Addicted to Writing

Archive for the ‘Recommended Resources’ Category

Image via leavingworkbehind.com.

Tom Ewer is enjoying his well-deserved popularity as he runs the popular and authoritative blog Leaving Work Behind where he writes about quitting your job and building a career that’s right for you.

While his posts aim to help you realize your goals of quitting your job and running a successful online business, he focuses a lot on freelance writing/blogging which makes it very relevant for writers.

But another thing that makes Tom’s posts relatable is that he is not so far gone in his freelance income that he’s doing $500/hour copywriting gigs or $1/word magazine writing jobs.

Yes, he could accomplish that if he wanted to but with his current schedule he has the time to work on other projects. And flexibility is one of the best things about working for yourself.

He encourages you to take well-paying, respectable jobs but he knows that if you’re just starting out, you might not want to pass up on $30/piece blogging gigs, especially if it is from a growing, respectable company.

He started taking gigs on the side before he left his full-time job.

He’s all for passive income, but he suggests you improve your writing, and start making money through it because passive income streams take a lot of time and effort to develop.

Tom also offers useful additions to topics when you think you’ve heard it all before.

Below are 3 of my favorite posts:

1)      How to Spot Viable Freelance Writing Opportunities on Job Boards

This is primarily a video post, and I’m usually more into reading than watching or listening. But he makes great points on how to pick the best jobs on job boards by actually following all the links, looking at and analyzing the employer’s site and giving you the pros and cons, including educated guesses on what the pay might be.

This is by far the most comprehensive and useful post I’ve encountered about job boards.

2)      Paid Blogging: Why it Should Be Your First Option

This post isn’t just for freelance writers. It points out how internet marketers/online business owners shouldn’t disregard the power and potential of blogging. Even if they don’t get paid for it, writing good web copy plays a crucial part in making money online.

But if you could, why not get paid for it?

3)      Freelance Writing: How To Find Your First Job

This is a great guide that covers how/where you should go about looking, how you should apply (including the template of his application) and how to handle the project once you land it.

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Tom Ewer’s Leaving Work Behind is informative, easy to relate to and fun. Established writers are following him too, so I suggest you take a look if you haven’t already.

Normal? What do you mean normal?

image via rogerogreen.com

“There are two types of people: those who think they are normal, and those who know there’s no such thing.”

I love this quote, and recently I heard it again from Jeff Daniels’ character in the series Newsroom. I couldn’t get into the show, but I’m happy it reminded me of the quote.

I hate the term normal, because it is relative, invented by societies and cultures, and tons of people just kept trying to match up to it, without even questioning it. And the lot that questions it often gives up without trying enough, or believing that they can change anything.

The most common “normal” seems to be having a good job in a respectable corporation, climbing up the ladder while paying off a mortgage, having 2 kids and making a marriage work. Of course as time passes by, people work more and more, see those kids less, expect more from them (since they will face even a harsher competition for the best corporate jobs), have less fun and the vicious cycle continues. They do treat themselves to expensive stuff and some luxury holidays if they can afford it, without ever being able to appreciate it.

Bleak, right? I never wanted a corporate job. I never wanted a full-time job. I never believed marriage or having kids is a must. You want to get married? Fine. You want to have kids? Fine. But there is nothing wrong with doing things the way you want to.

And because I don’t want these things, I have been considered to be different/quirky/strange/eccentric by my friends and most of my family. They always believed that it is a temporary phase, just like I was expected to stop caring about the music that plays in the background. To get a stable job. To have a panicking biological clock because I’m past 25. What the hell?

I don’t fit in, because I have different dreams and plans. I aim to make it big as a writer, and even if I don’t, I’ll keep working as a writer. I’ll continue freelancing, writing those novels and screenplays, traveling and having the time of my life doing these. Of course this can be a lonely road since people around you either think you are crazy, or appreciate your guts and wish they could join you, but they won’t. It’s safer to stick to “normal” and “expected.”

So you do feel the need to read/meet people who feel the same way about things. People who do their own thing, and lead the life they want to lead. Johnny B. Truant is one of them.

