It's the start of our fourth year and I've decided to kick it off with something a bit different - lists of information of interest to writers. I'll admit that this has been inspired by some recent advice from Darren Rowse of Problogger. You will also notice the logo at the top of this edition - I thought it was about time to link the newsletter formally to Get Paid To Write Online rather than Sharon's Writing Lab. Thanks for reading. Next edition: May 8

In this issue:

• Five Online Tools To Make You More Productive
• Eight Posts That Got You Talking
• Ten Ways To Start Your Writing Career Right
• Five Writing Blogs I Can't Live Without
• Writing Talk: Happy Holidays 
• Diary Of A Working Writer April 2009

Five Online Tools To Make You More Productive

by Sharon Hurley Hall

Productivity is a bit of an obsession with me so I'm always looking for new tools to improve time management and general effectiveness. Here are five tools that I have used and reviewed to help you do the same:

• Remember The Milk - to do list manager
• PageOnce - for aggregating financial and other information
• FastDue - online invoicing and payment tracking
• Syncplicity - easy automated backup tool
• OtherInbox - keeping automated emails out of your inbox

Eight Posts That Got You Talking

I love it when a blog post provokes lots of discussion. Here are eight posts that did just that.

• Recession And The Freelance Writer - strategies for maintaining a steady income during an economic downturn
• Taking Criticism: Are You A Dinosaur - Do you mope, do you moan, do you sulk, do you sigh?
• Seven Steps To A Professional Bid - Bidding can be one of the hardest things to get right. Here’s a snapshot of my approach to bidding.
• Getting To Know You - people are still stopping by to introduce themselves
• The View From My Office - care to share yours?
• Freelance Does Not Mean Free - It ticks me off when people try to buy quality writing at a cut rate price
• Is It Time To Quit The Day Job? - The pros of becoming a full time freelance writer are that you will be earning a living while doing something that you love. The cons are that you might not get enough work and could end up broke.
• Avoiding Scams - three common freelance writing scams unmasked

Ten Ways To Start Your Writing Career Right

by Sharon Hurley Hall

I've been following the Problogger Build A Better Blog course. This post was one of the results - and it's also the reason I'm republishing it here.

So you’re looking to get started in freelance writing? This is a favorite theme of mine and I’ve been offering advice on this topic for almost four years on this blog and longer than that offline. Here are ten things you can do to get your writing career off to a flying start.

1. Get a website or blog so people can find you.
2. Find the right tools for the job
3. Create your workspace
4. Build a portfolio
5. Network with writers and potential clients

Find out about the other ways of getting started in writing.

Five Writing Blogs I Can't Live Without

by Sharon Hurley Hall

I don't maintain a blogroll. Once I started following more than a hundred blogs, it got to be too unwieldy. However, there are several blogs that I find myself returning to time and again. Here are the ones related to writing.

The Writer's Blog by Dana Prince - Dana and I started our blogging journey at about the same time several years ago. The advice she provides complements the stuff I write on Get Paid To Write Online.

Men With Pens - catchy name aside, this blog tells it like it is. You may not always feel comfortable when you read the posts, but they definitely make you think. WTG, James and Harry!

Scribizzy - a recent addition to my must read list, Melissa Donovan's new site dispenses lots of practical, down to earth advice.

Freelance Switch - this is a great blog because it caters for all freelancers, not just writers and I often learn something from posts targeted at different groups.

That's also the reason I like Freelance Folder, the fifth blog on my list.

Five More Blogs I Read Every Day

Of course, writing is not the only thing in the world and there are a few more blogs I find essential for keeping my inner geek alive and well. My other must reads are the Wild Apricot blog (written by Rebecca Leaman), Lifehacker, ReadWriteWeb, Smarterware and Mashable.

Writing Talk - Happy Holidays

Here's another strip on the subject of freelancers and free time. The others are here.

Diary Of A Working Writer - April 2009

This month presented something of a challenge for me as one of my clients asked me to travel to Cancun to do some work. (It's a hard life, but someone's got to do it.) That left me with the usual freelancer's problem of how to cover my work while I was away. I solved it in the usual way by working extra hard before I went and shuffling round some deadlines. You can read about the trip on two posts for the Taking Off Travel Blog entitled The Roaring Sea and Wine and Wildlife. 

During the rest of the month, I worked on reviews for the Appvita blog, as well as posts for PiggyBankPie, including the lessons I learned on choosing a new theme for Get Paid To Write Online. In the coming month, I'll be discussing a new online project with a friend, working on my regular gigs and planning some more trips. Have a great month!