Writing Tips: Finding Newsworthy Topics for Any Examiner Title

Photo by moppet65535

When publishing on Examiner, writers can get a boost in page views by getting articles approved as newsworthy.  Not all articles approved as such will get into the search engine news feeds, but just getting the newsworthy designation on Examiner will improve credentials.  As the dashboard meter climbs, it will cause future news articles to be reviewed more quickly and, if worthy, sent into the news feed immediately.  The latter can be a big boost if writing on a breaking news topic and you can scoop other writers..

If you write top news stories or about celebrities and other hot topics, you probably already have sources that you get information from, but what about your Examiner titles that are a little more obscure, and not generally in the news?

Tip:  Make sure you're following Examiner's criteria for writing a quality news article.

In my experience, you can find news items to write about on just about any topic.  Not everything will be headline news, but if something happened within the last 48 hours and you have a dated source to refer to, it can still be tagged as news.  Readers who share similar interests on topics you write about will be happy to read something that isn't about the latest celebrity wardrobe malfunction, or who is having whose baby, so read on to learn how to find news topicst for even the most general subjects that you write about.

Google Alerts

The Google Alerts tool is my preferred way to find newsy topics to write about since notifications are sent directly to my email, and I don't have to go digging elsewhere.  In a previous article about google alerts, I shared how it can be helpful for writers to find people who might be stealing their articles as their own, but the mechanics of setting up the google alert is the same as I explained there.

To find breaking news to write about, set up a google alert for a word or phrase that fits the topic of your Examiner titles, and choose whether you want to receive notification of anything that publishes with that word/phrase, or just news items.  You can also set how often you want to get the alert - as it happens (separate email immediately after something indexes on google), or a daily/weekly email with a compilation of everything that popped up during that timeframe.

I set mine to as it happens so that I get the most up-to-date information and can make the 48 hour window that Examiner requires for items to be considered newsworthy.

Tip:  Make a separate email folder for google alerts and use filters to direct emails directly there.  Google alerts on some topics might generate numerous emails a day, and it will be much easier to find and filter through them if they're contained in a separate folder.

Social Media

I mentioned social media sites in a post about how to find ideas to write about, and you can take the information therein and apply it to newsworthy articles as well.  If you're a celebrity writer, use interest lists on Facebook and lists on Twitter to watch for your favorite headliners to post something that might be worthy of an article.  The Facebook post or Twitter tweet with the timestamp is suitable as a source to show that you're reporting within the 48 hour window that Examiner requires for news.  Everyone and their dog has a Facebook page (including my own dogs!) and Twitter account, so you should be able to find all sorts of interesting things to write that would be considered newsworthy.

Still Not Convinced?

To show that you can indeed write newsworthy articles on just about any topic out there, I'll use my own articles as proof.  One of my Examiner titles is for crafts and I write a lot about crochet, since that's one craft that I know a lot about.  I have google alerts set to email me whenever the words crochet, knit, and knitting index as news on google.  None of these topics would be considered headline news, but I wrote and published these articles after receiving google alerts, and they do fit the parameters that Examiner has set forth for an article to be deemed as newsworthy:

Nebraska teen crochets through arthritis pain to help others
Norway's 'Slow TV' to feature 5-hour knitting contest
Third annual Stitch 'n Pitch scheduled during Fort Wayne Tincaps Game
Giant knitting needles and crochet hook to beat Guinness World Record

If I can write news about crocheting, you should have no trouble finding newsworthy topics to write about for your own Examiner title(s).

~ Marie Anne

Tips for Examiner Writers: Finding Article Ideas

(Photo by Ed Yourdon)

(These tips will be helpful to all article writers, not just those who publish on Examiner)

Keeping your Examiner title(s) updated with fresh content will give a boost to the rest of your portfolio within that title, but as with any other form of writing, ideas can dry up from time to time.  You can get ahead of any dry spells by knowing where to look for new ideas on topics that you write about.  Social media sites can provide fodder for any subject, so make sure to utilize them to your advantage.

Facebook

If you're on Facebook, like and follow pages on topics that you write about.  You can add each topic area to a separate interest list and refer to the feed for that list instead of having posts from those pages get buried in your regular newsfeed.  Click to see more in-depth instructions on how to create and utilize interest lists on Facebook.


