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In discussing specialty writing, I think it is important to first look at why you should do specialty writing. Specialty writing, also known as niche writing, offers several benefits to the writer. First, it can lead to better freelance writer’s pay. This we already discussed. But here are some of the other pluses for those who venture into specialty writing:

• It can lead to repeat jobs with the same magazines and newspapers, so you have to spend less time searching for markets and get more time for writing.
• As your researching one topic in a niche, you are likely to very easily uncover related topics in the same niche. Having more ideas for articles is always a good thing.
• The research you use for one article may be used for writing one or more other articles. This could cut back in research time.
• The more research and writing you do on a topic, the more you will know about the topic. It is easier to write about a topic if you are very knowledgeable about it. Your expertise will show through your writing and make for better articles.
• With specialty writing, you will develop a reputation for being an expert on your topic. This could lead to many open doors, possibly even a speaking engagement or a book contract.

So you can see that there are definitely advantages to specialty writing. In my next post, we will look at How to Choose a Writing Niche.

In my last post “Can You Get Paid to Write,” I talked about the competition for writer’s jobs and the problem caused by writers accepting low freelance writer’s pay. I promised you I would give tips for getting better pay. I want to discuss each of the tips in detail, so here I am just providing a brief list of 5 steps to get better freelance writers pay.

1. Do specialty writing. Choose one or two writing niches in which you can specialize.
2. Become an expert in your chosen niche.
3. Sharpen your writing skills.
4. Establish an online presence.
5. Make contacts both online and offline.

There is really nothing mysterious about it. You just target a specialty, improve your writing skills, and make yourself known. This will help you get better freelance writer’s pay.

Let’s get started today with step one. Let’s look at Specialty Writing: Choosing a writing niche for your specialty.

Freelance writing is a very competitive field. So you may be wondering if you can get paid to write. The answer is yes, but it is not always an easy task. Especially with so many of the print publications moving to the internet, the competition steadily grows.

You will be competing against well established writers that have experience, which gives them an edge over you. You will also be competing against others who are just launching their freelance writing careers. Because they, like yourself, need to get those first published clips under their belt, they will be tempted to take low paying jobs. Also writers from other countries will join the competition because they can get easy online access to the same jobs you want. Some of those international writers come from countries where one American dollar has significant value. So a job that seems low paying to us here in the United States may seem quite attractive to them. Therefore, they will take the low paying job.

All these factors make it harder for all of us to get paid to write with reasonable wages for our work. But all is not lost. There are still steps you can take to get reasonable pay in the competitive field of freelance writing. In my next post, we will take a brief look at:

5 Steps To Get Better Writer’s Pay

So don’t get discouraged. You can get paid to write in the competitive field of freelance writing.

     In an earlier post, I wrote that writing magazine How To articles was a good way to launch your freelance writing career. These teaching articles are very popular with readers, so they are in big demand. But you may be asking yourself, “What on earth can I possibly write a magazine How To article about?”

     Many writers find the answer to that question just by examining their own life experiences. And so can you. Start by asking yourself some questions. Who am I? Am I a wife, a husband, a parent, or a grandparent? Have I survived a divorce, a disease, or a death in the family? Have I raised and disciplined children? Have I worked? Have I volunteered? Have my children all left home and have I adjusted to the change? Have I given my daughter away in marriage? Have I suffered from depression? The list of questions goes on and on, but the answers describe your life and experiences. The trials you faced and the lessons you learned are all valuable information that you can pass on. This knowledge can be transformed into wonderful magazine How To articles.

You can also write articles about your own hobbies and interests. If you think something is interesting, it’s a good bet that there are other people who share your interests. They would be happy to read what you have learned and would be willing to let you teach them. To these people who have a common interest with you, your step by step magazine how to article would be appreciated. And if you’re feeling a little unsure about whether you are qualified to write the article, you can always do a little research to get additional knowledge to round off what you already know.

