Integrating Digg Buttons

It's great to learn new things! A while back I tried to integrate Digg buttons into my individual posts. I had given it up as a lost cause when I decided I'd try one more thing, and voila! It worked! (You might have seen the Digg buttons popping up here and there on my blog.)

You, too, can promote your work using buttons from the Digg Integration Tools page on Digg. It's a little tricky (at least for me; remember, I'm a writer, not a techie!) but if you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me.

Digging your blog post is a great way to get a boost in traffic. Just keep in mind that the Digg audience can be a little opinionated at times, and be prepared to receive some varied feedback. To supercharge this technique, build up a list of friends on Digg who you can share your link with once you've dugg your post.

Don't Fear The Blog

Blogging is a great method for growing your visibility in the online writing community. In addition, I've found that it helps to keep me on track with my goal of writing every day. The act of regularly writing articles that I know will be read by other people (at least, according to what I see on Google Analytics) forces me not only to write, but to write something I believe will be useful, interesting, and/or entertaining.

If you're reading this, you probably have a good grasp of what blogs are, and more than likely you have a blog of your own. However, a large segment of the population doesn't even know what the word 'blog' means, let alone how to set one up. And having at least a rudimentary knowledge of blogging doesn't necessarily guarantee comfort with the idea. There are many out there who don't know if they'll be able to contribute regularly enough to build a following, or whether the online community will have any interest in what they have to say.

I started out the same way, not knowing if writing this blog was a good idea or a terrible idea. But so far, so good. It's kept me on my toes with the whole writing thing, and new people continue to stumble across it (and sometimes even come back more than once!). Not to mention all the useful things I've learned while researching what to post on my little corner of the internet.

Bottom line is, it's worth a try to get into blogging. You might even enjoy it more than you think. Sign up for Blogger, Wordpress, or any other blogging platform you feel comfortable with, then read this article on ProBlogger for great tips for building a good blog.

Stanford Networking Meeting

Last night's Stanford Networking Meeting in Washington, DC was a great success. At the meeting, the wonderful Patti Wilson taught a seminar on "How to Work a Room." Patti is a career coach and employment consultant who simplifies the whole networking process fun and easy to learn. Did you know, for example, that it's better to talk about a shared interest or hobby than the nitty-gritty details of your day to day job? I might get confused and frustrated if you start talking about system controls on the space shuttle's air intake valves, but the second you mention snowboarding or Ultimate, I'll be right there with you. If you need a networking presentation for your next conference or meeting, I highly recommend Patti.

Kudos also to Michelle Compton for overseeing the event and making everyone feel at home. There's nothing like getting a little taste of Stanford warmth and hospitality from 3000 miles away!

Turn Words Into Money - An Easy(ish) Way To Write For Cash

Now, maybe you want to have your stories published in a magazine or have your novel published, and maybe it would be enough for you to have your name in print and not to get any compensation for it. However, most of us need some amount of money to get along in this world, and wouldn't it be nice if you could make it doing one of the things you love? Imagine seeing your name in print, AND getting paid for it! It's the best of both worlds.

So you'd like to turn your passion for writing into a side income, or even a full income. How do you start? You can submit your short fiction, poems or non-fiction stories to magazines (which I encourage you to do, regardless). But these don't often pay, and when they do, they don't pay a lot. If you want to make some decent money from writing, and you've yet to publish your best-selling novel, you've got two choices: get a job that involves writing, or freelance.

Personally, I like the freelance option because it allows you to try out different projects to find what suits you best, and it lets you test out the waters of writing for profit before you commit your whole life to it. And freelancing is easier than ever now that it's moved online, through sites such as Elance.