Life of A Writer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 10, 2010

Southern Illinois Writers Guild Features Misti Sandefur

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I'm starting off 2010 with some changes to Life of a Writer. Don't worry, I'll still be here, and all the changes are good ones. My only prayer is for the biggest change to go smoothly. What's the biggest change? Life of a Writer will be moving to Wordpress. Yep, I've finally decided to make the big move. In fact, I'm combining my official Christian author site and Life of a Writer blog. I figure putting them together as one could benefit me more, and it will allow all my Life of a Writer readers to find out more about my books and other writings... all from one website!

I've been working on everything since a few days before New Year's day, and so far, I'm happy with my new template and anxious to get everything done. I plan to use the Wordpress import feature to move the blog to the root directory of my official Christian author site. I really do pray the transition goes smoothly, because I'm a writer not a website technician.

In addition to moving Life of a Writer to Wordpess, I plan to blog more often about my writing life and share even more writing advice based on my 10+ years writing experience. I still have to keep the clients happy and the paychecks coming in to help care for my household, but I really do want to make more of a commitment to this blog and all of you. I love sharing what I've learned about the writing and publishing industry, and although the mistakes I make can be embarrassing at times, I want to reveal them so that maybe I can keep you from making the same mistakes. I also love tooting my own horn every now and then, because I hope that my accomplishments inspire you to keep going and not give up on your dreams. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's this: Success comes with determination and time. You must continue to study your craft, because there's always something new. Apply what you've learned and what you will learn. Then have patience, and eventually you'll succeed.

What are your plans for 2010?

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One of the Tune Family member's who is a part of a caring organization is a writer friend of mine that I've been networking with on the Internet for at least three years now, and she's also a faithful reader of Life of a Writer. In fact, I came to know her through my blog when she commented on a post of mine. Her name is Michele L. Tune, and she is a wonderful person with a big heart, so if you can help her family's organization raise money to open what they're referring to as Momma's Houses for the homeless, it would mean a lot to me. As soon as I get my family's financial difficulties back on track, I plan to help as well. Right now, though, spreading the word about their wonderful mission to help the homeless is the only way I know to help.

It would be wonderful to see Momma's Houses in many cities, so if you can afford to open your hearts to help them raise the money they need to help those in need of a place to call home with a family who cares, it would be a great way for you to start 2010.

Wherever you may be today, I'd like to wish you and yours a happy and blessed New Year!

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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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For those of you wondering where the writer behind this blog disappeared to, rest assured, I'm still alive and kicking... just extremely busy these past few months.

As the title states, I've been juggling projects -- personal projects and clients' projects. When I'm not writing content and link building for clients, I'm working on several of my own personal projects, which I hope to complete real soon. Honestly, I've not been neglecting y'all. In fact, all this work on my personal projects will benefit you, and then you may be glad that I didn't blog as often as usual.

So, what's the personal projects? Two niche websites and one blog. Actually, one of the niche websites is for writers, and it's one many of you are already familiar with, so brace yourselves for this surprise. Keep in mind that the news is exclusive. Yes, that's right, you're the first to hear about this announcement! Ready for the big news? Read on...

As you may have already noticed, the Coffee Break for Writers (CBFW) e-zine hasn't been published for the past two months. Seems my busy schedule delayed another existing project, but so many writers e-mail me to tell me how much they enjoy every issue of CBFW, and that's why I can't just let it go. Therefore, I've decided to turn CBFW into a niche website for writers. The site will consist of past articles, resources for writers and past Cafe Fun quizzes, word searches, crosswords and word scrambles. In addition to all that, I'll still add new writing-related articles and continue to pay writers for these. The only change is it won't be a monthly e-zine anymore. Instead, it will be a website packed with free information for new and veteran writers, and subscribers will be e-mailed when new information is added, and they'll also still be the first to receive our new calls for writers.

Aside from the CBFW niche site, I've still been building Best Online Savings and working on a blog that will remain a surprise for now, but I can tell you the secret blog will be inspirational.

Now that you know where I've been for the past two months, please stayed tuned to Life of a Writer for more news about my writing life, as well as more of my tips for writers. I promise I'll try not to stay away for so long this time.

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Before I continue on with my actual topic today, I'd like to send a big cyber hug to Michelle Kafka. While I was searching the Web for one of my previously published articles yesterday (to use as a clip for a writing job I applied to), I came across a blog post on Wow! Women on Writing that had a comment from Michelle. I was pleased when I read that her inspiration to start a portfolio came from me, so thank you so much for the mention, Michelle!

