Monday, March 30, 2009

Article Writing Round-Up: 10 Popular Articles About Writing

Today's post is a list article, a round-up of 10 writing articles I've recently published.

These writing articles have been popular with readers and I've received many favorable comments. Some of these articles appear in the article feeds on this blog but I'm including this listing for others who aren't as familiar with the blog.

If you are looking for information about writing, these writing articles may prove helpful.

Writing Articles


Utilizing the information in these writing articles will help you to create effective online articles that will attract readers and earn for you down the road.

Writing How-To's

Readers will notice a new feature on the upper left-hand side of this blog. This box features writing how-to's. Simply click on the title in the box to be taken to an article of your choice.

This box will grow as I add how-to articles over at Articlesbase.

If you want to increase your article traffic, please see tips in my recent article: What Cobwebs and Articles Have in Common. I detail why submitting articles for distribution via Articlesbase is a good idea.

You can leverage your online articles, increasing views and earnings for years to come.

Further Reading

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Google's New Privacy Policy and the Privacy Policy Generator

Google has sent out a letter announcing the launch of interest-based advertising, which will mean changes to site privacy policies.

Site policies have to now reflect the use of interest-based advertising.

Necessary changes will need to be implemented by April 8, 2009.

If all this leaves you scratching your head, help is available.

You can easily generate your own privacy policy using the privacy policy generator for Google AdSense publishers.

If you want to read through information about all of this:
AdSense Help Center

Monday, March 16, 2009

Writing Children's Stories: A Look at Picture Books

You've written a children's story now what to do?

Children's stories fall into different categories. Today we will look at picture books.

Picture Books
Picture books are geared for young children. A simple story is told through words and accompanying pictures. While usually written for very young children, their range may extend as far as the 10-year old child.

Picture Book Lengths
A picture book isn't particularly long, rather targeted to its audience. It helps to look through a sampling of picture books to get a feel for length. 1000 words or less is a good rule of thumb.

What Appeals to Young Children?
A picture book has to appeal to its audience. What concerns, fascinates, or entertains young ones?

Words Used in Picture Books
Successful picture book authors use words that conjur pictures in active minds. Strong action verbs capture kids' attention.

Vivid Description in Picture Books
Using adjectives that "show and don't tell" makes for a stronger manuscript that appeals to youngsters.

Paragraphs That Can Be Illustrated
Picture book paragraphs or verses should contain active scenes that can be illustrated. When writing your story, think about how it could be illustrated. What would your story look like if told through illustrations?

Further Reading



Picture Book Resources:

Writing Picture Books
Writing for Children: Writing Picture Books
How to Write Great Picture Books
So You Want To Write a Picture Book




Monday, March 09, 2009

Another Triond Article Feed

Hello everyone. You'll notice, over on the right, underneath the Follow button an item entitled "Hot Off the Grill." This is my latest Triond article feed, which I've included to help Triond writers see how the Triond article feed looks once it's up and running on a Blogger blog.

I wrote a recent article at Triond on how to install the Triond article feed at your Blogger blog, with the intention of helping Triond authors to increase readership of their articles.

Also, a quick note, this month is winding down the author contest, so if you write for Triond and haven't added your stats, there's no time like the present. Adding the URL of your highest viewed Triond article will help to drive traffic and should result in more earnings for you down the road.

If you are trying to set income goals from your Triond writing, I've written another article that provides insights on how to do that.

For authors who can produce quality articles in a short period of time, Triond offers another avenue of earnings. While these earnings won't replace income from a regular job, they certainly add up over time and are worth the investment in terms of time and effort.

A number of Triond authors have grasped this concept and are earning $100.00+ each month.

My Triond earnings have tripled in one year so in a recent article I asked, is writing for Triond a waste of time?

That's it for today, folks. Thank goodness, spring is finally coming!

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Why Writing for Triond Can Add Another Income Stream

I've often talked about Triond at this writing blog. I joined Triond in March of 07 and was encouraged by the earnings that started trickling in.

My first month I made $1.23, my second month, this had jumped to $9.64.

Now, here in 2009, I'm still plugging away writing daily articles for Triond. Why am I doing this? I have a goal of reaching $100.00 per month from my Triond articles. I'm not there yet but with steady effort, this will become a reality.

While admittedly $100.00 per month isn't that much, still, $1200.00 per year is not a bad return for articles you create once. In a recent article, How You Can Make $100.00 Each Month Writing for Triond, I looked at average earnings per article and used this information to calculate the number of articles it would take to earn $100.00 per month. I worked out a formula for a daily or weekly article goal to keep Triond writers on track.

Today, I wrote an article discussing my experiences during my first year writing for Triond. I detail my first months earnings and how, as these came in month after month, I realized that Triond was the real deal.

I related how I drove traffic to my articles through bookmarking and linking--and discussed how my efforts were rewarded with increased views and article earnings.

I'm so inspired by some of the writers at Triond. They have the ability to create good articles quickly and on a regular basis--and they are earning decent money each month because of their efforts. They also see the potential of writing regularly and growing a source of reliable income.

Did you know that if you create just 2 articles each day, in a year you could be pulling in approximately$100.00 each month? And remember this continues indefinitely. If you can produce more than that each day your earnings will really take off.

In the end, as with most things, it takes hard work and quality articles. If you can produce these, you will be well on your way to adding another stream of income to whatever you are currently making.

This is much easier to do if you can type as fast as you think. Since my typing has improved, I can produce much more material in a much shorter time. I wrote another article designed to help adult typers learn to type without looking Learn How to Type Without Looking: A Quick and Easy Method. By practicing this I transitioned to typing without looking and each month, I find I'm typing at a faster rate. My fingers fly now and I wish I'd buckled down and done this years earlier.

If you are trying to earn income from your writing, take heart, there are real opportunities out there. While it won't happen overnight, it can become a reality.

Further Reading:

Monday, March 02, 2009

Monday Musings: Where to Find Pictures to Use in Articles and Blogs

It's always a good idea to have a store of photos on hand but what do you do if you've created an article or blog post and you want to use a picture that you don't have readily available? Where can you get photos without infringing copyright? Are free photos available for use?

Thankfully, certain sites allow for use of photographic images. It's simply a matter of knowing where to look for your photos.

Bob Sommers has given an excellent listing of the top 10 photo sites where you can get
photos for your blog so you can make your writing appealing to your audience.

As Bob mentions, pictures "are one of the most powerful elements" in a blog post or article. It makes sense to use them to your advantage.

Internet Marketing for Professionals gives you the right tools--pictures you can use to illustrate your pages.

Become familiar with a couple of these sites and you are on your way to adding eye-appeal to your written work.