Can anyone please help me.....

12 years ago

I think you should use google. Just search for tips on how to become better at freelance writing..

Also, look for videos on YouTube...

Don't take negative feedback as anything more than a step to success...

Keep fighting to succeed and someday you'll be able to command more for your efforts.. Best wishes

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David Braybrooke

12 years ago

Thanks wordsuwant,

I have to admit that I can relate to your WF experience a bit too. When I first joined the forum I found that some of the more established members were quite negative and bewilderingly critical at times over very small issues. That being said, there is a lot of valuable information on this site.

Your standard of writing seems quite good to me and I think that you are entitled to charge $1 for 100 words. I have paid a lot more than that for a lesser standard. Be confident in your abilities and don't accept unfair negative criticism. Some people will belittle you to get you to cut your rates, so they can save money.

A website that I found useful to improve my freelance writing skills is Helium - Where Knowledge Rules.
There are many experienced writers on this site who can critique your writing. Helium is a community of freelance writers who earn money from writing. Be confident, you have talent, and best of luck!

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HeySal

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I am new to this forum, and already have received quite a negative welcome. I am trying to make it in the freelance writing industry, and have been told by more than one member here that my work is crap.

That being said, I am looking for someone who can help me improve my writing. I am not sure where I need to improve because no one feels like telling me, but I am trying to work from home full-time as a writer.

I have written for sites like Elance and other clients, and have had my share of positive and negative feedback. I understand every client has different needs, but I really get discouraged to the max when I hear people bad-mouthing my quality of writing and telling me that I should be ashamed of myself for asking $1 per 100 words because they wouldn't pay me 30 cents.

If anyone on here can point me in the direction or can help me improve my writing, please let me know!

You need to understsand - people here are going to tell you the truth and if it's a hard pill to swallow - it's not that they are being negative. If your writing sucks, you actually need to know that and as cold as it sounds, it will save you a lot of head banging later.

Now if people are saying your writing sucks, and you really don't even understand why they are saying it, then you don't need someone to point things out. You need more formal education. Go find a community college and take a few courses - make sure to study theme and style as well as grammar. Some of the most perfectly correctly structured writing still sucks. It's not always misspelling and the little crap that makes the work fall apart.

Serious - you are in a field that only the best of the best are making acceptable money. If you intend to stay in the field, you need to really know your stuff or you're not going to go far. If you love it enough to pursue it, go get yourself armed for it.

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hardraysnight

12 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

You need to understsand - people here are going to tell you the truth and if it's a hard pill to swallow - it's not that they are being negative. If your writing sucks, you actually need to know that and as cold as it sounds, it will save you a lot of head banging later.

Now if people are saying your writing sucks, and you really don't even understand why they are saying it, then you don't need someone to point things out. You need more formal education. Go find a community college and take a few courses - make sure to study theme and style as well as grammar. Some of the most perfectly correctly structured writing still sucks. It's not always misspelling and the little crap that makes the work fall apart.

Serious - you are in a field that only the best of the best are making acceptable money. If you intend to stay in the field, you need to really know your stuff or you're not going to go far. If you love it enough to pursue it, go get yourself armed for it.

pity they dont teach passion at community colleges too

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HeySal

12 years ago

Originally Posted by hardraysnight

pity they dont teach passion at community colleges too

Some things you just can't be taught - passion is there or it isn't. I assume she's got passion or she wouldn't be worried about it. What I found from teaching is that anyone can be taught to write something correctly -- but not everyone is able to turn ideas and phrases in a way that is vibrant and compelling.

This is a young girl we are talking about - to. She has 3/4 handle on the technical part. Whether she has the passion, only time will tell.

Leonna - I understand not having $$ and time for more school. Trust me on that one. At least get a college level book or two on writing: grammar and style, etc. I keep my college grammar book right on the shelf next to me when I write. Even people who become "experts" in the field need to check little things now and again. I don't think I've ever written the words "complementary/complimentary" without having to look up which means what. Total mental block on that set.

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Kurt

12 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

I keep my college grammar book right on the self next to me when I write.

I'm no expert on writing, but I believe this is called the "Sybil Method of Writing".

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HeySal

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Kurt

I'm no expert on writing, but I believe this is called the "Sybil Method of Writing".

LOL - um.........fixed that.

Sybil method might not be bad though - talking your subject out with someone is a great way to get rid of writer's block and discover new angles to approach a subject from. Might as well be one of yourselve's. After all, they're always around when you need them.

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Kurt

12 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

LOL - um.........fixed that.

Sybil method might not be bad though - talking your subject out with someone is a great way to get rid of writer's block and discover new angles to approach a subject from. Might as well be one of yourselve's. After all, they're always around when you need them.

