by T J Philpott

 These disruptions to the writing process are very common obstacles that many experience. There are however ways to combat these irritating occurrences and it has more to do with your preparation than it does with your writing skills.

How to Publish Anything on Amazon’s Kindle

By: Randy Benjamin

Accelerate Your Creative Writing Skills

by Annette  Young

Creative writing skills occur naturally in everyone but for many, these creative writing skills lie dormant and are a source of untapped potential because the person does not know instinctively how to utilise them. Most people try writing at some point in their lives – whether for pleasure, therapeutic reasons or with the intention of earning money from their pursuits but tapping into their creativity can be a source of great frustration when the necessary skill set seems annoyingly out of reach. Increasing those creative writing skills is not difficult but it does require a focussed intent and a determination to succeed. It also requires a great deal of time management, as to be truly successful; a certain amount of time must be allocated to the task of learning.

Writing is akin to starting a new job or an apprenticeship scheme; the basic techniques have to be learned first and thoroughly before progressing to projects of an increased level. Jumping ahead too quickly can just cause increased frustration and essentially put the potential writer off from continuing. Creative writing skills need to be coaxed and nurtured for best results and any new writer would do well to joining a writing class so that they can learn from a professional tutor and communicate with other like-minded people.

A beginner’s class is set up so that different techniques are introduced at a level that is suitable for all but the tutor has to also introduce new techniques to keep everyone stimulated and consistently learning. Whilst much can be learned from a beginners writing class, the writer must also put in some writing practice at home as this will accelerate the learning curve dramatically. Without a doubt, regular practice is the most important part of any learning process and individual creative writing skills literally do increase in leaps and bounds if the writer persists over a period of weeks and months.

There are many techniques that can be incorporated quickly and easily into a daily or weekly agenda and will whip those creative writing skills into shape.

• Join an online writing course and have personal tuition for careful monitoring of your progress. Most courses are set so that students work at their own pace so there is no pressure to complete projects to a specific time.
• Purchase e-coaching. Inexpensive yet effective. This way the tutor tailors personal writing exercises to the individuals needs and provides individual feedback.
• Set aside personal writing time each day. Writing techniques will only sharpen if regular practice is provided.
• Set up a projects file and include photos from magazines, cuttings from newspapers or even list song titles that inspire. If inspiration is minimal, use the projects file to promote creativity, for example: photos from magazines could be used for flash fiction projects.
• Create a dream diary. Vivid dreamers need never be stuck for ideas providing they are written in a diary. They can be used to promote inspiration quickly and easily.
• Become a people-watcher and use real-life events and occurrences in writing projects.

Developing a strong foundation within writing realms may take a lot of hard work and dedication, but the results pay dividends in only a short period of time. Creating fun challenges on a personal level helps to accelerate creative writing skills and ultimately, this natural progression becomes a great source of motivation.

 Annette Young is a successful freelance writer and editor of the Creative Competitor. She has ghost -written numerous articles and e-books on health related and lifestyle subjects and is a professional writing tutor and author of 3 writing e-books and a multitude of writing courses.

 Article Writers – Maximise the Impact on the Reader

by Annette  Young

Article writers often have a difficult job to do, especially if they are writing articles specifically for a client and not just for their own marketing purposes. This is because they need to interpret the client’s needs and understand the project remit thoroughly before commencing so that time is not wasted with extensive editing later. Article writers have to tick many boxes before completing a project to a satisfactory level because although the client’s opinion is paramount, there must also be an integral sense of pride in creating an article that exceeds expectations.  Whilst a sense of accomplishment should be high on the list for article writers, the other consideration is how to engage the reader in an effective way.

There are many different styles of article writing and it can be blatantly obvious that not all are written with the reader in mind. Content is everything on the Internet and many article writers churn out seo articles (search engine optimisation) at such a fast pace that they can sound very repetitive to the reader and this repetition will prevent the article from flowing. This could be avoided if written carefully and with integrity but because of the pressure to capitalise on these writing jobs and complete large orders to strict deadlines, the standard of writing can drop substantially.

The writer must be confident about being able to translate the message within the article so that the reader can absorb the information quickly and easily and article writers need to stay focussed, understand the content material so as to be able to inform the reader and also make the content sound compelling. Some article writers like to blind with science and throw complicated jargon into the mix and depending on where the article is likely to be published; over-complicating could be a costly mistake in that the reader might not bother to read the article through to the end.

It is always worth remembering why the article is being written and keeping those aims in mind. If it is for article directories, house style is not important but making the article easy to read and also to potentially re-publish is a bonus.

The following quick self-help tips will help to keep the writer focussed and in control:

• Keep the information simple yet effective
• Don’t try to overcomplicate or use too much jargon
• Bullet points or numbered lists are useful because they make it easier for the reader to comprehend the data
• Don’t use too heavily-laden keywords unless directed by a client. Make the article an interesting read.
• Try to satisfy the reader by providing a solution to a problem and this will maximise the inner message.
• Write from an informed viewpoint and always check facts. Articles must always be accurate.
• Stay focussed throughout.
• Edit, edit, edit.

 Article writing courses can be extremely useful as these teach all the tricks of the trade in a supported style and therefore help to avoid any costly long-term writing errors, in addition, article writing courses help the writer to maximise their individual strengths.

