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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Just thought I'd tell my readers about the latest group writing project, slated to begin on Monday, August 6th, at Middle Zone Musings. To read more about the project, follow this link to Robert Hruzek's post, entitled, Get Those Little Gray Cells Ready!
While Robert is keeping the precise nature of the project somewhat under wraps at this point, I can tell you this much: It will be built around the phrase, "What I Learned From..." Though Robert is currently keeping all of us in suspense as to the actual topic we'll be expected to expound upon, his latest group writing project promises to be every bit as interesting as previous projects at MZM have been.
Which brings me to another project that Robert is running concurrently with his As-Yet-Unknown-Topic group writing project: his latest meme, entitled My Home Town. If you love the town you live in, if you live in an unusual place, or if there are one or more unique characteristics, idiosyncrasies, or unusual tourist attractions in your town, and if you'd enjoy writing about them, you might just want to submit a post to the meme.
Your post should answer the following question, expressed In Robert's own words: "What, in your opinion, is or are the most amazing, unusual, strange or just plain weird things about where you live?"
While he has tagged a few specific folks for this meme, Robert invites anyone who is interested to join in on the fun, stating, "but if you aren’t tagged and feel like jumping in, by all means, go for it!"
So, there's your invitation! Check out Robert's blog for all the specifics for both the My Home Town meme and the upcoming What I Learned From... group writing project.
You may just find that you're having a great time writing your entry, while at the same time creating more widespread exposure for your writing--and perhaps even some valuable links to your website or blog!
Chances are extremely good that you'll also meet a lot of great people and create many online friendships as a result of these projects.
So, why not join the conversation at Middle Zone Musings!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
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Yesterday, I mentioned the Blogger Spelling Test, which I learned about through Laura Spencer's Writing Thoughts blog. In the same post, from which I got the Blogger Spelling Test info--her Of Note post--which featured The Copywriting Maven blog, Laura mentioned the Online Identity Calculator from Career Distinction. (Laura had, herself, learned about both of the above from The Copywriting Maven blog posts, entitled Loose or Lose? The Blogger Spelling & Grammar Test and What's Your Online Identity Brand Score? Calculate It Here!
The Career Distinction Online Identity Calculator is a great way to get a fairly accurate idea of the extent to which your online identity branding is likely to benefit you over the long run by providing you with the positive exposure and name recognition you seek as an internet personage.
By entering your name into the Google Search box, checking your search results, and answering several pertinent questions, you'll be able to get a fairly good idea of where you stand in the online branding game.
This handy survey will help you find out just how far you may still need to go to in creating an influential internet image that will translate into an online presence that is both widely recognized and (hopefully!) highly sought after.
After completing the survey, myself, I was very pleased--and somewhat surprised--to see that I scored a 10! (My results are reproduced below.)
Online Identity Calculator (beta)
Your online identity score is 10 out of a possible score of 10.
Congratulations. You are digitally distinct. This is the nirvana of online identity. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity. Read Chapter 11 of Career Distinction for more ideas on how to continue to build your brand online.
This perfect score is, however, no doubt partially attributable to the fact that my name is not an extremely common one--and it also shows that no generally applied survey can ever be either perfect or foolproof, since, if I really did rate a perfect 10, I should be relatively famous (which I'm not) and should have absolutely no need for improving my online branding strategy (which does, in fact, need work.)
According to the above results, my name should practically be a household word by now--which it definitely isn't! (In fact, my blog's Google page rank is still a big, fat Zero!) But, be that as it may, these results do, at least, make me feel as if there's hope, and for this I am grateful!
If you're at all curious about this survey, why not check the Career Distinction Online Identity Calculator and find out where you stand in online identity branding. It should give you some insight into what you may be doing right, what you may be doing wrong, and what built-in hurdles you may need to develop effective strategies to overcome (such as having a very common name).
If you don't like your results, you can always keep them under wraps!
Happy Googling!
Jeanne
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Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business, mentioned Blog Carnival in a recent post. Thanks to Yvonne, I checked out this site and found many fascinating opportunities there for bloggers who enjoy writing about almost any topic. So, I thought I'd pass on some info about this site to my readers, so you'll have the opportunity to participate in upcoming--or ongoing--blog carnivals currently being hosted on a number of different blogs.
The above Blog Carnival link should help you keep abreast of the latest carnivals happening around the blogosphere at any given time. So, check the site often, if you'd like to participate in any of these community- and traffic-building projects hosted by various blogs. You may choose the blog carnival categories and topics you prefer to blog, or write, or simply submit previously published posts about, of which there are quite a few different categories. (And, yes, writing is one of them.)