Talking to another self is OK. It's when the other self starts talking back we are in trouble.

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Dave Patterson 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Kurt

Talking to another self is OK. It's when the other self starts talking back we are in trouble.

I've learned to just walk away...
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David Braybrooke

12 years ago

You need to understsand - people here are going to tell you the truth and if it's a hard pill to swallow - it's not that they are being negative. If your writing sucks, you actually need to know that and as cold as it sounds, it will save you a lot of head banging later.

HeySal,

I'm sure anyone can tell by the OP's opening that she can write and is in fact quite talented. The WF has many members and your claim that they will tell the 'truth' etc is a little condescending somehow. The truth is often subjective, especially when it comes to critiquing others.

Maybe what some of the 'truth tellers' need is a bit more tact and a tad more objectivity. To be honest, I would almost consider paying wordsuwant the rates she asks because I think her writing standard is quite good.

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HeySal

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David Braybrooke

HeySal,

I'm sure anyone can tell by the OP's opening that she can write and is in fact quite talented. The WF has many members and your claim that they will tell the 'truth' etc is a little condescending somehow. The truth is often subjective, especially when it comes to critiquing others.

Maybe what some of the 'truth tellers' need is a bit more tact and a tad more objectivity. To be honest, I would almost consider paying wordsuwant the rates she asks because I think her writing standard is quite good.

You could be right about that, David. There are a lot of trolls that will slam anything to be slamming something. Her writing is succinct and her perception of grammar and semantics is on target. I, however, have never seen an article or report, etc. written by her. Thematic issues can't be sussed from one post. I used to teach this stuff. What worries me is that she says she can't see what they are saying is wrong with it. Most of the people I've dealt with that have such problems, can't see where their work falls apart. That's just the way it is. Ever seen someone rejected from something like American Idol? They have no clue how they are coming across to others or what their limitations are. You can't get stronger if you don't know your weak points.

Damn it, David. Now you've opened a can of worms for me.

Wordsuwant - if you want to send me an article, I'd be glad to see what areas you might need work in, if any - if your writing actually does need development in some way. I taught a a Jr college so I'm actually officially qualified. LOL. My major however was language and mind - ethno/socio/psycho linguistics. If your articles show the same quality as your post, you either got slammed by trolls, or whatever it is you aren't getting probably won't be too hard to pick up.

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KimW

12 years ago

Originally Posted by David Braybrooke

HeySal,

I'm sure anyone can tell by the OP's opening that she can write and is in fact quite talented. The WF has many members and your claim that they will tell the 'truth' etc is a little condescending somehow. The truth is often subjective, especially when it comes to critiquing others.

Maybe what some of the 'truth tellers' need is a bit more tact and a tad more objectivity. To be honest, I would almost consider paying wordsuwant the rates she asks because I think her writing standard is quite good.

David,
Sal was much easier on you than I would have been. As you yourself said,everyone has different standards,and as Sal said, the standards here are much higher than other places.

I know what I can and cannot do,and I can't write that well. I am blunt and to the point and if you find that " a little condescending " well,that is your problem not mine.
Maybe you need a bit less tact and some more honesty to actually help wordsuwant instead trying to be politically correct.

wordsuwant,
You may find some negative people here but there are also a lot of great peole that will help you.
There is also a forum or too dedicated to writing.Have you checked those out yet?
You are among some very stiff competition on this forum.

I outsource almost all of my writing,whether it is articles or sales copy.

Some I have had to have rewritten 3 or 4 times because the writer made a lot of simple mistakes.

Take time to learn to be one of the best writers,not just a writer.

Good luck.

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MissTerraK

12 years ago

Hi LeeOnna!

I'd like to offer you just one quick tip that could help you tremendously. I clicked on your link in your signature, and right away spotted something that may be affecting your business.

Your first paragraph says:

My name is LeeOnna, and I have been freelance writing since 2009. Over the years, I have grown as a writer, and have worked with a number of content mills, private clients, and more.

"Content mills" has a negative connotation not only with other writers, but with potential clients that have found poor work from them. I don't think you are doing yourself any favors with that introduction. Potential clients are more than likely reading that and clicking away.

You should consider using something more positive to replace it with such as freelancing organizations, for example.

I think if you viewed your welcome page as another way of selling yourself or as an advertisement for your writing skills, you could up your client base exponentially. This way you would be coming across as more of an authority as well.

Terra

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Kay King

12 years ago

Your standard of writing seems quite good to me and I think that you are entitled to charge $1 for 100 words.

I think it's good enough for $1 per 100 words. It's content writing that rambles on about a rather boring and limited topic and gets the word count in. It lacks a story line, facts, examples and personality - but it's a limited topic to work with, too.

