30 Days to Make, Market and Sell a Fabulous Ebook: Day 1
I have been meaning to read Angela England's "
30 Days to Make, Market and Sell a Fabulous Ebook
" (yep, it's an affiliate link) for a while now. It's an ebook and I don't particularly like reading ebooks. After hours of staring at my laptop screen while doing my freelance writing for clients, the last thing thing I want to do is read a book.
It seems that the fates are smiling on me today, though, because I just received my new Kindle 3. On the first day of the month. Which coincides with Angel's ebook format because it is divided into 30 day projects. Simpatico. So, since today is the first and I can read the ebook on my new e-reader there's no excuses, right? Right.
I jumped into the first day's homework with both feet. It is focused on gathering ideas for your ebook by taking a look at subjects you already write about. Sounds simple enough, but it really opened my eyes to subject possibilities.
Needless to say, I am really enjoying my first day on the road to writing an ebook using Angela's methods.
How to Promote Your Articles in Less Than 3 Minutes
I hate promoting. Unfortunately, though, promotion gets readers and readers generate money in the residual income world. It's a good thing, then, that I found a nifty tool that lets me promote my articles in less than three minutes on a wide range of social networking sites.
The tool is called AddThis. It's free and can be installed to your web browser's toolbar so it is always easy to find. To use it you simply open up the article you want to share, click on the AddThis button on your toolbar and click on the social media site where you want to share the article. I repeat the process with all of the social media sites I am a member of and I'm done.
Here is the list of sites I post new article notifications to:
My article links blog on LiveJournal LinkedIn Facebook Myspace Twitter Blogger blogs like this one (I only do this occasionally and only if the subject may be of interest to my readers!)
How to Find Titles at Demand Studios
Now that Demand Studio's available titles are down to almost 7,000, I thought I'd share with you a few tips that I use to keep my Work Desk full:
Type keywords in the search box that relates to any type of knowledge you may have. For example, if you like to write about sports don't type in the obvious keywords like baseball, football and soccer. Instead, type in kick, pitch, ball, cleats, etc. Be willing to write about things you don't know much about. The key to writing a good article without a lot of research is to choose titles that are relativity simple. I don't know a lot about costume makeup, but making your kid look like a wolf is pretty simple, so I claimed, wrote and submitted the article. It was accepted without a hitch. Find article titles that can be interpreted into something that you know about.
Never Stop Searching for Freelance Work
Sometimes Sites Stop Paying Residuals
During the past 12 years of freelancing I've always had one mantra, "Never stop searching."
As a freelancer you never know when that lucrative project will end. You never know when a residual income site will shut down. You never know when Google will put the smackdown on your website.
So, when you think that you have too much work, that is when you have just the right amount.You never know when one project will end so stock-up like you're hording toilet paper for the apocalypse.
Demand Media Tanking or Just Tapering Off? You Decide
You may have read my earlier post on the mass firings done at Demand Media a while back. Well, it looks like the reason for all of the firings is clear.
I checked the queue for available assignments and it's down to 13,000. (Note that this 13,000 includes all of the special sections I am cleared for.) This may sound like a lot, but probably 90% of those articles can't be written by 99% of the population.
With there being very little work, there isn't a need for as many writers.
The downsizing may be due to the fact that DM's stocks are crashing. At last check, a share was only worth around $9. Compare that to the $24 per share they were getting in March, and you can see how far they've fallen.
If you're using DM as your main source of income I am strongly urging you to find more clients. You never know when Demand Media may need to do another mass firing.
Why I Still Write for Suite 101
After Panda, Suite 101 face-planted into the asphalt of the Google highway. Many of my writer friends there quit or just stopped writing. Some went on to create websites and blogs specifically aimed at roasting Suite.
Me? I stayed.
My reasons may not make sense to everyone, but I'll share them anyway:
I still make a decent chunk of change there. My earnings are steadily going up and are almost back to pre-Panda days. I am now what Suite calls a "Topic Editor." I'm over two sections, Mixed Media Arts and Painting/Drawing. The position only pays $.5 an article, but I don't really do any major editing. I scan over the article, tweak a few things that need fixing and make sure that there is nothing majorly wrong with the article. If there is I boot the article up to the section editor. The process takes just a couple of minutes. Plus, I have over 300 articles at Suite and I've been there since 2006. Kinda hard to let go.
