Online Writing and Beyond: Writers Will Lead the Content Revolution

Written by Melissa Brewer


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More and more websites are creating audiences rather than readers, and writers are helping them through polls, feedback forms, and message boards. However, it seems thatrepparttar web has not completely transformedrepparttar 129565 web into a completely interactive medium yet. Content writers will create a way to forcerepparttar 129566 reader not to be an audience, but a part ofrepparttar 129567 play. As a writer, I think that we'll give audiences more and more room to interact and influence actual events and mediums.

Where We'll Take Content Writing

Inrepparttar 129568 future, I see nonfiction e-books allowing readers to pick and choose chapters based on their skill and knowledge levels. Students will be able to skiprepparttar 129569 grammar review in an online textbook if they feel their skills are up to par or took an online skill test to "test-out". Web designers will skiprepparttar 129570 HTML basics and move straight to HTML 5.0 new features and XML. Writers will be writing both for a general audience and a skilled audience, and readers will participate inrepparttar 129571 process by choosingrepparttar 129572 specific information they need. "Take what you need and leaverepparttar 129573 rest" will berepparttar 129574 new online writing mantra. Contentville.com already did this (although they are now defunct) with a huge database of articles, thesis papers, and other formerly print media that readers pay a small fee to read. Others are following this pattern. This market will expand and readers will only pay for what they get.

Inrepparttar 129575 fiction market, readers will be taken torepparttar 129576 next level of participation by finding not only a choice of characters, plots, and settings through interactive websites and media, but through a Choose- Your-Own Adventure type of structure. Similar to online games, users will be able to choose Jane's physical traits and John's personality, and setrepparttar 129577 story into sequence at a setting of their choice. They will choose their favorite outcomes in their online soap operas. (No more, "No! John! You should have married Mary, not left her for Margaret! She's evil!")

As forrepparttar 129578 writers? We won't have to chooserepparttar 129579 perfect beginning, middle, or end anymore. We won't have to decide on one specific audience. We'll be writing for all cultures, all ages, and all interest levels. Where content is king, we'll berepparttar 129580 knights in shining armor, rescuingrepparttar 129581 reader fromrepparttar 129582 boring, redundant, or irrelevant web reading andrepparttar 129583 writing of yesteryear.

Oh, yeah, and we'll be paid as well asrepparttar 129584 Duke of Earl.

*This article originally appeared in Web Writing Buzz Newsletter in April of 2000.

Melissa Brewer is a full-time freelance writer and author of The Writer's Online Survival Guide, available at http://www.webwritingbuzz.com. She hosts a website for professional freelance writers and she publishes a free weekly newsletter, The Web Writing Buzz, featuring articles on freelancing, writing jobs and publishing news from around the web.


Freelance Writers: How to Partner with Your Competition

Written by Melissa Brewer


Continued from page 1

2. Big Corporations

Big corporations either do their work in-house or hire an outside agency to implement their marketing and PR plans. They outsource because these agencies have more resources and good track records. These agencies have an account manager that delegates tasks to regular employees and freelancers.

How do you find them? If you are interested in PR or marketing work such as press release writing, brochure work, etc., check outrepparttar corporation's website and see what contact name is onrepparttar 129562 press release. Ifrepparttar 129563 press release lists an agency, you'll have a contact name to send your pitch letter to. You can also callrepparttar 129564 corporation's procurement office and flat-out ask what company handles their marketing, advertising, or PR work.

If you're interested in copywriting for a website, you can usually findrepparttar 129565 name ofrepparttar 129566 web design firm that handles a corporation's online presence through a search engine. Type inrepparttar 129567 company`s name (example: Timex) andrepparttar 129568 words "client list" into a search engine and see what you come up with. Then pitch your services accordingly.

3. Big Web Projects through Online Partnerships

If you're interested in becoming a service provider on a service- auction website or just breaking intorepparttar 129569 online industry, but you're not interested in paying a lot of fees, you may want to consider partnering with a web design firm or programming company that uses these websites for big contracts. You'll have to approach other independent contractors to do this and establish a good sense of trust. Online partnerships are becoming more popular, and more lucrative, as clients approach online marketplaces as a one-stop- shop. You'll want to have a signed contract in place and checkrepparttar 129570 client references for anybody you partner with.

Online partnerships can help retain customers; a programming firm can offer your user manual writing skills as part ofrepparttar 129571 software design package and a web design firm can include web content as a part of their web design package. Your skills partnered with another independent contractor can help saverepparttar 129572 client money and help their projects become seamlessly integrated.

The key to building long-lasting client relationships isrepparttar 129573 networking and follow-up. Once you've introduced yourself, you'll be able to get a feel for how your services fit in with these partnerships. If you see a big project that you don't qualify for, you can pass onrepparttar 129574 description to companies you are interested in partnering in. Most importantly, you'll be able to have a few professional relationships on hand for whenrepparttar 129575 going gets tough. And you'll be happy to know that you've transformed your competition into powerful allies that may also haverepparttar 129576 honor of writing your paycheck one day!

Melissa Brewer is a full-time freelance writer and author of The Writer's Online Survival Guide, available at http://www.webwritingbuzz.com. She hosts a website for professional freelance writers and she publishes a free weekly newsletter, The Web Writing Buzz, featuring articles on freelancing, writing jobs and publishing news from around the web.


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