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From, “5 Seeds for Growing Your Writing and Writing Your Life” Your Most Important Relationship

The greater voyage of living begins with the intention to form a relationship. A relationship with yourself. Writing is a profound tool for doing so, but to be effective it requires the formation of another intimate connection. One with the page. From a practical standpoint, it’s easy. The only tools you need are a pen and paper. But to create a relationship that honors both the art of writing and the path of personal development, more is required. The tools &ndash the pen and paper - are of no use if two other elements are not present: Commitment and Permission.

Be certain…I do not utter these words lightly; I know from experience the quiver they stir in the gut, the sweat they bring to the hands, and the turning away from many an adventure that has been done in their name. Still, they are the companions you must befriend if you are to become a traveler on this journey, if you are to come to know and grow yourself through the act of writing.

Let’s begin by expanding upon what I mean by a “relationship” with the page. If you choose to make writing a part of your life it is no different than any other relationship you forge. A simple, basic truth is that if you want your connections with your significant other, your family and your friends to work, to be strong and good, then you must, most essentially, show up to them. You cannot ignore or neglect them; but, must, with willingness of spirit, offer to them your time, your energy and your enduring presence. You must, in short, commit. It is no different with writing.

Commitment

Writing that is real, that moves and touches and transforms is not created by making of it a mere acquaintance. Rather, such writing is developed through an intimate connection, one made by showing up to meet the page, by discovering the words and energy within you that desire and demand expression, and by embracing the voice that is found between the lines. Understand, writing such as this is the greatest commitment you will ever make, for it is, remember, the commitment to enter into an authentic relationship with yourself. No matter what genre you engage in, your work will ring with only the amount of truth that you are willing to know within yourself.

And so, if you are to write, and write deeply, you must commit to this relationship with all of its perils (for without doubt you will meet upon your way characters, places and experiences you are not so fond of). Just as when stepping into any new relationship, or setting out on any voyage, you do so with your vulnerability exposed, unsure of what lies ahead, but willing, still, to enter into the unknown.

Why? For the treasures only found only in the adventure of relationship. The joy, the beauty, the rawness of being. The startling depth and breadth of experience. The way in which moments so painful, when met face-to-face, can become those that renew your vision and leave you wiser.

Too often, a relationship with oneself is the last to be given time or attention. But it is the most crucial. And the kind of relationship that the page demands is the kind that leaves nothing hidden. But it is also the kind that promises to love no matter what is found.

Getting Started

And so, how do you embark upon this relationship with the page, and with yourself? You write. And you write. And you write.

Develop a writing practice.

Call it journaling. Call it Ground Writing, as I do. Call it whatever you like, but if writing is a way in which you choose to know yourself, if writing is a skill you wish to hone or an art you desire to engage in, then you must first decide so, and then commit.

Simple steps:

• Get a notebook or journal &ndash anything will do…a pad of paper, a spiral notebook with your favorite cartoon character on the front, a leather bound journal…

• Find a pen &ndash not a pencil or computer keyboard. Let yourself learn the flow of your words as they move from heart and gut to hand…without erasure.

• For one week commit to daily writing.

• Decide upon an amount of time &ndash I suggest starting at 5 minutes and increasing each day by another 5 minutes.

• Choose a time of day.

• Put the time on your calendar for each day of the next 7. Make an appointment with yourself and honor it as you would any other.

• When the time arrives, find a comfortable place to sit, take notebook and pen in hand, set a timer, and write.

• If you don’t know what to write, begin with this: “Right now, I…” and let your hand decide the next word, and the next…

• When the week comes to an end, review your commitment.

oWere you able to keep it?

oIf not, what obstacles stood in your way?

oWhat is one thing you could do to remove the obstacles or work around them?

oWould you like to continue writing? Daily? If not, how often?

oWhat writing practice would work for you? What schedule would you be willing to commit to? Write it down your, try it out.

• Continue to review and revise as necessary. Stay Committed.