On Johnny

I first came across his writing while reading Copyblogger where he guest-posts, but frankly, I could never really relate until I read his “Why Your Blog Is Going Nowhere (and the Truth about Getting Traffic).” on Jon Morrow’s boostblogtraffic.

Now don’t think that it is going to be the same old post. Just because everybody has discovered the draw of the “how-not-to-succeed/what-you-are-doing-wrong” sort of posts, don’t think his going to be similar. For one, he is blunt and uncensored. He also gives a lot of tough love, taking into consideration that it might just not be applying the wrong strategy, but you might also suck as a writer. Ouch.

But he does give advice that will work (if you apply them) whatever your problems might be. Now, I never let a good post go to waste-meaning I don’t just read and forget about it. I check the links, and see if the author is taking his own advice. I also read the posts the links take me to, because I always end up finding valuable resources and ideas for my writing. There’s also the benefit of reading more, which in turn makes you a more informed, varied and prolific writer.

So I did read the blog post he linked to, the one about how he wrote and published a novel on Kindle in 29 days, and the uncensored one (the other one he linked to,) and I decided, again, that he knew what he was talking about, and that I liked how he was talking about it. So I downloaded his free e-book How To Be Legendary.

HOW TO BE LEGENDARY – Review and Quotes

Image via johnnybtruant.com.

His analogies about Matrix got to be the second thing I liked about the series, the first one being Keanu Reeves. I might be alone in this, but I wasn’t remotely into the world where Neo wasn’t a slave to- it was just as bleak and lifeless and full of weird characters as the first one he didn’t feel he belonged to.

But the enslaving world in the analogy is the “normal” life as we are expected to live, and the liberating path is the one we choose for ourselves. It might end up being “normal” but it is important that we chose it willingly, and will be happy that we chose it to the last second we have on earth.

It is honest, fun and in-your-face.

“You’ll get old and then you’ll die, so there’s no point in hedging your biggest bets. It’s truly now or never.”

Not only doesn’t he book reinvent the wheel, but he openly admits to it. He admits his own procrastination and the period where he did things for the wrong reasons, and how he made them right.

You aren’t probably going to get any epiphanies reading the book, but it is a great motivator if you are struggling to put in the work for what you want to do, or presenting that work to the outside world. It will also remind you of how legendary people actually got to be legendary, and that not everyone will put in the work they need to.

So the book is helpful, though not everyone might feel that way. It helps, and will help, only if you are ready to get going. Like I completed this post in the midst of a major cold I’m fighting off. And yeah, it is nice to feel on track instead of feeling depressed over the obstacles/excuses (aka the lack of energy/lack of time/lack of inspiration…)

“The ‘I don’t have time’ excuse is the lamest excuse to ever exist. It makes me angry, because it is so fragrantly bullshit.”

Pay extra attention to what he says about trying to make things perfect. You can find the book here.

“You can’t afford the house of your dreams. That’s why it is the house of your dreams. You either find a way of getting it (you’ll find the means) or be satisfied with dissatisfaction.”

Paul Arden, from Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite

How are you with motivation? How good are you at challenging and encouraging yourself? Most importantly, how good are you at taking advice? I’m usually terrible at taking advice, for instance.

I stand my ground and I don’t really pay attention to anyone whose advice doesn’t fit in with the way I think. And I don’t think that this is necessarily a bad thing. Because you can only be serious about really listening to someone who you respect- someone who practices what he preaches and preaches what he practices.

And who wouldn’t want a mentor whose advice can help your creative juices flowing in every aspect of life, while telling stories about people who are where they are because they dared to be different?

And when I say different, I’m talking about the people who went their own ways and followed their dreams.

And looking for a mentor like that I finally found mine last year: A wonderfully smart, quirky successful (and unfortunately deceased) man in advertising: Paul Arden.

Paul Arden image via goodreads.com.

While I was studying advertising at university, I came across some great names like David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach. And while I was impressed by what they have achieved, I quite hadn’t found the right person whose teachings would go beyond the world of copywriting or advertising in general.

