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Weekend News and Awesomeness

Deb — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:17:47 +0000

Awesomeness and news from around the web:

The BlogWorld and New Media Expo is less than two weeks away. There’s still time to buy a ticket and book a room. BWE cut deals with several hotels for less than $100 per night. This is the biggest and best blogging and social media conference and I recommend anyone who is serious about succeeding as a blogger attend.

Chris Brogan addresses a topic near and dear to my heart. I’m sure Chris gets way more email than I do here, but it seems he has the same issues regarding weeding through the sales pitches and responding to everyone. Read Get Your Email Answered for tips to sending emails to your favorite bloggers and getting through the bottomless email pit.

My friend Dave Navarro is rocking CopyBlogger. Read his post about drawing readers in beyond headlines, Beyond Headlines: How to Get Your Readers to Read Every Word. Sure, you need a catchy headline to get folks interested, but what happens after that.

I receive mail on a daily basis from writers and bloggers who aren’t sure of the legalities of using certain images or reproducing someone else’s content. You know my mantra, “If you’re not sure if you can use something, and you don’t have permission ask.” However, I want to once again recommend Jonathan Bailey’s Plagiarism Today blog. Jonathan offers regular tips regarding the legalities of writing, blogging and sharing images. He’s not a lawyer, but he knows a thing or two about copyright law. Everyone who writes or blogs for a living should bookmark this one – and read it often.

We talk often about running a successful freelance writing business. Freelancing is more than writing. The writers who remember that it’s a business do well. My friend Easton Ellsworth is at Sparkplugging know that – and he’s sharing 21 Home Business Resources You Can’t Miss.

Over at Mike’s Writing Workshop, Mike Geffner is offering 10 Commandments to Writing Success. There are more than 10 commandments though, but they’re all awesome. Keep it as a bookmark because Mike’s planning on updating often.

Image via stock.xchnge

Weekend Awesomeness: News and Links from the World of Writing

Deb — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:23:02 +0000

I took some time yesterday and this morning to do something I haven’t had the chance to do in a very long time: read blogs. Here’s some awesomeness from around the blogosphere:

Newslancers is a social networking job search site for journalists, and it’s now accepting registrants for their beta launch. According to FWJ community member, Ed Sutherland, this site is speficially geared towards journalists and only journalists – including editors. Who qualifies as a journalist? “Anyone who earns the majority of their income writing sourced non-fiction or creates media for news purposes. This means writers and editors, bloggers and newspaper reporters, photographers and bloggers, as well as professional public relations people.” Check it out…

Demand Studios chose the top 20 creators from all of its different communities and are flying them all out to sunny California this week to take part in a Creator Conference this coming Thursday and Friday (the 24th and 25th). Also, Creators in the Los Angeles area are invited to attend a Mixer/Meetup in Santa Monica next Thursday, September 24th. The mixer will be held Thursday from 7:30 to 10:30 at the Cock ‘N’ Bull Pub. This is especially exciting for me, because I will be in Santa Monica to speak at the conference and meet the Demand Studios community.

The finalists for Michael Stelzner’s annual honor, The Top 10 Blogs for Writers, are in. FWJ made the short list for the fourth year in a row. Will we make the Top 10? It’s too early to say. With so many awesome entries, it’s any one’s games. We’re just honored by all the nominations and recommendations.

Chris Brogan is talking about inspiration today. He wonders who inspires us. I’m inspired by creativity, by writers and artists who leave me wondering why I didn’t think of something first. It’s a very rare day when I find myself feeling uninspired. All I have to do is read some blogs or a good book, spend some time with my son and his friends, or go for a walk and I’m back on track again.

Speaking of inspiration…when I started FWJ, I was one of a handful of writing blogs specially talking about finding freelance writing jobs, landing clients and listing job leads. Now, four and a half years later, I’m one of many. Sometimes I feel as if I’m shouting over hundreds of people to be heard. At Copyblogger, Jonathan Morrow discusses How to Stand Out in a Crowded Niche and he’s dead on. The next time I wonder if it’s time to throw in the towel and let the youngters take over, I’m going to re-read Jonathan’s post.

Johnny at Freelance Rant has a Freelance in 40 Days project going. He’s taking freelancing one day at a time, laying out everything you need to know to be a success.

Whenever I need a reality check, I head over to Liz Strauss’ Successful Blog. Liz lays it out on the line, but she does so with class. At a time when so many others excuse rudeness as being “blunt” or “honest”, Liz shows us you can still be honest and respectful at the same time. I’m especially digging “Why the Brave and Smart Will Survive” where she talks about pushing through the fear to find our inner bravery and deal with conflict.

