Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Get a blog job - discover how this week

Our feature article in this week's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine is "Get Blog Jobs - Fun and Profitable if You Love Blogging".

Here's an excerpt:

Do you blog? I hope you do, because blogging can do a lot for your freelance writing career. For a writer, blogs are not only an instant-publishing tool, they're also an opportunity to find great writing jobs.

Blogs are a phenomenon. Although many "A-list" bloggers have been publishing for years and have built up strong audiences, it's only in the past couple of years that blogs have become mainstream.

Read the rest on Tuesday. The ezine is sent to your Inbox, completely free.

I cover three EASY ways to get blog jobs, and oddly enough, two of the easiest ways are rarely (if ever) used by writers.

So if you want to kick off a six figure writing career, discover how to find and get blog jobs this week.

Imagine... $1,000 A Week For Just Ten Hours

You can get paid to blog. The current rate for experienced bloggers is around $1,000 to $1500 a week for from two to five posts a day - VERY nice writing income.

Find out how to blog with the blogging best-seller "Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want". It's my complete new ebook package, with free coaching/ consultations as well.

Artful Blogging - new blogging magazine

If you've read this blog for any time at all, you know I love blogs, and have a great many of them.

I'm always telling writers that blogging is life changing, and once they try it, they find that yes it is. :-)

Artful Blogging is a sumptuous (new - to me) blogging print magazine.

If you're wondering whether and how you should blog, this magazine will provide great inspiration.

I'm sending away for my copy now...

"Go From Zero To Making $250 Per Hour For Web Writing - Kick Off Your Web Writing Career In 24 Hours!"

There's great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.

Want to jump on this opportunity? No matter what your level of writing skill, you can make great money writing for the Web too.

Get a full year of weekly assignments; become a Web writing pro with Sell Your Writing Online NOW.

Be my guest... and blog here

If you've got a writing-related blog, here's your chance to grab some new readers.

Write a blog post for this blog, at between 400 and 600 words.

Your post must be writing-related - a how-to, or other writing tip. Check out the categories to see what topics might be suitable.

Provide a six-line resource/ bio note at the end of your post, linking to your own blog.

Send your post to me at angela.booth[AT]gmail.com with WRITING BLOG GUEST POST as the subject line.

Your post must be PLAIN TEXT, in the body of the email message. Please don't send attachments of any kind. If your message has attachments, it will be deleted unread.

I look forward to your post, guest blogger. :-)

Update - your guest blog articles

Updated on April 14, 2008

IMPORTANT points re content and style:

* Your guest blog article must be suitable for a general audience, including children. This means no profanity or anything racy at all. If you're in doubt, leave it out. I won't be editing your posts;

* Your guest blog article may NOT contain any adult content, and the links may not lead to sites containing adult content  - in ANY way, shape or form;

* Your guest blog article may NOT contain self-serving, promotional links within the body of the article;

* Your guest blog article should not be republished elsewhere (not even on your own blog) because of the duplicate content issue.

If you've submitted a guest post, thank you - please keep them coming, but also please take the audience of this blog into consideration. Many thanks.

Technorati Tags: blog your writing

Writing Blogs - Write a Blog and Triple your Income

If you're still thinking of a blog as an "online journal" you're roughly four years out of date. Blogs are a business tool, and blogging is essential for anyone who wants to make money, online or offline.

Blogging is especially vital for writers.

Here are the benefits of a blog for if you're a professional writer, or aspire to be:
     
1. A blog builds an audience (a platform) for your writing

Writing is competitive. The best way to get writing jobs is to already have writing jobs, because the clients you're writing for will refer you to others.

To get your first writing jobs, and more writing jobs than you can handle, you need a way for buyers of your writing to get to know you. A blog will do that for you - it makes you visible.

If you're writing books, a blog is even more important. These days, if you want to be published by a traditional publisher and have your book in bookstores, the first thing an acquisitions editor wants to know is: "What's your platform?" That is, your audience.

In days gone by, you could write a book and use that as your platform to build an audience, but those days are long gone. Publishers want a sure thing, and you get that sure thing by blogging.

A blog gets you readers, and to publishers, as well as to you, readers are money in the bank.
   
2. Blogging improves your writing, because you're writing more

A blog is a commitment. Although blogging can seem onerous when you start out, blogging will soon become your favorite activity, because you'll see that it improves your writing. Try it and see.

I've seen writers go from writing an article a month to writing several articles a week, and making six-figure incomes, because they blog.

3. You become a magnet for opportunities

Your blog gives you high visibility, so you'll be offered writing jobs. You won't have to chase them.

4. Your blog will get you blog jobs

"Blog jobs" are a new writing market that's popular. You can make as much and more blogging as you can writing for magazines. Your own blog means that others will ask you to blog for them.

5. You're more productive: you write more and sell more

Finally - here's the big benefit. Your blog trains you to write productively. You'll get into the habit of writing more, which means that you make more money.

Kick-start Your Writer's Blog

Go to Blogger (it's owned by Google) and create your first blog. This should take you all of 90 seconds. Here's my tutorial on exactly how to do it.

