Got A New Job!

Well, I did it! I’m back to the workforce as a cubicle drone, since freelance writing wasn’t working out for me.

I’m pretty much going back to doing the same stuff that I did before I tried out freelance writing, which is Clinical Data Management. In case, you’re wondering what Clinical Data Management is, it’s essentially looking over clinical data gathered from a clinical trial and making sure that it abides by the drug study’s pre-determined protocol. Sounds pretty action-packed, doesn't it?

So, with me now back to being a monkey in a cubicle jungle, does that mean I’ll stop writing and blogging? Absolutely not! Maybe, I’ll be doing it less, but I’ll probably be still keeping up with my blogs on the side, while I work. Maybe, once in a while, I might even write an article or two. But now, writing is now officially back to being a “hobby” for me as opposed to a profession (or more like an attempted profession).

Overall, there’s a few things that I’ve learn from trying to make a living as a freelance writer. Here’s a basic list.

1.) Freelance writing is NOT for the lazy! In fact it’s very hard work.

2.) Freelance writing is about being PRO-ACTIVE and not just waiting for an assignment to fall on your lap. Unfortunately for me, I learned that a little too late.

3.) Freelance writing requires more discipline and self-conditioning than most regular jobs in general.

4.) Freelance writing is all about advertising yourself, making contacts, and keeping contacts. This is another thing that I unfortunately didn’t concentrate hard enough on.

5.) At the beginning of any freelance writing career, starting a blog is a must.

Interesting Site - "Storied Mind"

I found this very interesting site just the other week or so about writing, depression, and spirituality. It's called the Storied Mind. For one thing, this writer has a very stimulating "exploration" style to his writing as he freely ponders and philosophizes on the various layers of life and existence, especially through the eyes of one who suffers from depression.

Though I don't necessarily agree with some of his spiritual views, but I do find his entire exercise of contemplation to be very stimulating and almost poetic in many cases.

The link to his site is http://www.storiedmind.com/

From now on, this site will be included in the "Links" section of this blog.

Starting A Productive Day

Here's a wonderful article on some steps a person can take to begin a productive day. It's from Freelance Folder and the link for it is right below.

http://freelancefolder.com/5-easy-ways-to-start-a-productive-day/

Overall, I especially like Step 4, but the thing I would add is also asking yourself to write down those tasks that are realistically achievable for that day (people have the habit of over/under-estimating things).

Furthermore, for Step 2 (the 20 minutes of discipline) I would adjust that step accordingly to pure preference. Cause some of us only need 10 minutes, while others might want longer. In addition to that, sometimes 20 minutes of discipline might be better as an afternoon or mid-day break routine rather than a morning thing. That's just me.

Looking For Freelance and Blogging Jobs?

This post from Freelance Writing Jobs is a few days old, but it's a very useful post for those who want to find good stomping grounds for freelance jobs.

The link is:

http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2007/11/13/23-places-to-find-freelance-writing-jobs-and-freelance-blogging-jobs/

Some of these 23 places have already been given at this site, but many haven't, so I'm just going to let Deborah's post speak for itself.

New Link - "Men with Pens"

Happy belated July 4th everyone!

I didn't get a chance to do much updating this weekend, so I apologize for that. But to start off the new week, I found this wonderful site on freelancing and writing that every writer should look at. It includes some valuable tips and interesting articles that can prove helpful for any crafter of the pen.

It's called "Men with Pens" and the link to this site is
http://menwithpens.ca/.

A great article to start off with, from this site, is
"27 Secrets to Avoid Internet Burnout".

I personally enjoyed glancing through this article and I think you would too!

Beware of Poetry.com!

For all you young and eager poets out there who might be dying to get their poetry in print, here’s a word of advice from someone who’s been there--DO NOT fall for the poetry.com scam.

Once in a while you might see an advertisement in the paper or on the net about how your poem could win a $10,000 prize or something like that. If it has any connection to poetry.com, “The International Library of Poetry", “The International Society of Poets”, or “The International Poetry Hall of Fame”, DO NOT bother applying for it.

If you do, the following will most likely happen:

- You’ll get a flattering letter or email telling you that you’re a semi-finalist (which doesn’t make you anything, since they send this letter out to everyone who applies).

- You’ll also get a letter about spending at least $50 to buy the anthology that your poem is “published” in.

- You’ll then get a letter to show up at an awards banquet, which you have to pay for entirely (travel, room, board, food, etc.), in addition to additional expenses (admission and even the purchase of your own “trophy”).