Before I go to sleep, I always say my prayers. As I'm praying, I ask God to bless me with words that will inspire my readers when I sit down to write an article, short story or novel. That said, when I stumble upon kind words expressed about me from my readers and read how I've inspired or helped them, it shows me that the Lord answered my prayer once again. Just reading that I'm an inspiration to Michelle and others motivates me and lifts my spirits! I know I'm doing my job right when someone such as Michelle sees me as an inspiration and/or emails me to let me know how I've helped or inspired them through my writing.

Thanks again, Michelle! You made my night, and I'm so glad that I was able to inspire you. I hope that my writing and blog will continue to encourage you throughout the years. May the Lord answer all your prayers and bless you with an abundance of success!

Moving on to the original topic…

How to Increase Experience on a Topic You Want to Write About

Submit articles to trade magazines, start a blog, create and distribute a free e-zine… those are just a few of the ways writers can increase their experience on an area of expertise. Another way is to create a niche website in the area of expertise they want to build upon. Not only will a niche website help you gain knowledge on the topic you wish to write about, but it could bring in more income for you if you implement Adsense and experiment with affiliate marketing. While you're creating fresh content for your niche website and earning income, too, you'll also be gaining clips to show to potential clients who need a writer on that topic. Just link to a few of your clips, and if they click on the links to view your writing style and voice on the topic, they'll also discover your entire website, and it could land you the writing job.

Announcing My First Niche Website

I've managed to gain several clips related to a few of my specialties, but I don't have very many clips on some of the topics I write about. The downfall to this is I'm unable to show potential clients and editors my true knowledge on the topic if I've not written on it much. Well, no more! I've had plans to build a niche website on one of the topics I enjoy writing on for a while now. However, I have been so busy with other things that I've not found the time to begin work on that site. That is until a few days ago, and I've devoted so much time to that project within the past week that it's almost ready to make its way into Cyberville for everyone to admire.

What's the topic? Shopping! And through Best Online Savings, I'll keep shopaholics updated on the latest bargains. In addition to helping you save money, I'll offer some advice through the online shopping guides that I'll be writing and publishing on my new niche website.

I'm excited about this project, and, of course, I invite you to check it out once it's born. I'll be announcing the site's birth here, on Twitter and in my Christian author newsletter. If you love shopping for bargains on the Internet, then I'll bet you will enjoy Best Online Savings!

Do you have a niche website you update with content to increase your experience on an area of expertise that you've neglected? If so, what's the topic, how has the website helped you and do you have any advice to share on building and/or marketing your writing services with niche websites?

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A while back I talked about how my shyness has kept me from marketing my books locally. Well, I'm excited to let you know that I've decided to step outside of my shell this year. This decision came about when the Vice President and Program Chair of the Southern Illinois Writers Guild contacted me a few days ago and invited me to come speak at their September meeting. This is a writers guild in my local area that I'm familiar with. In fact, I've talked via e-mail to a couple of their members. That said, I look forward to meeting the writers I've talked with as well as more writers from my local area. The drive for me is approximately one hour, but I think it would be a perfect opportunity to market my books, myself and get a jump-start on my goal to start speaking to groups in my community.

Although this will be my first speaking engagement, I plan to speak from my heart. Yep, I'm diving in head first, without preparing a speech. Why? Because I want to sound natural and connect with my audience, some of whom I know have been following my accomplishments for a while. Furthermore, while the event is still a few months away, I'm already preparing the materials and freebies to give away, as well as the press releases and my media contact list. I began by sending a list of questions to the lady who contacted me so that I could get better organized for the big day.

I'll be sure to let you know how things go, and you can bet I'll have some advice to share as well. Speaking of sharing what I'll learn, I'll share the first piece of writing advice related to speaking engagements in my next post. At that time, you'll learn what questions you can ask to help you prepare for an upcoming speaking engagement. Just subscribe to my full RSS feed or via e-mail to be notified when this post is live.

If you're a writer from the Southern Illinois area or plan on being in the area on September 17, then I'd like to invite you to come and hear me speak at the Southern Illinois Writers Guild meeting on that date at 7:00pm (CST). The meeting will take place in the Terrace Dining Room (room C113A) at John A Logan College. The college is located on 700 Logan College Rd. in Carterville, Illinois. The topic that I'll be speaking about will be announced soon.