Paul had worked as a creative director for the famous Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency but I fell in love with his ideas when I stumbled upon a book of his: Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite. Just my kind of book, because I do have a way of thinking differently than almost anyone I know in most areas. And this book was basically telling me to keep it up. It rocks to hear you are on the right track from a very successful man.

I got addicted to Paul’s style and bought his other books: “It Is Not How Good You Are, It Is How Good You Want To Be” and “God Explained in a Taxi Ride”. I would buy whatever else he wrote, but unfortunately Paul Arden passed away in 2008…

Now, on to the book:

Paul Arden-Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite. Image via amazon.

Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite tells the fun yet notable success stories of people and firms who challenged the norms and by applying the opposite.

Examples include: photographers, Olympic athletes, bookstores, Kodak, Paul Arden himself, fashion designers, rockers and many more.

This is a book that you can eat up in a couple of hours. It has big fonts, paragraphs that are not too wordy, funny and/or interesting pictures and attention-grabbing page design, usually by being simple. Yep, Paul Arden knew a lot about readability too.

But soon after you finish it, you will want to come back again and again to remind yourself it is a good thing to challenge and even change status quo by being innovative, different, opposite. I love every page and every word of it.

Have you read it yet?

(I did use affiliate links in the post.)

Image via travelbloggeracademy.com.

I don’t remember how I first came across Travel Blogger Academy, but I’m really glad that I did. While I do write travel articles for websites and don’t run a travel blog (yet), I realized that this website is a great resource for all web writers and bloggers, whether they are interested in travel writing or not. Of course it is a lot more beneficial if they are.

The website tells you everything you need to know for starting, monetizing and successfully managing a travel blog. But the great thing is, despite most niche blogs, a lot of their advice can actually be applied to other blogs as well.

Editor-in-chief of Travel Blogger Academy, Adam Costa, does know and prove that content is the most important asset of any blog. He has utilized his writing and blogging optimally, and he is leading a lifestyle many writers would love to have: write what you care about for an audience that wants to hear what you are saying, make passive income all the while traveling to wherever you want.

Now, let’s do a content breakdown:

The homepage contains the blog posts, as well as the chance to subscribe to the 24-part free email course on travel blogging (though this course can be subscribed to from any page of the blog, which is a great tip for any blogger when it comes to what action you want your audience to take).

The other content pages- create content, grow traffic, get paid, use tools, include a collection of the best posts on the blog on these topics, which serve as what Chris Garrett would call flagship content. They tell you all the basics you need to know, as well as what you should do to take things to the next level(s).

From its logo to its design, from its content to clearly defined tone and purpose, Travel Blogger Academy has a lot to teach while being fun, practical and relatable.

Below are some of my favorite articles:

Travel Writers: 37 Publishers Who Pay – a nice collection of travel markets, both web and print.

101 “Magnifiers” For Exploding Your Travel Site’s Traffic

101 Proven Headlines for Travel Blogs (Yours Free)

How To Read Minds And Become Irresistible To Your Audience

How to Write Travel Stories That Sell

In a nutshell, this blog can help you

-          Write great headlines – regardless of  the topic

-          Be informative without a subject without sacrificing fun and personality

-          Dig deeper into what plugins there are out there

-          Connect with your audience

-          Make money

-          Grow traffic

-          Get inspired

And more.

Have you checked out the site yet?

Image via 4.bp.blogspot.com

The Holly Query

Your relationship with an editor usually starts with the query letter. She might like it and decide to assign you to the topic, or she might just decide that it is horrible and send it to the bin. Given their importance, writing queries can be scary.

Writing queries used to freak me out. I can’t say I am now in love with the process of querying, but at least they don’t scare or overwhelm me anymore. I realized that the hardest part of writing a good query, at least to me, is finding that awesome angle that will fit the magazine readers’ needs and wants correctly while managing to describe this angle in a compelling way in your query. Of course even if you think you got it right, there is the possibility that topic was recently snatched by another writer, and you were a little late.

