I made some updates....

...here and on some other sites I write on. Take a look particularly at the Squidoo lens I've been putting together about making money online with writing, I think it's becoming a good resource full of information. Feel free to make suggestions!

http://www.squidoo.com/make-money-online-with-writing

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Yup, I'm doing really well with Squidoo, really quickly!

Yesterday, I made level 42 as a lensmaster, and I've only been working on this site for about a month. Lot's of people who have been around for a several years haven't made it that far. It's working for me because I'm creating a lot of pages very quickly, and using the knowledge I've gained blogging and submitting articles and pages to other places.

Here's a list of a few of the lenses I've been working on, please go have a look and let me know what you think! :-).  

( Or, if you'd like to join and create your own pages, JOIN SQUIDOO HERE ) 
( If your write on AC and would like some ideas on how to integrate the two, read this article.)

http://www.squidoo.com/a-tribute-to-nikola-tesla
http://www.squidoo.com/a-review-of-the-acer-aspire-one-netbook
http://www.squidoo.com/quantum-physics-reality-and-consciousness
http://www.squidoo.com/new-orleans-blues-legend-coco-robicheaux
http://www.squidoo.com/jungian-psychology-an-philosophy
http://www.squidoo.com/best-fantasy-movies-from-the-80s
http://www.squidoo.com/nicolette-stevens
http://www.squidoo.com/fritz-pearls-and-gestalt-psychology-and-philosophy
http://www.squidoo.com/holiday-gifts-for-writers
http://www.squidoo.com/songwriting-tips-and-techniques
http://www.squidoo.com/tori-amos 
http://www.squidoo.com/making-greyhound-trips-fun

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Want to Write about Weird Stuff and Get Paid? A Submissions Call for the Bizarre, Strange, and Funny.....

If that sounds like you, you just might like "Weird Worm". It's a site I ran across today that accepts articles from online contributors, and pays a flat $15 fee per article. I haven't experimented with it to find out all the ins and outs of submitting myself to the weird and bizarre...ahem.... but you can be sure I'll try. :D

Check out the morning find here:
Weird Worm

Submit Content to Weird Worm

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Squidoo Updates and "Writers Make a Difference" Challenge

I've now been experimenting with Squidoo Lenses for just long enough to figure out how to put a few together. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I like the interface and the things you can do with it. On a level of profitability, I have no idea yet- other than my own research says that other writers are making money with it in several ways. If you want to join Squidoo yourself and try it out, click HERE.

If you want to see what you can do with Squidoo lenses first, check out this new one about a writing challenge you might enjoy participating in:


Writers Make A Difference Challenge

Or, if you'd rather go shopping, have a look at some great Holiday gift ideas:

Holiday Gifts for Musicians

Schedule "Writing Maintenance Day" to Promote Your Blogs, Artices, and other Online Writing.

Organize Your Writing Projects 

As you begin working on multiple writing projects, it's easy to loose track of what all you are doing well. There are many different ways to organize your work, and starting to use Google Documents and Google Notebook. I really like the features of Notebook and am still using it, but unfortunately they are no longer working on it or accepting new sign ups. I'll look for a similar free online service to suggest here later. With documents or an online notebook you can organize what you're doing in a fashion that you can access online from anywhere, and share easily. It's also useful as a way to preserve your work, just in case your personal computer fails or you have to move suddenly. Life throws us many curve balls- and backing your work up online may help preserve your writing.

Schedule time to Promote Your Articles and Blogs

If you have online blogs or post articles online, you should work towards making it easy for interested people to find the material they're looking for. Regularly make sure your new articles and more important blog posts are indexed as pages on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. ( Links to these and several others are in the right side bar of this page ). There are also many other ways to promote your writing. Post links to it on Facebook and encourage your friends to read and comment. Many people also use Myspace, Live Journal, Gather, and other social networks. Social networking can really help promote your articles and blogs, but only if you are involved. More people are likely to find your articles and blogs if you are also reading what other people post and commenting on some of it. Community spirit drives a lot of mutual appreciation and recognition. You can also use Stumble upon, Linked In, Shooving, and other places that allow you to share pages and links with a wide audience of readers.

It will probably be very useful to keep a swipe file, make time for free writing, and at least once a week do some "Writing Maintenance" in terms of promoting your content.

Most Recent Published Articles by Nicolette Stevens

As though I could actually keep track of how much I'm writing these days, LOL. My general approach to writing all kinds of articles right now is one of both pleasure and practicality. I enjoy writing, and right now I have some real time that it makes sense to devoting to honing that craft. Much of what I'm doing right now is really something like practice, for more serious projects I'd like to get into in the future. Still, I'm in a position where making money, any money, is a really good thing.

Sometimes the articles I write actually pay "decent money" these days, but a lot of those assignments are hit and miss and involve a kind of luck in networking. Someone sees what I am doing elsewhere, has a need, and a short term business arrangement is made that's usually pleasing to both parties.  Other articles, essays, blogs, and things I write either generate no money, or something small. Then again, every bit counts in this economy. There's nothing like the sheer joy I feel when I get paid for writing. Every time, even if it's just some small amount, I feel like dancing in my living room. Possibly in my pajamas, and in fuzzy slippers, while drinking coffee and typing and making money at the same time. ( Well, okay, I don't actually own fuzzy slippers or wear pajamas, but you get the idea ).

Here are links to a few recient projects:

Coco Robicheaux - New Orleans Blues Legend    ( AC Article ) 

Fun Things to Do For Halloween in Seattle ( AC Article )

Free Charity Cars- Pictures of the Car I Was Awarded    ( AC Slide Show )

Make Money Online With Writing ( Squidoo Lens ) 

Gas Works Park : One of the Best Parks to Visit in Seattle   ( A Hub on Hub Pages ) 


Creative Writing Techniques - The Basics and Benefits of Free writing    ( Helium Article )

How to Use Swagbucks to Win Cash, Gift Cards, and Other Prizes   ( AC Article )

Defining Self-Integrity  ( AC Article ) 

Useful Free Software - Free WinZip Alternative - jZip

My win zip evaluation expired, and I needed to open a zip file, so I started searching for an alternative. I don't usually promote stuff, but jZip is free and just bailed me out in the middle of a project. It worked better than win zip. Not only did it open and extract some files I need right now, but I discovered that for some reason it will open this folder of tracks from an audio book I've really been wanting to listen to again which didn't open with Win Zip. Goes on the list of useful tools and programs that are free for everyone. Check it out here:

http://www.jzip.com/

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Squido Lens Updates

I made a bunch of updates to my squido - make money with online writing lens today. Squido is another great way to promote and share your writing, as well as make a little money.

