Writing Tips at GarySpeer.com

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 enlighten me. We have readers from all over the world. Many of you are successful, “practicing” freelance writers and bloggers — who probably have done travel writing. I would love to share a quick “how-to” or “day-in-the-life-of-a-travel-writer” account. Either leave a comment explaining what you do and how/why you do it — or use the contact form and we might even work something out for you to do a guest post.

We’re all in this together, so let’s help each other learn.

Technorati Tags: travel writing, travel guides, freelance careers, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 problem for me. My wife, St. Shirley the Encourager (St. Shirl for short), took an early retirement offer some years back from the employer she had served for 17 years. Part of the package included maintaining her health insurance at the low group rate for company employees until she is old enough for Medicare insurance. Her coverage included her family, so I was covered at a very affordable rate.

Unfortunate circumstances I won’t go into led us to take me off her policy — and presently her company insurance won’t take me back. The new “day job” I just started offers very inferior health insurance with no hospitalization/surgical options.

How do those of you who freelance take care of health insurance coverage? Are you on a spouse’s health coverage as I was for many years? Do you simply find a way to afford health insurance and pay a big premium? Or are you in the situation I’ve been in for the last nine months and have no health insurance?

Tough times out there for all of us in this economic downturn, days of high gas prices, and expensive health insurance. Tell us your solution to the health insurance problem.

Technorati Tags: freelance writers health insurance, health insurance crisis, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 readers virtually instantly.

I have an online acquaintance whose “writing” is mostly content and coding for affiliate marketing websites. He does much of his daily work in an office that consists of his laptop and WiFi connection working in Las Vegas hotels and casinos, seated comfortably, sometimes even poolside.

About 15 years ago, when “laptops” or “portable computers” were incredibly limited and often huge, bulky behemoths compared to today’s laptop/notebook beauties, I used to fantasize about doing my writing someday on a portable computer from a lounge chair, perhaps even poolside. (I had neither a laptop nor a pool then; one out of two now ain’t too bad, I guess.)

I suppose if there’s a point to this post, a “writing tip,” it might be this: Mix up your work routine. Change can be good for you. Certainly you need to be flexible enough to write every day in whatever circumstances you may find yourself. Enjoy the freedom today’s high-tech world offers you as a writer.

Technorati Tags: high-tech writing tools, flexible writing setup, portable office, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 you write. I also think you cannot compartmentalize research and writing completely. For example, let’s say I’ve been given the job to write ad copy about a company’s specific LCD mount — those stands and mounting support brackets used to set up or hold up an LCD screen. What might I need to research to write the ad copy.

Well, of course, I would want to know the technical specs of that particular mount. I also would want the company to tell me how their LCD mount compares to similar mounts by other manufacturers. And I would need also to know what brands of LCD screens the mount may work with, and NOT work with.

At that point, I would read the research materials I had and make a stab at writing the ad copy, or starting to write the ad copy. I would have sufficient material to think of benefits this LCD mount offers buyers.

After writing the first draft of my copy, I would look it over, rethink the project, and at that point I might find some “holes” or missing information which requires more research.

How do you work the old research/write/research/write cycle when you’re doing a writing project? Is it easier for you to research and write fiction, ad copy, non-fiction, or what sort of writing? Why is that particular writing easier or better for you than others? Tell us, please.

Technorati Tags: writing and research, writing ad copy, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 for you to get in the mood?

I make these comments especially for the new writers out there: Seasonal deadlines usually demand that you ignore the calendar, the seasons outside your window, and focus on a time, a place, and a “mood” months to years removed.

This is generally true for freelancers, too. If you want to write and submit a family Christmas story to most publishers, you’ll probably need to get it to them six months or more in advance of their Christmas publication needs. Of course, go by the writing guidelines for the particular editor or publication you’re shooting at. If you’re writing something on salary or assignment, you’ll be told that information as part of the job. Otherwise, go to a website, email an editor, or write to the publications you wish to target to get such information.

But file this tip away and remember it for later: Forget the seasons you see out the window and journey to that time and place in your head where it’s always Christmas — or Memorial Day, or Valentine’s Day, or Halloween, or … whatever.

And have a happy holiday. Whatever holiday that may be.

Technorati Tags: seasonal writing, advanced deadlines, advice for new writers, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 exciting to me than the other. Take a look at “Life in the Old West.” This is my “new baby,” and it just came alive last evening, so be gentle, please. So far, I only have one post up, and I haven’t even gotten a “Privacy” page there. There’s only one post up, but it seems pretty explanatory of what I want to do with the site.

