Please Don’t Feed the Writer

Research is one of those things that you just have to get used to, especially if you’re in college.  Term papers always seem to be due before you’ve had enough time to prepare and even with the Internet finding the right pice of information on your topic can be a daunting task. Would it help if I told you I’ve found a better way to research those term papers?  Would it help if I told you it could save you hours, even days of searching for “just the right” fact or figure?  Am I ever going to stop sounding like a T.V. game show host?

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Make no mistake, if you are writing for a living, even if it’s only for a small second income, you are running a business. Businesses thrive on organization. You wouldn’t be able to tell that I subscribe to that theory by looking at my desk right now, but a glance at any of my filing cabinets would tell the tale immediately.

The key to being able to react to changing circumstances in a timely fashion is having the ability to get the information you need without having to think twice about it. Digging through a stack of papers to find client information does nothing for your bottom line. It’s a waste of your time, and since your time is money, it’s a costly mistake.

One tool you should probably consider having in your arsenal is a label maker. I’m not talking about the old-time rotate-the-wheel-to-punch-a-tape variety, modern label makers can do a lot more than tell you which client folder you’re reaching for.

What would you say if I told you this one tool could help you with postage and printing? With just a few clicks of your mouse you have access to online stamps as well. Not too shabby, is it?

Each of these things can save you time. Saving time relates directly to your bottom line.  Dymo offers a slew of different USB ready solutions for both Mac and PC.  The question you need to ask yourself is this:

Can I afford not to be more productive?

If you are anything like the rest of us, that answer would be “No”.

go take a look at what Dymo can offer you, you’ll be glad you did.

Almost everyone who has ever attended college has had to apply for scholarships or grants at least once. If you have done so, you know that the most difficult part of the process is often finding grants or scholarships that you are qualified for out of the thousands of options available.

Scholarships.com can help ease the process of finding and applying for just the right packages. Their database is free to search and updated constantly to provide you with every option available. Why put off getting the assistance you need to further your education? The tools are available right now.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  It’s your future, grab it by the horns!

You may or may not, but it’s something worth looking into, even if you are a freelancer working from home. Business Insurance is not necessarily just for brick and mortar establishments, and even if you have homeowner’s insurance or renters insurance it may not cover your business related expenses if the need should arise.

Depending on the country, state, county or province you live in, the rules on the types of coverage you need may be mandated by law, especially if you are considering incorporating. (If you’re freelancing in the US, you may want to consider that now that taxes for “hobby” incomes have just been raised to around 50%!) Corporate entities are usually required to hold some kind of insurance on property as well. If you are freelancing as a traditional “Mail In” manuscript writer, you might want to consider getting your own insurance on shipped items. It is your income after all.

In the end your best bet is to consult an insurance professional either over the Internet or in your area. They are trained to know what you need and most will be happy to assist you in getting the best rate possible. After all, that’s how they make their money.

If you write for an income, whether on the Internet or in print, you are in business. Treat your efforts like one and they will reward you in the end.

On topic… No, but a conversation I had with my sister today got me thinking about the real estate market and my future home buying plans. As a military family, we really haven’t decided where we plan to end up after my wife’s career in the military is over (She’ll retire at 38, can you believe it!), but it does make me wonder how I’m going to go about looking once we’ve decided where we plan to live the rest of our lives.

As a completely rhetorical thought, say we decided that New York City was our destination of choice. (It won’t be. I don’t think my cowboy boots fit in all that well there…) assuming we’re stationed in California, how am I supposed to get valid and current information on Bronx Real Estate?

I’d use the Internet, of course.  The problem then becomes; which one of the thousands of real estate sites am I going to use?  For me the choice is pretty simple.  If I’m looking for Homes for Sale, I’ll check RealEstateBook.com  first.  Why?  Because I’ve used their magazine in the past to locate apartments and rentals.  I’ve come to trust them, and I take a look there first, then pick a Realtor.

Just my two cents kiddies.  I hope my sister’s house hunting goes well.

If you have no idea what either of these terms mean, then the rest of this post is not for you. If you are among the growing number of bloggers and website owners that prefers the flexibility and power of owning their own virtual server, then you have probably used either telnet or ssh to connect to your server.

If your needs have grown to the point that you need to have multiple people maintaining your system, security starts to play a major roll in your plans. If this has become the case for your enterprise, be it fortune 500 or just a few people, you may want to look into the following Telnet solutions from Pragma Systems. Keeping your data secure is the first line of defense for any web based entity, and you are never to small to worry about it.

Everyone gets in debt sooner or later.  Part of the America ideal is to have at least one credit card and all too often your situation changes and that card goes from being a boon to a burden.  If you’re struggling with those bills as a freelancer, you have the added stresses of never knowing exactly when your next check will be coming in, or what your income might be from month-to-month.  These factors can lead to sleepless nights and lack of creativity and productivity which can further complicate matters.

If you are dealing with these issues, it may be time to check into a Credit Counseling service that can help you to regain control over your finances.  At the very least it might help you get a better night’s sleep.

Can you think of anyone who wouldn’t want a box of chocolates? I’d be hard pressed to. I don’t know many people that don’t like chocolate, and of the people I know that do (and that’s most of them), many have started moving into the realm of gourmet chocolates over your basic grocery store bar chocolate bar.

So, it’s the holidays, you need a gift, or maybe just some energy for an all night writing session. Grab a box of chocolates from Fannie May Candies, wrap it up, or just nibble s you write. It’s a better boost than coffee. (But best served with coffee in my opinion.) Just make sure not to smudge your keyboard while munching chocolate truffles.

I’ve mentioned the need for frequent backups here before. If you don’t have your work backed up somewhere safely off of your computer, you stand the very real risk of losing all of it in some strange, one-in-a-million computer crash or hard disk failure. Even those of us using systems that aren’t Windows driven have the problem of hardware failure. Just running a Macintosh or Linux machine can’t save us from that.

Then of course there’s the issue of storage. Backing up to CD or DVD is nice, but if you’re like me and buy in bulk, there’s nothing to protect that fresh backup from scratches, dust buildup of loss. What’s the use of having all your work backed up to DVD if the DVD is lying on the desktop becoming damaged or unusable?

The simple solution is to go and get some attractive DVD storage cases that can be labeled neatly and placed near your office or workspace.  think of it as a filing system for your important data, and keep up with it!  weekly is best, but even once a month backups are better than nothing.

speaking of which, where’d I put those DVD’s?

When I started in the Internet Industry some 20 years ago a few years back, ecommerce wasn’t even a buzzword yet. My how things change over the span of time. Now the big buzzwords don’t really include ecommerce. It’s an expected commodity, something everyone is using, whether it’s just a buy me button through some third party shop or a full blown storefront system, it’s everywhere.

But why should a writer be interested in an ecommerce storefront?

There are several reasons, actually. If you’ve got more than 6 or 7 books out, and you have the option to use an affiliate program or sell directly through your publishing house, having your own ecommerce enabled site might just help you gain a few more precious pennies per sale. How? by getting you the commision price of your book plus the commission on the sale through your publisher, or Amazon. Not a bad deal, all in all.

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