What's Squidoo? You can create 'lenses'  focusing on a topic of interest which can be about anything you have experience with. On Squidoo you can share your knowledge by publishing collections of links and material that relate to your topic, and earn money from it. If you write elsewhere, you can also use your squido lenses as another way to promote your work elsewhere. The Internet is an enormous place, people are more likely to find you with sign posts.

Better yet, follow this link to join Squidoo yourself and try it. Like the other projects, it may take some time to really start earning money, but it is one of the places your content can earn you actual money.

Click Here for More Information or to Join Squidoo

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Increasing Page Views

There are many different ways to widen the audience of the people who read your writing. One way is to be involved in many different social networks, and cross post about similar interests. If you write articles on AC, Hub Pages, or other places this may give you opportunities to share you thoughts with a wider range of people. When making a post in a community about a topic you've written an article about, always include a link.

Regardless of where your work is seen, some articles or posts will get more interest than others. Some of that has to do with how your work shows up in a search engine, and many factors such as good use of keywords may play in. Other factors such as the popularity of a topic will play in.

Here's a good example. I wrote a couple of silly little articles about Halloween related topics a few weeks ago. I put some time into sharing good ideas, but I can't say that either piece was very weighty. Both received about five hundred page views within a day! One reason may be that it was the right time of year for people to be interested in articles about Halloween.

The first article was about "Fun Things to do for Halloween in Seattle" . I didn't expect it at first, but sometimes I get a lot of views when I write an article that is based on a certain locality. In the article I included more unique ideas as well as standard ones. For instance, Seattle has a number of great Ghost Tours- which would be a fun and spooky activity for a group of people at this time of year.

The second article I wrote had even more views than the first, and was about "Cool Ideas for Halloween Costumes with Thrift Store Finds" .  If you have a look you'll note that I included lots of different types of costume ideas. Including an array of related topics that fit key words and concepts may draw more viewers. "Halloween", "Costume Ideas", "Pirate Costume", "Greek Goddess Costume", "Costumes for Kids", and "Costumes for Adults" could all apply as keywords. An underlying concept that may draw more attention is the opportunity to still have fun, but do it on the cheap. In this economy many people are struggling to take care of basic needs, and may not have much money for things like entertainment. Those people effected will all be looking for less expensive ways to celebrate than they may have in other years.

Paying attention to these simple things made the difference between 50 page views over time and 500 page views in a day.

Juggling with 3 balls for Writers: Helium vs Associated Content vs Hub Pages

One topic I'm getting into a lot in this blogs is different online venues that allow writers to post and promote their own work with the potential of making money. Again, each of these places do things a little differently. On Associated Content you have several publication options, which includes upfront payment under some circumstances. On Hub Pages, the writer's earnings come entirely from ad revenue, and to make a little money you will have to sign up for those different services and activate them on your Hub pages account after you have posted several good hubs. AC is more journalistic, but hub pages can also get a lot of traffic and has a fun and artistically appealing interface for creating your 'Hubs'. Helium is another website that allows people who like to write to earn money from sharing their work.

It is possible to write for all three of these places, and several others, at the same time. It should be noted that to do it well you're not going to be able to focus on three or more at once unless you have time to treat it like a full time job. Over time, if you experiment with several and link some of your work together, you will up your traffic and earn more. If you are not already doing this and want to try one to begin with, I'd suggest that you join Associated Content first , look through the notes here, and then start experimenting with the other options. There are a lot of options, but AC is one good place you can start that I can verify payment from.

Creating Hub Pages

Since I'm experimenting with multiple online venues for writing, I finally posted to hub pages. I've researched a lot about Associated Content, Hub Pages, Helium, AmTurk, ODesk, and a lot of other places writers can submit their content to and potentially earn money. Each of those spots have different arrangements, and I've heard positive and negative reports on all of them. I think the best way to know is to try them all.

One thing I like about the interface hub pages uses is the capsule form of adding photos, text, videos, links and related information. They don't offer the same up front payment options that Associated Content does, but quite a few writers swear that it works well for them. To see the difference between what a hub page with pictures and what an AC article with pictures looks like, check out these two examples I put together.

Hub Page: Gas Works Park is One of the Best Parks to Visit in Seattle

Associated Content: Beautiful Places Near Seattle: Mt. Si and Mt. Terriniffe

Any thoughts on what you like more or less about the look and feel of each?

777 Words on Free Writing

It's easy to underestimate the usefulness of free writing, once you get to the point that you are working on all kinds of 'official' or 'professional' writing projects. I've been doing free writing since I was a kid, which I think I started doing when I was about 9 and my third grade teacher did a creative writing project with the kids. I was already writing on my own, and had figured out that you could string pretty words together to make poetry.

Free writing is something that even a child can do, but many adult writers seem confused about what it is or how you do it. It's not unlike meditation in it's simplicity, and simultaneous difficulty. You just sit down and write, that's all.  Write about what? Whatever you want. You can do it in journal style and simply talk about your day and what you're doing, feeling, or thinking about. You can also pick a specific topic and write about it for a certain period of time, or a certain number of pages.

This for example is actually free writing on free writing. I'm simply typing away at my thoughts about free writing,  and how it can be very useful to the writing process at any level. I can share examples from my childhood, when I was developing early writing skills. I can also describe how freewriting is useful at a more professional level.

Taking a little time every day to just sit and write about whatever comes to mind can help clear out intellectual and emotional cob webs. If you really let yourself go with it in a journal style, it can help you to see what's going on inside of your mental landscape on a subconscious level. In this, it can be very therapeutic. It can also help you to "catch thoughts" which may turn out to be useful starting points for articles; essays, blog entries, term papers, class exercises, stories, songs, poetry, and whatever else you happen to like creating.

If you also do the same kind of thing based on a specific topic or concept it can help you to create a lot of raw material quickly. You don't have to feel intimidated by it, because all you are doing is babbling at the page. You can go back through it later, read it, analyze it, see if there is anything useful in it. With specific topics it will help you to see your own level of knowledge and experience, as well as where you need to do further research or work. You can get a lot of phrases and paragraphs that may work for a more well crafted article or paper, if you give yourself the time to do this. Like meditation, the more frequently you do it, the easier it will become, and the more apparent the benefits of the exercise. 

