I'm Back!

I thought I would be absent from writing this blog for just two months, but actually it took me six months to come back. Why? Winter blues, combined with job DIS-satisfaction, threatened to send me plummeting into depression. To combat this, I went into automatic survival mode which turns off the creative channels. Of course, denying creativity only compounds the threats to destroy me with depression, but the internal tape-recorder was already on auto-play by then, so negativity was sinking me and anything I might put on paper was not for the public eye.

Then, true to the spirit of the artist in my soul, I had to hibernate and wait for myself to buoy back up to the surface where I could think and feel again. Only then did I dare to open my notebook.

It’s summer now and I am once again unemployed. Am I bailing out to the fantasy of the starving artist, or is it true that financial worries are nothing compared to the soul-suffocating stress of the working world? I don’t know for sure, but it I’m telling you, I feel alive, even with no money to spend, and I was dying, even with a paycheck to buy plenty of food.

I have great callouses on my feet, but my heart remains tender and fragile. That’s a great combination for rising with the sun and hiking to the river’s edge to write poetry, play with words and listen to God, and reconnect with my purpose and value in earth life. it’s a terrible combination, however, for managing the subtle nuances of academia that deny authenticity and chisel away at personal value.

Nonetheless, that’s behind me now. The days are long and warm and I am once again awake. Bare feet on hard earth, birds and water ripples serenade me as my soul opens up and my pen scribbles quickly across the pages.

Ahhhh! The riverside writer is back!

PATCH

Check out PATCH! I first read a review of this online local news publication and then checked out their website. It’s quite impressive!

PATCH, created and sponsored by AOL, is a “hyper-local news initiative”. It started locally (I’m not sure where) and is quickly spreading all over the USA.

I found this publication because I was looking for paying writing jobs (outside my now familiar territory of article mills) and came across a really good resource that I also want to share here – it’s called The WM Freelance Writer’s Connection. This is also definitely worth your time.

But for now, let me tell you a little more about PATCH.

PATCH pays between $50 and $300 per article! Yeah, that sure beats the article mills! They also have a good reputation for both quality articles and respect for their writers. If you go to the PATCH site, you will learn about the company; if you go to one of their publications, you can see examples of their products. For example, I thought this edition of the Honolulu PATCH was really cool.

Unfortunately PATCH isn’t in all 50 states yet and it isn’t in Indiana where I live. Check out the PATCH map to see if there is one in your state. If there is, read some of the articles and decide how you can contribute. If there isn’t, well, you can a) keep your eyes peeled for this publication to arrive locally, or b) be proactive in getting PATCH in your neck of the woods. There is a link on their homepage to learn how to initiate PATCH in your state.

Either way, PATCH is well work looking in to.

So is The WM Freelancer Writer’s Connection!

Check them out and let me know what you think.

An Online Presence

At the Kentucky Women Writer’s Conference there was much discussion about a writer’s online presence. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and forums were the tools most talked about. I have also been at the edge of many conversations about article writing and article marketing, other online avenues for building repertoire as well as establishing your online presence. Then last night I attended a program at the university that featured a conversation between comedian David Letterman and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Twitter. I have an account but haven’t used it in months…. Well, now I am re-inspired to spend some time with it once again.

Little by little layers of the whole online trend of society are being revealed to me. And I do mean little by little. On the one hand, it is complicated and amazing; on the other, it is overwhelming and intimidating. And yet, every now and then, I step out of myself and release all the words about it that clog up my brain. It is then that I realize that establishing an online presence does not require mastery of any of it. It is a process and we just have to putter around in it and get some feel for it that fits on a personal level. We can’t freak out over the speed at which technology is growing because unless you are 20-something, you simply won’t catch up or keep up. So just putter a bit. That’s OK!

The bottom line is this: writers do need to have an online presence.

You have to be familiar with the various tools because editors and publishers use them and expect you to be able to use them as well. Your readers may like to linger in bookstores, but that alone isn’t enough. There is a dramatic shift in what, where, and how we read and that shift is going online. None of us can stop that. So you need to join in, at least on some level. Connect with established fans and potential readers through one or more of these tools. Maybe eventually you will use them all and even more, but for now, just start.

Finally, keep in mind that you need to find a balance between constantly learning and doing and just being where you are in it all at this moment. Push and glide; push and glide. You will get there.

Today is a push day for me, how about you? 

SEO = Findability

I want to be found!

When I first started blogging about three years ago, it was more like a little secret I had with myself. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it and I actually worried that someone I knew might somehow find out. I struggled with issues of ego and hid behind self incrimination:

Why am I doing this?

