Life of A Writer

On a daily basis, I scan through freelance writing jobs put up for bid on freelance writing job sites like Get a Freelancer. This is a normal routine for many freelance writers, but the thing that bothers me the most is over half of the freelance writing jobs offered through these bid sites take advantage of writers. The companies and individuals posting the freelance writing jobs think for a mere $5 or less we freelance writers will give them just what they're requesting -- high quality and unique content with absolutely no grammar errors! Personally, when I run across one of these freelance writing jobs, I just shake my head and move on. However, the other day I ran across one and couldn't help but laugh before moving on. The individual was re-posting his/her freelance writing job, and in the details, he/she stated they were re-posting the job because the previous writer they hired didn't complete the job. They not only stated that they wanted several high quality articles with no grammar errors, but they specified they were buying all rights for only pennies! I laughed because I wondered if the writer who failed to complete the job, discovered how much time and work was really involved for such low pay. Now, don't get me wrong, writers should be dedicated to their clients and complete the work they agreed to take on, but you'd think the individual re-posting that freelance writing job would have at least ask themselves, "If I had paid the writer what she was worth, would she had finished the job?" Should I offer a fair payment to the next writer when I re-post this freelance writing job offer?" Of course, we all know they don't ask themselves those questions. Instead, they try to sucker another writer and hope that he/she will deliver on their promise. Moreover, when that writer does deliver, you can bet the individual or company that "suckered" the writer is jumping up and down in excitement each time they make more money off that writer's work. Why? Well, because they got all rights to great content for a VERY small investment, they didn't have to do the hard work, and finally, they're making more money off another writer's hard work so they can turn around and sucker another writer for more articles, then pocket what's left of their profit. Unfortunately, the writer who did complete the job may be feeling down because of a very small paycheck for the amount of work she just did. Yes, even if she was paid for bulk articles, the paycheck was still small compared to what she could have earned. Let's compare, shall we? At $5 an article for 50 articles, the writer earned a grand total of $250 (less than that after Paypal deducts their fee). Now, if the writer had sold those 50 articles to several different trade magazines for $15 each (some trade magazines may pay more), she would have earned a grand total of $750. In addition, she would have also retained reprint rights, which would have allowed her to make even more money off the same article.

The really sad part about this whole situation is many freelance writers who are just starting out grab these worthless freelance writing jobs up like hot cakes. Because they're just starting out, they know they have to make money some way, and they feel taking these freelance writing jobs are the only way they're going to make money and build their portfolio. However, what most beginning freelance writers don't realize is they don't have to write for free or worthless pay to build their portfolios, they can still get the money they deserve by writing for trade magazines. Trade magazines may not pay a whole lot for articles, but they pay more than $1.50 per article, and they're great for building one's writing portfolio.

Come on, friends we're worth so much more than $5.00 or less. For the time you spend writing out an article for a paycheck that won't even buy a gallon of gas anymore, you could be spending that time typing out query letters and submitting them to trade magazines that will pay you what you're worth. As long as we continue to give in to these cheapskates, they'll continue to take advantage of our services. It's time we take a stand, wouldn't you agree?

With that said, I'd like to invite all of you aspiring freelance writers to read a few of the following articles. These articles will help you get started without having to work for pennies, because you're worth much more than that:

Tips to Jump-Start Your Writing Portfolio
Breaking in Through Stringing
Writing an Author Bio That Will Knock the Editor's Socks Off!
Finding Experts -- Expert-Finding Advice for Writers
How to Find Writing Jobs and Paying Markets
(Remember, apply only to the freelance writing jobs that pay you what you're worth.)
Writer's Guide to Paying Markets: How to Search the Internet for Paying Markets

Finally, do you need help finding trade magazines and other fair paying markets for your writing? Add the following two books to your bookshelf and you'll have access to several:



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Greetings, friends and fellow bloggers! How about some advice to help you out? I've been tagged by Alicia from Writing Spark, so, please enjoy some blogging tips! By the way, Alicia thanks! This is the first time I've ever been tagged. I enjoy this stuff, but have never been tagged by anyone. Keep me in mind for future tags.

