Grasping Life by the Hand

I found my true purpose in life the moment my son was born.  Never was I one to wish for the future to bring me children, and yet they came to me so soon.  I struggled with finding meaning in my life.  I was young on the outside, and on the inside I felt old and useless.  All around me I received praise for my intelligence and kindness.  I was put on a pedestal that was not for me.  It was said that I would achieve great things in my life.  These great things were to become a doctor, a heart surgeon.  I felt as though if I achieved this perceived greatness, I would feel great.  At the age of 12, I was being groomed for my late 20’s.  My parents thought that by raising me for the future, they were preparing me for life.  This is true, but in the process, I lost all contact with the present.  I never got to experience the extent of living as a carefree child.  I was no longer allowed to be a child when I was 9.  My mother was done raising me at that time.  It was her time to live a life. 

The second I moved out when I was 19, I felt like I had broken through a steel chain.  A thousand pound weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was free at last.  I could now take the information I was given and use it.  I no longer cared that life would be hard from here on out.  For I was able to claim my life as my own. 

When I was 16, I actually met the man that would become my other half.  I was in love then, but I felt as though the feelings were not returned.  In actuality, it was just not the time for us to start our life.  We still had our own growing to do.  I ran into him again when I had just turned 19.  We began our journey together that day.  We have not looked back.  Our lives are as perfect as I could ask for.  I now have created the family of my dreams.  Its as though he has become the family and life and meaning I’ve always been seeking.  I just never knew where to look. 

My first son, instead of bringing me down to Earth, took me up to the clouds.  For the first time in my life, I felt needed.  I felt important.  My second son has only added to that feeling.  I am fully aware that my purpose in life is to raise these children the way that I should have been raised.  My purpose is to stop the cycle of neglect in my family.  I am now taking life by the hand and running with it, and it feels amazing.

Associated Content-Write What You Want or Not?

I’ve written about 5 articles for Associated Content.  I wrote for them because you have a chance to get an upfront payment.  I thought that this would be the most ideal if I was to get paid at all.  My first two articles were accepted for upfront payment, but my other 3 were not.  The editor stated that they were well written, but either there were already too many articles on my subjects available, or the topic is more of an insight, rather than a how-to.  I thought that I could write about whatever I want and get paid if it was written well enough.  Obviously not.  At this point, I’m not sure what kind of articles would even get paid.  The first one I wrote is written about all over the net (making money online) and yet a very specialized review article about Build a Niche Store was rejected stating there were already too many articles written over the subject, or the subject is too broad. This made absolutely NO SENSE. 

I’m not losing sleep over it however because I will be starting my grant writing class soon and I’m very excited about it.  Not only that, but just writing the articles gives me that much more experience.  Plus, I can always resubmit them for performance payments.  I know that many many people write for AC and get upfront payments on their articles.  It makes me wonder what they are writing about.  Probably How- To’s on just about every subject imaginable.  I do not find writing those very stimulating or enjoyable.  Oh well, I guess I’ll just stick to writing what I know best.  I’ll just be sure not to put a ton of effort into it knowing I probably won’t get an upfront payment. 

I’ve also discovered that if you are going to be a freelance writer, or a writer for the internet, it is best to have a specialty of something that is very popular like business, finance, animals, cars, etc.  Most people want articles that would require research if you weren’t already involved in the subject matter they are wanting.  Unfortunately for me, I am not.  I have nothing very interesting to put on a resume besides being a stay at home mom.  I know all about parenting and babies, and a few other odds and ends, but I am by no means an expert in anything that I’ve seen requests for.  Once again, I’m not losing sleep, its just an observation.

Thanks for reading!

Websites I’ve Discovered

So I found a couple of websites last night that might be helpful to some writers out there looking to be hired as a writer.  These are not bidding sites.  They are actually forums that have threads specifically for Content Creation, people looking to buy and sell.  Some people are looking for article writers, others are looking for forum posters, both of which are paid.  The first site is Digital Point and when you go there, you find the thread for Buy, Sell, or Trade.  This will take you to another section where you’ll click on Content Creation (which is located at the end of the sentence under the thread for Content).  The other site is Webmaster, here you will scroll all the way down to the Webmaster Marketplace and then the freelance category. 

This brings me to talk about something else I’ve discovered.  There are tons of people looking for content for their websites, and even on this forum you will find people asking where they can find a good content writer.  And yet these people are only offering pennies for this content they are seeking.  One was offering a $1 for 100 words, or $3 for 500 words, and things like that.  I’m sorry, but you are not going to find quality work for so cheap.  They of all people should know that is not easy to write good articles, especially if you have to do research.  Obviously, that is why they are paying to get someone else to do it.  So they should pay accordingly.  Why would they think that a couple dollars for an hour or two of research and writing and revising and typing would be sufficient to get quality work?  Silly.  Maybe there are some people out there who are willing to write for nothing, but I am worth more than that, even if I have no degree or documented experience.  Writers should not sell themselves so short.  We are in demand, therefore we should have the say on how much we are worth!

