Advertising to the World!

Obviously opportunities never some crawling to you. Same to say for the Writing Services I am offering. I will be competing with almost every Freelance Writer in the English Speaking world. Scrutiny by prospective clients would certainly be based on the benchmark set by my fellow writers.

Here’s what I have been doing:-

Dividing Personal Life from Professional Life: The Email’s Gotta Go!

How professional does cramminus@yahoo.com sound? If one is wise enough, an email is not just a means of communication. It is also a form of marketing. Although good for my family, friends and lecturers, it is neither professional nor credible. For your copy writing needs, contact me at aldric.tinker@yahoo.com. Where I write to sell.

Browsing For Website Hosting

At this initial stage, blogs can be a viable alternative to having a website. Soon enough, it would be full of clutter. Organisation and flow of content is very important. Starting out, having a website for my service is not like having a personal website. Some criteria must be met. The available service of the host/provider can float or drown  my career. There are several providers that I’m going through. Each offering different products and leeway. Being economic is the way to go.

I’m considering SyntaSite,  Freewebs, SiteKreator, Squarespace, Bravenet and other web design sites suggested by Mashable. They are all interesting but I have to see which can serve the needs of a professional freelance writer.

Blogging Outside WordPress

Yes, I’m going to have to open a blog from the other writer in me. I’ll keep my musings here, but it would not be prudent for a career, would it. Personal life must be separated from professional life. Also to avoid the clutter which can arise. Like the website search, I need a blog which can live up to the needs of my career. I have Blogspot, Blogger, WordPress, Windows Live Journal, Shoutpost and many more. Let’s not forget the blogging services of Friendster and Myspace!

What are the differences? It ranges from editing and formatting functions to site count, RSS feed and space. What sort of dictionary and spell checking services they offer. Of course, the perception associated with the various blog hosts. Whether it’s ad-free or not also counts. Some of us bloggers might want to have ads there as well! The ultimate question again presents itself: “will this be able to measure up to my business’ needs?“

Moving On…

One thing we need to understand that if this is going to achieve anything, i.e. attracting customers and businesses, it must be planned in the context of a long term business. As a writer, my works are reflected in my writing. Can it make that sell or not? How can I sell my client’s products and services if I cannot sell mine?

I pray everything goes well. The work continues…

Book Review: Getting Started As A Freelance Writer

In the last few entries, you might have noticed a similar theme on freelance writing. I made it sound easy and simple to begin a career in this field. Nothing can be further from the truth. A word of caution which you should heed: freelance writing is not as glamorous as it seems. Even more so if you are not equipped with the proper or adequate knowledge on how to - and how not to - start. Robert Bly’s Getting Started As A Freelance is one book I invested in to help me chart my course. The book is an excellent reference for us novices just as much as those who are professionals. Generally the book covers some basic grounds in a simple manner.

With 15 chapters, this book takes readers from intention all the way to expansion. I have been struggling for some time trying to prepare my business plan for this business and the book helped shed some light on the issue. Hold on a minute: business plan?!

When you regard (freelance) writing as a business, then and only then it would be easier for you to actually generate income. Yes, you’re gonna have to have a business plan. Bly suggests a simple form rather than the typical one with the executive summary, marketing plan, competition analysis and so on. Instead a goal-like plan was suggested: I want to earn $100,000 per annum. Also where do you intend to focus on: technical writing, commercial writing etc.

Remember the magazine hunt I went through? If I had this book beforehand, it would have been more easier and productive. From inquiry letters to submission, a guideline is provided. (NB: Guideline not instructions.) Packed with advice on how to conduct interviews to submitting to multiple editors the book is.

Unlike the books previously mentioned, Getting Started As A Freelance Writer gave insight on self-promotion and marketing. Though basic, it sets the direction of your further reading. How about a website? The author recommends prospective and present writers to have and maintain one.

