Showing posts with label associated content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label associated content. Show all posts

4 May 2010

Discovering Suite101 - First Impressions

I already posted about Associated Content politely telling Non-US writers they don't want us there. I basically spent the day before yesterday trying to figure out where I'm standing and where I want to go.

Since I'm currently freelancing only part-time, I prefer to write more for sites that can offer me some passive income, so I can build up on my portfolio and not stress about having to write something or I won't be able to pay the bills.

Still, I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket. That was the only reason while, even though I'm writing for Helium, and I quite enjoy it, I started to write for Associated Content. I didn't want to get all my revenue from one place, in case something happened. Well guess what, something happened. Just not with Helium.

Since AC gave me a choice to keep writing for free until I can apply for their Feature Writer possition, or I can move on.

I decided to move on.

Suite101 is a website I ran across back in 2008 when I was just starting writing articles for the Internet. It was a bit scary, required me to submit two writing samples and threatened with editors and weird submission policies. Back then I went with Helium, which seemed much more newbie friendly.

But two years later, with numerous clips and a lot of experience, I decided to see if Suite101 would make for a good home. I revised their hiring policy, and how one could actually earn with them. Because, let's be honest, I might love writing, but this I do for money.

And so, yesterday, I created a profile, and wrote my very first article for Suite101. Because I know a lot about studying aborad, that is exactly what my article was about. I wrote about finding good study abroad programs. We'll see how it will go.

According to Suite101 rules, I have to write 10 articles every three months, more if I'd like to become a Feature Writer. What's new for me, is the fact that I'm being paid a percentage of the ad-click revenue. Meaning the page views aren't as important. It's people clicking on ads on my articles that will be bringing me money. I don't know how I feel about it. I know I won't be earning huge amounts right away, I've read both incredible earning stories and those more depressing ones.

For now, I'm a bit shy about this new place, I want to try it out, see what works there and what doesn't. I'll definitely keep you updated.

2 May 2010

New AssociatedContent Policy regarding Non-US writers

While I was deep at work finishing the story with the May 1st deadline, I got a surprising email on my inbox.

AssociatedContent was messaging me to inform me of their new and improved policy regarding Non-US writers.

See, I don't hide the fact that I am from Europe. I know that in the online job market the fact that I don't have a Social Security number does mean I miss on some of the opportunities available to my US writing counterparts.

When I decided to check AssociatedContent to see if the site worked for me, I knew that as a European I wouldn't be eligible for their Upfront Payment. But the passive income was still available to me. Meaning I would still get paid for my work.

Well, according to the email I received, that will no longer be the case:

After evaluating our payment policies in regard to international Contributors, our legal team has determined that Associated Content must immediately start withholding a portion of all international Performance Payments pursuant to U.S. tax laws. Due to the cost involved in this process, we can only offer continued Performance Payments to international Contributors enrolled in Associated Content’s Featured Contributors program.

Contributors who are not enrolled as a Featured Contributor, or are not accepted into this program, will no longer be able to earn Performance Payments from Associated Content as of May 1, 2010. If this applies to you, you will receive a final Performance Payment on May 12, 2010 for your page views through April 30, 2010 (if your balance exceeds the current $1.50 payment threshold).

If you are not currently enrolled as a Featured Contributor, we encourage you to apply now. Please note that the program requires you to have top-notch writing skills, and a strong body of work in one of our featured topic areas. You can read all the details and apply to one of the programs here. Note: There is no deadline for applying to the program, but you will not be able to earn further payment until/unless you are accepted.

If you are accepted into the program, you will be asked to submit a United States W-8BEN tax form, enabling Associated Content to withhold earnings on Performance Payments pursuant to U.S. tax laws. In addition, your earning threshold will increase from $1.50 to $100, meaning Associated Content will only process Performance Payments when the total payment balance passes $100. The good news: As a Featured Contributor, you will receive high value assignme nts every month, and will continue earning Performance Payments on all content published.


What that means for me, is that I basically need to continue to write for them, for free, to build up a portfolio in one of their categories to be able to apply for this Feature Contributor possition. And then, I may or may not be accepted. If I am, they will start paying me only for the pageviews, but I won't see the money unless I reach $100...

