Weekly Roundup of Great Articles

I know that I have been slacking  (A LOT) lately on this blog and I am determined to change that— starting right now! My goal is to post at least three times a week, even if some of the posts are simply short blurbs about something interesting I have found that I think would be helpful for some of you.

Have had a crazy few months, but it is time to kick all that craziness to the curb and get back to business. So, here is a roundup of some good articles I have found this week that are helpful for writers.  Let me know what you think about them….what would you like to know more about? That will help guide me in the information I bring you.

4 Things That Could Guarantee Your Failure In Blogging

This post talks about what NOT to do if you want to make money with your blog….and consequently points out what you should be doing instead.

Tools for Freelance Writers

This article will introduce you to some writer’s tools that you might not know about.  In fact, even though I spend a lot of time every week writing, there are several in this article I was not aware of, and will be trying myself.

5 Lessons from a Failed Business 

Yes, you can learn something from a business that does not make it, and you must remember that failure is not permanent. It teaches you what does not work and guides you toward what will.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
― Winston Churchill

Kickstarting Your Self-Publishing Efforts: Setting Reward Tiers that Work

This Style Matters article delves into using the crowdfunding platform called Kickstarter to raise the funds for your self-publishing efforts. People pledge money for your project because they want to see it completed, and often the rewards that you set up for donors make the difference between success and failure of funding your project.

Tips for Success on Freelance Websites 

This is an article with some common sense tips about working on Freelance Websites like Freelancer and ODesk. They can be frustrating for beginning writers, but there are so many projects there– and you will meet some great people on these sites as well.

7 Secrets for Creating Content that Sells 

This is a good article about creating content that for affiliate marketing purposes. Affiliate marketing is writing a post to help a third party sell that product or service; in return they pay you when they make a sale due to your help. This is something that I really have not done to this point; it is on my “To Do” list for the rest of the year– I just need to find some services/products that I believe in so that I can sell them!  (Wonder if New Balance needs help selling their athletic shoes??!!)

Well, those are some of the interesting articles I have read this week about writing and making money. How about you? Have you seen an amazing article that I may have missed? If so, please do share so that we can all be more successful!

 

Life Happens!

Hello friends and readers… just wanted to take a moment to share what is going on in our lives. I have not been able to post as much recently–but will continue publishing guest articles that I feel are helpful and relevant. You might also want to follow the Facebook Page….http://www.facebook.com/WriteandGetPaid as I am working with several clients on marketing, so I share things I find a lot on the Facebook Page:)

In any case, a large part of what is going on in our lives is related to my husband’s brother and his severe health issues. This link tells lots more about it… thankfully I can copy and paste from the online fundraiser,  because it has been such a roller coaster of emotions that I have to distance myself somewhat or I am ruined for the day, work-wise. Suffice it to say that prayers are encouraged and welcomed:) Please help if you can– even if that is just sharing the story.   Here is the rest of the story:

Family and friends of Gary Gabbard are raising funds to transport him home to Ohio following a massive stroke. Please help if you can!

Gary Gabbard is a longtime resident of northeast Ohio, having moved to Florida about a year ago to attempt a relationship with a daughter he had just reunited with.

On December 2nd, Gary had a massive stroke after getting a cortisone shot. (We want to encourage everyone that has high blood pressure to be very cautious when getting cortisone injections. There is a lot of information online that links the two to heart attacks and strokes— unfortunately, we did not know this before Gary was injured so severely in this way.)

Though Mark felt we should keep the situation private, word gets out. We have been touched by all those people that love Gary and have called or written to tell us what a great person he is and how much he has done for them.

Gary’s condition was fairly touch ‘n go for the first few months, and we truly were not certain if he was going to make it. Though Mark and I spent three weeks there in January, and he would sometimes respond to us, other days we were not so hopeful.

Still, even though we would get responses from him, the Ocala doctors had told us he is only going to get worse, and they recommended that we withhold food and fluids from him and allow him to die.

We spent this past week with Gary, and he actually said Mark’s name and my name, with the assistance of an angel of a Speech Therapist. (We are singing her praises to her superiors, believe me.) She asked who are these people? And he told her! He also answered questions we asked by shaking his head and speaking. Amy told us also that the first thing he said to her once she got him talking was that he wanted a Coke. Anyone who knows Gary will realize how significant this is!

When Mark told him we had to leave and go back to Ohio for a work meeting, Gary’s face turned very red. He obviously understands what we are telling him, and was emotional because we had to leave. He is definitely improving, but he has a long way to go.

Because his family and friends are in Ohio, we want to bring him home where family and friends can visit and accelerate his recovery.

