That’s where these fun, free tools for writers come in. Are they particularly helpful? Not really, but they are fun and they might even get our creative side going a little more.

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The Gender Genie

Did you know I can tell whether you’re male or female just by the way you write? Well, not really, but the Gender Genie thinks it can. Based on a New York Times piece, this nifty little tool will determine an author’s gender by running text through a specially designed algorithm.

I Write Like

Do you have a favorite author? Have you always wondered if you write like a famous writer? Well, now you can find out. I Write Like will analyze any content you’ve written and compare it to their database of content written by famous authors to see which one you match best. It’s fun, cool and sorta quirky, just like us!

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The Brainstormer

If you’ve ever suffered with writer’s block or have been looking for some inspiration for your latest story, you’ll want to check out The Brainstormer by Distraction Beast. In short, it’s a giant wheel of ideas with three movable circles of ideas. Imagine: a “healing journey with a cannabalist samurai” or “a tale of unconditional love with a Transylvanian shoe maker”. Yeah. Tons of wacky fiction goodness.

Make Your Own Comic Strips

(Strip Creator works, but you’ll need to make an account first and use a screen cap to host it elsewhere. The Bubblr project from Pim Pam Pum lets you use Flickr images while Pikistrips uses your photos.)

750 Word Brain Dumps

Admittedly, my vacation and some recent happenings have derailed this little project for me, but I’m waiting patiently to get back in it. I find 750 Words extremely helpful to just ramble on and I’m actually considering the idea of using it to finish one of the books I currently have on the go. I find that, after dumping almost a thousand words here, my mind is clear, I’m less stressed, and much more able to create everything from strategies to articles.

GobbledyGook Grader

Brevity. Clarity. Conciseness. Try the GobbledyGook Grader content analysis tool.

Linkbait Generator

When a little online app comes up with titles like ’8 Things Copywriters Have In Common With Unicorns’, it makes an instant fan out of me. The Linkbait Generator is definitely on my list. Granted, not all of the titles it comes up with are useable and some are a little adult, but they’re fun and they definitely get your mind going in the right direction. The only downside? I’d love to see them add more formats/headlines into the mix.

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Having Submitted Work Edited

In a recent post giving advice to site owners on hosting guest posts, I recommend site owners make writers aware of what they’re editing. Unfortunately, many of them don’t follow this advice. Now, as a writer, I have to admit it annoys the heck out of me to have work edited and cut for no reason. From a site owner’s perspective, however, I really dislike a writer freaking out when I edit their content.

Why do I do it? Several reasons, aside from spelling and grammar, there are space constraints, optimum length for my readers, to fit in with my site theme and focus, etc. It also depends if it’s my site or not. If it isn’t mine, I tend to edit out extremely controversial points for the sake of my client. Bottom line, editing is a fact of life for a writer, so if it’s vital that the content remain exactly the same, sharing content may not be for you.

Policies and Income Generation

I personally have a big beef with this one, and not Kristi’s points either. Terms and conditions are nasty if you fail to check these out before sending in work. However, there are a number of assumed laws to be aware of. For example, Australian writers hold the rights to their work even if they’ve sold it. In other countries, the rights change hands as soon as the money does. (I cover this in my contract.) You need to be just as cautious of the ‘understood’ rules as you do the printed ones. On the same hand, never assume anything. I’ve learned the hard way to always get everything in writing.

Posting your work on sites that use ad revenue are a waste of any serious writer’s time. Trust me. I’ve tried it and I’ve yet to find a method that works well with these sites save for one: mass produce a creepload of content and spread it everywhere. You’re far better off spending the time to write decent content and using it to directly market yourself via a website or blog.

So long as you’re getting something of what you consider to be equal value in return for your content, you aren’t exactly losing it. For example, links, traffic, and money are common currency in a writer’s world, and as far as I get what I agree on initially, I’m happy with that. The important thing is to make sure the tradeoff is worth it to you and that you get it in writing! Many times, I’ve traded copy for something else and not gotten it in the end. Protect yourself.