In many ways, my heart has long been in the “Old West” of fact and fiction. There’s really not much of a market anymore for Western novels, virtually NONE for short stories, but perhaps I can put something together that will grow in the way of a blog. I encourage you to take a look at it, and I welcome suggestions or comments.

But remember, it’s a new baby, so be gentle.

Now if you’ll excuse me, today happens to be my 41st wedding anniversary. St. Shirl and I have better things to do today than sit around plunking on the old keyboard. See you all tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Life in the Old West, new writing project, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 major writing project related to the Old West — and I feel a little like I murdered an old friend.

Almost exactly a year ago I purchased the domain name talesoftheoldwest.com. I had high hopes and dreams of creating a blog that would share snippets of colorful Western history, as well as showcase Western fiction. In keeping with the domain name, the obvious title of that blog was “Tales of the Old West.” I even had the software set up, a nice Western related blog theme in place, and a few posts made.

Then, just out of curiosity, I Googled “Tales of the Old West” in Google’s new blog search tool. I discovered there was a blog with a different domain but the exact same site name, “Tales of the Old West,” which offers podcasts of folksy stories and colorful excerpts of Western history. The name and the fundamental approach was exactly like MINE — uh, except this guy started his and has been developing posts and podcasts on the site since 2006.

Alas, should my project go big-time, it would only be a matter of time before the creator of the earlier, very similar blog would find out. In which case, he would be justified in smacking me with a lawsuit or threat thereof, I suspect.

Being very cowardly about potential legal threats, and since I was still in the planning and development stages on the back-burner project, I knew the best thing was to kill the project. Even if I had renamed the site, given the domain name identical with this fellow’s website name — well, it wouldn’t be worth all the hassle and possibly losing legal battles.

So, I’m headed back to the drawing board, or at least back to Google to do some serious searches. I’d still love to keep the fundamental premise of the project, only this time I need to be sure the domain and site name are very far away from what someone else is already doing.

Who know there was still such a market for Western history??

Technorati Tags: writing projects, publishing laws and options, blogging, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 involves advertising.

So my question here would be this: What sort of copy writing job(s) do you find hardest to do well? Or do you find anything hard to do well? I mean, seriously, I’ve known some copy writers who just have such a knack for the task that they can write good ad copy just about faster than I can sign my name.

Here’s an example of the toughest copy writing I ever face — finding a new or unique way to “spin” an old or well-known type of product. What would I write, for instance, if I were trying to make someone click a link on one of my affiliate marketing websites for an acne treatment product? Even if the product itself is something new, even if it’s genuinely “revolutionary,” what can I write to persuade people? I mean, I’m 60 years old and I know I’ve seen an endless stream of new and “revolutionary” acne treatment products since my pre-teen years.

Overcoming ad saturation would be the biggest challenge, I think, for professional copy writers. But what do you professional copy writers out there think about it? Tell us, please.

Technorati Tags: copy writing, acne treatment, writing challenges, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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” doesn’t trip charmingly off the tongue, doesn’t conjure images of beautiful and faraway places, and really doesn’t tell you anything. (It’s a brand name for a whole line of dietary/nutritional supplements.) Likewise, brand names like “Lunesta,” “Lipitor,” and “Zocor” by themselves mean nothing — unless you’ve seen the endless, expensive television commercials for that particular pharmaceuticals and happen to use them.

Technical writers have an even tougher, “non-magical” row of words to hoe. Most technical writers never create terms or brand names, they generally get stuck writing step-by-step manuals and “how-tos” implementing equipment and procedures other people have created.

And can you imagine the stress government writers must face, coming up with the jargon and bureaucratic mumbo jumbo that keeps state and federal agencies up and running? What a job that must be!

Enjoy your writing today. Write fiction that soars, poetry that makes us laugh and cry, or simple “how-tos” that help us all boot up our computers and use your software.

Technorati Tags: writing tasks, jargon, bureaucratic jargon, ad copy writing, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 a memoir is more selective and has more “wiggle” room for faulty memory than an autobiography. As I see it, an autobiography is the writer’s best effort at a chronological account of his life. A memoir, however, can be more subjective, may even have events told out-of-order chronologically. That is not to say a memoir is fiction, or contains falsehood. Some high profile writers recently fell into the career-ending trap of faked memoirs that were more fiction than fact.

For example, I’ve been reading “Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back,” by Frank Schaeffer. In his Prologue to the book, on page 6, Schaffer insists his work is a “memoir, not a biography,” and explains his understanding of the distinction, ending the Prologue with this “caveat”:

“What I’ve written comes from a memory deformed by time, prejudice, flawed recall, and emotion.”

