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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
The Perfect Group Writing Project to Cap 2007
I just had to get in on Robert Hruzek's end-of-year WILF (What I Learned From) group writing project, Blogapalooza: What I Learned From 2007. One reason was that I needed to make up for all the WILF's that I've missed over at Middle Zone Musings due to excessive busy-ness. I've felt bad about missing them, and I wanted to show Robert that I really do care. Another reason: This is a really fantastic project, bringing together the lessons learned by a whole spectrum of bloggers over the past year: What a wealth of wisdom is there for the taking for those who take the time to read this group of posts!
What Blogapalooza Is All About
The best way to explain to you what Blogapalooza is all about is to let Robert do it! So, without further ado...he-e-e-e-re's Robert!
Looking back at your archives for the year 2007, choose one post from every month youâve been blogging that best represents a lesson learned. And you donât have to use your old (should you *ahem* have any) WILF entries; itâs your choice (you can, of course; but you donât have to).
So what was the most amazing, profound, surprising, whacky, etc. thing you learned in the month of March? How about July? Anything in October? Hey, you get to choose something different from each month! Now thatâs a blogapalooza!
Hereâs all you have to do (please notice the procedure is a bit different than usual):
1. Choose one post from every month youâve been blogging in 2007. (For example, if youâve been blogging all year, you get to choose up to 12; if only since July, choose up to 6. Got it?) Use whatever criteria you like: your favorite post, most commented upon, the funniest, most outrageous, or âwhat you thought was your best work but ended up being a huge flopâ, etc.; hey, knock yourself out!
2. Write a sentence or two describing each post youâve chosen and why. Donât forget to include the post title and imbed a link to it (you may laugh at that instruction; but if I donât spell it out, wellâŠ). Compile it all into a single article. Please (and if you want to) also include a few sentences about yourself and your blog (and again, donât forget the link).
3. Choose how your entry gets posted (hereâs where it gets fun!)
3.1. The Blogapalooza Way (sound of crowd cheering): Instead of posting it at your blog â allow me to host it for you right here at Middle ZoneMusings! Hereâs how:
3.1.1. Send your post to me anytime (in .doc or .rtf format only â please donât send a .pdf!) at rhruzek@sbcglobal.net right up until the end (operators are âstanding byâ) and Iâll post it here at the Zone, including all the links. (NOTE: I will edit if necessary, but as little as possible, and only to make you look better.)
3.1.2. So your readers know how to find your entry, post a notice (write a teaser, summary, whatever) at your blog and point to your entry here at Middle Zone Musings (Iâll provide the link for you).
OR -
3.2. The (ho-hum) Usual Way: Post your entry at your own blog and send me the link as usual. Please include the phrase âWhat I Learned FromâŠâ in your post title.
My Entry Added at the Eleventh Hour
Well, I barely made it into the project, e-mailing my entry at pretty near the eleventh hour! But, as they say, "Woo-hoo, I'm in!" (Do they really say that?) At any rate, if you'd like to read it, you'll find my entry, What I Learned From 2007--Jeanne Dininni, at the Zone. I highly recommend you check out the other entries, as well--and while you're at it, bookmark Robert's site, because it's definitely one you'll want to visit again and again. Why that rascal is already planning his next WILF project, which you won't want to miss. Maybe you might even decide to join in the next time around! If you do, I guarantee you'll have a ball!
Here's to learning!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Sure hope so! Have you checked out Robert's Blogapalooza Extravaganza? (See, I told you it was fun!) We'd love to hear your thoughts about the project!
A Thoughtful Post That Strikes a Chord
Successful Blog's Advice for a Successful Life
Liz Strauss has a new post on her blog today called Positively Me, and it positively struck a chord with...me. In fact, it got me thinking about the amazingly potent effect that mindset exerts on all of us and how daring to break the mold of our past self-limiting thought patterns can be incredibly freeing.
