Essay Online

Have you ever had anyone criticize your writing? Maybe they were just having a bad day. After all some people just can’t seem to say anything nice.

Not everyone is comfortable with criticism, but there may be times when it provides just what you need to move forward in your writing.

There is a man that’s been called the “Simon Cowell of Christian Publishing”. A few quotes from Chip MacGregor might allow you to see that he’s far from being the touchy-feely type. The following quotes were part of a July 2006 interview with Chip MacGregor who is the Associate Publisher with Hachette Book Group USA. The quotes are part of a lengthy interview conducted by the staff at Novel Journey.

“The reason most wannabe authors remain unpublished is because they just aren’t willing to put in the time, to do the hard work and become better at the craft of writing. In other words, laziness will keep you from being a great writer.” &ndash Chip MacGregor

“Some people (many people) seem to be fans, and send me nice notes on occasion, like when they’ve gone off their meds or had too much to drink. Others clearly do NOT like me. Especially nice church ladies who can’t understand why I’d say that a book is bad or a writer has done a terrible job.” &ndash Chip MacGregor

“The only way I could finish the stupid thing was to tear out the pages I’d read and light them on fire, in hopes that occasionally sticking my hand into the flames would keep me awake. Mourn the trees that died so this tome could see print.” &ndash Chip MacGregor

“I’d suggest that many of the Old Testament prophets helped the culture make strides not by being nice, but being honest &ndash even blunt. Ditto Paul. Ditto Jesus, for that matter (take a peek at his criticisms of the upstanding church leadership of His day).” &ndash Chip MacGregor

“So what’s the harm in being honest? Even brutally honest? Can’t we all admit we’ve got stuff to learn?” &ndash Chip MacGregor.

“90% of the stuff I reject is rejected for one reason: it isn’t good enough.” &ndash Chip MacGregor

MacGregor does have advice for writers that may make them cringe a bit less, “I think writer’s conferences are a great way for newbies to get educated in the process of writing. Hanging around a bunch of experienced people in your chosen field is ALWAYS an excellent idea… It’s nice to find somebody a bit further down the path.”

It is safe to say that the thrust of MacGregors ‘honesty’ it to try to challenge writers to be the absolute best they can be. This often means forcing ourselves to work harder at our craft and refusing to use a specific genre as a crutch for mediocre writing.

SEO writing is one of the newer forms of freelance writing spawned by the Internet Age, and as such, SEO writing is an excellent way — if at times a frustrating way — for budding writers to cut their teeth in the freelance writing scene. SEO writing takes a fair amount of imagination and some engineering grit, but if you like puzzles, then freelancing as an SEO writer will interest you.

SEO, or “Search Engine Optimization,” has its roots in the early days of the Internet. Once early Internet marketers realized they could manipulate search engine rankings with meaningless content and keywords, a whirlwind of keyword-stuffed web pages swept across the Internet, all designed to push their content — and the products they sold — to the top of search engine lists. This sharply increased user traffic and potential profits. It wasn’t uncommon to see web pages with only a few short paragraphs of copy with large, seemingly-blank areas of space. However, if you highlighted these blank areas of space with a cursor, it would reveal massive strings of invisible keywords. SEO writers used to embed invisible keywords in text to rank the webpage higher in search engines for nearly any remotely-relevant search term.

Fortunately for good web design, search engine programmers became aware of this flaw, and they refined their search engines to ignore such obvious “keyword stuffing.” This major change has made search engines rank web pages more relevant of the actual content and not the stuffed keywords. Content providers responded to this by developing SEO writing, which ideally gets the same results as open keyword-stuffing, but provides a better-designed, better-written page as well. It’s a “best of both worlds” compromise: content providers willing to invest in SEO writing get to keep their high search engine rankings and readers get more smoothly integrated and keyword-dense text.

There are bad SEO writers and good SEO writers. Bad SEO writers aren’t aware of exactly how search engines work, and will try stuffing text with ten or twenty commonly-used search terms (”sex,” “money,” and the like) ten or twenty times apiece, without caring whether the actual text reads well. These days search engines are sophisticated enough to ignore these kinds of transparent keyword-stuffing efforts, a defense which only good SEO practice can get around.

