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Writer's Notes - By Jeanne Dininni

WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!

Blog Day 2007 Badge - red


Blog Day 2007: Celebrating New Blogs Worldwide

Today is Blog Day 2007: A day to celebrate new blogs all over the world! In honor of Blog Day, bloggers have been asked to list, describe, and link to five new blogs--preferably representing a different country, culture, or focus than our own.

Here's what the Blog Day website has to say:

BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.

After writing our Blog Day posts, we are also asked to notify the bloggers we've chosen, which I plan to do via a comment on each one's blog.


Five Great New Blogs You Should Definitely Visit

Here are my choices (in no particular order) for five of the best new blogs from different parts of the U.S. and around the world. (Well...only one is currently outside the U.S: Confident Writing, which comes to us from Scotland; though one will soon be moving to Germany: Content Done Better. Yet, for some of you, the U.S. is on the other side of the world!) All these blogs are either only several months old or under new ownership.

I will let the bloggers who create the magic of the written word on their blogs speak for themselves, via quotes from their About pages and blog posts.


Pro Blog Design

Pro Blog Design. Michael Martin has this to say about his very helpful blog and also about blog post formatting:

I have been designing websites for a few years now, and enjoying every minute of it.

Over time, I’ve learnt a lot about working with blogs, and through Pro Blog Design I hope to share that knowledge with others. Content on a blog is of course, King, but does the King get the attention he deserves when draped in ragged garments? Of course not! In the same way that the grandeur of the King is crucial to his success, your blog’s design is crucial to yours. (from Michael's About page)

As bloggers, we write pages upon pages of content each week. We spend hours promoting the articles, choosing the right words and trying to get our point across as clearly as possible. How can formatting be used to further improve our posts?

There are a few basic tools that you will have heard mention of time and time again, such as bolding words. The first section re-explains their purpose, and the second will explain how to perfect your usage of them to achieve optimal formatting. (from Format Blog Posts for Readability and Legibility)


Confident Writing

Confident Writing. Joanna Young says the following about her quality site and about why she writes:

Hello I'm Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach...My aim is to get people writing with confidence. To realise the power of their words. How we work is partly up to you - but my approach is based on a blend of coaching, teaching, editing and writing - tailor made to your needs. (from Joanna's Welcome and Work With Me sections)

(Post Title: Why Do You Write?.) For me, it's something to do with the power of connection: the connections we can make with other people, the connections we develop between our own ideas, making sense of our experience, pulling together spaghetti strands of random thoughts and creating something new, connecting back to our roots and our selves and coming out with a stronger sense of who we are.

But then again maybe it's that thing I call realising: the sweet, slow dawning of realisation. Recognising the things that you always knew to be true. Recognising - with a jolt - your self in your words. Realising the power of your words, and taking responsibility for their power and impact: on yourself, on other people, on the world. Grounding yourself with the specificity of words. Validating your experience with words which are not real - but can make us feel that our experiences are. Allowing ourselves to be changed by the words that we write. (from Why Do You Write?)


ChrisBlogging

ChrisBlogging. Chris Bibey describes himself and his insightful blog and shares a few words of wisdom on freelancing:

For more than three years I have been earning a full-time income online. My main sources of income include a wide range of freelance writing projects, and of course, blogging.

But although I do not know the first thing about web design or coding, I still earn three times as much as I did as a corporate slave.

The goal of Chrisblogging.com is to show you how I make money, how you can join me, and much more! (from Chris's About page)

There is no denying that a few big jobs make up a large part of my monthly freelance writing income. But guess what? I also believe that smaller jobs are every bit as important. Sure, I would love to work on high paying jobs only, who wouldn’t? But the reality of the freelance writing industry (at least for me) is that this is not always possible. For this reason, I always think twice before I turn down any small jobs that I am offered. (from Don't Always Turn Down the Small Jobs)


ProBloggers Matrix

ProBloggers Matrix. Mark gives us this inviting welcome to his blog, and some great info about blogging (taken from one of his excellent posts):

Hello, I’m Mark.

Welcome to ProBloggers Matrix. I’ll be sharing blogging tips. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments. (from Mark's About page)

If you’re like me, you love to write, you love to publish great articles on your authoritative blog and you also enjoy reading excellent articles in many fantastic blogs. That can be very time-intensive, but you need to get out and exercise! Get the blood flowing! Get into The Zone! (from How to Stay in the Zone and Keep Wowing Your Readers with Spectacular Articles)


Content Done Better

Content Done Better. Michi Beck's blog has an intimate, inviting atmosphere, due to her personal, engaging writing style. Her Under New Ownership section tells us this about her background, followed by an apt quote from one of her posts:

During her career she has written many informative articles on various subjects including economics, technology, local happenings, and human interest stories.

In addition to the newspaper and Internet work, Michi has had poems published and is currently working on her first novel, of which the first draft is nearing completion. She enjoys both fiction and non-fiction writing, and often takes the time to write about the smaller things in life, as she believes those things have lessons behind them that most people do not realize. It is not only the big things that are important in our daily lives, and since she is often reminded of that it appears frequently in her particular style of writing. (from Michi's Under New Ownership page.)

(Post Title: When It Rains, It Pours.) Have you ever noticed that? You could be in a ‘dry spell’ in your work life and then all of a sudden things go crazy, and you’re left shaking your head and wondering how you’re going to get it all done.

I mention this because it happened to me, rather recently. I’m not sure whether to be overwhelmed and annoyed that everything showed up at once or happy because of the work and income. Hmmm…..I think I’ll go with “happy because of the work and income.” (from When It Rains, It Pours)


Five Great Blogs to Bookmark and Visit Again and Again!

Be sure to visit the above blogs soon--and often! And don't forget to give these hard-working and insightful bloggers a little link love! It will be more than worth your while, as you continually enjoy their latest words of writing wisdom.

Congratulations go out to these five new bloggers for making their blogs places where we can go to pick up the best info, tips, techniques, and advice, to make us all better, more responsive, and more productive bloggers!

Happy Blog Day!
Jeanne


Technorati Tag: Blog Day 2007


P.S. I realize I posted this a little late in the day--particularly for those of you on the opposite side of the world to the U.S., where I live! My apologies. But, I believe I did manage to post it in time--though barely! If I missed the deadline in anyone's time zone, Happy Belated Blog Day!







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A Hi-Tech Tool to Test Website Viability/Blog Vitality

I've recently learned about a couple of fairly comprehensive diagnostic tools that can help you determine the viability of your website or the vitality of your blog. (Thanks go out to K-IntheHouse at ShanKri-la, for the info, passed along in a guest post at Blog About Your Blog. A link to the post is provided below.) I wanted to pass along this info to my readers, in the hope that you'll be able to use it to make your website/blog better and more successful.

In this post, I'll cover the first of these two great online diagnostic tools: Website Grader. A great deal has already been written about these tools, so I'll limit the info I include in this post, providing a few links to other great content on the subject. Should you be interested in finding more info than these sources provide, I suggest a Google Search, which will generate many more links related to this topic. (I know; I checked.)


Website Grader

Website Grader gives your site an overall rating (so many points out of 100), which boils down to a percentage (e.g., 85/100 = 85%). Website Grader allows you to either diagnose your own site's condition exclusively or compare it to a couple of your most competitive website rivals, which is an interesting feature for those who want to know how they rank within their niche.

Some things you'll learn from Website Grader:

-Website Grade
-Google Page Rank
-Alexa Rank
-Technorati Rank
-Google Inbound Links
-Yahoo Inbound Links
-Delicious Saved Count
-Google Indexed Pages

Of course, many of the above are facts you already know about your site; however the others can certainly be helpful to learn, and even more helpful are the explanations which follow the chart listing the above data. That's where you'll find all your site's specific problems clearly spelled out for you--as well as all its positive points, using "alert" icons, consisting of either a yellow lightbulb or purple exclamation point, along with yellow or red highlighting of each of these problem sections. Blue "i" icons are used to indicate the non-problem portions of your site.


A Comprehensive Report on Your Site

The report generated by this tool is worth much more than the price of admission! (It would have to be--because it's free!) But, seriously, the report is very comprehensive. In fact, Website Grader will even e-mail you a link to the report so you can go back and look at it again later. (However, I would recommend copying and pasting it into Word [or whatever other word processing program you use].) Word will retain the formatting of the grading chart, in case you'd like to reproduce it on your blog or elsewhere, or even print it out.)

The original post from which I learned about Website Grader, as I mentioned earlier, was written by K-IntheHouse as a guest post at Blog About Your Blog. This post gives more great info about the tool. Here's the link: 2 Great Ways to Check Your Blog Health

The Website Grader report generates far more detailed information than I have mentioned here. So why not check it out for yourself and learn what's good about your website and what isn't. It will give you a great starting point for revamping your site to make it the best it can be. You'll then be able to measure how much progress you've made by plugging your site's URL into Website Grader again, as recommended by Wild Bill at Passionate Blogger, in his post, Does Your Blog Get a Failing Grade? How to Get an A+!

Happy diagnosing!
Jeanne







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Get Paid to Blog at Smorty

August 28th 2007 01:00

Smorty, for My Australian Readers--and Everyone Else!

Since I've decided to add some carefully selected sponsored posts to my blog, in the interest of survival for myself and value for my readers, I thought I'd try Smorty, which is an Australian blog advertising site, and which, as such, might tend to offer products and services that my Aussie readers would really be able to relate to. (Of course, I'm sure that Smorty's advertisers' products and services have widespread appeal!)


An Opportunity to Get Paid for Blogging

I'm glad to have this opportunity to get paid for blogging. (After all, I already blog and love it!) This will be just one more way to help insure that I'll be able to continue bringing my readers as many great writing tips, techniques, and resources as possible.

Let's face it; financial realities confront each one of us, every day. Few of us are strangers to the need to earn a living. But, I have no intention of belaboring the point, because I see my new relationship with Smorty as a great thing! I feel it has a lot to offer both me and my readers, and I intend to do my best to choose opportunities that are relevant to you, as writers; though I have to confess that I may occasionally just happen to choose a few that seem intriguing to me--and remember, I, too, am a writer--whether or not they relate to writing directly. (After all, writers have lives, too--outside of writing, that is--though at times it may not always seem that way!)


A Few Words About Smorty

At Smorty, as with most other sites where writers blog for money, advertisers pay bloggers to write opinion posts with links back to the advertiser's site. While this is great for us bloggers, who get paid to blog, it's also obviously beneficial to the businesses that advertise on blogs. This mutual benefit is the basis of every truly successful business transaction--and, for the writer, this includes the sale of our writing in any other venue. After all, this is what free enterprise is all about!

As I see it, if we bloggers pick and choose our advertising opportunities with care, our relationship with Smorty--or with any other blog advertising network--should not only benefit the company, the advertiser, and the blogger, but also the blog's readers, as well.


Here's to the Future--With Smorty and My Readers!

I look forward to a great relationship with the people at Smorty, as well as with their advertisers! And I also look forward to a continuation of the excellent relationship I currently enjoy with my readers and fellow bloggers. You are very important to me, and I promise, you, my readers, that I will not knowingly post inaccurate information or reviews and certainly will not intentionally mislead you about any product, service, or company, for the sake of money.


