Halfway through the month- Check up

December is halfway over, so I thought I would give a little update on how I am doing reaching my writing goals. As a writer, it's so important to set goals for yourself that are both reasonable and challenging. This not only helps you grow as a writer, but it also helps you stay productive during those times when another activity is calling your name.

Early on in the month, I discovered a nice little Christmas surprise from examiner.com. As it turns out, someone had used me as a referral and it had been credited to my account. I'm actually reconsidering continuing to write for examiner for this very reason. Although the page views are not always great, the writing there is quick and easy and the referral rates are quite good ($50). If you are considering writing for this site, please consider signing up with me as your referral (I'm the Cincinnati Staycations Examiner- Rachel Campbell). I would greatly appreciate it!

I've written two Suite 101 articles so far this month, and my goal is to get to five. Since I am more familiar with the format and style, I'm finding it much easier to crank them out. I haven't written another eHow article yet, although I would like to do at least one. And for demand studios, I am about halfway to my goal.

I'm pretty pleased with how things are going writing-wise this month. The morning sickness has really started to let up, so I think the productivity should stick with me the rest of the month. However, we will be away for Christmas during the last week in December, so I really only have one more week to get everything done! Nothing to get me going like a little challenge.

I also received a call from a magazine I had queried way back in June. They left a message saying they would love for me to do the proposed article but would have to get back to me as soon as they work out what issue it would be in! This is great news and a real motivator to get back into querying magazines. Since print publications pay so much more, it's an avenue always worth exploring, and who doesn't like seeing their name in print?

Tips on Staying a Productive Writer

I'd like to think that I'm back on the productivity boat again- the past few days have been a writing freenzy, and I've already exceeded my output from November. The beginning of the month leaves a lot of room for a lot of work to get done, but unless I am adament at it, it could easily get thrown to the wayside. I know a lot of writers struggle with getting enough work put in, and so I've come up with a list of tips to help keep you motivated to write and how you can become a more prolific writer.

1. Set goals and really mean them. I know that I've set goals in the past, only to half-heartedly attempt to acheive them. Intent is the issue here- so set goals you can reasonably see yourself fulfilling.
2. Chuck your writing time into blocks. Don't have an hour? Set a timer for fifteen minutes and write non-stop until it goes off. Do this 3 or 4 times throughout the day and before you know it, you have written for an hour.
3. Keep ideas handy. There are times where a wave of ideas for articles hit me, and I make sure to write them down. Theses lists have helped me countless of times when I just want to write instead of brainstorm.
4. Write often. It's true that the more practice you have, the easier it gets. I find when I am writing everyday that it is much easier and much quicker to churn out articles than it is when I am not writing often.

For more tips on the writing life, check out my eHow articles:

• How to Become a More Productive Writer
• How to Become a Better Researcher

A Dismal Earnings Report... November Earnings

My earnings this month were virtually non-existant due to the fact that I hardly wrote anything. Severe morning sickness is to blame, as is sleeping over 12 hours every day! Here are the stats:

eHow- $15.50 (25% DROP!)
Examiner- $1.02
Demand Studios- $15.00
Google Adsense- $2.23
Suite 101- $6.54
Private Clients- $0.00
Total= $40.29

I was disappointed that my eHow earnings dropped so drastically. I don't expect to earn much more than that in the coming months as I've pretty much stopped writing for them.

My Suite 101 earnings were also disappointing- I didn't even make payout! Although I added no new articles in November, I still thought I would have reached the payout. My guess is that November was just a slow month on the internet overall.

I am currently less than fifty cents away from my payout with Examiner.com. I only wrote one or two short articles in order to stay current with them last month, but I fully intend to leave that site behind for good after December.

Since my sickness prevented me from writing much, I only wrote one article at Demand Studios- such a measly number compared to all my other months spent working for them!

My goals for December are not ambitious, but since I am getting back into the groove of writing, they will be challenging enough. I plan on writing at least 20 articles at DS and several at Suite 101 (I am required by contract to write 10 articles for Suite every 3 months). The good news is that I am feeling much better, and my morning sickness is finally subsiding! So I should have no problem meeting my goals for this month :-)

How did you do in November?