A skilled SEO writer:

- Uses only one or two search terms per page;

- Uses unique, natural-language search terms;

- Integrates search terms smoothly with text;

The difference between a good and bad SEO writer are in the results. Good SEO writers can provide actual results in the search rankings. Their SEO writing talents keep the client’s web pages on the first page of search engine results and create additional revenue for the client. Bad SEO writers don’t keep client pages in the first page of search engine results; they create nearly unreadable, transparently phony text, and don’t get paid well at all. If you want to succeed as a freelance SEO writer, you first need to learn to be a good one.

Writing integrated text is often the most difficult part of good SEO writing. The rule is you should use each search term once or twice in a 250-word block of copy. This is fine if your search term is something like “bond portfolio,” but what do you do if your search term is more like “high-yield gold investment bond package bonds”? This is where the “puzzle” aspect of SEO writing comes in: no matter how cumbersome your search term, you need to find a way to make it sound natural.

Skilled SEO writers employ some tricks for awkward keyword phrases, such as the following:

- Enclosing the search term in quotes (making it seem like a precise technical term, rather than just clunky phrase); and

- Defining the term at the opening of the article and using it further on, or drawing comparisons between two SEO terms (requiring you to refer to both frequently).

There aren’t any hard-and-fast rules to integrate keywords effectively; every keyword set is different and every article has different needs. But with imagination, you can get your prose to read naturally while still being SEO-worthy. Just remember the other principal rule: don’t overstuff keywords in text, but rather space your keywords adequately throughout the text.

Who offers SEO writing jobs? Virtually any company with enough money and enough willingness to maintain a high web presence. Be careful of the keyword lists you take on. Generally speaking, if the client has a long keyword list and he needs many keywords in his text, then most search engines will rank his webpage low and you may not be able to achieve the results he wants. To establish yourself as a freelance SEO writer (and to get some much needed practice in SEO writing), you’ll probably need to take some of these jobs at some point. Take a look on freelance writing message boards, in classified ads, and make inquiries at local businesses who either have a web presence, or who you think are ready to develop one. Chances are excellent that companies with new websites can use a skilled SEO writer.

Keep at it, learn the tricks, and remember that SEO writing is a very in-demand skill. Once you build a reputation for yourself, you can command both higher prices and higher-profile (yet easier) assignments regularly.

Freelance magazine writing can be one of the most rewarding careers available to a freelance writer. Successful magazine writers are articulate, have a wide variety of interests, and know how to research a topic. Many freelance magazine writers write for various magazines, not just one, and like to write on diverse topics and sell their articles to a variety of magazines and media outlets.

The key to writing for magazines and selling what you write is knowing your market. Most magazines focus on a fairly narrow range of content. One magazine might deal with the finer points of horse grooming. Another magazine might focus on the ins and outs of toy robot collection. And yet another might cover the beauties and travel opportunities available in Bali.

This degree of specialization means that magazine editors usually have a specific idea of what articles they’re seeking, sometimes even down to a specific writing style or voice. Since magazines typically cater to a “niche” audience of educated readers, you’ll need to write well-written and interesting articles; your articles will have to feel new to an established audience. If you’re writing for a parasailing magazine, then submitting a 500-word article about the basics of parasailing just won’t do.

You have two options to write salable articles. The first is to become deeply involved with the activities or topics which the magazine covers. If you’re planning to write and sell travel articles about Germany, take at least one trip to Germany. If you’re planning to write and sell articles about cat care, spend a few days with a cat yourself (or find a knowledgeable, cat-owning friend who’s willing to give you some good, real-life information).

Writing magazine articles is a form of journalism, and often adheres to the same standards of quality and truthfulness. Would you trust a news article about declining air and water standards in a nearby town if you could tell the writer had never set foot in that town? Of course not.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have time to take on an entirely new hobby. That’s why the second way is usually the best option: write about what you know. We’re all complicated people. We all have stories to tell. We enjoy hobbies and activities that fascinate us. We can easily uncover material for a hundred or more articles. So think about what you can write about, and what interests you. It seems hard at first, but once you sit down and start thinking about it, the article ideas will flow. Once you have your article ideas and have written articles about what you know, start looking around for magazines that might be willing to buy them. Chances are good there’s a magazine covering your interests or hobbies.

