Freelance Writing Fortune - Start Making YOURS Today

If you're struggling to make a go of it as a freelance writer, you might wonder if it's even POSSIBLE to make a comfortable, but modest, living from writing - much less a fortune. But that's because you're probably still following the OLD freelance writing model.

The one where you try to break in with newspapers and magazines while you struggle to complete a novel, or even a nonfiction book, in the hopes of it one day becoming a best-seller, making you rich and famous in the process.

Sound familiar?

True, there are a few writers today who have made a fortune following this old model. But most writers these days are following a much different model to acquire their freelance writing fortune.

The new freelance writing model involves some or all of the following:

Online content writing - On the Internet, everyone is looking for quality content, and plenty of it. If you can provide this content, you can start making money right away.

Corporate writing - Writing for businesses is big business. From the small mom-and-pop operations in your own neighborhood, to the Fortune 500 companies across the globe, they all need the services of a writer from time to time.

Article marketing - This involves writing short information articles on a regular basis and submitting these articles to online article directories. Articles for these directories serve the writer in a variety of ways and are a major part of today's new freelance writing model.

Information products - Today's freelance writer doesn't wait for contracts and assignments. Instead, he tends to create his own information products, which include articles, special reports, e-books, CDs and downloadable audio files, and even teleseminars.

JV partnerships - The new freelance writing model calls for both short-term and long-term joint venture partnerships with other writers and entrepreneurs.

If you're ready to start making your freelance writing fortune, break away from the old model and learn more about the components of the new model right away!

Find out more about writing for Fortune 500 companies at http://www.freelancewritingfortune.com and learn how to get started writing online content at http://www.sixfigurefreelancewriter.com

Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime freelance writer and the Working Writer's Coach. She coaches writers to the freelance writing career of their dreams through her 12-week Working Writer's Coaching Program.

Article Writing - Hot Skills For the Web

Want to make money writing for the Web? Learn how to write articles - writing articles is a hot skill which is in high demand. Web articles are very different from print articles, and are easier to write.

To get started, think about your own searching and reading habits on the Web. What makes a Web page appealing? Consider: lots of white space, sub-headings, bullet points, and images.

Aim to make your articles appealing, right from the start, by writing in short paragraphs, using clear language, and making points quickly, rather than waffling.

Here are three tips which will help your article writing.

1. What's an Article's Purpose?

Before planning an article, or a series of articles, you must know their purpose.

If you've been hired to write articles, you'll often just be given a set of keywords. If so, your purpose is to write, using the keywords effectively.

If you're writing articles for your own Web properties, your purpose might be: to get traffic from the search engines, to make a sale of your own product or an affiliate product, or to educate or entertain your site's visitors.

I often write articles in sets of five, or ten or more, over a couple of days, so I create a folder for the articles, with a file of notes, containing a list of keywords, the articles' purpose, and article titles. Making notes ensures that I can pick up writing where I left off, even if several days go by.

2. Beyond Keywords: Article Titles and Descriptions

While keywords are important to ensure that your articles are found on the Web, your article titles and their descriptions are equally important. When people are searching, the results pages -- the Web pages which are returned after a Web query -- contain lists of Web page titles, and descriptions.

When writing titles and descriptions, include the primary keyword you're targeting.

3. What's the Takeaway?

Every article you write should contain a takeaway: a clear benefit for your reader. When you think in terms of articles' purpose, and their takeaways, you'll write articles which are read, and which get a response.

Enjoy writing articles. It's a hot skill when you want to make money on the Web.

Discover how to make money online today with Angela Booth's Sell Your Writing Online NOW at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html You'll learn how to write and sell articles, blogs, ebooks and Web sites for profit, and you'll get complete training in how the Web works, so you can take advantage of the unlimited opportunities.

For free weekly writing information sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.

Freelance Writing Careers

As a writer, you probably read the stories about writers who are working from home and making six-figure salaries with envy, and wonder, "Why can't that be me? I must not be good enough to make that kind of money." I'm here to tell you that it's possible for anyone to build a very successful freelance writing career and earn a six-figure salary, while never leaving home.

The key is diversification and flexibility. You have to be able to diversify your talents and be flexible enough to apply them to a variety of different sub-fields within the broader writing category. While your passion may be fiction writing, you still need to put food on the table while you write your novel. It's still important to pursue what you're most passionate about, but being flexible enough to apply your talents in more profitable areas will allow you the freedom to pursue your ultimate dream. Are you flexible enough and motivated enough to use your talents in other areas that have the potential to make you lots of money?