Beware of this scam. When I was in early high school, I was unfortunately naive enough to fall for it. But it was a good thing I decided against going to the “awards” banquet before later finding out that the whole thing was a sham.

So be warned, people, and do not fall for any of this. For any other publication that you might run into, here are some signs to look for in order to distinguish them as scams:

1.) If the company asks you to purchase the publication that your work is featured in for a hefty sum.

2.) If the poetry contest is “free”. A good portion of legitimate poetry contests require an entry fee to pay for judges and prizes. So if any contest advertises itself as free—be wary.

3.) If their response letter is over-flattering. Legitimate publications, whether you get accepted or rejected, keep their letters professional and business like. There’s no time for ego-masturbation on their part.

To learn more, here are a few links:

http://www.eliteskills.com/writing_scams/poetry.com.scam.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry.com

http://www.sfwa.org/beware/contests.html

Anticipated Productivity vs. Reality

Last Thursday, the Creative Writing Corner blog had this excellent installment regarding some of the things we expect to get done when we get more time off versus the reality of what really tends to happen.

Though the author personalizes the entry quite a bit, I think everyone, writer or not, could relate to this symptom--we expect to get more done when we have more time off, only to have the opposite or the same happen.

In terms of my writing, this is what I found out about myself--I am GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY! Oh yeah, and the link to this entry is found below.

http://www.blairhurley.com/2008/06/when-will-i-get.html

Two Good Articles For Writers and Freelancers

I've been surfing the web for a little bit, when I ran into two interesting articles that can prove very helpful for any writer (whether fiction writer or freelance web writer). Though the first article is geared directly towards fiction writers, it includes practices that could help those who don't do fiction at all.

This first one is from the website "Life of a Writer" and it's entitled "Fiction Writing Tips: Writing the First Draft." The link to this article is right below.

http://mistisandefur.blogspot.com/2008/06/fiction-writing-tips-writing-first.html

The next one is from the "Freelance Folder" and it's entitled "Life As A Web-Worker - Are You Disciplined?" Again, the link to this article is below.

http://freelancefolder.com/life-as-a-web-worker-are-you-disciplined/

Happy writing!

A Metaphor for Blogging - Fishing

Just this Saturday, I went on a fishing trip to Sandy Hook with a few of my friends. As we fished off the beach and casted our rods, I began to realize how much blogging was like fishing in many ways.

In fishing you need the perfect rod, the right type of bait, and the right line and sinker setup for whatever you aim to do or catch. In blogging, you need the right type of blog layout and the right type of content to catch the right type of crowd or to accomplish whatever you set out to accomplish.

In fishing you need both the patience and willingness to wait, even if, at the end of the day, all you get are a few bites. In blogging, patience is a necessity, because hardly ever does anyone become an instant success overnight. And if your blog only gets a few “bites” here and there each day, you have to learn to be content with it, even though you should always seek to get more.

In fishing, chance plays a humungous role. Maybe the fish aren’t biting today. Maybe you just picked a bad spot. Maybe the weather wasn’t on your side. Or maybe your bait wasn’t right for the fish in your area. Blogging’s the same way. According to Problogger, Darren Rowse, a lot of his success owed a lot to being at the right place at the right time. This isn’t so surprising because of the chaos and vastness of the Internet. Literally, the Internet has become a vast ocean where probability plays a huge factor in getting people to see your site.

When I finished the fishing trip, I only caught two Sea Robins (the fish pictured above). Though, my friends caught several times more fish than me, since it was my first time fishing off the beach, I was glad enough to get my two. Unfortunately for me, I also ended up catching a real bad sunburn in addition to my fish.

With all the similarities shared between blogging and fishing, it’s a good thing that, unlike fishing, blogging doesn’t give you sunburn!

Good “Time Wasters” for Writers

If you’re down and out of your writing and you need a good break, but still want that productivity factor, here are a few good “time-wasters”.

Read Something Enjoyable
If you like comic books, read some Batman. If you like a good mystery novel, start reading the first chapter of an enjoyable book. Good reading eventually leads to good writing and inspiration. So why not have fun with it?

Write Without a Point
Sometimes we get so over-critical and over-anxious about perfection that we begin to expect too much from our writing. If you’re tired of that all, just sit down and type out whatever. And when I say whatever, I do mean whatever. It doesn’t have to have a point. It doesn’t even have to make sense. The point here is to break from your “serious writing” and allow yourself to “stretch out” like you would after sitting stiffly at a desk for too long. And who knows? Perhaps your scribblings might sow the seeds of a future novel or poem.