John Hewitt at PoeWar is bringing us 30 Poems in 30 Days, check out John’s ode to Kanye West.

Enjoy this weekend’s awesomeness.

31 Free Online Writing Courses

Deb — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:27:48 +0000

If there’s one area in which I’ve been remiss, it’s in brushing up on grammar and usage. School was a very long time ago and my writing has gotten a bit…informal. I put off continuing education for some time thinking I’d go back to school once my son was in school, but other obligations prevented this. The good news is that I can still take some terrific free courses without having to leave my house.

Learning has never been easier. These writing courses can be done on your own time, at your convenience.

31 Free Online Writing Courses

The Writer’s Helper: There are several free writing courses available at The Writer’s Helper including Writing Verse for Children, Writing for the Web, and Make Your Price Sell.
Writer 2 Writer: Writer2Writer’s e-Courses include: Writing for Profit: Break into Magazines, Outside the Square Fiction Workshop, Ebook Marketing Secrets, Short Story Writing and Copywriting Courses.
Creative Writing 101 - A Suite101 writing course featuring 8 lessons.
Writing What You Know: From Open Learn, this course features five reading and writing activities geared towards sharpening the senses and triggering the memory.
Start Writing Fiction – Another course from Open University.
What is Good Writing – An Open University course featuring a discussion of good writing and essay writing tips.
Writing and Reading the Essay: This writing course is part of M.I.T’s open courseware program. The course was introduced in 2005 but is still relevant and helpful today.
The American Novel Since 1945 – From Open Yale, Yale University’s open courseware series, this series of lessons discusses many classics via audio, video and course materials.
Conquering the Comma – Part of Purdue University’s open courseware project. (I’ll definitely be giving this one a gander.)
Basic Grammar Skills - A free writing seminar from Suite 101.
Cleaning Up Your Copy – Helps us to tighten up our sentences and write clean every time, from News University.
Proofreading Your Writing – Also from Purdue, this course teaches us how to spot errors in our writing.
Introduction to Writing Academic Prose – From Utah State University.
Covering Breaking News – From News University, good for those thinking about a career in journalism.
Advanced Writing Seminar - From M.I.T., this explores the different types of writing.
Foundations of Language and Communications - From Western Governors University, this course uses 8 modules to explore efficient reading and writing.
Targeting New Audiences: Finding Your Niche – This course from News University explores niche writing.
Technical Writing: An Introduction to Technical Writing from WikiUniversity.
The Writer’s Workbench – 50 Tools You Can Use – Another course from News University, this one gives you all the resources you need to be a success.
Language and It’s Structure: Part 1 Phonology and Part 2: Syntax from M.I.T.’s Open Courseware project.
Online English Courses – A list of free writing courses from 1-Language.com.
Business Development Courses from Kutztown Small Business Development Center – Includes courses about marketing, branding, and customer service.
Technology for Brand New Writers – From Utah Stat University – The course is from 2005 though, so I’m sure things have changed.
HTML Basics – Every web writer should at least know the basics.
English Grammar in Context – From Open University.
Form and Uses of Language – From Open University
The Syntax of Natural Language - From the University of Pennsylvania.
Finding Information in Modern Languages – From Open University.
Writing Challenges: From Warwick University.
Text as Property/Property as Text – From Connexions, discusses plagiarism and all that good stuff.
English Grammar and Mechanics – From Free-Ed.net

Some posts you might have missed:

43 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

Deb — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:43:05 +0000

It’s that time of the year again.

Every year at about this time, I let you in on my daily routine – the places I search to find freelance writing jobs. I update this list every year because it changes so much. Some of the places on my first list of 23 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs are no longer in existence. We also have some new sites to search since last year’s 22 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs list.

Here’s your 2009 Version. Please note this list is only for job lists or search engines. It doesn’t list individual content sites or bidding sites. However, there are a few sites that require a fee.

