Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Trying to find article ideas can be challenging for any prolific writer, but what's even more challenging is finding the best article idea that will get you noticed by magazine editors and will be sought out by internet searchers.

Urban Muse author Susan Johnston shares 5 Creative Ways to Find Article Ideas via Quips and Tips for Successful Writers. I'd write a little more, but I just got a terrific idea for an article ...

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

How do you look for freelance writing jobs? Do you search the internet at random hoping you'll find a job, any job? Do you lay the classifieds page out on a table, close your eyes, and see where your pointed finger leads?

Chances are that a shotgun approach to landing freelance writing gigs will only shoot you in the foot. This recent post on Anne Wayman's About Freelance Writing blog discusses how to narrow your search to land the ideal writing gig.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

This is the final installment of the "Teachers Who Write" blog series contributed by Irene Taylor, editor of Education & Career

Okay, have we convinced you yet? Teachers are great writers for so many reasons. Many of us already know it, but hopefully the experiences and advice from our panel of experts, have helped to convince you.

I say experts, because all of these writers have a writing life beyond Suite. Suite may have helped play a role in their development as writers, but Suite isn't the only place they write.

Where Do We Write?

Barb has entered the NaNoWriMo contest that started on November 1 (remember the "just write" advice?). She is also in the process of collecting ideas for a textbook to be used with 1st-3rd year clinical students and student teachers. She has been published in ChicagoParent and Creative Classroom, and she is a former columnist for Reading Today.

Peggy writes two columns for Examiner.com, Madison Political Buzz Examiner and Madison Books Examiner.

She has also written the mystery novel On the Road to Death's Door, and has a second started, On the Road to Where the Bell Tolls in addition to an unpublished children's picture book manuscript, One Smart Dog and an unpublished children's novel: The Dragon's Key.

Jennifer operates two websites: 321 Learn , and My Classroom Management. These provide free resources for parents and teachers.

In addition to teaching at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Susan writes for Associated Content. Each year, she also creates over a hundred lesson plans for Moose Hill Day Camp instructors.

And me, I've been writing since I was a child. My first paying "gig" was for a new newspaper in our small town. I pitched an education column and was hired for 25 cents a column inch. Back then I wrote by hand and typed on an old electric typewriter. Since then, I've written for various education magazines and spent the last nine years as a freelancer for a local weekly paper.

How Suite Can Help

As to getting started, or continuing a writing career, Suite is a great venue for writers, as evidenced by these replies.

Irene: "Has Suite helped you in your writing career, or has your writing career helped you write at Suite?"

Barb: "Both I think. Writing for Suite has made me more disciplined, knowing I have to maintain a small quota forces me to approach it from a more business-like perspective, rather than just waiting for inspiration. Likewise, the writing I've done on education topics in the past, plus my involvement in teacher education, has helped me develop topics for Suite articles. It has been an interdependent process."

Susan: "Writing at Suite101 has given me a sense of accomplishment. Writing 500-word articles helps me to stay focused, I can go from idea to posted article within an afternoon. I've been doing this for less than a year but seeing my articles online (and getting comments from people) is a great incentive that makes me keep pushing myself as I figure out what I can accomplish as a writer."

Jennifer: "Suite helped me realize that people are willing to read my writing, which has helped immeasurably in my writing career. The tips and lessons provided by the staff and community of writers, has taught me how to develop my own websites and create a whole career around my writing."

Peggy: "Both. I feel that I had good training and lots of experience before coming to Suite. However, Suite has helped me to sharpen my writing, particularly for an Internet audience. And it has helped legitimize my title as a 'writer' by the consistent output I am required to maintain."

Be a Writer

Food for thought for all of you teachers out there. Take the ideas and advice of our panel to heart. You have much to offer, so just write. And if you're looking for a great place to start, you can always start here at Suite.

At the end of the interview, Peggy offered one last point about being a teacher/writer that I think sums it up!

Peggy: "Writing is a passion for me and I bring that passion into my first grade classroom. I have long been a believer that children can learn to write before they learn to read, and my years as a kindergarten teacher proved this. My goal for my students is that they learn to love writing, and that they find writing as easy as speaking.

My greatest joy is to watch my young students' eyes light up when they reach for their journals to begin a new story, or continue one in progress, or gather at a table with friends to write as a group, or ask if they can write during their 'choice time'.

My students always surprise me with their energy, enthusiasm, and confidence. I think it's easier for me to teach writing because I write. I believe all teachers should write, at least in a personal journal, not necessarily professionally, if they want their students to be writers."

So, to all of you teachers out there with ideas, advice or insights to share, just be a writer. You may be happily surprised at the result!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

One of the best things about Suite101 is its impressive writer community. Inside the Suite101 forums, writers and editors world-wide meet to share tips, motivate each other, and keep up with the latest industry news. We'd like to open up our community and share it with our valued readers and Suite101 supporters.

We've relaunched our Facebook Fan Page and would like to extend an invitation for everyone to join!

Please note, we'll be closing down our Facebook Group to focus all our efforts on our community at large, so please migrate over to the fan page.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Megan B. Wyatt is on the verge of launching her full-time freelance writing & editing career and she's off to a terrific head start. Megan has been Suite101's Editing Feature Writer for over a year now, diligently and expertly sharing information on how best to avoid those embarrassing grammatical errors. So how does this editor feel when her work is edited? Suite101 chatted with Megan to find out!

Suite101: How’s your young adult novel, Jane, coming along?

Megan B. Wyatt: Funny you should ask, really. I’ve been so incredibly busy finishing editing Robert McShae’s novel The Lost Dream that Jane has been neglected for the past month or so. I’ve written a great deal of the book and have plotted out each chapter through the end of the novel though, so while it’s still a work-in-progress, a lot has been accomplished.

That’s the beauty of fiction writing: half of the time spent writing you’re not writing at all. Just because you aren’t at a desk with a notebook and pen doesn’t mean your subconscious mind isn’t developing the plots, interweaving the symbols and deepening the story. So let’s just say the novel is coming along.

How good are you at catching your own mistakes?

It’s one of the most terrifying things, being the Editing Feature Writer, because every article I post should, theoretically, be completely and totally grammatically correct. How else will I earn credibility?

But the truth of the matter is every person, no matter how grammatically talented, makes mistakes in his or her writing. I have a fantastic editor, Julie Burtinshaw, to help with just that. I imagine she laughs at some of the mistakes I’ve made in articles that teach others about grammar and editing.

How would you describe the writer-editor relationship to a writer who isn’t used to working with an editor?

I think the most important thing for a writer to remember when submitting a piece is to accept that things will be changed, most of the time for the better. As writers, we are gifted with the abilities to empathize with and observe others, using what we experience and see to create a work of our own, but we also tend to struggle with any criticism of work produced from our hearts.

Communication between writers and editors is one of the most useful ways of improving not only the writer’s future pieces, but also the editor’s future editing.

You work as a global dispatcher for the oilfield company Baker Hughes. What exactly does that entail and what led you to take this job?

I took the position for a number of reasons, one being that Baker takes great care of its employees, another being from my experience in oilfield-related jobs since it is our city’s main source of income, but the main reason being because of the hours. I work seven days in a row, twelve hours a day, then I have the next seven days in a row off. Every other month I work the day shift and every other month I work the night shift.

I thrive on change, and the thought of a 9 to 5 job post college always scared me. My current position allows me the flexibility to travel and write freely on my weeks off while keeping a steady stream of full time income. And since the job does mainly consist of answering phones and transferring calls, I’m able to plan articles and stories when we’re slow.

Clearly you have a strong background in print publishing, when did you start becoming interested in SEO and writing for the web?

Would it be wrong to say with Suite101? Because it’s true. My college classes only taught writing for print publications. Sure, my professors said the future of print media was online, but they never took the time to really explore that with us.

I got excited thinking about possibilities, so I wrote and polished two articles for Suite, was accepted, and within a couple of months I landed the Editing Feature Writing position. It has provided me with more writing and editing gigs, my largest being an editing project for a lengthy manuscript, which I received just prior to graduation.

Because of Suite I’ve realized that it is possible to make a decent amount through web writing, but it requires work just like every other way of earning a respectable income. Skeptics think it’s impossible because they don’t take the time to learn the craft, build up a base of articles, and most importantly do keyword research. My current mantra comes from Suite’s Editor-in-Chief, Colin Smith: “Work smarter, not harder.”

Follow Megan B. Wyatt on Twitter: @Wegglies

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

What does Suite101 have in common with Toys'R Us, General Motors and Liberty Media?

We all made it onto the top 10 list for website traffic growth in October, as rated by comScore Media Metrix. Suite101.com placed 8th with a traffic increase of 29% over the month of September!

And what made this possible? Great articles by our writers, covering topics that people want to know about.

For the full scoop check out comScore's news release here, or the full report in our Press Room.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The writing business can be rigorous and competitive. Though criticism can often be constructive, it also can serve as a reminder that "you're not perfect", which is hard to hear when you've worked so long on an article, or book, or even a blog post. It's important to remember that everybody suffers from pitfalls and failures, but it's picking yourself back up that keeps you in the game.

I read a great blog post on Quips and Tips for Successful Writers called "How to Fail and Bounce Back as a Writer, Blogger, or Freelancer". I wanted to share this with the writing community in case anyone is feeling a little dejected and could use a boost.

Keep writing!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Today we're featuring a guest blog post from one of our own writers, Janice Hally, that was recently published on About Freelance Writing.

I have to admit, I hadn't seen the post beforehand, but was deeply touched and affected when I finally read it. Janice takes the time to reflect on what it really means to be a writer who is proud of her work and her profession. She also shares some important life lessons on prioritizing work over family and talks about how she inevitably managed to reconcile the two. I was surprised at the profundity of Janice's post and have to thank her for taking this leap. Thanks also to Anne Wayman of About Freelance Writing for sharing this insightful post on her blog. It's a worthy read.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Irene Taylor is the editor of Suite101's Education & Career section and has had a long standing career as an educator, writer, and editor.

So you are teacher with ideas to share. You want to write, but aren't sure where it begin? In this blog, we'll take a look at the process our teacher-writers use and some tips on how to get started.

All of us have a process we go through when we write. Mine is an uneven mix of procrastination and needing the lions at the door to finally get the words from my head (where they always sound wonderful) to the paper (where they are often crossed out, rewritten, and then retrieved from the trash bin). I need to let the idea roll around in my head until it is literally screaming to get out, and then I write like crazy till it is all on paper (or screen as the case may be). I've been known to get up at 3 a.m. to scribble barely-discernible notes in the middle of the night or to jot down an idea on a napkin or the back of my check register.

When it's ready, it's ready, the ideas flow and the writing is fun. If it's not, the words are forced and in that moment the writing is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

When it comes to writing, some of us are very disciplined. Some aren't. We each approach writing in a unique way, there is no right or wrong, to which our panel of teacher writers will attest.

Writing Advice and Tips

So, how do teachers make that leap to become writers? Our panel offers tips and advice.

Irene: "How do you write? What 'method' do you use?"

Barb Abromitis: "I am a fan of Julia Cameron's 'Artist Way' approach. I do my morning pages almost every day. I keep a writer's notebook where I jot down images or ideas I have. If I am starting a new piece, I'll brainstorm everything I know about it, look for patterns, and then sequence what I want to say and start writing."

Jennifer Wagaman: "I have never enjoyed using a traditional writing process. I find that my best writing happens when I sit down and write from start to finish."

Susan Caplan: "When I sit down to write an article, I usually flip through a book or two and look for ideas. I'll combine ideas from different sources into something with a different focus. I'll start at the beginning and write to the end, editing while I'm writing as well as when I'm done. The first paragraph helps me to stay focused."

Peggy Williams: "I think each writer approaches the task differently, and sometimes we approach different writing tasks differently. But for the most part, I am much more comfortable composing my drafts on a keyboard. I often make notes on yellow pads, but just as often make notes on the computer in my draft document. Sometimes I make an outline, sometimes I don't. (However, when I am co-writing, we always develop an in-depth outline first.) I do lots and lots of drafts, and then lots of rewriting and polishing."

Write What You Know

As far as advice goes, all of these experts offered the same thought: just write! They each have their own take on that, but the bottom line is clear. The best writing comes from familiar territory, so just write. Start with what you know, your subject matter, your best teacher tips, your hobby or pet, write what you know and then go beyond.

Irene: "What advice would you give other teachers who want to become writers?"

Susan: "If you're a teacher who wants to become a writer think about what you love to teach and how you best convey information. Do you create activities that engage your students? Can you weave together details about a topic in a way that makes people nod their heads and understand something they didn't before? Then, write about what you teach and teach what you write."

Jennifer: "Find an audience. You probably are already a writer; you just need to find an audience."

Peggy: "Just do it. Even if it's only a few word here and there. Even if it's just a personal journal or a blog. The key is to write and not worry about whether it's any good. Just write. Fix it later."

Barb: "Just start writing, write about anything, don't worry about quality right away. Develop the habit of reading a lot and looking at the world as a writer... observing, eavesdropping, finding ideas anywhere."

As you probably tell your students, just write. The process will vary, but the "method" is universal, writers write!

Next week, our final blog in this series will look at writing that our panel does beyond their classrooms.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

To Kelly Smith, the notion of “spare time” is a little obscure. A longtime carpenter and DIY home renovator, Smith has always turned his passions and hobbies into active careers. This eventually led to a career with NASA and a freelance writing position as Suite101’s Home Renovation/Repair Feature Writer. Not to outdo himself, Smith is also an accomplished marathon runner and currently also serves as the Houston Running Fitness Examiner. So how does one man have time to do all of this? Suite101 had a chat with the jack-of-all-trades.

Suite101: What exactly is a Journeyman Carpenter?

Kelly Smith: Basically, this is a carpenter who has learned all the tricks of the trade, either formally or informally. In my case, I served a 4-year apprenticeship through the carpenter's union. In this program, I worked during the day and attended classes at night. Each time I passed a set level and test, I began earning a higher percentage of union journeyman pay-scale.

The benefit of going this formal route is that I learned many aspects of the trade that I've never used, but could use if called upon to do so. For example, I can roof a house, and have done so once, but frankly, I'd rather take a beating!

You worked at NASA for a time, what did you do there?

While still working as a commercial carpenter, I began attending night school at the University of Houston. It took many years to earn my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science because I could only take a couple of classes at a time and because of the fluctuating economy, sometimes there was no money for tuition.

When I finally did graduate, I worked for a NASA subcontractor. The first project I worked on was IMARS (International space station Mission operations directorate Aviation Reconfiguration Subsystem), which was a command and telemetry database and application for the construction and operation of the space station.

The next project I worked on was a real-time application rewriting the vintage orbiter (shuttle) launch software for Kennedy Space Center. I worked on the bit that gathered and organized sensor data and pushed it out to the subscribers, those are the guys you see staring at their computer screens during launch.

You seem like an extremely busy person. How much time out of each week do you dedicate to writing?

Are you starting to sense that I have an obsessive-compulsive personality? I'm a full-time freelance writer so I work every day. That usually means anywhere from 4 to 10 hours a day, but of course a lot of that is research. Then there's the time I spend as a webmaster on my own sites, so that's development as well as writing.

On the weekends I spend a lot of time covering the Houston running scene for my other main writing gig, where I'm the Houston Running Fitness Examiner. But, I always sneak in some time for marathon training and fly-fishing because I've been told all work and no play makes Kelly a dull boy; I don't want to go there!

In your Suite101 writer profile, you state that throughout your career changes “the one thing [you have] continuously done is write.” Do you write for pleasure, or do you see it more as a strictly practical venture?

It's actually a mixture of pleasure and practicality. I'm very passionate about writing so I feel fortunate about being able to make a living doing something I love. My major at Canal Zone Junior College was journalism, but before I could put that to use I joined the Air Force. After extensive testing, in their infinite wisdom, they decided that I was of more use servicing munitions. Who knew?

But even in my carpenter years I kept my hand in it by writing a monthly column and doing stringer work for a local sports magazine and serving as newsletter editor for my triathlon club.

In your opinion, what are some aspects of a really great, very helpful “DIY” or “How to” article?

The number one thing to focus on is attention to strict detail without being condescending to the reader. The reader has chosen my article at Suite out of a gazillion Google choices and deserves respect as well as a clear understanding.

