How to Become a Writer and Have Your Writing Published on the Internet

Writing articles and blog posts for the internet is similar to writing for offline publications, but you will find that online writing is published faster and easier. I had wanted to write for many years, but was discouraged at the slow process and rejection of magazines and publishers in general. Once I discovered online writing, I was able to become the writer I had always wanted to be, and get my message out to others.

Article writing and blogging are the easiest ways to get started. These two areas will give you vast exposure to readers from around the world, and help you get your message out. During the first few months you will spend time finding your voice, so that you can decide what it is that you want to share with other people.

It is also refreshing to find that there are no traditional editors telling you what you can write and rejecting your writing for a myriad of reasons. The 1.4 billion internet users are your audience, and it is them that you are reaching out to with your online writing.

You can also turn your writing into short reports and eBooks, both of which can be sold on the internet. Choose a niche that is in high demand and you will be able to start making sales right away. A book published by a traditional publisher could take as long as a year or more to get published.

So get started with your online writing and submit articles to directories. Begin a blog on your niche topic and you will be on your way to a life as a writer on the internet.

And now I invite you to join me for free weekly teleseminars by visiting http://www.EbookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com to learn how to write articles, blog, become involved in social networking and learn the technology needed to build a profitable online business.

Connie Ragen Green has been online since 2005 and teaches people how to build their own online business in record time, offering free teleseminars weekly, as well as online courses in a workshop environment.

How to Express Percentage Changes and Use Numbers Correctly in Technical Writing

A number is tricky thing. As a technical writer you have to pay attention to the way you are using numbers and expressing changes in ratios and percentages.

For example, when you say "the file size shrunk by 100%" you are basically saying this: "The file has just disappeared!" Is that what you really wanted to say?

If a 4 Meg file shrunk to 2 Meg in size, it shrunk by 2 Megs.

What was the original file size? 4 Meg.

When you divide 2 by 4 you get 0.5, correct?

Multiply that by 100 to get a percentage - and you get 50% (not 100%)

Here is a good rule to find out the percentage changes in file sizes:

1) Start with the original size (O).

2) Subtract the final size (F) from O to find the difference (D).

3) Divide D with O and multiply by 100. That's your correct percent difference.

You can apply this not only to "file size" but ANY quantifiable and measurable change as well.

For example, imagine you moved from a house that cost $120,000 to one that cost $176,000. How much more expensive the new house is?

1) O (original cost of [the old] house): $120,000

2) F (final cost of [the new] house): $176,000

3) D (difference in the costs of two houses): $56,000

4) Percent difference: (56/120) x 100 = 46.6%

The new house is 46.6% more expensive than the old one.

When you are describing a process that takes "twice as long," or "two-times slower," do not write "the process is now 200% slower" because that would be incorrect.

The correct expression would be: "the process is now "100% slower". Here is why:

1) O (original process duration): 24 minutes

2) F (final process duration): 48 minutes

3) D (difference in duration): 24 minutes

4) Percent difference: (24/24) x 100 = 100%

If you are interested to read more about technical writing as a career and how it can help you earn a steady living, visit http://www.learntechnicalwriting.com You might be pleasantly surprised with what you'll find out. Join the thousands who are already helped and inspired by this information provided by a Fortune 500 Senior Technical Writer. Visit today and claim your free report "How Much Do Technical Writers Make?"

Dr. Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 Sr. Technical Communicator http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/

Writer's Block - Try This and You'll Never Be Stuck Again

When I think of writer's block, images of Jack Nickolson slowly going bonkers in that big old hotel send chills down my spine. But after 20+ years of making my living as a writer, I can honestly say I've never come close to murdering anyone - not even my (ex)spouse - while trying to find the right mix of nouns and verbs to fill an empty page. I've heard all sorts of advice over the years about how to be a more productive writer and frankly, most of it makes me cringe. The idea of setting goals for writing X amount of words or for X amount of hours each day is much too rigid for my taste. After all, I'm a creative soul, not a corporate slave. Do I really need a seminar to develop efficient time management skills? I don't think so. I've never missed a deadline in my life. Have I procrastinated? Sure. Like most professional writers, I spend more time on the hourly French Press ritual than actually writing.

I go for walks, lots of them, because it makes me feel self-righteous about taking care of my health. And occasionally I remember that I haven't called my best friend back in Oregon in a while and well, that's just rude so why not chat him up now while I'm thinking of it? But back to the matter at hand: Writer's block. I figured out very early on in my career how to avoid the beast. It's simple yet effective, just a little trick that I play on my own mind whenever: I resist sitting down at the computer, motivation eludes me, or writing feels like work. If you're like most writers, you've left notes for yourself all over the place.

They may be story ideas or bizarre facts or snippets of conversation you overheard at the supermarket or great titles that just need a few hundred thousand words to turn them into best sellers. You never have any trouble scribbling these notes, right? So the next time you feel stuck, grab a mug of coffee and tell yourself you're just going to jot down a few thoughts on the subject at hand. You're not "really" going to write anything today and you're not going to work. Tell yourself that tomorrow you'll look over the notes before you buckle down and get to work. So what happens now? While you're relaxed and not paying attention, your inner writer escapes his cage. He's doing the work for you and it's brilliant! Tomorrow, you'll see what I mean.

I can't tell you how many times I've scribbled my notes while telling myself that I'll clean it up tomorrow, thinking it's just a mess of disjointed thoughts. And on the following day when I take a look at my ramblings I'm blown away by what I've done - without thinking! More often than not, I don't even have to do a rewrite. You've probably heard the advice, "never let the reader see you at work." That's because the harder you try, the more you shut down the natural writer within. So loosen up. Pour a fresh cup. Go for a walk. Chat up some strangers on the street. Scribble some notes. And don't even think about working today. Tomorrow you'll see what a writing genius you truly are!

Lynie Arden is an award-winning author of 24 books and hundreds of magazine articles. She likes good coffee, long walks, talking on the phone, and green Post-it Notes

Secrets of Article Writing - How Long Does it Take to Achieve Success?

I get asked this question all the time. Subscribers ask me "How long will it take before I start to see good results in my business?"

And for me there is no hard and fast rule. It depends on what your niche is. It depends on what business model you are using to run your web site. It depends on what it is you wish to achieve, what are your goals. It depends on a whole load of different variables.

But what I can say is that if you do not allocate a specific number of hours to your business every single day, every single week, consistently, then it can take an age for you to see any significant results when you first get started online.

Now for those of you that have full time jobs then it is even more important that you allocate time to work on your business. If you work a standard 35 hours per week, then squeezing another ten hours to your business each week is going to be a challenge. But do you want this online business to succeed or not?

Instead of watching the many soaps every night, instead of watching reality tv, instead of surfing the internet haphazardly searching for more information, what you need to do spend some time on your business business and stick with whatever timetable you create.

Now if you cannot find ten hours plus to work on your business each week, it might take you months instead of weeks to see some positive results. If you spend three hours per day on your business that will equate to 15 hours per week. And if you allocate a further 4 hours over the weekend then that's a total of 19 hours per week and you will begin to make great strides in your business.

Now as well as allocating the time and sticking rigidly to your timetable, you will need to be ruthless on what you focus on your valuable time on. Everything that you do during your business hours, everything you focus on must increase your chances of generating an income.

So reading emails and surfing the internet are not included. The things that will bring in an income are things like writing articles, building traffic, developing relationships and creating products. These are the types of things that will eventually generate a consistent income for you.

So although there is no hard and fast rules as to the time it will take for you to see the seeds of success.... I do know that if you are consistent, that's day in and day out, week in and week out - if you consistently work on your business then you will begin to generate consistent income online.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article writing to build your list:

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Writing.

Want to learn how to increase your online income by effortlessly creating high priced products that your customers need and desire? Find out more here: Create High Ticket Products Fast.

Janet Cole is a powerful coach and online mentor. She has over 570 articles in print and has created 10 products in the last 12 months.

Productive Press Release Writing

Press release writing is not something that can be learned on the fly. And it is not something that amateurs do well at in the vast majority of cases. If you are interested in productive press release writing, there are 7 best ways to excel at press release writing today.

1. You absolutely must understand and learn the proper format that a press release is to be in. Over 90% of all press releases that are written today are in the wrong format and are thrown away. Reporters know who is a professional and who is not.

2. In regards to productive press release writing, you need to be concise. Long, drawn out press releases will be completely ineffective.

3. In order to excel at press release writing, you need to be familiar with how the press works. Unless you've been a part of the press in the past, or actually have been involved in media relations, you need to get educated.

4. In productive press release writing, you never bombard reporters with one release after another.

5. You need to make certain that your press release contains accurate and honest information. Submit false information to a reporter one time and you will be finished in press release and in productive press release writing.

6. Do not make grandiose promises to anyone you are doing press releases for you can make no guarantees about what the media will or will not report on at any given time.