That isn't the type of writing that you can raise prices on but not worthy of bashing unless you expect high quality for cheap prices (which too many here do).

The writing quality isn't that good but it's sufficient at those rates. I don't think the OP should be trying to move into sales copy writing or into press releases as she has indicated because it's over reaching at this point.

I'd suggest signing up for the training emails sent out by EzineArticles. I'm not promoting EZA here - but they have an excellent series of writing tutorials that many beginning writers could profit from.

I'd also suggest on freelance sites you focus on projects that are in areas where you have some knowledge, experience or interest. Become a specialist in a few areas rather than trying to write on anything and everything.

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sjaguar13

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

I think it's good enough for $1 per 100 words. It's content writing that rambles on about a rather boring and limited topic and gets the word count in. It lacks a story line, facts, examples and personality - but it's a limited topic to work with, too.

I agree with Kay. I hate writing, so I outsource all of it. I tend to buy 20,000+ words ever week or so. If I give all the work to one person, I can usually get a quantity discount, but otherwise, your rates are typically what I pay.

Quality wise, you use punctuation and have good grammar, but the content is lacking. When I order content, I will say I need 500 words, but 400 is acceptable, and then I will pay for 500. The reason is to avoid the whole rambling, word stuffing thing that goes on to hit the minimum word count. If you can say everything in 400 words, I don't want 100 extra filler words just so you can have an extra dollar. I will just give you the dollar, so I don't have to go through and remove the filler.

Personally, I would be more likely to hire someone who can write meaningful content without punctuation and in broken English before hiring someone who can write in perfect English with lacking content. The reason is, it's easier to edit an article and put in the punctuation and fix the broken English (assuming I know what the content is supposed to mean) than it is to fill a article will more content.

You might be better off sticking to specific subjects and avoiding the ones you aren't too familiar with. I have had a few writers who could write well on college fashion, but were horrible at college basketball.

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activeseo

12 years ago

"writing tips" on google should get you started, if you can post a sample of your work I can go thought your article and leave a feedback that might help you (:

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seasoned

12 years ago

Heysal and Wordsuwant,

Wordsuwant did something relatively rare. She came here and stated FLAT OUT what she was accused of, and didn't seem to candycoat it. That tells me that she is open, honest, and wants to improve and keep the customers HAPPY!

Wordsuwant,

I am certainly not the best, but I can tell you that you appear to be NOWHERE near the worst. Some people here advertise copywriting and make mistakes you might not believe. And just a couple days ago a former editor of a magazine, that thinks he is all high and mighty, tried to insult a person, that is famous and respected by calling him, among other things "STUPID" in a tweet. The tweet was quickly reported as perhaps the dumbest. NOT because of the content, which was dumb, but because of the extremely poor grammar. The verb, to be, for example, was needed but never used!

I have a problem, that is similar to yours, right now. Oddly enough, I am being asked to do something, but not being told what. When I speak, it is like nobody hears me. I plan to ask, yet again, today. At least YOU can look at guides like: http://www.jlakes.org/web/the-elements-of-style.pdf and try to guess where you went wrong. Who knows? You MIGHT find out that THEY are wrong. They may also be trying to talk you down in price. That COULD explain why they won't tell you WHAT is wrong. If they did, you could look it up in a book, like the one I linked to, and say that a respected English text says YOU are right.

Frankly, an area I think you could do better in, is one where I am told I fail. It IS the way I was taught though. Otherwise, even the content in your paragraphs, order, and layout, are right.

And HEY! You are a TON better than that vogue editor that acted like HE was so great. Granted that doesn't give much solace, because he was so bad, but I can end on a happy and encouraging note!

Steve

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Kevin McNally

12 years ago

When it comes to affordable web hosting there are a number of options available to you nowadays whether free or at little cost. Nowadays, those that have a website know that this is important to succeeding in your online business. If you want something that is functional and versatile, web hosting is needed and there are a number of options available to you. These web hosting companies can run you a lot of money though but there are some that are more reasonable and this is especially true for the newbies. There are more affordable options that can even get the job done and some may offer features that you may not even ever use.

Hi

The text above is from one of your blog posts. I don't claim to be an expert but a good tip is to read out the article to yourself and see if it makes sense. You will notice a few errors in the copy above ? This can easily be fixed.

Also, don't listen to all the advice you get here on this forum . Focus on the positive . Believe me there are a lot worse out there offering content services !

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seasoned

12 years ago

wordsuwant,

The example kevin showed was, IMHO, a bit lengthy and a mouth full. I would have said something like:

These days, you have a number of affordable hosting options available to you. They may be inexpensive or even free. Those that have a website know that this is important to succeeding in your online business. If you want to make your business a success, you need a website that is functional and versatile. Many web hosting companies can run you a lot of money though. Others, however, are more than able to get the job done and may offer features, that you may never even use, at a far lower cost.

