Archive for August, 2010

Freelance Writers

Monday, August 30th, 2010 Posted in Freelance Writing | No Comments »

The Perks of Being a Freelance Writer

Great things about being a freelance writer

Being a freelance writer can be a very rewarding and satisfying career. For those who have a writing talent it’s a real pity not to write. A (potential) writer should not allow any waste of writing skills, but rather try to make a career of it, build a name as a freelance writer, and why not, earn money.

As a freelance writer, you are your own boss

The perks of being a freelance writer are not to pass up. First of all, if you make a job out of writing, the most convenient thing about the writing activity is the fact that you can make your own schedule. As a freelance writer you are your own boss, you work slash write when it’s the most convenient for you. You don’t have a superior to report to like in a classical job. You are not chained in an office from 9 to 5 like in any other regular job. You don’t have naughty colleagues you have to put up with, like it happens sometimes in some workplaces.

As a freelance writer, you can work from everywhere

Another great convenience of being a freelance writer is that you do not depend on a specific workplace, like in the case of a classical job. You can do it from the comfort of your home, working on your own computer customized as per your own needs. Or, you can actually do it from everywhere – in the train, on the plane, in a café, in the park, and so on. All you need to have is a good internet connection. Imagine flying hours and hours when you go on a long trip, and instead of getting bored during the fly you can do your job – write and earn money.

As a freelance writer, you do what you love to do

There is another great thing about being a freelance writer – you get to do what you like the most, you have the opportunity to fructify a talent of yours. Just think of those people who are forced to do a job they don’t like at all, a job they hate, a job that doesn’t bring them any satisfaction, and the only reason they do it is that they need to support themselves and their families. A freelance writer is never in such an imposition, a writer has always the privilege of doing what he or she loves the most.

Success will come

Being a freelance writer is a challenging but rewarding path. Success may not strike on the first day, but it will come for sure, and what you need to do for that is to prove determination, ambition, patience, and then there will come the day when all you ever dreamed for comes true.

Part Time Writers

Thursday, August 19th, 2010 Posted in Freelance Writing | No Comments »

Want to Write While Working? Become a Part Time Writer

Writing does not pay well all the time…

Many beginner writers aspire to a successful writing career, but the striking success as a writer does not come immediately. Sometimes it’s a long journey, with a faraway destination, and only the most ambitious and driven people will get there and will succeed as writers.

The road is rocky and bumpy, and a beginner writer can be found in the imposition of not being able to support himself or herself from writing only. Not all the time writing is paying well from the very beginning, and not all the time a good writer can earn enough money to be able to support himself or herself in a decent manner, not to mention when there is a family involved, for instance.

Become a part time writer

So what is the solution in this case? Become a part time writer. A beginner writer can have a full-time job for financial means, and still write in the free time. Surely many well-known writers from all the times did so when they started their writing careers, before becoming full-time writers.

So, you are a writer. You want to develop a writing career. You are ready to be patient and to take it step by step, you are ambitious and driven, you will not give up on your dream to be a successful writer. But you also need to support yourself, and writing does not provide that, at least for now. In this case, you should consider keeping a full-time job which would provide you with the necessary financial means, but in the same time you start working as a part time writer.

How to do that?

Remember, if you want to succeed, you need to be organized. You go to your job, you work 40 hours a week, but you need to focus on your writing too. Establish a writing calendar and follow it rigorously. For instance, set a certain number of hours a week you are willing to dedicate to writing. Either you do it one hour per day, each day; or you set a number of hours on a specific day or days during the week when to write; it’s up to you. But once that writing schedule is established, do not let it go down. No ambition, no success. Take advantage of each free time you have to write. Free weeknights, or free weekends, or holidays – whenever it’s possible for you. People need to know about you as a writer, and the only way to accomplish this for you is to write. So keep writing, whenever it is possible, considering your full-time job schedule, and never give up.

