Category Archives: Hobbies

RE: Your Zazzle Store » Lucky, or unlucky?

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Your Zazzle Store » Lucky, or unlucky?




savileislove

Posted: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 6:22:57 PM  
Groups: Member


Joined: 8/26/2009

Posts: 94

Are you guys lucky or unlucky on zazzle? Im feeling quite half and half because i get around 70-90 views A DAY, but never end up selling anything! Ive got 3 sales so far on zazzle, and im hoping for more.


What do you consider yourself?

I don’t see it as luck.

When I first joined in 2004, I had 15 products and no editing to my store front, and did zero marketing. I averaged $3 in sales per month for the first 3 years.

Than in 2007, Zazzle did a huge overhaul, and it became easy to create products (the old Zazzle was just hell to create a product.) By April I had 2000 products in my store, had begun a marketing program, and by Sept I was getting monthly checks for $25 – $30.

In April of 2007 I started creating Squidoo lenses for my Zazzle products. Each of my galleries has it’s own lens, and each of my paintings, has it’s own lens, and I made a series of how-to lenses for artists, each of those featuring my Zazzle products. All together I have created 507 Squidoo lenses, with nearly 200 of them being devoted to my artwork. After creating these Squidoo lenses, my Zazzle sales skyrocketed.

On my master gallery are links to each of my smaller galleries, so much of the traffic trickles to them from my master gallery. Each of my smaller galleries pays $25 – $75 about every other month to every 3 months.

Today, I have 8000+ products in my master gallery, plus several thousand more across 7 smaller galleries. I spend an average of 8 to 10 hours a week painting and drawing. Another 10 or 12 hours a week scanning art, uploading art, and than I spend4 or 5 hours per day 4 or 5 days per week creating new products. I average about 10 to 30 new products added to my gallery each week. And now my monthly checks from my master gallery are rarely less than $75, with a few being over $200 and sales continue to grow each month. My master gallery get 100+ visits on “slow” days and and over 1,000 visits on “busy” days. If my earnings continue to rise at the rate they are right now, I will be a “ProSeller” by Spring of 2010.

In short, there is no “luck” in my success on Zazzle. My first couple of years on Zazzle, I spent only a few hours a year on Zazzle and made only a few dollars. In my last 2 years on Zazzle I spend and average of 20 – 30 hours a week working on Zazzle, and now make a full time income here. So, no, not luck, but hard work. You get out of Zazzle exactly what you put into it.

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
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http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

Copper Cockeral
Publishing Your NaNo Novel?
Do You and I Read the Same Books?
*I Love Phookas!*
Copper Cockeral Cards & Gifts
Custom Designed Postage Stamps
Gifts for Peacock Lovers
Framed Art for Childrens Rooms
Best Gifts for Cat Lovers
Best Gifts for Dog Lovers
Best Sci-Fi Video Showcase
Zazzle vs CafePress

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Blingo

Getting Ready for Script Frenzy 2010 – Anyone else?

Getting Ready for 2010 – Anyone else?

I’m getting ready for next year. After missing 3 years in a row I’m determined to do it this year.

I know it’s only December 2009, but heck, it took me four months to figure out my NaNoWriMo plot, so why not spend four months plotting my Screnzy plot right?

Not enirely sure what I’m doing yet, but I do know this:

#1: I’m writing a stage play.
#2: It’ll most likely be horror.
#3: I will probably end up writing ten 10 min plays instead of one 100 min play.

Right now I’m thinking about doing one or more of these (all are horror):

Emmett: A scam artist traveling preacher takes shelter from a storm in a house haunted by were-cats. (Based on Civil War Slave Folk Tale)

The Artist: A prostitute is rescued from an attacker by a young artist named Jack (who does not know she’s a prostitute). Jack falls in love but gets his heart broken by the girl, than takes his art career to a whole new level when he becomes known as Jack the Ripper.

The Pearl Necklace: Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a young woman awake to find a strange string of pearls around her neck and an island that is not as deserted as it at first seemed. (Based on Scandinavian Legend).

InuGami: A faithful dog returns from the grave to avenge his mistress’s murder. (Based on Japanese Folk Tale).

The Hand: A boy lost in the forest discovers a dismembered hand which beckon him to follow it. (Not sure where it comes from, Scandinavian, I think.)