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Reputation Leakage and Image

This is a huge one in some respects, but not so much in others. You are definitely judged by the company you keep. Without a doubt! However, this works in both ways. Use your access to high-end sites to your advantage, but don’t fall into the common trap of marketing to your peers either.

You gain and lose authority according to your clients, not necessarily from your peers. They pay you, and what they care about is what kind of a job you can do for them, not how many invitations you get to the next major conference or who you sit with while you’re there. Don’t underestimate the importance of complementary businesses either. These can potentially generate a large amount of profits if you play your cards right.

And while I wouldn’t get into the habit of appearing on low grade sites, I think people put a little too much emphasis on negative PR. I’ve learned there really is no such thing as bad PR so long as you deal with it the right way. The short-term damage is often far worse than the long term.

In short, treat your online business as you would a brick and mortar store. If you conduct yourself in the same way, you’ll do fine and have nothing to worry about.

Bloggers are being all but stoned to death for taking money (or products) in exchange for sponsored blog posts. That tweet clearly states that the isn’t a paid post, but at the same time, why should they have to explain things like that? It shouldn’t make a difference whether it’s paid or not, so long as it’s honest.

Sponsored blog posts are yet another advertising/social media marketing practice being used by many companies. These aren’t little companies either; think cameras and cars for starters.

I don’t care whether we are talking about Brian Clark, Darren Rowse, Michel Fortin, or Joe Blow from down the street. When these people post entries in their blogs, they are providing a service. This service includes all kinds of thoughts and information that most readers would not have access to otherwise. The reader takes this information and can apply it to their own writing and blogs and make money with it.

Now, many bloggers sell advertising, have affiliate links, or use Adsense to monetize their service and ensure they can cover costs. I have several affiliate links on this site. I don’t hide the fact they are affiliate links. I have even provided readers with an alternative, non-affiliate link to use if they so choose. The only thing is that I only choose products that I have used and have had a positive experience with. In many instances, they have helped me get to where I am today.

Honesty and transparency is more than my values coming through in my writing. It has become a mainstream marketing trend whether we all like it or not. Consumers demand this out of every company they purchase from.

And they should!

I think, as a whole, we’ve had enough of the sleazy marketing types that could ‘sell you the wedding ring from your own finger’. I agree wholeheartedly with this trend. I feel that this is the positive effect of the recession. (Because money has become tighter in most instances, people are a lot more careful about where they’re spending their money.) I also think part of the reason for this change is social media, which is the driving mechanism behind this trend.

What irritates me the most are those who write a sponsored post, and get roasted for it. Now, I could understand if this was kept a secret, but not when they are open and honest from the start. The way I see it, the ones who get these opportunities are all big time names who have been around a long time. Their readers have generally been reading them for a long time, and should have some level of trust there to ensure the honesty of the blogger.

What bothers me is the idea that some people feel offended that the writer would take money to write a post. Hello??? How much do some readers honestly expect to get for free? The money isn’t out of their pockets. No one is forced to read the post. No one is forced to buy. What’s the issue?

I do think there is a reason for this. Michael Martine of Remarkablogger (Michael, I think this was you. If it isn’t please correct me. It sounds like Remarkablogger wisdom to me though.) hit this nail right on the head with a single statement. ‘If you don’t monetize from the start, readers are offended by it when you do decided to recoup some of your loses’ (paraphrasing here, but you get the idea).

Regardless of what anyone tells me, there is a lot of expense tied to blogging, particularly for those who blog or write professionally. The time invested in quality posts costs money. Then, there is hosting and domains. On top of that, there are the expenses associated with the design, development, and upkeep of the site not to mention those last-minute, panicked repairs. Bloggers shouldn’t have to apologize for trying to recoup some of these costs and even make some profit.

Dirty money? IMO, not a chance!

Am I being irrational here? Should bloggers refuse companies who ask for sponsored posts? Should it only be done under certain circumstances?