In no particular order, here are 7 Ways to Chase Your Fellow Bloggers Away From Your Blog for Good:

1 - Do not reply to comments. I try to reply to the comments when I can, especially those who ask me a question, however, because Blogger doesn't have a "subscribe to comments" feature, I'm not sure if my replies are always read. I sent in this suggestion to Blogger, but don't know if they'll listen… and if I'm the only Blogger member to ever suggest a "subscribe to comments" feature, then there's a good possibility my suggestion was deleted and forgotten.

2 - Don't update your blog. Sure, we all have emergencies that may keep us from blogging, which I'm sure fellow bloggers will understand, but making a habit of this could send your fellow bloggers elsewhere.

3 - Only fill your blog with pay per post type ads and affiliate links. Basically, your blog is only for advertising. I admit that I participate in some of the pay per posts for a little extra spending money, but I try not to fill my blog with them, and if I can, I try to at least give helpful advice to my readers in those posts,. I also try to only accept those related, or closely related, to my blog.

4- Place a lot of grammar and/or spelling errors throughout your content. Everyone makes mistakes, and I understand a blog is like a journal for many, but TOO many grammar and/or spelling mistakes could cause a fellow blogger to click-away and never return, especially if you do this often. (Yes, I know, it's probably coming now… you're going to let me know about my mistakes, and I hope I'm not guilty of making TOO many on a constant basis. Nevertheless, I will listen if you speak, and I'll do my best to avoid it next time.)

5 - And the latter leads me to this one: Be rude to your commenters for pointing out a mistake to you or giving you feedback. I can understand if the commenter was rude to you first, but if they were nice in the way they let you know, then you should at least thank them for pointing out your mistake(s), and then try to avoid the mistake(s) next time. After all, criticism only makes us better at what we do, right?

6 - Create a title then blog about something totally unrelated to the content of that post.

7 - Start a blog about one thing, but blog about something different. For example, you start a blog to give advice about animals/pets, but blog about sports instead. What happens? Before you're fellow bloggers click-away from you forever, they ask themselves, "What on Earth does this have to do with pets?"

I will honestly admit that I'm guilty of some -- or maybe all -- of the things mentioned above, and most of them I did in the beginning, when I didn't know as much as I do now. Therefore, some of these are written from my own experience, and I admitted to doing them with the hopes that maybe you'll learn from my faults. For example, in the beginning, I was guilty of not updating my blog with new posts as often as I should have, and each day I watched my traffic slowly decrease. Then once I started blogging more often, I smiled in relief as I watched the traffic to my blog increase greatly.

I hope my advice will help you keep your fellow bloggers coming back to your blog instead of clicking-away. If you find that you're guilty of any of these things, change them now and hopefully you'll win back any fellow bloggers you've lost. Happy blogging, friends!

I believe the way this works is I now have to tag a few people, so here goes my tags: Jennifer Mattern, Laura Spencer, Michele L. Tune and anyone else who would like to participate. I can't wait to read y'all's advice.

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Please excuse the title; it was the only thing I could think of. I went through a few in my head, but that title is the one that stuck. Hmmm… I bet it caught your attention, though. Seriously, did it catch your attention? Anyway, I'll get to back to what this post is really about, and I can tell you for a fact it's not about titles or titles that grab your attention. However, it is in fact about my life, and it could be about yours too… if you want it to be, and if you think you're ready to go down that road.

You see, like many, I too have had hardships in my life -- hardships I've learned to overcome -- and some I'm still learning to overcome. Even though I have learned to put the past behind me, sometimes it still bothers me, but I found a solution. The solution allows me to release my stress and even help or inspire others. I can let others know they're not alone, and that eventually things do, and can, get better. What's the solution you ask? Well, it's simple: I write about it and then sell it. When I'm ready to write about what happened, I tell my story through words, and then I search for publications looking to buy stories related to mine. Therefore, not only do I release stress and hopefully help or inspire someone else, but I also make money from something good, bad, tragic, funny or embarrassing that happened in the past. And that, my friend, is where I got the title "selling my life."

