The Writers Manifesto Blog

Alright, I have been resisting this post for a few days now because I really didn’t want to go down that road. But now since you’ve asked I can no longer resist and finally take up that cue from Brett about 8 random facts about me that don’t require Kleenex. Well, at least not for his facts, maybe you’ll feel that rushing sense of choking once you read about my magical 8.

But before we get there I really want to make you quiver for it. After all, I’m giving away top secrets about “moi”. I mean, hello. Normally that would cost you dearly. At least a good meal and a bottle of (insert your favorite beverage here)…

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It’s time for another installment of my Freelance Writing Guide For New Freelancers. Setting rates is perhaps the most puzzling of all aspects to a new freelance writer, because of all the conflicting messages presented on the Internet.

In one corner you’ll see the $3 for 400 word article jobs advertised and in another you see that a writer gets paid $0.30 a word which would net him a nice sum of $120 for a 400 word article. Not bad at all, but nothing in relation to getting paid $2 per word or more for offline writing.

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Australia holds a special place in my heart and all though I grew up in Switzerland, I dreamed of Australia since I was 19 years young. That was 21 years ago. It all started with a friend, moving to this amazing and very spiritual country and I was hooked from the moment he said he was leaving.

I started to “eat” up every book I could find, every TV documentary and every magazine snippet about Australia. I was breathing and living here before I ever stepped foot onto Australia.

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Every now and then we need to set the record straight. Whether that is at home, having been taken for granted by the rest of the family or even at work when our boss can’t stop pushing that annoyance button.

When we do speak up for ourselves it is often fueled by a passion for what we believe in at the central core of our being. Often this can lead to petty arguments between the parties involved and isn’t very nice. Especially when people move into the personal abuse territory to further state their point to the other party.

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I spend some time every week browsing the numerous freelance job websites that offer work to freelancers and have found a new developing and disturbing trend. Deb over at Freelance Writing Gigs got me thinking with her latest post on readers queries (especially one from a guy called Richard Z).

It seems that more and more clients are starting to ask for free samples, often asking for whole sized articles making up some 400-500 words on topic. In my eyes this is daylight robbery since some of these “posers” are actually never ending up employing anybody.

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Google Docs have been a life saver for me in many ways. Being a little slow to pick up what’s cool I have always been a late starter in terms of adapting to the latest trends and apps. I guess I’m comfortable in what I use and do - most of the time anyway.

But since I discovered Google Docs I have made the switch from a cluttered hard drive (mind you on a new laptop) to a Zen like appearance. Maybe not quite yet but I’m certainly getting there.

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This is a guest post by Thom Rigsby who blogs over at Life In The Internet and East of Huntsville which is his very own local news blog in his neck of the woods.

When I left my last full-time job to begin my work at home life, I had no idea what I was in for. Oh, I THOUGHT I knew… it would be great! Sleep till 9:00, slug around the house in my PJs and slippers sipping coffee, catch the morning news cycle, etc, etc. With the proliferation of work at home opportunities and record numbers of working adults opting to use their home as their office, why do so many struggle with how to do it? For me and many others that I’ve had the pleasure to talk with over the past six years, the problem comes down to treating it like a real job. So here are a few tips to help you do just that.

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Just an update on BloggingZoom, it was hacked and the guys are working feverishly to get the server back up and running. This is just a little update to let those know who are avid users of BloggingZoom know what is happening.

The hackers (losers) managed to scramble up the server were the site is hosted and Court and Vic are busy trying to rectify things as we speak. Please help us to spread the word as these guys are serious to help us getting more exposure on the web.

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