Archive for June, 2009

Writing for the Internet is a bit different than writing for print.  That holds true whether you’re writing an article for an online publication or content for a company’s Web site.   And while print publications are shrinking, online usage is increasing, even in the down-turned economy.  A Pew Internet and American Life Project study found that 63 percent of adult Americans have broadband Internet now, which is up 15 percent from just a year ago.

With so many users out there, writing well online is vital to getting your content read.  A few tips can make your Internet writing more successful.

First, remember that readers have to concentrate harder to read text on a computer screen versus on a printed page. While a 2,500-word feature article might work well in a print publication, chances are most Internet readers won’t plow through it.  To add to this issue is the fact that reading on a computer screen often feels like work to most users.  After all, many people sit in front a computer all day long for work and they often don’t want to continue reading on a computer after hours.

Second, know that online readers are skimmers. You may be skimming through this post.  I know I skim online.  Using subheads, bullet points and other such devices can draw readers in to your main points.  If you have enough good points, then skimmers will take time to read the entire piece.

Third, utilize the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid style of writing is starting with the most important information at the beginning and working down in priority from there.  Inverted pyramids work well for Internet writing because you may only get your reader to read the first couple of paragraphs, so you want to give them enough information to draw them in.  Creative leads don’t work as well online.  People want to know exactly what they’re getting up front when they are reading online.

Fourth, keep it simple. Internet writing is not the place for extra long sentences and words.  Overall, simple sentence structure and vocabulary geared to an eighth or ninth grade level is preferred.  Think similarly to your local newspaper.  Concise writing is vital for effective online writing.

Fifth, emphasize key words, but don’t get too crazy with them. You definitely want to use key words that Internet search engines will pick up on, but you don’t want to go so crazy with them as to drive your readers crazy and interfere with your message.

Finally, include related links. If you refer to another online article in your piece or are quoting a study, then link to it.  Readers are definitely more wary of information they read online and want to be able to confirm it.  You don’t want to include a link for every other word or even every paragraph, but a few well placed links really do add to your credibility.

One part of being a free-lancer that I didn’t think about too much before I started was the financial aspect.  I knew I wouldn’t start out making a ton of money and that the income would be unpredictable.  What I didn’t think about, though, was tracking expenses and income for tax reasons.

Fortunately, I had enough sense to go and talk with an accountant before I really got going in my work.  He educated me on what kinds of thing to keep track of like mileage, mailing costs, phone bills, etc.  I realized early on that I was going to need a system to track all these numbers so that when tax time came each year, I would be organized going to his office.

I am perhaps a typical writer in that I don’t like math, so I wanted to find something easy that would require little work on my part.  Here is how I handle tracking income and expenses.  I’m not attempting to give any sort of financial advice here, just offering how I best keep track so my accountant and I don’t have major headaches come tax time.

And the other thing to note is that I’m frugal.  I didn’t want to drop a couple hundred dollars (or more!) on special software, so I started with what I had and have found it works well.

I utilize Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to track income and expenses.  If you don’t own Microsoft Excel, no need to fret.  You can actually use a Google version of virtually the same program if you have a free gmail account.  Check out Google Docs.  Another bonus to Google Docs is that you can share documents with others and they are stored online, so if your computer crashes you don’t lose anything.  I may write a whole post about Google Docs some day — it’s that great.

Anyway, my setup goes that for expenses I have a spreadsheet titled “2009Expenses” (or whatever year it is).  I have multiple worksheets.  The first is mileage.  In here, I track the date I went somewhere, where I went, how far the round-trip mileage was and why I went there.  For calculating mileage, I usually use an online mapping tool like Maps on Us or Google Maps.  I try to make sure I update this at least once a week if not the day I go places.  I also keep track of my meetings and appointments on my calendar in Microsoft Outlook.  So, if I get backed up and have a couple weeks of mileage to catch up on, then I can go through my calendar and work from there.

I have another worksheet labeled “Expenses.”  Here is where I keep track of incidental expenses like buying more ink for my printer or mailing a packet to an editor.  I track the date of the purchase, where it was made, how much it was, how I paid for it (business debit card, cash, etc.) and what it was.  The third worksheet is labeled “Utilities.”  In this worksheet, I track the month for the utility, the vendor (like my local gas company), the total amount, the deductible amount (my office is 12 percent of our total square footage, so I can deduct 12 percent of my utility costs), what utility it is (gas or electric) and how I paid for it.

My fourth worksheet is “Communication.”  This is set up just like the “Utilities” worksheet and tracks my expenses for Internet and phone service.  I can’t tell you exactly why these don’t fall into the “Utilities” category; I just know that my accountant says they have to be separate.

