Erusal

Everyone has a book in them, or so the saying goes.  I have always been interested in writing, and around ten years ago even took a course in creative writing, but then did nothing with it.  A few years ago, I realised that the only way to become a writer, was to actually get on and WRITE SOMETHING!  I know that sounds daft, but until then I’d somehow magically thought that writing would come to me – it didn’t, so I knuckled down and took a look at my strengths and interests.

As I work part-time as a gardener, the subject was an obvious choice, and the first article I wrote was about onions.  I mean, who can’t grow onions, they’re so simple.  This article has gone on to be one of my best sellers, with feedback and comments a-plenty.  Since then, I’ve written on all sorts of subjects which interest me, not just gardening.  Some of these articles have done well, and some have yet to flourish, but just because they havn’t really taken off yet doesn’t mean they won’t do so.  A little tweak here and there, with a bit of rewriting and the article has a different slant and is off to another publisher.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is NEVER GIVE UP, there is a book inside everyone, or a magazine article, or a blog, but, you have to have a thickish skin.  Don’t be downhearted when your creative masterpiece is rejected, just think about how you can recreate the article and send it off on another journey.  In the few years that I’ve been sending my stuff out to publishers, I’ve had two children’s books published, several short magazine pieces and tons of online articles.  I’ve also added copywriting to my skills, and I actually tell people that I’m a writer now, whereas before I was too embarrassed to do so.  Since I’ve ‘come out’ so to speak, as a writer, it’s amazing how many people I meet say ‘Oh, I wish I could do that’ – guess what, they could, all they have to do is write!

General Info

I’ve just published an article called How I make Money Online, at Hubpages http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-Earn-Money-Online, to share with everyone how i earn my living as a writer. The article mainly talks about how to join Hubpages and what the benefits are of doing so. I found Hubpages a really easy way to get into earning money on line because of several reasons:

It’s free to join and to start up your own Hubpages online business.

I get to choose what I write about, so I can write stuff that interests me.

All the techy stuff is done for you, so you don’t have a bewildering learning curve that results in you making a lot of mistakes right off.

Ok, Hubpages takes a share of the revenue, they get 60% and you get 40%, but I think that’s fair for all the help and support you get.

Support – all the other Hubbers as we’re called are really helpful in sharing information.

I also wrote in this article about how to get jobs as a freelance copywriter online. I work as a freelancer through EU Freelance, a site where buyers post jobs, and you get to bid for those jobs. So far It’s worked really well for me, but you have to be careful. Never give away a free sample of your work to anyone, as people asking for freebies are ususally scammers. Thoroughly check how much you will get for each article – $2 for 100 words is OK, for 1000 words is rubbish. Once you win the bid, keep in touch with the buyer, at least daily, and ask lots of questions so that you’re clear what’s required. Make sure you meet the deadlines required.

Then just enjoy writing and being paid for your words!  Here are some other articles I’ve written http://hubpages.com/hub/Starting-a-small-business-The-Sory-of-The-Chocolate-Bar, about how to set up a small business, giving lots of tips about doing it, and about some of the pitfalls if you’re not careful.  I’m also a published author, having written two children’s books http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Publish-Your-Book.