Love to write? Do you dream of leaving your office job for a full-time freelance writing career? Being a writer makes use of your creative side while keeping your mind sharp with challenges. There’s pride in making use of your problem-solving skills. Working for yourself can be the answer to hating a job riddled with office politics, gossip and cloying managers and there’s nothing worse than a helicopter boss hovering by your desk and just making you want to scream.

Don’t believe people who say it’s impossible to make a living as a freelance writer. Find freelance writers who support themselves. If they make enough money to pay their bills and add to their savings account, then why can’t you? The answer is you can.

A writer with a few steady “anchor clients,” can stop sweating over finances and get back to the enjoyment of writing.

As with any career, the joy can fizzle but that is always a choice left up to your expectations and attitude. Celebrity sports players can grow tired of the game. The passion they had at the beginning can be lost over time. That’s when they may feel trapped and resent their careers. We have all seen many stars who had it all but their lives spiral into depression anyway. Sports players, actors, musicians and yes, writers, can prevent burnout from happening by structuring their lives to say no to any gigs that are a bad fit for them.

Types of Writing Careers

Writing is a huge field with a wide variety of options. Sticking with the sports analogy, don’t choose baseball if you want to play tennis. According to Vin D’Eletto Jr. from his WordAgents Reviews, “the two most common types of writer that you might think of could be a novelist and a journalist.” But there is a variety of other job choices for writers that include ghostwriters, speech writers, scriptwriters, technical writers, freelance agency writers, and copywriters.”

The skills that you need for these jobs can vary wildly from sales and marketing experience to legal expertise to comedic talent. It is rare for one person to be skilled enough or capable of freelancing in all of these diverse areas of writing.

Freelance vs. Employed

Every working writer is faced with the choice of becoming freelance or employed. As an employee, you have the comfort and safety of a steady paycheck, employee benefits, and consistent work but you’re also limited by company guidelines and the preferences of an editor.

As a Freelancer You Can…

• Enjoy more freedom
• Pick and choose the work you want
• Take time off when you need a break.

But you don’t want to be forced to ‘kill what you eat,’ meaning work harder or starve.

How to Make a Freelance Writing Career Worthwhile

Despite the rewards, many people leave the writing industry. Why?

Here are the most common reasons:

• They chose roles that didn’t match their, skills, goals and personality
• They never learned how to write a strong pitch
• They did not meet deadlines
• They had not taken even one course to hone their writing skills.
• They were difficult to work with—argumentative, defensive, unprofessional
• They handed in work that was filled with spelling and grammatical errors
• They had no understanding of SEO and did not make use of keywords
• They didn’t follow instructions

Daydreaming about life as a freelance novelist is not the same as the realities you will face as a freelancer. Writing from your experiences and crafting a book that will inspire emotions in your readers is a worthy goal but a tough road. To make enough money to live on—and especially if you wish to start a family, settle down, and have leisure time. For a secure income, working as an employee is a much better bet than sitting at home writing a novel that may never sell.

To make a career in writing worthwhile, you must find a better way than just kicking a can down the road, while you imagine a romanticized version of a writer’s life. To grab the reigns and succeed with a money-making freelance career, you need to think critically about what you want and what your skills are. Then you can make an educated choice on the type of writing role that’s right for you. Google the types of freelance writing that provide ongoing gigs. Maybe you’ll choose to pursue content marketing, ghost writing, editing, ghost editing, journalism for industries that have an ongoing need for writers. Think: science, finance, health, parenting, tech, or any topic that interests you. The list is almost endless.

That is the how for finding the path to steady work that is fulfilling and helps you go about the business of finding joy in your life.

The post How to Quit Your Job and Write for a Living appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Register Now to Save!

To learn more about the Conference and How to Join
click here

This year’s New York City conference will be held at the
Sheraton Times Square Hotel
811 7th Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York City.

I owe so much of my full-time freelance writing career to ASJA

Conference Schedule • Friday, May 18 • Members-Only Day

Conference Schedule • Saturday, May 19 • Open to the Public

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

CONFERENCE TRACK CHAIRS

• Aimee Ross
Aimee Ross is the author of Permanent Marker: A Memoir (KiCam Projects, March 2018). She worked as a Regional Educator in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for ten years. In addition, she is a nationally award-winning educator who has been a high school English teacher for the past twenty-five years. @AimeeRoss
• Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times since its inception in 2004. His books include “Love Illuminated,” two essay anthologies—“Modern Love” and “The Bastard on the Couch”—and the novel “After Lucy,” which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Jones appears weekly on the Modern Love Podcast, which had 20 million downloads in its first year. Jones has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News, CNN and NPR. His writing can also be found in The Times, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and elsewhere. @DanielJones
• Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning independent journalist, author and speaker. Her book, The Good News About Bad Behavior (PublicAffairs, April 2018), grew out of her school discipline story for Mother Jones that became the magazine’s most-read piece. Katherine contributes to The Atlantic, Fortune, Washington Post and more.

