From Blog to Article

As a writer, do you sometimes/often/always find yourself at a loss as to what to write next? No, I am not talking about topics or subjects you already have nailed down. Rather, the simple desire to get started with something, anything to break the brain logjam. It could be a personal project or something you want to develop to show to a potential client the stuff that you are made of. Whatever, I have been there myself and have found that some of my sources of inspiration have come from blogs. You got it…sites that have sparked my creative juices and allowed me to take a concept and bring it to fruition.

Typically, I come across a blog geared toward a particular topic &ndash let’s say aviation &ndash and find something within that blog that catches my attention. It may be a trend, company news, even simple speculation. Oftentimes, what I read becomes the inspiration for a fresh article so I take that idea, do some additional research, and create my own new work.

No, I don’t cut and paste someone else’s writings. Instead, their pithy work becomes the seed that I germinate to produce a unique and compelling article of my own. The key here is this: it is my own voice, not someone else’s work.

We all have our favorite blogs, you can be certain of that. Spend some time on those particular blogs and see what inspires you. Who knows, but a sentence or a paragraph you read may gel your brain into producing a 500-750 word article that you can include in your vast repository of interesting and relevant work.

Gosh, I think that I may be on to something!

Helping Clients Overcome

If you write for a living, that is, if you write articles for clients you often have heard about writer’s block. Personally, I think the topic is overdone and simply something that comes about when the author is too tired, distracted, or simply not interested in the topic at hand [oh, yes...this does happen!] On the other hand, do your clients sometimes suffer from writer’s block? Okay, before you throw your hands up wondering how could this be, just think about it: do your clients always know what they want you to write? Am I making myself clear? If so, read on…if not, please read this paragraph again!

As writers, we can assume that when a potential client approaches us to write for them, that they always know which topics they want you to cover. Without sounding cheeky, only if this was always so! To put it mildly, you may have a client who wants you to write “X” amount of articles, which he or she will place on their own web site in hopes of building up SEO [search engine optimization, that is], and your part of the equation is to write interesting and compelling copy that will drive traffic to their site.

Well, this only works out if your client knows exactly which topics/subjects are to be covered, keywords used, and the length of each article. No, your client isn’t going to write the article, but they will certainly lay its foundation. No web content article can possibly get going without your knowing certain essentials including the topic and which keywords are to be utilized. Make certain that these building blocks are included with your proposal, otherwise you risk going down one path while your client wanted you to go down another.

Unless you have plenty of time to constantly rewrite every article I recommend that you uncover precisely what the client wants from you.

When I sense that a client isn’t sure which direction they want me to proceed, I then start asking several questions, including:

Do you have a topic you want covered? If so, what is it and do you want me to come up with the article title or is this something that you would like to do? Knowing this information will help you create the introductory paragraph and your topic sentence.

Next questions: which keywords do you want me to use? I try to limit my clients to a small group of 2-4 words per article. Additional keywords mean additional articles…why confuse your readers? Why kill SEO? As I write this article for you do you have 3-4 points you want me to make? All of this information will comprise the article’s body.

Finally, what sort of “call to action” are you desiring? Do you want readers to buy a product? Read something else? Call their representative? I leave the anchor links up to the client, but I try to bring the article exactly to the point where the client wants it to be.

If you have gotten satisfactory answers to each of your questions, you have helped your client get over their own case of writer’s block. Yes, to a certain point every client has already visualized what they want written [they bring you on because they don’t know how to craft the right words or are simply too busy to write for themselves]. If they haven’t, you must help them answer the previous questions in order for you to write effectively.

If you don’t take the time to make certain that your client is sure of what he or she wants, you will have wasted time and delayed the opportunity to go to the next project.

I don’t know about you, but time is of the essence and we writers cannot afford to waste any of it. Nail down exactly what your client wants before tackling any project to save yourself time and to preserve your sanity!

Article Scribble literary works and Clients: When Things Do Not Slog away To

In each of my subject relationships, I look forward that mutual respect and reliability be basic ingredients in my linking with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you get an uncomfortable or bent impression about working championing someone, but you can’t tender your finger on it? Should you persist the business relationship or move on?

I deep down cannot declaration these questions on the side of you, but I have well-grounded that in my many years of working owing or with people that it is fully okay just now to move away on. In other words, if I put faith that a function relationship is not mutually gratifying, than it is okay to end it. There are abundance of employers peripheral exhausted there and piles of other projects to work on. The yet can be said there the other herself: if you shove off them or they drop you, they will gather up someone else.

