WritingThoughts

If you purchase copywriting services or articles, then you may be tempted to use a “bargain” writing service to meet your writing needs. In this economy, such a temptation is understandable. Everyone is looking for a way to trim costs.

However, if you use one of the so-called bargain writing services there are a few factors that you should be aware of. While there are some talented writers out there who sell their writing services below the going rate, there are also some cut-rate writers whose cheap writing could actually end up costing you more money in the long run.

Here are some things to look for when hiring a writer:

1. Does the writer understand the assignment? If you order one type of article and receive another, it’s going to cost you. Either, you have paid for something that you cannot use at all, or you will have to pay someone to fix the work.
2. Does the writer have solid writing skills? Sometimes bargain writers are a bargain because they do not proofread their work carefully. Copy filled with typos and grammatical errors is a poor reflection of your company.
3. Is the writer familiar with the language? Often, writers whose native language is different from the language that they write in fail to grasp subtle meanings or cannot understand commonly used phrases.
4. Is the writing original? Some bargain writers deliberately, or even accidentally, copy already published material. Publishing a plagiarized article could result in a lawsuit. At the very least, you will have to remove it from your website.
5. Will the writer continue to be available? Many beginning writers start by charging less than they can really afford to charge. However, once they find better paying work they no longer communicate with the low-paying clients.

If you are hiring a writer, it is best to exercise caution or you could end up paying for the same writing project twice. Here are some additional steps to take:

• Ask to see a writer’s samples. Are there typos? Is the language clear?
• Examine the writer’s rate schedule. Does he or she seem to be charging too little for the amount of work required?
• Explain that all work received most be original and that all sources must be cited.

Remember, if a writing bargain seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

Image Source: http://www.stockxpert.com/

Contents (c) Copyright 2009, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Post Updated 1-21-2010: The price has now been lowered to $19.00

Let me confess something: I rarely read e-books anymore.

That’s because the last few times I read an e-book I was disappointed. Those e-books were twenty or thirty pages rehashing information that was available elsewhere on the Internet (and quite frankly, that I already knew).

That’s why I approached reading The Unlimited Freelancer skeptically, even though it is written by a couple of colleagues that I respect greatly (Mason Hipp and James Chartrand). Click here to visit FreelanceFolder.com website! (affiliate link, I receive a small fee for each book purchased)

This time, however, I found more in the e-book than I expected. Much more!

What would you give if you were able to peak into someone else’s successful business and learn all of their trade secrets?

In essence, that’s exactly what The Unlimited Freelancer lets you do.

Mason and James walk you through the methodology, step-by-step, that helped each of them build a successful freelance businesses.

This isn’t some rehash of common knowledge – this is a full-fledged business book (200 pages) that I know I will refer to often. I can easily see a print version of this book (not currently available) becoming a staple for most home offices.

Even if the business model presented in The Unlimited Freelancer doesn’t fit your particular freelancing business – you’ll learn something when you read this book and you’ll find something that you can use.

You can purchase The Unlimited Freelancer through the FreelanceFolder website. Click here to visit FreelanceFolder.com website!

(Note: I received a review copy of this e-book. This post contains an affiliate link, which means I receive a small fee for each book purchased.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2009, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Image Source: The Unlimited Freelancer, used with permission (Thanks Mason!)

Changes are in the air!

Over the next few weeks I’ll be upgrading and remodelling this site.

Expect to see a new look, new content, and lots of other great new features.

What’ll it be?

I’m not about to let the cat out of the bag now, but put your hard hats on and check back often because this site is UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Contents (c) Copyright 2009, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to read a new book. I enjoyed it thoroughly . . . except for one thing . . .

I hadn’t gotten very far in the novel before I began to feel like I had read it before. You see, while I hadn’t read that particular story before the novelist was using a formula that she had used in her earlier novels. After reading only a few short chapters, I was able to predict the outcome.

So, what do you think of formula writing?

While it may make the writer’s life easier, it may also lead to boredom for the reader.

“But,” you might say, “I’m a copywriter. I can see where how this discussion impacts novelists, but none of this applies to me.”

That’s where you’d be wrong.

I’m a copywriter too, but I have to admit that I’ve been guilty of using formulas in writing my copy before. I think that it’s only human nature that if we find something that works, we want to stick with it.

However, repeating the same formula over and over doesn’t always make for the best copy. What worked the first time may not work over and over.

What do you think?

Contents (c) Copyright 2009, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Image Source: Laura Spencer

Every so often I get one of these offers – just write an article (or two, or three) for us free of charge and it will help you market your freelance writing business by giving you exposure as a writer on our website. You probably know the kind of offer that I mean. If you’re a freelance writer, then you’ve probably gotten some of these offers yourself.

Now, a decade or two ago, this type of offer might have had some real merit. Back then, it was pretty difficult and possibly costly for a writer to promote their skills. Only large companies could afford to have a web presence and traditional advertising was (and is still) expensive. The offer to write for exposure would have been. . . well, somewhat tempting.

I’d say that blogging and social media have changed all that. For a few hundred dollars almost anyone (and I mean anyone) can have a web presence and promote themselves. At no additional cost, that same someone can sign up for multiple social media venues and use those venues to promote their website – the only limitation being the time that it takes to actively participate in social media.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not against doing an occasional guest post as a favor or as a possible way to expand my own audience when I have time. I’ve done it in the past and I’m sure that I’ll do it again. Nor am I against accepting a guest post here from bloggers whose work I am familiar with and admire (particularly if they are NOT trying to hard sell a product that is only marginally related to this blog’s topic). In fact, I know of several bloggers who have successfully used guest posting to build their community.