TRACK CHAIRS

The conference theme is based on the three tracks:

Navigate (Beginner). Motivate (Intermediate). Captivate (Advanced).

• Carolyn Crist
Beginning Track Manager and Detailed Overseer @CarolynCrist

• Nancy Dunham
Mid-Career Track Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. @NancyDunham

• Dorri Olds
Advanced Track Chair and Social Media Maven @DorriOlds

Stay tuned for more info about #ASJA2018! Hope to see you there!

The post What to Expect at #ASJA2018 Writers Conference • May 18–19, 2018 • New York City appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Register Now to Save!

To learn more about the Conference and How to Join click here

This year’s New York City conference will be held at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel
811 7th Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York City.
Friday, May 18 is Members-Only Day.
Saturday, May 19 is open to anyone who would like to attend.

I owe so much of my full-time freelance writing career to ASJA!

CONFERENCE TRACK CHAIRS

• Carolyn Crist
Beginning Track Manager and Detailed Overseer @CarolynCrist

• Nancy Dunham
Mid-Career Track Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. @NancyDunham

• Dorri Olds
Advanced Track Chair and Social Media Maven @DorriOlds

The conference theme is based on the three tracks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Aimee Ross
Aimee Ross is the author of Permanent Marker: A Memoir (KiCam Projects, March 2018). She worked as a Regional Educator in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for ten years. In addition, she is a nationally award-winning educator who has been a high school English teacher for the past twenty-five years. @AimeeRoss
• Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times since its inception in 2004. His books include “Love Illuminated,” two essay anthologies—“Modern Love” and “The Bastard on the Couch”—and the novel “After Lucy,” which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Jones appears weekly on the Modern Love Podcast, which had 20 million downloads in its first year. Jones has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News, CNN and NPR. His writing can also be found in The Times, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and elsewhere. @DanielJones
• Katherine Reynolds Lewis
Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning independent journalist, author and speaker. Her book, The Good News About Bad Behavior (PublicAffairs, April 2018), grew out of her school discipline story for Mother Jones that became the magazine’s most-read piece. Katherine contributes to The Atlantic, Fortune, Washington Post and more.
Stay tuned for more info about #ASJA2018! Hope to see you there!

The post Writers Learn to Earn at #ASJA2018 appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

YouTube Channel has 1.9 MILLION VIEWS!! Woooot.

When you wake up and your YouTube channel is up to 888,000 views and over a million minutes watched. Yeah, that.

www.youtube.com/DorriOlds

SEE ALSO: Robert De Niro Said For 40 Years He Has Heard, You Talkin’ To Me?

SEE ALSO: List of Celebrities I Have Interviewed and Photographed

SEE ALSO: Helen Mirren Talks About Kissing Stephen Colbert

SEE ALSO: Tribeca Film Festival 2017 Celebrates Women

The post When You Wake Up and Your YouTube Channel Has 888K Views! appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The Latest Social Media Tricks: What Works, What’s a Turnoff

Our panel of editors and social media experts will teach you what works and what doesn’t. There’s never enough time in a writer’s life. It can be overwhelming without tips and tricks for efficiency. Don’t waste valuable hours. We’ll cover ways to maximize your efforts with titles, tags, topics, keywords, SEO, naming images and how Google rankings work. Editors will tell you how and what to pitch.
HERE’S HOW TO REGISTER FOR #ASJA2016
Here are my as-of-now confirmed speakers for my Sat, May 21, 2-3:30pm panel at the #ASJA2016 annual conference:

The post SAVE THE DATE Saturday, May 21, 2016 ASJA Annual Writers Conference appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

UPublishU at BEA Conference • 5/30 at 1:30pm

“Connecting to Readers—With Social Media”

Tools & Marketing Mania
Time 1:30pm-2:20pm
Room 1E08

So many readers, so little time to make the right connection. For authors with busy schedules, and always working on the next book, it is important to find ways to connect with your loyal readers and engage with new readers. Join this panel of industry professionals as they share opportunities and tools that will help you stay productive and reach readers. Learn how to use Hootsuite to connect your readers all while making your writing life easier. Get insight into new ways to find and share content that can raise awareness about your book and engage in direct promotion. Learn how to schedule posts, manage your writing announcements, monitor your mentions, and engage your readers. Get insight on specific steps authors can (and should) take to expand their profile, their brand, and their platform with unique social sharing strategies.

