Blogging

My Freelance Writing Portfolio

~ beetleypete ~ 12 Comments

Published author, marketing and publishing guru, and committed blogger, Nicholas Rossis is the real deal, and a very nice man too. He is now offering a service that may be of interest to some of you, and it is my pleasure to reblog his post today. Check out his site for hundreds of helpful tips too, and some great offers on his own books.

Nicholas C. Rossis

As part of my efforts to make writing my full-time job, I’ve taken on some freelance writing–mostly blog posts and web content. I am sharing below a kind testimonial and some samples of my work. Future jobs will be shared on my new Freelance Writing Portfolio page.

So, if you’re looking for someone to help with your blog or website, I hope you’ll consider me!

InSync Media

I have worked on a number of projects for InSync Media. These include blog posts and web content for:

Nicholas has worked on several copywriting projects for my company, InSync Media, over the last several months. I keep coming back to Nicholas because of his professionalism, quick turnaround times, over delivering on the required word count, and seamlessly including keywords to our specific requirements. Plus, his writing is enjoyable to read, even on technical subjects!…

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More gripes about blog ‘Followers’

~ beetleypete ~ 72 Comments

It seems I do this all the time, I know. But nobody is listening.

Just this week I have had six more new followers who think that all they have to do is add a one-word comment to a post, then ask me to follow their blog in return.

It goes something like this.

First comment. ‘Nice’.
Second comment. ‘Follow me please’.

And variations of same.

This week, they have all been from India, for some reason. And they all have active blogs of their own too, though in most cases have just started them this month.

They still don’t seem to get that blogging is not Facebook or Twitter, and not all about ‘following back’ like we are some kind of electronic sheep. So I am now deleting these comments, and taking no notice of the ‘follows’. I have abandoned my usual practice of politely replying to those people, thanking them for following me, and replaced that by ignoring them completely.

Just so you know, whoever you are.

Thinking Aloud on A Sunday

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

Blogging.

I woke up thinking about blogging this morning. Considering that I generally post things on my blog every day, and follow around one hundred other bloggers, that is not unexpected. But it rarely happens on a Sunday, for some reason.

I awoke thinking about all the people I have met through the process of blogging. In almost seven years, I have not only encountered people from every continent, but many have become firm friends. Some might even considered to be close friends. Yet in all that time, I have only ever met one other blogger in person, and she no longer has a blog.

What usually begins with some friendly comments on a post can often develop into much more. Email communication, mutual promotion by guest posts or reblogs, even collaborations between bloggers on a regular basis. Other bloggers have featured articles that I have written especially for them, and one has even published some of my writing in a ‘real’ magazine.

We come to care about each other, and even worry when postings are scarce, or non-existent. Perhaps contact them directly, to make sure they are well. And if they stop blogging, they are missed in the same way that we might miss an old friend, even though we have never heard their voice, or even know their real name. That community spirit fostered by being part of a group of bloggers is something rare in the real world, and hardly exists on other platforms, like Twitter or Facebook.

Photos from exotic lands appear alongside those of familiar towns or streets. Recipes and Crafts, Poetry, novels, even music. There is almost nothing that you will not see featured on a blog.

When I started blogging, I imagined it would be something like an online diary of my day-to-day life. Something to look back on in years to come, and recall specific days or events. I had no idea that it would be so much more than that, and might become such a large part of my life.

But I’m not complaining. Here’s to seven more years.

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives -#NewSeries- Pot Luck and Do You Trust Me??

~ beetleypete ~ 6 Comments

Let the lovely Sally dip into your archives and promote your blog. You won’t find a better audience anywhere. Check out the original post, and leave Sally a comment giving her your permission to repost your old stuff!

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Since this series began in January 2018 there have been over 400 Posts from Your Archives where bloggers have taken the opportunity to share posts to a new audience… mine.

The topics have ranged from travel, childhood, recipes, history and the most recent series was on any aspect about family.

Many of the posts were written at the start of a blogger’s experience and perhaps there were not as many followers at the time. Such a shame not to reshare all the hard work that went into the post in the first place.

It is an opportunity to showcase your writing skill to my readers and also to share on my social media. Which combined is around the 40,000 mark. If you are an author your books will be mentioned too, along with their buy links and your other social media contacts.

So what is different about this series?

This…

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SHOULD I HAVE BINNED THIS?

~ beetleypete ~ 13 Comments

I am reblogging this from Felicity’s site as a warning. If you ever think about doing a blog interview, read this first.

theshammuramat

garbage-4090382_1920Two years ago I interviewed a well known author who objected to the verbatim written form of their verbal statements. It put me in a difficult position since I did not agree with them about their representation of the veracity of the interview.

 Looking back two years later at our emails I see we were arguing over what the author thought they had said, and what in fact I had written down, after I had carefully reviewed and transcribed our conversation.

As a result and as they requested I agreed not to publish the verbatim Q & A..

 I was in a difficult position however since I had spent a lot of time preparing for the interview, and also on conducting it, thus I decided to use some of the material I had collected.  I took it and wrote a comparative critique between the two of us drawing parallel…

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Blogging on a Tablet

~ beetleypete ~ 89 Comments

This is a blog post about nothing more than blogging, and having to do that on a small device after years of using a PC.
With decorating going on, using the small office room is not an option today.

So I have retreated into the living room, and for the first time, I am attempting to do my blog and emails using a Tablet, specifically the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Going from a bright 24-inch monitor to a so-so 10-inch screen is a big jump for me. And having to use the irritatingly sensitive keypad device instead of hammering a keyboard is very frustrating. I make endless mistakes, even more so as the device keeps using its own suggested words, instead of those I wanted to type.

Over the years, I have realised that many of my fellow bloggers are happy to use ‘pads’ to write their blogs on. Some even use mobile phones, which sounds incredible to me. The tiny print on Tablets and phones is at the limits of my failing eyesight, so I take off my metaphorical hat to those of you who manage this every day.

Until the painter is finished, this will be my only blog post today.

Then I will return to the PC, and count my blessings.