However, when it comes to writing with only exposure for compensation, I am generally against it. For one thing, it takes valuable time away from working on paying gigs. Plus, in my experience, such offers rarely live up to the promises made. Most of those who make the offers are talking in terms of potential exposure (if they really did have a successful venue they would be able to compensate the writer for their work).

At any rate – this is my experience with write for exposure gigs. What’s yours?

Image Source: www.stockxpert.com

Today’s “Of Note” selection is a little different. It’s a multi-author blog featuring many of my favorite writers – The Blood-Red Pencil.

The list of authors (or should I say editors?) for this blog reads like a who’s who of the writing blogosphere:

• Billie Johnson
• Charlotte Phillips
• Chris Verstraete
• Dani Greer
• Elsa Neal
• Emma Larkins
• Helen Ginger
• L.J. Sellers
• Lillie Ammann
• Marvin Wilson
• Maryann Miller
• Morgan Mandel
• Shelley Thrasher
• Susie Hawes
• Sylvia Dickey Smith
• Velda Brotherton

The huge group of successful and experienced contributors only serves to enhance this writing blog’s value.

If you’re a writer and you’re serious about it, then you should be editing your work. You need to be reading The Blood-Red Pencil.

Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. But hey, why not drop me a note (laura at symbol writingthoughts dot com) and tell me why you think your writing blog is notable? If I agree, then I just might feature it here.

Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

Image Source: Laura Spencer

I paused as I finished writing a recent blog post for a client to take a look at my work.

“Yes,” I thought to myself, “Miss R. would definitely have marked this one up.”

I counted two. . . no, three sentence structures that my high school English teacher, Miss R. would have marked in red.

“Yep, there’s a cliche. Here’s an incomplete sentence. And, there’s a sentence that I’ve started with a conjunction.”

In my high school days, all of those “mistakes” would have been corrected by my English teachers.

The difference is that back then I was learning proper grammar and sentence construction and now I am making these constructions on purpose to achieve a conversational tone. Plus, I’m doing it with my client’s full knowledge and approval.

Often, when I blog I try to achieve the same tone that I would use during a personal conversation. Sometimes, I actually imagine myself discussing the post verbally with a reader.

While I wouldn’t use a conversational tone for every writing project, I think that conversational tone makes for good blogging.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m very grateful to Miss R. and my other English teachers. I still love red ink. Without it, I’d never have become the writer that I am today.

Have you broken any writing rules lately?

Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

Is your writing timeless?

By timeless I mean, will your content be meaningful to readers ten or twenty years from now?

An example of writing that is already losing its meaningfulness would be an article about how to program a VCR. Or going back even further, a magazine article about how to operate an eight-track tape player.

Since most people now use DVD players Since most people now listen to music through streaming services and even fewer people use DVD players or eight-track tape players, these topics now have a limited audience (although there was a time when they may have been popular). (Updated post in February 2014) In five or ten years, articles on these topics will have an even smaller audience.

If you’re like me, most of what you write will be dated at some point in time.

That’s okay, as long as both you and your client understand the difference between creating content that will become obsolete and content that is timeless.

Just in case you don’t, here are some ways to avoid dating your writing:

1. Avoid product references. Products come and go. Features change. Example: Rather than write an article about a specific money management software, write an article with general tips about managing your money.
2. Avoid references to current personalities. Quick – who lost the presidential election of 1988? Do you remember? Neither do most other people. Unless a celebrity has been a household name for at least five years, using their name will date your piece.
3. Avoid using too many slang words. Every generation has its own unique way of communicating. Sometimes slang words catch on and become mainstream. More often, they slip from usage and become meaningless.

Here are some tips to keep your writing timeless:

• Focus on universal aspects of your content. Some human problems never change. Write about those. Ignore problems that are likely to be specific to a particular time period.
• Picture your audience. Would your child understand this article? How about your grandmother? The more people that you can envision reading and getting something from your writing, the more likely it is to be timeless.

Other great posts to help you write timeless articles and posts:

• Brian Clark at CopyBlogger, Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques.
• Daniel Scocco at Daily Blog Tips, 5 tips for writing timeless content.

Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

Updated September 16, 2014. The Writer Dad blog has been replaced by the Sterling and Stone website. It’s still owned in part by Sean Platt.

Okay, I came upon this week’s “Of Note” choice through a comment he left on one of my posts. (You see, it really does pay to leave those comments. . . sometimes.)

It doesn’t matter how I found this blog though, I’ve enjoyed following the WriterDad blog for the past few days.

The WriterDad blog is more of a personal journal, than a typical writing blog. Normally, I don’t follow this type of blog (let alone profile it). The author of this blog does such a good job, I decided to make an exception.

This blog is written by a writer known only as (you guessed it) “WriterDad.” I don’t know who “WriterDad” is, but he does have a way with words. I like the way that he starts each post with a famous quote too.

Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

Image Source: Laura Spencer

I know that I do.

Of course, I started this blog with all the right intentions, hoping to spotlight some of my best work here. In the real world, however, it just hasn’t turned out that way.

Don’t get me wrong.

There’s some good stuff here, on WritingThoughts. Plus, I hope to post some good stuff here in the future. Stick with me, please!

By and large, however, my very best work usually goes to my customers who are all over the web. I do some of my best work for offline clients as well.

That’s okay, though.

When I weigh the benefits of making a decent living as a copywriter against the benefits of being as creative as I want (but going for months without pay) getting paid wins every time.

Sure, I may daydream for a few minutes about this pet project, or that one – but in the end, work for my clients comes first. That’s as it should be, I think.

What about you?

Do you do your best work for others? How do you feel about that?

Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

Image Source: www.sxc.hu