Issue 13 - April 2007 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this issue -- Tips For Successful Proofreading -- Free Blogging Ebook -- Make 1 Cent A Word Pay -- Diary Of A Working Writer - April 2007 -- Freelance Writing Inspiration -- Get Paid to Write: Web Writing -- Get Your Blog Featured In Writing Lab News
Welcome to Writing Lab News. Every issue of this monthly newsletter contains useful articles to help freelance writers learn to improve their writing skills. There are also pointers to useful resources that help writers manage and promote their writing careers.
This month, find out how to proofread your work and minimise errors, discover how you can make money even at a low pay rate, and get some inspiration to help you with career development. There's also an introduction to writing for websites. Enjoy! Next edition: May 1st
Tips For Successful Proofreading
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Sharon Hurley Hall
Poorly written articles reduce writers' chances of getting paid work. But with a bit of attention to detail, all freelance writers can make their work shine. Here's how careful proofreading can improve the quality of a freelancer's writing.
Proofreading is a key skill for every freelance writer. Proofreading will help writers have correctly spelled and grammatically correct articles. This will impress editors and publishers and will help writers to get published and get paid more often. Here are some tips for successful proofreading.
Find A Quiet Place
Proofreading requires concentration. This means no telephones, cell phones, email, radio or television. When writers are proofreading, they should ignore these everyday interruptions. Writers should also find a quiet place to proofread. Those who work at home will work best if they can't hear the sound of the washing machine spinning or the vacuum cleaner going. Finding a quiet location makes it easier for writers to find mistakes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I thought there must be a catch when I saw this, but the book really was free - check it out for yourself.
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You get immediate access to the book and the training videos - there's sure to be something you can use.
Make 1 Cent A Word Pay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Sharon Hurley Hall
How many words can you write in a day? 2,000? 5,000? More? One of my friends can write 10,000 words in a day when she writes on a topic in her niche. I think that's phenomenal and when I heard that it inspired me to my best writing day ever - at 8,000 words (and not one of them was my niche).
Since I took a break over the holidays, then took some time off when friends were visiting, I have had trouble getting into my writing stride, but the last two weeks I've had a deadline to meet. So one day last week I churned out 7,800 words and this morning I completed the assignment by writing 5,000 words by lunchtime. I started at 8.30 and had finished by 12, giving me a rate of almost 1,500 an hour. I was very pleased with that. Here's why:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I cannot believe how incredibly busy I have been this month. As well as doing plenty of work of my own, I have hooked up with a few new writers who will be valuable additions to the team. I haven't got much further with my plans for better communication, but it's moving up the list.
I've opened a shop on my WritingLab blog, with all sorts of books related to writing and I got a nice surprise when I checked up on how my promotional efforts were going. Like any other WAHM I now face the Easter holidays with joy and trepidation. Joy because I will get to spend more time with my daughter; trepidation because the deadlines are not going to go away. That means even more late nights and early mornings.
Freelance Writing Inspiration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Sharon Hurley Hall
As you know I write for InspiredAuthor, which is one of the best free sites I know giving information away to writers. One day when I had some time, I put together a Squidoo lens with links to some of the information there. I called it Freelance Inspiration, hoping that other writers would be inspired to boost their writing careers. Check it out.
Get Paid to Write: Web Writing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Sharon Hurley Hall
There are billions of pages on the World Wide Web and it's growing every day. All those pages need content and that's why writing articles for websites is a rapidly expanding market for freelance writers. Some questions about web writing are answered in this article.
How Do Writers Find Websites To Write For?
This is not difficult. Every time writers do an internet search as part of their research for an article, the list they get will contain other sites that they might be able to write for. For example, a search on 'cats and dogs' brings up sites to do with cats, sites to do with dogs, sites about pets and sites about pet food. All of those are related to the original query and could provide opportunities for writing articles.
The other way of finding sites that need web writing is to check the freelance jobs boards. Sites such as craigslist.com and guru.com post new writing opportunities every day. Many of those relate to website content.
Get Your Blog Featured In Writing Lab News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you're reading this, you're probably a writer - and what's a writer without an audience? If you have a blog that's related to writing, tell me about it and I might feature on of your posts in this newsletter. And if you have a newsletter and want to swap articles with me, feel free to drop me a line. I'm always interested in working with other freelance writers.
If you're interested or know someone who is, contact me through the website or email at writinglab@doublehdesign.com