Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Attention All Moms: About.com Guide Needs for the Week

Attention all moms! A little birdie from About.com flew into my window this morning to let me know what some of the Guide needs are for the week. Here they be:

  • Stay at Home Moms
  • Teen Advice
  • Soap Operas
  • Crochet

These topics are great for stay at home moms, or retired moms that want to make a little extra cashola. If you are a self-proclaimed expert on any of the above topics, maybe it's time you applied to be a Guide at About.com. It is a great job and you will love it.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Just in Time for Summer: Freelance Jobs at About.com

Are you into extreme sports? Or, how about fun-loving, outdoor activities? Why not share your passion with the rest of us and be a Guide for About.com. I absolutely love my freelance job at About.com. My only complaint, it's not full-time, but if it were, I'd be on it like white on rice!

This week, I bring to you some Guide needs for About.com, just in time for summer:

  • Sailing
  • Scuba Diving
  • Offroading/4 Wheel Driving
  • Mountain Biking
  • Rodeo
  • Waterskiing/Wakeboarding

Come on, what are you waiting for? Be a Guide.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Demand Studios: Are They for You?

If any of you have written material for Demand Studios, then you probably know that with a little bit of work, you can actually make some decent money with them. In fact, yesterday, I was scrolling around the site, and found that some of the top earners are making over $30,000 per year (I am guessing per year, but it did not specify). If you think about it, that's a decent amount of money for part-time work. And, you get to stay at home and work in your pajamas!

I have written about 20 articles for Demand Studios in the past and find that they are easy to work with, they pay on time and their writer's guidelines are fairly simple to understand. For "How To's", you only have to write about 300 - 400 words and you'll get paid $15.00. That, my friends, is a cake-walk, if you think about it.

So, in light of this epiphany of sorts, I have decided I am going to "step it up" with Demand Studios this week, and going to see how much I can earn if I devote the entire week to it. I am going to get up at a normal time (like I am really going to work), and take regular breaks. And, I am going to try to put in 8 hour days for most of the week. I will let you know how it goes as the week progresses, in fact, I have already claimed some articles. They pay $5 for a fact sheet, $15 for "How To's", and other similar types of articles, and they also just started doing rev share. Check it out and let me know how you liked it:

Demand Studios

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Carpal Tunnel: The Price We Pay

Do your hands tingle the day away or, do you wake up at night because they are so numb and painful that you wish you could cut them off? If any of this sounds familiar, then you may be like one of the millions of Americans suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel occurs when the median nerve, which runs down the forearm to the hand, is compressed, causing, in its later stages, unbearable pain and discomfort. The median nerve innervates the thumb and fingers, especially the first two (pointer and bird finger). It is also responsible for providing impulses to parts of the hand responsible for moving the fingers and thumb. So, what happens when this little guy gets compressed?

The symptoms of carpal tunnel are rather insidious in onset, meaning they start gradually and keep getting worse, especially if you keep doing the very thing that caused the symptoms in the first place. My symptoms include having a constant "pins and needles" sensation in both of my hands every minute of every day. At night, I am forced out of a dead sleep because my thumb and first two fingers are completely numb. When I try to wake them up, by shaking them, or repositioning them, there is a fiery, burning sensation that throbs up my arm which literally brings me to tears. The process of waking my hands up so I can function can sometimes take hours. It is awful. I recently started wearing braces at night, which does seem to help, although my hands still tingle all day long.

To learn more about carpal tunnel syndrome and what you can do about it, visit:

The Carpal Tunnel Fact Sheet

Friday, March 13, 2009

About.com Health Guide Needs

About.com is still looking for freelance writers to guide the following health sites:

  • Alternative Medicine
  • Leukemia/Lymphoma
  • Urology

Are you considered to be an "expert" in any of these topics? Why not be a guide and apply today!

As a guideline, why not visit my COPD guidesite on About.com.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Making Money Freelancing



I was browsing the web today, and found an interesting article about how to make a 6-figure income from freelancing. The program looks pretty good to me, so I thought I would share it with you.

This step-by-step guide gives you the recipe for how to score all the freelance writing jobs that you can handle. If you are the kind of person who needs a "kickstart" to get into this business, then this is the e-book for you:

And, another:

Please let us know how you liked them.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Follow Me on Twitter

I'd like to invite you to follow me on Twitter (I will return the favor, of course). Here I am:

http://twitter.com/thewritersblok

Never heard of Twitter? It is a really cool social networking site that really rocks. You can invite all your friends and your friends, friends and anyway, you get the picture. Join for free here:

www.twitter.com

Hope to see you all there.

Break into Becoming a Freelance Editor

You have heard about them. In fact, there are probably more of them than there are of us. What am I talking about - freelance editors. If you are like me, you have scrolled through endless lists of freelance editing jobs, only to find that most companies want 3 years of this and 5 years of that before they hire you? Don't be discouraged. The perfect editing job may be only a click away! Here's why:

I recently got an editing job with a great company. Keep in mind, I have NO prior experience, except that of a freelance writer. How did I do it? I just answered their ad, was given an editing test and they hired me. They don't pay much, but for those who want to gain experience, this may lead into something more lucrative further down the line. Interested? Here is the link to apply:

http://www.newyorkjobs.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=696850

Good Luck and Let Us Know How You Did!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

About.com Hiring Guides as Experts in Big Cities

Are you a freelance writer who lives in a big city like Los Angeles? If so, you may be qualified to guide one of About.Com's City Guidesites. The following cities are currently unguided and available to apply for:

  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Salt Lake City, Utah

Go ahead, apply today to Be a Guide. Tell them Deborah the COPD Guide, referred you!

Fathers' Day Poems Needed for Blue Mountain Arts

Looking for a freelance writing job? Did you know that Blue Mountain Arts will pay you $300 to write a poem for one of their greeting cards? If you have a knack for writing inspiring prose or poetry, you may want to check out their submission guidelines. Here they are:


http://www.sps.com/help/writers_guidelines.html

Father's Day Submissions are due by March 9th.

Good Luck!

Freelance Writing Tips

In case you didn't notice, I took a rather long hiatus from blogging on this, and my other site, RN ONline. But, I am back with bells on, so to speak and hope to continue providing you with great leads and tips for freelancing.

What I have found out in the last few months, is that freelance writing takes a lot of time and energy to succeed. And, unless you have the Nobel Prize-winning articulacy of William Faulkner, you are not going to find overnight success in this industry. I am still working for About.com, but luckily, in the last few months, I have acquired several new freelance clients, not without due diligence, of course. How did I do it? Here are some tips:

  • Create an attention-getting cover letter and resume
  • Subscribe to every freelance job newsletter you can find
  • Spend time each day searching and applying for new freelance jobs
  • If you get rejected, ask if there are any other projects available that may be more suitable to your style
  • Keep track of every lead you follow in a program like Excel, so if you get a response, you can respond appropriately
  • Join social networking groups to promote yourself, such as Twitter and Facebook.
  • Send everyone you know emails asking them to follow you on your social networking site
  • Never give up hope

Hope these tips help and hey, why not follow me on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/AboutCOPD