I had to speak about that.  Its something very important that I have learned that all writers or wanna be writers should know.  Well, this is all for now!

 

Another Writing Blog?

I’m debating on whether or not I should create another writing blog.  This blog would be my thoughts about my life and love and personal story.  It would basically be another outlet of writing, but simply so that people could get a sense of my style of writing.  I’m sure you can get a good idea of it here and my other blog, and that is why I’m still not sure if I want to do it.  I already have a lot to handle with writing 3-4 articles a day, 2 blogs to manage, and a few other things besides two children to take care of. 

I guess I’m just wondering if I shouldn’t try expanding my writing to a more creative outlet.  I’m so focused on serious articles that will either teach someone or inform them of something.  I am concerned that I will lose some imagination and creativity if I do not express myself in another way.  I guess I will wait and see how well I can handle the load I already have, and then decide what to do. 

If you are wanting to become a writer and do not have a huge workload, I would suggest giving yourself a creative outlet for writing besides the writing you do for pay or to use for a portfolio.  I think if you have your own little creative journal, your mind will stay active and you will be able to look at things in different ways.  In a way, my other blog is somewhat of a creative outlet, but it is also more of an informative blog in addition to the personal posts I write. 

I might and I might not.  It really all depends on if I can handle what I have already.

Its a Hard Job

I’ve come to the realization, that writing is a very hard job.  I love every second of writing articles, that is not the problem.  What is hard is coming up with articles to write about on the internet and competing with all the authors writing them as well.  I never imagined how many people write for money on the internet.  You could probably find thousands of articles written over the same subject of every kind of subject.  And what’s sad is that a lot of these people writing are simply doing it for the money and not necessarily for their career.  I honestly want to make a living with my writing, and there are people on here just spitting out what I consider to be spam.  I call it spam because they are articles that are specifically written for keywords and are a dime a dozen.  Its so hard to compete online.  I believe this is why I’m sure I will want to be a grant writer.

Grant writers have a hard job also.  Its tough work and a long process to write a grant proposal. Its so much more than writing also.  You do a ton of research and getting connections and more research.  You have to figure out finances for the company you’re writing the grant for to be able to break down exactly what the money will be used for, down to the last penny.  I think competition for these jobs is a lot less, because it requires a lot more skill and knowledge than just spitting out articles.  There is a high demand for these jobs and I would love to be the one in demand!  I think it would be the perfect mix of independence in a job combined with a good amount of challenge.  The pay is well worth the work also. 

Even though I know that my days of trying to be a fulltime freelance writer are over, I still am a writer.  There are many opportunities available for a freelance writer, but I just do not think it is for me.  There is way to much competition with people who aren’t in it for the love of writing.  I will still continue writing articles, but the ones I write will hopefully not be spam.  I will mostly keep writing because I love it, and because I want to share my knowledge with others.  I would like to make a little extra cash too, but that is just a perk.

Writing really is a hard job, no matter what field you get into.  You MUST be willing to WORK!

My Writing Goals

I have decided that I will probably like my grant writing class and will want to pursue that as a career.  I will take multiple classes on grant writing and begin finishing my associate’s degree in liberal arts in the fall.  By the time my sons are in school, I hope to be well versed in the art of grant writing, or at least enough to begin writing for good pay.  In the mean time, once I take enough classes to be confident enough, I will try grant writing for non-profits, or for volunteering.  I think that will give me some good practice and help out those who might not be able to afford an expensive grant writer. 

I will also continue writing articles to build up a solid portfolio, along with a lot of practice.  My goal is to eventually write 15 articles a month for AC for pay, and 5-6 articles a month for pay at C-C.  I also have a goal of writing 3 articles a day for my accounts at Hubpages and Squidoo, which I believe are a great outlet for writers.  They provide a way to publish your work with high trafficing websites, but also possibly earn extra income through ads and affiliate incomes.  I will be adding these two links to my site so that other hopeful writers can check out the sites and see what they think.  At first, I thought they were just another blog site, but they aren’t.  They are sites where you can create endless amounts of hubs or lenses about knowledge you know, or in other words, your personal articles.  The more and better content you write, the more likely your pages will be indexed by Google; therefore, the more exposure you can receive for your writing.  There is no upfront pay, but if you are building a portfolio like me, its a wonderful idea.

Hope you learned something!

