I have to apologize to my forum members today, because I was supposed to do this yesterday. As a few of you know, and most of my board knows, I ended up with another flare and the infection is fighting me again – or am I fighting it? I forget anymore…, so yesterday, in the middle of typing up a blog post here for you guys, I fell asleep! Yes, hands on the keyboard snoozing.

Sheesh.

So, today you’re going to get two blog posts, but I wanted to start with this one, because this is one I’m really excited to write about. Why? Because something absolutely wonderful and amazing is happening and I need to share that with everyone… because, 1) I think it’s going to make an impact on those I’m about to mention and 2) I’m hoping if you’re not one of those people, this might just motivate you to do something you’ve been holding back on doing.

On a whim, a few weeks back, I issued a challenge. I wrote about the challenge here on my blog and then put the challenge thread up on my board.

The challenge, essentially, was for everyone who accepted the challenge to find at least one paying gig that beyond what they were used to doing, something out of their comfort zone, whatever that comfort zone was to them, and to write up a query and/or submission and put it up in the crits section and let us all on the board tear it apart, and then submit it.

I gave them until the end of the month.

Here’s what happened.

Andi Caldwell stepped out of her comfort zone and entered her first ever entry into the Accentuate Writers Short Story Contest. She had never submitted fiction before, so this was a big stretch for her, but she accepted the challenge bravely and her entry sits awaiting the judges’ decisions! Give her some kudos by visiting her other writing ventures here. Congrats, Andi!

LindsayM had this to say when I asked her what she had done with her challenge:

“I had been avoiding sending the query to MomSense because I was a little scared. Scared to query and ask to write a series of articles, scared that I’d simply get laughed at, scared that they’d say, “Yeah, okay lady. Fat chance.” Even if nothing comes from the query, I am immensely glad I sent it. Thank you for the shove. If nothing else, I don’t have the “What ifs” hanging over my head for not sending it!”

I asked her permission to use this quote, because I found it so motivational and encouraging. See, she didn’t say it was easy or simple, but she chose to do it anyway, and the enthusiasm and pride I felt from reading about it… well, I figure, if you’re scared too, maybe, just maybe, this will motivate you to stretch yourself like she did! You can give Lindsay a visit on her Silly Mom Thoughts blog. She’s got some great stuff there.

Now, AngelS has been working hard to get the hang of keywording and writing fiction, and somewhere along the way, she started flashing us. Nah, get your mind out of the gutter. I think she’s probably dressed most of the time when she’s on the board. What I meant was Flash Fiction. Short shorts, so to speak, and again, I’m talking writing, not clothing (or lack thereof.)

Angel is a self-published author with several books on Lulu and now, she’s submitting and having flash fiction published, breaking out into a whole new genre for her. She’s got a knack for the shorts, and I’m proud of her finding her groove and going with it. Good job, Angel!

Heather Mark stepped up to the plate and submitted an article she thought was out of her league, simply by changing the way she thought about the article and what it would mean. She is submitting to a prestigious publication what is bound to be an interesting topic! Heather, I personally wish you the best of luck and can’t wait to see if they pick it up. You’re definitely a winner in this challenge and way to step out of that comfort zone! Give Heather’s blog a looksee!

CWilson came in under the wire with her essay that she just put up for peer review (I’ma get to it, Clarissa, promise!) I know this one was a stretch for her, and I’m so excited to see her stepping out of that comfort zone to submit this one! She just put it up on the board yesterday and since I slept through my day, I missed it. I can’t wait to go read it. While I’m taking care of that, you guys can check out her blog and some some of her other writings on eHow!

I want to say something special here about Rissa Watkins. She won the Accentuate Writers short story contest last go-round, and it went to her head and somewhere she got the idea she might actually (gasp) be a writer. Read her declaration of independence. This is so worth reading. Rissa, I’m so proud of you! I mean it. If you have hope of ever being a writing for a living, this is a blog you must read.

Which brings me to my friend Jennifer Walker and her journey to freedom. Jenn quit her job, what was it, last month, two months ago? I remember her on IM with me whining about how much she hates her job, and now, I hardly talk to her, because she’s so busy goofing off in coffee shops, at the library and the cyber cafes… oh, you didn’t know? She quit her job… and, even better, she has pretty completely replaced her income doing what she loves – writing and editing. Visit her website here and then visit her blog here to see how she did it.

The next person I want to mention is Tanya Katerina. She has entered the contest with some really good writing. Mechanically, her writing rocks. She has great story ideas too. I haven’t really said this to her, but I’ll say it here for everyone – this girl has potential. No, I mean, real potential here. I think the only thing left for her to do is get that brilliant ‘idea’ or ‘concept’ and she’s going to kick it with fiction writing. She doesn’t freelance like the rest of us poor schlubs, so the best I can give you is her Msypace. Stop by and say hey, maybe add her as a friend, and encourage this woman to keep writing!

Laurie has been sharing with us for some time each new step she takes. On the board, she’s our resident poetry and prose writer, and her fiction writing has a literary fiction feel to it. She has been slowly taking one step forward after another, spreading her writing wings farther with each step, and hopefully not mixing metaphors as badly as I just did. I’ve enjoyed watching her grow in confidence and look foward to seeing great things coming from her. She’s got a blog you can visit by clicking here, and get a feel for some of her Ponderings.

I know I’m probably missing someone and I’m going to feel horrible about it afterward, and I’ll pick them up on another blog if I did…

… but before I close, there’s one more person I want to mention.

Amy Browne. Man, when I issue a challenge, some people step into the water timidly, but Amy embodied the spirit of challenge, and she just went crazy submitting! She found paying markets, she dug deep into her and shared some person things and put them into what stands to be some powerful writing. Then she went out and put herself out there and started submitting. She sold one of her writings to publication earlier this month, and she just didn’t stop! If she keeps this up, she’s bound to hit something big soon. Keep going, Amy! Way to take on a challenge!