In my opinion, you lack not contain a limited or physical reason either. On occasion you have a gut counterbalance to a singular forecast while other times there may be something up the project that simply goes against your principles or good doesn’t be agreeable to articulately with you. No sum, simply conclusion the affair relationship and move on.

How you drifting the relationship is up to you. If you hunger for to leave a door open, effective the human being that you are hustling with other projects is fine. If you want to segregate the door, you can swear them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, mellow your words with humaneness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t rat lies. You can’t harry about what others characterize as with regard to you; to do so is a waste of space and compel certainly impact your cleverness to upon fashionable and solid business relationships down the line.
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Maintaining Article Integrity

Inasmuch as I enjoy writing, I do not enjoy participating in schemes to create “templated” articles for other “authors” to use or misuse to their delight. Or, at the very least, to profit from my hard work!

On occasion, I am asked by a client to take someone else’s article, make some changes, and make it their article. Quite frankly, this smacks of plagiarism…I won’t do it, so please don’t ask!

Instead, if there is a general idea in a particular article that strikes a responsive chord in you, I would be interested in taking a look at the article and see if it inspires me to create original work. The key, of course, is original work, not a rip off of someone else’s writings and not a thinly disguised rewrite of the article.

My policy regarding working for others is this: if you trust my writing talents, you can trust that what I write for you will be “knock their socks off” good writing that will stand on its own two feet.

A good writer is a wellspring of original material while a poor writer hangs on to coattails of other writers or, worse, steals their information outright. Don’t get caught up in the “article mill” schemes that some so-called writers are involved in. Your reputation is at stake and you will be found out.

Ripping Apart An Existing Article

Occasionally, I get a request from a client to take their existing articles and rewrite each one with a fresh “voice” or style. I usually look at these types of projects with a bit of suspicion, as I wonder if the articles are owned by the client or swiped from someone else. I only proceed if I am confident that the articles are, indeed, the intellectual property of the person possessing them.

Once I get the articles in hand, I look over each one carefully to see what must be done to whip them into shape. I must tell you I have received some of the worst written rubbish from gleeful clients expecting me to improve upon their initial poor efforts. Let’s just say that I never tell my clients exactly what I think of their original work, but I am not shy about doing a hatchet job on an article either!

I like red pens and I bring one out and start crossing out sentences, correcting grammar, adjusting paragraphs, and inserting my notes. There are times when my “marks” seem to outnumber the words that were previously typed or written.

If the client gives to me the project on diskette, I simply insert the diskette [after running a virus check, of course] and print out each article in Microsoft Word and go at it. If no diskette is supplied then I simply input the article with my changes included and take it from there.

Normally, I must redo all or parts of an article two or three times before I get a good feel for it. Then and only then is it sent off to the customer for their review.

Quite frankly, it is easier for me to write an article from scratch then it is to take an existing article and rip it apart. Still, I savor the challenge and usually get a “job well done” in response as I transform an existing piece from an ugly duckling into a graceful swan.

Shifting Deadlines

As a writer who works on multiple projects at any given time, I attempt to pin down a deadline from my clients even if one is not stated. Why? Because, the “I am in no hurry for these” statements invariably becomes, “are you done with the articles?” How embarrassing is that if I make the assumption that a project could be put off, especially if my client wants it now?

I have learned to do the following: as soon as I get a project I ask for a specific timeline for when the job should be completed. If the client wants to receive proofs by a certain time, they will. I will also ask them to return to me the reworked article by a certain time too, especially if the “final copy” deadline is fast approaching. No one likes to respond to a panicked, “where is my finished copy?!” statement especially if the hang up is on their end. Regardless of the reason, the burden falls on you, the writer, if there are any snags.

Fortunately, most jobs I do are “in progress” almost as soon as I accept the assignment. Generally, I start my research right away and then I start working on an outline of the article. Once satisfied with the outline, I craft a rough draft and, finally, I write my final copy. Sometimes I take a break between the various steps in order to get more information, give my mind a rest, or simply to attend to other matters.

So, if I receive an urgent request [or demand!] for the completed project I can usually respond very quickly with at least some of the work immediately. Human nature, being what it is, I can expect that even agreed upon deadlines will shift around from time to time. How I respond to these types of demands is indicative to how well I work with my clients.

The Source, Of Course

Writing “net friendly” articles does not mean we can automatically leave out any mention of our sources. There is a tendency for many writers to simply write their material and not cite their sources, particularly when it is obvious that a source has been quoted somewhere within the body of the article.