When undertaking any writing work, it is always best to think any type of writing project through thoroughly before starting and this way article writers can provide well-written articles to match their client’s needs and they can feel satisfied at their own creative output as well as having maximised the impact in a positive way for the reader.

Annette Young is a successful freelance writer and editor of the Creative Competitor. She has ghost -written numerous articles and e-books on health related and lifestyle subjects and is a professional writing tutor and author of 3 writing e-books and a multitude of writing courses.

“3 Quick Tips To Becoming An Instant Copywriting Genius”

By: Ewen Chia

 Copywriting is the ONE skill that will turn words into cash, and it’s really the one thing you must learn if you’re thinking of selling anything at all.

From traditional direct mail and now to the internet, the power of words has already made millionaires out of ordinary folks like you and me!Successful copywriters know this. That’s why they charge exorbitant fees for their services, which will no doubtstill be money well invested.

The good news is, you can have this power too. You can write your own sales-pulling copy everytime – if you knowthe ‘tricks’.

Well read on and I’ll reveal to you 3 jealously-guarded tips that can turn you into a copywriting genius quickly…

(1) Start A Sales Letter ‘Swipe File’Simply start collecting winning sales letters AND emails into a ’swipe file’ that you can refer to for :* Your own education* As an ‘idea generator’ for your copy* As inspiration and motivation.

You’ll find this ’swipe file’ invaluable to writing your own killer copy. Successful copywriters literally swear by this method in creating awesome sales letters.

(2) Write As If You’re Your Own Prospect.

The real secret to copywriting genius is to get into your propect’s mind and encourage action at will.And the best way to do this is by becoming your prospects!Write your copy from their view and put yourself in their shoes. Think like them and you’ll build a subconscious rapport that wins them over.Throughout your copy, ask questions they would ask.Write from the heart and answer these questions.Ask yourself too : “would YOU buy this product yourself if you’re reading the copy you wrote?”

Identifying with your prospects must begin right from the headline down to the final P.S.

(3) Create The Achieved End Results

Here’s a tip that works like crazy.Create the actual OR perceived end results write at the beginning of your copy. Give specific details. Continue toemphasize these results and benefits throughout your letter.Give a ‘tangible’ feel to what can be achieve IF they buy, and what they’ll lose if they don’t.A simple example…Don’t write : “You’ll receive unlimited traffic to your website everyday!”So? What does that achieve?

Write instead : “Generate 1000% more traffic, subscribers AND sales with less than 5 minutes work!”

This shows the end results more clearly.Copywriting’s easy if you know the right techniques.Apply the above 3 tips and you’ll be improving your own copy quickly … without spending hundreds of dollars orhours on copywriting courses or ebooks. Try it.

About the Author ****************************************Copyright (c) By Ewen ChiaFinally! Discover Web Marketing Secrets,Tips And Resources In Less Than 30 Seconds And Without Spending A Single Cent! http://www.marketing-make-money.com–> P.S. More hard-hitting articles can be found at http://www.EzineArticle.com

One New Blog Created Every Second Means Yours Is Irrelevant Unless….

Author: Ba Kiwanuka

Blogs and the activity of blogging went mainstream a long time ago so much so that these days every 1.5 seconds a new blog is created! Crazy huh?

Put another way:   •  7.4 Million blogs were created in the last 120 days    •  1.5 Million blogs were created in the past 7 days    •  900,000 blogs created in the last 24 hours    •  37,500 blogs created every hour 

   Those are downright scary figures especially if you are just creating a blog today because it is a reflection of the extent of the competition facing you today! So what really made blogs and the activity of blogging so popular?    

 Well before blogging became so mainstream and the internet became literally saturated with millions upon millions of blogs, the activity was pretty much restricted to only the truly savvy online marketers (who traditionally set the pace for the rest of the crowd) and the geeks. Once those marketers realized the significant advantages blogs held over normal websites they quickly, quietly and efficiently converted their traditional websites to the blog platform.

Here’s why they did it:   

 1.  Blogs are quickly indexed by search engines;   

 2.  A blog is easy to update and add content to frequently;  

  3.  Frequently updating content encourages visitors to return to your blog;  

  4.  You don’t need to know HTML or any other web coding language to manage a blog;  

  5.  Blogs embrace the 2-way conversation interactivity that is so important to today’s business environment;  

  6.  Social Media Websites welcome and are the perfect fit for blogs; 

   7.  Blogs rise up the search engines quickly;   

8.  It is dead easy to attract web traffic to a blog even if it is brand new;   

 9.  New content added to your blog is instantly viewable and just as quickly picked up by the search engines; and    10.  You don’t need to be a web designer or have web designing skills to create a cool and professional-looking blog that stimulates visitor confidence and enhances their interaction.  

 What those ten attributes listed above so characteristic of blogs essentially mean, is that a blog would invariably and inevitably beat a normal website when it comes to attracting web traffic and attaining exposure! What blogging had fundamentally done was to level the playing field so that even absolute beginners could take on well-established traditional websites that had had thousands of backlinks and been around for several years.