Receiving Permission

Permission. I wonder when you read that word, what comes to mind…from whom do you think I mean for you to gain permission?

Not from your spouse or your children or your boss. But from yourself.

One of the biggest reasons that students give for not continuing a writing practice is the belief that it is a self-indulgent act for which they have no time. I realize that life is filled with “commitments” and that it is easy to turn writing for your own purposes into an expendable hobby. Practices done for reasons outside the scope of fiscal or social productivity tend to be surrendered first. But to truly embark upon this voyage in a way that will enhance your writing and your knowing of yourself, it is imperative that you allow for the opportunity to step upon the path.

Ask yourself: Why do I want to write? Write down your answer.

Now say aloud, “I give myself permission to write because (fill in your answer from above).”

Accept that whatever the reason you desire to write, it is reason enough. Period.

Write down your permission statement from above and post it someplace where you will see it everyday, and when you do, repeat it…again and again and again, until you deeply and fully believe it.

Planting Seeds

And now begin. Write, and know that each time you do you plant a seed in your consciousness, one that grows with every word, one that will bear fruit in the shape of your own creative life, that will, in time, produce the seeds of your next journey.

As a published author and creative writing teacher I often get asked how writers can get published. One of the simplest ways to answer that question is tell the story of my publishing contracts with two different publishers.

Like many other writers, I have always wanted to write a book and started scribbling stories as a child. I have also always been an avid reader. When I started my first book I did not know what I was doing. It was a learning experience and I was not sure I could even write an entire book, but at last I did have a completed manuscript. I then began my search for a publisher.

As I knew no other authors or writers I started with the only place I knew. The Writers Market book. I came up with a list of publishers and started sending out queries. I had some interest from some of the big houses but as time went on I collected a pretty impressive list of rejections. I worked my way through all the major publishing houses and then started on the smaller houses. Then came the exciting day when I got the call that a small house was willing to publish my novel.

Now in hindsight I’m not so sure I should have leaped at the offer. Small publishing houses can offer opportunities that the bigger houses cannot. They are often more willing to take a risk on an unknown author or a manuscript that does not fit cleanly into a niche. But they are riskier ventures. Many small publishing houses do not have a long life span. My first publisher did print my first book and contracted with me for my second but went out of business before the second book even came out. Smaller publishers also have lower distribution. It was up to me to arrange distribution in my regional book stores as well as arrange my own book signings and promotion. However the biggest drawback for me was the lack of editorial support and guidance. Remember, this was my first book and I wasn’t even working with a critique group. I could have used more editing than I received from that publisher. While getting my first book published was a confidence booster and an education, it was not a financial boon. I received only one royalty check before the publisher went under.

After that experience, I then became even more determined to learn about publishing. I sought out writing groups, attended writers conferences, and joined a critique group. As I gained more confidence in my writing I started entering writing contests and placed in the top three in several writing competitions. One of my first place prizes included being read by a senior editor at Kensington. The editor liked my manuscript and offered me a two-book contract.

This experience was dramatically different from my first. A major publishing house meant a standard contract, a standard advance, and regular royalty payments as well as good distribution. However I also lost a great deal of control over my book. Both covers are bodice rippers and the title of the first book was chosen by the marketing department and I was not even given the right to approve it. Even worse for my writing career though was the fact that the editor who bought me quickly passed me off to another editor and then when that editor left I was handed to yet a third editor. As an orphaned author my second book received little support and I was not offered a new contract.

I would be lax if I did not mention agents during this article. Many unpublished authors ask if agents are important. Obviously as my story points out you can get published without an agent. In fact, I might have gotten published sooner the second time around if I wasn’t working with an agent who did not take advantage of some of my previous contest wins. The problem is that the type of agent who is willing to take on an unproven author is not likely to do you much good. If you can make a contact with an agent through a conference or contest or the like then definitely do so but I would not recommend spending a lot of time trying to get an agent before you are published. After I had my contract with Kensington I did work with a higher quality agent for a time but nothing came of that experience although the fault probably lies with me as well as with the agent.

