Welcome back on this 22nd day of May, 2013.
What are you writing about today? The question for me is what am I not writing about? That would be easier to answer. On average I write five articles per day for customers, a blog, a hub and any other odd jobs I have to do. Currently I am finishing up an editing job. When I have “spare time” I work on my own projects like a novel that I just started and an ebook I want to write in the near future.
If any of you can suggest how I can find more hours in a day, please get back to me asap.
TIP OF THE DAY
For those of you thinking about submitting articles to magazines….I use my HubPages articles when I submit to a periodical, but there is a word of warning for you to consider. Most magazines are looking for articles between 700-1000 words. If your HubPages articles are longer than that you will need to shave some off to meet the submission guidelines of the magazines.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“An old racetrack joke reminds you that your program contains all the winners’ names. I stare at my typewriter keys with the same thought.”~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960
Boy, ain’t that the truth? LOL It’s up to me…and it’s up to you…to hit the right keys so that you will find a winner. Nobody else can do that for you, and there are no shortcuts. Writing takes work…writing takes determination….and writing takes inspiration and talent.
GUEST BLOGGER
The offer is still open. If any of you would like to give me an insert for this blog, I will be glad to highlight you in the next issue. If you have site suggestions or quotes, tips or contests, pass them on and I’ll include them. I want this to be a site that all writers can enjoy and find beneficial.
FORUM OF THE DAY
Absolute Write is a site with quite a few forums available for writers. If you have never joined a forum before, this is as good as any of them. You can find it here.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
The Missing Bride Contest can be found on FanStory. It gives you a writing prompt and then you write a short story based on that prompt. Deadline is July 27th…minimum 500 words.
WRITING PROMPT OF THE DAY
Let’s try a written prompt today. Are you ready?
A boy walks out of the hardware store carrying a brand new buck knife. He heads to the woods for the rendezvous he knows he cannot miss……what happens?
PICTURE PROMPT OF THE DAY
Yes, another picture from Yellowstone. Hey, I’m sorry, but I happen to think it is the most beautiful place in the world, so you are stuck with my love affair.
THAT’S ALL I HAVE TIME FOR
I’ll be back tomorrow with more information that hopefully you find useful. Until then, write like your tail feathers are on fire and your hot seat is more than an illusion. J
Bill
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
I like your love affair with Yellowstone, lol. I used to live near the Divide in Colorado Springs. 🙂 There’s actually a town there called Divide named for…you guessed it, lol.
I hope you have a wonderful day! Cheers!
Cyndi, it is the most beautiful place in this country. I can’t help it if I love it so much. LOL Thanks lil’ Sis…have a great day yourself.
Hi Bill. A question about your tip of the day: Are you actually submitting hubs for publication in magazines or as samples of your work to accompany a query? If the former, how do you handle the fact that the article already has appeared on-line? I assume you are up front with the magazine about that, but do you unpublish the hub before submitting it? Thanks.
Deb, that’s a good question and one that others are confused about. Being on HP does not qualify as being “published” for magazines. Yes, I submit my hubs for publication. Only when they are accepted by a magazine, and actually published, do I have to remove them from HubPages.
I also use them as samples when I am sending query letters. Editors always want to see a sample of your work.
Thanks for the great question.
Thanks for clarifying, Bill. I’d really like to break into magazines, especially since I’ve been building my portfolio with the newspaper work I’ve been doing. Maybe next week I will set some time aside and work on some queries and/or submit some of my hubs.
I hope you do, Deb. There are several magazines in Iowa…I have actually submitted to a couple of them, and they seem like very supportive people who actually take the time to consider your submissions.
Love your title…writing not for wimps. Yup, the amount of rejection letters I face and then fall down dejected…I am glad I get up the next day 🙂
I also feel that some companies/people try to sell us very cheap…Recently got an offer to write 1000 words or more for $5. Seriously!!
Have a nice day, Bill.
Keep those encouraging words coming!
Thank you Ruchira. Many content articles are going for that cheap cost…I won’t do it. As low as I’ll go is $10 for 400 words. I’ll leave the rest for someone else who is badly in need of money. 🙂
I wish I could tell you how to get more hours in the day, because if I truly figured this out god all I could get done. But alas it is what it is and I just do the best with what I have and from what I know of you, you definitely do the same. Hope you are having a great day now!! 🙂
Janine, happily I’m having a more productive day today…no, my time consumption is better today. LOL I’m always productive, but sometimes I don’t use my time wisely. Does that make sense?
Anyway, thank you my friend and enjoy the heck out of your day as a writer.
I like your writing day. It sounds so organised and set. I wish my days were like that. I don’t have any clients to write for because I’m trying to get better paying ones. I’ve given up with Elance and content mills…they are a bit of a joke with their rates. And I’m not stingy or anything because I know I’m still a new writer, but come on. That’s like a slap in the face! LOL. So now that all my blogs and websites and online portfolios are looking the way I want them to and I have an eBook to my name, I’m ready to get cracking with magazine article submissions. In fact, I started writing my first one today. It’s terrifying. But I remind myself how hard you pushed and kept going and if you can do it, then so can I! Thanks for the inspiration today – good tip about HubPages. The magazines I want to submit for are looking for articles of roughly 1500 words so that’s perfect. I wish HP would get their stuff sorted in terms of content theft. I miss it over there. Have a great day!
Mel, I’m excited that you are diving into the magazine world….don’t get discouraged….it takes time to get accepted there….keep pounding away and for goodness sake, make multiple submissions to the same magazine…sooner or later you will find good things. 🙂 Thanks for a great, honest comment.