Some of the carnivals listed on this site are outdated, as is so often the case on any site, with the speed of change occurring on the internet today. But many appear to be valid and either current and/or ongoing and have the potential to provide fascinating vehicles through which our creative energies may be channeled, our fondest interests indulged, and our literary labors of love recognized by other likeminded individuals--which sounds like a fairly good deal for all concerned!
Hope you'll find some blog carnivals here that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Happy hunting!
Jeanne
P.S. If you scroll down a bit in my blog's sidebar, you'll find a feed listing some of the recent blog carnivals that can be found on the website. (Blog categories in the feed are random.) NOTE: FEED HAS SINCE BEEN MOVED OUT OF SIDEBAR AND INTO POST ENTITLED BLOG CARNIVAL FEED: FIND BLOG CARNIVALS HERE.
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I visited my friend Laura Spencer's Writing Thoughts blog again today and decided to check out her new blog, OpinionMom, which she launched recently.
While I was there, I came across a post describing a handy blog rating tool that can be used to determine what sort of rating your blog would receive based on its content. Since I am very interested in producing a family-friendly blog, I decided to give it a try.
My blog came back with a G-rating, which is exactly what I'd hoped! (I couldn't be totally positive what my blog's rating would be, since the titles and posts of other Orble blogs are listed in the sidebar next to my own posts; so, needless to say, I was relieved to see that my blog had passed muster.)
Despite the fact that other bloggers' material does appear in my blog's sidebar, I do my very best to keep all other blog and post titles in an unobtrusive part of my blog, for the simple reason that any questionable material will be less likely to be noticed by those who visit my blog. I'm a firm believer that people should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they are interested in reading such content--before they are faced with it--rather than being accosted by it at every turn.
Orble has also recently asked its bloggers to use the "Mature Content" flag on any posts with titles that contain profanity, in order to prevent those titles from appearing in the "Popular Posts" list in the sidebar of all Orble blogs. (Thanks, Orble!) So this should help with some of the more blatant occurrences of profanity that had previously found their way into our blogs' sidebars.
Still, though, as I previously mentioned, I am not taking any chances. I have relegated the lists of other Orble blogs, as well as the "Popular Posts" and "Breaking Posts" lists, into the deepest reaches of my blog's sidebar, at the very end of a number of rather lengthy lists of other, more acceptable, material, to keep them well-hidden from casual and unintentional public view.
Here's the blog rating tool. Feel free to use it to check the rating of your own blog!
Thanks, Laura, for letting us know about this great tool!
Please be sure to visit Laura Spencer's Writing Thoughts blog for some great info and resources on the writing craft; and, if you're a mom, as well as a writer, you might just enjoy checking out her Opinion Mom blog, as well. (Links to both of Laura's blogs can be found in the opening paragraph of this post.)
Happy rating!
Jeanne
P.S. I hope it isn't infelicitous of me to use the above blog rating tool in this post--since it's offered by an online dating website! That does seem rather ironic. But, be that as it may, I felt the tool itself was valuable.
Note: Infelicitous was the Word of the Day for June 3rd on Melissa Garrett's blog, The Silver Tongue. Melissa challenges other bloggers to use her Words of the Day in their own blog posts; and, to be honest, I have been planning for quite a while to use this one. I love this word!
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Freelancing Journey, a blog which refers to itself as "The Road to Business Success for Writers & Bloggers," is literally loaded with info, tips, links, leads, techniques, advice, and other resources that can help you, the freelance writer, make the most of your own website or blog. Covering many different aspects of the freelance writer's creative, professional, practical, and even personal development, this site has something for everyone interested in any type of freelance writing.
One post, "Page Rank, Back Links and Blogging," posted June 22nd, 2007, explains why page rank is important and provides tips on how to obtain quality backlinks to your blog. Another, more recent post, titled "Definitive List of Paid to Blog Services," dated June 28th, 2007, links to a very comprehensive discussion of the subject found in a post on another helpful blog. In addition, Freelancing Journey's "Roll of Honour" includes a long list of links to other blogs about writing--and blogging--as well as numerous other writing resources, markets, and marketing blogs.
Freelance writers are busy people, whose time is often severely limited. But taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule today to pick up some timely tips and advantageous advice could just save you a great deal of time and trouble over the long term.