And they will take away portions of the money I earn.

To be honest, I don't really know how to proceed now. The articles I already published there will no longer bring me any money, unless I decide to tie myself down to the site that doesn't offer me all that many options. I can't delete my content from the site. I don't know if I want to even apply for the Feature Contributor position.

It's basically a weird situation where I can't decide what should be my nesxt step. So, basically, if you have any ideas, please share them.

20 April 2010

Defining sick leave

Boy, I think I redefined sick leave. If this was a regular 9 to 5 job I would most likely get fired by now. But after the rather difficult flu, I hit a complete writer's block.

To be perfectly honest I'm still trying to cope as far as my fiction writing goes (the problem is it's not going at all...). And with a deadline just 10 days away, I'm slowly starting to panic. I have to finish this story because it's a big part of my fiction writing plan this year. If I fail,I'll probably won't find the strenght to finish the story at all...

So that's that.

I'm also a bit (a lot) behind on my thesis writing. Again, the deadlines are a bit hectic and I should really turn in *something* just so that my supervisor doesn't get mad. One would think with writing about what I do, the thesis would be easy.
No, not really.

And finally, the area where I actually HAVE written something.
My non-fiction writing seems to be... going is such a strong word... crawling forward. The goal of 40 articles by the end of the year is still there.

I wrote a review of Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and a list of 10 movies worth watching with your Mom during Mother's Day.

Additionally, I have several ideas for more articles, but I'm not certain if I shouldn't wait with them and concentrate on the story and (maybe :-P) my thesis first...

Wish me luck

4 January 2010

Write what you know and how I had

If you start reading various sites that are designed to help writers, sooner or later all of them will mention one thing.

That you should write what you know.

Which is also exactly what I tell people when they are looking for inspiration for an article or a blog post (If they need help with fiction, I send them to the Almost Totally Random Prompt Generator). And I also followed that advice, always picking the article topics I knew something about. Mostly because it required less research from me, and we all know time is money.

After I gave it some thought, at the very beginning of my freelance adventure, I decided to write about something I know and what other people are no doubt interested in. Writing.

You can see my interest in that topic from the numerous posts at Scribophile (when I was still writing for them) and from my various articles at Helium and AssociatedContent.

But recently I decided to start sharing my knowledge about another topic I'm quite familiar with. Studying Abroad.
Apart from being a freelancer, I have a full time job at the University where I work with international students and help students of our University apply for different student exchange programs. That means I not only have the know-how, but I also know quite well what the students are most interested in.

So just to see what would happen, I wrote the first article in December (How important is studying abroad for your career?). I was surprised to see it become one of my top earning articles. So to continue with the experiment, I wrote three more articles (yes, an article a day. It happened without me realizing it):

Determining if studying abroad is right for you
Advice to people thinking of studying abroad
Studying abroad without blowing your budget

Each of them turned out to be among my most popular articles. I am THRILLED.

And just because I didn't want to slow down when I'm on the roll, I did something about one of my New Year's Resolutions and I created a Helium Zone connected to, you guessed right, studying abroad.

You can easily say that three days into the 2010 I'm rediscovering how awesome it is to track my statistics.

So when next time you read how you should write what you know, BELIEVE IT.

13 December 2009

Creativity, productivity and December in general

Half way through December and I don't feel like slowing down at all. It might be the fact that Christmas are closer and closer and I will finally have some time off before I have to go back to work, or maybe simply seeing the results of my work makes me all warm and fuzzy inside...

Chris, over at Chrisblogging, posted an interesting question, whether or not Freelance writers need a business plan. That post made me think, because it's an interesting dillemma.

By all means, a writer needs a business plan like a fence needs a hole; which is: not much. But once said writer decides to go freelance, decides to earn money with his or her writing, a business plan should be among the first things they write.

See, in my opinion, once you decide to make money with your writing, you need to start thinking about your writing as a business. And treat it as such. Numerous pro bloggers and freelance writers agree on this one. If you don't treat your writing as a business, it won't bring you much money.