Jot Down Ideas
This point is similar to the last one, but a bit more focused. Overall, there are many stories of famous novelists who would have the habit of keeping a journal or notebook of simple ideas for novels or meditations. Nowhere does this come close to being serious (unless you want it that way), but nowhere does this come close to being without value. Have you spent too much time writing your novel and you hit a rough spot? Are you too tired of editing an article over and over again? Sit down, have some tea (or coffee) and let the ideas come out. It’s good for you.

Interesting Article from ProBlogger: Full Time Income From Part Time Blogging

When I first saw this article, I was like, "Come on, really?"

But after reading it, I realized that it was a very well-balanced and fairly realistic piece. All in all, the full title of the ProBlogger article is: "Is it Possible to Earn a Full Time Salary as a Part Time Blogger?"

To read this article for yourself click the link below:

ProBlogger Article Link

Will I, personally, ever be able to get a full time income from part time blogging? Probably not and probably not for most bloggers.

But hey, blogging's a nice discipline to have in the first place and it does keep me in the writing habit every now and then. So I can't really complain (though I wish I did get more money from it).

New Link - Freelance Switch

Here's an interesting resource for all you freelance writers out there to exploit--it's called "Freelance Switch".

Not only is this site useful for freelance writers, but it's also geared for helping freelancers in general (e.g. web designers, etc.). It features a job board, forums, a blog, and even an interesting freelance "comic strip". So, in other words, its got everything. The link for this site is right below and, from now on, it'll be featured in the "Links" section of this blog.

http://freelanceswitch.com/

When You Shouldn't Write (Part 2)

Greetings all! I apologize for the lack of updates. These past few days I’ve been tied up with fifty billion things and I was out of town for the entire Memorial Day weekend. So without further ado, I’ll get back on track with keeping things up to date.

To start off, I just like to include two more reasons when a writer should stop writing (for the first part of the article see the previous entry). A person should stop writing when:

Writing No Longer Becomes Fulfilling
When you begin to no longer find joy in what you write or even the practice of writing, it might be time to give yourself a break. At some points, the lack of fulfillment could be easily solved with rest or by simply changing the subject matter of what your write. Either way, you’re the judge and there’s no better jury to determine when to recess than yourself.

Writing Becomes All Work and No Play
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And the same goes with nearly everyone else, even when it doesn’t include writing. Sometimes, you need to put your nose to the grindstone and burn the midnight oil to complete an article. But when you find yourself doing it all the time, it might be time to take a step outside before grabbing the fire ax. Keep studious, but keep yourself at pace with your energy supply. Or else you may not even survive.

When You Shouldn’t Write

Throughout the Internet there are tons of articles and sites that talk about how to motivate yourself to write or how to get into the habit of writing. But the truth is, there are times when even writers have to learn how to put down the pen—when even they need to say to themselves that enough is enough. But when exactly are these times? In fact, when should anyone decide to take a break from writing? Well, here are some examples.

When Writing Gets in the Way of Your Relationships
There are stories of writers who devote themselves so much to their writing that all their relationships shrivel away. From family to friends, they become absolute strangers and hermits to them. Yes, there are times when you need to stay away from the phone and put family time on the side to write, but there are definitely times where family time needs to be family time.

When You Write For the Wrong Reasons
This goes almost in hand with the first reason. If you’re writing to make a living or even to fulfill your dream of getting famous someday, fine. But some people write out of spite, whether to slander people or to purposely be offensive. Some people write to prove they're somehow better than other people (i.e. bragging rights). If you come to a point where you realize that your true reason for writing is something far from wholesome, maybe it’s time to step back and reconsider. Yes, very rarely can our intentions be pure, but when the fault of our motives become way too obvious, especially to the point of obsession, we need to stop ourselves and start looking deep within. All in all, sort out your issues first before coming back to the pen. Because this isn’t just for your own good, but also for the good of your readers.

When You Write Out of an Unhealthy Compulsion
Though this is a very rare case, but some people can find themselves caught in writing compulsively, even to the point of writing down the most unnecessary details of their life. In such cases they may have the rare condition known as hypergraphia, which is associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy and mania. For more information regarding this, follow the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergraphia

StellaScript Blog

Just the other night, I stumbled onto a very interesting writing blog called, "StellaScript".

It's run by Stella Carter and it features writing tips on books, scripts, fiction, etc. It also has some interesting features including occasional poetry and haiku. The link to this site is below:

http://stellascript.blogspot.com/

From now on, this site will be listed under the "Links" section.

Three Sites On Writing and Freelancing That You Need to Check Out

Today, we have a special treat, here, at "The Mad Hermit".

