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Showing posts with label articles by misti sandefur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label articles by misti sandefur. Show all posts

Black Friday Special for Anyone in Need of Content

November 26, 2009 0 comments

Beginning now until November 28, 2009 at 12:00am Central Standard Time you can order custom content of 500 words or less for your blog, print publication, website or blog. You will own all rights to the articles, which means you can claim them as your own and/or resell them for more without further compensation to me. I will write any content for you that is within my areas of expertise (listed below).

Since this Black Friday Special is exclusive to my blog readers, Facebook fans and readers, and my Twitter followers, you must email the details of what you want to services@mistisandefur.com -- put Black Friday Special in the subject line. The special price is $10.00 per custom article, and 50% of the payment will be due upfront with the remaining balance due upon completion of the article. I will also do two minor rewrites per article at no additional charge. Payment must be made through Paypal (an invoice will be sent to your Paypal email address).

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Buyer/consumer guides
  • Camping
  • Celebrity news
  • City and state guides (nearby hotels, events, places to visit, etc.)
  • Domestic violence (I'm a survivor)
  • Entrepreneur/business
  • Family
  • Freelance writing
  • Frugal living
  • Frugal shopping
  • Inspirational fiction stories
  • Internet and direct marketing
  • Marriage and relationships
  • Parenting
  • Product descriptions
  • Reality TV news and/or Where Are They Now articles
  • SEO (search engine optimization)
  • Social media marketing
  • Weight loss advice


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Writers: How to Share Your Blessings

October 21, 2008 0 comments

Screenshot from Facing the Giants - an inspiring movie for all ages.

I know the Lord blessed me with the ability to write, so when I share my blessings with others, it's my way of thanking the Lord for His many blessings. Not only do I share my blessings through writing, but I also share them in other ways.

Share Your Blessings by Helping Others


The Lord expects us to share our blessings with others, and to do that we should share our knowledge. We can share our knowledge by mentoring aspiring writers and speaking in public. Not only will the knowledge we share help and inspire others, but we'll feel good about ourselves afterwards. Besides, who knows, what you shared could spread when those you taught, helped and inspired goes on to share the blessing you helped them achieve with even more folks looking for a little assistance and inspiration.

Give Generously and With Sincerity

2 Corinthians Chapter 9 Verses 7 through 8 in the King James Version says, "Let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." Basically, what this means is we must give out of generosity and with sincerity, and if we do, God will bless us even more.

How can we give financially to others out of generosity and with sincerity? Simple, by donating a portion of the profits from our writing to charity. Now I know many of you are probably thinking you don't make enough and won't donate until you can give a large amount to charity, because you'd be embarrassed to give a small amount when other well-known authors and writers can donate six figures. I've thought the same thing, but the truth is, the Lord only expects us to give what we can, and then later He may bless us with even more to give. If the day does come when the Lord blesses you with a large amount, then by all means, give even more, but until then, the Lord will be proud of you even if you're only able give $10.

Help Those in Need

Normally, I don't write for free, and yes, I know I said the Lord expects us to give, but we do that by giving to charity, as well as in other ways. The Lord knows we have to make a living, and in order to provide for our family, we have to charge for our services. However, a time may come when an organization that also gives is in need. When that time comes, we could be gracious enough to donate our services. Whether it's an article, brochure or short newsletter, it would be okay since it's for a good cause. By a good cause, I'm referring to organizations that help others. For example, maybe there's a church trying to raise funds to help a family in need, feel free to donate your writing services to help them out.

Back in November 2005 I donated a personal essay to the Stories of Strength anthology. A group of writers and editors wrote and published the anthology to help victims of natural disasters. When I donated my personal essay, I knew that 100% of the proceeds from each sale would go to disaster relief charities in the region, so I felt that was a good cause and was glad to be a part of it. In fact, not only did I donate a personal essay, but I donated my time and marketing experience to help promote the launch of the anthology, and I bought a copy to help support organizations such as the American Red Cross.

Share the Word

Have you written and published a children's book with a Christian message? Inspire and share the word with children by visiting hospitals. During your visit, read your book to the children, and then give some more by taking along a gift for each child. A great and affordable gift is a small guardian angel pin or a small teddy bear with angel wings.

Go ahead and start sharing your blessings today. Just as soon as you begin sharing those blessings, you'll feel good about yourself. Moreover, the Lord will bless you; it may not be when you want him too, but with faith and patience, He will bless you.
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." (Psalm 36:7; King James Version).