What is more not only were blogs competing effectively with them but actually beating them at their own game!   Before long blogs were popping up as the number one listings throughout Google’s index for the most competitive keyword terms! Slowly and surely those traditional websites that had maintained a vice-like grip on the top-spot listings on Google for an eternity slowly lost their rankings to a large number of blogs.   Soon enough the secret was out that blogs wielded a considerable advantage over traditional websites and before long the activity itself had gone mainstream.

 Now let’s fast forward to the current situation today where the internet is super-saturated with blogs to the tune of a new blog being created every 1.5 seconds!    What 900,000 Blogs Created Everyday Means to You!    It used to be that anybody could virtually blog about anything and were almost guaranteed to attract enough traffic to make enough sales to actually justify it as being worth their while. In such a manner a lot of marketers who had embraced blogging early on were able to dominate a good number of niche markets quickly. But that was then and today, well, is today! 

  Long gone are the good ole days when you could target a small niche, slap together a few mediocre posts to your new blog and attract sufficient traffic to enable you to make money enough to quit your day job! These days most of those once little-saturated and highly-lucrative niche markets are overcrowded with more competitors than their daily web traffic allotment can possibly handle! What that boils down to is that only the very few, very best of blogs are actually able to make money online from their chosen niche markets.   That also means that if you are just creating a blog today, your blog will surely join the millions of mediocre blogs that never make any headway and are quickly abandoned by their owners unless you…    Make Your Blog Stand Out From The Rest Of The Crowd

    To succeed as a blogger you have to make your blog stand out from the many other millions of blogs already proliferating all across the internet. This ironically is actually good news for you because most bloggers have absolutely no idea how to distinguish their blogs from the next guy’s. In fact these days there are two kinds of blogging style, the traditional type of blogging known as Old-School Blogging and the more recent style in tune with the current internet business environment known as New-School Blogging.   The big difference between Old-School Blogging and New-School Blogging is that unless your Old-School Blog is already ranking well on the Google Index, you are going to find it extremely difficult to draw enough attention to make your blog profitable.

In other words if you start a blog today and adopt old-school blogging techniques then you are almost certainly guaranteed to fail. Why? Because old-school blogging techniques will not enable you to stand out from the crowd which also means that you cannot possible compete against blogs that have been around for a while and are already well-established.     The biggest flaw that old-school blogs suffered from was an inability to consistently draw significant amounts of web traffic!     However if you create a new blog and adopt new-school blogging techniques, within little time you will effortlessly attract lots of web traffic. Which method of blogging you choose will ultimately determine the level of internet success!  

Click For More Tips On How To  Make Money Blogging

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/blogging-articles/one-new-blog-created-every-second-means-yours-is-irrelevant-unless-889295.html

About the Author:
View Free Videos On How To Start Your Own Blog At:  http://www.internetbusinessmart.com

Writing With Confidence – Unlock Your Potential

Author: Angela Booth

The biggest bugbear for new freelance writers, and for some established ones too, is a lack of confidence.
 
Are you a confident writer? A confident writer knows his words have value, and enjoys writing. He also knows that since there are unlimited markets for his words, any rejections are just feedback, and blithely submits his words elsewhere.
 
When you lack confidence you:
 
* Procrastinate, because you’re unsure of yourself;
 
* Charge less than you’re worth – you overestimate each project, and underestimate your own resources and skills;
 
* Trash your intuition (your creativity). A confident writer has formed a writing habit which is a partnership with his creativity, and he trusts the words will be there when he needs them. And, magically, they are. Trusting yourself is a big part of being a confident writer;
 
* Get stuck in writing ruts. You’re nervous about writing anything which is new to you. You write for publications way below your skill level, because you lack the confidence to move out of your comfort zone.
 
Let’s try a little experiment. Rate your confidence as a writer on a scale from one to ten. One is Extreme Lack of Confidence, and ten is Highly Confident.
 
Write down the number, and today’s date. Then follow the program below to become extremely confident about your writing within a month.
 
How to Get Confident in a 30 Days or Less
 
There’s a simple program which I’ve recommended to many writers, because it once worked for me, many years ago. It works for everyone who follows the program.
 
Here it is.
 
Write an article a day, and publish your article.
 
Yes, that’s all there is to the program. It works, because before the month is over, you’ll have shifted your focus from thinking about the effects of writing (where you are now) to WRITING itself. Put another way, you will have changed your mental focus from thinking to doing.
 
When you’re writing, your thoughts are about writing. They’re either focused on what you’re currently writing, or they’re focused on finding ideas and finding markets. This is the mark of a confident writer: eagerness to WRITE.
 
So write an article a day, of 400 to 800 words. Your articles can be about anything you choose.
 
Now, let’s talk about publication. If you’re writing for magazines, or want to, then write a magazine query for the article you’re writing each day, and send it off to a magazine on the same day. Add this to your cover letter: “Many thanks for your consideration. I’ll assume that this article is not for you if I don’t hear from you within a week.”
 
Keep records. Note down the article’s title, and where you sent it. Fourteen days after you send off the query for an article, send it somewhere else. You’ve informed the first editor that that’s what you’re doing, so do it.
 
If you want to write for the Web rather than print publications, you have a choice.
 
You can submit your articles to Web sites, using the query method as you’d use for magazines. Or, you can publish your articles on a blog, or you can collect your articles into packages of ten, and sell them on your Web site. If you’re selling packages, all articles in a package should be on the same topic; weight loss, for example, or parenting, or – any topic you choose.
 