Whether you are free writing in a very free journal style, or with specific topics in mind, there are a few techniques you may find useful. Try to write without stopping for the most part. I mean, take a breath, or have a sip of coffee or a cigarette when you need- your creature comforts whatever they may be will help you relax into the right frame of mind. The point however is to keep writing, and rapidly, without a lot of self-editing as yo do. Editing your work may be a very important part of the process, but so is freeing your mind.

You may find it useful to create a personal ritual around your own free writing. That can be anything that helps establish the pattern and trigger your mind. For one person that might mean that they do three pages of writing after they have their morning coffee, before they do anything else. For another it might mean that they always do it in the same room, and light incense and a candle to symbolize inspiration. Someone else might choose to take a journal into the woods for an afternoon walk every day. However you do it, you will find that it helps to get the creative juices flowing.

Some people like to discipline themselves to a certain amount of time, or a certain number of pages or words. Online, 750 Words (link) has me actually doing it myself again. It's like meditation; you will fall off the wagon, realize it was better when you were practicing regularly, and get back on the wagon. Most people who get into free writing find it useful for all kinds of applications, and they go in cycles with it but still find it a useful lifelong practice.

More Toys for Writers... Type Trigger :-)

Ooh, this looks fun too. Type trigger posts a 'trigger' every few hours, encouraging you to write up to 300 words from the suggestion. It can be a story, an essay, poetry, or whatever you want. It's something like communal free writing. The same trigger is available to all the other creative folks using the site at the same time. You can see things that other people are posting on the current trigger as well as previous triggers. It's really entertaining to see how one person will take the word "vacuum" and write about space, and another person will write a poem about how the dog is scared of the vacuum cleaner. ;-)~

Go to the page, hit the join button and request an invite. You'll get a link by email probably later the same night, like I did. This could be fun, and could be a good place to check into whenever you need a little inspiration.

Typetrigger

Toys for Writer's....750 Words

Okay, this is cool, you should try it. The basic idea is that you use 750 words to do some regular free writing, and when you do it will break it down into algorithms that tell you things about what you were feeling and thinking. I'll babble more about it later, but I'm in the middle of writing another 750 words ;-)~

Check it out here:

750 Words

Swipe File Project

* in progress for a page to be added, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments. :D
 

Swipe File

Ideas for Articles and Collections of Essays

Interesting Quotes


Possible Topics

Philosophy/Physics

---Slit experiment- both possibilities a reality /2 slits/ with observer 1 then other.

---Quantum Physics

---What is reality?

---Objective Philosophy

---Subjective Reality

---String Theory

---Nikola Tesla

College

--- Tips for college students,  how to pick the right classes; make the most of college life, cook on a budget with leftovers, why take philosophy, etc.

Pychological Concepts
---How to develop self discipline
---Fritz Pearls/ Gestalt Therapy

Writing
--- How to look for poetic inspiration

Using Shvoong to Promote Your Work and Share Thier Profit

Shvoong is another way to promote your blogs, articles, and other content on the web. Shvoong allows users to post reviews of Books, Movies, Newspapers, Websites, Articles and other media. Do some searches and you will find all kinds of useful reviews and summaries from folks that enjoy using this site.

It's a bit of a double opportunity for you writers out there. Shooving is another place you can promote your own articles and other writing, by doing a review and posting it with links on the Shooving website. Interested people that read your reviews may be lead back to your websites, blogs, articles and whatever you share. It's a good place to find information on things you're interested in, and a way to share all kinds of fun ideas with others.

Shvoong makes it's money from advertising revenue, with adds placed variously on their review pages. They share a portion of the revenue with the writers who post summaries and reviews. Over time, based on the traffic your entries pull, you will also earn a small amount from shvoong.

Click Here to Check Shooving Out :-)

Back Up Your Writing : A Repeated Learning Experience

This morning's reminder is to back up what you write, submit and post- at least if it's something you might want to see again.

My example today comes from a much earlier post, where I talked about travel writing on a website and community called Ruba. It was a pretty neat idea, a social interface that allowed people to join and share travel photo's and tips, creating their own guides to favorite places in various cities. I remembered posting a lot of cool stuff there when I came across the post I mentioned it in here,and went back to that site to have another look. Instead of finding my profile, I found a note from the creators of that site that they've moved on to bigger and better things.

The site was so well put together that I thought it would be around for a while. Whoops! Oh, well. It's not like I don't remember all the places I wrote about, or couldn't put my own similar guides together without the use of a site like that- in fact, some of my articles on Associated Content are travel guides about fun things to do in some of the cool places I like.

But it does remind me to keep copies of everything I submit anywhere that could in some fashion be useful later. It's why I have a 'hidden' blog, where I keep copies of submitted articles, so I can go back and use the information in them for further research. It is also one more way to prove authorship, a time stamped record.

Get Paid to Write: Examples of Articles that Pay

A few days ago I submitted four more articles to Associated Content, all of which were accepted for upfront payment. They paid slightly higher than some of the previous articles I submitted, so I must be doing something right. I focused on things of local interest, useful information, and tips. The article I added photography to made the most, which is another thing to take into account. One thing I had to remind myself to do was convert my resource links to properly hyper-linked text, but that's fairly easy to do within the AC text editor.

Check out these three articles as examples of some that have been accepted for up front as well as performance payents:

Fun things to do Near the Space Needle

Ten Tips for Traveling by Bus

Beautiful Places to Visit Near Seattle: Mt Si and Mt. Teriniffe

Swagbucks Update

I suggested in a post somewhere earlier that it might be useful to use swag bucks as a search engine while doing research for articles. I find a lot of interesting bits of information through their search engine along with several others, and whenever I use their service I get points towards various prizes. Now I'm actually starting to redeem those points and wanted to post proof. Here's a screen shot of my account on restaurant.com, after redeeming a $25 gift certificate I got from swag bucks.

If you haven't already tried it,swagbucks is worth joining!

Adding Slide Shows to Your AC Content

People like pictures, and often articles with pictures or slide shows on a theme get more hits than text based articles alone. If you are using Associated Content as a platform to share your writing, you can add slide shows made up of your own photography.