The Castle of Blood: Woman in the kingdom are mysteriously disappearing, all of them last seen in the company of the king. Three sisters set out to find out is happening. (Based on Blue Beard.) (Brother’s Grimm Story Retold).

Shiver: A retelling of “The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About Fear”. (Brother’s Grimm Story Retold).

The Tailypoe: A hunter’s worst nightmares come true when the ghost of a wild cat he killed, comes back to get revenge. (Based on Civil War Slave Folk Tale)

The Juniper Tree: When famine strikes the kingdom, families send their children to safety in another country. Oddly, one family seems to have an unending supply of fresh meat. (Based on a German Folk Tale). (Brother’s Grimm Story Retold).

My goal, as it stands right now, is to rewrite each of these, the bloodiest and most gruesome of all the classic fairy tales, as a ten minute play, each just ten pages long.

And that’s what I’ll be doing for Script Frenzy 2010. What about you? Got any plans yet?

Waiting for Emmett to come.

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http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

Script Frenzy RE: Need a TITLE for my PLOT!!

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RE: Need a TITLE for my PLOT!!

FrostPrincess
Posted
August 24, 2009 – 17:08

Need a TITLE for my PLOT!!
Well, seeing as how I’m 13, and my plot could be about something not really age-appropriate for me, I can’t ask my family for a title, so… Can anybody help me?? Here’s the plot:

When a rendezvous turns sour, a young French/German prostitute has to escape from her “buyer”. She runs into Jack Weller, a budding British artist who is trying to imprint his art on the world, and he learns that she is trying to get away, but doesn’t know why. He decides to let her come with him and they both leave on a train. (This takes place in 1870s) They both begin to fall slowly in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, Maria, the girl, doesn’t tell Jack that she’s a prostitute. She lies and says that the man she is running away from is her ex-husband (Or maybe just her husband..). Of course, I might change the plot to be more like:

She’s still a prostitute, but when she runs from the man, she first runs into Jack when he’s at an artist convention at the hotel she’s at. She happens to be dressed like a maid, so he thinks nothing of it. Then after managing to stay hidden from the man, she sees an add in the newspaper for a helper to an artist. She visits the address to discover that the artist is Jack. She’s familiar to him, but he doesn’t remember where from, so she lies and says she’s never met him.

He accepts her as his “apprentice” and they head off to another convention in England. As the man chases her at the train station, she lies to Jack and says that is her crazed ex-husband that she is trying to get away from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think I like the second one the best, but I need some advice on which to choose. I also need a title, as I advertised in the title. Any help?

My first thought was this:

prostitute + British guy named Jack + 1870′s + rendezvous gone bad = Jack the Ripper

So reading your plots, I thought – what if the guy she was running from wasn’t half as bad as the guy who was helping her? What if her Jack was Jack the Ripper? What if her new lover was a charming artist by day and prostitute killer by night? He’s falling in love with her, thinking she’s a “good girl”, but than he finds out she’s a prostitute and becomes enraged and now she’s trapped with him and has to escape him too before he kills her. Or what if, it’s BECAUSE he finds out that she’s a prostitute that he than gives up his art career and becomes Jack the Ripper and that’s the reason he only targets prostitutes?

WOW! I like that – I’ve always wanted to write a Jack the Ripper story, I may write that one out myself! LOL! I write horror, so, yeah, I read your romance plot and saw it as a horror plot. =P

ANYWAYS – the title I thought of was “The Artist”. Others “Train to My Heart”, “Love on the Run”, “Night Flight”.

Did they have art conventions in the 1870′s? and if so, would it have been at a hotel? I’ve no idea. I can’t say as I’ve ever heard of such a thing before.

I like the idea of having the whole story take place on the train. The opening scene is her running on to the train as is pulling out of the station, she’s not watching where she’s going or even thinking about what she’s doing and it’s a few moments before she even realizes that in her panic she jumped on to the train. She runs down to lane to hide from the conductor collecting tickets and runs into Jack, sending him and his attache of art supplies to the floor. Realizing she’s running from the conductor he quickly makes an excuse about having lost her ticket and buys one for her and that’s how she ends up joining him on the trip. Unknown to her, while this is going on, her attacker is running after the train, leaps and grabs the caboose ladder at the last second. . . . Wow. You’ve got a plot rolling in my head now. (Jack before he became The Ripper.) I must go write it down before I forget.