So, rate your confidence on a scale of one to ten. Then, write an article a day, and publish your article. Continue for 30 days. Rate yourself again. You’ll be at TEN on the confidence scale, I promise you.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/writing-with-confidence-unlock-your-potential-423183.html

About the Author:
Want to  write more ? Angela Booth’s writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons she developed for her private coaching students. Her ebook  “Top 70 Writing Tips To Help You To Write More”  shows you how to end procrastination for good and write more.

Creative Writing through Method Acting.

 by Andrew Jakubowski

Actors put themselves into the role they play; well did you know it is the same with writers?  Writers are not always in a writing mode, in-fact most of the time we’re full of other pre-occupations and experiencing pressure with never-ending chores & bills, etc.

 We need to transport ourselves into a writing mode and leave the rest behind, and of course, we all have the romantic idea of waiting for inspiration to strike, but inspiration seldom does! She tantalises, teases and caresses and is an elusive lover, seldom arriving on time and never keeps company with the timely arrival of the bills, far from it.

If we cannot rely on inspiration on tap then we need to coax, court & seduce shy inspiration towards our pen.

 How do we get into character as writers and allow sweet inspiration to effect out mood and words?  We ‘Act’, like writers that is how! That does not mean some pre-conceived idea; wearing wig and feverishly scribing with quill, would a fair maiden be interested with a pen pusher when she desires a ‘poet’.

 Method actors, like Al Pacino, adopt the thoughts, mannerisms & lives of the subjects they portray; they slip out of one garment and put on another, The Lover, The Hero etc. They do this using methods & rituals. Divesting old habits which are unconscious and restrain us, Method & Ritual prepare us, making us conscious of the character we wish to become – in this case ‘The Writer’.

 When we take off one drab role  and open ourselves up, we set about courting inspiration

 My 4 top methods & rituals to woe creativity & inspiration.

 Go for a walk or ride in the countryside to allow those old habitual thoughts   to subside and fall away, leaving you ‘ready-open’.

•  Make sure your writing ‘space’ is just that, a place of un-distracted comfort. 
• Use soft lighting, which will allow your right (creative) brain to awaken and listen.

 Have some pictures or items of the object you are to write about to hand and arrange them so that they tell their story, allow them to speak to you, through you. You would not go courting without bring a ‘gift’ to ‘charm’ inspiration.

 Using method & ritual can kick start your writing and accelerate your creativity.

 If it is good enough for the likes of Pacino it’s good enough for us more mortals.

Andrew Jakubowki’s ventures into freelance writing maps his journey and coaching via the Creative Competitor in the Writers Journey at www.creativecompetitor.com/the-writers-journey

 Writing for Cash – eBooks 

by Mike Clifton 

Writing is an addiction. Those of us that really enjoy writing are most happy when we are continually writing. The rest of the time we are just biding our time pretending to be happy until we can write again.If you can relate to this, why not make a few dollars with what you write?

Writing a novel has always been a desire of every writer, whether it is read by many or a few. Of course, many would be better. It goes with the territory. You probably also like to read. You may have a job that lets you write a little here and there, like newsletters, pamphlets and such.

I will let you in on a secret; eBooks are the way to go when you like to write but are not quite good enough to write the best selling novel. Writing a best seller is sort of like playing in the NBA, a lot of people play basketball but there are only so many spaces in the NBA. Players take their love of basketball to Europe and continue playing, trying to get to their dream.

Well, eBooks allow you to build on your talent, while making quite a bit of money. They allow you to practice your craft, what you love doing, and build on your resume. There is no limit on what you can write about. There in no end to the people looking for eBooks on whatever subject that comes to mind. A good eBook could go on for years, earning you money, with just some updates every now and then.

To create a great eBook you need to do the following:

1. Give the reader quality – Write what you know about or research a subject until you know about it. Don’t try to feed the reader a line of slop.

2. Letting someone else read your book and review it for you. Take their criticism to heart and correct any problems that they find. Ask them how they felt when they finished it. Were they satisfied or was something missing? Did they want something more? By trying to fulfill their needs you will end up with a more complete eBook, as long as you stay true to the subject.

3. Give the reader value – Don’t price yourself out of the market. The reader is looking for value for his money especially in this economy. Check out what eBooks are selling for that are of a similar topic and size. You can offer free updates when they become available.

Writing a best selling novel has always been a dream of mine as it is for so many writers. It has not happened yet but I am still trying; and I am able to get some satisfaction by writing eBooks and various other web items.

Creative people need to make things. I get the most satisfaction when I am creating something and eBooks allow me to create a lot of things in a short amount of time. This is very satisfying indeed. My dream of writing a novel will have to wait.

Writing is an addiction. Those of us that really enjoy writing are most happy when we are continually writing. The rest of the time we are just biding our time pretending to be happy until we can write again.If you can relate to this, why not make a few dollars with what you write?

To learn more about the eBook business, check out, http://www.beginnersbusinessblueprint.com , or visit my blog and me at http://www.mike-clifton.com . Check it out for information on making money online with eBooks and other endeavors.

Article Writing: Tips For Success

by Alex De Mostafa

Learning how to express your ideas through article writing is a great means to becoming a professional writer.