Frankly, I don't like the word nowadays. It sounds odd and lengthy, etc.... And you can avoid using the same word ESPECIALLY when the context indicates the meaning. It is bad enough when you have to do something, like restate a persons name, when they context changes the meaning.

Steve

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

Thank you everyone for your advice and tips! I do want to improve, and will send samples to people who asked. I hope I can learn from this forum and I am enrolled in a college but going for Communications.

Again, I do get discouraged easily because I am not that confident in my writing. I have the worst time finding work to begin with, and I did see another person offering content that was charging more than me. Their quality in their ad itself was far worse than my writing, but they had received a ton of positive feedback about their work. I appreciate all the advice, and believe me, I will be taking it and applying it for sure!

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Khemosabi

12 years ago

Hi wordsuwant!

First, I agree with everyone here. You have talent, but need to expand on it. Your replies to the thread are a better example of your writing than the example that Kevin McNally quoted. That example (if I hadn't read this post first), read like a keyword stuffing article. read: content writing!

I have a website that I ranked 3 spots on page one in Google! The website itself isn't finished, but the information on it is what is getting noticed. I write as if I am speaking to someone I know, not the WWW!

Think about those bolded words. Google (and the other search engines) want to cater to actual people with credit cards, not bots that search out keywords.

Keep going! You are on the right path! Some of the best writers are here on this forum! {hint: they aren't advertising cheap services}

Good luck to you!

~ Theresa

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seasoned

12 years ago

Besides, NOBODY is going to satisfy everyone. That seems to become more true every day at this point.

Steve

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travlinguy

12 years ago

A penny a word is slave wages for a decent writer. You seem to be well beyond decent. The answer is simple. Seek work where people are willing to pay a fair rate. I don't know if you've got a Kindle but here's a little ebook I picked up for free a couple days ago.

It's still on the freebie promotion. If you don't have a Kindle you can download the PC version and have access to this great resource. There are more than 100 resources for writing gigs.

Freelance Writing Jobs: 101+ Online Writing...

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Alexa Smith

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by travlinguy

A penny a word is slave wages for a decent writer.

This.

$5 for a 500-word article isn't anyone's "way forward".

It's just a rut.

It's an impossible market, with almost as many suppliers as customers. And they're customers who'll never "go with you", if you do manage a price-rise, because what attracts customers for penny-a-word writing is simply the fact that they can buy it for a penny a word. Without wanting to offend more than my normal proportion of people, these are customers many of whom are themselves unable to distinguish between "barely acceptable" and "pretty good", and their own businesses tend not to survive anyway, because they usually don't know how to use articles and imagine that dumping them in article directories is going to product visitors and/or customers. This market isn't for "articles": it's for "chunks of keyword-optimized text to which a backlink can be attached". Sorry, but "that's the way it is".

I'm going to be frank, here, hoping not to offend you, and mention that all the text I've read on your site could do with a professional edit, but you really shouldn't be looking for penny-a-word writing jobs, LeOnna: you're clearly too literate for that.

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

This.

$5 for a 500-word article isn't anyone's "way forward".

It's just a rut.

It's an impossible market, with almost as many suppliers as customers. And they're customers who'll never "go with you", if you do manage a price-rise, because what attracts customers for penny-a-word writing is simply the fact that they can buy it for a penny a word. Without wanting to offend more than my normal proportion of people, these are customers many of whom are themselves unable to distinguish between "barely acceptable" and "pretty good", and their own businesses tend not to survive anyway, because they usually don't know how to use articles and imagine that dumping them in article directories is going to product visitors and/or customers. This market isn't for "articles": it's for "chunks of keyword-optimized text to which a backlink can be attached". Sorry, but "that's the way it is".

I'm going to be frank, here, hoping not to offend you, and mention that all the text I've read on your site could do with a professional edit, but you really shouldn't be looking for penny-a-word writing jobs, LeOnna.

So yo uare saying that my work is crap as well? I just want to know what my writing is worth. I have a hard time believing that it is worth less than $1 per 100 words. I have every intention of going through and fixing the content on my site. I love how people are sitting here telling me my work is crap but Indian or other country writers are on here charging more and getting more work. I have read stuff that i can barely understand that is getting $2 per 100 words.

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travlinguy

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

So yo uare saying that my work is crap as well? I just want to know what my writing is worth. I have a hard time believing that it is worth less than $1 per 100 words. I have every intention of going through and fixing the content on my site. I love how people are sitting here telling me my work is crap but Indian or other country writers are on here charging more and getting more work. I have read stuff that i can barely understand that is getting $2 per 100 words.