Another important aspect is word choice and sentence structure. It's important to remember that readers come from different backgrounds and cultures, so they interpret things differently. I make it a point to always allow comments on my articles because it serves as a feedback mechanism. Did the reader not understand what I said? Did I not go into enough detail?

Something else that I've been trying to do over the past year or so (and wish I had thought of it earlier), is put metric measurements in parenthesis after inches, feet, etc. as a service to the readers. I know the bulk of our readership comes from the US, but why inconvenience those that don't? And after all, I want them to bookmark my topic page.

More about Kelly Smith:

Follow Kelly Smith on Twitter: @kelly_smith

Need to know how to fix up your home? Visit icanfixupmyhome.com or read more of Kelly Smith’s articles at Suite101.com

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Writing has earned a reputation as a particularly solitary craft, but thanks to the internet writers now have a plethora of options where they can connect with other writers and chat about their writing experiences and their writing process.

It's not surprising to see that when a community of passionate and dedicated writers "get together" online, they often find themselves building friendships with their like-minded colleagues, leading them to share more about their lives and personal experiences. Suite101 has a tight-knit community of writers who lend each other support through hard times and celebrate with one another through the good. However, with so many writers on our bill, it may be a bit hard to get to know everybody.

We'd like to do our part to shine a spotlight on some fascinating members of the Suite101 community. Look for our featured writers and editors "In the Spotlight" here in the Limelight Blog and on the Suite101 homepage. Our first mystery Suite writer will be featured on Monday. Stay tuned ...

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

I saw this short but sweet blog post on Anne Wayman's blog, About Freelance Writing, and thought it deserved a highlight. Previously, I've mused on the state of journalism and publishing and thought about the impact of digital publishing on traditional print media. In the end, I think agree with Anne's post. Publishing is publishing is publishing.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Education & Career editor, Irene Taylor, speaks with teacher-writers to further explore the connection between teaching and writing.

Teachers write for many reasons. When you ask a teacher if she writes, she'll likely say yes and then list writing things like lesson plans, bulletin board ideas, or reports. Some teachers write to model the writing process for their students, or to "test" writing assignments. But many teacher-writers find that there is more to their writing than these "school-related" types of writing.

Our first blog, Teachers Who Write: Are Teachers Real Writers? gave some insight into why teachers may also be writers. Here our panel of teacher-writers offered more thoughts on why they write.

Becoming a Writer

My first question for our panel of writers was "When did you think you could become a writer?"

Answers to this question were nearly universal, Barb Abromitis, Susan Caplan, Jennifer Wagaman and Peggy Williams have all written throughout their lives, even if they didn't all think of themselves as writers at the time.

Jennifer had wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She has early memories of writing short stories for her dad as Christmas gifts, but she did not consider herself to be a professional writer until after she had been writing on the internet for about a year.

Having mentors is important. Peggy always assumed she could be a writer and always had teachers who made her believe she could write.

As a little girl Susan knew she wanted to be a writer and to tell stories in spite of receiving discouragement from her parents ("get a job", "be practical") and from some teachers ("writing stories is 'fluff' compared to reading literature").

Barb says, "I always knew I would be a writer of some sort. It is just what I do, good or bad. I can't help but want to write about the things I experience."

Relationship Between Teaching and Writing

In my mind, teachers who write belong in a unique niche in the writer's world. But is there a relationship between the two?

To get to the heart of this question, I asked, "Were you a writer or a teacher first? Did one help you become the other? Has being a teacher made being a writer easier or harder?"

Barb: "Definitely a writer first, as I began that as a child.

I think teaching and writing go hand in hand in a lot of ways, although because I spend so much time on work-related writing, I don't always have the time or mental energy to pursue the other (fiction) writing I would like to try."

Jennifer: "I wrote in a journal from a very young age, but I did not become a professional writer until after I had taught in the school system. Being a teacher gave me the knowledge and background for what I write about, so teaching definitely helped me become a better writer."

Susan: "I think teaching gives me a better sense of communicating to particular audiences. I envision how I'd talk about the same topic to adults, preteens, or preschoolers. Through teaching, I've learned that a lot of what I assume people will know or 'get' doesn't happen the way I imagine."

Peggy: "I was a writer first because I began writing as a child. In junior high my friends and I teamed up to write the sequel to 'A Hard Day's Night'. In high school I wrote for my high school newspaper for three years. I also earned a scholarship to help pay for college by winning an essay competition. In terms of a profession, I'd have to say I was a teacher first, and have always viewed my writing as part time freelance work."

The whys vary from writer to writer, but the message is clear. The lesson for teachers: you are probably already a writer, whether you think you are or not!

Next week our panel will share some tips on getting started as a writer and some insight into the process they use. In the meanwhile, read Sheila Gaquin's article, "Write Successfully for Educational Journals" for some ideas on getting published.

Irene Taylor

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Editor Jill Browne published a series of blog posts with "Career Tips for Writers" back in September 2009. A large part of her focus was to encourage writers to write what they know, but at the same time, to diversify their writing opportunities by starting websites, contributing to blogs, and participating in social media.

Helen Smeaton expands on this idea in a recent blog post published on the freelance writing blog Quips And Tips for Successful Writers.

Helen Smeaton is the Feature Writer for Cycling and Mountain Biking at Suite101. She also maintains several of her own websites including a travel guide called Cyprus Travel Secrets. Talk about diverse!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Suite101 challenged the writing community to put themselves out there and seek some great interviews. Whether you're interviewing a celebrity or a subject matter expert, an interview can be an excellent method of providing readers with more in-depth information that's straight from the source!

After an entire month of reading some terrific interviews, Editor-in-Chief Colin Smith picked out 5 stellar pieces. Congratulations to these Interview Aces:

Grand Prize Winner - $101USD & Digital Recording Device

Planting Organic Tulip Bulbs from Holland by Jamie McIntosh

Challenge Winners - Digital Recording Device

Country Icon Garth Brooks Chats on the Record by Lisa L. Rollins

Tennessee Aquarium Penguin Chick Learns to Swim by Marcy Paulson

Peter Yarrow Talks About His Books for Kids by Michael Jung

Becoming a Successful Green Graphic Designer by Taylor Loran

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Anne Wayman has been a ghostwriter, freelance writer, book editor, coach and speaker for over 30 years. She is fully self-supported by her freelance writing and she seeks to share her insights and expertise with fellow freelancers. Anne's blog About Freelance Writing hosts a variety of helpful blog posts from resource roundups and job listings to musings about the state of publishing whether online or in print.

Suite101 is happy to share some of Anne's posts right here on the Limelight Blog.

We know that freelance writers are constantly searching for job opportunities (or "gigs") on the web. In a recent post, Anne shares 5 links on Landing Freelance Writing Gigs Online.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Blogs provide an excellent means for freelance writers to promote themselves and their work. Though blogs are often more casual and conversational in tone, writers should be careful to represent themselves well. Every piece of writing is a reflection on the author's abilities and a blog post shouldn't be treated any differently.

Urban Muse Writer, Susan Johnston, posted this great guest post in Quips and Tips for Successful Writers with a list of "5 Things To Do Before Publishing a Blog post".

About Susan Johnston, Urban Muse Writer

Susan Johnston is a Boston-based freelance writer and blogger who has covered business and lifestyle topics for The Boston Globe, DailyCandy.com, and many other publications. She's also the author of The Urban Muse, a blog with tips and tidbits for freelance writers.

About Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen is a full-time writer and blogger who created and maintains a series of Quips and Tips blogs including Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Goals and Quips and Tips for Couples Coping With Infertility. She's also the Feature Writer for Psychology Suite101

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Irene Taylor is the editor of Suite101's Education & Career section. A long-time educator, writer, and editor she explores the teacher as writer in her blog series "Teachers Who Write".

Are you a teacher? Are you a writer? You may be surprised if you answered "yes" to both questions, but teachers who are also writers are everywhere!

The Teacher Writer

Why do teachers write? There are many reasons, as varied as the kinds of writing we do each day. Teachers are naturally good communicators, that's why we are teachers in the first place. We're good with words, which we love. We teach writing. We share it with our students. We put pen to paper and write lesson plans, reports, notes to parents and colleagues.

We aren't graduates of J-Schools, but many of us have degrees in English or writing. Some of us have taken online courses. Some of us blog or keep a journal.

But are we "real writers"? Ask the many talented teachers who write here at Suite and the answer will be a resounding "Yes!"

From Teacher to Writer

So, what takes us from "teacher" to "writer"? Why do we write?

I feel that I have always been a writer, from the days of stapling paper to make books to my first front page article: the lure of the printed word was the same, the thrill of seeing my ideas come to life.

But that's just me. To find out more about why teachers write and how we make the transition from teacher to writer, I asked some of our Suite experts. This blog series will look at the thoughts and ideas of four of our teacher writers.

Thoughts on Being a Writer

Suite writers Barb Abromitis, Susan Caplan, Jennifer Wagaman, and Peggy Williams all agree on one point; they have all always been writers and see writing as an expression of who they are.

Says Barb, "I have written my entire life as a way of processing experiences, using my imagination, communicating ideas and just thinking on paper. I cannot help myself, and if I do not write everyday, I get a little crabby!" Susan's thoughts echo those, "Writing has always been my way to figure out the world. I like connecting with people through the written word."

Jennifer sees being a writer as intertwined with being a teacher. "Writing is the ultimate teaching job, and I absolutely love it", she says.

Peggy sums it up this way: "I write because I can't not write. It's how I think."

Teachers are Real Writers

Another Suite writer, Sheila Gaquin, offers food for thought for those teachers who may be thinking of writing on a more formal basis in her article "Why Teachers Should Write for Publication" . Her premise is that teachers have a unique perspective on many education-related issues. Writing about what you know is a great place to start.

So, we write, we scribble, we take notes and doodle on the side of workshop notes. We write serious tomes and flights of fancy. We're poets and essayists. Some of us are trained to write, some of us aren't. But we are all writers, in love with words and their power to shape our thoughts so others can share them.

Join us for this blog series on the teacher-writer. Barb, Sue, Jennifer, and Peggy will share their thoughts on writing, their process, and their advice for new writers, some of whom may just happen to be teachers too!

For more information on our featured teacher-writers for this series, please see this blog post.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Meet Suite101's teacher-writers who are profiled in this month's "Teachers Who Write" blog series.

Suite101 Teacher-Writers

Barb Abromitis is an assistant professor at the College of Education, Lewis University (Romeoville, IL). She teaches Educational Psychology, Instructional Methods, Reading and Language Arts methods and "anything else they want me to teach". Barb has degrees in reading and education and educational psychology, and experience with teaching students of all ages.

Susan Caplan is FW of Kids Crafts. She teaches in a nontraditional setting, the nature center for a wildlife sanctuary. "School kids come to the site for field trips, I go to schools to teach in-class programs, and I have homeschoolers who register for programs that I gear specifically to them." In the summer and during school vacation weeks, Susan focuses on art and crafts programs.

Jennifer Wagaman is FW of the New Teacher Support topic. She is a certified Elementary Education and Special Education teacher. Jennifer taught 4-5th grade special education, and has worked with a variety of students over the years including regular education students, special education students and gifted students from pre-K through adult. Currently she is a private tutor to elementary children in whatever subject they need help with.

Margaret M. Williams is FW of the Language Study topic. Peggy teaches first grade in "a classroom that combines native English speakers with those for whom English is their second, and sometimes brand new, language".

Irene Taylor is an educator, writer and editor. She holds degrees in Elementary Education English and a Master’s endorsement in Elementary Mathematics. Irene was a staff writer-editor at The

Chronicle newspaper for nine years. She has a 10-year affiliation with Suite101, where she has written close to 100 articles .

"Many thanks to these four writers who were all kind enough to answer my emailed questions for this series on teachers who write. Their replies will serve as the basis for this blog series, posted here over the next few weeks."

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

“I’m a fiction writer…but also a certified general accountant.”

“I’m a poet…but also have a degree in horticulture.”

These are some of the things I heard from writers at the Surrey International Writers’ conference. I truly believe that writers are the most curious human beings on earth. If you chat for five minutes with a novelist or poet you’ll find the makings of a non-fiction writer somewhere within their experience. During the conference I had a chance to speak with NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer about this. Mayer has published over 40 books, including fiction and non-fiction titles.

Suite101: Bob, do you believe that good fiction writers can become good non-fiction writers?

Mayer: The questions is: what type of non-fiction? Certainly good fiction writers should be able to write good narrative non-fiction, since the structure and elements are the same. If we're talking about self-help or other types of non-fiction, the transition is a bit more difficult. You lose the freedom of fiction in that case--just the facts, to quote a famous TV detective. Such non-fiction also has to be designed differently than traditional narrative structure (inciting incident, escalating conflict, crisis, climax, resolution for fiction). In non-fiction, your goal is to inform, educate and motivate. In fiction, your goal is primarily to entertain. Inform is secondary.

Suite101: As someone who has had success in both genres, which do you find easier?

Mayer: I've found that non-fiction is harder to organize, but easier to write since we are usually dealing with subject matter we are familiar with. Fiction is harder to write, but easier to organize. I like both, which is why I am now writing historical fiction, which is a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction. I'm weaving fictional characters into a historical setting. My history has to be correct as far as dates, events, etc, but the main storyline revolves around characters I've made up.

Suite101: What are your top "tips" for non-fiction writers?

Mayer: A lot of non-fiction writers are people who aren't naturally writers. They're writing non-fiction to support some other aspect of their life: speaking, consulting, teaching. I taught writing non-fiction last year at the National Speakers Association's conference in San Francisco. What really struck me was the difference between the personality types of speakers and those of writers. In fact, I would go so far as to point out that one of the 16 character types of the Myers-Briggs (INFJ) is “author” while the exact opposite (ESTP) is “promoter.” So promoting is a weak spot for fiction writers and writing is a weak spot for promoter/speakers.

There are ways around these problems. In the Warrior Writer course, I teach people how to 'lean' into their fears. Practice being your opposite Myers-Briggs character type. But the real key in writing non-fiction is to know exactly what your goal for the book (or article) is, write it down in one sentence, post it in your office, and every time you work, look at the overall, strategic goal and make sure everything you write supports that goal.

And ask for help. Writing fiction, I turn to area experts for information. For example, I am writing about horses but I know nothing about horses. At the conference, I found a woman who works with horses and am using her as my area expert. For non-fiction writers, there are plenty of editors out there who can help you. You don't have to do it alone.

NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer has over three million books in print and is in demand as a leadership speaker and consultant. His latest book is Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear & Succeed. He teaches novel writing and improving the author via his Warrior-Writer program. He lives on an island off Seattle. For more information see www.bobmayer.org

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

"Quips and Tips for Successful Writers" is a terrific blog that should be on the top of the "resource" list for every web writer. Produced by veteran web writer Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, this blog couples practical writing advice (tips) with inspirational writing quotations (quips) that will surely encourage web writers to keep practicing the art of writing.

Learning from your past mistakes, and the mistakes of others, is perhaps one of the most important steps to becoming a successful web writer. Jenny Evans shares what she's learned about SEO since becoming a writer for Suite101 in this insightful guest blog post featured on "Quips and Tips".

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The final installment of editor Mia Carter's "Interview Skills" blog series focuses on the interview process whether conducted face-to-face, over the phone, or via email.

This week's blog entry focuses on tips for conducting your interview. Understanding how to conduct the actual interview will help writers get the most out of an interview. I'll discuss the pros and cons of the various interview methods, along with tips for conducting your interview, like how to ask questions and how to handle off-the-record remarks.

There are three basic methods for conducting an interview: sit-down interviews, phone interviews and email interviews.

Conducting a Sit-Down Interview

The sit-down interview should always be your first choice. I've found that in the case of a sit-down interview, the subject tends to provide more detailed information. You'll also have the benefit of observing body language and behavior when you conduct a sit-down interview. And while body language isn't all that important for an interview that focuses on cold, hard facts (i.e. an interview about a disease process), the visual cues of a face-to-face interview can really enhance the interview in the case of a discussion about a person's experience or opinions.

Subjects are also more apt to be honest when they're face-to-face with the interviewer; deception is much easier on the phone or in an email.

Phone interviews are a good choice if distance or schedule make it impossible to conduct a sit-down interview. The novice interviewer may actually feel more comfortable conducting a phone interview since the subject won't see those nervous tics.