If you are still having trouble coming up with a topic for your first magazine how to article, here is a list of headlines for How To articles. Read them over and see if any one of them may spark an idea of something you could write about.

• How To Do _____________________
• How To Do _____________________ From Scratch
• How To Do _____________________ On A Budget
• How To Make Homemade ____________________
• How To Build _______________________________
• How To Become A __________________________
• How To Be _________________________________
• How To Lose ______________________________
• How To Win _______________________________
• How To Change ___________________________
• How To Organize _________________________
• How To Define __________________________
• How To Manage _________________________
• How To Treat __________________________
• How To Prevent _________________________
• How To Overcome ______________________

Hopefully, that list of possible topics has got you thinking of several magazine How To articles that you can write. At the very least, it should let you see that the possibilities for a good magazine How To article are unlimited.

     If you are just starting out your career as a freelance writer, you may want to write and sell How To articles. How To articles are very saleable articles. They are in big demand by magazine publishers and web site owners.

     How To articles are pieces that teach readers how to do something, such as painting, knitting, and scrapbooking. People may not like to sit in a classroom all day, but they love articles that teach them something new quickly.

     Take a mental inventory of what you know, what you are good at, and what you enjoy. Insert your passion or excitement for the topic into your writing. Once you’ve produced and sold one of your How To articles, you can reshape the article for different audiences and resell it again.

Should writers invest the time to make a blog and to keep it up? That is a good question. And if you polled hundreds of professional writers, you would probably find those who would say definitely yes and others who would say no.

Why would someone say no to blogging? Some people do not know how easy it is to set up a blog. They think they have to have technical knowledge. Others would say no because it takes time to make regular posts and to promote the blog.

Other writers would advise you to blog to get your name out. A blog is easy to promote compared to a web site, and you can build up a community around your blog. You can showcase your writing skills and hopefully attract the attention of publishers.

Whether or not to make a blog is a decision that every writer needs to make. You have to decide if the benefits of blogging outweigh the time investment required. But before you make that decision, I would like to share a little inside knowledge that was passed to me. This knowledge may encourage you to make a blog.

I was speaking to a therapist that I know the other day. We were talking about writing for magazines and blogging. She is a psychologist with a PhD. In other words, she is well qualified to write for one of the big psychology magazines. And that is what she wanted to do. But when she contacted a magazine and told them that she wanted to write for them, they sort of laughed. They told her that she couldn’t just call up and say she wanted to write because she was basically unknown. They advised her that if she was serious about writing for them that she get on the internet and start blogging. After she got her name out and developed a following, then they might be interested in having her write for them.

That leads me to believe that some magazines want more than degrees or experience. They want you to be established on the internet as an authority in your field or at least well known as a writer. And blogging is one quick way to reach toward that goal.

Does this mean you will not be able to be a writer if you don’t blog? Not necessarily. There are other magazines that will hire you without your own blog. But it does suggest that blogging can help you build your reputation as a writer, and it may open some doors of opportunity for you. But it is still your decision. What do you think? Will you make a blog?

Have trouble getting traffic to your blog? Get your free report today.

     Whether you are writing a researched nonfiction article or pouring your creative efforts into a juicy piece of fiction, confusing words can ruin your good writing. They can make your work appear sloppy. But as a writer, it may be difficult at times for you to make the correct word choice.  So many English words are similar in spelling, pronunciation, and meaning to at least one other word. An example of a pair of confusing words is “there” and “their”. Another example is “affect” and “effect”. These word pairs are commonly used incorrectly.

     Every writer must proofread their writing. However, they may need a little help in deciding which word fits the context of their article. ConfusingWords.com is a great resource site for checking the correct meaning of confusing words. The web site will also tell you if a word is a noun, verb, adjective, etc. This writing resource has over 3000 words in their collection of confusing words.