There are endless possibilities of profitable areas you could pursue in your writing career. Networking and marketing yourself properly could land you freelance writing opportunities in blogging, writing e-books, ghostwriting, copywriting, resume writing, and more. Corporations are always in need of talented writers to write copy for their websites, for external communications, such as press releases, and even internal communications. While many companies utilize in-house staff for these tasks, most often it's a secondary job for a staff member who has no experience in writing other than what they've done for that company. It's your job to educate them on how outsourcing those tasks to a professional writer could net them greater results from their communication efforts.

There are two challenges most often faced by writers, and I have solutions for both. The first is that most writers are, by nature, not skilled in the areas of accounting and business management. I chose to outsource my back-office functions to a company called MBO Partners, which handles contracts, invoicing and collections. They also act as an employer of record, which means I get a single W-2 at the end of the year, simplifying my tax-management process. I still have control over my business, still market my own services and choose which clients I work for, but still am able to take advantage of all the tax deductions that come with owning a business.

The second challenge most often faced by freelance writers is the ability to market our own services. Typically writers have more introverted personalities, and most of us aren't comfortable tooting our own horn. Thanks to the internet, it's not necessary to have face-to-face interaction with potential clients in order to get new business. There are many indirect ways to attract customers that are highly effective, although it is still beneficial to fine-tune our sales skills and have the courage to make cold calls now and then. It's also still necessary to take initiative and submit proposals for potential work. Go to your potential customers with ideas and solutions; don't simply send an email saying, "Hi, I'm a freelance writer, do you have any writing needs?" Make sure you do your research on your potential clients and think of how what you offer can improve their business. That's the information you need to convey when approaching a customer.

I have found that it's essential for any freelancer or independent consultant to have a web presence. Websites are much more affordable than they used to be, and if you have any tech savvy you might even be able to create your own. As a writer, you should also have a blog. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase your writing abilities, and gives you an easy place to point potential clients where they can get a feel for your style. It's also important to network using the internet. There are a ton of social networking sites that allow you to build a profile explaining your business and services. Get involved; participate in discussions and make contacts. Offering free advice is the best way to position yourself as an expert in a given field, and the best way to get clients coming to you without minimal effort on your part.

While all this may take some time, it's easy to see that anyone willing to diversify their skills and dedicate the time and effort to an effective marketing strategy can build a solid base of clients that could net them a significant income while working from home.

Angela Stringfellow is a marketing communications consultant and an MBO Partners associate. Visit their website, http://www.mbopartners.com

Omnibus of Science Fiction

Forty-some years ago my uncle gave me a science fiction anthology, a thick red hardback that I read from cover to cover. It inspired a life long love of the genre. The stories in that book made me think outside the box. They filled me with awe for the imagination it took to write them and sometimes they scared the hell out of me. That book remained in my collection for many years. At some point it disappeared, but not from my memory. Recently I had a desire to read it again and thanks to Alibris.com I was able to purchase a used copy.

The title is OMNIBUS OF SCIENCE FICTION, edited by Groff Conklin, a well-known and prolific editor of the genre. It was published in 1952, the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It's a hefty tome, 562 pages, with 43 stories divided into sections relating to a common theme. Some stories are fun, some are thought-provoking and some are adventurous. I love them all.

Part I. Wonders of Earth and of Man

Katherine MacLean's "And be Merry" originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in February, 1950. When her husband takes off on an archeology trip, a biologist does rejuvenation experiments on herself. Believing she'll be immortal if she can avoid accidental death, she becomes afraid to live. Her husband realizes he must convince her she's dying in order to get her to live again, and he tells her she has a slow growing tumor that is inoperable.

Other stories in this section are:

"John Thomas's Cube" by John Leimert

"Hyperpilosity" by L. Sprague de Camp

"The Thing in the Woods" by Fletcher Pratt & B.F. Ruby

"The Bees from Borneo" by Will H. Gray

"The Rag Thing" by David Grinnell

"The Conqueror" by Mark Clifton

Part II. Inventions, Dangerous and Otherwise

The intriguing short story, "A Subway Named Mobius," by A.J. Deutsch was published in Astounding Science Fiction in December, 1950. The Boston Subway Authority builds an addition to the subway system and a train disappears with three hundred passengers. The closed system became so interconnected and complex that it turned into a Mobius strip, that continuous loop with one side made famous by M.C. Escher.