How About You?

Should you be interested in pursuing your own opportunity to blog for money, I'll be placing my Smorty affiliate badge into my sidebar very soon. If you'd like, you may use it to get more information about how you can get paid to blog at Smorty. (In the meantime, feel free to use the link found in the first paragraph of this post.)


Thanks for your support!
Jeanne



This post sponsored by Smorty.



Blog Advertising - Get Paid to Blog



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Predict Your New Google Page Rank!

August 27th 2007 21:46

Are You Wondering What Your New Google Page Rank Will Be?

With the next Google Page Rank Update right around the corner--and, in fact, expected to occur any day now--perhaps you're wondering where your blog or website will place along the new ranking spectrum once the update takes place. I know I've been wondering about it, myself, quite a bit lately, with my blog's current Page Rank of 0! I know that Writer's Notes has a good number of inbound links, so I've had my fingers crossed that that fact would translate into a decent Page Rank once Google does the update.


Check out the iWebtool Google Page Rank Predictor!

Just today, I learned about a free online tool that can help give both you and me an idea of the Google Page Rank we can expect once the update occurs. I learned of it, compliments of K-IntheHouse at Blog About Your Blog, in his response to my comments to his 2 Great Ways to Check Your Blog Health post. Before replying to my comments, K-ItH very kindly plugged my blog's URL into the tool and later informed me that my own predicted G-PR is 5. (Thanks, K-IntheHouse! I definitely needed that confidence boost!)

Here's a link to this nifty tool: Google Page Rank Predictor. Check it out and find out what you can probably expect in the way of Google Page Rank for your website or blog after the upcoming--and imminent--Google PR Update.


Happy Google PR predicting!
Jeanne


By the way, don't forget to visit Blog About Your Blog--often! This site is packed with valuable information for bloggers. For your convenience, I placed a link to them, a while back, in my Helpful Sites for Writers list, near the bottom of my left sidebar. Now you'll have no excuse not to visit and do something good for your blog!

You might also want to visit K-IntheHouse's own blog, ShanKri-la, where you'll be able to keep up with all the latest tech info for daily life. And, when you visit either of the above sites, don't forget to comment!



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"Prolific" is a Wonderful Word!

We writers do tend to be a bit verbose at times--though we, of course, prefer to call it prolific. That sounds so much more intriguing! "Prolific" is a word that adds so much to the writer's mystique! Yet the reality of it isn't always quite so intriguing.


Creativity Breeds...Data!

If you're anything like me, one creative idea builds upon another and one writing project spontaneously spawns the next, until, before you know it, you've become so "prolific" that the number of document files you've saved seems not only too overwhelming to handle, but growing exponentially with every new idea, project, and freelance assignment! In short, you're beginning to realize you've got to do something--and soon!


Buried in Data!

If your computer's hard drive is getting a bit cluttered, and you'd rather not be buried in a massive pile of CDs, DVDs, or computer discs, you may just want to consider online storage. Online data storage can offer a convenient alternative to the hassle of handling an ever-expanding collection of data files, freeing you to do what you do best: write.







Convenience

IBackup's online storage service features convenient file storage via a mapped drive or folder and familiar explorer interface. This storage method allows you to drag-n-drop, open, edit, and save files directly from your office applications, and also makes it easier to work with online data. Browser-based and direct desktop access to WebFolders also offer easy drag-n-drop and direct edits for such office files as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.


Versatility

Other IBackup features include the following: Web-Manager, (which provides collaboration features for Sharing and Account Management, and Media Gallery,) Sub-Account creation options, IDrive Multimedia capabilities (including streaming ability for music and video files,) IDrive for Mac, and ILite (for use with your Blackberry, PocketPC, or Treo).


Superior Performance

No other online storage service has been able to match the level of security that IBackup offers, and IBackup's desktop applications consistently outperform other data storage services by 30-50%. This could mean a significant increase in productivity for a busy writer.

So, the next time you look at that long list of files cluttering up your hard drive or have to sit and wait while your computer does its slow-loading act...again...you might just want to think IBackup. Because you have something better to do: write!


Till next time,
Jeanne









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Writer's Notes' Value Up By One-Third in 18 Days

I've just calculated the latest value for Writer's Notes at Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities, and my blog's value has increased from $37,824.18, on August 8th, to $49,679.52 today, August 26th. In a period of 18 days, its value has risen by $11,855.34, or about one-third. While this latest growth spurt is by no means as large as its last one, Writer's Notes' monetary value appears to be steadily increasing at an acceptable rate.


The Latest Calculations

The tool calculates the value of each link to our sites, using the same link-to-dollar ratio used in the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal; and while I have absolutely no idea how accurate it might be or whether such a perceived value could ever translate into any real monetary return down the road or deal in any currency other than the conversational kind, it's still an interesting exercise in growth.

The current value of Writer's Notes, as caclulated by the Dane Carlson-designed tool, is shown below:



My blog is worth $49,679.52.
How much is your blog worth?



Inbound Links Equal Value

Though my blog's overall value isn't nearly as high as that of many other bloggers who have been on the scene far longer than I have, I still find it fun and interesting to check it periodically. Doing so gives me a better idea of just how much of an effect those Technorati "Blog Reactions" (which represent inbound links to my site) actually have on my blog's worth. And, while we're speaking of Technorati, my Technorati ranking currently stands at 61,722, with 88 authority, and I'm OK with that--for now! At this point in my blogging career, a Technorati ranking of under 62,000 isn't bad at all. And neither is a blog value of nearly $50,000.


Till next time,
Jeanne



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Note: All links in this post have been updated, as of June 4, 2009. The Memory Walk is an annual event.




The Lucid Mind: A True Gift

As writers, each of us can appreciate, in a particularly vivid way, the blessing of a lucid mind! Clear thought, dependable memory, logical deductive power: each of these is critical to us as we go about our daily activities, giving us the ability to share ideas via the written--or spoken--word. Because of this, we writers are able, perhaps more than most, to understand just how devastating the loss of these abilities can be--and is--to every person who falls victim to Alzheimer's, and to each of their family members, as well.


The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk®: Your Opportunity to Make a Difference

The
Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk® is America's largest event held to raise awareness about Alzheimer's and funds for Alzheimer's care, support, and research. Held annually since 1989 in hundreds of communities across the U.S., walks are typically 2-3 miles long and take place on a weekend morning in early fall. This year's walk will involve more than 600 communities--communities where volunteers of all ages will gather to champion the cause of Alzheimer's sufferers.

Since its inception, Memory Walk has raised more than $225 million in funds to help in the fight against Alzheimer's, and caring people like you are the ones who have made that happen!


Memory Walk Team Captains Needed Immediately!

Team Captains are needed NOW to assemble, organize, and lead teams of other concerned individuals in preparing for and participating in the Walk. Teams can consist of family members, friends, and/or business associates who are dedicated to helping fight Alzheimer's. As a Team Captain, you can inspire the caring people in your own personal sphere to take action on behalf of a worthwhile cause, becoming true champions of those who face Alzheimer's.

The rewards of taking charge and making this happen in your local area will be great! You'll experience the satisfaction of knowing that you've gone the extra mile--literally!--in the fight to help make Alzheimer's a thing of the past. You'll know that you were the catalyst that brought your entire group's energy, enthusiasm, and compassion together, creating a synergy that would be hard to beat. You'll be respected and admired, not only by those you lead, but by others who learn of your dedication and leadership in such a worthy endeavor. By signing up to become a Team Captain, you can't lose--because you'll know that you're helping those who are contending with Alzheimer's win!


Please Sign Up Early!

The Association recommends that Team Captains sign up as early as possible so they will have sufficient time to recruit their teams and raise funds for the cause. As a Team Captain, you can help make this year's Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk® a success.

To quote the Association, "By teaming up with the Alzheimer's Association, you can walk with a purpose – and move us closer to a world without Alzheimer's. Together, we can MOVE a nation."

Won't that be a wonderful thing?


Thanks for reading,
Jeanne













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Writer's Notes a "Top Site" at Top Site of the Day

I just found out a few hours ago, via my list of Blog Reactions on Technorati, that Top Site of the Day has reviewed Writer's Notes a second time, this time designating it a "Top Site"!

This is very exciting, because, as many of you know, Charles Young reviewed Writer's Notes several weeks ago and, while he loved the blog's content, as well as a few other things about it, certain critical elements were missing which were necessary in order for him to assign it "Top Site" status. At that time, Charles's review designated Writer's Notes as a "Notable Site."


Review #1 Was Decent, But Some Work Was Still Needed

Shortly after that first review, I set right to work correcting problems and incorporating the features that were lacking here at Writer's Notes. I'd really known for some time that my blog had a few problems (in such areas as layout, organization, navigation, and ad size and placement), but Charles's review was just the incentive I needed to get me moving on making those needed changes.

After I was through, I informed Charles of my site revamp, which his review and subsequent e-mail critique had inspired, and hinted that, if he were to review my blog again now, I was sure it would do much better than it had the first time. But he informed me that he couldn't review it again that soon. So, I simply had to wait a bit.


The Second Time Was a Charm!

As the weeks passed and I became busy with my writing, for the most part, I forgot all about it. That's why I was so surprised to learn that Charles had gone ahead and done the review. And that's also why I was so surprised to learn that Writer's Notes was his choice today for "Top Site of the Day."

Here's a link to Charles's post on Top Site of the Day: A Top Choice: WritersNotes.Net

Thanks for sharing this satisfying moment with me!


Here for you,
Jeanne


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PayPerPost: My Latest AdVenture

August 24th 2007 23:55

A New AdVenture

I recently decided to try PayPerPost, in the hope of picking up a bit of cash for a few things that are always nice to have (i.e., food...clothing...a place to live). To me, this seems like a new adventure--even without the pun!

I truly love writing my blog, giving encouragement and inspiration to writers everywhere...providing information and resources to help you grow, stretch, and improve at your craft...finding and sharing potential markets that can help make it possible for you to reap some sort of (well-deserved and fully earned) monetary return for all the hard work, the energy, effort, and thought, the heart, and the soul that you put into your writing.

And, please believe me when I say that I would continue to do so without remuneration, as I have for the past seven months, because I consider it an honor and a privilege to provide you, my readers and fellow-writers, with everything at my disposal that I believe might prove helpful to you.


My Greatest Reward

After all, it is you who have visited my blog--at least once or twice, but in many cases--day after day, week after week, and perhaps month after month. (Why, some of you have even subscribed to my feed--or I should say feeds, since I now have two.) You've read and considered what I've had to say, you've shared your own views via comments, you've used the resources I've provided to help you in the magical vocation that is writing, and perhaps you've even gone so far as to follow some of the advice I've given, as you've pursued your creative passion.

That, in itself, has been my greatest reward. Yet, as I sit here at my computer, typing this post, I can't help but ponder the coming month, with rent to be paid, bills coming due, and groceries to be purchased; and I am reminded that everyone needs to survive. So, as I continue to seek and find various freelance writing opportunities, I remind myself, very practically, that freelancing income isn't always (is it ever?) extremely regular, and therefore, finding ways to supplement that income (at least until my name becomes a household word!) is never a bad idea.