I think that’s a valid distinction between “memoir” and “autobiography” — a written work flawed with the warts and blemishes of time and memory.

What do you think? Let us know, please.

Oh, and by the way, I highly recommend Schaeffer’s book if you’re at all interested in the life and ministry of his parents, the two very well-known fundamentalist/evangelical writers, Edith and Francis Schaeffer.

Technorati Tags: autobiography, memoir, writing about the past, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 with the new placement rules.

Most of you that blog or maintain websites must know what Adsense is, don’t you? For the rest of you — Adsense is Google’s effort to give you some money when people go to your site and click on the Adsense ads you have allowed Google to place there. That’s the short answer.

Their latest “decree” is not to place headings over Adsense ads which make it unclear they are ads, AND not to place Adsense ads so that people mistake them for your own site links instead of being ads.

Which all leads to the point of this post: Any of you out there making any serious income via Adsense? There was a time a few years ago when some of the “Internet gurus” out there claimed six figure annual incomes of enormous size through the Adsense program. Personally, I’m luck if I make a buck or two a day from all the Adsense on all of my websites and blogs.

Just curious, and I really would not want anyone to divulge specifics — any of you earning good income from Adsense these days?

Technorati Tags: Adsense income, using Adsense, Adsense placement rules, Internet writing, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 the company — or any other self-publisher yet — but their website and their pricing certainly looks good to me. I encourage you to take a look around. Of course, if any of you have used this company or had any experience with them, I invite you to share what information you can with all of us by leaving a comment.

Technorati Tags: AuthorHouse, self-publishing books, online publishers, writing as a business, useful website, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 real, very immediate way of “self-publishing,” and as I guy who personally runs six content blogs I am not about to put down blogging as less than legitimate.

But I know at least one person who reads this blog, my friend (blatant plug follows) Linda Alexander recently sent out her newsletter rejoicing in the publication of a wonderful book she’s been working on for years. The book is Reluctant Witness: Robert Taylor, Hollywood, and Communism.”

I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing that the small publishing house she worked with is similar to the “self-publishing” concept I’m speaking of in this post — companies which work with authors to get their manuscripts edited, have printed copies available, or have a “print on demand” system to make copies available, then generally get the book placed on Amazon and help overall with marketing efforts.

As I said, I don’t know that Linda’s book is such a work. But I’m sure some of you out there have used some form of self-publishing company or service to get your works published.

Tell us about your experiences, please? Have you enjoyed the process? Was it as good as you’d expected? Better? Or worse? Leave a comment and let us know. (This would even be something I’d be willing to host a “guest post” about if you have something useful you wish to share and contact me through the site “Contact” page.)

Technorati Tags: self-publishing, book publication, blogging, writing as a business, writing tips at garyspeer.com

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 find out all about Journyx Timesheet and read Timesheet success stories on their website.

The beauty of Journyx Timesheet is that they give you the software fully functional with no time limits and no requirements to upgrade — absolutely free to use for up to 10 people. Of course, they offer a really great “professional” product if your in need of something for a business with more than 10 users.

I don’t understand all about the bells and whistles on the paid version, but I have looked over the free version and see it’s quite an offer. I spent a great deal of time two years ago looking for a product just like this for an ongoing freelance project — and never found anything nearly as useful as Journyx Timesheet appears to be. Go take a look for yourself.

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 looking to buy.

You’ve probably figured me out already, haven’t you? I’m talking about eBay, the world’s largest online auction site and arguably the world’s largest auction AND largest website. I don’t have specific stats to back that up, but I found an interesting site that give “current” counts on eBay auctions — the number of auctions on eBay as of mid-morning today was 10,973,278.

That’s a lot of auctions, which brings me to the basic point of this post: You can write clear, clean, short copy for an eBay auction — either for yourself or someone you know — and sell just about anything you can find for at least a small profit.

And, by the way, if you have a blog or website you update frequently and have ever thought of writing about eBay, you can become a member of their Ebay Partners Network and actually earn money for bringing eBay more customers and/or guiding buyers to current eBay auctions. (I’ll have more, specific information about the eBay affiliate program in a coming post.)

If you’re one of those few people who don’t go to eBay, or don’t go there often, take a look around the site. You might find some great, creative ideas for making money with your writing — and you might even find that vase you’ve been wanting as a gift for your great-aunt Tilly.

Technorati Tags: Internet writing, writing as a business, eBay, writing tips at garyspeer.com