October Earnings

Life never seems to stop throwing me curve balls, and this month a major event happened that prevented me from accomplishing my writing goals. On October 16th, I found out I'm pregnant! Joyous though I am, it has seriously hindered my writing progress as I battle intense morning sickness and fatigue. Here are the stats!

eHow- $20.17 (no new added articles)
Examiner- $1.55 (pathetic, I know)
Demand Studios- $142.50
Google Adsense- $0.44
Suite 101- $11.76
Private Clients- $0.00
Total= $176.42

Though I am tempted to think of October as a loss, I know that I did the best I could considering the circumstances. With the upcoming month looming darkly of more morning sickness, I know I have to find a way to get around it. November is also NaNoWriMo, which I am eagerly attempting, but my goal will probably be less than the required 50,000 words since I am not feeling well. But who knows? Perhaps the nausea and vomiting will end early! We can certainly keep our fingers crossed!

On the brighter side, my Suite 101 earnings are really taking off. With just 13 articles, I have already made over $25. Each month my earnings increase nicely. My eHow earnings are also increasing, even with little productivity. I've noticed that the articles I have written in the past 2-3 months are earning the most. I think my researching has a bit to do with this!

I wrote 3-4 articles for examiner this month with little response. I am so disappointed in this site it is not even funny. I am currently only $1.65 away from payout, so hopefully I can quit after that. With such a low low pay rate, I think it's ridiculous that the payout is $25.

Next month my student loans enter repayment, so morning sickness or not, I need to try and make around $150 at least at DS. I think that is a reasonable goal!

How did you fare the month of October?

How to Succeed as a Writer on Demand Studios

I often frequent many writer forums across the internet, and there seems to always be a trend in conversation concerning Demand Studios. Most of them center on the outrageous rewrite requests and many revolve around copy editor rants. I can and do sympathsize with those who express their concerns, but I do think that in some instances, people just are not fit for the writer life. Being a writer means dealing with rejection- plain and simple. I don't care what kind of a writer you are- be it fiction, non-fiction, novelist or article writer, we all must come to grips with rejection at one point or another.

I own a book, "How I got Published" which details the success stories of aspiring novelists. Often, I read it for inspiration for my own dreams. However, I've noticed a trend in many of these stories- rejection was a heavy influence on their success. Some had to face thousands of rejections or put up with near complete re-writes on their novel. The criticism was tough and abundant. Why should other types of writing be any different?

Writing for Demand Studios is one of the best ways (in my opinion) to make money as a writer on the internet (outside of finding your own clients, which many people cannot or do not like to do). They pay you for articles and want them written well and thorough. Yes, some rewrites are ridiculous, but I have found these to be far and few between. Most of the time they only need minor tweaking or additional information. We should not hold our writing so high to think we are exempt from critique, even for a short 400 word article.

That being said, here are some tips on how to reduce rewrites on DS and succeed there as a writer:

1. Pick a format and stick to it. I started on one format and learned it front and back. I never have had a rewrite request pertaining to style guidelines in this format. However, once I tried to do more (2-3 new ones at once), I received several rewrite requests. I now stick with 2 formats rather than sticking to a specific 'topic'. Download all the copies of the style guidelines for the formats you use to cross check before submitting.
   
2. Consolidate research time and find all resources before you write the article. Remember to check the backlisted sites that DS does not allow for use as a reference. I always try to find at least 3 references and one resource for each article before writing. I then come up with all the subheadings at once so I can write in one subheading if I am struggling with the introduction or other heading. (NOTE: When writing Abouts, it is wise to stick with the suggested subheadings. This is just my opinion, since there are typically many rewrites for authors who create their own subheadings).
   
3. Stay away from titles that can be interpreted in more than one way. Most, if not all, of my rewrites were for titles that could imply many things. I went with the obvious most of the time, but the CE would disagree and call for a complete rewrite. These types of rewrites are most disheartening, and so I advise to stay away from titles that might suggest something other than what you initially think. Read through them from a different perspective to help decide. By eliminating these titles from my claimed list, I have greatly reduced the number of rewrites I receive.
4. If something seems fishy, report it. I had my first rejection from a CE who did not inform me of what needed to be changed during a rewrite which led to their rejecting the article. I sent a letter to the appropriate people explaining my situation, and it was corrected almost immediately. Sometimes, and it's rare, CE's are in the fault, so report it if you think you've been treated unfairly.