Improvements are a constant must when it comes to having a career in writing. Reading this one book is not enough. Practice and training are necessary but should be done progressively. Overall, I personally find this book to be worth the money I spent on it. For those of you interested, I bought this book from Kinokuniya KLCC for RM76.41.

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General Election in the UK

Prime Minister McMahon met the Queen to advice for a dissolution of the 2 year old Parliament. Labour clinging to dear life to pass their budget. The Tories are riding high under the leadership of Randolph English - picking Labour to parts. What will happen on November 10th? Will the Conservatives finally come to power after 11 years in Opposition?

Not really an excerpt of a fiction novel, just the development in Politics UK. We lost the 2001 elections but Labour has had 3 prime ministers since. While trying to grasp reality, representing Ashford in the Commons proves to be challanging, especially for one born and raised in Malaysia. One press release after another will be issued. Damn scary thought to be frank. Unlike UiTM Faculty of Law, Ashford is a safe seat. My character won over 9000 votes in 2001 while doing nothing (sorry RGG!).

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Reading Materials for Careers in Writing.

As explained in a previous entry, I would like to embark upon a freelance writing career. I’d like to take you back in the past and reveal some books which have played some part. Before buildings are called great, the foundations must first be laid.

Although not my first writing book, Zamri Mohamad’s Cari Duit Cara Mudah Sebagai Penulis Bebas (PTS Professional) offers a good basic on starting out a writing career. I repeat, this is a good starting book. As a friend of mine warned, also contained in the book, traditional freelance writing is very competitive. The focus of the book is on magazine and article writing - subjected to the editor / editorial board’s mercy. Zamri also discusses on how to submit articles, handle rejection and some other how-to tips.

For those of you who are serious, I would recommend Secret’s of a Freelance Writer - How to Make $100,000 a Year or More by Robert Bly (Owl Books). Robert focused on a more “contemporary” form of freelance writing: copy writing or commercial writing. This is serious business, literally. Businesses would hire copy writers to do their brochures, pamphlets, web sites (which includes maintaining them), proof readers and editors, reports - including annual reports, short newsletter and other projects. Bly also talked about pricing, networking, portfolio and resumes needed by a freelance writer to succeed. A good investment for those who intend to pursue a copy writing career.

The two aforementioned books, although are on writing, focus on different types of writing. Zamri’s approach, or what Bly would call “traditional free lance writing”, is about sending articles to periodicals, magazines and the like. Both authors warn that competition is high - so did a good friend of mine. Payment is not that high, which can be seen in the titles for their books. Zamri did not mention any figure in his title or his book. The payment varies according to publishers. This does not mean that you should give up all together. Writing to magazines, although serious in business, is more like a hobby. Unless you are hoping to get that column, that is how you should approach it. Writing for businesses, however, means generating income, attracting customers and clients, promoting good PR and the like. It IS serious business, no kidding.

For those of you interested in fiction, Sara Maitland is among the good authors to go. Her book The Writer’s Way - Realize Your Creative Potential And Become A Successful Author published by Arcturus guides you how to properly do creative writing. She covered grammar, metaphors, character creation and plot development.

Another book I would recommend for those swimming in creative juices is Need To Know? Writing Fiction - The Best Guide for Anyone with Ideas published by Collins. This book guides readers and referring the discussions to works of great authors like Herman Melville (Moby Dick) and Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels). Themes, motifs, plot, character development, humour and other necessary components of what makes a good literature are discussed in Writing Fiction.

With the advancement of technology, and some creative brains, the world now know what blogs are. Politicians fear them, business adore them and the people are caught in between. Whatever the view is, blogging is a good way to promote yourself and your writing to the world. How to turn something free and basic to a profit and income generator, attracting hundreds of readers and customers? Rosli Jamal offers some suggestions up his sleeves. In his book Blogger, Blog, Blogging Untuk Semua (Ameen), he covers some basics of a blog and tips on generating income. This engineer’s advices also covers tools which can be used. Just for the record, the software I am using to write this entry was recommended in the book.