But phone interviews involve a serious obstacle for inexperienced interviewers, as one must focus on not only what is said, but also how it's said since those visual cues from body language are not available. This is a case where a tape recorder can come in handy, as the interviewer can focus on the information during the interview and after the fact, the recording can be reviewed for the vocal cues that reveal greater insight into the subject's emotion or personality.

Conducting an Email Interview

The email interview is an "easy" method in some ways, as writers can literally copy and paste the subject's words into their article. And while this does eliminate the risk of misquoting a subject, there is a very real danger that an interviewee's words could be misconstrued or used in the wrong context, as the interview is completely void of the physical or vocal cues that reveal meaning.

Email interviews should never be your first choice and rarely will you encounter a situation where a subject cannot take part in a sit-down or phone interview. In more than ten years as a journalist, I've encountered only one situation where an email interview was necessary: I interviewed a soldier while he was serving in Iraq.

The email interview can be a great tool when used in conjunction with the sit-down or phone interview. You might send a few follow-up questions via email, and the subject can provide answers at his/her convenience. This works especially well for the subject with a busy schedule. But I do not recommend conducting an email interview if it is at all possible to conduct a phone or sit-down interview. It may feel more comfortable to "hide" behind your computer monitor, but you'll never overcome interview jitters if you refuse to step up to the plate.

Setting the Interview Ground Rules

When you begin your interview, it's essential that you establish the interview ground rules, particularly if you're speaking with a subject who is not routinely interviewed.

After you introduce yourself, briefly summarize what you'd like to discuss – just a few sentences will suffice.

Then, you'll need to explain the "rules." You might say: "If, at any point, you'd like to discuss something that's off-limits for publication, please preface your remark by indicating that it's 'off the record'."

Off-the-record remarks can be immensely helpful in providing context or fostering greater understanding of a situation. But sometimes, these remarks are confidential, incriminating or just very personal. The experienced interviewer will generally know what remarks were intended to be off-the-record, but a novice interviewer may not have such keen discretion. So it's essential that the subject explicitly states, "This is off the record." Publishing off-the-record remarks can seriously damage a journalist's reputation.

When a subject goes off-the-record, you must stop writing and you should turn off your tape recorder, lest you betray the interviewee's trust. If you've already started writing, strike a line through your notes. This is also essential for your own protection. If you take notes during an off-the-record discussion, you risk forgetting that this information is off limits and you could accidentally publish off-the-record remarks.

Asking Questions During the Interview

When asking questions, you must ask open-ended questions in order to prompt discussion. "Yes" or "no" questions are of limited use.

Instead of asking: "You're the president of organization X, correct? And you joined the group after receiving a personal invite?"

You'll want to ask: "Tell me a little bit about your role at organization X and how you became involved with the group."

This example also illustrates another key point: Never put words in the interviewee's mouth and don't conduct the interview in a way that's presumptuous. You'll get more information (and more accurate information) when you let the subject tell the story in his or her own words.

The key is to prompt the interviewee to tell a story. One topic naturally flows into the other and ideally, the interviewee will give you all the information you need and more.

Above all, the most important element of interviewing is accuracy. Always ask for clarification. Never assume that a subject will be available for a follow-up interview; conduct your interview as though it's your one and only opportunity to speak with this person. And never publish a quote or information if you're doubting its accuracy. Ultimately, this means you may need to omit the questionable information from your article. In the end, omitting information is preferable over publishing inaccurate information. In the world of journalism, accuracy and credibility is everything.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The Surrey International Writers’ Conference, now in its 17th year, is held annually in Surrey, British Columbia. The purpose of the conference is to “educate and motivate aspiring and experienced writers alike” by presenting them with an opportunity to pitch stories to agents, network with other authors, get advice from editors and publishers, and even participate in blue pencil sessions.

See you there!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

As a broadcast editor and script writer for WBZ Newsradio1030 AM, a CBS affiliate in Boston, and an experienced web writer, Mia Carter has perfected the art of the interview. Read on for more tips on how to prepare to conduct an interview.

For the inexperienced writer or journalist, conducting an interview can be an intimidating experience. This may prevent some web writers from conducting interviews, which is unfortunate as interviews could lead to vast improvements in an article's authority.

This week's post focuses on how to prepare for an interview by researching, by collecting the proper materials for the interview, and by developing your shorthand skills.

Pre-Interview Research and Preparation

When preparing for an interview, do your homework on the topic and learn as much as possible about the person whom you will be interviewing. In an effort to appear professional, writers who are new to conducting interviews may feel pressure to “wing it” and simply learn about the individual and interview topic as the discussion proceeds, which is often the case in a newsroom setting. However, this is not a skill that new writers need to have right off the bat, so take the time to properly prepare for your interviews when you’re just starting out.

When you're conducting your research on the topic of the interview, write down points that you'd like to discuss with the interviewee. I find that writing down precise questions can actually be quite detrimental because I often find that the interview doesn’t always go as planned. In a good interview the interviewee may feel inspired to elaborate on a different issue, changing the focus of your original interview plan. I often found myself adapting my questions quickly based on the information that my interviewee was giving me. Having a list with a wide range of topics to discuss helped me to come up with relevant questions to ask no matter what direction the interview took.

Interview Materials

When conducting an interview, I strongly encourage writers to use a reporter's notebook or steno pad. The problem with using full size notebooks is that once you reach the end of the line, your hand must travel a long distance to the start of the next line. The narrow width of reporter's notebooks and steno pads allows for quicker note taking.

You'll also want several pens. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many novice interviewers forget to bring backup materials and wind up completely stuck. If you bring just one pen, that virtually guarantees it will run out of ink or stop working for no apparent reason during the juiciest portion of the interview! Avoid situations like this at all costs.

You may wish to bring along a tape recorder. But inexperienced interviewers beware: Do not use the tape recorder as your primary method of recording the information! Tape recorders allow the mind to wander, and you may become a bit inattentive knowing that the conversation is being recorded on tape. This can lead to a disaster if the recording is lost.

Only use tape recorders as a backup tool and use your hand written notes as the primary method for recording your interview. When you use a tape recorder as a backup, the time consuming transcription process is not usually necessary, since you can use your notes as a guide to what topics were discussed at which point in the interview. Ideally, tape recorders should only be used to verify quotes if there is a discrepancy in your notes.

Developing Shorthand

An experienced reporter or journalist can write as fast as the interviewee speaks. But they're not writing down each and every word in its entirety; experienced journalists develop a note-taking shorthand. Each person's shorthand will be unique; it's a matter of developing abbreviations that make sense to you.

To give you an idea of how this is done, I'll share a few of my shorthand terms:

• "comty" – community

• "comm" – committee

• "rlvt" – relevant

• "i2" – into

• "b/c" – because

• "w/o" – without

• "ibv" – I believe

• circled "y" – yes

• circled "n" – no

• "thr" – their

• "tk" – think or thank (the context reveals the term)

If you are interviewing more than one person, use different degrees of indentation to indicate different speakers.

The popularity of texting and tweeting makes developing unique shorthand fairly easy for many individuals; it's just a matter of coming up with terms that you'll remember!

You can practice your note-taking skills by watching an unfamiliar DVD or listening to a program recorded on your DVR. Start out by taking notes on a 30-second conversation and check your accuracy with a play back. You should also pick up your notes a few days later to determine how well you can read back the conversation, this will help you identify problematic abbreviations that just aren't working for you. You need to decipher your notes with perfect accuracy days, weeks, months or years after the interview has taken place.

These preparations for conducting an interview are sure to help you get all of the information you need and more! Next week, I'll discuss additional tips for conducting the actual interview and how to use all the information you've gathered.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Prerna Malik joined the Suite101 community in May 2009. She captured the interest of her colleagues as well as the editorial staff when she decided to challenge herself to write 30 articles in 30 days and keep us posted on her progress.

After publishing 20 articles, Malik knew that the 50 article milestone, and its corresponding 10% revenue bonus, was just around the corner. She decided to write an article a day for a month and reach her goal sooner rather than later.

While Malik didn’t have many trepidations about whether or not she could in fact finish this ambitious feat, she did realize that focusing only on producing a large quantity of articles may have its down sides. She didn’t want to slacken on the quality she presented in each article, and needed to find some way to balance the two goals. “I had to pay special attention to editorial feedback and the research that I did for quite a few articles”, says Malik.

According to Malik, “coming up with ideas [was] the easy part”. An avid organizer, Malik’s articles largely focus on handy tips to maximize on storage and find creative solutions to better organize one’s home. With so much information to share, Malik had her own organizing to do, and needed to find an efficient way to produce a large quantity of quality articles in a short amount of time.

“I divided longer articles, such as the ones on Stain Removal and Photo Organizing into two articles of 500-600 words. I also came up with topics where I could link to existing articles. I created a list of 35 topics, to be on the safe side, along with relevant keywords. All I had to do was pick a topic and write on it!”

As her self-imposed challenge continued, Malik found that time was the biggest hurdle of all. As a mom and homemaker, she could only find so much time in each day to devote to writing. Not only that, but she also writes her own blog and freelances for a few websites and some private clients. Somehow, she managed to compartmentalize her day enough to allow time to contribute articles towards her challenge.

To date, Malik has published 74 articles on Suite101, far exceeding her previous goal and quickly propelling towards her next goal of contributing 100 articles. Malik has gained a lot from the advice of her fellow writers and has this to say to any writers who wish to set themselves an equally challenging writing goal:

1. Use editorial feedback to improve your writing. It really helps.
2. Learn how to do keyword research My first 10 articles were all written without any idea of what a keyword was. I’ve used the tutorials here plus done my own research and now am happy to say that revenue and page views are both doing well.
3. Interlinking helps! For instance, when writing my article on stain removal, I decided to write one on fabric stain removal and the other on carpet stain removal. The topics are related enough that I can link them to one another.
4. Write often and write well. The results that I’ve seen with Suite are incomparable to the other residual income sites that I write for. As far as revenue is concerned, do not be disheartened by the first month’s earnings. It just gets better and better.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Last week editor Mia Carter published a blog post on how to format an interview for SEO. This week, Mia shares some tips on how to secure an interview with a celebrity or industry expert.

Interviews can make an article more interesting and more credible, but many web writers aren't sure precisely how to secure interviews, particularly when it comes to high-profile subjects like authors and celebrities.

Interviewing Experts

Expert opinion can add a great deal of credibility to an article and the information obtained from an interview with an expert can serve as a great source for one or more articles.

When writing an article, web writers can ask, "Who would I consider an expert on this topic?" If writing about a new medical discovery, perhaps you might contact the doctor or researcher who was involved in the groundbreaking medical advancement. If writing an article about canine diabetes, you might contact a local veterinarian to discuss the disease. Authors are also great expert sources, as are college professors. Even an article about an artistic medium can benefit from a discussion with an artist who specializes in that particular medium.

Establishing a long-term relationship with a handful of experts can greatly improve your writing's credibility. When I first started as a pet writer, I interviewed a family friend who's a veterinarian and since then, we've met on a regular basis to discuss my current pet writing projects. These discussions serve as a great opportunity to confirm facts, and he'll weigh in to provide comment on whatever pet topics I'm writing about. One 90-minute discussion equips me with quotes for a couple dozen articles or more!

Getting an Interview With an Author

To interview an author concerning the release of a new book, you'll need to contact the publisher's in-house media relations department or the public relations firm that's handling PR on behalf of the publisher. PR firms typically handle media requests in the case of a very popular author/book or in the case of a small publisher that does not have an in-house PR department. If you've received a press release concerning the release of a new book, you can call the contact information listed on the release.

This is precisely how I landed exclusive interviews with "The Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan and PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, among others. Publishers or PR firms working on behalf of the publisher routinely send out mass emails announcing interview availability with authors several weeks before the book's release. So contact the publisher and request to receive press releases and media alerts. This will grant you access to some really great interview opportunities.

In some cases, authors maintain a website and it may be possible to contact the author directly via his or her website.

Securing an Interview With a Musician or Celebrity

To interview a celebrity or musician regarding a new album, film, etc., you'll need to contact the P.R. firm that's handling media relations on behalf of the record company or film/television production company.

Another great way to interview musicians involves obtaining press passes to a concert. To obtain a press pass, contact the record company and request the contact information for the firm that's handling promotions for the tour.

One really wonderful way to interview musicians involves getting press passes to a music festival or radio station concert, like Boston radio station KISS 108 FM's annual KISS Concert, featuring dozens of artists in the day-long event. Music festivals and concerts hosted by radio stations are generally very press friendly and it's very easy to arrange one-on-one interviews with big name musicians, and musicians who are not available for one-on-one interviews will typically conduct press conferences. I've had the opportunity to conduct exclusive one-on-one interviews with musicians like Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Tori Amos, Lionel Richie, N'Sync and many, many more – all at music festivals and concerts hosted by radio stations.

It's also important to remember the public relations campaigns are launched weeks and even months before the release of a film, book or an album. So if you're seeking an interview with a high-profile subject, do not expect to land an interview a week before the release date. While the actual interviews are usually conducted in the week or so before the release of a film, book or album, the arrangements for these interviews are typically made several weeks in advance. So plan ahead.

Next week's post in Suite101's Limelight Blog will focus on tips for conducting an interview.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The "Pump It Up" challenge recognized those who managed to publish a minimum of one article per day for fourteen consecutive days. However, there are many writers who have managed to publish 14+ articles over that same two-week period. Though they may have skipped a day here or there, these prolific writers deserve to be honoured equally for their diligence and enthusiasm.

Please help us to congratulate the following group of writers:

Christopher Sharman, Allen Williams, Carol Finch, KC Morgan, Lee-Ann Pauly, Miranda Miller, Tracey Drake, Ellen Freudenheim, Stacy Herlihy, Diane Ursu, Fleur Hupston, Dominic von Riedemann, Francine Morrissette, Rupert Taylor, Lynda Osborne, Emily Rogers, Tel Asiado, Anita Saran, Jill Stefko, Stephen Allen Christensen, Dawn Ouedraogo, James Clausen, Barbara Trejo, Sarah Charmley

Three cheers to you all!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

I was a little overwhelmed when I discovered how many writers decided to "pump it up" and challenge themselves to write 14 articles in 14 consecutive days. It's a big feat and I'm excited for those writers who managed to participate and get themselves closer to their Suite101 milestones. Whether it be reaching 50 articles and earning a revenue bonus, or simply knowing that they can in fact produce quality articles consistently.

By the luck of the draw, I'm pleased to announce the two winners of the $101USD prize: Gareth Harding and Joanne LaSpina.

Gareth Harding hails from the UK and has been a writer for Suite101.com since July 2009. This challenge wasn't just about the number of articles a writer can produce, it was also about setting a goal, sticking to it, and believing in your abilities as a writer, "I found the challenge really beneficial, not just in terms of the prize, but on a personal level. It proves that you have the focus to produce a large number of articles in such a short space of time", says Gareth.

Joanne LaSpina is also relatively new to the Suite community, and hails from Philadelphia, USA. For Joanne, this challenge gave her the boost she needed to accelerate her learning curve. "Pushing myself to write a Suite101 article every day has made me more comfortable writing articles for the Web. Now, finding appropriate photos and coming up with keywords, two areas that have been especially challenging for me as a Suite101 writer, are easier", says Joanne. In fact, Joanne has become so comfortable writing articles for the Web that she met the 50 article milestone yesterday giving her the added benefit of a 10% increase in monthly revenue.

Congratulations to the two lucky winners, and a big congratulations to all the rest of the writers who completed this challenge successfully. I hope that you'll see some great benefits from your hard work.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

We know it took a lot of hard work, dedication, and perhaps some sleepless nights to successfully publish 14 articles in 14 days. We want to recognize all the writers who managed to write an article every day for two consecutive weeks. You're all winners in our eyes!