The crux of an article is the content. Organizing your ideas will make your article more readable and will earn you a greater audience. Consider these two steps when writing an article:

1. Choose simple language

By writing in simple language, you are able to reach a broad range of people. Most magazine and newspaper writers compose their articles at a fourth grade level so their material is understood by the maximum number of readers.

These writers are highly skilled and could write at a much higher level, but keep their reporting at an almost universal level, so the news can reach more people. Of course not all publications can communicate at such a remedial level.

Technical, social, or political magazines involve more advanced issues than mere reporting, so the language in such publications is more complex and specialized, as are the readers of those articles. Aside from these specialized magazines, a straightforward and simple style of writing is preferred.

2. Present your ideas in an interesting way

Your ideas should be represented in such a way that they are useful to the audience. The better you frame your ideas, more readers will be attracted towards your article. Organize your ideas in such a manner that it entertains the readers. Make sure that dont write whole descriptive stuff so that the readers feel bored. Most of the articles written for the internet or for magazines are in classic style known as five paragraph essay, which is an ideal format for writing articles in brief. If this style is followed then you can express your ideas in a very beautiful way with the good and interesting start and end.

A guide to the five paragraph essay:

1) First paragraph: Introduction-to represent the actual topic and related concepts in brief.

2) In the second, third, and fourth paragraphs, expand on the topic from the introduction in simple, yet creative language.

3) In the fifth paragraph, summarize the topic that you’ve introduced.

By keeping the language of your articles understandable, simple, and clairvoyant, you will be able to write for magazines or Internet publication. By organizing your ideas and keeping your reader interested throughout, and by using “Spellings and Grammar” facility in Word software, you can become a successful article writer with a wide range of readers.

Learning how to express your ideas through article writing is a great means to becoming a professional writer.

Thomas is an author and SEO expert. He teaches effective article marketing strategies with unique content articles.

The Secret to Writing… is Writing!

By: Mark V Hansen

We recommend that you write out everything you know about a subject before you start researching the subject. Just sit down and write it. This approach allows for original thinking and breakthrough ideas.

Write what you know. Surely you have a signature story that you frequently tell to the delight of listeners. Use that to get your mental juices flowing.

To put yourself in a mental state to write, you may take on the persona of your favorite great writer and tap into vibrations of their energy or you could listen to music that nourishes your creativity. We all love Pachelbel’s Canon in D which allows us to write for hours on end.

Don’t try to be perfect. Remember, nobody ever publishes their first draft! A good editor can fix just about anything other than the fact that you haven’t written it yet, so sit down and get started.

Take Bite Size Chunks
Our friend Bob Proctor, a phenomenal, must-hear speaker and author, once had a woman in his audience say, “I want to write a book, but I don’t have time, because I’m married, with four kids and a husband and a job to go to every day.”

Bob said, “Here is how you do it. Write one minute every day. That is a page a day, or 250 words. In one year, you will have written 365 pages. Edit it and you will have finished a book.

She did not take Bob’s advice, but he did! Bob wrote his first book, “Born Rich”. Bob which has sold millions of copies worldwide, and continues 25 years later to be a self-promoted and self-published bestseller.

Robert G. Allen says, “Every word I write is worth $20. Therefore, my daily writing goal is 1,000 words. The fact that I know I will be exceedingly well paid for my words keeps me disciplined and writing. If I think I want to watch TV but I have not written today, I go to my computer and write.”

Mark has coauthored multiple bestsellers with Bob Allen—who, by the way, takes practically-impossible-to-comprehend financial information and makes it easy for the masses to understand and employ. Bob is a millionaire maker.

Can you write yourself rich? That is up to you, your dedication, and your passionate purposefulness.

Are you ready to become the writer you want to be, the writer you were born to be, the writer you need to be if others are ever to know what you know? Then write! Write about the things you know, the things you love. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Mark Victor Hansen, best known as the co-creator of the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ empire (which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling non-fiction book series ever), Mark is a walking success magnet! Between his books and speeches, Mark has helped countless millions of people become their very best. Visit Mark’s 101 E-Book Library at http://www.IdeasThatCanChangeYourLife.com.

How To Break Into Magazine Writing

 - By Jennifer Carson

As a freelance success story, Linda Formichelli walks the talk. She’s written for more than 120 magazines, including Woman’s Day, Health, Writer’s Digest, Redbook, Business Start-Ups, Fortune Small Business, and Family Circle. She’s also the author of two books, The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock.

So who better to go to for advice on breaking into magazines? Here are three “from the front” tips she gave me to pass along:

1. Frame your idea effectively. When an editor considers your idea, she’ll think, “Why us? Why now?” You need to be able to explain why your idea is perfect for the magazine’s readers; for example, I might end an idea pitch letter with something like, “Family Circle’s readers are busy from dawn to dusk, but they want to stress less so they can enjoy their time with their families. My article ‘15 Surprising Ways to Bust Stress’ won’t disappoint them.”

As for “Why now?” you need to be able to hook your idea into something that’s going on right now, such as a news story, a new book, a statistic, or a trend. For example, I might write, “According to a September 2009 study by the Stress Institute, women are 45% more stressed now than they were a decade ago.” (Okay, so I made that stat up! But for your pitch letter you will obviously dig up a real number.)