Generally, what I do when it comes time to mentioning sources for an internet article, I attempt to first find that information on the internet and, if it is there, I simply provide anchor links in my article back to that source. In addition, I try to link directly to the page where the information is listed instead of pointing someone to the site’s index page. Why make it difficult for your readers to find out exactly where you obtained your information? Take them directly to the source, of course!

Other than that, I add the customary and appropriate resource information in my footers [or endnotes as some would call them] at the end of the article. Some may disagree with my methodology particularly with my anchor link citations, but it appears to be the best way to cite sources in this information age.

Remember: flexibility is the key when writing for the internet, but not at the point of failing to cite the appropriate sources when it is necessary to do so.

Writing Articles: Pinpoint Accuracy

This may not be a politically correct analogy, but if you were to shoot off a cruise missile from 200 miles away you would want it to hit your target, am I correct? The same can be said for an article writer — the substance of any article is very important, but an article misses the mark if it doesn’t do what you intend it to do: that is, bring about a call to some sort of action, i.e., buy my product, sign up for my newsletter, etc.

Most web based articles are very precise. They have to be. Start off with an attention grabbing opening, followed up by three or four main points, and then tightly wrapped up with a conclusion that invites the reader to take some specific sort of action is the way every successful web content article should be written.

Anything less than what I have outlined is like a cruise missile gone astray. Aim for your target and make certain that you hit it each and every time, no matter how far away you start. Although cruise missiles are prone to go astray, at least you have the luxury to write, examine, and rewrite your articles before they are delivered to your target, i.e., your customer.

Article Writing and Clients: When Things Do Not Work Out

In each of my business relationships, I expect that mutual respect and trust be essential ingredients in my association with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you have an uncomfortable or odd feeling about working for someone, but you can’t put your finger on it? Should you continue the business relationship or move on?

I really cannot answer these questions for you, but I have learned that in my many years of working for or with people that it is simply fine just to move on. In other words, if I believe that a business relationship is not mutually satisfying, than it is okay to end it. There are plenty of employers out there and plenty of other projects to work on. The same can be said about the other person: if you leave them or they drop you, they will find someone else.

In my opinion, you need not have a specific or tangible reason either. Sometimes you have a gut reaction to a particular project while other times there may be something about the project that simply goes against your principles or just doesn’t sit well with you. No matter, simply end the business relationship and move on.

How you end the relationship is up to you. If you want to leave a door open, telling the person that you are busy with other projects is fine. If you want to shut the door, you can tell them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, season your words with kindness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t tell lies. You can’t worry about what others think about you; to do so is a waste of time and will certainly impact your ability to develop new and solid business relationships down the line.

Article Writing: Your Personal Library of Books

We write and we write well. At least we hope that we do. Still, we writers need our own library of “go to” books to help us write with strength, market our wares, and simply to inspire us to greater works. I’ve compiled a brief list of useful books for the serious article writer’s library. Some I own, while others I plan on buying.

The Chicago School of Style, 15th Edition &ndash Considered by English speaking authors as “the Bible” of proper grammar usage and style, this 950 plus page reference book is everything you need to have on hand when you simply are not sure about punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. Surprisingly, the book is not stuffy as it allows serious writers some flexibility with the rules. If you have been writing for some time, you know that rules do change. I was shocked when even the Chicago School started a sentence with “and” in it. Oh me, oh my!

Guerilla Marketing For Writers — I am very curious about this title as I have seen reference to it on various writers’ web sites. Essentially “Guerilla Marketing” espouses the need for writers [particularly book authors] to spend as much as 33% of their time marketing. Hmmm…writing in and of itself is so involved. Who has the time?

Writer’s Market — Every year since this reference book was first issued in 1921, the Writer’s Market has served writers in finding places where they can submit their work for payment. The book lists contact information, submission guidelines, and tips on all the who/what/when/where/why of the “word” industry.

Random House Webster’s Pocket Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Guide Okay, I admit it. When I don’t feel like lugging the “Chicago Style” around, this Random House book meets most of my needs. 300 power packed pages that will easily fit in your laptop carrying case, purse, or suit jacket pocket.

No, I rarely use a dictionary anymore nor do I rely on a thesaurus. Everything I need is right online or part of my Word program. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely a 21st century writer who manages to write, edit, rewrite, submit and accomplish a multitude of related tasks from the ease of my laptop computer. No pencil and paper for me, except when lounging by the river or down at the beach. Oh, for more of those types of experiences!