Web Savvy will go another round with focus on tech and content opportunities

I just mailed the new contract for my column Web Savvy to continue at The Writer. I was thrilled the editors are pleased with the response to my column because I’m passionate about the opportunities technology is opening up for writers. In coming months, I’ll cover a variety of topics and hopefully, find an expert (top bloggers who'd like some exposure, where are you?) who will help explain basics for writers who want to learn about using video to help tell stories. Digital recorders, backup programs, SEO and even favicons are all on my planned content list.

When I bought my first computer at the urging of my husband, I hung onto my word processor. I figured if I didn’t like the computer, I still had a backup. Needless to say, I never used the backup. For me, the computer has really allowed me to expand the services I offer clients in ways I never envisioned. Recently, I discussed with a client the possibility of live blogging an election event. I routinely use video for my posts, and I have become fairly adept at taking still photos. In the early days of freelancing, I never thought I’d do any of that because a lot of the technology didn’t exist yet. I admit I really enjoy learning new things and seeing results of my trial and error attempts when I'm trying out a new program.

The other day my daughter came home and told me she’s thinking about majoring in English. That’s what I did. My daughter likes to write, but I told her the truth—major in multimedia and minor in English. You have to master the language, but you also need to know something about the different options for content.

As publications focus on Web content, opportunities and challenges will continue to arise. I plan to track them diligently for you twice a month at Web Savvy.

Along with a team of writers, I also do a 3x weekly column for Beneath the Brand. If you haven’t read articles there, take a look. The site is an amazing resource for those who want to learn about or work in marketing or advertising.

Today’s writer, regardless of specialty, needs to be savvy about the Web. It goes without saying we also need to be savvy about the language. I view the words as the linchpin, but you can really broaden their impact with a little Web savvy.

The diversified writer: covering rugby league and politics, with writing and advertising along for the ride

I wrote a column last week about a writer opting to work as a generalist. This morning I realized it probably isn't for everyone, but it really suits me. The first email I opened was a request from Sky News to come up with some commentary about the Florida Primary.

Covering Florida was staring me in the face, a hungry blog begging for a mouthful of content. I remember wishing for 50 visitors a day. Those days were the calm before the storm. There's lots of content there, not only about the primary but also about the Australia Day Challenge.

I just finished my column for Web Savvy at The Writer. Subscribers can read my ideas about 'web-working' and see what others have accomplished by collaborating with other people they may or may not have actually met in person.

Meanwhile, I blogged at Beneath the Brand, explaining why I think rugby league is good for American businesses, large and small.

Each day I've worked on my nonfiction book, with a target of March 31 for manuscript completion. I've set the same deadline for the poetry manuscript--I'm down to nuts and bolts on that one, with the hard part (writing the poems) basically done.

Why am I telling you all this? So you'll know exactly what I mean when I use the term 'generalist.' In looking more closely, I guess it's obvious I'm passionate enough about several subjects to write about them repeatedly. So within that generalist arena, there are some specialized categories.

Networks that pay off for freelance writers

I get email frequently from different people but with the same question. How do I get started in freelancing? I always view these with frustration, because there’s no easy answer and of course because there’s so much information about this on the Web free of charge. But one of the first things I point an aspiring freelancer to is a network. You can do one physically or on the Web. You can do one as part of an organization or a commercial group. You can even start one yourself.

Most states have writing organizations. Some effective organizations—and this is my opinion so do your own research first—are the North Carolina Writers Network, the South Carolina Writers Workshop and the Florida Writers Association. If you’d like a group with a regional slant, take a look at the Southeastern Writers Association. I’ve spoken at conferences for each of these, except for the NC organization. They run top tier programs and the people in charge are very helpful. Do a search for an organization in your own state and see what the group has to offer versus what it will cost you to join.

Web-based networks are also very effective. Most of these communicate by way of message boards and/or email news groups. Online News Association is on the cutting edge of technology that changes this profession on an almost daily basis. ONA has a fantastic conference; I plan to attend this year. Freelance Success (commonly known as FLX) is not non-profit, but the fee is well worth it. I speak from experience and I know many writers who say FLX brought their career to the next level. It certainly helped me. Very nice members; all very helpful.

Finally, there are organizations like the American Society of Journalists and Authors and The Authors Guild. Both of these are pricier because their base comprises professional writers. Once you have national publication credits, you can apply. ASJA does allow non-members to attend the annual conference.

Some writers opt to start a network. This is easily done by way of Yahoo or Google groups. You simply set up a group, solicit members and take it from there.

The writer in the lonely ivory tower is mostly a myth. I won’t say he or she doesn’t exist. I will say most of us need a network, myself included.

Blogging can cause a heart attack?