A close family friend, Deb Conroy, works for The Diplomat facility in North Royalton, and we know that he will get no better care anywhere than under her watchful eye.

The cash we are raising is the amount that we still need for the ambulance company for the vehicle, drivers, and a nurse to accompany him on the 1,000 mile journey home.

If you know Gary or the family, please consider helping us bring him home– by donating or sharing this site! Every little bit gets him a few miles closer to home. Thank you!

GIVE NOW

 

Related articles

http://writeandgetpaid.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/positive-attitude-and-recovery/

• 25 life saving tips – stroke & Brainstem stroke & locked in syndrome (arockystrokerecovery.com)

Getting Published– Great Advice from Style Matters

Today I want to share a great post from Style Matters with lots of good advice about getting your book published. This article is specifically about putting together your book proposal.

Check it out, comment and let them know I sent you to their site– and share with other writers that can use the advice. They offer a lot of good advice for writers.

http://style-matters.com/blog/how-to-win-a-book-publisher-the-book-proposal.html

Awesome New Year Money Advice from My Finance Blogging Friends

This is a little late getting posted, but the advice is just as awesome this week. These posts are from my friends at Yakezie, a blogging network for those who write about finances. Since I write about making money, they are nice enough to let me play in their sandbox.  There is so much wisdom in this one post, and I cannot impress on you enough how much these bloggers know. Visit, leave them some comments, and show them some love, please. 

P.S.– Don’t worry, the second part of my series for beginners is coming, I have just been finishing up some pressing work. 

Justin@TheFrugalPath @ The Frugal Path writes Credit Cards: Should I Blame Them for my Debt? – If you’re in debit it’s easy to blame the credit card companies. But if you look at the reasons why you’ve bought things on credit your thoughts may shift a bit.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Grocery Shopping Savings Made Simple – One financial topic covered on virtually every personal finance blog is how to save money at the grocery store. That makes complete sense since it is where we spent a good chunk of our money each month.

James Petzke @ This Is Common Cents writes Couponing: The Time Consuming Way to Increase Your Spending – Coupons can only get you deals on processed crap food, not good, whole, healthy ingredients.

Darwin @ Darwin’s Money writes The Cost of Lice: A Financial Evaluation from Recent Experience – While the topic’s nasty, the costs are real…LICE! Here’s what a recent bout of being “exposed” to a lice house cost us.

Michael @ Financial Ramblings writes 2013 Federal Income Tax Brackets (Projected) – Next year’s tax brackets are still up in the air, but we can make some educated guesses under various assumptions about how the fiscal cliff drama will be resolved.

Rohit @ The Money Mail writes Roth IRA Conversion – Converting to a Roth IRA is a very easy and simple process. This article provides an overview of the Roth IRA conversion rules and process. If you ar looking to convert your Traditional IRA or 401K account to a Roth IRA, read on.

James @ Free in Ten Years writes Book review: Your Money or Your Life – Your Money or Your Life changed my life financially and is on the way to changing my life completely by allowing me to reach financial independence faster than I thought was possible.

Andrew @ 101 Centavos writes “Quick, Help Me Find a Career” – New college graduates may not be “entitled” to a career, but there are plenty of “jobs” around. Just a matter of looking.

Lance @ Money Life and More writes 5 Affordable Home Makeover Project Ideas – We knew when we bought our townhouse that it needed a home makeover because it was stuck in the time period it was built in, the 80′s. Nothing against the 80′s, but we wanted to update many items by giving ourselves a home makeover.

Dividend Growth Investor @ Dividend Growth Investor writes Why dividend investors should never touch principal? – I recently read an article from Forbes about generating income in retirement. While I disagree with the portfolio constructed by the editorial staff, what grabbed my attention was the following quote from Lord Greystoke in the movie “Tarzan”: “Someday, he says to the young man from the jungle, this will all be yours: Live off the income from the land, but don’t sell any of it.”

Joe Cassandra @ 7Minute Entrepreneur writes Use Less Energy to Automate Yourself to Success More Efficiently – Psychology lesson on automating and mastering tasks to better succeed in negotiation, interviewing, and socializing.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Using Paypal As A Simplified Bookkeeping System – I recently signed up for the PayPal credit card so I could used paypal as a simplified bookkeeping system for tax purposes.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Investing in Real Estate vs. Stock Market – Retail investors often flock to two very different asset classes to reach their retirement goals. Each one has its own advantages.

Walt Valdemoro @ My Wealth Desire writes How to Earn Money on YouTube Videos and Useful Tips to Make Money From YouTube – If you are looking on how to earn money from the internet, YouTube video is one of the best and efficient options nowadays. YouTube becomes one of the best sources of living to some successful people who know the best method to earn money online by using their videos. Others luckily earned huge amount of money by just posting videos of their pets, kids’ adventure, tutorial and many other subjects.