If I forgot or missed anyone from the board who stepped up, let me know and I will be sure to include you in a new blog tomorrow or the next day. If you have taken the challenge but have not yet posted it for us, let me know soon so I can get you up here on the blog too.

You all did what many won’t – you stepped out of your comfort zone, and now, you will all promptly burst into flames.

Nah.

But you’re one step closer to whatever you seek… so if you’re not one of these people or if you’re wanting to branch out but haven’t yet, why not?

These folks might not have thought they could do it at first either, but here they are doing it. You can too, you know.

Just do it. Don’t think it. Don’t fight it. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did!

I’ll have an update about the short story contest, a new tutorial video and some information about a poetry contest we’re hosting on the board coming up later today, so stay tuned.

Until then, give the folks up there in this post a visit to the links I’ve included!

Keep writing!

Love and stuff,
Michy

PS: I knew I would forget someone! Of course, I could blame it on her, since she didn’t post in my thread immediately after I asked for people to do it (ppffffft) Susan! I’m so sorry I forgot you! (HUGS)

Susan is going to be my next victi– (ahem) I mean, uhm, protege, yeah, that’s it. I’m giving her until after the holidays, and then she too will be assimilated. Susan actually stretched out of her comfort zone and jumped on the challenge as well. I have a lot of faith in Susan as a freelancer – she’s got the right attitude for it, so now I just have to help her find her motivation. Ya’ll go see her writing blog here.
=================================================================

Popularity: 5%

I finished the book, with an ending I had not planned, but one that was absolutely perfect for the book. In a way, the ending was inspired, came to me in a dream of sorts, and then it brought it all full circle.

It was perfect.

As a writer, these are the moments that are the absolute best near-orgasmic experiences ever. I mean, when the ending just clicks, and you see the writing come together and can step back after the fingers have flown fast and furious and it is perfect, you just sit back and sigh… and you say, “That’s it!”

There’s not much better than that.

It’s funny, though. After I finished writing this one, the last word, the last line, the final brushstroke of the masterpiece…

… I immediately wanted to start right in on my next book, because I wanted that rush again.

THIS is why I don’t drink or do drugs — nothing in the world compares to this natural high.

I decided to work on Firestorm for my NaNo Novel… Firestorm will be my first attempt at writing fantasy. I wrote a piece of prose a couple of years ago that told a great story, but in a more poetic form. Behind that prose, I saw so much more, lurking back there, and that’s when I decided to make a novel out of it and that turned into a concept for four novels, one each based on the lead character of the elements. Long story – you’ll see more when I start working on it.

As for my current book, the one I just finished, I’m actually still editing it right now, going through it with a fine-toothed comb. I had Ryan and Lynn and my daughter go through it was well. We’re looking for every possible problem, little mistake, anything to fix and make this a perfect manuscript.

So that I can submit it and let an editor rip it apart….LOL

I have decided that I’m going to submit this one, title That’s What Brothers Do, or maybe it’ll just be What Brothers Do, to Kensington. They are one of the few main trade publishers that are still take open submissions. Unfortunately, they appear to have a backlog of about 3-5 years!

So in the meantime, I’ll start writing the synopsis and the query letters and get this out to agents while it’s waiting in Kensington’s queue. Kensington says to give them at least three months. I’m hoping that I’ll hear from them yes or no before I finish the query letters and synopsis and the printing and all that stuff of the manuscript, and then if they say no, off to the agents it goes.

If they say yes, I’ll have to see what kind of deal they give me and decide from there. I could possibly use them as leverage with an agent to get one to negotiate my contract for me, maybe, I hope….

Anyway, that’s the plan. We’ve already priced printing this on good quality paper and determined it is cheaper to take the manuscript on disk to a print shop and let them print it than it is to buy paper and ink cartridges at home and print it, and I’m ensured a better quality of printing.

The final manuscript is just a touch under 600 printed 8 1/2 X 11 pages, double spaced, with 1″ margins all around (sorta standard submission formatting). If I’m sending the full manuscript out to three places, the first three chapters out to two places, and the first five chapters out to one place – along with printing the query and synopsis… well, we’re looking at about $200 bucks in printing costs.

No one ever said it was cheap to get published, eh? At least, not with the big boys.

But I consider this an investment in my future, an investment in my career and business. I am a writer. It’s not just what I do; it’s who I am, but it’s also what I do to be who I am… so this is just part of it.

Plus, that 200 bucks is a drop in the bucket if I can get a 5-6 figure advance, eh?

Wish me luck!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 1%

Every state is different in the laws used to allow homeschooling. There are actually some states where homeschooling is still not technically legal. In Texas, homeschooling falls under ‘private schooling’, and essentially, a parent makes the home a ‘private school’. Thusly, the parent makes the curriculum, agrees to follow a curriculum with certain basic requirements, and after that, there’s no requirements that say what a parent can or can’t do. School can be any day of the week, as long or as short as you choose, wherever you choose and whenever too, as long as you are following a curriculum.

The curriculum doesn’t even have to be approved. You also do not have to actually fill out any paperwork except the forms to withdraw your child from public school.

So I saw this news report back in July, and it got me to thinking.

First, I think what happened here is horrid. The mother was killed; the father was apparently a really sick, sick man, but watch this video and then I’ll tell you what I’m thinking.

Now, the question is… should a local school district be able to, legally, ‘check up’ on the kids being homeschooled?

I believe homeschooling should be open for the parent to teach the child in a manner best suited for the child. In my son’s case, this requires a lot of hands-on projects, fewer paperwork projects (he has trouble sitting still) and a lot of computer work, because that is what he is interested in.

