Yes, You are now a Professional Writer

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The moment you chose to write a commercial blog (which is what each of us here at WA possesses), you made a choice to become a professional writer. No matter your niche, the purpose of your writing is to inform, inspire, influence, and, ultimately, to sell. The moment we attach affiliate ads or any other commercial linkage onto our site, we are selling.

I’ve been getting paid to write for many years. Along the way I have picked up or adhered to a number of principles and practices that have helped to keep the copy flowing. Maybe something here will help you, too.

Focus on your niche. Seems obvious, right? Maintaining focus is smart. If your blog is about children’s clothing, you probably should not write and publish content about the healing benefits of acupuncture. Just make sure your content has an organic connection. For example, children’s clothing may connect with the travails of a working mom - you can expand on what it's like to be a busy mom getting everything ready in the morning while expounding on the benefits of outfits that young children can handle on their own, giving mom time enough to drink her coffee.

Embrace the box. “Out of the box” is a dangerous myth for any writer/artist. Your niche is a box or boundary. The content you write needs to fit inside that parameter. As a pro, our jobs are to expand the box, but not go outside the box. According to noted psychologist Rollo May, artists have a passion for form – it is the job of the artist to create form out of chaos. That can only be done if we embrace the box. For more on this see my post: http://blazingmind.com/embrace-the-box/

Focus on your market. To whom are you writing? It’s always helped when I can imagine an individual within my market – my ideal client. For Blazing Mind that would be a person, typically 35-65 years old, that is professional, educated and is seeking authenticity and freedom personally and professionally. Depending on the article, the person could be a housewife living in suburban Connecticut, or an executive living in Los Angeles. Whoever it is, I write to that person. This tends to help in keeping my copy conversational and connectable.

Set a deadline. Writing for money means writing to a deadline. Know your capacity and set reasonable timelines. And then meet your deadlines.

Share the deadline. Create accountability. Writing can be a lonely business. A great way to increase productivity and maintain integrity with deadlines is to share your timeline with a trusted friend or colleague. Do regular check-ins and help each other to create accountability.

Begin by Re-Writing. Writer’s block sucks, and a blank screen can be overwhelming. A trick I learned that can often help in pushing through a block is to re-write the last piece I completed. The simple act of writing begins to oil the mechanism, and because you’re re-writing related content, the mind will kick in and the ideas and words you were seeking will appear on the page. Trust me, this technique works.

Walk away. If re-writing doesn’t work, go fishing. Do something fun. Take a walk. Read a book (writers are readers). Believe it or not, walking away for a short time is an essential part of the creative process. Taking a break allows ideas to incubate, marinate and become seasoned. The ideas will come when you least expect them – and then it’s time to write.

Refuse to edit while you write. Unless you’re fixing a simple spelling error, don’t edit while you write. Write first. Get a rough draft down completely, and then edit. They are two very separate and distinct functions. Editing while you’re writing is a distraction you don’t need and can keep you from completing, which will lead to missed deadlines.

Great writing begins with re-writing. Sometimes your first draft will be awful. Don’t worry about it. Find the good stuff that is there (and there will be good stuff) and build around those ideas. Re-write. Keep re-writing until you’ve got it nailed. The art of writing is re-writing.

Read what you just wrote. When you think you have it nailed, read what you have written. Out loud. For me this is the conversation test. There are times when you read silently and it all seems good. But, when you read it aloud, you might find a clunky sentence or two that you can change. You’ll also find misspellings and punctuation glitches doing this. It’s a great way to check your work.

Live with what you wrote - Click “Publish”. Start again. As a Pro, your job is to produce copy. At some point you just have to say, “That’s the best I've got right now!” So you let it go, click “publish”, and move on to the next article.

Once you publish, the piece you wrote is no longer yours. It belongs to your readers. If you’ve done your job a conversation will be created, concepts will be accepted, minds will be influenced, information will be passed along, people will be educated, inspired or motivated. Maybe they’ll buy now, maybe later. Seeds are planted. Your job is done.

Hope there is something valuable here - a nugget you can use!

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Recent Comments

63

An excellent post, Jim! There is so much great technical advice at WA but I'm glad to see someone share principles and practices that are vital to writing good content.

HI Erica. Thank you. I appreciate your support. As writers we have much to share that can be beneficial.

Thanks Jim. These look like great tips. I have this bookmarked for future reference.

