|
Home / Writing
How To Create a Freelance Writer Web Site that Gets Read
By:Susan Daffron
To get writing work, you have to let people know you exist. Setting up a Web site is the best way to start, no matter where you are. If nothing else, it makes your work visible and accessible to a large audience.
Today, every working writer absolutely must have a Web site. The reality is editors expect you to have an online presence. Editors are your customers, so you need to meet their needs to get published. With a web site, you can prove your writing is good by putting your portfolio online. Plus, because the site is accessible 24/7 in all time zones, it can be promoting your work even when you're asleep.
People who work in publishing are extremely busy. Deadlines are a constant pressure. They don't want to wait for a 500K file of your latest article to download. Or worse, a poorly scanned version of a press release you wrote. It's a lot easier for them if you give them a list of links and let them read online at their convenience.
A Web site may seem like a daunting task. But a site doesn't have to be complicated. Think about what your customer wants to know (i.e., those editors you want to impress). Then make pages to answer their questions.
All writer Web sites should contain:
1. Concise information about your writing specialty. What do you do? It's not a good idea to try and be everything to everybody. It's a recipe for confusion, so pick a specialty and focus on it.
2. A list of writing credits. Now that a lot of magazines are online, you can often link directly to your articles. At a minimum, you can usually link to the main publisher or client home page.
3. Samples of your writing. Some editors want to see articles that haven't been edited by a pro. Why? A really good editor can make bad writing almost unrecognizably good. Editors know that someone else could be cleaning up your writing. So it never hurts to show a few clips in an unaltered state. This may sound like extra work. But it's really an opportunity for you to write some original material that you can reuse later.
4. Your complete contact information, pricing or payment policies, and if you are collecting email addresses, your privacy policy.
Along these lines, many writers start an ezine or newsletter. Yes, it's a commitment. But it's also the easiest way to start developing content and promoting it directly to your niche writing markets. An ezine is certainly one of the lowest cost ways to promote your writing talents.
However, starting an ezine is a bit of work, so first get your Web site up and functioning. Then once that is working for you, decide on a focus and a format for your ezine. Write a few articles ahead of time. Then get an autoresponder or list mailing service set up, and begin promoting. Of course that's the bare minimum, but there are many resources online on starting up ezines. As a writer, you're probably also a researcher, so this is a great opportunity to learn.
One classic writer question is, "how can I get published if I don't have any clips?" It's the chicken and egg problem recast for writers: you can't get work without any clips, but you can't get clips if no one will give you work.
Creating your own Web site content solves the problem. Write your own articles and publish them yourself online in your ezine. If you're concerned that these "self-published" clips won't be as impressive as published clips, don't be. Remember what editors want: articles that are original, easy to read, accurate, and on time. Your Web site proves that you can at least deliver on the "original, easy to read, and accurate" parts!
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: writer, freelance, writing, web, site, clips, ezine, publish, publishing
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and has written more than 300 newspaper and national magazine articles. She regularly publishes ezines on computers (http://www.LogicalTips.com), pet care (http://www.Pet-Tails.com), and other topics.
|
|
| Top Writing Articles |
|
|
- 2). It’s Good To Be A New Writer: Breaking The Myth That Experience Is Everything By : Shelley Wake
There’s a rumor out there in the publishing world that an editor won’t even look at the work of a new writer. It might be true for certain types of writing, but after interviewing hundreds of editors, I’ve found that most are more open to new writers than you might think.
And there are a few major benefits to being a new writer too. So before you spend too much time trying to work out how you can appear to be a published professional writer when you’re not, consider taking advantage of your current position as a newcomer.
|
- 3). Penguin Publisher Reveals What It Really Takes To Get Published. By : Sharif Khan
Mr. David Davidar began his career in journalism and is founder of Penguin Books India. Currently, he is Publisher of Penguin Canada and also is author of the novel, The House of Blue Mangoes.
How did you first get started in the publishing business?
Twenty years ago I was working in Bombay and there was a colleague I knew who had done a publishing course at Harvard.
|
- 4). A Few Magazine Publishing Terms By : Scott Lindsay
The business of writing for magazines is often speculative in nature. It can often seem fruitless to conduct research on available paying magazines, attempt to understand their style and unique requirements, write the article, send the article, and then wait for what can seem a never ending response.