But in this situation, with this father, would it have been any different had the school officials checked up on the kids?

I mean, school officials don’t check on kids during the three months of summer, and this horrible situation could have happened during the summer, and no one would be questioning homeschooling then.

I guess my question is, why, in light of such a horrible thing, are they immediately jumping to having more regulation on homeschooling when this had nothing to do with homeschooling?

It amazes me every day how our freedoms are slowly being eroded. Very scary stuff to me. While I wish this had never happened in this kids’ lives, adding more restrictions on homeschooling is not the solution. I seriously doubt this would have been prevented by having school officials visit the home. I mean, people kill their spouses – it happens – and I’m willing to bet the majority of the people who do this don’t homeschool.

Why jump to that so quickly?

Just fodder for thought.

Opinions?

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: unranked

Morgan Leshay, a Georgia native, resides in the North Georgia mountains – with her husband, six kids, and a chihuahua named “Pocket”. When not otherwise engaged in generating new and exciting romance novel concepts she spends her time catching up mountains of housework neglected while writing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, that just sounds stuffy, don’t it? Who am I really?

Most days, I’m just a mom, housewife, teacher, and a dreamer…maybe some of you can relate to that. I’m a normal person just like anyone else, except my “bad hair days” are usually “atrocious hair days” and my schedule is a little backward to the rest of humanity. While the rest of the world around me sleeps, I work. When they are working, I sleep…about one level above dead, LOL.

Author Interview with Morgan Leshay

It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

Morgan Leshay: Nope, nothing but writing. A mom of six couldn’t possibly have time for anything else, right? Kidding. I do have time cause my kids are great, but I don’t have a job outside the home.

What compelled you to write your first book?

Morgan Leshay: I saw a vision. Seriously. I was sitting in the parking lot outside my local Walmart, and I saw this…woman…or angel…. It was a warm, early fall evening, and the wind was blowing leaves across the pavement, making that eerie whispering sound you hear and this … vision… pops into my mind. And I hear a name, just the echo of a whisper, really, in my mind. One word. Tian.

I went home and started writing. Three days later (about 72 hours), the story (first draft, yeah) was done.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Morgan Leshay: No. Well, if you count life after teen-agerdom as “always”, then the answer would be yes, but before then, I didn’t really think about it. Sure I wrote. Won awards for essays and such in school, but I didn’t consider myself a “writer” or think I was going to be a writer someday.

Then when I was 16-17 (and heavily hooked on reading romances) I decided, “Yeah. I’m gonna be a romance writer. I could write one of these in my sleep…and a lot better than some of them I’ve read lately, too!”

Scheah, right.

I then set about “learning the craft”.

Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

Morgan Leshay: My latest release is The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow, and it tells the story of what happened in Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow 25 years after the Headless Horseman’s famous midnight ride. A new romantic twist on an old horror legend, The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow is a tale of intrigue and suspense, yet at the same time, a journey to happily-ever-after for the lead characters Katherine Van Brunt and Icharus Crane.

Here’s the back blurb, so you know what the story’s about:

“…25 years after the Headless Horseman’s famous midnight ride…”

Katherine Van Brunt, daughter and only heir to the infamous Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt and Katrina Van Tassel, brings back the dead and loses her heart to the son of her father’s nemesis in her quest to save the legacy of Baltus Van Tassel in…THE LEGACY OF SLEEPY HOLLOW.

To me, The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow is a story of renewal, of growth and rebirth. I enjoyed writing it so much I cried when it was time to type “the end”.

My debut romance novel was called Redemption, and between the pages of that story, you’ll learn what happens when an angel meets the devil and is tempted to sin. I am proud of this story, as an author tends to be of “first books”, but I’m not so attached I don’t realize it could have been better. A lot better.

Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

Morgan Leshay: I am in the planning phase of a new story, yes. But all I can say about it is that you should look for it around the holidays in 2009, and that I’ll be posting an announcement about it on my blog at http://www.morganleshay.com/musings in December 2008.

What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

Morgan Leshay: Usually I listen to an eclectic mix of music, but while writing The Legacy of Sleepy Hollow, there was only one song I listened to and I listened to it repeatedly…so much so, I now call it the “theme song” for The Legacy of Sleepy Hollow, lol.

Which song inspired me so during the writing of The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow? “Say My Name” by the gothic rock band Within Temptation (www.within-temptation.com). I must have played it a million bajillion times while writing The Legacy. I even included a special thanks to the band in my book!

How long did it take you to write your most recent (or first) book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short)?

Morgan Leshay: I wrote my first book (the first draft, lest anyone become overwhelmed) in 72 hours. I wrote my second book in about 120 hours (this was the final draft).

When I started writing the first book, I thought it would take longer…a lot longer. With the second, I was a bit lazy…not writing every day, so naturally it took longer. And of course there were a lot more words in the second book than there were in the first, so…

But this isn’t something everyone can necessarily do or even believe can be done. I frequently offer prayers of thanks that I can write so quickly.

Now, use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything else you want your readers to know?

I want to hear from you! Seriously, waiting for reader response to The Legacy Of Sleepy Hollow has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my writing career to date. Stop by my blog at http://www.morganleshay.com/musings and let me know what you think of the story.

Oh, where can you get it? Right now, one of two places:

Amazon.com

Or…

LBF Books

—————

Michy’s note: I contracted with the publisher to work with Morgan Leshay on her first romance novel, REDEMPTION. I was honored to get to contract with her new publisher to work with her again on The Legacy of Sleepy Hollow. We had a blast editing this novel together. I always enjoy Ms. Leshay’s work. I highly recommend picking this one up, but will admit to being a tad biased, because I enjoyed working on it so much. I will have my official review of this book up soon.

