Friday...

#Freelance Daily Post:


Today in Freelance Fingerprints
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Secret Success Strategy
by: Sharif Khan

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain

FOCUS + FEELING + ACTION = ATTRACTION

While I don’t believe in pat formulas for success, I’d like to share some ingredients for attracting more of what we want in life. It goes like this: .....

To read more please go Freelance Fingerprints

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#Daily Writing Tip :
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My Favorite Errors to Correct (Don’t make these mistakes, and your writing will rise above most other writing.) Part 2
by: Lisa J. Lehr

Negotiables: These are rules that the experts largely agree can be broken to good effect. In formal writing (such as a doctoral dissertation), the strict rules would still apply. But in informal writing, such as writing an autobiography, looser rules are acceptable.

Split infinitives: An infinitive is the basic verb form (to be, to do, etc.). “To boldly go where no man has gone before” may not sound as good as “To go boldly where no man….” Yet, many times, there simply is no other good place to put an adverb but in the middle of the infinitive. Don’t contort your sentences just to avoid splitting an infinitive.

Ending a sentence with a preposition: Prepositions are those little words such as in, on, to, for, with, by. The first step is to make sure you really need the preposition. In rise up, enter into, chase after, continue on (and others), the verbs all function without any preposition. Also, if you can attach the preposition to a verb, do so. Example: “I’m going to pick up the kids” sounds better than “I’m going to pick the kids up.” On the other hand, sometimes there is no other good place to put the preposition but at the end. (How else would you say, “It’s freezing in here because the air conditioning is on!”?) Don’t contort your sentences just to avoid ending with a preposition.

Fragments: A complete sentence requires both a subject and a verb; if one or the other is missing, it’s a fragment. Fragments can easily confuse a reader. On the other hand, if it’s brief, such as “Indeed.” “Perhaps.” “No problem.” “Probably not.” …it will be understood, and adding enough words to make a complete sentence can make it too wordy. Or, if the fragments follow a pattern, such as, “All of the kids in my neighborhood grew up to be successful professionals. Doctors. Lawyers. Airline pilots. Entrepreneurs.” Or “He walked away, and she never saw him again. Until today.” …again, it will be easily understood. Use fragments with care, and they can be effective.

Beginning with a conjunction: We used to avoid starting sentences with But, And, So. You could substitute Therefore, However, In addition. But those are all bigger words. And the little ones work fine. So go ahead and do it.

Beginning with “However”: This one is a little different. Most experts agree that we shouldn’t, in sentences such as, “I had a good time. However, the movie was too long.”

Instead, say either, “I had a good time; however, the movie was too long,” or “I had a good time. The movie was too long, however.” Usually, you can find a place to put however other than at the beginning.

In sentences such as, “However much we hurry, we will still be late,” you would put however at the beginning. The clue is whether or not however is followed by a comma.

“Hopefully”: Though exceedingly common, this is not a good word to use when you mean, “I hope….”, “It is hoped….”, “With a bit of luck….” or something like that. Hopefully does have its place, as in, “I ran hopefully to answer the door, wanting it to be my son, home safe and sound.”

“He”/ “she”/ “they”: This one won’t come up much in autobiographical writing, because you will probably remember the gender identities of the people in your life. But in other kinds of writing, you will have to decide.

Traditionally, when gender was unknown, we said he. A few decades ago, someone decided that’s sexist, and we must say he/she. This can be cumbersome if we must continue with his/her, him/her, and so on. So someone suggested we use the neutral they, but I personally think this sounds lame when we are talking about an individual.

I think the best rule is, if you know the gender, say it. If it doesn’t matter, choose one. If you have more than one person in your narrative, alternate genders—the teacher is she, the student is he, and so on.

Latin vs. Anglo-Saxon: We used to be told not to use Latin-based words when we can use Anglo-Saxon equivalents. That’s no longer the case (and thankfully so, because I prefer Latin). Avoid, shun, and eschew mean essentially the same thing. The origins are Latin, Anglo-Saxon, and French, respectively. Most people would choose avoid. But if you prefer the sound of one of the others, by all means, use it.