I wrote a business plan for myself, when I decided to start freelancing. I took into the account the fact that I have a rather limited writing time, at the moment, that I work fulltime and I don't want to quit my job just yet, and I had to remember that I study on the weekends, so I can use that time to move my writing forward.

To be honest, I completely forgot about my little business plan untill that question, Chris posted. It also promtem me to join in on the fun and I wrote a small article on how writers can create a business plan. I hope those of you who haven't yet attempted a business plan will find it useful. It's definitely good to set up long-term and short-term goals and set up some sort of a road to success.

To move to other topics I wanted to cover.

While I already told you how nice it was to see that despite my complete lack of activity anywhere I earned money at Helium anyway. The truth is both Helium and AssociatedContent earned me money, but only Helium saw such a nice increase in the revenue. But in no way, I want to just sit around and hope for the best during December.

I already wrote four new articles and I'm in no way done for the month.

Practical guide to visiting Madrid, Spain
Creating writer's business plan
How to choose a blog name
How important is studying abroad for your career?

I also have several ideas for other articles, only hoping I'll have enough time to write them all.

I'm also thinking about reevaluating the business plan I wrote, adapt it to my current situation and the goals that changed a bit since the first time I decided to make money with my writing.

If it so happens that I don't post again before Christmas, I want to wish you all Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and good luck in the New Year.

7 December 2009

Residual income vs upfront payment

I did mention in my previous post the big dicussion about content mills that's been making its rounds around the freelance community. I've also expressed my opinion in various places, which is that I have nothing against content mills, I quite enjoy them in fact. I can understand writers who are strongly against, quoting low, "insufficient" pay, hourly rates or pay-per-word. It all valid arguments.

Me? I enjoy the fact that Helium paid me in November, even though I hadn't written a word. I like to know I can write on any subject that strikes my fancy for AssociatedContent and still have those article bring me a penny or two. And I fully intend to post articles I'll be writing formy ebook online, before gathering them all in one nicely done pdf file.

Passive income is definitely something I will be pursuing even after I move to bigger projects. Simply because I know that while I'm not getting paid immediately after writing the article, those articles will be earning money for me over and over again, even years into the future.

Obviously, another revenue stream I considered is upfront payment. The lack of it available for non-US citizens such as myself made me ignore AssociatedContent for a long time. I did get a taste of being paid for my articles when I soldmy article at Helium Marketplace and when I was writing Press Releases for one of the online SEOs companies. It was an interesting experience. I certainly learned about bidding for jobs, applying and selecting samples.

The rejection is still something I'm not entirely sure how to deal with, but it is a part of a freelance life. And since upfront payments are something I want to explore further and soon, it's something I need to familiarize myself with. Though, hopefully, I won't have to (yes, I'm staying possitive).

Nonetheless, I decided to look for something long term (as I prefer to stick to one place... It's in my nature, you might say) and I applied to Lovetoknow.com.
Now, most of the writers out there would probably call that site a "content mill" and they would probably be right. The site pays $20 per article of min. 650 words. It's not the highest price for an article, though it is one of the highest upfront payments on content mills I've seen. They also require a lot of commitment, but I applied for "Study Abroad" section and "Travel"; categories I have a lot of experience in and I love them dearly. I'll keep you updated, of course (hopefully they both will like my application and hire non-US writers).

30 October 2009

Things before NaNo: Articles and Helium Marketplace

Before I move to the actual point I have some articles to share.

New articles:

- Is donating blood good for you? which is an article I wrote for Helium Marketplace but it didn't get purchased.

- Everything You Need to Know About Helium Marketplace published at AssociatedContent.

Now, this second article needs some disclaimer. I've written three articles for Helium Marketplace. First one, about Tattoo Removal techniques was purchased. The other two weren't. One was about effects catnip has on cats and the other (linked in this post) about donating blood.

Like I've written in the article about Helium Marketplace, I still want to write articles there, but I don't think it's a perfect place nor that it's for everybody.

Next, because it's the end of the month,l I wanted to do a little of statistics.

Top earning articles at Helium:

- Experience with ReviewStream.com
- How young is too young to wear makeup?
- Which is better for writers: Finding a print or online publisher?