If you’d like to see what a few others are saying about The Legacy of Sleepy Hollow, by Morgan Leshay, on my writers forum, you can visit this thread.

.

Popularity: unranked

Take Action To Protect Parental Rights Against CPS (Child Protective Services)

Christopher Robinson

Lubbock Attorney and Home School Dad

As you may have heard, on May 29, 2008, the Texas Supreme Court upheld the 3rd Court of Appeals ruling which found the State had no right to seize the FLDS children from the ranch in Eldorado because it failed to prove either abuse or neglect. The Supreme Court held “removal of the children was not warranted.”

This case is not about whether you agree with the FLDS or not; it is about whether you value your liberty. I do not agree with the FLDS lifestyle and belief system, but I do value family and liberty and oppose any attempt by the government to abuse its authority with respect to either one. The Supreme Court has found that the Department of Family and Protective Services (formerly CPS) has done just that – over-stepped its authority.

And did you catch this headline: “Senate panel suggests taking FLDS sect’s assets to cover costs”. A legislative panel suggested that the state explore garnisheeing the religious organization’s assets to recoup the costs of caring for the children they seized! Said Senator Bob Deuell, “Why should we be footing the bill when they’ve got assets?” So, they can wrongly take our children from our homes and then consider charging us for their care!

Friends, who will be next? What if CPS comes knocking on your door? Or the door of your family? Do you or your family hold beliefs or practice a lifestyle that may be considered “counter-cultural” or against “main-stream” society? Do you or a loved one home school? Are you a born-again Christian? Are you leery of the environmental extremist agenda? We live in a world today whereby the definition of “normal” or “acceptable” is quickly changing.

Read the rest of this entry on their site here:
http://www.thsc.org/RobinsonParentalRights.asp

————————————————

Do not think for one minute that because you don’t live in Texas that this doesn’t affect you. When enough states or a big enough case hits one state, it can cascade and become law for all states.

Please know your rights as a parent and stand up to protect them. DO NOT let someone intimidate you just because they can flash a badge or an ID card. You have civil rights; DEMAND them politely and without inciting anything, and the law is on your side.

Now, before you jump on me here, I don’t agree with everything this author has said. I personally support gay marriage and have no problem with alternative lifestyles that are between consenting adults, provided children are properly cared for, fed, nurtured and educated.

But the point is clear – we get so scared about losing our kids and so protective of them and so offended when attacked or accused of any wrongdoing where they are concerned that when child protective services or law enforcement comes in, we get scared and we capitulate to them.

Don’t!

Know your rights.

Read and learn and stand up for them NOW before you need to invoke them.

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: unranked

There was a page view update yesterday, I think, in which I discovered my Halloween article from last year has managed to rake in over 11,000 page views this month alone, bringing in about $24 bucks for me, just this month. Last year, it hit 14,000 page views in October, and then a spattering during the year. This article was one of the very first C4Cs they put out, ever, and I picked it up only because I was testing the C4C publishing platform.

This little $5 article has now paid me nearly $70.00, and it took zero research, since it was all written from a personal experience perspective.

Man, can’t beat that.

That got me to thinking about how other articles have performed. Earlier this year, I crunched some numbers in another blog of mine and had discovered that after two years with AC (at that time), I had the following stats:

2007 STATS

211 articles submitted for upfront payment. Lowest payment $3.00. Highest payment $50.00.

Average payment for all upfront articles: $7.30

Average page views for all upfront articles: 2599

These stats were based on the fact that for the first year I was with AC, there was no performance bonus. Those of you who are new to AC and have had the performance bonus all along have a better chance of having even higher stats for their first and second year than I did with the performance bonus not starting until February. Also, keep in mind, the performance bonus was $1.50 for part of that time, and it is not at $2.00 for my clout level.

So that made me want to look at my stats again now that the performance bonus has been around for awhile and the increase in the payments for the performance bonus, and see how things were shaping up.

Using Randy (theBarefoot’s) handy dandy page view converter tool, here’s a snapshot of my overall performance:

So as you can see, my poetry (mostly the free articles) really suck on page views compared to my regular articles (those that received upfront payment), which are currently showing 4030 average page views. I think we’ve discussed before how average page views per article are very important, and I think I’ve shown you all how I feel about how poetry kills your average. Well, here’s the number proof – poetry is the majority of my Free Articles, and it’s only 855 average views, vs. over 4k for the paid ones, which brings my total average down to a little under 3k.

I’ve said it many times before, but my poetry, which by some standards is doing okay at 855 page views on average, is killing my overall average by knocking it down more than 1000 average page views.

Need I say don’t write poetry on AC if you want to make good upfront payments? Do I really need to say it again? If I do, please read this blog post again. Yes, I know AC just recently held a poetry contest… think about it very carefully and you might figure out WHY that benefits them, while it hurts you.

Moving right along. Let’s crunch the rest of the numbers.

Average upfront payment for all articles from my first paid article: $7.54, which is up .24 cents per article on average from seven months ago. This should continue to go up every month, every year.

Now, last year, I predicted that with performance bonus, my overall average payment for all articles, including the ones I gave away for free, the poetry, and the ones I received upfront payment for, but excluding the ones I wrote for partner calls… I predicted my average would be about $12.00 per article by the end of this year.

Not only did I meet that prediction, but I surpassed it.

The average payment per article for 336, including all articles (upfront and freebies), including the performance bonus, is…

Drum roll….

$13.31.

Okay, why would be excited by this when I state on my freelance writing blog that I average about considerably more per article for print?

Well…

Here’s why.

Next year, I anticipate that by the end of that year, I will have averaged over $30.00 for all AC articles (even with that low poetry page view count).