Google+

Similar to Facebook, you can sort through posts on Google+ by creating circles for each topic that you have an interest in.  When you find pages that you want to follow, add them to the circle(s) that you've created for that subject matter.  Clicking to look at the circle you're concerned with at that time, you'll be able to tune out general posts that might be cluttering your page/feed.

Twitter

Twitter by itself is extremely difficult to follow for anyone who is following more than a handful of people.  A third party app can sort your Twitter feed into a much more manageable tool.  I like HootSuite, where I can add names to lists, then make separate streams based on those lists, or hasthags, or any number of other parameters.  If I need an idea for an article about a particular TV show, I can refer to the feed for the list I created that might include certain actors I follow, television networks, and even hashtags associated with that particular show. Glancing through that Twitter feed is sure to spark something to write about.

I'll be writing more posts with tips for article writers, so keep an eye on this blog.  If you have any questions about writing for Examiner, feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to address it in a future post.

Not writing there yet?  Click to get started writing for Examiner!

~ Marie Anne

Do you write on newsy topics?  Social media and other tools can help you find newsworthy topics to write about.

The AtoZ Challenge Can Benefit All Writers, Not Just Bloggers

(Photo by Muffet)

The AtoZ Blogging Challenge is set to kick off again on April 1, 2103 as a way to get bloggers everywhere thinking outside of the box by posting every day of the month (except Sunday) on a topic that corresponds with the letter of the day.  The challenge can take up a lot of time and you'll have to determine if it's worth it to you, but what if you're a writer, but not a blogger?  Can the AtoZ Challenge still be of benefit to you?


Yes!

Depending on how you tackle the challenge, it can still give you the nudge you need, no matter the writing venue.

If you're a writer who publishes on Examiner, YCN, or any one of the many other sites, use the basic idea of the challenge to get the creative juices flowing for article topics in the same manner.  You can't sign up for the official challenge if you don't have a blog, so just challenge yourself for the sheer benefit of seeing if you can do it, or work with a group of other writers and ask them to come along for the ride.  You might not get a special badge to display upon completion, but it can still be rewarding in other ways, either monetarily, or by helping you develop good writing habits.

I'm a member of a Facebook group for Examiners and I've thrown down the gauntlet there, and many of us will be trying to come up with an article topic to write about that corresponds to the daily A-Z Challenge.  There are no hard and fast rules and there will be no prize for those who complete, but we're using it as an exercise to help us publish more frequently.  The challenge can be adapted to other writing scenarios as well.

If you write content for other clients -- for their web site, pamphlets, etc. -- you can still use the A-Z idea when your list of ideas runs dry.

Do you write fiction?  Try to fit every letter of the alphabet into your novel or eBook in some way.  You don't have to devote an entire chapter to every letter, but it should be easy enough to incorporate the words apple, baby, and cat somewhere in your work.  Your main character could be seeking some quiet solitude on Q  day, washing their hands on W  day, have an X-ray on X  day, wearing a yellow shirt on Y  day, taking the kids to the zoo on Z  day.  Again, the modified challenge is just a tool to get the writing juices flowing, and who knows where M  day might take you?

So even if you don't have a blog, you can still enlist others to join you in a modified version that fits your particular scenario. Think of it as a sort of writing prompt and toss the idea out there to your writing group and see who bites.

Or simply go fishing alone.  On F day, of course.


~ Marie Anne

So You Want to Write Children's Books

If you're a writer, you're probably no different than the rest of us and have thought about taking your keyboard off into different directions.  Article writing might pay the bills, but perhaps you've always thought about delving into fiction, or if you're already a fiction writer, you might have wanted to switch gears and try a different genre.  Have any of us NOT thought we'd be great at writing children's books?

Sounds easy, right?  Kid's books are generally shorter than adult novels, and they don't need big words, so those things alone should have us pumping out children's lit at lightning speed, no?

No.

I'm finding out that there's a lot more to writing books for kids than I ever would have thought.

I'm the type that gets an idea in my head to do something and then I want to do it.  Now.  Little research or forethought, just jump right in with both feet and make it happen.  As you can imagine, I rarely have any amount of success when I take on a project in that manner.  So ... I thought I'd like to try my hand (fingers?) at writing some form of children's fiction, and since I honestly know nothing about where to start, I'm doing a little homework.  There's hope for me yet!

In one quick search this morning, I've already found a valuable tool that I think will help me along this path, or perhaps make me realize that this isn't the road I really want to take after all.  That site is Children's Book Insider at writeforkids.com.