Marvin @ Brick By Brick Investing writes How I Manage My 401k – A detailed description of how I utilize technical and fundamental analysis to manage my 401k

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Savings Account vs Money Market – If someone were to tell me a year ago that having a savings account could be a bad thing, I would have probably laughed in their face.

Getting Started as a Paid Writer: Step One

Write Now!

It is time for another article for beginners. If there is one question I get asked more than any other, it is “How do I get started as a writer?” The good news is that there is so much work out there it is often overwhelming, and that there does not seem to be any slowing in this area…you just need to be prepared, know where to look and how to approach people. Today I am going to talk about preparing to write professionally.

Step One: Preparation 

Almost every business manager or owner that you might talk to, whether in person, on the phone, or over the Internet– will want to see some samples of your writing work. Your number one priority if you want to “write and get paid” is to put together at least five writing pieces that you can use for marketing. Make them about different topics to appeal to a wider audience and show your versatility.

What to write about?

Business issues, marketing, social media, travel, autos, home, design, making money, starting a business are always popular topics. Look around a little bit on the Internet, do a few searches and see what people are interested in that you know a lot about— and write about it. If you have a blog, you already have lots of articles written; look it over and pull out your best pieces, polishing them up if needed.

Everyone has something to tell others— maybe you can teach somebody how to make graphic design logos, bake a cheesecake, make a bedroom look fabulous  or give them something interesting to think about. Whatever it is, make it interesting and something people want to read; we know from studies that readers decide in about a minute whether or not to finish reading something they started… so give them good reasons to do that!

Is your righting gud?

Make sure your writing is good, and error-free. It should flow from beginning to end, and have a purpose in mind from the outset.  I still remember our basic English classes from middle school– your articles should follow an easy pattern.  Introduction– tell your readers what you are going to tell them.  Body– tell them! Give them the information. Conclusion–Tell them what you told them, reinforce the important points.

Check your Work

Edited Page

Have someone with good spelling and grammar knowledge that you trust look it over and suggest improvements if you are not sure of yourself.  Use your software’s spell check tool and take note of any issues that it points out.   You could also check it with a  tool like  Grammarly  that will point out grammar or spelling issues you and the processor  may have missed. Of course, nothing beats having someone read over your work. Have your work proofread by another writer; I do a lot of proofreading and editing and charge a nominal fee per page. ($5 per page, or each 500 words.) If you want my help and more personal feedback, you can email me at denise.gabbard@gmail.com.

Improve your Skills

There are lots of great websites on the Internet that can help with your writing. Grammar Girl  is one of my favorites as they go over a lot of the common problems that we all have.  If you have issues with spelling, try this quick quiz: Spelling Quiz . To enhance your vocabulary, check out a great site called Free Rice. The site tests your vocabulary in a fun way, while also contributing to world hunger the more you use it. Win-win!

If English is not your native language, you might have some additional challenges with your grammar. See this post I wrote for help:  15 Tips for Improvement for ESL Writers.

You can also review some of the articles here on the blog about improving your writing skills and getting started writing.  Try to put together at least one or two full-page articles in the next day or so. Do not agonize over what to write about at this point— just find something interesting and get it down on paper.

Writer resources

There you have it– the first step to beginning to make money as a writer is to write! Put together some articles, check with software, have someone read them over and critique them, and polish them up. Improve your skills, and polish them some more till they are perfect. This might seem pretty simplistic, but the writing I am discussing here and that you will find most abundant is informational writing for businesses. This type of writing doesn’t need a plot, or character development…just the facts, Ma’am!

Tomorrow, I will post the next step– Marketing, or finding outlets for your writing skills that will pay you:)  We will be using those polished gems that you put together to show people just what you can do!

http://writeandgetpaid.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/guest-post-4-time-tested-ways-to-improve-your-writing

15 Grammar Goofs that make you look silly

http://www.blogdash.com/full_profile/?claim_code=7ec9aae1fe0c3f30c5b69b8293046cb1

 

Guest Post: 4 Time Tested Ways to Improve Your Writing

I recently opened up my email to find this message: “Can I get published as a children’s book author if I’m not a good writer?” I was taken aback at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated the question. The sender is aware of her limitations, but dreams of getting published anyway. She’s not suffering under the delusion that she’s the next J.K. Rowling, and I admire that. She’s going to look at her work with a critical eye, and search for ways to make it better. This is assuming that it’s possible to learn to write well. I believe that it is.