The first piece I wrote was a personal essay. I didn't sell this one, I wrote it to help a charity; however, I now sell the reprint rights to it. The founder of Absolute Write, Jenna Glatzer, started the "Stories of Strength" project, and when she did, she asked writers to contribute to the cause. Well, I supported the cause, and when she said she needed more personal essays for the "Stories of Strength" anthology, that's when I decided to first write about a hardship I had to overcome in my life. I'll admit, at first it was hard to put my experience with domestic violence into words, but I did it. The best part: afterwards I felt a tremendous relief of stress, and knowing that my experience could help or inspire someone else made every word I wrote and every tear I shed writing it worth it.

Deciding to share that one moment in my life has inspired me to write more about my life, but now I sell those words about my life to editors who are looking to buy just what I'm selling. For instance, as a Christian, I like telling others how a hardship brought me closer to God, so I can sell a personal essay telling readers how escaping domestic violence brought me closer to God. To whom would I sell this personal essay? A Christian publication might buy it. Of course, I would have to check the publication's guidelines first to see if they accept personal essays.

If you think you're ready to write about a hardship in your life, I challenge you to go ahead and try it. Then once you've finished writing about your hardship, search for markets and sell it. You may be surprised at how you'll feel after you've written about it.

If you don't think you're ready to write about something bad or tragic that happened in your past, then write about something good, funny or embarrassing in your past and sell it. Many folks enjoy reading about someone else's life, and many editors enjoy publishing it.

Need an example? Following is an expert from the personal essay I donated to Jenna's "Stories of Strength" anthology. The title of the essay was "Behind Closed Doors":

“I'm sorry, it won't happen again.” His words played over and over in my head. I believed him, but the beatings continued no matter how much I begged and pleaded for him to stop. And there was a time in our relationship, when I thought maybe if I fought back, he'd leave me alone. I painfully remember that day as if it was yesterday. . .

Nervously walking into the living room to approach him, I felt my eyes sting with tears.

“What's wrong with you?” He asked, halfway withdrawing his attention from the television.

“I just.....my voice shook....miscarried our baby.”
He darted up from the couch. “Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?”

Taking a step back from him, I feared his next move.

“I didn't know I was pregnant, not until I went to the bathroom.”

Sternly scrunching up his face while placing his hands on his hips, he waited for me to continue.

“I thought I was just on my period until I saw gray matter in my stool. With my experience in the medical field, I know that the gray matter is a miscarriage. Also, it explains why my bleeding is heavier, and why I hurt more than usual.”

“It wasn't mine! Who have you being sleeping around with, Bi***?”

“You know cheating is not my style. Besides, you always make sure I'm in your sight.” Fighting back my tears, I continued, “So how could I cheat? Furthermore, if you hadn't been so angry last night we wouldn't be having this conversation!”

Like a flash of lightning, he was standing smack dab in front of my face! I knew right then, I had made a mistake.

The rest of the essay can be read in the "Stories of Strength" anthology. 100% of the sales from the anthology will go to charities to help with disaster relief.

Have a great weekend! By the way, if you do my challenge and "sell your life," please comment and direct me to the publication your piece was published in -- I would love to read it.

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Whether we're stuck, blocked or our fingers are typing nonstop, we writers can always use a little assistance. Just the other day I needed some assistance with ideas, so what did I do? I headed to my favorite search engine (Google, of course) then typed in "writing challenges." I had many results to choose from, but when I came upon Seventh Sanctum my searching came to an abrupt halt! Turns out Seventh Sanctum's Quick Story Idea Generator gave me the boost I needed to start tapping away on the keyboard again.

Not only did I bookmark this great tool for writers, but I decided I would share it with all you writers, too. If you haven't discovered it yet, it really is a great tool for writers. Not only will the Quick Story Idea Generator produce writing challenges that could turn into a short fiction or book, but it can do so much more!

