More Writing Tips

If you are a frustrated writer, you are not alone. As a self employed writer who took that plunge and quit the day job to work from home, you probably thought you had this game figured out. How hard could it be, right? You wake up full of enthusiasm, make a pot of coffee, then sit down to write..... then you write some more. Repeat. Hang on, where is all the money? You need to ask for feedback.

After your first few articles, and as if by magic those pennies started rolling in. Pennies are a somewhat useful form of currency, but how many articles do you need to write and market like a maniac before you can serve a scrumptious dinner of microwaved noodles? We have all heard the term "do something you're passionate about" but having passion and being broke do not need to go hand in hand. There are many issues to contend with when you are trying to improve your writing, and you should know that asking for feedback does not always return warm fuzzy feelings. You have to learn not to take it to heart; providing feedback is a skill in itself, and those who are under qualified will do everything in their power to intimidate you in an attempt to knock you right off your perch. Even worse, after reading their miserable responses, you will notice they do not even offer any advice. If you wanted to know whether you are a no talent idiot or not, you would have asked one of your ex spouses.

Once you get some decent feedback you need to learn from it. Make it a point to read that person's work to learn some more from them. These kinds of people attract readers because they offer something useful. The term 'critical feedback' is not an invitation for someone to assassinate your character. Critical feedback is a term that simply means that you are aware certain areas of your work may need improvement , and you want these errors to be identified. Any respected writer will point out where these problems are, and what you should be doing to correct them. This person is talented and does care that you succeed.

Part of learning to write also involves learning to provide constructive feedback, so any rudeness you get back is possibly from someone who is not as successful as they would like to be either. However, you can never know enough about writing that you do not need help, so keep asking. Looking back through many of my articles, I see countless horrifying blunders and I wish I could go back and correct them. In fact, I do not look too often because it drives me nuts.

At this point I feel compelled to offer one nugget of advice from the vaults: use a spell checker, please. Even if your topic is not one of my interests, I will read your work until I come across your 27th spelling error, then you must know you have lost me altogether. Use a grammar checker too, there are free versions online. Your cash offers will increase, even if these are the only factors you ever address. Ask someone else to proofread your work if possible too, or read it aloud to yourself. It is easy to see only what was intended to be written, and not that which is now in print for the world to see. After all this, it is still possible that you will see mistakes. Nobody is perfect, keep practicing.

If your articles are not getting hits, ask someone for help now. Do not stop writing though, success is born from persistence. Writing for pay is a thankless job in the beginning. When I was in high school, I was not interested in listening to any of the reasons about why writing would be so important in the future. Had I taken notice, I could have been floating around in the bay of Sardinia, sipping on cocktails which are being served to me by shirtless Mediterranean men.

I am nowhere near being a great writer yet, although I think I am 'good'. I can see how the feedback I get helps me to improve. So thanks to those people who take the time to offer constructive feedback, it is always gratefully accepted.

"I don't have a 'job', I get paid to write!"