Enter, PayPerPost.


A New, More Productive, Era for Writer's Notes

In my many travels around the Web, I've often seen one or another of the various PayPerPost buttons and badges, which, I must confess, have quite intrigued me. For quite some time, I've considered signing up, yet only recently have I actually gotten around to it.

Well, I'm glad I did. I see this as the beginning of an opportunity to be productive in a new way--to pick and choose the products, companies, and services that I believe would be of value to my readers and to give an honest appraisal of the others, as an added service. I like the idea of doing all this while, at the same time, continuing my longstanding practice of giving you the best writing-related information and resources I am able to provide. And, yes, I will earn a few much-needed dollars in the bargain, but I don't believe very many of you will fault me for that.


A Great New Relationship With the People at PayPerPost

I'm looking forward to a pleasant and mutually beneficial relationship with PayPerPost and its advertisers--one that I expect to be every bit as helpful to my readers, in one way or another. Some of you may even decide to join PayPerPost and try it out for yourselves. I think that could just prove to be a good idea.

While I am still very new to PayPerPost, I've been happy to find that their staff has been very responsive and helpful with issues I've encountered during the signup process. My messages, written to them via their internal message system, have been handled competently and answered quickly and courteously, which has created in me nothing but good will toward the company.

Though no doubt many of you have read my earlier informational piece about PayPerPost, this is actually my first sponsored post for PPP. (If you are considering joining PayPerPost, and you haven't read my other post about them, you may want to check it out. You'll learn many great details about them from that post.)

Just thought I'd share with all of you how and why I came to join PayPerPost, and a little bit of what I've experienced there.


Till next time,
Jeanne



Bloggers:
Want to add value to your blog? Why not join PayPerPost and write about products and services that can benefit your readers. It will give them one more reason to visit your blog.

Advertisers:
Participating in PayPerPost will drive traffic to your website, in addition to providing exposure for your company by featuring your products and services on a variety of quality blogs.










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Khanna's Dishonesty and Ulterior Motives Exposed

Phil, at Contest Blogger has exposed Ashwin Khanna's so-called $2500 Blog Extravaganza for what it apparently actually was: a totally fraudulent attempt to gain backlinks to his blog in order to raise his Technorati ranking and authority. And it has--enormously! For details, please see Contest Blogger's "I Told You So" post.


The Contest Blogger Counter-Contest

In response to Khanna's blatant con, Contest Blogger has decided to run a contest of his own: The Ashwin Khanna Revenge Contest, which any blogger who was conned into giving link love to Khanna through his fake contest can enter. The prize ($100) is quite a bit lower than Khanna's promised windfall, but, unlike Khanna's, presumably this prize will actually be delivered to the lucky winner.


Contest Requirement: A Link to Contest Blogger

The only thing Phil requires of the conned bloggers is that they change the links they gave Khanna, redirecting them to the Contest Blogger home page. (I have given this a great deal of thought and have simply decided to remove the links to Khanna's blog from my previous post announcing his "contest" (actually, more like con test). After careful consideration, I've decided that, since I'm generous with links anyway, I don't mind linking to Contest Blogger--In fact, he deserves the links for exposing Khanna's fraud--yet I've decided that, rather than doing so in the Khanna announcement post, by changing the link, I would simply link to Phil's blog in this post. (Perhaps Contest Blogger himself has taught me not to be so quick to jump on the bandwagon.)


Are You on the List of Defrauded Bloggers?

At any rate, Contest Blogger has posted a (very long) list of the blogs/bloggers who were conned by Khanna (which you'll find in the Revenge Contest post, linked to above). If you're on the list, you're eligible to enter his Khanna counter-contest, should you be so inclined.


Apt Acknowledgments

Thanks go out to Phil, at Contest Blogger, for his expose of this fraudulent contest. In addition, I'd like to thank The Contest Winner, whose modified post, Ashwin's Blog Extravaganza!! Win $2500 (which also lists all affected blogs/bloggers), originally alerted me to the con, via my Writer's Notes' Technorati Blog Reactions list.

Again, I'd like to offer an apology to all who entered Khanna's contest as a result of the announcement posted on my blog.

Apologetically yours,
Jeanne


Another interesting blog post, adding to the Khanna conversation, can be found at the following link: Honesty is the Best Policy – Not for Ashwin Khanna!

8/28/07: Just thought I'd link back to Ramblifications, a blog that shared a little link love with me and all the other bloggers who've written posts about being conned by Khanna.



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Bloggers Need Income, Too

If you are a blogger, you've probably noticed that the amount of revenue to be made via Google Adsense is, to put it kindly, minimal--unless, of course, you happen to be a Darren Rowse or a John Chow, or one of the other relatively few bloggers whose traffic stats are absolutely phenomenal (in which case, you probably won't need to read this). And, after all, few of us can afford to sit at home blogging all day with no likelihood of any sort of monetary reward for our efforts. Not that we wouldn't want to. Most of us love connecting with others through blogging, and that's the main reason we do it. Yet the realities of life remain: We must have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and all the rest.


Advertisers Need Value, Access, Flexibility, and Control

If you are an advertiser, you may be looking for good opportunities to feature your product or service without "breaking the bank." You may want to be able to turn over your advertising needs to a company that will find advertising outlets for you, while maintaining the option of also seeking and using other advertising venues you may come across on your own. After all, advertising budgets are finite, and whether your company is small or large, you want to make the most of your advertising dollar. And the fact of the matter is that "profit" isn't a dirty word. "Profit" is what puts a roof over the head of the advertiser and food on the business owner's table.

In both of the above cases, PayPerPost may have something to offer.


PayPerPost Marketplace

The PayPerPost Marketplace provides opportunities for bloggers and advertisers to connect, through listings in the PPP database. Advertisers list opportunities for bloggers to review their product or service by writing a blog post about it.* Whether or not a particular advertising opportunity is available to a given blogger is based upon the specific criteria the advertiser has decided on for the blogger he or she would like to feature his or her product or service (i.e., minimum Googe page rank, minimum Alexa ranking, etc.)--though not all opportunities require a Google page rank. Bloggers browse the list of opportunities and submit requests to handle the ones that interest them. If chosen, they have a limited time in which to write and post their reviews (6 hours, as I recall).

The PayPerPost Blogger Signup Form may be found here.

The PayPerPost Advertiser Signup Form may be found here.


PPP Direct

Bloggers may also participate in PayPerPost Direct, in which they deal directly with advertisers, displaying a badge or text link on their blogs through which they offer to write posts for pay, setting their own prices, and/or negotiating with interested advertisers for compensation. They may either post a badge containing the cost of their posting services or choose to display a badge or text link which doesn't contain compensation information. When advertisers click on the badge or text link, they are taken to the PayPerPost website, through which the details of the transaction are handled.

The following is my own PPP Direct badge, which will give both bloggers and advertisers an idea of what these badges look like and the way they work. The badge is active--as are all the other buttons and badges in this post--and may be used by any advertiser interested in hiring me. Clicking on the badge will open up a PPP Direct form that may be filled out to request a sponsored post.)



ointer;" onclick="show_direct_form(24991,'/index.html', 'badge_1_blue')" src="http://tinyurl.com/2p8ufz" alt="PPP Direct" border="0">



"Review My Post": Another Opportunity for Bloggers

Another way for bloggers to earn a few dollars is through the "Get Paid to Review My Post" program. In this program, a button is posted at the end of each of a blogger's posts inviting other bloggers to review the post for pay. When an interested blogger clicks on the button, he or she is given the opportunity to sign up with PayPerPost and write a review of the blog post. In these instances, both the blogger who writes the review and the blogger whose post is reviewed receive a modest payment.

This is the "Get Paid to Review My Post" button that I use here at Writer's Notes:






PayPerPost Affiliate Program

The PayPerPost Affiliate program offers bloggers still another opportunity for earning income by referring bloggers and advertisers to PayPerPost, as does the PayPerPost Signup program . (Details may be found on the PayPerPost website.)


Further Information

Whether you are a blogger or an advertiser, if you'd like to learn more about any of the PayPerPost programs or opportunities, please feel free to either click the link in the previous paragraph or use the "PayPerPost Affiliate" button reproduced below, which will also take you to the PayPerPost website, where you'll be able to read more about the details and requirements of PayPerPost's various programs.




I've also placed a smaller version of the Affiliate button (due to space and speed-of-loading constraints) in my blog's sidebar. This button may be used at your convenience to access information about signing up for PayPerPost, either as a blogger or an advertiser. The smaller button is reproduced below:





Badge Color and Design Variety

All buttons and badges offered by PayPerPost come in a variety of sizes, styles, and colors, to fit in with the color scheme and design of your blog and your own particular blog organization and navigation needs. There are also versions of the signup forms that are designed to be placed in your blog's sidebar, in addition to those intended for incorporating into individual blog posts.


PayPerPost's Key Ingredient: Versatility

The key ingredient that makes PayPerPost so valuable to both bloggers and advertisers just may be its versatility. While this program boasts many other key features, including convenience, access, review of advertising opportunities, and screening of potential blogs, the number and variety of ways that both bloggers and advertisers can profit are what make PayPerPost stand out from the crowd.


Whether you are a blogger in need of revenue or a business owner in need of advertising, why not check out PayPerPost? It may just prove to be your long-sought after connection to the individuals and/or companies that can help you meet your goals.


Wishing you success!
Jeanne



*NOTE : PayPerPost requires disclosure of the blogger's relationship with the advertiser for whom any post commissioned through PayPerPost is written.



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Proud to Be a Word Nerd!

August 22nd 2007 01:54


Word Nerd Badge


I'm a Word Nerd. Are You?

Brad Shorr, over at Word Sell, Inc., has designed a nifty little badge of honor for all of us bonafide, honest-to-goodness, word-nerd types to proudly display on our blogs to show the world that we are Word Nerds and we aren't ashamed of it!

After all, we writers love words! (Where would we be without them?) So, why not announce it to the world? Brad lists a few of the qualities of Word Nerds in his post, Be a Word Nerd!, inviting anyone who sees him/herself in that description to grab a badge (available in a variety of designer colors) and post it with pride.

Brad also gives all of us Word Nerds the opportunity to test our degree of "word-nerdiness," through one of the four vocabulary tests he periodically offers on his blog, all of which are conveniently listed and linked to in this post: Word Nerds Unite! (though the testing isn't a requirement for downloading and displaying the badge.)


Some Surefire Signs that You Are a Word Nerd

-Whenever you write, your dictionary, thesaurus, and Strunk and White absolutely must be within reach.

-You read the dictionary for pleasure.

-You relish every opportunity to use precise terminology--not primarily to impress people, but rather because it's important to you to convey the exact meaning of your thoughts.

-You're forever correcting people--even (gasp!) in public--when they've use a word incorrectly. (Either that, or you have to bite your tongue to keep yourself from doing so.)

-When people pause while speaking, to think of the word they want--or even to simply catch their breath--you're ready to jump right in and generously provide the term they were (obviously) looking for.