I hope this helps any aspiring or current writer for DS. As I have only been writing for them for a little over 3 months, I am always learning too. I just know if I had known these things before starting out, I could have avoided a lot of stress.

eHow's Ongoing Sweeps

Well, it seems eHow has done it again. I have only been writing for eHow for a total of four months, but this is the second large sweep I have seen. Seems like my theory on writing for eHow is probably correct.

I had two of my higher earning articles wiped out without a stated reason. At least in the last sweep they provided a reason.

eHow is a great place to get started with online writing, but I don't think it merits long-term writing success because of these sweeps, lack of editors and lack of communication. That being said, I am glad I started with eHow, because it got my foot in the door, but at the same time, I won't be rushing over to publish new articles any time soon.

For those of you who lost more articles in this sweep- I feel for you. But keep your chin up. Being a writer means dealing with rejection. I've learned, over the past few months, that with every rejection comes a lesson. If we choose to apply that, then we will become better writers.

And if you did not already back up your eHow and other online articles, this is a reminder to do so. You can publish the deleted ones on a different site, such as Suite 101. I use Google Docs for all my online writing. Using a flash drive or external hard-drive is another option. Just don't let your articles sit in a folder on the computer or on the site you published them on, because things like the sweep can happen.

To retrieve lost eHow articles, do a Google search for the title in quotes. Then click on 'catched'. That should get you to the article for at least a couple days after deletion. Hope this helps!

How do you deal with rejection?

September Earnings Update

It's the first of October! Last month really did fly by, and I feel as if this month will too. September was not the best writing month for me, I am sad to say. I had many projects I was working on around the house that distracted me and was also feeling low in morale due to an excess amount of DS rewrites. Any-who, here are the stats for month:

eHow: $17.41 (37 articles)
Suite 101: $8.96 (11 articles) (will be paid from Aug with Sept for a total of $13.29)
Examiner: $2.41 (24 articles)
Demand Studios: $165 (11 articles)
Adsense: $2.46
Private Clients: $9.31

Total: $205.55

Definitely my worst month yet. I only added two articles to eHow, but surprisingly my earnings nearly doubled from last month. My Suite earnings also doubled, due to my increase in articles there (however, many of these articles came from abandoned rewrite requests on DS). I really lost motivation to write for Examiner (they are barely giving me pennies) and thus, missed payout by a few bucks. I am hoping to reach payout this next month within the first two weeks so I can get my 25 bucks and leave the company for good.

I wrote significantly less for DS, primarily due to the lack of good titles in my preferred style. As I wrestled with new formats, I got quite a bit of rewrites and even an uncalled for rejection (which was later taken off my record after I appealed it). This made me unmotivated to put out very many articles. However, near the end of the month, I wrote more after mastering two new style categories, including Fact Sheets, which pay $7.50 but take 20-30 minutes to write. This was definitely a challenging month for me at DS!

So what are my goals for October?

eHow- write 2-3 new articles or when idea strikes
Suite 101- write 5 new articles
Examiner- write enough for payout
DS- write 20 articles total or make $300
Private Clients- send in 5 queries to print magazines (1-2 per week)

Since I will be kept busy finishing research and starting my novel as well as planning for a Halloween party, I think this will be plenty challenge for me!

How did you do for September? Did you meet your goals? What are your goals for October?

Suite earnings reach payout

I just checked my Suite 1o1 earnings, and to my delight have discovered that I've reached payout for the month. With the carryover from last month, my earnings to date are $10.20 for 11 articles! This really gives me an incentive to continue writing for Suite as much as possible.

And since I've reached payout for eHow this month as well, it looks like it's going to be a rather lucrative month (well, for me anyway!).

How are your writing goals going for the month? Have you reaching a certain amount of articles or pay yet? What are you doing to stay motivated as fall approaches?

September eHow Earnings Exceed Payout

September is officially the first month my articles have earned over $10 on eHow. And with more than a week and a half to go, a lot of additional earning potential still exists. I am so excited! With the carryover from last month, I will be getting my biggest passive income revenue to date. Let's keep our fingers crossed that those 10 dollars will keep on multiplying ;-).