7. Finally, when it comes to productive press release writing, you need to understand and rely upon those media niches that will be most receptive to a certain type of announcement or information.

Want to learn more about it? Download the free ebook, Steps to Article Marketing Success

Writing Articles the Right Way

Just about anyone who has a business on the Internet uses article marketing as part of their marketing efforts. Article marketing is when a person writes an article related to a product or service they're offering in an attempt to get more people to become their customer. Unfortunately not many people even know the right way to write articles.

One of the keys to writing articles is to make sure they will rank high on the search engines. This is done through search engine optimization. This means that the article is written using a keyword or a keyword phrase in the article so that the article appears when that keyword or keyword phrase is searched for.

Just about everyone who writes articles knows that the articles have to be search engine optimized. So this is followed but the other key for the right way to write articles is completely overlooked. The other key ingredient is to make sure the article is well-written, easy to read, and informative.

Too many people simply write an article as fast as they can and pump it full of keywords or a keyword phrases and then throw it up on the Internet. The article is not educational and has no value to anyone. So people will find the article but they won't go any further.

So anyone writing an article has to remember there are two steps that must be taken by any potential customers. First the person has to find the article and then they have to read it and find enough value to want to continue to where the article directs them.

There are many people who write articles but absolutely hate it. Many of these people also have no idea how to write a good article. Luckily there is a formula they can follow.

The first part of a good article is the title. The title should include the keyword or keyword phrase and it should also promise to give a benefit to the reader. For example, it might promise it will tell them how to save money on gas or it might promise to tell them how to write an article the correct way (just as the title of this article does). One thing to keep in mind is to always give people a list or a specific number of solutions to a problem. People love reading these types of articles.

Next an introduction has to be written. This will introduce the reader to the topic and should include a "hook" - something that will keep the people reading.

Then in the body of the article, you should give them the benefit that was promised in the title. Make sure you give them what was promised. If you promised "4 Ways to Save Money on Gas" then you better give them 4 ways to save money on gas. If not, they'll get disgusted and simply click-out of your article.

Finally, in the conclusion you should just sum-up what the entire article was about. Some people like to make the conclusion a mirror image of the introduction.

Many people write articles and post them on the Internet but not many people actually know the right way to write articles. A good article needs to be optimized for search engines and it also needs to be well-written so that the article leads the reader to where you want them to go.

Ken Troyer is a very passionate online entrepreneur and has a very high level of integrity. Ken has been involved in online business coaching since 2005...and has developed several successful websites since then. You can read more about Ken over at his main website: Online Business Coach

How to Write More Articles in Less Time

Does it take a lot of time for you to write an article, a single blog or to post them online? Do you take a lot of time to think about how to write an effective article? If your answer is 'yes' for the above-mentioned questions, then you should this article to get a solution for your problems. Whether you are a freelance writer, an article writer or a blog writer, you should be able to write effective articles in less time. If you are into a full time job as a web-writer then you need to manage your time in a manner in such a way that you write more articles in less time.

Here are few tips, which will help you to write an effective article or a blog quickly.

Stay focused

When you sit to write an online article, close down all other applications, as, they tend to distract your attention. For instance, the application that most commonly disrupts the working pace is chat application. Therefore, it is always better to close down all the chat windows, when you are writing an article. Other application that you should close down is the email window, as chatting email also tends to divert your attention. Close the browser application, which you open for reference work, immediately after you are through with your work. It is better that you stop checking blog traffic stats and Adsense earnings.

Exhaustive research

You should always do a little bit of research work before you begin to write the articles. This will help you to write an effectual article in less time. The research work will help you to enhance the quality of the articles and the articles will undoubtedly show the effort you have put in behind researching. Most of the articles that make it to the first page of the social bookmarking sites are well structured and researched. The research work will make you article factual, informative and will give a depth to your article.

Schedule yourself

Prepare a schedule before you begin your article, as it will help you to save on a lot of time. On the schedule, fix a time limit for every work that you will have to do because of the article. Assign maximum time for writing as writing the article will take most of your time. Also, allocate some time for research work, thinking a title and for deciding subtitles. By following this kind of a schedule, you can easily write an article in an hour.

Go for proof reading

It is important to do a proof reading after you have finished your article. Generally, most of the people leave out proof reading paucity of time or patience. Once you are through with your writing part, give it a reading and check whether there is any mistake or not. If you come across any mistake, rectify it.

Edit your work

The formatting works should be done once you are through with you writing. See to it that the images are at their place, give a caption to the pictures and acknowledge the person you want to. While editing see to it that the article is precise, concise and does not have fillers.

Writing high quality articles in few minutes is a difficult task, but you can easily master the art if you follow the above-mentioned points.

The author is dynamic web content writer and budding SEO. He has got the experience in writing quality content for various websites and getting them optimized too. You can view his website for more information

The Time to Become a Successful Writer is Now

90% of people are wasteful, and the 3 things they waste the most are time, money and self-esteem. And the 2 thieves that steal these 3 things from us are indecision and procrastination.

It's a fact that more time is lost through indecision than making wrong decisions. And procrastination completely strips us of self-esteem by making us feel that we're not good enough or smart enough.
So don't let indecision and procrastination hold you back nay longer from becoming the great writer that you really are.

You just need to feel more confident about yourself if you want to move up to greatness.

And it's not going to happen if you just waste your time and money reading self help books and books about writing. You need to act.

And don't aim low. Aim for the top. Use all the knowledge you've gained from reading books and taking courses and become the professional writer you have always dreamed of being.

Believe in yourself and the rest will be easy.

And don't settle for less than you want. All writers dream of success but perhaps don't strive hard enough to attain it because they think (somewhere subconsciously) that the success they crave is realistically out of their reach.

Well that's a losing attitude and if you think that way then you've already lost. So don't quite the day job.

Just remember that being a successful writer isn't easy. It's a challenge. Doing nothing is easy. But nothing will happen until you make it happen.

And the time to act is now.

Learn more about how to become a successful writer at Writeaholics.net. You can also read more about becoming a great writer at Writeaholics.net/greatwriter.html

Freelance Writing Careers

As a writer, you probably read the stories about writers who are working from home and making six-figure salaries with envy, and wonder, "Why can't that be me? I must not be good enough to make that kind of money." I'm here to tell you that it's possible for anyone to build a very successful freelance writing career and earn a six-figure salary, while never leaving home.

The key is diversification and flexibility. You have to be able to diversify your talents and be flexible enough to apply them to a variety of different sub-fields within the broader writing category. While your passion may be fiction writing, you still need to put food on the table while you write your novel. It's still important to pursue what you're most passionate about, but being flexible enough to apply your talents in more profitable areas will allow you the freedom to pursue your ultimate dream. Are you flexible enough and motivated enough to use your talents in other areas that have the potential to make you lots of money?

There are endless possibilities of profitable areas you could pursue in your writing career. Networking and marketing yourself properly could land you freelance writing opportunities in blogging, writing e-books, ghostwriting, copywriting, resume writing, and more. Corporations are always in need of talented writers to write copy for their websites, for external communications, such as press releases, and even internal communications. While many companies utilize in-house staff for these tasks, most often it's a secondary job for a staff member who has no experience in writing other than what they've done for that company. It's your job to educate them on how outsourcing those tasks to a professional writer could net them greater results from their communication efforts.

There are two challenges most often faced by writers, and I have solutions for both. The first is that most writers are, by nature, not skilled in the areas of accounting and business management. I chose to outsource my back-office functions to a company called MBO Partners, which handles contracts, invoicing and collections. They also act as an employer of record, which means I get a single W-2 at the end of the year, simplifying my tax-management process. I still have control over my business, still market my own services and choose which clients I work for, but still am able to take advantage of all the tax deductions that come with owning a business.

The second challenge most often faced by freelance writers is the ability to market our own services. Typically writers have more introverted personalities, and most of us aren't comfortable tooting our own horn. Thanks to the internet, it's not necessary to have face-to-face interaction with potential clients in order to get new business. There are many indirect ways to attract customers that are highly effective, although it is still beneficial to fine-tune our sales skills and have the courage to make cold calls now and then. It's also still necessary to take initiative and submit proposals for potential work. Go to your potential customers with ideas and solutions; don't simply send an email saying, "Hi, I'm a freelance writer, do you have any writing needs?" Make sure you do your research on your potential clients and think of how what you offer can improve their business. That's the information you need to convey when approaching a customer.

I have found that it's essential for any freelancer or independent consultant to have a web presence. Websites are much more affordable than they used to be, and if you have any tech savvy you might even be able to create your own. As a writer, you should also have a blog. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase your writing abilities, and gives you an easy place to point potential clients where they can get a feel for your style. It's also important to network using the internet. There are a ton of social networking sites that allow you to build a profile explaining your business and services. Get involved; participate in discussions and make contacts. Offering free advice is the best way to position yourself as an expert in a given field, and the best way to get clients coming to you without minimal effort on your part.