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Unfortunately, this has sucked in a good number of newbie and experienced freelance writers. Don’t to fall for it!

Providing Writing Samples

Lots of clients and companies request a specific sample related to their industry. When you submit this sample, the idea is that the client will see how you write in their industry and what kind of knowledge you have about it. Unfortunately, those who are crooked will take the sample and just never bother to contact you. Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever submit a writing sample.

Don’t fear however, there are ways around this little hiccup to satisfy both the client and the writer.

Send links to work you have done previously, or a link to your online portfolio. Whatever you use for this should be diverse enough that the client can see what you’re capable of.

If it is something you want so badly and you have no other choice but to submit a sample, consider writing the piece and adding little tidbits of hidden text. It can’t be just any kind of hidden text, however. Add a standard phrase such as ‘Angie Nikoleychuk‘ and add it to the end of a paragraph in the middle of the sample. Once you’ve done that, set up a Google Alert specifically for the ‘security phrase’. When they attempt to use it, you’ll be instantly notified.

I’ve found that generally works brilliantly. After all, if the scum bag is too lazy to write his or her own piece and too lazy to pay anyone to do it, they are most likely too lazy to read through the entire article. You might also want to consider including these pieces in places such as CopySentry.  (The cost is deductible in many instances )

Writing ‘On Spec’

Writing ‘on spec’ means you write up the piece according to the instructions given by the client. Submit it to them to the client for their inspection. If they like it, you get paid. If they don’t, you have to rewrite it or the client moves on to another writer.

While this might sound like a fair practice, this is the number one way writers often get screwed out of their money and their work. How? You submit your best piece of writing and the client ‘rejects’ it. However, two weeks later, you’ll either find it plastered all over the Internet with a different by-line, or they will have someone rewrite your piece for a dollar or two and make thousands with it.

Granted, not all clients will do this, but it happens all too often to try it.

Require all clients to give 50% of the project up front. This way, if they take your draft copy (or original piece) and fail to come back with the rest, at least you’ll have something to cover your efforts. Also, this is a good way to get rid of the scammers right off the top. On larger writing projects, I will even ask for 50% up front, 30% halfway through, and the remaining 20% at the end. The client demonstrates a small bit of faith in me, and I demonstrate a certain amount of trust in them.

Writers hate asking, clients hate handing it over, but you only have to get cheated out of a pay check once to get over it.

When Is It Ok to Write for Free?

I don’t generally write anything for free, but like anything, there are exceptions to the rule. In some instances, the exposure is an equal trade off for the money. In some instances, the opportunity to write about the topic is more than enough to peak my interest.

My article for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, my guest post at Search Engine People, and even SEO Scoop are great examples of this. These were all opportunities that I rather quite enjoyed doing and don’t often get the opportunity to cover in my daily work. Combine that with the great exposure, and I was more than compensated for my efforts.

So I guess the moral of the story is, unless you are sure you get something from it for 100% sure, don’t give your work away for free! If that person wanted you to write it, your stuff is obviously worth the compensation!

Don’t see it? Take SEO, or search engine optimization, for example. Say Google changes its algorithm, which determines how it organizes and presents search results. If you don’t keep up on what these changes are, you can’t adapt your methodologies and techniques accordingly. This means you are unable to do your job, and may even cause your clients to suffer terrible penalties by the search engines.

As a writer who provides a large amount of SEO copy and articles for marketing, I am passionate about the SEO industry and associated news. However, I also need to keep up on what’s going on in the writing industry as well as the areas my clients are involved in.

Is this time consuming and take a lot of work? You bet it does, but it I owe it to my clients. I wouldn’t feel right about doing my job and having others pay me otherwise.

You can find the latest news and information just about anywhere. Belonging to the right groups is often a good start. For me, I find Twitter keeps me up on all the important news bits and information in terms of writing and SEO. I am a huge user of Google Alerts and Social Media searches and monitoring. Lastly, I have an extensive RSS reader that pulls feeds from some of the most influential blogs and bloggers in these industries.

