Archives for November 2007

Online Writing Showcases

There are so many writing resources online that you can’t shake a stick at them all. When it comes to getting yourself noticed there are some online tools that are invaluable but they will take some time and effort for you to acquaint yourself. There are two sites that I’m going to deal with in this post – Zimbio and Squidoo. I use both of these sites frequently to promote articles and clients because they deliver traffic to the sites and blogs my writing is promoting in turn. Better still, both of these sites are completely free, indeed with Squidoo there is the opportunity to actually make passive revenue from the site.

Zimbio provides an article and wiki showcase where you can post up an article, edit the presentation to include headers and footers with hyperlinks to other web pages, such as your client web landing page or blog post. Zimbio provides a platform for submitting articles and blog posts, which are then blended in with “real” journalism and media while allowing for syndication of your work. Here you will find news and media output from recognised writers, TV, newspapers and magazines running alongside bloggers, active writers and non-professional sources, while readers are able to rate content and help good work gain wider exposure.
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The Loneliness of a Long Distance Writer

Are words best written alone?

I’m pretty sure that my title is not an original one. Writing requires concentration and effort especially if like me, writing has been something to do as part of a job rather than something performed for pleasure. The truth is that as a professional writer, and by that I mean I write for a living, my working life is spent alone with no colleagues to bounce ideas around and joke with at the coffee machine. I never get to see my clients as they are dotted around the world as far afield as North America, the Far East and Australasia, so email and Skype are the communication tools.

Does any of this matter with your writing?

Unless you are a hermit by nature, the straight answer is “Yes” it does matter.

The First Draft: Writing With Precision And Passion!

Often, potentially brilliant pieces of writing are discarded because they seem amateurish and lack a ‘final polish’. We often end up spending very little time minute details, as silly mistakes can make even an amateur’s work look like one written by an expert, so long as it is edited correctly. Do not let your manuscript be an example of sloppy work, deep down you know that there is always room for improvement, even when you think you have given it your best shot.

Free your work from errors, even if you feel that you should leave your work, you might not notice that blatant mistake on page 54. Typing errors and bad sentence construction can serve as a source of humor to your editor, but it will never make them accept your work. I am sure it is more important to you to be accepted rather than to make people laugh! Hence, make sure your work is free from spelling and grammatical errors. The readability of your work will diminish if your writing is laden with them.
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Blogging Tips That Work

Writing Blog Posts is Short and Sweet

I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts that a writer needs to be opinionated and forceful if they are to be successful. When it comes to writing blog posts you really must be awake to the audience you are writing for and this writers maxim definitely applies. A web surfer will spend seconds on your page if you are lucky, so what you post there needs to hit the mark fast – here are some tips from the bowels of my experience.

Tip 1: Be Opinionated

The more opinionated the better, as opinions are what readers are looking for. Do you think Ford is better than Vauxhall, Liverpool better than Manchester United, should homosexuals be allowed in the armed forces, is Gordon Brown the right man to fill Tony Blair’s shoes?

Remember a blog is accessible, so be prepared to have your opinions challenged and there is also a difference between being opinionated and posting inflammatory comments.

Tip 2. Less is More

Keep it Simple Stupid.

Tip 3. Use Lists

Like this one.