That’s not that big of a deal, but by the end of the year after, it will be over $50… and perhaps by the end of…

oh, sorry, my point here is, when I write a $25 article for an ezine, or a $50 article for newsletter, or even a $100-250 dollar article for a print mag, I sell it one time, and then I usually have to give up all rights to it (besides my own copyright and byline), and I never see another red cent for that article again.

But on AC, that money is there, every day, making me money.

Most of what I put on AC are things I can write quickly, usually because they are things I either 1) know a lot about and feel passionate about, so the words flow easily, or it’s from personal experience 2) are articles I had already spent the time writing for other markets but was unable to sell them, so I tweaked for keywords some and put them up on AC or 3) they were display only articles (or non-exclusive depending on when) of content that I had already sold non-exclusive rights to someone else and gave it for free to AC for non-exclusive of display only too (remember, AC used to pay for non-exclusive. That only recently changed).

The point is, the articles I write for AC usually take far less time than the ones I write for print. That’s just the nature of the beast, and also the fact AC likes more personal informative articles with less research and more anecdotal commentary.

And then, that money on the performance bonus rolls in every month, increasing my overall payment per article every month, without having to do anything else but kick back and let it come into my PayPal account as a triple digit payment every month. I think this month, October, is going to be highest month yet, since I’m already in triple digits with 10 more days left for the month, and I’m only expecting it to go up from here.

I’m still crunching numbers on categories and what types seem to perform best and I’m also looking at the debate about whether exclusive or non-exclusive has paid more upfront.

Stay tuned!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 3%

I was doing a search last night and discovered quite a few articles on AC where I was mentioned in the article or was the subject of the article, so I decided to put all the links I could find here, so they could get a link back to their page and hopefully some of you guys will go and read these great CPs!

Thanks to everyone who has mentioned me or one of my articles in your content. This is based off a search on AC, so I might have missed someone. If I did, please let me know and I will surely add your article to this list too!

Thanks everyone! I am honored and humbled by your generosity.

Karen was the first to ever ‘interview’ me on AC! Thanks Karen!

CP Spotlight: Michelle L. Devon
For me as the writer of this interview with her, I am glad to have had this chance to interview such a wonderful writer and a very nice, compassionate lady as Michelle L. Devon.
View more »

Expert Advice for Writers: An Interview with Michelle L Devon
Michelle L Devon, one of AC’s most prolific writers, started her very successful online writing career with no professional writing experience; yet her compulsion to write and her determination to succeed has bred success. Find out how.
View more »

The Path: Series on Redemption and Sensual Awakening by Michelle Devon
The Path by Michelle Devon will take you on a journey down a life. This life could be anyones – hers, yours, your best friends, maybe a perfect strangers. Get ready for your journey. Come! Lets walk this path together.
View more »

Michelle L Devon’s Interview
Are you wondering who Michelle L Devon is? If you are you have to check her awesome interview!
View more »

Writing to Be Published: A Writers Guide to Successful Writing Pt. 2
Michelle Devon in this part two interview shares some helpful insight on writing. No matter if you’re writing a short story or your first novel this is advice you can’t go without.
View more »

Why Should You Use a Professional Editing Service?
All writers can benefit from having someone else edit their work. In this interview with Michelle L. Devon, I find out why a professional editing service can be worth the money.
View more »

Writing to Be Published: A Writers Guide to Successful Writing
My becoming a writer has lead me to seek out advice and help. For that advice, I turned to Michelle Devon. These are some of the many things she shared. My writing journey has taken off. Now I share with you, so you too can take a journey into become a writer.
View more »

$10,000 in One Year with Elance.com!
Following is an interview I conducted with Michelle L. Devon, one of the prolific writers here on AC, for the first issue of my newly relaunched newsletter, How to Start a Successful Freelance Career.
View more »

Most Memorable AC Articles of 2007
Because I wrote Top 10 Associated Content Articles of 2006 last year, I decided to write about the most memorable AC articles of 2007.
View more »

Hey! I Don’t Think the Content Manager Read My Article!
Ever had the feeling your Content Manager didn’t read that article s/he rejected? You’re right.
View more »

AC’s Top 10 College Articles
College is right around the corner. Do you know all you should know before starting college this fall?
View more »

How to Find Experts to Interview for Your Newsletter
The web offers a variety of ways to find excellent interviewees. Employing these suggestions, you will never run out of experts to interview — and increase your newsletter profits at the same time.
View more »

A Plea to Associated Content: Reward Those Who Write Original Material
Associated Content needs to stop rewarding people who simply rewrite other people’s work with spots on its featured content section. Placement there drives page views and those who lack any semblance of originality with their submissions should not be given any publicity.
View more »

Top 10 Writing Help Articles on AC
Writing articles for AC can be a lot easier when using these articles for help.
View more »

Why Aspiring Novelists Should Write for AC
Associated Content is not just for the non-fiction writer. Even if your true passion is fiction, AC can be a major stepping stone for aspiring novelists.
View more »

Top Ten Special Education AC Content of 2006
Do you need to know all about special education? Check here for the best of 2006!
View more »

Top 10 Society AC Content of 2006
These society stories examine some of the most important issues facing our nation and the world today.
View more »

The Top 10 Most Informative AC Articles for Content Producers
My picks for the top 10 most informative AC content of 2006, from a beginners perspective. These articles have great tips and tricks for improving your writing, promoting your content, and improving your page views.
View more »

Top 10 “Top 10″ Articles from Associated Content
No matter what Top 10 list ideas your looking for you’ll find it here on AC. Here is some of my favorite Top 10 from some very talented writers.
View more »

My Top Ten AC New Year’s Resolutions
This year, I am resolving to learn as much as I can about freelance writing and improving my writing and submissions on AC can only help enhance that cause.
View more »

Confessions of a Weird Fat Guy
I am fat and no chubby hater will convince me to lose weight.
View more »

Top 10 Associated Content Articles of 2006
These are the articles you wish you’d written in 2006. Did one of your articles make the list? Read on to find out!
View more »

AssociatedContent.com – The Best Information Site on the Web
Article about the best information site on the web and some of my favorite writers who publish there.
View more »

The Rock on Interview with Rosa Hayes
Come check out Rosa Hayes’s rock on interview!
View more » (The thanks on this one goes to Rosa Hayes, because she’s the one who mentioned me!)

