So what have I learned lately? Well lets see, I have learned that what one site will not take another will. That’s as good as any reason right there to just keep on trying right? If you try enough places and different venues to get your writing noticed, you are sure to have some modecome of success just by sheer persistence. I my self have 1 article with CC and 2 others with AC accepted, and I haven’t even really begun to work on my writing courses yet.

That leads me to another thought, I haven’t written lately either, because I am so busy trying to adjust to my new volunteer position emotionally..I am a Guardian ad Litem. An advocate for battered abused and neglected children. Lately, I have been just a little down because of having to place four children out side their home. Did I write abut it? No.

I am a weird one I think…most writers seem to write at their best when they are down or sad. Not me..I find it difficult to write when I feel blue. So Damiens request that I live up to my blogging responsibilities have helped me climb out of my “I feel blue rut” and I think there will be more writing coming up…..I still have so much too learn..

I posted this article of 865 words on Constant Content. This site has become a thorn in my side, so to speak. I think that the editor on CC must have a masters in english because ed is tough! That is the primary reason I want to write for this site, because they demand the best.

Fortunately for me, I have discovered an on-line writing course designed to teach me “How to write for the Internet.” I can already see the difference in my writing. I first bought Haley Writers e-book about CC for a measly 10 bucks. Even I can afford ten dollars, and it was well worth it. She even critiqued the article for me.

It occurred to me though, after having a few of my attempts at articles, and their rewrites rejected; that I was missing something.

I finally realized that I have some issues with grammar, and well… all sorts of writing issues really. It was then that Haley’s newsletter from her site , ExpandingCreations.com arrived in my e-mail inbox.

Haley offers the Newbie Writer all sorts of learning material on her web site, and for the Paltry discounted price of twenty five bucks, I received her course ..”How To Write A Winning Article Online”.

I am working my way through her course, and I can tell you that it is well worth the money. In fact, as I told my husband recently, Haley is working way too cheap. I am glad she is though, because I would not be able to afford her expertise if she charged more. Now, lets see if CC agrees that my writing is improving. I will let you know. In the mean time, as Dawn say’s, just write something…….

I don’t know what else to call it but rejection, yes it is a learning opportunity but right now as I look at the other writers article it doesn’t feel like an opportunity for anything. I am sitting here stinging. I did not realize that the word count and title are only suggestive and I took them literally. So I wrote 1,450 words on a subject that I know pretty well but even so 1,450 words about anything can be hard to write. The article that was accepted was about 900 or so words and the title was not the title the customer had suggested. I learned from this experience but I am not sure that I want to keep on trying to write for CC.

Which brings me to the reason I wrote this blog to begin with. I like to write and my friends have enjoyed my little “notes” on face book, where I just comment on the human condition and sometimes share short stories. I do not write articles as a rule and now I am wondering just why I ever thought I could do it in the first place.

I am very discouraged this morning and maybe I expect too much too soon. If this blog is a bummer, I am sorry. I just thought sharing the good and the bad about what I learn along the way is a true reflection of the life and times of a Newbie Writer.

New US Magazine Seeks Writers
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New North-American lifestyle publication is looking for writers. Illustrious Magazine, a gentleman’s guide to the finer things in life, is seeking people who have experience in writing articles, and editorials. Chosen candidates would be selected for fashion, business, technology, and entertainment categories.
Please submit resume, examples of your work, along with your area of expertise to: nbryan@illustriousmagazine.com

Nonfiction and Fiction Required
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Dragondreamz Publications is currently looking for fiction and non-fiction for inclusion in their first periodical, Full Armor Magazine, which is set to debut in June 2010. It will be published quarterly and includes fantasy, slipstream, and mystery stories with a strong Christian-Judean message; or Christian-Judean symbolism at the core of the story. Think in terms of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Oscar Wilde…etc. They are also considering: Spiritual Poetry (any style; up to 20 lines) and Non-fiction pieces (testimonials, book/film/music reviews and short essays). A token payment is offered: $0.01 per word for stories up to 3,000 words for both fiction and non-fiction. $1.00 per line for poetry. View website for details.