Demand Studios Frusteration

I've been writing for DS since the middle of July. Up until now, I've had little complaints in regards to writing for this company. Writing for DS has provided me with quite a bit of extra cash we desperately seem to need. But these past few weeks the cash flow has been next to nothing.

In September, I have written 9 articles for DS. 7 of those were sent back for a rewrite. I choose not to rewrite 3 of them, had another 3 approved after the rewrite and also my very first rejection.

All of this has made me quite frusterated with the CE's there. I had to send in an appeal for the rejection since it was unfounded. The other rewrites were nitpicky. After lurking on the forums, I've discovered other writers have been having this problem as well. Where they previsously would have gotten the majority of articles approved from the get-go, they are now being onslaughted with a huge amount of rewrites.

Has anyone else been having this problem? Does DS typically go through periods like this where articles are heavily sent back for rewrites, followed by more calmer, normal periods? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

DS is still my primary source of income, but it's starting to become my primary source of frusteration as well.

August Earnings Update

Another month come and gone! I was able to write much more this month than any other, meaning my earnings shot up. Here's a snapshot of what I earned on each site (note: eHow has not updated for the last day of august yet; I cannot provide exact earnings with Suite 101)

eHow: $8.95 (35 articles)
Suite 101: around $4.50 (5 articles)
Examiner: $8.52 (21 articles, yet to meet payout, total earnings: $19.48)
Demand Studios: $345 (23 articles)
Adsense: $3.08

Private Clients: $55 (blogs, magazines)

Total: about $424.88

I expected my eHow earnings to increase more than they did. I added 12 eHow articles for the month of August, yet my earnings only increased by pennies. Needless to say, I was disappointed to discover that I missed payout (unless, I ended up making $1.05 on August 31st, which is unlikely).

Suite 101's earnings pleasantly surprised me. With one seventh the amount of eHow articles, I earned roughly 50% of what I made on eHow for Suite 101. This is encouraging and prompting me to write more for Suite 101 during the month of September.

Examiner's earnings were less than July, which was expected. I have decided to write a few more newsy articles during September in order to reach the $25 payout and then discontinue writing for them. My articles recieve only a handful of views on average, and it is simply not worth my time to write for mere pennies.

My adsense earnings were nice. Although I am years away from payout ($100), it was interesting to see the earnings double from last month. My niche blogs are slowly but surely improving! Next month I plan on putting more emphasis on those blogs in effort to gain better SEO ranking and more adsense earnings.

I had planned to write more for Demand Studios last month, but certain brief health issues prevented me from writing the last couple weeks of August. Most of those earnings are from the first two weeks. In September, I will be devoting more of my time to working on my own sites, Suite 101 and eHow, although I still plan on bringing in around $200-300 with DS.

My private client earnings stem from sponsored blog posts and an article I had published in a print magazine.

My next post will discuss September writing goals.

How did August fare for your writing?

eHow Article Sweep: Conclusions?

If you write for eHow, chances are that you've recently had one or more of your articles deleted in what is known as an 'Article Sweep'. Getting that message in my inbox was disheartening to say the least. Two of my articles (one a growing earner) were deleted. Here are their titles and the "reasons" for deletions:

• How to file for a FAFSA pin number (SPAM)
• How to Plan Summer Brunch Parties (Poorly Written)

I can see why they marked the first article as SPAM- it mentioned a website. But, in the internet age, how can you NOT mention a website? If a person is looking for a how-to article on the internet, chances are that he or she will benefit from the website in question. Other writers have reported articles with places and products have also been deleted as SPAM.

I re-posted the second article on another site. You can view it here. Tell me if this is a horribly written article or not. I could not find any major grammatical or spelling errors. I even followed proper how-to format. This article was becoming a steady earner for me the past couple months, and I am irritated at eHow for claiming it was poorly written without providing advice on how to correct it to meet their standards.

After reading several other blogs and the forum, there seems to be a common theme with this article sweep: Many people had articles deleted for no good reason. One writer had an article deleted that had earned over $1000. Some have had more than 50 articles wiped out, and a few had their accounts closed.

