Why Every Freelance Writer Needs A Website
Why Every Freelance Writer Needs A Website
What do you mean, you don't have a website yet? Websites these days aren't just for businesses and people who want to share their obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the world. These days, websites are one of the most important tools for writers...Why get a writer's website?First of all, ask yourself why you write in the first place. If you can honestly put your hand on your heart and say that you write only for yourself, and you don't care if no one ever reads your work, then I'll concede the point: you probably don't really need a website.If you're like the vast majority of aspiring writers, though, and you'd secretly (or even not-so-secretly) love to see your name in print, or to actually make a living from your writing, then I'll say it again: you need a website.But why?Well, if you're serious about carving out a career for yourself in writing, the first thing you need to know is that a successful writing career isn't just about writing. If you're really serious about selling your writing, you need to get serious about marketing it.Here's an interesting fact for you: the most successful freelance writers aren't necessarily the best writers. In fact, some of them aren't even all that great at writing in the first place. They're good at marketing. Selling themselves ? and their writing. And what's one of the easiest ways to start marketing your writing? By getting a website.Promoting your writing with your own writer's websiteLet's face it ? selling ourselves isn't always something that comes naturally. As writer's (and often just as people) we're used to self-effacement. Some of the best writer's I know are the most modest. They know how to write: they just don't know how to sell themselves.If you fall into this category, a website can be a fabulous work-around for the problem of how to sell yourself effectively. In simple terms, once you have your own writer's website, you don't have to worry about selling yourself ? your website will do it for you.A writer's website allows you to:* Post samples of your writing so that prospective clients can see for themselves how well equipped you are to write for them.* Give potential publishers, employers and fellow writers a means of contacting you to offer you work and ask for quotes.
* Position yourself as an expert in the field of writing, thus making it more likely that people will actually want to make use of your service.* Display testimonials from your satisfied clients.* Take advantage of the fact that the web is where employers are looking for their writers.It's the last of these points which is possibly the most significant. Let's look at why: The number one reason why writers need websitesWhen an employer is searching for a freelance writer, editor or proofreader, where do you think they look? Well, they may look in their local yellow pages or business directory, or they may go by word of mouth, but for most people, the very first place they'll look is online. Trust me, when you run an online agency for freelance writers, you find out very quickly just how many employers there are who use the internet to find a writer!If you don't have a presence on the internet (i.e. a website), how will these employers ever find you? Yes, you can rely on using an agency like my own, but with a little bit of hard work, and a well-designed website, you could be bringing in clients yourself.Still think you don't need a writer's website?Hot Igloo Productions Ltd., offers bespoke websites for writers starting at only
If You Want to Succeed As a Writer, Dont Just Think It, Do It
If You Want to Succeed As a Writer, Dont Just Think It, Do It
It never ceases to amaze me when a prospective writer confesses that he or she has never put anything down on paper. Obviously, that's the first step. Just dreaming about it won't make it happen. Anyone can write. But not everyone writes well.Shaping a manuscript as most everyone knows can be compared to shaping a formless lump of matter into a work of art. But it has to be shaped and chiseled more than once; sometimes you might even have to start over, and, when it reaches its final stages, it still might need a trim here and there. Without the benefit of an objective reading, you might consider taping your manuscript. When you listen to it, it's like hearing someone else's work and you can edit out the hiccups. The best test, however, is reading one's work in front of an audience, whether a roomful of people or one person; you can feel it when the listener loses interest or when the rhythm is off or when you've used the wrong word. It's a good way to stand back and look at your work objectively.It's important to have the necessary materials and tools to do the job if you want to be a writer. You can't create anything from a formless lump if you don't have something malleable to work with in the first place. The tools you need as a writer are a collection of words on paper, a story outline, a typewriter or word processor, and a few books offering guidelines on how to prepare a manuscript. Then, you keep doing it till you get it right.Marjorie Allen is a free-lance writer/editor who has had several books published. She has also taught writing at a local community college. She and her husband spend winters on the Baja Peninsula and summers in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
Call Yourself a Writer? Where Are Your Notes?
Call Yourself a Writer? Where Are Your Notes?
Writers are notorious collectors of slips of paper. They tear articles from magazines in the doctor's waiting room; they rip corners off newspapers in friend's houses because they need to write down something witty; and they stuff their bags and pockets with serviettes, cigarette packs, and discarded train tickets just because note making's second nature to them.More often than not, when they eventually find a note, they haven't a clue what it was related to. Just yesterday, I found this one lurking at the bottom of bag I hadn't used for months. "House - blue window frames. Why wisteria?" Why, indeed! I hadn't the foggiest.I'd made the one mistake a writer should never make. While I'd obviously found a handy supermarket cash-out slip for my note making, I hadn't dealt with my note within 24 hours. I certainly hadn't used any form of filing system - unless that's what you'd call the bottom of an old handbag.Where A Writer's Notes Should Be PutWhen I've been out, I'll usually fire up my computer as soon as I get home. I have a folder for document archiving that I've called 'Ideas'. Under there are a number of documents that I use as a filing system for my notes. Each note is put into one or more of the documents, depending where it fits.Let's say I've made a note about Shahtoosh, and how the Tibetan Antelope is almost extinct thanks to our selfish desire for luxury. I'd transfer my writer's notes to a document called 'Environment', another called 'Wildlife' and a third named 'Fashion'. I could also put it under 'Human Selfishness', but I don't have one.The point is that you should give your each file in your document archiving system a name that means something to you. If you mostly write about food and drink related subjects, you wouldn't need a filing system for 'Housing Issues'. If you did find something you'd like to write about housing, you could pop it in your 'Miscellaneous' file, a great place to rummage through when you fancy a break from your usual subjects.No, what you need is 'Eating Out', 'Recipes', 'Wine', 'Alcoholic Beverages', 'Cakes and Deserts' or something along those lines. Only you know what best suits your writing.Filing System Not Working? Don't WorryWhen you first start working on your filing system, you'll probably make a few mistakes and find yourself moving things around. Don't worry - you'll get there in the end. Finding a document archiving system that works properly on the first try probably never happens. It's never happened to me, anyway.Within each file-whether you've chosen to use an MS Word document or a plain text file-make sub-headings. Going back to the food and drink note making, sub-headings in the 'Eating Out' document could be 'Fast Food', 'Chinese Restaurants', 'Pub Meals', and 'Dinner Parties'. You could add more, obviously.Do you see how a useful filing system is being built up?If you think you'll have a lot under one heading, there's a second way of designed a filing system for your note making. Under your folder called 'Ideas'-or whatever you've chosen to call yours-you could have a sub-folder for 'Food and Drink'. The documents under this folder could then be called 'Fast Food', "Pub Meals', etc.The point is, writer's notes get lost quickly so it's important you design a system that works for you. But just because you've designed yourself a mind-blowing filing system, don't rest on your laurels too much-it isn't all about note making, you have to actually transfer your notes, too!Sharon Jacobsen is a full-time freelance writer living in South Cheshire, England. While she most enjoys writing about social and environmental issues, she'll happily populate your website with engaging, keyword rich articles on any just about any subject, from dog breeding to cricket.To contact Sharon, or to find out more about her work, please http://www.sharon-jacobsen.co.uk