Nobody can say how much it will take to you to become a best-seller writer, because it depends in so many factors, some of them impossible to control. Nobody can guarantee you a specific period of time after which you will be able to earn enough money from writing. But sure enough, if you’re ambitious and if you don’t give up on your dream on writing, if you organize your writing work, success will come, and then you will be able to leave your job and become a full-time writer, like you always dreamed.

Blog Writing

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 Posted in Freelance Writing | No Comments »

The Multiple Faces of the Blog Writing

What is blogging?

More and more people choose to write blogs nowadays. Why so? Blogging has become a very popular way of expressing yourself, offering limitless possibilities of doing so. People who choose to write a blog are people who have something to say, people who have a strong voice they want to be heard. Blog writing is also a great outlet for one’s thoughts, feelings, likes and dislikes.

Blogging has many faces, just as many as their writers. You won’t find two identical blogs out there on the internet. Some people choose to write their blog on a wide variety of topics, on anything and everything, while others choose to focus their blog writing on a specific topic or area of topics. But regardless the topic range bloggers choose for their blog writing, each blog is unique in its own way.

Blog writing – a personal diary or a sound voice? Both, actually…

Blog writing has become a lifestyle, and each of the blogs you may come across on the internet is a soul mirror of its author. When you read a blog, you can figure out the way of thinking of the person who writes it. You have the opportunity to go deep inside in his or her mind. It’s like to read a person’s diary, except that you don’t feel guilty about reading someone’s online diary, since it is out there on the internet, open to everybody to read it, and since the author actually does want you to read it, he or she does want your feedback and your opinion, he or she does want to get in touch with you as a reader, and he or she does want to know what you think about their blog writing.

Now that we came to the analogy between a diary and a blog, we should mention that blog writing really IS like an online diary for some bloggers. Some blog authors will choose a silent way to express themselves on the blog. They may want to keep it for themselves, or to share it with a very small number of readers – closest friends and family for instance.

But other bloggers choose to promote their blogs as much as possible, because they want people to know about what they write. They will tell about their blog writing to all their friends, family and relatives. They will bookmark their blog on Facebook and Twitter, and on other social sites. They will promote their blog on forums. They will join blogosphere communities to share their blog writing with other bloggers. They will get in touch with other fellow bloggers. They will follow other bloggers and their blogs, so that those bloggers would follow them in return. They will comment on other blogs and will offer feedback to other fellow bloggers, so that those bloggers will return the favour and will offer their feedback as well. The reason they will do all that is that they want to be heard, and they want to share their passion and knowledge with the rest of the world.

Online Freelance Writing

Friday, August 13th, 2010 Posted in Freelance Writing, Writing Tips | No Comments »

How to Build and Strengthen your Online Freelance Writing Portfolio

Endless Opportunities for Writers

Currently the opportunities for those who are interested in online freelance writing are endless. There are so many online publications out there where writers can express themselves, and, for that matter, earn money out of online freelance writing.

How to get there? How can beginner writers build a strong portfolio? As a matter of fact, it’s not that difficult. If you have already your own blog which is the very start of your writing career, make sure you have already published a fair amount of good quality articles on your blog. Now you can start applying for online publications, in order to continue and develop your online freelance writing career.

Tips to Develop and Build Your Writing Portfolio

The easiest thing to do so is to apply for those writing websites which don’t require writing experience. There are quite a lot of online publications which offer this advantage, on a sign up and write basis, so all you have to do is to create an account and start publishing your articles. It will be like a blog, but this time you get much more exposure to readers, because the other fellow writers from the website will have the opportunity to see your online freelance writing. But don’t take for granted the fact that all you have to do is to sign up and write. Remember, you make use of these writing facilities in order to build and strengthen your writing portfolio. Even though it’s a free land of writing, you still have to respect the rules and follow the writing guidance imposed by each of the websites you write for. Actually, if you think of it, respecting the rules is going to be nothing else but an advantage in the developing and building your name as a writer. Use a professional writer name for signing your articles, rather than a forumist-like user name.

