Don't Write for Free

I saw a job posting for writers to write website content, and the ad stated that the gig was paying $5.00 for 500 words. I get myself worked up when I see ads like this. It would take at least an hour to write a 500 word article even if a half hearted attempt was put into the task considering the ridiculously low pay. You can find these ads all over the web on a variety of sites including some bidding sites.

I understand that some new writers will jump at the opportunity to write something and get paid for it regardless how pathetic the pay is, However, if you feel the need to write and publish for little or no pay, consider writing for a local community group or non profit organization instead. You will gain the experience you need to move forward in your writing career and be offering your services to a worthwhile cause at the same time. This is a win win situation for all involved.

Unfortunately, when you decide to write for $5.00 for 500 words, the end user (your customer) has paid alot less for your work than what it is worth and will be profiting from your content.  When your carefully created content is published on their website, your content will draw visitors to the site when a search engine picks up keywords in your article.  Your customer is hoping that once the site visitor is browsing through their web pages, somewhere down the line, they will profit by selling the visitor their products or service. So in the end, your customer has got some great marketing content for next to nothing and as long as it is on their site, being picked up by a search engine, your customer has a steady flow of potential visitors/customers to their site. Why write for practically free and let someone else earn money from your efforts?

If you really want to start earning revenue from your writing consider these options:

• Learn to craft a quality query and submit it to paying print and online publications and websites. Refrain from submitting to those that pay less per hour than you are willing to work for.
• Sites like www.constant-content.com attract buyers who are looking for content for their website. You write your article, set the price and post it at Constant Content. It may sit on the site for awhile but many writers contribute to this site and other similar sites and consider it 'passive revenue."
• Have some business cards printed and hand them out everywhere. Also, consider placing a small classified ad online or in your local newspaper. You may be surprised to find yourself writing content for a local business or group in your area.

Until next time...write, rewrite, query and submit!

My Children's Picture Book: Church Mouse Poor

A quick note regarding yesterday's blog on Literary Classics - Not sure what happened but the spellcheck changes did not save properly and the online version contained a few typos, my apologies. Hmm, didn't I write a blog on proofreading??

In 2007, after seventeen rejections, my eighteenth query netted a traditional publisher for my children's picture book entitled, Church Mouse Poor. The story came to be after a friend announced that she was officially 'as poor as a church mouse." Perhaps it was the air that night, or someone slipped something in my drink, but I began to ponder what it meant to be 'as poor as a church mouse' if you were, in fact, a mouse that lived in a church. With my creative juices flowing, I quickly jotted down a short story about a mouse who lived in a church and sets out on a quest to find out what it means to be "as poor as a church mouse." The story sat under a pile of papers for a few months until I rediscovered it, rewrote it and then eventually sent it on its way to do the publisher rounds for the next year and a half.

I enjoyed some success with the book, and enjoyed the experience immensely. I had a great book launch at the local library, did quite a few author readings at local schools and hosted a book signing at my local chapters (see picture below). In addition, I attended some other book functions and signings and brought the hubby and the boys along in tow to experience the whole thing. Unfortunately, my traditional publisher ceased operation about a year after the book's release and I am now the sole, independent marketer of my book.

Friends will ask me if I plan to write another children's book and I have to admit that there is no explanation as to how Church Mouse Poor came to be. I am not a children's book writer in any sense of the word; I write non-fiction articles on an array of topics - basically I will write about any topic that someone is willing to pay me for!

So last weekend, as I watched the snow pile up outside, I pondered whether I had another children's picture book somewhere deep inside of me. I have some ideas but whether or not they will amount to anything, I am really not sure. If I decide to pursue that avenue, I will take what I learned from the publication of my first children's book and  use that information to my advantage.

Firstly, writing the book is the easy part. The hard part is trying to find a publisher who will see your vision and is willing to work with you and make it happen.

Secondly, I will seek out a publisher who is associated with a book distributor. Although I am all for the small publishers, it is difficult if not impossible, for the majority of them to break into the major bookstores in Canada and the U.S. If you aren't on a bookstore shelf, it is extremely difficult to sell your book especially a children's picture book in which the pictures say as much as the actual wording. Picture books don't sell so great over the Internet.

And lastly, I know as the author, I will have to do my part too including school book readings, book signings and book fairs as required.

So, until such time as a great idea for another children's picture book slaps me upside my head, I will just sit and wait and see what transpires over the cold, long winter.

Until next time....keep reading..

P.S. If you are interested in more information or wish to order your own autographed copy of my children's picture book, Church Mouse Poor, please visit my website at www.christinecristiano.webs.com