Writing on Horse-Related Topics

Been Writing Too Much to Write Blog!

2010-07-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's nearly the end of July already. I've been doing so much freelance writing that I've not had time to catch up on my blogs. Luckily I now have a bit of a breather.

Freelance Work

I finally finished the 40 web page content articles for one client, and am writing ongoing website pages, articles to syndicate and monthly blogs for him. The blog writing is familiarizing me with WordPress, which is useful.

The articles on EzineArticles.com plus my references on Elance.com led to writing three articles for a British seller of horse rugs. I also wrote a series of 8 articles for a teenagers' website.

Jeanette's Publishing Company

Last month I met up with Jeanette, who's started her own publishing company. She wants to sign me up as a writer, so I need to send her the books I've written plus covers.

Book Sales

The Horse Bumbler: Getting It Right By Mistake and A Step-by-Step Guide to Entering Your First Dressage Competition have been selling steadily on Kindle and in print. My local tack store also sold a whole bunch, but sadly they are having to close down.

It was so gratifying to receive an email from a lady who'd bought and read Bumbler. She wanted me to know the book had really helped her, as she is in the same position I describe about myself in the book: amongst good riders and feeling totally inadequate around them. My book made her feel less alone in her trials.

The fact that one person wrote to tell me that gives me hope that the book is reaching more members of the audience I wrote it for. That email gave me such a boost!

Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone Can Be Refreshing (and Lucrative)

2010-01-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

Let's face it - we all love to write about what we know. It's much easier to wax lyrically on the familiar than to mentally stretch ourselves beyond our immediate area of expertise.

Yet we're interested in our topic and go that extra mile for our clients. They benefit and so do we: they obtain the information they need and we add to our database of potential articles. Not to mention improving our research skills.

If that were as far out of my comfort zone as I needed to stray, life would be very easy. Just do some fascinating research about an equine topic, write an article and send it as a .doc file via email to the client.

Which might keep life easy, but would it be satisfying?

As absorbing as the written word can be, readers need more to hold their interest, and that means photos. Fulfilling my duties as the Equestrian Writer for the DC Examiner.com has forced me to learn where to find and how to take good photos. Initially this was tough and I found the whole process arduous. But now I enjoy the challenge. Not only that but I've learned how to use publishing software to upload articles and photos and add hyperlinks. All foreign territory to me a year ago.

And there I was feeling pretty pleased with myself when I was asked to write a proposal for a sales letter project. Copywriting is an area I've always admired from a distance but which existed far beyond even the extreme edges of my comfort zone. But I thought 'why not'?

I launched into a lot of research, including the brilliant articles at http://www.copyblogger.com/ and began to write. I found it both hard work and fun and to my delight the proposal was accepted. I enjoyed writing the sales letter and the client is very happy with the result.

Having already written a few ebooks of my own I then accepted my next challenge: writing one for a client. My own books only consist of the written word, so I again had to learn new skills: incorporating photos and pointing arrows into the text. I sent the finished product to the client and waited anxiously for a reaction. I'd done my level best, but self-doubt was creeping in. Imagine my relief when the client expressed delight with the book!

And now I am making the movie to go with the book. As if I haven't stretched myself enough already.... But I've grasped an important point: working outside my comfort zone keeps me interested in my work. Plus I'm no longer a one-trick pony. For an equine writer this is not a bad thing!

Keeping Positive

2010-01-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

This past month I've been contributing two articles a week to a client who put me on a month's trial to see how I did. By the middle of next week I'll know whether I shall be invited back or not.

All the articles I submitted have been published, and each of them has drawn favorable comments from readers. Whether or not I get to write any more, it's been a privilege to feel that I've made a positive impact on riders' lives with the helpful hints I've learned through personal experience, and a real boost to my writing ego to have readers put the effort into letting me know about it.

Let's see what next week brings!

Writing Ideas and How to Manage Them

2010-01-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

One of these days I suppose I shall get writer's block, but I don't see it coming any time soon! Whenever I'm writing about something, another idea pops into my head. I jot it down on the nearest piece of paper - which is usually the top corner of today's crossword page of the Washington Post - and promptly lose it.

I absolutely hate the administrative side of writing!! And I doubt whether I'm alone in this. I love creating articles, ebooks and books for print, but keeping track of everything is a nightmare. Yet I have to do it if I'm to know what my earnings are, tell the taxman that I really did spend more than I made, and not post the same photos as I did last week when uploading a new article this week.

So last week I bought a bunch of files. Using some horse stickers I was given for Christmas (some people in my family don't realize that I'm a grown woman now who's moved beyond that stage!) I am decorating these files to denote that they are horsey ones. (Maybe I haven't grown out of that stage after all.) I have duly put a white label on each spine and cover to sort out the various projects I'm working on.

In the file which also reassures me that I have, finally, saved all my published works on one USB device which I had better not lose, there is now a section labelled 'ideas.' The over riding idea is to keep that scruffy crossword page even after I've finished the daily puzzle, and take it home for transfer of the ideas jotted on it to the idea section of my new file.

Please wish me luck in this endeavor!

Honesty in writing is the best policy

2009-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

I've had some very interesting experiences since beginning my new career as an equine freelance writer, and all of them have pointed to the importance of being upfront and honest with prospective and existing clients.

As a writer I want to establish a good reputation, which is hard to develop and very easy to lose. However tempting it may be to take on a project because it pays well, I've had to ask myself two vital questions:
1) Can I produce what the client wants, by the date I've committed to?
2) Do I believe in the product? (Will I be writing what I believe to be the truth?)

In one instance I declined a project because there was one part of it I was not able to complete. The result of my being honest about this is that I got the part of the project I was able to do, and subsequent articles. I was so pleased that I hadn't taken on the whole project and try to fudge it. It would have ended in disaster.

A second project involved copywriting. After being awarded the work, I was asked to add more than my conscience would allow. I explained my reservations to the client, then waited nervously for the irate reply!

Imagine how thrilled I was when the client responded with gratitude for my honesty, and proceeded to award me even more work!

I was also recently in need of some photos for a particular online article and copied some off a website. I sent an email to the website owner to let them know what I had done, with links to my articles, and promised that I would delete them if they so required. I had given full credit to the website under the photos, and hoped my using them would further their cause.

My admission of guilt paid off. I received a return email thanking me for letting them know and giving me permission to leave their photos in my article.

These experiences have encouraged me in my fledgling writing career. I shall continue to adopt the policy of honesty. That way I'll be at peace with my conscience and able to believe in what I'm writing.