Forum Moderators: not2easy
I am looking for a bit of advice if at all possible,
I would like to get into the writing market in one form or another (not sure which), whilst trying to research the possibilities I keep coming across Content and Copywriting but know little about either or any other computer based writing.
I have noticed that there are a few people on here that seem to know what they are talking about and would appreciate any help given.
Write some stuff. If you like, get friends (those whose opinion you value and who will give objective criticism) to read what you've written. Then start writing for real. It's like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it becomes :)
As far as copyright is concerned, look up the copyright laws of your country (US?), then read those for Europe and the UK. The law is complex, there are some minor differences between the countries, and there are "grey" areas, but overall, the rules are the same no matter where you are.
Generally speaking, as soon as you create something, copyright exists, and it can't (or at least shouldn't) be used by anyone else without your permission. If you give permission, you are granting a licence for the other person to use it. Said licence can be as broad or as narrow as you decide to make it.
It doesn't matter in which format you create something, copyright still applies. For example, if you write a book, you can turn it into a digital e-book, as you own the copyright. If someone else were to take your book and turn it into an e-book, they would be in breach of copyright.
Quite often copywriting is used to describe writing whose function is to sell or promote, while content is written to inform. Of course there is considerable overlap between the two and those are not formal definitions.
Content has to some degree become a catch-all phrase for anything on a webpage that isn't an ad. For some it is the point of their website, for others it is a vehicle for keywords, used primarily to attract a given set of ads and, via search engines, people who are interested in those ads.
Basically there are, to my mind, three broad types of writing in demand, in any of which you could develop expertise:
1. Writing quality, well researched, in depth articles on either topics you already know something about or are prepared to learn about.
2. Writing sales copy or promotional copy
3. Writing short articles around a given set of keywords.
In all cases a knowledge of what works on the web as distinct from in print and of some basic SEO concepts will make your writing more useful and your service more marketable.
I don't think csb1 was asking about 'copyrighting', it was 'copywriting'!
Oh dear, so he was :o I must have had too much wine when I read the post, fuddled brain automatically read it as copyright :) Sorry!
Malachite wine is a good thing so no problems and it was quite intresting,I do write each and every day and am in the middle (well not quite middle) of writing a book, fiction and nothing to do with computers.
Abbeyvet thank you, you have cleared up the difference between content/copywrite for me plus your three points have been helpful but I really am a novice as far as the computer/internet world goes,I even had to look up SEO to see what it meant! so if you don't mind (or anyone else) how would you suggest I go about learning computer/internet writing and all it entails?
I am more than happy to research and learn in fact I like it, but do not really know where to go to learn what is required from a reliable source.
This maybe a bit advanced but once one gains the skills where or how do you find work? as I said the computer world is quite new to me.
Thank you for your help
Chris...
I too want to get into the writing market as well.
In the industry I'm in is it wise to write about it; products and service?
And how do you get the word out about your newsletter/writing?
Take Care,
Marc
If you're only writing for other people's sites, there's a lot you don't need to know about SEO because it involves things that go way beyond the text on the page, but keyword optimization is one SEO concept a writer would be expected to be knowledgeable about.
One skill that's useful is - and I'm not quite sure how to word this - being able to come up with a number of varied articles about the same keyword or topic.
Good luck (what you wonīt need if you stick to it, we are now in a similar age as when Gutemberg had just discovered printinga, the world of online publication is wide open!).
[sologig.com...]
[elance.com...]
There is a bunch more out there.
They accept unsolicited articles and pay for them. When they start publishing a lot by you, they will even start asking you to write specific articles for them.
But don't expect to get rich.
Matt
Another good website for writing gigs for website content is constant-content. Website owners post their specifications there, then choose from the available articles and purchase. I've not done much there, as I didn't have time to write on speculation of a fee. However, I know of people who have done fairly well there, and they turn over their spec pieces that don't get purchased to associated content. Also, I ended up with my current job from a posting there :)
A good place to comb for listings as well is craigslist. Don't limit yourself to the metro area where you live - there is a huge market for telecommuting type writing gigs, and many of them will be great for an entry-level type. The caveat - you have to be careful on craigslist - contests are not what you want to be doing.
Finally, you might try The Writer's Market - it's a huge, thick book of markets writers can approach to get into/stay in the business. I have an old version that doesn't come with the complimentary online subscription, but it's still chock full of good info. If my current gig peters out, TWM is probably where I'll go first.
That is all.
One more thing when people talk about writing on here it is mainly factual (or meant to be) that is mentioned,does anybody know of a place for fictional writing?
Best bet is if you're writing genre material rather than mainstream fiction. Writer's Market - mentioned above - lists them just like they do print magazines. In fact, I think in newer editions WM gives "ezines" their own section. The only online fiction magazine I have enough knowledge of to say they're for real is Deep Outside (google for it with the space between the words), published by clocktowerfiction (google for it without spaces between the words), which actually does pay!
AFAIK, breaking into the fiction publishing world follows pretty much the same process online as it does in print. If you've had some stories published in print, you know pretty much what to expect. If this is your first attempt at publishing fiction, a good first step might be getting hold of a copy of WM and using it not only for the market listings but also for the articles on getting published found at the beginning of the volume.
-----Regarding the above, if all you want to market is fiction, you can save money and time by getting Novel & Short Story Writer's Market instead of the full WM. - Both are published by Writer's Digest. N&SSWM provides what WM does, both market listings and articles, but is limited to fiction publishing.
