Tuesday, June 30, 2009

TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
michy@twintrinitymedia.com
TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL

TEXAS, USA - July 3, 2009 Twin Trinity Media, part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author
Services, announces the Accentuate Writers Anthology Elements of the Soul has gone to print and will be released late this summer. The collection of short stories and poems is a compilation of the winners of the Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest that took place in 2008. Writers braved tough competition to vie for a place in the anthology, a royalty contract, cash and merchandise prizes.

The stories and poems in Elements of the Soul were written on four themes: Fire & Ice, Winds of Change, April Showers and Summer Heat. Contestants' submissions were judged on use of theme, adherence to submission guidelines and quality of the story and writing. In addition to the contest winners' stories, two authors were included in the anthology as Editor's Picks and received royalty contracts.

The Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest, now in its second year, gives writers an opportunity to obtain critiques, a chance to win cash and merchandise prizes, and a publishing contract. Anyone is eligible to enter the contests for a small fee, but only the best work rises to the top and is included in the Accentuate Writers Anthology.

The managing editor for Twin Trinity Media and owner of Accentuate Services, Michelle L Devon, says, "I have been honored to watch the contests grow and the writers grow along with them. The stories are getting better and the competition is fierce. I'm proud to play a small part in helping make writing dreams come true with these contests and anthologies. It's very exciting and humbling."

Authors for Elements of the Soul include: Steven Thor Gunnin, Jennifer Walker, Rissa Watkins, Lindsay Maddox, George Kramer, Lucinda Gunnin, Jo Brielyn, M. Lori Motley, Susan Sosbe and Laurie Darroch-Meekis. The anthology also features talented poets to fill in the pages between stories with wonderful imagery and substance. Michelle L Devon, author of In a Perfect World and The Path: A Series on Redemption and Sensual Awakening, who is a contributing author to other anthologies herself,
edited the book and contributed to the foreword.

Elements of the Soul is currently available at a special pre-order price of $13.00, which includes shipping and handling, taxes and a specially made bookmark. Orders can be placed at http://anthologies.accentuatewritersforum.com/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/47-preorder-elements.

Accentuate Services has been in business for over fourteen years and is dedicated to providing services to authors, from publishing consulting to editing and writing coaching. Other ventures that are part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author Services include Unsent Letters, Recipes & Recovery, Erotic Anthologies, and the Accentuate Writers Forum, with other projects in the works. Visit the website at www.AccentuateServices.com.

###
Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
c/o: Michelle L Devon
1305 E. 36th Street
Odessa, TX 79762
Toll-Free: 866.641.8130
Michy@twintrinitymedia.com
http://www.accentuateservices.com
This press release may be copied, shared, distributed and/or posted on any electronic or print source provided the content is not altered in any way. Live links on electronic versions is appreciated.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Accentuate Writers Anthology is finally going to print!

I posted last year when first I came in second and then first place in the Accentuate Writers short story contests. The anthology of winners is finally going to print, and they are taking pre-orders now! Please support these very talented writers and the great lady who gave them this publishing contract by ordering your copy today! You will get to read some GREAT stories.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

My new venture!

Thanks to Beth Sandland, one of my heroes and mentors, I am now the new owner of PacNWHorse.com! If you are a horse lover, please check it out and help me fill up the site with great content and great people...register for free, post a blog post or two about your life with horses, post on the forum, post an ad. I want to make this an awesome resource that everyone in the Pacific Northwest will turn to!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Pleased with Suite101

I am really glad I went back to writing for Suite101. While some of their style guidelines irritate me (like only being able to write in third person), they are not hard to work around. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Summer Sizzles writer's challenge gave me a lot of good ideas--those articles are getting between 10 and 40 hits per day. Even though the challenge is over, I'm still writing summer articles just because they perform so well.

Suite101 vs Associated Content

With 30 articles on Suite101, I am getting more hits and more revenue per day, on average, than I get on Associated Content with 117 articles. It was the summer articles that put me over the top on Suite101. For the month of June, I have earned more in revenue share on Suite101 than on Associated Content (with a bit over a quarter of the articles).

The big difference is that Associated Content gives up-front payment, and Suite101 does not. Now, AC does not always give up-fronts, and when they do it's only a few dollars. Most of mine are $4.xx with a few that are $3.xx. I rarely get less than $3, but I sometimes do.

Associated Content only requires $1.50 in revenue to get a pay-out each month. Suite101 requires $10. It took me about six months to hit it the first time with just seven articles. I almost reached the second one in three months with the addition of a few more, but I will get it this month with plenty left over--and if my revenue keeps up, I should reach it every month from now on.

Another nice thing about Suite101 is that they have higher standards--Associated Content has very low standards. Not everyone is approved to write for Suite101, and they have to adhere to the style guidelines. Suite101 also provides a lot of education on titling, keywording, adding photos, etc., to enhance your articles.

At this point, I am still writing for both. I would like to reach the point where each of my content sites gives me a nice little paycheck every month. The thought of getting an extra $100 or $200 per month without putting out additional work is very enticing!

PS...Visit my Suite101 and Associated Content pages to read my articles!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Have you sent an Unsent Letter?

Unsent Letters is growing by leaps and bounds. Almost everyone has a letter they wish they had sent, and now you can...even if it's just anonymously. AND, you can get paid for it. AND, you can get it published in a book! Of course, not every letter is accepted, but as of right now the editor (Michelle L. Devon)is reading and responding to all submissions.

