New Article directory is live!

Hi everyone!  I’ve been working hard at adding an article directory to this site, and I think it’s finally ready.  I have posted all my suite101 articles that are over a year old and will continue to do so until I have transferred all 97 of them.  I think I have added 30 so far, since most of my articles were written the last year.  It’s much easier to find what you want here than there, since my articles are now grouped by topic instead of just lumped all together on my profile page or thrown in with thousands of others.

Here is the address to the directory: http://ams.awesatious.com

If there is anyone out there who would like to try their hand at online writing, feel free to join over there and get to posting.  You can even add your own ad code to your articles.

No longer writing for Suite101.com

Well, folks, I won’t be posting anymore links to any articles I’ve written for suite101.com, since they terminated my contract.  Why, you ask?  Because their new “stringent guidelines” for accepting new writers let at least three people in who can’t write well in English. These people wrote in broken English asking for help on the site’s private forums.  Thinking that the person might just be a joke, I made a comment to the admin asking if this was an example of their new rules.  They didn’t like to be questioned,  so they terminated my contract, making up a bogus reason for dismissing me.

After having written for the site for almost 2 years, I would think they would show a bit more loyalty.  It saddens me how badly the management has let the site sink.  I feel sorry for those who are still there and clinging to the hope the site will recover.  For those of you who defended me by asking for me to be reinstated, thank you for your support. I do appreciate it, but I doubt I would ever want to write for Suite101 again.  It doesn’t sit right with me how they could show such fierce loyalty to new people who will never be able to write a coherent English article, but so quickly threw me aside after writing nearly a hundred articles for them.  They didn’t even warn me first.

There are many other sites to write for, most of which will pay better. So if I want to post an article every now and then, it will be posted there or even here. Wish me luck.

How to Write and Publish an ebook Online

I’ve just published my first self-help ebook titled, How to Write and Publish an ebook Online. It can be purchased here or on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (you save 50 cents by buying it from me). The Kindle and Nook editions don’t allow links, but the pdf version does. If anyone would like both, feel free to buy it at either of the two online stores and then send me the receipt for your free pdf version. Everyone else, feel free to buy directly from me, and you’ll immediately have the link-enabled pdf version in hand.

The guide is just over 10,000 words and is full of helpful tips on how to write, publish and advertise your own ebook. There are numerous links as well as grammar tips to help new and seasoned writers. You can find the book on the far right side of the blog as well as in the Store (link at top of page). Thanks!

An offensive comment that is also humorous

As you all know, I write for suite101.com.  My articles range anywhere from writing all the way to reviewing movies.  My recent article was a review on the Nick TV show, Big Time Rush (BTR).  Since my son is now a toddler, we’ve been watching Nickelodeon quite a bit of late. I saw the snippets of BTR’s videos weeks before I saw an actual show and fell in love with their music. The guys are all so cute, and their music is so catchy.  I even bought 2 of their songs from i-tunes. I felt it was the perfect thing to write about.  OK, so I don’t enjoy their show as much as their songs, but I still watch and mostly enjoy it.

Anyway, the point of this blog.  I gave my honest opinion on what I thought of the show and compared it to two other Nick shows.  This commenter is obviously a girl and most likely around 12 years old (give or take a year), and she is obviously in love with BTR.  Following is her comment followed by a link to my review:

This article is a lie. When Big Time Concert airs, the ratings are going to kick iCarly’s and Victorious’s butts! 1) The music is catchy. 2) The episodes have a REASON for showing unlike this episode of iCarly, which had no reason at all. Example – iGot a Hot Room (iCarly) who cares if Carly gets her dream room? 3) Gustavo and Bitters are amazing! How dare you say they act immature! iCarly is getting boring in the 4th season, and I guess Victorious is okay, but you have no right to say that Big Time Rush should be the last one. They should be the first favorite show or second, not iCarly and Victorious….god. And it wouldn’t have to be that order of ranking the show! As much as you hate BTR (it sounds like you hate BTR!) it doesn’t matter – it is going to get more and more popular in the second season, and even with your lying articles, it isn’t going to change anything for the ratings. God I hope this article gets replaced by a eligible article saying actual GOOD things about BTR, ’cause this article is obviously horrible.