Sarabeth Asaff, Jon Matsune, Asa Ghaffar, Francine Brokaw, Michael McGrath, Kimberely Powell, Elaine Findlay, Jason Parent, Robin McDaniel, Michael Streich, Victoria Nicks, Cyndi Allison, Victoria Anisman-Reiner, Karen Berger, Cynthia Jones-Shoeman, Matthew Miller, Frances Spiegel, Susan Kristoff, Jenny Evans, Minka Gantenbein, Jim Lowrance, Marg McAlister, Genevieve Kiger, Shane Werlinger, Sandra Williams, Natasha Sheldon, Ret Talbot, Jennifer Copley, Jennifer Wagaman, Mark Alexander Bain, Renee Carver, Karen Plumley, Nick Rogers, Genna Cockerham, Bradley Kairis, Tamiko Nicholson, Alia Luria, Joanne LaSpina, Heather Marie Kosur, Jennifer Marsh, Brenna Coleman, Heidi Lowry, Mary King, Martin G. Wood, Wendy Roltgen, Kevin Sturton, Linda Ashar, Janis Masyk-Jackson, Roxanne Blanford, Catherine Walsh, Rosemary Gemmell, Noreen Kassem, Robin Montanye, Laney Taylor, Michelle Schusterman, Gareth Harding, Corinne Shibley, Elizabeth Beeson, Renee Holmes, Kristina Bjoran, Mary Earhart, Michael Fuchs, Rhonda Rowley.

Congratulations to our 63 writers who pumped it up last month!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Plants & Animals editor Barbara Nicholson Bell attended the 61st annual GWA Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina last week hoping to spread the word about Suite101 writing opportunities to this dedicated niche of writers.

About the Garden Writers Association

The Garden Writers Association (GWA) is a non-profit organization comprised of garden professionals specifically in the field of gardening communication. GWA members range from book authors and syndicated columnists to television and radio personalities, catalog publishers and much more.

For the past 61 years the GWA has hosted a much-anticipated symposium where garden writers have the opportunity to exchange information about lawn and garden products or services while commiserating with fellow garden communicators.

Suite101’s Barbara Nicholson Bell at GWA

As Suite101’s Plants & Animals editor, Barbara Bell has committed the past two and a half years to growing her section. Which explains why she was thrilled to jump at the chance to tell other freelance garden writers about the opportunities available to them here at Suite101.

“It was great to be a professional among professionals” said Barbara in our correspondence following the event, “I enjoyed talking about everything that came up: xeriscaping, public gardens, new roses, the best kind of pruner.”

In an earlier blog post, Jill Browne talked about the benefits of finding your niche and following your bliss. With this in mind we invite GWA writers to come and write what they love and share what they know about plants and gardening with our broad audience. We look forward to welcoming them into the Suite.

If you are a member of a writing association and wish to contact a Suite101 staff member about an upcoming event or conference, please email associate.editor@suite101.com or send us a tweet @suite101

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

Some writers are motivated by a love of language, others by a love of writing. We won’t have a chance to ask William Safire what kept his pen--and keyboard—moving for seven decades. Safire passed away recently at the age of 79.

He was a Pulitzer Prize writer, novelist and political columnist, but perhaps he is best known and loved by other writers for his column “On Language.” This insightful weekly column in the New York Times Magazine looked at the intricacies and oddities around rules of language. It ran from 1979 until earlier this month and made Safire one of the most widely read writers on language.

The column explored written and oral trends while looking at the origins and meanings of words and phrases. According to the Times, it drew a devoted following.

As for Mr. Safire himself, he is remembered in the Times as “a Pickwickian quibbler who gleefully pounced on gaffes, inexactitudes, neologisms, misnomers, solecisms and perversely peccant puns.”

We applaud Safire’s writing and his guidance for writers, which included classic rules such as don’t overuse exclamation marks and avoid clichés…like the plague!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

This month Mia Carter, editor of the Mind & Soul section, will be contributing a series of posts on how writers can master the art of the interview.

Interviews can add credibility to an article; they can also be the basis of an article, particularly in cases where the interview involves a high-profile subject like an author or a celebrity.

Many writers struggle when it comes to utilizing the information gleaned in an interview. And some writer's simply don't know how to present the interview in an SEO-friendly manner. Today, we'll take a look at the different ways to use an interview as the basis of an article, and we'll examine how to provide added credibility to an article using quotes from an interview.

Using an Interview as the Basis of an Article

You can also use an interview as the basis of an article in normal paragraph form, with a handful of bold, title case, keyword-centric subheadings.

When using this format for an interview, you'll begin by selecting a handful of quotations that you'd like to include in the piece. Then, you arrange the quotes in a logical order and "write around" the quotes, expanding upon ideas discussed in the quotes and creating segues between topics.

Quotes from an interview can also add interest and credibility to an article. Rather than writing an article about the interview, you can use one or two quotes from the interview in an article on a related topic.

Formatting an Interview – Q&A Articles

Web writers may be tempted to write up a Q&A-style article that's essentially a transcript of an interview. But this is rarely an SEO-friendly option because generally, these articles lack proper keywording. And when SEO is poor, there's a chance the article may end up on page 27 of the search engine results and this means that very few people will have an opportunity to read about your wonderful interview!

There are a few ways to improve keywording and overall SEO in a Q&A article.

One method involves using your interview questions as the subheading, try to keep the questions brief. You can also re-word your question and add vital keywords, creating an abridged version that can serve as a subheading; under that subheading; you'll use your original question in italics, followed by the interviewee's answer.

For brief questions and answers, group several questions under one subheading section. The subheading should contain essential keywords, while summing up the questions and answers that appear in the section. After the subheading, add a brief introduction to each section, and summarize the main highlights of the questions presented in that subheading section. Then, include two or three related questions and answers.

Introductions and Conclusions in Interview Articles

Remember that every article — including Q&A articles — must contain an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction will summarize the main points of the article, while addressing the who, what, when, where, why and how elements of the article. The conclusion should be approximately 100-150 words that reiterate the article's main points.

Check out next week's Limelight Blog post for more tips on how to secure interviews!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Suite101.com was happy to return to the Word on the Street National Book & Magazine Festival. For the past 15 years this festival has been held across Canada in Vancouver, BC; Kitchener, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; and Halifax, Nova Scotia with the goal of "promoting literacy throughout the community".

I can't believe it's been an entire year since Suite101.com was there last, but it really goes to show just how far we've come. Editor-in-Chief Colin Smith was there bright and early setting up the table and greeting writer hopefuls (and even a few fans!). He was joined by myself, Associate Editor Lima Al-Azzeh, and Managing Editor Emma Worbeck. We were delighted to have an opportunity to meet people face to face and talk about the opportunities we offer freelance writers.

What surprised me about this year's event was the amount of fresh, young faces looking for ways to push off their journalistic careers. These eager writers are looking for any opportunity to be published and preserve the power and importance of communicating via the written word. Newspapers may be dying, but young journalists are still searching for opportunities to practice their craft. We're happy to support these budding careers and hope to be a significant part of their experience and education.

This year also saw the exciting launch of "The Word on the Screen" an event that uses innovative technologies to bring readers the ultimate book signing experience. Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood read an excerpt form her latest novel The Year of the Flood via a live broadcast from Toronto. Readers in Vancouver, Kitchener, and Halifax were able to partake in a live Q&A session with the author through interactive video. Not only that, but Atwood was available to sign copies of the book using LongPen technology, an innovative way to transmit a genuine, personalized autograph from the author to the pages of the book. Atwood fans were also given the opportunity to engage with her through private video chats.

So it seems that as the years go by, literary festivals and organizations are recognizing the value of integrating online media and supporting their efforts equally to bring readers, and writers, together on a national and international scale. While print publications continue to survive this economic downturn, both readers and writers are seeking out more opportunities to share their knowledge.

That being said, it was a great privilege to sit alongside our fellow magazine editors and publishers. The Magazine Life tent hosted such wonderful publications as The Tyee, Event, and The Block magazine proving that print publications are as vital as ever.

Thanks to the BC Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) for hosting another successful event. We hope to be there spreading the word for many years to come.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

This is my last guest post about career and business advice for freelance writers. Kiss me, Hardy, here we go.

The #1 Rule of Business is GTM, Get The Money

Yes, Get The Money. If you aren't trying to make money, then you aren't in business. What you're doing may be satisfying and worthwhile, but business in the usual sense means "for profit".

How Does GTM Match "Follow Your Bliss"?

Earlier, I talked about being true to yourself and doing what you love. I believe that is the key to a balanced and fulfilling life. Writing for the love of it has a very important role in my own life, but much of that writing stays private and it doesn't pay the bills. Today, I'm talking about the part of your writing that you do for profit. That means, in a perfect world, combining some of the things you love and are good at, with the things that will sell.

Suite101 Wedding Style Feature Writer Annalise Kaylor took her enthusiasm and skill as a top-level makeup artist into her writing career, and then expanded the writing career by diligently studying the market and finding the tactics that work best for her. She's produced an e-book, Writing Online: Making Money and Residual Income With Online Content. At every turn, she's enthusiastic and, the reader senses, excited about writing.

The best business strategy begins with being clear about your objectives. As the saying goes, if you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there. Don't agonize over this. You can start with small objectives and work up, and you can adapt to changing circumstances. Suite101 Psychology Feature Writer Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen decided to become a full-time blogger after writing for a variety of print and online publications. Her four blogs, including Quips and Tips for Successful Writers, have lots of insightful advice about achieving different types of life goals.

Profit = Revenue - Expenses - Taxes

With apologies to all accountants, this is a very simple view of where profit comes from.

• Keep in mind that revenue, expenses and taxes each affect your profit. You should have an idea of their respective impacts on your personal situation.
• If you don't pay yourself the way you would an employee, your work time won't show up on your financial statements. Even so, treat it like an expense when you are figuring out your profitability.
• Don't chase unprofitable revenue opportunities.
• Do keep track of the time and the out-of-pocket expenses it costs you to do a job, and make sure you understand how profitable each job is.
• Limit your expenses.
• Reinvest in your business.
• Don't pay more tax than you have to!

I'm very grateful to the many Suite101 writers who have shared their writing and business tips with me. I wish I could quote each one personally. Several emphasized the importance of good record-keeping and analysis. They know which writing jobs are their most profitable and constantly choose the work that gives the best profit.

The Right Tools for the Job

To be a professional writer, you need a professional demeanour, and you should be equipped to do the job to a high standard with maximum efficiency. I consider it essential for a professional writer to have:

• a solid and growing command of written English
• accuracy in research and reporting
• the ability to write in an engaging way for your chosen audience.

Most writers today need:

• a Web presence (e.g. website, blog, Facebook page, though not necessarily all of these)
• a computer with a high-speed Internet connection
• a widely-used word processing program
• email
• a telephone number (unless you work entirely online) with voice mail.

Some writers also need:

• access to experts
• subject matter expertise or experience
• access to a library of reference books
• a travel and research budget.

Although there are more and more free services available online every day, such as Open Office, gmail, Blogger, and Skype, it still costs money and time to run a business.

Do you remember the tailor in Fiddler on the Roof? At the start of the story, he was sewing by hand. Then he bought a sewing machine, and suddenly he could sew much faster. That was a sensible investment. Make sure that you, too, have the right tools. Set aside some of your revenue to reinvest in the equipment and training you need to be as successful as possible. If you can't decide what to spend on, go for the the thing that will "pay for itself" fastest.

For information about a writing career, take a look at the Suite101 Writing & Publishing section. Many of the articles are by successful professional writers, like Janice Hally, the Feature Writer for Freelance Writing. Janice's online profile says she is "a Scottish screenwriter with more than 300 hours of prime-time television drama to her credit" and has written several books, shown in the writing credits section of her personal website.

For business information, try the Suite101 Business & Finance section. It's filled with advice for starting and running a business. Look for more free information where you live, starting with the public library and any government departments that support small business.

Be a smart, business-minded writer when you're doing it for the money.

Jill Browne

Posted by Suite101

Members of our editorial team are busting out of their offices this week to meet and mingle with writers face-to-face at two different events:

You can find Colin Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Suite101.com, this Sunday, September 27th, at the Word on the Street Festival located in downtown Vancouver just outside the Vancouver Public Library (Homer and Robson). Colin will be joined by Lima Al-Azzeh, Associate Editor, in the Magazine Life tent. Together they'll reconnect with Suite101 writers and readers living in Vancouver, and talk to potential writers about what it’s like to write for a trusted and respected--not to mention Canada's largest--online publisher.

Barbara Nicholson Bell, Suite101.com Plants & Animals Editor, will be attending the 61st Garden Writers of America Annual Symposium, Sept 23 - 26 in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’ll talk writing with current Suite writers and hopes to recruit new writers for her popular Plants & Animals section. Meet Barbara in the Author Signing Area, or e-mail her to catch-up in person. Can’t make it but curious about joining her section as a writer? Drop her a note to touch base: Barbara.bell@suite101.com

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

Editor Jill Browne discusses how freelance writers can become publishers using easy, low-cost tools.

One of the two trends in worldwide business that I was told about on Day 1 of MBA school, back in the Middle Ages, was disintermediation.

Thanks to the Internet, the Web, and an increasing variety of free and low-cost publishing tools, writers are running their own websites, blogs, and publishing empires. Does it work?

Remember the Small Town Newspaper Editor

I don't see a huge difference between the one-person website owners and bloggers of today, and the editor of my town's paper when the population was about 8,356. That gentleman was not just the editor in chief, but also the publisher, the ad sales department, the reporter, the copy editor, the sub editor, the department editor, the photographer, and he probably delivered a few bundles of papers on his way home. Other people helped, and I'm sure there was a pressman or two back behind the scenes, but I always had the feeling that the editor could do it all, and that frequently, he did.

With much less ink to stain the wretches, and an incredibly greater potential audience, anyone with a connection to the Internet can be just like that small town editor. The key ingredient is no middle men.

Some Writers Who Have Become Publishers

I'm going to rhyme off a few websites here because I think it's worth considering whether this type of activity might be the direction you'd like your career to go. You may love or hate it, but this "independent publisher" model is here to stay. In the listings below, the Alexa traffic rank is a measure of site popularity, with lower numbers being more popular.)

Problogger.net, (Alexa traffic rank 2,754), the blog of Darren Rowse from Australia, is a very popular source of advice for bloggers who want to make a living at it. Sniff around his site and see if you can figure out how he makes money. I know of two ways (the obvious ones): he runs ads on his pages, and he has published a book about blogging.

Type-A Mom (Alexa traffic rank about 142,300) is more than a website, it's becoming a culture. Kelby Carr, a Suite101.com writer, is behind it. I like the way Kelby has thrown herself into a niche about which she has such passion: Moms (or Mums to me). The Type-A Mom site is a one-person enterprise, but Kelby has set up the site to have more than one writer. In fact, many other writers contribute to Type-A Mom, and share the ad revenue. Next week, the first ever Type-A Mom Conference is happening in Asheville, North Carolina (September 24 to 26, 2009).

Kelby's strategy reminds me of the Canadian (print) magazine Cottage Life. (In Canada, a cottage is a holiday home.) The idea behind Cottage Life is not just to pass along information about cottage living, but to own the market. To this end, there is a magazine, a website, TV programs, a trade show, and a specific line of goods available for purchase. It strikes me that Type-A Mom is similar, but younger, and without the print magazine.

Fly Lady (Alexa traffic rank about 60,000) started as a mailing list group where the Fly Lady (a real person, Marla Cilley) gave advice on getting on top of clutter, disorganization and chaos in the home. The mailing list is still going, but now there's a website, a few books, a store, speaking engagements, and an online radio show. This began as one person and is still Marla and her associates speaking directly to their community of readers. Of the websites I've listed here, this one is the least "writerly", in that much of the communication is short directives about keeping life going on a good path. However, Marla writes essays almost daily to inspire the thousands of readers.

The Vacation Gals (Alexa rank about 212,900) is a travel site with a distinct voice and again, a well-defined niche. Two of the "Gals" are also Suite101 writers, Jennifer Miner and Kara Williams. They have pooled their talents to come up with a lively and entertaining site, again with no middle man between them and their readers.

Is owning and running a website as well as writing some or all of the content really what you want to do? That's a very personal question. Some people enjoy tinkering with HTML, graphic design, and all that computer stuff, and others (like me) hate it. The good news is, it's getting easier and easier to find affordable ways to have a website designed and maintained for you, and still be the person in control.

A final thought: some writers sniff at those who take the indie road and become their own publisher. I would say that is putting form over substance. After all, that small town newspaper editor was a literate, informed writer, even though he also did the heavy lifting.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

On September 1st 2009, Suite101 writers were challenged to cover the news without covering the news. The criteria involved using a recent piece of news coverage to inspire an article idea that would be searched for years to come.