It can be even more daunting when you have invested significant time and energy and have received multiple rejection slips.
|
- 5). The Psychology Of Effortless Writing By : Saleem Rana
Through writing I can convey my entire experience so that someone else can benefit from it and learn from that experience without having had to be there. So, by writing I can give others much more than I can in person. In addition, writing bends time and I can convey my experience to someone centuries away.
|
- 6). Tricky Decisions By : Kael
Some people know exactly what to look for at the bookstore – others spend hours without finding what they have in mind…
Did you ever mistake the body lotion tube for the toothpaste a sleepy morning? No? Good, it’s not the best way to start the day.
This might be an awkward approach if you're aiming at the problem of choosing literature, but frankly, haven’t you too picked the ‘wrong’ book by a random grab at the bookshop or at the library? The book you put away with a sigh after three chapters.
|
|
|
- 8). Ebook Design (HTML) By : Shelley Lowery
When designing an HTML compiled ebook, you must create an HTML document (web page) for each page within your ebook. These pages should include
|
|
|
- 10). A Blank Paper By : William Ramos
A BLANK PAPER…is what I came up with after racking my brain to sweet talk you, sweep you off your feet; but as I crown myse
|
| New Writing Articles |
|
|
- 2). Seven Ways To Sabotage Your Self Publishing Success By : Sanyika Calloway-Boyce
Are you sabotaging your success as an author? Would you like to know how not to waste time and money? Seven Ways To Sabotage Your Self Publishing Success reveals the secrets that you need to know and avoid so you can write, publish and promote your book to self publishing success!
|
|
|
- 4). How to Proofread Like a Professional By : Jaya Schillinger
Copyright 2006 Jaya Schillinger
Even as I wrote the title for this article, I got confused. Is "proofread" one word or two? I thought it was two, and my spell checker didn't have a problem with that, but when I double-checked myself with a popular on- line dictionary, I was able to catch my mistake. Proofread is in fact one word, "proof·read v. tr.
|
- 5). Benefit We Gain from Problem Solving By : Carol Miller
The real fact on this Earth is that no human being has ever lived without problems a single day. This is impossible. People deal wit problems every day and problems do not fade away by themselves, they stay until the person resolves them. When a person gets strong enough to overcome stress and get to the core of things, then the amount of problems lessens.
|
- 6). Self Publishing, A Miracle Of The 21st Century. By : Josephine Stungger
Are you a writer with lots of talent but no one will give you the time of day let alone a contract? Would you pay a professional publisher to make your book but can't afford it? Do you need a better tool than your plain old word processor to make your work look more professional and desirable? Do you possess special knowledge that if packaged in a book.
|
- 7). Storylines Crop Up at the Oddest Moments By : chicho
There I was on a restful weekend by the sea; enjoying coffee and croissant in a quaint little café at the end of the North Shore pier.
Looking outside through a musty rain smattered window my gaze was attracted to the contours of the magnificent edifice that is Blackpool Tower; drinking in the lines of the intricate steel framework that leads to the observation deck, to the twin platforms one above the other, and all the way up to the crow’s nest.
|
- 8). Choose Great Research Topics By : Denton Krypps
Doing research and writing research papers does not actually have to be as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. I have learned to enjoy the process of research from start to finish. Call me crazy if you will, but I guarentee that the future of your educational career can be much more enjoyable if you learn now to enjoy research. For me, enjoying it started with choosing the right research topics.
|
- 9). The Perils And Pitfalls Of Publishing: Who Can An Author Trust? By : Dee Power And Brian Hill
One out of every eight people call themselves a writer, which means there are roughly 24 million people in the United States who carry that banner. Unfortunately there are charlatans and scam artists just waiting to ambush the unsuspecting author. How can a novice writer protect themselves?
Anyone can call themselves a publisher. Always remember money flows towards the author from the publisher, not the other way round.
|
- 10). Jokes and Riddles - How To Write Them By : Steve Gillman
Just listening to or reading jokes and riddles may "wake up" your brain, but it is creating them that really exercises your brainpower. The process requires you to use both logical and lateral thinking skills. How do you do it, then?
Jokes and riddle don't come to mind randomly. In fact, after watching how many comedians create their routines, I am convinced that they use what I call "humor algorithms," even if they do so unconsciously.
|
|
|