Demand Media Studios Cuts Writers
If you haven't checked into your DMS account lately, maybe you should. From what I understand, Demand Media Studios just cut a huge number of writers from their system and put many of them on probation in the Writer Development Program.
I myself hardly ever go into the forums because it's usually a lot of complaining about copy editors. My account is fine, too, so I didn't know there was anything wrong. Today I had heard a rumor, though, that something big was going down so I checked in. Writers are in a tizzy to say the least.
From what I gather, writers with a grammar and research scores under 3.8 are getting the smack-down. Especially if they aren't part of any special projects such as LiveStrong or Tyra Banks.
If you haven't received an email from DMS and your account is still active, breath a sigh of relief. DMS says that all letters have been sent out and there won't be a second wave anytime soon.
Update: Some are reporting that only 35% of Demand's writers are left after the mass firing/probation.
How Do You Please Google? Here Are the Answers
Since Panda hit, people are frantic to find out exactly what Google wants from articles and websites so that they can rank high in search results. Well, the answers are forthcoming and view-able. Google's Webmaster video series on YouTube answers actual writer and webmaster questions. I've learned a lot from this free series, so I thought I'd share this resource with my readers.
Magpie Has Been Bought by IZEA
For those of you that have been following my adventures in paid tweeting (Tweet for Moneyand Update on Tweeting for Money) you may be interested to know that Magpie has been purchased by IZEA. IZEA own several blogging- and tweeting-for-money sites, most notably, SponsoredTweets.
What do you do if you have a Magpie account? According to the email I received today, you will be able to access your Magpie account using the same log-in information at the SponsoredTweets site.
Since this switch-over I can't even log into my SponsoredTweet account, but I can log onto my Magpie account just fine. Let me know if anyone else is having trouble.
Tricks for Making More Money With Demand Studios
Though I don't promote using Demand Media Studios (also known as Demand Studios and DS) as a full-time gig, it is great for when your freelance assignments are at a trickle. That's what I've been using it for over the past few years.
The trick to making decent DS income is to find titles quickly and write them quickly. Here are some of my tips:
Make use of the "Save Searches" function. Choose what format you like and the rate, then use a certain keyword to find titles and save it. You can save up to 20 searches. This saves time because you can just click a link to bring up a previous search instead of ticking boxes and typing out keywords. Focus on only one or two formats. I only do how-tos. I've gotten so good at them I can whip through one in about 15-20 minutes, including research. That's around $60 an hour. Stick with subjects you know a lot about. This reduces your research time. I stick with video games, fine art and crafts. Some keywords I use to search for these articles are "watercolor," "yarn," and "Pokemon." Stick with subjects that you have reference books for. I almost only use books that I have on-hand as references. A CE can't argue with the validity of a book's advice and I don't have to fight with Google to find a website reference that isn't on the blacklist. Be nice to the CEs. Say please. Say thank you. Let them know that your article is a little short because you didn't want to fill it with fluff. Tell them why you think you qualify as a reference, don't just assume they'll notice it in your bio. If you think explaining why you make a good reference takes to much time, create a boilerplate explanation that you can copy-and-past into the comments section. Here's what I use on art articles: "Additional Reference: As noted in my bio, I have over 20 years experience as a professional artists. Thanks!"
Let's Talk Fiction
Let's talk fiction.
Do you ever read a novel and want to toss it on the floor and stomp on it? I had that feeling the other day.
I was reading a novel from a popular author that is both prolific, and, well, rich from his work. So you'd think the book would be good, right?
I wish.
