Copyright 2008 Writing the Cyber Highway

By

Michele L. Tune

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu

I thought I’d share some link love to some of my favorite posts I’ve read recently. These are some really good ones. And, don’t just read the following posts and move on. These blogs are really awesome and their authors are way talented! Subscribe to their feed so you can follow them from now on.

An Opinion on Penny a Word Writing Gigs by Dana Prince, at The Writer’s Blog - Dana really shared her opinion on this touchy topic with dignity and grace! It’s wonderful how she gives such awesome reasons for accepting writing gigs that don’t pay as much as you’d like. It’s not for everyone, but Dana makes you feel good about yourself if you are taking those type of gigs - for whatever reason. Another one who deserves a big ole way to go!

Find or Establish a Local Writer’s Group by Rebecca Laffar-Smith, at The Writer’s Round-About - Rebecca asks if you attend or have thought about starting your own local writer’s group. She highlights some great reasons and gives the time and place of the local writer’s group she herself attends. If you’re in Australia (in her area) perhaps you can go!

Freelance Writing: Your Way or Mine? by Amy Derby, at Write from Home - You’ll love the way Amy handles “Mr. X”, who e-mailed and ridiculed her writing abilities. I love how she pretty much vented and got it all out - without even cursing! And, how awesome that she can earn such a great living (making more than she did at a top law firm!) by doing what she loves most. Way to go, Amy! I say Amy’s way is working just fine!

How Honest Are You with Your Readers? by Deb Ng, at Freelance Writing Gigs - Are you honest with your readers? Do you share decisions you’ve made regarding your freelance career - decisions that could bring you negative feedback? How do you handle it? Do you ignore it and move on? What’s your take on being totally honest in your blog posts? Would you rather not? Find out what Deb has to say. I loved reading her thoughts. Check this one out. It was a great read!

How to Write an EBook (series) by Katherine Huether, at KatherineHuether.com - Katherine does a fantastic job of giving her readers step-by-step instructions for writing ebooks. She’s written many for her clients but is planning to write and market one (or several) for herself in the future - hopefully the near future! So, if you’re looking to write an ebook - for clients or for yourself - be sure to absorb this entire series!

If I Ran the Zoo…(Just how important are spelling and grammar, anyway?) by “Other Deb”, at The Dangling Conversation - Deb discusses the importance of spelling and grammar. How important is it to you? Do you care if you read something that is horribly written? Is it ok with you that children in our country are graduating high school without being able to read or write a proper sentence? Deb shares her heart on the topic. Definitely one you should invest a few minutes for!

Is Your Child Learning at School? by Hope Wilbanks, at Coffee with Hope - This is an amazing story about a child Hope had the opportunity to teach as she played the role of substitute teacher recently. The event broke her heart and as you read about it, I’m sure most (if not all) of you will be wiping tears. What an injustice America’s children face each day… Bravo to Hope for making a difference - even if it was just that one day, I’m sure the memory and kindness she showed him will carry throughout his lifetime! (But I have a feeling she’ll have the opportunity to make a difference in multiple lives some day!)

Organizing Your Freelance Writing Career by Sharon Hurley Hall, at Get Paid to Write Online - Learn how Sharon balances her freelance writing career with family and an actual life AWAY from the computer screen. Her approach is one that’s working, so you may want to see how you could glean from her experience and put her wisdom to use in your own freelance career!

Putting Weekends to Good Use by Jenn Hollowell, at Working Writer - Do you write on the weekends or use them as a time to push away from the keyboard to clear your head and rest your eyes? If you’re wanting to use every spare moment you can scrounge up to build your freelance career, check out Jenn’s advice for making the weekend a tool to enhance your business. Great idea, Jenn!

Time Management: The Internet (Part One) AND Part Two by April Aragam, at Blog of a Writer - Great tips for keeping yourself accountable while using the Internet. April shares simple steps you can take so you don’t end up swallowed up and lost in a sea of chats, blogs, and whatever networking sites you adore and participate in. Very sound advice, April!

