Tag Archives: resources

resources

FreelanceWritingJobs: Your Monday Morning Market Source

Just the right gimmick for a fun, unique read? That is one thing I love about certain writing sites, including FreelanceWritingJobs. This site’s hook is the Monday Markets section. Bloggers, take note. You really only need one strong feature like this to encourage net-weary types like me to keep coming back for more.

It seems I’ve had FreelanceWritingJobs on my radar for a while, but for some reason suddenly the Monday Markets hook has got me, er, hooked. Brilliant idea. There are many ways to present standard features, and while I am sure other writing sites also use a similar approach, it’s not widespread enough to be a cliche yet. At least not to ME.

Kudos to FWJ for catching my eye with inventive strategy. Also, the Cover Letter Clinic made me pause but sadly hasn’t been updated since early in the year. Overall this site is a great resource, and don’t be fooled by the name–you won’t find it if you just type FreelanceWritingJobs.com–the URL is FreelanceWritingGigs.com. I add this fact for semi-luddites like me who often just type the addy from memory.

Ahh, this cluttered internet of ours…

resources

The “Just Say No” Thread Continues…

mar-dugan-ganesh1.jpgMark Dugas wrote an interesting post at FreelanceSwitch.com on saying no to low-paying freelance work you don’t feel is worthy of your skill and experience. This makes me think of a post I recently raved about at WritingHermit which touches on the same notion.

I had some painful choices to make in 2007, and the agony of cutting loose dependable, but ultimately time-wasting gigs is very real. You wind up accumulating some serious time-waster projects if you aren’t careful. My dilemma was that I was earning just barely enough to justify the work, but the time investment was actually costing me money. The strange thing about freelancing–at least in my world–is that it usually pays off when you go out on a limb, treat yourself right and say no to money that isn’t worth the effort. I found much better projects to replace the ones I ditched, and fairly quickly!

You’re probably wondering what the relevance of the above photo is–it’s a still from Mark Dugas’s documentary, Ganesh. Something I’d be interested in seeing as I’ve always loved the Ganesh imagery. Being a fellow documentary filmmaker doesn’t hurt either, so in the spirit of cross promotion, please take a second to have a look at Dugas’s site. Doc films don’t get enough love at film festivals in my opinion–though it’s been several years since I submitted one, so maybe the tide has changed. But I digress…

reading

Freelance Writing Wisdom From Feudal Japan

hagakure.jpgMany people will think I’ve gone completely around the bend by recommending Hagakure as a manual for freelance writers, but try reading this with your career firmly in mind. You’ll find plenty of inspiration and practical advice. Consider these quotes:

“In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. Lord Takanobu said: If discrimination is long, it will spoil. Lord Naoshige said: When matters are done leisurely, seven out of ten will turn out badly. A warrior is a person who does things quickly.”

“Master Yagyu once remarked: I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself.”

“According to Master lttei, even a poor penman will become substantial in the art of calligraphy if he studies by imitating a good model and puts forth effort. A retainer should be able to become substantial too, if he takes a good retainer as his model.”

Sure, some of it is a stretch when it comes to the modern day lifestyle of a freelance writer, but there’s plenty to ponder here. You can apply it to being mindful of well-crafted query letters, carefully checked final drafts and keeping your determination in the face of many rejections. Hagakure was written in the early 1700s by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. It was only read by a select few in the early years after its publication, but it has endured. And yes, other writers have found much inspiration in these pages–Yukio Mishima, one of Japan’s most famous authors, was a devoted reader of Hagakure. It’s a great book even if it does sometimes bewilder 21st century minds.

Buy Hagakure for $13.57

resources

Stuntdubl Speaks Up On LinkBait

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Internet marketing consultant Todd Malicoat, better known in the SEO community as Stuntdubl, had quite a lot to say about the ins and outs of linkbait in a recent interview at VKI Studios. Stuntdubl is a site dedicated to helping SEO writers and marketers find jobs, learn the trade and discover a few secrets about search engine optimization. I find this site quite useful for writers–even fiction and trade mag writers who have little to do with SEO on a daily basis.

What? You don’t know what SEO or “linkbait” is and you’re pissed off that I didn’t spell it out for you? Shame on you, writer. You need to know how your career can be affected by Google, search engine optimization, and building traffic through linkbait. A writing blog or resume site needs to be optimized with these things in mind or risk being left in the dust by more savvy writers.

Any technique you can learn as a writer to increase traffic to your own site is an important tool of your trade. If you aren’t a restless self-promoter, you are behind your game. For every one of us who doesn’t bother to seek the cutting edge for their resume sites, blogs and other promotional tools, there are five writers who ARE hip to these things and they will beat you to the next gig. No writer should ever be caught saying “I don’t understand the Internet.”

I know I’ve got much to catch up on with regard to SEO, linkbait and other tools–Todd Malicoat’s blog is one way I try to keep up with the times. I just wish I’d found this one sooner.

Listen to the interview here.