The Query Is Only the Beginning

But let’s assume that you do know how to send the right kind of query, and let’s assume that you got the job. Congratulations, you’ve got one foot in the door. But now that you started a relationship, you need to work on maintaining a good one by delivering quality work on time, written, styled and formatted according to the parameters you discussed with the editor. And after you come through, sending a second query to that editor will be easier. The editor himself can even call you and ask if you want another assignment.

So you need to do your homework well, send the impeccable query, and listen to the editor.

So far, so obvious, right?  I mean did you really need to be told to check your grammar or not attempt a query before knowing your way around the magazine, and its writer’s guidelines?

What Not To Do With and After The Query- Editors Unleashed

But  apparently some writers do, otherwise Linda Formichelli’s Editors Unleashed would not have needed to cover so much ground with the editor pet peeves.

In this entertaining and informative e-book, she has talked to several editors about how some writers infuriate them during and after query.

But the beauty of this book isn’t that they only share writer “horror” stories, but also the good stories where the writer got and completed the assignment with grace and continued to work with the editor.

There are lots of resources on how to write successful queries, and Linda Formichelli’s free packet of 10 query letters that got her assignments is one of them. It can be obtained by subscribing to her free newsletter.  Formichelli is a successful freelance writer and the co-author of the bestselling book The Renegade Writer. She blogs on The Renegade Writer.

Editors Unleashed used to cost $6.95, but now it is the second free gift for subscribing to  The Renegade Writer. This ultra-useful book  covers query dos and donts as well as what attitude editors expect from writer once the query lands them the job.

Reading this book will help you:

1)      To  get noticed by the editor and land that assignment

2)      To build and maintain a good, on-going relationship with the editor

3)      To build and maintain as a professional, reliable and easy-going writer

4)      To laugh. Seriously, some writer behavior will make you laugh.

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Some Editor Pet Peeves- Inspired by Editors Unleashed

-          Queries with grammar mistakes and/or typos

-          Queries  that show that the writer has no idea about the magazine’s target audience

-          Queries that are far too long or far too short

-          Queries that are vague

-          Generic queries that could be sent to any magazine and yet would appeal to none

-           Queries that have the magazine’s and/or the editor’s name wrong

….

I’m sure there are more, but you get the point. While some of these are very obvious and takes a little effort on the writer’s part to get rid of them, getting the idea just right can be very tricky. To craft a query that is interesting, engaging and with a slant that hasn’t been done before is a challenge writers face all the time. But by paying attention to the tips in the book, we can transform a frustrating challenge into an activity that comes naturally to us. and getting more and better assignments as a result.

Editors, are your experiences with writers?

Writers, how are you managing the querying process I’d love to read your experiences, both positive and negative.

 Recommended Reading:

7 Great Query Letter Resources: A List of (E-)Books, Articles and Blog Links

  10 Things You Need to Do After You Sent That Awesome Query Letter

Image via amazon

This Writer’s Relationship with Dialogue

I love writing dialogue. In fact, I love it so much that I only started writing a novel this year, at the age of 27 (I’ve been writing since I was 9). So despite being in love with writing, it never occurred to me to try writing a novel because I had thought that only people who could (and would) write pages of narrative got published.

It was a misguided belief, but I blame it all on my dad’s library, which was full of international bestsellers that reeked of unbearably long and detailed narratives. Of course as I grew up, I discovered a lot of bestselling writers who found the perfect narrative/dialogue ratio, as well writers whose narrative flowed so well it read like juicy dialogue.

But despite finding writers whose books I could read hundreds of pages from in one sitting, I still doubted myself. Because I like dialogue so much, I preferred writing plays over stories, and screenplays over novels.

And yet the dream of being published, seeing my book printed and on the shelves, stayed with me. And with the inspiration I got from authors like Sophie Kinsella and Shari Low, I decided to just go for it.

I love the works of Kinsella and Low because they create fun characters, interesting plots, and hilariously authentic romantic comedies. OK, call it modern romance, chicklit, escapism….whatever. I love reading those kinds of stories, as well as creating them.