 

A Small Setback

As I have said in an earlier post, I submitted two other articles to AC.  Well, I received a response.  They were not offered an upfront payment.  For one, the reason was because the subject was not really a helpful topic.  It was well written and a little informative, but not popular or not searched for enough.  The other one was rejected because there are already too many articles or reviews written for that subject on the internet. 

I love writing about many different topics.  Its just that I’m not sure enough of them are helpful enough for publication.  I’m starting to question how successful I can become as an article writer or if I should pursue a different avenue of writing.  I cannot picture myself having enough patience to write a book of any kind.  I am hopeful however that once I have enough samples of articles of written, I can create a portfolio that potential employers could look at and get a good feel of my style of writing.  I hope that I could possibly find a returning buyer that gives me set topics and deadlines to write for, because just coming up with How-To articles isn’t very easy.  You have to be willing to put lots of research into it, and at the same time, know that you might only get $3 for all your hard work. 

I am definitely looking into grant writing also.  Once I take the class, I’m sure that will give me a good idea of if its something I want to do. 

I’m not heartbroken or discouraged because of having my articles rejected for upfront payment, because I do understand the valid reasons.  I know criticism and rejection are big parts of becoming a successful writer.  I think this might prompt me to find a good topic, research it, write an article and submit it to C-C for a price that is well worth the effort.  That way I know I won’t be wasting my time.

Happy writing everyone!

Do You Need a Degree to Write?

When I finally decided that I wanted to be a writer, this was the first question I asked myself.  I’ve recently discovered the answer.  No. 

If you know how and like to write, did well in your English classes, enjoy reading, and have a strong enough passion, you definitely do NOT need a degree.  Even if you’re not that well at grammar and punctuation, there are many refresher classes you can take, without having to go for a degree. 

That being said, a degree is always nice.  Some employers love seeing a degree, because it shows accomplishment and intelligence.  However, your portfolio, once you build it, will also speak volumes.  If you would like a degree, there is nothing wrong with that, but you do not REALLY need one to be a writer. 

One thing you do need is passion.  With so many outlets you have to know what you love to write.  Fiction, nonfiction, short stories, books, poems, articles, business proposals, web content, magazine content, newspaper content, and even grant proposals.  The list is endless.  In order to succeed you must know what you love and figure out what your ultimate goal would be.  If you would like writing to be your full time profession, it will take a lot of time and dedication.  In my case, its my hobby and hopefully a part time job for my family.  I do not need the money, but it always helps.  I would like it to become a good source of income some day, however. 

So do you need a degree?  No.  Is it good to have one?  Sure.  But whether you choose to get one, writing classes are always helpful and inspiring at times.  You must have a drive and a passion.  And you must be willing to work your butt off, just like you would at any other job. 

Making Progress

I submitted another article to AC soon after I came home and saw that they had offered me payment for my first article.  This next article just got offered payment as well.  It isn’t much, but I was told the reason was because there are so many articles already written over the same subject.  I’m quite thrilled to see that I’m finally making some progress with my writing career.  I now have submitted two more articles to Associated Content. 

I’m still working on writing and perfecting some other articles to submit to Constant Content.  I’m very  nervous about this site, simply because there are many well established writers submitting work there (along with novices like myself).  I just want to be sure that I am completely ready.  I know that most writers get their first article rejected, but they do send you reasons for that.  I’m not worried about rejection in the least.  I’m worried about… I guess I don’t really know.  Maybe I want to make sure that I submit the best work I can because of the potential in securing a returning buyer.  In a lot of cases, some buyers will begin by buying some of your first articles and if they really like them, will continue returning to you for work.  In most cases, returning buyers turn into your own exclusive buyers where they will only go to you for things that they need.  This is what I would love, to get a buyer that will give me consistent projects.  I like to have a plan and a list when it comes with work.  I like to have a set schedule of things that need done, so that I can make the most of my time.  I really need to just get on with it and do it.  What’s the worst that could happen?

Review of Triond

This is my short review of Triond.com.  Triond is a site where you can become a member for free.  You write an article, submit it, wait for approval, then get your article published to a website where it earns revenue based on traffic to the site and clicks on the ads next to the article. 

Of all the websites that enable you to earn revenue this way, this site is the best.  It’s not a lot of money, but for one article I’ve already earned $.08 in a week or so.  If you submit many articles, the amount will obviously be substantially bigger. 

If you’re looking to make quick money or an upfront payment, this is not the site.  If you want to earn gradual income while being published, I highly suggest Triond.

I also wanted to add that I did place a link to the second article I had published.  This is the article I submitted to Associated Content and got an upfront payment on.  It is also eligible to earn revenue in the same manner that articles do on Triond, but the amount per click is much less.  I like that fact that you can get an upfront payment here, but if an upfront payment isn’t offered, do not expect to earn much.