Get Paid to Write Online Newsletter - Issue 62 - February 2012
Hello, Fellows, and welcome to the first Get Paid to Write Online Newsletter of 2012. How has the year started for you? I'm full of ideas for what I want to achieve. I've started the year with a bang with a new writing portfolio online. I'm also enjoying my latest gadget. I share these things and more in this issue of the newsletter. Enjoy!
Table of Contents (or download the PDF edition)
- New Writing Portfolio Option
- Kindle Touch Review
- Business in the Cloud
- Recommendation of the Month - Dragon Naturally Speaking
- Diary of a Working Writer
- Behind the Scenes
New Writing Portfolio Option
I've recently signed up for a new site which provides a great way for bloggers to showcase their credits. It's called Contently, and it is very easy to use. Once you've signed up (invite only at the moment), it takes just a few minutes to set up your portfolio. Since there's a 140 character limit to the short bio, I copied mine from Twitter. The site allows you to identify two writing roles, topics you write about, education and recognition. This last section is a great place to put the kudos you get from other blogs. There are fields for your site and blog, plus room for an extended bio. In another section of the portfolio you can add your social links (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr).
Then it's time to add items to your portfolio. All you do is put the URL in the available field and Contently will find the blog post and auto-populate the description if it can. If not, you have the option to edit the info and include a sample. One important feature is that there's a 'load more' button which will help to find other articles you have written on that site. It makes setting up the profile a quick process. Once you have pulled in all your content, the final step is to star some items to be featured. These will show up on the front page of your Contently portfolio. Check out my Contently writing portfolio here and if you want a full lowdown on the site, have a look at the excellent review by Kristi Hines.
Kindle Touch Review
I got a new toy for Christmas - a Kindle Touch. Here are my initial impressions:
When I opened the Kindle Touch box there was a moment of bliss and a small disappointment. Bliss because my new ebook reader was here, disappointment because Amazon decided not to package it with a plug adapter for charging. I've got better things to do with my USB slots than charge my Kindle, so I was pleased that the gift giver had shelled out the extra $10 for the adapter.
Next, I had to charge it. It took a while to find out how long I needed to charge the device (about 3 hours) because the info is hidden away somewhere. I think this should be part of the quick start info - or even printed on the box. The three hours passed in a flash and finally my new Kindle was ready to use.
Business in the Cloud
Can business in the cloud really work? I've been doing more and more online collaboration. I share my thoughts on cloud business in an article on Living Better at 50+:
When business pages came out I immediately went and created a page for my professional writing site and for each of my main blogs even though I couldn't immediately see how I was going to use them. Still, I thought it was better for me to have them than for someone else to grab them.A couple weeks on, I think that business pages represent an opportunity for authors. Because why not create a business page for your self-published e-book?
There are several features of Google+ that make it ideal for doing this. Okay, so you can't have a sexy page title (just strings of numbers) but you can have a page that will be rapidly indexed by Google's search engine and that has an excellent search engine optimised description of your book. (And if you really want a proper page name you can use Gplus.to or a similar site to create a pretty shortcut.)
Visit Living Better at 50+ to finish reading this post
Recommendation of the Month - Dragon Naturally Speaking
Like many writers, I have the occasional wrist problem. As well as wearing support straps when I need them, I minimize the likelihood of hurting myself by using Dragon Naturally Speaking. This speech recognition software program is a real life saver - and the latest edition is better than ever. It took just five minutes to get it trained after setup and I haven't had to repeat the exercise since. Recognition accuracy is the best it's been, which means I don't have to spend a lot of time on corrections. The interface has been cleaned up since version 10 and help with commands is easily accessible. And there are two more features that makes version 11.5 really stand out for me - the ability to import audio from another source, and the ability to dictate on the move with Dragon Dictate. I can't imagine running my writing business without Dragon now. Check out its features for yourself and see what you think. (Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11 and Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home, Version 11 on Amazon.com). If you're in the UK or Europe, there's a limited time discount offer on the Home and Premium editions.)
Diary of a Working Writer
Last year was the year I did my first video. This year will be the year I do my first podcast. I'm already working on it, getting in a little bit of practice before I launch to the world. I'm thinking of using it to answer some of the questions I've had from readers and, eventually, to interview other writers who can inspire us all. If you've got ideas for what you'd like to see in a Get Paid to Write Online podcast, then reply to this email and let me know. I'm at the start of the process, so I'm open to suggestions.
What else have I been doing in the last few weeks? Lots of writing and also capitalizing on some of the leads I picked up in late December (why do I always want to add a 1963 to that phrase?) I've sent out some pitches for ghostblogging gigs and I'll let you know next time if those have paid off. I'm also at the start of a new gig editing content for a blog launch - and of course I've been doing my regular gigs for my established clients (thanks, guys). On Get Paid to Write Online, I wrote a couple of posts that were really popular with readers, including Investing in Your Writing Business and Advice on Charging for Writing Blog Posts. I've also been writing about barter in the Word Carnival, and your February freebie with a compilation of all the posts is ready for download.
As always, I continue to work on my ebooks. About a year ago I did a short guide to Kindle publishing for a friend to give away on her site. Since the course has now ended, I've got that back and plan to release an updated version in a few weeks. So it will be all go over the next few weeks. What about you? Got any interesting things happening in your writing career? If you care to share, just reply to this email. I'd be happy to hear from you. Until next time, keep writing well!
Behind the Scenes
I'm an avid reader and maintain an occasional book blog. Here are some of the best books I've read recently.
Where I Hang Out Online
If you're looking to find out more about what I'm up to online, check out my website, Twitter and Facebook and Google+ or bookmark my Amazon author page.
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