But I still had my doubts. Because unlike what Kinsella usually does, my heroine is not the heart of the story. And I didn’t want a first person story written in present tense. Because the story belongs to my male protagonist as much as the female. And despite having a lot in common, they have distinctly different personalities. They are also established professionals. So I have to adjust my tone every time I switch point of view. And guess what? I am writing with multiple viewpoints.

Why I Bought Writing Great Fiction

I needed some serious help. I didn’t want my characters to sound the same. I didn’t want any boring or unauthentic lines coming out of my characters’ mouths. I also didn’t want my story to look like it is all dialogue. I also had questions about formatting…Then I stumbled upon Gloria Kempton’s Write Great Fiction – Dialogue on Writer’s Digest’s shop.

I’ve been studying the book for a couple of months, and applying its tips on my book. I´ll be going whenever I get stuck, and I’ll also use it for editing and improving my manuscript.  And here is why this is one of the best resources:

What It Offers:

• Lots of dialogue samples from a large variety of published and successful books
• What to pay attention when you are writing dialogue (including its relationship with narrative and action)
• What not to do
• Lot of tips and exercises
• Formatting your dialogue
• How to know if your dialogue is working
• How not to get carried away with fancy words and useless adverbs
• Knowing your characters’ personality type, and writing accordingly
• And a lot more.

The Book’s Language

One of my pet peeves is people who don’t practice what they preaches. But luckily Kempton isn’t one of them, as her tone throughout the whole book is while authorative, it is also fun, conversational and personal.

You know you can trust her advice (not just because her book was published by Writer’s Digest), but also it is clear that she has used her own advice and it works. How else would it be enjoyable to study a non-fiction book without wanting to put it away?

Cover image via kmweiland.com

Like any writer who is passionately and desperately addicted to the act of writing, I love devouring good resources on any aspect of writing, be it fiction or non-fiction. Author K.M. Weiland, whose blog (Wordplay) I discovered while I was going through WritetoDone’s list of Top 10 Blogs for Writers. I can’t say I fell in l love with all of the blogs while some appealed more to me than the others. Weiland’s blog was one of my favorites.

Here’s what I liked about Weiland’s blog:

•  It is on blogger, so it goes to prove that you can actually have a well-structured, monetized blog even on a free platform. Yes, a hosted blog has its advantages (but also its disadvantages) and her blog looks informative, concise and it possesses all the right widgets. It actually inspired me to take a second look and revitalize my blogger blogs.

P.S. This is not to say she doesn’t own her domain name and run a website under it. You can check her website at kmweiland.com

• She offers articles and video. And with her video, she also offers the video transcript so she appeals to different types of readers at the same time. So you can learn a lot about blogging just hanging around her website and observing.

• You can browse through her blog posts and pretty much find good tips on whatever problem you are trying to tackle. Instead of generalizing, she has gone to the trouble of giving pros and cons, and examples of good results. One my favorite posts is Most Common Mistakes Series: Are Your Flashbacks Flashy or Flabby? as I am working on a novel with a great deal of flashbacks.  Most writers advice against flashbacks, suggesting that only a selected few can actually pull it off.

Well, that is just picking the easy route and generalizing. And guess what, I got the guidance I needed from Weiland’s post without feeling depressed about my choices for my story.

Here’s what I liked about the e-book

-          When she talks about creating unforgettable characters, she doesn’t just talk about novels, but she also gives examples from movies. As a movie fan, this makes the advice more memorable to me.

As a writer, I appreciated the fact that she used different examples from different story media- this makes her writing down-to-hearth, diverse and fun.

-          Just because she talked about Jason Bourne, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t quote from William Shakespeare. Or Graham Greene. Or Joyce Carol Oates. You get the idea.

-          She has included fun and challenging writing prompts that will help not only with our characters, but our plots and future stories as well.

-          She has given examples of truly great characters, and the reasons for why we love and remember them. If you have seen/read the work mentioned, you want to go back to it. If you haven’t, you’ve just found something substantial to study. And it makes you visualize.