A story in the New York Times (Jan. 7) reveals the founder of GigaOm, a hot blog in the tech industry, recently had a heart attack. And although associates of Om Malik say the 41-year-old writer also smoked cigars and cigarettes, a friend of his notes the stress created by Malik's successful blog. I have to admit, blogging can be stressful. The Florida blog I write really creates headaches at times because the readership grew so rapidly and this increased not only my email but also many interesting calls about possible stories. (Note: I definitely prefer email). There are also advertising inquiries to keep up with. And if a Florida story breaks, I try to be one of the first to talk about it.

I also do a freelance blog, and it’s a little stressful too. Writing good posts requires quotes, research and locating images. You can’t do it in a flash. And you’re right there in front of the reader multiple times a week. You have to be interesting. Blogging, however, is also wild fun.

It’s exhilarating when you break a big story. One of the most unexpected exhilarating moments for me happened when I broke a story about a federal prosecution of people (one man is from Orlando) using Bit Torrents technology to copy and then sell movies and music. That story has drawn thousands of readers from around the world. I got a release from the FBI, but I had to do research in order to understand what Bit Torrents was. Live and learn because blogging can be a challenge.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal linked to a story about the alternative minimum tax I posted at Covering Florida. I liked the fact they found it useful.

When the writing business can really eat you alive is when you experience success like that achieved by Mr. Malik. His blog grew to a company employing 12 others, including a chief financial officer. A number of Web sites operate under his guidance. Malik was a successful writer, providing content to national and international publications, before he started his blog. His plight reminds me of what my Grandmother used to say, "Be careful what you wish for..."

Writers find inspiration like a penny on the sidewalk

I came across this statue at Marywood Retreat as I finished interviews for a newspaper story. I'll gaze at the photo tacked to my bulletin board until, one day, my pen will begin to crawl across my notebook.

I was interviewing an author this morning for my Web Savvy column, and I mentioned inspiration. To me, the process is sort of like finding a penny on the sidewalk. Since I was a girl, I’ve checked first to see whether the coin was heads up or down. Heads up meant pick the coin up, pocket it and wait for good luck to follow. Sometimes I’d make a wish. Heads down meant pass on the coin.

Inspiration is very much like that penny on the sidewalk. You often encounter it unexpectedly, and you still don’t know what to expect from the encounter until you take a closer look. Despite the overwhelming creative bent, this is a key approach to running my business. I call myself a writer, but what keeps me working rests on the information I can provide and craft. The more unique the information and the more unique the style, the chances for publication rise. By unique style, I don’t mean writing the pronoun ‘I’ in lower case or paring away all the modifiers. I mean the way the piece sounds to someone’s ear, how the person’s brain perceives the information.

Poets and writers can often be on inspiration overload. Once you train the eye and brain, opportunities for creating a work of art from words abound. I’ve sold several pieces related to kumquats, all because I discovered those peculiar little fruits as a girl and many years later, bumped into a kumquat tree for the first time as we shopped at a plant nursery. A polychrome sculpture of the Virgin Mary in an art museum in South Carolina almost got me arrested. I sat for so long in the room containing the statue, the security guard began to hover. That experience led me to write a poem that is one of the only poems I’ve written that satisfies me, and it was included in my last collection. Newspapers and old cookbooks, my husband and daughters, my dog, my chicken and my cat have also spurred my pen to write poetry and prose. And the relationship with my mother is a veritable gold mine.

When I speak to groups, people often ask me if I get writer’s block. I have to say I don’t. It is true that sometimes I just don’t really feel very inspired. But if I gaze around my writing room long enough, something is bound to shine, just like that penny on the sidewalk.

To read a sampler of works I've published, visit my page at Media Bistro.

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Don’t be naïve: if your content is good enough to publish you deserve to be paid

I often have aspiring writers ask me if they should write for free. I usually tell them if something’s good enough to publish, you should be paid for it. I confess I often see things published that weren’t good enough to see the light of day, in my humble opinion, but yesterday I saw something that completely blew my mind.

There was a “job” listing by a publication at the freelance board for the Society of Professional Journalists. I took a look at the publication’s Web site. The manuscript and image submission guidelines state the following:

“By submitting your material, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which you hereby acknowledge, you hereby grant to (publication) a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide license to edit, rerun, reproduce, use, syndicate, and otherwise exhibit the materials you submit, or any portion thereof, as incorporated in their feature, (name of feature) or the promotion thereof, in any manner and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised, without payment to you or any third party.”

Amazing. My advice to you when confronting terms like this: Just don’t do it.

The Web enables any aspiring artist in any genre to set up a blog or Web site and share your work. This is the era of citizen journalism. Why would you want to assign any kind of rights to your material if you’re not getting compensated? So you can say someone else put your work on their site and stuck your name on it?

This is almost as bad as buying an anthology so your poem will be included in a book.

Be smart. If your content is good enough to publish you deserve to be paid. And if you’re not offered compensation, go and set up a blog or a Web site. You can do that free at a number of places, including blogger.com.