The Lovely Interview with Momie Tullottes
The lovely interview with Momie Tullottes!
View more »(The thanks here goes to Momie Tullottes, because she’s the one who mentioned me!)

Ten Great AC Articles on Cheap / Inexpensive Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes on a limited budget.
View more »

The Best of AC: Cheap Halloween Costumes
Read this article and check out some of the best AC has to offer on the subject of cheap Halloween costumes.
View more »

Best AC Content for Cheap / Inexpensive Halloween Costumes
10 articles for cheap / inexpensive Halloween costumes!
View more »

Best AC Content on Quick and Creative Halloween Costumes
A look at the top 10 articles on Associated Content for making the best, quick and creative Halloween costumes.
View more »

Five Great Sites to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
It can be a challenge to find legitimate freelance writing jobs that pay. Here are a few sites I like that list freelance writing gigs.
View more »

Writing for Internet Publications: A Beginner’s Guide
When writing for Internet publication, the most important lesson is that once you’ve written an article you’ve created a product and in order for that product to sell you must know how those products are marketed on the Internet.
View more »

Interview with Sharon Morris
Come check the awesome interview with Sharon Morris!
View more »(The thanks here goes to Sharon Morris, because she’s the one who mentioned me in the interview!)

Accentuate Writers Forum
A community of good people who banded together, helping each other navigate the exciting world of writing; from simple grammar and English advice all the way to editing and publishing novels, this site has it all.
View more »

Common Publishing Mistakes
Publishing is a complicated business. Here are some common mistakes all writers should avoid when trying to get published.
View more »

Using Your Grammar Mistakes to Improve Your Writing
We all have our grammar quirks: the same mistakes we make over and over. Use them to your advantage to improve your writing!
View more »

Meet Christine Bude: Catching up with an AC Content Producer
Christine Bude has a clout rating of 10 and is also in the “Top 1000″ on AC.
View more »(Thanks goes to Christine Bude for the mention here!)

Multiples: From Twins to Octuplets and Everything In-Between!
Twins, Triplets, Quads, Quints, Septuplets, Octuplets, Identicals, Fraternals DNA, Zygotes, Splitting Eggs and Dividing Cells! WHEW! Here’s some unusual and hopefully interesting facts about multiples.
View more »

Omigodomigodomigod! It’s Michy!
Some CP’s are referenced so much that they’re celebrities. This is one of them.
View more »

The Best Resources for Writers
The three best resources for writers.
View more »

Associated Content Reveals 2007 People’s Media Awards
Associated Content, the leading online platform for people who want to create content, named the winners of its 2007 People’s Media Awards, distributing cash prizes and recognition to some of Associated Content’s highest-performing Content Producers.
View more »

Lessons From Freelancing 2007
I have now spent 18 months making my living exclusively as a freelance writer. Here are some things I learned:
View more »

When Sports Just Isn’t Enough Volume II: Marketing Websites, Articles, Businesses and More
Volume II reveals a few people you may want to take after whether you are a writer, internet marketer, or a newbie to both.
View more »

Women Writers to Watch on the AC in 2008
The Associated Content boasts hundreds of prolific, professional writers, male and female. Yet, our culture, as liberated as we are, still many women feel it unladylike to promote their own work, as deserved as it may be.
View more »

Avatars: Leaving a Lasting Impression on Associated Content
If you are using one of Associated Content’s pre-existing avatars for your content producer page, you may reconsider that decision after reading this article.
View more »

Top Ten AC Content on Halloween Costumes for Kids
Kids’ Halloween costumes and how to make them will give you all the ideas you need in this top ten list of AC content articles.
View more »

Interview with Tina Molly Lang
The interview with Tiny Molly Lang! She Awesome!
View more »(Thanks here goes to Tina Molly Lang for the mention in this interview!)

2007 People’s Media Awards Preview: AC’s 2006 CP of the Year Looks Back (and Looks Ahead)
My reign as AC’s inaugural CP of the Year is almost over. Does winning a PMA actually mean anything? You better believe it does. Whoever wins any of these awards this year can virtually count on more PVs, more pages when you Google yourself, and more job offers.
View more »

Don Pennington Interviews Associated Content Writers
Don Pennington has developed a smooth process for interviewing writers at Associated Content and made his niche by helping build our community.
View more »

Pam Gaulin’s Acceptance Speech
Pam Gaulin gives words of inspiration to the AC community as she accepts the 2007 “Top Content Producer of the Year” award.
View more »

Get Paid More Money for Your Writing
Here are a few tips for making more money on your writing. This will help you know what your buyers want.
View more »

The Night Before Christmas at Associated Content: A Holiday Story
It was the night before Christmas and all through the Associated Content servers, frantic content producers were scrambling with last-minute edits and articles, with plenty of articles uploaded with hopes of higher offers than usual.
View more »

What Associated Content CPs Most Want to See in Their Christmas Stockings
This article is the culmination of a poll conducted among 67 Americans between the ages of 4 and 90 concerning what they would like to see in their stocking this Christmas season.
View more »

We’re All Winners with NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is intimidating. (Duh?) I thought about it last year, and chickened out.
View more »