Have you ever found yourself looking for a theme or setting for a story you were working on? The Quick Story Idea Generator could have helped you. Next time you need a name for a fantasy character, a Greek-sounding name, weird name or some other type of name for your character, head over to the Quick Story Idea Generator and take your pick.

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Well, it looks as if the holiday shopping season is upon us again. If you'll remember, last year I announced that I did my Christmas shopping online, and I plan to do the same this year. However, I just found out about a website where I can save money... boy, do I wish I'd known about CouponChief last year -- I could have saved a ton of money!

Guess what, though? Now that I'm aware of CouponChief, you can bet I'll save money this year. And since I just discovered this website, I thought I'd share it with y'all as well. After all, we could all benefit from saving money during the holiday shopping season. Let's look at a few of the money-saving opportunities, shall we:

Best Buy has a great selection of discounts to choose from. You could save $100 if you invest in a Canon S51S PowerShot 8.0MP Digital Camera. The original price on that camera is $499.99, but with the Best Buy deals, you can get it for only $399.99. Not a bad bargain if I do say so myself.

In addition to Best Buy, Target is offering a variety of discounts as well. Target coupons range from $5 off an order of $50 or more, free shipping and much more.

I hope you enjoyed what I had to share. I can't help it friends, I'm a sucker for bargains. Until next time, happy shopping!

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Back in July my Pomeranian (Prissy) went in heat, so as planned, my husband and I bred her with our male Pomeranian. All day Friday Prissy whined and could not seem to get comfortable. I had a feeling something was up, and later that night I knew she was getting ready to have her puppies. A week earlier she had began nesting. She likes to sleep on of top things, so we put a comforter beside the bed for her to sleep on. Turns out that comforter was where she chose to have her puppies.

Later that Friday night, the time for her to have the puppies drew near. She ended up going straight to the comforter and I followed her. The kids were real excited, and I would let them come into the bedroom some, but not too often.

With my Writer's Digest magazine in hand, I read one article after the other until the time for Prissy to deliver came. I sat in the floor beside her and rubbed her head as she began to push the first puppy out. When she would stop pushing, I would stop rubbing. However, when I stopped rubbing her head, she would look up at me with her sad puppy dog eyes. I assumed she wanted me to continue rubbing her head, so I did, and she seemed satisfied.

Finally, the first puppy was all the way out. At this time, she wanted to be left alone so she could do her thing with the puppy. I would give her the privacy she needed until she started to push again.

She had three puppies that night, and each puppy was born one hour apart. Between times, I would continue reading my Writer's Digest magazine, and the kids would come in to check on Prissy. I reported to them on her progress and let them know mommy (Prissy) was OK. They would smile then leave.

Even though Friday night was exciting, Saturday afternoon was a long one. My children had a parade they were supposed to be in the next afternoon. Therefore, I had to have them in Eldorado by noon on Saturday. Because Prissy went into labor, and I stayed with her to make sure she wouldn't have problems and have to go to the vet, I didn't get in bed until a little after 7am Saturday morning. So, come time for the parade, I was running on about 4 hours sleep. Needlesstosay, the whole weekend was exciting, and I did get a nap in later Saturday afternoon. It's a good thing, because come Saturday night, hubby and I were waken several times by crying puppies...LOL...

I will post a picture of Prissy and her puppies here later, but for now you'll just have to settle for a picture of Prissy sleeping. Once weaned, we will have two puppies for sale at $300 each. The daddy is registered, but the mommy is not. I got Prissy from my brother-in-law, and he got her from someone else who told him they were unable to register her for some reason. That also explains why we will only be selling two puppies, because as a deal for getting her, my brother-in-law and I made an arrangement where he would get pick of the first litter.

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At the beginning of this week, Jennifer Mattern posted another weekly writing challenge on her blog, and I decided to take part in this one. After all, it's time I re-evaluate my writing goals anyway. With that said, I've been spending way too much time on writing articles and not enough time on the projects that I have had sitting on the back burner for a while now. The following is my new set of writing goals:

1. Write only two articles a night (I'm a night owl writer).
2. Once a week complete at least two chapters in the second edition of On the Net Resource Guide for Writers.
3. Each night write nonstop, for one hour, on the Creating a Successful E-zine e-book.
4. Every other night send two query letters for different articles to editors.
5. Every night check job boards for writing gigs, and reply to only the gigs I'm qualified for.