I’m probably not being very helpful to you, seeing how I took your plot and stuck a crazy serial killer in it. Oh well. I guess you can tell I like writing about serial killers.

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
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http://eelkat.wordpress.com
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http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

NaNoWriMo RE: Anybody taking on a Big, Fun, Scary Blogging Project? (Plays and Script Frenzy)

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RE: Anybody taking on a Big, Fun, Scary Blogging Project?

ohmynoti
Anybody taking on a Big, Fun, Scary Blogging Project?
Winner!
51,942 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 17, 2006
Location: Sackville, New Brunswick
Posts: 88
Posted on:
Dec 11, 2009 – 16 34
I know I am!

I’m going to write 100 tiny plays in 2010.
Some Reasons:

-I’m a young playwright, and I need a lot of practice. (And after about 3 years working on my big pretentious magnum opus, I could use some tiny practice.)
-I’m trying to figure out how theatre can be more like music (without necessarily being “musical theatre”), so creating some song-sized theatre seems like a good place to begin.

Some Rules:

-I must post at least 1 play a week (and at least 2 most weeks, in order to meet the goal).
-Each play must be a self-contained entity. (If it is impossible for an outsider to grok, I fail.)
-The plays must be tiny. (We will use a sliding scale on this, but if one can’t be reasonably expected to read the play over breakfast, it’s a fail in the tiny department.)

Some Rights:

-I get to write plays that are not so good sometimes.
-I get to revisit characters and situations.
-I get to be as vulgar or as sentimental as I want.
-I get to make the occasional non-play post, provided a) it is about theatre, and b) it is not boring.

***
Anybody else apparently gone nuts in similar fashion?
———-

Great minds think alike! LOL!

Your goal is similar to one of mine. I posted my list on the stickied thread with lots of lists on one thread if you want to read my entire, huge long list. The list I posted doesn’t go into details though, it just lists off each thing I want to do this year. One of those things, was to “expand my playwright career”, I said I planned to write a bunch of “mini-plays” this year. But that’s all I said. I’ll expand on that now and explain what I plan to do.

I was thinking how, plays that are “too long” get boring and I don’t want to fall into the trap of writing boring plays. Than I started thinking how songs are able to tell an entire story in as little as four minutes, so why can’t a play do the same? So, I decided that I wanted to write an anthology of mini-plays this year – my goal was at least one anthology with at least ten, 10 minute plays.

Than, the more I started thinking about it, the farther I expanded my goal.

My next idea was to go one step farther and write several anthologies of 10-minute plays, each anthology being one a single theme. The themes I came up with so far are:

    Valentines Plays
    Easter Plays
    Halloween Plays
    Christmas Plays
    Princess Tales
    Brothers Grimm Retold
    Beach – Ocean – Under the Sea

I’ll think of more most likely but those are what I came up with so far.

I was than farther thinking of doing a set of 12 volumes – one for each month, and publishing those for the grade school market – for classroom plays for kids.

So, you can see I’m still working out just exactly what it is that I want to do, but my goal is basically the same as yours: to write several mini-plays through out the year.

Incubus: Fear the Night!

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The Script Frenzy Plot Machine Outputs. Hilarity ensues . . .

I love playing with the Plot Machine. =P It’s so addicting. Some of the things it gives you are out right pee-your-pants funny. Here’s the ones it spit out at me tonight:

    In a world ruled by chickens, a group of Star Wars collectors, discovers the meaning of life.

    Awakened from a 1000-year sleep, a marooned alien, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    In a land of radioactive unicorns, a hyperactive poodle, finds the Planet of the Apes.

    While falling from a covered bridge, King Tut’s breakdancing mummy, shuts down power to Walt Disney World.

    En route to a llama resort, a ticklish polar bear, discovers the meaning of life.

    After saying ‘I don’t’ at the altar, a flock of radioactive parrots, must kill the president to save the country.

    After being bitten by rabid penguins, a biker with a flat tire, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    After a disastrous safari, an amorous garden gnome, opens a real estate agency on the moon.

    After a tragic cooking accident, Zorro, joins a traveling band.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, a stoned principal, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    During a summer lightning storm, a bored serial killer, finds a lucky penny.

    After seven failed marriages, a talking blanket, starts to fight back.

    At a sci-fi convention, a screaming busker, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a poor lonely french fry, ingests a pheromone that attracts weasels.