The final worksheet I have is “Taxes.”  Here I track when I paid my quarterly taxes.  This is more for my own records and to let my accountant know what I have already paid out for taxes.

I also keep an envelope in my filing cabinet where I store all business-related receipts in chronological order.  So far I haven’t had to have those, but if I ever get audited, I know they will come in handy.  Of course, I track my business account balance in its check register.

Income works much the same way, though with fewer worksheets required.  I have a spreadsheet titled “2009Income.”  For the most part, I just have one worksheet for income.  When I teach, I will usually make a second worksheet to track teaching income separately because some taxes are withheld from that income.  Otherwise, I track the date (usually the date on the check versus the date I received it), who it was from, how much it was for and what it was for.  I am specific in what it was for so that I know exactly which articles I’ve gotten paid for and which ones I haven’t.  I keep the check stubs or a copy of the check (for those without stubs) in an envelope as well.  If I get paid through PayPal, I print out the transaction and stick that in the envelope.

I also use a spreadsheet for publications I do multiple projects for and need to track what articles have run when and whether I’ve gotten paid for them.

The nice thing about spreadsheets is they do all the calculations for you.  At the end of the calendar year, I total up all expenses and income on each worksheet.  I then print it out or e-mail it to my accountant who takes it from there.  It takes just a few minutes at year-end to do this.  It keeps me motivated to keep on top of tracking things so I don’t wind up with a shoebox of receipts to sort all at once or anything.  It also makes sure I remember short trips to the post office or to drop something off to a client and count that mileage as a deduction.

What tools do you find helpful in handling business finances?

Perhaps no punctuation is misused more in writing than commas.  Semi-colons run a close second.  In the writing classes I’ve taught, many students struggle with when to use commas and semi-colons.  Some use commas way too often while others seldom use them.  Everyone can use a refresher on commas and semi-colons from time to time.  I know I do.

Let’s take a look at an example sentence punctuated three different ways.  Two of the three are correct.  Which ones?

• The man walked briskly down the sidewalk, he was running late for work.
• The man walked briskly down the sidewalk; he was running late for work.
• The man walked briskly down the sidewalk, because he was running late for work.

The last two are correct.  The first one is incorrect because it’s a run-on sentence.  You cannot separate two sentences with only a comma.  The second one is correct because a semi-colon serves to separate two sentences (or independent clauses), yet still ties similar ideas together.  The third one is also correct.  When you use a conjunction (because, and, or, etc.) to separate two complete sentences, then you must use a comma before the conjunction.

Remember that commas are used to separate two sentences tied together with a conjunction that can stand alone.  They are NOT used to separate a dependent and independent clause.  Which of the following is correct?

• The dog barked loudly, and wagged his tail.
• The dog barked loudly and wagged his tail.

The second one is correct.  “Wagged his tail” is a dependent clause (it doesn’t have a subject and verb and cannot stand on its own), so a comma would not be used.  If we changed the sentence to read: “The dog barked loudly, and he wagged his tail,” then we would use a comma.  The second half of the sentence is now independent because it has a subject.

I know grammar and punctuation aren’t the funniest of topics, but they really do help improve writing and communication.  Whether you’re a writer by trade or not having good written communication is important.

What punctuation problems do you encounter most?

Social networking is everywhere.  These days many folks are connected through online networks like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and Linked In.  I personally use Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.  I use them for different reasons.  Facebook is my network to connect with friends and only a few close colleagues.  I use it for more personal, day-to-day sort of information.  Twitter and Linked In, though, I use solely for professional connections.  I must admit that I haven’t done much with Linked In, but Twitter and I have hit it off.

While social networking online can be a time zapper, it can also help you stay on task — at least that’s what I’ve found.  I follow a relatively small amount of folks on Twitter (just under 70 at the moment).  Many of them are fellow freelance writers.  Others are great for idea generation.  In connecting with other writers through Twitter, I’m often inspired to plug away at work after reading their brief updates of what they are doing.

And I often post on Twitter what I’m working on.  Once I have it “out there,” I feel more accountable to make sure it gets done.  In a way, my connections on Twitter serve as my co-workers and sometimes my boss by keeping me on task.

Instead of being a time zapper, it actually keeps me working some days.  And on the times I think about cutting out early, I wonder what my fellow Twitter-ers would think.  I know in reality, they don’t care too much, but it helps keep me on track.

And, yes, I’ve been able to use connections made through Twitter to get a couple of writing and editing jobs.  That alone makes the few minutes I spend on Twitter nearly daily worth it.

How do you use social networking?