Archive for April, 2008
Attention freelancers: Here’s a useful site with some free timekeeping software
I confess I haven’t yet tried this, but it looks good if you’re doing freelance writing that requires keeping track of your time and turning in an invoice or detailed record of your work time to clients.
The company and product I’m talking about is Journyx Timesheet, a free time tracking and time management software package. […]
Changes in my work style seem to be helping with the arm
I just wanted to say thanks to all who have expressed your concerns for my arm and wrist problems. I also wanted to say the stretching exercises, more “ergonomically correct” work area, and a change in my normal sleeping habits have been making a difference in the last two days. The soreness in my arm […]
I’ve never paid much attention to ‘ergonomics,’ but I do now
My manly “machismo” probably is driving this statement: Worrying about how and where I sit while writing on my computer has always seemed silly to me. “Real men” (and “real women”) can pound those keyboards anywhere and scoff at such silliness as “ergonomically correct” workstations or whatever.
Wow, I have changed that attitude completely in the […]
Follow-up on ways writers can make money online using eBay
A few days ago, I mentioned in a post about eBay, that I would have more to say later about how writers might be able to make some money online through eBay. This is that post. Not really anything spectacular, and some of you may be doing much better at this than I, but here […]
All you copywriters out there: Try my short writing assignment
Copywriting, writing ad content for a website or an offline source, is something I’ve always wanted to be good at. I’ve always thought it looked easy. You take a product or service and write something about that product or service which would motivate people to buy. It sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Yet I personally have several […]
Beware all you writers out there: Blogs and forums can steal a lot of your writing time
If your primary writing interest is in blogging and running an Internet forum, just walk on past this post. Nothing for you to see here.
But if you’re interested in “non-blogging” and general offline/online writing, it’s important to identify whether this problem is your problem: Spending time online reading a lot of blogs and posting in […]
You can make money writing for one of the biggest Internet sites — and it’s probably not what you think
What if I told you that you could write two or three paragraph “briefs” for a website that is one of the biggest “retail stores” on the Internet? This site offers everything from banjo picks to bicycle tire pumps to chrome accessories to — well, just about anything you can think of that people are […]
Three tips for using the Internet as an ‘always open library’ for your writing research
Here are three important tips for using the Internet to help you do research for any type of writing:
1. Internet search engines can find ANYTHING you may be writing about, but sometimes you have to work hard to find EXACTLY what you may be writing about.
My search engine of choice, and I believe that of […]
Two important tips for making money writing for the Internet
Whether you’re building a website or adding posts and pages to a blog, there are two important tips you must keep in mind.
1. Your content must focus on words people are searching for in Google, Yahoo, MSN Live Search, and the other major search engines. That means you cannot ignore that old idea you’ve heard […]
Basic principle: The only ’shortcut’ to writing success is to write more
Not to be nagging about this, but what I’ve said before I’ll say again — if you want to be a successful writer there is no substitute for writing, writing frequently, writing daily, and writing as much as you can write.
I thought about this as I was reading more than writing during this past week. […]
Useful website if you need some great tools — not writing tools, ‘real’ tools
Like it or not, putting off those home repair tasks will sooner or later catch up with you. When they do, you’ll need to make sure you have the right tools — and I’m not talking about computers, pens, pencils, and other writing tools.
Here’s a useful website for all your “real” tool needs, Burns Tools […]
Blogging, writing to sell, writing to entertain — who’s your audience?
Whether you’re writing a real estate ad to plug office space Connecticut style, blogging about how to sell on eBay, or writing the middle section of that novel you’ve been working on over the years, you must always consider your audience.
For that reason, I posted here a few days ago inviting comments and feedback about […]
Here’s how to get your blog listed and active in Yahoo’s RSS system
I had a private response to my post of a few days ago, with one of our readers asked me how to get a blog into the Yahoo “modules” that you set up on a Yahoo home page. Getting into that system is relatively easy, and it can be a nice source of readership.
You can […]
Wow, where have I been for the last few days? Spring catching up with me, I guess
Welcome back — to myself.
I guess the busy-ness of the season, the alternating cold weather and torrential, tornadic downpours — it’s a conspiracy, I tell ya, a conspiracy to keep me offline.
Okay, I’m not the victim of any conspiracy except the conspiracy of time and events we call life. Since I work at maintaining and […]
Travel much? Here’s a useful site for some wonderful luggage
I read earlier today at The New York Times website that American Airlines canceled 850 flights today in the ongoing flap over proper maintenance for their MD-80 airliners. That made me thankful that my current writing career is done mostly locally and online — with little need to travel and no recent need to fly.
But […]
