iSnare

When you are producing articles, getting them as widely distributed is a key element to gaining exposure for the piece and for yourself.

Submitting articles to directories, forums, bulletin boards and other media outlets all helps but this can be time consuming and ineffective.

A more effective means of getting your article and work out to a wider potential audience is to use article submission portals and ISnare is one that I use frequently.

By submitting your piece to ISnare, the directory will automatically submit it to around thousands of other sites and though there is always an element of redundancy and irrelevance in using automated methods, this is a very effective means of throwing mud against a wall without risking the spammer label.

Registration and submission is free with ISnare, however to get the prompt levels of service i.e. review, approval and distribution within a week, you need to take out a subscription (personally I have never bothered).  If you do wish to part with your hard earned beer tokens, the rate is $2 to submit to approximately 40,000 publishers and several thousand sites.

The site, in common with other article submission portals, splits articles up into categories and you are not restricted to simply providing topical information - you can also submit poems, scripts and other literary pieces so this technique comes in handy for any writer seeking wider exposure.

Simple to use and very effective in terms of cost and benefits provided; article distribution portals will gain you exposure without the time consuming process of physical submission to a handful of sites that you or I can manage on our own.

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Writing academic papers will require a referencing style; Michael has touched on the use of Chicago, MLA and APA in the past but in this post I’m going to explain and outline the APA referencing system.

APA stands for the American Psychological Association and their referencing style is very common.  I’ll cover off UK and US referencing styles in future posts so don’t think I’m singling APA out for special attention.

The APA system is broken into two main parts:

• In-text citations

• A reference list

In-Text Citations 

In-text citations as the name suggests are included within the text; for direct quotations they state the name of the writer, the publication and page number with the date published of the source you are using.  Where you paraphrase the source you only need the name of the writer and the date published but the wording must be your own.

An example is:

Understanding astronomical variances in stellar drift is difficult, as has been observed (ERH, 2008, The Moon is My Oyster) “Stellar drift has significant implications for worm hole transportation.”

This would be the correct use of an APA style citation for the initial use of the source, but you only need to state the writer’s name in subsequent citations IF within the same paragraph, so:

As has also been noted (ERH), “Stargate SG-1 has a great deal of good science to offer and not simply entertainment.”

If you are quoting at length (more than 40 words) you should cite the quote WITHOUT quotation marks by inserting the quote in a separate paragraph that is indented between 5 and 7 spaces, preferably using single spacing and still add the name of the author, publication date and page number in brackets at the beginning or end of the text.

An example would be:

Blah blah blah blah blah:

Lots of Stargate blah,lots and lots of blah, Teal’c looks silly with hair on, O’Neill should grow up and Samantha Carter really ought to let her hair down far more often.  In fact, Doctor Jackson is the only decent character and that is because he is Canadian. (ERH, 2008 p7)

…and more blah.

The Reference List

APA follows a referencing format that is determined by the publication media you are writing for; the split is between writing for a book (or producing a report) or for a journal.

The referencing list is placed at the bottom of the page within which you are citing the source.

For Books and Reports

Author, (date), Title, Place of Publication, Publisher

e.g. Smith K,(2008), Using APA Referencing in Practice, London UK, Supaproofread

For a Journal

Author, (Date), Title, Journal Name, Volume (Issue), Page

e.g. Smith K, 2008, Stargate Science, SG-1 Fan Magazine, 12(3), 22-33

 There are other rules regarding citing multiple authors, using et al, citing an author who has in turn cited another and so on and you can gain a greater understanding of the referencing style by visiting this helpful site - ACU

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When I started writing I was heavily reliant on Get A Freelancer for work and my client portfolio blossomed from there.

GAF is just one of several sites that provide work, and we have already covered others such as Guru.com which offers in my opinion, better work, better pay but you have to have something to offer if you stand any chance of competing.

Other sites you can take a peek include the following:

Freelance UK

This is a didactic resource filled with help and material to help you get your self organised but light on actually bringing writers and clients together.

Probably the best resource for getting you on the straight and narrow with taxes and accounting as well as providing good information on copywriting rates of pay.

Freelance Writers

This is a site that does bring writers and clients together and registration is required.  A fee is payable which varies depending on the level of service you are using, but on the upside there are no commissions deducted from payments to you for completed work.

This follows a standard format of projects being posted and writers bidding on them from which a winner is selected.  A unique selling point is that this is not a database driven site and it is more of a directory i.e. when you communicate with the website you are dealing with a person at the other end not an automated set of database instructions.  This is supposed to help you position yourself and your work more effectively.

Worldwide Freelance Writer 

This site is a cross between those two above. It is packed with information but targetted at international writers and commissions.  This site acts more as a listing site where your services are given a window onto the world and if someone is looking at commissioning a piece they will contact you rather than a bidding mechanism. 

For $30 or so you get an entry in their writers database for the year which compares well with $12 per month for GAF as a Gold member (which you need to have if you expect to win any real work).

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There are people who can find just about anything on the internet just short of hacking into top government websites.  Then, there are those people who can’t find anything at all.  Google can only get you so far.  Then, you have to learn a few tricks to get you the rest of the way.