How do you find suitable magazines, and how do you ask if editors are interested? There are many ways to find appropriate publishing venues for your articles. For one, you could go to your local bookstore and search the magazine racks. If you have an independent bookstore in your area, so much the better: you may find some titles that don’t circulate at the larger chains. You can also take advantage of Writer’s Market, which list pertinent information about hundreds of magazines, including typical rates and what editors seek.

Once you’ve picked your magazine, send the editor a query letter about your article. This should be short and sweet, briefly stating who you are, your previous publication history (editors like to work with proven successes–wouldn’t you?), and your article topic. The length, topic and addressee of your query letter will depend on the magazine; you can usually find information on submissions policies in the “credits” section or on the magazine’s website.

Send off your query letter and wait. Be prepared, as well, for rejection. There are many reasons editors won’t take an article, and few of them have to do with your skills as a writer. If you get a rejection letter, just take a few minutes to mourn before starting on your next article. The hardest sale to make is always your first sale; keep up a steady stream of good, well-marketed work, and the sale will come. When it does, pat yourself on the back; you’re on your way to freelancing as a magazine writer!

Writing business letters is a forgotten art. The Internet has made us lazy writers. With a few keystrokes, we can kick off a short e-mail without thinking much about content, much less formatting. Have you ever reviewed your own e-mails and discovered misspellings, incomplete sentences, formatting mistakes, and grammatical errors? Usually we think nothing about how our lazy writing negatively affects our e-mails; other people e-mail us the same type of junk all the time. But, still, writing lousy e-mails should not give us the excuse to be lazy writers all the time, online or offline.

Writing business letters may be one of the best skills a business person can possess, especially during these times when few people possess it. The following tips will help you to construct better business letters. You can also adapt these principles to write better business e-mails, in terms of both format, style and tone.

COMPONENTS AND FORMATTING

All business letters are comprised of the following elements, in this order:

Date

Recipient’s name and address

Salutation

Opening paragraph

Body

Closing paragraph

Closing

Your name and address

The style of formatting will dictate how these elements are situated on the page. The three most common formatting styles are:

BLOCK: Each part of the letter is left-justified, and the text is single-spaced, except double-spaced paragraph breaks.

MODIFIED BLOCK: The opening, body and closing paragraphs are left-justified and single-spaced, but the date, closing and salutation are center-aligned.

SEMI-BLOCK: Exactly like modified block, except each paragraph is indented, not left-justified.

Regardless of which style you choose, you’ll also need to consider the font; your choice is important, as fancy fonts are sometimes unreadable. The most commonly used and widely accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12. It’s readable, professional, and universally used for business letters. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, however, to take liberties here; you can really use any readable font (Arial, Verdana, Helvetica), but always consider what your recipient would like to see.

OPENING PARAGRAPH

Since the principle point of your business letter is to grab and keep the reader’s attention, you’ll need to focus on the opening, the first (and sometimes only) opportunity you have to grab the recipient’s attention. The opening also sets the tone for the entire letter, so it must be as strong and characteristic as possible.

DO get straight to the point. Your recipient doesn’t need a bunch of unnecessary info., especially not right up front. If it doesn’t pertain to or bores them, they’ll just stop reading.

DON’T start with clich

A debate is taking place on the worldwide web in connection with the use or overuse of content. Everyone seems to agree that the use of quality content is important, but how much is too much and what ways are best for the distribution of your content?

Please note that this issue is not related to write-for-hire or contract content writing.

Close to the Vest

Some writers in this camp indicate they feel there is an integrity issue at stake when a writer makes their work widely available and used on multiple sites.

In this line of thinking the author should only use the article on their own personal site without the ability of other sites to use the work.

Many authors feel that the use of the article in a singular location provides more weight to the article when viewed by online guests.

Free For All

In this camp the mantra is “Everyone can use it!” The motivations for allowing the use might be different for each author, but there are many that use this strategy.