43 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

Craigslist - Craigslist is my number one place to find freelance writing jobs. Say what you want about them, but I’ve found more legitimate, high paying opportunities on Craigslist than any other job search site. It has a bad reputation for being a haven for scammers, but they also have plenty of terrific gigs listed each day.
About Freelance Writing - Many of you know Anne Wayman as About.com’s original Guide to Freelance Writing. I know her as a friend and colleague. When it comes to providing job lists, Anne and I have been doing this the longest. She posts abundant lists three times each week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
ProBlogger – Ok. So you’re probably sick of hearing about my friends by now, but yes, ProBlogger Darren Rowse is a friend too. His job listing service features blogging gigs from around the world.
Freelance Job Openings - A new entry for our list this year. Freelance Job Openings has some good stuff and some clunkers. It features freelance jobs from around the world and is not writing specific.
Poe War – John Hewitt uses the Indeed search tool to find jobs to post on his informative blog for writers.
Blogger Jobs - This blog used to feature a lot more jobs. The pickings are slim but they have something good every now and then.
Media Bistro - If the big mags or media organizations are hiring, they’ll post it here.
Journalism Jobs - Features several new jobs daily, mostly for newspapers around the U.S. They also list foreign jobs on occasion.
Freelance Switch – You can have access to some awesome freelance writing opportunities at Freelance Switch but it’s no longer free. Pay $7 a month to have access.
Flex Jobs - Also subscription based, Flex Jobs provides access to tons of telecommute and flexible opportunities. It’s not cheap – About $15 per month or $50 per year. Those who subscribe tell me it’s worth it.
Online Writing Jobs – Mostly aggregates jobs from Craigslist. Posts many of the same opportunities we have here, plus some lower paying stuff.
WAHM.com - Posts telecommuting and work at home jobs. Not writing specific, but plenty of writing jobs are listed each day. The writing forum also has a few opportunities posted each week, usually overflow from other writers.
Writer Find - A good source for international jobs. Posts a few a week.
Canadian Freelance Writing Jobs- Posts leads for our friends in the Great White North.
Morning Coffee – Subscribe to receive loads of leads every Tuesday morning.
Indeed.com – A job search engine. Do your own Indeed freelance writing search here at FWJ.
Absolute Write – The Paying Jobs section of the Absolute Write forum yields several new leads a week. Some are low paying, but there’s some pretty good stuff there. Participate in the forum and discuss freelance writing with others.
Media Job Board – Features media jobs, mostly full time. Occasionally there’s a freelance writing gig.
The Write Jobs – Lists both freelance and full time writing opportunities. Some are kind of old.
Twitter - Keep your Tweet deck or Seesmic open to a freelance writing jobs search, or use Twitter Search or Twitter Job Search to view tweeted job opportunities. Some are from bidding sites, but Twitter has many awesome opportunities that aren’t listed on job boards.
Sun Oasis Jobs – Updates on a regular basis.
Jobster - Job search engine. Lists many of the same jobs as Indeed.com.
Startuply – A job site featuring listings for startups. It’s not all freelance and not all writing, but you might find one or two cool gigs each month.
Authority Blogger - Yes. Another friend. Chris Garrett runs this forum. While many of the opportunities are for guest bloggers, there are occasional paying opportunities.
Work to Live – The newest job listing blog on the block. Lists many of the same opportunities we post here, but also singles out the best of the bunch.
Blogger and Freelance Job Source – Posts one or two opportunities each day, usually from one of the sources listed here.
Funds for Writers – Hope C. Clark doesn’t only list magazine markets. She advises writers where to find fellowships, grants, scholarships and more.
Simply Hired – Job search engine.
Freelance Avenue – A web site for freelancers, features freelance writing jobs now and then.
BlogHer - Posts the occasional freelance writing or blogging job in their jobs forum. I found a terrific gig with Oxygen Media at the BlogHer forum.
Job Monkey – A place to finds all sorts of jobs and read some informative articles too.
American Society of Business Publication Editors – Posts occasional freelance writing opportunities.
Freelance BBS – Posts a few good leads now and then.
Creative Hotlists – Lists jobs for all sorts of creative types, some of them freelance writers.
Poets & Writers – Lately all I can find are unpaid internships, but occasionally some good leads.
Telecommuting Jobs - Subscription/Paying site for telecommuters. I used TJobs years ago before it was a paying site.
Accentuate Writers Forum – Lists both low and high paying opportunities.
Freelance Pulse – Lists jobs from Craigslist.
Beyond.com - Job search engine.
Digital Point - The Digital Point forums feature plenty of webmasters looking to hire writers. Be careful for the low payers though.
Kijiji – Features local jobs, some of them for freelance writers.
Monster.com, Career Builder, Hot Jobs, Flip Dog - The usual corporate job search sites also feature freelance writing, editing, copywriting and other jobs. Lately they seem to only contain freelance writing jobs from Examiner though.
Freelance Writing Jobs for Web and Print – Don’t forget our own awesome resource! I hope now that you have this list, you’ll still come by for leads and conversation!