Technique: Following are some things that are generally accepted as “best.” They are neither “right” nor “wrong”; some probably would not be used in formal writing, but can help informal writing be more effective.

Dynamic verbs are better than static verbs. Static verbs include all forms of “to be,” and all verbs that function the same way (to look, sound, feel, taste, smell, seem, etc.). Example: “He was really tall” is not as good as “He towered over everyone else.” Reminder: static verbs are modified by adjectives, while dynamic verbs are modified by adverbs. Example: “His behavior was bad”; “He behaved badly.” Do not say, “I felt badly” unless you mean you were clumsy in the way you touched something.

Active verbs are better than passive verbs. Example: “Everyone enjoyed the concert” is better than “The concert was enjoyed by everyone.”

Verbs are the strongest part of speech, followed by nouns, then adjectives; adverbs are the weakest. If you can find a good verb, you don’t even need an adverb.

Avoid weak modifiers such as very, really, extremely. In the example above, if you say he “towered,” you don’t need any modifier.

“There is,” “there are,” “there was,” and “there were” are weak construction. Example: A River Runs Through It is a much better title than There’s a River in It.

Redundancy vs. repetition: Redundancy is when you use the same word, the same expression, the same construction too often, to a boring effect. Repetition is when you do so intentionally to make a point. The first is bad, the second good.

Leave out “and” in a long list. Example: “Our farm had every imaginable kind of domestic animal—horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, even a tame squirrel.” See how the missing and suggests the list could go on longer.

Ellipsis: In this context, it means a missing word or words that do not cause confusion because a pattern has been established. Example: “My oldest child is sixteen; my youngest, nine.” Is has been left out of the second clause, but you understand it’s implied.

Cliches and metaphors: Don’t use cliches. Most began as meaningful metaphors but have been so overused they’re no good any more.

Don’t use metaphors unless you know the original meaning. For example, if you say, “tow the line” (instead of “toe the line”) or “a long road to hoe” (instead of “a long row to hoe”), you will sound ridiculous to readers who know better. Good metaphors can be very effective in giving flavor to a time and place. Use metaphors carefully.

Bibliography

Writing Basics

The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (indispensable!)

The Essential Writer’s Companion

Keys to Great Writing, Stephen Wilbers (more in-depth than Elements of Style)

Sin and Syntax, Constance Hale (also more in-depth)

On Writing Well—The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, William Zinsser

The Craft of Writing, William Sloane

Choose the Right Word, S.I. Hayakawa (far more detailed than Roget’s Thesaurus)

The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, R.W. Burchfield (very helpful even if you

have a good dictionary)

A note about thesauruses—print versions are generally thought to be better than the ones

included in computer programs

Life Story Writing

How to Write the Story of Your Life, Frank P. Thomas (full of wonderful ideas and

memory joggers)

Turning Your Life Into Fiction, Robin Hemley (helpful for deciding what’s important and

how to tie it together, even if you’re not planning to turn your life into fiction)

Unlocking the Secrets of Your Childhood Memories, Dr. Kevin Leman and Randy

Carlson (wonderful for helping us find out who we are through recalling our early memories)

Writer’s Digest, February 1999 issue (available from Writer’s Digest, Back Issues, 1507

Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207; 1-800-289-0963; $3.50 each)

Anything published by Turning Memories Into Memoirs ™ www.turningmemories.com

Please see my related article, “My Favorite Expert Advice on Writing the Stories of Our Lives, Gleaned From My Favorite Books on the Subject.” Happy writing!

About The Author

Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer and editor with a specialty in business and marketing communications. She holds a biology degree and has worked in a variety of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and teaching, and has a related interest in personal history. She is also a graduate of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), America’s leading course on copywriting. Contact Lisa J. Lehr Copywriting www.ljlcopywriting.com, Lisa@ljlcopywriting.com for help with your writing needs.