While all this may take some time, it's easy to see that anyone willing to diversify their skills and dedicate the time and effort to an effective marketing strategy can build a solid base of clients that could net them a significant income while working from home.

Angela Stringfellow is a marketing communications consultant and an MBO Partners associate. Visit their website, http://www.mbopartners.com

Fiction Tips

Capture the Idea

Many years ago, a noted author said to me, "I had rather write a note on the cuff of my blouse than to lose a good idea." Wow! That stuck with me.

Capture the idea at the moment it comes! I guess that's why I have so many file cabinets in my home. I can hardly bear to throw away all those scraps of ideas! And while that's a good place to store old manuscripts (and new ones), and ideas and plain old stuff, you can't very well carry a file cabinet around with you. So what to do?

Notebooks! Use notebooks! Use notebooks like an artist uses a sketchbook.

Yes, the computer is quick and easy. But the computer is not selective on its own. It may hold information longer than your mind, but it cannot bring all the information together as your mind can. While you can feed those ideas into the computer, still and yet, a writer NEEDS a notebook (or notebooks!).

A Writer's Laboratory

I still have on my bookshelf two small loose-leaf notebooks that I filled when I first began to write seriously. One is yellow, the other is blue. Yes, there they are in all their glory. In it, I wrote snippets of overheard conversations; names I felt were different or interesting; town names that caught my fancy, descriptions of sounds, sights, smells, and then there were the cute and funny things my kids did. They created for me a writer's laboratory as I recorded their actions and conversations.

Entry Sample

One entry from a winter day goes like this:

Clouds of fog were surprised to find themselves held captive in the night by the icy hands of the frigid air. Countless millions of droplets, soft and fat with moisture, were squeezed in the icy grip, then transformed into exquisite crystallized formations and designs. Each was individually fastened with miracle adhesive powers to every tree branch, every blade of dead brown grass, every strand of fence wire, in a sort of dress-up, flocking occasion. The first glow of dawn revealed that nothing had escaped the sparkle-tinsel effect. It later turned to fiery sparkles in the bold winter sunshine.

Stop - Write It Down

Insights and perceptions will flit through your mind like a quick firefly, lighting for a brief moment then gone forever into the darkness. Oh, you think you'll remember that little idea. Or that reaction. Or that snippet you heard. Guess what? You're kidding yourself. You will not. Stop whatever you are doing at that moment and write it down. Keep notebooks in purse or pocket, by the bed, in the car and in the john. Will you be laughed at? You can pretty well count on it. But when the novel comes out, when the work is published, and it contains the content that you hurried to write down (sometimes almost impolitely) you will be forgiven.

And even if you aren't forgiven, you shouldn't really care. Because you are only doing the WORK that is required of a serious writer.

Don't rely on the cuff of your blouse (or shirt as the case may be)! Buy notebooks and fill them! In the days to come, you be so thankful you did.

Are you a fiction lover? Are you a student of fiction? A teacher of fiction? A reader of fiction? Let veteran, published author, Norma Jean Lutz help you enhance your knowledge and appreciation of fiction writing. Author of over 50 published books as well as hundreds of articles and short stories, Norma Jean is a popular workshop and writer conference instructor. She shares tips, concepts, and intricate writing techniques right here: http://www.fiction-aire.com/fictionaire.html

3 Tips For Top Notch Articles

Article writing is an art. However, it is an art that can be learned, unlike trying to paint like da Vinci. That takes real talent. Article writing...not so much. You're probably wondering why. Well, the answer is simple. Article writing is a formula and one that can easily be taught. So, in this article, I'm going to share with you three simple tips that will make your articles stand out from the crowd. When you see how simple this really is, you'll be amazed. So sit back and relax. You're about to become a top notch article writer.

Tip number one starts with the title of your article. It MUST capture the attention of your reader. In order to do that it has to give them some benefit that they're going to receive from reading the article. Take the title of this article. The reader knows from seeing it that he's going to learn three tips for writing top notch articles. If he's interested in writing articles, he'll read this. It's that simple. Give the reader the benefit. He'll do the rest.

Tip number two has to do with your introductory paragraph. The mistake many article writers make here is that they go right into the tips. This is the wrong approach to take. You want to prepare the reader for what he's about to read. So your introductory paragraph should tell them what they're going to be getting from reading the article. That way they can decide whether or not they even want to waste their time with it.

Tip number three has to do with the closing of the article. If I were to close with the last tip, I'd be leaving the reader feeling unfulfilled. A better way to end your article is with a summary of what you just told them. This way, the details are fresh in their mind and they'll actually have a better chance of remembering what it is they just read because you've reinforced what you've just said. Simple, right?

Article writing is kind of a paint by the numbers thing. If you give the reader a good title, introduce the main points of the article so that they know what they're reading and then sum up what they've read (just like what I am doing now) they will come away with a satisfying reading experience. And that is, after all, ultimately what you're looking for.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write articles that get people's attention and can earn you up to $200 per article written? Then check out my Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide that you can find at http://www.honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html - This is my own book that I wrote from over 30 years of writing experience.

Map Making For Fantasy Writers

Maps are a wonderful addition to any fantasy novel. They give the reader an added level of information that helps them visualize and experience the world you have created. A good map can also help you in the writing of your novel. Here are some resources and tips to help you make good maps as a supplement for your writing.

Travel and the Size of your World

One of the biggest questions you have, which is also one of the biggest obstacles to good map making, is getting the size of your world right. If you are writing a fantasy novel the sky is the limit and you can create a world of any size you want (it is your world!). But if you want to stick to some sort of traditional measure you might want to consider the traveling speeds of horses and humans. This will give you a good foundation for how big your world is and how far apart the various landmarks are.

Some very loose rules of thumb are that an average healthy person can walk about twenty miles a day. This is roughly the pace of Roman soldiers on the march -depending on the amount of available daylight. You could of course stretch this in your writing. The distance horses can travel in a day also varies but a well-trained and healthy horse might do around fifty to sixty miles on a good day. Exceptional horses could do more than this, and potentially up to a hundred miles, but this would be a one day feat only and would require weeks of rest and rehabilitation.

The novel you are writing is fantasy and you can make any rules you want but just keep in mind typical travel distances so you can maintain a good sense of scale. It is generally not good to have your travelers walking several hundred miles in a day. Keep this in mind with your writing and with your map making.

If you want to use Leagues as a measure of distance one league is considered to be the distance a man can walk in one hour which is approximately three miles.

The Map Key: Elements to include

The key of a map is a box of information that helps the reader fully understand the map. Here are some key elements you should include with your map.

A Compass - A compass is a small drawing somewhere on the map that shows the four major directions. You should include one on your map. It helps orient the reader and is particularly helpful if you use directions in your writing. If one of your character says something to the effect of "We will reach the Lucky Dragon Tavern by nightfall and in the morning we will set out East toward the Brine River" your reader is able to look at the map and get an instant understanding of what is happening and where the travelers are heading. A detailed compass will show all four map directions of North, South, East, and West. And a scaled down compass will just point out North, which is often sufficient.

A Scale - A scale is a line drawn on the map that shows distances. You can calculate the scale on your map by first measuring the overall size of your map. You divide the distance the map covers by the size of your drawn map in inches. If your map covers 1,000 miles and it is 10 inches in size 1 inch = 100 miles. You create the scale by drawing a 1 inch line then marking it as 1 inch = 100 miles. You can make the scale larger by extending the line another inch and marking the end point as 200 miles.

Making your map more visually appealing - You can make your map more attractive and interesting by drawing in major landscape details. Mountain ranges can be drawn in, small groups of waves can be put in bodies of water, and small trees can be drawn into forested areas. You can even draw small buildings to represent cities and towns.

Writing Names of locations on your map - Here is a good rule of thumb to follow when writing the names of major landmarks on your map: The more important the landmark the bigger the text should be. Use larger letters for big cities and important places, and use smaller letters for less important landmarks. This helps your reader identify major points easier.

The map itself can be made more visually appealing by adding parchment curls at the edges or medieval style borders around the edges. You can even add small drawings of creatures. Whales in the oceans and horses in the plains are common. These are aesthetic improvements that would be done for the final map that goes into the book.

Using your map as you write

Your map can become a useful tool in your writing. Is your main character traveling from one town to another? Check your map. What kind of terrain is between the two towns? Is there a river that needs to be crossed? Is there a desert or heavily forested area? These things can generate new ideas for your story. And remember your scale. Does your map show the distance to be 200 miles? If so, did you write it as a one day journey? And be sensitive to the landscape and how it affects the creatures, races, culture, and plant life in your world. If your map has a variety of eco systems like mountains, forests, deserts, and swamps the life forms in these eco systems has to reflect that. And travelers passing through these systems have to face the challenges that each eco system poses.

Keeping two maps - one for your and one for your readers.