Author's bio: Misti Sandefur writes with the hopes that her words will inspire and warm souls. She's the author of Help From Above (published under Misti Jackson), and although the angel in her Christian novel is fictional, the message she tries to convey through the novel is that in life there are angels watching over us all -- sinners included.

To learn more about Misti, visit her official website. If you'd like to hire Misti to write words that will inspire your readers, check out her freelance writing services.

You're welcome to reprint this article in any print or electronic publication without charge. If you reprint this article, you agree not to edit the text or biographical information, expect for spelling and punctuation corrections. You must also keep the links embedded in the article, and neither the anchor text nor links can be modified. Finally, the biographical information must also remain at the end of the article.

If you do reprint this article in your print or electronic publication, I'd appreciate a complimentary copy. Just contact me to find out where to send the complimentary copy.


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News: My Articles at Newsvine

April 24, 2008 5 comments

no promotional advertisingLast week Diane said she was looking forward to reading my articles at Newsvine and asked if I knew they had been removed. I didn't know the articles had been removed at the time -- thanks for the heads-up, Diane. When Diana alerted me to this, I tried to log into my Newsvine account to find out what the problem was, but when I logged in, I got a message telling me my account had been disabled for "promotional advertising." What! I couldn't believe it! I've never -- not intentionally anyway -- written "promotional advertising" content for clients (unless that's what they ordered) in all my years as a writer. I ALWAYS read the client's guidelines and etc. so that I could follow them. I read the Code of Honor guidelines at Newsvine, so I knew "self-promotional" and "promotional advertising" content wasn't allowed. However, I guess my definition of "promotional advertising" content is different than Newsvine's. To me, "promotional advertising" content is spam.

To make a long story short, I contacted Newsvine through their contact form to find out what it was I wrote that was considered "promotional advertising." The next day they replied and informed me that all three of the articles I had written for them was "promotional advertising." Maybe I misunderstood something, but they was kind enough to re-activate my account. However, the articles that were there were removed, so I have to start from scratch.

What did I write? Well, because I decided to go with writing and blogging news, I wrote one news article about upcoming teleseminars for bloggers. In my Upcoming Teleseminars for Writers and Bloggers news article, I began with a couple paragraphs about the benefits of teleseminars, and then I listed (and linked to) approximately four upcoming teleseminars for writers and bloggers.

My next news article was about a new digital pen that I thought would be a great tool for writers. Ok, I can in some ways see how this could be considered "promotional advertising," but it was news, and I wrote it as a news article. I listed ways the pen could benefit writers. Guess that's not allowed -- news or not.

Finally, I decided that each week I wanted to share a listing of writing and blogging jobs with fellow writers and bloggers, but according to Newsvine, this too was considered "promotional advertising." They stated in their e-mail to me that listings to teleseminars and writing or blogging jobs were "promotional advertising" and not allowed. I then wondered about interviews, so I e-mailed back and asked if I could publish interviews with writers and bloggers on my vine and also include a link to their website and blog. Newsvine replied back and said I could do that as long as it was "newsworthy."

I guess I just don't understand what Newsvine is looking for or I'm missing something. Before signing up I browsed the vines of other Newsvine writers to see what they were writing. I guess this is where I missed something. Anyway, after contacting Newsvine, I spent over an hour exploring vines again in an attempt to get a better understanding of what they wanted and to see what I may have missed, and I think I figured it out: They want short articles giving your opinion on the latest news in your niche. Plus, I noticed that many Newsvine writers "seed" news more than they write their own news articles. They "seed" articles, blog posts and etc. written by others and state their opinions about that piece in a couple sentences.

After all of this, I think I've come to the conclusion that Newsvine isn't for me. Therefore, I believe I'd be better off searching for other, more lucrative writing jobs that aren't as confusing. It may actually be simple if I spend more time there. In fact, later I would probably smack myself on the forehead and say "Duh!" but the truth of the matter as it stands now, is I simply don't have the time to waste to try to figure it all out. If Newsvine paid me an actual income instead of "Net Advertising Revenue" only, which is basically for page views and ad impressions, then I would probably spend the extra time trying to learn more about what they really want than what I thought they wanted. As for now, though, I think my time would be better spent writing for my current clients who pay as well as searching for other writing and blogging jobs that come with a guarantee of payment.

For those of you who were looking forward to my weekly writing and blogging job listings, I have some good news! I think I will share what I discover here at Life of a Writer. I'll begin listing telecommute writing and blogging jobs next week. Subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail to stay up-to-date with my weekly listings of telecommute writing and blogging jobs.

What do you think? Am I making the right decision? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Photo courtesy of Eric I.E.

Best Selling Flash Drives on Sale Now at Edge Tech Corp - Get Yours Today!


