Another newbie from the UK

[ltweedie]

Hi All

I'm a new writer on CC - I've had two article accepted. Looks like I better get myself heading towards 20! Would be exciting to sell one!

I started a job as a Blogger for a social media blog this week ... so I a paid 2 hours per day to write (but they give me the topic)... I thought this would make a good contrast ... allow me to follow my nose a little bit. Blogging has gone well I think - well they have been very supportive about it.

My youngest kid just started big school - so I really needed to find something to fill the void!! I now have 3 kids at primary school - aged 9,6 and 4.
I used to work in the software industry and have a technical PhD - so technical stuff does suit me. I live in the middle of nowhere so contemplating commuting to a real job and never being around for the kids really isn't attractive.

I am quite excited about this new little career. I feel like I am learning tons every day. I like the idea of a writers community too.

Anyhow probably enough for today.

Take care
Lisa

P.s. I'm writing under pen name on here ... not sure if that was a good idea or not but anyhow its done .... you might be able to guess which one I am from the above (-:

[Debbi]

Lisa, welcome!

Congrats on your acceptances. If you write techincal material, I'm sure you'll do well here. When you submit your articles, be sure to include your byline in the long summary and in your uploaded document. You can bput your real name in there if you don't want your pen name used. That's what I do.

I too live in the hinterlands. I have 3 dogs instead of kids but they seem to take up as much of my attention and budget as my kids did way back when. Though I can just put them outside or in their crates if I need to focus.....

Anyway, it's great to have you here!

Debbi
pen name: DM Gutierrez

[ltweedie]

Debbi

I hadn't really thought about putting my byline on the article. I guess because it feels strange the thought of it going off to be published somewhere I don't know! Maybe when I get a bit more confident about my writing I will be prepared to do it!

It is an interesting thought though. Better cook the kids tea (what time is it in New Mexico? ... morning I guess - haven't been there since I was a teenager - lovely memories though).

Thanks for replying so quickly - made me feel very welcome (-:

Lisa

[eek]

Welcome, Lisa!
You should do really well here with your technical background. Every time I look at the recently sold topics I think how lucrative it would be able to write intelligently on computer/techie/social media subjects.
I write from the midwest U.S. boonies, and also enjoy the flexibility a writing career provides for being available for the kids. 15, 13, 8.
Lots of us here with pen names! This little writer's forum maintains a supportive, friendly spirit.
Writing as
eekane (E. E. Kane)
emma

[Debbi]

Lisa,

It's 11:30am here in the Land of Enchantment. October is the best time of year here I think. The Hot Air Balloons sailing through the enormous bright blue sky, the days cool and breezey and the nights cold enough to bundle up. Besdies being a freelance writer, I'm also a singer/songwriter and will be throwing my last nootenanny for the year on my front porch (a three car carport) on the 24th. I sure wish everyone on CC could come join us! But as far-flung as everyone is, I guess I have to settle for enjoying your company on this forum

If you don't include your byline in the document and your article sells for usage right or unique rights (where the buyer is compelled to include your byline), the buyer will be stuck with your pen name. If your article sells for fullrights, the buyer can do whatever he wants with it so it doesn't matter so much, but I've seen some of my full rights sales use my byline anyway.

What prt of NM did you visit?

Debbi

[ltweedie]

I'm over the moon (-: 60$ full rights - unfortunately the exchange rate is pretty rubbish for us uk folk these days... never mind.

Definitely going to put my byline in the next one now!! You've persuaded me.

On the byline do you put the title of the article in the actual content? Or just "by Lisa Tweedie" at the top??? Or at the bottom??? Sorry about the grammar - in a state of euphoria.

As for New Mexico we drove across from NYC to California across the top (i.e. route 66) - 11 of us in an RV. We were going to my Uncles wedding it was the only way we could afford to get across (4 adults and 7 cousins). We drove back along route 40 ... via Albuquerque but took a side tour to Santa Fe and stayed there a few days. I remember it was magical. The space you have in the States is awesome - you can't really get it until you've driven it I don't think. I was the eldest kid and was 15 and it was one of my most memorable holidays ever. Don't reckon you'd get away with 11 people in an RV nowadays!!

I'm a bit of a Barbara Kingsolver fan (I know she is Arizona) ... but I feel like she describes the area well and with warmth. I like her focus on trying to build community too.

Anyhow I must to bed ... although I am buzzing with new articles (-:

Lisa
Pen Name: Alice Templer

[ltweedie]

BTW Emma I know this is probably shooting myself in the foot but it really is very easy to write about Social Media!

You are doing Social Media on this forum. If you go to a few Social Media Marketing websites there are absolutely hundreds of stories and news feeds to pick up on - it is not at all techie!

I know I am on a high ... but really with a little research I bet you could actually do it - now whether you really want to do it is another matter!!! Although I do luckily find it quite interesting!

Lisa

[Celeste Stewart]

Awesome first sale - fast, too! Welcome to CC.

I agree that social media is pretty easy. It's a popular topic on CC, too.