I recommend you create two different maps. The first, and larger map, is for your own use and it should be very large - poster board sized if possible. You can add lots of details and even include important notes and plot points on it; and it is imperative that you do it completely in pencil so you can erase and modify it as your writing progresses. Once your novel (and map) is completed you can use this first map to create the second, pared down map that will be included in the novel - usually as a two page spread in the beginning of the book.

Map first or novel first?

Maps and stories go hand in hand and I recommend you develop both simultaneously. The story dictates how the map will be drawn and the map will help you keep things correct in your writing. As you write your story it will bring about changes in your map. The two should develop simultaneously.

You don't have to be a cartographer or artist to make a great map to go along with your book. But you do have to know some rules of thumb to make sure your map is understandable by your reader. A good map will add to the readers experience by helping to make the world you created more vivid and real. And it will be a great tool to help you write a better fantasy novel.

Will is the author of two Epic Fantasy Novels and he is currently working on his third. For lots more articles on the art of writing fantasy visit his website:

Fantasy Writing
If you like to read fantasy visit his site devoted to the best fantasy books: The Fantasy Guide - Your guide to fantasy books, stories, news, and art on the web.

To Write or Not To Write - Is There a Writer in You?

So you want to become a writer. There are, of course, the physical and mental requirements. Education, hard work, that sort of thing. These are a must, and no writer worth his salt would call himself a writer without these. But theres more to it.

Do you have what it takes? How do you know if this is what you really want to invest the rest of your life in. These are the emotional questions that must be answered before you may put pen to paper. Beyond all the Diploma's and statements of your writing ability, it all comes down to the heart of writing. And heart is an apt term in this situation. Because sooner or later, there will come a time when the new wears off . You may have been published several times and became famous, but when that time comes , the writer within will shine his brightest. When writing becomes old hat, the true writer will forge onward, rushing to new heights, while the untrue writers will wander off on some wayside trail in search of different rainbows. With this in mind, you have to decide if you have the heart to make writing a career.

Let me give you an example. There was a time that I put writing on the back burner. I felt that I would never become a writer because I couldn't seem to finish anything, and frankly, life just got in the way. I had too many other pans in the fire, so I decided to put my writing career to the side and go on with my life, maybe to stumble across something else that I might like to do in the near future. Now this was the clincher for me. This was the moment in time that I realized that I was a true writer. For weeks, I was miserable. I couldn't sleep properly. I constantly caught myself wallowing in self-pity. It was as if I had lost a best friend.

Finally, I saw what was happening. Writing was as integral part of me as my arms. I began writing again, and another day dawned.

Writing is a friend when your lonely, or it can be a ravenous beast clawing at your mind, demanding release. Being published is a rush like no other, but for a true writer, being published is a grand side effect, a bonus, if you will. A true writer must feed this beast that hides within him, lest he be consumed by it. A bit melodramatic, but you get the point.

There are two things that you must have to become a writer. Lots of determination, and twice as much patience. You have to make yourself sit down at that computer, typewriter, or paper. Write as often and as much as you can. It is entirely too easy to say that you will do it after this is done or you've finished watching this T.V. show. This is not acceptable. Pick your times to write, and regardless of what else is going on, stick to it.

Patience is the tough part. Waiting for that idea. Waiting for this article or that book to be finished. Waiting to hear from a publisher. Writing is 50% patience, and 50% everything else.

This life-choice is hard work that can be emotionally as well as mentally stressful. Nevertheless, for those of you that have writers in you, just let me say this; as low as you feel when you get the first rejection slip, you will soar when you first see your name in print. You will become complete, and I warn you, being published is often an addictive sensation. Once you get there the first time, you will always strive to return.

Jay Graham is a 20 year professional author/columnist/freelancer/SEO writer with over 20 years experience in the literary Industry. He currently provides job opportunity links to other writers seeking work at his website.

http://chasingthemuse.blogdrive.com/
Mr. Graham is also the head of Creative Solutions Literary/Graphic/Publicity

Useful Plagiarism Checkers For Writers

Plagiarism is a big problem these days. People copy work from others and claim to be theirs without the right attributions. The fact is that you cannot simply copy other people's work for your own use personally or commercially. You need to attribute the work to the owner according to the copyright.

The most popular copyright to be used on the internet is Common Creative. Go through Common Creative to find the correct copyright for your work. When you want to quote someone else's work, make sure you check the copyright before doing so and remember to credit the owner when you quote the work. This is very important.

As a writer you should know the tools to use when you check your work. The most important tool for a writer would be plagiarism tools such as CopyScape. CopyScape is well known as a reputable plagiarism checker that you use online for web pages or articles. All you need to do is buy a minimum of 100 checks for only $5 so you can check your articles through 'copy and paste' into the CopyScape website. Otherwise, you can enjoy free checks up to 5 times for the same web url.

Apart from CopyScape you can try other free and reliable checkers such as Plagiarism Detect. This is a brand new checker by Jeffrey and you get to check through Books and PDF as well. Article Checker, Dupecop and Doccop are other examples of plagiarism checkers you can use when you are writing articles for clients or your blog. Copy Alerts on the other hand helps you detect plagiarism of your blog or websites and notify you through emails when someone copies your work.

You must be aware that not all tools are reliable in the market so when you are choosing a plagiarism tool that suits your needs, make sure that they work at least 99% accurate. Some of the plagiarism tools are free to try and you need to buy if you want to use for long term. Depending on the types of plagiarism tools you need, most of the free tools are sufficient enough to check for plagiarism in articles.

Sarah Lam is a freelance writer who blogs at Writing Consultation. If you are looking for reliable and affordable writing services, she is the one to look for

How to Express Percentage Changes and Use Numbers Correctly in Technical Writing

A number is tricky thing. As a technical writer you have to pay attention to the way you are using numbers and expressing changes in ratios and percentages.

For example, when you say "the file size shrunk by 100%" you are basically saying this: "The file has just disappeared!" Is that what you really wanted to say?

If a 4 Meg file shrunk to 2 Meg in size, it shrunk by 2 Megs.

What was the original file size? 4 Meg.

When you divide 2 by 4 you get 0.5, correct?

Multiply that by 100 to get a percentage - and you get 50% (not 100%)

Here is a good rule to find out the percentage changes in file sizes:

1) Start with the original size (O).

2) Subtract the final size (F) from O to find the difference (D).

3) Divide D with O and multiply by 100. That's your correct percent difference.

You can apply this not only to "file size" but ANY quantifiable and measurable change as well.

For example, imagine you moved from a house that cost $120,000 to one that cost $176,000. How much more expensive the new house is?

1) O (original cost of [the old] house): $120,000

2) F (final cost of [the new] house): $176,000

3) D (difference in the costs of two houses): $56,000

4) Percent difference: (56/120) x 100 = 46.6%

The new house is 46.6% more expensive than the old one.

When you are describing a process that takes "twice as long," or "two-times slower," do not write "the process is now 200% slower" because that would be incorrect.

The correct expression would be: "the process is now "100% slower". Here is why:

1) O (original process duration): 24 minutes

2) F (final process duration): 48 minutes

3) D (difference in duration): 24 minutes

4) Percent difference: (24/24) x 100 = 100%

If you are interested to read more about technical writing as a career and how it can help you earn a steady living, visit http://www.learntechnicalwriting.com You might be pleasantly surprised with what you'll find out. Join the thousands who are already helped and inspired by this information provided by a Fortune 500 Senior Technical Writer. Visit today and claim your free report "How Much Do Technical Writers Make?"

Dr. Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 Sr. Technical Communicator http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/

6 Highly Useful Things to Guide Students When Writing Their Essays

The students from the various scholastic levels would usually be required to write different kinds of essays for their classes. Professors would either give their student's a topic, something that is about their course, or give the students the option to pick their own topics. What these means is that writing an essay is always a big part of a student's life. However, Not all students are good with using language or writing essays. Some lack the proper grasp of grammar and vocabulary to make the article.

For the students who are not as skilled or are having difficulty in finding time for writing their papers, these 6 tips would help in creating a good quality essay.

1. Choose a topic that involves a personal interest. Crafting an essay becomes less tedious if one is innately enjoying what he is writing about. This makes writing about the subject something of a second nature to the writer. For car enthusiasts for example, an essay on the newest cars or parts is just like talking with their friends and sharing interests. In situations wherein the professor hands out the topics, the students can just write on the topic in a way that uses an angle related to the interest.
2. Do some research first. Before doing the writing, the student should first do some research. Being able to research the topic of the essay,gives the writer the opportunity to take various points and angles and use them in the essay. This research task is even much easier now with the advent of the internet and various online resources.
3. Create an Outlines for the essay. Creating an outline for the essay allows one to see how the essay will be structured and what kind of sentences each paragraph should have. A good outline would use either topic sentences or idea phrases, to make it a worthwhile guide for the essay writer.
4. Look at example essays. An essay example gives students the chance to learn more ways of writing their papers. Having access to other essays helps one learn how to use smooth transitions in presenting their topic. The essay example allows the student to look at how the author talks about the topic. One can then emulate the use of language, style, and flow of the author in their own papers. To be able to find examples, the students can ask their professors or can even browse some sample online articles.
5. Make sure the paper follows the instructions and guidelines set by the institution. Academic papers have to follow a specific set of rules with regards to its format. Format rules would usually include specifications for font sizes and styles, and margin width. Check that the paper is able to follow all these rules.
6. Check for grammar and typing errors. Avoid point deductions from your essay due to errors in spelling and grammar use. Low grades are given to well-crafted due to such markdowns. Grammar and Typing errors can be seen by the professor as sloppiness on the part of the student. Use the spellchecker in the software, as well as check the paper once it is printed out.