Helpful and Knowledgeable Writers on AC
While these have been my go to authors for my must read materials, they may not be yours. Regardless they should be thanked for their helping hands and hearts for sharing their knowledge with us.
View more »

Top Ten Writing AC Content for 2006
Like many other people, I am beginning to think about my upcoming goals for 2007. One major goal I have is to advance in my writing career. I found Associated Content a great place to start because it had many writing related articles.
View more »

Get Paid More Money for Your Writing
Here are a few tips for making more money on your writing. This will help you know what your buyers want.
View more »

Jobs for Stay at Home Moms and Dads
A large list and review of where moms and dads can apply for stay at home jobs.
View more »

Top Ten AC Content on Halloween Costumes for Kids
Kids’ Halloween costumes and how to make them will give you all the ideas you need in this top ten list of AC content articles.
View more »

AC Articles on Last-Minute Halloween Costumes
Everyone has experienced that last-minute frenzy when they have to create a costume to wear. For those enjoying Halloween yet have no costume ideas, then look no further, Associated Content can help.
View more »

Viewpoints- America’s First Black President
America could have her first black president in the very near future. My first interview with the Viewpoints panel members will be exploring their opinion’s on this matter.
View more »

Scarifying Halloween Nicknames for AC Content Producers
Ever watch the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween episodes and notice how they use funny scary names in the credits? Well, I simply ripped off that idea using the names of youse guys.
View more »

Getting Traffic to Articles is Easy with Key Phrases
I am going to share different methods that you can begin getting traffic to your articles in simple little steps. These simple little steps can help you in your goals of getting traffic to your articles.
View more »

So You Want to Write for Associated Content
A brief how-to
View more »

Donald Pennington Has Found His Niche
A look at content producer profiler Donald Pennington.
View more »

And of course, the town hall transcript when I was the guest speaker at one of the very first town halls they ever did, talking about the performance bonus. The transcript sucks, but hey, it’s still there and it’s, sorta, kinda, mostly what I said, only I said it much better than their poor transcriber transcribed it.

AC Town Hall Transcript: May 8th 2007
The transcript for the May 8th, 2007 Town Hall
View more »

If I missed anyone, please know it was not intentional. Email me or PM me on AC and I will add the link here immediately!

Thank you to everyone who has mentioned me in an article or interview. You have no idea how much this has meant to me this morning going through looking for them all. I hope that the link back to the article here on this blog will help you all get a bit high rank or a few extra page views (hopefully a lot more extra page views!)

Ya’ll have a great morning!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 3%

In a much-asked-for attempt to bring some life into the dying AC forums, some of the features we have requested in the past have been added to the board. The one I noted the quickest today was the ability to subscribe to forums and not just posts.

Okay, the forum is a the ‘board’ and then there are sub-forums under that board… these subforums are the things listed when you go to the main ‘forum’ page.

Now, on the top right-hand side of the forum, before you go into a topic/thread, you will see ’subscribe’. Theoretically, this means you can click on it, a pop up comes up asking you if you want to subscribe and receive email notification each time a new topic is posted.

This is cool, IF people actually use it and IF an email is actually sent when a new topic is posted.

I subscribed to two forums today, but have yet to receive a notification that a new topic has been posted. That either means the email doesn’t work or that no one has posted a new topic.

For people who frequent the forum, and who are online all the time working like I am, this is a bonus. It could help us not have to wade through all the layers of navigation to find things and let us know faster when someone is needing something.

If it works.

We’ll see.

If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a shot, see if it works for you.

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 1%

With the internet making writing content online for pay so easy, there are many people who are stumbling into freelance writing as a career choice who never would have considered it before. Yes, these people are contractors to these web content sites, and yes, they are legitimate freelance writers, but they are not by any means a traditional freelance writer.

What’s the difference?

Back in the day, a freelance writer would usually go out and scope out pieces, write things up, visit the offices of an editor in a major market, publication, publisher or newspaper and pitch the article to them in person, sell the article, and move on. Or else, they’d pitch the article idea, write it up, and then move on.

Editors used these freelancers to pad their publication when they needed filler content but could not afford to hire additional staff writers, or when their staff writers were all busy with other assignments. Generally speaking 10-20 years ago, freelancer writers mostly stayed in their general geographical area, and if they had to travel, they would commission the publication to pay for their expenses. Publications liked to use freelance writes for this purpose, so their staff writers stayed close to home and everyone knew what everyone else’s job was.

Several years ago, the internet began changing the way a lot of businesses do business, and that includes publications and magazines. Many small magazines have gone from a print format to an exclusively electronic/digital format, while almost all the major magazine markets now have both print and digital publication formats. Submissions began being accepted via email, fax, etc, and as such, freelance writers were able to branch out and write for national and international publications that were previously geographical unavailable to them.

Today, there are more opportunities via the digital electronic world than there are in the ‘real’ world. Then, just a few short years ago, the world of web ‘content’ comes alive, and we see sites popping up hiring people to write for them.

The face of freelance writing changed forever…

And it’s still continuing to change…

The biggest difference is these new freelance writers are working the freelance writing mold backward: submitting to cheap paying content sites and working up to higher paying assignments. I hear it all too frequently, “I’ll write for bigger paying jobs as soon as I’m making more money, doing better, getting more page views on content sites.”

The problem with this is, what these content sites expect and what works well on the web is in diametrical opposition to what is expected from and works in print!

If you’re waiting to succeed in writing web content, and then you do succeed, and then you take that writing knowledge and skill that you think you have learned, and you try to apply that to print/magazine publication writing, you’re going to find that you are behind the learning curve. Chances are, if you submit the same types of articles, writing, content – written the same way – as what you submit for web content to a print publication, you’re likely to get rejected, period.