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This past week I've been busy juggling my time between clients and a new blog. When I've not been writing articles, blog posts and television recaps for clients, I've been spending my free time searching through Wordpress themes for a new blog that I'm getting ready to launch.

After two days of searching for just the right theme -- which I never really discovered (I found one to modify instead) -- I headed to my Web host to install Wordpress. Then I spent the last two days (including this afternoon) learning Wordpress 2.7, downloading and editing Wordpress plugins for my theme, and getting the blog ready to launch. I must say, I'm really enjoying Wordpress. I've worked with older versions of Wordpress for clients, but this was my first time experimenting with Wordpress 2.7. In fact, I'm seriously considering moving Life of a Writer over to Wordpress. Yes, I've said this in the past and then stewed about it, but this time I think I'm going to make the move, once things slow down a bit. I really love the plugins and features that Wordpress has to offer, and I'm ready to give Life of a Writer its own domain anyway. Furthermore, having my blog on Wordpress will allow me to optimize it better for search engines. I tell ya, Wordpress is a lot like Twitter: very addictive.

How would you like to be the first to get a sneak peek at my upcoming blog? No, you won't actually get to head over and view it, because it's not ready for that yet, but I will share a screenshot of the theme I finally decided on -- and I'd love to hear your thoughts about the theme (below). Oh, one last thing, For Better or Worse (the title of my upcoming blog), will be about married life -- my married life, of course. I'll be rambling about my life as a wife, work-at-home mom and stepmom. I'll also share relationship advice for men and women, plus a whole lot more. Yep, through this blog, you get a glimpse into my life as a writer and learn from my mistakes, and once For Better or Worse is live, you'll get a glimpse of my married life, too. It should be interesting, especially when I rant about my husband's annoying habits, my teenagers' attitudes and more.

A sneak peek just for you!

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This isn't the post I'd planned for today, but when I ran across some information on Jenna Glatzer's blog about health insurance through the Freelancers Union (aka, Working Today), I decided I'd post a word of caution for my fellow writers. As for the original post that I had planned for today, I'll save it for next time, because I believe the word about this health insurance should be spread to all writers.

Fortunately, I have health insurance coverage through my husband, but many writers out there don't have this luxury; therefore, they have to search for a health insurance plan on their own. Naturally, most writers turn to unions for writers in hopes of discovering an affordable health insurance plan. Jenna was one of those writers, and she chose a health insurance plan through the Freelancers Union, and it broke my heart when I read what happened to her and many of the other writers who opted for health insurance through the same union. It's bad enough when we have to deal with clients who don't pay or with companies who don't want to pay us what we're worth, and now to learn about writers getting a bad deal through a union they trusted is even more unfortunate.

I urge you to read about Jenna's experience with her health insurance plan, and then follow the link in her post to learn more about the changes to that health insurance.

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Michelle Kafka was generous enough to give me the Butterfly Award. As many of you know, I've been writing for over 10 years and began this blog in September 2005 . I started this blog not only to share my life as a writer and mother, but also to share writing tips and advice based on what's worked for me over the years and what hasn't. It gives me great satisfaction when my words help others, because that's exactly what I want them to do. That said, I'm honored and pleased to accept this award from Michelle Kafka. Thanks, Michelle, and may you always be blessed!

To keep this beautiful award circulating, I'd like to pass it on to a few bloggers that I always learn a lot from. So, without further ado, I'd like to give the Butterfly Award to Michele Tune over at Writing the Cyber Highway, Lillie Ammann at A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye, and to the entire team of writers over at Freelance Writing Jobs (FWJ). Each and everyone of you deserve this award. Keep up the great writing and may God bless you all!

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Other than writing for my clients, I've been rewriting my Christian novel entitled Help From Above. The good news is I'm seriously considering posting the rewrites -- a little at a time -- on my MySpace blog. This would allow you to read the revised edition, which I plan to have republished. In fact, you'd actually get a sneak preview for free. The only thing I'd ask for in return is that you'd comment to give me your feedback and/or suggestions. Of course a review would be greatly appreciated as well, but I wouldn't expect you to send me your review until the entire novel has been posted.

Before I go ahead with my plan for the free sneak preview, I'd like to put it to a vote. So, please help me by voting below to let me know if you'd like to read Help From Above without charge, and if you'd be willing to leave a comment at my MySpace blog giving me your feedback and/or suggestions. It only takes a few seconds to vote, and I'd really appreciate your input so I'd know if it's worth my time to make the entire revised edition available for your reading pleasure.