    While jogging naked, a mongoose and a white bear, invents the new Jazzercize.

    After a sex change, a near-sighted chemist, represents Earth in a Galaxy Hotties Contest.

    At a sci-fi convention, a group of aging superheroes, goes back to the beginning.

    After waking from a 100-year nap, Captain Crunch’s evil grandmother, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    After a nightmare, a hyper first-grade teacher, joins a group of undercover magicians.

    After crash-landing in the desert, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, invents the cure for a broken heart.

    Aided by a lucha libre champion, a sweaty giant, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    In an attempt to evade taxes, Zorro, rushes an elite Southern sorority.

    While dreaming about a dream, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, discovers the meaning of life.

    In a world where cats are currency, a German teenager, can be seen only by toddlers.

    Tired of endorsing golf products, King Tut’s breakdancing mummy, washes up on the shores of Zombie Island.

    Tired of a monotonous day job, a talking blanket, discovers the Meaning of Life.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a talking lobster, finds a wish-granting mold.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a plain human being, finds the missing link.

    In a world ruled by evil flying elves, a dysfunctional self-help club, must kill the president to save the country.

    Unable to find true love, a life-long bachelor, enters a love triangle with Siamese twins.

    After a sex change, Richard Simmons, begins to build a bridge over the rainbow.

    After getting voted off American Idol, a left-handed guitar player, is mistaken for Elton John and goes with it.

    Aided by a Swedish go-go dancer, an assassin who kills with CDs, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    After waiting in line for a wii, a man wearing nothing but sneakers, gets trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    Dressed like Liberace, a goat with a parka on, joins Bill Clinton’s reggae band.

    In the middle of the Autobahn, a talking lobster, discovers the meaning of life.

    In a remote jungle in Brazil, a hairstylist with a missing finger, invents a toaster that changes the world.

    After shrinking to 1/4 of normal size, the smallest Ewok, must smuggle druids across the border

    Lost in the Africa wing of the Science Museum, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    In a world where cats are currency, two blind mice, get revenge on a third grade teacher.

    While camping on the roof of the Sears Tower, a Red Hat Society infiltrator, releases Keith Richards into the water supply.

    En route to a llama resort, a teen idol, learns to see in the dark.

    On a space station filled with mimes, Captain Crunch’s evil grandmother, plans a campout in a haunted bayou.

    After crash-landing in the desert, a queen with one eyebrow, must smuggle druids across the border.

    While shopping for money, a poor lonely french fry, must smuggle druids across the border.

    In a rundown Villain’s Club, a superhero with no friends, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    Under cover of darkness, a unicycling banker, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    After getting lost underground, the oldest park ranger in the Andes, discovers the answer.

    While jogging naked, a god of the underworld, can only been seen by toddlers.

    Aided by a lucha libre champion, an Avon lady with violent mood swings, can only been seen by toddlers.

    After being bitten by rabid penguins, a left-handed guitar player, invents the cure for a broken heart.

    While picking cherries, a disgruntled Yeti, shuts down power to Walt Disney World.

    Covered in marmalade, a lonely piggy bank, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    In a world where marriage is illegal, a hunky, dimwitted pool boy, accidentally eats a year’s supply of Viagra.

    At a sci-fi convention, a band of intergalactic spice traders, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    Tired of endorsing golf products, a horde of drunk musketeers, sets out to shave a sasquatch.

    In a world where no dreams are sweet, a ballerina with a gun, discovers a shocking use for spray cheese

    At the behest of a dying relative, a toddler with a smoking problem, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    After saying “I don’t” at the altar, a disgruntled Yeti, enters a love triangle with Siamese twins.

    In a world where marriage is illegal, an Avon lady with violent mood swings, begins training for a life of pirate-hood.

    While shopping for money, a poor lonely French fry, finds a lost alien puppy.

    Awakened from a 1000-year sleep, a band of urban cannibals, tries to break into pro Sumo wrestling.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a candy cane maker, attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

    Badly burned in a meth lab explosion, a suicidal stock analyst, must stop the space-time continuum.

    During the reign of robotic turkeys, a team of Olympic cloggers, tries out for the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

    After anchoring the CBS news for decades, a teen idol, hotwires an abandoned hot air balloon.

    In a world where cats are currency, a marooned alien, opens a real estate agency on the moon.