I often work as a freelance editor for fiction writers and I usually can't turn it off when I'm reading a book for fun. So, of course, with this stinker my critic went into overdrive. What sends my stinker meter into the red? Here are some tips for new fiction writers:
Nix details that don't pertain to the story. If it doesn't move the story along, don't tell me about it. Period. Don't use overused descriptions. Please, please don't get your description ideas from a 1970's romance novel! If you describe someone as having "eyes the color of a stormy sky," "a doughy physic" or "cream-colored skin" go back to your keyboard and hit the delete key. Boring! Avoid describing the surroundings too much. Okay. I get it. You want to set the mood. Just please try to get your description done in less than a page-length. Kill heroes that whine too much. I want my hero to be human, but not a crybaby.
When to Do Freelance Assignments
Let's say you have several clients. That means you have several projects that need to be done at a certain time. So, when do you do what? I have a method I like for sorting out my writing schedule.
Do I need money right away? If so, I choose to power through assignments that pay me sooner. The ones that pay me on publication or next month are put on the back burner.
If fast cash isn't an issue, I go by my pay-per-day guideline. Each month I decide how much money I need to make, then I divide that number by the amount of days I want to work. For example, if I decide I need to make $2,000 this month, but only work 26 days (that means I get two days off each week) my math would be:
$2000/26=$76.92. So, each day I will strive to do projects that earn me around $80 dollars (I round off to the nearest tenth).
Okay, this method can be a little confusing, so I'll give you an example. Say I have a client that needs a $20 blog post done, another client that needs a $200 article done and a client that needs a $75 article done. Now, I could do the $75 article and a quick Demand Studio article and be done for the day. Or, I could do the $20 blog and around a third of the $200 article to reach my goal. I like to mix and match to fit my moods.
It sounds complicated, but it works for my needs.
Do you have a method? Let me know!
How to Keep Article Thieves from Stealing Your Work
If you've written for the web for very long, you've probably had your articles stolen and posted on another site. Often, the article thief will claim that he wrote your brilliant article. Well, here's one way to thwart the lazier thieves: the No Copy Code.
It keeps people from being able to copy and paste your articles or blogs.
Simply copy and paste this code into your site's HTML and you're golden.
Note: I use this code and it works great.
<script language="JavaScript1.2">
//Disable select-text script (IE4+, NS6+)- By Andy Scott
//Exclusive permission granted to Dynamic Drive to feature script
//Visit
for this script
function disableselect(e){
return false
}
function reEnable(){
return true
}
//if IE4+
document.onselectstart=new Function ("return false")
//if NS6
if (window.sidebar){
document.onmousedown=disableselect
document.onclick=reEnable
}
</script>
<script language=JavaScript> <!-- //Disable right mouse click Script //By Maximus (maximus@nsimail.com) w/ mods by DynamicDrive //For full source code, visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com var message="Function Disabled!"; /////////////////////////////////// function clickIE4(){ if (event.button==2){ alert(message); return false; } } function clickNS4(e){ if (document.layers||document.getElementById&&!document.all){ if (e.which==2||e.which==3){ alert(message); return false; } } } if (document.layers){ document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN); document.onmousedown=clickNS4; } else if (document.all&&!document.getElementById) document.oncontextmenu=new Function("alert(message);return false") // --> </script>
//Disable select-text script (IE4+, NS6+)- By Andy Scott
//Exclusive permission granted to Dynamic Drive to feature script
//Visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com for this script
function disableselect(e){
return false
}
function reEnable(){
return true
}
//if IE4+
document.onselectstart=new Function ("return false")
//if NS6
if (window.sidebar){
document.onmousedown=disableselect
document.onclick=reEnable
}
Think You're Your Own Boss? Think Again.
Freelance writers are supposed to be their own boss, right? I mean, the government considers you your own boss. Your mom considers you boss-free. Your best-friend envies your "free" status.
But if you write for clients or residual income sites are you really boss free?
Consider this:
Clients tell you when projects are due. Residual income sites tell you what you can and can't post. Clients control the subjects you write about. Residual income sites take a cut of your profits. Clients can cancel projects. Residual sites can go out of business. Both attempt to take as much rights to the articles as possible.
Now, you may be wondering what my point is. Well, since Google's Panda hit, more an more freelance writers have been turning away from typical client/writer residual site/writer relationships and started their own websites.
With your own website you get to decide, well, everything. There's no one to answer to.
