Advice for beginners

[tabithanaylor]

Thats what I thought too. But, since I am newer to this part of the wahm forum, I didnt want to say anything. =)

[FenixIon]

Hi there! I'm new to this board, but not to others on this site. I happened across it by accident, and am glad I did. There's definitely a wealth of information here for "budding" writers. It'll take a while for me to sift through them all. Haha! I'm actually a writer myself, mostly esoteric and spiritual materials, and parapsychological research. But am considering on "expanding" to novels and short stories compilations, so some of the resources here would help out there. Thanks for stickying it! I do have a website "in development" to promote the e-books and other books 've written, but it's still an "embryo". LOLEdited by: FenixIon

[CherCher]

Hi,
folks. Well, I see everybody else writes in black... Oh well. Just
thought I'd be different. I'm an artist as much as a writer, so I'm
interested in color as much as B &amp; W.</span>[img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]

<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
Anyway... I'm new - at least to this forum. I </span>know</span>
I want to do freelance work and be in business for myself, and to be
able to work from home - or from wherever I want! - would be a dream
come true for me. I'm afraid I'm not so great at working for someone
else. I'm a bit independent in some areas, and if I don't enjoy what
I'm doing, well... forget it. I guess maybe I'm a little selfish. </span>[img]smileys/smiley9.gif[/img]
I don't want someone else breathing over my shoulder telling me when to
work and how many hours it should take me, and how I need to do it and
when I can or can't take off of work. I want to work when</span> I </span>want to work and in the best way that </span>I</span> see fit. That's not to say that I'm not open to honest and constructive criticism! - but </span>I</span>
want to be the boss of me. Very selfish, indeed. But, that's where I'm
at right now, I guess. I can apologize for it, or I can channel it into
doing my best for others, hopefully in some way, with my writing.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
OK, now that that little
confession is out of the way... I've always been interested in writing,
probably since I was a kid. [Way back] when I was in school, I would
get A's on essays or papers even when very few others did. I don't say
this to brag, but just to let you know how much writing means to me, I
guess. Essays and journals saved me in college. If it wasn't for the
writing assignments, I shudder to think!</span>[img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
Anyway, over the years, I've
always found writing to be my favorite form of communication. Probably
most of my "friends" are online, simply because I'd really rather write
than talk. It's an outlet for me. I have dozens of little unfinished
anecdotes and articles and what-not lying around, and I've always
wanted to do something with them. But I've had lots of fears - mostly,
I confess, of failure and rejection.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
But I've come to realize that allowing oneself to be paralyzed by fear is obviously not going to get one anywhere!</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
So here I am. I want to finally live out my dream and do something I enjoy.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
I just glanced over this forum,
and it does seem that it will be helpful. Lots of helpful-looking
links! I'm bookmarking this... But I confess I am one of those who
haven't read and researched much - yet. But to be honest, to address
one of the topics here, I don't have DSL. I live in the country and I
can only get dial-up out here, and it </span>does </span>take
a while for things to load. And wading through all the tons of info out
there, it often does take so long! to find exactly what you're looking
for... I just thought that since I'm on here, and most of you are
writers who have probably dealt with this type of thing, maybe one or
more of you kind folks might be able to give me some pointers. </span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
I'm thinking I might like to start
out with magazine articles. My question is regarding submissions. A
newbie like me can get lost in all that writer's guidelines speak, and
I'm not sure exactly how to go about submitting articles. For example,
what exactly should one write in a query letter, especially when one is
new at the game and has no prior experience? Also, in my understanding,
one is usually expected to go ahead and submit the article along with
it, is that right? What about copyrights? I mean, how do I know they
won't go ahead and use my article even if they refused my submission of
it? Maybe that sounds paranoid, but in this day and age where ID theft
and scams of all kinds thrive, I think it's a legitimate concern... and
how and when and in what way does a writer usually get paid?</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
I'm sure I could think up lots of
other questions, but I'll spare you for now, since this post in itself
is practically a book! (Too bad I won't get paid for it </span>[img]smileys/smiley2.gif[/img]).
Anyway, so sorry about the length... but I hope at least one of you
will have continued reading this post to the end and will respond. I'd
greatly appreciate it. Or if you could at least point me in a specific
direction, that would help, too. Thanks, all.</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
God bless +</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
- Cheri</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">
<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">


</span></span>

[advertisingmom]

Writers Needed for Magazine!!!! Possiblity to become a paid job.
<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
We are putting together a New magazine called “Direct Sales Career Guide” for the direct sales industry and would like to invite you to submit any articles you have written about home business or any of the topics below.

The website is www.DirectSalesCareerGuide.com. The magazine will benefit people already in Direct Sales with fresh content and resources in every issue that will help them grow their business. It will also have a section with a Direct Sales Career Guide with companies to show prospective people what the company is all about.

Topics Include:
My Home Office
Home Party Recipes
Sales and Marketing
Booking and Recruiting Tips
Party Plan Gift Guide
Education and guidance
Direct Sales strategies and achievements
Any other topics for Direct Sales or Business are welcome.
Right now this is not a paid job, but will possibly be able to pay regular columnists. You are welcome to include up to a 50 word bio after your article and a link to your site and a phone number if you'd like.
*If you would like a regular column with us, please contact us.


Please tell us what your column would be about, and how many other sites you are writing for.


Regards,
Kristina Cottrell
www.DirectSalesCareerGuide.com

[CDBContent]

[pwr2u]

I was told by a professor once just write and them write some more. It's all in the experience.

Has anyone had any luck with constant content?

[richmontgirl]

Strangely, yes. I had written some content articles a long time ago. I submitted them to CC in October of last year and forgot about them completely (I didn't take CC very seriously back then). I sold one in March for $50 and one again a couple of months ago again for $50!


So YES I've had luck and will continue to use it when I have extra articles to submit.





Good luck!

[vern]

I believe content articles are coming back to the fore
now in an even more active manner. It used to be
pushed to the other end and most individuals prefer
very much on article optimization but since Google
changed it's style of spidering..

yes, content is first.

[WAHMBrenda]

Content definitely is becoming popular. I'm a writer who is feasting on her income here lately. Of course this is only because I have a TON of work. I'm really glad that I went back to being a WAHM when I did and that I chose this field.