    After getting voted off American Idol, a biker with a flat tire, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    Halfway through the big to-do list, a dysfunctional self-help club, skinny dips with the Golden Girls.

    Badly burned in a meth lab explosion, a geek with a broken heart, is kept as a pet by hyper-intelligent dogs.

    After consuming a powerful laxative, a flock of radioactive parrots, starts to fight back.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a group of retired superheroes, shut down power to Walt Disney World.

    After a nightmare, a bored serial killer, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    On a lifelong quest for pixie dust, a ruthless gold digger, finds a lucky penny.

    Unable to find true love, an angry Italian chef, accidentally eats a year’s supply of Viagra.

    At the corner of Broadway and Grand, a mute heckler, leaves it all behind.

    After escaping from prison, a ticklish polar bear, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    During surgery, Richard Simmons, washes up on the shores of Zombie Island.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, joins a group of undercover magicians.

    In a town called Sandwich, a queen with one eyebrow, is mistaken for Elton John and goes with it.

    While scuba diving in a shallow puddle, a toddler with a smoking problem, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    After a harsh break-up, a talking lobster, receives the 11th commandment.

    During a summer lightning storm, a superhero with no friends, skinny dips with the Golden Girls.

    Awakened from a 1000-year sleep, a stoned principal, finds a lost alien puppy.

    After waiting in line for a Wii, a geek with a broken heart, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    After anchoring the CBS news for decades, a poetry-writing middle school teacher, leaves it all behind.

    Tired of a monotonous day job, a horde of drunk musketeers, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a traveling shoe salesman, accidentally eats a year’s supply of Viagra.

    In a world where time moves backward, a suicidal stock analyst, skinny dips with the Golden Girls.

    In a world ruled by earthworms, a narcoleptic bear, ingests a pheromone that attracts weasels.

    After reading a coworker’s email, a poor lonely french fry, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    In the middle of the Autobahn, a seriously lost Bedouin tribe, switches suitcases with a Mafia hit man.

    While scuba diving in a shallow puddle, a hamster with impulse-control problems, reinvents the wheel.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, a monarch named Walliump, starts a rumor at the North Pole.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, must kill the president to save the country.

    While planning for tomorrow, a suicidal stock analyst, leaves it all behind.

    While stealing girl scout cookies, a hamster with impulse-control problems, is mistaken for Elton John and goes with it.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, the cast of Riverdance, begins training for a life of piratehood.

    Awakened from a 1000-year sleep, a duck with a death-wish, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    After saying “I don’t” at the altar, Richard Simmons, ingests a pheromone that attracts weasels.

    En route to a llama resort, a talking lobster, must open for Bjork.

    Unable to break into adult entertainment, a man named Tabbouleh, skydives without a parachute.

    Aided by a Swedish go-go dancer, a poor, lonely french fry, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    While planning for tomorrow, a disgruntled child actor, is kept as a pet by hyper- intelligent dogs.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, an amorous garden gnome, hijacks a bus full of Tae Bo instructors.

    While painting a fence, a left-handed guitar player, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    At a sci-fi convention, two blind mice, must stop the space-time continuum.

    After opening an urgent telegram, David Hasselhoff, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    Nervous about vacationing with the in-laws, a show-tunes singing linebacker, joins a traveling band.

    In a world where people age backwards, a unicycling banker, releases Keith Richards into the water supply.

    While lost in the Bermuda Triangle, a seriously lost Bedouin tribe, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    On a snowy day in Hawaii, a horde of drunk musketeers, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    While jogging naked, an amorous garden gnome, hijacks a bus full of Tae Bo instructors.

    With only a week left to live, a bike messenger with a death wish, finds a lucky penny.

    After a tragic cooking accident, a group of Star Wars collectors, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    In the middle of the Autobahn, a traveling Bible salesman, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    While lost in a wormhole, an out-of-work lion tamer, discovers the meaning of life.

    Deep in the sewers of Paris, a disgruntled child actor, takes control of a police station.

    Halfway through a cup of coffee, a man wearing nothing but sneakers, tries out for the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

    After putting eyeglasses on for the first time, a toddler with a smoking problem, hijacks a bus with one stowaway on board.

    After anchoring the CBS news for decades, an angry squirrel, accidentally eats a year’s supply of Viagra.

    After putting eyeglasses on for the first time, a monarch named Walliump, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    With only a week left to live, a slug with a snail complex, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    In a world where cats are currency, an amorous garden gnome, can only been seen by toddlers.