Very few writers have the natural ability to create vibrant, relevant, compelling stories right out of the gate. Most have to work at it. And those who see writing as a skill that is never quite mastered, requiring a lifelong devotion to the learning process, will be most successful. Where this gets tricky is that unlike other skills – such as making a pie – there is no foolproof way to learn how to write. So while I can’t give you a one-size-fits-all method, I can offer up some ideas on how you can find the path that works best for you.

Read, read, read. Why are editors always telling aspiring authors to read piles of children’s books? Because they give you a concrete representation of what works. Be sure you read good books (check reviews or ask a librarian or teacher for recommendations). By simply reading, you’ll grasp the ebb and flow of a story, how a character is introduced and developed, the types of conflicts appropriate for each age group, how to build tension in scenes and chapters, the relation of sub-plots to the main storyline, how dialogue moves the plot along, and much more. You’ll experience firsthand how a skilled author uses sensory images to immerse the reader completely in the story. By comparing several authors writing for the same age group, you’ll discover different literary voices.

I suggest reading books similar to those you wish to write, as well as books one level younger and one level older. So, if your plan is to write a middle grade mystery for ages 8-12, also read mysteries for ages 7-10 and 10-14. In this way, you’ll become educated about exactly what makes up a middle grade novel and how it’s different from fiction for older and younger readers. You might even learn that your story isn’t really for middle grades after all.

Another reason for reading a lot of quality books is that you need a yardstick against which to judge your own work. You’ll learn which “rules” can’t be broken and those that have more wiggle room. For example, you’ll be hard pressed to find a 60-page picture book in the stores, even by a well known author. If your picture book’s that long, you’ll have no choice but to rework the story and fit it into 32 pages. However, you can experiment with unconventional characters and unexpected viewpoints. And the older the reader, the fewer rules apply. But no matter what you do with your plot, characters or writing style, make sure you know why you’re doing it. Don’t write the story in present tense unless it needs to unfold in real time for the reader. Don’t incorporate flashbacks unless they’re vital for understanding what’s going on in the story now.

Find a system that works for you. The first step toward learning to write is figuring out the best way for you to learn. Some authors I know are very left-brained; they enjoy charts and graphs and lists. They thrive on tracking their scenes and plotting out their book on every level before they start to write. Those left-brainers will study published books and count the words per page, note which scene contains the plot’s catalyst, graph out where the tension rises and falls in each chapter. Others prefer to learn more intuitively. They read books, absorb the different writing styles, and maybe jot down a few notes with overall impressions or key points they want to remember. They have a general idea of where their own story is going, and aren’t afraid to experiment and take detours along the way.

If you don’t know where you fall on the spectrum, try different approaches and see what feels right. Remember that there is no one way of doing this, and each method has its pros and cons. Plotting out your story beforehand can prevent you from wandering off track, but the lists can become an evasive technique to keep you from actually writing the book. Letting the words spill onto the page with no grand plan feels very creative, but usually results in huge first drafts that have to be significantly trimmed and shaped. If you write long enough you’ll discover your weaknesses and devise ways to work around them. Maybe you outline first, then put it away while you write your first draft. Maybe you lay out your scenes on a plotline after each chapter, then revise as needed before moving on to the next chapter. If your dialogue tends to wander in circles before coming to the point, you’ll learn to get it on paper and then tighten it in the second draft.

Know your strengths. Some authors are brilliant nonfiction writers but can’t sell a fiction story. Others write wonderful picture books but can’t deal with the layers to a novel. Instead of trying to force a style that isn’t you, start with what you’re naturally good at. You don’t have to publish fiction to be a successful author. You may dream of writing picture books, but if you have a knack for relating to teenagers, maybe young adult novels are your future.

Discovering your strengths involves experimenting with several writing styles and age groups. If you’re not certain where to start, think about the kinds of children’s books you most like to read. Then fiddle around with writing dialogue or scenes for the same age group. If you’re naturally drawn to nonfiction, make a list of topics that excite you. Begin by writing about one of the subjects in the style of some of your favorite children’s magazines.

Practive, Practice, Practice. Over the years I’ve worked with writers who have gotten published through sheer force of will. They’ve gone over manuscripts again and again, taking them from mediocre to polished. They’ve set aside ideas that simply didn’t work and turned to something new. And they never submitted the first or second draft to an editor, because those manuscripts could always be improved. They weren’t very good writers when they began, but they learned. And you can too.

About the author:About the author:Laura Backes publishes Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers. For info about writing children’s books, free articles, market tips, insider secrets & more, visit http://Write4kids.com.  

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• I could have written that (writeaubreywrite.wordpress.com)
• Picture Books – What Do We Tell Children? (kathytemean.wordpress.com)
• The Write Faith (graceandfaith4u.com)

 

Inspiration for a Gloomy Sunday