Thursday, April 18, 2013

Proofreader Errors Online

Forgive those with proofreading errors as you would have them forgive you.



Even good proofreaders and copyeditors make errors from time to time.


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Buy Content from Outside Writers

When you have an online magazine or a website you want to keep optimized you will need ongoing fresh material.  Whatever your chosen themes, usually there are several angles they can be written from.  That means you can repeat themes.  But don't repeat them just for the sake of loading content or keywords.  Upload content that says something worth saying.

Choosing to purchase from outside writers will give you a greater chance of discovering fresh angles. 

Why is Content Updating Important?

It's important to include new material on your site because, in an ever changing world, clients need to be kept up-to-date on trends.  You can become their go-to place for new information.

When you are an expert in a certain field, your clients will let you (maybe even expect you to) do the homework they have no time to do themselves.  Over time, with good content, they will learn to trust your expertise.

Your goal should be to have customers look for your latest content, share your content, comment and talk about your content.  Your content should make a reader want to bookmark your page, add you to their RSS Feed, sign up for your newsletters, hire you, or buy your products. 


New fresh content will help optimize your site as web crawlers search for the latest material to include in their search engines.  But search engines aren't the only ones using crawlers, crawlers can be used by anyone searching for  information in an organized manner to be used for a variety of reasons.  Ensure you're found!

Use Freelancers for Article Writing and Blog Posts

Yes, you can purchase web content from an outsider to be used on your site.  You can put your name on it if you buy the full rights.  This doesn't make you less of an expert, it just means the craft of writing isn't your focus of expertise; the subject matter of the articles is your focus.

When you purchase pre-written or requested articles for full rights you can still personalize the material. You can put your name or your company name into the article and add links.  You can change thoughts that don't apply to your business or things you don't quite agree with. 

Purchasing rights is always the better way to use material thereby avoiding plagiarism by trying to re-write something you haven't paid for.

Content is a Vital Marketing Tool 

It is a constantly changing society and one that reads daily.  More people spend time on their computers than reading newspapers or books.  More people look online for solutions and they want to discover what's most current. 

Since there are many ways to cross-promote your business online, if done well, you will never truly be able to predict how a client will find you.  Would-be clients might click a link in Twitter.  They might click a link in LinkedIn.  One writer they follow may have a link on their page your website.  You'll need to have ongoing new material to post if you're to be discovered.

The Internet is like a playground where new friendships and discoveries are made.  It's important to be involved in the playground to effectively do business today.  Don't underestimate the power of adding web content to your blog or website and then adding the links to your Twitter feed, Facebook and Linkedin pages.



Monday, February 25, 2013

Transcripts and Re-Writes



I do audio transcriptions in addition to writing, proofreading and copyediting.  

     A client might want to have his/her audio transcribed to turn it into an e-book, to offer as a freebie, or to offer as an alternative for the customer that doesn't want to listen to an audio or watch an entire video.

    Now, if you're a speaker, chances are you have repeated yourself in your audio.  Speakers are encouraged to repeat important points for impact.  

     In writing, if something has already been said, to say it again might imply the reader is too daft to get the point.  For this reason, you may not want your transcription to be exactly the same as your audio.

     You could have your audio transcribed verbatim and save money by then editing it yourself since by then it will be in an editable MS Word document.  
 
     An alternative is to have your audio edited and/or re-written.  In this case, it is good to hire a transcriptionist who is also a copyeditor and writer.  

GET QUOTES 

     Have your transcriptionist/writer give you a quote for both the transcription, editing, and/or re-writing.

     It can be a pricey process.  For instance, it can take me an hour just to transcribe 10 audio minutes.  No, I am not going to do the work for $3 an hour like some offshore transcriptionists might; and, you will get what you pay for. 

     With a transcriptionist like myself, you can expect to pay upwards from $80 for a 60-minute verbatim audio.  With basic copyediting included for flow, it would expect upwards from $100. For additional re-writing, estimate $130.

     If you send the work out to two separate service providers, it will cost you more; transcriptionist $80; editor/re-writer upwards from $130--for a total of over $200. 


 


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Style Guides and Rules of Writing

We embrace innovation.  We encourage new forms of communication.  We love creativity. We self-publish.  Rules are broken...well, not all the rules.

I've been taking a proofreading and copyediting course recently.  I'd like to broaden the work I do in that area.  Nevertheless, the course has reminded me of all the different style guides and style books I need to study.  Rules continue to be made and followed even in these older more established guides, believe it or not.

It can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, I choose to trust I have great English grammar skills and a good sense of writing flow.  It develops when I write.  So write I must.  And from there I'll see what happens.

What style guides do you follow?




Sunday, January 20, 2013

Where Entrepreneurs Can Buy Content

Entrepreneurs have enough balls to keep in the air.  They'll need fresh material for their blog posts, though, articles to add to their website resource files, and perhaps other cross-promotion type material.

Entrepreneurs may be good at many things and writing may or may not be one of those things.  Writing is time consuming.  To help close the gap, there are a number of freelance writers available to write for them.

Writers also post pre-written material on sites such as www.Constant-Content.com.

Why Buy Pre-written?