    Unable to break into adult entertainment, Captain Crunch’s evil grandmother, befriend’s a young runaway with a secret.

    Lost in the Africa wing of the Science Museum, a hyper first-grade teacher, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a mongoose and a white bear, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    After opening an urgent telegram, a flock of radioactive parrots, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    After seven failed marriages, a lifelong bachelor, sets out to shave a sasquatch.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, a 31-year-old masochist, plans a campout in a haunted bayou.

    Tired of endorsing golf products, Zorro, opens a real estate agency on the moon.

    After consuming a powerful laxative, Richard Simmons, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    After shrinking to the size of a pea, a cartographer from the future, must smuggle druids across the border.

    On a snowy day in Hawaii, a hunky, dimwitted pool boy, discovers the answer.

    After anchoring the CBS News for decades, a bounty hunter, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    With only a week left to live, a world-renowned yodeler, joins a traveling band.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, King Tut’s breakdancing mummy, tries to break into pro Sumo wrestling.

    Unable to break into adult entertainment, a masked villain with no teeth, begins to build a bridge over the rainbow.

    While wishing upon a star, a duck with a death-wish, attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

    Just after dark, an iguana juggler, learns to see in the dark.

    While scuba diving in a shallow puddle, a blind jeweler, is trapped at a dead end.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, the oldest park ranger in the Andes, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    Under cover of darkness, an over-caffeinated kangaroo, stows away on an alien pleasure cruise.

    After eating some bad cheese, a pyromaniac firefighter, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    During the eyes of the storm, a merry band of woodland ninjas, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    Halfway through a cup of coffee, a hot-headed public defender, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, a superhero with no friends, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    In a world where marriage is illegal, a geek with a broken heart, skinny dips with the Golden Girls.

    Unable to break into adult entertainment, a flock of radioactive parrots, takes control of a police station.

    In the back of a pickup truck, Richard Simmons, must smuggle druids across the border.

    At the corner of Broadway and Grand, Zorro, travels back in time to kill Hitler.

    During surgery, a Parisian fishmonger, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    At the behest of a dying relative, an obese triathlete, invents a toaster that changes the world.

    After making purple taffy, a band of urban cannibals, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    After opening an urgent telegram, a frightened rabbit, tries to build a bridge over the rainbow.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a blind jeweler, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    After consuming a powerful laxative, a fed up lab mouse, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    In a haunted space station orbiting Pluto, a ruthless gold digger, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    Deep in the sewers of Paris, David Hasselhoff, releases Keith Richards into the water supply.

    Lost in the Africa wing of the Science Museum, a stoned principal, releases Keith Richards into the water supply.

    After anchoring the CBS news for decades ,a spelling-challenged writer ,sets out to shave a sasquatch.

    In the back of a pickup truck, a traveling Bible salesman, stows away on an alien pleasure cruise.

    Battling a Red Bull addiction, a hot-headed public defender, attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

    During a parent-teacher riot, a masked villain with no teeth, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    While playing Guitar Hero, a seriously lost Bedouin tribe, finds a hope chest filled with spiders.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, a horde of drunk musketeers, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a DJ with Tourette’s, becomes possessed by Beethoven.

    While jogging naked, an obese triathlete, buys an unreliable time machine.

    While searching for a working pen, a poetry-writing middle school teacher joins a group of undercover magicians.

    After anchoring the CBS news for decades, an enormous grasshopper, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    After a nightmare, a man wearing nothing but sneakers, stows away on an alien pleasure cruise.

    While scuba diving in a shallow puddle, an Avon lady with violent mood swings, shuts down power to Walt Disney World.

    Covered in marmalade, a god of the underworld, discovers a shocking use for spray cheese.

    After falling out of love, a merry band of woodland ninjas, discovers a shocking use for spray cheese.

    After a sex change, a biker with a flat tire, can only been seen by toddlers.

    In a remote jungle in Brazil, a blackjack dealer, finds a lucky penny.

    In a rundown Villains Club, a hot-headed public defender, begins training for a life of piratehood.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a Chilean heavy metal band, is kept as a pet by hyper- intelligent dogs.

    Covered in marmalade, a tightrope walker with a fear of heights, fights a saint in a dark alley.

