Keeping ego out of your online writing

Just admit it, you're no Shakespeare anyway. LOL

If you're like me, you're not too fond of snobbish, perfectionist writers. Now, I have my pet causes, my pet peeves and my long winded rants, for sure. Don't we all? That's not what I'm talking about when I use the term “egotistical” in reference to writers.

I'm talking about those writers who are constantly trying to impress you with their big brains. I usually get about three sentences into their articles and click off. I know all the big words. Language Arts are kind of my thing, you know? I even read actual books sometimes. (Gasp!)

I just don't like those big words shoved down my throat like a spoonful of unwanted peas. Yes, even if I like the peas. And I'm not the only one.

One of the first things I learned about writing online has served me well consistently over the years. What is it? Write on an eighth grade level. Now, that's not because your readers are stupid. It's because they don't have time for your silly, self centered, big worded, headache promoting, requires too much thought for the time they have passages.

Sorry if that offended anyone. It's natural to try to impress with your writing. I do it myself on occasion. Maybe I'm doing it now, to a certain extent. Still, the whole point of online writing is to entertain and/or provide an answer to your reader's questions, not to rival Shakespeare. Online readers are looking for a chuckle or quick answers in an easily understood format. That's it.

The point is that your readers don't care how eloquent you are. They just want to skim your article, find the information they came for and move on. Leave your inflated ego out of it if you want to be read. Simply put, it's not that tough to write for an online audience. Pomp and circumstance aren't really necessary here.

Just be easy to read and you'll be read!

Daily earnings charts for online writers

Do you know how much you need to earn a day from your online writing in order to generate a decent income? Online article writers often forget to do the math. It's easy enough to stop and perform the calculations. Do you have the time? If not, maybe this earnings chart can help you put things in perspective and meet your writing goals. Pardon the formatting please. These are charts I made for my own personal use and decided to share with you.

These figures are based on writing 5 days a week (20 days per month)

Daily                 Monthly                Yearly

10.00                 200.00                   2,400.00

15.00                 300.00                   3,600.00

20.00                 400.00                   4,800.00

25.00                 500.00                   6,000.00

30.00                 600.00                   7,200.00

35.00                 700.00                   8,400.00

40.00                 800.00                   9,600.00

45.00                 900.00                  10,800.00

50.00                 1000.00                12,000.00

75.00                 1500.00                18,000.00

100.00               2000.00                24,000.00

These figures are based on writing 7 days a week (28 days a month)

Daily                 Monthly               Yearly

10.00                 280.00                  3,360.00

15.00                 420.00                  5,040.00

20.00                 560.00                  6,720.00

25.00                 700.00                  8,400.00

30.00                 840.00                 10,080.00

35.00                 980.00                 11,760.00

40.00                 1120.00               13,440.00

45.00                 1260.00               15,120.00

50.00                 1400.00               16,800.00

75.00                 2100.00               25,200.00

100.00               3000.00               36,000.00

You can have a lot of fun comparing these statistics. For instance, look at the enormous difference between the lower right hand totals on the two charts. Obviously, it pays off in the end to work those longer hours. However, you must weigh your own odds when it comes to what you're willing to give up for the larger paycheck. Plus, there are those viral posts to factor in. Don't despair!

By the way, in case you are curious, in order to reach an income of 100,000. a year (a six figure income) writing online, you would have to earn an average of 277.77 per day, working 30 days a month, or 416.66 per day, working 20 days a month. And remember, these figures do not account for income taxes!

Better get to writing, I guess!

Blogging is great for ending writer's block, etc. etc.

Sometimes you just have to write away your writer's block. Informal blogs are the ideal place to do just that. For the most part, blogs are about jabbering away on whatever subject strikes your fancy. Yes, I know. There are some very serious bloggers out there. I respect them. That's just not the kind of blogging I'm referring to.

Now comes the confiding part. You see, every once in a while I used to go into a mode where serious writing just wasn't something I was all that into. With casual blogging, though, I was able to free myself from writers block by just rattling off about any old thing that struck my fancy too. With all the censorship and rules now dominating the internet, that was a refreshing relief.