Angela Foster is an English Literature professor in her local college. She had been a teacher for 20 years and is known due to her essay assignments on everything. When not giving out or grading submitted papers and other articles, she spends her time by taking care of and playing with her granddaughters. She can be usually found visiting the park or zoo with her grandchildren, playing the role of their tour guide.

Easy Writing For Children

It's easy to pick up a children's book at your local bookstore or library and think, "I could have written this." After all, there are few words and the words and thoughts are simple. How hard could it be?

It's much harder than you think. Whether you're writing a picture book for toddlers or a novel for the young adult market, you have to have some knowledge and training in the profession of children's writing to succeed.

Like any profession, children's writers have worked at perfecting their craft. They have taken classes, attended workshops and joined critique groups. Then, they submitted their books to editors who worked with them even more. Being a children's writer is not for the thin-skinned.

If you're interested in writing for children, there are several steps you can take to help you achieve your dream.

Take a class: If you've never taken a writing class, this would be a good time to sign up. It will teach you how to organize your thoughts and how to perfect your grammar. Taking a class that focuses on writing for children would be even better. You can find these classes or workshops at your local library, community college or you might try looking online.

Join a writer's organization: Writers organizations hold local workshops, meetings, sponsor critique groups and classes. Look around your community. You might be surprised at how many writers you find.

Join a critique group: Sure, you think your writing is great. But have you shown it to anyone else? Before you submit it for publication have another writer read it and tell you what s/he thinks.

These steps can get you on the road to a successful career in children's writing.

For more tips on writing for children, visit Phyllis' blog at http://www.phyllisquigg.blogspot.com

Writer's Block - The Curse Of Perfectionism And How To Overcome It In Your Creative Writing

As a creative writer, you know all about writers block. Sat at the blank page or screen, trying to come up with the right paragraph, the right sentence, even the right WORD.

And it feels about as easy as juggling custard. Blindfold. With both hands tied behind your back.

One of the biggest causes of writers block is perfectionism not being happy with your creative writing until every sentence, every word, ever syllable is utterly perfect.

Theres a fine line between wanting to write the best work you can write and getting dragged down in a never ending quest for perfectionism.

Here then is how perfectionism takes hold and causes writers block, and how you can overcome it:

How perfectionism causes Writers Block:

You cant write a sentence without there being one word not quite right in it. Rather than change the word, or leave it to come back to and change later, you discard the whole sentence.

You write a page of 20 sentences, then dismiss and delete each and every one because a certain word wasnt quite the perfect choice, in your opinion.

This is the smallest scale example of this kind of habit and behaviour. It only gets worse when you junk whole paragraphs, pages or chapters just because a few parts werent perfect.

This then leads to the attitude of If I cant write a complete sentence well, whats the point of me even trying. Hence, exasperation, writers block, no new writing and an anguished time for you the writer.

How to beat it:

A tiny shift in perspective is actually all thats needed. Say you write your page of 20 sentences. Each has a word thats not quite right, in your view. Rather than say This is a page full of imperfect and therefore unusable sentences you could look it at this way:

This is a page thats 90% brilliant. Theres some great writing here, I just need to change the odd word here and there.

It sounds almost too simple but sometimes the best techniques are. Try it, leave the page, come back to it a day or week later with fresh eyes and make any extra tweaks and changes then if you feel theyre necessary.

Your approach now becomes: I can right a near perfect page without much effort. It flows easily and I write freely this way. I can then come back and make any fine adjustments later. I might not even need to.

The curse of perfectionism is a major cause of writers block if you let it be.

Try this small change in your approach from today and notice the difference it makes to your creative writing.

Want to find more ways to become a better creative writer and unlock your creative writing potential? Get your FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com.

Creativity Coach and keen creative writer Dan Goodwin helps people who are frustrated they're not using their creative talents as well as they could be. See more at his website: http://www.CoachCreative.com

Persuasive Writing Topics

Whether it is for a school assignment or for a personal whim, choosing persuasive writing topics is as important as the content. However, there are certain times when choosing among many persuasive writing topics can become a difficult process.

This happens to both novice and experienced writers, so there is really no need to fret about it. If you are experiencing this kind of "writer's block", here are a few tips you might want to consider when choosing for that topic you need or want.

What Is Persuasive Writing?

Before anything else, you need to know what persuasive writing is really all about. This will give you a guideline on how to choose a topic.

Persuasive writing is composing an article or an essay that contains the objective opinion of a person specifically the author.

In a written article, you may write to persuade the readers to do something they have not done before or to just support your point of view. In persuasive writing, you need to make the readers believe what you write.

Most Common Persuasive Writing Topics

There are a lot of different persuasive writing topics that have been composed before. Among all the topics, the most common are smoking, abortion, health, politics and rights of women.

Persuasive writing topics should not only be limited to these. You can write just about any topic you want. Remember to do extensive research about the subject. Opinions based on experience, supported by facts, will have a very effective outcome.

How To Choose Your Topics

If you are tasked to create your own persuasive writing topics and you need to write about it, then it can be quite difficult especially if you are not inclined to writing. The same goes to people who are not that opinionated. So how do you choose your persuasive writing topics?

The first thing you need to consider when choosing for a topic is whether it is interesting or not. This does not pertain to the interest of your possible readers, but of your interest. You need to choose a topic that sparks interest in you. How will you be able to persuade a reader if you can't even persuade yourself with the specific topic?

Second, before you choose the topic, you need to reflect on what the purpose of your persuasive article is. You need to have an objective to make it easier to choose your topic.

When you already have a list of your potential persuasive writing topics, you can now ask the opinions of other people. Through this, you can find out which of your topics can also spark the interests of other people.

Want to earn a 5-figure monthly income through freelance writing jobs? Go to http://www.20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover how to earn massive amounts of money by becoming a freelance writer.

Freelance Writing - A Change of Career

Writing occupations, scarcely a few decades ago, fell into three categories that were marketing copy writing, report or book writing. Nowadays, in addition to these the domain of the freelancer has truly expanded and has now become a booming industry with no signs of a slowdown. More and more people are getting interested in freelance writing nowadays.

In fact, the kind of work that freelancers undertake nowadays is so varied that it defies interpretation and the arrival of the online world has opened up new types of freelance writing jobs. Although it isn't a glamorous career path, and will not result in a million dollar income many people see freelance writing as a job opportunity that anyone with a basic knowledge of grammar can do.

Freelance writing is a profession that many desire and is a career that can be practised from anywhere where there is a laptop and Internet connection. It is one of the most straightforward and reliable ways to earn instant cash, as many times as you want and although it appears to be best chosen by those who have talent for writing the authorship skill does not have to be of the highest grade. And remember writing is a skill that can be learned.

If you have a talent and enjoy writing then it may be the new career path for you, but before you get started there are a few things to take into consideration so as to avoid disappointment. Primarily you should have an enjoyment for writing otherwise it will become a chore and the initial motivation will end.

Make sure you are writing on a topic for which there is strong demand. Writing an article and then searching for someone to publish it is the least successful way to get published. A little research first will provide a good idea of what kind of jobs are out there, where to find the good jobs and what sort of fees you can charge and the income you can realistically expect to receive.

One thing should be remembered that if you want to start career in freelance writing job, you must be a person who is ready to work and that you have to work if you are going to find online freelance writing job. Many fail at freelance writing even though writing jobs are many and comfortable. They are unable to maintain their work rates sufficiently enough to earn enough money.

If you want to be a freelance writer it is up to you how successful you want to be. The opportunities are there, you just have to go out and grab them.

If you have ever considered being a Freelance Writer or just want to learn more about becoming a writer go to http://thewriterschool.com and keep up to date with the latest writing news, free resources, articles and more

Writer's Block - The Curse Of Perfectionism And How To Overcome It In Your Creative Writing

As a creative writer, you know all about writers block. Sat at the blank page or screen, trying to come up with the right paragraph, the right sentence, even the right WORD.

And it feels about as easy as juggling custard. Blindfold. With both hands tied behind your back.

One of the biggest causes of writers block is perfectionism not being happy with your creative writing until every sentence, every word, ever syllable is utterly perfect.