I wish you luck in your pursuit of book publishing and hope me story is informative and helpful.

Some term papers are designed and completed in two steps. First, you should present the draft of your paper to the tutor. Usually, your tutor makes acquaintance with it and can evaluate it as your term paper. Nevertheless, the writing of the draft is not a prerequisite, but it might be advisable to complete it. It allows your tutor to correct some of the mistakes that you may have made. The second is the designing and completion of the term paper. The first step is to research the problem. One should be very specific on it; study it thoroughly just in order to present it well. Investigate the sources. One should avoid using text books as the primary sources for your term paper. You should remember that many of periodicals are not considered as the primary sources either. However, you should concentrate on getting your ideas from the texts.

These ideas can be used as your inevitable guide to the primary sources. Also, remember that despite huge development in the internet, the web sites are not credible references. Many tutors around the world do not recognize the references from web sites as the credible ones. If, however you have found some useful information on the web site, you should try to find out the list of the resources that were used for this site. Nevertheless, one should make sure that the references are really credible ones.

Make sure that you paper written corresponds to the reference format set by your tutor. Do not forget to use parenthesis or citations, where they are required. One should not forget that only those references that have been used in the designing of your term paper must be used. Try to avoid using the reference just because you have read it. Write as many pages as you have been requested; your term paper should fit to the instructions set by your tutor. Be succinct, yet nevertheless your term paper should not be too short. Needless to say your term paper should be submitted without plagiarism. The best and most common way is certainly paraphrasing; however do not forget to cite the sources of your ideas. Learn more about it here.

Custom Term Paper Writing Service

Many writers aspire to write books. Writing a book is a long, involved, difficult process. Book publishing is harder. A writer may submit his book repeatedly only to be turned down. The writer may eventually succeed. Wouldn’t it have been easier to get published the first time? Is that possible?

You can improve your chances of a publisher accepting your book manuscript if you understand more about what happens at the publisher’s desk. Book publishers are busy people with several projects bombarding their desks every day. They must decide quickly about what will sell. They must also delegate their time efficiently to keep the business running. Only occasionally do publishers actually seek out work. Let’s look at a typical work day of a publisher to help you understand book acceptance and book publishing.

PERSIST AND PERSEVERE

Writers must be persistent. Regardless of how many times a publisher rejects your book manuscript and throws your ideas in the trash, you have to keep going back for more discouragement. Eventually you’ll make it in the door. If you can get all the way through, you will finally get to a place where publishers accept more of your work. When working with a book publisher, the rule is the same. If you have a book that you know will sell, you must persevere to get the publisher’s attention. Most likely, you will be sending excerpts of your book, not the entire book, to a publisher. As you continually send your manuscript or book excerpts to publisher after publisher, you should try to market it in different ways. Publishers seek a particular kind of writing; they will dismiss anything that doesn’t meet their criteria and high standards. Variation in your marketing techniques may turn a rejected book into an accepted book.

WHAT DO BOOK PUBLISHERS WANT?

Book publishing is a strange business. People’s tastes are somewhat fickle. A book publisher has to keep up with what kinds of books will sell. It seems mysteries will always have a place on the bookshelves. Crichton and Grisham may tie up the book market until they are finished. That is just one example from one genre of books. Publishers have to keep track of what is selling in all areas of literature. The best way for you to get your work noticed is to make it look similar to what is already selling in the marketplace. Be careful not to imitate style or voice of another author. Write with your own unique words while imitating the use of popular public opinion. Another way to improve your chances of getting published is to find out who’s publishing what.

ARE YOU MARKETING TO THE RIGHT PUBLISHER?

