Hope Writes

What Do You Want To Know?

Posted by Hope

As we round out this year and head into 2008, I thought I’d take a moment to find out what’s on your mind. If you have a question about writing, I’d love to help you out with it. Leave your question in the comments below or email them to me at hopewilbanks@gmail.com. I’ll answer your questions in detail in future posts. (If you prefer your name not to be used with your question, just let me know and I’ll keep you anonymous.)

So what’s on your mind? What questions do you have? What are you interested in learning more about? Talk to me!

Popularity: 29% [?]

“Real” Books or Ebooks?

Posted by Hope

Today I just have a quick question that I would love to get your input on. Do you have a preference over reading “real” books or eBooks?

I personally read a ton of ebooks. In fact, I should start keeping up with how many I read in a year’s time. It would probably blow my mind to know how many I go through. There’s something about the instant delivery that makes ebooks so convenient. Plus there’s the option of printing them out if you’re too tired to read them on the computer, which I do A LOT.

But I do love my “real” books, too. There’s nothing like being able to carry a book in my purse, knowing when I catch a few minutes of free time I can just whip it out and read a few more pages. Some of my most favorite books are full of highlighting and notes, too. I don’t like to mark up books, but there are some that I just can’t read without adding notes to them.

So what’s your take on this? Would you take a real book over an ebook on a computer screen any day? Or do you prefer ebooks? I’d love to hear what you think!

Technorati Tags: books, ebooks, paperback books, hardcover books

Popularity: 26% [?]

ASK HOPE: Do You Do What You Love?

Posted by Hope

I’ve heard quite a few marketers say that in order to make money online you can’t do what you love, but rather what brings in the money. So today I’m wondering what your thoughts are on that. (Thanks to Becka for the great question!) Let me just give you my thoughts on the subject…

Doing What You Love
Perhaps the biggest argument for doing what you love is that you are happy with what you do. Does doing what you love mean that you won’t make as much money? Maybe. But if that’s a chance worth taking for you, you’ll probably find that you’ll be a lot happier than if you were making triple that, doing something you loathe.

I can tell you from personal experience that my husband, being the main bread-winner in our family for the better part of 10 years now, has had quite a diversity in well-paying jobs. The best-paying job he had lasted for several years with a large, well-known company in the United States. We both thought he would retire there. They paid very well and had excellent benefits. Yet, my husband didn’t “love” his job. That never stopped him from giving 110%, but deep down he just was unsatisfied.

When that job downsized, and eventually shut down the entire plant, my husband was left without a job. He started all over again with a local factory job. He took a big cut in pay, but they treated him well. Overall, he was okay working there, too, but still just not happy.

Every since I’ve known him, he has always wanted to be involved in law enforcement. He tried to get on every police and sheriff’s department, but even those who knew him couldn’t seem to pull the right strings to help him get a job. He eventually went back to school through the Army and earned his E.M.T. license. He never used them though, because taking an E.M.T. job meant he would have been cutting his pay nearly in half, and we just couldn’t afford that.

Fast forward to a year ago…

We moved two states away, to my home town. He didn’t know anyone, except for my family. He decided to apply for a job at the Sheriff’s office. Wonder of all wonders, he got hired! He just graduated from the Academy Friday morning, and is finally doing the work he’s always wanted to do.

I can definitely tell you that doing what he loves to do has made all the difference in the world. He’s so happy and content. He never says things like, “I wish I could…” anymore.

So the debate stands. Should you do what you love, even if it means you might not make as much money? Or should you do something that you don’t really enjoy in order to get a few steps up the ladder quicker? I suppose in the end, it’s all up to you. You have to decide what, if anything, you’re willing to give up. And if you’re not willing to concede, then do what you love and do it with all your heart.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: doing what you love, do what you love, Ask Hope, writer

Popularity: 27% [?]

ASK HOPE: Blogging For Cash

Posted by Hope

Earlier this month, I blogged about how extreme advertising on a blog can erode and detract from you actual blog content.

Pattie posted in response and asked the question as quoted above. I thought her question brought about a valid point, so I wanted to clarify my earlier position, just in case you misunderstood what I meant.

In this earlier post, I was not bashing anyone who blogs for an income. Far from it. The main point I was trying to make was that there’s a difference between blogging for money and blogging for fun, then suddenly splashing advertising all over the place.