Although my original plan for the month was to reach the 50 article mark on eHow, I am not sure how I feel about it. I am worried that my articles will all eventually be deleted, thus ruling out the "earn forever" highlight of passive income. Would I be better off writing for flat fee sites or other passive income sites that have a solid reputation, such as Suite 101? I guess this is why writers need to diversify their work.

What was your experience of the eHow article sweep? Do you think some of the deletions were unjustified? How does this affect your writing goals/plans for eHow and other sites?

The Newspaper as a Writer's Inspiration

With the economy still in a slump, many people have opted out of their daily newspaper delivery service. I, however, am among the few who have chosen to subscribe to my city's newspaper for the first time.

Although I rarely bought the daily newspaper, I did try and get one every Sunday for the coupons. Recently I began getting angry at myself for forgetting to even that. Having it delivered each Sunday sounded delightful. However, the cost for delivery 7 days of the week was only a couple bucks more, so I thought, why not?

I am glad that I did end up getting the 7 day subscription, because I've noticed the articles and issues contained within it has triggered ideas for online articles that I might write. I simply scan the headlines and already am it with plenty of ideas of expand on. For example, a tennis tournament has taken place in Cincinnati for the past two weeks or so. The newspaper has chronicled the ups and downs and highlights of the event. I could have written several articles concerning this event and/or tennis. The articles in the newspaper brought up some of the most important events and profiles that already were ranked high in popularity. I would be wise to grab a-hold of that popularity as an online writer.

And I have.

Results? More page views and more revenue from popular subjects. Although these things may or may not result in long-term residual income, it is certain that the newspaper has helped me in generating ideas that could possibly become so.

So , if you're a writer, consider supporting your fellow local writers and subscribe to the newspaper. You're sure to be hit with a slew of ideas that make the subscription price plenty worth it. Check this out for reduced newspaper subscription rates.

Do you subscribe to the newspaper as a writer? Why or why not?

eHow 50 Article Challenge plus earning udates

Well I have decided to embark on a writing challenge for one of my content sites- eHow. As of now I have 35 articles written for eHow and am challenging myself to complete 15 more by the end of the month. That's a little less than 2 weeks away, so I it's definitely going to be tough but doable.

I really hope that once I get a higher number of articles published there I will start to earn more. As of now, my earnings for August are the worst yet, less than even my first month on eHow. I seem to have quite a bit of "zero" days followed by extremely low earnings the next day. Several other users have reported lower earnings while some have seen a large jump. I am holding out for these last two weeks, however, in hopes that I will reach payout. We'll see.

As for Suite 101, I have completed 4 articles and finally reached over the $1.00 mark. This is much faster than my eHow articles when I first started, so there is a lot of hope there for a nice residual income if I continue to put out articles.

I am also crossing my fingers for payout with Examiner right now as well. If I continue to earn around .50 cents a day, I will reach the $25 payout finally. However, this will require me to write something almost everyday if I can, even though I have seen an increase in page views on days I do not write.

My adsense revenue has already exceeded what it earned last month (still under 10$ and far away from a payout), so that is somewhat encouraging. I also made my first eBook sale (though this was from my sister, so I don't know if I should count that!).
How about you? What are your earnings like for August this far?

Researching for eHow Article Topics and Keywords

The past two days I have been researching ideas for future eHow articles. I now have a goal to have over 50 articles published by the end of August on eHow. But since I have 11 articles that are no earning yet (some of which are brand new), I have been experimenting with different methods of research for topics and keywords.

One of my new best friends is the Google search bar. I type in 'how to' followed by a particular letter, such as 'a' and the suggestion tool comes up with the most searched phrases that begin with 'how to a' such as 'how to annotate'. With this list, I have been researching whether those articles have already been written on eHow (some haven't!) and what the competition is. My next phase will include using the Google Adwords keywoods tool, and I'll search for those phrases that have the highest PPC. It has made writing eHow articles much easier since I no longer have to come up with a topic- google does that for me!

I also recently found out that Suite 101 gives a bonus to its writers who reach the 50 article mark. I am still 46 articles away! But this gives me a lot of motivation to get there. Since Suite 101 articles take longer to write than others, I am not going to try and rush myself on those 46 articles just yet.