Some publishers specialize in a certain kind of writing. If you are writing a novel, you’ll look stupid (and get rejected) if you send it to publishers who publish technical manuals. How do you find out who is the most likely candidate to publish your work? There are reference manuals, such as Writer’s Market, at your library that will tell you who’s publishing what and what publishers are seeking. It will contain valuable information leading you to children’s book publishers, novel publishers, and textbook publishers. If the handbook at your library is not up to date, your next option is to check out the new releases and best sellers rack at the bookstore. Buy a few books and read them. You’ll have a much better feel for the book market as a consumer first, and book writer second.

Book publishing is difficult to break into. It can be helpful to approach the issue from the direction of the publisher. Before you submit your manuscript again, improve your chances of acceptance by following these tips:

1) Change your marketing style so that you grab attention;

2) Make sure you are a book consumer yourself. You’ll get a better feel for what’s selling and what a publisher will buy. You’ll also find out who is publishing which types of books.

3) Finally, by buying the product you are trying to sell, you will improve the book economy all together. Publishers need to see people buying books before they can commit to publishing more.

Many authors begin their careers with the single goal of getting their book published by a reputable publisher. Book publishing is difficult to accomplish. It takes many months of work and extensive preparation. Writing a book involves intricately woven ideas. A book is a project, and it may contain many other projects that involve research, development, and marketing. Most authors are disillusioned about the intensive process of creating a full, coherent book. Writing a book and finding a publisher is like nothing you have ever done before. It will take extensive and intensive work and development. It will also probably include much of everything you know, and more.

New to tech-writing, or thinking about starting? The key to success is recognising that tech-writers are a necessary evil.

Tech-writers are necessary because someone has to write the user doco. The programmers and managers sure as hell don’t want to. This is actually part of the reason that you’re evil, too. In my experience, most programmers and managers think that they could write the manuals if they wanted to… they just don’t want to. They might not write all “flowery” like the tech-writers, but what they write is correct.

Unfortunately, that’s quite often all that’s important to programmers and managers. There is a feeling within the software environment that accuracy = quality. Audience analysis, doco readability, consistency, usability, active and passive voice, commas in a list of three or more items… All of these things are relatively unimportant to everyone but the tech-writer. Oh… and the user.

In a world where accuracy is all important, a lot goes over the head of the dummy. I don’t know if it’s intellectual snobbery, but programmers and managers seem to think that if they understand it, so should the user. It doesn’t matter whether or not they do… they SHOULD! Stupid users! Maybe it’s the geek’s ultimate revenge…

Your document can be 100% accurate, but if the audience can’t read it, you’ve wasted your time.

So why doesn’t anyone acknowledge this? They do! That’s the weird part. In theory, everyone agrees with you, it’s just in practice that you find yourself out in the cold. I don’t know why this happens. Maybe it’s because most of these guys have never done tech-writing.

So tech-writers spend too long worrying about unimportant things. And they bother programmers and managers with unimportant things. But they’re necessary things. Otherwise why would you be employed. Maybe the absence of simple logic short circuits their brains. Who knows?

What we can get out of this is that there’s a feeling that tech-writers waste time, and as a result, they’re pretty much at the bottom of the heap in the software world. I think a good analogy is the way some rich see the poor. Dirty little creatures… if only we could do without them…

But there is an up-side. I don’t want you thinking it’s all bad.

Being at the bottom of the heap has its advantages. You can go unnoticed for years if you want. If you haven’t seen the movie, Office Space, you should hire it. There’s a little ferrety bloke in that who was “let go” years ago. Problem is, no one ever told him, and because of a glitch in payroll he still got paid. No one ever noticed.

Being a tech-writer’s a bit like that.

When I was managing doco teams, my favourite saying was “All we have to do is manage their expectations and our commitments”. Because programmers and managers resign themselves to the fact that they don’t know what’s going on in the doco team, there’s sometimes a temptation to slacken off. Don’t give in to this temptation!!! If you ever get caught, doing it, it’ll be like the boy who cried wolf &ndash they’ll never believe your estimates again!