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Stay Up-to-Date With Writing and Blogging

April 10, 2008 2 comments

Last Wednesday I asked you to give me your opinion on what you'd like me to write about on Newsvine, and the majority of you said you'd like to read a mixture of blogging and freelance writing news. Since your opinion matters most to me, I listened. With that said, at least twice a week (usually on Wednesday and Friday nights) you can see what writing and blogging news I'll write about on my Vine over and Newsvine. While you're there, please vote for each of my articles to help me get out of the Greenhouse for new writers.

Since I just began this new writing job, I only have two news articles up, but I'm sure you'll want to check them out, right? They are as follows:

Free Teleseminars for Writers and Bloggers
Great New Product for Writers

In addition to writing and blogging news, check out the sidebar for books, blogs and news sites I recommend. You can also subscribe to my vine's RSS to be notified each time I publish writing and blogging news, also found in the sidebar.

Finally, if you have any writing or blogging news or you're looking to hire a writer or blogger, send your press release or information to news(at)mistisandefur.com (replace (at) with @). Furthermore, I plan to do some interviews with freelance writers and bloggers, so if you'd like to be interviewed via e-mail, feel free to contact me with your interview request as well. Please include information about yourself, and send me a link to your website and/blog so I can find out even more.


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Link to My Interview With Josh Blue

December 19, 2007 0 comments

I promised you I would place the link to my interview with Josh Blue here, and I'm happy to announce that the interview is now up at Teevieo. I hope you enjoy it, and I invite you to leave your comments here or at Teevieo; do let me know what you think, pretty please.


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How About Some On the Road Marketing Ideas?

December 14, 2007 0 comments

As you already know by now I've been blessed with new clients, and one of those new clients is Pure Blogging. Every Wednesday I will add a new post about blogging or marketing. Well, this Wednesday I made my first post and have already received positive feedback. Would you like to help add to the positive feedback or even add your own marketing ideas? Then hop on over to Pure Blogging and check out On the Road Website Promotion, and don't forget to leave your comments. Enjoy and God bless!

Photo courtesy of Flickr


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Writing News

December 12, 2007 8 comments

Once again I've been published in print, and this time I sold the article through a clip! Yes, friends, you read that correctly. See, a few months back I queried Southern Families Magazine and pitched my Make it Special: Crafts for Children article to them. At the end of my query, I listed links to two of my parenting-related clips. Well, when the editor replied she asked if the reprint rights were still available to one of the clips I had sent her. I immediately e-mailed her back to let her know the reprint rights were available. Soon after, she bought the reprint rights to the clip. I may not have sold the article I originally pitched, but I did make a sell, and it was the first time I've ever sold a clip through a query letter. The moral of this success story: Don't forget to include those clips. You may not sell the article you pitched, but you could sell reprint rights to the clip you included as a sample of your writing.

The article, Perfect Gift for Baby, appeared in the November/December 2007 issue of Southern Families Magazine, and I received the check as well as a contributor's copy in the mail a few days ago. I'd also like to comment on the magazine itself. After gloating over my article, I read the magazine and loved it! This was indeed a very informative and interesting magazine. I highly recommend it to any parent!

Note to self: Send the editor of Southern Families Magazine a thank you note for payment and publication, and express my availability for future assignments. Also find out how I can obtain a subscription to the magazine.


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Articles for Your Reading Pleasure

November 19, 2007 0 comments

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I would like to start this Thanksgiving week off by inviting you to read some of my latest articles published by Associated Content. I hope you will find one or more of them helpful, and if you do, please share them with your friends, blog readers, newsletter or e-zine readers, website readers and anyone else you think might enjoy them.

For all you pet lovers out there looking for holiday gifts for your favorite dog, Holiday Gifts for Your Favorite Dog will help you make the perfect choice.

Why did your client abruptly end the writer-client relationship with you? You may discover the answer in Common Errors that Kill a Writer-Client Relationship.

Do you think you have what it takes to be the first Power of 10 contestant to win ten million dollars! Then read Become the Next Contestant on Power of 10 to discover how you could become the next Power of 10 contestant to play for the ten million dollar prize.

Finally, grab your family and enjoy some of the Christmas Fun in Chicago to get them in the Christmas spirit.