If you are interested in selling articles to magazines and newspapers, that’s great. So am I. Everyone wants to see their article and byline in a nice glossy magazine or a major newspaper. It’s one of the goals that I have at the top of my list of things to accomplish. To me it is the equivalent of seeing your name in lights in Broadway. But that’s not the whole picture. It’s sharing something and feeling that you accomplished something. You put your skills to good use.

But paper magazines and newspapers are on their way out. As more and more people discover the internet, they are beginning to do all their reading online. They can sit at their computer and read through the daily headlines, and it costs them nothing. This new trend is leading to a decline in the number of newspapers sold. Newspaper editors and journalists are quickly developing the online versions of their publications. And more journalists are seeking assignments with online publications.

Paper magazines will probably survive beyond the local newspaper because of the attractiveness of the product. But even magazines are developing their online presence. If you want to survive in journalism, it is time to move toward online publishing.

What does this mean for you and me as freelance writers? It means that while we are sending out query letters to those paper magazines and newspapers, we should also be seeking out online publications and start sending them queries. The sooner we get our foot in the door with these online publishers, the better our chances will be for us to succeed in freelance writing. Online publishing is definitely the wave of the future.

Jody Mace tagged me for this six word memoir challenge.

It is time to take a small break and have a little fun with your writing. Here are the rules to the tag writing game.

• With just six words, write a title for your personal memoir.
• Go publish your title creation on your own blog.
• Include a link back to the blog of the person who tagged you.
• Now go find five more blogs to tag.

That’s it. Are you ready to play? Here’s my six word memoir title:

I’ll eat chocolate and be A-okay.

Whenever I get stressed out, I just have to eat some chocolate. It mellows me out.

Okay. It’s your turn. I tagged you. Go write your six word memoir on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can still play. Just write your own memoir in a comment on this blog. Have fun.

We are all familiar with the saying “Practice Makes Perfect.” That saying definitely applies to a freelance writer. The more you practice writing, the better your writing skills will become. I have read that truth in every single writing book I have read. Many expert writers declare writing practice to be essential for success as a writer.

But practicing isn’t always easy. The hardest part is getting started. How many times have you sat down to a blank piece of paper and found that your mind was equally blank. You couldn’t think of a single thing to write about. Believe me, you are not alone. Ask any teacher who ever gave her students an assignment to write about anything they wanted, how many just sat there staring at their papers. As adults pursuing a writing career, we can find ourselves in that same position. The fountains of creativity just do not seem to be flowing for us at the moment. It’s a horrible feeling, but not an impossible situation.

Creative writing prompts can fuel your imagination. At the very least, they can provide a starting point for your writing. They give you an initial topic. You may write on that topic or find yourself steering into a different direction from the starting point, which was the prompt. It doesn’t really matter whether you stick to the topic or adjust it to a new angle. The important thing is that you end up writing. And that’s the whole purpose of creative writing prompts. They inspire you to practice your writing skill. Some of the writing that you do in response to creative writing prompts may actually end up as marketable articles.

Creative writing prompts are available in different forms. There is one web site that provides a one word writing prompt. It is located at http://www.oneword.com . Other writing prompts may be phrases or complete sentences. There are many books available that provide creative writing prompts. One such book is the Writer’s Book of Matches. This book inspires fiction writing and will definitely help you combat writer’s block.

Another good book for creative writing prompts is The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing. The exercises and games in this book will help you shut down left brain thinking and release the right brain flow of creativity.

There is one more book of creative writing prompts that I thought worth mentioning because it is unique. Instead of using just words as prompts, it uses pictures accompanied by a word prompt to inspire your writing. The name of the book is A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words: Image-Driven Story Prompts and Exercises For Writers. Many of the prompts focus on a specific point of the writing, such as openings, descriptions, or character developments. That allows you to work on areas of writing that you feel need improving.

Any of these books have good creative writing prompts to get you started practicing your writing. Or you can head on over to OneWord.com each day for a one word prompt to kick you into writing action. Whichever you choose, just write, write, write!