November Suite 101 Scores and Earnings Posted

Well, Suite 101 got around to posting scores and earnings for November. My score has gone up to 48, even though I haven't done anything, really. My channel hasn't launched yet because I haven't written a new article for it.

According to my stats, a score of 48 gets you an estimated $40. I have a buddy that has a score of around 100, and she will make around $100 this month. So, for each point, it looks like you earn a little less than $1. Take a look at my dashboard:

Freelance Job Site: Grab a Writer

I just heard of a brand new freelance job site for writers named Grab a Writer. From what I can tell, they have some active clients hiring freelance writers. The site is a lot like Elance, except there is no bidding. People search the writers' profiles until they find the person they want, then hire them through the Grab a Writer system.

I think the part I like best about the site is that the writer gets to set their price, the amount of hours they are willing to work and their turn-around time. This helps insure that you don't get somebody hounding you to do 2000 words for $5.

The part I don't like about this site is that they try to sell the writer packages. For example, to extend the turn-around time on a project you must purchase a $10 24-Hr. Extension Package that lasts 1 year. Is this how they make their real money? Time will tell. I'll update when I learn more about this site.

Here is an update on my dealings with Grab a Writer.

Publishing Articles on the New Suite 101

Some of my fellow Suite 101 writers are confused about the new publishing process, so I agreed to write a post on it, complete with pictures. Here's what the publishing dashboard looks like:

Like with WordPress or other blogging platforms, you type in your title, an intro and your article body into the spaces given. You add images by pressing the little button that looks like mountains.

This is a big upgrade from the old photo system, which wouldn't let you put the photos anywhere but at the top and bottom of the article. This new process lets you put them where ever you click your mouse in the article body. Plus, you can add captions and credits easily. I found that the uploading process was quick and easy. The photo will save in your online files on the site, too, so you can retrieve it later for another article.

The problem is that you can't cancel a photo upload until after you fill out all of the mandatory name and caption slots with information.

Once you have your article ready, you can add it to channels you've already created using the option on the left side of the screen.

This area also shows you your article status and it gives you an area to leave notes for your editor.

After you are done, you can mark the article for copy editing and save it. When your article is posted, people can comment on it or follow you by pressing the Follow button.

That's all there is to publishing on Suite 101. Let me know if you have any questions!

Suite 101 Back in Action?

Way back in early 2010, Suite 101 was hit with the Google Panda smackdown. Many writers lost vast amounts of income through the site. Since then, the site has been revamped and many writers are wondering if they should give it a try.

During my six years with Suite, I amassed 314 articles, mostly about fine art, and thousands of dollars worth of income. The last time I checked, my income from the residual income site was around $10,000. That means that I've earned around $31 for each article on the site. Most of the articles took me around 30 minutes to write, so not too bad a payment. (Not to mention I've received tons of job offers due to my writing on Suite.) Since Panda hit, I've been getting a payment of $50 to $80 per month. I haven't written an article for Suite 101 since June of 2011, meaning those payments are purely residual.

After a lot of thinking, I decided to give the new site try.

Instead of paying using page views or ad clicks, like they used to, they are now paying using an activity score. The higher you score, the more you get paid. My score, without doing anything, is 46 out of a score of 100. Many people who have actively written for Suite for the past year have a score of zero, so how these scores are collected is a mystery.

Any articles you write on Suite, or have already written, can be gathered into what are called "Channels." These channels are basically groups of articles of a particular subject. Visitors can comment on the channels and you can ask other writers to add their articles to your channel. Here is an example of a channel by Bonnye Good.

From what I understand, each channel must be approved by an editor before it goes live. I created one and it is listed as New/Unpublished. The process for making a channel is easy. All you do is decide what you channel topic will be, create a description for it and then go through your list of articles and click on the ones you would like to add to the channel. Creating my channel took about 10 minutes.

So far so good. I'll keep you updated on changes and earnings to come!

Have you tried the new Suite or do you have any questions?

Event Management Software?

I'm thinking about doing a writing event in my area. Maybe a write-a-thon type thing or a meet local authors type thing. I don't have the budget to hire an event planner and I'm not sure I can hack it by myself. I mean, I've thrown small parties and I planned my wedding, but this is different. Have any of my readers ever used event management software? If so, how does it work? I was unaware that it even existed until today. Apparently there are companies that create this type of software and customize the software to your specific event. It sounds intriguing.

What is OverBlog?

The other day, one of my writing friends recommended OverBlog.  This site takes all of your social media posts and gathers them on one site. All you need to do is allow the site to link to your social media posts from Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Youtube, Flickr and Facebook. You can also create blogs on the site.Then, the site pays you for page views, or at least that's how I understand it. It looks like they are in a flux right now. You could add your Adsense code...now I can't find it and others say changes are being made. It's in Beta mode, so I'm not surprised.