Moderator:
Susannah Greenberg, President, Susannah Greenberg Public Relations
Speakers:
Denise Alicea, Book Blogger and Professional Freelancer
Daniel Langston, Co-founder and the Chief Sales Officer for BookGrabbr
Dorri Olds, Award-winning Writer and Webmaster

The post Connecting to Readers—With Social Media appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

CLICK TO REGISTER

ASJA 2015 Conference: Connect for Success at the Roosevelt Hotel (map)
May 1, 2015 • 11AM – 12:15PM

Use Social Media to Land Writing Gigs and Make Money (session: F06)

Most  hard-working professionals feel like there’s never enough time in a day. Between deadlines, creative pursuits, and trying to have a life, who has time to blog, update their website and keep up with social media?

In this session you will learn how to use your time efficiently to get the best results. You will be given tips and tricks based on hard-won experience. We’ll talk about the best tools to use for your specific goals and how to stand out online amidst worldwide competition.

You’ll learn about improving your website, blogs, and social media accounts. Find out the different language and etiquette for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Reddit, Google+ and YouTube. And, most importantly, you’ll learn how to use social media to make more money.

Dorri Olds, panel organizer, speaker and ASJA member • www.DorriOlds.com • @DorriOlds

Here are some of my social media stats (as of April 10, 2015): YouTube: 470,000 views (yes, that’s almost half a million!); Twitter: 33,5 followers; Facebook: 4,000 (likes and followers). My areas of expertise include freelance writing, social media marketing, web design and WordPress. I will discuss:

• Social Media Etiquette and the differences across platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube).
  Yes, there is a difference.
• Tips and Tricks: How to use your time efficiently and get the best results. Groups, hashtags, comments, blogging, linking, networking and the way money streams come my way all the time.
• How I’ve landed writing gigs through social media
• What to do and what NOT to do

Most Important Rule: Do not scream, “Look at me! Look at me!” Instead, pay attention to the people you want to connect with. Most editors are writers too. Google them, read some of their articles, compliment them. Share their posts and tag them, retweet their tweets, leave comments on their LinkedIn posts. That is the best way to introduce yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see writers make is to contact me on Facebook or Twitter and tell me what book they wrote and to please like their page. It’s annoying that they introduced themselves by asking me to take time out of my swamped schedule to do something for them. Why would anybody want to stop what they’re doing for a complete stranger? But! If they’ve commented on my articles or shared my Facebook posts and retweeted my tweets, I will notice them and there’s an excellent chance that I’ll remember them and want to respond. That is how the best connections begin.

MEET MY WONDERFUL SPEAKERS:

Kirsten Koza, author, humorist, journalist and editor www.kirstenkoza.com • @KirstenKoza

Kirsten says: I will discuss Facebook Pages and how to target the right followers and attract publishers. Attend this panel discussion and you could win a waterproof, shockproof Nikon camera and memory card as part of a demonstration on how to quickly grow a Facebook Page of ideal followers using simple techniques such as raffles.

This editor admits it: I just finished reading thousands of stories to make my selection of 30 for a Travelers’ Tales anthology, and at times the writer’s social networking reach was a factor in my decision making process. Of course the story still has to be great, but if it comes down to a tie breaker and one writer has an audience of followers through social networking and I know they’re going to promote their work, then that will sway my choice. Publishers want their stories to be read. The writer is part of that process.

Hot Tips:

1. Facebook Pages have improved how you can target followers. But you still need to avoid click farms.
   See this video re click farms which are sometimes called the sweatshops of social media: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag.Avoiding fake accounts LIKING your page can be done easily by selecting the countries you target. You can also select specific interests and hobbies when attracting new followers, or when promoting a story or book.
2. If someone follows your page and you suspect they are a fake account, delete them. Facebook sends your posts out to a certain percentage of your followers and you want those followers to be real.
3. Keep your page interesting and alive. Find your angle. Share material that benefits not just you but your followers.
4. Be generous to other writers on your Page and they’ll promote you on theirs.
5. You don’t know when a story is going to go viral but you can help spread it with a catchy teaser and social networking. And, yes, it is possible to be your own pimp without looking like one by following step 3.