However, if you learn to write quality writing for print markets first, perfect and improve your writing, grammar, style, flow and tone, and then get that down pat, tweaking your writing for search engine optimization for the web becomes much easier than trying to learn to write web content and then switch to print.

I can tap out an online web content article in no time flat now, and it will be above average quality or higher than ‘MOST’ of what is out there on the internet today as far as ‘reading quality’, still be optimi0zed (because I know the ‘tricks’ to do that now), never have to change my style back and forth from print to web, and I’m doing really good on page views on the sites that pay that way.

Why? Because I learned to write well first, THEN I learned to write for the web.

My point: if you’re trying to learn to write for the web and become successful at web writing as a means to break into high-paying freelance print markets – don’t. That’s taking freelance writing backward.

What works on places like AssociatedContent and Helium will not be what works on Suite101, and surely will not be what works for Reader’s Digest or Woman’s Day Magazine, etc.

What works for Reader’s Digest or Woman’s Day WILL work on Suite101 or AssociatedContent, with just a slight tweak to add a few keyword phrases.

I’m serious here folks – it works one direction, but not the other.

So if you’re working the content sites hoping to ‘get good enough’ to try print, you’re working at freelance writing backward. You should be working to get good enough for print, and then once you are, you’ll blow those content sites away.

Learn to write well first…

If you are looking to break into paying markets that aren’t ‘content sites’, visit the free Accentuate Writers forum and and the paying leads thread there.

Keep writing!

Love and stuff,
Michy
=================================================================

Popularity: 1%

People are still struggling with understanding keyword density and are out searching around for key WORDS when what they really need to be doing is thinking about search phrases (search strings) and about writing quality, easy-to-read content, that just happens to be keyword dense too. Maybe this will help simplify things for folks.

First, write your article first, without thinking of keyword density and search engine optimization at all. This way, you get the flow, the tone, etc.

After you’ve done that, find natural breaks in the article where you put in a ’sub-header’ that has your keyword in it.

Look at this article as an example:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1055092/the_truth_about_high_fructos…

The biggest keyword phrase is ‘high fructose corn syrup’ and the second biggest would be ‘HFCS’… the subheaders are:

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – How It’s Made
High Fructose Corn Syrup Vs. Sugar
HFCS Causes Weight Gain?
The Truth about High Fructose Corn Syrup

So without breaking any flow of the article writing at all, and making it more appealing to the eye and reader by breaking it up with bolded headers, I have added four instances of my keywords/keyword phrases.

Then let’s look at the takeaways, which count toward density.

* High fructose corn syrup is genetically modified.
* You might be surprised by how many products have high fructose corn syrup.

There’s two more instances of keyword density without breaking any of the flow of the writing at all. I had one more take away I could have done but for some reason didn’t…. so I could have gotten another one in.

That would have been 6 instances of the keyword/phrase without having to change a single word in the article at all.

Now, if you read this article I wrote:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/78184/how_to_utilize_keywords_and_ke…

You’ll note that keyword density is determined by figuring 1 instance of the word for every 100 words = 1% density. Two instances of the word for every 100 words is 2%. Three instances of the word for ever 100 words – 3%, and you can keep going up from there. So if you article is 400 words long – 4 instances is 1%, 8 instances is 2%, 16 instances is 3%, etc.

You want to shoot for 3-5% density for your two main keyword phrases.

Note I said TWO and PHRASES.

See, people don’t search for ‘words’; they search for phrases.

When was the last time you were searching for information on how to groom a pet did you type only ‘groom’ or only ‘pet’ to find the information?

The best way to keyword density and the best search engine optimization is to quit looking for keywords and start looking for key phrases and use those phrases.

Think like your reader – what would you type in the search engine (google) to find the article you’re going to type? THAT is the phrase you need in your title, first paragraph, last paragraph, headers, and the takeaways.

For example, in my first article about HFCS, the keyword phrase is ‘truth about high fructose corn syrup’, the keyword is ‘high fructose corn syrup’ and ‘HFCS’.

So you get the phrase in as much as you can, and then sprinkle the words around the article about two times for every 100 words you write.

Do your title, subtitle, subheaders, takeaways and then two instances of the keyword/keyword phrase per every 100 words… you’re golden and your writing doesn’t feel stilted and stunted by choppy keywording.

WRITE THE ARTICLE FIRST, then go back and find places to naturally plug in the keywords for your two per 100 words, such as replacing personal pronouns (it, they, them, he, she, that) with the actual keyword phrase instead.

Here are some other articles I’ve written about keyword density and how to put them to use on AC. I think you’ll find them simple and not ‘technical’ to learn. Keyword density isn’t hard once you have it down. I don’t even run mine through anything anymore; haven’t in years. I just ‘know’ how to write it optimized and I’m usually dead on when I check myself.

Accidental Keyword Optimization and Latent Semantic Indexing
There’s been a buzz going around about Latent Semantic Indexing in the web copy and content world. This article explores how to use LSI to your benefit.
View more »

Optimize Your Search Engine Rankings for Articles
Search engine optimization doesn’t end with just using good keywords and keyword density – ‘on page’ techniques. In fact, you can increase your page views and search engine placement by using a variety of ‘off page’ techniques. This article explores how to do that.
View more »

How to Utilize Keywords and Keyword Density
As an article or web content writer, you should understand the importance of keyword density and search engine optimization. Read this article to find out more.
View more »

Keyword Articles, Webcopy, SEO Articles – What Are They, and How Do They Benefit You?
We’ve all heard about keyword density, keyword saturation, SEO optimization, and the like. What do these words really mean? How does it affect you as an article writer? Read this article for a brief introduction into keyword articles.
View more »

KEEP WRITING!

Love and stuff,
Michy

Popularity: 1%