The other risk is that you’ll lose your sense of urgency. And that’s a big part of what makes a good worker. You should be very strict about managing your commitments. This requires discipline, because sometimes it seems you’re the only one that cares, but you have to do it.

One thing you should be aware of though, is that your average tech-writer in software spends only about 50% of his or her time writing. The rest of your time is spent planning, problem solving, fixing your computer, researching, interviewing the programmers, writing work pracs…

I always found it was a good balance, though.

It was when I started managing teams that the bottom really fell out. Then the percentage dropped to about 10-20%. There were times when I’d go months without writing any help at all. That can be very frustrating, especially if you don’t particularly like managing.

Now managing tech-writers in software is an interesting thing. As with most technology management positions, you kinda fall into it, because you’re the most senior/experienced person in the company. Unfortunately, that doesn’t qualify you to be a manager. Software companies are renowned for dumping people into management roles without any real training or support.

I don’t really have any advice for you here. If it’s gonna happen, it’ll happen. Just be aware of it, and know that if you fall into a management role, it’s gonna be difficult. (That’s not to say that it can’t be rewarding though…)

The ironic thing is that the most difficult aspect of it is that your staff are screaming at you to change the system. “The programmers don’t answer our questions!” “None of my work has been reviewed for the last 2 months!” “The project manager just told me to forget about quality!”

Unfortunately, the inexperienced tech-writer is often na

Many people dream of writing their own book. The sad fact is that for every 500 people who want to write a book, there might be only 1 or 2 who actually do it. Somehow, we get it stuck in our minds that we “can never do that” and that writing “should be left to the professionals”. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am 100% convinced that anyone … even YOU, can write a book successfully if they just understand a couple of basic principles. In this article, I’m going to cover the exact steps that anyone, including you, can use to write a book, essay, or article of any length.

Step 1 &ndash Collect

Collect what? Collect everything. If you are writing nonfiction you will collect information about your topic. You might collect magazine clippings, newspaper articles, along with various notes and quotes from any variety of sources. You might also collect things like sights, sounds (record audio), and smell (take notes about how things smell). If you’re writing a novel the things you collect will be differ a little from this. Instead you’ll collect thoughts, ideas, character ideas, and scene ideas, along with any information (similar to the above) that involves research for your novel. If you’re writing a crime novel you might collect information above the criminal justice system. If you’re writing a romance you might collect notes and ideas from relationship books, dating websites, and your own relationships and experience. The important thing to do is to collect, and to do nothing but collect at this phase. Don’t analyze stuff; don’t try to figure out the order of things too early. Just collect!

Step 2 &ndash Categorize

In this step, you are free to unleash your inner control freak. Organize, categorize, analyze, criticize, hypothesize… I think you get the point. The whole purpose of this stage is to take what you collected in the previous stage and organize it into an order that makes sense. Read the articles and books, sift your notes down to the finest details, and sort it all out into related areas that make sense together. Once you have the related areas grouped together, put those “categories” into an order from first to last. If you have a ton of notes and other collected stuff, don’t stress about trying to tackle the whole pile at once. Just take part of it, and work on ONLY that part until you have it organized and sorted. Then grab some more notes and do the same thing with those. You can add to either if you need to later. Once you have everything analyzed, described, and sorted you can then move on to the third step in the process.

Step 3 &ndash Communicate

This is the fun part! This is simply the act of actually communicating everything that you’ve put together from the first two steps. In other words, write it down! The sorted, organized collection that you have from steps one and two is now your outline. All you have to do is follow your notes in order and write about each note and topic in turn. If you have your notes broken in to sub-categories, treat each one as a book in itself. This allows you to focus on just one small part at a time rather than trying to tackle an entire book all at once. Just get through one section, and then, move on to the next.

If you have done this right, by step 3 your book is practically written for you.