Which Comes First: The Source or the Story? by Susan Johnston, at The Urban Muse - So, what’s your answer to this question? Join Susan as she ponders her thoughts - and asks you for yours - on this topic. It’s a lot to consider!

SERIOUS UPDATE: I visited Susan’s blog today and discovered her dad has passed away. She needs your hugs, prayers, and/or any kind words of encouragement and understanding you have for her. My condolences, Susan. I’m praying for you!

Work Your Jaws by Melissa Donovan, at Writing Forward - Melissa talks about how not only has our handwriting suffered since our obsessions with being at the computer typing, but because of our isolation, most of us freelancers aren’t talkative or social anymore. Something to think about for sure!

Writing Style Meme by Becca, at -In fond memory of her school days, Becca assigns “homework” for her readers to complete. You can post your answers on your blog or in her comments section. This looks like fun. She asks some good questions! If you haven’t already visited, be sure to drop by. I’ve given Becca link love before, but it was for her other blog: Becca’s ByLine, which is a wonderful blog as well!

Happy weekend reading!!

By

Michele L. Tune

I was planning on publishing a different post but something happened to change that. I’ve decided to share my GINORMOUS MISTAKE with you all, so what happened to me doesn’t happen to you. It’s embarrassing, frustrating, makes me want to cry - and it could have been prevented. So, what happened? What’s up with the above title? Why should you use free e-mail?

Here’s what happened:

Some of you might remember I started out with my very first website hosted at vistaprint.com. I was so excited to have a website for sharing my portfolio - a real website to display my freelance writing services. I chose my template, wrote the content, and published it for all the world to see. It was all I needed - until I decided to move this blog from Blogger to its own domain and self-host it with WordPress. It’s been a journey filled with ups and downs but I’m so glad I made the decision to just go for it. I’ve had a lot of support from you, my cherished readers, and I really appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.

Now, don’t get me wrong, VistaPrint was really good to me. It’s just that when I decided to move this blog to WordPress, I didn’t see any reason to keep the VistaPrint account when I could host my freelance site at the same place I chose for this blog - BlueHost.com.

The Process

There began the journey of having Goofy Girl Designs create a fresh look while I started writing all new content to reflect the creative, inspiring writer I am. It’s not easy to write great things about myself, but I don’t want to be invisible* after all! Then there was the fun of waiting (with much anticipation!) for it to all be done. It didn’t take long, though. My new website is finished and since it’s also a WordPress site, it was actually live while my first website was still live at VistaPrint.com. That was a little strange. How’d that happen, you ask? Well, it’s too long a story to get into here, but it just had to do with the fact that I own michele-tune.com and micheletune.com (without the dash).

So, what’s my point? Why should you use free e-mail?

Once the new site was ready, I hesitated on transferring the VistaPrint domain to BlueHost.com. I should have listened a little closer to that inner voice tugging at me. I started the process and waited, all the while thinking all of my e-mails within my VistaPrint account would just “transfer” right along with my domain. You’re shaking your head right now, right? Well, I didn’t realize what would happen next. I couldn’t gain access to my domain’s e-mail account! I started panicking because the editors I was waiting to hear from might respond and their e-mail would be gobbled up by the wonky situation. Oh, what to do?

I got BlueHost.com on Live Chat and VistaPrint on the phone. VistaPrint told me I didn’t even have an account with them. Er, what? Huh? BlueHost told me they were sorry, but that I surely had lost all my e-mails since the domain was close to being resolved and I couldn’t gain access to my e-mail account. This went on for a couple of days. Finally, I got a message saying that VistaPrint.com was having technical difficulties and they’d have them fixed as soon as possible.

The Happy Ending

During that time of the “technical issues” I managed to get to my e-mails (how, I don’t know because VistaPrint said I don’t even show up on their records as having an account!). I was able to save all of my important e-mails, contacts, and markets and stuff I had saved there. Sheesh, what a relief! I think it was a miracle, really.