Here are some examples of slide shows I've put together. :-) :

Traveling by Bus
Civil War Reenactment
Greenfield Village Train Ride
Henry Ford Museum Exhibits

It can be useful to create slide shows related to things you write about, because you can inter-link them all. For instance, I've been writing a few articles about things to do in Seattle. If I were to go out to places I've referenced in some of those articles and snap pictures, it could make the presentation more dynamic through the use of photography. You don't have to be anything like an expert photographer to make this work, all you really need is a digital camera and a laptop. :-)

Whats a Swipe File?

A swipe file is for days like today. I'm writing for six places, it's early, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet. I have to get my creative juices flowing. If I had a swipe file, it'd help me out while my mind is still in Zombie land.

You can create your own swipe file to help generate ideas and inspiration very easily. You can use your computer to do it on or offline, or you can create a physical swipe file, or both. Create it in Google notebook, an office document, or a shoebox under your bed. Whatever works for you.

A swipe file is a place to put all kinds of ideas you like, to look back at for further inspiration later. You should probably create different sections, to help organize the clippings you'll save. If you keep your eyes open through the course of your normal day, you'll find lots of things to put in it.

Possible sections might be.....

Amazing Titles
Article Topics
Interesting Quotes
Great Openings
Tips
Moving Closings
Appealing Offers and Deals
Images that made Me Look
Videos that Made Me Watch
Songs I listened to 100 times
Inspiring Poetry and Lyrics
Story Ideas
How to Outlines
Related to My Blog 

You can also create different files for subjects that really interest you. Your own swipe file can have anything you want in it. It will become highly personal, and linked to the kinds of writing you do. A Steampunk fiction writer might have a file called "Inventions that Would be Cool", and a seamstress who blogs about costumes might have a file called "Costume Ideas" .

A swipe file is intended as a kick-start to your own writing. By collecting examples of what inspires or moves you, you may have examples of what draws peoples attention. You can learn a lot about what works and what doesn't by taking a look at a good idea, and figuring out what makes it interesting or useful.

A swipe file can also be very useful as a way to mix and match components of great ideas. Say you have a great article idea, and you don't know what you want to call it. You may be able to look at your page of title ideas that are totally unrelated to your subject, and find catchy elements you can reuse in a new way.

It should be noted that a swipe file is intended to help you get inspiration and ideas to do your own work from. Nothing you're copying to look at later should be plagiarized or used inappropriately. It's just a way to more deliberately try to learn from other people who are good at writing. It will also be useful to make note of where you found things you decided to clip into your file, in case you decide you want to use it as a direct credited resource.

If you work with other writers, it can also be interesting to set up swipe files that can be shared with one another. Different people will stumble across different things that may be useful to others as well as them. Since we all have different experiences and perspectives, each person will notice and save different kinds of things. Sharing swipe files may be a way for writers to share the components of effective writing with each other. Using Google Notebooks or Docs would be one easy way to do this and keep the information accessible to everyone online.

Using Images from Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons is one place you can get free images that you can legally use along with your articles, blog posts, and wherever you like. This can be very helpful, as articles and blogs with images often seem more dynamic and interesting to the visitor.
 

New Orleans is my favorite city in the World. It is so full of art, music, and culture that if you visit there you'll never run out of interesting things to do.


The photo above is a historical sign that tells a little bit about the history of the Crescent City.

It's also an example of a photo I found on Wiki Media Commons, to use as an example. The photo was taken by Justin Watt and can be found on Wikimedia if you do a search for New Orleans. It can also be seen along with some other great photos here: Spring Break in New Orleans.

It's important when using images from Wikimedia to scroll down and read what kind of permissions are granted. This one is free to use without any stipulations, but I mentioned the photographer above because it's generally considered proper etiquette to mention the source if you use artwork, photography, or writing that came from someone else. It's more friendly, whether or not it's required. Wikimedia is free to use, and if you sign up you can also share your own work if you like. Your spring break photo's may help another writer, artist, or teacher somewhere down the line.

In my case, I have another blog that happens to be about New Orleans. When I get into playing with that one, this is a good example of a photo I might use, particularly if I was making a post about the history of the city. If you'd like to see that blog, you can find it here: Keys to New Orleans . It could also be useful, if I was writing an article for Associated Content, or one of the other places I write.

In any case, check out Wikimedia when you get a chance, if you don't already use it as a resource.

Another Day in the Life

My writing sample got accepted at Experts 123, and now I'm just waiting for them to approve my profile so I can post some articles and see what happens. I was particularly delighted, because they sent me back a very nice acceptance letter. Of course, I can't be sure if that's what they send everyone- but it's nice when someone compliments your style.

After reading some reviews by other folks, I decided to also give Bukisa a try. They are very similar to Associated Content in terms of submitting content, but the payments work a little differently. Unlike AC, they don't offer up front payments. However, the rate they pay on the number of page views is a little more than twice what AC pays.

I'm not sure which of the available online publishers is "the best" to be honest. That's one reason I'm trying as many of them as possible. Another reason is the concept of cross-linking. As long as the links are relevant and make sense, it can only help. Different people will find your writing in different online venues, and may follow the links if you have other related content.

For instance, I have a short article on making money with Amazon Mechanial Turk posted here and on Associated Content. It focuses on some of the pros and cons of using it. Say I wrote another related article, on how to get better qualifications and offers on AmTurk. I could post it on Bukisa, and then link it to my AC article and vice versa. In theory, people interested in the subject would likely go on to read the other article. Because each service caters to a different crowd, one could conceivably get a lot more exposure by publishing in multiple venues.

If you've never heard of Buksia before and want to try it out yourself, you can join here:

Buksia - Share Your Knowledge

If you stumble through here and have experience with these different places to publish your work, leave us a message and let us know what kind of results you've had with each. :-)

A Day in the Life

How do I find freelance writing gigs that actually pay? The answer is that I'm constantly doing research and writing. To be able to make money online as a freelance writer, you have to do a lot more than just write in your free time.

You have to know where to submit your articles, and what kind of payment arrangements each online publisher offers. You should probably be writing in more than one place, and link those different places together through a blog or a website that serves as an online portfolio. Or several. This helps to market your work, which you are primarily responsible for when you try doing this kind of work.

Can you make a living at it? Yes. Is it easy? Not so much. Let me take you on my journey today, at least what I remember from it.

I checked my account at Associated Content, which I usually do after I get up. Still "author clout 4", but closer to "author clout 5" because I had a few more readers last night. My article on "How to Sell Books Online" went up, and was even given a small up front payment. (Woo-hoo! Hippies makin' money, who would have thought it possible?)