I haven't seen anyone here say your work is crap, just the opposite, in fact. You've had a ton of good advice but you seem stuck on this thing about people being critical. Maybe it's time to move past that, huh?

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Dave Patterson

12 years ago

Originally Posted by travlinguy

I haven't seen anyone here say your work is crap, just the opposite, in fact. You've had a ton of good advice but you seem stuck on this thing about people being critical. Maybe it's time to move past that, huh?

Glad you said that because I certainly haven't been reading the same thing she is...almost thought I had stepped into a miniature Tower of Babel..

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Alexa Smith Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

So yo uare saying that my work is crap as well?

Nooooo ... I'm terribly sorry!

I meant that I thought you were well above that. I've added another sentence to my post above, now; please excuse me.

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I have read stuff that i can barely understand that is getting $2 per 100 words.

I completely agree.
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seasoned

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

So yo uare saying that my work is crap as well? I just want to know what my writing is worth. I have a hard time believing that it is worth less than $1 per 100 words. I have every intention of going through and fixing the content on my site. I love how people are sitting here telling me my work is crap but Indian or other country writers are on here charging more and getting more work. I have read stuff that i can barely understand that is getting $2 per 100 words.

Simply put, alexa said what I said. You can't please everyone. As for value, etc? Indians often have an odd, for want of another word, dialect. Some people just think it is correct, or can't tell. And Alexa is certainly right there. And it is CONTAGIOUS! Don't let that cause you to charge a lower rate though.

HEY, look at the SEO garbage! Some places advertise that they can get you a top listing on page one of google. MANY actually manage to do it! HOW? Let's say it is christmas, and you want a top placement for christmas lights and food. Just do the following:

Enter "christmas lights and food". SIMPLE! HECK, they might make it "christmas lights food". That has a better chance of rating WHY? Because it is improper, so few will try it.

Here's the punch line! If your customers don't type it, they likely won't get it. The SEO people STILL get paid!

Steve

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

I am getting mixed emotions. I am starting to feel like my writing is never going to be good enough, even though I want to write for a living so bad! As far as writing on a specific topic, it seems everyone here wants articles on one topic. I write well with health and diet topics, going green, home improvement, education, working from home, weight loss, parenting, pregnancy, and yoga among others for instance, and internet marketing, viral marketing, and webinars just is not my thing.

I continue to try to improve my writing, and not sure what people mean when they say I have no tone or personality. I would love to see examples of what $1 per 100 word writing is since I apparantly am not at that level yet.

I understand everyone has different needs, and I know my writing is not good enough to be charging $3 per 100 words, and honestly that is where I want to be. I would be happy with $2 per 100 words, but again, it seems that the only feedback I get is how god awful my quality is. There is only so much you can say about affiliate marketing without repeating yourself at some point in time.

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Frank Donovan

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I write well with health and diet topics, going green, home improvement, education, working from home, weight loss, parenting, pregnancy, and yoga among others for instance, and internet marketing, viral marketing, and webinars just is not my thing.

I continue to try to improve my writing, and not sure what people mean when they say I have no tone or personality. I would love to see examples of what $1 per 100 word writing is since I apparantly am not at that level yet.

Leonna,

Your site title and url is Content by Leonna but you start your home page with:

My name is LeeOnna

That alone is enough to put off many potential clients. Getting your own name right is fairly basic. Before you accuse me of being just another general critic, let me say that I haven't read any of your articles - just your home page introduction. And one other point that struck me from that was your list of specialist topics in which you include internet marketing; yet in your post quoted above, the sentence I've highlighted states that internet marketing isn't your thing. Which is correct?

If you don't enjoy writing about a topic, it's not surprising if your article reads like it lacks tone or personality. You simply don't have the enthusiasm for the subject. The $5 article market is crowded with "writers" who do little more than arrange text in a vaguely intelligible order and yes, they can often find buyers at a cent a word. But those clients aren't looking for writing that engages their readers. Much of the time, your article is just a way of covering a block of white space on their site or being spun to death and thrown at the wall of a hundred web properties. It's a commodity. If you enjoy writing, if you believe it's a creative activity, catering to that market is going to be soul destroying for you.

Write about subjects you're passionate about and I guarantee you that the results won't be described as lacking in tone or personality. Don't define your writing by some notional price point that you think others may or may not be getting. You're a writer (even if nobody else realizes that yet). Have the confidence to set your prices at a level that respects your ability and the value and integrity of your work. Because if you don't think you're worth it, neither will your clients.

Frank

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jokerthief

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I am getting mixed emotions. I am starting to feel like my writing is never going to be good enough, even though I want to write for a living so bad! As far as writing on a specific topic, it seems everyone here wants articles on one topic. I write well with health and diet topics, going green, home improvement, education, working from home, weight loss, parenting, pregnancy, and yoga among others for instance, and internet marketing, viral marketing, and webinars just is not my thing.