The domain has resolved and is pointing in the right direction. And, I’m currently using free e-mail. Even though I had free e-mail for personal e-mails, I had heard negative things about using it for editors/clients. Why? Because they wouldn’t take a writer as serious if he/she were using a free e-mail service. That’s what kept me from using free e-mail. Well, I’d rather have an editor or client have a working e-mail to reach me with then to use only a domain e-mail that I might not always have access to.

What have I learned?

• to study a little more before I leap into a technical situation I don’t know anything about
• to follow Melissa Donovan’s advice and back everything up*!
• not to risk my precious correspondence with editors because of what someone thinks about free e-mail
• to always keep a printed version of all current and important contact information
• to give the guy at VistaPrint who told me I didn’t have an account with them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was his first day!

So, what about you? Do you use a free e-mail address for your writing business? Do you have your e-mails forwarded from one e-mail address to another so you’ll have them in another location? Do you back up often enough? Has anything like this ever happened to you? Am I doing the right thing by using free e-mail? Throw your opinion in the comments. Let us know!

And a special thanks to Goofy Girl Designs:I love my new site and have received a lot of e-mails and positive feedback about it. I couldn’t be happier. Thanks, Heather!

*linked to Sharon Hurley Hall, at Get Paid to Write Online - Are You Invisible?

and Melissa Donovan, at Writing Forward - When It All Comes Crashing Down

Here’s to safe e-mail correspondence while writing the cyber highway!

Writing the Cyber Highway Copyright 2008 Michele L. Tune All Rights Reserved

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By

Michele L. Tune

Photo Credit: Me

First of all, I’d love to thank Jeanne Dininni of Writer’s Notes, for the beautiful, generous guest post she shared with us last week. In case you missed it, please do check it out. She shares tips on how to find motivation to finish that work when you’re just not feeling it. Also, her amazing guest post at John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center is filled to the brim with advice! In 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay, Jeanne will lead you through each step with such inspiring wisdom, you’ll be to the last secret before you know it–wishing you had thought to write this awesome piece!

Moving along….

I’m always emphasizing how I love sharing my heart–opening my very soul for my reader to see, feel, and relate to. I think pouring our heart and soul into our work is the ultimate way to gain readership, build a great community, and/or win those big ole clips!

As I’ve traveled across the blogosphere lately, I’ve noticed that very trend popping up more and more! It excites me because I love to feel that connection. I love to see folks sharing their hearts, reaching out to their reader, showing that they’re human and not just a set of typing fingers on the other side of the computer screen.

I’ve decided to list a few of the posts where I feel the author really opened their heart, revealed their true feelings, and did so in an inspiring, encouraging way–in a way that really spoke to me, and I’m sure to the other readers as well.

1. Melissa Donovan, at Writing Forward, recently posted: How I Launched My Freelance Writing Career. She went into great detail, revealing step-by-step how she happened upon the freelance life, how she researched, studied, planned, and just went for it.

A few words that grabbed my heart:

The past nine months have been crazy. There are ups and downs, moments of sheer excitement when I realize that I’m doing this all on my own and moments of sheer exhaustion when I realize it’s all riding on me.

Melissa presented herself vulnerable to the world. Some people think of exposing our naked heart negatively. I disagree. There’s a priceless beauty in unlocking the heart and inviting readers in, encouraging them to kick of their shoes and stay awhile. Melissa does this with grace and dignity! She brought the realness of freelance writing to the table. It isn’t about lounging with a view of the beach and a laptop–although some writers are able to do that (bless ‘em!) and it’s a life we fantasize about. In reality, it’s exhausting, and it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. I personally think fate pulled Melissa to the freelance life. As she explains in her post, she had no choice but to come up with a plan–and quick!

Melissa’s blog, Writing Forward, is an invaluable resource for writers and bloggers alike. You’ll find writing tips, writing exercises, lessons with poetry, grammar, and more. She’s the friendly, cool “English teacher” you always wish you had! Keep up the great work, Melissa! You’re shining brighter each day!