I liked that in their own blogs, people from all walks of life and writing levels could express themselves freely, without the grammar police stepping in with their badges and whistles. I liked that I could write like I talk in my blogs. In fact, I could write however I want.

And then, it happened. Turning to blogs to unclog my writer's blog brought about a realization. Which is this:

If serious articles cause me to experience writer's block and blogs never do, perhaps I should be blogging instead of trying to write like someone else wants me too, just to make make a buck.

And that realization is exactly why I stopped writing for private clients, and other venues.

And furthermore:

I also just don't see the point in forcing myself to comply to whatever standards some dude back in the 1800's set for all writers everywhere. I know that's not a popular thought among professional writers, but it's exactly how I feel

A writer should bleed their personality onto the page without a filter. They shouldn't be writing how someone else wants them to. They should be writing how they write. They should write as who they are.

Maybe it's just me but I feel that otherwise, we would all essentially be writing the same exact way, which would encourage living and believing the same way too.

Following someone elses rules is just not my thing, you guys. It's not worth my health, my sanity and my freedom. I love writing how I'm naturally inclined to write and for myself and myself alone. Well, and for my readers, of course. The majority of whom are just as sick of outdated, unreasonable formalities as I am.

And yes, I do believe that there is something to be said for writing and spelling well enough to be understood. I get it. I just don't think the world is going to come to an end if someone puts a comma in the wrong place or a period outside quotation marks or whatever.

I also don't believe that people who are still learning the language should be expected to speak or write it “properly.” As long as I understand them, or even if I don't, I hope they continue to write. Because practice is what it takes to hone your craft, ladies and gentlemen. And neither practice nor any human being on the planet is ever, ever perfect.

Personally, I like it that way.

Bye bye Facebook, hello more writing – Conversing with myself

Me : Are you guilty of writing long Facebook posts or preaching about your pet peeves on Facebook (ie, driving everyone nuts?)

- Why yes, I am. How did I know?

Me: How much time do you spend doing that?

- Oh about 3 hours a day. Is that bad?

Me: How about those tweets? How many do you do a day?

- Um.... I'd rather not think about it.

Me: How much money do your ranting posts and tweets make you?

- They make me exactly Jack-diddly-squat. 

(That's a saying of my Dad's. You know what it means? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.)

Me: So here's an idea. Stop ticking off all your Facebook friends with those sarcastic posters and your silly long winded posts.Write something on those topics. Put it where it can make you some money. Brilliant, right?

- But what about my friends? What if I want to share those thoughts with my friends?

Me: Duh, post a link.

- Oh... Right.

Writers, I'm not the boss of you

I'm not the be all, end all of writing, for sure!

I'm not the bossy type. Heck, sometimes I'm not even the boss of me. Who has the energy for worrying about other people's writing errors? I always find it odd when people worry about how or what others are posting on their blogs. I love to read the posts of those I subscribe to. I just don't worry about whether they're following the rules. To each his own.

Oh, I understand that quality posts make for a quality site. I just don't feel it's my place to take issue with what other people are writing. Isn't that what admin is for?

I never liked being a hall monitor in school. Never been a tattle tale. Abhor being the middle man. Not into drama. Never been much for gossip or talking crap. Always had enough responsibilities of my own. Too many to waste time worrying about what everyone else is doing.

I'm the type of person who, if I had a bumper sticker, would probably have one that said, “Focus on your own d.... family.”

Who has time to be a watchdog anyway? I'm too busy writing, editing, gardening, cleaning, cooking and generally maintaining our little fixer upper house. I just can't imagine pausing in the middle of all that to check someone else's word count. Heck, I don't even care if you use complete sentences or aren't familiar with the English language. Goodness knows, I wouldn't have a clue how to write in another language at all. If you do, even if you''re only halfway familiar with more than one language, that's admirable to me.

I love all my writer friends, regardless of their level of writing progress. I don't care if they can't spell or don't use proper grammar. I'm interested in what they have to say. Now, if they start getting crazily offensive, I might flag them. If you're cruel or bigoted, something like that, I might call you out or make you aware of how you sound. Ethics and morals are important to me.