Slowly, I'm moving over into the no-boss-for-real zone. I have a good start on my sites Defrazzle Mom.com and Art Questions Answered. I also have several blogs that are doing well, including this one.
Are you in the no-boss-for-real zone? Do you want to be?
Ebook Cover Design
Okay, I usually don't overtly try to sell things to my readers, but I thought this would be useful to know: I design ebook covers for writers.
So, if you need an eye-catching cover done, feel free to contact me. Here's some examples of my ebook cover designs and prices.
I can do original art for covers and provide original photography. I've also had clients that wanted me to incorporate their own photographs.
I've been inspired to write my own ebook, but the problem is I want to write on so many different subjects!
Have you written an ebook? How did you focus on one niche subject?
Do You Work on a Holiday?
A Picture I Took of Fireworks in Estes Park, CO
One of my favorite holidays is coming up. 4th of July!
Right now I have a full schedule since summer is one of my busiest times in my freelance writing business. Clients are rolling in with new projects and I'm making good money. So, do I work on the upcoming holiday, or do I double up on work the day before?
I hate extra work. It makes me grumpy. So, I'm probably going to space out all of my projects so that I only have to do a little chunk of work on Independence Day.
How do you deal with holidays?
Why Social Media is More Important Than Google Search
Back in my post a few days ago, I talked about tracking how readers get to your articles and blog posts. Well, in my search for the truth I found something amazing.
On one of my most visited articles only 25 people found it using Google Search in an entire month. How did the other 8,000 people find my article? StumbleUpon and Facebook. In fact, my article had been stumbled around 400 times. Others are reporting similar trends.
What does this mean to me? To you?
It means social media is the new search engine. We need to stop fretting about SEO and Google's Panda and start dusting off our Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Also, make it easy for people to share your article by adding social media buttons above or below your articles and blogs. My favorite gadget is AddThis. It's free and easy to set up.
Writing, Summer and Kids
One of My Minion's- Umm- Children, In My Office
Time for the annual quandary: How do you run a successful freelance writing business while the kids are on summer break? Here are some things to try:
Work after the kids are asleep. This also has the added bonus of my office/sun room being nice and cool.
Sending the kids to vacation bible school. This is only for a few hours a day and only lasts for a week, but I'll take what I can get!
Ship them to family members every now and then. My girls have already been to my mom's for the weekend twice.
Work while the kids are completing their daily chores. They'll be occupied and won't be saying "Hey, Mom!" every five seconds. (They're doing chores right now, in fact.)
The Woes of the Freelance Writer's Search
You're Being Followed
By Berkeley Robinson
You know what I hate? When I'm researching a product to write about and Amazon saves my search history. Then, for weeks, I get emails trying to encourage me to buy similar products. No, I don't want to buy a solar radio. No, I don't want to buy a $300 generator that has a radio in it.
It gets me to thinking though. What if writers could track what their readers are interested in and write articles based on that information?
Well, we can.
Take a look at your website or blog's stat information. Did a reader come from StumbleUpon or Digg? Follow that link back to the site and see what other articles that account has saved or shared. You may learn some valuable information about your readers.
Judge Ye Not Journalist/Blogger/Writer
Mean Writers Suck
A while back a got a message from a reader informing me that I'm not a journalist. I'm sure many bloggers get messages like this since some journalists feel threatened by internet writing. Some say blogs and content sites are taking away their jobs. Others say the internet is lowering journalistic standards.
Now, don't think I have a vendetta against journalists. I went to J-school (what journalists call journalism school), actually. I was my college's newspaper editor, as well as the editor of a college club's newspaper. Just because I blog or write for the internet
doesn't make me a bumpkin. Just because another writer didn't go to journalism school doesn't make him or her a worse writer than someone who did, either.
It's all about choices.
I choose to write primarily for internet mediums because they pay more quickly than other publications. Someone else may go with writing for magazines because a minority of them pay $1 per word. To each his own.
We writers need to stop judging each other based on silly preconceptions. If a writer has a strong voice and her writing is entertaining or informative, that's all that really matters. How they make their money or where they went to school is their own business.