-You can sometimes sit there for literally hours trying to think of just the right word, before your semantic sensibilities will be satisfied enough to let you release a piece of writing to the public eye. (Well, OK, maybe you don't sit there the whole time, but the dilemma is always in the back of your mind, and that piece must absolutely be put on hold until you've solved it!)


Does any of that sound like you? If so, you're a definite candidate for the Word Nerd badge! (You may even have a few Word Nerd activities of your own that I haven't mentioned. If so, please feel free to share them in Comments.)

If you can relate to any of what has been written here, please read the section that follows and consider taking the next logical step.


Word Nerds of the World, Unite!

So, why don't all we Word Nerds of the world--or at least of the internet/blogosphere--unite in joining this elite semantic sister/brotherhood! Let's stand together in defense of the written and spoken word, used with precision and premeditation! (No, it isn't a crime.) Let's join Brad in sharing, with all those we meet in cyberspace--or anyplace--our unquenchable enthusiasm for the sensational subtleties of the well-placed word and well-turned phrase.

Feel free to visit Brad's Word Sell, Inc. blog, at one of the above links, to learn more about the Word Nerd movement, and if you should be so inclined, to offer your support. And while you're there, don't forget to pick up a badge, in your favorite color, and take advantage of this opportunity to show the world that you are indeed a Word Nerd!


From one Word Nerd to another,
Jeanne


Note: I'm unfortunately unable to add the Word Nerd badge to my already overloaded sidebar, which is the only reason why, for the time being, its display will need to be limited to this blog post.



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A Virtual Trip Around the Blogosphere

In my latest travels around the blogosphere, I've uncovered some excellent content that can truly be a boon to any writer interested in a fresh approach, a new inspiration--in short, any writer seeking the motivation to write with renewed vigor and vitality.


Confident Writing: Posts to Both Inspire and Get You Thinking

Please check out Joanna Young's excellent post, When Writing Means Spirit Spilling, at Confident Writing. This piece explores the process of writing from the deepest parts of ourselves and, through quoting the wisdom of several knowledgeable bloggers, links out to other blogs you'll find most helpful in your quest to grow your own writing.

Two of Joanna's other pieces, The Ingredients of Confident Writing, and How to Learn from Your Writing, are also insightful looks into the components that help make our writing fresh and engaging. They also link to other related posts on her own blog and/or elsewhere in the blogosphere.


The Golden Pencil: Pieces on Perfectionism, Freelancing Dos and Don'ts, and Marketing Your Work Objectively

Anne Wayman, at The Golden Pencil, has written a succinct, yet very helpful post called, Don't Worry About Perfection--Go for Effective, reminding us that perfectionism is a trap and wisely counseling us to let it go.

Anne has also posted two guest pieces that offer practical guidance to help writers more effectively run their writing business. Top Dos and Don'ts for Freelancers, by Lori Widmer, offers 14 basic tips to help writers "make a go of freelancing," and Sending Out Ships, by Charlotte Rains Dixon, counsels us to write personally but submit our work objectively.


Passionate Blogger: Giving and Receiving Series to Help You Reap the Same Recognition You Sow, and How to Avoid Information Overload in Research

Wild Bill, at Passionate Blogger, has posted the first two parts of his excellent and informative multi-part series on giving and receiving: Give and Receive Series - Part 1 - Technorati Favorites and Give and Receive Series - Part 2 - StumbleUpon. These two posts explore the importance of giving lavish recognition to other writers/bloggers and letting the "getting" take care of itself, specifically covering how to do so through Technorati Favorites and StumbleUpon. The upcoming third post in the series will explore how to do this using Alexa.

Another excellent post on Wild Bill's site, about avoiding information overload when researching and writing blog posts (and which could also apply to other types of writing), is Stop Cramming for a Post! This insightful piece is an apt reminder that focusing on what we do know (known, in blogging, as our niche), can help us steer clear of excessive and unnecessary research, saving us valuable time and making us more productive.


A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye: Customer Service and Productivity for Freelance Writers

Lillie Ammann, at A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye, has written a brief but inspiring post, called The Simple Truths of Service: Will You Be a Johnny Today? that points us to a helpful video and serves to remind all freelance writers how important good "customer service" is to writer-client relations--despite the fact that, as freelancers, we have no "Customer Service Department." This piece--along with the video it introduces--tells us, in effect, that we must be our own "Customer Service Department."

A second great post, entitled How Do You Stack Up Against the Average Worker in America? asks us, as homeworkers/freelancers, to weigh our own productivity level against that of the average American working outside the home, providing an interesting comparison of the two, and hopefully providing writers with a little incentive to work on becoming more productive.


Four Great Blogs to Bookmark and Return to Again and Again!

It is my hope that the above posts will help you become more effective at both the craft, and the business, of writing. Why not bookmark these four great blogs, so you can return to them later to check out the other valuable content they are certain to post in the future! (You may also want to search their archives for buried treasure!)

Until next time,
Jeanne



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An Intriguing Article Reprint

The following article is reprinted with permission from Articles Alley Article Directory. It presents an interesting perspective on earning a living as a freelance writer online.


_____________________________


There is a wonderful opportunity to make a substantial income by doing freelance writing online. However there are some things the aspiring freelance writer should be aware of.


If there is one maxim that has continued to remain true about the Internet it is that "Content is King". The fact that website owners need fresh and relevant content to keep browsers coming back to their website means that there is a secondary market for content creation.

This of course has created a wonderful opportunity for freelance writers who can spend their time creating content for others and be paid for it. But before you throw in your day jobs, register your profile with Elance or Guru and start banging away on your laptop, let's look at some of the truisms of the market so that you can enter the opportunity with open eyes.

Firstly, let's deal with the question of how much money you can make. Will you make a million dollars? No. Only very high profile offline authors make this sort of money. Is it possible to make $80- $100k per year. The answer is yes but like anything it will require some hard work and a dash of entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, to be truly successful you will need to spend nearly as much time marketing yourself as you will creating content. To command this type of income you will also most likely need to augment your writing efforts with some affiliate marketing. This isn't difficult: you still create content but you will also make sure that you embed some of your own affiliate links in the content that you create.

It also depends on your agenda. If you're looking to make a full time income then those figures are within your reach. If however, you're a student for instance and therefore do not have as much time at your disposal, then a $20k per annum secondary income at the upper end would be the more likely scenario.

Do you have to be a good writer to succeed online? No. In fact being a good writer may actually be a hindrance: simply for the fact that your work may not be appreciated and command the price that you feel it's worth. The nature of the market that you will be dealing with is one that is after fast and relatively cheap content. They're not after high quality writing so don't try and be Shakespeare. All you really need is a decent grasp of spelling and punctuation and be able to write in a conversational tone. Easy? You bet.

Do you need to have a subject specialty? Once again the answer is no and if you do specialise then you may be severely denting your income prospects. The secret here is to not put all your eggs in one basket. You want to have multiple sources of income: this means not only a multiplicity of subjects but also a multiplicity off avenues to get your writing out there. Bidding at auction sites such as Guru.com and Elance.com is certainly one way of getting the dollars in but it does not preclude creating monetised blogs or writing and submitting articles with embedded links.

It helps when writing online for a living to think outside the box. You can certainly make a steady income from just writing alone but by tweaking and monetising your approach with affiliate marketing you can put yourself in a position to really explode your income.
Article Source: http://www.ArticlesAlley.com/


About the Author
Scott is a successful freelance writer who makes the bulk of his income by writing online. To learn how you can create a secondary income through pursuing freelance writing opportunities go to Writing for Income.

_____________________________



What Do You Think?

Can a writer expect to earn a living online while emulating the excellence of a Shakespeare, or are "a decent grasp of spelling and punctuation" and the ability to "write in a conversational tone," not simply the only things required, but actually preferable?

A penny for your thoughts,
Jeanne


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Full-Text Books and Periodicals Literally at Your Fingertips

The Free Library is a website that features full-text versions of a fairly large number of books and periodicals, listed under ten main categories. They are the following:

-Business and Industry
-Communications
-Entertainment/The Arts
-General Interest/Information
-Health
-Humanities
-Law/Government/Politics
-Recreation and Leisure
-Science and Technology
-Social Sciences


Each of the above categories contains anywhere from 2 to 30 subcategories. (Business and Industry tops the list, with 30.)


The Free Library Describes Its Site

Here is The Free Library's own description of its site:

Since 2003, The Free Library has offered free, full-text versions of classic literary works from hundreds of celebrated authors, whose biographies, images, and famous quotations can also be found on the site. Recently, The Free Library has been expanded to include a massive collection of periodicals from hundreds of leading publications covering Business and Industry, Communications, Entertainment, Health, Humanities, Law, Government, Politics, Recreation and Leisure, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences. This collection includes millions of articles dating back to 1984 as well as newly-published articles that are added to the site daily.

The Free Library is an invaluable research tool and the fastest, easiest way to locate useful information on virtually any topic. Explore the site through a keyword search, or simply browse the enormous collection of literary classics and up-to-date periodicals to find exactly what you need.


Browsing and Search Options to Suit Any Purpose or Preference

In addition to the customary search capability offered by most websites, (with the ability to search by Keyword, Title, Author, and Topic), The Free Library offers several browsing options to help you quickly and easily locate the information or publication you seek.

You may browse by Category, Name (of publication), Date (of publication), Author, or Literature, each of which will generate a list of available works appropriate to the selected criterion. (The default is Category, and, therefore, when you first access the site, you'll see a Category list on the homepage.) These five options are listed at the top of the page.

You may also browse by Topic, simply by scrolling down to the bottom of the homepage, where you'll find a second list of browsing options. (Most are the same options found at the top of the page.)


A Great Resource for Reading and Research

While some categories do not contain more than a handful of periodicals (and some even fewer), the number of available books appears to be quite extensive. In both cases, there's little doubt that this site would prove a valuable resource for meeting many of a writer's reading and research needs. (As mentioned in the site's introduction, new periodicals are added daily.)

There's also little doubt that, for the writer--or reader--who would enjoy reading entire books online (or would appreciate being able to refer to them for research or review purposes), this site would be a logical--and helpful--choice!

Have a look, and see if you don't find some valuable resources on this site!

Happy reading!
Jeanne


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"King Lear": A Literary Masterpiece!

The following article is one I wrote some years ago. I've decided to resurrect it here for all the ardent admirers of William Shakespeare who may be among my readers. It is an in-depth analysis of the literary device of Inversion, as it has been so ingeniously used by Shakespeare to craft "King Lear" into the dramatic literary masterpiece that it has unfailingly proven itself to be over the centuries.

If you have never read this play, I highly recommend it! (To read it online, click this link: "King Lear" - The Free Library.) It is absolutely incredible just how deftly conceived and masterfully written this Shakespearean tragedy is! (As you read the quoted passages which follow, you will glimpse the power of Shakespeare's prose and the intricate weaving of the play's thematic elements into the overall storyline, enjoying a delightful preview of what you can expect from the remainder of the play.)


Inversion Sets the Stage

In the play's opening scene, King Lear sets the mechanism of Inversion in motion by dividing his kingdom between his evil daughters, Regan and Goneril, disowning his good daughter, Cordelia, and banishing his loyal servant, Kent.

