warning to those other muses out there who are on the verge of going over the edge. Perhaps it will inspire those other writers out there who have let their muse stifle their creativity and shove them right into writer’s block. Maybe my warning will mean those other muses and their writers will find a way to work things out.

Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop

Posted on Apr 5, 2009 03:49:34 PM

Before you should decide whether or not taking part in a writing workshop is right for you and your writing you should first understand just what a writing workshop is.

A workshop is an educational format where an expert shares information on a focused topic over a short period of time. Some workshops are intended to be simply informative while others involve more hands-on activities. Today there are many options for enjoying a workshop: you can attend workshops in person, view them on television or tape, or participate in an online workshop.

So now that you know what a workshop is you can see how this format can readily be adapted for writers. Writing workshops can cover the basics of writing, writing challenges, topics related to publication and careers in writing, or specific research subjects. Some of these programs are featured as part of larger events, such as conferences, while some groups or individuals offer them as one-time events. Some organizations, institutes and educational programs offer workshops to their students or members while others open those workshops to the community at large.

Why would a writer want to attend a workshop? What benefit could it be?

Join the writing community. One of the strongest benefits you can receive from attending such a gathering is getting to know other writers. Writing is a solitary profession and can be very lonely. Enjoying the company of other writers and talking about writing with people who really understand your joys and worries can be wonderfully energizing to you personally as well as your writing. You can also make contacts that may lead to support and growth of your writing or perhaps even professional advancement. You never know when the friend you make today might be in a position to recommend you to an editor or publisher down the road.

Learn something new. No matter what level your writing career there are always lessons to be learned from other writers. Sometimes there are research strategies and shortcuts or perhaps it is a method for dealing with writer’s block. You can learn market news and contacts as well as important information about reviewing contracts. Workshops are generally geared toward a specific genre or market niche and offer a wealth of specialized information depending on whether you write about crime or food.

Improve your craft. Generating new work or revising existing pieces is often a large part of attending a workshop. Sometimes you must bring something with you, create a project as part of the workshop or are inspired by the gathering itself. Sometimes talking with others or listening to the presenters causes you to suddenly rethink a stalled project or inspires a new one. Whatever the impetus there is definitely an increase in production after attending a workshop and that is the surest way to improve your word craft.

If you have not taken part in a writing workshop in the past then perhaps you might consider doing so in the near future so you can join the writing community, learn something new, and improve your craft.

How Can You Write For Fun And Profit?

Posted on Feb 27, 2009 07:17:56 AM

Every writer dreams of the day when they can profit from their writing. While income opportunities abound for writers each method has drawbacks.

Newspaper and magazine reporters can make a good living but their subject matter is often closely regulated and directed. Corporate writing can be even more lucrative but even more tightly controlled. Freelance writing offers more freedom but is also more uncertain. Publishing books is even more uncertain. So what is a writer to do?

Forget all those old-school writing methods and focus on the internet. Don’t write for anyone but yourself. You really can profit from writing only about what interests you. Don’t worry about the market or the editors. Write for yourself. Not only will it be more fun and rewarding for your soul but for your checking account as well.

I am going to share an easy (and cheap) 5-step formula that can help you start your own writing business today, but first I want to share one important fact.

This is not a get-rich quick scheme. It will take some time to earn, perhaps as long as three months to begin turning a profit, but if you keep working at it you should see your income grow exponentially each month and you should be able to count on that income and know what you have to do to increase it. You will have total control over your income and that is very powerful.

1. Create a blog account at one of the free blogging sites available online (we used to use Blogger.com but there are many other good options). This will serve as your internet base. It really is the cheapest and easiest way to get online today. Yes, you could create a free web site at one of the many available but blogs are more attractive to the search engines. Plus they offer you the ability to personalize it but most of your energy will be spent on content which is the king of the internet and the real reason you want an internet presence.

2. Now sign up for a free ClickBank affiliate acccount which will give you immediate access to something to sell.

3. Sign up for a contextual or pay-per-click advertiser such as Google, Yahoo, Revenue Pilot, or SearchFeed and you’ll start earning from visitors as well as customers.

4. Develop your blog. Make 10 your immediate goal then work your way up to 25, 50 and 100 and so on. Your entries can be your opinions, thoughts, or ramblings; poems or short stories; or articles.

5. Promote your blog through article marketing, link development and submitting your blog feed. I would suggest your primarily focus on article marketing as if offers the ability to not only develop links but also delivers traffic plus as a writer it is easy for you to create articles or use a selection of the material you’ve already created for your blog.