Other stories in this section are:

"Never Underestimate ..." by Theodore Sturgeon

"The Doorbell" by David H. Keller

"Backfire" by Ross Rocklynne

"The Box" by James Blish

"Zeritsky's Law" by Ann Griffith

"The Fourth Dynasty" by R.R. Winterbotham

Part III. From Outer Space

In "The Colour Out of Space" By H.P. Lovecraft a surveyor discovers an abandoned farm with an old well at the center. The land is devoid of life and he inquires about the name - the blasted heath. An old hermit tells him the story. In the 1880's the farm was productive until a meteorite of indescribable color crashed beside the well. After hearing the terrifying circumstances that befell the farmer and his family the surveyor ends by saying he won't be coming back and wouldn't recommend drinking the water.

Other stories in this section are:

"The Head Hunters" by Ralph Williams

"The Star Dummy" by Anthony Boucher

"Catch That Martian" by Damon Knight

"Shipshape Home" by Richard Matheson

"Homo Sol" by Isaac Asimov

Part IV. Far Traveling

"Kaleidoscope" by Ray Bradbury is a heart-breaking tale of astronauts drifting through space after their ship is destroyed. They have contact with each other but no hope of being rescued. One man laments the fact he has accomplished nothing worthwhile but as his life ends he becomes a shooting star visible to a child on earth.

Other stories in this section are:

"Alexander the Bait" by William Tenn

"Nothing Happens on the Moon" by Paul Ernst

"Trigger Tide" by Wyman Guin

"Plague" by Murray Leinster

"Winner Lose All" by Jack Vance

"Test Piece" by Eric Frank Russell

"Environment" by Chester S. Geier

Part V. Adventures in Dimension

"Spectator Sport" by John D. MacDonald was first published in Thrilling Wonder Stories in February 1950. A man travels into the future and discovers nothing much has changed. Shortly after he left someone invented virtual reality and the entire population is permanently wired into it.

Other stories in this section are:

"High Threshold" by Alan E. Nourse

"Recruiting Station" by A.E. van Vogt

"A Stone and a Spear" by Raymond F. Jones

"What You Need" by Lewis Padgett

"The Choice" by W. Hilton-Young

Part VI. Worlds of Tomorrow

"History Lesson" by Arthur C. Clarke was first published in 1949. In the future a final ice age looms. A tribe of nomadic humans travels toward the equator but gets caught between two advancing glaciers. They hide a few 21st century relics in a cairn. Five thousand years later Venusian reptiles travel to Earth and recover the relics. They try to learn about life on the Third Planet - by analyzing a cartoon film reel

Other stories in this section are:

"The War Against the Moon" by Andre Maurois

"Pleasant Dreams" by Ralph Robin

"Manners of the Age" by H.B. Fyfe

"The Weapon" by Fredric Brown

"The Scarlet Plague" by Jack London

"Heritage" by Robert Abernathy

"Instinct" by Lester del Rey

"Counter Charm" by Peter Phillips

Omnibus Of Science Fiction

Groff Conklin

Publisher: Crown Publishers 1952

Pages: 562

ASIN: B000NZ56FQ

Gail Pruszkowski reviews for "Romantic Times BOOKreviews" magazine and her work has been published in the "Cup of Comfort" Anthologies

http://mysite.verizon.net/bookworm.gp/
http://write-juncture.blogspot.com/

Finding Freelance Writing Jobs

Finding freelance writing jobs can be quite a challenging task. With more people seeking "work at home opportunities," as well more and more individuals looking to earn extra income, the undertaking of finding freelance work can be next to impossible if you simply use the traditional methods of job hunting.

Traditional methods are described as searching your local newspaper and area classifieds, general online searches of free classified advertisements and bidding for jobs on freelance job sites.

The problem with traditional methods are:

1. Most local newspaper and classified listings are not work from home jobs.
2. A search of the free classified listings are filled with paid membership sites where you have to join and pay a fee to gain access to the available jobs, jobs which pay very low rates, and many jobs that are no pay at all.
3. Many of the freelance bidding sites charge a monthly fee to sign up and although the job listings are plentiful, the winning bidders are normally the people who are willing to work for peanuts or those who have a high rating.

For the inexperienced writer or even those wishing to switch from working in-house to at-home, there are techniques that you can use to find freelance jobs online. This is nothing more than changing the way you perform your searches.

A New Way of Searching

When most people perform searches, they type general keywords into the browser. For example, "jobs," or "freelance work." While these searches will bring up results for job opportunities, most of the searches will be irrelevant to what you are looking for. Even narrowing down your search to "writing jobs," "content writer," "freelance writer," these searches will yield more relevant searches, but it will still be a significant amount of non-relevant information that you don't really don't need.