“What about grammar?” Here’s a little secret about grammar and punctuation: 90% of your grammar and punctuation problems will go away if you will keep your writing (and by writing, I mean your sentences) short, concise, and to the point. Keep it short. Keep it simple. The best writers aren’t the ones who have sentences three paragraphs long. The best writers are those who can get the same information across in just a few words&ndashno matter how complex the topic might be. As for novels, if you can “move” people with 5 words as opposed to 50, you are doing a great thing.

Knowing and applying these simple steps can be the difference between having a dream of writing a book and having a stack of books that you’ve written. I have written five books so far using this method.

You’ve just learned one of the easiest systems of writing in existence. Whether you’re 40 years old or 10 years old you can use these steps to accomplish just about any writing task that is set before you. Go ahead and try it and you’ll see. Your new writing career starts now!

You do realize that the main goal, when writing an article, is to have your readers interested in your article. You are halfway done - readers who found your article and ran onto it are surely interested in the topic your article covers. Now you only need to have something that will gain their interest even more.

I am sure that you already know how being unique is important for everything. For example, unique websites are known to succeed; unique commercials. Almost every single unique idea ascends to the throne, of course, if properly treated. So, why wouldn’t you try to achieve unique article writing style? It WILL attract your readers. And that is your goal, isn’t it?

When you develop a new style of writing (believe me, it’s not so hard), ask several readers to read one of your articles (we are going to call them “test-readers”, and they all have to read the same article). If most of the test-readers (there will always be at least one who will say “dude, this is cr*p”) say that it’s quality article, then BINGO! Bull’s eye. Now try submitting 5 more. If you get a good response, try submitting 50 more. And voila! You’re at the throne.

In addition to all of the above, I’ve isolated several guidelines you should follow in whenever writing an article:

- Note what type of publication the article is to appear in - for example, an international travel magazine for adults would require a neutral or formal register, whereas a college magazine aimed at teenagers could be written in a very informal register.

- Make sure the register you use is consistent throughout the article.

- Remember to include an appropriate title (interesting titles catch reader’s attention).

- Introduce your topic in the opening paragraph.

- Be as clear and informative as possible.

- Engage the reader’s interest throughout.

Are you a self-published author who is tired of getting the door slammed in your face by reviewers, contests, conferences and more just because your books aren’t published by a traditional publisher? Join the club! And I do mean join. If we as self-publishers don’t begin to work together to combat the bias against our work, we are going to continue to be treated as and feel like second-class citizens of the writing community.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that poorly written, unedited, crummy-looking books should be given the same treatment as high-quality books. But I am saying that books should be judged on their own merits, not on whether they are published by the author or by someone related to the author, and not by the number of copies that are printed at a time. How can someone judge a book when they haven’t even seen it?

People say authors only self-publish because they can’t get a traditional publisher. That’s not my story. I chose to publish my mystery novel, TOO NEAR THE EDGE, through my family publishing company, PMI Books. I didn’t send the novel to any agents or publishers first. I made the self-publishing decision based on my experience with my two published nonfiction books&ndashone, self-published has sold over 50,000 copies and is now in its 4th edition; the other was published by a major traditional publisher sold about 5,000 copies and is now out of print.

My self-published novel, TOO NEAR THE EDGE has gotten good reviews from online reviewers and won a silver medal for best regional fiction in the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) contest. It’s available on Amazon and other online sites, and I can keep it in print as long as I want. But if I want it to sell, I have to promote it, which is harder than it should be due to the bias against self-publishers.

I understand that approximately 800 books are published every day and reviewers are deluged with books to review. But I hate that like a trendy new NYC bar, they man the door so that only the well-connected get in. Reviewers should be in the business of judging books not judging publishers. Just give our books a chance.