Call the blog anything you like - this is your "test bed" blog.

Initially this blog will simply be for practice, so you can become familiar with blogging. Ultimately, it will become the blog on which you test material.

Your portfolio blog, the next blog you will create, is NOT for testing. It's an online brochure you use to sell your writing.
     
Convinced that you need a blog? I hope you are. Blogging is the secret to writing success.   

Get the writing success you deserve by taking the first steps into the new world for writers: instant publishing on blogs

Want to build an amazing writing career? You can.

"Writing Success With Blogs by Angela Booth" includes an hour of FREE email coaching with me with purchase; this is a $300 value. I want you to blog with style and confidence, and get the top blog jobs.

Discover what, how, when, where and why you should blog for writing success. Get started blogging, today, and watch your writing career take off.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogs

Writing and blogging - is blogging helping your writing?

Do you have a blog?  As more and more writers develop blogs, most are finding that blogging helps their writing -- of course I am speaking anecdotally.

I'd love to learn your impressions.

Is blogging helping your writing? How?

Please tell me about your blog, and the effect that it is having on your writing.

Leave a comment to this post -- I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: blog your writing, blogging, blogs

Going from writer to blogger: seven tips to make it work

Blogging has become mainstream, and many writers are becoming bloggers because it's a way of publishing and getting paid, whether you blog on your own blog, or on others'.

Over the past couple of weeks I've had a mass of enquiries about blogging, so I've put together seven tips to help you to make blogging work for you, even if you're nervous about it. :-)

1. Start out with a free blog at Blogger.com. Anyone can set up a blog at Blogger in just moments - yes, even you. ;-)

2. However, BEFORE you dive right in, think about the topic of your blog. Choosing ONE and only ONE topic per blog is vital. Otherwise you'll end up with a "cat" blog which is about everything... and nothing. Your blog's readers want you to stick to the topic so they know what to expect, so choose your topic with care.

"Writing" seems a no-brainer as a blog topic for writers. This may be a great topic, if you love writing about writing (as I do). OTOH, if writing about writing bores you - if you think you can't write about writing at least once a week, choose another topic.

Your topic can be anything at all. Self help is popular, as are weight loss blogs - blog your passion, whatever it is.

3. Schedule your blog posts. Then write a blog post on schedule. Life always gets in the way unless you schedule your blogging.

4. Have a mission for your blog. Without a mission, you'll get bored. You mission can be to make money, to have fun, to experiment...

5. Decide whether you'll allow comments. If your blog is a professional blog: your writing portfolio for example, disallow comments.

6. Read other bloggers in your niche. Use their blog posts as jumping off points for your own. Blogging is conversational, in that one blogger can post on a topic, and other bloggers can post alternate points of view.

7. Give yourself time to get into the swing of blogging - a few weeks at least. With luck, your blog will take off without you having to do lots of promotion.

Discover Blogging, the Freelancers' Nirvana

What's a blog? A blog is a fantastic way to make BIG money as a freelance writer.

How much money? Several bloggers I know are making between $15,000 and $20,000 dollars A MONTH. Not bad pocket change. :-)

Find out how to blog with the blogging best-seller "Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want". It's my complete new ebook package, with free coaching/ consultations as well.

Discover blogging today.

Technorati Tags: blog how-to

Five Ways Your Blog Makes You a Better, and More Creative, Writer

Every writer has writing challenges, and your challenges are good for you. They make you a better writer - if you'll just keep writing.

Beat your writing challenges with blogging

Here's what will help you with 90 per cent of your writing challenges: blogging. This is simply because most of your writing challenges aren't crises, they happen because you're not writing enough.

Every HELP ME plea I've received from a writer this week, and every week, can be solved with a blog.

Your blog helps you to sell your writing too, it's your primary marketing tool. As I wrote in "Writers' Marketing Basics 1: ERR":

There's one primary rule in marketing, and only one: repetition. My favorite marketing acronym is ERR.

ERR means:

E: Exposure
R: Recognition
R: Response

So let's look at five ways your blog makes you a better and more creative writer:

1. Writing begets writing - the more you write, the more you can write

Writing is a muscle, and like all muscles, if you don't use your writing muscle it will atrophy. What you're writing is not as important as the act of writing itself.

Over time your blogging will help you to recognize a state of flow, and you will find that you can access this "flow" creative state at will.

2. You gotta shift a lot of dirt to find a few diamonds

When you write a lot, some of your writing will be good. A snippet you wrote on your blog a year ago can provide the inspiration for a novel, nonfiction book or a screenplay today.

Without the initial seed of the blog post planted in your subconscious mind, the idea for the novel etc won't occur to you.

3. You get confidence just like Sally Field: "You like me, you really like me!"

Many writing challenges stem from self-doubt. Your blog gets you readers, and your readers give you confidence.

When your blog attracts daily readers, knowing "You like me, you really like me!" gives you a warm glow.

4. Blogging makes you stronger: creativity becomes a habit

When you blog, you're open to creative impulses. As you hunt for blog topics, you'll find areas you want to explore in your other writing.