There is another category of writing websites which still may not require writing experience, where all you have to do to be accepted is to create an account, but where your first set of articles may go through an approval process. When you apply for such an online publication, make sure your first articles are of good quality, so they won’t get declined. But even when you pass your writing test and get to the point when you can publish freely and your articles don’t need approval anymore, you still have to make sure that you respect the rules and the term of use. Again, it’s not a disadvantage, it’s an advantage.

Now you have a good enough writing experience (you own blog, and at least a couple of other online publications), which allows you to extend your writing portfolio and apply for another category of websites, those websites that require writing experience. You’ll have to go through a whole reviewing and approval process, depending on each website, just like you would apply for any other job. Some of the websites offer payments based on performance, some of them offer pre-established payments for each article, and some offer both of them. A fair rule applies here: more difficult and selective the approval process of a specific writing website, more money you can earn writing for it.

Have a look at our vast library of articles on writing. Academia Research offers you many tips and advice on how to build a strong online freelance writing career.

Content Writers

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 Posted in Writing Tips | No Comments »

Tips to Start a Content Writer Career

Start a Blog

A blog is a great way to start a writing career. Your blog could be “your own writing school”, where you can practice and exercise your writing, improving your style by each article you publish on your blog. A blog gives you total freedom as a content writer, when it comes to what to write about, as well as the length and the frequency of your articles. But you should focus your articles on a specific area of topics, on those topics that interest you the most, on those topics you want to write about once your writing career grows, and once you become famous as a writer.

Choose a Professional Writer Name

If you want to be a writer, you should decide upon a professional writer name from the very beginning, from the very first article you ever publish. Either you decide to write under your real name, or a pen name, it should sound like a professional name (first name – last name), and you should stick to it throughout your entire writing career. It should be (i.e.) John Smith rather than LuckyMan2010. And you should decide upon one writing name rather than multiple names, because it will be easier for everybody to remember one single name of yours as a writer, as opposed to a series of names. So, when you start developing your writing career and applying for multiple publications as a content writer, use the same name to sign your writing everywhere.

Refer to Yourself as a Writer, and Not a Blogger

Many blog authors call themselves bloggers, which is not incorrect, of course. But this term is used by those to whom blogging is a hobby. If you want to become a content writer, you should perceive your writing work in a professional light from the beginning to the end. Refer to yourself as a writer, and not a blogger. If you want other people to consider you a writer, then the first person who should do that is yourself. Also, use professional language when referring to yourself as a content writer. Your pieces are articles and not blog posts, you publish articles and not post them.

Let People Know About You

Market and popularize your blog and your articles as much as you can, both online and offline. All your friends and your family should know about the fact that you write, that you are a content writer, that you publish articles on frequent basis. Spread the word about your writing work. Bookmark your blog and your articles on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites.

Another way to let people know about your blog and your writing is forums. Log on forums with discussion topics similar to your topics of writing. Get in touch with other forumists who have the same interests and hobbies with you, and develop discussion threads where you can let people know about your blog and your writing. But keep in mind that each forum has its set of rules. Some of them won’t allow you to commercialize your blog, as it may be considered promotional content. Before posting the link of your blog on a forum, read the Terms of Use carefully and make sure you don’t break the rules.

Another way to make yourself known is the blogosphere. Read and comment other blogs, and those bloggers will read and comment your articles in return. Follow other blogs, and you will be followed by other bloggers in return. Build your audience by making yourself audience to other bloggers and writers.

Writing Jobs at Home

Saturday, August 7th, 2010 Posted in Writing Jobs | No Comments »

Have You Thought About Starting a Writing Job at Home?

What Could You Do If You Lost Your Job?

Crisis stroke everybody in different ways, and many people lost their jobs. Everybody who was affected by the economic crisis had to readjust their professional lives. Some of them managed to find another job, some of them started their own business, some of them went back to school to acquire a new profession and pursue new job opportunities, some of them found a way to work from home, some of them started writing jobs at home.