It's fun to see the top articles being from different categories and still performing well.

Unfortunately, I won't get paid from Helium this month. I find their minimum ($25) a bit too much to achieve in one month given my amount of involvement (which isn't much, and could be more). I won't probably be able to do much in November, with NaNo on my mind. But hopefully December will prove to be a lot more profitable than October.

Top earning articles at AssociatedContent:

- Get Paid to Write Reviews with ReviewStreamCom
- 6 New Years Resolutions for Freelancers
- How My Blog Earned Google Page Rank in Just Two Months


Now, I made a decision to be more topic specific at AC and so far I stuck to the freelancing, but it's very possible that I'll branch out a little. Either in December or next year. I also expect that the New Year Resolutions for Freelancers will have it's peek in December/January. For obvious reasons. I'll also get paid from AC, but it's not that difficult to achieve as the minimum payout is only $1,50

Now, you can see that the most popular article on both sites is the one about ReviewStream. And it's understandable, because it's an interesting concept and I still write for that site. Though, I have to admit, the minimum you have to reach is a bit overwhelming and not as easy to achive as on those others sites.

Alright. That's all for statistics. I just want to warn you that I won't be posting much during NaNo as I want to save up all my wordcount for fiction.

Please wish me luck :)

24 October 2009

Worth Your Attention - End of the Week Extravaganza

Every day I'm ready many, many articles about writing, editing and publishing. Sometimes I spend more time simply reading than I do writing. And while that particular attitude is probably not healthy if one wants to earn a lot of money with writing, learning certainly helps you improve.

Bellow is a round-up of links to articles I found especially interesting and/or helpful. While most of them (but not all!) could've been found on my Twitter as I was reading them, not everybody is following me. Here's the list. I hope you'll find it interesting.

Written by others:

On Efficiency, Or How To Get Everything Done As A Multi-Tasking Writer @ The Creavite Penn
Writer’s Guide To Twitter @ Inkygirl.com
Prizes for Writers - list of contests for writers @ Bizzia.com
Inside the Agent/Client Revision Process @ Kidlit.com
Why e-books are hot @ Smashwords
4 Questions Asked and Answered about Writing for Magazines @ AboutFreelanceWriting
10 WordpressThemes for Writers @ EditorUnleashed
Why keepig business hours is the right thing to do Part 1 and Part 2 @ Bizzia.com
Tips on why your short story didn't win (longer fiction writers should read, too) @ The Willesden Herald
The Path To Becoming A Power Writer | Train yourself to write everyday @ FictionMatters
What it is like to be a stay-at-home writer @ Helium.com

Written this week by me:

Preparing for NaNoWriMo: 5 things to do before November @ AssociatedContent
Is donating blood good for you? @ Helium.com

19 October 2009

Planning for the future and Links

With NanoWriMo coming up in just two weeks I should probably be at least outlining those three stories that I want to do during the November extravaganza. But instead, I'm slowly getting my writing up to speed. Meaning I'm trying to train myself to write those 1670 words a day and not get a writer's burn-out.

Which probably explains why the first article I published after the long break is Preparing for NaNoWriMo: 5 Things to Do Before November.
I've written about NaNo before, but it's the first time I actually offered some tips. I hope you will find them useful.

On a related news, Joanna Penn at CreativePenn posted a great article: On Efficiency, Or How To Get Everything Done As A Multi-Tasking Writer which I found extremely useful. Especially since I'm doing a lot of multitasking nowadays.

Apart from being busy with training myself before NaNo, I've done a lot of thinking about how I want my freelance career to look like. And what I decided on was to create an e-book. A guide for aspiring freelance writers who are not necessary based in the US. Non-US writers face different problems, have to go around things in a slightly different ways. Some venues are more friendly for Non-US writers and others are completely closed for them.
That said, I don't want to alienate US writers completely and I feel they would find that ebook useful as well.

It won't be ready this year, of that I am sure of. However, I want to have a first draft ready before June 2010. I know! I know! It's not a very immediate deadline, but there is a lot of research I need to do. And I need to keep in mind that I already have writing projects on my plate: NaNo and then a story due to May 2010. Not to mention the article writing for Helium and AssociatedContent. And I want to write up some reviews to reach payout at ReviewStream.