For some writers, the allowance of article use is tied to their interest in making a certain point of view widely available. This may be tied to religious or political thought. For other writers, the use of free-to-use articles has more to do with a wealth of online marketing potential.

In either case, these articles do tend to be widely used.

Which is the right perspective?

I suppose the answer to that question lie in what it is you are most interested in accomplishing with your article. It could be that the tie to the article is so intimate that it would be a violation of conscience to allow it to be used elsewhere. However, it could be a message of such importance that it makes sense to make it available to a wider audience.

There are obvious benefits to making at least some of your work available at no cost through an online article submission service. In many cases the body of free articles represents a voice of authority for those interested in using the articles. It is also safe to say that there are numerous publishers with limited budgets for the purchase of material. These individuals rely heavily on free-to-reprint articles to meet their content goals. In turn, you have another publishing credit to add to your portfolio.

So, check your motivation and career objectives and see which direction best suits your specific writing objectives.

“U.S. consumers purchase approximately 7 billion greeting cards each year, generating nearly $7.5 billion in retail sales.” *

Have you ever wondered who actually writes all of those greeting cards you purchase? Sure there are staff writers who may develop themes and specific greeting cards. However, there are numerous freelance writers who have received checks for the use of one or more of their greeting card ideas.

“There are an estimated 3,000 greeting card publishers in the U.S., ranging from small family-run organizations to major corporations. GCA-member publisher companies account for approximately 95 percent of industry sales.” *

With so many greeting card publishers it is easy to see that this may be a market worth looking at. Many freelance writers who have sold ideas to greeting card companies find the idea a profitable means of using their downtime.

When these writers find themselves without a pressing deadline or if they have a few moments to spare, they will often jot down a few creative ideas. When they accumulate dozen or so ideas, they send them onto a greeting card company for consideration.

“The exchange of greeting cards is one of the most widely accepted customs in the U.S. There are cards for virtually any occasion or relationship, and they are widely available. Approximately 100,000 retail outlets around the country carry greeting cards.” *

Greeting card companies often pay $25-300 for accepted original ideas. One of the best ways to match your idea with a publisher is to conduct some research of your own. For instance some card companies only accept non-rhyming poetry while others only accept humor. Some want inspirational thought while others deal in the clich

Serious freelance writers know their income may come from other sources, not just writing articles for magazines or clients. Ultimately, their freelance writing leads to writing books or e-books for themselves or as ghostwrites. If you decide to ghostwrite e-books and trade paperbacks for clients, consider the following:

If a client hires you as a “work-for-hire” ghostwriter, then the client pays you for your work, and he owns all rights. Make sure: 1) You receive a 50% retainer before you begin the work; and 2) You receive the balance at or right before delivery. That’s it. If the book turns out to be a great success, great! That’s wonderful! You should be extremely proud — but from a distance! To be a successful ghostwriter, you must enjoy your glory as a ghostwriter in the shadows. Many ghostwriters prefer it that way.

I know a great speaker in the industry who commands $10,000 or more per speaking engagement. He is phenomenal to listen to and even more dynamite to read. However, he doesn’t write his books alone. He contributes to them but he never writes any of them himself. His ghostwriter, Shelly, is known only to a few writers in a close-knit writer’s group. Why does Shelly let this speaker take all the glory for her work? She is painfully shy and exceedingly talented as a writer. She once said, “I am where I need to be and he is where he should be.” If you are going to ghostwrite, stay where you belong (invisible) and accept payment for the job as payment enough.

TIP #1: As a ghostwriter, you should always try to meet the needs of the true “author” of the work. Cover the content they want and do your best to make the client happy.

TIP #2: As with writing any book, ghostwriting involves lot of revisions and changes as far out as two months, especially if the book needs to go through an editor or publisher. You should make changes as needed. However, don’t wait on final payment if your client hasn’t received final approval from his publisher.

TIP #3: Always write your ghostwrites as if they are your own. Write with quality and professionalism in mind.

TIP #4: Never sign a non-compete contract on the subject of the book. It is crazy for the client to ask but crazier for you to do it. If a client asks for one, walk away. You have your own work to protect as well as the client’s work. Remember the saying, “to thine own self be true”? Well, in writing, there’s no truer statement.