I have 8,600 targeted followers on my Writers’ Expeditions Facebook Page. They consist of travelers, writers, editors and photographers. Through these 8,600 I can reach 100,000. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with you.

Tom Miller, Literary Agent, Greenburger • @ThomasWMiller

As an agent, I particularly look for writers who have substantial presences on Twitter and LinkedIn. If an author has 5,000 or more Twitter followers, and if he or she tweets interesting and on-point tweets 2–3 times a day, I take notice. So do publishers — believe me! I also notice an author who has a well-populated and impressive LinkedIn page. I’m not particularly impressed when an author says, “I have 1,000+ Facebook friends” about her or his FB personal page (nor are publishers), but I do notice when an author has an active and well-populated FB fan page with a lot of interactivity on it.

• Join Twitter and tweet about your writing 2–3 times a day. Follow writers you admire and retweet salient tweets from them. Use hashtags judiciously and strategically.
• Start a Facebook fan page for your writing. Invite the friends you think will respond and who can share your posts to their friends and contacts. It’s a matter of getting as many people engaged about your writing as possible.
• On LinkedIn, it’s actually OK to send LinkedIn invitations to people you want to connect with even if you don’t know them personally. Just don’t hound those people relentlessly or send them inappropriate messages. Upgrade to LinkedIn Premium if you want extra benefits.

Nikki M. Mascali, Editor in Chief, TheBlot Magazine • @NikkiMMascali

My areas of expertise are editing, writing, setting editorial calendars and hiring and working with freelancers. I’ll focus on:

• Branding yourself as a journalist
  You could have the perfect pitch that leads to the perfect story, but does any of it matter if no one sees it? Social media gives writers the tools they need to freely reach out to people with similar interests in an effort to self-promote their work and those at their respective outlets.
• Does the initial size of your social reach matter?
  Not necessarily. Sure, I want a writer that has tens of thousands of followers because, let’s face it, we’re all gunning for clicks, but one of the main things I look for as an editor is diligence in cultivating a social presence. As a writer’s body of work grows, so will their following across social media platforms — so long as they continue to seek out new ways to gain valued viewership.
• The king of self promotion for writers
  Twitter, by far, is the most valuable tool, especially for digital edition stories. Its forced use of the 140-character format is helping to establish a new breed of headline writers looking to instantly capture an audience. In fact, I credit my Twitter activity in the site’s early days for helping me become a more concise writer and editor.
• The worldwide pitch generator
  With so many voices spanning the web, digital media is not only a prominent way to promote your work, but to expand on it as well. Use social media as a springboard for story ideas by following subjects that you are interested in. Although most of your legwork will consist of fact checking, there is no other time in history that news can break faster than today’s digital age. I love getting a pitch from someone minutes after I saw that topic trending on social media.
• Reaching Sources
  Now that you have an idea on how to find, write and promote your story through social media outlets, you can start on expanding those articles using the same media. Sure you may have to still deal with publicists and agents, both of which could put speed bumps on the completion of your projects, but people of interest are commonly reachable through their social media channels. Don’t hesitate to reach out to potential sources directly — it may be the difference between your latest scoop and yesterday’s news.

Jason Gross, Social Media Manager, TheBlot Magazine, journalist and author • @jgrossnas

My area of expertise is marketing, promotion and branding. The points I will focus on are:

• Remember that social media platforms have a long memory and that employers (including publishing companies, agents) might search your accounts to see what kind of things you post there. What you say there can stay there, even if you delete it. The rule of thumb is: “Don’t say anything there you wouldn’t say in front of your mom.”
• Choose the social media platforms that are right for your needs and don’t over-extend yourself there. Usually good to pick 3–4 places to concentrate on.
• Arguments and disagreements on social media are fine. Flame wars are bad because they make you look bad even if you’re right.
• You don’t have to be a social media expert but it helps to keep up on the newest features on SM platforms so you can use them to your advantage. Some good sources for this are Mediabistro Social Media Newsfeed, Mashable’s Apps/Software and Adweek’s Social Times

The post ASJA Panel: Use Social Media to Land Writing Gigs and Make Money appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Strong, Bold Statements

Be concise. Avoid including detailed paragraphs of text, or images that are too intricate to decipher at a second’s glance. When your audience turns their attention to your presentation, you want them to get the takeaway point immediately, with the spoken part of your presentation building on the projection you have prepared. Go for strong, bold statements that outline the crux of your message, and take care to present in a font that is suitably sized and colored. People need to be able to read and digest your core message as quickly as possible, without having to struggle to make out your text, so it is best to keep to statements that are easy to read and understand.