2. Help the editor envision your idea in the magazine. To do this, you can lead your pitch letter with the same paragraph you would write if you were writing the actual article, and then go on to give the editor a few examples and quotes that show how you plan to structure the article and the kind of information you’ll share. You can also come up with a cover-worthy title, suggest sidebars, and even suggest a graphical treatment if you happen to have an idea for one.

3. You need to be fearless! Fear is the number one thing holding back new writers from breaking into magazines. Don’t stall by thinking you can’t send out your pitch letter until it’s perfect. There’s no such thing as perfect, so just give it your best shot and get that thing out the door! If you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world – I’ve sold article ideas with pitch letters that had a typo in the very first sentence! And you’ll learn and get better as you go along. The important thing is to start.

About the Author

Jennifer Carsen, J.D. is a “recovering lawyer” and the founder of Big Juicy Life. Her specialty is turning lawyers into writers. Go to http://www.bigjuicylifecoaching.com for a copy of the free report, “6 Myths About Leaving the Law for Writing.”

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/Article/How-To-Break-Into-Magazine-Writing/602075

Set Up A Freelance Writing Business In Two Easy Steps

 By: erica williams

  Starting a writing business is the perfect way to supplement any income. There are many writers on the Internet who make a full time income with no prior experience or knowledge of the writing industry. One misconception about the writing industry is that you have to be a really good writer. This is not true at all. In fact, if you know how to form a basic sentence, then you could earn a full time income writing articles from home with no experience. Here are 5 easy steps for setting up your freelance writing business:

Create a Website- You first step to earning a decent living writing online is to create a website. Since most of your clients will be online, you will need to cater to this crowd by making your website your business card. If you don’t want to spend a large amount of money on a domain or webhosting, sign up with a free blog at Blogger.com. Keep in mind that because it is hosted on a free domain, you will need to go out of your way to earn the trust of potential clients. This means you will need decent writing samples and testimonies. Of course, you need this anyway, but you will especially need it more when dealing with a free domain.

Now that you have your website created, you will also need to decide how much you will charge. I suggest putting a price list up for clients to see. Also, if you are going to be selling pre-written articles, it might be a good idea to follow your price list. Most new writers charge $1 for every 100 words; however, this is on the low end. The quality of your writing samples will determine how much a client will pay for your pre-written articles or services. If you feel you are a decent writer, don’t short change yourself. Starting off at $3 per 100 words is a good amount.

Advertise Your Writing Services- This is the part that gets most writers in a jam. Anyone can write a decent article and put it up for sale, but no one is going to buy it if you don’t advertise yourself There are multiple ways you can go about doing this. Most noticeable one is through forums, free classified ads, mini-sites (blogs) and business directories. Many people believe that none of these methods work, but that is because they are not using them correctly.

When writing a classified ad or in forums to advertise your services, you have to be specific and write a really detailed headline. More people will be willing to purchase an article with the headline, “1 Fiber Nutrition Article For Sale-$20-High Quality” than with a headline like, “Nutrition Articles For Sale”. It also helps to use low competition keywords in your headline so you can get good traffic from the search engines as well.

If you utilize all of these methods for getting traffic online, you will start to see your client list grow. It is not hard to make at least $100 a day writing articles from home. The key is advertising your services and pre-written articles. You may not see results overnight, but eventually, you will have the perfect freelance writing business. You just have to keep working hard on it.

Learn how to start your very own freelance writing business with no experience and earn a full time income starting today.

Make easy cash creating articles for publishers and webmasters online and get 4 FREE bonus gifts for technical writers to launch their writing career at Writing Guide Book
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 The Cure For A Common Case Of Writer’s Block

-By: Andrea Susan Glass

Have you ever come down with a case of writer’s block? When you’re fresh out of words! Your mind’s a blank and so is the page. You can’t come up with another thing you can say. Small business owners who have to write articles, blog posts, ezines, website content, ebooks, and other info-products often get stuck when they have to write about themselves or their business. They’re just too close to the situation to put into words what they want to say to promote their business.

Sometimes they feel the pressure of deadlines or distractions are all around. What could be the cause of this common ailment and how can it be cured? Often the answer is FEAR! Entrepreneurs may be terrified that they have nothing of value to say, nothing that hasn’t already been said over and over. They feel uncomfortable boasting about their business or they fear their writing isn’t good enough for public viewing.

Are any of these familiar to you?

1. Perfectionism. You feel you must produce a masterpiece in the first draft. Otherwise, it’s delete, delete.
2. Editing not writing. Your judging mind is critiquing every incorrect word, spelling, or grammar error and not letting your creativity reign.
3. Self-consciousness. You find it hard to write about your business because it’s not right to brag. And anyway, you’re not a writer! Buy if you don’t promote your business who will?
4. Stuck getting started. It’s always the first sentence that’s the hardest. Or the headline or the title. You think it has to be brilliant to hook the reader from the start!
5. Distractions. You have to answer e-mails. The computer’s crashing. The phone’s ringing off the hook. You have a business to run so how can you be creative too?
6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite pastime and excuse. There’s always tomorrow, but there’ll be another excuse then too!