This post describes a journey from limiting thought to freeing thoughtâa journey that every one of us is free to take once we've made up our minds that the place where we are today is not the place we want to beâor rather not the place we're willing to stayâbut we're ready to move on. As Liz asks, "Do I have to keep listening to those ideas? Do I have to keep believing them?" The answer, I think, is "No." Here's my journey:
My Journey to Becoming Positively Me
Choosing Hurtful Emotions
I used to believe that other peopleâthrough their attitudes, actions, emotions, and wordsâhad the inalienable right to dictate my own. Where that belief came from, I canât really say. But, thankfully, Iâve learned a lot since then. Yet, I needed to walk that road just long enough to begin to see, with gradually increasing clarity, that my own attitudes, actions, and wordsâas well as my very emotionsâwere largely mine to choose, and that I myself had chosen the hurtful, destructive, and limiting ones over the healthy, nurturing, life-affirming, and freeing ones.
Absorbing Negative Energy
Prior to my âawakening,â my emotions were at the beck and call of anyone who saw fit to wreak psychological havoc on the closest vulnerable individualâwho usually happened to be me. In those days, my entire day could be ruined by an unkind word, an angry glance, an âintentionalâ slight, or a sullen silence. My calling in life seemed to be to absorb and internalize the negative energy that others sent my way. (As I think back on it now, I realize that much of that negative energy wasnât even intended to wound, but was simply the other personâs reaction to his or her own internal struggles or problems.) Yet, it rarely occurred to me to question the reason for it; I was far too busy embracing and reacting to itâfar too involved in making it my very own.
A Turning Point: Refusing Negativity
When it finally came, the wonderful realization that I could choose my own response, that I wasnât required to become upset, depressed, or angry when a hurtful wordâor even a whole barrage of themâwas aimed my way, felt like a cool breeze on a stifling hot desert. It freed me to focus on growth instead of nurturing resentment, depression, and angerâthose incredibly destructive forces that suck the life from our souls and cause our spirits to shrivel. It allowed me to refuse that bundle of negativity that had been so unceremoniously thrust upon meâgranting me permission to return it unopened to the individual to whom it rightfully belonged, thereby maintaining my own equilibrium amid the threatening storm.
I learned that it was indeed possible to rise above the negativityâto stop allowing it to become my negativity. By stepping back and looking at the situation as it actually wasârecognizing it as someone elseâs problem fast threatening to become my ownâI was able to refuse it, retain my dignity, and restore my self-respect.
Learning to Forgive
Another amazing result of my new perspective was my growing ability to empathize with the troubled souls who, in their own weakness and inability to properly handle their personal problems, try desperately to give them away. In time, it even helped me to forgive and eventually reach out to those who, as a result of their own emotional ineptitude, had lashed out in different ways. Forgiveness is life-changing, and in human relations, at least, can be far more beneficial to the forgiver than to the forgivenâthough both often benefit.
A Shift of Focus
I now realize that, back then, my focus was turned totally inward on myselfâon my own very vulnerable emotions. I walked around in a state of hyper-sensitivity, effectively daring everyone to probe for the chinks in my emotional armorâmy all-too-numerous points of insecurityâand amply rewarding them whenever they did.
But I have since learned that, by shifting my focus to the other person and attempting to understand the real cause of his or her negative attitude, I can effectively take control ofâand thereby protectâmy own emotions. I've discovered that, by not aggressively defending my emotions, I have quite ironically become far better at protecting them. In this way, I've learned to take charge of a situation that previously had always threatened to spin wildly out of control. I now experience far fewer feelings of defensiveness, insecurity, and low self-esteem. And while Iâve by no means eliminated these feelings entirely, Iâve come a very long wayâŠand I fully intend to continue improvingâŠjust a little bit moreâŠeveryâŠsingleâŠdayâŠ
How about you?
Positively happy to be me,
Jeanne
P.S. Why not use Liz's post as your starting point for a writing exercise of your own in which you explore one way your thoughts have changed for the better over time, bringing you positive growth.
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Please feel free to share your thoughts!
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.
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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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Today, I thought I would bring you this fascinating article on how to improve your Alexa ranking, compliments of Marketing Scoop. Check it out! You'll find some interesting strategies here!
7 Proven Strategies for Improving Your Alexa Ranking
By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert | Internet Marketing Secrets*
After spending two years building my own website, I was very disappointed that my Alexa ranking was still higher than one million. Alexa ranks each website based on the number of visitors it receives. The top ranked website, Yahoo! has an Alexa rating of 1 or 2. Less popular sites could be ranked up to 5,000,000.
