Writer Friendly

I hope everyone has a prosperous New Year. If you don’t have any plans for New Year’s Eve or Day, consider doing some job searching. Recently, I was looking at different websites that I had not checked out before. I was mainly trying to find new sites dedicated to environmental awareness. I found a couple that are looking for writers and editors, so I applied for the positions. You never know what a little Internet searching might do for you. Some sites also have great blogrolls that list numerous sites that you might find interesting. Even though the jobs might not be advertised on Monster.com, they are still out there.

Especially if you have just graduated from college, it’s important for you to contact your local competitors. This can give you an idea of what it will take for you to succeed in your field. Once you tell them that you are a recent graduate, they will most likely be happy to help you. Let them know that you are looking for work but don’t ask them if they have a position available. You might want to find out if they belong to a community of writers, because this might help break the ice. Although it might be an uncomfortable phone call, it might provide you with an opportunity.

Are you a writer who hates dealing with punctuation and grammar? Do you usually have someone else edit your work? If you are one of these writers, you should make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to educate yourself on punctuation and grammar rules. While having someone else edit your work for you might be working for you at the moment, it’s going to hold you back in your professional career whether you like it or not. Employers are more interested in writers who have several talents. For example, if you can write, edit and design you will probably more desirable to a company.

Writing your goals down on paper can help you become motivated. All it takes is the first step to get you started. Sometimes creating your goals can be the most challenging part of the process. Since the New Year is coming up, take at least an hour to think about your goals and what you want to accomplish in the new year. They don’t have to be lofty goals like publishing a book, but put thought into them. Maybe you want to dedicate more time to writing or maybe you want to publish some articles online. When you write down your aspirations, remember that they are possible and you can do it.

Sorry to bum you out during the holidays, but don’t forget about the upcoming tax season. Although you might have to wait until the end of January to get your 1099 or W-2 forms, you can still start to prepare your tax information. Getting it all organized ahead of time can prevent you from becoming overwhelmed and having to file an extension.

I try to keep all of my receipts for deductions and payments in one folder. This will be the first year doing it this way, but I think the process will go smoothly since I have everything in one place. If you want to be even more organized, you can make folders for deductions and other folders for places you have worked. When you freelance write, you might have five to ten employers.

In order to start off on the right foot, you definitely need to check out Freelance Writing Gigs . The site has been reorganized, so it’s more user friendly. It has everything a jobless freelance writer could want. Every day there is a new post with current jobs that need filled. A variety of jobs are provided such as technical writing positions to blogging gigs.

The authors also provide helpful tips and recommendations that are useful to all writers and editors. I have found most of my online writing jobs from this site, so I highly suggest you take advantage of what it has to offer.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and bright New Year! While you may want to take a long break from your writing and job hunting, just don’t do it. The new year is about setting goals and reaching them, so if you want to double your income or find your first full- or part-time job, don’t take a break. Don’t misunderstand me, taking a day or two to enjoy your family and not answer the phone or check your email is fine, but refrain from swearing off writing for weeks. When you take long breaks away from your work, it can curve your motivation. You can have a new beginning soon so take advantage of the clean slate.

I have this erotic short story that I wrote a year ago. I don’t think I will write many more, if any stories of this kind, but I still want to get it published. When you are trying to publish a story of this sort, you need to make sure that your story is appropriate for the publication you are looking for. For example, initially I sent this piece to Velvet Seductions, which requested that the story be more romantic. While I’m all for revisions, I didn’t think “romantic” was fitting for my main character.

Next, I submitted my story to the Paper Bag Press, which rejected it because it didn’t have enough back story or enough description of the sex. So I’ve learned that leaving some things to the imagination is not everyone’s forte. If you have pieces like this to submit, find the publication’s submission guidelines and read through them with a fine tooth comb before submitting.

During the holidays, you should check out the job listings and apply to some writing or editing positions. Yes, it’s the holidays but the employer might be in desperate need of someone, and you might have more of a chance since many people are too busy with holiday planning. I recently saw a career counselor and was told that from now until around May, there will be a shortage of job openings. Employers don’t usually look for people during this time; however, if you keep your eyes open you might find something worth applying for. Job hunting is challenging, but you have to keep your spirits high and think positive so you don’t give up.

Children book writing can be difficult, especially when it comes to creating unique and special characters. When it comes to testing out your book ideas, what better way to find out how good it is by getting an opinion from the readers you are targeting. Volunteer to read at a children’s hospital, library or school. You might even want to volunteer on a regular basis, because you can get an idea of what the kids are into and they might even give you inspiration for some new and better ideas. The great thing about kids is that they have no problem telling it like it is…kind of like an editor.

When it comes to children’s literature, so many ideas have been done over and over again. So if you want to impress an editor, you need to have something fresh.