Article Weblog

As a writer and editor of The Digital Camera Zone, I spend hours every day scouring the ezine barns for articles to put in front of an information hungry public.

I definitely find a lot of articles, all right. They number in the thousands. Because I need content to feed a voracious audience, I select as many as I can even though I’m often not really happy with many of them.

“Why,” I can hear you ask, “do you publish articles that you are not happy with?”

Well, the answer lies in several unfortunate deficiencies in many of the articles published in article barns…

DEFICIENCY NUMBER ONE: INADEQUATE CONTENT

Many articles are glaringly superficial. The author may start with a good premise, say, the need to research out digital cameras before buying one, but then drops the ball.

In essence, the only thing the article says, in 500 - 600 words or so, is “Do your homework”.

– There are no concrete suggestions as to how to do the research.

– There are no suggested sources where the reader can go to find information.

– There are no criteria by which the reader can decide which camera is best for her.

In short, the article might not as well have been written. The writer is merely telling the reader what she already knew and provides no real information. Remember: it’s not “content that is king

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One of the best ways to get inbound links to your website is through article marketing. You can submit articles to websites, ezines, and article directories, and by including a link to your website in the resource box of the article you will open up the potential for many inbound links to your website. You can have the most informative, helpful, interesting website out there but what good is it if it can’t be found?

Search engines like articles and many people will read and link to articles that are interesting and informative for subjects that they are interested in. Articles are a low cost way to generate links, boost your search engine rankings, locate new prospects and open up a flood of targeted traffic to your web site.

Recently many people have realized that Google and other search engines have started to crack down on reciprocal linking. So more website owners are realizing that articles provide people on the Internet with a new way to get useful information and in turn, provide more links for their websites.

Writing a content rich article takes time and comes easily for some people but can be very difficult for others. Many people are writing articles that have no useful content and are using the same articles that others have already submitted. This is not a good idea since the articles have already been listed on the search engines and article directories and could be linked to other web sites.

Most importantly, you can not expect people to want to read, link-to and circulate an article that is poorly written, full of mistakes, lacking content and does not provide any new or useful information.

Articles can be used for marketing your website in many different ways, here are a couple.

* Ezines - You can use ezines to brand yourself fast without spending a penny. Get your articles featured in multple ezines every week and your name will be remembered. You will not have trouble finding ezines to publish your articles, and they are always looking for new content. There are over 100,000 ezines on the Internet.

* Newsgroups - Do a search relating to your specific topic. You can either search the newsgroups through a search box, or manually scroll through them. Select some related to your articles and monitor these groups. Once you feel comfortable with a group, post a message offering one of your free articles and make sure to include a link back to your website in the resource box.

The resource box is very important and should always be included with your articles. It’s possible that millions of people could see your resource box. This is free advertising for your website.

The resource box should be about 5 lines and should contain at least one keyword or keyword phrase that is also contained in your website and your website’s keyword meta tag. This will help to increase your search engine optimization. But, do not over do it! It’s amazing how sophisticated todays search engines are.

Included in your resource box are your name, your website address, 1 to 3 sentences that describes your USP or Unique Selling Proposition and a call to action. Use only one call to action which gives them a reason to visit your website.

Article marketing gives others more exposure to your valuable content while also increasing your websites visibility and online exposure. You are doing good for others while also receiving it back many times.

Many thousands of people are looking for specific information on a specific topic. You can save them countless hours of fruitless searches by writing good content articles with useful information written in an interesting and thought provoking way, on the topics that interest them.

Through years of research Joe Rispoli has put together the most relevant of free advertising resources to get you started on the right path to accomplishing your online marketing goals!

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Great Books Aren’t Written, They’re Mutilated and Pieced Back Together in Groundbreaking Intensive Surgery

A few weeks ago, I opened up the manuscript of my novel that’s about to be published for a quick fact-check on something I needed to know for my current work-in-progress, the fourth book in my series. As I skimmed the pages, I found myself cringing at excess adverbs, dragging prose and melodramatic over-punctuation. It was then I came to a painful conclusion:

I had to edit the whole thing. Again.