Might is the keyword, though. Might not. Depends on the day. Lots of times, I even let the mean spirited posts slide. After all, not everyone is perfect, like me.

Bwa ha ha ha ha ah aha ah! Sure, I am.

So, there you go, fellow writers. Write what you will. Write it your way. Post what feels right to you. I'll still read it, especially if it's interesting. I don't go around flagging everything that doesn't comply with the rules. That's not my job.

I'm here to write my stuff and read yours. I'm not the rule enforcement police. I'm just a writer, like you. Doing my best to do my own thing, better myself and possibly make a few bucks. No time for dirty looks and nasty complaints. Got work to do. I'm betting you do too. So, I'm not going to waste your time and undermine your hard work by filing complaints or engaging in pointless gossip about your writing.

It's a beautiful day to write! Hope yours is beautiful too!

Best way to make money writing online – a brief reminder

Choose your weapon!

It's not a big secret. Most online writers know it's true. A small percentage actually do it. What is it? It's the best way to make money writing online. You can read all the tip articles in the universe. You can attend virtual seminars. 

You can social network until you're blue in the face and your hemorrhoids have you reaching new heights. You can hole yourself up like a hermit to study SEO, LSI, all the while minding your P's and Q's.You can study all the latest theories and methods known to man.

You won't make any money after all that, unless you do the one thing that makes you all the money you need while writing online. So what is it? What's the big secret? Why is Jaipi beginning to sound like a bad infomercial? 

Well, it's because, if I put the secret in the first paragraph, you can see it in the description, thereby eliminating the need for you to click on my article.

And the secret is: Write your butt off!

Yup, you have to write and WRITE A LOT in order to make money writing online. If you sit on Facebook all day, jabbering away, there is no payout. You might as well get paid for all your ranting and raving by putting it into a reader friendly, clickable, money-making form. OK, so why are you still here? You know the secret.

Now write!

5 Reasons to edit your old content

For the last several months, I've been editing my old content, revising some for blogs, etc. I have literally thousands of online articles under my belt. Many of my writer friends have asked me why would I put myself through such torment. Well, right now, for me, the main reason is that a lot of the sites I wrote for have closed and I hate to see all that work go to waste. There are, of course, a lot of other reasons to go back and edit your old online articles and photos. Here are what I consider the top five.

1. You have changed your evil ways.

As time goes by, we writers undergo growth, just like anyone else. What we once considered vital information, may no longer reflect our lifestyle. For instance, I have gone from vegetarian to 90% vegan. I refer to it as changing my evil ways because a lot of the articles I wrote in the past don't reflect my current views. It's important that a writer maintain a consistent voice, content wide. When past articles cease to reflect current views, it impacts your writing reputation.

2. Times have changed.

A writer bases their facts on currant information. Over time, new research may come out that disproves old theories. Links also have to be updated from time to time. Websites “go out of business.” Site managers delete and edit old content. This means your older articles may have links that lead to nowhere, or to irrelevant pages.

3. You have improved your writing skills.

I certainly have. When I first began as an online writer, I was convinced my articles were stellar. I was wrong. They're still not! LOL Just like with any other job, you improve as you go. No writer should ever stop learning new skills and gaining new experience. As you improve, it's important to go back and take a look at old content to insure it was written skillfully, according to the knowledge you've acquired on the way.

4. Formatting rules have changed.

Every website follows a different set of formatting guidelines. Not only that, as time passes, editors change their ways too. For instance, a few years back, everyone went from multiple page to single page articles. Spacing requirements change. Heading preferences change. Some sites even change writing styles. Some prefer AP, others have their own formatting rules. It's important to make sure your content is up to date with website requirements.

5. SEO rules have changed.

Those creepy little “spiders” that find your content in a search have changed their minds. They want things done a whole different way now. Remember when keyword stuffing and article “spinning” stopped working for all those spammers? Most legitimate writers never did that in the first place. However, some of us did use a few more keywords than we should. Editing old content is a good way to catch and correct any embarrassing errors and past mistakes.