TIP #5: You owe the client exceptional work and the client you work for owes you money for a job well done.

TIP #6: If your client is dissatisfied with the end result, even after he’s paid you, make it right for the client. Satisfied clients usually become repeat clients; they will bring you steady work and referrals.

TIP #7: Consider using a pen name as a ghostwriter. Jeanine Anne, a freelance writer and ghostwriter, said she uses a pen name when she ghostwrites. She said, “I’ve written most of my ghostwrites and presented them to my clients under my pen name, Jeanine Anne. First, if someone decides to spam me, there’s no harm done to the name for which I write my own work under. Secondly, when I write for a client, I have no idea what the client will do to the work, after all it is his work once it leaves my hands. The client may add content which I may not like or he may write something that is not my style of writing.” This is something to remember if you write for clients as ghostwrites. The client hires you to do a job and the client owns the work after it leaves your hands.

You can find many ghostwriting gigs on .FreelanceWriting.com, Elance.com, Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com, Indeed.com, .WritingCareer.com, and CraigsList.com. The other way is to create your own ghostwriting gigs by networking and marketing.

Technical writing requires the ability to write clearly, plainly, and accurately about extremely complicated material. If you can do that&ndashand quickly&ndashthen becoming a successful technical writer is well within your grasp.

The most common clients for freelance technical writers are educational firms, training companies and manufacturing/electronics/software companies. All of these demand a high volume of documentation-style writing, and thus a high volume of technical writers to produce that writing. However, the nature of technical writing indicates there aren’t many opportunities outside these industries. Tech writing is only warranted when there’s something sufficiently complex to explain in a standardized way, and a mom n’ pop software company may not have the money or the need to hire even an entry-level tech writer. So if you want to freelance as a tech writer, you’ll almost certainly wind up working on contract for one of the bigger companies.

As with copy editing and journalism, a high degree of familiarity with as many style guides as possible is mandatory for any good freelance technical writer. Technical reports are frequently only a small part of a company’s wider technical literature. Writing all of a company’s documentation in the same style is a good way to ensure consistent quality and readability over a long company lifespan. The most commonly used style guides are AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), and Chicago. Strunck and White, although older, is still a classic, and commonly in use with certain firms. Pick up a copy of each and familiarize yourself with them. Knowing the popular style guides will improve your technical writing and you’ll become more marketable to a wide variety of clients as well.

Once you know which style guide your client works with (and once your own style is clear enough to write effectively), you’ll need to start thinking about how to approach your material. Contacting and interviewing SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) is often a huge part of effective technical writing. Without good technical information supporting your work, you won’t know what you’re writing about. Engineers, technicians and professionals who have to use the work you create won’t know what you’re writing about either. This leads to a severe loss of productivity and of money, and probably to the loss of your reputation at the company as well. So make sure you have enough data to write your report, and make sure you understand it as thoroughly as possible before you start planning your articles. No one expects you to know as much about, let’s say, a supercollider as a nuclear physicist (especially not on a deadline), but knowing the basic theory and how to use most of the technical vocabulary is beneficial.

The one principal rule of good writing in any field is “know your audience.” This statement is truer of technical writing than any other form of freelance writing. Your audience, in technical writing, is going to use the processes, machines, and equipment you write about. If your audience can’t understand what you’re saying or follow the flow of your argument, you’ve failed as a tech writer. Clients likely won’t hire you for future contracts.

Think carefully about whom you’re writing for. Do the users have a background in the theory behind the machine, or do they just need to know how to pull the levers and push the buttons in the right order? Will the users have ready access to troubleshooting facilities (i.e. assembly line workers with a machine shop on the factory premises); or will they have to go to some lengths to fix any mistakes they might make in operation (i.e. people who’ve bought a new operating system and have to drive an hour to whenever their computer needs service)?

Take some time to think about your end users, their likely qualifications, their questions, and their overall needs. Structure your articles to follow their probable concerns in the order they’ll come up. If you need to, talk to some of your prospective end users and ask them questions about what they find problematic in their jobs. It’ll help you think of their problems more when you’re structuring your work, and that’ll make your work that much better.