So, I gave it a try.

Not. A. Single. Person. Has. Looked. At. My. Page.

Oh, well. I can see how it would be a great way to show potential clients your social media skills, since everything is grouped in one place. I'll keep trying this site and update later with more details.

Disposable Wedding Cameras or a Cannon Rebel: How Important is Photos When You're a Freelance Writer?

My daughter holding one of my first cameras.

Up until recently, I had a Cannon Rebel EOS camera to take pictures for all of my freelance articles. Now, let's just say I don't have it any more. All I have is the camera on my smartphone. This got me to thinking, just how important is the type of camera you use for photos?

Way back at the beginning of my freelancing career, I used a SLR camera, until it broke. Then I moved on to using disposable wedding cameras. Yep, you read that right. My husband took pity on me and bought me a nice digital camera and now I'm using my smartphone.

Through the evolution of my camera ownership, one thing has stayed the same: I have always been able to use the photos I take for paid freelancing work. It turns out the camera type didn't make a difference. What made the difference was my determination to get a good shot, no matter how long it took.

Even with this realization, I still want to upgrade to a smartphone with a flash, just to make things easier.

What type of camera do you use?

Blog Distributor Review: Make Money With Your Blog

I signed up with Blog Distributor years ago and then forgot all about it. A week ago, I started getting emails from them with blogging offers. I scoffed at first, but then I decided to give them a try. Here's how the site works:

You sign up your blog(s). The site checks you blog to make sure that it is high quality. I saw a review about Blog Distributor on another blog. The blogger was ranting that she got turned down because she didn't have a firm grasp of the English language...so I guess there is proof they have standards. They send you offers to write content on certain subjects. In the content you link to one of their client's sites. The content only has to be around 100 words and must contain a certain keyword phrase at least once. If you're post is approved, you earn $4 for a blog that has a page rank rating of 1 and $8 for a blog that has a page rating of 2. Of course, the higher your blog's page rating, the higher your payment.

I think the pay is pretty good for a post that could take you five minutes to write. Plus, you are producing fresh content for your blog. I give this site a thumbs up.

Pro tip: Write what you would normally write about on your blog, but use the keyword as a writing prompt to fuel the subject of the post. This keeps you from being spammy.

Writting for ContentCurrent

I was alerted to ContentCurrent by a fellow writer in a Facebook group I'm a member of, so I checked it out. According to their site, "As a Content Current writer you will be able to pick the writing tasks that you like and submit them through our easy-to-use interface. There are thousands of writing tasks waiting to be completed on ContentCurrent right now."

Before you can write those articles, though, you must write a 500 word "test article." My test article is about "Hartford Technical College." I'm not sure if I'll write it. The test article is graded by editors and you are given a writing level. The higher your level, the more money you will make per article.

Once you are approved to write for the site, you are allowed to claim six articles from their list of open jobs. You write the article, submit it, the client looks it over and either approves it or sends it back for rewrites.

Common pay for articles is $5.50 for 260 words. Another writer reports seeing $7 offered for 500 word articles. This is really low pay, but if you can bang out an article in a few minutes on a subject you're an expert in, then go for it.

Here is a review of the site by No Job for Mom.

Update on Interact Media

A while back I made posted about Interact Media, asking anyone if they had used the site before. Well, I decided to give it a shot.

Interact Media offers writing work that pays $.007 to $.16 per word. On the high-end of the scale, the pay isn't bad, but these jobs are few and are only offered to writers with a five-star rating. I figured this out because I started with a four-star rating and moved up to a five-star rating.

The site is a lot less user-friendly than some of IM's competitors and the site is a bit old-fashioned. Otherwise, I like this company a lot and recommend you give it a try when you are needing a little extra income when your client list slows down.

Getting Paid Tips? This is New to Me!

Something unusual just happened to me, and I had to share. I completed an article for a client a few days ago. Today, I got an email stating that they liked my work so much they are going to tip me an extra $11.

I've never worked as a waitress or delivery person before, so I'm pretty stoked about my first tip.

Have you ever gotten a tip for your writing or editing services? 

Beware of eHow Spark

Demand Studios has been known to copy ideas before, and their latest idea, eHow Spark, is no different.

Spark works a lot like Pinterest. You can pin photos and text to your boards and share them with others using an app or a "clipping" tool.

The catch is, while Pinterest says in their Terms of Agreement that they have no claim to what is pinned on their site, eHow claims everything:

Click on it to make it larger.

