Freelance Writing 101: What's in a Pen Name?

What's in a Pen Name? Your pen name is your brand. It is your byline, your web presence. I use my real name, but many people are not comfortable doing this. If you are not comfortable using your real name in your freelance writing career you will need to choose a pen name. Just about all sites and clients will allow you to use a pen name to protect your privacy.

So, how do you choose a pen name? Choose something you like. For example, what is a name you have always wished your parents would have named you? Use that and then choose a real-sounding last name to go along with it. You can also choose a middle initial if you'd like. If you like the name Victoria your pen name could be something like "Victoria Hemming or "Victoria M. Hemming".

It is incredibly important that your pen name be a real-sounding name. Names like "partygurl216" or "yellowboy" will not be taken seriously by potential clients. Think about it. If you were looking to hire some writers to write articles for you who would you take more seriously "Victoria Hemming" or "partygurl216"? All clients are far more likely to choose Victoria Hemming regardless of partygurl216's skill and experience because partygurl 216 is not professional.

Your MySpace handle (unless it is your real name or sounds like one) is not an appropriate pen name. My MySpace handle is SpeedyTurtle. While I think that is very, very cool, I know it is not professional at all.
Single names, while not really unprofessional, are often not taken as seriously as a first name and a last name.

So, when you are creating your pen name keep all of this in mind. Ask yourself, "would I take this name seriously?" "Can I live with this pen name for a long time?" and most importantly "Is my pen name professional?"
Here are some pen name variations that are a great choice (using Victoria L. Hemming as an example):

Victoria L. Hemming
Victoria Hemming
V.L. Hemming
V. Hemming
V. Leigh Hemming (assuming the "L" stands for "Leigh")

When you are choosing a pen name, be sure to choose wisely. Your pen name can greatly impact your freelance writing career. You have to decide what's more important: a catchy name or being taken seriously. I say this because many people do not realize how important their pen name is to their freelance writing career. So if you do not want to use your real name feel free to be creative, but be sure to keep it real-sounding and professional.

If you ever need any help choosing a professional pen name please feel free to contact me anytime.

Happy Writing!

Freelance Writing 101: Why You Should Cite Sources in Your Articles

Why should I cite my sources in my articles? I see this question all of the time. First, AC wants you to cite sources 99% of the time. Many other writing sites and clients also require, or strongly recommend, it.

Adding Credibility to Your Articles Through Citing Sources
Second, citing sources adds credibility to your article as long as the source is credible. For example, if you were writing an article about the symptoms of multiple sclerosis sites such as the Mayo Clinic, University Medical Centers, Hospitals, and WebMD are credible sources. About.com can also be used because all medical information is medically reviewed. However, personal blogs and Wikipedia, or any Wiki sites for that matter, are not credible. Citing Wikipedia makes your article less credible and there is a chance that the information on this site will not be accurate. I've found inaccurate information on Wikipedia before and unfortunately the inaccurate information was medical information that could lead to a person becoming seriously ill.

Verify Your Facts Through Citing Sources
Third, even if you are an expert, it does not hurt to take five minutes to verify your facts. As a nurse, a medical writer, and a patient, I have a lot of medical knowledge, however, I ALWAYS take five minutes to verify all information in my medical articles. Sometimes, the smallest inaccuracy could kill someone or make them very sick. Once you verify your facts, use the site you used to verify them as your resource.

I know that when I read an article, I always look for solid, credible references. This is especially true with medical information. When it comes to medical articles, if there is no sources listed, or if non-credible sites such as Wikipedia or blogs are listed as sources, I immediately click away from that article. If I cannot trust the information, there is no point in reading it.

We are all experts at something, be it medicine, cars, gardening, parenting, etc. But, taking a few minutes to verify our sources and list them goes a long way in making sure we are writing the best possible articles that we can.

Citing Sources in Articles:
Your sources must be cited at the end of each article. Simply put the header "Resources", "References", or "Sources" at the end of the article. I prefer it to be bolded, but it doesn't have to. If you are using a website, just place the link that goes directly to the page you used under your heading. For example, if you used the Mayo Clinic as a reference, do not just use the Mayo Clinic's main site address, but the link to the exact article you used.

When I am citing any other type of resource, such as a book or a magazine, I like to use APA. Of course, you do not have to, but I feel APA is the best for citing non-internet resources. For information on how to properly use APA format to cite sources check out Purdue APA Style and Citing Information

These are the basics when it comes to how, why, and when to cite sources in your articles. If anyone would like to add anything or ask questions please contact me anytime.

Thanksgiving Article Keyphrase Ideas for Freelance Writers

Thanksgiving is this month so it is time to get those Thanksgiving articles written and published.  This post will give you some great Thanksgiving article ideas, keywords, and the global monthly search volume for those keywords.  I will be doing several posts like this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day.  Good luck and happy writing!

Thanksgiving history - 40,500 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving story - 22,200 global monthly search volume
First Thanksgiving - 74,000 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving celebration - 4,400 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving crafts - 74,000 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving activities - 40,500 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving dinner - 165,000 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving recipe - 33,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving prayer - 33,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving facts - 12,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving pilgrims 12,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving traditions - 6,600 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving gift - 9,900 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving card - 14,800 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving gift - 9,900 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving decorations - 22,200 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving centerpiece - 6,600 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving printables - 8,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving travel - 49,500 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving party - 18,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving for kids 40,500 global monthly search volume
Preschool Thanksgiving - 18,100 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving kids crafts - 14,800 global monthly search volume
Thanksgiving project - 2,400 global monthly search volume
Vegan Thanksgiving - 5,400 global monthly search volume

Hint: If you want to see what the global daily search volume is just divide the global monthly search volume by 30.

So what is global monthly search volume?  It is an estimate of how many searches were performed on that topic during one month.  The more searches the better.

Use the above keywords in your article titles (as close to the front as possible), in the first paragraph, last paragraph, and a few times in the body of the article.  If you use subheads use them there as part of your main keyphrase.

Rose's Freelance Writing Bootcamp #3

It's October folks so that means that Halloween is right around the corner. From experience I can tell you that Halloween articles can do very, very well in terms of page views. I challenge to write three Halloween articles by Friday, October 9th. I have seen the best results with costume ideas that include the keywords "homemade", "cheap" and "do-it-yourself". When you have completed this challenge please head over to my Ning (Click Here for Ning) and post your links in the "post your links thread". This is an easy and fun challenge and a great way to improve your page views.

Happy Writing!

Jackie Barlow: Featured Freelancer for September 8, 2009

Jackie Barlow is a freelance writer who is always inspiring me. She was also the inspiration for the Ning that is associated with this blog. She writes on great topics and has broadened her freelane career by writing for other sites such as Textbroker and eCopyWriters. She is very active on my Ning so I suggest you stop by to learn about and from Jackie. To read some great articles by Jackie Barlow CLICK HERE

Rose's Freelance Writing Bootcamp #1

We are heading into September so I wanted to present a challenge to all of you. I will be taking on this challenge myself as well. I challenge you to write a news story. Pick something that has been making headlines and write about it. In the first one to two paragraphs summarize the news story. Then in another two to three paragraphs take a unique slant on it. Compare it to something similar or compare it to something that has happened to you or to something that has happened in your neighborhood. I recently wrote an article about the Miley Cyrus stalker and compared it to other celebrity stalkers. When you are done and have this article published post it on my Ning in the Post Your Article Links Here section. Good luck to all of you!