And why should self-published authors be given second class status at conferences? Here’s what happened to me after I found out that the annual “Left Coast Crime Convention,” (LLC) meeting&ndasha mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, for mystery fans&ndashwill be in my area in 2008. I figured this would be a chance to go to a regional conference as an author, meet fans, and maybe even get my book in the “book room” to sell. But, no. It turns out that to be considered an author at the LLC I have to either meet the requirements for active membership in the Mystery Writers of America or be shortlisted for a major mystery award like the Edgar or the Anthony. That means I have to have been paid at least $1,000 in advances and/or royalties for my book, which had an initial print run of at least 500 copies. But even then, I can’t be considered an author at their conference if my book is self-published or cooperatively published. My publisher must have been in business for at least two years and publish at least five other authors per year, none of whom may be an employee, business partner, or a relative of the publisher. And my publisher must be on the MWA list of approved publishers.

Well my publishing company, PMI Books, belongs to PMA, and we are reputable&ndashbut clearly, given all their criteria, they aren’t going to put us on their approved list.

So I tried to get in under award thing. My book isn’t shortlisted for the mystery awards they list, but I wrote them a very polite email asking if the IPPY would qualify me to be an author at their conference. They replied that I don’t meet the eligibility requirements and that awards like the IPPY are not on the list, “since they are primarily awarded to authors from non-traditional publishing houses.”

Enough!! These criteria are outdated, unfair and shortsighted. They arbitrarily exclude books and authors based not on the quality of the books but on the publisher and method of printing. There must be a better way. Self-publishers need to work together to end this bias against us.

I’ve started a new blog&ndashThe Populist Publisher&ndashwhere I hope self-published authors can come together to change our image. I invite you to join us.

In the industry of freelancing, among the most in demand are writers. This is especially true with the birth of the Internet, which tripled the need for writers because of the various websites and online content that are constantly being updated.

There are actually lots of work a freelance writer can go into especially if they have established the right contacts. Freelance writers are needed for writing online content to boost website viewership. In fact, online content is fast becoming one of the major sources of freelance assignments, not only for writers, but also for other freelancers, such as photographers, web designers and graphic artists.

Even though there are lots of assignments and freelance jobs waiting on the sidelines, this does not mean you’ll be getting a fair share of them. You still have to compete with a lot of freelance writers for these jobs. To make sure you stay competitive, here are some tips:

MARKET YOURSELF

If you plan to freelance, make sure people know you do freelance. How else will they know unless you tell them? When you meet people, don’t hesitate to give them your business card and tell them that you do freelance work. Self-marketing is essential as this will give you the contacts you need to start a freelance career.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

It is important you always do your best and make sure you take care of your work reputation. Your work, whether they are PR write-ups or newspaper articles, will be the basis for clients hiring you for future freelance work. So make sure you always give your best in every assignment.

ESTABLISH A SOUND AND SOLID REPUTATION

It is not only your work you should take care of, but also your attitude in dealing with people. You can be the most brilliant writer, but if you are known in the industry as difficult, you will find it hard to get freelance jobs. Take care of your reputation especially in terms of work ethics and meeting deadlines, as these are important factors that employers consider in hiring freelance writers.

LOOK FOR JOBS

Of course, it is not also right that you just wait for people to give you work. You can actually look for assignments yourself, just to tide you over before actual assignments come in. There are many ways to look for freelance jobs.

You can log on to job sites where they have a special section that posts freelance jobs or part time jobs. Some are even located in different states, which you can actually accept since most just require telecommuting and not your actual presence.

Another way to look for jobs is to ask people you know for referrals.

An excellent resource to learn about launching a freelance career is Andy Anderson’s book or audio book, “How to Make Money from Home as a Freelancer,” published by .PaydayPublishing.com.

HOW TO BREAK INTO FREELANCE WRITING

One of the best things about being a writer is you can hold a permanent job and still write on the side. That is the good thing in having a creative profession. You can do freelance jobs in your spare time while still being employed. In fact, many magazine writers and journalists accept writing and editing jobs on the side, while others who can afford not to have a permanent job will settle in with freelance jobs.