Some wise author–it may have been Michael Crichton–said that great books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Let me tell you: this axiom is a gross understatement. “Rewritten” is just not a strong enough word to describe the process of transforming a rough draft into a polished work. One cannot simply run spellcheck and call the thing a book. The editing process takes time and willingness to attack your work with hatchet and hammer. Editing is a bloody, ruthless procedure that turns authors into shrieking, self-abusing demons.

It’s the most difficult phase of writing–and it is also the most crucial.

These are your words. You will experience tremendous difficulty in stepping back to view them through the eyes of a reader, who may not be impressed with your clever comparison of your heroine’s cheeks to “fleshy tennis balls” (written at three in the morning, when everything you come up with seems brilliant). However, it can be done; indeed, it must be done. Here are some tips to get you started on the editing warpath:

Distance yourself from your work. This step cannot be avoided. After you type “the end,” the temptation to jump in and start contacting all those agents and editors who are dying for your masterful book is overwhelming. Resist the power of the dark side. Put your manuscript aside for at least a week, longer if you can. No peeking! Work on something else: start the next book, write your query letter if you’d like (but don’t send it!), and then come back and reread the manuscript. You’ll be shocked to discover how much you’ll want to change.

Distance yourself from your work, part II. This technique has worked wonderfully for me. After you’ve been away from your manuscript, print the whole thing out, set that lovely stack of paper next to your keyboard, open a new word processing document and retype the whole bloody mess. Beginning to end. The act of keying the words in helps you regain the flow you had while you were writing it. Yes, it takes time. But it’s worth it.

Adverbs are not your friends. Nor are the words had, that, up, down, over, and very. Exclamation points should be regarded as the enemy. Attack these things with enthusiasm, and eliminate them whenever possible. However, each of them can and should be used sparingly (with the exception of very. . . you never need to use that word except in extremely rare instances of dialogue). Trying to take them all out will result in some ridiculous sentence constructions reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s famous tongue-in-cheek statement, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”

Find a trusted reader and ask them to review your work ruthlessly. Do not ask your mother or your best friend. Other writers can make good reviewers, but you can also benefit from the reaction of a voracious reader. Whomever you press into reading service, be sure to stress that you’re looking for an honest reaction, not a pat on the back. And then be ready to receive an honest reaction. It’s going to sting-but it’s also going to help you become a better writer.

Last but not least: when you learn a new technique that improves your writing, go back to the beginning of your manuscript and apply it consistently throughout. Every single time. Even if you already have queries out; even after you’ve already rewritten the thing six times. Make it seven. The only thing that should stop you from working toward a better book is publication. By then, it’s too late.

I scoured, edited and rewrote the manuscript of my debut novel Fallen Angel eight times, with plenty of minor tweaking sessions in between. The last time, a few weeks ago, followed a frantic phone call to my publisher. My end of the conversation went something like this: “Why did you agree to publish this dreck? My prose is horrible! Look at all these adverbs. . . have you seen this line on page 154? Please, for God’s sake, don’t ever let anyone read this steaming pile of cow dung. I have to fix it. Give me three days, okay? Maybe four. . . “

Fortunately, my publisher understood. She’s an author, too.

After the anxiety attack, I locked myself in the operating room and went at it. What emerged was a better manuscript, which is now firmly entrenched in the pre-publication process. In other words: it’s too late for me now. I can’t change another word. But if it’s not too late for you, go forth and edit with as much passion as you put into writing.

Here…you can borrow my scalpel.

Get more writing resources and free stuff when you sign up for S. W. Vaughn’s free bi-weekly newsletter LIT: A Slightly Addictive Newsletter for Writers and Readers, with writing tips, writing markets, book reviews, contests and giveaways, and more. To sign up for LIT, e-mail author@swvaughn.com with the subject: Get LIT!, or visit the LIT Home Page. Also, check out S. W. Vaughn’s main website at swvaughn.com for free fiction, contests, and even more resources for writers.

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