Writing as a Business
Any travel writers out there? Anyone who writes travel guides? Care to share?
I’ve always thought being a freelance travel writer would be a wonderful gig. How could you not like going to interesting places, meeting interesting people — then getting paid to write about it?
Since I’ve never been a travel writer, and never written any travel guides, I’m sure that’s an incredibly naive view of the business.
So […]
One of the NOT so joyous parts of freelancing — health insurance is tough
In my last post, I pointed out the joyous flexibility we have as freelance writers thanks to the high-tech world we’re living in.
But one of the biggest downsides of the business is the difficulty of finding good, affordable health insurance. Let’s take a look at that.
Until a few years ago, health insurance was not a […]
One of the joys of writing these days: Your office can be almost anywhere
I’m writing this sitting in a recliner in my 102-year-old home in Springfield, Missouri. Where are you reading it?
The beauty of being a writer in our age is that “office” can mean anywhere you like — and your readers can be worldwide. If you blog, you can publish your writing and get it to your […]
How much research is enough research before you start writing?
How do you decide when you’ve done enough research on a project and you’ve reached the point when you’re ready to write? Or is there a distinct threshold or starting point when you research a writing project?
I think, personally, there is no fixed or set guideline for when, what, or how much to research before […]
Writing seasonal stories? Deadlines make this whatever season you need it to be
When I look out the windows on a snowy street scene in mid- to late-December, I find it easy to think and write about Christmas. I’m sure you do, too.
But what about trying to come up with copy for Halloween invitations or New Year’s Eve stories in mid-July? Does that pose more of a challenge […]
My Western blog project has been reborn — have a look, but be gentle
I posted here a couple of days ago regarding a writing project I felt compelled to abandon because of possible copyright problems. I “killed” the “Tales of the Old West” site which I’d never done much with.
But out of that death came rebirth (does the term “Phoenix” sound familiar?), and this new project is more […]
Killing a writing project can be like murdering an old friend
I love reading and writing about the “Old West,” that part of American history related to westward expansion, settlement, and “rip roarin’” cowboys and the whole works. You’ll remember from some earlier posts on this site that I’ve even been working (irregularly) on some “Western” novels.
Just a few minutes ago, I had to kill a […]
Speaking of copy writing — I’ve always found putting new ’spins’ on old products a tough job
I’ve only had one “professional” copy writing job in my writing career, and that was many years ago. But I do copy writing almost daily for much of the content on my various affiliate marketing websites. I’m sure many of you reading this are professional copy writers and/or find yourself also writing website copy that […]
Odd brand name? Unusual jargon? Obscure ‘bureaucratize’? Somewhere a writer is responsible
Writers can work magic. Or, sometimes, they just write down words and the magic doesn’t come. In most cases, technical writers and/or copy writers get stuck with the “non-magic” sorts of words.
For example, copy writers forced to come up with names for pharmaceuticals and diet supplements rarely create magic. Let’s face it, the word “Orovo” […]
How would you explain the difference between memoir and autobiography?
I’m sort of shooting from the hip here, as I’ve never made a study of various writing “genres,” nor had any formal training about the distinction between a memoir and an autobiography. But I’m very interested in both genres and I would love to get a discussion going about autobiographies and memoirs.
My understanding is that […]
Anyone still making money with blogs through Adsense?
I was reading today about some changes to Google’s Adsense “rules and regs” that a friend tipped me to. It seems to me their latest requirement about Adsense placement in relation to page headings and other links pretty much deals a blow to anyone still making much money with Adsense. If those folks truly comply […]
Here’s a useful site if you’re interested in self-publishing
After posting about self-publishing and book publishers, I ran onto a site that might be useful if you’re considering self-publication, or use of an Internet-savvy publishing company. The company is AuthorHouse, and their website says they have worked with more than 40,000 authors to help them self-publish more than 50,000 books since 1997.
I haven’t used […]
Published a book? ‘Self-published’ perhaps? Tell us about your experience
It’s truly amazing to see the way the Internet has changed and is changing the world of publishing. There are numerous legitimate (and I suppose a LOT of not legitimate) companies out there who will walk you carefully through the self-publishing process and even help you market the finished product.
Of course blogging is a very […]
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. […]
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 […]