I continue to try to improve my writing, and not sure what people mean when they say I have no tone or personality. I would love to see examples of what $1 per 100 word writing is since I apparantly am not at that level yet.

I understand everyone has different needs, and I know my writing is not good enough to be charging $3 per 100 words, and honestly that is where I want to be. I would be happy with $2 per 100 words, but again, it seems that the only feedback I get is how god awful my quality is. There is only so much you can say about affiliate marketing without repeating yourself at some point in time.

The only way to get better at anything is to be continually dissatisfied with your current skill level and to be open to criticism. You have to become your own worse critic. When you bring your writing here your motivation should be to find where the weaknesses are in your piece. You should always suspect that there are weaknesses that you can't see and be eager for others to point them out to you.

You have to try to separate your emotions from your work. This will be very hard, but you will be able to do it if you practice. Try to look at it as a game. Every time you accept a valid criticism and make a change your power grows. Become obsessed with growing your power. Realize that only by exposing your work to the fire of criticism will your power grow. As your power grows, thus shall your fees grow as well.

Eventually you will thrive on good criticism and you will seek out masters to give you more and more refined and focused criticism. Bit-by-bit you are building your skill-set, and you will perceive that you have entered an accelerated cycle of growth. Words will start to flow with less and less effort. You are now on the path to mastery.

Good luck young Jedi.

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Kevin McNally

12 years ago

I continue to try to improve my writing, and not sure what people mean when they say I have no tone or personality. I would love to see examples of what $1 per 100 word writing is since I apparantly am not at that level yet.

You are being too harsh on yourself. Honestly you should see some of the articles I have been sent over the years !

I would post everywhere you can and build your portfolio up.

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

Thank you everyone for advice and tips.

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HeySal

12 years ago

Leonna - since you didn't answer my last pm - I'll just put my major impressions here. Don't fry on it, because I'm pretty damned blunt. But I'm not killing you on it because you have potential. Okay?

You have a good take on basic grammar. One element you need to bone up on is "referents". You often use a pronoun without a referent - so study up on pronouns and referents. Many small $$ writers miss that element, so knowing it will help a lot.

Avoid generalizations -- "Dog owners always try to do the best they can for their dogs." Do they really? I know dog owners that are extremely negligent. Instead of generalizing - point straight at the reader. You aren't talking to people in general. You are speaking personally to each reader.
"If you are a dog owner that feels your dog is more of a kid than a pet................ See - you are talking to someone now. This technique will also help you word things more clearly because you
are talking TO someone instead of just thinking.

"sort of in tune with your dog" ?? NO.
Another problem - take out all vague wording. "sort of in tune" - no. "In tune". No "sort of" about it. You want them buying your instruction - not "sort of" buying it. "For the most part" - ?? what about the exceptions? Don't lead them there. An orthopedic bed is how it's described or isn't. "for the most part" is nothing but filler. It serves no purpose. It does you more good to think of new and exciting ways to say things than to stuff with useless words.

Okay -- further down - "Be prepared though for some higher than expected prices"? -- (Okay now you're slipping on the punctuation as well as theme flow btw. "though" should have commas before and after). So what kind of prices are normal to expect? How can you tell us to expect higher prices when we do not yet know what to expect normally? You're leaving out some important facts here. Facts the reader might really want to know.

You need to pinpoint what you are saying. Do not convolute who and what you are talking about sentence to sentence. Dogs not being able to talk or tell about discomfort is not true of an owner - it is true of the dog, the owners need to respond to that. === MAKE SURE that your thoughts are not convoluted. In the last sentence of the first section, you start wording things in a way that sounds like you are attributing the dog's attributes to the owner. See?

Your writing needs maturity. It is raw and rough. You need to work on the flow of the ideas from sentence to sentence. You have a good handle on over all theme and paragraph transition, though. You need to spend time clarifying your thoughts, then getting them down in an orderly fashion that will clearly move from one idea to the next instead of jumbling them as you did in the last few sentences of the first paragraph.

I would highly suggest taking a class or two at the college level. It might be a pain in the butt to do that, but if you are intent on being a writer for a living, you will need the instruction. In this work, I see a young person with some potential that just doesn't have a real grasp on structural cohesion yet. Learn and practice.

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Sal
When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
Beyond the Path

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

I am going to school online for Communications and do not have money to take writing courses. I never got another PM from you last night, not sure why. I appreciate your feedback so I will work more on being specific with certain points when I write, such as with prices as you stated.

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John Durham

12 years ago

Start writing on your own web pages and building your own internet real estate.