Once you have your basic structure and some idea of the logical flow of your report, all that’s left is the description. Be as clear as possible while still keeping a readable style, and be as accurate as possible. Don’t be afraid of footnotes and additional information&ndashunless it’s specifically prohibited by your client’s style policy. As long as you’re thinking of your audience, and you’ve done the appropriate research and structuring work, this part should be straightforward.

If you can synthesize information from SMEs, keep your audience well in mind, and describe complicated processes clearly and simply, then you have the basic skills to be a successful freelance tech writer.

Watch the classifieds and make inquiries at engineering and training companies. You have a skill that’s in high demand. If you keep yourself in the marketplace (and are willing to accept a “trial period” with lower pay, in some cases), it’s only a matter of time before you establish yourself as a tech writer. Over time you can develop a reputation that’ll win you contract after contract and keep your technical writing career alive and thriving.

“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” - J.C. Penney

Country recording artist Tim McGraw confided in an interview that there was a guy at a 7-11 that could sing him under a table. So, why is that guy serving up Slurpees while Tim is performing to packed stadiums?

The reason is the same for writers as it is for singers. There are many incredibly gifted writers who will never have a book published. The reasons are many, but it often comes down to their willingness to follow a dream or to shelve the dream for other reasons &ndash some noble and some steeped in fear.

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” - Pearl S. Buck

There is something about the idea of writing without fear. The dreams we may have once had do not need to remain a simple reference point for ‘what if’s’ and ‘might’a beens’.

The good news about writing is that the more real-life experiences you have the more you may be able to relate. It is never too late to pick up a pen and began to compose something extraordinary.

Sometimes the only thing that will set you apart from a better writer is simply your willingness to write &ndash then share it with others.

“Self-trust is the first secret of success.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The noble art of writing allows a wordsmith to venture into the hearts of humanity and welcome others to the exploration. Unlike certain other entertainment fields, becoming an author is something that can and is done at any age.

Success

Bessie Anderson Stanley

He has achieved success

who has lived well,

laughed often, and loved much;

who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,

the respect of intelligent men

and the love of little children;

who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;

who has left the world better than he found it

whether by an improved poppy,

a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;

who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty

or failed to express it;

who has always looked for the best in others

and given them the best he had;

whose life was an inspiration;

whose memory a benediction.

Perhaps its time to dust off a dream.

There are two specific, yet lofty goals writers strive for every time they commit words to paper. That goal is to write in such a way as to draw their readers into the written word.

If this goal is in fictional writing the author wants the reader to become so absorbed in the story that they are both satisfied, yet sad to see the story end.

If this goal is in non-fiction the writer accomplishes the objective by relating details in a way that leaves the reader interested in the subject and with a desire to learn more.

For the successful fiction writer the term most often applied to this principle is Active Participation. When a consumer steps up the book display they are looking for certain things such as cover design, color schemes and just enough information to allow them to make their choice in thirty seconds or less. Once the reader has the book in hand they desperately want to be an active participant in the work. They want to identify with your characters and involve themselves in the plot line. They want stay up till 2 o’clock in the morning loosing themselves in a world you created. They simply want to know if you are going to be able to make that possible for them.

For the non-fiction writer the goal is to connect the reader to Active Learning. This process has seen non-fiction books include bullet points, ‘did-you-know’ segments and a link between facts and famous individuals that were involved. School textbooks are full of color and sidebars as they try to connect with students to bridge the gap between factual information to innovative ways to encourage active learning.

It is possible for both Active Participants and Active Learners to approach the written word with an inborn desire to learn and/or participate in the storyline. In this scenario the majority of the work is already done.

If a student comes to a textbook with a refusal to learn, then the best textbooks available may not be able to break through the student’s self-imposed learning barrier. Similarly, if an individual purchases a novel with an ‘impress me’ mentality and are only interested in finding any inconsistency or flaw they may have difficulty participating in the work of fiction. Then again, they didn’t really come to participate.

Ultimately what this means to the writer is there is a need to work hard in the removal of any stumbling block in an effort to allow your readers to become the active participant and active learner they want to be.