By Debra L. Dragon

As the economy continues to cause stress for the majority of American’s, many people increase their efforts for finding additional income. Some people go out and get a second job in the evenings and/or weekends. Others turn their search to the internet in hopes of finally finally that “real” work at home opportunity amongst thousands of scams.

For people deciding to increase their income through online writing assignments, the best thing you can do to market yourself is to establish an online reputation as a writer. This doesn’t mean you have to have pages on Amazon.com showing your bestselling booklist, it just means you need to have a few articles online with your name on them as the author and a way to contact you if someone is interested in hiring you as a writer.

There are a variety of ways you can start establishing your online writing reputation, and most are either free or extremely inexpensive, including:

• Start and write a blog
• Become a writer on someone elses blog that will include a biography and contact information about yourself
• Write and distribute articles in article directories like ezinearticles.com
• Apply for writing jobs on freelance job sites, like rentacoder.com and getafreelancer.com

Freelance job sites are not only a good way to earn recognition as a writer, but as you complete work the buyers are able to give you a “rating”. This rating shows other buyers that you’ve completed work successfully and will help you secure additional jobs through the sites. In addition to the numerical rating that you have, buyers can leave comments and feedback. Hopefully, you will have completed the job above and beyond expectations and have gotten an excellent review! Hint: use your real name (or the name you plan to write under as your pen name) as your freelance site username. When someone searches for your name with one of the search engines, often the feedback and ratings will be returned in the first few listings giving prospective clients another way to find you.

As you start adding more of your writing work to various web sites and article directories online, you will begin increasing your chances of having potential clients find you and ask about your writing services. If they see your articles online and ty pe your name into a search engine – they’ll find your contact information (if you’ve provided it on your blog, website or author’s biography section – so you can see the importance of this step!) and email or call you to discuss their needs for writing work.

You can also use services that allow you to network and refer people to others, as well as receive referrals from people you’ve networked with. These websites are free to create profiles and offer additional exposure:

• Linkedin.com
• myspace.com
• merchantcircle.com
• facebook.com
• zerodegrees.com
• ryze.com

These are all free methods of networking and getting your name associated with “online freelance writer” – one of the first steps in establishing a successful online freelance writing career.

Debbie Dragon is the founder of MakeMoneyFromWriting.com where she teaches others about the online writing process, how to find freelance writing jobs, and securing their own writing businesses.

“Be a creator, rather than a regurgitator of what is”. How’s that for an opening line - out of the mouth of Abraham, my favorite Law of Attraction source. Couldn’t think of a better way to grab your attention - to the importance of getting your focus off of your present situation and onto what you really do want - that creation that lies beyond your regurgitated status quo.

Break the Cycle - Stop Just Re-creating Your Status Quo: Most of us, I’m afraid to say, are just plain lazy (or, at the least, uninformed). We are caught in the habitual trance of just focusing on what is, instead of doing the more structured work of focusing on what we really want. As we get what we habitually and primarily focus on, we just keep re-creating our present circumstances, inadvertently getting more of the same. Same old work, same old relationships, same old money situation, same old weight issues, same old unsatisfying geography etc. Continue Reading »

I often see a single word that should be two words. Here are some examples:

Setup and Set Up

“Setup” is a noun, usually meaning an arrangement. “The setup worked well.”

“Set up” is a verb, meaning to assemble or “put in readiness.” “She set up the display.”

Logon and Log On

“Logon” is a noun, describing the “procedure used to get access to an operating system or application, usually in a remote computer” (Whatis.com). Logon can also be used as an adjective, as in the “logon procedure.”

“Log on” is a verb. “I need to log on to my computer.”

The same distinctions apply to “login” and “log in.”

Everyday and Every Day

“Everyday” is an adjective meaning ordinary or typical. “The store offers everyday values.”

“Every day” is an adverb referring to something that occurs each day. “The store offers values every day.”
Backup and Back Up

“Backup” is a noun, most often referring to a computer file that has been saved. “My backup was corrupted.” “Backup” can also be an adjective. “It’s important to have a backup plan.”

“Back up” is a verb, referring to the action of moving backwards (e.g., a car) or of saving an electronic file to another location. “I am going to back up my computer right now.”
Alot and A Lot

“Alot” is not a word. Use “a lot.” Fortunately, the spell checker in Word flags this common error.

Follow-up and Follow Up

“Follow-up” can be used as a noun, meaning “the act of following up.” “The follow-up was effective.” Follow-up can also be used as an adjective. “Follow-up actions are essential.”

“Follow up” is a verb, indicating action. “I will follow up after the incident.”

Lookup and Look Up

“Lookup” is a noun, meaning “the process or instance of looking something up; especially the process of matching by computer the words of a text with material stored in memory” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

“Look up” is a verb. “I’m going to look up the address.”

The same distinction holds true for “hookup” and “hook up.” The single word is the noun; the two words are the verb.

Anyway and Any Way

“Anyway” means “anyhow.” “I am going to go to the party anyway.”

“Any way” means “a way.” “Is there any way you could drive me to the party?”

Awhile and A While

Both “awhile” and “a while” mean “for a short time.”

Use the two words if they follow a preposition. “He wanted to nap for a while.”

Otherwise, use the single word. “She plans to be gone awhile.”

©2007, Communications Plus

Reprinted with permission from Kay Paumier of Communications Plus, www.communicationsplus.net, info@communicationsplus.net.

Journal writing is a well-known and effective technique I use myself and frequently recommend to others including family, friends and clients.