For example, let’s say I have three blogs bookmarked, all related to puppy training issues (I don’t even have a dog, this is just an example). The first blog (Blog A) is a personal blog of someone who got a new puppy for her family and loves animals so much that she decided to start a blog to write about her experience as she trains her puppy. Blog A contains no advertising, mostly likely because the owner hasn’t discovered Google Adsense, or the like. The second blog (Blog B) is also a personal blog that is very much like Blog A, except that it contains minimal advertising, and the blogger posts more in-depth information as well as product reviews. The third blog (Blog C) is what could be referred to as a “professional” blogger. He also writes terrific posts about training puppies, product reviews, and is a puppy training expert (has some type of formal training, maybe is a Veterinarian).

I visit all three blogs for very different reasons. Blog A gives me a personal, been-there-done-that viewpoint of the topic I’m interested in: puppy training. Blog B also gives me this same type of personal experience, but takes it a step further by giving me even more researched information about puppy training. Blog C provides educated, scholarly information about puppy training–all the “why” and “what” info I need–from an “expert” viewpoint.

If I’ve visited all three blogs for several months, I automatically expect that I’ll never see advertising on Blog A; see some ads on Blog B; and expect ads on Blog C. One day I visit Blog A and find that not only does she have some Adsense in the sidebar, but she has three or four huge block ads stacked one on top of the other at the top of every post in her blog. Can you see how this is an automatic turn-off?

Like I said, I have absolutely nothing against monetizing your blog. (Look around here…! ) It’s just a shocking thing when you’ve visited a blog for a long time and enjoyed it, then suddenly there’s more ads than there is content. And that was the point I was trying to make earlier.

It’s not about having or not having advertising on your blog. It’s about working it into the big picture and figuring out how to make it fit in so that it’s not so obtrusive that you start losing your visitors.

Take PPP, for example. While this is another way to make money blogging, I’ve seen bloggers use it in a way that is so tactful I would have never known the blog entry was for PPP, if I hadn’t seen the disclaimer. Now that’s a way of making your advertising fit into your blog!

If you are a blogger, and are earning an income from your blogging, what do you think? Do you try to make everything fit? Or do you blog and not worry so much about how the advertising is seen and accepted (or not) by your visitors? I’m interested in hearing more perspectives on this topic.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging for cash, blogging for money, make money blogging, PPP, make money with your blog, professional blog

Popularity: 36% [?]

ASK HOPE: Standing Out In A Sea Of Writers

Posted by Hope

“In the big sea of writers, how do you stand out to get the job?”

This is a question that just about every writer has probably asked at some point. It’s scary when you do a little bit of digging online and see just how many writers there are out there. Pre-Internet days one might have been somewhat encouraged to think that the competition numbers were low (even though they really weren’t). But now the ‘net smacks of writers everywhere.

Here are some of the ways I believe a writer can stand out among her peers:

• Be different. Instead of doing what every other writer is doing, be yourself. Do something different. While it’s great to pattern yourself after successful writers, you don’t want to be a cookie-cutter writer. So be yourself.
• Find your USP and brand yourself. What is the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else? Do you have a special skill that you’re really good at? Take that, create your unique sales point from it, then brand yourself accordingly.
• Give just a little more than what’s expected. One of the best ways to stand out in a crowd is to be known as the gal (or guy) who goes above and beyond the call of duty. You’ll be surprised at how giving just a little more can make you stand out.
• Be a (wo)man of your word. I just told this to another colleague of mine a couple of days ago, and I will recommend it to you as well. One of the most important things to building a reputable writing business (especially online) is to keep your word. Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep. If you tell a client you’re going to write X-articles in 5 days, then don’t put them off or ignore them for 2 months before you finally deliver.

Can you stand out in a sea of writers? You bet! But you have to be willing to run your writing business like a business. If you’re not ready to do that, then you should probably stick to writing as a hobby.

Technorati Tags: Ask Hope, writing, professional writing, how to get writing jobs, USP, brand, keep your word

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What Is Your Burning Question About Writing?

Posted by Hope

I’d like to give you the floor today. What are your burning questions about writing? Is there something you’ve been wondering and would like to read more about?

Leave your questions here in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you!

Technorati Tags: on writing, writing, writing questions, ask your writing question, write

Popularity: 21% [?]