See? A lot of work.

In the meantime:
My Helium Portfolio
My AssociatedContent portfolio

10 June 2009

Of Updates and Noteworthy

I decided to change one or two things about this blog.

First of all, I changed the layout, this one is much more clear and easier to use. And let's face it. Usability is something very important on the Internet.

Another thing you might notice is the Twitter feed in the sidebar. I've been using Twitter for a long time now, though admittedly I use it more ever since I got a Twitter desktop client (I'm not a big fan of staying logged on the site, it distracts me like nothing else).

Why the Twitter feed?

Because apart from random, RL tweets, I'm posting links to my articles almost immediately after they're published. I've written about it before, but it is worth repeating. Twitter is great when it comes to promoting your work.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, but don't worry if you don't. I will keep posting links to my articles in my blog posts.

Another thing is a recommendation.


279 Days to Overnight Success
, a free manifesto by Chris Guillebeau. It's a great ebook telling a story of how Chris became a full-time writer in less than a year. More importantly: how he is now capable of supporting himself purely on his writing. It's good to see that while Chris' website isn't huge, he still manages to earn enough money to pay the bills AND travel the world.

And while at first the idea of creating a successful business in under a year was a bit surreal, I quickly remembered that all you need is the right approach and everything is possible. After all, I did manage to get a Google Page Rank for this blog in just two months...

Visit my Helium profile
Visit my AssociatedContent profile

2 May 2009

Dead, but not Forgotten

Yes, I am, in fact, still alive. Yesterday, after almost two months of writing, I finished the 20K story. It ended up being over 25 000 words (54 pages in word) and right now it's more of a first draft.

I wasn't online, and I disappeared from all my writing communities, because I wanted to prove myself that I can do it. That I can write a longer fiction piece and make it not suck. Too much.

Now that the story waits for the first edits, I can slowly reintroduce myself into the fold. I should probably check my Helium and AssociatedContent profiles. AS well as start writing short articles to keep my non-fiction skills high.
But first, I"m going to sleep for some time and hide my laptop somewhere I won't see it.

Finishing your first novella is exhausting.
But, damn, it's such a high :)

I'll keep you updated :)

15 February 2009

Big Come Back!

I know, I know. I've been silent for what seems like ages. All is to be blamed on school. I had to face the finals which made me unable to write as much as I would want to.
I of course did write a piece for Scribophile every week and in between studying I wrote following articles there:

Learning (about) your characters
What type of McWriter are you?
Antiheroes: when good vs evil isn't enough
Challenges, contests and Writing Olympics: why do we participate?

It's all targeted at fiction writers, but mayne those of you who concentrate on other types of writing will find at least some of those interesting and helpful.

My piece about getting a page rank in two months got published at AssociatedContent, so head there if you're interested in how I did it.

In other words, I decided to return to fiction for a while. Mostly because I missed writing plot. Don't get me wrong, writing non-fiction articles and press releases and SEO posts is fun, but nothing is as satisfying as writing a good novel and having people comment with feedback.
I signed up to a chalenge that requires me to write 80K of fiction this year, including 20K long story by May.

Considering that last year I barely wrote 10K of fiction, I was concerned about my mental health, but even with finals, I managed to get over 8K of words in the last two months (almost 6K is one long story). So I'm thinking I'll be able to pull this off.
Keep your fingers crossed. I might manage to get some fiction published this year. And that would be awesome.

On the other hand, my non-fiction writing will definitely suffer, as apart from Scribophile articles I won't be writingany non-fiction until I finish the big project.

Good luck with your writing!

5 January 2009

Good news, Better news and more news

Before anything, I have two published pieces I want to share. First one is my regular piece for Scribophile about putting new spins on old tales, it's mostly for fiction writers as that's who the Scribophile members are in majority. Second one is finally published article for AssociatedContent and it's 6 New Year's Resolutions for Freelancers. That's basically 6 steps to further your career. And at the same time my own plan of what to do this year.
I have to admit I'm quite proud of both of them, though both took a lot of editing.