So, check out Freelancing Journey, and see if you don't agree that this blog contains some helpful literary and marketing signposts to guide you along your freelance writing travels.
Bon Voyage!
Jeanne
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I recently wrote a post about a good news site called HappyNews.Com; and today, I'd like to share another such site with my readers. Personally, I am of the opinion that there's far too little positive news in the world today, and I applaud such sites as these which make it their goal to spread the good news far and wide. Bravo, Gimundo! Bravissimo, HappyNews.Com!
Gimundo is a site that can spark a writer's imagination, filling it with noble notions and inspirational ideas for writing projects that can bring out the best in our readers, encouraging them to do what they can to help make the world a better place.
With categories such as Home, News, Heroes, Health, Celebrities, Green, Family, Pets, and Video, Gimundo captures the best news on many different topics, providing stories that are of interest to a wide variety of individuals.
In addition to the stories always posted to the site, Gimundo also offers a free daily newsletter filled with--you guessed it!--more good news. One of the site's founders also writes a weekly blog, "The Good Spin," in which he takes a look at the news and discusses its positive impact on society as a whole.
While Gimundo does offer its readers the opportunity to submit stories to the site, they do not offer payment for them. They also require that those people who desire to contribute their stories register to become members of the site in order to have access to all the site's community features.
I did, however, see an ad once, on one of the writers' job listing sites, asking for writers to contribute to Gimundo for pay. This may have been a one-time thing, or it could happen again in the future. So, if you're interested in this type of writing, keep your eye on the job listing sites, in case this site advertises there again.
(You may also want to check out HappyNews.Com, which also accepts positive news stories from writers, or citizen journalists, offering each contributor a tip jar, whereby readers can make donations to writers whose stories they enjoy.)
Check out Gimundo. It's a great site! You might just get inspired--if not about writing, then maybe about life!
Happy reading!
Jeanne
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Back in March, I penned a post called, A Salute to My Fellow Writers--With Links! One of the links I included in that post pointed to the Funds For Writers website, which I felt at the time--and still feel today--to be a very valuable resource for writers.
One of my blogging buddies has confirmed my belief in the significance of Funds for Writers in the freelance writing marketplace by including an article containing some info about the site in a recent post. So I felt this would be the perfect time to write a post centered solely around the site and what it has to offer the aspiring, developing, or practicing writer.
(For more info about Yvonne Russell's Freelance Writing Rates post, mentioned in the previous paragraph, see my June 14th post, entitled, Buzz from the BlogVine: WritersWeekly Raising Rates--or go directly to her post by using the recent post link, above.)
Funds for Writers, generously presented to you by Hope Clark, offers multiple resources that can help writers in a number of different ways. Some of the site's highlights:
-A list of grants for writers
-A list of writing contests (containing competitions both with and without entry fees)
-A (limited) list of writing markets, with more offered in the site's free newsletters
-Several free newsletters
-An annual writing contest
-A list of other beneficial links (including organizations that can help writers in various ways)
-Lists of books and e-books for reference and/or study
-Publication of--and payment for--your articles about the craft or business of writing
Check out the Funds for Writers site! You'll find a great deal there that can help you reach your writing goals!
Happy Reading!
Jeanne
PS. For your convenience, should you later return to my blog and desire to access the site, a link to Funds for Writers can always be found in my Helpful Sites for Writers list, located in the sidebar on the left side of this web page.
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I learned, a few days ago, from reading my friend Yvonne Russell's Grow Your Writing Business blog, that WritersWeekly.Com is raising the rates it pays writers for their work. According to an article, written by Angela Hoy and reproduced in its entirety (with permission) by Yvonne, WritersWeekly is raising its rates 20% for features and 33% for success stories. This is great news for freelancers!
According to Ms. Hoy's article, the 20% increase for feature articles figures to "$60 for around 600 words for non-exclusive electronic rights only," and she adds, "For freelance success stories, we now pay $40 for around 300 words."
Her article is exceptionally interesting reading for freelancers, as it also contains an explanation of the payment history of several other major online publishers of freelance material, as well as several print publishers, giving us a glimpse into their going rates, and letting us know just how long it's been since each has raised its own rates.
Check out this great article on Yvonne's site! You'll find it in her post, entitled, Freelance Writing Rates. The article, entitled, We're Raising Our Freelance Rates, by Angela Hoy, is also posted on the WritersWeekly website.
