I am confused about the whole content mill thing.
As part of my book promotion and research, I came across an article advising authors to send articles to content ezines as a way to promote a book. I took the bait. Seemed reasonable. I submit short pieces, include my bio and book info., and get more exposure.
You are a complex person, and there are nuances to your personality that cannot be summed up in a few brief adjectives. Does ‘mother of two’ encompass the highs and lows with your children, the love you feel for them, or the rollercoaster of conception, pregnancy and birth? Does ‘Christian’ explain the midnight questions you asked yourself and the balancing of faith with the realities of the world? Does ‘British’ suggest your patriotism, your political leanings, your secret love of rainy days? Of course not! People are more than just a list of traits; that’s why personal ads are so tricky to write. But you as a writer are not the same as you as a person.
We’ve been having two bedrooms repainted and refloored over the past six weeks. We had planned to have the old, ratty, who-knows-how-old-it-is carpet removed and replaced with Pergo(R) (that fake laminate flooring that resembles wood). However, we got a big surprise when they pulled up the carpet in both rooms and found old, rolled-up linoleum that wasn’t glued down. And, under the linoleum, they found a layer of old newspapers in excellent condition.
Why do people sign up for content mills? To make fast, easy money like their ads usually state, right? Well, from what we’ve been reading over the past several months, the money is anything but easy.
Letters will return next week.
Environmental writing is becoming more mainstream, and it’s a great way to expand a freelance article writing career, but it’s also fraught with risks.
I’m wondering if you’ve heard of this outfit (email removed by WritersWeekly) and their offer. What you think of it? Does it look legit to you?
My daughter recently said she no longer eats meat, which meant there would be no more Sunday roasts or fast food burgers as part of her menu. It put me in quite a quandary. Not knowing what or how to cook without meat, I turned to the pages of vegetarian magazines, looking through recipes, articles and features. It turned out to be a real eye opener in the form of a new writing niche as I realized that between the covers of these magazines lay lots of opportunity for writing submissions.
I woke up on Tuesday morning and started doing my morning chores – laundry, breakfast, you know the routine. I was still rubbing sleep from my eyes when I heard a very loud “RAT-A-TAT-TAT-BANG-TAT-BANG-TAT!!!” in the kitchen. I ran in there and found Mittens trying to scale our wooden blinds. There was a bird between the blinds and the window. Mittens moved faster than me and had that cute bird in his jaws before I could grab him. But, grab him I did and I managed to pry his jaws open and free the poor thing.
For the past six weeks, we’ve spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Spring 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest. In case you’re not familiar with our quarterly contest, this is how it works. On the date of the contest, at start-time, we send out the topic for that specific contest to all registered entrants. We also post it online. Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories. The stories “must deal with the topic in some way to qualify” and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count.
After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack.
So, sit back, relax, and take a break from your busy day to…watch death and greed collide.