2. Blogger and up-and-coming freelance writer, Mary Grandy, displayed her heart in a post titled: The Last Good-bye. Unlike Melissa, Mary’s topic was sad. But you’ll find as you read it, that not only is she expressing herself through words as a way to grieve a loss, but she’s honoring a loved one with words that inspire, stir emotions, and rekindle memories of the readers’ own loved ones. If you follow the comment thread, you’ll see first-hand how Mary’s passionate words sent her readers on a walk down memory lane. Words are powerful, people, very powerful!

Of the words Mary shared, these are the ones that made me sad yet caused me to smile at the same time:

I should be going now, but I selfishly don’t want to. I don’t know if you realize this, but there are others reading this letter. You wouldn’t understand why I write this here, but then you never understood the concept of call waiting.

I think we can all relate to trying to explain to grandparents or parents why on earth we’d expose our “diaries” for all the world to gawk at!

Mary, since I first started following your blog, I’ve watched you gain blogging confidence. You’ve learned to hyperlink, started a blazing trail of guest posts, and have built up your comments in those beloved double digits! You were destined to blog, my dear. And, what a writer you are!

3. Another post I had to pull off the cyber highway for, was written by none other than Rebecca Laffar-Smith. This brilliant writer always writes from her heart, shares her soul, and has a magical way with words. She recently flew to California to attend the Writer’s Conference and Book Expo. While she waited for her plane, and a couple more times throughout her adventure, Rebecca wrote letters and published them on her blog - The Writer’s Round-About - starting them out with “Dear Reader” and signing each one, “Sincerely, Rebecca.” I thought this was a fabulous idea, keeping her readers updated while she was away–and with such a personal touch!

One letter, A Sax Outside My Window, gives us a glimpse into a writer who feels like she’s landed in another kingdom, a faraway kingdom she’s always dreamt of visiting. Like a princess, she sits by her window, soaking up all the activity around her, finding inspiration in every detail of movement her eyes behold.

Read for yourself. Here’s an excerpt:

The city is a magical place to be a writer…. It is so nice to simply sit, listen, and ponder. Isn’t it amazing that doing this, right now, is considered working? Sometimes I imagine this as the life I could have had, a lonely writer sitting up in her one room apartment above the city streets, writing, and listening to life passing by down below.

Even when Rebecca writes a series, using Star Trek as the theme - even though I totally do not like that show! - I find myself captivated, hanging on each syllable until, before I realize it, I’ve read a long post on a topic I don’t even remotely care about! That’s the beauty of Rebecca. She can draw you in before you know what’s hit you! I’ve watched her blog grow, change, move to WordPress, and flourish right before my very eyes. Write on, Rebecca! I know I’ll see your novel on store shelves some day!

There are so many more examples of writers and bloggers writing from their hearts, just like these I’ve highlighted today. If time allows, and if I see you are interested, I may expand on this topic and do a part two.

The one thing Melissa, Mary, and Rebecca have in common: heart. They’re not afraid to share it.

So, what about you? Do you share your heart? Or do you detest posts like these? Why? Would you come more reading a post if it has that special, heartfelt touch? Or do you prefer just basic information: get to the point and move on? If so, why? Please share in the comments. And, if you feel like it, leave a piece of your heart!

Here’s to sharing your heart, writing the cyber highway!

Jobs for Freelance Writers

Writing the Cyber Highway Copyright 2007-2008, Michele L. Tune All Rights Reserved.

NOTE: I’m proud to announce Writing the Cyber Highway’s first guest blogger! Jeanne Dininni, of Writer’s Notes, has been kind enough to share her writing wisdom with us. I also wanted to tell you to be sure to keep your eyes open for another of Jeanne’s guest posts - 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay - scheduled to appear on John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center, Wednesday, June 4th.

Jeanne is so generous to offer up encouraging advice for us. I know you’ll enjoy her inspiring words. Without further ado, I present our first guest post:

By Jeanne Dininni

When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

How do you motivate yourself to write when you don’t feel like writing? How do you convince yourself to get down to business when you’d rather do anything but?