This article ©Lisa J. Lehr 2005.

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#Freelance Writing jobs :
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Content Developer - Telecommute - K&J Consulting Services - Dallas, TX

K&J Consulting Services is a Global company seeking professionals listed below for a fortune 500 company.

MUST BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE PERSUASIVE WRITING SKILLS.

Full-time telecommuting with occasional travel (up to four trips per year within the US). Laptop computer and necessary software are provided. DSL or cable modem required � monthly costs for high speed internet connection will be reimbursed.

Minimum requirements:

* Bachelor�s degree, preferably in English
* 5+ years as a professional business or marketing writer for the technology industry (i.e. held position with large corporations or government agencies or free-lanced for Fortune 500 companies)

Writing skills:

* Ability to simplify complex, technical information into clear, compelling, easy-to-understand writing
* Proficient in grammar, usage, and punctuation with attention to detail
* Ability to assimilate content from multiple technical documents such as PowerPoint presentations, white papers, videos, and web pages to create organized, persuasive proposal content
* Ability to write for multiple mediums, including newsletter articles, PowerPoint presentations, web content, video scripts, white papers, and proposals, addressing various audiences
* Strong proficiency in Word (i.e., creating Tables of Contents, Styles, etc.), PowerPoint, and Excel

Other necessary qualities:

* Self-motivated, highly-available, and willing to work as needed (outside regular business hours)
* Ability to work on multiple technical writing assignments as well as ad hoc projects at once and to �switch gears� instantly as priorities change
* Excellent web researching skills
* Outgoing personality (unafraid to ask for information)

Preferred experience and skills:

* Proposal writing experience
* Dreamweaver and HTML

To apply view the job in Monster

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Proofreader/Copywriter - Deerfield Beach, FL

Ad agency seeks full-time copywriter and detail-oriented proofreader with three or more years of professional working experience (additional freelance opportunities also available. Please clarify whether you are seeking full-time or freelance work).

You must be able to clearly demonstrate:

� A minimum three years experience in an ad agency setting
� Exceptional proofreading skills (You must have an eagle's eye - and "the buck stops here" attitude!)
� The ability to effectively manage multiple projects with agressive deadlines
� Strength writing advertorial and editorial press releases
� The ability to manage PR media lists
� A genuine, positive attitude and a strong work ethic
� A portfolio of previous experience and the ability to manage and write a diversity of projects including newspaper advertising, direct mail, collateral, website, e-marketing (HTML e-mails), displays and signage.
� A willingness to working overtime hours where necessary to meet tight client deadlines
� An ability to work well in organized chaos while keeping a �willing to do whatever it takes� attitude

Proficiency in Spanish a big plus, but not a requirement.

Please provide salary requirements (Indicate freelance rate if applicable), SAMPLES OF YOUR RECENT WORK and your current employment status (currently employed or available immediately).

Contact Information
Email: jetflyerj@aol.com

To apply view the job in Monster

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Copywriter - The Boss Group - Washington, DC
An interactive communications agency in the Metro DC area has a temp-to-hire opportunity for a Copywriter with branding, marketing, communications and advertising experience. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker who can demonstrate an understanding of the business objectives behind communication and display unique writing skills that quickly and effortlessly bring brands to life.

Requirements:

* Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Marketing or Advertising
* 5-10 years of developed writing experience
* Branding, marketing, communications and/or advertising experience
* Must be able to write headlines and have open ideas

The BOSS Group offers an attractive compensation package including competitive salary, 401(k) plan with company match, weekly paychecks, holiday pay, bonus pay and a health benefits program.

Named one of the 2006 Best Places to Work (WBJ), The BOSS Group specializes in matching highly qualified creative, marketing, advertising and web talent with top temporary and permanent assignments throughout the Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Richmond, VA; Baltimore, MD; and New York/New Jersey metro areas, and is an equal opportunity employer.

To be considered for this position, complete our online application, select the Metro DC office and reference job #84142JL.