Theres a fine line between wanting to write the best work you can write and getting dragged down in a never ending quest for perfectionism.

Here then is how perfectionism takes hold and causes writers block, and how you can overcome it:

How perfectionism causes Writers Block:

You cant write a sentence without there being one word not quite right in it. Rather than change the word, or leave it to come back to and change later, you discard the whole sentence.

You write a page of 20 sentences, then dismiss and delete each and every one because a certain word wasnt quite the perfect choice, in your opinion.

This is the smallest scale example of this kind of habit and behaviour. It only gets worse when you junk whole paragraphs, pages or chapters just because a few parts werent perfect.

This then leads to the attitude of If I cant write a complete sentence well, whats the point of me even trying. Hence, exasperation, writers block, no new writing and an anguished time for you the writer.

How to beat it:

A tiny shift in perspective is actually all thats needed. Say you write your page of 20 sentences. Each has a word thats not quite right, in your view. Rather than say This is a page full of imperfect and therefore unusable sentences you could look it at this way:

This is a page thats 90% brilliant. Theres some great writing here, I just need to change the odd word here and there.

It sounds almost too simple but sometimes the best techniques are. Try it, leave the page, come back to it a day or week later with fresh eyes and make any extra tweaks and changes then if you feel theyre necessary.

Your approach now becomes: I can right a near perfect page without much effort. It flows easily and I write freely this way. I can then come back and make any fine adjustments later. I might not even need to.

The curse of perfectionism is a major cause of writers block if you let it be.

Try this small change in your approach from today and notice the difference it makes to your creative writing.

Want to find more ways to become a better creative writer and unlock your creative writing potential? Get your FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com.

Creativity Coach and keen creative writer Dan Goodwin helps people who are frustrated they're not using their creative talents as well as they could be. See more at his website: http://www.CoachCreative.com

All About Freelance Technical Writing Jobs

If you have specialized knowledge other than how to be a great writer, then technical writing may be for you.

Technical writing combines your writing talent with a specific area of expertise, such as IT, graphic design, education, engineering, the automotive industry, etc. You could be writing for others who are already familiar with the field, or you could be writing to teach others.

How much does technical writing pay?

Technical writing freelancers often get paid very well, anywhere from $40 to $100 per hour or more. Technical writers command a higher rate of pay because it takes much more than polished writing skills to do the job.

Where can I find technical writing jobs?

The Internet is the ideal resource, especially if you're just getting started. Check out websites like computerjobs.com, IFreelance.com, or rentacoder.com. These sites offer many postings by companies seeking freelance technical writers in a variety of industries.

I also recommend you post your resume on an employment site like CareerBuilder.com or Workopolis.com. Because you have a specialized skill set, know that there will be people actively looking for you. Having your resume on this type of website will greatly increase your chances of getting a well-paid technical writing gig.

Another technique is to do some brainstorming. Ask yourself if you have a specialized skill set or knowledge base. If so, what companies are in your area that could use a writer with skills like yours? Contact those businesses directly with your resume and a letter explaining how difficult it can be to find a good technical writer and that you're available to help with any upcoming projects they may have.

What type of work will I be doing?

In IT, technical writers are often creating software or hardware manuals from scratch, or writing about coding. In the education field, you may be writing textbooks or creating PowerPoint slides for online learning programs. You could also be writing assembly manuals for machines, preparing reports for a pharmaceutical company, or creating do-it-yourself manuals for home repairs, etc.

In any technical writing job, you'll need to have good writing and communication skills on top of your area of expertise. Technical writing projects are often collaborative, meaning you'll have to deal with other people and complete the project as a team. Even if you're working alone, your client will want to know how you're progressing and whether you're on track with what he or she is looking for. Expect lots of communication, either over the Internet or by phone.

How do I properly respond to an ad for a technical writer?

To maximize your chances of success, your response should include:

- A note about how valuable you feel the company is
- A summary of your qualifications in the field of expertise
- An overview of your superior writing ability
- Any related experience you may have

This response could be in a cover letter accompanying your resume or in your bid on a freelancing website. Read the sample ad below to see if you could make a compelling candidate:

We are an online learning company specializing in business skills. We teach administrators, HR people, etc. to effectively coach employees and streamline day-to-day business. We design online courses and downloadable presentations. We need a writer to help us with our upcoming courses for next year.

In order to make maximum impact, your response needs to hit each of the four points above. For example, you might respond like so:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I've taken a look at your website and I must say that your material is very impressive! It's clear that you provide a lot of value to the businesses that use your services, and I would welcome the opportunity to join your team.

I hold a Bachelor of Commerce with a Human Resources designation. Throughout my education I designed various studies of employee behavior. Recently, I've been working as a consultant helping companies optimize employee productivity. I believe my skills may be of benefit to your company.

In addition, I am an accomplished writer. I have written articles, reports, and web content. My clients are always pleased with my work because it is grammatically flawless, concise, and easily accessible to readers.

Thank you for considering me for this position.

Sincerely, (name)

That's it! Just remember that you have a unique combination of highly sought-after skills, and you'll have your first technical writing job in no time.

Brian Scott is a full-time freelance writer with over a decade of experience. He finds many of his paid freelance technical writing jobs at Online Writing Jobs (http://www.online-writing-jobs.com), a free jobboard that lets you search thousands of freelance writing jobs.

Ezine Publishers Want These 5 Things From Article Authors/Writers

Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by top name brand ezine publishers?

While there is no shortage of authors willing to give their articles away for free with hopes of attracting ezine publishers who will pick up your article to send to their list as supplemental content or 'guest expert' - there is a gap between two very different types of articles:

Type 1: Those That Get Reprinted

Type 2: Those That Get Passed Over

Article marketing can help you achieve fame, traffic, credibility, sales, referrals and much more, but not if your articles don't make it into viral distribution.

Here are the top 5 factors that ezine publishers look for when they decide which articles to publish:

1) Does the article have zero self serving links in the article body? If so, good.

Loading up the body of your article with affiliate links or other obvious self-serving links is a liability. Your short-term thinking or scarcity based thinking (that you need to get an immediate return from your article) will keep your article from ever seeing top results.

2) Does the article have no more than 2 self serving links in the resource box? If so, good.

Your resource box at the bottom of your article should be short, sweet, succinct, to the point, and be less than 10% of the total word count of your article. Ezine publishers don't mind giving you name credit and a link for sharing your article with them, but they don't want to look like a fool by being required to reprint a short novel about all of your websites and accomplishments.

3) Is the article short (250-700 words)? If so, great.

We live in a 'sound byte' economy. No one has time to really go deep when it comes to reading email newsletters. It's proven that the shorter articles achieve a much higher distribution than the longer ones.

4) Does it deliver quality original content with numbered lists, bullet points or easy to glean information that their audience would find valuable? If so, good.

Key point: Make sure your articles are 100% original content. Anything less is really an insult.

5) Is the author well recognized or respected within their market niche. If so, excellent!

Ezine publishers have an ego just like you do. They want to use articles in their email newsletters that make them look good. The more you use your articles to help yourself gain credibility for your unique expertise within your niche, the greater the chances you'll find your articles getting picked up by your ezine publishing peers.

Hint: You'll need to write at least 100 or more articles before a top dog takes your credibility seriously. The greater majority of authors think they can put 1-6 articles into distribution and that's all that they will need to make it big. How erroneous their thinking is... You can quickly separate yourself by putting 100 more articles into distribution before this quarter is over. Yes, it is possible; Yes, it has been done; and Yes, you can do it.

There are many other considerations that ezine publishers look for, such as:

Relevancy of the article to the ezine publisher's core focus

Timing of the article and its relevance to current market dynamics

Grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure are perfect

Simple, clean, neat and no abuse of the bold/italics/underline attributes

Formal approach to the article vs. blogging loose style

How well referenced the article is

About The Author:

Christopher M. Knight invites you to submit your best quality original articles for massive exposure to the high-traffic http://EzineArticles.com/ expert author community. When you submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, your articles will be picked up by ezine publishers who will reprint your articles with your content and links intact giving you traffic surges to help you increase your sales. To submit your article, setup a membership account today: http://EzineArticles.com/submit/

(c) Copyright - Christopher M. Knight. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Freelance Writing Online

Never before has it been this easily to earn a sizable income as a freelance writer. The internet has exponentially exploded not only the number of places where writers can submit their writing, but more importantly, the number of people looking to hire capable writers. The internet is a huge beast that requires fresh content (i.e. writing) on a daily basis, and millions of websites and media outlets spend enormous sums of money to keep the beast fed.

If you can write interesting and compelling articles and blog posts, it is not unrealistic to expect to earn a very comfortable living working as a freelance writer creating content for websites. This article will cover three steps you can take today to start your career as an online freelance writer.

1. Write Everyday

By this I mean, post something online every day. This can be as simple as starting a free WordPress or Blogger blog and posting to it daily. Make your posts a few hundred words in length and make them about thoughtful topics. You want these posts to showcase your writing as its best.