Of course, there’s other benefits to this as well. I’ve become well-versed in many different areas, which satisfies my information obsession. The amount of unexpected things I’ve learned and had the pleasure to do has been amazing. It is these things that really make this ‘job’ the absolute best I’ve ever had.

It has also allowed me to get in contact with and become great friends with great people from all industries and walks of life. There is always a good conversation or debate somewhere. When I’m having a down day, or an extremely stressful moment, or am having one of those ‘OMG what am I doing moments’, I always have support and the backing I need to succeed. I hope that I can do as much for them.

If you are not keeping up with your industry, you are doing yourself and your career just as much of a disservice as you are your clients.

Ghostwriting -- Is it morally right? If so, when is it and when isn't it?

Celebrities such as 50Cent, Barak Obama, and Britney Spears recently revealed they hired writers and others to add content to social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Guy Kawasaki furthered this debate when he spoke at a conference about having other employees update his Twitter account as well as using Twitterhawk and CoTweet to promote Alltop.

Twitterhawk brings up the issue of spamming. In my opinion, having someone else run your account for you is no different. I can understand that these people are busy. I can even see them avoiding these types of platforms purely for safety reasons. After all, you never realize what you have revealed to the public until it’s too late. However, I honestly feel that if you are going to brand these things as personal rather than as a general business thing, having someone else do all the work defeats the purpose.

Ghostwriting is not a new idea. It’s a popular form of writing that happens all the time, and it has been around for years. I would estimate that 95% of all the writing I do is under someone else’s name.

Is it morally wrong? No, but it depends on several variables. What image is that person projecting? What points are they trying to make? Today’s world is all about transparency and honesty, and if you haven’t got that, you are going to be left behind..

If someone offered the right amount of money, would I write content for a celebrity to send out on Twitter or Facebook?

I would like to say no, but I’m not sure. It would really depend on how the material was being presented. If it was no secret that writers were supplying the information or if there were a few personal posts or tweets in between and others knew. I could live with that.

When would I refuse a writing project?

Adult content pays a lot of money. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot more than any other topic, generally speaking of course. Would I take these projects? Anyone who looks at my copywriting services page knows I won’t take adult content. I also won’t take anything that could wind me up in jail.

I’m no prude and I even enjoy the odd romance novel (ok, ok, more than just the odd one…Ok, fine, pretty much any of them that gives an image of Fabio on the cover. If he’s wearing chainmail and swinging a sword, all the better.) I just would never feel right about writing them myself. Also, in my opinion, there is a big difference between a romance novel and all-out porn.

I have nothing against the porn industry. I mean, if you are involved either in the production or on the buying side, that’s fine. It’s completely your choice. It just isn’t something I choose to be involved in.

For me, it’s all about morals and respect. Think about this: you’re in the middle of writing some smutty article and you look up to see your kid standing right there…yeah. It just isn’t going to happen.

I had trouble writing for a women’s lingerie company. Still not something I write with my kid around, but my opinion on lingerie is that it’s all about building self-confidence in the women who wear it; it has nothing to do with guys.

What about you? Do your morals and values enter into your writing? Does it dictate what you write about something, or what subjects you take on?

(image for today’s post taken by striatic)

A successful freelance writing career takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to cultivate. Although it is not the easiest field to break into, it is far from impossible. Getting started on the right foot is the most important thing when it comes to being successful as a freelancer. What follows is a brief list of best practices used by professional freelance writers that will ultimately yield results if practiced regularly.

Learn a Variety of Styles

With the internet, it has never been easier to learn a wide variety of styles and techniques employed by successful writers. There are many places dedicated to web copy writing, article writing, and eBook writing. So many avenues for getting your writing out there exist that it’s really up to you as a writer as to how and where you want to focus your abilities.

Get Organized

It is of paramount importance that you get yourself organized as a professional freelancer. Whether it’s using to-do lists, sophisticated electronic productivity software, or using post-its, you must find a method that works for you and stick with it. Organization, especially when the projects begin to roll in, can make or break your career.