That should sum it up. However, if I have a client I'm doing a project for, I would have to get that job done first, and then I will go back to my list of writing goals. My clients ALWAYS come first.

At least once a month, I plan to let you know how far I've come with my writing goals. In fact, if I finish any of the books I'm writing, you'll be the first to know. Yes, you're that special to me.

Do you need to re-evaluate your writing goals? On the other hand, maybe you don't have a list of writing goals yet. Either way, I'd like to invite you to take part in Jennifer's writing challenge, and if you happen to post your goals on your blog, comment and let me know; I'd love to read your writing goals, too.

Remember, never give up on your dreams -- work toward them!

PS: For those of you waiting to read the article I mentioned last Monday -- the one for aspiring writers looking for ways to build their portfolio -- good news… it has been published. Therefore, you can read Tips to Jump-Start Your Writing Portfolio when you have a little extra time. Enjoy and don't forget to leave your comments! Oh yes, I sure would appreciate it if you could also rate it, which will only take a few seconds. And by all means, if you know of another writer who may also benefit from the article, feel free to e-mail it to them (click "Email to Friends" at the top of the article).

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As I sat down at my computer to begin work today, I took 11 minutes to remember the tragedy that struck our country six years ago today. During those 11 minutes, I viewed a video on YouTube to remember, and as I watched, I said a little prayer.

Six years ago today I had just woke up and walked into my living room when the phone rang. It was my husband asking me if I was watching TV. I told him I just got up and hadn't turned it on yet. He told me to turn it on, and when I did, I was speechless. We talked for a few more minutes, told each other "I love you," then hung up. As I continued to watch the footage in horror, I cried, and then I watched as the second plane flew into the World Trade Center. At this time, I began to pray for our country and everyone in New York. I also thought of my first cousin. Her job requires her to travel, so I called my aunt to see if she had heard from her. My aunt said no one had heard anything from her at that time, but later she phoned to tell me Patty (my cousin) was safe. The flight she was expected to board was cancelled, and her job was delayed for a little while, but she later made it back home.

I did have another post in mind for today, but since this is a day of remembrance, I will postpone it for another day. Instead, I'd like to invite you to watch the same 11 minute video that I did. The video is emotional, but a great video for remembrance. There are many photos, just the right music, and after the first song, a voice that will grab your attention (you just have to hear it and listen for yourself).

As you watch the video, say a prayer for all, including the men and woman who are still fighting for our country today. In fact, my stepdaughter leaves for boot camp tomorrow. After boot camp, my husband, her mother, her brother, her entire family and I can only pray that God will watch over her as she continues with her career through the United States Navy.



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Even with more than 7 years of writing, research and marketing experience, I still study freelance writing every chance I get. I'm always open to learning more and more, and every time I study freelance writing, I usually always discover something new. When I research freelance writing, I usually try to learn more about grammar and marketing (I'm always looking for new ways to promote my books and myself). However, the thing I study the most is writing query letters. Out of everything involved with freelance writing, query letters are my pet peeve so to speak. If the publication's guidelines say I can send the complete article, then I do. Nevertheless, the majority of publications would rather see a query letter first. So, per their request, I apply everything I've learned about writing query letters and do my best to type out what I hope will be a query letter that grabs the editor's attention. I can't begin to tell you how many times I proof the query letters before I hit send, and then after I hit send, I always have a fear that the query letter I sent wasn't good enough.

It seems my studying on query letters has paid off, because on August 21, 2007 I received an e-mail that made me tell myself, "Woman, you've got to believe in yourself more. Quit second guessing yourself… have faith in yourself and your work." The e-mail I speak of came from Angela, the editor of Wow! Women on Writing. In her e-mail, she asked my permission to use the first query letter I sent her as a good example in a feature she was writing about query letters. "I'm still impressed by that query -- it had a great informational hook," Angela complimented. After I read the e-mail, I was overjoyed! All of that studying I did must have paid off. So you see, friends, if you study, eventually it pays off, and an e-mail like the one I received from Angela makes it all worthwhile.