Thanks, Yvonne for this fascinating and thoroughly helpful info! We can only hope that all the other publishers of freelance material will follow WritersWeekly.Com's shining example of adopting fairer freelance payment rates and thereby engaging in more responsible business practices!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
P.S. You'll want to visit Yvonne's blog often! Through it, she provides lots of great info and many helpful resources for writers! For your convenience, a link to Grow Your Writing Business can always be found in my blog's sidebar in the Helpful Sites for Writers list.
You'll also want to visit WritersWeekly.Com. Their site is packed with articles, market listings, and other resources that will help you reach your writing goals!
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While I guess it isn't technically Mother's Day "down under" any longer, it still is here in the U.S. Thus, I've decided to post this fairly extensive list of links to articles, blogs, etc., written for, by, and about moms, motherhood, writing, juggling motherhood and writing, and surviving and thriving in the freelance writing world. Finding these sites was a rather time-consuming process, and creating the links to them will make it even more so; hence the lateness of this post. But I suspect that these links will have long-term value to any mom who loves to write and wants to find websites that will give her moral support, inspiration, practical insight, and helpful resources to encourage her in both her craft and her business.
Here they are--again, in no particular order:
Motherhood News (blog about motherhood issues. Includes an entry called “Mommy.Com: the Rise of the Blogging Mom”—with a link to an article about that topic—and other interesting posts about motherhood.)
The Mother Hood (a collection of blogs on motherhood)
Midlife Mother Support (a collection of resources for women who become moms during midlife)
Technorati Blog Finder: Motherhood (a long list of blogs about motherhood!) There’s bound to be at least one there that you’ll like!
Mother’s Day: Motherhood Quotes (a list of quotes and a list of links to more quotes about motherhood.)
The Motherhood Place (a feminine and sentimental site filled with sayings, poems, and stories about motherhood. If you enjoy calming music, view this site with the sound on.)
Family Education: The Price of Motherhood: An Interview With Ann Crittendon (looks like an e-column of sorts containing lots of interesting info and helpful resources for moms)
this woman’s work (blog with the subtitle writing, mothering, writing about mothering)
The Mommy Blog: Adventures from the Wonder-belly of Motherhood (a blog about—you guessed it!—motherhood!)
Netscape: Top Stories With the Tag “Motherhood” (links to stories on other parts of the Net that contain the “motherhood” tag)
Disney Family.Com BETA: Family 1000 blog: Your Favorite Sites for “Motherhood” (just as it says, a listing of sites on “motherhood” with 14 pages of listings/links)
Lauri’s Reflections: contemplations on life, creativity, writing, and motherhood—plus really fun links (a blog about quite a few different facets of the writing mom's life)
Tracy Chevalier: FAQs About Writing (some interesting info and advice here about writing and motherhood)
The Mom Salon: where women find the smartest mom blogs: Writers’ Blogs (a list of blogs by and about writing moms)
readingwritingliving blog: More on Motherhood, Solitude, and Writing (a blog post on these mom-related topics and more--blog no longer being updated, but still contains interesting content)
Maternally Challenged: “They say kids will drive you crazy. But what if you’re already there? Thoughts on motherhood, depression, politics and anything else that comes to mind” (blog for moms, containing a short list of links to other motherhood blogs)
Creative Parents.Com: For Parents Leading Creative Lives: Poet as Mother/Mother as Poet (interviews with “creative parents” pursuing careers in writing--old site, but contains some interesting articles)
Well, there they are! Hope all you writing moms out there will reap many, many benefits from these sites for a long time to come! Check them out; they're quite a varied assortment of resources! If these resources should prove helpful to you over the long term--and you should decide to let me know about it--I'll have the inner satisfaction of knowing that this blog post will be the Mother's Day Gift that keeps on giving all year long! And that will be a great feeling!
Hope it does!
Jeanne
Other Writing Mom Links
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It's Mother's Day, so I thought today would be the perfect time to post some links for moms! Some are about writing and/or making money writing and/or earning money from home, and some are about other mom things. Some are blogs, some articles; but several appear to have some interesting resources available for writing moms and/or moms in general. They are in no particular order, and I didn't have time to look them over thoroughly; but I'm sure there will be something here for most moms who take the time to check them out!
Here, they are, Moms:
Freelance Mom Blog
Write From Home: Writing Trade Articles
Momma Blog
Moms' Source
Wonder Mom
Journey to Mom
Type-A Mom
Writing Thoughts
Hope you enjoy these and hope they help! Have a wonderful Mother's Day!
A Fellow Writing Mom,
Jeanne
More Writing Mom Links
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