In so doing, he "divests" himself of those persons who represent goodness, honesty, loyalty, and nobility (Cordelia and Kent--though Kent later returns disguised as Caius) and those things which represent dignity, power, security, and prosperity (his kingdom, rule, wealth, position).

At the same time, he "invests" his authority and substance in those individuals who symbolize greed, malice, insincerity, deviousness, insensitivity, disloyalty, ungratefulness, disrespect (Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall), and moral weakness (Albany).

The word "divest" is highly appropriate here, and is intended by Shakespeare as a very purposeful foreshadowing of the figurative nakedness that Lear unwittingly brings upon himself as a result of his impulsive and unreasonable actions. "Since now we will divest us both of rule, interest of territory, cares of state...” (1.1, lines 47-48).

His corresponding use of the word "invest" is equally deliberate and also very apt, expressing as it does Lear's "clothing" of his evil daughters with the "vestments" of power and authority, the willing removal of which is the cause of their father's pitiful "nakedness." "I do invest you jointly with my power, preeminence, and all the large effects that troop with majesty" (1.1, lines 129-131).

The clothing/unclothing metaphor is adeptly sustained through Scene 1 and slipped into Scene 4 as a reminder of Lear's humiliating predicament.

The divestment of his power and property is referred to in lines 216-217, in part, as a "dismantl(ing of) so many folds of favor" in regard to his loving daughter, Cordelia; and his investment of these is alluded to in Cordelia's declaration to her evil sisters that "time shall unfold what plighted (or pleated) cunning hides" (line 279).

The Fool also reminds us in Scene 4 that "E'er since (Lear made his) daughters (his) mothers [another example of Inversion], (he gave them) the rod and (put) down (his) own breeches" (lines 165-167).


Tragic Irony Reigns Supreme

In addition to his innate ability in the sustained use of metaphor, Shakespeare's lines are executed with poetic power and vivid emotional impact, which he skillfully utilizes to create and maintain the play's tragic mood and firmly establish its exalted character.

Lear's heart-rending oath to Cordelia is an excellent example of the sheer tragic power of Shakespeare's prose (1.1, lines 109-119):

"The mysteries of Hecate, and the night; / By all the operation of the orbs / From whom we do exist and cease to be; / Here I disclaim all my paternal care, / Propinquity, and property of blood, / And as a stranger to my heart and me / Hold thee from this forever. The barbarous Scythian, / Or he that makes his generation messes / To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom / Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and relieved / As thou my sometime daughter."

The King's reaction to the inexcusable treatment he receives at the hand of Goneril (Scene 4, lines 256-260) likewise displays Shakespeare's powerful command of language:

"Detested kite! thou liest. / My train are men of choice and rarest parts, / That all particulars of duty know, / And in the most exact regard support / The worships of their name.--"

The rest of his angry diatribe--first over Cordelia, in remorseful self-recrimination for the way he's wronged her (lines 260-266), and then against Goneril, after finally recognizing her for what she truly is (lines 269-283)--and his new outburst, after losing 50 of his followers (lines 296-309--not quoted), are further examples of this power:

260-266: "O most small fault, / How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show! / Which, like an engine, wrench'd my frame of nature / From the fix'd place; drew from my heart all love / And added to the gall. O Lear, Lear, Lear! / Beat at this gate, that let thy folly in / And thy dear judgement out!--Go, go, my people."

269-283 (in reference to Goneril): "Hear, Nature, hear; dear goddess, hear! / Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend / To make this creature fruitful; / Into her womb convey sterility; / Dry up in her the organs of increase, / And from her derogate body never spring / A babe to honour her! If she must teem, / Create her child of spleen, that it may live / And be a thwart disnatured torment to her. / Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth; / With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks; / Turn all her mother's pains and benefits / To laughter and contempt; that she may feel / How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is / To have a thankless child!--Away, away!"

France's lovely and emotional acceptance of Cordelia (not quoted) also exemplifies Shakespeare's ability to express beauty and use language to elevate a scene above the mundane and into a more exalted sphere.


A World Turned Upside Down

Essentially, Inversion, expressed powerfully and with great beauty, is a key element in the play's first two acts. The following potent examples of Inversion indicate the strong part the literary device plays in this tragic drama:

-Children in authority over parent
-King ruled by his subjects
-Good punished-evil rewarded
-Flattery triumphing over honesty
-Greed triumphing over unselfish love
-Impulsiveness triumphing over reason
-Anger triumphing over mercy
-Cold rejection kindling ardent respect
-Fool becoming wise-King becoming Fool


Perhaps the most pointed (and also the most powerful) example of Inversion in the first two acts occurs in Scenes 4 and 5, when the Fool becomes the voice of reason for the King, who has unwittingly relegated himself to the status of Fool. The words of wisdom spoken by the Fool in this portion of the play represent prime examples of the inverted status between Lear and his Fool; and the Fool's manifold vocal jabs also evoke a poignancy born of his deep love, loyalty, and concern for his master (lines 207-210, 217-218, 224, 228).

Shakespeare has, in "King Lear," skillfully and systematically created a universe turned upside down--a topsy-turvy world fraught with injustice, irony, and pathos--a world by which only a "marble-hearted fiend" of the likes of a Goneril, a Regan, or an Edmund could possibly remain unmoved.


If you've never read Shakespeare, give his work a try! It is definitely writing of a most exalted kind--the kind you won't soon forget!

Dramatically yours,
Jeanne


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Aurealis: The Aussie Center for Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror

While hunting down links for my 100-List post, I stumbled upon--and I use the term in its old-fashioned sense--Aurealis, a fascinating site for Australian writers of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror. I was enthralled--not only by the fact that I'd found an Australian website to share with the Orble locals--but because it contained a very promising page of links to other notable Australian Fantasy and Sci-Fi-related sites, in effect, spreading the Aussie magic!

In fact, I wanted so much to include this site's link page in my 100-List post, because I knew it would add an intriguing new dimension to an already-great collection of literary links. Yet, I couldn't--because it wasn't a 100-List! (And, after all, in celebration of Writer's Notes' 100th post, I couldn't very well stray from my theme, could I?) So, instead, I copied and kept the link for later sharing with my loyal (Oh, OK, even my occasional) Australian readers.


A Website, A Magazine, and Some Great Links

Well, it's later now, and I've decided to share it! As I looked this site over, going beyond its link page, I discovered that it contains a great deal of other rather interesting information. In addition to book news, reviews, and awards, it features Aurealis Magazine, including subscription and back-issue options.


A Multi-Faceted Market for Your Creative Works

And, for those who are looking to find a market for their own Fantasy, Science Fiction, and/or Horror writing--whether it be genre fiction stories or non-fiction articles/reviews written about Australian Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or Horror--it will undoubtedly be good news to you to hear that Aurealis not only welcomes submissions, but also pays for them.

(They also publish a limited amount of work by "overseas" writers, who are asked to query first.) Please see the Aurealis Writer's Guidelines to learn more about the details of submitting work to this great site/magazine.

In addition to fiction and non-fiction, Aurealis also purchases full-color art work, which is used on the cover of their magazine. Guidelines for each type of submission are clearly spelled out in the site's Writer's Guidelines, as are the various payment amounts for each type of material.


Don't Forget to Follow the Links!

Be sure to check out the Links page, before leaving the site, so you won't miss out on any of the other great sites it points out, sites such as the following: Fiction Factor, The Telltale Art, HorrorScope, The Zone, and Australian Writers Web, to name but a few.

So, dust off those Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror manuscripts, and prepare to enter another realm...

Happy haunting,
Jeanne



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Join the Party!

Hello, there, fellow readers and writers! Come on in and join the party! This is Writer's Notes' 100th post, and I'll be serving up a luscious list of literary links to help spark the celebration.

Over the past day or so, I've been scouring the internet for especially sagacious 100-lists, in preparation for the party. So, take a seat, grab a tall, cool drink, and prepare to tantalize your intellectual tastebuds with this scrumptious spread of literary 100-lists, specially designed to satisfy your voracious literary appetite!


Links to Luscious Literary 100-Lists

Here they are, in no particular order:

From The Absolutely Weird Bookshelf/Stranger Books:
David Pringle's 100 Best Science Fiction Novels (through 1984)
David Pringle's 100 Best Fantasy Novels (to 1987)

From TIME Magazine:
100 All-TIME Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to the Present (2005)

From the BBC (British Broadcasting Company):
The Big Read: The UK's Top 100 Best-Loved Novels (2003)

From the MWA (Mystery Writers Association):
Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time (PDF)

From Guardian Unlimited:
The Top 100 Books of All Time (2002)

From the NEA (National Education Association):
Educators' Top 100 Children's Books (2007)

From Modern Library (Random House):
100 Best Novels (The Board's List & The Readers' List)
100 Best Nonfiction (The Board's List & The Readers' List)
Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List

From the National Review:
100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century

From Madison Public Library:
100 Best Works by Women Writers

From Martin Seymour-Smith:
100 Most Influential Books Ever Written (1998)

From the Independent Mystery Booksellers' Association (IMBA):
The 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century

From Sci-Fi Lists:
Top 100 Sci-Fi Books

From Columbia University Libraries:
Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century (2002)

From National Geographic:
Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time (2004)

From Spirituality & Health:
100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century

From Everything2:
Top 100 Works of Journalism in the United States in the 20th Century (2002)

From Mount Mercy College:
Webliography: The Literary 100: Children's Authors


Beneficial Blog & Book Links

Hope you've enjoyed meeting and mingling with all the literary and journalistic geniuses we've invited to this party--including all the famous ones you've met in the lists above! But the gathering wouldn't be complete without including a fellow blogger who generously offers advice to other bloggers on how making top 100 lists can help simplify and improve our blogging and our blogs.

From Productivity 501 blog:
Productive Blogger: Make a Top 100 List

And for all of us writers, whether or not we blog, the following book, available at Amazon.Com, can give us a whole slew of ways--100, to be exact (how appropriate is that?)--to help make our writing everything it can be.

From Amazon Online Reader:
100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, by Gary Provost (book)

Hope you've enjoyed the party! Thanks so much for helping me celebrate my 100th post at WritersNotes.Net! It's been so much fun!

Thanks again for dropping by!
Jeanne



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Well-Read, Well-Written?

To become good--or at least better--writers, we are often told, we must be well-read. And while it is not my purpose here to be dogmatic about whether or not one who has a natural gift or talent for writing must absolutely have read a wide variety of literary works in order to become so, (among them, the so-called classics), there's little question that reading good literature can enlighten, inspire, and through a sort of osmosis, cause us to absorb many of the finer literary habits that can infuse new life into our prose.

In other words, when we have the good fortune to experience fine writing craftsmanship in action by seeing it modeled for us by authors whom we respect and admire, we naturally begin to imitate their techniques, often without even realizing it.


A Classic Site

Bibliomania is a website which contains literally "thousands of e-books, poems, articles, short stories and plays all of which are absolutely free." Categories under which a reader may find complete works that can be read in their entirety online are the following: Articles, Drama, Fiction, Interviews, Poetry, and Short Stories.