Produce Prolifically

When you are first getting started, you will need to work hard on creating a large catalog of work to have at your disposal. Examine what is popular each day and try to create one article based on that topic. Besides that, work on carving out your niche and develop articles and stories based on your area of expertise.

Maintain Your Own Blog or Site

If you maintain your own blog or website, you are in control of what is published. You can begin to make a name for yourself by regularly creating posts and articles and then publishing them for readers. Use social networking tools and get the word out. You are in control, so take the reins and take charge of your destiny and your reputation as a writer.

Actively Seek Out Work

Whether it’s writing copy for a local business advertisement or creating “Top Five” articles for bloggers, try to always have a project in the pipeline. Treat each one with the dignity and respect it deserves, whether it pays you five dollars or five-hundred. This will help to ensure that you are giving all of your writing endeavors the time and attention they deserve.

Writers suffer from the same ailment as musicians, artists, actors, and actresses — our work is under intense scrutiny from the client right from the beginning. Then, every single person who reads what you have written will further critique the content, concept, and technical aspects of the piece. Will they like it? Not like it? Part of it? Is it enough? What do you do when someone shares their thoughts and opinions?

Be Open Minded

Everyone has an opinion and is entitled to it. The important thing is that you keep your mind open enough to truly hear and understand opposing views and ideas. Instead of thinking of it as criticism, look at it as the ideal opportunity to discover how others think and learn from it and expand your horizons. This doesn’t mean you have to agree with any of it.

Consider The Source

Keep in mind that everyone has an opinion regardless of whether that person knows anything about the subject or not. Just because he or she chooses to share it doesn’t mean it should automatically determine your choices and decisions. When you receive positive or negative criticism, take from it what you can and let it go. This doesn’t hold true in all situations. If your customer makes some criticisms of your work, you don’t necessarily have to translate this into your other work, but do as they ask and keep that feedback for future use.

Don’t Take It Personal

This is likely the most common reason for conflict between critics/editors and writers. When someone provides feedback, it is nothing more than an opinion about your work that may or may not contain helpful information to make it even better. Even though it can be a tough thing to swallow, it isn’t a personal attack. In fact, the other person wouldn’t say anything unless they wanted to see the piece improve. Hence, this is a good thing.

It doesn’t matter if you are looking at a Rembrandt painting, watching a Shakespearian play, or reading Robert Browning, all of them have withstood criticisms. We are subject to it eventually. It’s what we choose to do with these criticisms that make the difference.

What do you do? How do you deal with criticism?

This collection only includes some of the best guides for beginner and expert online writers that I’ve come across so far. If you have any to add, feel free to add them in the comments, or write a response post and send the link.

Press Releases

1.The 7 Deadly Mistakes People Make When Submitting Press Releases ebook from Online PR News is excellent for writing and submitting releases.

2.How to Write an Effective Press Release from Quick Start SEO has a thorough guide that talks about style, mood, and other finer points as well as the SEO aspects.

3.How to Write an SEO Press Release from Green Doc is another you’ll want to browse through before getting started.

Web Copy

4.Web Copy Style from Provenance Unknown.com has great in-depth guide for anyone writing content specifically for web pages. It includes how to deal with style as well as the technical side of the style including capitalization, grammar, and punctuation.

5.How To Write Effective Web Copy from isitebuild.com has a great step by step guide through the process of actually using the style.

Email Marketing Copy

6. How To Write Effective Emails from PowerHomeBiz.com has lots of great tips for marketing style in general as well as email marketing copy.

7. 7 Steps to Effective Email Marketing from cd email solutions is an excellent guide as is the next source:

8. 10 Tips for Effective Email Sales Letters from the Street Directory.

SEO Style and Article Marketing

SEO Content Solutions has some great resources for beginner copywriters.

9. The Bare Bones Basics of Writing SEO Copy is a straightforward post on…well…the bare basics of SEO.

10.Article Marketing Writing Technique SEO Copywriters builds on the basics for those starting into article marketing.