Saving the best for last, I offer John Lee’s Great by 24 (Truewealth) for those who wants to convert skill into service and start their own business. This young entrepreneur shares his experience in creating and building his translating service company (Epsilon Translation) - all while studying engineering in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. This simple yet comprehensible book offers valuable advice for those with aspirations to create their own business but are intimidated by the lack of reading materials and the complexities of the available ones.

In the words of Adam Khoo (author of Master Your Mind, Design your Destiny and the Best Selling book I Am Gifted, So Are You), success can be duplicated. Learning from others and preparing ourselves mentally and emotionally is vital. For those of you who are wondering, I am not paid by any publisher or author to write about their books. I’m just sharing some books that I have read and found useful. With that, I wish you all the best in your endeavors. Would appreciate your comments on this entry.

 

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No Outstanding University in Malaysia?

The Academic Reputation Survey conducted by a team led by the National Accreditations Board (LAN) saw no public university in the six-star “Outstanding” category. Universiti Sains Malaysia was the only one in the 5-star “Excellent” category. In the “Good” (4-star) category are Universiti Teknologi MARA and IIUM along with the older “pioneer” varsities (Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia). Ten other universities - including the fresh batch - fell into the “Average” (3-star) category. On November 9, 2007, the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)-QS Report 2007 would be released. But what does all this mumbo-jumbo on ranking means to the current and prospective students?

I hate to use cliche, but wouldn’t you like to study in globally outstanding universities and institutions of higher learning like Oxbridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, St. Andrew’s University and Erasmus University? Wouldn’t you feel proud to study in or graduated from a local university equal to these top notch universities? How about those who aim for “high paying jobs”? Don’t you think studying in a globally recognized university would give you that competitive edge? In simple language, these reports and rankings are a university’s report card.

Why is the report important? To answer, we have to look at the 1990 Revolution - the Information Revolution which replaced the Industrial Revolution. Rules have changed. Now the game is about acquiring and understanding information and knowledge. Back in the Industrial Age, your loyalty was suffice but now age can be a liability.In a globalised world, universities now have to compete with those beyond national borders. Why? Universities may stay in the country but their graduates spread across the world. Graduates who carry the goodwill and reputation of the university. Graduates of tomorrow are marketable because of the quality of the graduates of the past.

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Using A New Toy

    Few minutes ago I downloaded a neat software to help post my blog entries. I stumbled upon http://www.qumana.com in Rosli Jamal’s Bogger, Blog, Blogging untuk Semua from where I downloaded the offline blog editor by the same.

 

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Oikh… Resumes?!

Just a few minutes ago, I went through an email sent to me on available freelance writing jobs. They had some common features. Within the area (e.g. Boston, Atlanta, Orange County etc. etc.) and mid-career (2+ years) to experienced. What all they share in common also was: resume/curriculum vitae and portfolio.

I’m going to have to side track for a while. I just finished reading Zamri Mohamad’s Cari Duit Cara Mudah Sebagai Penulis Bebas and nothing in there mentioned of a resume! I do not blame him. At the same time, I am reading Robert Bly’s Secrets of a Freelance Writer - How to Make $100,000 a Year or More. The focus of the two books are different: Zamri focuses on “traditional” freelance writing while Bly focused on freelance writing including copywriting. Even the tone of the two authors are different when approaching the same issue. Zamri’s tone was more leisurely. His book is about how to earn easy money by writing. Bly treated freelance as a profession, which includes information on resume and portfolio.

A new question arise: how do I prepare a C.V./resume for a freelance writing job? Yeah, I’ve had some share of writing. Urm… That would include the research paper I submitted and presented at the 2005 National Student’s Conference. Did another research paper on Federalism and Devolution for my BEL360 while I was back in Pre-Law. Other than that, a series of assignments and projects. And, how can I forget, the blogs. These papers and assignments then constitute my portfolio, I assume.

I guess more research is needed in this context. Google, here I come!!