…or at least they don’t have to be.
According to Problogger’s homepage right not, most bloggers have been blogging for less than two years. At the time of me posting this, there are nearly 2800 votes on his “how long have you been blogging” poll. Of those votes, only 256 have been blogging for 2-3 years, only 184 have been blogging for 3-4 years, only 105 have been blogging for 4-5 years, and only 199 have been blogging for 5+ years.
In other words, only a quarter of all bloggers who’ve voted have less than two years of blogging experience. Blogging is …read more

Yesterday, I posted some thoughts about commenting on others’ blogs. One commenter, Brian McLaughlin, had this to say:
I scan quite a few blogs and when there is a particularly insightful item I like to acknowledge them but many blogs make it VERY difficult to comment if you don’t have a WordPress account or don’t choose to provide what seems to be excessive amounts of personal data, just for the ability to leave a note…
He’s absolutely right! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to leave a comment on a blog only to realize that the blogger has …read more

Thinking about starting your own blog? From experience, you’ll have a much better change of getting off the ground if you have these seven things:
1. An “About” Page
Your readers will undoubtedly want to know more about you and your blog. Your about page should be linked near the top of your page and include a way to contact you.

2. A Blogroll
Some bloggers are opting to leave off the blogroll, but I honestly think that every blog should have one, filled with great related resources. When you do link to other blogs, make sure you introduce yourself so they know you’re …read more

This is an interview I should have thought of! Leo Babauta who does Write to Done has an interview by Chief Editor Mary Jaksch of GoodLifeZen called Liz Strauss: The Secret of Being a Successful and Outstanding Writer.
Mary obviously knows Liz’s blog well, and refers to more than a few of her posts as she shapes questions for the successful blogger. Included in the advice Liz gives is:

“Sit down with yourself and be real. Then share what you’re feeling.”
A charming list of why she writes.
“Blogging is a new genre that requires a new way of writing to open it up …read more

The nature of blogging is it’s off the cuff. This blog, like many others, even most, doesn’t have a copy editor that checks for mistakes and typos before it’s published.
Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m not a copy editor! My spelling is creative at best. Of course, computers catch many errors, but not all of them, not by a long shot. Recently I’ve blown two sets of words the computer things are fine either way. The first was typing your instead of you’re; the second was scrambling lose and loose. And yes, I do know the difference and it’s …read more

Mark Silver, business consultant and writer has a post on his blog called Making your heroic choice. He quotes from an interview by Maya Frost with author Sarah Susanka.
Sarah talks about how she got a book written while she had a fulltime job. Her secret? She made a twice-weekly appointment with herself to write, and kept it. Mark comments that he had to do the same thing to get his book, and I know have to physically schedule time to get my own writing done. As he points out, we freelancers do have control over our own time – …read more

One of the great things about blogging is you can tell the world what’s going on with you. Often I’m able to gin up a post or two just based on whatever it is I’m working on at the moment.
On the other hand, the prospect of coming up with two or three posts a day is sometimes just plain daunting. I also suspect some of you would love to hear another voice once and awhile.
So I’m sending out a call for guest bloggers. The topic is freelance writing – any part of it. You might have a tip you want …read more

Whew… I just finished a proposal which had taken me several days to get together. It included reading something I’d written years ago and doing some typo-fixing to include as a sample. I was favorably impressed with my work from way back when.
I also wrote two blog entries for a client, answered another client’s question about book writing and book marketing. And I answered some questions re copy editing… and probably several other things too.
This is on top of yet another proposal which was completed yesterday… and the long and the short of it I’m tapped out creativity-wise.
Might go to …read more

Last week I wrote about freelance writers and sick leave. It was sparked by me pulling my back and being in major pain. But it seems like illness can come in bunches. Although my back is close to healed, yesterday I broke out in what can only be described as a major cold.
You know, sneezing, wheezing, and horrid red eyes. And with such a stuffy head my thinking is less than stellar. I’ve got some editing to do… and no clue at the moment if I’ll get any of it done today. The client is expecting it over the weekend …read more