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I guess you could call this my personal testimonial to the Lord; however, it will also be for you, my readers as well...

Very early Sunday morning I realized my purpose in life was to write more words that will inspire and/or touch my readers in some way. I've known from the beginning of my writing career that God blessed me with the talent to write, and I've always tried to thank him for that blessing by writing words that would inspire and touch others. Nevertheless, like all writers -- aspiring and veteran -- I have to put food on the table for my family. In order to help my family, I have searched for writing gigs and God blessed me with those gigs, but some of those writing assignments involve a different genre of writing, a genre that's hard to put inspiring words into, so I've decided to start writing my short stories again and selling them to publications. These short stories will be where I'll write more inspiring words that I hope you'll find some comfort it.

In addition to the above-mentioned change, I've also started rewriting Help From Above, my Christian fiction novel. The storyline won't change, and while much of the novel has already inspired many, the changes I have planned for the novel should inspire even more than it already has. Once I complete the rewrite and republish it, you'll be the first to know, because I'll make that announcement here on my blog, before I send out the press release.

Don't think this change has caused me to give up my current clients. Those clients were answered prayers and they help put food on the table for my family, so I'll continue to write for those clients. Besides, I do enjoy writing the articles I submit to them, too. So where's the change? In addition to remaining dedicated to my current clients, I'll work my other projects into my schedule. Those projects, of course, will be the inspirational short stories I plan to write and pitch to publications, as well as the rewrite of Help From Above, which I've already worked into my schedule.

I truly believe this is my purpose on Earth, or should I say God's plan for me: to write more words that will inspire, touch and help others in some way. I tell ya, I felt the strong presence of the Lord Sunday night when I asked him, "Lord, is that what I'm supposed to do?" When I felt his answer, I thanked him. Therefore, if you're still reading my blog, please continue reading for updates on how things will be going. Then when I get one of my inspirational stories published and finish the rewrite of Help From Above, you'll read about it here. If you haven't already, just subscribe to my RSS feed or via e-mail to stay informed.

If you'd like to interview me about this change, Help From Above, or anything related to my writing life and how I use faith and prayer to get through it all, don't hesitate to contact me. I'm also open to being a chat guest or speaking on your radio show. I would love to inspire or give hope to your readers and/or listeners as well. And yes, there will be a place for interviews, speaking and etc. on my busy schedule, too; it's all part of what God has in store for me.

Until the next post, take care of yourself, follow what you feel the Lord wants you to do, and by all means, don't forget to give Him thanks each and every time He blesses you.

By the way, I'd like to say happy birthday to my son who just turned 14 today. He's another one of my many blessings from the Lord. So, happy birthday, JB! Mom loves ya!

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After weeks of planning and another week or so of looking through 3-column blogger templates, I finally finished the new blog I've been working on. This blog is about my journey to weight loss, and I hope to inspire others by sharing my struggles, as well as sharing dieting tips, low-calorie recipes and much more.

Are you overweight and trying to lose weight or plan to begin your diet soon? Have you lost weight recently or in the past? Then I invite you to visit me at WAHM's Journey to Weight Loss. In fact, you don't even have to have any issues with your weight to join me, because everyone is welcome.

The template there is temporary until I find a 3-column diet/weight loss blogger template that I like, which so far, I haven't had much luck finding any diet/weight loss templates for blogger. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get one, do you?

Anyway, help me spread the word and build my comments section, please. Hope to see you there!

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Remember back in January when I said I had some surprises in store for you this year? Well, the first surprise was the Help From Above Birthday Contest, which didn't attract the attention I had hoped it would since there were no entries. However, I'm hoping this next contest is much more attractive to you, and yes, it's one of the next surprises I mentioned in January.

With that out of the way, the question now is this: Are you ready for one of my biggest contests ever?! Oh yes, this is the one I made a short announcement about a few weeks ago on Twitter, as well as in my latest fan club newsletter and in the May 2008 edition of Coffee Break for Writers. I've been so excited about this that I had to make a brief mention, and I even prepared a few things ahead of time -- months ahead to be exact.