I ran into three specific blogs that anyone who's interested in writing should check out. From now on these sites will be included under the "Links" section of this blog.

"Caught in the Stream"
This writing blog is wonderful blog that displays the art, the poetry, and the various writings of Francis Scudellari, the founder and maintainer of this site. His work is very stimulating and for those of you who also enjoy abstract art, this is definitely for you!

"Word Strumpet"
This site is run by Charlotte Rains Dixon who's a free-lance writer, novelist, copy writer and a creative writing teacher living in Portland, Oregon. Her blog covers tips on creative writing and it also records her personal experiences and insights from her travels as a constantly growing writer. It's a very wonderful and well-rounded site, overall, and it's definitely worth a look.

"The Freelance Writer Journal!"
The Freelance Writer Journal is a blog that specializes in hints, tips, and articles that "a freelance writer will ever need to make a career out of freelance writing". Overall, this site had somewhat of a long hiatus in updates and has, only recently, began updating on a more regular basis. But, despite this, the site carries some promise in terms of giving good advice for beginner freelancers and it could help them out in terms of avoiding some beginner mistakes.

Basic Ways To Improve Your Writing

1.) Read, Read, Read

Good writers tend to be good readers. It kinda makes sense, since a person can naturally become a better writer simply by reading good writing over and over again. It's almost like anything else, except a little more cranial.

2.) Start a Blog

Practice makes perfect and the best practice is a consistent one. What makes good consistent practice? Forced motivation. Besides hiring a dependable slave-driver, a personal blog would be the next best thing to help remind you to write everyday. Cause if you want your blog to be successful and read, frequent updates are required. Can we say “positive reinforcement”?

3.) Finding Your Zone

Some writers work well in complete silence. Others with music on. Some writers are more productive with a clean desk. Others are inspired more by the kitchen table. Some writers write better in the morning and others in the evening. Find your perfect environment to write. This would require experimentation, but if you do find your “place”, keep to it and make it your own.

4.) Reduce Distractions

Close that chat window. Keep away from the TV. Disconnect your phone if you have to. Everyone gets distracted, but not everyone has to keep getting distracted. Writers are like everyone. So know thyself and learn how to stop thyself.

That’s all for now.

Why Do You Write?

Every writer must eventually ask themselves why they write. Everything represents something when it comes to being human, whether we like the idea or not. Humans are a very symbolic race and every day we are immersed in symbols and, in many ways, driven by things that are symbolized by other things.

There have been countless writers and poets who have waxed poetically on what it means to write. In fact, many have intermingled and overused the words “soul”, “essence”, and “spirit” into the definition to such an extent that the craft of writing is deified beyond what it really is.

To some writers, writing could represent their desire for fame or recognition. For others it could go as far as representing their value as a human being (“I am valuable because I have the gift of writing.”) or their means of distinguishing themselves from everyone else. Some writers may have more lofty altruistic definitions than others, while other writers may sway towards the practical.

But the question, here, is this—if you’re a writer, what does writing represent to you? Or, more to the point, why do you write?

Earning a Living Online (AGAIN)

Here's another article that I found about some of the misconceptions regarding the idea of earning a living online. Below's the link:

7 Common Misconceptions...

All in all, here's the basic reality check from my end of the line:

- Ever since beginning this blog, I have only made about $45 from payperpost.

- In terms of Adsense revenue, so far, I've only made close to $2.

- All in all, most of my money, as a freelance writer, comes from working freelance gigs and NOT from this blog (even with Adsense, payperpost, decent promotion, and frequent updating).

So, my point is simply this: earning decent money from blogging is hard, but getting money from going out and finding freelance gigs and building up a writing portfolio is easier. That's at least the fruit of my experience.

Yes, the latter can be more time consuming than the former, but WORK is WORK--there's no going around it.

Six Good Reasons Why Every Writer Should Have a Blog

1.) A blog allows your writing to gain public exposure.

2.) A blog helps you maintain the discipline of writing on a regular basis.

3.) A blog allows you to open connections with other writers, whether if they stumble onto your site or if you meet them through a blog community.

4.) A blog can also help you with some extra supplemental cash, when the writing market runs low (e.g. Adsense, payperpost, etc.)!

5.) A blog is a wonderful way to advertise yourself, whether for the purpose of getting yourself hired as a freelancer or for selling self-published works.

6.) Sanity: If you're one of those people who write fragments of stuff that can't add up to a complete work, but you don't wanna keep it to yourself, a blog is your next best thing. It scratches the brain itch.