[Debbi]

Lisa,

Hooray!!!! That first sale (or any sale, heh) is so exhilerating! Congratulations

I live 30 miles south of Albuquerque and go there quite often. When my daughter was visiting from Northern California in July, we went to Santa Fe and it hailed on us. The weather here is incredible, so much more variable than CA where it was either hot or hotter and sometimes rained. It never snowed when I lived out there, but it snows here quite a lot.

Barbra Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors, especially The Poisonwood Bible, partly because I lived in Africa as a child like she did, though in Northern Africa. Some of her essays about her home in Arizona are wonderful. I wish I had a house like the one I read about, though I don't really like the barrenness of Arizona and it's much too hot for me.

What in the UK are you?

Debbi

[eek]

Lisa,
Way to go on that first sale! YAY!!!
The reason I haven't touched social media topics - yet - is because I'm staunchly holding out on not joining Facebook. (Talk about shooting one's foot!) But that's me, kinda stubborn. I just like the old fashioned idea of Privacy. I suppose I could write about it even though I don't participate... I was tempted to join a few weeks ago just to keep up with family, because they NEVER email or call anymore (except my mother), they just rely on Facebook. Argh! But then my mom said she sent a b/day card with some money in it to one of my cousins, who then thanked her on her facebook page, putting my mom in an awkward position with my other cousins whom she didn't send anything to for their birthdays. I think I'll just wait until everyone figures out the protocol.

I do enjoy this forum, but I've never considered it social media. don't let my stubborn side know that.
Emma
(Debbi - never heard of a nootenanny. Did you make that up? Sounds like fun.)

[Debbi]

Gah! I meant "hootenanny" , aka jam session, home concert, get-together, gathering. Where was my spellchecker!

[Celeste Stewart]

Emma,
One of my clients who's into demographics told me that the younger demographic barely uses email except for business. That blew me away. They do text, IM, chats, MySpace, etc but not necessarily Twitter/Facebook. Apparently Facebook and Twitter attract an older crowd. Could be a fun article to write

Call me old fashioned but I love email. LOL. I hate phones and avoid them as much as possible. Funny because I used to spend so much time on the phone before working from home. Plus, it's hard to sound professional with little kids squawking in the background.

[ltweedie]

Emma - Have to admit to being a bit of a Facebook junky This forum is top notch social media! An online supportive community ... exactly what it is all about.

The thing about Facebook is you only post what you want to and you only choose who you want to be on friends list ... so its like having an informal chat with all your favourite folk! I do hear about disasters every so often but on the whole it has been a really postive thing for me and I've regained contact with lots of old colleagues. My friends list is in the 150's now!! I've also got this huge pool of people I can go and ask for advice. I guess a bit like the byline thing ... it takes courage to present yourself openly to the world but when you do it is really worth it. Also I definitely have an online persona that is fairly bubbly and then all my more personal stuff goes via emails and direct messages. You learn to draw lines betwen the two quite quickly.

You can also create facebook groups which are smaller sets of your friends - this means that you can talk more openly on there. My Bookclub has one ... its great because quite a few of the bookclub have moved on to pastures new but we still keep in touch that way. I dare you to try it ... you can always bail out!

Debbi - I was brought up in Africa too ... Zambia and Botswana. I came back to the UK when I was 11. Poisonwood Bible was fab ... although weak at the end I thought. My sister lives in Tanzania and was in Uganda before that. I took my eldest two out to Uganda when they were 3 and 1 on my own - an adventure!
Guess that also how I got into Kingsolver!

Celeste - know what you mean about kids squawking. I use IM with my clients - works great!

Thanks all of you for the support. Lovely finding other people trying to create a living this way! Do any of you blog?

Lisa

[hairyoctopus]

I'm still waiting for my first three articles to be approved. I put them on all at once before I realised that there was a limit. Reading through this thread, I'm wondering now if I should edit my submissions to include a byline. I have the same questions as Lisa though - do I put the title, followed with "by S Humphreys", on the actual article and the long summary? If not, where should the byline go?

Hi Lisa - there seem to be quite a few CC members from the UK. Other writing sites I've used require US English, so I've had to change the settings on my spellchecker. I've read elsewhere on the forums that UK English is fine here though, which does mean I don't have to worry about American idiom. I'm sure I've had times when I've checked the spelling of color and flavor, but then talked about a lorry mounting the pavement . Do you use UK English in your writing and assume that publishers will just accept it?

[Debbi]

I put my byline in both the document and the long summar like this:

********
My Constant Content Article

Bey Debbi Miller Gutierrez

This article is for the most wonderful writing site in the world--Constant Content. If you are an excellent writer with the expertise, will to achieve, the ability to learn from constructive criticism, and the know-how to self-edit, then you will go far on Constant Content.
*************

If your articles haven't been reviewed yet, you may want to remove them, add your byline, and resubmit. But it's up to you. Putting in your byline is not required, but if you don't have one, the buyer can't really be held accountible for not including it in usage or unique articles. Buyers only recive the Word document and probably don't go back and ferret out your name later. They might end up putting "By Hairy Octopus"