I'm not getting paid to plug Children's Book Insider, but after just a short time poking around this morning, I can see where I'll be spending much more time there, and thought others might benefit from taking a peek too.  Everything I've seen so far is free, but I can't say for certain that there aren't things that they'll encourage you to purchase down the road, but I haven't found that to be the case yet.  Already I've downloaded an incredible eBook filled with information on how to get started, with links to videos that are just as helpful as the text.  I'm tickled that within the first seconds of my researching, I landed on something that has it all.

If you've ever thought about writing children's books, or even if you've already started out on your own, you WILL learn something at CBI ... guaranteed.

Happy writing!

~ Marie Anne

On Writing Fiction

I've been writing articles for internet publication for a while now, but have recently been toying with the idea of dabbling in fiction.  I read a lot of fiction, but haven't the foggiest idea how to go about writing it, so decided I'd best start off with some basics before I get too ahead of myself.

While searching for some tools on how to write fiction, I came across this great deal on Writer's Digest - On Writing Fiction is available for a mere $5 (regularly $14.99) through Sunday night, June 24.  You might have to sign up to be a  member at Writer's Digest first, but it's well worth it as the site is chock-full of tips for writers of all genres.

If you miss out on the special $5 deal this weekend, you can still purchase the book through Amazon.com at a decent price.

How to Choose a Pen Name

In a previous post, I mentioned a few reasons why writing under a pseudonym might be a better option than using your real name.  But how do you choose a pen name?

I'm toying with the idea of dipping my pen into a different color of ink to write fiction - perhaps flash fiction or short stories - but don't want to mix my article writing with other forms.  Writing fiction under the name of an alter-ego will allow more freedom to try various genres (and will also preserve my given name from being further tainted should I totally suck at fiction).

While trying to come up with a name that suits me, several tips came to mind that might be helpful to others trying to decide on a nom de plume.

• Make a list.  It doesn't matter if it's on the back of an old envelope, or in a text file, but write down every name you like.  Make separate columns for both first and last names that tickle your fancy, then mix and match the names from both columns, using a third column to write down the various combinations of first and last name together.


• Steal from your kids.  I'm assuming most people like their kids' names because they chose them.  Can you use various forms of their names as first or last names?  My sons first and middle names are Brian Douglas and Paul Daniel.  I could easily use any one of those four names as first or last names, so there are several possibilities right there.  Did you pick out a baby name that you never had the chance to use?  Become that child you never had.  I had names for girls picked out but was blessed with two sons, so I might consider using one of the baby girl names I liked.


• Think pets, locations, occupations.  If you have pets, you could combine various forms of their names, or use a job title, or even the name of the city or street where you grew up for inspiration.  I lived on Dudley Street for the first 18 years of my life, and Dudley would work as first name for a man, or the last name of either gender.


• Do you need a sex-change? There is no rule that says if you're a woman that you have to choose a woman's name, and vice versa.  If you want to write a suspense or mystery novel but think it would be easier to market as a man, choose a masculine pen name.  Alternatively, if you're a man who wants to write about relationships or fashion, you might feel more comfortable writing it as a woman.  Of course there's no reason you can't write about anything you'd like as either a man or woman, but for marketing purposes, a nom de plume suited for one gender might work better than the other.  

Using these practices, come up with several of your favorite names, then walk away from it for a while before making the final decision.  There might be a reason one or more of your chosen names wouldn't be suitable after all.  I'll cover that in a later post.

Quality or Quantity?

If you're writing to  make a buck, it makes sense to write a lot to get your content out there.  Bloggers don't make money unless they post regularly.  Article writers need to keep pumping them out in order to keep the cash flowing in.  Whatever you publish online, it will produce better returns in search engine ranking if it is fresh.

Nothing new there, so you keep slogging away, but don't sacrifice quality for quantity.  It does more harm than good to spit words out at a record pace if the result is garbage.  Typos, grammatical errors, sentences that just don't make sense --all will show up much more frequently if all you're concerned about is increasing production.

Some writers can churn them out and produce a quality piece every time.  Others need to spend a little more time and effort to fashion each article or post into something worth reading.  Most probably fall somewhere in the middle.

Your name and reputation will be tied in some way to every piece published.  Even if no byline attached, your client will know who wrote it.  Give your readers fresh produce, but make sure it's quality stuff and not rotten tomatoes.