In order to improve my Alexa rating, I spent about three weeks combing the web to find tips, secrets, and proven strategies for increasing my Alexa ranking. Unfortunately, many of the sites offering advice didnât even have a high ranking themselves. Finally I discovered a number of sites ranked within the top 100,000 that were all applying the same âAlexa techniquesâ to improve their ranking. Iâve begun implementing a number of these techniques and have improved my Alexa ranking by 250,000 spots in just one week.
Hereâs what you need to know. The basis for many of these techniques is the fact that your Alexa ranking is based reach and page views. However it only counts those who visit your site and have already downloaded the Alexa toolbar. Anyone can download the toolbar for free which is automatically added to your browser and tracks the sites youâre visiting. Increasing visits from those who do not have the Alexa toolbar installed will not help your Alexa ranking.
Iâve summarized the 7 strategies that Iâve discovered and applied to my own website to increase my Alexa ranking. Apply these strategies to your own website and see your ranking climb towards the top.
1. Download the Alexa toolbar and use it every day to visit your own website. Alexa even gives you the ability to co-brand the toolbar with your own logo and give it away. You can download the toolbar here: http://www.alexa.com/site/devcorner/associate_toolbar.
2. Use Alexa redirection whenever you can. No matter when or where you provide a link to your website, be sure to use the equivalent Alexa redirect URL. For example, when providing a link to my website, I use http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?marketingscoop.com/. If you copy this URL into your browser, it will take you to MarketingScoop.com. To use this technique, simply replace the name of my website (marketingscoop) with yours.
3. Encourage your website visitors to add their positive testimonials on Alexaâs detailed listings page for your website. This can be done by placing a link to the appropriate Alexa page on your website and asking visitors to âClick here to rate this websiteâ. You can find your detailed Alexa page here: http://www.alexa.com/data/details/?url=marketingscoop.com. Again, just replace the name of my website (marketingscoop) with yours. By clicking on the URL, visitors will be able to reach your detailed rating page and write a review using the review link located on the left hand side of the page.
4. Write your own site reviews on the top 100 rated Alexa sites and include your redirect URL. The top 500 domains, according to Alexa can be found at http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500. When you write a review, be sure to use the redirection URL we discussed in number 2 above specifically for your website [http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?marketingscoop.com].
5. Download the Alexa ranking button, traffic history graph, info links, and other traffic counters onto the page of your website that receives the most traffic. For example, at the bottom of my home page http://www.marketingscoop.com, Iâve added the Alexa ranking box. You can do the same for your own site by visiting http://www.alexa.com/site/site_stats/signup. Youâll notice that I havenât added the traffic history graph. This is because it wouldnât look appropriate on my home page and because Alexa is only providing detailed history on the top 100,000 sites. So if youâre not in the top 100,000, site stats would not be available.
6. Take an inexpensive advertisement out on the ExactSeek search directory for only a few dollars per month at ExactSeek.com. Search engine results are directly correlated with Alexa rankings. Youâll notice that if a website is highly ranked on ExactSeek, chances are that it will be highly ranked on Alexa.
7. Get listed on as many search engines as possible by placing a free listing in DMOZ. This is the largest human edited directory on the web and is co-branded among hundreds of thousands of sites. Be patient though, it often takes up to 5 months before you see your website listed after submission. Even though it takes longer than it should, you have little say in the matter because itâs so widely used across the Internet.
These simple Alexa strategies are easy to implement and will make a huge difference in your Alexa ranking. Ultimately you want visitors to do more than visit your home page, you want them to interact with your site. Be sure to optimize your home page for SEO purposes, ease of use, and interaction. Creating a positive user experience will get visitors to return again and again.
*Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com. Visit today for free marketing information and marketing blog directory. Michael has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit his marketing blog for further details.
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The above article is reprinted, with permission, from the Marketing Scoop website. Hope you find it helpful!
Happy Alexa-tising!
Jeanne
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Freelancing Journey, a blog which refers to itself as "The Road to Business Success for Writers & Bloggers," is literally loaded with info, tips, links, leads, techniques, advice, and other resources that can help you, the freelance writer, make the most of your own website or blog. Covering many different aspects of the freelance writer's creative, professional, practical, and even personal development, this site has something for everyone interested in any type of freelance writing.