There are some freelancing jobs that can pay a lot and can even exceed a person’s monthly pay. Permanent writing jobs, however, provide the security. You wouldn’t want to wake up one morning without money to pay the rent, right?

Freelance writing jobs are a dime a dozen especially with the advent of the Internet. Writers are frequently commissioned to do online content to keep websites updated and informative. Still, one needs to know where to look and how to look if you want to get regular assignments. I find many of my paying freelance writing jobs at .FreelanceWriting.com.

Below are some tips to get freelance writing jobs:

GO ONLINE

There are a number of writing jobs you can find on the Internet, and you can do most of these freelance jobs at home. You can submit most of your finished projects to the client by e-mail, and get paid the same day.

ESTABLISH A NETWORK

Being a writer, you have to establish a network of people who will recommend you for jobs and writing assignments. PR professionals, for instance, look for writers who can do assignments for them. The same goes with owners of companies who advertise on the Internet or those who maintain websites which you can write for. Editors of magazines and newspapers also regularly seek freelance writers for articles and editorials.

There are a lot of individuals and companies who look for part-time or freelance writers. The bigger your network is, the more people can help you find freelance work.

ASK FOR A REFERRAL OR A RECOMMENDATION

The first step in asking for a referral is to do such an outstanding job that your client will want to refer you to his colleague. Although writing is big business, the industry is actually pretty small. Chances are your boss will also know someone who is doing a similar project. Ask for a recommendation to another person who needs a writer. This is one way to get assignments.

WRITE WELL

The key to having a great freelance writing career is to take care of your reputation, not only in terms of your writing, but also in the way you deal with people. For instance, you can write so well but if you are always missing deadlines, no person would want to deal with you. Remember that writing involves deadlines and you have to keep up with it if you want to succeed in the industry.

As more and more old-growth trees are cut down, and we face the reality of having to wait close to 100 years or more to replace them, the need to recycle paper becomes increasingly important.

Paper, of course, includes books and magazines. Although paper products are nearly 100% biodegradable, it is pointless to send these resources to the dump to rot in the landfill when we can recycle and reuse them.

More than any other material we hope to recycle, books and magazines represent knowledge. We find wisdom in the pages of old books, and learn about culture in the pages of old magazines. Because of these factors, the best thing to do with old books and magazines is pass them on.

Your local library or college library will accept donations of old books, and sometimes magazines in good shape. This allows other people to benefit from the publication as well. Once you have enjoyed your book, donate it to a library rather than letting it sit on a shelf to collect dust.

The second choice, for both books and magazines, is to sell them to a used bookstore, at a garage sale, flea market, or on eBay. Other people may be looking for the exact book or magazine you have; passing it on is a win-win scenario for you and the new owner.

If you wish to reuse publications in a creative way, magazines make good colorful craft supplies for children and adults. You can cut out parts of pictures to make collages by pasting the picture pieces to a cardboard backing; or make hanging mobiles by cutting out shapes, stringing pieces of thread through holes at the top, and attaching the strings to a clothes hanger.

You can also cut out whole pictures to construct a dream board or a vision board, which helps you to think about and visualize the goals and dreams you want to achieve; for instance, a Hawaiian vacation, a certain type of job, or a new sports car.

As for traditional recycling, some areas will let you place books or magazines in your blue bin for pickup as well. Many publishers print magazines on glossy paper. It is more expensive to recycle glossy paper because the demand is low for this type of paper. This will change in the future as the need to recycle paper becomes more important.

The biggest challenge with recycling books and magazines is separating the paper from the adhesives or staples used to bind the pages. Forward-thinking recycling companies have a way to remove the waste from the bindings magnetically; in the future we should begin to see growing opportunities to recycle all kinds of paper products.

Next time you’re thinking about throwing away some books or magazines, think first about how you can pass them along for others to enjoy. If that doesn’t work for you, try to reuse them creatively. If you still can’t find a use for them, look for places to take them where they can be recycled into new paper products, so we can save more trees.