To apply view the job in Washington Post

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Freelance Copywriter / Proofreader Aquent-Indianapolis, IN

Aquent is seeking a freelance copywriter that can work either from home or onsite at our client. The copywriter is responsible for writing clear, effective communication for marketing collateral pieces and web content. The copywriter will ensure consistent messaging and branding, subtly persuasive marketing copy and concise informational copy.

Write copy for a full range of marketing communications projects, including product collateral, brochures, flyers, event invitations, white papers, proposals, scripts, speech writing, power point presentations, direct mail and sales support writing.

Bachelor's degree in journalism, English, marketing, communications or related field.
Minimum 2 plus years experience copywriting in a large corporate or agency environment.

To apply view the job in Hot Jobs

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Freelance Content Author LRN Corporation -Los Angeles, CA

LRN is currently recruiting for Content Authors to work on a freelance basis. Successful candidates must possess excellent writing, editing, and communications skills. Candidates will need to be able to effectively interact with LRN staff and customers. Familiarity with online training programs is highly desirable.


Duties include but are not limited to:

· Write all elements of new LCEC library and custom courses
· Coordinate workflow with project manager, editorial, and design leads
· Interface with customers during the development of custom modules through meetings, conference calls, and e-mails
· Collaborate on LCEC projects with other writers, attorneys, and outside contractors
· Repurpose existing materials into LRN format and pedagogy
· Write other LRN materials as needed
· Work with customers to implement changes to custom modules
· Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

· One to three years experience in Web writing, journalism, technical writing, or related field.
· B.A. or B.S. in English or related field
· Previous experience in Web-based training desirable

To apply view the job in Hot Jobs

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Freelance Reporter Hillsdale NY

Freelance Reporter The Independent needs freelance reporters to report of local government and community activities in Rensselaer and Columbia counties. Applicants must live in one of the two counties, have a car, a phone, and access to email and the web. Previous reporting experience is a plus, but is not required. The basic professional qualifications are a desire to write, dedication to accuracy and the ability to meet deadlines. Send a resume and three samples that best represent your writing abilities in the body of an e-mail message to: pteasdale@IndeNews.com. Source: The Independent Location:Hillsdale NY Area Code:518

To apply view the job in Adquist3d

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Book Writer/ Editor Manpower Professional -San Diego,

PLEASE ONLY LOCAL QUALIFIED CANDIDATES AUTHORIZED TO WORK IN
THE US.

This position will start at 20-25 hours per week and then
increase to 40 hours per week at the middle of November.

Summary

This position is responsible for handling all phases of book
production, manuscript to bound book, of new titles and
reprints for a book series. It requires advanced knowledge of
book production, experience with specialized graphics software
and publishing technology.

Responsibilites

Prepare manuscripts for composition using QuarkXpress and
perform page formatting, layout, and digital prepress file
prep.

Ensure work is performed to spec by obtaining and applying or
disseminating printer specs, cover templates, and file prep
guidelines.

Manage interior art programs, including working with
specialized graphics software, researching art sources, hiring
freelance artists, and working closely with printer.

Manage cover creation process and schedule jointly with
publisher.

Perform production editing on all stages from first proofs
through bound books.

Edit, research, and rewrite to improve content of projects.

Manage reprint process: maintain reprint correction files,
obtain reprint quotes and schedules from printer, prepare
files for printer.

Skills

Advanced Macintosh and QuarkXpress skills with proficiency in
Quark 4.0 through 6.0 and Adobe Creative Suite.

Knowledge of Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe
Illustrator, proficiency in MS Office.

Strong proofreading and copyediting skills. Knowledge of
Chicago Manual of Style, usage of proofreader's marks.

2-3 years of production book publishing experience with strong
knowledge of the book production stages including composition,
layout, and prepress.