http://www.dragondreamzpublications.info/submissions.html

Restaurant Reviewers Wanted in the UK
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Itchy is working with the malaysiakitchen.co.uk to promote Malaysian food throughout the UK. They are looking for talented journalists who would be interested in taking part in some restaurant reviews. They are currently looking for writers from the following cities: Surrey / Birmingham / Manchester / Chester / Brighton / Nottingham / Canterbury / Coventry / Norwich / Edinburgh / Glasgow / Stratford Upon Avon / Warwick / Milton Keynes / Peterborough. Please email your interest and CV, stating which city you are based in, to Emma Salt, Editor at: editor@itchyonline.com

http://www.dragondreamzpublications.info/submissions.html

Writers Wanted to Write Tutorials
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Tuts+ welcomes written tutorials on a range of creative niches including Photoshop and Graphics, Vectors and Illustration, Web Development and Design, Motion Graphics, Flash and ActionScript, Computer Graphics, Photography and Audio Production. If you have the skill to write an excellent tutorial for one Tuts+ then they’d like to hear from you. They pay $150 for each tutorial that is accepted, and you’ll have the honor of being published on the best tutorial blog network around! View website: http://tutsplus.com/about/write-a-tutorial/

The Oldie Seeks Submissions
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UK based The Oldie is an antidote to youth culture but, more importantly, a magazine with emphasis on good writing, humour and quality illustration. Well-written articles on any subject are always welcome at The Oldie and they are particularly interested in pieces for our ‘I Once Met’, and ‘rant’ slots. View website for details.

http://www.theoldie.co.uk/detail.php?item_id=162&page_id=30

Personal Experience Essays Wanted
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Underwired publishes personal essays (800-1200 words) every month and is always looking for new contributors. Essays should somehow relate to the chosen theme for the month and be on topics of interest to women. Underwired buys one-time rights, and payment is $100. http://www.underwiredmagazine.com/submission-guidelines-mainmenu-39.html

Call for Short Stories and Poems – Australian Authors Only
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We are a media agency and have just launched our new project “The Story Bag”.

“The Story Bag” will create a new and innovative channel for authors in Australia to reach the public. We produce different kinds of bags and cups that have a piece of literature – a short story, a poem or a short saying – on one side of the bag and a content rich, engaging advertisement on the other.

The bags are distributed by cafés, wine stores and retail outlets.

All published work of authors will be paid.

http://www.storybag.com.au

All submissions must be in the Fantasy genre
Stories must not have been previously published
Your story must be 5000 words or less in length
Stories cannot contain erotic content or hard core profanity
All work must be edited prior to submission.
Electronic submissions should be made in *.doc,*.wpd or *.txt format
Hard copy submissions must be typed and double spaced with 1″ margins
Each submission must have a cover page with the title of the story, the author’s name and contact information.
Subsequent pages should only have the page number and title of the story in the header
Stories that fail to meet the above criteria will not be considered for publication.

Mail Submissions to:
JoRi Publications
850 S. Boulder Hwy., Suite 436
Henderson, NV 89015-7564

or submit electronically to: JoRi@joripublications.com

JoRi Publications will pay $25.00 USD for each short story (1 story per author) selected for publication in the anthology.
Authors selected for this collection will have the opportunity to purchase the collection at $10.00* per copy prior to printing and $12.00* after printing. The retail price will range from $17.95 to $19.95 depending on the size of the book. Authors may sell pre-purchased copies at the retail price for additional compensation.
JoRi Publications will place the collection online to generate book sales. A short author-supplied bio will be requested upon acceptance for publication in order to recognize their contribution to the project. JoRi Publications will also handle coordinating distribution to other outlets. accepted

*Plus shipping and handling costs which will vary based on the number of books ordered and destination.