Can you really find the cure for a bad case of writer’s block? Only if you really want to. Test some of these methods for overcoming writer’s block:

1. Plan your project before you sit down to write. It gets your thoughts organized and you’ll be ready to go forward smoothly.
2. Write without expectation. No one writes a masterpiece the first time out. Give yourself permission to let the words and ideas flow out and do the edits later or hire a professional editor.
3. Get inspired. Close your eyes and envision your opening sentence. If it doesn’t come right away, skip ahead and go back when you’ve finished your piece. When you review it, the first sentence will become clearer or just pop out of your deeper thoughts. So will your title.
4. Plan your writing time. Close the door, turn off the phone, and keep an appointment with yourself to write. Set a goal to write a certain amount and don’t stop until you reach it. If you run out of time, immediately set your next appointment. If you can only spare 30 minutes instead of 2 hours, write at least one page. You can do it.
5. Visualize the end result. Imagine your name on the cover of your book. See your byline on the article. Get clear about your motivation and allow it to break through your blocks. Set up a regular accountability meeting with another blocked writer and cheer each other on. Plan a reward for each milestone!

Once you conquer writer’s block, remember what worked and repeat it if it strikes again. Bask in the glory of the finished piece and let that be your cure the next time you come down with a case of writer’s block. Of course, you can always hire a ghostwriter like me to do all your writing!

Homework: Sit down and write for 5 minutes a day just letting ideas flow from your brain to your fingertips. Do this every day until you get over your writing blocks and fears.

Have you ever come down with a case of writer’s block? When you’re fresh out of words! Your mind’s a blank and so is the page. You can’t come up with another thing you can say. Small business owners who have to write articles, blog posts, ezines, website content, ebooks, and other info-products often get stuck when they have to write about themselves or their business. They’re just too close to the situation to put into words what they want to say to promote their business.

Copyright © 2009 Andrea Susan Glass. WritersWay specializes in personal and professional development ghostwriting and copyediting. She helps small business owners and entrepreneurs produce and promote books, e-books, and other info-products to brand their expertise, impact others with wisdom, and build passive income. Sign up for monthly ezine and get the free report “Your Info-Product Success System” at http://www.Info-ProductSuccessSystem.com.

How To Become A Successful Writer: 3 Simple Tips To Succeed As A Writer by Michael Lee

There are ordinary writers, and then there are successful writers. I’m sure it’s quite obvious what every aspiring writer wants to be. Gone are the days when a writer was considered a starving artist. Today, writers can also make it big. Think about J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown or whoever your favorite successful writer is. How did they become successful writers?

You might shake your head at this and answer that you’re no J.K. Rowling. After all, you might think it’s unlikely that her rags to riches story will happen to anyone. However, your chances of making it big will increase if you took the time to learn how to become a successful writer.

 1) Perfect Your Style.

 Every writer has his own signature style. Is yours detailed descriptions or maybe sharp-witted sentences? Do you like to play around with simple words or does your taste run to the highfalutin terms?

Whatever your style is, stick to it and make it your own. Soon, people will notice that your writing has more character than the others. People looking for satirical stories, for example, will always think of you first before any other writer because that is your signature style.

2) Be Different.

If you want to learn how to become a successful writer, don’t write about topics that have been written about over and over again, unless you’re prepared to show people a different perspective. Otherwise, you would just be another redundant waste of space in the newspaper or in the magazine.

Try to update yourself with what’s going on in the world or even just in your neighborhood. You might be surprised as to what you might pick up from simple conversations. Browse popular bookmarking sites like Digg.com and see what topics are hot right now. Some websites will inform you when new or hot trends come out. They include:

news.google.com

news.yahoo.com

msnbc.com

cnn.com

cnet.com

Note: The same advice applies when you’re writing fiction.

3) Be Persistent.

If you want to learn how to become a successful writer, you must never give up. Send out your manuscripts to publishing houses. Meet up with them when necessary. J.K. Rowling wasn’t even remotely successful before Harry Potter was published.

Someone somewhere out there will like your style and will decide to have faith in your talents. Don’t be disheartened when somebody criticizes your piece, too. Try to understand people’s comments and improve on what needs to be improved.

Learning how to become a successful writer is very possible with the right attitude and proper advice. Of course, you have to know the basics down like good grammar and proper sentence construction. After that, everything depends on your own skills as a writer and your tenacity to succeed. Believe that you can do it and everything else will fall into place.

One of the oldest traits that makes man human – and something that we can all relate to – is ‘possession.’

While animals are fiercely territorial, humans are fiercely possessive. We compete so that we can win something, be that an asset or some abstraction such as fame and glory. In fact, Jacques Rousseau, in his Discourse in Inequality #2 affirms that, “The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying “This is mine,” and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.”

So, as we say in the vernacular, “possession is nine tenths of the law,” meaning that very little comes between us and what we own. And this very human trait is reflected in language.

Nouns that call for an apostrophe:

Lady’s existence

Children’s crossing

Doctor’s patient

Grant’s Tomb

Tom’s arm

The wolf’s leg

Angel’s breath

God’s tribunal

Nothing but the apostrophe comes between the possessing agent and the thing possessed. Furthermore, notice that the agents are people, animals, and sentient beings.

Nouns that call for the preposition ‘of’:

The life and soul of the party

The root of all evils

The shadow of your smile

The Red Badge of Courage

The windows of the soul

When we ascribe possession to animate and inanimate beings that aren’t endowed with either mind attributes (thinking, reasoning, cognition), or feelings and emotions, then the possession is expressed with the preposition ‘of.’