The keyword or keyword phrases that you use can make all the difference in the world for your searches. Here are a few keyword phrases that you can use when you perform your next job search online:

Looking for writer/writers
Paid writing jobs
Write for us, me, our company
Writer wanted, needed
Freelance writer/writers wanted, needed
Freelance writing jobs, gigs
Freelance writing opportunity
Freelance writing opportunities
Blogger/bloggers needed, wanted
Blog for us
Looking for writers, a writer
Journalist needed, wanted

These searches will still produce a large number of results, so you can narrow down your search even further within your niche, i.e. technical writers wanted, internet marketing bloggers needed, etc.

By changing just a few words, you will find that you open the door to an entire set of new freelance job opportunities. This can work with other jobs as well; you simply change the keywords.

If you have hit a roadblock with your online freelance job searching efforts, take a moment to visit http://www.fingers4hire.wordpress.com where you can review the job postings without being annoyed with sign-ups and registrations, etc

Kimberly Best, a transcriptionist with over 20 years of experience in medical, legal, and general transcription. Currently doing freelance transcription specializing in seminars, videos, Mastermind groups, and interviews. Having worked with several internet marketers, business coaches, and consultants, Kimberly can adapt her writing style to express your thoughts through her writing

Essential Cover Letter Writing Tips

One of the most common mistakes which many people make when writing cover letters is to neglect the entire purpose of a cover letter. While some may go overboard with the amount and details of information they include in the letter, others, in an attempt to be informal, take an entirely-too-casual approach. It cannot be too strongly stressed that writing a cover letter is not the same as writing to a friend or a family member. Please resist the urge to be chatty, humorous, or overly personal.

The purpose of a cover letter is to provide your prospective employer with a brief view of the person who is seeking the job and the benefits and value you would bring to the company as an employee. It is meant to spark his interest in reviewing your resume and requesting an interview. The cover letter is your way of introducing yourself, making a good first impression, and outlining how you are the perfect "solution" to the employer's needs.

A good cover letter will help the prospective employer decide that he wants to know more about you, and what you can offer to his company. If you keep this in mind, you will be well on your way to writing a cover letter that does its job.

As your cover letter is the employer's first introduction to you, preparing it correctly is essential. It is a good idea to write an initial draft of the letter then "sleep on it" and review it the next day. In addition to taking care that the letter is written in the proper form for a business letter, you want to pay special attention to your spelling and grammar. One misspelled word can make the difference between capturing the employer's interest and landing your letter and resume in the "toss" pile rather than the "to interview" pile.

The information you provide in your cover letter should be clear, brief, direct, and to the point. As it is meant to be an overview of what you can bring to the company, you should focus on the most relevant facts while leaving the details for your resume. For example, if you have earned a college degree or have had prior experience that is relevant to the job, you can state these qualifications in your cover letter, but reserve dates and other specifics for your resume.

Your cover letter should inform the employer that you are interested in the job, and that you will be an asset to his company. It should let him know that you have the qualifications or experience that he is looking for in a new employee. It is your chance to make a positive impression, and to convince him that he wants to know more about you.

As one of the leading authorities on resume writing, cover letter writing, and job searching, Michelle Dumas is the founder of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Since 1996, Michelle and her team have empowered thousands of professionals worldwide with results-generating resumes, cover letters, and job search strategies. Visit http://www.distinctiveweb.com to get your free "Revive Your Resume" audio mini-seminar.

Making Money Writing a Good Proposal

If you are laid off or looking for a job and need some way of raking in money until you find a good job, then proposal writing is an excellent idea to look into. There are many small companies and start up business entrepreneurs who require proposals for many reasons.

The job needs only a computer and a printer, clear writing skills and business knowledge. If this is up your alley, you will find proposal writing a rewarding business both as a short term, part time business or to establish as a full time business at home.

Small and mid sized Businessmen need proposals for new projects, loan sanctions and for getting business from prospective costumers. Not for profit organizations need proposals written for government grants. You will need to draft a few sample proposals or proposals for grants using your imagination. You can then reply to the many jobs available on the internet calling for the services of a proposal writer.

Small entrepreneurs and not for profit organizations will be grateful for your skills. You should be flexible and make changes required by each employer. You need to set a time frame and try to keep your deadlines. Your fees for proposals should be competitive and as you grow in the business you can charge more.

There are many people out there willing to pay for your proposals to be written. Anyone with business savvy and clear writing skills and looking for a job opportunity should try proposal writing for part time success with full time benefits.

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