Did I miss any? Post your favorites in the comments!

A Little Late June Weekend Link Love

Deb — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:41:04 +0000

I’m remembering back in the day when I used to be able to stoke up my feed reader and check out my favorite blogs each morning with my first cup of coffee. Good times. Nowadays, I have so many favorite blogs it’s impossible to get them all in during a cup of coffee’s worth of time. I’d need several pots brewing and even that wouldn’t be enough. Having a full time job also took me away from my blog reading, though I’m happy to report I have a lot more time on my hands. Flexibility rocks, and with it comes more blog reading.

Here’s what I’m reading this weekend:

Do Your Blogs Bring Business…or is it Your Business to Blog at the Blog World Expo Blog
Bloggers Need to be Realistic About Blogging Rates at Blogging Tips
Should Writers Lack Knowledge of their Subject? at Bob Bly
23 Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts at Chris Brogan
Is Serious Discussion Possible in Online Communities? at Community Spark
10 Things to Do When You Lose Your Blogging Voice at Confident Writing
5 Things Sesame Street Can Teach You About Breakthrough Blogging at Copy Blogger
Top 5 Ways to Get Higher Paying Clients at Freelance Parent
The Client is Always Right…But if They Are Wrong? at Freelance Rant
25 iPhone Apps for the Mobile Web Worker at Freelance Folder
Switching to Freelance: How to Negotiate Less Hours in Your Job at Freelance Switch
Develop Your Writing Career with a Mentor at Get Paid to Write Online
Conference Call Etiquette: Do’s, Don’ts, and “Oh no you didn’ts” at Ink Thinker
Your Blog Readers Aren’t Buying at Men with Pens
Ego and Productivity: Don’t Let Your Answer be Yes at Rock Your Day
15 Things Social Media Can Do For You Today at Social Media Explorer
What is Creative Writing? at Writing Forward

Enjoy reading what my favorite bloggers are up to. Feel free to share your weekend reading (no fair recommending your own!) in the comments.

Weekend Link Love: The Mother’s Day Edition

Deb — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:35:59 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day. I don’t plan on spending much time on my laptop today, but I’m still taking some time to read my feeds. This is one of my favorite weekend things to do, I wish I had more time to read during the week!

Here’s what I’m reading this weekend:

5 Ways to Earn Money Blogging at ABC Technology
Better Opportunities for Paid Bloggers at BlogWorld Expo Blog
Stop Reading, Start Doing at Blogging Tips
Are the Proofreading Police Watching You? at Copyblogger (They sure are, and I have the mail to prove it! – Deb)
8 Things I Wish I knew When I First Started My Business at Quick Sprout
Should You Freelance in a Recession at Freelance Folder
Oops! Your Attitude is Showing! at Freelance Switch
Are You Killing or Creating the Comment Conversation at Men with Pens
18 Do it Yourself Writing Tips at Writing Forward

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Follow me on Twitter @debng and for FWJ updates @freelancewj

Click here to search for jobs in your area on SnagAJob.com

Image:Buy at AllPosters.com

It’s Weekend Link Love Time Again!

Deb — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:50:33 +0000

Once upon a time, my weekly link love posts were an anticipated event. After a while however, I was so busy building up someone else’s brand, I began forgetting about my own. Weekend Link Love fell by the wayside. As a result, the FWJ community began missing out on some really good stuff. Today, I’m happy to bring you some terrific weekend link love. I can’t promise this every weekend (yet), but I can promise I’m back and FWJ is on the front burner once again.

Here’s what I’m reading this weekend:

Top 10 Signs You Are Not Cut Out to Freelance – Freelance Rant
A Visit with Descriptive Writing – Blogging Tips
Who Are You Writing For – Your Prospects or Google? – Bob Bly
Three Steps that Guarantee Every World of Your Copy Gets Read
O Desk Lists the Top 100 Freelance Blogs – Good list even though FWJ didn’t make the cut.
Working with Difficult Clients – When to Stay & Educate, When to Leave - The Copywriters Underground
15 Punchy Copywriting Tips - at Copywriters Crucible
Blogs to Books: An Upcoming Trend? at Daily Blog Tips
Twitter for Freelancers at Freelance Folder
The Freelancers Battle: Fighting Distraction and Staying Productive at Freelance Folder
How to Handle Price Objections at Freelance Switch
How to Use a Magazine to Improve Your Blog – at ProBlogger

Have a great weekend – what are you reading (no fair linking to your own stuff – show some love for someone else!)