About a month ago one of my readers e-mailed me, and as I do with all the fans and readers who e-mail me or write me through postal mail, I replied to her with advice and encouragement. But before I replied, I visited her blog and discovered that she -- like many of us -- has a God-given talent, which is why I gave her encouragement; I seen her writing talent through her blog. In fact, I enjoyed her blog so much that I subscribed to it, and her next post was what inspired me to write my first blog series entitled Fiction Writing Tips, which I decided to tie into my Mentoring Session Contest.

As I read the post my reader made on her blog, I also realized my contest could be of great help to her if she decides to enter. Why? Because in that post she said she had finally decided to start writing a book, but she admitted that she didn't know where to start. Not knowing where to begin is common among many aspiring writers who finally decide to sit down and write that book, and that's why I decided to write the Fiction Writing Tips series to go along with the free mentoring session with me via e-mail. And the best news is the free mentoring session will last until the winning writer writes the last word in his or her first -- or next -- fiction novel!

The Fiction Writing Tips series will include information for aspiring and veteran fiction writers, and I truly believe the series should be tied to the Mentoring Session Contest since they're related. Following is what will be included in the Fiction Writing Tips series and the Mentoring Session Contest:

Fiction Writing Tips Series:

1. Writing an outline.
2. Getting to know your characters.
3. Writing the first draft.
4. Editing the first draft.
5. Tips on researching publishers and agents.
6. Free templates.
7. Links to additional reading...
8. ... and anything else that strikes my fancy or is suggested by you.

The first post for this series is planned for May 25, 2008.

Mentoring Session Contest -- Winner Will Receive:

1. Encouragement.

2. Honest (but gentle) criticism of your book, query, synopsis, chapter by chapter outline and press release.

3. Free editing.

4. A list of possible publishers to market your book to.

5. List of possible book reviewers.

6. I'll give you a review of your book, which will be published here as well as on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

7. I'll interview you, and if you're planning a virtual book tour for your book, we can include my interview with you here at Life of a Writer.

8. Marketing advice.

9. A special gift valued at $30. This special gift will be announced at a later date, because I need to check to see how I can purchase a gift subscription first.

Again, this mentoring session will not end until you've written the last word in your book. If it continues over three years, though, I might have to announce an expiration date.

The winner of the Mentoring Session Contest will be announced at the end of the Fiction Writing Tips series. The winner will be drawn from a hat and announced here at Life of a Writer.

If you believe you're ready to write your first -- or next -- fiction novel and would love some help throughout the process, there are four ways to enter my Mentoring Session Contest:

1.Post an announcement about the Fiction Writing Tips series along with the Mentoring Session Contest on your blog, and link that post back to this one. Please link the words Fiction Writing Tips and Mentoring Session Contest.

After you've placed the announcement and a link back to this post using the above-mentioned words, return here and leave a comment with the link to your post. Once I confirm that you've followed the directions above, I'll place your name in the hat for the Mentoring Session Contest.

2. Comment on any of the posts in the Fiction Writing Tips series. You won't be able to do this until I publish the first post in the series, which is scheduled for May 25, 2008.

3. Follow me on Twitter. Once you've completed this task, return to this post and leave a comment letting me know what name you go by on Twitter, so I'll know it was you that followed me.

4. Subscribe to Life of a Writer via e-mail. Within 24 hours after you subscribe, I'll send you an e-mail to let you know you've been entered. At this time, I'll ask for your name, because your name is what I'll use when I announce the winner.

If you perform all four tasks, then you'll receive four entries into the Mentoring Session Contest, increasing your chances of winning. Also note in regards to commenting on the Fiction Writing Tips series, if your comment is of a spam nature, then it won't be published, nor will you receive an entry into the Mentoring Session Contest. If you post an actual comment that adds value and is not spam, then you'll be just fine.

And that, my friends, are the complete details. If you have any questions about the series or contest, or if you have any suggestions for the Fiction Writing Tips series, contact me or leave a comment.

If you don't want to miss any of the posts in the Fiction Writing Tips series, subscribe via e-mail or add Life of a Writer to your favorite RSS reader. Remember, if you subscribe to Life of a Writer via e-mail, you'll receive your first entry in the Mentoring Session Contest. Good luck!

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Last 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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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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I've taken on another writing gig for Newsvine. Newsvine is a subsidiary of MSNBC Interactive News. There I'll keep you updated on news around the web. However, I don't officially begin this writing gig until Friday, so before I start, I'd like input from all of you. Your opinions matter to me, and with this new writing gig, I want to deliver the news that you would look forward to reading from me. With that said, please vote here.