Have you ever had those days when you just can’t seem to face the prospect of writing that article that’s coming due, that query letter you know you should write, or that blog post that will remind your readers that you haven’t fallen off the face of the earth…that you’re not only still around but that you’re actually still interested in sharing your wit and wisdom with them? (I thought so!) You want to write, but you just can’t seem to make yourself do it.

Lack of Motivation: A Common Problem

Every writer struggles with these feelings from time to time—many of us quite often. And for bloggers and other online writers who work from home, life can be particularly distracting, as we’re continually bombarded not only with the household responsibilities that continually beckon, but also with the many available—and attractive—alternatives to working.

Such tempting activities as commenting on other blogs, visiting social media sites, checking our site stats, looking for nifty high-tech tools for our web pages, reading unrelated but interesting content during our online research, and any number of other enjoyable and otherwise productive activities often only serve to intensify our motivation problem and derail us from our efforts to fulfill our writing responsibilities.

What’s a Writer to Do?

The most important thing is to realize that motivation is a state of mind. It can come from many sources. Some of them follow.

The Writer’s Most Common Motivation Sources

Enthusiasm

When we’re feeling really enthusiastic about a project, don’t we find it so much easier to throw ourselves into completing it—even when the project itself is difficult or involved? If you can work up the enthusiasm to actually relish the prospect of writing about your topic, you will have won a great victory.

To do that, try taking your focus off the negative aspects of the project and focusing, instead, on something positive about the piece—something you can actually enjoy about it. If the subject matter itself doesn’t interest you, try focusing on a specific writing technique that you’ve mastered which you’re particularly proud of and which you plan to use for the piece.

If need be, you can even focus on a favorite writing tool, some physical part of the writing process that you enjoy, or the satisfaction you receive from your excellent spelling ability, extensive vocabulary, fantastic research skills, or even the way your well-formatted work looks on the page. A little enthusiasm will go a long way toward helping you thrive on the journey ahead, making it so much easier to reach your destination.

Interest

When we’re interested in our topic, writing about it grips our attention, draws us into our content, and keeps us going. It causes time to fly by, making us wonder where it could have gone. Interest can fuel the energy that helps us build momentum, spurring us on toward the realization of our writing goals.

If you’re able to pick and choose your projects so you’re only required to write about topics that interest you, great! You’ll have a much easier time motivating yourself to complete your writing assignments. But, if not, try finding something about the project that captures your interest—even if it takes a stretch of the imagination to discover it. It will be well worth the effort!

If the project itself doesn’t hold any fascination for you, try asking yourself a few questions. Will publishing this piece open your work up to a wider audience, giving you greater exposure? Will it place you before a new demographic or offer you a coveted spot in a brand new niche? Will it add to your credibility as a writer and/or as an expert in your current niche or genre? Will it allow you to showcase your work to prospective new clients? Will it open new doors of opportunity for you in other areas either related or unrelated to writing? These are all great reasons for feeling motivated about your writing project!

Inspiration

Inspiration sweeps us high above the mediocrity of our surroundings, activating our imaginations and infusing us with a power that makes expressing our thoughts via the written word practically effortless. Don’t we just adore the times when we’re fortunate enough to function under the tutelage of this most welcome influence? When it strikes, we see everything in a brand new light, and that helps us rise to bold new heights of creativity. Yet, when inspiration tarries, we often become discouraged.

At times like these, we need to generate a little inspiration of our own. One way we can do this is through the vehicle of high and noble thoughts. Focusing on our ideals and on the meaningful messages we hope to convey to our readers through our writing can jump-start the inspiration process. We can also inspire ourselves through the purposeful recall of vividly meaningful memories, of people we’ve known and loved or joys we’ve experienced. Or we can generate inspiration through the intentional act of surrounding ourselves with beauty. Stirring music, beautiful art, a lovely garden, a distinctively decorated writing nook—all these can help us create an atmosphere that’s conducive to inspiration. And all these can help us motivate ourselves to write.