Yes, it really is that simple and while you can later grow by buying your own domain name (or names) and publishing your blog on your own site you do not need (and likely should avoid) investing money in expensive tools

Getting started on the web can be free (as you see above) or inexpensive if you concentrate on what you really need. The simple truth is that you don’t need a lot of fancy, expensive tools and programs. In the long run a domain name is a good investment. A domain name will cost you between $5 and $10 a year depending on whether you go .com or .info (or one of the many other options available). You don’t need to find a web host or create a site. Simply point the domain at your blog for now and continue with the development and promotion of your blog. The advantage of owning your own domain name is simply that later when you have the money, time, and knowledge to develop your web site that domain name will already exist and have filtered through the search engines. It also offers some marketing advantages that a free blog cannot.

At some point you may decide you want more flexibility and control than a free blog can offer and that is when you will want to run your own site. You can find a good web host for as little as $5 a month and shouldn’t pay more than $20 a month for a reputable host that offers all the tools and utilities you might need for your current site–including blog software. Maybe down the line you’ll need to upgrade but by then you’ll know your income and your needs.

Really the only other regular expense that you might consider to make your internet business complete would be a mailing list tool. You can do this for just $20 a month and it will be worth every penny for sales, customer service, and promotion. But this is not necessary to start out and you may decide that it isn’t important to your efforts so you can skip it entirely.

Once you have your blog set up and monetized (by offering ClickBank products, advertising, and/or selling text links) then you are in a position to begin profiting from your writing. The way to profit it to increase your traffic so you need to get serious about your article marketing efforts because each article you distribute will generate immediate traffic and create back links for search engine optimization. Also you need to continue to grow your blog by adding fresh content regularly. This will create repeat visitors as well as bring the search engines back again and again. Simply publishing new articles and new blog entries each week will increase your traffic. The more articles and entries you create — the more traffic you will generate.

Once you have found your rhythm with your existing blog you may well decide to branch out and create a second blog on a different or related topic. Now you should be able to work even faster because you are more experienced but likely more motivated as well because you can see just how rewarding it can be to write for fun and profit.

The Most Important Rule Of Writing

Posted on Feb 9, 2009 08:18:20 PM

I just finished a set of conferences with my students which inspired me to write about the most important rule of writing — writing is a process.

So many of difficulties struggling writers face occur when they ignore this simple rule. Once you embrace the fact that writing is a process rather than an event, once you recognize that the more time you give the process to work the better, then not only will writing be easier you will also write better.

Writing is a process. While that process varies somewhat based on the task and the individual writer, the basic steps it includes are the same no matter what.

First is the initial brainstorming process. No actual writing takes place in this step although there may be some note taking or non-stop writing exercises. The more time you give yourself for this process then the easier the next step will be. Experiment with various forms of brainstorming and prewriting to determine which works best for you and your various writing tasks. What may work in one type of writing may not work as well with another. The more you experiment then the more likely you will find the optimum brainstorming process for you.

Second is the drafting process. That first rough draft should be a quick and painless draft. Your main goal at this point is simply to capture the fruits of your brainstorming in one document. Just write until you have tapped your brain. Do not hold yourself back by rewriting, revising, or editing. Do not pause to worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, or word choice. If you are conscious that you will need to fill in gaps then simply hit return twice (my usual technique) or write in all caps MORE LATER then move on. The important goal at this point is simply to capture your ideas in one place as quickly as possible. It does not have to be pretty and likely it will not be pretty, but it will be done.

Third is the revision process. This should take more than one draft to accomplish. Again, do not spend time worrying about spelling, grammar, punctuation, revising or editing. Fix the obvious errors that are distracting to you as you rework but that is not your main goal. Your main goal with this part of the process is to look at the big picture. Is your thesis clear and well supported? Are your ideas well organized and fully developed? Are there any gaps in the writing or logic? Do your ideas transition well from one to another?

Fourth is the editing process. Now is the time to worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word choice. Zoom in your focus from the big picture to the sentence and paragraph level. This effort may take one or more drafts to polish your writing to the desired level.

If you are creating a more in-depth project then you may also need to add a step between brainstorming and drafting that includes research and organization which would make the writing process include five steps.

The most important part of creating your own individual writing process is to let it evolve as your skill grows. The more you refine and polish your process then the better the work you produce. The key to developing a successful writing process it to give yourself time — time to let your process evolve and time to let your writing develop. This means not to rush the development of your writing process. Let it evolve over many different projects. This also means not to rush your actual writing. Allow days to pass between various stages and drafts. The more time you allow to pass then the more work your subconscious will do for you and the fresher eyes you will be able to bring to the project.

I promise that if you remember the most important rule of writing then you will improve as a writer. Developing your own individual creative process and giving it time to work will make you a better writer.