I had also sent a note to one of the community admins, asking for help editing a mistake in another article. I was extraordinarily happy that they fixed the errors in my "World Steam Punk Expo" piece. I had a lot of fun checking that convention out, and apparently a lot of other people are interested because it's gotten a lot of views. I didn't want to promote that article much until the errors were fixed, basically because I was embarrassed and didn't think it would look professional. ( The first paragraph made it into the published copy twice, with spacing and spelling errors in the first version viewable! Aaack! ) It happens, even to great writers.

I also noticed that my fun little articles about the Sims 3 game and the New Orleans Blues Musician Coco Robicheaux are getting more views, too. That's important if you write for Associated Content. Part of how they pay you is based on how popular your article becomes. I've only been with them for about a month, but have about 20 articles up already. I'm noticing that every time I publish a new one, it helps reader find the things I've already written and my page views go up.

That was all just in the first hour. Then I did a bunch of research on other online writing opportunities. It's Tuesday, and every week an online a newsletter called "Morning Coffee" is posted on freelance writing.com . The newsletter lists current freelance writing opportunities. I followed one of the links to the problogger job board , where I reread a notice about Experts123 looking for people to write articles.

Initially it hadn't really seemed like my thing, but I decided to take another look. It looks like they may offer better pay than a number of places I'm experimenting with, so I did my application and am waiting for approval. I'll update in the future about how that goes.

See what I mean? We're only at hour two, and I've already done a lot of things. I feel like I have to start a new post, because I want to showcase some other great sites I found, and don't want them to be lost on short-attention-span theater. :-)

Win Stuff While Doing Article Research!

No sh*#, it's real?! If you haven't already- go ahead and give Swagbucks a whirl.

What is Swagbucks and how is it useful? Swagbucks is a search and win service. Basically, you use their search field instead of going to the Google or Yahoo page, and the results come from Google and Ask.com . I'm skeptical about most of that sort of thing, but I did the research on it that makes me comfortable telling my readers that it's legit.

With a lot of sites that offer prizes for surveys, games, searching and other things you read a lot about all the great prizes they give out, but when you search you can't find much in the way of proof from real people who use it. What I found while looking into Swagbucks was kind of the opposite. Screen shots of prize orders, blog posts that are clearly personal, and even videos of people opening boxes with things like Nintendo Wii and Xbox game consoles and games.

I'm not saying you should devote a significant portion of your day to geeking out with swagbuck searches, or that you're going to get rich with it. However, lots of people have earned thousands of dollars worth of Amazon gift cards; actual money, and pretty cool prizes.

I'm using it now, I mean- why not get rewarded for searching for stuff online? Just by doing the normal searches I do anyway to research a lot of things I write about, I'm racking up points. Eventually I'll trade them all in for something really cool, or do my holiday shopping with all the accumulated Amazon gift cards.

I suppose this post isn't really about freelance writing- but if you are writing online you are probably also doing lot of research like I do. For me, it was kind of a no brainier, particularly since they seem to be fairly spam free. Click on the link below to sign up and give it a try. Remember where this blog is. If you do well with it, pop back and let us know what you got! :-)

It's Social Networking Week: Welcome to Gather

If you are reading this blog, chances are it's because you're another writer. Like me, you look for ideas and pointers everywhere, and are hoping you'll find something useful here. I hope you do too, otherwise keeping this blog would be pointless- LOL. ;-)~

Social Networking is a buzz phrase these days. If you want to write and make something of it, you have to have readers. One of the best ways to show people who you are as a person, and as a writer, is to be actively involved in social networks. Many of the people who read my articles and blogs stumbled in through Face Book and other similar places. Most people are aware of Face Book and My Space, and I think we all know that they both have some high points and some low points.

A social network that has been gaining a lot of popularity you may not have tried out yet is called Gather. It's especially gaining notice from a lot of people in their thirties and up. It seems to be a fun forum for sharing, but has a more adult edge than some of the other social networks. They also reward the participants with points that can be used for gift cards and other things, and offer some opportunities for those who would like to commit to regularly writing. If you haven't already, I think this one is worth joining.

Keep in touch.
And discover something new.
My stuff:
http://travelinglady.gather.com »

Video Game Reviws on Associated Content

I am experimenting with a lot of different topics and styles of writing on Associated Content. Video Game Reviews are popular, and games for PC and console game systems can be a lot of fun. I played with Sims 3- Ambitions for the first time recently, and decided to add a review of the game to my published content on AC.

The publishing menu for video game reviews on AC is set up nicely to help the writer add useful information. Here's my article about Sims 3 as an example of how to write a video game review on AC, if you'd like to check it out. I added information about the development and production; my thoughts on the game play, system requirements, information about game testing cheat codes, and links

Sims 3 Ambitions Review on Associated Content

Share Photography on Associated Content

Another thing you can do on associated content is share pictures through a slide show. Like with published articles, you'll get paid a small amount from people checking your slide show out. If you're using associated content, a slide show can be a good idea because people are often more initially drawn by vivid photo's. You may increase your page view for other articles by adding slide shows. Do take note of the rules about photo submissions, and have fun with it.

Here's an example, which is the first slide show I published on Associated Content. It shows some of the cool displays at Henry Ford Museum. Please check it out! :-)

Great Pictures from Henry Ford Museum! :-)

ROTFLMAO- This was Funny!

This week I've been playing with Associate Content a lot.  I've got to get back to eZine, Constant Content, AmTurk, and several others...lol The point of that is of course that the more you write, and the more places you use to share your work, the more likely you will be successful at freelance writing.

I'm becoming impressed with A.C. in ways I didn't expect. I had a major issue the other day when I discovered that another contributor had posted content of mine. The piece is something I wrote on amTurk, but it doesn't look like the contributor is the one who purchased the rights to it. Technically, it's not "stealing" my work, or plagiarism, if the person who bought the content was given full rights and sold them to someone else... but I'm not really sure what happened. What is certain is that on Associated content you are only supposed to post work you really wrote. Having the copyright to something does not give you the right to post something there that someone else wrote with your name on it. On one level it might not be plagiarism- but it is actually fraud, which is a felony. That person is now gaining "clout" because of writing that they did not originate. They can make money from the page views, and if the writing is good they could get and fraudulently accept job offers based on skills that aren't theirs.