If you've never visited this site to see all it has to offer, you'll want to stop by soon and look over its extensive selection of quality reading. You're bound to find enough there to keep you enthralled--and inspired--for a very long time.


Classy "Companions"

We've all heard the saying that a man is known by the company he keeps. And this is so true. It's equally true that a man (or woman) is influenced by the company he or she keeps, whether for good or ill.

It follows, then, that the writer who remains in the company of great books, stories, poetry, plays, essays, and the like, will be widely regarded as intelligent, knowledgeable, creative, and intellectually credible. And this well-read writer, who has determined to become a companion of great literature, will not only literally become the wiser for it, but will also take on many of the finer traits of the well-known authors whose works he so values.

So, why not visit Bibliomania--and hang out with a few great books! Your readers will thank you!


Enjoy!
Jeanne



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McGrath Dot Ca (formerly Steve's Tech Blog) Hosts Another Blogger Contest with a Cash Prize

Since I've been writing on the subject of blogger contests that have monetary prizes lately, I'll tell you about another such contest that I just came across: The Blog About My New Download Site and Win $100 Contest, being held at McGrath Dot Ca (formerly Steve's Tech Blog).


A Little Background

For quite some time, Steve has dreamed of owning a freeware/shareware download site, and, apparently, his dream is becoming a reality. Now that his new site, 1 Cool File is up and running--and acquiring new software every day--he wants the world to know about it!

Hence, the contest.

Requirements to Enter

To enter, bloggers simply have to copy and paste the following paragraphs from Steve's contest blog post into one of their own blog posts. (Don't forget to add all the links when posting the quoted text.)

Steve is launching his brand new site: 1 Cool File. It is a directory of cool files(shareware, freeware, plugins). For example, you can try a new media player after you have just finished a music download. You can add your ebook about making money or a screen saver. That’s not all, it has a section just for blogs(plugins). You can also rate a file or make a review about it. It does support PAD files so tell authors about it.

And just by linking to the contest post, I can win $50. You should read the contest post to win 2 other prizes of $25/each if you don’t have a blog. If your entry is before the next Google page rank, Steve will double the main prize. So, don’t wait to long. It’s coming soon!

And one more thing… You can read Steve’s blog while there.


Not a Blogger? You Can Win a Prize, Anyway

While bloggers may win $50 (or $100 if they enter before the next Google page rank update,) non-bloggers who visit and register for free membership at 1 Cool File, will be entered into a random drawing for $25. And another random $25 drawing will be held among all who point out "relevant" errors they find on the new site (with a few limitations that Steve mentions in his blog post). So, pretty much everyone has a chance of winning something, whether or not they have a blog, which sounds like a pretty fair deal.


Contest Details

Deadline: August 31st, 2007

All prizes paid in Canadian dollars.

All prizes paid via PayPal.



Want More Info? Visit Steve's Site

For more details about the contest, please visit McGrath Dot Ca.

What have you got to lose? Even if you don't win, you'll have found one cool site that will be offering an increasingly great selection of freeware/shareware that can satisfy most--if not all--of your software needs.

Happy "shopping"!
Jeanne



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ASHWIN KHANNA CONTEST WAS A FRAUD!

NOTE: (August 24, 2007) I HAVE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THE ASHWIN KHANNA $2500 BLOG EXTRAVAGANZA WAS A FRAUDULENT ATTEMPT TO GAIN BACKLINKS FOR KHANNA'S BLOG AND, THEREFORE, ALL LINKS ORIGINALLY PLACED IN THIS POST WILL NOW BE REMOVED. AT THIS POINT, I WILL LEAVE THE REMAINDER OF THE TEXT OF THIS POST INTACT; HOWEVER, I MAY LATER OPT TO DELETE IT ENTIRELY. MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO ENTERED THIS FAKE CONTEST AS A RESULT OF READING MY BLOG POST!

Ashwin Khanna's $2500 Blog Extravaganza

Ashwin, over at Ashwin Khanna Dot Com (Link removed) is hosting a $2500 Blog Extravaganza, in which one lucky blogger will claim the $2500 prize. What does a blogger have to do to enter? It's pretty simple: Just post the following text on your own blog:

Over at Ashwin’s blog (Link removed), you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!

It's as simple as that! (What a wild way to attract traffic!)


Contest Details

Closing date for this contest: August 20th

Payment Method: PayPal


PayPal, Ashwin, Here We Come!

So, if you don't have a PayPal account, I wouldn't waste a minute heading over there and signing up!

Then, I'd high-tail it over to Ashwin's blog to enter this one-of-a-kind Blog Extravaganza! It may be a while before you find another opportunity this sweet--and this easy to enter!


The Contest: Only One Good Thing You'll Find at Ashwin's Blog

And, while you're there, you'll definitely want to check out Ashwin's insightful content, which can help you more smoothly navigate the often-complex pathways of the blogosphere.

You might also consider requesting a free review of your blog--though only blogs which cover suitable topics (such as blogging tips and advice for making money online) will be considered. You'll also have to do a bit of minor hoop-jumping (i.e., subscribing to his RSS feed, mentioning that you got a free blog review at his site, and posting a few links--one to the $2500 Blog Extravaganza and one to his home page--all of which seems pretty fair, all things considered.)


$2500, Anyone?

So, why not enter and give yourself a stab at $2500? Even if you don't win, you'll have discovered a site you can turn to again and again for good, solid blogging and online moneymaking advice--and that, in itself, could prove invaluable to you down the road.


Keep your fingers crossed!
Jeanne


*Many thanks to my "blogging buddy," Melissa Garrett, at The Silver Tongue (and Little Woolgatherings) for this timely contest tip! (Note: The Silver Tongue will be moving soon, (as will Little Woolgatherings,) but the new link isn't active yet. I will update the link in this post, as well as the one in my sidebar, once Melissa has everything squared away at her new site.)



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Emotional Response and "Selling"

Most of us know that a potential reader, customer, or client's emotional response to whatever we're "selling"--whether it be a pair of shoes, a house, or an opinion--is far more important in making the "sale" than any other component of our presentation. But, did you know that this applies to your articles' headlines, as well?


A Great Tool for Measuring the Emotional Appeal of Your Headlines

While visiting The Copywriting Maven's blog, I came across a wonderful tool that can help bloggers and other writers determine just how likely it is that their article titles and blog post headlines will create the desired emotional response in the potential reader. (Check out Roberta's post at this link: Copywriter's Cool Tool: Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer.)

And please don't underestimate the significance of the word potential in the previous statement, because, as writers, we have all of about 10 seconds to grab the attention of the individuals browsing our content, pique their interest, and convince them to click our link! (Of course, once they do, our content must also be engaging enough to hook them, or they won't stick around long enough to read it.)

All of the above components that entice a reader to check out our content (grabbing their attention, piquing their interest, and convincing them to click our link) must be accomplished by our headline!


The Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer In Action

Enter, the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer, brought to you by Advanced Marketing Institute. I decided to check the Emotional Marketing Value of some of my own blog post titles, past and present, with some fascinating results, which are reproduced below.

After checking the headlines of some of my older posts, (the results of which will be shown later,) I decided to check a few possible headlines for this post.


Results for the First Headline I tried:

_____________________________


Free Headline Analysis Results

Thanks for using Advanced Marketing Institute's Headline Analyzer! You submitted the following headline for Emotional Marketing Value analysis:

"Check the Emotional Marketing Score of Your Headlines"

Your Headline's EMV Score: 25.00%

This score indicates that your headline has a total of 25.00% Emotional Marketing Value (EMV) Words. To put that in perspective, the English language contains approximately 20% EMV words.

And for comparison, most professional copywriters' headlines will have 30%-40% EMV Words in their headlines, while the most gifted copywriters will have 50%-75% EMV words in headlines.

A perfect score would be 100%, but that is rare unless your headline is less than five words.

While the overall EMV score for your headline is 25.00%, your headline also has the following predominant emotion classification:

Intellectual Empathetic

We've determined that your headline appeals equally to people's intellectual and empathetic spheres.

Intellectual impact words are best used to attune copy and sales messages aimed at people and businesses involved in the fields of education, law, medicine, research, politics, and similar fields. While not restricted to these groups, by giving presentations which are weighted with Intellectual impact words, your clients and customers will be more positively influenced and you are more likely to attain a more favorable response.

Copy containing empathetic impact words are (sic) best used to attune with people and businesses involved with care-giving. For example, nurses, doctors, and counselors all tend to respond easily and favorably to Empathetic words. Women, and especially mothers, are very strong in their use of Empathetic impact words in the language. While use of Empathetic impact words does not have to be limited to these groups, we've found that by (sic) selecting more words with Empathetic impact delivers desirable conversion responses from those types of market segments.

______________________________


Results for the Current Headline:

______________________________

Free Headline Analysis Results

Thanks for using Advanced Marketing Institute's Headline Analyzer! You submitted the following headline for Emotional Marketing Value analysis:

"Write Engaging Headlines Use the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer"

Your Headline's EMV Score: 40.00%

This score indicates that your headline has a total of 40.00% Emotional Marketing Value (EMV) Words. To put that in perspective, the English language contains approximately 20% EMV words.

And for comparison, most professional copywriters' headlines will have 30%-40% EMV Words in their headlines, while the most gifted copywriters will have 50%-75% EMV words in headlines.

A perfect score would be 100%, but that is rare unless your headline is less than five words.

While the overall EMV score for your headline is 40.00%, your headline also has the following predominant emotion classification:

Spiritual

Your headline carries words that have a predominantly Spiritual appeal. Words that resonate with Spiritual impact are the smallest number of words in the language. AMI research has found that Spiritual impact words carry the strongest potential for influence and often appeal to people at a very deep emotional level.

Words with Spiritual impact are best used with people and businesses desiring to make an appeal to some aspect of spirituality. This does not mean religion specifically, but any product or service that resonates with “spirituality” oriented markets are (sic) appropriate. The clergy, new age, health food and related markets all respond favorably to sales copy heavy with Spiritual impact content. Women and children also respond strongly to words in the Spiritual sphere. Marketing documents with strong Spiritual impact content can make for the most powerful presentations in the marketplace, but must be used with considerable skill.


______________________________


Scores & Categories for Some of My Other Headlines:

"Magnetize Your Blog: Always Reply to Comments!": 57.14% - Intellectual

"The Fine Art of Blogging: Rewards that Money Can't Buy": 30.00% - Intellectual

"Why is Poetry So Difficult to Define?": 28.57% - Intellectual Spiritual

"How Much Is Your Blog Worth?": 00.00% - Neutral

Your headline either has no words that invoke emotional impact with people person (sic), or the percentage of such words is so low as to be unlikely to make any emotional impact.

Headlines with little or no emotional words rarely do as well as headlines with stronger emotional content. You can attempt to shorten your headlines, or use different words and analyze the new headline.


"A Salute to My Fellow Writers--With Links!": 28.57% - Spiritual


Improve Your Headlines: Try the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer

You've had the opportunity to see the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer in action--or at least you've seen the results of that action. Now, there's just one thing left for you to do: try it yourself! See if it doesn't give you the edge you need to begin writing headlines that will attract more readers through EMV--Emotional Marketing Value!