Here are some links to some helpful eHow articles regarding topic and niche research:

• How to get your eHow article into the top 10 Google search results
• How to get new ideas for your next money-making eHow article
• How to get your adsense ads to match your article content: the power of optimization

What's next on my resource list? Purchasing a copy of Writergig's eHow book. I've come across it many times and read great reviews from it. I need to write some extra DS articles, however, before I can buy it!

One of the aspects of freelance web writing that I love is my ability to work anywhere. Although access to the internet is key in web writing, wireless hot spots can be found almost anywhere nowadays. Below is an article highlighting the wonder of mobility in freelance writing. Enjoy!

Freelance Writing: A Career From Anywhere

by Gary McLaren

An island in the Mediterranean. A beach in Africa. The east coast of New Zealand. What do all these locations have in common? A recent call for assistance from freelance writers elicited replies from every one of these locations. In each of these and in many other remote places, I know of writers who are freelancing with a fair degree of success.

Indeed it is possible for freelance writers to work from anywhere. Consider my own recent experience. As the editor of the Worldwide Freelance Writer web site, I publish a newsletter that goes out to thousands of freelance writers around the world. I can recall one particular issue in the middle of 2002. I started planning the newsletter in the heat and humidity of Hong Kong. When the first draft came together I was in Indianapolis, in the United States. And by the time I completed the final copy and pushed the send button I was at a lakeside cottage in Ontario, Canada, with snow lightly falling outside.

Maybe you are interested in a freelance writing career but you worry about whether you live in a suitable location. Well, think again.

Freelance writing is a job you can do from anywhere. It is true that if your home is near New York's editorial offices you may be able to use your proximity to some advantage. But many, many freelance writers are working successfully from more distant locations, and in many cases enjoying a better lifestyle in the places where they live.

Take Ron Irwin, for example. An American, Ron freelances from a small house on the beach in Cape Town, South Africa. The majority of his work is still for North American markets. Consider Vella Corinne, a native of Malta in the center of the Mediterranean Sea. From this island steeped in history - the Order of St John was based here and the temples are thought to be older than the pyramids - she writes travel and lifestyle features.

Writers in locations such as these, far from being at a serious disadvantage, can actually enjoy a number of benefits. For a start, these writers are in an excellent position to write about their own locations, the people and the culture. Also, the living costs are often less expensive than for writers in major cities. And if that is not enough, how about fresh, clean air?

Writers working from remote locations usually live in a cleaner, more peaceful environment, and may live closer to outdoor and recreational activities. Vella reveals how she enjoys the warmer days: "Once I pack up my computer, I just head to the beach. Distances are short and, the island being small, I'm always close to the center of whatever's happening here. I can control my own time in a way that I could not if I lived in a busy city."

Twenty years ago writers in remote locations were often frustrated by the slowness of communicating with editors on the other side of the world. It would always take months to receive a reply from an editor. Waiting for a response to a query was about as exciting as watching grass grow!

In recent years the availability of the Internet has made it easier than ever before for freelancers to communicate almost instantly with anyone, anywhere in the world. In my own example above I traveled through a few countries over a three-week period and managed to conduct my freelance work at the same time. Many of my clients didn't even know I was 'on the move'. Little did they know that between receiving and replying to their messages, I was fishing in the lake and hiking through the woods. I could easily keep in touch with important contacts, as well as write and send out my newsletter.

But do you know what was even more exciting? While I was traveling my web site was hard at work, the entire time, 'day and night'. Even while I was flying at thirty thousand feet, taking a nap, I was effectively selling a bunch of writing-related books and products. Now if that isn't a freelancer's dream becoming reality, I don't know what is! Such accomplishments were definitely not so attainable before the advent of email and the World Wide Web.

Kathy Crockett freelances from Gisborne, New Zealand, on the east coast of the North Island. She commented to me on the difference technology makes when working from such a location. "It's a city of 35,000", she explains, "the closest to the international dateline, and the first city in the world to see the sun each day. Its closest city-size neighbors are three hours drive on windy roads...the internet, mobile phones...technology lets me be wherever I want to be... and fool others into thinking I'm where they'd like me to be!"