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Kurt 12 years ago

Originally Posted by John Durham

Start writing on your own web pages and building your own internet real estate.

This should be the end goal. When writing for yourself, it's less about grammar and spelling and more about the quality of the info provided.
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seasoned

12 years ago

Passion can be developed, but not taught.

Steve

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hardraysnight 12 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

Passion can be developed, but not taught.

Steve

and i always thought it came naturally
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- seasoned 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by hardraysnight
  
  and i always thought it came naturally
  
  Sometimes it DOES! But people can develop passion for something because it is a joy, it seems easy, or they think they can achieve it and gain some reward. If it even pushes them a bit beyond their level of comfort they may become passionate about it. Of course, people can have their own reasons and get passionate about things you would be repulsed by, etc....
  
  My whole point is it isn't something you teach. IMAGINE if it were! a teacher could teach the student to become passionate about the subject and everyone in the class would become a genius at it! ALAS, it doesn't happen. The average teacher may get only a couple such people at a time. If they are young Americans that want to learn say chinese, THEY will be the ones that not only get As, but the next year will be conversing with chinese people fluently. Most others might do ok, but NEVER be fluent.
  
  Steve
  
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Tyler S

12 years ago

Do you have a blog that you own? Often this can help with your portfolio, and clients can see your work this way.

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wordsuwant 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Tyler S

Do you have a blog that you own? Often this can help with your portfolio, and clients can see your work this way.

Yes I do have a blog that I was going to use to promote my writing services. I had content on it on internet marketing stuff but I was told to take it all down since that was not necessary on the blog.
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DBracey

12 years ago

I recommend viewing all the negative feedback you get as an opportunity to become more constructive in how you approach your trade. Don't get disheartened no matter how the feedback comes to you. Even the best writers get knocked back. Look at J.K. Rowling. She was told never to write again when she first tried to get Harry Potter published and look what happened there!

As someone who made a living from writing for many years it is my opinion that there is no better way to improve than to practice. A great way to practice is to start your own blog. Pick subject matter you're interested in as that will help you stick with it. Write about the latest news in your area of interest. Allow the professional news articles that you source your information from to become your teacher. Try to emulate their style (remember, always credit your sources).

The reason I suggest writing news style articles is that they are great for teaching you how to cut out the fluff. Trying to emulate news journalism will also help you learn how to get to the point with each sentence you write. You'll be surprised at how fast your writing will improve by doing this one thing alone.

All of that said, if I only had one suggestion to give it would be this: get a copy of a book titled 'How to take the FOG out of writing' by Robert Gunning. This book is an invaluable tool for any aspiring writer. With it you'll make massive gains in a very short space of time. I know from first-hand experience. It was a book that was suggested to me two decades ago by a colleague who told me if I wanted to be a professional writer it was the book that would get me there. Perhaps it will help you get there too. :-)

Good luck!

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

Originally Posted by DBracey

I recommend viewing all the negative feedback you get as an opportunity to become more constructive in how you approach your trade. Don't get disheartened no matter how the feedback comes to you. Even the best writers get knocked back. Look at J.K. Rowling. She was told never to write again when she first tried to get Harry Potter published and look what happened there!

As someone who made a living from writing for many years it is my opinion that there is no better way to improve than to practice. A great way to practice is to start your own blog. Pick subject matter you're interested in as that will help you stick with it. Write about the latest news in your area of interest. Allow the professional news articles that you source your information from to become your teacher. Try to emulate their style (remember, always credit your sources).

The reason I suggest writing news style articles is that they are great for teaching you how to cut out the fluff. Trying to emulate news journalism will also help you learn how to get to the point with each sentence you write. You'll be surprised at how fast your writing will improve by doing this one thing alone.

All of that said, if I only had one suggestion to give it would be this: get a copy of a book titled 'How to take the FOG out of writing' by Robert Gunning. This book is an invaluable tool for any aspiring writer. With it you'll make massive gains in a very short space of time. I know from first-hand experience. It was a book that was suggested to me two decades ago by a colleague who told me if I wanted to be a professional writer it was the book that would get me there. Perhaps it will help you get there too. :-)

Good luck!

Thank you so much for this! I will look into getting that book for sure! I have done a few articles since the time of this post and have received some positive feedback, so maybe I just need to work on getting the fluff out of my work, and being more detailed.

I want to be a Professional writer more than anything, and to be able to make an income from home, even better! I worked in the medical field from 2002 until about 4 years ago when i started writing and have gained a love for topics such as going green, parenting, (as I have tow brats of my own), home improvement, travel, saving money, diet/fitness, health, and a few others.

I do have a health blog that I was going to try to do affiliate marketing with as far as weight loss recipes and weight loss diets that actually work, but I have no knowledge of hwo to get started. I know I need to get content up there, so that might be a great place for me to start?