Even if you do not have a letter idea, read the blog with the accepted submissions. Some of them are incredibly powerful and heartfelt, and today's is controversial as well--check out the comments and weigh in!

I sent in a submission, but she has so many to go through that it will probably be a while before I hear back. If mine is accepted, I'll post, but it will be posted as anonymous so you won't know which one is mine. :)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Bubba Goes National will finally see print!

An exciting announcement!


Windswept Destiny Publishing, an imprint of Twin Trinity Media, is pleased to announce the release this summer of Jennifer Walker's first book, Bubba Goes National!

We don't have a firm date yet, but will definitely announce it when we do. For more information, visit http://www.authorjennwalker.com/bubba.html

Associated Content Review Time

As of June 10th, Associated Content's review time is about a week. I just got an offer on an article from June 3rd.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Article Ideas are Everywhere

When I first started freelance writing, I was always at a loss for article ideas. I struggled with thinking of things to write about and the ideas were few and far between. From time to time, I would think of something, then forget it before I got the chance to go home and write about it. At one point, Greg bought me a notebook for my purse so I could write things down, and that helped quite a bit. At the encouragement of a couple of friends, I started brainstorming on specific topics, and that seemed to get the juices flowing.

Lately, I've found that ideas are constantly coming to me. I go to the store, drive down the street, go to the dance, go to a horse show, ride my horse...no matter what I do, an idea seems to pop in my head. Sometimes I remember to write it down, and sometimes I don't, but with the abundance of ideas, some of them are bound to stick! The other day, I ran out of summer topics for the Suite101 Summer Sizzles contest. I asked Michy for some ideas, and she gave me some...and through the course of my research came up with several ways to dissect each one or thought of tangents that will keep me going for a while.

I mentioned the contests the other day...having something like that to narrow my focus also helps generate ideas. Now eHow is having a summer home & garden contest--you get $75 if your article is featured on the front page! Now, that's some motivation...I have been pleased with the number of page views and revenue share I've gotten on the piddly number of articles I have there.

So, today's challenge: through the course of your day today, find one thing that inspires an article, whether for a print magazine or an online content site, it doesn't matter as long as it gets you writing. Once you find that one topic, either dissect it into three parts or find two tangents/related topics you can then cover.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Contests are great writing prompts

Two of my online content sites are currently running contests: "Summer Sizzles" (write five articles about summer and get a chance at $101) on Suite101 and a local content contest on Associated Content.

These contests are great for writers for a couple of reasons:

1. They motivate you to write a lot, because hey, you might win something!

2. They give you a prompt to get you started brainstorming.

These are both big factors in my writing for these sites. The pay is low, so it's hard to be motivated to write for them, but I know that if I could just get a big library on them, I could have a very decent stream of residual income.

For the latter, I often struggle with coming up with ideas. Having just the smallest prompt, like "summer", at least sets me in a specific direction. I've already posted four articles to Suite101 for this contest, and two are doing quite well by my standards. In fact, two were Twittered (or is it Tweeted?) by people I don't even know with huge followings! I had my biggest day ever there yesterday. I've submitted two articles to AC so far for their local content drive and they have not been processed yet.

There are many, many writing contests out there for both fiction and non-fiction. Winning one is not only good for your ego and gets you prizes (sometimes cash), but it's good for your resume, too. Plus, they get you writing, which is what is hard for many of us.

My challenge to you, dear reader, is to find a contest and enter it. A couple of places to find them are at Accentuate Writers Forum and the Writer's Market. Enter, then post here so I and others can cheer you on!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Examiner.com

I have several friends on Examiner.com but had not really thought about signing up until recently. They do not give up-front payments, but they do give revenue share. They do not tell you exactly how much, just that it's based on a variety of factors. When you sign up, you have to submit a writing sample and explain why you are a good fit for the position, just like applying for a job...and you may or may not be selected. If you are, they perform a brief and simple background check on you (mostly, where you've lived recently and if you have any convictions).

I signed up and was accepted as the Sacramento Equestrian Examiner last week. It took them just under a week to send my acceptance, but I've heard of other people taking longer or shorter so it probably depends on the channel you choose. They expect you to post 3-5 articles per week so you can build a readership, but I have not found any guidelines that say how long the article has to be. They do want a picture with every article, as well as hyperlinks within it to relevant websites. It's kind of a pain, but if I'm honest about it, those things probably do enhance the article and make it more appealing. The channel managers are very good about providing helpful information to make your article appear professional and draw traffic.

I have only posted two articles so far, and one of them was late last night. Sacramento Equestrian is probably not the most popular subject to search for, so I'm thinking of getting something more mainstream as a second topic(will post on that later if I do). I have about 30 views so far and $.27, so about a penny a view. Like any content site, this is not a place to get rich, nor should anyone quit their day job to work for Examiner.com. however, it'll be a little side income, and they do not ask for exclusivity on anything you publish there.

The thing that really prompted me to sign up was that a lot of people have gotten some good connections through their Examiner.com articles...invitations to events, requests for reviews, etc. I haven't heard nearly as many stories of this type from other online content sites. I also like that Examiner.com is somewhat exclusive--unlike Associated Content or Helium, where anyone can write anything, Examiner.com, like Suite101, has standards. Like my blatant self-promotion there? :)

I'll report back in a couple of months when I have a good base of articles going.