A Look Back At How Google Made Me a Worse Writer
As a professional writer it is important for me to provide not only quality writing that is delivered on time, but also writing which fills the needs of my client. Before I started writing online, that meant writing documents, columns, newsletters, and articles that conveyed meaningful information to their target audience. Now, after a year long effort to diversify into writing online, there is another goal that makes everything I (and everyone else on the Internet) writes a little less quality than it could be, Google. When writing online, the target audience is always Google. Google says to write for [...]
Adventures With The AP Stylebook
Today’s AP Stylebook adventure takes us to the land of screen saver, which the AP Style manual assures us is two words. That’s just great. Too bad I came here looking for information about ‘screenshot’ versus ‘screen shot’. Oh well, to the dictionary…
Adventures In AP Style – Episode 2
A professional freelance writer chronicals his various encounters with the AP Stylebook and AP Style.
Today’s AP Stylebook Lookup
Today’s project sent me to my now well worn AP Stylebook. The question? Carseat or car seat. Spell check despises carseat (it’s underlined right now with that angry red squiggly line), but I thought for sure that was how it was used. Survey says? Oops. It isn’t in the AP Stylebook. “Car pool” is in there. That’s a pretty good hint. Well, since it isn’t in the AP style guide, then we check the dictionary (a real one). It isn’t in there either. I guess I’m wrong. If you’ll excuse me, I have something to do. — Replace All … [...]
Jobs, Rates, and Freelance Writing
Like a lot of other jobs, Freelance Writing comes with tiers of work ranging from low-level to critical high visibility. Likewise, there are many levels of pay that go along with those tiers. Too many writers focus on what they “should” be making, or what they “want” to be making. Instead, focus on what work you can get today. Fill Your Schedule I’ve been writing professionally for a long time, but it was only recently that I cut the safety cord that had snuggly tethered me to the corporate world. When that happened, a fundamental shift occurred in the way [...]
Writing Great Essays – Introduction
As a writing professional, I occasionally get asked to help someone’s child nail an important essay. Whether it is for College or High School, the type of essay that succeeds is the same. Nailing the Essay One of the most important things to remember when writing an essay in the academic world is that academic writing does not necessarily conform to what is considered good writing elsewhere. In fact, the kind of writing that succeeds well in academia is generally not the kind of writing you want anywhere else. Newspapers need a grabbing headline followed by the necessary who, what, [...]
Search Engine Optimization and Advertising – Why SEO is Important
Search Engine Optimization is a critical linchpin in the success or failure of your advertising campaign.
If someone searches for Kay Jewelers, then no problem. But, if they decide instead, “Hey, I’m here, I might as well just type in ‘jewelers’ or ‘engagement rings’ just to see,” there could be a problem. If you search Google for engagement rings, Kay doesn’t show up until page 4, well after they have been reminded of several competitors, if he perseveres until page four at all. Not only that, but along the way several benevolent sounding web sites offer what sounds like unbiased information. If they decide to check out those, they may decide to buy over the Internet, or direct from China, or whatever.
Expert Status
Expert Llama I won’t pretend to know how hard it is or anything, but I have been awarded “expert author status” on EzineArticles.com. I hope to use Ezinearticles as a place to publish some of my writing that hasn’t found a more traditional home. Sometimes you like to write about what you want to write about instead of what other people will pay you to write about. Should be fun. Might write about ADD Tools Help next. Ezinearticles Expert Badge
Becoming a Freelancer
If you want to become a freelance writer and are looking for how to get your foot in the door, read this and find out about how to go about building a useable online portfolio.