-          You will find at least a couple of useful tips, regardless of what you write, and how your mind works.

-          It includes a comprehensive set of questions for you to ask your character.

-          It talks about the relationship between theme and character and it also gives guidelines on picking the characters’ names and jobs.

and more.

If I had paid for this book, I definitely wouldn’t have regretted it. This pdf will stay on my laptop, and will be referred to as I keep creating fiction.

I’m off to interviewing my characters now. How’s your character creation going?

Cover of 101 Ways to Battle Blogger's Block. Image via bloggingbookshelf.com

  Where This Freelancer Has Trouble

I guess I am like most writers. My brain never stops thinking about my next article, next blog post, next idea for a fictional story…

But I’m most comfortable finding ideas for and writing my blog posts. For me, freedom enables fun and creativity.

And a creative writer who’s having fun is usually a productive writer. But I do get stuck finding slants when I am pitching the other magazines/websites/blogs.

Most of the time, no two publications are ever identical. So having to come up with multiple (workable) ideas for each publication can be extremely frustrating.

And between all the publications, their topics and guidelines, I sometimes find myself unable to generate ideas productively.

You know you are in trouble when you can’t find any ideas that excite and/or entertain you. How can I convince an editor when I am not all that enthused myself? After all, it feels amazing when other people want to publish your stuff. The bad thing is, you are competing with many other freelancers.

Most Inspirational/Creativity Books Aren’t Helpful

I recently threw away a book on creativity, because its tips felt so abstract. And most books that are supposed to help you unleash your creativity only add to your block. Or they only offer stuff that you have heard before. Or they don’t appeal to your tastes/personality/mindset.

Why Tristan’s 101 Ways to Battle Blogger’s Block Rocks:

-          You can use all his suggestions for all sorts of writing.

-          They are fun to read and apply.

-          Some of the tips are familiar, but you probably didn’t see them presented in a neat, concise package. It is only 28 pages.

-          It’s free.

-          It comes with 101 tips, so there are bound to be some stuff you haven’t tried before.

-          Sometimes it offers contrasting tips, so you can get even more experimental to see what works better for you.  

Some of My Favorite Tips: (The details are in the book)

• Where were you X time ago?
• Look at your photo albums.
• Pick a (well-known). story/song/… and roll with it
• Title a post after a song.

When I was reading his e-book for the first time, and saw this last tip, I pushed the next button on my mp3 player (which was on Shuffle mode), and I got Kansas’ Carry On My Wayward Son – a classic rock number (that is also a trademark song on the mystery/thriller/horror show Supernatural).

Think what I can do with it:

Carry On My Wayward Blogger/Freelancer/Writer….

Don’t we often feel wayward with how much we are supposed to do to reach our goals?

Who knows what other titles can bring to the table, or how many more ideas can be spun off this song? If nothing else, you can just relax, close your eyes and enjoy the song.

After all taking a break, is incidentally, one of the ways Tristan is suggesting. And this is only one of the 101 ways. ,

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Tristan blogs on Blogging Bookshelf, a blog about “blogging,info products and internet business.” You can learn more about him here, and access his free e-books (whose topics range from getting noticed in your niche to getting ideas for books) here.  Yes, I downloaded them all. You can’t always find that much fun stuff in the same place.

Wooden Horse Publishing

Wooden Horse Publishing is a paid resource, but it comes with great alternatives. Currently, the prices for accessing the database are:

24 Hours – $1.99

7 Days – $9.95

30 Days – $29.95

6 Months – $89

1 Year – $149

You can subscribe to their newsletter and get industry news and updates. The site also offers e-books (at 14.95, which I have) and whitepapers you can buy at 5.95. As far as I know, they don’t have an affiliate program.

Writer’s Market – (from Writer’s Digest)

Writer’s Market 2011 can be found at the newsstands, or you can access the online Writer’s Market database. It is a paid resource, and some writers complain that it is not as up-to-date and extensive as it should be. I agree to a certain point, but I wouldn’t give it up on it just yet.