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Inclement Weather Plan

Are you scratching your head, wondering what the title of this post has to do with writing?  Good.  Keep reading; I promise it fits.

While serving in the military for more than 21 years, I was involved in my fair share of parades and ceremonies for various events, all of which took time and effort to plan well before execution.  That effort would be wasted if weather turned foul and we didn't have other arrangements already worked into the plan.  Being able to move the ceremony indoors without last minute hoop-jumping was referred to as implementing an inclement weather plan.

Do you have an inclement weather plan?

If you depend on your writing for income, it's a must.

Relying on one source to bring in the bucks with your writing isn't wise, so have a backup plan with another source or sources available if things dry up.  If you write for mainly one site or client, investigate others and toss a few pieces their way to get your foot in the door.  Even if not your first choice, it might carry you through the storm if your main source gets rained out.

If you normally write fiction, start a blog on a niche topic you're passionate about.  If you're a blogger, expand into article writing.  If you ghost write, put your name on your next project and promote it yourself.

If the roof is leaking, don't wait for it to get blown completely off before deciding it's time to take action.  If the rains continue, it will be a lot harder to find work while having to bail out your office.  Be proactive - have a few buckets in place and your roofing nails handy.

Is There an Echo in Here?

As writers, you probably do your fair share of reading daily - from Google Trends, to online news sources - even favorite blogs. That reading undoubtedly triggers ideas to write about, but be careful that the basic idea is as far as it goes.

When outlining your article, refer to reputable sources with appropriate link-backs, but beyond direct quotes, make sure that the text of the piece reflects your own writing style and personality.  Echoing what you've read elsewhere gives your reader nothing of value and hurts your credibility. Why should your reader bother with your article when they can get identical info at the source?  

Put you into each sentence you throw out there.  Every writer, from the new blogger to the national news media, has their own way of saying things, and often you can pick out who wrote something based on the way it's written, without even seeing a byline.  Shoot for style-recognition if you want to make a name for yourself.

And always make sure you fact-check, no matter how reputable the source.  There is no truth to the folklore that a duck's quack does not echo.

Divide and Conquer

If you're a blogger or article writer, you're at the mercy of search engines to crawl your material to be indexed so that it will be seen.  If you're in it for the money and page views, a niche blog is best, but even with that, writing about general topics within that category won't get you far.

The trick is to make each post or article be as tightly focused as you can make it, else you'll be competing with tens or hundreds of thousands of others writing to that same title.  A good plan is to think of your basic topic, write an outline or bullets, then take each main point of your article and divide it into topics to cover separately.

Example:  If you write about parenting and want to share how to travel with kids, come up with basic tips, then break them down and tackle each age group separately.  Someone traveling with teens isn't going to benefit much from an article that recommends keeping Dora DVDs and cheerios on board, and your two-year-old probably isn't up to working a Sudoku puzzle just yet.  Make each article or blog post cater to a specific demographic.

Beyond age groups, think of tips to make traveling easier with a two-door, SUV, pickup truck, etc.  The more specific your topic is, the less competition you'll be facing, and you'll also be giving the reader who is searching for that information exactly what they want, without having to wade through what they don't.

I've provided a very basic example, but it can be applied to any topic area.  Don't write about 30-minute meals.  Write about 30-minute meals for the diabetic, the vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, for picky eaters.

Divide.  And conquer.

Cantankerous Cranky Pants

Do you let your mood spill over into your writing, or when dealing with clients?  That wouldn't be a bad thing if you're in a pleasant mood, but it could be disastrous if your mood is more foul.

(Photo by imru2b12)

If you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it might be better to get the kinks worked out before dealing with the public, or penning something that you might regret later.

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be cantankerous and moody, and what goes on around me often affects how I deal with other things throughout my day.  There has been more than one occasion where Ms Cranky-Pants has taken over and I've been less than neighborly to people who have done nothing to warrant my ire, and while it's a fault that I recognize and try to reign in, I'm not always successful.  If you've ever been on the receiving end of my wrath, I apologize publicly to you here and now.  I'm really not a mean old lady ... promise.

(Photo by coloniera2)

People who work telephone customer service are trained to smile while taking a call, even though the person they're speaking with can't see it.  It's supposed to be almost impossible to be cross with someone when you're smiling, so if your day isn't going well, take a minute to find reason to break into a grin before pushing onward.  Roughhouse with the dog, play peek-a-boo with the baby, take a walk through your flower garden and let the sunshine give you a mental boost.

