Despite earning international acclaim for his tale, The Alchemist, Paula Coehlo’s literary success remains forbidden in Iran. As the below map shows, this is just one of the many books that are currently banned by governments around the world.
From children’s stories to tales of exploration and self-revelation, well-known books remain restricted in many countries in 2019. [Read more…]
John Steinbeck wrote, “Every American hungers to move.”
In his book, Travels With Charley, Steinbeck further theorizes that Americans descended from those who moved: those who left Europe, those who were forced to leave Africa, and those who came in search of a better life — thus, doesn’t it make sense that we have this insatiable thirst for travel? [Read more…]
How many emails do you send every day? Not only are you using this valuable communication tool to send finished assignments, but you’re probably relying on it to touch base with previous clients and reach out to new ones. You’re using it to correspond with sources and verify facts. And you’re probably also sending emails for personal use too—even freelancers do that.
You might think you’re alone as a freelancer, but you’re not: Most people are in a bind with email. That’s because there are nearly 200 billion emails sent – each and every day. And if you kept track of your time dealing with email, in all likelihood you’d probably be spending nearly one-third of your time dealing with it. In fact, how many of you face email management issues, such as too many notes in your inbox, a difficult email filing system, or even loss of emails because you’re so inundated. [Read more…]
Want to read more? Then put your phone down.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone today who doesn’t have a smartphone. Wherever we are and whatever we doing, all too often we’re glued to the screen. Of course, there are always calls, texts, and emails that are totally unavoidable; but these certainly don’t account for the hours we spend tapping away each day. In the process, some of our former favourite pastimes have fallen by the wayside. [Read more…]
Finishing a novel is difficult enough as it is. Getting it published is another story. Hitting the bestseller list is entering a whole new world altogether.
We know that many authors we look up to didn’t hit the jackpot immediately. Some had to experience rejection more times than you can count. Many had to face criticism that would kill the fainthearted.
And then there are those whose work became famous only after the writers had passed away. [Read more…]
Rejoice, members of the Grammar Police. It’s your day today. Let’s hereby declare that you can correct anyone – online and offline – without repercussions. Of course, those you correct may disagree, but who cares? It’s National Grammar Day today.
In honor of this momentous occasion, Grammarly did a study to profile a Grammar Troll. [Read more…]
Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. – Mark Twain
We’ve all got words that we used more than we should, and I bet if we were to make a list, “very” would make it to the top five – not to mention other words that can be ruthlessly cut out from every article we write – words that may add to the length but not to the substance. [Read more…]
Thanks largely due to the fact that more information is at our fingertips now than at any point in human history, we’ve entered into an age where both of the following statements are true:
As freelance writers, we have to work on a myriad of projects – from content writing to blogging to content marketing. When it comes to blogging and content marketing, visuals are more important than ever.
According to a study reported on by Slate, roughly 38% of people who click on an article or blog post online don’t actually make it past the headline. Of those that remain, a further 5% only ever read the first paragraph – IF they don’t have to scroll, that is. If they do have to scroll, they don’t even make it that far. [Read more…]
Work flexibility has gone a long way in the past decade, with companies like FlexJobs leading the way. As many of you may know, we’ve been partners with them for a while now, and we believe in their mission to help workers find alternative, more convenient ways of making a living.
This year, they are celebrating their 10th anniversary, and we join them in looking back at the milestones in work flexibility – not only for freelancers in new media, design, and other niches, but also for company-employed individuals. [Read more…]
There is no doubt that there are tons of writing benefits. For us who make a writing living, the foremost one is making money to pay the bills.
But there’s more to writing than having an income, and science has something to say about that.
In an infographic put together by Global English Editing, the health benefits of writing are outlined. The premise is that writing benefits not only the mind, but the body and spirit as well. [Read more…]
