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What would make your writing life a little easier? A
little empathy? A lot more assignments? A little organization? Here are 10 things you can give to yourself or pass along to somebody else to
simplify, expand, and increase the growth rate of your writing
career.
Need a lift or encouragement? Give Yourself:
1. A Writing Buddy. That's right -- not a friend, spouse, or editor that
reads your writing -- but a bona-fide writing buddy to share
writing, heartache, and encouragement with. You can post or answer ads for
legitimate writing buddies at http://www.writerbuddy.com/.
2. Writing time outside of your normal environment. Off the computer
screen and out of the house. Go sit in a quiet spot and write with a pen
and paper. Go to the mall and sit in the food court. Or, if you're not
productive in that kind of chaos, get thee to a library!
3. Inspirational writing books. Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul. The
Well-Fed Writer. Get them used and cheaper at Half.com.
4. The electronic poetry kit. An online version of the magnetic poetry
kit, free! http://prominence.com/java/poetry/
Need More Work? Give Yourself:
5. Time to market yourself, seriously. Send out ten email queries a day.
Go to yahoogroups.com and subscribe to every writing-job-list out there.
Check your email every morning and respond to the jobs you want as soon as
you read them.
6. A network. Join the local Chamber of Commerce or email the web design
firms in your area. Let them know what you do and how you do it. Tell them
you would like to set up a referral network in your area. If you know a
client that needs programming or website expertise, you'll refer that
client to them. Ask them to do the same to you. Forward them leads for
their business that you come across online and let them know you thought
of them.
7. Books or eBooks with markets for writers. (I have one I've written, you
can scroll down to get the details-- but any book will
do!) Go through them and pull out specific places you'll seek out jobs and
gig. Don't buy a book and procrastinate -- send your queries and resumes
out, ASAP!
Need More Organization? Give Yourself:
8. Tax know-how. For US writers, April is much sooner than we think.
Prepare yourself with the Writer's Tax Guide at http://foolscap-quill.com/wptg2001.html.
Writers in the UK can go to http://www.ukbizresource.com/article1006.html
for general tax
information for small businesses and Canadian writers can get general tax
information here: http://www.writersguildofcanada.com/members/members_bulletin.html.
9. Office supplies. Special pretty pens and pencils. A lot of writers are
office supply junkies at heart. Go to your local office
superstore and invest in things you might need. Get those filing cabinets
you've been wanting for years.
10. Submission-tracking software to keep track of queries, manuscripts,
and replied to job postings that you have sent out. The
software may seem a bit pricey, but you can try it out free at: http://dolphinsoftware.bc.ca/software/writers/
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About the Writer: Melissa Brewer is a freelance writer specializing in
online content. She writes articles, tutorials, and online
training materials for corporate and small business clients. She has
taught classes on web writing in the past and recently published an eBook
for writers: The Writer's Online Survival Guide, containing over 230
writing-specific job sources for writers online. She hosts a website for
writers, the Web Writing Buzz, at http://sites.hsprofessional.com/webbuzz/index.html
and publishes a corresponding newsletter with tips, resources, and jobs
for writers at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/webwritingbuzz/.
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