Who’s to say my words matter?

I’m nobody and only nobody cares.

My thoughts don’t matter, my opinions are irrelevant, and my experiences aren’t “cool” enough.

You FOOL!

But I did it anyway.

Then I let the secret out. First I told a few friends, then some people in my family. Before long, I was talking about it openly. After a year or so, I posted a few links to my blog on facebook. A few people were reading it, but most were not. By then, I didn’t care anymore – I didn’t care who read it and I didn’t care that most of the people who knew me and knew I was doing it didn’t read it. I just cared about fostering my own passion to write. Though not highly recognized and certainly not very well read, I knew my blog was public and therefore, it kept me aiming for quality work. It also kept me committed to my daily writing practice. That first blog was, and still is, purely personal.

The more I wrote and posted on my blog, the more I learned about blogging in general. As a result, themes emerged and I became anchored on a few specific areas of focus. Eventually I launched the Nitty Gritty of Writing blog to practice blogging professionally.

Now I am finally ready to be found!

SEO articles posted to article directories are my latest focus because the SEO keywords in those articles will bring more visitors to my blog. I want the traffic for three reasons:  

1. When people leave comments it helps me to find them and I want to find others so I can learn from them and build community; 
2. I do believe I have significant things to share and I want to help others to learn; and
3. I want to be found by people who can lead me to the next level in my work.

Yes, SEO = findability 

and I want to be found. 

Don’t you?  

Blog Posts Vs. Articles: What’s the Difference?

When I am free writing from brainstorming and prompts I sometimes get confused as to whether I am writing a blog post or an article. They are similar, or can be, and the lines of definition are blurry and vague. I can’t answer the question exactly, but I do have a current option that I am using now as a guideline:

Blog posts are more personal; they center on personal experience, opinion; they are written in a style that is more interactive by engaging your readership. Blogs are chatty. Articles on the other hand, are informational, centered less on personal knowledge and more on legitimate research. Articles fit into established formulas and can be written to specific templates. Blog posts can have structure, but it isn’t required; articles need to be structured. You can get away with writing a blog post that lacks a main point and supporting points, but an article needs these things. Blog posts can be anything including pictures, links, video, text, or any combination. An article must have text and the other things have to be relevant in the supporting role. A blog post might be commentary on an article or someone else’s blog post whereas an article would be more of a critical review.

You will find your own definition as you write them both, but maybe this brief summary will help you determine where to post the stuff you are writing. 

Blog Intensive in Progress

Here we are! Blogfest participants in action. Check out their new blogs.

Andria's blog: Words From the Parsonage
Andria's blog is about her life outside the parsonage doors.



Sandi's blog: Sandi's Impressions
Sandi's blog is about life lessons and inspirations from God.

Audrey's blog: Crafty Cupcake
Audrey's blog is about handmade cards.

Norma's blog: Scrappy Grams
Norma's blog is about grandmothers reaching out.

Blogging Intensive

I just started teaching an intensive blogging workshop. We met on Friday for 3 hours at Panera and began with brainstorming and planning, talked about promotion, and ended with everyone setting up their own blog. It was so exciting to see participants “get it” and to share in the joy and excitement as they created their visions. I’m going to eventually turn our work into worksheets and information to post here along with a comprehensive ebook about blogging.

Today we’ll have our next session and work more on blog designing including layout, widgets, etc., and what you can do with a blog. We will also learn about SEO writing. We’ll follow up at our third session with an emphasis on article writing.

I’ve learned a lot in the last 2 years of online writing, but I have so much more I want and need to learn. I’m at a point now that I need human interaction and feedback, so this workshop is aimed at sharing what I know and asking for help with what I hope to learn.

We are off to a great start: four committed and enthusiastic participants, each with a specific direction, all with similar dreams. The fourth session will be focused on tying up loose ends, follow-up and review. At that time we will also deal with questions regarding what we still want and need to learn. It is my hope that we will continue to meet regularly to continue our learning and to share with each other to foster the learning.

I would really like for us to each take responsibility for several of the questions generated by our meetings and research on our own with the promise to come back to the group to teach what we have learned.

The "About" Article

The “about” article is similar to the “list” article in that it consists of several aspects of the same topic. The main difference is that in an “about” article, all sections or points are aimed at further describing, explaining, or informing about your topic. This can be done with any topic. Take, for example, spaghetti: the different sections might include 1) the history of spaghetti; 2) the ingredients and/or different kinds of spaghetti (i.e., white, wheat, whole grain, etc.); 3) nutritional value; 4) how it is made; and 5) how it is eaten. Some of the sections in an “about” article can be turned into other articles more easily than others. Back to the spaghetti example: from the how it is eaten section you could write articles that include recipes for spaghetti sauces; the nutritional value section however, is more limited.