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Birthday Party Fun

October 8, 2007 2 comments

Happy Columbus Day! As you know from a previous post, the weekend before last was my daughter's first homecoming. Well, this weekend we celebrated my oldest son's 13th birthday. Yes, that's right, my oldest boy became a teenager Saturday, and the weekend before last (also on a Saturday) my 14-year-old daughter attended her first homecoming dance. Boy, I really feel old now…LOL…

Aside from my growing youngins, the past few weekends were really fun and enjoyable. This weekend the family gathered at my house, and we all enjoyed the annual October wiener roast. Since JB (my oldest son) and Cyndie's (my daughter) birthday occurs during the cooler seasons, we make the wiener roasts an annual event. Of course, the kids enjoy it, so that's all that really matters, right? For my youngest son, Joe, his birthday's in March. Therefore, since March is a warmer season -- too warm for a wiener roast-- we usually visit Pounds Hollow. There we grill burgers, hot dogs and enjoy a day of swimming.

Next time you find yourself looking for a birthday party idea, consider a day of swimming if your child's birthday takes place on a warm month, and if your child's birthday falls on a cooler month, then have a wiener roast instead. It's fun for everyone and affordable as well. Since I'm giving out birthday party suggestions, I might as well take this time to invite you to read one of my articles, which relates to the subject. Go ahead and check out Planning a Fall Birthday Party for Your Child -- Sure to Be a Success, and then leave me your comments.

I suppose I'd better get back to my writing life now that the fun has ended… as least for another month anyway.

Next time I blog, I plan to reveal some news for all you writers out there, so stay tuned or subscribe to be notified as soon as the post is live.


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Setting New Writing Goals

September 13, 2007 3 comments

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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Upcoming Article for Writers

September 3, 2007 1 comments

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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Sick Day

June 28, 2007 0 comments

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Nope, not me… my laptop. It seems my laptop caught a nasty virus yesterday. I searched Google for “create crosswords,” and when I click on one of them (I think it was the fourth or fifth result) my computer started going nuts with pop-ups. Unfortunately, those pop-ups put a Trojan in my computer, and I spent all day and all night (until 4am) trying nurse my laptop back to good health. When I was unsuccessful in removing the Trojan, I had to break down and restore it back to its factory settings this evening. (Thank God for that feature; it saved me money!) I am thankful that I backed-up all my files to CD. I guess I’ve had so many unexpected viruses over the years that I’ve finally learned my lesson: Back-up those files often (usually every night before bed). Needlesstosay, I will just find another fun activity for the July edition of Coffee Break for Writers, because I’m really not in the mood to click on any more sites that help you create crosswords for your Web site or e-zine. After the July edition, though, I just may search the JavaScript site I visit often. I hear there is a JavaScript that will let you create a crossword puzzle for your Web site. You see, I’m considering putting Coffee Break for Writers on the Internet now instead of sending it as a PDF. Therefore, I will need a crossword puzzle for a Web site.

Aside from the frustration of trying to get rid of the virus that attacked my computer so I could return to writing and making more money to pay my bills, I fortunate enough to still make some cash. Turns out I was paid for some articles I sold while my laptop was on its sick bed. These articles sold as reprints, but just in case you haven’t read them yet, the links follow (click their titles to read them):

Buyers Guide to Renters Insurance
Indoor Amusement Parks

It has been a long two days so I think I’m going to get some rest now. Until next time, take care and don’t forget to back-up your files. :)


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Graduation Time

May 7, 2007 0 comments

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Looks like I'll be busy this month and next month. My daughter will be graduating JR High toward the end of this month. Then again, in June, my stepdaughter will be graduating High School. I'm planning a graduation party for my daughter, and my husband and I will be making a LONG trip (over 700 miles) to see my stepdaughter graduate. Needlesstosay, I have a lot to do for the next two months.

We'll be spending about three of four days on the trip to see my stepdaughter's graduation. She recently enlisted in the Navy, so she'll head off to boot camp soon after her graduation. Since we won't see her for a while after she graduates, we're going to spend some time with her before she has to leave. I sure do dread the trip, though. We've made it a few times before and it's tiring. It's amazing how much a long drive can wear a person out.

When we leave for the trip, I plan to take my laptop along, but I will have a sub writer for my "As the World Turns" updates. I don't plan to write much while we're there. However, I do plan to write about the trip and do a few reviews so I can have some articles to sell when we return. Who knows, I may even blog about the trip.

Speaking of graduation… if you know someone who's graduating soon, check out Top 10 Graduation Gifts. Top 10 Graduation Gifts is an article I had published last year. Before I wrote the article, I asked graduates what gifts they would like to receive. Furthermore, I also asked men and women who recently graduated what gifts they liked. Oh boy, talking about graduation gifts, I have two to buy. I may refer back to my own article. ;)

Well, I'd better go now. I still have some work to do before going to bed.

Never give up on your dreams -- work toward them,
Misti Sandefur
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