Web Writing's Evolution: The Web Content Market for Writers

Written by Melissa Brewer


When It All Began: The First Web Writings

While there weren't many online writers inrepparttar formative years ofrepparttar 129561 web, if you were around then, you know what it was like. What I remember most aboutrepparttar 129562 web back then (the Al Gore days?) wasrepparttar 129563 plain text, 10-point courier font that was consistent with 90% ofrepparttar 129564 websites I encountered. Searchingrepparttar 129565 web was a pain, but readingrepparttar 129566 web on-screen was impossible. Byrepparttar 129567 end ofrepparttar 129568 day I was completely nuts and half-blind. I would print out what looked to be a thousand pages of text and take it home to read and highlight. Even on paper, repparttar 129569 font caused my eyes to be squinty and my head to ache. I probably drank two liters of coffee a day to keep my eyes moving acrossrepparttar 129570 page. The next day I would return torepparttar 129571 school computer and begin again. The web was a pain, but it was still a fascinating source of information that was free and at my fingertips.

A year or two later, web design evolved into flashing text and moving GIF's that danced acrossrepparttar 129572 page. Words were scarce, and oftentimes, filled with unbelievable claims and brazen, nothing's-too-wild hype. There are still a few of these sites up onrepparttar 129573 web today, but consumers shy far away from them when it comes to online shopping. Thank you, Jakob Neilson! While Jakob didn't changerepparttar 129574 writing itself, really, he DID changerepparttar 129575 way it was displayed and warned that blatant commercialism sent customers running for cover. Because of his research (available at useit.com) millions of websites changed repparttar 129576 way they did business, and learned about relationship building and credibility building. Web designers and writers began to learn and understandrepparttar 129577 nature ofrepparttar 129578 web andrepparttar 129579 process of converting website visitors into loyal readers. Web text became readable, scannable, and interesting. By 1998, I was usingrepparttar 129580 web on a regular basis again. While I still encountered many ugly, unreadable websites, I discovered a few gems and I was hooked onrepparttar 129581 "free information" movement again.

Web Writing Markets Today

Between web designers and web writers,repparttar 129582 web has evolved into a medium that is not only scannable, but also readable. Thousands of websites hire content writers to create interesting, compelling, emotional content for their customers. While it is true that online business has lulled,repparttar 129583 truth is that online content is here to stay. As you may know from a statistics class, there is really no way that 100% of online businesses will crash and burn. For every website that is onrepparttar 129584 web today, there will be two online tomorrow. Web business moves at a quick pace; but as one dot-com crashes and burns, another is submitting their press release to online venues aroundrepparttar 129585 world.

Understandingrepparttar 129586 web writing markets is crucial to success for online writers. Many writers get frustrated because they can't find work or don't know where to start. An understanding ofrepparttar 129587 term "content" is a good start to understandingrepparttar 129588 companies that need content.

Online content today consists of: *Web sales copy *Filler *Articles *Online tutorials *Online user manuals *Newsletter writing *Online press releases *Online journalism *Flash movie scripts *Online game scripts *Online ads

EVERYBODY'S GOT ONE

Written by Arleen M. Kaptur


Whatever kind of writing you do - whether it is non-fiction, fiction, or a combination of everything and a little bit of this or that, all writing has one thing in common. This common thread weaves its way in and out of all our written words. You can’t see it or touch it but you know its there. It wakes you up inrepparttar morning and it gives you rest at night. You can’t leave it at home and you can’t run away from it. This phantom shadow will be your companion fromrepparttar 129559 first time to sit down and put pen to paper. It will be there when you send out your first piece of writing to an editor, and it has front row seats when you are published.

This secret partner of ours wipesrepparttar 129560 tears, quellsrepparttar 129561 fears, and allows us to continue onrepparttar 129562 journey we have chosen. EGO - ( E-verybody’s G ot O ne). Yep, you guessed it - there it is as big as life. You may say that your EGO is perfectly controlled and you can handle anything. Okay, andrepparttar 129563 moon is really made of cheese, too.

Let’s face it - without ego we would not care about getting our words out so others can read them. We would not try to reach perfection with each article, short story, or novel. Never would we overcome that first rejection - it’s after all directed at us personally. They can’t do that - I know its a good article - so if they don’t want it I’m sending it somewhere else. (signed) Your Ego.

That infamous three-letter word can bring fear intorepparttar 129564 lives of anyone who stands onrepparttar 129565 path we are trying to walk down. No matter how much darkness envelopes our mind, we will come up with new ideas. Whenrepparttar 129566 rain begins, we take to readingrepparttar 129567 masters and try to figure

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