I think this is a clear warning to content producers to stay clear of this site. If you want to keep other people from using your content on eHow Spark, head on over to Crunchy Data to get some code to block the clipping tool.

I Take Back Everything I Said About Demand Studios

In this previous post, I told you how Demand Studios was so much better than it used to be. I take it all back.

After working with them again for several months, I've found that DS is still just as messed up as everyone remembers. They say they want quality articles, but the truth is they don't have the slightest idea what quality is.

To test my theory, I decided to contact experts to get information and quotes for the topics I was writing about. As anyone who's gone to journalism school or worked for print publications (and almost anyone else) knows, expert interviews are one of the best ways to get quality information for articles.

Apparently, though, Demand Media Studios didn't get the memo.

I received more rewrite requests than ever. In many of the requests, the copy editor claimed that the experts didn't know what they were talking about and the CE had a link to some shoddy website which proved that the expert was wrong. My research scores plummeted.

In contrast, when I used questionable websites as my reference sources, my scores went back up.

The "audits" are my favorite part of DS' new quality control. Out of the blue, an editor contacts you through your personal email address. The editor informs you that he has been looking over your articles and has found ways to improve your writing. Okay, that seems reasonable, except that these editors have the power to edit your article weeks after it's published. One editor informed me that a sentence in a recent article was too long and he fixed it. He fixed it all right. Here is the results:

Sports was once a male-dominated activity. And women were left to cheer on the sidelines. Eventually, however, cheerleading became a sport of its own. Yep, that's some good stuff. I'm no grammar savant, but that was so wrong. Even my 4th grader laughed.

Needless to say, I went to my DS profile and changed my real name to a pen name (which I should have done a long time ago). When you do this, in a few days the bylines of all your previously written DS articles changes to your pen name. At least that's how it used to work. I've got my fingers crossed.

Novel Update

Last month I made a post about doing a National Novel Writing Month in July. I thought I'd post about how last month went for me. I ended up writing a little over 36,000 words. This is in addition to my normal non-fiction writing I do as a freelancer. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

What's really great is that I know where I'm going with the novel, so I am going to keep writing until it's done.

Today I bought a bunch of line and unlined index cards. I'm going to put a scene from the novel on each of the cards and pin them up on a board so I can keep track of everything. It's like a re-workable outline since I usually need to rearrange my outlines many, many times.

How do you organize your novels?  

Managing Your Search Results When Doing Research

When I'm writing articles for clients, there are times I need to look up some information and nothing burns my biscuits faster than Google tossing me crap sites. I need info quickly and don't have time to wade through sites with questionable information. So, I have employed the use of Google's site blocking tool to keep certain sites from reappearing in my results. If you want to do the same, you can borrow from my list of blocked sites, below. Do you have any sites to add to the list?

answers.yahoo.com 1 second ago Manually blocked Unblock

www.squidoo.com 37 seconds ago Manually blocked Unblock

hubpages.com 54 seconds ago Manually blocked Unblock

lifehacker.com 1 minute ago Manually blocked Unblock

www.wikihow.com 2 minutes ago Manually blocked Unblock

ask.com 3 minutes ago Manually blocked Unblock

ehow.com 3 minutes ago Manually blocked View details Unblock

www.ezdia.com Jan 9, 2012 Searched for sample cover letter ... Unblock

www.thoughts.com Jan 9, 2012 Searched for sixth generation bre ... Unblock

www.wordsdepot.com Jan 9, 2012 Searched for sixth generation bre ... Unblock

Freelance Writing Tips from Professional Elance Contractors

Guest Post by Jessalynne Madden

Are you considering a career as a freelance writer? Have you heard about Elance?
Elance is a social media platform specifically designed to connect freelance professionals with short-term work as well as long –term projects and consistent clients.
Does this sound good to you? There’s more!
Elance provides an area for serious writers to develop their abilities as freelance professionals. Sharpening your techniques on Elance will equip you to be a successful freelance writer long into the future.

Are you already familiar with Elance?

If you have taken the time to set up a profile on Elance and started to bid on jobs, you know that Courtney Allison, author of Elance Freelance Writing, is correct in saying ,  “In this day and age, freelance writers stand at the door of opportunity.”
There is a high demand for professional writers which means that your words can make you money. 
 
Are you ready to begin your career as a professional freelance writer?