    Battling a Red Bull addiction, a plain human being, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    While on an African Safari, a marooned alien, finds a hope chest filled with spiders.

    After a tragic cooking accident, a ruthless gold digger, washes up on the shores of Zombie Island.

    While searching for a working pen, a band of intergalactic spice traders, finds a wish-granting mold.

    In a world ruled by children, Captain Crunch’s evil grandmother, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    During the eye of the storm, a quiet mapmaker, begins training for a life of piratehood.

    After a painful sneeze, a god of the underworld, joins Bill Clinton’s reggae band.

    Nervous about vacationing with the in-laws, a glowworm with the flu, rushes an elite Southern sorority.

    After waking from a 100-year nap, a candy cane maker, hijacks a bus with one stowaway on board.

    While looking for a lost sock, a ballerina with a gun, learns to see in the dark.

    In a world ruled by chickens, a hooker with a heart of gold, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, a bored serial killer, gets drunk with a stranger.

    After a nightmare, a flock of radioactive parrots, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    While planning for tomorrow, a lonely piggy bank, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    Under cover of darkness, an iguana juggler, begins training for a life of piratehood.

    In a post-apocalyptic Peru, a geek with a broken heart, is mistaken for John Lennon and goes with it.

    After shrinking to 1/4 of normal size, a group of Tuvan throat singers, wreaks Godzilla-style havoc.

    Unable to have children, a mongoose and a white bear, track down a renegade leprechaun

    After being bitten by rabid penguins, a kangaroo breeder, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    Just after dark, a midwestern scrapbooking club, finds a wish-granting mold.

    In a haunted space station orbiting Pluto, a feuding polka band, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    After consuming a powerful laxative, an angry Italian chef, skinny dips with the Golden Girls.

    While hanging from a ledge, a band of intergalactic spice traders, finds a lost alien puppy.

    After getting lost underground, a god of the underworld, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    While jogging naked, an undead soccer team, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    After saying “I don’t” at the alter, an obese triathlon athlete, tries to break into Sumo wrestling.

    In a secret city beneath the Potomac, a llama princess, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    While scavenging for zipper parts, a Chilean heavy metal band, takes control of a police station.

    After a disastrous safari, a queen with one eyebrow, sets out to shave sasquatch.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a band of intergalactic spice traders, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    While wishing upon a star, a sweaty giant, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    After shrinking to the size of a pea, a sun-worshiping albino, enters a love triangle with Siamese twins.

    After getting voted off American Idol, a sun-worshipping albino, is trapped at a dead end.

    After a painful sneeze, a glowworm with the flu, invents a toaster that changes the world.

    While scavenging for zipper parts, a man wearing nothing but sneakers, leaves it all behind.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, a bounty hunter, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    After making purple taffy, a bounty hunter, discovers the answer.

    While falling from a covered bridge, a failing college student, discovers a shocking use for spray cheese.

    Dressed like Liberace, a hyper first-grade teacher, is mistaken for Elton John and goes with it.

    Halfway through a cup of coffee, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, finds a wish-granting mold.

    After a heart attack, a nuclear physicist with a broken heart, finds a wish-granting mold.

    While jogging naked, the oldest park ranger in the Andes, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    While sketching an alter ego, a frightened rabbit, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    Unable to break into adult entertainment, an angry squirrel, buys an unreliable time machine.

    At the behest of a dying relative, a hairstylist with a missing finger, switches suitcases with a Mafia hitman.

    Deep in the jungle, a talking lobster, is given the 11th Commandment.

    En route to a llama resort, an out-of-work lion tamer, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    After waking from a 100-year nap, a god of the underworld, rushes an elite Southern sorority.

    While at a super bowl party, a DJ with Tourette’s, invents the cure for a broken heart.

    While hanging from a ledge, a god of the underworld, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    Aided by a Swedish go-go dancer, a dysfunctional self-help group, tries to win the Tour de France.

    After a harsh breakup, a poor lonely French fry, can only be seen by toddlers.

    In a world ruled by evil flying elves, a one-armed fencing champion, starts to fight back.

    In an attempt to evade taxes, an Avon lady with violent mood swings, switches suitcases with a Mafia hit man.

    While painting a fence, a god of the underworld, can only been seen by toddlers.

    While searching for a working pen, a unicycling banker, must smuggle druids across the border.

    In a world ruled by children, a man named Tabbouleh, gets revenge on a third grade teacher.