Read more at Suite101: Big Time Rush Review – Comedy TV Show with Real Life Boy Band http://popculture.suite101.com/article.cfm/big-time-rush-review–comedy-tv-show-with-real-life-boy-band#ixzz0wtdJydMJ

I normally delete comments that are insulting, but this was too humorous to let go. I also wanted to respond to it, which was another reason I couldn’t delete it.  Of course, if she comes back and posts again, I will be deleting any further remarks.

What I find most amusing is her passion, which she clearly feels with the use of God (twice). I can just visualize her stomping her little feet and gritting her teeth (probably in braces) as she typed that out, can’t you? 

Well, here’s a bit of insight, young lady.  I (not you) write for suite101.com, and no one will be replacing my articles with ones that fit your definition of good and truthful. If you want to live your life with your head in the sand and think only your opinion counts, you have a rough road ahead of you.

The thing is I didn’t really say anything that negative about BTR.  I only have good things to say and write about them. I just expressed my displeasure with parts of their show.  I love a lot of TV shows, but I don’t always enjoy every aspect of every show.  That is part of life.  Get used to it!

One last thing. My son is only a toddler, but it will be a cold day in hades before I ever let him leave a comment like that. He will learn to respect his elders. This girl’s parents obviously do not keep a close enough watch on what their kid does online.

Now an examiner for two topics at Examiner.com

Now that I’m all settled in Austin, I have transferred my status with Examiner.com and will now be writing for two topics: Writing and Women’s Relationship Advice.  :)   I’ve already written one writing article and will publish my first article for the other topic soon.  Here are the links to my two new pages:

http://www.examiner.com/x-59437-Austin-Womens-Relationship-Advice-Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-59435-Austin-Writing-Examiner

Facebook games pay off!

After writing for suite101.com for a few months and not making any money, I decided to switch the topic of my articles.  I’ve been writing about all the online games that facebook.com has to offer. Since then, my profits have grown about 2000%!! Apparently, everyone online is scouring the internet for game cheats and tips.  I have written at least a dozen game articles and will keep writing them as I play the games.  Not only profitable, but fun too!  Be sure to head on over to suite101.com to read them!  You might find a game you’ll want to play.

New writer for examiner.com

I’ve just been accepted as a new writer for examiner.com.  I will be the San Diego New Moms over 40 examiner. Hopefully I’ll get a lot of page views, which will mean a lot of revenue.  :)   I will update this post once they get my profile page set up.  Wish me luck!

August 26th update: I still haven’t heard back from the editor. I’ve written two articles and might even write a third one before she approves the first one.  As soon as she makes my articles “live” I will post the link and add the RSS feed to this blog…OK, examiner link has been updated to my profile. :)

update: I no longer live in San Diego, so I’m not writing for examiner at the moment.

Now writing for eCopyWriters

Thanks to twitter, I am now writing for eCopyWriters.com. This is ghostwriting for companies that need informative articles on specific keywords. I’ve submitted my first article, so we’ll see how it goes, and if it will be a good way to earn a bit of cash! They pay 2 cents per word, so that’s $10 for every 500 word article.

8/4 update: It’s been about a week since I submitted my first article and still have not heard if it’s been approved or not.  A bit of a slow turn around, which isn’t a good sign.  I did write another article, but I won’t do anymore for them until I see how strict they are.

8/17 update: I finally got paid for my first article, so at least they do pay eventually!  :) And that one article got me over 3x what I’ve earned so far on all my suite101 articles (I’ve written 14 so far). Guess I’ll stick with these guys for awhile.  It’s just harder to find something I’m willing to write an article on.

Being a contributing writer

When I signed on as a writer for suite101.com, I agreed to write 10 articles every three months. I have been writing for them for just under a month, and I wrote my 10th article yesterday.  I guess that takes the pressure off for the next two months, but I have no intention of stopping now.  Once I’ve written 50 articles I get a 10% bonus.  I’m not sure what that 10% bonus is based on, but it’s always nice to make more.