We saw an overwhelming number of entries from Suite101 writers who were eager to share their knowledge and expertise in fields spanning from Business & Finance to Food & Drink.

Over the past few days, Suite101 Editor-in-Chief Colin Smith had the daunting task of sifting through these entries. Without further ado, here are your challenge winners:

"I am very pleased to announce the winners of the 'Covering the News without Covering the News' Writers Challenge for September. There were so many truly impressive articles submitted in the past two weeks, I was hard pressed to pick just two winners. So I have picked four winners! Congratulations to Victoria Anisman-Reiner, Susan Lynne Hamilton, Jenny Evans, and Christine Welter. I look forward to reading more articles from these Suite101 writers."

What is a Superbug? by Victoria Anisman-Reiner

Sardines - A Healthy, Sustainable Seafood Choice by Susan Lynne Hamilton

What is a Hermaphrodite? by Jenny Evans

Congo "Conflict Minerals" Fuel Brutal Civil War by Christine Welter

Posted by Colin Smith

Hello Everyone

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

Editor Jill Browne offers further career advice for freelance writers ...

Successful freelance writers build on a solid knowledge base to develop one or more subject matter niches, and then they diversify their markets.

In response to the fear that globalization and the availability of cheap content will take away paying writing opportunities from freelancers who can't compete on price, I suggested in an earlier blog that localization is a good strategy. It builds on the old advice, "Write what you know", and on a more spiritual level, Joseph Campbell's "Follow your bliss."

Where the rubber hits the road is always in the "how". How can you competitively write what you know? Isn't it dangerous to put all your eggs in one basket?

A Travel Writer Adds His Own Travel Websites

Here's what some successful online freelancers have to say. These writers write for Suite101 but that is not their only market.

"I wish I'd got into writing for the internet even sooner than I did, and started building up my websites, although where I would have found the time, I don't know."

– Mike Gerrard,Suite101.com Feature Writer for U.K. and Ireland Travel

Websites: Mike Gerrard, Travel Writer and Photographer

and http://www.pacific-coast-highway-travel.com

Mike has written or contributed to over 30 guidebooks including the National Geographic Traveler Guide to Greece, Top Ten Paris (Doris Kindersley), and The Traveler's Atlas to Europe (Barron's).

Mike knows his subject area and has been continually expanding the outlets for his work. He has chosen to own his own websites as well as writing for others. This is a common strategy used by successful writers.

DIY Expert Makes Money Writing About Home Renovations

"I have four blogs... I would suggest having multiple, multiple streams of income. This is much more important as more of the industry shifts from paper to online."

– Kelly Smith, Suite101.com Feature Writer for Home Renovation / Repair

Website: http://www.icanfixupmyhome.com

Kelly Smith is also a subject matter expert. Being a qualified carpenter, he speaks with knowledge and credibility about fixing things around the house, do-it-yourself, and how to be an informed consumer in the home renos market. Kelly has also worked hard to understand the many potential income streams available to writers and web owners.

For example, some websites, like Suite101, get their revenues from Google Ads, a program that is widely available to writers. Others use affiliate links to sell products on commission. Others sell ads directly to businesses. There are many advertising and affiliate programs available to choose from. Often a writer needs to have an established website or blog to make these work. That's a good reason to get started with an online presence early.

Guidebook Author Has Online and Print Markets

Karen Berger is an established author of guidebooks on two very different topics: hiking and piano. She too preaches diversification, but within the markets where you have the advantage of knowing the topic.

"My first piece of advice: Diversify, and try to avoid having one income stream be more than 25 percent of your income. Diversify by media type as much as possible, and by specific market. I personally believe in specializing – IF you have a topic area you can truly claim an expertise in . But realize you can parlay this specailty across the board, into working for different types of media and markets."

– Karen Berger, Suite101.com Feature Writer for Volunteer & Eco Adventures

Website: CreateWorkLive

Author of 13 books, including Backpacking and Hiking: An Eyewitness Companion(DK, 2005) and The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Piano Chords(Alpha/Penguin, 2007).

Freelancers Should Diversify Wisely

And finally, these words from Miranda Miller, Suite101.com Feature Writer for E-Commerce

Website: Adventures in Online Writing

"My advice is to find a niche and not try to be everything to everyone. I think diversity in where you find work is important, but belonging to too many sites can create extra paperwork and hassle. Be willing to give different strategies an honest shot, but know when to cut the cord and move on to something else.

I think it's important to have a variety of different TYPES of work coming in... Suite101 is good for creating long term, residual income. Elance and sites like it are good for picking up casual work. Having your own website is important for building an online business presence and professionalism. The higher pay rate offered by many print or industry-specific publications can help create enough income to make it full-time."

So, what the writers are saying and doing includes diversifying by subject, but sticking to subjects they know and love. Mike writes about Greece, the U.K., and the U.S. Pacific Coast. Karen covers adventure travel and music. Diversify by the type of income, as Miranda and Kelly say, mixing work that pays up front with work that pays as a stream of income over time. Diversify by the type of work: blogs, websites, books, ghostwriting, newspapers, magazines, your own websites – each holds a different type of opportunity.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

For a lot of online writers, learning to write for the web is one thing; learning to promote their writing via the web is another. Maria Schneider, former Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest magazine and founder of the blog Editor Unleashed, has recently written about this topic—specifically about her successful attempts at using different social media tools as a writer and as an editor.

We spoke to Maria about how writers can benefit from using tools like personal blogs and Twitter.

Suite101: A lot of Suite101 writers are looking at ways to use Twitter to promote their online writing. Any tips you can share from your own experience?

Maria: Absolutely, I am a huge fan of Twitter for writers. It's the kind of low- key, conversational marketing that most writers can do well with. The thing I like about Twitter is that being sales-y and overly promotional is considered bad form and definitely won't get you the results you want. The way to succeed on Twitter is by offering information that's relevant to your niche.

Twitter is a long-term commitment though. I've been writing 10 or more tweets a day for almost 10 months now. And it's almost always links that are relevant to the niche I cover-the writing and publishing industry from the writer's perspective. If you do that consistently, you earn the right to promote your own blog posts as a part of that mix and that's when you'll start to see a following develop from Twitter.

On any given day about 20% of my site's traffic comes from Twitter. I hear all the time from people who find my site through Twitter and have become regulars. I've seen other writers and Bloggers succeed this way on Twitter too.

Suite101: At Editor Unleashed you've just done a poll about best writing blogs. What have you found in the process? In your opinion, how far have writing blogs come since their early days?

Maria: There are so many more quality writing blogs and online resources for writers that have sprung up in the past few years, it's stunning. I wrote one of the first print magazine articles about blogs, back in 2001 for the now defunct Personal Journaling magazine. Blogging was definitely a weird, fringe concept for people to embrace at the time. Back then blogs were primarily used as journaling vehicles.

Now, of course, we've seen blogs go completely mainstream, and it makes sense because really a blog can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a diary, a news source, or a magazine-style resource for people who are interested in a particular niche, among other things.

But writing blogs in particular have really come far in the past few years. I think the fact that writers have been taught never to write without being paid has held them back from the blog movement, unfortunately. Lately, though, I've noticed a lot of writers realizing that blogging is the absolute best way to promote their work, and some great blogs are springing up.

Read more from Maria at her blog Editor Unleashed, or follow her on Twitter @mariaschneider.

And of course, you can follow Suite101's editorial team on Twitter @Suite101

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

I'm happy to introduce Jill Browne, Editor of Suite101.com's Outdoor & Recreation and Science & Nature sections. Jill will be guest blogging this month with a series of posts offering business and career advice for writers. Over to you, Jill ...

I hope you will forgive me for dipping into my MBA kit bag. I invested a lot of my life in learning to be a better business advisor and now I am determined to inflict it on you.

Competing in a Commodity Market

On Day 1 of MBA school in 1997, one of the University of Calgary's most respected business professors, Dr. Robert Schulz told us, "There are two trends you will find very influential in the upcoming years: globalization and disintermediation."

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Twelve years later, here I am, looking back and thinking about just how right Dr. Schulz was.

Thanks to globalization, any writer in the world with an Internet connection can reach the same markets as you can. Many good (and not so good) writers live where a dollar goes far. They can charge less than you can. Can you compete with them? Should you?

It rarely makes sense to compete in a commodity market.

Commodity writing is writing delivered by the bucket full, something almost anyone can churn out. It's nothing special, just a lot of words taking up space on a screen. Sometimes it doesn't even make sense.

Write What You Know

Remember the advice, "Write what you know"? It's more true today than ever. In contrast to commodity writing, it's the original voice, the eye for detail, the command of the topic and the ability to speak with authority that deliver value to the reader. A content mill cannot compete with that. Nor can a great writer, if he's never seen what you see, never done what you've done, and never cared about the subject the way you do.

Almost every day in my work as an online editor, I read at least one article about fishing. I don't fish. The best I can say is that I really like the places where fishing happens. And yet, I find myself drawn into the fishing articles because there are some writers who make me want to be there. How do the writers do that, in a little 500-word piece.?

It's simple. They write what they know.

Find Your Bliss, Localize Your Content

The person who said this best was Joseph Campbell, the renowned scholar of mythology and legend. His advice was, "Follow your bliss".

Yes, follow your bliss to your niche, to what you know and care about. Then you will stand out. Instead of globalization, practice localization. It could be geographically local, writing about the place where you live. It might be intellectually local, covering the subjects that you know more about than most people do. It could be both. But be yourself, do what you love, and write what you know.

You can follow Jill Browne on Twitter @jillbrowne.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

The secret is out! We’re thrilled to congratulate Lena Gott, Feature Writer at Suite101.com for setting a new record for monthly earnings at Suite101.com. During the month of July, Lena’s articles earned her revenues of $4,940.77US—the most money earned by a writer in a one-month period since Suite101.com launched in 1996.

Congratulations Lena!! (The the official news release is posted here.) For all you writers asking HOW she did it, here are some tips from Lena herself:

Suite101: How long have you been writing for Suite101?

LG: Since late 2007, so almost 2 years.

Suite101: Where do you live? How old are you? (if you don't mind me asking!)

LG: I live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area; 29 years old.

Suite101: Is Suite a PT job, a hobby, or a full time one? What other things do you do?

LG: Suite101 is definitely a real part-time job for me. I try to devote at least 15 hours per week to researching and writing articles. I would do more, but I am a stay-at-home mom and have others jobs as well. I’m a CPA and currently teach for Axia College of the University of Phoenix . I also own a jewelry business, Milan Jewelry Design.

Suite101: What kind of writer would you describe yourself as? Why?

LG: This is a weird question for me because I never thought I’d be a writer! I suppose I like to write to inform or teach. I want each of my readers to learn helpful information from my articles, whether it’s important details about new tax law, how to save money, or just where to find a useful family budgeting spreadsheet.

Suite101: How do you find story ideas?

LG: I only write articles on subjects I enjoy studying, so my article ideas primarily come from my personal interests. But instead of writing only what I know, I try to put myself in another person’s shoes and ask myself, “what do I need to know about X topic?” Once I decide on a topic, I check for similar information online; if I find that the topic is pretty well covered, then I try to find another angle to write about. I prefer to provide information that’s not already well covered; that way I’m not competing with so many other writers or websites to get web traffic. Once I write one article on a particular topic, I branch out from there until I feel like I’ve exhausted the topic (or become burnt out on it!).

Suite101: How many published articles do you have on Suite101?

LG: 228 as of today. I aim to add 5 to 8 new articles per week. I’d say at least a third of time I devote to Suite101 each week is spent researching topics and keywords, not writing.

Suite101: Do you write for other sites too?

LG: No – I signed up for eHow and Demand Studios, but I’ve yet to contribute anything to either site! ;)

Suite101: Can you tell me the top articles that earned you such high revenue share in July?

LG: I thought I knew for sure, but now I’m not so sure. I can probably attribute much of my July earnings to Cash for Clunkers, but now that the program is over and the page views on those articles have plummeted, my revenue has not taken a proportionate plunge, so I really don’t know! I strongly believe that writing in “article clouds,” or webs, and interlinking the related articles results in higher revenue. For the same amount of work, you get more page views because every article has the ability to drive page views to several related pieces, fulfilling the reader’s search for more information.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

A few weeks ago, Colin Smith, our Editor in Chief at Suite101.com, quietly congratulated the Suite101 writer who earned $5k during the month of July.

Since then, the online writing community has been buzzing with wonder and amazement--and more than a little bit of disbelief! Is it possible? Are earnings like that achievable? How did the online writer do it? And of course...WHO IS IT?!!

I thought I would join the conversation and confirm that yes, it's true. In fact, we're hoping to chat with the writer in person here on the blog in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for that post. It should be a great chat, and a fun way to satisfy the doubters. But more importantly--it will also be a chance to learn valuable insider tips about how to achieve truly fantastic monthly earnings by writing for Suite101.com.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

A year ago, if somebody had told June Smith that an online writing gig could lead to qualifying for a press pass to interview her favourite American Idol contestant, she would have politely laughed in disbelief.

Now, Smith is basking in the excitement of not only having interviewed her favourite contestant (Danny Gokey) she can also keep an eye on his day-to-day proceedings now that he added her to Facebook.

A few months ago, Smith noticed a discussion in the Suite101 writer forums about securing press passes for various events. Jokingly, she commented that writers should "aim high" and apply for passes to "Dancing with the Stars" or even "American Idol" when she received an encouraging comment from Section Editor Mia Carter saying she should go ahead and do just that.

Smith found herself pursuing the opportunity like it was a part-time job, even when there was only one week left before the Idol tour actually hit her hometown. With optimism, she contacted the venue's PR office who had initially sent her request for a press pass to the tour office. They happily sent her the tour office's email contact so that she could follow up on her request. A few days later, Smith received an invitation to the Idol press hour.

"I was amazed, shocked and thrilled, but still felt I deserved the pass (only one) because of Suite's huge following", remarked Smith.

To prepare for the interviews, Smith asked her fellow Suite101 writers for some tips among which "learn and practice some style of shorthand beforehand" and "wear comfortable shoes" were of high priority. Smith also adds that learning to compile a list of open-ended questions will help any interviewer be able to handle a digression in topic and maintain the flow of the interview. Also, Smith recommends that the interviewer set him or herself apart by doing something unique during the interview. Her approach? Reminding all Idol contestants to "Be sure to eat all their vegetables" while on tour.

Find out more about American Idol Winner Kris Allen and read a review of the Idol San Jose Live Tour.

Posted by Colin Smith

Hello Readers,

My name is Colin Smith and I'm proud to be the Editor-in-Chief for Suite101.com: our company's flagship website and home to thousands of professional writers.

Despite the fact I've been in the driver's seat since last December, this is my first appearance in the Limelight. Typically, I work behind the scenes with my esteemed colleagues to make Suite101 the best place online for freelance writers and journalists. This week at Suite has been particularly exciting and inspirational, so I felt it was high time to share my thoughts about Suite101 in public.

First and foremost, I love my job. I love the challenge, the opportunity and the simple fact I get paid to help support a stellar community of writers who respect the craft. Writing is a fantastic career choice and a fascinating hobby. Writers are curious people by nature and there are literally millions of things to write about. It's the kind of occupation that inspires creativity and rewards the intellect.

In the 1980s and 1990s, I was a freelance writer who penned many hundreds of articles for print: newspapers, magazines, trade papers – you name it, I probably tried to write for it. It was an exciting and challenging time of my life but my choice of career was not one that typically leads to fame and fortune. Despite the fact I pitched stories to editors all over North America, spent countless hours doing interviews on the phone and faxed miles of queries to every publication on the planet, I never managed to get rich.

I might have earned precious little income during that period but despite the myriad challenges associated with self-employment, I would do it all over again. The difference today – the huge advantage that all freelance writers enjoy today – is the power of the Internet. Communication, research, writing, editing and publishing tasks are so much easier to complete in 2009 than back in 1989! It's much less expensive to operate a freelance writing business now, too. But the most significant "leg up" for freelance writers today is the freedom to publish their own work online, and earn revenue, in a completely independent fashion.

Writers at Suite101, for example, are able to write about practically anything they want and instead of "pitching" story ideas to editors, they are in charge. Ye olde print model remains an attractive option for many writers but web writing has turned the publishing world right-side up. Writers are free to do their own thing at Suite101, but they also get invaluable support from a crack team of editorial staff, technologists and business professionals. For free! All the while, they are crafting articles that earn them a share of the advertising revenue associated with each story. That's a sweet set-up.

