1. From My Desk to Yours: Let the World Know You're a Writer
2. Article: 5 Easy Ways to Renew Your Writing in 2008 by Denise Turner
3. Setting Your Sites: Useful Sites for Writers
4. Article: Blocked No More - Say Goodbye to Writers Block by Felicia A. Williams
5. Free Resources for Writers
6. WriteSuccess Stories
7. Calls for Writers
8. E-zine Ad Swaps

This issue of WriteSuccess is sponsored by…

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (No Fee)

Seventh annual free contest with a special twist. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $3,336.40. Top prize $1,359. Submit one poem by April 1 deadline. No entry fee. Winning entries published online. Judge: Jendi Reiter. Sponsored by Winning Writers. Winning Writers is proud to be one of "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005-2007). Guidelines and online submission at www.winningwriters.com/wergle

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Wouldn't you love to join that elite group of writers who actually earn more than $80,000 a year? Wouldn't you love to be so in demand that you actually need to turn work away? There are thousands of companies that need skilled writers. This course not only helps you hone the skills these companies are looking for, but helps you find these high-paying assignments. Just one assignment will more than pay for this course.

http://www.thewriterslife.com/wsb3/

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"All glory comes from daring to begin." -- Eugene F. Ware

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Hello:

In the course of my day job, I frequently receive e-mails from management and frontline employees throughout the organization asking for my help. While those requests may involve helping someone resolve a particular work problem, locating information or putting them in touch with the right internal contact, in just as many cases they're requests for help with writing or editing something, work-related or not. You might say my writing ability is a bit legendary around my workplace.

This is not by accident, nor is it without its rewards. For years now, I have promoted and volunteered my writing services at work. Because of this self-promotion, I've written everything from newsletters to procedure documents, e-mails announcing a new program to letters of recognition for specific employees. I've created or updated resumes (my reputation for discretion is nearly as well-known as my ability to write clearly and well), letters of recommendation, business and form letters, and once even penned an article for someone's family newsletter.

Do I benefit from such assignments? Yes, in many ways, including:

They provide me with experience. I have been able to list many kinds of writing on my own resume due to these requests. I can comfortably state to anyone who asks that I am a versatile and reliable writer, because I've proven it time and time again.

They provide me with exposure. Some of the people I've done work or favors for in the past are quick to refer me to others, and I have picked up juicy freelance assignments that way. Also, when I need references or testimonials, I have a host of people to request them from.

They provide me with income. While I chalk up the work-related requests to experience, I do charge for the personal ones, such as letters and resumes. I earned 50 dollars for that personal newsletter piece.

So I encourage you not to keep your writing aspirations a secret. Certainly, if your area is fiction, you don't necessarily want to go on and on about your idea for a novel. But if you're looking for ways to gain experience, exposure and even extra income from your writing skill, don't keep it hidden under a bushel. Let the world know you're a writer.
 

Here's to your writing success.

Mary Anne

P.S. Do you have feedback regarding this newsletter? Any requests for topics or resources you'd like me to include? Please feel fr*ee to drop me a line (or several!) at MaryAnneHahn1@aol.com .

Today I want to share three different membership sites for writers with you.

I've mentioned this one in the past, but now that I've got a special deal just for WriteSuccess subscribers, it's the perfect time for you to check it out! If you are looking for ways to make money with your writing, this site offers tons of tools and resources to help you do just that.

Here's a short list of what R4W members get:

• Fr*ee ebooks on everything from jumpstarting your creativity and becoming a highly paid copywriter, to managing your time better and marketing yourself or your writing;
• Fr*ee software for creating ebooks and sales letter, storing your writing ideas, creating your Web site and adding pizzazz to your Web pages;
• Fr*ee ecourses on fiction and short story writing, copywriting and ebook marketing;
• Members-only discussion forum;
• Members-only articles on writing.
• And more being added all the time!

For a limited time only, WriteSuccess subscribers receive $10 off the regular annual subscription price of $60. So for less than $4.20 a month (less than 14 cents a day!) you receive everything that's listed above, and then some-plus, a seven day money back guarantee! I tell you, it doesn't get any better than this (and I should know-I am a R4W member myself, a co-administrator on the members-only forum and will soon be contributing members-only goodies of my own)! You have so much to gain and nothing to lose.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/2c6u69 now, and enter "WriteSuccess" as the coupon code(copy and paste the code without the quotation marks) to get your discount. But hurry-this offer ends February 15, 2008.