There are several reasons to write every day. A few of the more important reasons include:

• To earn a decent living as freelance writer online you are going to need to be working on paying jobs everyday, so you might as well get into the practice of writing everyday, even if at first you are not getting paid (or paid a smaller amount).
• As mentioned above, writing everyday creates a portfolio. There will come a day when a potential client wants to see examples of your writing. Being able to direct them to a site that you have contributed to regularly not only showcases your writing, but also demonstrates that you are able to maintain a discipline of writing regularly. Your online posts are your business card, make sure they represent you well.
• Writing everyday is the discipline of exceptional writers, especially online writers. Start this discipline today. Chances are it is either going to be easy at first and then get difficult, or it is going to be hard right from the start. Either way, it's going to get difficult eventually and if you plan to write for a living you need to learn to get through the hard times as soon as possible.

2. Network With Other Freelance Writers

Online forums are a great place to get know other freelance writers. Make it a point to find at least one forum, or section of a forum, that is populated by active freelance writers. Join the forum and start participating.

There are many benefits to getting to know others in this business and networking with them on a regular basis. As you run into questions, you will have a valuable resource from which to seek answers. As you start to develop relationships with other writers, you may find unexpected writing opportunities. For example, someone on the forum may be looking for a guest blogger on a particular topic that you know very well. The person is more likely to offer the opportunity to you if they know you and are familiar with your writing.

Forums are also how most freelance writers post referrals for jobs and assignments they are not able to accept. For example, a writer who focuses primarily on banking and finance topics may have a client who is looking for a fitness writer. This writer is likely to let the the forum know about this fitness opportunity since he knows the client can trust the caliber of the other writers on the forum. Or, perhaps if the writer knows of a particular fitness writer that he trusts, he will refer the fitness writer directly to the client.

Forums are also a great way to get your name out. Most forums allow you to use some sort of signature line with a link to a website. If you are writing online everyday (see #1 above), forums are an excellent way to get visitors to your website. These are just a few examples of how forums can be great resources.

3. Start Bidding on Jobs

There are hundreds of online job boards that are updated daily with new requests for freelance writers. Find several of these boards and check them daily. (Time Saver: If the job board has an RSS feed, set up an RSS feed reader to collect all of these job postings in one place for easier checking.) When you find jobs that you are well-suited for, apply for them.

It is especially important in the beginning to develop a stellar reputation. Ideally, you want to be able to turn your first few clients into long-term clients, or at least be able to use them as an outstanding reference or testimonial. Make sure that the first few jobs that you bid on are ones that you can complete ahead of deadline with the highest quality. It is better to bid on fewer jobs and do great work than bid on several jobs that end up just OK. Your first few jobs are crucial to your success, so pick them wisely and submit exceptional work.

Freelance writing is an outstanding way to earn a living online. Now you have three steps to start you on your way to making money creating online content. The work is there, it is yours for the asking. Start writing today and take advantage of this huge opportunity!

My name is Kelly Gammon and I make a living writing. I often get asked what resources I recommend for those just starting out as a freelance writer. If you are ready to make a comfortable full-time living as a freelance writer, I recommend that you check out http://www.freelancewritertips.com now.

Easy Writing For Children

It's easy to pick up a children's book at your local bookstore or library and think, "I could have written this." After all, there are few words and the words and thoughts are simple. How hard could it be?

It's much harder than you think. Whether you're writing a picture book for toddlers or a novel for the young adult market, you have to have some knowledge and training in the profession of children's writing to succeed.

Like any profession, children's writers have worked at perfecting their craft. They have taken classes, attended workshops and joined critique groups. Then, they submitted their books to editors who worked with them even more. Being a children's writer is not for the thin-skinned.

If you're interested in writing for children, there are several steps you can take to help you achieve your dream.

Take a class: If you've never taken a writing class, this would be a good time to sign up. It will teach you how to organize your thoughts and how to perfect your grammar. Taking a class that focuses on writing for children would be even better. You can find these classes or workshops at your local library, community college or you might try looking online.

Join a writer's organization: Writers organizations hold local workshops, meetings, sponsor critique groups and classes. Look around your community. You might be surprised at how many writers you find.

Join a critique group: Sure, you think your writing is great. But have you shown it to anyone else? Before you submit it for publication have another writer read it and tell you what s/he thinks.

These steps can get you on the road to a successful career in children's writing.

For more tips on writing for children, visit Phyllis' blog at http://www.phyllisquigg.blogspot.com

Why to Avoid Free Copywriting

Finding someone reliable to put your website text together can be hard and when you're on a budget it can be even harder. So, free copywriting can sound very tempting in some situations. However, it is important that you not only strive to get quality over quantity and affordability. You also need to be sure that you spend the right amount of time fleshing out the content and the writer who will put it together.

What You Get From Free Copywriting

Free copywriting doesn't pay. It's often poorly executed, or even generated by a machine rather than put together by a seasoned, well trained writer. It might be plagiarized or spun from other content and Google will almost certainly not accept it as a viable addition to your SEO efforts.

So, why do people seek free copywriting? They want to save money of course. But, if you really want to save money in the long run, go the extra mile and pay for quality in your text. It will save you money in advertising and efforts later by boosting organic SEO in the here and now.

What You Get From Paid Copywriting

Paid copywriting is a much better option than free copywriting because it provides you with a few things. First, you can find the writer that you like and interview them to be sure they know what they're doing. Second, you can review their credentials and tell them exactly how to write your text. Finally, you can build your plan and work with them to continually revise it. When you pay someone, they are much more willing to work with you on the final product.

The baseline is this - free copywriting doesn't pay. You need to spend a little to get a little and that will always hold true - no matter how much you want to save.

Read more from Anthony Chatfield and why free copywriting will only cost you more money in the long run by visiting his website at SeattleFreelance.com

Stopping Panic Attacks - The 1 Step Solution

Stopping panic attacks is not easy. I know from experience; I lived with it for more than 17 years. During that time I was always on the lookout for ways to improve my condition and my quality of life. Most of the things I tried didn't help at all, but a couple of them did.

What I'm going to talk about next is one of the few things I found that really made a difference and helped in my recovery.

What I'm talking about here is a book. It's called "50 Self-Help Classics," and it's written by a man called Tom Butler-Bowden. What makes this book so different from most others I read in this area is that it's a book about other books. The author has read hundreds and hundreds of self-help books, looking for the handful that are excellent.

And he took the best 50 books on the subject that he discovered and condensed them all into this one little book. That means that by reading this one book you'll actually be learning the information from over 50 books. Pretty neat, eh? It's like stopping panic attacks on turbo!

The reason I recommend this book so strongly to people who are living with panic and anxiety is because so many of the self-help books out there are terrible - a complete waste of your time. But this book, which collects together the ideas and information from the best 50 books out there, contains nothing but great information. The author has done the hard work of reading the books that are terrible so you don't have to.

I believe you'll find dozens of nuggets of information in this book that will help you with your panic and anxiety. In fact, if stopping panic attacks is your main goal right now, then I recommend that buying and reading this book is your very next step.

Since overcoming a lifelong battle with many forms of anxiety disorder, Alex Taylor now devotes his time to helping others recover. He achieves this via his highly-acclaimed online course, "Beat Panic Today." So if you want to stop panic attacks right now you can access the course, free of charge, by going to Alex's website: http://www.PreventYourPanic.com

30 Days To Creating Super Habits

The Truth About Jealousy

This article will not take up too much of your time, but will be very helpful in your daily life. What you are going to read is important in regards to the very controlling and confusing issue that so many women are challenged with every day, for some every single minute of their day. In this particular part of the jealousy series, you will learn what jealousy feels like and just how serious and captivating an emotion it can be. The next article will talk more about dealing with jealousy and how one can actually get control of it.

In the next few minutes you will learn what and how a woman feels when she is stuck in this very real and controlling jealous emotion.

It has been proven that many women are not even able to identify this confusion of thoughts that they are suffering from. A very big part of healing and winning these battles of jealousy is in identifying your enemy. In this situation the enemy is the jealous emotion that results from a much deeper issue that may or may not be obvious to its victim. You will hear more about that in a bit.

Through research and in speaking with many women every day through the womensselfesteem.com, jealousy seems to be a very big issue that has them in such a downward spiral that they cannot find a way to get hold of it.

One of the main causes for this negative emotion, "jealousy" stems from a time in a persons life when an emotional wound is created, which severely attacks their safe world or in other words their feelings of inner securities. These insecurities will seriously affect a woman's self-esteem, which will in turn result in feelings of low self-worth, lack of a self-respect, and mistrust. These emotional wounds can be caused from several types of abuse or trauma such as, physical, psychological or an over-restrictive/dominated childhood. If a child is sexually abused, then that child's security is threatened through the fact that she trusted the abuser and almost always grows up feeling that they were at fault for the abuse. This also rings true in an adult life, especially if the victim truly trusts and sees her abuser as almost," God" like. When a child is psychologically abused, they usually live a life of demeaning name calling or belittling, again this does happen to adults in a trusting relationship. The over-restrictive or dominating upbringing begins at an early childhood and then follows through into adulthood. Each and every one of these abuses that you have just have just heard about are definite cuts that eventually turn into deep emotional wounds.