“About” articles are easy to produce because you simply need to follow a basic formula: introduction, 3 – 5 sections in the body, and a conclusion. Do your research and collect information from at least 3 different sources. Then read through the information you have and mark possible headings or sections in the margins. Next, go back through the research and write out your different sections as individual paragraphs. Heading your sections is an attractive stylistic feature because it makes the article easier to read. It also helps you incorporate keywords for SEO purposes. Once you have the body written, write your introduction and finally, the conclusion.


It is best to include your sources in an “about: article, so between the conclusion and your bio box, list your references. If possible, sent an email or leave a common on the site of the authors you referenced so they know you’ve linked to their work in your article. Not only is this a courteous gesture, it invites them to check out your blog and/or website and potentially opens up their whole circle of influence to a connection to you and your services.


Following are some “about” articles that serve as good examples for you as you work on crafting your own.

Elegant Aging - Growing Deeper, Stronger And Wiser In Your Years

All About Thai Curry

Baking with Flaxseed

The List Article

The “List” article is one of the most efficient kinds of articles you can write. The top 5 or 10 best of something, worst of something; 10 reason to do or have something; tips for doing something better; ideas, etc., are all great “list” articles.

The reason I say “list” articles are most efficient is because you can make the most of your research for a list article with the least amount of work. Write out the top 10 ~ whatever ~ then you’ve got the background for 10 more articles: just write more about each of the items in your list focusing on one item for each new article. Post them in article directories with trackbacks to your blog or website, and trackbacks all to the original article, and you’ve got a total of 11 articles out of one basic research session. And all 11 articles will work for you. Each of those articles serves as “free ads” for you, your work, your services and products.

Here are some great examples of list articles. Read them and consider how each item in the list can easily be written into another whole article.

Top 10 Wii Games
Top 10 Worst Movies of the Decade: Romantic Comedy
Tips on Creating a Great Resume
10 Reasons Why I've Decided to Get an iPad
50 Great Date Night Ideas

Article Writing

Article writing is one of the most “secure” jobs in the writing field. Absolutely everybody online needs articles. “Article marketing” is one of the biggest buzz words in the online industry.

Think about any Google search you have ever done – if you are looking for information, you find articles. Nearly all those articles include a link to some sort of website. This is how online business people promote their bubusinesses and attract new customers. All these businesses need writers for all these articles.

As a writer, you can do the same thing. Simply post articles in article directories that yu have written and include a short bio box at the end. People will find you.

Article writing is a numbers game: the more you write, the bigger your reprotoire and the more chances you have of being found. So write several articles about the same broad topic so that you have many avenues to one subject. This increases your exposure and over time, establishes you as an expert in the field.

Article writing is also a words game. SEO stands for Search Engine Optomized and is how the search engines rank information on the web. Use SEO keywords in your title and again throughout your article with more concentration on them in your introductory paragraph. This will push your article higher on the list of hits when people search for information related to your article.

Your articles stay online forever, so it’s not like you get one big bang for your buck and then its gone. Online business people know this, so they are constantly adding articles to their business. If you establish yourself as an article writer, you will always have a job!

Suite 101

Every article I write for clients requires research. The research I collect is always more than I need for that one article however. In addition, in the process of writing, more ideas come to mind and new twists and angles emerge that I simply cannot include in the assigned article due to word limits.

I always think it’s a shame to leave a topic with so many unwritten articles in my head. But I do just that, and I push away the lingering questions – what to do with all those ideas and all that information? What to do with the momentum of the moment?

Fortunately I keep all my research and file it away with my article once it has been submitted. So last week, I was pleased to find a way to utilize the remnants of my work through a new outlet: Suite 101.

Suite 101 is an article warehouse that generates income through Google Adsense. Authors post articles to the site and get pain a revenue from Google. What this means is that although you won’t get paid immediately, you will get paid over and over for the same article! Depending on the topics you write about, how popular they are, and how many articles you post, this could be quite lucrative.

Because I am already writing articles for clients who know what the hot topics are in the market, maximizing my efforts is a no-brainer for me. But even if you are not already writing articles, I want to encourage you to give it a try because it’s a great way to get started and build up your repretoire.

Check it out: Suite 101