For example, this week a Suite101 writer set a company record for monthly earnings when it was reported s/he earned almost $5,000 USD in July. That is truly a phenomenal figure and Suite101's writers' forums are abuzz with comments, but the most significant part of the conversation boils down to this: "If that writer can do it, then so can I".

All Suite101 writers start out earning small amounts of money but over time, the earnings can really escalate – depending on what you write about, how well the articles are written and how many articles are produced. Time is on the writer's side at Suite101 because the longer a writer remains committed to the craft, the greater the potential reward. Many Suite101 writers earn hundreds of dollars a month, every month, based on our residual payment plan. Not everyone will be able to claim $5000 in a single month but it's possible.

I try to imagine what kind of success I might have enjoyed had a Suite101 been around in the 1980s. Perhaps I'd be officially "retired" by now and writing articles from a beach in St. Kitts! A man can dream, right? Well I'm seeing writers' dreams come true all the time lately and it's my great privilege to be part of a team devoted entirely to supporting a writer's career, every step along the way.

Suite101 affords writers great long-term revenue potential, the opportunity to be read by millions of readers and rub virtual elbows with some of the best writers-editors in the business. If you want to elevate your career and advance your skills as a professional writer, then I can't think of a better place to be than right here, right now.

Cheers!

Colin Smith, Editor-in-Chief

colin.smith@suite101.com

Suite101.com

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

With the sun shining and and the beach beckoning- who would want to spend time indoors plugging away on their laptops? According to recent results, it's apparent that Suite101 writers wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

July 2009 shows a record breaking month in revenue earnings for writers with an average of $3.90 USD paid per 1,000 pageviews and the highest earner receiving over $4,900 USD!

Congratulations to our writers for all their hard work and dedication- looks like it's really paying off.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The appeal of a freelance writing career is often attributed to the fact that writers can write in any location, at any time. However, most laptops aren't quite equipped to be used while sitting on a sunny patio enjoying the summer sun. Enter the LapDome, a most interesting solution to this common problem.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Julie Burtinshaw, Editor of the Reading & Literature and Writing & Publishing sections on Suite101, was recently told that her latest YA novel, The Perfect Cut, will be appearing in The Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books 09 Edition.

Burtinshaw is the respected author of many children's books and young adult books including such novels as The Perfect Cut, Adrift, and The Freedom of Jenny which was nominated for a Stellar Book Award. When she's not writing her next novel, or editing articles for Suite101, Burtinshaw hosts workshops across Canada that are targeted towards fostering a love of reading and writing in teens.

Congratulations to Ms. Burtinshaw for this recognition, we're proud to have her as a part of the Suite101 team.

To find out more about Julie Burtinshaw visit her Suite101 profile or her blog.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

"I sometimes see us more like a service to writers than just a publication. We want to make them successful," said Suite101 CEO Peter Berger in a recent article with industry website, Publishing Perspectives.

The article focuses on Suite101's commitment to its community of writers and experts. Though other content sites cater particularly to the needs of the reader, here at Suite we understand that in order to build a readership, we have to start by building great writers. Providing professional editorial assistance and educational material are two ways we try to do this.

Thanks to the success of our dedicated writers, Suite101 can now afford this opportunity to writers on an international scale. The German version of Suite101 (Suite101.de) continues to see increasing success. Watch this space (and follow us on Twitter at @Suite101) for more news about our upcoming European launches.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Writing for online freelance writing sites can often feel like playing a game of "Goldilocks". Some places just don't fit, while others are just right. Jennifer Walker, an experienced freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous places both online and off,recently shared the results of her own comparison. Walker's list includes popular sites such as Associated Content, Examiner.com, Helium, eHow and Suite101. To find out the results of this comparison check out her blog post over at "Jennifer Gets Bloggy".

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Chris McLaughlin never thought she’d land a book deal through her online writing. Now, not only does McLaughlin have a whole portfolio of online articles, she has landed a dream book deal thanks to some of her “Suite” friends.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The concept of revenue share has been the cause of much skepticism in the online industry. But as "Masthead Online" discovered in their article, Suite101 is one of the few companies that has capitalized on the opportunity to build "a business around Google Ads" and met with great success!

Posted by Mark Magnusson

Recently I attended Convergence 2009 hosted by CossetteWest. Convergence is a conference that brings together thought leaders in marketing to focus on emerging trends in digital media.

Some of the key digerati included Barack Obama’s Campaign Manager, Lululemon’s Community Manager, Warner Brothers' VP of Technology, and Manager of the multi-platinum band “The Killers”. All of these speakers had a very common thread when leveraging social media:

• Have a solid strategy and stick to it.
• Understand your audience.
• Share your brand story.
• Be tactically transparent.
• Engage in authentic conversation.
• Know your key brand influencers.

The keynote speaker was David Plouffe, the Campaign Manager and the "silent" force of Barack Obama’s presidential victory. During that two year journey there was a groundswell of support that reached inside communities and tapped into young voters like never before. Mr. Plouffe, a rockstar in his own right, leveraged social media to bring a bottom-up message of "change" that rocked his boss all the way to the White House. Even at one point in his speech, to make a point, he pumped up his hand with the rock-hand gesture.

Plouffe leveraged the core principles of crowdsourcing: taking tasks traditionally performed by employees, contractors, and vendors and outsourcing or relinquishing control to a larger online audience – the crowd.

Voters participated on YouTube generating videos for the campaign, like "Obama Girl" or Facebook fan pages. The Obama campaign attributes its success to the people and not to technology alone. In other words, as Plouffe said, "the people are the train, we’re just the caboose."

Technology such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr allowed the Obama campaign to have touch points for the conversations at a very grassroots level. A key ingredient is empathizing with your audience and their needs through authentic dialogue. Building trust with people requires a bottom-up approach, where influencers in every community are empowered to have a stronger voice and reach out to their constituents.

The power of reaching out to audiences at a grass roots level can especially work in fundraising efforts. As Plouffe noted, this kind of outreach encourages community participation; fundraising efforts then became successful as voters felt privileged enough to be a part of the process that they made multiple small contributions. I can see how facilitating a sense of pride in the process can lead to extraordinary results.

The Social Media phenomenon is not just limited to the "Obama factor". I like to compare it to an audience of die-hard rock fans; the outpouring of genuine thrill can’t be faked. Indeed, Plouffe said a similar thing about voters, "You can’t fabricate the enthusiasm or passion of people!"

What this comes down to is that whether you’re a musician, a politician or a business, the secret lies in people. The technology is only secondary. I think there’s a misconception that the focus of marketing efforts is to continue shouting down the marketing funnel, when in reality the most successful efforts require a much simpler approach: authenticity, transparency, listening and participation.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Recently Britta Stromeyer Esmail was invited to join our league of Suite101 Dual Citizens. I asked her to weigh in on the cultural differences she anticipates encountering as a writer for Suite101.com (English) and Suite101.de (German). Here are her insights:

“I’d say that a lot of German writing probably has more of an academic undertone as many writers and journalists have graduate degrees. When writing specifically about diversity and cross-cultural management, which is one of my expertise areas, the emphasis of the article will vary.

For example, in North America diversity issues frequently have a greater emphasis on ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. In the European context the emphasis is more on gender diversity and maybe to some degree on generational diversity but there is less focus on ethnic diversity.

Another cultural difference that will affect my writing approach for .de versus .com is the difference in social structure between German culture and American culture. German businesses are more task oriented while American businesses seem to be results oriented. This means that I have to adjust some of my writing to either emphasize the ‘how’ angle, which will appeal to German audiences, as opposed to the ‘why’ angle, which is more important to American audiences. “

We’d like to extend a big thank you to our Suite101 Dual Citizens and welcome Britta to this growing team!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

If you haven’t already seen our “Tweet” then you’ve missed out! Suite101 received a glowing review from dedicated freelance writer Willow Sidhe.

Sidhe, freelance writing expert and herbal enthusiast, is the creator of “The Freelance Home Writer”; a blog she created because she “was tired of wading through the plethora of websites out there that promise to provide resources and freelance writers jobs”.

Playing the role of guinea pig, Sidhe researches these sites by actively becoming a writer for them and then sharing her experiences with her readership. If it sounds like a scam, she’ll tell you- this writer has nothing to hide.

Thanks for the great review Willow! We hope Suite will continue to provide you with a positive, not to mention lucrative, freelance writing experience.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

You don’t need a passport to become a Suite101 dual citizen, just the ability to write for two popular content sites in two different languages!

Meet Monika Fuchs, Renate Oetjens and Simone Preuss – three writers who relish the challenge of writing for Suite101.com and its German counterpart Suite101.de. Apart from balancing a heavier workload, these writers share some interesting insights on the cultural differences between writing for European and North American audiences.

Fuchs and her colleagues maintain that there is "a difference in subjects that interest the readers."

Preuss explains that a large reason for this is the difference in acceptable social norms and behaviors in each region. Sensitive issues such as sexuality are discussed more openly among European audiences than in North America.

“What might be considered okay in the German context may be deemed completely inappropriate in North America.”

Likewise, travel writer Fuchs faces similar challenges in her efforts to research topics that will provide both audiences with the detailed, specific information they are searching for.

“It is hard to find subjects for both .com and .de that all my readers are familiar enough with to search for. The readers of the English version are clearly much more familiar with subjects concerning American and Canadian travel and thus these articles get a much higher click rate on .com. On the other hand, articles on European travel destinations are much more familiar to European readers.”

So what’s the solution to writing for two vastly different cultural audiences? Oetjens simply takes a moment to assess her topic and ask: “is it good for .de or .com or for both? Using it for both means making the most of your knowledge and research. But you have to come to terms with the fact that some topics are not of universal interest.”

Oetjens points out that Suite101’s dual citizens are not dealing with a simple matter of translating texts; rather, if there happens to be a topic that works well on both sites, they must take the added step of rewriting the articles “possibly emphasizing different aspects.”

Indeed, these writers must take additional care in their writing to assess not only the differences in languages but also the differing needs and concerns of each cultural background. So, while no passports have been issued, these three writers certainly deserve to hold the title of Suite101 Dual Citizens.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Now that you know how to conduct an interview with a subject matter expert, what do you do if that expert isn’t physically there to participate in the interview? Lisa Nichols, editor of the “Business & Finance” section here at Suite101 shares some tips on interviewing SMEs from out of town.

“Let’s say you’ve got a great opportunity to interview a subject matter expert, but she’s in London and you’re in Arkansas. Can you organize and effectively interview an out-of-town SME? Most definitely – Suite writers are conducting interviews all the time with SMEs located in other towns, states or countries.

Consider the following to get the interview you want from an out-of-town SME:

If you have a computer and a microphone (available beginning at about $8 at office supplies stores), and your SME has the same, you can conduct the interview using Skype.

If the first option isn’t an option, you can use AIM or one of the other chat programs to conduct an online interview. Be sure to change your settings to save your IM logs.

If computer-to-computer calls and IMing isn’t an option, consider email. This method of interviewing can be truly advantageous, as it has been many times for our own Suite writers.

Let the SME know upfront that it may take a couple of back-and-forth communication to the get the information you need. List your top questions, number them, and ask that the SME respond in kind, with a numbered list of answers.”

Stay tuned for more great tips from Lisa Nichols and some examples of the best SME interviews conducted by our Suite101 writers.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Suite101.com writers have produced a bounty of wonderful gift ideas designed to celebrate every kind of mom on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10, 2009). Suite101 articles range from practical gift ideas for the “travel mom” junkie, to sympathetic gifts for expecting mums, to special gift ideas celebrating birth mothers and grandmothers.

Here are some ideas on how to celebrate the special mom in your life:

• Mother’s Day in A Blended Family

• Mothers Day Gifts for Twin Moms

• Mother’s Day Gifts for Travel Moms

• Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Grandmothers

• Best Gift Ideas for a New Mom on Mother’s Day

• Mother’s Day Gifts for Expectant Mums

• Mother’s Day Gifts for Stay-at-Home Mums

• Celebrating Birth Mothers Day (Saturday, May 9th, 2009)

Happy Mother's Day from the staff at Suite101.com

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Last week, Business & Finance Section Editor Lisa Nichols shared with us some valuable insights on how to get the interview you want when you don’t know what to write about. This week, Lisa follows up this advice by giving us tips on how to approach an interview when you’ve already decided on what you’d like to write about.

“Scenario #2 How to Get the Interview You Want: You Know What You Want to Write about Already.

A more efficient way to approach an interview is to have a specific idea in mind of what you want to write about before you contact the subject matter expert (SME).

I usually approach it like this: write the article and then leave some spots that say ‘insert quote here.’ Contact the subject matter expert and let them know the angle of your article when you set up the interview. During the interview, ask questions that will help you fill in the blanks in your article. This is more than fine to do and in fact it’s expected – SMEs are wise to the fact that you have an angle and they’re usually more than willing to work themselves into your writing however you see fit.

It’s a simple way to approach getting the interview you want – and it works.

Since I posted the first interview tip on the Suite101 writers' forum, some Suite members kindly stepped up to the ‘share your favorite interview tip’ plate and offered some additional thoughts on interviewing SMEs.

Mia Carter, Suite101’s Mind & Soul Editor, suggests that writers ‘learn how to take notes at the speed that people speak. This will make your life so much easier. You can practice while watching TV, especially if you have DVR, which allows you to rewind if you want to check your accuracy.’

Christiane Birkett, Suite101’s Eastern Europe Travel Feature Writer, often finds interviewing SMEs challenging since they frequently speak different languages! Christiane shared her favorite tip for getting the interview she needs: ‘I compiled an interview sheet – three pages of standard questions with big gaps between them for the answers. I find that people really like that because it's so very professional. It's also a reminder to me not to forget important questions!’”

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Lisa Nichols, Section Editor for Business & Finance at Suite101, recently shared some tips on how to “Get the Interview You Want” over in the writers’ forum. We’ve asked her to share her expertise on this matter right here in the Limelight Blog. Over to you Lisa!

“If you’ve been going along, writing informative articles, you’ve got house style down to a T, and you’re feeling good about your SEO efforts, congratulations! Consider stretching yourself as a writer and exploring new territory by conducting interviews with industry experts.

When you need to interview someone for a print or online magazine, getting the information you need out of your subject can be tricky – if not downright impossible. I’ll be sharing a few tips on how to handle certain interviewer/interviewee scenarios in this short series.

Scenario #1 How to Get the Interview You Want: When You’re Not Sure What You’re Going to Write.

This situation happens all the time, It’s perhaps not the most efficient or ideal way to interview someone, but here’s a tip on how to get the information you need.

‘John, I understand that your role in the junk bond scandal was pivotal to many of the high profile arrests in the late 80’s. I’d like to ask you some questions about that time period. But first, why don’t you just tell me what happened in your own words. I think that will answer a lot of my questions. And then if I need more information, I’ll follow up with questions after you’re done.’

Then, I take notes like mad the whole time they're talking. If I’m interviewing them in person, I assure the subject that they shouldn’t worry about my frenetic writing; I’ll only use pertinent information in the magazine. If we’re on the phone, I’ll turn on the speaker and just keep writing.

Usually, when you give people the opportunity to speak, they’ll talk. And talk and talk and talk. So this method is a little madcap, but it should get you the key points you need for your article.

When I’m interviewing a subject for an article, I usually already know what I want to write about. A simple outline is all you need to stay on track and to prevent cumbersome follow-up calls and emails. And if your subject matter expert is light on details, you can go back and ask them topic-specific questions, to lead them in the right direction.”

Stay tuned for more of Lisa’s helpful tips and scenarios on how to “Get the Interview You Want” right here in the Limelight Blog.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Suite101 is everywhere! Or at least this seems to be the case with our writers who attend numerous conferences, trade shows and exhibits about everything to do with journalism, writing, and publishing. We’ve invited some of our writers to chime in here on the Limelight Blog to tell us about their experiences.

Beverly Hill, Hobbies Feature Writer, shares with us her experience at this year’s Emerald Coast Writers Conference:

“I got the opportunity to attend the 6th Annual Emerald Coast Writers Conference in Fort Walton Beach, Florida this year, and was pleasantly surprised by what I experienced, hence the article ‘What to Expect at a Writer's Conference.’