Of course working remotely is not always easy and there are a number of challenges that writers typically face. Isolation is a common issue. Vella explained to me she has a way of dealing with it. "At times it feels like I have a totally atomized existence. I balance that by scheduling some 'face time' each day", she explains. I agree with her. Sometimes you must make a conscious effort to spend time with family, friends, or other writers.

Another challenge may be difficulties with technology. Finding a PC repair shop may be next to impossible. Internet access may be unavailable or unreliable. There are many, many places in the world that don't even have telephone lines yet, not to mention email access. You can still work as a freelance writer from these locations, but it will not be as convenient. If you have any choice where you live, always try to choose a town that has telephone lines with reliable Internet access.

And that goes for working while you are on holiday too. Check the available technology in advance. In the example of my trip above, I received a surprise. There was no telephone line or email access in the cottage. My initial panic subsided when I discovered a telephone not too far away. In freezing temperatures, I trudged up the road. When I pushed the button to send out my newsletter my notebook computer was plugged into a payphone.

Are writers in remote locations at a serious disadvantage? No way! I am sold on the concept that you can work as a freelance writer from anywhere. And while you will face some challenges, none of them will be insurmountable.

So if you're looking for a career you can do from anywhere, look no further. The writers I referred to and many others are working successfully right where they are. And so can you. Open up your notebook. Start writing. You can begin to build a rewarding career as a freelance writer today.

About the Author

Gary McLaren is the editor of Worldwide Freelance Writer. For more information on freelance writing and a database of more than 2,200 writing markets, visit http://www.WorldwideFreelance.com

First Suite 101 earnings and Writing Challenges

Today I went to 'my Suite 101' page and was delighted to discover my articles have started earning! Although the earnings are not yet over 50 cents, something is better than nothing. What was surprising about this is that I only have 3 articles on Suite 101. So that means those articles are earning! I'm looking forward to publishing more articles with Suite 101 in hopes that my pennies soon churn themselves into dollars.

Monday is always a difficult day to get rolling with writing. However, I stayed on track last week for writing goals and hope that I can do the same this week as well! The great thing about being a freelance writer is that I can choose my own hours and work days. So even if I do not meet this week's goal, I can make it up some other time in the month.

Many writers regularly employ 'challenges' for residual income sites, and this has inspired me to consider one myself. I would wait until Sept. to begin any type of challenge, but I wanted to know what site I should focus on.

Have you ever completed a writing challenge? For whom? What was the outcome?

First Check from Magazine Article and Editor Rewrites

Yesterday I received a little surprise in the mailbox. My first check for a magazine article! I was so excited to pull out that envelope and see my name in print, along with a $35 check stapled next to it. I wrote the article back in June and was waiting for it to come in, hoping the editor had not forgotten me.

It definitely has given me another push to get out more magazine article queries. After purchasing and reading Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments, I have been eager to try out some of the things I've learned. Now I think I have the confidence to do more since I have a couple of published clips not internet related. (BTW, if you haven't read this book, DO IT. I think it is literally the best book out there on freelance writing!).

In other news, I have been writing quite a bit for Demand Studios. This week I managed to write 10 articles, which is my goal for each week. I was ahead by an article or two, but then received two complete rewrite requests for the first time. I was frustrated since I had spent quite a bit of time on those articles! But I decided to go ahead and rewrite each article entirely. They were both approved, so that's good. I then took the original versions and posted them on eHow. It's nice to have a back-up place to publish.

I also wrote my 2nd and 3rd articles for Suite 101. I tried to vary the categories to get a feel for what might earn more. I don't want to write on the same topic too much if it's not a high earner. Well, each article also received revision requests! I do appreciate the time each editor at Suite 101 puts into looking at the articles, but it seems a bit much for such a low pay. I have yet to earn one cent from any of my articles! But I am holding out hope since I have heard of many people who make their highest residual income there. Next week I plan on writing more, and hopefully by then I will have somewhat mastered the format for Suite 101, which tends to be my main barrier in revision requests.

On a side note, eHow earnings have been extremely low the past week. Although I earned almost 9 dollars last month, I have only earned 0.71 for August. This is very disheartening and I really hope things start to pick up soon. I have published 3 or 4 new articles this week on new topics, so hoping that will help things.