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This membership site, which has been in operation for six years, lines writers up with customers who need anything and everything from short articles for Web sites to blog entries. If you're a versatile writer who could use $12 to $50 or more any hour, this site might be just what you're looking for. Total 100 percent money back guarantee if you're not satisfied. Check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/39mk7m

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Founded in 2001, the NAWW has over 3000 members worldwide. Its mission is to help connect and educate its members through CDs, books, home study courses, local chapters and much more. Members receive exposure for their books and writing projects through "Member of the Week" interviews, and receive a number of fr*ee and discounted services.

For more information, go to http://tinyurl.com/328m2e and click on the top tab on the right.

I was undergoing a temporary bout with writer's block. Actually, it wasn't really writer's block, it was more like a lack of focus. Rather than concentrating on my love for writing, I was concentrating on the ability to make money.

Let's face it, the holidays are over, I spent a little more than I wanted to, and I'm looking to get back on financial track. You know, a new year, new savings, and hopefully not new bills.

All of those thoughts cluttered my creative mind and caused me to make a detour. I no longer wrote about what I enjoyed, I concentrated my efforts trying to determine what everyone one else might enjoy reading. My passion was no longer my passion. I was trying to discover everyone else's passion so that I can write about it. That, my dear friend, is a recipe for developing writers block.

This is not a self-discovered revelation. It came to me by way of my email inbox. Since I had free time on my hands because I wasn't writing (being blocked and all), I decided to read a newsletter that I thought I had unsubscribed from.

In the newsletter was an article entitled "Your Niche in the New Year." The title didn't catch me but I read it anyway. The author, Alan Cohen, interviewed the famous science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury. Mr. Bradbury, now 87 years old, says he never worked a day in his life. It was all joy and play (I'm paraphrasing). If you enjoy what you do, it doesn't feel like work.

Within this article were two quotes that seemed to be personally directed to me:

"Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self," by Cyril Connolly.

"To find our calling is to find the intersection between our own deep joy and the world's deep hunger," Frederick Buechner.

After reading the two quotes, I stopped reading the newsletter opened my email composer and wrote a thank you email to Alan Cohen. Honestly, I still haven't finished reading the rest of the newsletter. I think of that article as a gift from God. It caused me to refocus, to find my passion, my joy, my income.

For those of you who are suffering with writer's block, think for a moment about why you're writing. Is this something that you enjoy, is it your passion, or are you in it for the money? My bet is if you look for the joy, the money will follow.

That's my two cents and I'm sticking with it!

Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and owner/webmaster of the family oriented site Tidbits and Stuff (http://www.tidbitsandstuff.com/ ) and the Hudson Valley travel guide site Visit Hudson Valley (http://www.visithudsonvalley.com/ /).

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ARE YOUR DOUBTS GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR WRITING SUCCESS?

Mike Brescia has developed the ultimate mental conditioning programs that can help anyone wipe out intense fears and enjoy huge successes in all areas of life. FREE details: http://tinyurl.com/yvyrec

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Get great deals on software, Internet business tools, and more. Or make money promoting this cool site to others. http://www.dealdotcom.com/invite/12000/

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* Get Paid to Write Book Reviews

* Short and Sweet-Markets for Your Fillers

* Cooking Up Recipes-Markets for Your Recipes and Food Tips

* Quick as a Flash-Markets for flash fiction 100-500 words

* Just Hit Send-Markets that You Can Query via E-mail

These ebooks provide you with specific markets for these kinds of pieces, saving you hundreds of hours of research. You can download them within minutes by going here: http://tinyurl.com/2gep2r .

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Have you won a writing contest? Sold a story, article or essay? Landed a freelance writing gig? Published a book? Whatever the success, drop me a line at MaryAnneHahn1@aol.com and tell us about it!

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In this section, you'll normally find announcements I receive for contests, anthology submissions, sites looking for content writers, information on writers' conferences, etc.

Also, if you are looking to interview or work with certain types of writers, you can post your request here by emailing me at MaryAnneHahn1@aol.com .

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With age comes wisdom. What wise lesson have you learned that has been life changing? We are interested in publishing a list of The Top Ten Most Valuable Life Lessons.

Please tell us what lesson you've learned that has changed your life and may help change another's life. It's that simple. Name the lesson and share how you learned it within 100 words or less.