If you're a writer trying to break into the industry, you can learn a lot at one of these conferences and I highly recommend it. I had the opportunity to mingle and talk with agents, publishers, aspiring writers and established authors, all of whom were personable and very east to talk to. In fact, I became fast friends with one author who turned out to be from my home town, and I also made a number of new local friends at the conference.

Among some of the people that I got the chance to talk to was best-selling author, Stephen Coonts. With 15 New York Times best sellers under his belt – including his 1986 novel Flight of the Intruder, which resulted in a 1991 movie of the same name – Coonts had a wealth of information to share with everyone at the conference and was even around later that afternoon to sign autographs.

Attending the workshops and talking to fellow writers is a great way of getting your head out of a current project and interjecting it with some fresh ideas. There's a part in one of my 'works-in-progress' novels that I've been stuck on for some time, and I now have the tools that I need in order for my hero to save the day.

For the amount of information that I came away with, attending the writers’ conference was definitely worth it. I certainly look forward to the next one.”

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to turn to an online magazine for tips, tricks, and tools on how to "Green" your life. Our Suite101 writers, who range from city-slickers to tree-huggers, share some great ideas on how to conserve energy whether at home or on the go.

Check out these six eco-savvy articles:

• Spruce up communities by building green spaces.

• Shop for natural, non-harmful cleaning products to use at home.

• Organize community events around protecting the environment.

• Consider an Electric Bike to save energy and money.

• Save Gas by Driving Green.

• Travel the Eco-Way by researching eco-friendly hotels before planning a vacation.

And remember, don't print this list when you're done!

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Twitter’s increasing popularity gives way to new opportunities for creating Web apps. Enter Tweetdeck , Twhirl, and Hootsuite – three desktop Twitter tools that make it easy for users to organize and search their Twitter following. Which one will be crowned the ideal tool for Twittering? Time (and Twitter) will tell.

Posted by Emma Worbeck

Suite101 launched its Twitter profile in February 2009 to share our editorial musings with our social-media savvy writers and readers. The response has been positive: we're gaining an ever-increasing following and are enjoying the opportunity to connect with our audience on a more personal level.

David Wetzel, Feature Writer for Continuing Education, shares his thoughts on how Twitter can also be advantageous as a way to connect in other work environments.

“Twitter is a Web 2.0 tool teachers can use to support teaching and learning, 140 characters at a time. Twitter works best when teachers or students organize a trusted network of other teachers and students to share information and collect data.

The value of Twitter is real-time networking for teachers, by allowing teachers to communicate beyond their classroom walls for support from other educators. This can occur when a teacher requests assistance for curriculum support or shares a teachable moment with colleagues.

One example of how students used Twitter was writing a collaborative story with other students around the world and country. This was a progressive writing exercise where students agreed to take turns contributing to the story.

Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter, stated in an interview with Steven Colbert, ‘Twitter is the service we didn’t know we needed until we had it.’ (Steven Colbert Show, April 2, 2009)

Using Twitter to Break Down Classroom Isolation provides additional information and applications of Twitter in education.”

Posted by Peter Berger

...and here is further proof that the web loves great writing: A year ago, we were #5, and today we surpassed the CBC (ranked by global traffic). We are now officially Canada's largest original content website!

Here are the top 5:

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/suite101.com

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/cbc.ca

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/canoe.ca

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/canada.com

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/thestar.com

Happy Easter egg hunting to you all...

Posted by Peter Berger

“Why don't you pay me upfront per article?"

Writers who join our team often ask us why we pay royalties (aka "revenue sharing") and not upfront, per-article fees like many other media. This is a great question, and I love to share the answer because we really do this for the benefit of our writers.

• We don't want to underpay. The revenues an article will generate are not easily predictable. Online publications that offer flat, per-article fees have to pay conservatively and can only offer a handful of dollars per article so they can stay on the safe side (and pocket the long-term upside). We don't want to do that—successful articles deserve successful payment.
• We care for good articles, income or not. While some writers' objective is to attract a large audience or significant revenues, other writers have joined Suite101 for its quality-minded reputation and want to write articles on topics they deeply care for in an editorially supportive environment. We love to help writers to achieve their personal goals, but cannot pay more than we earn.
• We don't want to cross-subsidize. Writing popular articles requires learning, experimenting and dedication, and writers who have mastered web-writing skills should receive the full benefit of their training. If we were to pay inexperienced writers who weren't yet able to attract traffic and revenue extra, we would then have to distribute pay unfairly to those who had invested the time to hone their skills.
• We want to attract writers who want to partner with us in the long run. Here at Suite101, we don't gamble on future performance to pay for today's fees. We guarantee all writers that Suite101 will be around for some time—thus enabling our writers' articles to pay dividends, time and time again, for years and years to come. The residual income of some writers on the site amounts to thousands of dollars per article. These are high-quality articles targeting niche audiences and earning their writers a great reputation.

We give our writers the best tools and guidance possible to meet their objectives, and the revenue share model guarantees that writing for Suite101 remains a gainful partnership for the long run.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

This might sound funny but we have an "active inner life” here at Suite101. This isn’t always apparent if you’re simply surfing the site or thinking about joining us as writer.

By “inner life” I’m referring to our community of writers. Imagine inviting 2,000 very eloquent wordsmiths from around the world to a large, ongoing dinner party. This is what the Suite101 Writer Forums are like. Some of the conversations at the table are inspiring, some are humorous, and some are super-helpful to other writers. (For a seat at the table consider applying to write for us.)

Some of the best discussions happen when writers help other writers. For example, new writers often ask questions such as ..."When will I start making serious money writing for Suite101?"

Angela England, our Feature Writer for Plants & Bulbs recently offered her straight-up thoughts on the topic. She did such a great job that I asked her to stop by the Limelight blog to explain it from a writer’s point of view. So over to you Angela! Thanks for stopping in to chat ...

"After a recent exchange on my personal website (http://angengland.com) I wanted to clarify some of what I shared about Suite101's potential for writers. It has a lot to do with the benefits of long-term, residual income. Like book royalties or compound interest, residual income from web writing can have profound effects on your monthly income.

Let me be very clear – no one is going to get rich from a single article on Suite101, or any other website for that matter. But after two and a half years of contributing to Suite101 I can say with confidence that the income is better for me here, than any other single site I have experience with. I make enough with Suite101 to pay the mortgage on my three-bedroom home.

How does residual income through Suite101 work?

When a freelance writer starts working with Suite101 they might get only a few pennies per article each month. However, as the amount of articles increases, the amount of payment per article increases. And since Suite101 continues to pay writers forever, that source of income never ends!

I found this out firsthand when I took a month off to have a baby last fall. Even though I didn't contribute any additional articles, I still got paid – enough to cover the mortgage bill. For articles I wrote a year ago. Or two years ago.

And two years from now I will still continue to earn income from these articles. Even if I quit and never contribute another article to Suite101 I will still continue to collect income each month. Like a tiny raindrop, each article contributes its small amount to your monthly income. Yet with just over 260 articles posted here, those raindrops have come together to create quite a healthy deluge each month.

The freedom to write across a wide variety of topics, keeps me interested and motivated. The increase in payments each month helps benefit my family. I love that I do the work once, and continue to earn money on that work forever. By writing when I am able, I create the potential for income during those times in the future when I might not be as free to write on a regular basis.

Like compound interest, residual income on Suite101 adds up slowly and inexorably, increasing the power of your writing as your articles become more valuable each and every month."

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

I use Google nearly every day, from finding out which restaurants provide late-night delivery to performing more important research like tracking down necessary contact information. A few days ago I came across a new feature that Google has added to their repertoire: Semantic Search.

I’m sure most avid googlers know exactly what I mean (no pun intended), but for those of you who don’t google just about every question under the sun, Google has augmented their search feature by supplying a list of related keywords and subjects that the searcher may be looking for. These appear on the bottom of the results page, but recently, keyword suggestions also appear in a drop down menu as the searcher types in the term on the Google homepage. What’s the point? Well, it’s a question of semantics really.

According to the definition on Wikipedia.org this type of search seeks to “disambiguate queries and web text in order to generate more relevant results.” This means that if I type in “Brighton, MA,” for example, the algorithms should be able to identify the meaning or interpretation of what I am trying to search for, and offer me further keywords and terms that may guide me to better, more accurate results.

I decided to perform my own test to see how well this new type of search works. I chose to use the example “Brighton, MA” for a few reasons. “Brighton, MA” is ambiguous because it has multiple meanings: it’s a town in Massachusetts and it is also the name of an indie band—which is what I was searching for. It’s common for me to search for indie bands/artists to find out about show listings, tickets etc. so I wanted to stay true to my own particular search habits to better evaluate Google’s Semantic Search. I was curious to see if the semantic search could “disambiguate” my search term and determine that I was looking for results related to the indie band and not just the location.

At first I plugged in “Brighton”. The search results didn’t even yield anything to do with Massachusetts, let alone the band. When I specified the search to read “Brighton, MA” Google read the algorithm to mean anything from “brighton map” to “brighton massage therapy”. The term “brighton mass” showed up in relation to the town but that search result was sixth on the list. And the indie band? They weren’t on the list of search items at all.

Ian Paul’s conclusion over at PC World is that while “the same old Google [is] an excellent first stop for finding information … Google is flying the semantic search flag without really delivering a noticeably different experience.” Indeed, though Google isn’t the first search engine to launch innovations in Semantic Search (Microsoft is launching their own new semantic technology, possibly named “Kumo”, later this year), I had hoped that Google would be ahead of the game.

The great news is that search engine providers are recognizing the importance of intelligent search and are attempting to address these issues further. However, perhaps Google should have performed a semantic search on the term “innovation” before releasing a feature that really only yields the same results as before.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

When I want to visit the medieval past or take a stroll through a New York museum, I simply look for the latest article by Stan Parchin, our Art Galleries/Museums Feature Writer here at Suite101.com.

Stan is a true renaissance writer who happens to live in modern-day New York. The last time we spoke via e-mail, he mentioned he was helping to curate an exhibition on the Dutch Royal House of Orange. And next month, he's delivering two illustrated lectures on the definition of the word "masterpiece" and Leonardo da Vinci's Europe.

I shouldn’t be surprised! Stan has worked in various departments at the world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art, among them Educational Marketing and the Program for Art on Film, a joint venture with the J. Paul Getty Trust. As a writer, he was the Assistant Editor of The Village Press, The Village Moneysaver and Regis Alumni News and previously was the Contributing Editor and Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions for Art History at About.com of The New York Times Company. His specialties include Egypt's Old and New Kingdoms; the Italian and Northern Renaissances; Church history; and witchcraft, heresy and social dissent in late medieval and early modern Europe.

I recently spoke with Stan about his latest projects and asked for his perspective on how writing for Suite101 compares to writing for other online sites:

MH: Hi Stan, how are things in your world these days? What are you working on?

SP: I’m pretty excited about being contacted by a production company that's developing a documentary on Leonardo da Vinci for cable television. I'm still in shock! I'm happy to say they found me through my feature articles and blogs on Suite101.com. It's interesting to see who reads what you publish online.

MH: What are the most important things that experienced web writers look for when considering whether to write for a site or not? SP: The ability to write across disciplines; clear and easy-to-follow guidelines and style book/manuals; and positive and supportive interaction with editors, administrative staff, fellow writers and technical support staff.

MH: You've written for About.com and currently write for Suite. What are the main differences?

SP: The writer's ability to contribute to different categories is a stand-out feature of Suite101.com. My editor at Suite, Sarah B. Hood, interacts with me regularly and provides helpful suggestions. The sense of collegiality at Suite101 is remarkable. When I suggest a change or improvement to the site, it is seriously considered and usually implemented.

MH: What is your experience when you tell people you write for Suite101.com?

SP: When I tell people I am a Feature Writer at Suite101.com, they visit the site and then send me their reactions. All like what's offered, especially the variety of categories and subcategories. They find Suite101.com's pages very easy to read. The museums I deal with are all very pleased with the coverage they get at Suite101.com. That's due in large part to our experienced writers stationed all over the world. They're a great group with very diverse interests.

(I have to add too, that the Editor's Choice Awards that Suite editors use to recognize writers for excellence are an invaluable incentive. My award-winning articles are always pointed out to me by museum professionals when I'm in the field.)

MH: How is the weather in New York today? Has Spring arrived yet? (It’s grey here in Vancouver…)

Posted by Aaron Park

Algorithm:

"Algorithm" is a mathematical term that means a finite set of rules or instructions. What this means in "tech speak" is that computers are embedded with specific algorithms--specific patterns of instructions, set in a specific order--that they need to perform in order to accomplish a given task. So basically, every computer program has a set of algorithms that tells it what to do, and what order to do it in.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Last week we talked about online journalism as a game of “Survival of the Fittest”. Here at Suite101, we understand that the switch from print journalism to online may be difficult to get accustomed to as it does require major changes in a writer’s mode of operation.

Writing for print publications is a fairly clear-cut process. The writer’s responsibility is virtually over once they’ve done the research and submitted the piece; leaving things like marketing and sales for a separate department of specialists. In the world of online journalism, writers take on new roles as they are forced to champion their own works.

In a discussion with Suite writers about this paradigm shift, Renee Carver, Children’s TV Feature Writer, reveals that “the biggest thing to keep in mind is that writing for the web is different than writing for print because [online] we don't necessarily have a built-in audience: we have to attract them from search engines.” So, other than building good SEO habits, how does this attraction work?

Thankfully, there are loads of great resources out there dedicated to helping online journalists better understand how to market their work- here’s a sampling of some of the most helpful resources on the web:

- Suite101- You didn’t think we’d leave our own resources out of this one did you? Also make sure to check out previous Limelight blog posts by our resident Search Marketing expert Marc Bitanga.

- Copyblogger.com- We’ve mentioned this site in previous posts, but it was worth another mention in case it was missed the first time around. Copyblogger offers easy-to-follow advice without too much technical mumbo-jumbo.

- Content Marketing Today- The best thing about this site is that they don’t just tell you how content marketing works; they show you. Content Marketing Today offers up numerous success stories from how to write eye-catching headlines to sharing “The Secret of Online Marketing in the 21st Century”

- Influential Marketing Blog- Here, Rohit Bhargava, author of the very successful marketing book Personality Not Included, writes candidly and humorously about how to market oneself successfully.

In the field of online journalism the old adage certainly rings true: “It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know.”

Posted by Peter Berger

It's that time of year again: budgeting season at Suite101. While this tends to be a painful time to some degree (because it leaves me a little less time for other exciting projects underway, such as planning our next expansion step into Europe later this year!), it’s also a rewarding time, allowing me to reflect on the successful past twelve months.

And there are always interesting little nuggets in the flow of numbers such as the idea of "good” costs. Yes, good costs exist, even in a business, even in challenging times. These are costs that measure our success more reliably than traffic or even revenue. I keep mentioning to our financial team that we are actually in the business of increasing our writer payouts: the continuous and ever increasing stream of royalty payments that we pay our writers each month. In my opinion, this is a perfect example of a “good” cost.

On that measure we have been quite successful, tripling these payments (or “costs”) in the year. Over the past few months our best writers continue to make over $2,000 each, month after month. What continues to amaze people is that these writers would have made that much even if they had taken the past few months off: most of the royalties come from popular articles they wrote awhile ago. Try that feat in your current job!

I'll head back to my budget spreadsheets and will look forward to our first writers who can not only quit their day job to write full time, but who can opt to do so on Suite101 royalties alone.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

If you live in Seattle, buy the paper tomorrow. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is closing its newsprint "doors" tonight after 146 years of publication. The paper will move online entirely on Wednesday. Watch news history unfold in this moving video address (released this morning), from Editor and Publisher Roger Oglesby...

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Let's face the facts. Everyone knows the journalism industry is undergoing a complete dismantling of tradition and routine. No longer fixed to print-driven deadlines and paper distribution, modern media is evolving at breakneck speed. With this in mind, publishers and journalists are turning to online publishing and they may feel pressure to quickly master the web--particularly the subject of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The question is: can anyone truly become a “master” (not to mention quickly) in an ever-changing medium?

Poynter Media business analyst Rick Edmonds interviewed Paul Steiger, editor of ProPublica and former editor of the Wall Street Journal. Edmonds wrote that, while Steiger continually faces the challenge of “getting the web right” in order to maintain high quality journalism standards, there is also a strong sense of “learn-as you-go” when using the web as a new frontier for journalism.