Very cool, Ron. Thank you. Keep writing!

Hi Jim, Great content and advice! You are right on the money. This is one of the awesome things about WA; a new person who has very little or no experience writing content can begin to converse with others here and before they realize it, they are learning how to write. The more involved they get, the more they learn how to compose ideas and set them to print. Thanks for the info. Dave.

This is a perfect example of: "The more you give, the more blessings you receive"

You nailed it, Dave. Thanks for your kind words. I'very received a lot of great technical advice from WA members. Thought I could share some of my expertise in return.

No doubt about that!

Hello, JimPhelps--again! I just Copied and Pasted your article on my private laptop for my own personal reference and something to "study-up" on. Is this okay with you? If I'm breaking any laws, just write to me and I'll delete the copy from my laptop--pronto! LOL!
But, I just felt this article was just too good to just "pass off" and leave it here on WA. It needed to get into my "home"--literally--so I can read it over and over again, because there are "tons" of very useful and beneficial ideas concerning "the writing business."
. . . speaking of which: Just a few days ago, I gave one of my neighbors a Japanese Soroban (abacus) with some very basic instructions, then I loaned him my Soroban book so he can learn it.
When I returned home, I decided to write some information for him, as well as for myself, and which later turned out to becoming a bigger project than I realized. It took me a long time just drawing grapsh and such and eventually I found a great web site where I could gain accesss to an onlineVirtual Soroban that I use to copy and show him (and myself) graphs of before and after the calculations, etc. And this is only for Addition!
But I feel strongly to keep on doing this and it really looks like I'll eventually write my own book on using the Soroban, and maybe write and sell an ebook or a hardcover book.
Your article really made me do some "deep thinking" about persuing my earlier interest in writing nonfiction, educational and inspiring books with information that readers can benefit from. So, this is a "start" of sorts and I'll just "follow my gut" feelings about this "new toy,: so to speak.
Anyway, JimPhelps, thank you very much for your awesome, very inspiring, educational, and motivational article. I wish you the very best in everything you endeavor--no matter what--"no limits," either! Sincerely, roger19

HI Roger. I'm thankful that you shared this story. I truly believe you have this book already written. It just needs to make it to the page. I sincerely appreciate your kind words. Oh, there'should nothing wrong with using this content for your personal use in whatever fashion you choose.

Nice piece Roger19. You are probably a better writer than you think you are. Keep it up. DAN

Thank you very much, JimPhelps! Aloha! roger19

Aloha, JimPhelps. I just love your "Yes, You are now a Professional Writer." It's awesome and very educational, as well as highly inspiring! There are lots of "gems" here scattered throughout this article. The "Ebrace the box" section really hits home. It makes a lot of practical common sense and I now see it in a different light--from your angle! You have opened up my mind to "possibilities," that's for certain! I'll be reading your other articles soon, as well. A great big "Mahalo" (Thank you!). roger19

Thanks again, Roger!

Yes really nice piece thank you.

Thanks, Janelle!

Hi Jim, there are more than a few nuggets here within your post. Very usable tips. I especially like the concept that we are professional writers, have never thought in terms of that. Even thinking like that will lift the game. Really appreciate this post.
Alexander

Thanks, Alexander. The reason I wrote this is because I saw a lot of WA members struggling, especially with being writers. Identity is a powerful thing. Like you so aptly said, embracing the fact that we are each pro writers, our identity can be transformed. Given that, I also thought it might be useful to share a few tricks of the trade. Do you think if I expanded this it would make for an appropriate training?

Definitely, great idea! At the heart of WA is the concept of producing quality content. Tips and advice of the trade greatly received in these parts.

Nice informative post Jim, thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Ken. Hope you found one or two of these nuggets useful.

Hey Jim that is good stuff, I am just at the beginning and realizing I may be on to something that I really enjoy. Your insights are well worth the price of admission. Thanks so much for sharing.

Marty

You got it, Marty! Hope what I wrote can help in some way. Keep writing, and believe in YOUR voice!

Cool. That inspires and humbles me, Marty. Thank you.

Yesir Jim, saved for future reference:-)

Hi Jim, thanks for the nuggets. There are plenty of good nuggets here to help us as writers. Great info. Thanks for sharing.
Marilyn

Thanks, Marilyn. Glad there might be something useful here. Keep writing!

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