Reward

The expectation of reward can be another excellent motivator. The reward might be a tangible one like money or an intangible one like recognition. It can even be something as simple—yet sensational—as the sense of satisfaction or feeling of fulfillment we derive from our writing. Just knowing that our work will help someone or that someone will enjoy it can bring its own reward, strengthening our motivation to complete a project.

And though money can often be a great motivator, we sometimes feel we aren’t receiving sufficient compensation for our work—particularly in the web-writing arena, where the going rates tend to be lower—and this can have a demotivating effect on us. That’s why it’s so important not to overlook the intangible rewards—to allow them to provide the impetus to keep us moving forward.

The Role of Attitude in Motivation

We need to realize that we are responsible for our own attitudes. We choose our own thoughts, as well as the lens through which we view the world. We can choose to see our project as a problem—a burden that’s been thrust upon us and one that we must grit our teeth and struggle through, hating every minute of it. Or we can decide to think differently about it—to remain positive and proactively seek ways to make it more than just another piece of writing.

Sometimes it takes sheer willpower to motivate ourselves to write, but I’m convinced that we can make a conscious decision to throw ourselves into our project. (In fact, I know we can, because I’ve proven it to myself again and again in my own writing.) We can make our writing a real extension of who we are, infusing it with that spark of personality, talent, expertise, imagination, and careful craftsmanship that only we can provide, making it a piece we can be proud to write—even if it’s a project that wouldn’t otherwise move us.

The Writer’s Last Resort

When all else fails, we may need to put a popular anti-procrastination technique to work and just do it, trusting that the motivation will follow as we gradually enter into our project. At times like these, it helps to remember that the ability to write when we don’t feel like it—when the intrinsic motivation, interest, enthusiasm, and inspiration escape us—is what separates the professional from the amateur.

And that knowledge alone can serve as our last-ditch motivator—because it’s a truth that carries its own reward.

Jeanne Dininni is a freelance writer and blogger whose work appears in numerous online and print venues. Her current projects include writing business guides for the Work.com website and authoring her Writer’s Notes blog. Through Writer’s Notes, Jeanne offers information, inspiration, encouragement, and resources to help her fellow writers succeed in both the craft and the business of writing.

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Thanks so much, Jeanne, for writing the cyber highway! It’s been a joy to have you as a guest. You’re welcome anytime!

And, to my readers: Be sure to drop by Jeanne’s wonderful blog, Writer’s Notes. You’ll enjoy your time there. Subscribe to her feed so you can receive future wisdom from this great writer!

Reminder:

We recently moved to this domain from Blogger. It’s time to update your feed, thanks!

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By

Michele L. Tune

“A person who is master of patience is master of many things.”

That’s the quote you see on that little piece of paper on the plate below…

Photo Credit: Me

I think the universe is screaming at me. Ludicrous, you think? Don’t jump to conclusions. Seriously. As I can, I’ve been making time to update the links in my old posts. I started at the beginning and am working my way backwards, up to now (because I just moved from Blogger to WordPress, for anyone just tuning in). I came to this post about patience.

Check out what I said at the end of that post:

Patience is a virtue (I believe) all successful writers possess. Dig deep and find patience. It’s in there!

Yes, I wrote those very words!

This is what happened when I got up from editing that post to find something quick to fix for lunch: I was digging in the cabinet and found a box of fortune cookies. I never really take those little fortunes to heart, but I love the taste of those cookies! I broke a cookie and started nibbling. I just laid that little ole piece of paper on the counter while I went searching for something to actually eat.

Imagine my surprise when I decided to pick that fortune up and read it! The quote at the top of this post jumped out at me. I just had to take a picture of those cookies on the plate with my fortune displayed. Coincidence?

I’ll admit, I’ve never been the most patient person. Some people think I’m very patient; others think I have zero patience. But it’s crazy to think the universe is screaming - ok, maybe not screaming - the topic of patience to me.

Weird.

What a strange day I’ve had, writing the cyber highway!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I did not eat all those cookies!