Elance Freelance Writing offers comprehensive advice for new and seasoned freelance writers alike.  Let’s take a look at one of the many topics this eBook discusses: portfolios.
Successful freelancers often create their own websites, professional bios, profiles and portfolios.  Creating a stunning portfolio can be challenging as you consider what pieces should be included.  However, the portfolio is a vital part of an Elance freelance contractor’s digital profile.  While other aspects of a profile may grab clients’ attention, the contents of a portfolio will convince them whether or not a freelancer is worth hiring.  Here are a few tips to consider as you work to create your portfolio:

Keep it current.  It is a good idea to regularly upload current portfolio pieces.  This will ensure that potential clients understand the full range of your capabilities as a contractor. Strive for diversity.  Be sure to display diverse pieces of work in your portfolio.  Though you may want to showcase your strongest style of writing, demonstrating the range of your abilities will prove to potential clients that you can handle a variety of jobs. Build your portfolio with “Mock” work.  If you are new to Elance or freelancing, you may not have any “display” pieces.  You can still create a portfolio by uploading pieces that have not been completed for a client. Share “public property” pieces.  Did you know that individuals can download your portfolio pieces should you make them public on a job site like Elance?  With this in mind, comprise your portfolio with work you don’t mind becoming public property.

Now is the time to launch your freelance writing career.  Go ahead and open the door of opportunity.

Byline:  Jessalynne Madden is the Director of Blog Communications at Cali and Son Communications, a premier blog writing service.  Cali and Son recently published Elance Freelance Writing, a manual for freelance writers who want to create a full-time career on Elance.  
Learn more about it: Elance Freelance Writing.

July is National Novel Writing Month, for Me

This month I have decided to do my own little NANOWRIMO. Yes, I know that National Novel Writing Month is in November,  not July, but to hell with it!

Every November, I promise myself that I will participate in writing a novel as a gift to myself, since my birthday is November 22. Every year I end up mad at myself because I don't even start a novel, let alone finish one. It's like saying, "Here's your birthday present. Oh, the box is empty? Oh well."

I write non-fiction to pay the bills, so jumping into a work of fiction is difficult. I've programmed myself to produce for money.

Yesterday, I had an fantastic idea (so humble!) for a novel while I was getting ready for bed. I ended up writing an outline for my novel while sitting in my pajamas.  I mean, in the breadth of 20 minutes I came up with the novel from finish to end.  Of course, it's missing details, but the skeleton is there. I've never had the whole skeleton of a novel done before I start, so this is exciting. Usually I just throw mud at a wall and see what sticks. Sometimes it works (I have had some works published in the past) and sometimes it doesn't (I have several half-done novels). 

Want to join me for a July NANOWRIMO?

Is Demand Studios Getting Better?

For many writers, you say the words "Demand Studios" and they cringe. For years, DS has been the poster child for content farms, low pay rates, poor editing and headaches. Recently, though, they gained a new editorial staff, so I decided to give them another try.

I have to say, I am amazed. They are offering higher paying gigs with well-known publishers. I've only run into one editorial glitch, but I think it was due to a new copy editor that hasn't fully read the article requirements. If you've ever written for DS you know what I'm talking about.

There aren't near as many titles, or writers for that matter, and that can only be a good thing when it comes to getting rid of their content farm rep.

Overall, I am very pleased with the changes they have made and will be spending more time writing there.

I take everything back. After some research, I've found that DS still doesn't have its act together.

Read more about what I learned.

Freelancing Opportunity: What is Skyword?

I've found a new way to get freelancing jobs and I love it. The company is called Skyword (this is not a referral link) and it is a middleman of sorts that connects writers with big publishers.

At first, I was leery of using them. All of their clients were paying very little for articles, so I waited. After a while, the site started to get bigger and bigger clients. Currently, they have clients that are paying $10 to $200 per article.

Once you are a member of the site, you can apply to write for clients. If you are accepted, you follow the client's writing guidelines and write a specific amount of articles each month. (Some clients don't have limits to how much or how little you can write for them.) Once your article is published, you get paid on the 1st and 15th of the month. Skyword doesn't take a cut from your pay. What you are offered by a client is what you get paid.

I have found a large number of my current clients through Skyword. I suggest you give it a try. Let me know how you like them in the comments.

I Said 'No' to a Book Deal, Too

I Guess I Wasn't Hungry Enough to Accept 

I saw this article, I Turned Down a Book Deal Last Week, on Facebook and had to click on the link. Normally, the name of the blog would have been enough. You turned down a book deal? Gasp! But for me, it was more than that. You see, I too have turned down a book deal. 

It was two years ago and it was on a subject I love: home food storage. I came up with an outline and a table of contents. I was excited. Then, I learned how much I was going to get paid.

The editor offered a measly $1,500. No, that isn't the advance. $1,500 was to be the whole shebang. I didn't even get royalties and the publisher would own all of the rights. 

I said 'no thanks.'

Have you ever turned down a book deal?