Since I already write on blogging and freelance writing, I would like to use this new writing gig to bring bargain hunting news to my readers, but I'm going to go ahead with the poll to see you really want. The bargain hunting option is a choice in the poll, so if you think it's something you'd like to read about, then by all means, vote for it. Either way, though, I will take the results into consideration for my decision, and once that decision is made, I'll announce it on my blog.

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Here while back I mentioned that Philip Davis had scheduled a Podcast interview with me and I promised to share the link to that interview with y'all, once it was available. In the interview, I read a passage from Help From Above, shared some of my marketing techniques, discussed both my books and talked a bit about print on demand publishing. When you have the time to spare, I invite you to listen to the interview, and I hope that the information I shared on marketing and print on demand will help you with your publishing adventures.

You will get to hear my voice for the first time, so allow me to explain, please. It seems I inherited a gene from my Dad's side of the family. People say that my dad, uncles and I talk through our nose. Of all the things to inherit, this one was that I wished would have skipped a generation, but it didn't. Growing up I would tell people, "That's how God made me," so I've learned to live with it. I'm telling you because I've avoided phone and face-to-face interviews for many years for this reason, but I finally gave in and wanted to let you know what to expect. Let's just say I write better than I talk.

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Would you like to know more about my writing and blogging adventures as well as my books? If so, I invite you to check out my latest interviews. In February, Yuwanda Black, publisher of Inkwell Editorial, interviewed me. Then last night Michele Tune from Writing the Cyber Highway published her interview with me on her blog. It doesn't stop there, though. On March 17, Phil Davis from Authors on the Net will also do an interview with me via Podcast. This will be my first Podcast interview, so I'm not sure how this works, but Phil e-mailed me to let me know he'd be sending the instructions soon. I will post the audio or link to my Podcast interview with Phil Davis just as soon as the interview is complete. So stay tuned in to Life of a Writer for my first Podcast interview. Until then, check out my latest interviews by clicking the links above.

If you'd like to contact me for an interview, I would be honored. Just send an e-mail to mediainquiry(at)mistisandefur.com or click on the "Contact Me" link in the sidebar. Place Interview Request in the subject line, please.

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On March 1st I celebrated the birth of Help From Above, my Christian fiction novel! Wow! I can hardly believe it has been six years since Help From Above was first published! Anyway, to celebrate, I'm running a contest where you'll receive the gift, which is a free autographed copy of Help From Above! This is the first of the surprises that I said was in store for my 2008 goals. Even if you already own a copy, you're still welcome to enter, because this Christian fiction novel makes a wonderful gift! Here are the details:

First, the basics: The contest ends on April 3, 2008 at 12:00 a.m. Central time. The winner's name will be drawn from a hat by yours truly. You will get a chance to have your name placed in the hat four times. Now, are you ready to find out how to enter? Great! Here's how:

1. Announce this contest on your blog. You must place a link to the contest from your blog. Once you've announced the contest on your blog, return here and leave a comment with the URL to your blog, so I can confirm your entry.

2. Subscribe to my RSS feed via e-mail. You must subscribe via e-mail so I can confirm your entry. After you've subscribed, contact me (see the link in sidebar) with your name and the e-mail address you subscribed with. This allows me to associate the name with the e-mail, because the winner will be announced on this blog, and I don't want to make your e-mail address public if you're the lucky one.

3. Head to my website to read the first three chapters of Help From Above free. Next, return here and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts on the first three chapters. Your comment must include a short review based on the first three chapters of Help From Above in order for this entry to be valid.

4. Place an announcement about this contest in your newsletter or e-zine; the announcement must include the link to this contest. After you've placed the announcement in your newsletter or e-zine, contact me (see link in sidebar) with a link to the newsletter or e-zine, or forward me a copy of the newsletter or e-zine that you placed the announcement in. Again, this allows me to confirm your entry.

You can enter using as many of the four aforementioned ways as you wish. For example, if you perform number one and number two, then you'll receive two entries into the Help From Above Birthday Contest, which means your name will be placed in the hat twice. Perform all four and I'll put your name in the hat four times. Sound fair? Then by all means, place your entries before the deadline!

The winner name will be revealed here on April 6, 2008. At that time, I'll provide instructions for sending me your address so I can ship the book to you. By the way, shipping, of course, is free too. Good luck!

Help From Above Birthday Contest Deadline: April 3, 2008, 12:00 a.m. CST.

Photo credit: Flickr

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