Speaking of Google, it really is a good way to search for just about anything.  When you type in a few keywords, rather relevant sites come up in the search.  Some search engines will only show you the sites that pay the most money.  But, Google does a good job at creating analytics and sending out digital spiders to crawl all over websites.  With all of their science put together, you can’t help but get some really relevant websites in a search.

I have a few favorite sites that I know off the top of my head, and for writing they come in handy all the time.  Merriam-Webster has an online dictionary where you can verify your definitions.  But, it also has a pretty good thesaurus.  EBSCOhost is a research database that has literally millions of articles from newspapers, magazines and encyclopedias all over the globe.  But, you need to be a subscriber.  The backdoor for many of us comes from having a library card and accessing a public information network like Sailor, Maryland’s Public Information Network.

Of course, Wikipedia is a great resource that I find myself using more and more.  In fact, the other day when I was writing about the 2007 Writer’s Strike, I actually looked in the Wikipedia to make sure I had my facts straight.  The Wikipedia is anyone’s domain.  If you know something, you can add it to the Wikipedia.  But, there are editors who are on top of things too.  They keep it as factual as they possibly can.

I have not even come close to scratching the surface on the great resources the internet holds.  But, I hope you get what I’m saying.  You can definitely tell a good resource from a bad one.  And when you are looking at information that is fishy, you don’t have to disregard it.  Just Google it and look at about ten other sites to see if they support that information or refute it.  Then, that leads us to another issue altogether.

Some topics are so debatable that you merely have to take a side.  After you do your research, you’ll hear facts from all sides and you’ll be just as confused as when you went into it.  So, just make up your mind.  Even though nothing says you have to choose a side, it doesn’t bode well in something you’re writing that you don’t have a side.  You might be able to pull it off, but it’s not likely.

The internet literally has everything.  If you don’t feel like getting up and finding the phonebook, Yellow Pages are right there.  If you don’t know how much that old foreign coin is worth, Foreign Exchange sites exist all over the net.  But my favorite site is the Internet Movie Database where I can literally find anything out about a movie or an actress.  I love looking up the answers to trivial questions.

I have literally hundreds of websites I can visit if I have a question I need answered.  When I have visitors and they ask a question, I have no problem grabbing my laptop and looking for the answer.  I love watching my friends’ expressions as I find information at the drop of a dime.  Yes, there are still people who really don’t know how resourceful the internet is.

When I’m writing, I like to know that my information is correct.  It’s really not very credible to say something that is inaccurate when you are trying to make a point.  If you had just spent a few extra minutes looking something up, you would have been able to make your point more effectively.

That’s what research is all about.  And the internet makes it so much easier than it use to be.  I used to have to go to the university library or make phone calls to certain resources.  Now, I have it right at my fingertips.  It’s best to learn your way around the internet.  When you’re writing, it’s right there.  It’s in the browser right next to your document.  Have fun with it!

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Plenty of ideas floating around in the air, how in the world are we expected to reach up and grab any?  It’s not really that difficult.  But, you have to be focused.  You have to be in tune.  But, be in tune with what?

There is a conscience that seems to subtly drift from thought to thought until finally we are faced with an issue.  Tap into what people are discussing.  When they mention their concerns, offer your opinion or expertise.  Write a blog, article, a screenplay or even a book to put your thoughts into the mix.  It’s fun and it’s community.

I often get my thoughts from some of the most adverse places.  I could watch an episode of The People’s Court and get an idea about a screenplay.  Possibly, the idea fits other ideas I’ve had and I’m ready to put them together.  For me, at times it’s that easy.

In fact, I’ll give you an example.  Looking back at The People’s Court, that guy that stands outside the courtroom — I’m only kidding — Curt Chaplin always seems to want to stir things up even when the plaintiff and the defendant are fine with the outcome.  His remarks seem to intend to incite people to voice their opinion when they were trying to be nice about everything. 

“So, what do you think about your mother taking you to court over rent?”

“Ah, it’s my mother.  I love her.  I’m happy with the outcome.”

“But, she’s your mother and she wanted you to pay her rent.  What do you think about that?”

“It’s ok.  It’s not a problem.  Not for me anyway.”

“So, what do you think about your son refusing to pay rent?”

“He’s my son and I love him.  I always will.”

“But, he was mooching off of you.  He’s twenty eight.  He should be out on his own, don’t you think?”

“Any time my son needs me, I’ll help him.  That’s the way I am.”

So while I’m thinking about Curt Chaplin in the hallway trying to get people to put on the boxing gloves, I watch an episode of Monk where Monk beats up Santa Claus and the media has a heyday with it.  It turns out that this particular Santa Claus is trying to rob a museum of a thirty million dollar jewel they have in custody.  So, the Monk is right while the media is making him out to look like the bad guy.  They just want their story.

So, the theme that is running through my mind from both of these shows is that sometimes….SOMETIMES…journalists are more interested in creating a story than just telling the one that actually exists.  It’s a story that has been told before.  But now, I have my own angle on it.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that yet.  But, that’s what I’m talking about.

Stay focused and let your brain grasp the thoughts.  You’ll never run out of things to write.  And keep in mind that writing is supposed to be fun.  So, have it!

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