Are You Talented in Writing? Apply for a Writing Job at Home

Freelance writing is always a great way to increase one’s revenue, crisis or not, and many talented people found their way to a rewarding writing career, applying for writing jobs at home and starting writing and expressing themselves in due course. Not only people who may have suffered because of the crisis, but other categories of people as well, like stay-at-home moms, retired people, people who live in a job challenged area found their vocation in writing and started writing jobs at home. But no matter where you come from, no matter your educational background, no matter your professional experience or consistence over the years, if you know you have a writing talent, you should definitely pursue a writing career.

The Opportunities for Writers Are Endless

There are many writing websites out there on the internet offering writing jobs at home, where writers have the ability to express themselves, to reach out to millions of people, to make their voice heard. When you start a writing job for an online publication or for a number of online publications, most of the times you’ll have the opportunity to write about what you like the most, covering your area of interests. Of course, many times the writers have to respect certain rules imposed by each of the online publications, but this should not be a challenge for a talented and gifted writer. The good thing about most of the writing websites is that they allow you to develop a balance between “their writing rules” and “your personality and interests as a writer”, which is really great. Besides, following a specific set of rules should be definitely viewed as an advantage rather than as a disadvantage – it will help you build a solid audience, attract those readers who share the same interests with you, making your readers coming back to your writing again and again.

Join Us

Academia Research offers you the opportunity to express yourself as a freelance writer. Join us for a rewarding writing career, which will bring you endless satisfaction. Our support team is always here for you to help you, so don’t delay it any longer and apply for a writing job.

Article Writing

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 Posted in Writing Tips | No Comments »

Improve Your Article Writing

Many beginner writers face different challenges when it comes to organizing their writing work. If you fancy yourself as a writer, or as a journalist, your work should prove good quality writing.

Where to start?

A blog is a great and easy way to start a writing career, and many beginner writers actually do so. Before launching themselves in a writing career in the online publishing environment, they start with their own blog, where they familiarize themselves with the features of article writing both from creational and technical points of view.

The biggest advantage of writing your own blog is that you’re the administrator of your own website, which allows you to establish your own rules in article writing and in web design. When you write your own blog, you can write about whatever you like, when you like, how you like. You can design you website the way it fits you best. You can add the gadgets you find useful and eliminate whatever you think doesn’t help you.

The second big advantage of blogging is the practice itself you can get in article writing. Many writing websites (Academia Research included) require writing experience from candidates when applying for an article writing job. Since everybody has to start from somewhere, you could as well start with a blog and use your article writing experience from your own blog to pursue a writing career. If you want to be a writer, your blog should be the journey, not the destination. Use it as a launch ramp in developing you potential writing career.

Tips to improve your article writing

Many bloggers use their blog as an online diary, but an up-and-coming writer should use this webspace in order to improve his or her writing craft. Since your blog could be the start of a writing career for you, take advantage of what it has to offer, so you can use your own work and your experience when launching in a writing career. Instead of writing your blog like a diary, make each of your pieces look like a valid article – less personal, more objective, well researched, informative, supported by adequate pictures. Ask yourself – could a specific blog article of yours be published somewhere else? If the answer is yes, then you could use it as a valid article when developing your writing career.

You could write your blog about anything and everything, but a better way to launch yourself as a writer is to focus on a specific topic or on an area of topics you’re the best at. For instance, if you have deep knowledge and a great experience in the entertainment area (TV, movies, books, festivals, etc.) and you enjoy writing about it, then a great deal of your blog content should focus on this area of topics.

Give a professional look to your blog. Pay attention to details, like the page elements you use on the blog, like the way you arrange the graphics, the pictures, the layout. A blog which is chaotically arranged and poorly designed is less likely to attract readers than a neat and perfectly arranged one. The idea that only the content matters and the layout does not is totally wrong and won’t gain you readers.