11.Search Engine Copywriting: Comprehensive Guide For Beginners To Content Writing For Search Engine Optimization is an excellent guide for the actual writing process.

Blogging

12.How to Write the Perfect ‘About’ Page (by Numbers) by Skelliewag.org offers a step by step guide for a great about page.

13.How To Blog: A Beginner’s Blog Publishing Guide by Master New Media helped me start my first blog.

14.You Need a Blog Strategy from Problogger is one of many in this bible for bloggers.

Proofreading Tips And Hints

15.Can I get away with it? 12 common grammatical errors YOUR probably making! Recently published by Divine Write is a great grammar guide that won’t have you snoring after the first paragraph.

16.14 Foolproof Proofreading Tips for Bloggers from Copyblogger doesn’t get to the nitty grity of proof reading, but it definitely helps. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself.

General Writing Style

17.Guide to AP style from Dr. Michael S Sweeney of Utah State University doesn’t contain all of the rules and guidelines, but it is certainly a good start and a great companion to the AP stylebook.

18.Cute Writing has an excellent series on punctuation use which includes great posts on using semicolons, brackets, capitalization, and much more.

19.Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely from Owl is great for those who want to brush up on the ‘concise’ area of their style.

20.Juicy Studio wins for an informative set of posts on writing style. It contains information on grammar, style, and ‘zero tolerance’ you will find interesting.

Miscellaneous Resources

21.50 of the Best Websites for Writers from EduChoices has one of the best collections of reference sites I’ve seen. If you fact check, are interested in general writing sites, fiction, non-fiction, or freelancing (which should basically cover everyone) you’ll want to bookmark and refer to this site. (They have free biology/science courses underneath that I plan to get to eventually.)

22.12 Free Online Class Sites from The Times They Are A Changing is an info addict’s paradise.

23.50+ Open Courseware Writing Classes from the World’s Leading Universities from College Degree.com will fill in where The Times They Are A Changing left off.

24.100+ Free Open Courseware Links for Writers from MatchACollege.com is fabulous.

25.Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet from Grokdotcom.com has a goldmine of various sources for writers including tips for headlines, email marketing, blogs and more.

Never Rely On A Single Source Of Income

This was perhaps the hardest lesson of all to learn, but it was also one of the best. Allowing one client or one source of business to supply you with your entire income will have devastating results. It isn’t a matter of if, but when. When something does happen, you are left scrambling without an income and bills still piling on the table. As a general rule of thumb, limit customers to no more than 20% of your income.

What Really Matters When Mistakes Are Made

When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter who did what, when, where or how. Defining the real problem and finding the solution becomes the most important thing to focus on. You can’t change what’s already been done, so chin up, buckle down, and ‘fix it.’ That’s the only way anyone will get anywhere. You may be surprised with the results.

Beating A Dead Horse Never Has Positive Results

I’m not a quitter, and have a terrifying fear of failure. It was another one of those things that I fought for far too long. Sometimes, you just have to admit that things aren’t going anywhere but down. When that happens, own up to it, cut your losses, and move on. This doesn’t mean give up or be afraid to push through the hard times. Pouring time, money, and effort into a sinking ship, however, makes it harder to recover. It’s one of those things. You just ‘know’ when you’re beating your head against the wall.

Climbing Out Of That Hole Has Its Rewards

When I was tired of working two full time jobs, welfare wouldn’t help, attacks seemed to come from all directions, and it just didn’t look worth it, I just kept going. Even after working myself out of that hole, I’ve found myself in situations where I’ve asked myself if it’s really worth it, or if I should just call it quits and take the easy road for a change.

I’ve found the copywriting and coaching/consulting business is much the same. This lesson can be easily forgotten in the heat of things. Thankfully, I have been blessed with great friends to help me remember.

The easy road may get you to where you are going, but the hard road has many valuable lessons and rewards along the way. Given either choice, I’ll take the hard road and enjoy the journey.