This is making me edgy about using AmTurk, because to do well with it you have to accept lots of hits from many people who may have intentions and motivations that aren't disclosed. However, I did successfully make over a hundred dollars with amTurk in the last couple of weeks. It's also not something I just want to give up on yet.

What impressed me about Associate Content i that when I posted about it in the forum in a general way, I got a lot of helpful and encouraging responses from other writer's that use the service to publish and share their writing. There are many different ways to make money writing online, but this route also includes a nice community of other writers- which could be very useful. If you're trying freelance writing and haven't experimented with writing online with Associated Content, I encourage you to give this one a whirl. Click on the link below to sign up, and check out my articles when you have time! :-)

My first two articles on Associated Content just got accepted, and are live. :-)

Please check them out!

How to Read Tarot- The Basics , by Nicolette Stevens

Simple Ways You Can Help in the Effort to Clean Up the Gulf Oil Spill, by Nicolette Stevens

* note: the article about the gulf oil spill clean up includes information about Matter of Trust, an organization that was collecting hair to make mats and booms to soak up the oil. Unfortunately, underwater the booms seem to soak up too much water and sink- so they have now stopped trying that method. Please don't send hair, instead, volunteer or make a donation to the Audubon Society if you want to help.

Tips on Hyperlinks

Sometimes hyperlinks are very useful in blog posts, articles, and content you publish anywhere online. A hyperlink can be used in the body of a paragraph to link pages and sites that are related to your subject. To create a hyperlink you use a standard html tag that allows you to link displayed text words to a hidden web address. ( For instructions on how to use the hyperlink code in several different ways here's a good cheat sheet: http://www.hyperlinkcode.com/make-hyperlink.php )

If I did a hyperlink for this blog, what will then actually show in the text will be Freelance Writing Fun, and when a person clicks on it they would wind up on this page.

In your own blogs and websites, using hyperlinks can help your visitors find relevant information that you'd like them to see. In forums and other places you socialize on line, using these kinds of links appropriately can lead interested people back to your personal playgrounds. However, be careful when adding hyper links to the body of your articles if you are submitting to online publishers that share your content in other ways. Check the guidelines to see what you can and can't use in your work, and where in your articles adding links is permitted.

Be aware that some services are set up to hack the links you add in the body and replace them with the links the site prefers. If you aren't careful, you could wind up adding a link to "Toledo Zoo", and having your link to the official zoo page be replaced with a link changed to activate on  the word "Toledo" and pointing to some other site related to businesses in Toledo.

Creating Links to You Blogs With Articles

If you start writing and submitting freelance articles, you may have opportunities to add links to related information. If you are also a blogger or run a website, you can use this to increase the traffic to your outside work with visitors you already know will be interested in the subject matter you are talking about. If your blog has business aspects, this could increase interest in your skills and products. If you do affiliate work, it will also increase the number of people who may take an interest in those other aspects of your pages.

When adding links to articles that you submit to various services, be careful to pay attention to the guidelines. They will differ from publisher to publisher. You should try to make sure that your links in general are related to the subject matter of your article. Many publisher's and clients don't want articles that sound like a sales pitch, but don't mind you sharing other content if it is relevant.

For instance, I play piano and write songs, and have developed a blog of notes for musicians and music lovers. You can find it at http://nicolettesmusicnotes.blogspot.com . When I write articles about piano, songwriting or music theory, I take it as an opportunity to lead people back to my personal work outside the sites I submit articles to.

More things for your Online Writing Tool Box

Depending on where you are submitting your writing, different things will be asked for. One thing many clients require is articles of a certain length, often determined by a word count. Many word processing programs will show you the word count of your article in the properties menu, but depending on where you're doing your writing and what machine you are using it can be necessary to do it another way. Here's a free online word count tool I use:

http://www.wordcounttool.com/

Most publisher's also require that your work use proper spelling and grammar. It's possible to be a good writer with imperfect spelling, but you should clean up the edges if you want it to be understandable and show intelligence. You can find a free online spelling and grammar checking service here:

http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/

Most importantly, take a break and laugh Alot:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

Warning: seriously, the above link made me laugh so hard that my image of a word will be forever changed! :-)

Associated Content: Writer's Market for Articles

Associated Content is another writer's market for articles that is worth checking out. You can earn money writing articles for Associated Content in a variety of ways. Some of the revenue for authors is performance based, and as more people take interest and read the articles you submit your earnings increase. They also offer assignments targeted to the writer's skills which pay specific amounts. If your writing is very good, they may select your work for up front payment rather than performance based payment. Like with Constant Content, you can make choices about weather you are sharing specific articles exclusively, or whether you'd like to retain the right to republish wherever you want.

To try it out for yourself, go to Associated content, create a profile, and start sharing your writing.



As I explore Associated Content, Constant Content, Ezine Articles and other organizations that help writer's promote their work I'll be reviewing the pro's and con's of each here. If you stumble through and have exeriences and ideas you'd like to share, feel free to comment.

Promoting Yourself with Ezine Articles

For a budding freelance writer, getting involved with Ezine articles may be another good idea. Ezine does not pay you for your work, but sharing some of your work through Ezine gets a lot of exposure for some people. Authors post articles on whatever they would like, and a team of editors reviews the material to determine that it's quality work and follows their guidelines.

You'll probably remember having read someones article about something on Ezine at some point, and that's a good sign if you want people to read and be aware of your work. Ezine stores the articles shared there and makes them available, free of charge, to people who want content for their blogs and websites. People using content from Ezine can select up to 25 articles per year to share in their own projects. They are required to leave the name of the author on the article, publish as written without editing, and include the author's "resource box" with the article. In the resource box you can share links to information about your topic, links to your blog or website, and ways to contact you. Allowing others to share your work in this way gets it out there, and interested readers may find their way to your work elsewhere in this fashion. Whether you are trying to get clients for freelance gigs, or people to check out your web based business, this kind of exposure can ultimately lead to good press and new opportunities.

If you keep a blog or have a website, you may also be able to use good articles you find on Ezine, to add to your own unique pages. Sure, if your readers like what they see, they may go off and check out the writer's other haunts on the web- but that's not always a bad thing. If your site is that useful they'll be back, because they know you have fresh and helpful material. If it's not useful or interesting, well then, maybe you need to improve. *wink* Cross linking such articles can also give you an opportunity to befriend other writer's, -which often leads to link sharing, more traffic, and the joy of having people to chatter back and fourth with once in a while.