It offers some solid information, such as when the magazine was established, how to submit, who to submit, how much of it is freelance written, its response time, length and much more. However you need to check the information yourself, as publications change editors/websites/pay rates and many even cease to exist.

The book currently costs $18.45 (on Amazon), and one year subscription to the online database is $39.99/a year,($54.99/2 years) You can choose to subscribe monthly, which costs $5.99/month. You can find more details on the F.A.Q. page.

I bought the VIP program which cost me $49.95 – it gives me a year’s subscription to the Writer’s Digest Magazine, a year’s access to the database, The Essentials of Online Marketing & Promotion Webinar, 10% off all Writers Online Workshop courses and 10% off all Writers Digest Shop purchases.

Remember that Writer’s Digest also works with freelancers, and you can find the submission guidelines here.

Susan Johnston’s The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets

image via Susan-Johnston.com

Susan Johnston is a published author who runs her own blog The Urban Muse. Her e-book, The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets. She offers the website’s name, its attitude and who it targets. It also includes its pay rate (if it is specified), the topics covered and a link to the masthead/contact page/submissions page wherever possible.

At the very least, you have the link to the magazine’s main page where you can do your own digging. The book also features the reasons you might want to write for the web, how to approach the editors, and Susan’s own successful e-mail queries, including the background stories of these queries.

The book costs $17.99. I bought it after seeing it recommended on Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing blog. I think it is a must for web writers, as her listing includes online publications in diverse areas, including web design, social commentary, relationships, parenting, stock markets, writing and more.

She also lists other resources where you can search for online writing markets.

Writing for Dollars

Writing for Dollars has its own free guidelines database, as well as a free newsletter that comes with useful articles on writing. The newsletter also contains a group of markets, but to find more, you need to dig in to the database. As far as free resources go, it is pretty good. For instance some of the publications writing you can find on the database include Freelance Market Writer’s News, FundsforWriters, WOW! Women on Writing, The Write Markets Report and more.

You can search according to the subject, market name, pay rate, submission style (simultaneous or not) and payment time (on acceptance or publication).

The markets are divided into three according to their pay: High (over $500) Medium ($125-$500) and Low (less than $125).

Writing for Dollars is itself a low-paying market. It starts from $10 (for reprints) and goes up to $25 for solicited articles. You can read its guidelines here.

Freelance Writing

Freelance Writing.com is a wonderful website that it comes with its own free (albeit) small markets database, job listings, writing contests and resources (such as useful articles and free e-books). If you subscribe to the newsletter, you will get freelance writing jobs. Currently they have free e-books on writing persuasively, writing good sales pages, online copyrights, time management, creativity and many more.

Towse’s Links to Online Submission Guidelines

Towse’s Links to Online Submission Guidelines is a quite comprehensive (and free) guide to submission guidelines (listed alphabetically) and agents (also listed alphabetically).

Writer’s Weekly

Writer’s Weekly is a wonderful e-zine that comes with a free newsletter, free guidelines database, news from the industry and free articles. Just like Writing for Dollars, it is also a paying market itself (in the subject of writing of course). It pays more than Writing for Dollars.

Freelance Market News

You can subscribe to Freelance Market News Magazine at £17 for 6 months (6 issues), and £29/year (11 issues). The site offers a free sample issue. The magazine is also a paying market. You can find its guidelines here. The pay ranges from £40 to £50.

Worldwide Freelance

WorldwideFreelance.com offers a free newsletter with useful articles, links and some market guidelines. Their premium database costs 24.95/year and 39.95/2 years, and it is supposed to have 2.500 writing markets. The site also offers e-books on writing, blogging and writing markets. Market List E-Books (such as 50 Women’s Writing Markets or Travel or 50 Traveling Writing Markets) cost $6.95 each.

As you can guess from the website’s name, you can find info on markets from Canada, Australia and the UK as well.

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This is all from me for now. Please feel free to add your favorite resources.

*Note: Only Amazon links and Susan Johnston’s e-book link are affiliate links, so I make a small commission when you buy through them.