Writers write? Right?

Whether we're amateurs or professionals, we all share one common daily activity - writing.

So it makes sense that those successful writers would enjoy writing about their personal experiences in the publishing industry as much as they enjoy writing articles, reports, or books for profit.

Thankfully many best-selling authors and established experts in our industry willingly share their advice and suggestions for those beginners seeking to develop a profitable, fulfilling career as a writer.

1 - Regardless of where you land your first writing job, chances are you will work an exorbitant number of hours for a less than desirable salary.

Below are the results of a poll on freelance income published in Freelance WorkExchange News: Market Bulletin FREELANCE SURVEY.

Thanks to the hundreds of you who took part in last week's poll on freelance income. We asked you how much you earned from freelancing in a year. The results were as follows:

$0-10,000 48%

$10-20,000 8%

$20-50,000 14%

$50-100,000 18%

More than $100,000 12%

Some suggestions to turn this season's activities into articles for publication.

Summertime supplies an almost endless list of things to stimulate your writing.

What things am I talking about?

Special Events - like -

Community outings

Church fairs

Outdoor concerts

Annual festivals

Non-profit fundraisers (walk-a-thons etc.)

Holiday celebrations

Weekend carnivals

Regular Attractions - like -

Most published writers will admit that there is no secret formula for writing a winning query letter, however, many professionals can share some basic suggestions to help new writers formulate a query that will sell their story idea.

I can think of four simple guidelines to follow for building good query letters.

1) Capture The Editor's Attention

1. Develop a website with an overview of your services, experience, resume, education and links to your articles written online.

See previous article titled: A Working Writer's

Website: Publish, Promote and Profit?

2. Write articles and then offer them to publishers for free See previous article titled: Top Ten Reasons to Write Articles for Free Publication Online

3. Create a signature file to include at the end of every email message you send.

Here's mine for example:

While there is no perfect plan to create incredible poetry, there are literally hundreds of possible techniques that will help you achieve your goal of getting published.

This list is just my basic suggestions that may lead to success for writers seeking to craft a publishable poem.

Day One

Write an initial draft. Read it a few times. Make any minor adjustments to your poem that grab your attention at this point. Walk away from it. Consider it a work-in-progress.

Did you make any resolutions this year? Did you write them down? (Stupid question for a writer, right?)

Do you know where that scrap of paper with your personal list is located?

Do you have the energy and/or desire to find it? (If not today, you may want to put it on your list of "things to do" for this week - You may be surprised at your successful completion of some items on your little list or you may get re-motivated to fulfill some of your ideas for change this year!)

Many college professors and other writing mentors will advise new writers that it is of utmost importance to "Write every day..."

Although I believe in the value of this advice, I also believe that in order to be creative and productive, you have to follow your own instincts.

Some days I just don't feel inspired to write about anything. No matter how hard I may try to motivate myself on those days, I usually end up making myself more frustrated and less creative.

Are writing contests worth your time and energy? If only there was a simple answer to this controversial question...

Although there are numerous legitimate contests for writers, unfortunately there also seems to be various questionable competitions developed to "scam" aspiring writers.

Dedicated to the memory of Jerry Garcia...

On August 9, 2001, the world lost one of the most talented musicians and insightful individuals to walk this earth - Jerry Garcia, a phenomenal solo artist and leader of The Grateful Dead.

The influence of his lyrical genius lives on - this feature is one small testament to that fact. As I listened to the lyrics of the Dead tune "Eyes of The World," I was inspired to write this feature. You can find all the words of this song on this site http://arts.ucsc.edu/GDead/AGDL/eyes.html