How Google AdWords Can Help Your Articles Make Money

I write for both Suite 101 and eHow, both of which are residual income earning sites. That means that I receive a portion of the ad click income incurred from each article. Therefore, most articles are dependent on the type of ads that appear beside them. Some ads are higher paying than others, while a few pay nearly nothing. In order to get the most money possible from an individual article, doing some research with Google Adwords can really help to improve earnings.

How do I do this? Whenever I think of a new idea, I simply go here, and insert the name of the title or phrase it revolves around. By clicking 'get keyword ideas' I am presented with a number of associated keywords with my phrase. On the right, under 'Choose Columns Display' I then click on 'Show Estimated Avg. CPC'. CPC stands for cost per click, which is the amount an advertiser is charged when someone clicks on that particular ad. By choosing to use the highest earning keywords in my article (I look for over $3.00 as a starting point), I increase my income whenever related ads show up next to my articles and someone clicks on them.

bedroom organization	1 - 3	$1.33		135,000	14,800		Jun	Add
bedroom furniture sets	1 - 3	$1.18		246,000	90,500		Jun	Add
metal bedroom furniture	1 - 3	$1.73		90,500	22,200		Jun	Add
fitted bedroom furniture	1 - 3	$3.38		3,600	22,200		May	Add
rustic bedroom furniture	1 - 3	$1.75		8,100	8,100		Oct	Add
cheap bedroom furniture	1 - 3	$1.46		49,500	49,500		Apr	Add
country bedroom furniture	1 - 3	$0.96		14,800	12,100		Sep	Add

On the articles I have done this with, I have experienced a higher income per article as well as more views. Some topics tend to be higher earners while others have CPC rating as low as $0.05! The key is understanding and learning what topics are bigger earners than others. Implement this system and you are sure to make more money by writing not only for eHow and Suite 101, but any other place on the web where adsense earnings is key.

The Holidays are Approaching as a Money Making Season

As an online content writer, I have discovered I get the most traffic to my articles, and thus the most money, when I write on seasonal topics. With the advent of school starting back up, many holiday related articles will be popping up all over the web. I plan on being part of the bunch who see an opportunity and jump on it.

Although in the print writing world holiday related articles are actually drawing to a close, now is a great time to stock up on these topic gems online. By building a base of Halloween related articles well before it even hits, I give the search engines time to build rank with my article as well as provide a plethora of articles to those who want an early start in planning for it.

eHow, Examiner.com and Suite 101 are where I will be focusing my holiday related articles. By starting now, I think this will pay off later, allowing me to reap the benefits at a time when I want to enjoy myself too!

The Low-down on Writing for eHow

I started writing for eHow about 3 months ago with high expectations to start a passive income revenue stream. So far, with just over 25 articles, I have earned $14.76. Up until now, I thought that was a fantastic amount. I mean, we're just getting started, aren't we? In a couple months, I should be earning double that! Right?

After browsing through many users who document their eHow journeys, I am not sure if this passive income is worth it or not. So far, I have earned only $0.59 per article over the course of three months. Since most of these articles took me twenty minutes or less to write, that comes out to about $1.77 per hour. People, that is less than minimum wage- WAY less. And reading several other bloggers who have been at this for a while now (a year), I don't think they are earning much either.

But the point is that it will continue to earn a nice passive income without any additional work, right? Well, the way I see it, sites like eHow simply make their writers write now and get paid later. If I took my paycheck and gave myself the money through installments over the next year, it would be the same thing.

So what are the pros of using this site?

• No editors and no waiting period. You can write what you want right away and be published in a matter of minutes. The lack of hassle is what attracts many writers to eHow.
• Anyone can write. Although many have stated this as a con, I view it as a pro for those just beginning to write. Beginners can build up skills as well as clips.
• Potential to earn is seemingly unlimited. If eHow stays up forever, then your articles will earn forever.

For now, I will not be focusing my efforts on eHow, despite these pros. It was a wonderful introduction to online writing, but I feel my writing has more value than $0.59 per article. Instead, I will direct my efforts to other sites that pay well such as Demand Studios. I will continue to write articles when the pulse strikes, though I will not be setting any goals.