Content Writers Wanted for AOL Seed
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I can’t get much information on how much you’ll get paid, (they’re only hiring US writers so I don’t get to know,) but AOL are setting up their own content site and need writers to provide content for 80+ AOL channels. If you are interested in this type of writing work, and many do find it a useful sideline, then visit: http://www.seed.com/writers/

Sasee welcomes editorial submissions from freelance writers. They are looking for new, unpublished, first-person, non-fiction material that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are of primary editorial focus. Diversity of subjects that reflect all age groups and variety of writing styles are invited. Payment for articles varies. View website for contact details.

http://sasee.com/submissions/

History Articles Wanted

History-on-the-web is an online publishing site that publishes all things historical. Whatever the topic, whatever the period, they want to publish your work. Their requirements are simple:

*It must be referenced.
*It must be original.
*You must submit a profile.

Writers receive 50% Royalties and bonus.

View website for details.

http://www.history-on-the-web.com

Origin Magazine Calls For Submissions

UK based Origin Publishing Ltd are always looking for dependable, quality freelance writers to work on their magazines. View website for contact details.

http://www.originpublishing.com/vacancylist.asp

Articles on Computing Wanted

Worldstart.com are looking for tips for their e-mail newsletter, Computer Tips & Techniques. They are also seeking feature articles for the website covering any and all aspects of computing. Check out the guidelines on their website.

http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted as a blogger for this fantastic site, and I am looking forward to the coming weeks and months. Newbie-writers is a source of inspiration and support for many writers – both newbies and ‘veterans’ – and to be able to contribute in some small way is a pleasure.

For my first post, I thought I would just introduce myself briefly. My name is Jim Grange,  and I am a PhD student researching in the field of Cognitive Psychology. I have a fair amount of writing experience during the course of my studies, but I recently set out on a mission to start writing general interest pieces for the layperson. 

Science is my passion. I love all aspects of the scientific process, and I want to share my passion with the world (OK, perhaps just a few people who may happen to stumble over one of my articles, but hey, it’s a start)! Fiction has never grabbed me in the same way that science writing has. What I particularly love about popular science material is that quite often, truth is stranger than fiction.

For example – just from physics literature alone – which of the following do you think is physically impossible theoretically:

• Time travel
• Teleportation
• Single atoms being in more than one place at a time
• There are more than 4 dimensions (up-down, left-right, forwards-backwards, and time)
• The atoms in your body disappearing as a whole, and reforming the other side of Mars

You may be thinking “All of them, Jim!”. But the beauty is, they are ALL theoretically possible!! Time travel is not only allowed by Einstein’s Special and General Relativity, it INSISTS that it happens all the time (in fact, geo-positional satellites that communicate with your mobile phones and GPS have to compensate for time travel every few seconds in order to work)!  You will have to look out for future articles from me to read about the rest in more detail. But you get the point, there is so much weirdness and wonder in the world in which we actually live, I have never felt the urge to get lost in a fantasy world. But we are all different, and that’s fantastic!

Over my next few blogs, I hope to be able to share some of my writing experiences with you. Academic writing is very different to the writing I am engaging in now, so I am a newbie also. Let’s all learn from eachother’s experiences!

I look forward to writing for you soon. Until then, keep writing!

Jim.

P.S. My academic website can be found here:  http://jimgrange.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

Dawn has some high quality posts and me not being a writer probably shouldnt post up on here! However being the nerd I am, I was never ever happy with the Writer’s Quill theme I chose for our blog. It became one of those things whereby we decided on a blog, I got it running and searched for “writing themes.” Only one available I installed it and put a “must get to that” note in my head.

So months later I happened to be at the WordPress site for some tech help (which is useless I might add) and thought “may as well check out the themes” to which I found this one. I edited the header (which I’m not keen on, might design a distinct blog header) and tweaked it a bit. What do you think? I seriously need your opinions on this as im a perfectionist.

I too am sick with the ‘dreaded lurgy’ or bronchitis and sinusitis (but you didnt REALLY need to know that), why do I decide to tweak our blog when I should be in bed? Who knows!? I know now I’ll be awake most of the night thinking “hmm need to fix that header.. not happy with it.”

I welcome your opinions. Also spammers (and yes you do exist I’ve deleted ten so far from our database) go ahead and post, it’ll be deleted and karma will get you in the form of a bus hurtling towards you next time you cross the street. Get a real job!

Damien