One post, "Page Rank, Back Links and Blogging," posted June 22nd, 2007, explains why page rank is important and provides tips on how to obtain quality backlinks to your blog. Another, more recent post, titled "Definitive List of Paid to Blog Services," dated June 28th, 2007, links to a very comprehensive discussion of the subject found in a post on another helpful blog. In addition, Freelancing Journey's "Roll of Honour" includes a long list of links to other blogs about writing--and blogging--as well as numerous other writing resources, markets, and marketing blogs.
Freelance writers are busy people, whose time is often severely limited. But taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule today to pick up some timely tips and advantageous advice could just save you a great deal of time and trouble over the long term.
So, check out Freelancing Journey, and see if you don't agree that this blog contains some helpful literary and marketing signposts to guide you along your freelance writing travels.
Bon Voyage!
Jeanne
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I thought I'd post a link to the Science Fiction Writers of America's Writer Beware website, which describes the info presented there as "Warnings About Literary Fraud and Other Schemes, Scams, and Pitfalls That Target Writers."
In its article about Contests and Vanity Anthologies, SFWA cautions writers to carefully evaluate any such so-called opportunities and provides the specific guidelines that writers will need to do just that. There's a good deal of information here, including quite a few links to other helpful resources which also address this and other related issues.
There are links to such info as the following:
~How to increase your chances of winning once you've found a legitimate contest and decided to enter your work
~Personal stories of individuals who have been taken advantage of by some of these unscrupulous contests/groups
~Submitting and selling your work for legitimate publication
You may just find some info here that will save you a lot of grief--not to mention money!
So, why not check it out!
Jeanne
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Last time, I gave you four great websites where you can get your work published: Creative-Poems.com, MoonTownCafe.com, Helium.com, and AssociatedContent.com. A few helpful hints about each of these will make your experiences with them more pleasant, more productive, and less frustrating. In this post, we'll cover some of the idiosyncracies of Creative-Poems.com.
The Creative-Poems website is a wonderful site, where you can receive recognition for your work through member comments, weekly Featured Poetry Awards, and monthly Poetry Contests. They do not pay for the poems they post, though they do offer prizes in their monthly Poetry Contest.
At Creative-Poems, non-premium (free) members--as well as trial members--are allowed to place up to five posts on their site in a 24-hour period. (Premium members are allowed eight.) This is somewhat misleading, though, and requires a bit of clarification.
At first glance, it would appear that you'd be able to post up to five--or eight--poems to the site every 24 hours--and this can, indeed, be the case, provided you are very careful not to leave any typos or other errors in your poem, which might require its modification after it's been posted! The reason for this is that, should your poem require editing after posting, you will be resubmitting it after making your corrections--just as if it were a new poem--and thus you will be using another of the finite number of posts you are allowed daily. (This can be a bit frustrating.)
If you're anything like me, you could use an infinite number of posts to edit, modify, correct, and improve your poems to your satisfaction before final submission! But, alas, this is the real world, and every website is set up differently. So, always preview your work before submitting, to be sure your formatting is the way you want it and your work contains no typos. (Occasionally, you'll miss something and need to resubmit--we're all human--but at least you'll know that you aren't wasting most of your posts simply correcting errors!)
Another important point about formatting, while we're on the subject: At Creative-Poems, the default setting--for both poetry submissions and member comments--is centered. So, if you want your poem or comment to be left-margin justified (which is generally my personal preference) you'll need to select your text--if it's already been entered--and click the appropriate icon. (You can also simply click this icon before entering your text with the same effect.) Both regular and premium members may save, for later posting, up to five drafts in addition to the five--or eight--poems they may post in a 24-hour period, in case they aren't quite ready to post their work when they must leave the site.)
With a little prior knowledge of the workings of this great site and the obstacles you might encounter there, you can be well on your way to a long and fulfilling relationship with a dedicated group of site administrators and moderators who are friendly, helpful, responsive, and eager to showcase your work!
Creative-Poems.com is a fabulous forum for your work and a great community of friendly poets, who will help encourage you along the path of self-expression through that most magical of mediums: Poetry! (A very small word with a very big meaning!)*
If you are a poet and haven't yet visited this site, I would definitely--and without reservation--recommend that you check it out!
You'll be glad you did!
Till next time,
Jeanne
*I've written a short article on exactly this subject entitled "Why is Poetry So Difficult to Define?" Why not drop by AC and take a look?
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