If you would like to read the query letter I sent to Angela at Wow! Women on Writing, as well as her comments on it, read the feature entitled All About Query Letters. My query letter is toward the end of her piece (after the interview with Carolyn Howard-Johnson); it's the third query letter. I also encourage you to read the entire article, because Angela offers some great advice!

Well, now that I'm finished bragging, I suppose I better get back to writing. Take care and God bless!

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Happy September, friends! I hope your Labor Day weekend was a fun one. My husband, step-son, my three kids and I all went to a local festival in my hometown. We attended the Liberty Fest in Harrisburg, Illinois, hosted by Little Chapel Church. Both my brother and mother go to this church.

Liberty Fest is an annual festival and everything is free… well everything except for the helicopter rides, but the money paid to ride the helicopter goes to a charity for kids. Personally, I'm not much for heights so I chose not to ride in the helicopter. My husband does his best to try and get me in one, but I tell him, "God planted my feet on the ground and that's where I intend for them to stay." Besides, there was much more fun to be had other than riding in the helicopter. There was plenty of good food (funnel cakes, hamburgers, barbeque, homemade donuts and much more). In addition to the good food, we walked around the grounds and admired the old cars, the kids enjoyed a horse and buggy ride and the list could go on and on. To make a long story short, I'll just say we all had a great time, and I needed the day off.

Now that the fun has ended, I'm re-energized and ready to write again! As a matter of fact, tonight I will respond to two writing gigs, write two articles, and I hope after all of that is completed, I'll have time left to send off a query letter or two. Boy, do I have a long night ahead of me! Depending on how my research fares, the two articles shouldn't take no more than an hour or maybe an hour and a half, and the writing gigs mainly require me to send information and a few writing samples, which I have already created. I just need to tweak the information a little to fit the writing jobs I'm responding to. Hmm… it appears as if I just may have time to send the query letters after all.

I guess I'd better go. If I keep blogging, I won’t get anything done. Until next time, enjoy the pictures of Liberty Fest. My 14-year-old daughter took the pictures, and I must say she did a great job!


My oldest son by one of the old trucks in the car show



Horse and buggy ride


My youngest son on the mechanical bull


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Before I began writing tonight, I visited some blogs about freelance writing, and while I was reading them, I ran across a post on Michael Kwan's blog, which I found through ChrisBlogging. As I read Michael's post -- Freelance Writing for a Niche or for the Masses -- I came up with an article idea of my own. In his post, he shared his own experience about what it was like when he first started searching Craigslist for writing jobs. As he discussed his experience, he told his readers how he didn't have "much of a professional portfolio" at that time, but he said he would still offer his services. He went on to say, "Unfortunately, not many of them listened. I even offered to write for free in exchange for some 'exposure,' but without a proper portfolio of work and a series of satisfied customers, they weren't prepared to take a chance on me."

After reading about Michael's experience, as well as relating to him, the idea for my own article hit! He kept talking about not having a portfolio, and lack of this portfolio is what kept him from landing the writing jobs he was seeking. However, he did eventually build a portfolio and increased his chances of landing those writing jobs. Therefore, the article idea that I got was an article for aspiring freelance writers. The article will discuss ways aspiring writers can build a portfolio for themselves. Then, once they've built their portfolio, they may have better luck when they go to apply for writing jobs.

Now for the good news: this article has already been written and submitted. Yes, friends, you read correctly. Not only did Michael's post spark the article idea, but also it inspired me to get my butt in gear and write it right then. I wrote the article and submitted it for publication. So, once my client (The People's Media) has published the article, I will be sure to post the link to it here for all you aspiring writers to read.

Now I'm off to type out a couple more articles, and then I will probably join hubby in bed. Oh yes, thank you so much for the article idea, Michael! And ChrisBlogging, thank you for referring me to Michael's blog! You both provide very valuable information on your blogs.


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