I spoke with Suite101 Feature Writer Mia Carter about web writing in general and SEO issues in particular. Mia is dedicated to learning everything she can about good SEO practices and sharing the information with her colleagues in the Suite101 Writer Forums. She has some wise words to share about a topic most writers find a bit mystifying:

“SEO isn't something you can really figure out per se. It's not an exact science of ‘do x and y will occur.’ It's much more complex than that. So I'm hesitant to say that any of us ‘get it’ entirely. There are SEO professionals who research this stuff for a living who would probably say that even they haven't figured it out!

Part of the problem is that search engine optimization standards (what's good SEO, what's bad SEO, etc.) tend to evolve very quickly. A couple weeks ago, I was speaking with a couple of Suite101's SEO experts and he offered an example of how an SEO standard changed in a matter of six hours! So what's good SEO today may be entirely obsolete six months down the road, which is why I'd argue that no one ever ‘figures it out’”.

These changes are almost Darwinian in nature and as Mia points out, there may never be a time when anyone has got the best SEO practices absolutely pegged. Gaining a steady online readership includes a dedication to identify, and re-examine, the best ways to get a reader’s attention and to have your words “found” by search engines. It’s a classic example of “survival of the fittest”, where only those writers who are willing to constantly adapt their web strategy will survive.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

A few posts ago I wondered if any of our well-travelled Suite101 writers might be in Dubai for their first writers' festival. The answer was...YES! Meet Beverley Ann Cruz, one of our contributing writers at Suite101.com

Beverley lives in the United Arab Emirates, and works as an editor for a food and lifestyle magazine based in Dubai. She attended the festival and sent us this written “postcard” from Dubai:

"The first Emirates International Festival of Literature had a successful run last week (February 26 – March 1) at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City. Although the temperature was severely warm, it didn’t deter the city’s residents – both expatriates and locals - from braving the heat (and the partial sandstorm on the weekend) to attend the events.

The festival hosted over 60 international authors – including writer Wilbur Smith and business lecturer Robin Sharma – and held more than 50 events with panel discussions and Q&A sessions in Arabic and English. Even though Canada’s Margaret Atwood pulled out due to censorship issues, she still contributed by participating in a debate on cultural preconceptions and censorship via video link.

As a food lover and curious about the cuisine of my adopted home of Dubai, I attended the discussion, ‘The True Taste of Arabia’ with award-winning cookery book author Claudia Rosen, Taste of Arabia author Jessie Parker and Leah Fielding, senior editor of food and lifestyle publication Spinneys FOOD. The session was chaired by Jane Hodges and was attended by a crowd of mostly western expatriates who keenly listened to the panel chart the evolution of Arabian food.

Some of the main influences on the cuisine that were pinpointed was the spread of Islam, limited availability of fresh ingredients due to the harsh landscape and the high use of non-perishable foods like pulses and dried lime, as they were easier to preserve in the extreme temperatures. As Parker, who has dined with Bedouin families in the UAE explained, “It was quite a rustic cuisine dictated by circumstances.”

It was interesting to note that traditional Arabian cuisine was actually more influenced by India rather than the Levant region, with staple meals consisting of rice, curries and vegetables. However, today eating Arabian food in Middle Eastern restaurants equates to hummus and tabbouleh, which is an influence of Lebanon and now part of the cuisine, but doesn’t do justice to its veritable feast of flavours and traditions.

During the Q&A session, a common questioned raised was where one could actually indulge in true Arabian food in the UAE. Although Parker said it was almost impossible, unless you visited the home of a local, she held out hope that the demand for authentic Arabian food would encourage Arab chefs to cook and promote their cuisine on a larger scale. As a food writer, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the same!"

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

Yes it's true: we jumped onto the Twitter-mobile last week with the launch of two Suite101.com twitter feeds. Colin Smith, our editor in chief will be sharing his editorial views and musings from our flagship Twitter feed account @Suite101 starting next week. He’ll also be tweeting about the best Editors' Choice articles, those shining gems of stellar Suite101 writing, as selected by our team editors.

Feel free to follow along whether you’re a Suite101 writer, an avid Suite reader, or simply curious about what the Suite101 network of writers is all about.

As for news and updates on what Suite101 is up to in the larger world (hint: has anyone checked out the international job postings on our Careers page lately?), follow our second Suite101 Twitter feed: @Suite101_news.

And if Twitter is a totally new concept that you’d like to learn more about, here's a great overview from Suite101 writer Mia Carter in her article “What is Twitter?”

Posted by Aaron Park

A couple of good articles for writers and publishers everywhere, on the challenges faced by traditional publishing. Read on for some new and novel approaches borrowed from the tech world on how promote books...

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/26/how-publishing-can-learn-from-valve/

http://www.edrants.com/the-publishing-industry-an-economic-thought-experiment/

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

A few weeks back, I received an interesting comment on a blog post I wrote about journalism moving towards a primarily online basis. It hadn’t really occurred to me (as it did to my commenter), that doomsday warnings surrounding the death of print may indeed stir up fears that audiences will no longer be receiving facts, but will be subject to various points of view from untrained citizen journalists and anyone else in possession of a digital camera or cellular phone.

While this fear is certainly valid, I can’t help but think the advent of digital media only suggests that we need to look at how we have been presenting these “facts”. In a tumultuous world, audiences seem less inclined to simply believe what they are told. They’re seeking new ways to communicate about the events that unfold around them.

Nikki Usher follows this lead in her latest post over at the Online Journalism Review stating that although citizen journalism can be threatening for professional journalists, “the reality is that once something is published (usually on Web sites), it belongs to the audience of readers and becomes part of a conversation about the news.”

Indeed it is this “conversation”, as Usher astutely points out, that digital media encourages. Not the death of print, or the eradication of traditional news broadcasting. Digital media see the World Wide Web as just that-- a global web that connects people from all corners of the earth. Using the Web as a means of looking at news, we are able to see not only the facts and the many sides of a single story, but we are able to converse about it in a new way via comments, blogs and social networking.

Abating these fears will undoubtedly take some time and some getting used to. But perhaps we can accept that some changes are good-- especially those that facilitate conversation and interaction between communities. There are many different voices making up the news today. Professional journalists have two choices: sit back and lament the demise of “news as we knew it” or take the lead in this new conversation.

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

A new year, a new round of book festivals! Personal favorites include the Vancouver International Writers Festival, the esteemed Edinburgh Festival of Books, the Paris Salon du Livre and even the unlikely-located LA Times Festival of Books. (Though I have yet to check out the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival...) The new addition this year is the Emirates International Festival of Literature starting next week in Dubai but not without its share of controversy. It looks like censorship has raised its head with several authors (including Canada’s Margaret Atwood) pulling out in protest. Follow the story in The Bookseller and the London Guardian.

I know we have a group of internationally-roving Suite101 writers who continually surprise us with notes from their travels around the world. Anyone planning to attend Dubai? Drop us a note if you do…

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

One thing we see at Suite101 is the holiday “rush.” Leading up to popular holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mothers Day, and Halloween we see an increase in the number of people searching for holiday-related information. (No surprise really!)

For online writers who earn revenue when people read their work, this “rush” presents obvious opportunities. Some of the most successful Suite writers start posting holiday articles months in advance. Curious online searchers find them, as do editors looking for experts to quote about holiday topics. In some cases, print and online news publications ask Suite101 writers if they can republish their work.

Michael Vyskocil, our Suite101 Recipes Feature Writer, knows about this. An editor in Detroit read his Valentine’s Day recipes and asked permission to reprint them. Michael was thrilled. How else does this holiday “rush” influence his writing? Here’s what Michael said:

Do your holiday articles get the most interest on Suite, compared to others?

I've noticed they receive a fair amount of traffic, but any articles that are seasonal-based also receive interest. The caramel apple pie recipe is one seasonal article that receives a large number of page views in the autumn. I've also noticed Halloween articles generate a significant amount of interest.

Where do you get your story ideas?

From a variety of sources. I have a comprehensive recipe file at home, and many times I'll find inspiration by flipping through recipes I've collected. Other times, I'll read about a subject in a book or magazine and get the desire to find out more. This happened with the recipes I shared on Suite last October from Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Lynne is the host of The Splendid Table, a radio program broadcast in the U.S. on National Public Radio. I saw Lynne years ago on television demonstrating her Italian recipes. One advantage of the Internet is that contact information for individuals like Lynne is more accessible than it used to be. It was so much fun chatting with Lynne last June about her new cookbook and radio program. And since I also photograph many of the recipes that appear on Suite101, I had great fun preparing some of the dishes featured in the article series

In your opinion, what would be the ideal meal for Feb 14th?

For Valentine's dinner, it would be a simple meal the whole family can enjoy. Penne Pasta with Sausage and Peppers is a great dish with splashes of red provided by the peppers. A favorite side salad featuring red bell peppers cut in the shape of hearts with a cookie cutter is also appropriate and easy to prepare. Finally, for dessert, a rich chocolate soufflé is elegant and delicious, but if you have kids and want to involve them, you can have them help prepare Valentine Heart Sandwich Cookies.

How long have you been writing for Suite101?

Since 2003, so about 5 1/2 years. Thanks to my experience writing for Suite, I've landed writing assignments for national and local magazines. It's a privilege to be part of this dynamic site.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

In a recent meeting with search expert Marc Bitanga, I learned of a unique tool called Google Insights. The beta version of Insights was released on August 5th of 2008 and is aimed at analyzing keyword trends.

There are two specific purposes behind this new tool in the Google family. The first purpose is to analyze trends in the seasonality of a search term, which is roughly how long a search term redeems high results, and the geographic distribution of the term, which is where in the world that term redeems the highest results.

A good example of how this tool works is to track the volume of search on a seasonal topic. A search for 2010 Olympics showed that interest in this topic started to rise in 2006. Incidentally, this is the year that Vancouver’s Mayor, Sam Sullivan, was passed the Olympic flag at the end of the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. Meanwhile search for this topic drops but picks up in 2008 as the Olympic games get closer. It will be interesting to see the volume of search for this term come 2010 and beyond.

Finding out the geographic distribution of a term also rendered interesting results. Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Canada yielded the highest results for the word “neighbourhood” spelled in British English. Yet when spelled as “neighborhood” the search yielded highest results in the United States. These results show that high search volume can be affected by as simple a detail as regional spelling; an insight that more online writers and search marketers need to take into account when researching keywords.

What Google has created here is a sophisticated tool that reveals that the nature of a successful search isn’t just reliant on what keywords are used, but when and where those terms are used.

Posted by Aaron Park

This week's "tech two seconds" asks: does printing the New York Times on paper cost more than sending subscribers a Kindle e-reader? Here's a post to ponder:

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/printing-the-nyt-costs-twice-as-much-as-sending-every-subscriber-a-free-kindle

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

In our ongoing look at the shift in traditional newspapers, we’ve been curiously watching the New York Times. Long considered a news institution around the world, the Times has joined other media companies in recently announcing significant revenue declines.

The idea that the Times as we know it—the newsprint edition—could disappear altogether has recently been mentioned. Michael Hirschorn, contributing editor at The Atlantic magazine provided the starkest look yet at this possibility in the January issue.

Hirschorn suggests that the Times could live on in an online-only format but laments that this would mean the loss of the “civilized ritual” of going out to get the Sunday morning edition of the paper.

"It will also mean the end of a certain kind of quasi-bohemian urban existence for the thousands of smart middle-class writers, journalists, and public intellectuals who have, until now, lived semi-charmed kinds of lives of the mind."

To equate the loss of a newsprint edition with the loss of opportunities for writers shows a gap in an understanding of the Internet. At Suite101 and other online publishers, we see the possibilities for online writing expanding, not contracting. We see the gates to entry opening rather than closing. And while we applaud citizen journalism sites and blogging, we see that most online readers are still interested in knowing that certain sites maintain editorial standards and publish writers that follow journalistic principles in their work.

While I can join Hirschorn in lamenting the possible loss of the paper (though not in the airport, where I might celebrate NOT having to carry around the 4lb/2kg Sunday edition) I can’t join him in worrying about the future of news. Not while great options exist for writers to keep publishing their best work online, where it can be easily found and respectfully read by millions.

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

The current state of economic uncertainty has recently monopolized the bulk of online and offline media coverage. We’ve been following one aspect of this storyline quite closely: the demise of traditional print media. While it’s tempting to focus on this alone, it’s also interesting to look at how the Internet is taking the place of print media as the new global standard for communication.

A recent Gallup poll run by Gallup.com has confirmed that use of the Internet has almost doubled over the past five years. The results show that 48% of Americans now use the Internet for more than an hour each day, a staggering increase from 26% in 2002. Not only that, but it seems that the demographics of Internet users are changing. According to the same study, gaps in Internet use between formerly infrequent users, like non-working, unmarried and post-graduate users, boast double-digit gains with an increase by 13% of the non-working demographic, 10% of unmarried and 12% of post-graduates, all between 2007 and 2008.

On a global scale there has been an increase in Internet use. In 1995, a mere 0.4% of the world population reported using the Internet. Now, according to statistics reported by Internet World Stats, an estimated 23.3% of the population uses the Internet on a regular basis; a trajectory that will likely only rise over time.

In short, while communication tools such as newspapers, magazines and print media may be facing serious challenges, the Internet continues to flourish. Good news indeed for journalists and writers everywhere who are making the transition to writing for the web.

Posted by Dirk Westphal

Thank you, Marci, for the opportunity to be a guest in the Limelight Blog all the way from Berlin. And we truly have some exciting developments here:

Our success is really only due to our great writers – we currently have about 350 on Suite101.de. It's wonderful to see how they just keep getting better and better attracting more and more readers. Suite101.de is fast becoming the largest independent, German general interest online magazine. With new features and several editorial specials planned, 2009 will be an exciting year.

So we really have some good news in times of the global media crisis. Suite101.de attracted 1.04 million unique visitors in December 2008! With that Suite101's German site now has almost five times as many readers as we did six months ago. That's much earlier than we had ever expected. And January is starting 2009 off with a good start too.

Also in terms of articles we have something to celebrate: a few days before Christmas, Judith Weibrecht, travel journalist from Fürth (a lovely city in the heart of Bavaria), published Suite101.de's 10,000th article. The title being: Tschechien: Per Rad von Bad zu Bad (Czech Republic: By Bike from Spa to Spa).

We're not quite yet as big as Suite101.com, but we still plan to take you over in March 2027 ;-)

Posted by Marci Hotsenpiller

Q: What goes from zero to one million in ten months?

A: Suite101.de!!

We're popping champagne corks on both sides of the Atlantic today as the news is official: the German writers' network launched by Suite101.com Media in February of last year, broke through the important one million mark in December. Suite101.de attracted over one million unique visitors during the month of December.

Was it the great articles?

The quality of writers?

Let's ask Dirk Westphal, our editor-in-chief in Berlin...

Posted by Lima Al-Azzeh

Every year, professional journalism faces increased challenges and opportunities as traditional media organizations struggle to embrace the online world.

Case in point: The internet provides the general public with exceptional opportunities to become journalists themselves. Popular sites, like YouTube, have given rise to the media phenomenon known as Citizen Journalism: a type of journalism requiring no professional accreditation, that allows users to assume a journalistic role simply by being in the right place, at the right time.

With no way of controlling massive amounts of people-generated content on the internet, the practice of traditional journalism is forced to adapt itself to contemporary "free-for-all" media coverage. Yet with every challenge, comes opportunity.

In an article written for iMedia Connection, Bennett Zucker recognizes that “tools and applications are the new editorial bundles.” Proof of this concept lies in the fact more and more news organizations elect to support user-generated content by embracing, rather than condemning, this new brand of media.

CBC.ca, a Canadian news company, hopped on the bandwagon with a feature called “Your Story” wherein people can document what’s important to them and "what counts in [their] community".

The site supports citizen journalism by allowing individuals to upload video, text or email submissions from cell phones or computers. The stories may have originated within the community, and/or they may also include images, tips and comments “enhanced” by professional journalists.

With the global economic crisis in full bloom, traditional media can no longer ignore the inevitable trajectory. Bennett Zucker’s bold conclusion may indeed ring true: it's time for the journalism industry to "lead with technology, or die."