To start sharing articles on Ezine, simply go to their site and create a profile. You can link your blogs and website's to your author profile there, as well as share a short biography and other information. When you post your first article you'll learn more about what their rules for posting are. You will save yourself some time by reading and understanding the guidelines. For instance: it's okay to put a link in your author' resource box to a website that sells products and services in your own business. It's not however okay to write an article that is really a sales pitch for your products. You're limited on the number of links you can add, so pick wisely. At first, you can submit up to ten articles. If you're somewhat prolific and good at writing, the powers that be at Ezine will raise that- so make sure you share useful and well written material.

http://ezinearticles.com/

Have fun! If you stumble across this post and have Ezine articles you'd like to share, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Constant Content: Writer's Market for Articles

Constant Content is an online resource for writer's and people who need written content to interface with each other. It is possible to buy and sell articles through constant content, and retain much of the control over who buys your work at what price. Options are available to sell licences for specific articles, and you retain the right to publish them elsewhere while making a few bucks by sharing your work. You can also sell unique rights to things you write, at which point the purchasing party can republish in any manner with or without your byline. A higher price can be charged for unique rights, although you'll find that the average amounts offered for good articles are more reasonable in favor of the author than some other services.

I am very new to trying Constant Content, and can already see a variety of great things about it, and a few potential pitfalls. I'll evaluate it further here as I experiment with it more. If you'd like to check the service out, here's a link:

Constant Content

How to Start an Online Store for Free with No Sales Fees

About eCrater : the Free Online Marketplace

Many people use Amazon and eBay to set up their ability to sell online; weather it's items from a commercial business that they want to resell, services, handmade goods, or things from personal collections. Dolls; toys, trains, books- whatever you have, there's probably someone online whose willing to pay for it. While those services can be profitable and relatively simple to use, there are a couple of other services I'd like to highlight.

The first I'd like to mention here is eCrater. It's a lot, like a more user friendly version of Amazon and eBay combined, that runs for free. I said the magic word, FREE. I'm trying it out as an alternative way to sell a large collection of toys and books, and really am just in the set up process. Already I'm kind of amazed. It's very easy to set up an online storefront particular to your goods, break it down into easy categories, and create multiple ways for potential customers to pay you. You of course are responsible for sending the goods once paid for, eCrater is simply an interface for people who want to make sales online and customer's who are interested in what they have.

Like on Amazon and eBay, seller's receive a rating from customer's based on if they were happy with their purchase. Over time, having a good ranking increases the shopper's sense that they are doing business with someone they can trust. You can set your sales to be at a fixed price like on Amazon, or you can take place in auction type sales as done on eBay. The difference between using eCrate and Amazon or eBay is that there are no fees. No listing fee, unlimited items, you manage your eStore yourself. No closing fees, or special weird requirements to use there services.

Like with Webs, which will allow you to build a website for free, eCrater does offer paid options with special features. However, it seems set up well enough that you can functionally set up a professional looking online store and expect to make some money from it. Like with other things, how well you do will probably largely have something to do with how much you put into it. If you are willing to maintain the storefront with regular updates, and can do some self-promotion of your web store, you may find that this is a useful service to know about.

I'll post more as I evaluate how effectively eCrate works, but for now have a look yourself:

http://www.ecrater.com/

Sidework on The Internet: Amazon Mechanical Turk

Amazon Mechanical Turk is a service provided by amazon to hook up people who need a lot of small online tasks to be completed, with people who would like to make a few bucks on the side. The little side jobs include things like: "classify this picture", "tell us what you think about this website'', "comment on this blog", "write an article about ...." .

Some jobs require simple tests to show the employer's that you have the skills to complete the activity they want. There are jobs that apply to writers, people who are computer literate, those who can code, and folks who do data entry- among other things.

The jobs and they pay amounts vary based on the employers. Some people who use Amazon Turk to get things done offer very low amounts of money for what they want, others are quite reasonable. Some offers may be on the scammish side, a big red flag for me is surveys that pay a high reward and lead you to sites which require that you give a lot of personal information and complete sponsor offers. I avoid those.

I have however been doing a lot of little articles through Mechanical Turk. I look at it as more of a writing exercise than as a way to make real money, although much to my surprise I've already racked up over a hundred dollars in amazon gift credit. My goal with it is to earn enough to get a nice new professional level laptop. Many "real" writers discourage this, as it can be kind of exploitative to sell your written work for between $1.00 and $5.00 for most articles. However, if you want an exercises that will prove you can write 300 words about anything, it may be good for you.

Read the directions carefully for each hit before accepting. Be aware that if you are writing articles, some companies want the full rights to the short article, so you can't publish it elsewhere. Others don't care if you also circulate what you write in other ways, particularly if you'll link back to their business. )

It can also be useful, as you interact with the employers on occasion and may be able to work yourself into better side jobs and short freelance writing gigs this way. It's working for me that way, mostly because it's leading me to other useful websites and services I didn't know about.

https://www.mturk.com/mturk/

( Exmples of this kind of writing can be seen on a private blog of mine, send me a message if you'd like to see. sassynolagal@yahoo.com )

How to build a Website for Free

You can very easily build a nice, professional quality website on your own with a little time and effort. As well as blogging, I build and maintain my own websites, and have discovered that some providers make it really easy and fun. After trying several, I am mostly using the Webs free website building service.

I like webs because it is very versatile.  You can create a website for free, and they also have a variety of paid options that you can choose from as well. If you begin by setting up a free website, you can choose to convert it at any time to upgrade the options and features you have. Your website can have multiple pages of your choosing, and you can use it in a professional or personal context. It's easy to add a blog, a links page, forums, photo's and other things that will be relevant to what you want to create. It includes free site building tools that will make the process easy if you are not familiar with doing your own coding, and if you happen to be skilled in that department, you can also build what you want without their tools but get hosting through their service. There are a lot of rich, nice looking themes available that are simple to put together. They also offer tools and tutorials that will help you with promoting your website, search engine optimization, and other aspects of creating your home on the web. I think it's a very good place for both people who really know what they are doing, and beginner's who would like to learn to do this well with a hands on approach.

Check it out:
Get a Free Website at Webs.com!

"How do I put a counter on my page?"