Happy Emotionalizing!
Jeanne



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Notice Anything Different About My Blog?

You may have noticed quite a few changes at Writer's Notes today: changes in my blog's template, in the style and placement of Google ads displayed on my site, and in the relative--and actual--placement of virtually everything in the Writer's Notes sidebar! My blog's new level of organization and more visually pleasing symmetrical look is a natural outgrowth of the guidelines received from a very savvy blogger/reviewer who graciously took the time to drop by and check out my site.


A Writer's Notes Review

Charles Young, of Top Site of the Day, reviewed Writer's Notes yesterday. I was very honored to have this opportunity, to not only receive a largely positive assessment of my blog, but also to be the recipient of some great feedback on how my site scored and why, which helped me implement some positive changes here at Writer's Notes. These changes should make my site a little less confusing, a lot easier to navigate, and a great deal more attractive than previously--which I hope my readers will like as much as I do!


The Review Itself: Short and Mostly Sweet

If you'd like to check out the very succinct review my blog received--and become acquainted with an informative blog-review site, while you're at it--Charles's review of Writer's Notes may be found at the following link: Notable Site: Writer's Tips and Help.


Value Added: The Personal Touch

The review itself goes into far less detail than Charles was gracious enough to do, for me, after receiving my e-mailed inquiry about the "missing elements" that would help make my blog a Top Site.

I'd just like to say a hearty "Thank you!" to Charles Young, at Top Site of the Day, for not only taking the time and effort to visit and review my blog, but also for very graciously explaining the criteria upon which his review was based, the possible scores compared to my blog's actual scores, and the specific reasons why some of my blog's scores fell short of the mark.


Lesson Learned: Blogs Are Dynamic, Not Static

His patient explanations have been incredibly helpful in reminding me that a blog is a dynamic, rather than a static entity, and that, just because our blogs may not be all that we want them to be today, that's no reason why they should remain that way tomorrow!


Why Not Submit Your Site to Top Site of the Day for Review?

If you'd appreciate a fair and sensitive review of your own blog, or if you'd like to submit someone else's blog who you believe should be recognized for doing a great job, visit Charles's site at the above link. Find out how you can make your blog a Top Site of the Day!

Thanks, Charles! Now, if only you would review my blog again! I'm sure I'd do a little bit better this time around!

Here's to a better blog!
Jeanne



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My Blog's Value Up 70% in Two Weeks

August 8th 2007 07:48

A Lot Can Happen in Two Weeks!

Two weeks ago--or two weeks and two days ago, to be precise--I checked my blog's value using the new Technorati-powered tool developed by Web guru Dane Carlson, of Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities, which calculates the value of each link to our sites, using the same link-to-dollar ratio used in the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.

On that date, July 23rd, Carlson's little applet calculated my blog's value at $22,017.06. (See my post, How Much Is Your Blog Worth?)


Blog Value Recheck

Well, just for the fun of it, I decided to go back and check it again today, August 8th, to see how much it had changed. I figured that, since I've amassed a number of new inbound links during the past two plus weeks, and since my blog's Technorati authority and ranking have both been steadily rising--with my ranking finally breaking the 100K mark, to 83,970 as of the other day--my blog's value would surely follow that upward trend. And I was right.

The monetary value of the Writer's Notes blog, according to this handy dandy tool, has risen by over 70% in a little over two weeks, from $22,017.06 to $37,824.18. The current calculation is indicated below:



My blog is worth $37,824.18.
How much is your blog worth?



Is the Tool Accurate? Good Question!

Many don't put much stock in Mr. Carlson's little applet, and I must honestly say that I really have no idea how accurate its calculations may or may not be, since I am not very tech-savvy. But I do know that it's a great deal of fun to input my blog's URL and see what comes back--particularly when it's a decent value and, better still, when it shows a healthy growth over time.


Is the Tool Fun? You Bet!

So, I'll just enjoy my blog's performance--both past and present--and you can bet that, in the not too distant future, I'll be heading back over to Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities to do another blog value recheck!

If you'd like to do the same, simply click on the image above, and find out how much your blog is worth! The results may surprise you!

Happy evaluating!
Jeanne


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A Fascinating Meme

Lillie Ammann, at A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye, has tagged me for a fascinating meme--one that will give me the opportunity to showcase some of my older blog posts, some of which have sat languishing in the Writer's Notes archives for as long as six whole months (the entire time my blog has been in existence).

The object of the meme is to resurrect a representative collection of older posts--ten to be exact--which give an accurate picture of what my blog is all about. Some of the posts I've chosen are among my oldest and others are a bit more recent--yet, perhaps even some of the newer ones will not have been seen by anyone other than my most die-hard fans. (Do I really have any of those?) Like Lillie, I did not include any posts that were memes or group writing projects.


My Four-fold Purpose

My purpose for penning the Writer's Notes blog has always been to offer information, inspiration, encouragement, and resources to writers. Therefore, I will break down my choices of past posts into those four categories, asking you to bear in mind that there will, no doubt, be some overlap, since many posts serve more than purpose.


My Ten Timeless Posts

Since I am limited to ten posts, I've found it necessary to leave out many wonderful writing resources; but I will do my best to compile some of these, which have moved out of view in my sidebar and into the archival abyss, into a list of links to be published in a future post.


Information

A Simple Word that Sucks All Authority Right Out of Your Writing

Keyword Density: Your Key to Better Search Engine Ranking


Inspiration

A Salute to My Fellow Writers--With Links!

Critics and Criticism: A Writer's Perspective


Encouragement

Opportunities for Writing Online Abound! (My very first post on my brand new blog!)

W-R-I-T-I-N-G Spells Opportunity! (My first post on my new domain, WritersNotes.Net!)


Resources

GCF LearnFree.Org: Free Online Computer Training and More

Google Alerts Can Help You Detect Misuse Or Abuse of Your Work

OpenOffice.Org: Free Alternatives to Popular Brand-Name Software

One-Look Dictionary Search: Your One-Stop Word Shop


Here are the rules of the favorite posts from the past meme:

1. Please try to limit your post to ten items or fewer. Tag five people.

2. Take your time. Do a little digging through your archives to find the perfect posts. This is more to your advantage than anyone else's.

3. Please, if possible, link to this post for meme info, and please also link to the post in which you were tagged. Memes can go on for quite some time, and it can be difficult to try to follow one backwards to see some of the other posts, when only the blog URL is used. Just a polite request.

4. Please let the people you tag know that they've been tagged, either by e-mail, contact form, or some other efficient method.


I’m tagging the following bloggers to share ten past posts that will give us a good feel for what each of their blogs is all about:


Marcus Goodyear, at GoodWordEditing.Com

Anne Wayman, at The Golden Pencil

Randa Clay, at Randa Clay Design

Michi Beck, at Content Done Better

Denise Grier, at Freelancing Journey


I look forward to reading all the resurrected posts at each of the blogs whose authors I've tagged!

Happy digging!
Jeanne



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So, You Love to Write...Great! Now, You Need to Be Read!

As a blogger, it goes without saying that you love to write! You would have to love writing to continue to provide, day after day, fresh, new material to keep your readers engaged and keep them coming back. After all, your goal is to develop a base of loyal readers, who bookmark and return to your blog again and again. Yet it's just as important to cultivate a relationship with first-time visitors to your site--to attract and hold new readers, adding them to your current fan base.


Content May Be King, But Responsiveness Is the Real Ruler!

If your blog is highly informative, providing valuable, helpful information and insight to your readers, many people will initially be attracted to your site, and many may return again and again. But, there's a limit to how long informative content alone will hold readers and cause them to remain in the fold of a blog which lacks other, equally important components.

Let's not forget that there are many thousands--even many tens of thousands--of other informative blogs, in addition to yours, on the internet today. Another fantastic blog is always only a click away. In other words, in the world of blogging, competition is fierce!


Your Readers Are Your Success!

In short, after content, one of the major secrets to building a viable, dynamic blog is demonstrating a responsiveness to your readers, who are, after all, the foundation of your success. The critical importance of, first, appreciating, and then showing that appreciation to your readers simply cannot be stressed enough! If you think that writing wonderfully informative and brilliantly eloquent blog posts is all that you owe your readers, think again!


Comments: Your Key to Magnetizing Your Blog

The quickest way to entice a reader back to your blog again and again is to demonstrate that you value his or her input--all of it! (Of course, by all of it, I am not referring to abusive, discourteous, or vulgar comments!) By replying to every reader's comments--and every comment of every reader--in a timely, friendly, courteous, and professional--yes, I said professional--manner, you will draw your readers back to your blog like a magnet!


A New Day for Your Blog

If you've been lax in replying to comments, if you have your comment capability turned off, or if commenting is active on your blog and yet you've been ignoring your readers' feedback entirely, today is the day to try something new. The time for implementing a fascinating little experiment is now.

(Look at it this way: If your little foray into two-way communication with your readers, via comments, doesn't prove, to your personal satisfaction, that validating, appreciating, and engaging your blog's readers in conversation about the topics expounded upon in your posts benefits your blog's popularity and increases its traffic, you will be perfectly free to revert back to your previous, non-responsive method of writing at your readers. But, give it a chance. If you never try it, you'll never know.)


A Little Better Every Day

If you have been responding to reader comments, good for you! Keep up the good work! (You may want to check out my recent post, The iReply Revolution: Join It, where you'll find info on where to get the You Comment, I Reply logo to post on your blog.)

But, if your replies to reader feedback have been somewhat hit-or-miss, giving you the nagging feeling that you haven't been as responsive as you should be, determine to do something about it. Decide today to make your blog a little bit better every single day!

Always remember: Tomorrow is a brand new day, a day when you can make positive, lasting, changes to your blog--and your life!

What have you got to lose?


Happy connecting,
Jeanne


Note: This post is one entry to the Daily Reader Blog Tips portion of the ProBlogger 31 Days to Building a Better Blog - 2007 - Group Writing Project.


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Darren Rowse, over at ProBlogger, is running a project, throughout the month of August, called 31 Days to Building a Better Blog - 2007. The project is, at its core, a resurrection of an earlier project of the same name which Darren ran back in August, 2005, with great success.

The current project will, however, be a bit different, containing two components: Darren's own Daily Blogging Tips (as in the first project) and a compilation of ProBlogger readers' own personal blogging tips, learned through each participating blogger's research or experience.

If the first group of submitted links is any indication, posts yet to be written during the next month promise to provide a veritable windfall of helpful information for improving your blog's quality, visibility, popularity, user-friendliness, SEO compatibility, profitability, page rank, searchability, and more.

Whether you participate by penning a post--or 30 (one posted tip per day per blogger is allowed during the month of August)--or take part in the project through one of the other methods Darren suggests, you're sure to find--and hopefully also contribute--many words of blogging wisdom.

So hurry on over to ProBlogger and check out a writing project that could just transform your blog--and your blogging--into an activity/enterprise that is not simply successful, but also beautiful to behold!

Happy posting!
Jeanne



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Just thought I'd tell my readers about the latest group writing project, slated to begin on Monday, August 6th, at Middle Zone Musings. To read more about the project, follow this link to Robert Hruzek's post, entitled, Get Those Little Gray Cells Ready!