In fiction

When a writer intends to deprecate a character, this is done by denying the apostrophe to the character, which is tantamount to denying that the character has human-like qualities. We can see this in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre:

“Silence!” ejaculated a voice; not that of Miss Miller, but one of the upper teachers, a little dark personage, smartly dressed, but of somewhat morose aspect…”

But to humanize the hero:

“Whose house is it?”

“Mr. Rochester’s.”

Notice the intent to dehumanize in the following sentence:

Nurse Ratchet, the chief nurse of the asylum, called the names of the inmates.

In the title of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde, we can see that the possessive is shown with the preposition ‘of.’ Again, one can see that the writer is attempting to dehumanize and to demonize both characters, as they will resemble alien beings rather humans.

If we rearrange the title to read: Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde’s Strange Case, would convey nearly the same meaning, yet we can argue that the author’s intention was to deny the use of the apostrophe to non-human characters.

Again, notice the use of the preposition ‘of’ in the same novel: “That child of hell had nothing human; nothing lived in him but fear and hatred.”

Conclusion

1. Restrict the use apostrophes to signify possession by humans, animals, and sentient beings.

2. Use the preposition ‘of’ to signify possession by both animate and inanimate things, and non-sentient nouns.

3. Although the above distinctions aren’t universally accepted by writers, grammarians, and stylists, their use is prevailing in both fiction and non-fiction writing. The accepted norm is that the writers should be consistent in their use of the apostrophe to indicate possession.

4. Traditionalists don’t make the above distinctions.

Retired. Former investment banker, Columbia University-educated, Vietnam Vet (67-68).
For the writing techniques I use, see Mary Duffy’s e-book: Sentence Openers.
To read my book reviews of the Classics visit my blog: Writing To Live
Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Possessive-Nouns—When-To-Use-The-Apostrophe/191931

 Getting Published – Stepping Stones to Success

by Annette Young 

Getting published may seem an arduous creative journey for the beginner but it is the ultimate goal for most writers. Whilst the road to publication is often filled with obstacles, there are many short cuts which may prove tempting although not advisable and final success can be littered by frequent mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable however, and the serious writer needs to overcome any fear of these so that progression occurs. Getting published is actually not as difficult as writers may think but it does require a certain mindset and a strong desire to be successful.

Getting published means becoming an organised and efficient writer and this means deliberately choosing to experiment in style and genre, testing out different word counts and maximising the ability to write to demand. Many writers think that the actual act of writing is all about becoming inspired and then putting pen to paper but professional writers have to write regularly and even at those times when creativity is sparse.

The best route to getting published is to ensure that you map your journey each step of the way and take in the following tips en-route: 

• Consider what you want to achieve with your writing and where your creative passions lie currently. In the early days, it is easier to focus on areas of interest that you are naturally attracted to. This means you can make the most of any writing time available and become more productive.
•  Make a list of those priority subjects that you would like to write about, or any fiction ideas that are inspirational and list them by importance. 
• Allocate yourself some writing time as opposed to only writing when creativity strikes. If you can become used to writing to order then as your writing skills increase and your publishing goal becomes ever nearer, then this will forge a stepping stone towards writing professionally. 
• Start thinking of yourself as a writer. If you write regularly, then you are a writer – fact. Revel in the sensation; it will help spur you on to greatness. 
• Don’t be afraid to try new techniques if the desire strikes, it’s all part of the important growth process.
• Don’t be scared to make mistakes either, providing you recognise those mistakes and learn from them, then they are worth their weight in gold. 
• Read as much as you can and absorb writing styles and techniques. 
• Some writers become too nervous to send any of their work out into the big wide world, it is important to overcome that fear. Remember if you don’t try, you will never know.

Getting published requires a great deal of tenacity, it requires the writer to harden their resolve, develop an inquiring mind, an ability to self-motivate and to develop a confidence in their own work. Regular practice and a continuous review of the initial development plan are strongly advised for continued progression. Writing is all about learning the technical skills, use life’s experiences intuitively in your writing and learning to carve a specific niche within the writing industry.  Getting published is but a stepping stone away.

Annette Young

Writer/Editor – www.creativecompetitor.com

www.annette-young.com

Another thing that makes this an incredible deal is that you don’t give up any publishing or author’s rights. You retain everything. You can even go with other e-book companies at the same time and sell through their channels as well. Amazon only takes a percentage from e-books they sell through the Kindle bookstore.

For self published authors, you’ll have to do your own layout and cover design, but if you can write a book, this shouldn’t present much of a problem. Besides, you can always farm out the cover design if you’re not comfortable with your own artistic skills.

The bottom line is this…and it’s especially true for self published authors, I can’t think of a better way to enter the e-book arena than by working with Amazon and the Kindle e-book reader. And the price to get in the game couldn’t be any better. ZIP!

About the author: Randy Benjamin is an author and syndicated columnist. His latest books, “FREE Internet” and “How To Publish Anything On Amazon’s Kindle” are available in paperback and Kindle e-book formats at Amazon’s on-line bookstore. For more information, visit his website: http://www.randybenjamin.com

Article Source: www.isnare.com