If you can't tear yourself away from the computer, open another tab to view the cute puppies and kittens that your friends post on Facebook.  I don't know anyone whose mood wouldn't be brightened, and that quick break might be just what Ms Cranky-Pants needs.

Is Your Work More Babbling Than Writing?

My Catholic upbringing taught me that the word babble had biblical origins, referencing the Tower of Babel, where men found themselves suddenly speaking in different tongues and not able to communicate with each other.  Researching for this post, however, I was unable to find any reputable source to confirm that.  While the origin of babbling is somewhat of a mystery, it still means much the same as I thought - speaking incoherently, or nonsensical chatter.  Babies babble.

Google Penalizing for Ad Placement

Trying to keep up with Google's algorithm changes is a full time job.  One of the more recent announcements by Google discusses possible penalties for ad placement.  Advertisements on a website or blog are what brings in the revenue, but too many in the wrong spots and you're likely to get slapped by Google ... again.

Keep Content Fresh for Best Search Engine Placement

With massive overhauls in google's search algorithms in recent months, many article writers and bloggers are taking big hits in the pocketbook when content that previously ranked well is now buried on page eleventy-seven.  There's been a lot of speculation about how and what to write to get back into the running again, and fresh content is one of the topics that keeps popping up.

After what I saw this evening, I believe fresh content is key.

End of Year Tax Deductions for Writers and Freelancers

If you freelance as a writer or otherwise, there are plenty of tax deductions you can take advantage of.  If you had planned on investing in your business, now is the time to do it so that you can take those deductions when filing your income tax for 2011.

Angie Mohr is a financial professional who has written several books and published countless articles on personal finance.  Her book, Tax Preparation & Planning for Freelance Writers, is a must-have for anyone with a home business.  The title mentions freelance writers, but the information contained therein is valuable to anyone who works from home.

Angie is offering the book at a discount until December 31, so don't put it off another day.  The money saved by applying the information will cover the cost of the book many times over, and it's deductible as a business expense.  I used this book as a guide when preparing my own taxes and highly recommend it.

Setting Writing Goals and Meeting Them

Do you set goals for your writing?  Is there a dollar figure you strive to earn each month, a word count total, or number of articles each day or week that you hope to attain?

Setting goals can help you be more productive, but make sure they're realistic.  You want to stretch yourself, but you also don't want to set yourself up for failure right out of the gate.  Setting the bar too high is a recipe for disappointment, so take a look at your past performance and adjust from there.  If you currently write an article each day, you might stretch that to 10 articles a week.  If you find you're able to do that easily enough, you can always up the ante.

Blog Post Title SEO

When writing your blog post, it's important to think SEO when creating the title, but choosing key search words may not be enough.  If you look at the URL of any of your blog entries, you’ll see that the title of the post comes after the blog name; that’s how a search engine will read it unless you tell it to do otherwise by changing the title tags.

You probably know to ‘front load’ the more important keywords that people will be searching for, but the name of your blog post appearing before your carefully chosen title will steal some of its thunder.

Summer Writing Slump? Get a Head Start on Holiday Writing

If you're an article writer, you may experience a downward turn in the amount of hits you get on your content during summer.  Kids are out of school and families are occupied doing other things - vacations, staycations, or just spending more time outside gardening or in the pool - so their butt isn't planted in the chair searching the internet.

Don't let the numbers get you down, rather, get ahead of the game by using this time to get your holiday content written and indexed.  Even with record high temps in mid-July, people are already searching for Halloween costume and decorating ideas!

How Often Should You Blog?

If you ask other bloggers how frequently you should post to your blog, you're likely to get a variety of answers.

I follow most of my readers through my blog roll and I don't have a chance to check all four of my active blogs daily.  If my fellow bloggers post every day, I might miss a few posts here and there unless I'm subscribed by email, so if I apply that same logic to my own blogs, some of my readers might miss my posts if I post too often.

Equally Yolked

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Another pet peeve, although this one I don't see too often, is misuse of the words yoke and yolk.

Double Yolk = Yoked?

A yoke is something put around the neck of oxen or other beasts of burden when they are hitched to a plow or wagon.  The term equally yoked is used in another sense to say that a Christian's mate should also be a believer, so as not to work against each other.