Another thing for those not following me on Twitter. I found out today that WritingMakesRich has it's own pagerank. Those who speak Google know it's a very good news. Especially since it's 3/10. For a little blog of only two months it's not bad. Not bad at all :) I'm planning on writing an article on how I achieved that sometime during the weekend or the first free moment I have.

Which brings us to Better news.

I landed another writing assignment. This time to write Press Releases for a SEO company. It's not a big one, but because of the deadline being this Friday I won't be able to write much for my passive income sites. Which means it will have to wait for Sunday (after my weekend classes). With this additional work and busy time at the office (now I understand why they say being part-time freelancer is challenging) I will probably have to write my weekly material for Scribophile tommorow at least...

It's exhausting but I think I like being busy with work. At least I'm working towards my projected income for this year.

My AssociatedContent profile.

23 December 2008

Writing Update

I've been doing a lot of writing lately. So I figured, right before Christmas, I could probably share with y'all (you know, since I can barely move after cleaning all day).

Scribophile, a really great site I'm blogging for, published two of my articles so far. "Writing Bootcamp: Writing Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" which is a nice little piece which I commited to ease myself into the job and get to know the audience. The second article is "Of Editing And Evolution: Why You Should Find The Perfect Editor" which is actually one of the articles I had a lot of fun writing. And I think it shows. I've written one more article for them but it will either be published after Christmas or at the beginning of the New Year.

I have to say, so far the site has been a blast and I'm looking forward to writing more for them. I actually have few ideas in my head and I'm wondering whether or not should I write them down... We'll see how much of actual free time I have during Christmas.

In other news, the article I've written for Helium Marketplace just transitioned to Helium regular title. It's about the effect catnip has on cats. I have to say, researching for that particular title was a blast. I now know more about drug using cats more than I wanted to.

I've also submitted another article to AssociatedContent about how freelancers can further their career in the new year. Again, it will probably take ages for AC to process the article, but I think it's worth the wait.

21 December 2008

Of Deadlines and New Year's Resolutions

So I have this love/hate relationship with deadlines. I love them because they force me to write, but at the same time I hate them because they force me to write...

Yes, I know it might sound slightly confusing, but I am perfectly capable of loving and hating something for the exact same reason. See, sometimes I need a push to do something. Deadlines provide me with that push.
But sometimes, I really don't have the muse to write anything but I have to force myself to do so, because... well, I'm on a deadline....
Getting into freelancing I was aware that I will have to make nice with the deadlines, because once I start getting work, I will start getting deadlines as well... Doesn't stop me from whining about it to my cat. Thankfully, my cat ignores me no matter what I whine about.

So that is my little rant about deadlines.
Next step: New Year's Resulutions.

Everybody I know always makes some sort of resolutions come New Year. I decided that I should do something similar regarding my freelance career.
Especially since soon it'll be Christmas and I will have some extra free time.

So here is the Great To-Do List for the year 2009:

1. Start using BizReef, Guru, Elance and oDesk. Complete profiles and start bidding on jobs that interest me.

2. Create a profesional website for my freelancing

3. Pay more attention to my blogs

4. Go back to writing for Helium, AssociatedContent, Ciao and ReviewStream.

Yes. Only 4 points. But when I look at them I see a lot of work before me. Especially since I also have a full-time job, school and family life to take care of.

But I'm sure I will be able to handle it all. Because I rule and it's Christmas soon. What with miracles and stuff :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

6 December 2008

On a roll, baby!

So, AssociatedContent finally published the last article I had in the queue, the one about how to make a smooth transition from day-job to freelance writing. I myself am still in the middle of that transition, but I hope I will be able to into freelance writing full time at the end of 2009. Yes, it's a huge plan but I'm hopefull. Plus I do have a contracted day job till September 2009...

Apart from that, I also got my first freelance job. Remember how I wrote that I bid on some jobs and I had one i like best and hoped I'll manage to land it?