While Robert is keeping the precise nature of the project somewhat under wraps at this point, I can tell you this much: It will be built around the phrase, "What I Learned From..." Though Robert is currently keeping all of us in suspense as to the actual topic we'll be expected to expound upon, his latest group writing project promises to be every bit as interesting as previous projects at MZM have been.

Which brings me to another project that Robert is running concurrently with his As-Yet-Unknown-Topic group writing project: his latest meme, entitled My Home Town. If you love the town you live in, if you live in an unusual place, or if there are one or more unique characteristics, idiosyncrasies, or unusual tourist attractions in your town, and if you'd enjoy writing about them, you might just want to submit a post to the meme.

Your post should answer the following question, expressed In Robert's own words: "What, in your opinion, is or are the most amazing, unusual, strange or just plain weird things about where you live?"

While he has tagged a few specific folks for this meme, Robert invites anyone who is interested to join in on the fun, stating, "but if you aren’t tagged and feel like jumping in, by all means, go for it!"

So, there's your invitation! Check out Robert's blog for all the specifics for both the My Home Town meme and the upcoming What I Learned From... group writing project.

You may just find that you're having a great time writing your entry, while at the same time creating more widespread exposure for your writing--and perhaps even some valuable links to your website or blog!

Chances are extremely good that you'll also meet a lot of great people and create many online friendships as a result of these projects.

So, why not join the conversation at Middle Zone Musings!

Happy writing!
Jeanne


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The following article is a humorous look at those techniques many of us resort to--often subconsciously--in our attempts to be successful. It applies equally to writers, business people, and other humans who share a common interest: the desire to succeed. Enjoy!


Show 'Em Who's Boss, or How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Here is a list of 30 helpful tips on how you can reveal to the world the vast inner resources you possess, rising above the mire of mediocrity and reaching a pinnacle of success previously only dreamed of.

Get angry at least once a day. If "blowing up" doesn't come naturally to you, this may take a little practice. But, be patient. In time it will become second nature to you. The reason this technique is so important is that it will teach people to take you seriously. It will also discourage them from resisting your superior ideas, "suggestions," and "recommendations." Never underestimate the value of this simple technique in setting the appropriate "tone" for all your interpersonal and business relationships.

Be hyper-critical. Never fail to point out the faults of others at every possible opportunity--preferably in public and the more people around, the better. This not only keeps people on their toes, but also shows that you have real insight into the inner workings of the human psyche.

Be a blamer. After all, you know that whenever anything goes wrong, it's always their fault. So, why shouldn't other people know it, too? Otherwise, they might actually think it was your fault--and that certainly couldn't be the case! And why shouldn't they themselves know it when they're wrong? You wouldn't want them to go along thinking they were doing a good job, now would you? That just wouldn't be fair to them.

Be uncompromising--never give in! This will demonstrate your strength, giving you the upper hand in any situation in which you may find yourself. And we all know that control is a very important component of leadership. If you hold out long enough, eventually others will see that you are right--or at least they'll go along with your superior ideas--even if reluctantly. This will, of course, benefit them in the long run, though they may not be able to see that--or perhaps just won't admit it--right now.

When in doubt, rationalize. You can always think of a good reason for everything you do or want to do, if you try hard enough. Be creative. This is what "separates the men from the boys": the ability to convincingly call all the relevant arguments to your aid, at a moment's notice, whenever they are needed. With a little practice, you'll become an expert in no time.

Be sarcastic. It's the easiest way to add impact to your words. The best authors use it as a literary device, don't they? And, I might add, a very effective one, at that. If the literary world recognizes the value of sarcasm, why don't we? This technique has exceptional potential for highlighting not only your supreme command of the English language--but also your commanding superiority over other people. Utilize this technique and watch them cringe in your awesome presence!

Be unappreciative. After all, the world owes you! You're completely deserving of every good thing that comes your way. In any event, gushing gratefulness is very undignified! And there's certainly no reason to give people the impression that you need them. Besides, they obviously had an ulterior motive for their generous actions, anyway.

Be cynical. Anybody who has any sense at all knows that people simply can't be trusted. Only the truly naïve believe otherwise. They are the only ones who don't seem to realize that the world is out to get them. You, on the other hand, are way ahead of the game, since you recognize the stark reality of this truth.

Be an expert on other people's motives. You've been around the block a few times. And you're one of the few who's smart enough to know exactly where other people are coming from and precisely what they're thinking. They can't fool you. And this is the way it should be. After all, you know how important it is to "look out for Number One"!

Be a "challenger." Never let anything go. Never give anyone the benefit of the doubt for any reason. This would be a real sign of weakness. Be sure to confront people every time you think of something you have against them. And never fall for the myth that it's better to wait for a more appropriate time to discuss it. What better time could there ever be than right now?

Be suspicious. People always have ulterior motives for everything they do. If they tell you otherwise, don't believe them. They're lying. "Judge now; ask questions later." That's always the best policy. All truly confident individuals do this. If you don't watch out for your own interests, don't expect anyone else to.

Never praise, encourage, or compliment anyone--or better yet, do the opposite. You wouldn't want to give them a swelled head or (gasp!) foster the erroneous impression that they're better than you are. You have to watch that kind of thing. People just don't know how to take a compliment these days. They blow it out of all proportion. You're far safer to avoid the problem altogether--though every now and then, a well-timed 'put-down' can prove invaluable in pride prevention.

Never fail to compete! Everyone knows that this is the only way to rise to the top. This cooperation business is for the birds! People never get ahead that way. In fact, that's the perfect way to remain just one of the crowd for the rest of your life. So, get busy! Show 'em who's the best: You!

Never indulge in self-evaluation. You're fine just exactly the way you are. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. They're just jealous, that's all. Besides, it's a waste of time and mental energy to sit there analyzing yourself when you could be out there doing something. You've heard the phrase "paralysis by analysis." Don't fall into that trap!

Be a "reminder." Never fail to say, "I told you so." Otherwise, how will people ever learn anything from their mistakes? And how will they ever realize just how much you know or how smart it would be to listen to you? When they do something wrong, be sure to throw it in their faces regularly. It builds character. And, goodness knows, they need it!

Be a "name-caller." If they do something stupid--well, that's just who they are. There's absolutely nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. Always tell it like it is. They deserve it!

Always ask "What's in it for me?" Never do anything from purely altruistic motives. Only losers do that. Selfishness is nothing more than self-preservation, and the self-preservation instinct is only natural. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. So don't let anyone trick you into believing that there is.

Always operate on the "favor-for-a-favor" principle. This is only fair. Besides, you wouldn't want people to get into the habit of expecting favors all the time. That could really get out of hand. People are always ready to take advantage of your generosity. So make sure you keep track, and always remind them when they owe you one.

Never forgive or forget. Always hold people accountable for everything! This is only right. After all, they did it, didn't they? How will they ever learn, if you always let them slide? Seriously, this is one of the worst things wrong with the world today: too much forgiveness! People don't have any strength of character anymore, any moral fiber! They have no resolve to stand up for what they believe in. I just don't understand it.

Be envious of others. You know you deserve what they have far more than they do! Other people just haven't realized it yet. But, they will! Just give it time. Before you know it, the world will recognize your superiority and you'll be amply rewarded, at last.

Be uncommunicative. When others try to coax you into conversation, clam up. Keep your ideas to yourself unless it benefits you to express them. If you talk less, they'll learn to appreciate what you say more. Give them the "silent treatment" whenever you really want to impress on them the seriousness of their transgressions. Their sins will shout to them in the silence. Everybody likes the "strong silent type," anyway.

Never admit to being wrong--and never say "I'm sorry." It's a sign of weakness. If you've made a minor mistake, ignore it. If you've made a major mistake, see previous advice. Just bide your time. It'll blow over. If someone confronts you about it, deny everything. If they catch you red handed, make an excuse--any excuse--or better still, try to turn it to your advantage. Make it look as if you were actually doing something commendable when circumstances turned against you.

Never show affection. People might just come to expect it. And you certainly wouldn't want that to become a habit! It could become quite an embarrassment. Just think of it! People might actually expect you to give them a hug--or, heaven forbid, a kiss--and maybe even in public! You need to avoid that scenario, at all costs!

Be possessive. You've worked hard for everything you have, and you deserve to keep it! Let them get their own! Generosity is highly overrated. Why own anything, for Pete's sake, if you're going to be giving it all away! What ever happened to the all-American principle of "private property"? This is one of the concepts that made America great!

Be an opportunist. Never fail to take advantage of others at every opportunity. Do unto others before they do unto you! You know they're just waiting for their chance to get you! So beat them to the punch, and you'll be the one to come out ahead.

Never fail to use flattery when it suits your purpose. People love to hear how great they are! In fact, they're invariably so happy to hear it that they rarely stop to think about whether or not it's true. You don't have to believe it--just say it. (If it makes you feel better, cross your fingers behind your back.) Honest compliments just don't do the trick. Flattery is simply one more technique in your arsenal of self-betterment tools that can help you reach your goals, and that makes it OK.

Be an "authority." After all, why should you waste your vast knowledge and experience? Others sorely need to hear it, anyway. So be sure to offer your opinion regularly, even--or maybe especially--when people don't want to hear it. Whenever they think they don't need your advice, that's when they actually need it the most. It's for their own good.

If you absolutely must give, give anything but yourself. You have to draw the line somewhere. If you start going soft, who knows where it might lead? People might actually come to expect sensitivity--and expect it all the time! Then you'd really be in trouble! So, keep your distance, keep your perspective, and keep people from taking advantage of you. You'll be glad you did.

Never fail to manipulate and control others. This is the only way to direct your own destiny, to reach your fullest potential, to truly become great. You can't expect other people to help you get ahead unless you can skillfully coerce them into doing so. They don't have your best interests at heart, nor do they have any stake in seeing you succeed. It's a "dog-eat-dog" world out there, and it's every man for himself! So take control!

And finally, never ask, always tell--and never, never say "please." If you expect to get ahead, to be taken seriously, to have people look up to you as a competent leader, and to have any credibility at all with them, it is absolutely critical that this aspect not be neglected. It is by this technique, perhaps more than any other, that you establish the air of authority that will make it easy to maintain your superior status.

This self-centered approach isn't very difficult to master. It's easy, really, once you see that it's a logical extension of the basic human instinct of self-preservation. And, with a little practice, you, too, can be well on your way to success in no time.

A word of warning, however: This method is so powerful that its systematic application is guaranteed to result in some degree of alienation from those individuals who are the targets of its insightful techniques. Therefore, anyone who actually enjoys pleasant, honest, and open interaction with other people on a mutually respectful basis, should not attempt these techniques under any circumstances. They obviously weren't meant to be leaders.

This time-tested approach is intended only for those of us who do not view isolation from the inferior masses as a bad thing--those of us who know that it's always been lonely at the top. We realize that this is simply the price we must pay for being superior, and we can handle it. We're strong. We are true leaders. And we've always been loners, anyway.

If you've always dreamed of getting ahead in life, this approach just might be for you.

Why not try it? But,be prepared...

It works every time.


Facetiously yours,
Jeanne



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