Pre-written content is helpful to the entrepreneur who's run out of ideas of what to add or write on next.  A buyer can look through a batch of pre-written articles at Constant-content.com and choose those that are suitable.  He can buy exclusive rights.  With the full rights license the business owner can alter the articles to suit his needs.

The entrepreneur can take purchased articles and compile them into e-books or use as workshop materials.  Any entrepreneur can use pre-written articles, making them their own.  

Sunday, January 6, 2013

How I Write and Sell Web Content


I write and sell web content. I write articles, blog posts, website blurbs for clients.
 
Without the need for web content, I don't have a job.


HOW DO I WRITE AND SELL WEB CONTENT?


I write on a variety of topics.  My work is picked up by a conglomeration of varied buyers.  I actually prefer to sell my own pre-written material on topics I’ve chosen, but always look at what’s been requested and what’s selling.

I usually try to specialize in what I’m most knowledgeable about or interested in.  I do research constantly too and try to keep up with current trends.
 

I sell most of my work through www.Constant-Content.com.  They take a cut, but it’s kind of like my cost of doing business.  Why do I sell this way?  


a) Because I’ve developed a trustworthy relationship with Constant-Content.

b) Because they provide expert editing.  The editing advice I receive on pieces as needed, helps me learn what I may not already know and helps me mature as a writer. 

c) They draw buyers which saves me having to look for them.

d) They collect the payment from the client.

e)  They pay me on time as promised.


Help freelancers like myself stay in business!  Buy pre-written content for your newspaper, magazine, blog, website or ezine.
 
For my web content, see my profile page under my pen name Joy R. Calderwood at www.Constant-Content.com or visit my website at www.RosalieGarde.com.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Magazine Writing

GIFT SHOP BROWSING

I just returned from a short trip that included a stop at a gift shop. There's something about me that may never change which is my love for visiting gift shops.  I'm a self-confessed gift-shop junkie.  

One area of airport gift shops I'm always drawn to is the magazine racks.  There are magazines on almost every subject to be had.  

Yes, of course we can read all types of information on the Internet, but one thing magazines do is provide gorgeous glossy pictures.  I'm a visual learner and artist, and pictures draw me in.  

MAGAZINE WRITING 

It is still tedious querying to write for a magazine.  I don't know how many magazines have stepped out of former routines and are now purchasing content through new means.  For instance, articles and fillers can be picked up easily through content provider Constant-Content.  

Of course with all the web content available, magazine purchases have taken a dip.  You might have noticed the resulting compensating price increases on magazines.  (I paid almost $20 for a magazine for my daughter this week),  Still, writers and photographers still need to earn a living.  

No matter what you find on the web, there will always be a place for magazines.  As a writer, pitch in to keep magazines alive by buying a few.




Friday, December 21, 2012

Exclamation Marks




To my friends who are emerging writers, here's an important TIP:

Overuse of an exclamation mark (!) is a sign of immature writing. Exclamation marks can distract a reader. Try to use your words to create emphasis instead.

Make your writing more "mature" by using exclamation marks sparingly.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Use Your Gift


Writers' best gifts are within them.  Their gift for writing stems from a combination of their life experiences,  education, personal passions, current areas of study, their relationships, and whatever else is unique to them.

Writers take all the aforementioned, churn it about, and release it into content in a voice of their own.

Each writer's content is unique because it flows from their unique brain, unique set of experiences and all the aforementioned.  That is, unless they've been caught up in copying others.

Many writers get stuck in a temptation to copy.  Then there are times they write from their heads onto a blank piece of paper only to find similar pieces online.  Temptation to copy is always present.  Feeling as though you've been copied is angering.  These, however, are conditions of a writers' calling.  Their calling includes risk especially when much of their writing is online for the world to see (or copy).  Sometimes the coincidental similarities writers find are merely a product of current trends of the day to which they've been exposed.  Many today do talk in a similar voice.

As a writer, don't deny your gift!  Don't get caught up in all the would-bes or what-ifs.  Use your gift.  Use it in multiple ways.  Use it in good times and in bad.  Use it regardless of pay.  Use it because you know it will make someone's life better and your own more joyous and complete.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Challenge Yourself to Write

Try challenging yourself to write.  Yes, at times I feel I need to be in the mood.  I need to have inspiration.  Sometimes I just need to start writing.  Today I challenged myself to write 4 articles.  I challenged myself to do my first one in 15 minutes.  I did it.  It is now saved and simmering to be edited later.

Here's what helped:

  1. On another day I'd come across some material I thought might make a good topic.  My writing is sold at Constant-Content.com so I choose topics I feel will sell to the audience that visits there.  This topic stuck out (topic was fear), so I'd printed out ideas from a few websites and left them on my desk for a later.  Often I'll create a word document and gather ideas and save them.  Both methods are equally effective.
  2. Then I sat down not to copy from the printed material, but to have a conversation in my head about the topic. My thoughts would come out my fingertips (as I'm doing now).  The material was merely supportive.  I liked the tips it offered.  When I got to a place in my conversation where I needed a practical tip or the next paragraph direction, I glanced at the paper.  I adapted what I read to suit my article.  

So what I'm saying helps is to gather material you can use at a later date, and to write as though you're talking to someone.