Well, the good news is that I actually did. I got an e-mail from the site owner and I'll be starting the job soon. Of course the moment I do, I'll give you lot a link. Mostly to show of, how awesome I am :P It's a meta-writing gig, so just right up my alley. I hope I don't have t tell you how excited I am...

On a slightly worse note, I didn't do much of actual writing. Yes, I a very ashamed of myself. Not even a short review and 've been watching some very review friendly movies lately... Maybe instead of reading stories online, I could go and write something... Procrastination is evil, let me tell you. But it feels so damn good...

30 November 2008

November

So November came to an end and I've decided to sum up what happened this past month.

I've written over 7000 words in reviews and articles. I was planning on writting 15000 words, but obviously it didn't work out. For December, I'm planning a more realistic number: 10000 words. This time I'm taking into the account all the free days I'll have because of the Christmas AND at the same time, I'm not assuming I'll write 500 words a day.

I wrote ONE article for Helium Marketplace. I was planning on writing more, but titles were completely out of my area of expertise. Researching legal matters online turned out to be slightly more difficult than I thought. So for now, I'll stick to something that gives me less problems.
The title I did write for is currently pending final decision. I'll let you know when the publisher decides which article (out of 34) they will buy.

I started to write for two new sites. Ciao and AssociatedContent. While I'm sort of indifferent to Ciao (it's nice enough though not brilliant), I am slightly irritated with Associated Content. I've written 3 articles for them, two of which are still pending. I am told after 3 first article are published, it should go much faster. But for now I'm not feeling much love.

I sent my bid for 3 jobs. One of which is really interesting and I will thank all the Gods if I actually get it. But this is somethin I started doing only recently, so I don't know when it actually start paying off. Though I'm checking ads every day. So keep your fingers crossed.

And finally:

I requested 2 payments. From Ciao and myLot. I should get them at the beginning of December.

All in all, while I think November could've been better, it wasn't bad either. I'm sure December will be better :)

28 November 2008

Writing bids and other writing related things

So far I'm writing reviews for both Ciao and Reviewstream and articles for Helium and AssociatedContent. I also write for Helium Marketplace (I'm waiting for a decision on one of the topics I submitted my article to. Keep your fingers crossed).

But I decided not to limit myself to just those venues... I've read a lot about writing jobs that you can bid on and the client decides who they want to hire. So I decided to start submitting my bids to jobs that interest me.

Since I'm not very experienced in that area, I'm not sure how long one have to wait for the final decision and whether my bids are written the way they supposed to be.
But I'm not planning on giving up.

I did some research on what is expected and what should be written in a bid. But it's all theory and I need to get some first-hand experience. Wish me luck :)

26 November 2008

Research

Since it seems like I will have some serious expenses next year, I decided to get it all together and start earning. Preferably, earning a lot.

So I decided I not only need to start writing more articles for both AssociatedContent and Helium, but also start seriously writing for Helium Marketplace. Unfortunately all articles that are on offer there require serious research on my part as I know very littleon subject that seem to be popular there.

Thank goodness for search engines. They allow me to do proper research and write a good article. That's exactly how I wrote my article on tattoo removal techniques that sold.

I'm also glad that I'm a member of Homepages Friends. I use their browser for research and it brings me extra money. So even time spent on research isn't lost. It still earns me something.

Wish me luck. I never anticipated that I will need to start earning big that fast... Oh well, keep your fingers crossed.

Related articles you might find interesting:
Refferals to Homepages Friends that will produce maximum income
Can you earn money with Homepages Friends just for searching the net?

25 November 2008

Not like I planned

Yeah, it's almost the end of the month and I'm nowhere near the word count I had planned for November.

I can't blame anyone but myself for being so lazy, but now I know I need to set myself a little more reasonable goal for December. Hopefully, with more days off from my day-job, I will be able to write more.

I'm also happy to see my earnings climb up faster than before and I'm thinking that it's connected closely to the fact that I link to my articles in this blog. I've written an article about that and submitted it to AssociatedContent. I will post a link here as soon as the publish it. That said, I also want to post on similar topics at Helium to see how that new upfront payment would work for me... I'll let you know how it goes (need to write said articles first :P)

For now feel free to visit my profiles on both AssociatedContent and Helium.