Several books have been written about the ins-and-outs of journal writing and the good thing is that you don’t need any formal training, any special equipment, or any skill to do it… it’s something everyone can do and benefit from.

8 powerful benefits of journal writing:

1) It’s a great way to get your thoughts and feelings out of your system. We all know how good it can feel to talk things over with someone but sometimes it can be difficult or inconvenient to access someone e.g. it could be 2 a.m. when you need to talk and inappropriate to contact someone at that hour. Your journal is always handy

2) Can help keep you on track, clarify your goals and stimulate ideas for change in your life

3) You may not have someone with whom you can talk over your problems or feelings

4) You may have something on your mind you don’t feel comfortable talking with someone about… you can say what you want in your journal without feeling embarrassed; your journal will never judge or criticise you

5) Your journal is easily accessible at any time on any day

6) If you have trouble sleeping, keep paper and pen by your bedside. When you have thoughts racing through your head preventing you from sleeping—write them down. Once again, it gets it out of your system and stops the continual thinking

7) Can help you clarify what you’re thinking and feeling. It can help you let go of things that kept going around in your heart and head

Your journal can become your very good friend!

There are numerous other benefits of journal writing… these are but a few!

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritually minded people providing information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their dreams and goals. Can’t remember your dream? Don’t know how to dream? Then sign up for my free 5 step e- course “Uncovering Your Dreams” at: http://www.aspirationsplus.com/udpromotion1.html and learn how to find your dream, remember your dream and reclaim your dream.

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Achieving balance in our lives is accomplished by saying no when we need to and learning to set priorities. And we cannot achieve balance without understanding what our particular needs are. Balance is different for everyone. It means that you have identified your priorities and have not overextended yourself. Balance means you are aware of the dangers of burnout. Balance means that when asked the question, “Are you happy?” you can answer yes.

The following are 4 core values I use to live a balanced life and achieve my dreams easier.

One–No Guilt Allowed

One of the biggest struggles for women today is learning to say no without guilt. One of the core values I teach my coaching clients is to adopt this new rule into their lives called—No Guild Allowed. Guilt can hold you back from many of the goals you want to accomplish if you let it. Guilt doesn’t make you a better mother, or employee, or even more fit. Most of us know this, yet we still allow ourselves to fester in guilt. Guilt actually creates an imbalance in your life because you are left with feelings of inadequacy.

From now on when guilt creeps into your life—take action by noticing that the emotion is present and replace it with positive choices or joy as quickly as you can. As you retrain yourself to purge guilt, you will notice how much easier it is to move forward and accomplish your goals.

Two–Embrace Positive Choices

“The art of positive choices helps you to create the life you want. Positive choices help you to discover what truly makes you happy and realign your priorities. Life is a series of additions and subtractions. You control the calculator.”
~ Gail McMeekin ~

Another core value that allows you to achieve balance in your life is being able to make positive choices. What are positive choices—these are choices that propel you forward… they benefit your mind, your body, and your soul. These choices allow you to feel productive and focused because they are in alignment with what you really want to do on a daily basis. And remember—how we live our days is indeed how we live our lives.

Three–Cultivating Moments of Pure Joy

“The worst sin—perhaps the only sin—passion can commit, is to be joyless.”
~ Dorothy Sayers ~

One of the best things I personally ever did was follow my heart when EVERYONE else thought I was crazy. The first time I did this—I was scared, but at the time I was so miserable, I didn’t really feel like I had a choice. From that experience I learned to trust my gut and I learned that to follow my dreams meant that I was the architect of my life and that it was actually up to me to cultivate moments of pure joy in my life. For me-that means I spend most of my time either with my kids having fun or I am in the process of creating. Creating—for me is writing or decorating. To follow your dreams—you will have to take giant leaps and be willing to get your hands dirty before you learn how to cultivate a life full of joy.

Four–Practice Conscious Living

Another core value that will help you achieve balance is to practice conscious living. People who achieve their dreams do it with a plan. They may start out simply doing something they are passionate about, but eventually to achieve substantial results, they had to sit down and map out a plan. They made changes in their lives and began to live in a very conscious way. They began to pay attention to what they said yes and no to. They began to choose how they reacted to negative people and situations. They began to consciously choose to surround themselves with other people who had fun accomplishing their dreams. They decided to be disciplined about their choices and they also chose to consciously enjoy every moment they could going forward.

From this day forward, begin to practice conscious living—make sure you aren’t on autopilot. How do you know if you are on autopilot? Sometimes making excuses or blaming others can be a sign that you are living your life on autopilot. Sometimes situations in our lives or behaviors we have learned from our childhood can be the reason we don’t know how to live life in a conscious way. One of my favorite phrases ever is “You do better when you know better.” Don’t look back, just look forward. And don’t wait another day to get busy living life in a way that feels joyful to you.

Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Website? You have my permission, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Sheri McConnell is the President and Founder of two national organizations–the National Association of Women Writers and the Association of Web Entrepreneurs. She teaches women writers and entrepreneurs how to discover, create, and profit from their intellectual knowledge. Sheri has a Masters of Arts in Organizational Management and a Bachelors in Social Work.

She has four published books for women writers and in February 2007 she started a new site— www.createyourgroup.com and published Create Your Association–The Complete Blueprint and Tool Kit for Building a Profitable and Sustainable Membership-Based Business for anyone wanting to create a profitable membership-based business from their home.

Her latest venture—a high level product for lifestyle entrepreneurs–My Millionaire Friends is at www.my-millionaire-friends.com. You can visit Sheri and see all her companies at www.sherimcconnell.com and to access her free article archive. Sheri lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, their four children, a weenie dog, and two cats.

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