All boomer-age (born 1946-1964) women are invited to submit their most valuable life lesson learned to Dotsie Bregel, Founder of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, NABBW and www.boomerwomenspeak.com, the number one sites for "baby boomer women" on major search engines.

If your lesson is chosen, you win $100.00 in cash and a membership or renewal to the NABBW for F-R-E-E. There will be one winner. Your name, email and Web address will also be included with future publications of the list.

Simply follow these Guidelines.

1.) Submit your entry in a Word document with your name, email address, short bio, and Web address within the Word document. Give the lesson a title and share how you learned the lesson in less than 100 words.

2) In the subject line of your email put "MIDLIFE" and submit your entry to contest@nabbw.com.

3) Deadline is January 30, 2008.

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The category will be open to submissions for one full month, from the first day through
midnight (Pacific time) of the last day of the month. Results will be posted at http://www.glimmertrain.org/.

$15 per story.

1st place wins $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue.

2nd-place: $500

3rd-place:$300

Open to all writers.

Stories not to exceed 3,000 words.(No minimum, though it's rare for a piece under 500 words to read as a full story.)

http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html

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TransitionsAbroad.com invites you to enter its 2008 Narrative Travel Writing Contest with a new $500 first-place prize.

'"Tourists are those who bring their homes with them wherever they go, and apply them to whatever they see... Travelers leave home at home, bringing only themselves and a desire to see and hear and feel and take in and grow and learn." -Gary Langer, Transitions Abroad, Vol. 1, #1 (1977)

Professionals, freelancers and other talented travel writers are invited to write a travel narrative relating to the intrinsic educational aspects of meaningful travel. We are looking for evocative and engaging writing in which sensitive immersion in the country, the people, the food, the land, the art, the rituals, and the culture in general play the leading role in the writer's self-discovery and enlightenment. We are absolutely not looking for self-involved travelogues or diaries, but rather for a well-crafted and inspirational story which should appeal to those who have traveled independently overseas with open minds, sensitive souls, and empathetic imaginations. The aesthetic and intellectual pleasures of discovery are of more interest to us in this year's travel writing contest than the sense of personal or cultural guilt over the many horrific situations to be found worldwide and covered in-depth in other areas of TransitionsAbroad.com.

Accompanying photos which enhance the narrative are a plus, and we are open to photojournalistic approaches to the subject outlined above for this year's Narrative Travel Writing Contest.

TransitionsAbroad.com will publish the top three winners' entries as well as those of the selected runner-ups.

Contest Prizes

In this year's Narrative Travel Writing Contest, the first-place winner's entry will receive $500 (USD), the second-place winning entry $150, and the third-place winner $100.

Any other articles selected as runner-ups will receive a $50 payment.

Who is Eligible

The Contest is open to professional, freelance and aspiring travel writers from any location around the globe.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/information/writers/travel_writing_contest.shtml

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Check out the links to writing job sites and listings at http://www.writesuccess.com/id25.html

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FundsforWriters

The grant specialist for writers. Thousands of readers have followed

FundsforWriters for over seven years. There's a reason that Writer's

Digest has chosen FFW for its 101 Best Web Sites for Writers for

seven years in a row. Come sign up. Our special is good through

December 31, 2007. Register for a newsletter and receive an ebook

and half off the paid subscription, TOTAL FundsforWriters.

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/

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Want to generate income from your passion of writing? If you've been struggling to sell your work, this site is for you. Writer2Writer is owned and maintained by a working writer making regular income from her writing. Sign up for our FREE courses (many exclusive to the site) and learn how to turn your skills into cash. And don't forget to check out our articles and other resources for writers.

http://www.writer2writer.com/x.php?action=alink&id=108

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If you're not familiar with The Literacy Site, it's a place where your free daily click helps fund books for children in need. I urge every writer to make a special trip here-it takes seconds to support such a worthy cause. Visit http://theliteracysite.com/ .

Do you enjoy WriteSuccess and find it useful? Then I hope you will feel free to forward this issue to your writing friends and/or online discussion groups. "WriteSuccess" for everyone!

If this issue was forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe,

mailto:writesuccess_ezine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION

Mary Anne Hahn

http://writesuccess.com

MaryAnneHahn1@aol.com

'Til next issue-write *every possible moment*...