Job Title: Book Writer/ Editor
Primary Skills: Adobe Creative Suite; Macintosh; QuarkXPress; Mac
Job Industry: Miscellaneous
Vacancies: 1
Job City: San Diego
Job Metro Area: San Diego
Job State: CA
Job Country: US
Salary: $20/HOURLY To $35/HOURLY
Hours per Week: 40
Start Date: ASAP
Job Duration: Contract to Direct
Detailed Job Duration: NA
Degree Type: NA
Degree Area: NA
Experience Minimum: 2 Years
Certificates/Licenses:

To submit a resume for this position, you must place
CXMNPWR.PR92126_108150CRYB in the subject line of your e-mail.
Send your resumes to: ******** in text
format. Do not send e-mail attachments.

Candidates responding to this posting must currently possess
the eligibility to work in the United States.

Examine Your Career Options! With over 250 worldwide offices,
Manpower Professional gives you an excellent opportunity to
choose your career path and customize your work experience.
To help you meet your career goals, we offer a wide range of
free IT and business training online through our Global
Learning Center. We provide other exceptional benefits to our
employees including medical and life insurance, holiday and
vacation pay, 401K, and a stock purchase plan (in most
locations). Servicing over 95% of the Fortune 500 companies
enables us to offer you a full range of placement options
including contract, direct and contract-to-hire.

To apply view the job in Dice

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Editorial Intern MSP Communications Minnesota 3-5 Months, Paid

MSP Communications`` custom edit department seeks motivated, enthusiastic individuals for a full-time or part-time winter/spring internship.

MSP Custom Communications publishes a variety of magazines, including WorldTraveler (the in-flight magazine for Northwest Airlines), Viking magazine (Norwegian culture), and Postcards magazine (travel), as well as special sections for Mpls.St.Paul magazine.

This is a great position for anyone interested in learning the nuts and bolts of magazine writing, editorial duties, and production processes. Candidate must be pursuing or have graduated with an English/Journalism major or minor, or have related experience; have strong grammatical capabilities; be willing to take direction and contribute ideas; and demonstrate solid writing skills. Duties include writing, fact checking, photo sourcing, and researching. The paid internship ($8/hour) runs from January through May 2007.

Please send a cover letter, résumé, and three writing samples (no term papers, please) by October 30 to:

Sarah Asp Editorial Assistant MSP Communications 220 South 6th Street Ste. 500 Minneapolis, MN 55402

OR *****

No phone calls please.

Contact e-mail: *****

To apply view the job in Journalism jobs

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Editorial Intern Entrepreneur Media, Inc. California 3-5 Months , Paid

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Internship Program

Name of Business: Entrepreneur Media Inc.

Address: 2445 McCabe Way #400, Irvine, CA 92614

Phone: (949) 261-2325, ext. 138 Fax: (949) 261-0234

Contact Person: Steve Cooper Title: Research Editor

Description of Company: Intern for the No. 1-rated small-business magazine, Entrepreneur magazine and its Web entity Entrepreneur.com.

Email: ******

Title of Position: Editorial Intern

Minimum Qualifications: None

Intern Responsibilities: You will have the opportunity to be involved in a variety of projects and work closely with many of the magazine``s editors. There may be opportunities in writing for our print and online publications, copyediting, proofreading, brainstorming headlines, factchecking and doing research projects. You will also have the opportunity to be involved in magazine planning meetings and photo meetings. By the time your internship is complete, you will have learned all facets of the magazine publishing business, from idea-generation to producing the final camera-ready artwork. You may leave with some bylined articles that you can add to your portfolio and your name will be listed in the magazine``s masthead for the months that you are working here.

Paid: Yes

# of Job Openings: 1

# of Hours of Work Per Week: 16-30 hours

Length of Internship: 3 months

Date Job Available: Immediately Days/Hours to Work: Open, but mornings preferred

Preferred Method of Application (mail/fax resume, call, in person, etc.): e-mail, mail or fax resume

Our company is willing to teach the intern the following: Writing, computer skills, copyediting, proofreading, factchecking

Contact e-mail: *******

To apply view the job in Journalism Jobs

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