5. You learn to stand up for your words

Your blog gives you exposure, and exposure gets you commissions. Most writers spend far too much time hunting for writing gigs rather than writing. If you blog for exposure - you write your blog as a marketing exercise - editors and agents will approach you to write.

You'll also become more confident and will stand up for your words. Rejections will cease to bother you: you'll realize that writing commissions are like buses, there'll be another one along in a moment.

Your Blog: Your Vital Writing Sales And Promotions Tool For 2008

Gotta blog? My ebook, Writing Success with Blogs by Angela Booth, helps you to take the first steps into the new world for writers: instant publishing on blogs.

Your writers' blog is your must-have branding tool. It also has a very practical use – it's a writing portfolio.

From the ebook:

"Before editors will pay you to write, they want to know that you can write. They want clips – copies of material you've published. This seems like a Catch-22: you can only get published if you've been published. Your writing on your blog can be in lieu of clips. Your blog lets editors gauge your abilities and style, before they put down the cash."

The ebook helps you to create your own writer's blog.

Technorati Tags: 100 ways to be more creative

Blogging for Beginners - Set up a Blogging Empire

Blogs are instant publishing tools. You can write 200 words, hit Publish, and your words are immediately available online to hundreds of millions of readers.

This makes blogs immensely powerful. There's never been a tool for writers which is more powerful than blogging. And, as a writer, you're much better placed to handle the power of blogs than other bloggers: you know the power of words.

If you haven't yet experienced the power of blogging, I hope that this article will help you to get started creating your own blogs, and experimenting with them.

Read the complete article on Writing Hacker...

Technorati Tags: blog your writing, blogging, blogs

Five writer/ blogger's New Year's resolutions to keep

Gotta blog? Good. Creating and maintaining a blog shows commitment to your writing, and if there's ONE thing which will guarantee writing success, it's commitment.

Because I love writers and bloggers, here are five points I wish writer/ bloggers would keep in mind when creating New Year's resolutions:

1. Stop the whining already

What is it with writers who blog? All writers. Bestselling writers whine on their blogs, aspiring writers whine... Blogger dearest, if I want whining, I can get it any day of the week in daily life. I don't need to read a blog to get whining.

Your readers read you for inspiration and a little light in their lives, not to become depressed.

So stop it.

If you need a cathartic outlet for your spleen, use a personal journal. I'm a big fan of Life Writing - that is, writing through the challenges of your life. However, that stuff belongs in a personal journal, not on a public blog.

(BTW - I've included lots of Life Writing exercises in Your EveryDay Write - Life Writing is good for you: you'll work through many challenges and blocks.)

2. Write what you want to write, and what you think

It's your blog. Write what you like. You don't need anyone's approval, and you're as entitled to your beliefs and opinions as anyone else.

And following on from that...

3. Delete vicious comments fast - set your comments to "require approval"

You're under no obligation to allow mean-spirited people to post comments. Indeed, you're under no obligation to allow anyone to post comments. See #2.

4. Give your readers a takeaway with each post

When you blog, your aim is to get readers, and you'll attract readers when you come up with nuggets of information and entertainment. You're not writing War and Peace. (Although you could be, of course, if you're blooking... :-)

Share your writing life. Share what works for you - and what doesn't. (But watch #1.)

5. Focus your blog - one subject per blog

Your blog needs to be about something. Pick something to blog about, and stick to it. This means that if your blog is about mystery novels, or writing short stories, or you're blogging your latest book, stick to the point.

Of course, you can write the occasional post about your life if you wish, but make it very occasional. If you're blogging your family life, that's fine, but it belongs on another blog - your "my family blog". You can have more than one blog, and if you have many interests, start a blog for each.

Interested in pro blogging? Read Blogging for Dollars.

Technorati Tags: blog your writing

Top writing blogs I love in 2007

More and more writers are "getting" blogs, so there are more and more great blogs to read.

Some writing blogs I return to again and again, either because the writer has a great voice, or because he/ she makes a lot of sense.

These writing blogs are the stars of my RSS readers (FWIW, I use BlogLines and NetNewsWire).

In no special order:

* Writing Tools - Roy Peter Clark is a pleasure to read, and his book (just buy it) is a treasure;

* Neville Hobson, a professional communicator and it shows. A master of new technology for communicators;

* Lorelle on WordPress - Lorelle's an expert on kicking WordPress into shape, and much more;

* Paperback Writer - funny, profound, professional - Lynn's a writing pro with class, attitude and style;

* All Freelance Writing - Jennifer Mattern's newish blog. She grabs the writing world by the throat and shakes it;

* Ezine Articles Blog - all about articles, and why they're essential to your writing life;

* SEOBook Blog - all about SEO. Funny, controversial and always informative;

* Terry Whalin's The Writing Life - a lifetime's worth of writing knowledge. Read Terry's blog to enhance your career;

* Lee Goldberg's A Writing Life - books, TV - get a taste of one writer's life;

* Whatever - funny, informative. John Scalzi covers everything writing-related with panache;

* The Penguin Blog - you grew up reading Penguins; read the blog too.

Technorati Tags: blog your writing