How I Make My Living as an Online Writer (And How You Could Too) (Photo by Antonina, a fantastic London contemporary portrait photographer) The end of this month will mark three years since I left my day job. Since then, I’ve been supporting myself through writing. I haven’t written much here on Aliventures about how exactly I actually make money. But there really isn’t. And … if you want to … there’s no reason why you can’t do exactly the same as me. In short, I have a bunch of different revenue streams that bring in cash every month. I’ll start with the ones that were easiest to get going with, and work up to the methods that take a bit more time… #1: Paid Writing for Blogs (2008 onwards) This is how I started out, in early 2008. My family and friends find it bizarre that I can get paid to write for blogs. Writing for blogs typically means: How much does paid blogging make? I’ve been paid anything from $20 – $100 per post, depending on the length and complexity. When I write paid blog posts, I usually make $40-$50/hour. Learn more: How much do ads make?
English 50 Exercises for Story Writers English 50 – Intro to Creative Writing: Exercises for Story Writers Basic Theory: What is a short story? Short stories have a narrator; that is, someone tells the story; have at least one character in them; have some action occur (or perhaps fails to occur); take place somewhere; that is, there is a setting for the action; and someone either learns something or fails to learn something (theme).With these five characteristics in mind, we can create an almost endless supply of exercises to help sharpen our techniques of story telling. Narrative Voice Twenty or so years ago, voice was the "rite of passage" into a successful writing career. Nevertheless, a narrative voice that sounds like it could be anyone's voice or is bland and boring, or riddled with pointless clichés will fail to capture and hold the reader's attention. NOTE: It is quite common for writers in the early stages of their careers to imitate the writers they are reading or admire most. The T.S. Go back to the previous page?
101 of the Best Fiction Writing Tips, Part I What if someone went through the biggest and best blogs on the internet, and pulled out the very best-of-the best tips for fiction writers? That’s what I’ve attempted to do here. I can’t guarantee there aren’t some amazingly helpful writing tips that I haven’t included, but this is a good start. I’ve also tried to steer clear of really obvious tips like “show, don’t tell” or “make your characters unforgettable,” in favour of ones that are less often discussed. To learn more about the tips, click through to their original articles. Thanks to all these amazing bloggers for their valuable advice! Now, head over to: How to Blog: Blogging Tips for Beginners Update: See our more recently published posts on the topic of starting a blog at How to Start a Blog in 5 Easy Steps and how to make money blogging. Welcome to my How to Blog – Blogging Tips for Beginners Guide. On the page below you’ll find links to a series of how to blog tips that I’ve written with blogging for beginners (and ‘Pre’ Bloggers) in mind. It unpacks the basics of blogging and a lot of the decisions and strategies that you’ll want to consider when setting up and starting a blog. How to Blog – My Ultimate Guide to Blogging for Beginners Since developing this series I’ve produced a book specifically for beginner bloggers. Lastly- if you enjoy these posts and want to keep in touch with ProBlogger – subscribe via our RSS feed. Blogging Tips for Beginners Introductory Posts Blog Design Tips Tips for Writing Content for Blogs Tips on Making Money from Blogs Blog Networks Other Beginner Blogging Tips Want more Blogging Tips for Beginners? 1.
7 Habits of Serious Writers Image credit: aless&ro With thanks to Michael Pollock for the article suggestion and title. I’ve been writing, on and off, since my early teens – but it’s only in the last three years that I’ve really taken my writing seriously. It’s made a dramatic difference. In the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside all sorts of great writers, during my MA in Creative Writing, and in my freelancing. Habit #1: Writing To be a serious writer, you have to write. Yes, that’s obvious. Maybe you’re one of them. Unfortunately, you won’t get any better at writing unless you actually write. I know it’s tough. You can do it. Writing “regularly” is key here. Get Serious Write. Habit #2: Focus Maybe you’ve planned to write for two hours on a Saturday morning. Writing is hard work – and you’ll come up with all sorts of distractions to keep you from it. Serious writers, though, know how to help themselves focus. Habit #3: Reading By reading, you’ll see how other writers tackle similar problems.
OBEY GIANT - WORLDWIDE PROPAGANDA DELIVERY 10 Laws of Productivity You might think that creatives as diverse as Internet entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, industrial design firm Studio 7.5, and bestselling Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami would have little in common. In fact, the tenets that guide how they – and exceptionally productive creatives across the board – make ideas happen are incredibly similar. Here are 10 laws of productivity we’ve consistently observed among serial idea executors: 1. Break the seal of hesitation. A bias toward action is the most common trait we’ve found across the hundreds of creative professionals and entrepreneurs we’ve interviewed. 2. When our ideas are still in our head, we tend to think big, blue sky concepts. 3. Trial and error is an essential part of any creative’s life. To avoid ‘blue sky paralysis,’ pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept. 4. When working on in-depth projects, we generate lots of new ideas along the way. 5. 6. 7. 8. Few activities are more of a productivity drain than meetings. 9.
26 Steps to 15,000 visitors a day C) Site Design: The simpler the better. Rule of thumb: text content should out weight the html content. Learn the lesson of Google itself - simple is retro cool - simple is what surfers want. Speed isn't everything, it's almost the only thing. D) Page Size: The smaller the better. E) Content: Build one page of content and put online per day at 200-500 words. F) Density, position, yada, yada, yada... Simple, old fashioned, seo from the ground up. G) Outbound Links: From every page, link to one or two high ranking sites under that particular keyword. H) Cross links: <1>(cross links are links WITHIN the same site) Link to on topic quality content across your site. I) Put it Online: Don't go with virtual hosting - go with a stand alone ip. Go for a listing in the ODP. J) Submit: Submit the root to: Google, Fast, Altavista, WiseNut, (write Teoma), DirectHit, and Hotbot. K) Logging and Tracking: L) Spiderlings: Watch for spiders from se's. M) Topic directories: N) Links: O) Content: P) Gimmicks:
A writer’s cheat sheet: 10 useful reminders Editor's note: This story first appeared on PR Daily in August. To kick-start the 2012-13 school year, here are 10 writing tips to keep in mind (and feel free to pass this note under the desk to an office buddy): 1. Numbers/numerals. It’s no secret that PR people and numbers often aren’t friends, but we can remember this rule: Write out numbers one through nine, and use figures for 10 and above. Spell out a number if it starts a sentence (unless it’s a year, such as 2012). 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.