Professional, Clean Theme

A professional, clean theme can work wonders for your pitch, displaying the core information behind your presentation in a stylish but professional way. This is in contrast to cluttered themes, or visuals which detract or distract from the main thrust of the points you are presenting, and can quickly undermine an otherwise valuable, meaningful pitch. Don’t go too out of the box, unless you know that’s what your audience is expecting, and avoid garish colors and styling features – they won’t do the focus of your presentation any good.

High Quality Projection

No good visual presentation is complete without a high quality video projector. A high quality video projection system will ensure your visuals are carried through your presentation in the highest possible resolution, making slides easier to follow and helping underline the professionalism in your presentation and your wider businesses. We all know first impressions count, and a shaky or low-res projection system will do you no favors on this front.

Those who deliver presentations on a regular basis, or employers who require presentations as part of their organizational information flow, need to think seriously about the optimum projection system for their needs. Without the right hardware, your job of pitching convincingly will prove much harder. But with the right technical setup, your presentations will convey your message with more meaning, for a memorable, professional presentation.

For more tips don’t miss:
American Society of Journalists & Authors Annual Conference
April 30–May 2, 2015 • Roosevelt Hotel

The post Teaching Tip: Make The Right Impression at Your Presentation With Video Projection Systems appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Through murderabilia websites, auctions, and even Facebook, signed 8″x10″ glossies of serial killers go for hundreds. This is an underworld where anything goes. Groupies pay for fingernail clippings, locks of hair, and even foot scrapings (ew). Graphic crime scene photos of decomposing murder victims and dirt from victims’ graves can be purchased. Even the esteemed Christie’s auction house joined in. They sold Al Capone’s handgun for $110,000 in 2011.

Andy Kahan, a most persistent victims’ advocate from Texas, fought until he got eBay to ban these types of items. No prob, sellers just moved over to Facebook. Kahan isn’t having much luck with the behemoth social media site. Facebook ignored Kahan repeatedly until he proved he wasn’t going away. Finally, Facebook responded and said they were not shutting down the sites. Their defense was freedom of speech.

The Son of Sam law used to make it illegal for murderers to profit from their crimes. In New York alone, the law was invoked 11 times during the years 1977 to 1990. But, what you may not know is how much that law has changed. As of 2001, the Son of Sam law now only requires that crime victims’ families be notified if the murderer of their loved one receives $10,000 or more for selling something related to the crime. Incidentally, David Berkowitz became a born-again Christian in 1987 and said he is now the Son of Hope. Hmmm.

The website serialkillersink.com call themselves the premier true crime collectibles website. They were the first and they remain the biggest. Like a carney freak show, the site promises gasp-worthy ghouls and items that will rock ’n shock your world. You know what? They deliver what they promise. The nav links include a murderzine, interviews with the most depraved members of society, news of the latest creepy killers (are there any other kind?) and, of course, the store. On the ecommerce site you can search by killer name and type of criminal (i.e., cannibals, necrophiliacs, mass shooters, etc.). There’s even a murderer address list — kept current, of course.

Apparently it’s not too hard for Serial Killers Ink to get their hands on the terrible treasures. All they need to do is befriend the incarcerated murderers.

One saving grace is that the stuff from pedophiles doesn’t sell. I guess even macabre voyeurs have morals. Isn’t that comforting?

While Serial Killers Ink is the big kahuna, other websites have sprouted up to get in on the action. These include murderauction.com, darkvomit.com, and supernaught.com. Facebook pages and communities include Supernaught True Crime Collectibles and Memorabilia, Murderabilia, Killers and Madmen, and a closed group called Murderabilia & True Crime Collecting. Please write and tell us if you know of any more.

October is just around the corner. Happy Halloween shopping. Kidding. Don’t shoot.

The post I Just Want a Piece of You: Murderabilia on Facebook appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

WordPress is one of the best, if not the best content management systems when it comes to SEO. That being said, spending time on your WordPress SEO might seem like a waste of time, it most definitely is not. Optimizing your site to the best practices outlined in this article will help you improve your rankings, gain more subscribers and have a better website in general.

As I take quite a holistic view on (WordPress) SEO, meaning that I think good SEO should be engrained in all aspects of your online marketing and PR, this guide covers quite a lot of ground and is therefore a long read. But it’s worth it!

Read more…

The post The Definitive Guide To Higher Rankings For WordPress Sites—It’s in the SEO appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.