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DBracey

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I do have a health blog that I was going to try to do affiliate marketing with as far as weight loss recipes and weight loss diets that actually work, but I have no knowledge of hwo to get started. I know I need to get content up there, so that might be a great place for me to start?

It might be. Just make sure the focus of your blog is something you really enjoy so that you can stick with it for the long haul. Having a medium where you can hone your skills means you'll be writing daily on it. So it is crucial that you don't choose something that you normally wouldn't be interested in.

Would you normally start an affiliate blog about weight loss if there was no money in it? If not, then that's not your thing to constantly practice on because it will feel more like a drain over time. To get really good, you want to feel energetic and passionate every day about the subject matter you're writing about. That energy and passion will translate to vast improvement which in turn will aid you in all of your other writing endeavors.

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wordsuwant

12 years ago

Originally Posted by DBracey

It might be. Just make sure the focus of your blog is something you really enjoy so that you can stick with it for the long haul. Having a medium where you can hone your skills means you'll be writing daily on it. So it is crucial that you don't choose something that you normally wouldn't be interested in.

Would you normally start an affiliate blog about weight loss if there was no money in it? If not, then that's not your thing to constantly practice on because it will feel more like a drain over time. To get really good, you want to feel energetic and passionate every day about the subject matter you're writing about. That energy and passion will translate to vast improvement which in turn will aid you in all of your other writing endeavors.

I have worked in the health field since 2002. It has always been a passion for me, and i enjoy writing on anything medical and health related.

I find I do write better on topics I enjoy but I find that anyone who does ask about me writing articles wants internet marketing related stuff. I find that some topics I can write well on, and others, not so well on. I want to be able to write on that topic so that if anyone here ever does want me to write articles, I can do the job. As it is, I am having a hard time finding writing work anywhere since there is so much competition.

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DBracey

12 years ago

Originally Posted by wordsuwant

I find I do write better on topics I enjoy but I find that anyone who does ask about me writing articles wants internet marketing related stuff. I find that some topics I can write well on, and others, not so well on. I want to be able to write on that topic so that if anyone here ever does want me to write articles, I can do the job.

Your writing skill is first and foremost what matters. Your topic knowledge comes second. If your writing skill is up there, the topic should be irrelevant. That is another reason why I suggest emulating news style articles as your practice vehicle. News style articles require you to both research the material you're writing about and force you to write about your research concisely. A good article writer should be able to quickly research their topic and then just as quickly write about what they've learned in their research. Emulating news style articles builds this skill.

There will always be topics you feel more comfortable to write about than others. Every writer has more confidence in what they are more familiar with than what they are not. That said, if you feel you write "not so well" on some topics that's more reflective of a lack of confidence in your general ability to research and write about what you research that it is about your general ability as a writer. Again, daily emulation of news style articles will help you overcome this confidence issue.

I will say there is nothing wrong with choosing to specialize. But when you're trying to specialize in 'internet marketing', remind yourself it's a field that supports virtually every topic that exists. Writing quality content for web marketing purposes is no longer an exercise in 'internet marketing'. Now more than ever it is an exercise in delivering quality information. Delivering quality information requires you to have less 'internet marketing' skill and more 'information delivery' skill. Such a skill relies on the combined ability to systematically investigate the chosen topic and then put what that investigation unveils into words.

One last thing. You mentioned high competition is an issue. Let me add that writers who hone their skills in the way I've mentioned are never short of work. When you can write well irrespective of the topic the only limitation on how much work you can do becomes time. When you get to that point your value as a writer will increase naturally because if you have more work than you can handle you won't hesitate to put your prices up. At that point people will pay the extra money for the quality they know you deliver. It's also the point where you won't worry about losing those who won't.

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seasoned

12 years ago

Originally Posted by DBracey

I recommend viewing all the negative feedback you get as an opportunity to become more constructive in how you approach your trade. Don't get disheartened no matter how the feedback comes to you. Even the best writers get knocked back. Look at J.K. Rowling. She was told never to write again when she first tried to get Harry Potter published and look what happened there!

Stephen King was treated the SAME way! Many other writers were also.

Steve

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HeySal

12 years ago

Leonna - everyone has areas they are better in than others. That's never going to change no matter how good you get.

One thing I have to say now - is that if you are going to write in health fields you have another consideration besides writing quality. You need to be informed about laws. Anyone who "prescribes" treatment, etc. is taking a risk when they put up an article. The medical community is quick to squelch anything alternative. If you say taking something will have any effect, you can get sued by someone who follows your advice, and from the medical community as well. You need to be extremely careful how you word health related articles - and you need to learn how to write disclaimers.

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When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
Beyond the Path

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Can anyone please help me.....

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