These wounds will send a person into a prison, a prison of fear and weakness that they will carry throughout their lives if they do not learn to identify them and deal with them and strengthen their inner self. So many women search for answers to solve this scrambled up problem that they can feel inside of themselves, always coming up with a 0. They tend to look outside of themselves and that is the mistake that they are making. So many jealousy issues come from within.

The human brain is set up of two minds, which allows two ways of thinking, one being positive and one being negative. Unfortunately if a person is somehow mistreated or loses a trust as you have heard about earlier through my thoughts, at any time in their lives, it tends to weaken their ability to maintain a balance between the two. This is when they will fall prey to certain triggers that will ignite the fuse that leads to jealousy. You may be wondering what triggers are, they can be anything from a memory of your past, a smell, a persons laughter, a picture, another women, a feeling of being left alone, or even a look from a partner. There are many different types of triggers that will set off negative emotions. In this series of articles you will learn about relationship triggers and how they set off your jealous emotions.

Negative relationship triggers are definite causes, which happen when a relationship fails due to mistrust issues caused by infidelities or pornography addictions by a present or past partner, and are left unresolved, which unfortunately will follow them into every relationship, if she does not stop and take hold of her issues.

Jealousy is not just a word that can be ignored or excused. It is a word to be feared because it is fear that creates this negative feeling. Have you ever noticed how jealousy changes your relationship from happy to devastate in just seconds? It will feel like something that you would not wish on your worst enemy.

The negative emotions that are hidden behind this word jealousy will tear your trust apart letter by letter, and rearrange it until it spells deception, betrayal, even hate. Theses words will turn you into a paranoid living creature, hiding from reality. Reality is truly jealousy's enemy. It avoids its enemy as quickly as it replaces the positive thoughts that you once had in its place. It is strong enough to take control of your mind and direct it into thinking that someone you dearly trust and love has turned into another being, a being that is cheating on you, lusting for another, watching pornography behind your back, lying to you when you ask a direct question, twisting everything you say so that you come out looking like you are delirious and they will laugh at you when you cry out for help. It will tear your guts apart until you feel like you are going to vomit and it will make your head swirl with uncertainty. Jealousy can speed up your breathing quicker than a exercise machine, which in turn will send your heart racing into turmoil. It is a total body trauma. It can make your body break out into a sweat so fast that it will make rain look slow. If you have ever had even one minute of these threatening feelings, you know exactly what I am trying to explain here.

This negative emotion will make your mind fear abandonment, ones biggest fear in a relationship are to be replaced or abandoned. This fear alone is a very strong trigger of jealousy. This fear will imprison you and force you to suffocate or guard what's yours, until that person can no longer be a victim to your jealousy. It will drive you to feel a deep need to control another's thoughts and actions. To allow jealousy in your mind to the point of this kind of control, is to fall victim to an," attachment prison" or an addiction. In this attachment prison you are the weaker element of the partnership or relationship, your need to feel attached will ruin your sense of security and your self-esteem. A very good example of an attachment prison is when you fear with all of your senses to let your partner out of your site, not even to go to the corner store or to work for fear he may see someone that you would deem as a total threat.

Jealousy is like a drug. Once it gets into your veins, you are no longer coherent or independent in your thinking. You have now just become a dependent thinker, dependent on jealousy and its power. To have such a need is also equivalent to an addict needing a drug. Your addiction is your jealousy, your high is the adrenalin that your body creates through its fears, only this is not positive adrenalin; it is a pure negative adrenalin rush. The only antidote to combat this addiction is through positive steps that will strengthen your ability to take back your control and find a freedom from that attachment prison.

Jealousy will not rest until through you, it has created a frustrating and unbearable environment that puts you in the position in your relationship as your own worst enemy. In effect you become the attacker that you have been trying to run from. You are now jealousy! You are the cause of this turmoil that is being thrown to your outside world; an outside world that cannot possibly feel your pain; nor can they help you escape it. But they will look down on you in their confusion. You are all alone in this prison. You are the only one that can feel this pain, the only one that feels this need to control and hide from the world. You will find yourself being driven by negative thoughts every turn you make.

Have you ever been on a negative thought rollercoaster? If you ever have, you will understand what I mean when I say negative thoughts; negative thoughts that will not let you think rationally. If anything, they will work very hard at confusing your positive thinking. You will spend countless hours talking to yourself trying to get out of insecure feelings and you will end up right back feeling the same negative control that jealousy has over you.

Jealousy will rob you of sleep hour after hour. When your mind cannot sleep, it becomes weak and that is exactly what strengthens the negative thoughts that will feed jealousy and keep it controlling you. These thoughts will turn over in your head until they are locked into a place of negative non realities. This is when you begin to believe in things which seem surreal. An example of this non reality is, let's say, you're walking past your partner as he is watching television. A commercial is on. There is a young scantily dressed woman on the commercial. Your immediate reaction is fear. You fear that at that very minute he is lusting her or worse, wishing you were her. As I said non- real negative thoughts = jealousy.

This negative emotion is extremely careful to not allow your self-esteem to strengthen. It will turn your thoughts into a comparison mode instantly when it feels threatened. When it can put your mind into doubt of it's worth, it has total control. It will continue to control and force thoughts of being undeserving, not worthy, unintelligent, boring, self-less, non-appealing, even just plain ugly. It is a true negative powerful and destructive emotion that will not only control your thoughts but will also alter your desire to love. It will make you hide in safe, loveless corners and never allow another person into your heart. To allow a person into your heart would mean that you would be putting yourself at risk of falling victim to jealousy and all the horror that it creates and feeds on. So, you at this stage begin to set up protective walls, separating you from ever being hurt, but also putting a wedge in between you and your partner. Your choice, if you choose to stay in negative thinking, is to live a life alone.

When you have allowed it to weaken your thoughts to the point of delusional thinking, your mind will only see what will feed this negative emotion. All of your rational characteristics will be taken over by irrational thoughts and reactions. Everything that you thought you could control is now uncontrollable. Nothing is what it seems, while this jealousy emotion has you imprisoned behind its bars of negative and low self-worth thoughts.

I truly believe that being controlled by jealousy is similar to being in captivity. Your mind will get so conformed to that space that you're allowing, that you will learn to depend on it. You will feel safe only in that space. All of your knowledge of what's outside of that captive space has been hidden away into a very dark deep place in your mind. It is all you feel that you can control, not even realizing how little control you do have; again equivalent to an addiction.

What captivity and jealousy have in common is that once you allow your mind to be controlled or captivated by the overpowering emotion: jealousy, your mind will react as it would in a captive situation. Both jealousy and captivity hold your mind and reshape it to conform to its negative demands. A person in captivity eventually starts to depend on the person that's holding them captive. You start to depend on the feelings that you're getting from being captive by your jealous emotion. Jealousy becomes you, and you become jealousy. Together the duo team that you have allowed to control your thoughts will now destroy anything that is real. You will now live together in an unreal negative world of deception.

You will live and breathe the feelings of fear, worry and deception. You will not rest one single minute. Your mind will constantly be filled with disorder and accusations and," what ifs". At this point your ability to trust and feel secure with your partner will no longer be available to your mind, to your negative mind that is; the negative mind that you have allowed to take place of your once positive mind. Your innate desire to protect you and your reason for being are now at risk in your mind. You need to control everything and everything about your partner, right down to his every move. You need to take ownership in order to feel safe. With this control, then and only then can you feel safe from jealousy? Again the," attachment prison" takes over. This prison created by jealousy to keep you in its power and control. You're first breathing thoughts are livelihood and your future are based on attachment and acceptance. To lose that would be like dying a very slow death. Under the control of jealousy and its attachment prison you will fight to survive at any cost. You will be on guard even in your sleep, to notice even the simplest sign of abandonment or loss. Hence, the sleepless nights, haunted by the enemy: jealousy, captivated by the attachment prison again.

This is what you already know of jealousy. It is not fun. It is not a happy place. It is however very destructive and it will destroy your life if you continue to allow it to control your thoughts. As I mentioned earlier in this article, your mind has two sides, one being negative and one being positive. You have the ability to choose.

I have brought this part of the jealousy series to you because of how important it is to identify with the truth of jealousy. It is as real as you are sitting there listening to this. There is a way out and a way to free your mind of this prison of negative thoughts. Through my next article on "The Truth of Jealousy", you will learn steps and strategies that will help to strengthen your mind so that you may win the battle of negative thinking.

dorothyl@womensselfesteem.com

Stopped Losing Your Car Keys