Try making one or more of these New Year's resolutions to improve your own writing:

1. I will proofread diligently everything that I write, including emails, personal blog entries, and, of course, submissions to publications.

2. I will read at least one book that someone else has suggested that I read, even though I may not be immediately interested in the topic.

3. I will seek to identify excellent writing and apply the elements of excellent writing to my own articles, stories, or commissions.

4. I will volunteer my writing skills to a charity organization, political campaign, or to a cause in which I believe.

5. I will help someone else with his or her writing.

6. I will keep a diary or journal and make entries daily or weekly.

7. If someone criticizes my writing, I will attempt to take the criticism without offense and use the opportunity to objectively examine my writing.

8. I will take risks with my writing.

9. I will spend one fewer hour per day/week watching television, and apply that time to improving my writing skills.

10. Though I write for other people, I will find more time to write for myself, whether it means writing for fun or starting that novel.

11. I will take a class, contact an old friend, reconcile with the past, get to know someone new, try new foods, go dancing/skydiving/hiking/skinnydipping, adopt a pet, take a trip, or do something else that will enlighten/inspire/expand my knowledge/bring me peace.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Many authors at Constant Content ask how they should go about reporting earnings come tax time. Because Constant Content uses PayPal, authors can easily use the "history" feature with their PayPal account to identify payments made to them over the course of the year. Use this amount to report your freelance earnings from Constant Content. (Note: Constant Content does not report authors' income to the IRS. This is the responsibility of each individual author, just like sellers on eBay are responsible for reporting the income they make from online auctions.)

Authors on Constant Content go about organizing their Constant Content freelance income and IRS payments in different ways, and some of the more experienced ones can offer advice in the forums (if you ask them nicely after checking to see if your question has already been answered elsewhere). However, if you're really concerned about making the right payment amount, it's best to take your information to a tax professional who can explain to you what you owe according to your employment status, freelance income, and relevant deductions.

In the end, hiring a professional may cost you less than filing by yourself through electronic tax programs (these can be expensive, confusing, and can induce hyperventilation). Plus, if you suffer from discalculia, anxiety, starving artist syndrome, audit-phobia, or some other disorder, you'll be better off having someone walk you through the process, explain the steps taken, and suggest potential deductions you can make as a writer.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

When using references to back up statements or facts in an article, avoid using Wikipedia as a source. Why is citing Wikipedia a bad idea?

• Wikipedia is not always accurate.
• Wikipedia's pages change as contributors edit them.
• Wikipedia is not an authoritative source.
• Most people will find Wikipedia in a search before they find an article written about a topic. Therefore, repeating information that Wikipedia provides (without expanding upon it), may not be useful to a customer who wants articles to rank highly in search.
• Citing Wikipedia indicates an author may not have gone very far to get his/her information. Using the internet for research is fine, but digging deeper and gathering unique information from a variety of sources makes articles more useful, informative, and unique.

Wikipedia is good if you need to brush up your background knowledge of a certain subject. It can give you ideas and may even provide links to reliable source material. However, given the amount of information elsewhere on the internet, in journals and magazines, and in books, there is every reason to expand research beyond the Wikipedia entry for your topic.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Using examples to back up statements of fact can add value to your writing. Making a statement without using examples can make your writing muddy, as well as create more work for the reader. Examples make statements clearer, give readers more information, and decrease the chances that the fact or idea to be wrongly applied to real-life situations.

Examples are most successful when integrated into the text:

Warm paint colors, like red or pink, can have a stimulating effect on a room's inhabitants.

When going to a formal dinner, it is important to wear your best suit, tie, and shoes. (Rather than: When going to a formal dinner, it is important to wear your best clothing.)

Examples can also be added in parenthetical phrases, using Latin abbreviations:

When you go camping, always make sure to pack first-aid supplies (e. g. [exempli gratia or "for example"] bandages, antiseptic cream, pain medication).

Workers in the United states (i.e. [id est or "that is"] legal and illegal workers) are concerned about healthcare for their families. Note: "I. e." is not interchangeable with "e. g." "I. e." clarifies or expands upon an idea.

Examples can also be illustrated by describing hypothetical situations, relating real-life situations, or giving the reader possibilities to imagine within the context of the article.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The first piece of writing of the day is often like the first pancake - undercooked and pale in comparison to the ones that follow. This piece of writing, like the first pancake, often gets thrown away. I know my first blog post, forum comment, or email in the morning isn't always my best work, and I often have to go back and rewrite the first piece of the day. A good writing warm-up never hurt anyone.

Warming up helps you get into your writing groove. It wakes up your creative brain cells, gets the blood flowing to your fingertips, and focuses your awareness on the task at hand. A few good ways to warm up before setting down to more serious writing include:

• Writing an email to that friend who already knows you're a great writer - you don't have to prove anything to this person, so you're free to make mistakes
• Writing down the ideas you had while you were hitting the snooze button, taking a shower, or walking the dog
• Working on a short piece of fiction that still needs a lot of fundamental work (extremely early drafts)
• Recording an event in a journal
• Chatting with an eloquent buddy online

Warming up before you start writing can seem like a waste of time, but it isn't. You'll have to do a lot less backspacing, proofreading, and revision when you do sit down to really write.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites