Take a List with You

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Sometimes, the smallest things can trigger an outpour of words. That was how I got my idea for Quicksilver.

Go Undercover

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If you're writing for children or teens, you can enter a popular site (like Neopets, Facebook, or Xanga) and create an account.

Observe

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Sometimes, things are right under your nose, and you just need to realize it. What about the rising gas costs? Or the wilting flower you keep forgetting to water? How about that annoying orange dust residue that's left on your fingers after eating cheese curls? They can all be symbolic, and may result in very creative outcomes.

Surf the Net

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Try roaming the internet. Google is your friend. Try typing 'hd wallpaper' in its image search and see what shows up. From there, keep on going. Once, I spent almost an hour looking at one picture after another. I started by looking for planets, and I ended up reading an ad for Sea Monkeys. Quite the experience, I may say. Also, try Youtube. Never know what you'll see there.

Perspective

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Embarrassing tumble in front of someone important? Didn't notice that stain until it was too late? Instead of seeing the glass completely emptied, change your "glasses". Who would know how it felt like to do what you did? That's what makes your writing special.

Well, if All Else Fails...

I've compiled some images.

No, no and no!!!! So then, what is it that the new writers for the web, need to know?

Using the correct software! My first efforts were rejected for technical reasons. As usual, I looked on the internet for advice and found none. I replied to one of the articles published by Triond, but no luck there. Perhaps these are closely guarded secrets? No longer, dear new writer, will you have to struggle in vain.

Firstly, software for writing, or, as it is known in the world of computers, word processing!

The software that I am suggesting is free, yes FREE... Feel free to download a copy of OPEN OFFICE. The bundle has many other features apart from word processing, however, the component that you need is WRITER. Just open writer and start writing away. Remember to save the file as a .doc file.

My next problem was introducing pictures with the text. What puzzled me, and there seem to be no guidelines from the gurus, was what size pictures to insert? I think that 200 pixels for the longest side is about right. There is every chance that a picture is stolen from the web, and one can argue that copying a picture for a blog or other private use is OK. Strictly speaking, unless you are invited to copy pictures from a site, it is a copyright infringement. Will you be caught, yes, and will you be punished, often to the full extent of the law!!!! In a recent case involving infringement, the infringer, English Partnerships, represented by Pinsent Masons, paid legal costs of £14,720. They still have no license to publish the image!!!

Where to get pictures from, no problem. Take them yourself, buy them, or download them from sites that offer material free. Sometimes, and you must understand, there is no such thing as a free lunch, the free picture is not free. That is, you are obliged to provide a link to another site!

Whilst pictures are not free, the software to change the sizes and enhance them is!

FastStone Photo Resizer is a free download. To keep your files simple and organized, before using the resizer, create in Windows Explorer or any other file manager, two empty folders. Mark the first, Batch 1 and the second, Batch 2. You can of course name them anything you like, but I advise separate folders where you copy your original files into. Copy the picture files into the folder Batch 1. The reason for this is simple, if something goes wrong, you have just lost a copy and not the original file. Just try one file for the first time, before doing a large batch. Launch the FastStone Photo Resizer and put batch 1 as the source folder and batch 2 as the output folder. Choose the resize option and introduce 200 pixels for the longest size. In a short time, depending on the size of your original files, the new images will be ready.

This is a camera file resized in FastStone Photo Resizer, from a Fuji digital camera.

The picture below is the same but sharpened using the same FastStone software.

I look forward to reading your illustrated articles

I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised when one of the items I intended to put on this list got resolved just before I posted this article. We now have an online editor for our content. Thank you Triond for making article corrections so much easier now.

So here is my list of things that I think should be improved:

1. Remember Me

   Most modern web applications have this feature, especially ones that have their users coming back often. It's just so frustrating to leave the site for a while in a tab, and have to re-login when the session expires. It isn't that hard to implement, and I am sure I wouldn't be the only happy to see this option.

2. Requests

   Some of the other writing websites have the request functionality. It basically means users can ask questions or requests topics from other users. Personally I think it is a good idea, especially when you feel like you could write about something, but cannot really think of a specific topic to focus on. This kind of mechanism also encourages community behaviour and user to user interaction.

3. Profile/Website Link in Comments

   I do realise that this is something that could easily get abused by spammers, therefore I wouldn't be pushing for a free-form field to enter your url. However I like checking what people who commented on my stuff have written in the past, and not having even a profile link for the logged in commenter is a slight disappointment.

4. Comment Tracking

   While I am on the subject of comments it would be helpful if you could easily track your own comments that you have made on other people's content. You don't always want to become a friend or a fan of someone, you might just be interested in that one discussion. And checking the page every day is not a convenient way to do it.

5. Google Analytics

   It is quite frustrating to see traffic hitting your pages, but not being able to determine where is it coming from. Considering I might be placing links on several websites it helps to see which ones bring visitors and which ones need adjusting. Lack of this functionality also means we have no clue how people are finding our content through search engines. Sometimes tweaking a sentence or two can make a huge difference, but right now there is no way to measure it. It doesn't even have to be Google Analytics, any kind of statistics package would be good.

6. Forums

   I think people have been mentioning this for a while. It helps grow the community, and allows Triond to keep more in touch with their user base. And if this isn't enough, most forums usually reduce the load on support staff, as new users would very often ask simple questions on the forum, where they get a quick response, rather than send emails to staff.

7. Photo Galleries

   There is no easy way to create photo galleries, when for example you would like to share your experiences from a holiday trip etc. Of course you can create an article with photos, however there is no way to show bigger versions of the picture once the thumbnail is clicked on. The same applies to Picable, for a photo sharing website to not allow bigger previews is a bit of a shame. If we just want a quick gallery without an article, it would be nice to have some way to link photos into groups in Picable. That way you could point a user to an "album", and let them go through say your last holiday...

8. In the Works

   Create some anticipation! Rather than post a blog entry when something is done, Triond could have a "to do" list, letting the users know what could be coming in the near or far future. This wouldn't have to be very detailed not with specific dates. But would definitely stop people from repeatedly asking and whining about features once they know they are coming.

Many citizens just like you are gathering the news these days, and they're looking for outlets that will publish this work. Luckily for you, many sites are looking for the work of citizen journalists and will publish it for the world to see. These sites range from local papers and TV stations to national and international venues.

Here is a list of some major sites looking for the work of citizen journalists:

CNN s iReport

One of the original citizen journalism sites, CNN's iReport is a vital part of its news operations. Submit your videos and photos to this network's site, and you might just see your work on TV.

Ground Report

Looking for work from reporters on the ground, Ground Report is a good place to break in as a citizen journalist. You can also earn a revenue share based on traffic, and the site pays through PayPal monthly.

MSNBC

This major news site is eager to receive your videos, photos, stories, and news tips.

OhmyNews

This is an international news site that started in Korea and now has an English language version.

National Gazette

Calling itself “The Jeffersonian Newspaper,” the National Gazette offers a platform for the work of citizen journalists, inspired by the democratic ideals of Thomas Jefferson. It focuses on political and economic news.

Wikinews

Based on a wiki model, Wikinews lets people submit news reports, stories, videos, and photos, and also edit the work of others. International in scope, it gets submissions from citizen journalists around the world.

Academia Research

Academia Research is a website which allows you to get paid for writing assignments. These writing assignments, which take the form of academic papers, have to meet the demands of students from the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain, thus the stricter selection process. You need to provide your CV when you sign up for an account. Subsequently, you will need to pass a test essay given by their editorial team. Once you have passed the test, your account will be activated. You can then search for writing jobs available from your control panel. You can be paid between $6 and $20 per page. You do not have the rights to your article once it is sold. There is also a strict writing guideline you have to comply with when you write your assignments. Payment is made via Paypal once you have completed an assignment.

Constant Content

Constant Content allows you to submit articles, photos, videos and illustrations for sale. These articles are often purchased by magazine editors or website content developers or bloggers for blog entries. There are many licenses for these people to purchase, namely full rights license, unique rights license and usage rights license. If you have articles previously published, you can still sell them at Constant Content for usage rights license. These buyers are constantly looking for material and if they can't find them at Constant Content, they can make a private or public request for the specific articles to be written. Many writers will attempt to do so and they will have a list of articles pertaining to that topic in no time. Payment is made on the first week of every month once you reach $50 in your account.

eHow

If you're good at writing "how-to" articles, then go to eHow. In order for you to get paid for writing for eHow, you need to sign up for a free account and join the Writer's Compensation Program. You can then publish an article, submit photos and videos. Once you have published an article, you will be compensated for pageviews and its content. The more useful the article is, the more money you will earn. eHow pay its members after reaching a threshold of $10. At eHow, you retain all your rights to your work. Unfortunately, eHow is only for writers who are US citizens above the age of 18 years old.

Demand Studios

Demand Studios has many websites on various topics of interest. You can get freelance writing assignments from Demand Studios and get paid for them. First of all, you need to provide your CV when you sign up for an account. Once it is approved, their editorial staff will match writing jobs based on your interests, skills and competence. You can receive an upfront payment for your approved assignments. The payment varies according to your content. You will be paid via Paypal every Friday or a check for special assignments if the editorial team contacted you via email. The downside is that Demand Studios owns all rights to the content. And it is only for US citizens above the age of 18 years old.

Ground Report

At Ground Report, you can publish news stories, photos or videos. You get paid via Paypal at end of each month based on statistics from the previous month. You will receive a proportionate share of the payout based on the traffic to your published materials. Whatever you publish at Ground Report must be original. The best part is that you retain all rights to your work. You also get to choose from 4 different kind of Creative Commons licenses for your work.

Associated Content

At Associated Content, you can write articles on any topic and submit them for approval. Once they are approved, you can start earning money. Besides articles, you can also submit videos, audios and slideshows. There are two ways you can be compensated at Associated Content, namely Performance Payment and Upfront Payment. You are only eligible for Upfront Payment if you are a US citizen above 18 years old. They pay via Paypal once your earnings amount to $1.50 and payments are sent every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for Upfront Payments or the beginning of every month for Performance Payments. At Associated Content, you can submit articles under the Exclusive, non-Exclusive or Display-Only rights grant. The different rights you grant affect the distribution of your materials to their partnership sites.

Helium

Helium is a publishing website which allows you to write articles on various topics. You can either write articles based on topics others have written before or make up your own category. Helium is famous for its rating system. It allows readers to compare 2 articles of similar topics or titles to determine which is the better one. As such, your article will be ranked against other articles written by other writers. Your earnings is based on your article ranking and the number of pageviews you get. Apart from performance payment, Helium also organizes contest where you can win cash. At Helium Marketplace, there is a list of articles wanted by websites or magazines. You can write an article based on the topic they requested and hopefully, website owners or magazine editors will pick yours up. You can be paid a lump sum for that. They pay via Paypal once you reach $25.

Review Stream

At Review Stream, you can write reviews on books, hotels, products, places, cities, practically anything. Once you submit the reviews, the editors will review them, reject or accept them. The current rate for each piece of review is $2 if accepted. However, sometimes your review may not meet their criteria. As such, you can be paid the bulk rate which is the current rate divided by 5, in this case 40 cents. On top of that, every vote pays 10 cents. You can get paid via PayPal after reaching the threshold of $50. You need not sign up to write reviews for them.

Triond

At Triond, you can get paid for writing articles, publish photos, videos and audio materials. You are free to write on any topic you like and submit them. You can even write in other languages besides English. Once your material is approved by the admin, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from Triond to notify you that your article has been published. They will tell you where the article has been published. Triond has many affiliate sites pertaining to different topics. So you may have your articles published at different websites if you write about different things. Triond will automatically pay via PayPal on the 15th of every month once you have earned at least 50 cents, lowest payout so far. Payment is based on an ad-revenue sharing scheme as well as the number of pageviews. Triond only accepts original materials which has never been published elsewhere before.

Note: Whichever website you choose to write for, it is best to tread with caution. Try out by submitting a few articles and see if you like their system. If you are sure that the site is the best for you to showcase your writing abilities and get paid for them, then you can go ahead and spend more time and effort on the site. Good luck and keep writing!

I buy weekly women's magazines, you know the sort, with real women's stories, photos, jokes and puzzles, fashion and beauty items and tips. It dawned on me that the majority of the features in these magazines are all sent in by the readers and the magazine pays it's readers for supplying the content.

You can earn money by sending in letters, photos, funny stories, real life stories, fiction, tips and jokes, you can earn anything from £10 upwards for a letter or a tip, up to a few hundred pounds for a two page story.

Everyone knows at least one joke, or has a few household tips up their sleeve, probably things you just automatically do to save yourself money or time - why not share it with others and earn some cash.

If you have an unusual story to tell, it could be one of love, heartbreak, sadness, happy times, funny situations or anything as long as it will draw readers in, you could be paid up to £500.

So, you've submitted a tip, or a joke or letter, photos etc, just sit and wait. I've had a few rejection letters, but also some success, and it is a nice feeling when a cheque for £20 comes through your letterbox for a letter you sent them a few months ago, as it's totally unexpected and a nice surprise.

Why not have a go at the puzzles, they only take a few minutes each and you can enter them all or just the ones you like. They are usually simple puzzles such as wordsearches, easy crosswords and sudokus. The prizes are great, anything from £50 up to a holiday or a car or £5000 for example. Surely that's got to be worth a few minutes, having a go at these while you sit in front of the telly, after all as they say, you've got to be in it to win it, and believe it or not, some people actually make a living from doing competitions - Ok, on a much larger scale than a few crosswords and wordsearches a week, but that's a good way to start.

So, it's not going to make you a millionaire, but a few extra pounds here and there for sharing your stories and photos with other readers has got to be worth it, and the competitions are an extra bit of fun, that you could be lucky with too.

1. Submit details of what you have posted to social networking sites such as Digg , Reddit , Blue Dot , Ma.gnolia.com and Del.icio.us. This is very straightforward from the Triond content page. But do some homework first. Look at the about pages of each social networking site and see which is most appropriate to what you are sharing. Some are technology based, some news, some more general. Targeting to one that is directly related to your content will be most useful.
2. Publicize what you have done on your own MySpace or Facebook or BeBo site
3. It is not necessary to pay to get your page sent to Internet search engines. You can submit your details to free, search engine friendly directories.
4. In the articles that you write refer to the other articles that you have already published on-line
5. Tell your friends and family, co-workers, and neighbors about what you have done. It's free advertising and they already know who you are!
6. Make sure the content of your article is well written and correctly spelt. Get a friend to check it over for you if you are unsure. People will not look out for further pieces of work by you if what they find the first time is badly written or spelt.
7. Leave a comment on relevant blogs and other articles on similar themes with a link back to your piece of work
8. Make a short video about yourself and your work and put it on YouTube
9. Tell bloggers about your content, both articles and photos and ask them to view and review them
10. Tell your local newspaper about what you are doing. Local papers especially the free ones are desperate for stories and a local person being published on the Internet could be a “good news” story. If you write it for them they are even more likely to use it. Look at the stories published in your local paper and see what length and style of short article they use.
11. Take care when you write the tags to describe your page. These can be crucial in people finding your pages once they find the website
12. Email an newsletter to all your contacts to keep them up to date on what you have posted recently. Don't do it too often or it may be treated as annoying spam. I do this monthly.

These are my 12 top tips - they are working for me - I wish you success and hope they work for you.