One thing you will probably want to integrate into any blog is a counter, so that you can see how many people are visiting your pages. I like Stat Counter, another free and highly customizable service. It is possible with Stat Counter to create individual counters for different pages, and fairly simple to set up. You can use Stat counter in conjunction with all kinds of websites and blogs, including those published on Blog Spot and Word Press. In either of those cases, you set up an account with stat counter and get it to generate a a HTML box in the widgets or gadgets section. You'll the be able to see what kinds of hits you're getting, and be able to break it down and view different statistics.

http://www.statcounter.com/

"Where do I list my blog?"

Well, at first thought, you might s well list it everywhere you can come up with. Then again, if your blog is about weight training and fitness and you list it on Suzie Q's music site list, it may not help.

There are several services like the one I posted about yesterday which submit your blog or site to many different search engines at once. That's not a bad idea to invite general traffic, but my theory is that listing your site in the most popular places and the most relevant places will bring the best results.

Most Popular Search Engines:

ADD YOUR SITE TO GOOGLE
ADD YOUR SITE TO YAHOO
ADD YOUR SITE TO MSN

Once you've added your site to the popular search engines, you may want to try some other individual indexes as well as visiting sites that help you submit to multiple search engines at once.

For instance, some sites would do very well attracting attention though the librarian's internet index, particularly if your site is "safe for work" material, and educational or informative. the DMOZ OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT is another good place to be aware of.

Then, start searching for places that list your kind of blog. For instance, when I was looking for places to list my music theory and songwriting blog I did a bunch of google searches like 'list your music blog here' and music blog search' and 'music education websites', just to see what I'd come up with. The same basic concept probably appilys to most subjects.

Wordpress VS. Blogspot

Two services that allow you to crate and publish online blogs for free are Blogspot and Wordpress. Both can be used to publish material of any nature that you would like. It doesn't matter if you are publishing "Grandma's Cookinig Hints", "Underwater Basket Weaving for Dummies", or "Rocket Science for Kids". If your writing is of a mature nature, both services allow for warning pages and some adult content. ( For example, erotic poetry )These services appily to anyone who wants to put a blog together, regardless of the particular subject matter.

Both are very popular services with lot's of features. I like the themes that are available on Wordpress more than I like the themes on Blogspot. Wordpress seems to have done a lot more development in making their available themes visually appealing and interesting. The ready-made themes on Blogspot are much simpler looking, but layout is set up in a way that is very easy to use and professional looking. You can use either service in conjunction with various affiliate programs if you want to earn money from your writing. Both also allow you to create multiple blogs and manage them from the "dashboard" in your account.

I'm still not sure which service I like better, I'm experimenting with writing blogs on both of them to find out. I like the ease of Blogspot, but I enjoy some of the options Wordpress has that Blogspot doesn't seem to include. For instance, on Wordpress there is an easy interface for creating multiple pages. It's possible to create links to other pages on Blogspot, but doesn't work the same way.

I'd be interested to hear the opinions of others on both services- what do you think works better? Feel free to leave a comment.

Here are the links to both if you haven't tried them, creating an account with either or both is free and a relatively simple and quick process.

http://wordpress.org/

http://www.blogger.com/home

Blogging Basics #1 – Content Specific Writing

Different services provide many types of opportunities for people who like to write. Social networks such as LiveJournal, Facebook and MySpace provide places for people to share their daily stories and link up with one another.

The next step for many people that get into that is to write content specific blogs, which can provide useful information and endless hours of fun for web surfers. Most internet traffic goes to sites that center on specific topics. This is probably because the average surfer does searches that are interest based, which lead them to material about the particular interest they have in mind. This can lead to a lot of traffic on a content centered blog, much more than one might expect from a generalized journal on a social network. For those who are interested in making money with their writing, Content specific blogs are eligible for advertising from affiliates and other options which may generate some pocket change.

Affiliate advertising has it's pro's and con's. For one, if you are trying to run any kind of business that is related to a blog you write, it may not be in your best interest to use outside advertising on your page. If you have a product or service of your own to sell, you don't want to pull your potential customers off your page and send them somewhere else. At the same time, the potential audience you have on the Internet is very broad. Sometimes getting involved in social networks that are related to your business may draw you more positive attention. A balanced common sense approach should help you figure out weather or not advertising would be advantageous for you, and in which ways.

Blogging has another positive result for freelance writers. It puts your work out there and allows others to see informal examples of your capabilities. If you want to get into writing on a professional level, using blogging to increase your visibility as a writer is a good move.

By default, blogging is great practice for other writing projects. If you start blogging, or keep going with developing things you have already put together, other kinds of writing projects are very natural. Unlike 20 years ago, this technopalloza opens up a lot of doors for people who are talented at writing. It is not difficult to self publish your own books, or to get into writing articles professionally. It has a great appeal to many people- what other job can you do while still in your pajamas's and drinking copious amounts of coffee?

Travel Writing on Ruba

One project I did recently involved talking about a lot of the places I've enjoyed visiting on a travel oriented website called Ruba. This was pretty fun, and others who travel might really enjoy it. It's a social network set up in a way that you can add places you enjoy and share the details with others. You can see my profile with guides for New Orleans, Seattle, Detroit, Toledo, Oxford, and Toronto here if you'd like :-) :

http://www.ruba.com/user/NicoletteFox

Greetings!

I might as well admit it. Hello, I'm Nicolette, and I'm addicted to writing. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to, LOL. I've enjoyed writing since I was a young child, and have never lost the bug. I'm glad, because it has brought me a lot of wonderful things and experiences.

Slowly, my writing has taken on more professional aspects in a variety of venues. I've written my own material for classes I have taught. I'm involved on multiple social networks, have a list of topic specific blogs, and also promote my own small business ventures with websites I have built. On occasion I do this for other people.

The usefulness of this is astonishing, especially to me. I've been kind of poor for a while. The economy has really screwed a lot of people's lives up, and mine is not immune. It's taking a lot of work, and if I wasn't somewhat talented at it these things would not be producing the results that they are. Trying to make money writing is not practical in a lot of people's eyes. However, if you are really good at it, and diligent about looking for opportunities- they are out there.

Please enjoy watching me stumble through the process, make suggestions if you have any, and learn something if you can!

Welcome to my new little project.....

~ Nicolette

TO CONTACT ME WRITE SASSYNOLAGAL AT YAHOO DOT COM WITH "crispy bacon not spam" OR SOMETHING ENTERTAINING AND REAL-LIVE-PERSON SOUNDING IN THE HEADER :-)