    After eating some bad cheese, King Tut’s breakdancing mummy, rushes an elite Southern sorority.

    During a rave, a traveling Bible salesman, must avenge the murder of an old flame.

    After saying “I don’t” at the altar, a pyromaniac, firefighter learns to see in the dark.

    After getting voted off American Idol, an iguana juggler, finds a lost alien puppy.

    While searching for a working pen, a spelling-challenged writer, discovers the answer.

    While falling from a covered bridge, a guilty judge, joins a group of undercover magicians.

    After a lifetime of pie making, an undead soccer team, receives dating advice from the afterlife.

    After being bitten by rabid penguins, a 31-year-old masochist, finds a lucky penny.

    While looking for a lost sock, a blind jeweler, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    Awakened from a 1000 year sleep, a bored serial killer, must stop the space-time continuum.

    After shrinking to the size of a pea, a superhero with no friends, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    After shrinking to the size of a pea, a marooned alien, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    Aided by a Swedish go-go dancer, a 31 year old masochist, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    In a world where cats are currency, an assassin who kills with CDs, fights a saint in a dark alley.

    In a world where no dreams are sweet, a hooker with a heart of gold, washes up on the shores of Zombie Island.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a guilty judge, finds a new use for belly buttons.

    Awakened from a 1000 year sleep, a ballerina with a gun, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    While painting a fence, Zorro, invents the new Jazzercize.

    Covered in marmalade, a sweaty giant, begins to build a bridge over the rainbow.

    At the behest of a dying relative, a fed up lab mouse, discovers the meaning of life.

    In a world ruled by evil flying elves, a blind jeweler, finds a new use for the belly button.

    In a world where people age backwards, a landlocked seagull, buys an unreliable time machine.

    In a world where cats are currency, a bike messenger with a death wish, invents a toaster that changes the world.

    After escaping from prison, a high school security guard, is kept as a pet by hyper- intelligent dogs.

    Under cover of darkness, a plain human being, reinvents the wheel.

    In a world where no dreams are sweet, a cartographer from the future, rushes an elite Southern sorority.

    Nervous about vacationing with the in-laws, the smallest Ewok, sets out to shave a sasquatch.

    In a haunted space station orbiting Pluto, a talking blanket, finds and rears abandoned adult triplets.

    Tired of endorsing golf products, a glowworm with the flu, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    In a remote jungle in Brazil, a high school security guard, finds a lucky penny.

    While on a shopping spree, a near-sighted chemist, stows away on an alien pleasure cruise.

    Fleeing from an angry mob, a spelling-challenged writer, reinvents the wheel.

    While sketching an alter ego, a band of urban cannibals, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    In a world where people age backwards, a god of the underworld, finds and rears adult triplets.

    Under cover of darkness, a geek with a broken heart, discovers a shocking use for spray cheese.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a stoned principal, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    On a space station filled with mimes, an over-caffeinated kangaroo, takes control of a police station.

    While jogging naked, a robot with ADD, buys an unreliable time machine.

    During an out of body experience, a cartographer from the future, starts to fight back.

    Awakened from a 1000-year sleep, an angry squirrel, joins Bill Clinton’s reggae band.

    Fleeing from an angry mob, an out-of-work lion tamer, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    Aided by a Swedish go-go dancer, a spelling-challenged writer, must kill the president to save the country.

    While hanging from a ledge, a talking lobster, attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

    While sketching an alter ego, a traveling shoe salesman, must stop the space-time continuum.

    In a world ruled by chickens, a falcon with a broken wing, starts to fight back.

    After a lifetime of pie-making, the cast of Riverdance, finds a lucky penny.

    After a traumatic run-in with a gopher, a fed up lab mouse, starts a rumor at the North Pole.

    While camping on the roof of the Sears Tower, a one-armed fencing champion, is trapped in an elevator with Dr. Phil.

    In a run down Villains club, a merry band of woodland ninjas, hotwires an abandoned hot air balloon.

    While painting a fence, a group of Star Wars collectors, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    While camping on the roof of Sears Tower, a bike messenger with a deathwish, switches suitcases with a Mafia hitman.

    Tired of endorsing golf products, a slug with a snail complex, gets lost in an ancient cheese maze.

    In a world where sleep must be paid for, a 31-year-old masochist discovers the meaning of life.

    Battling a Red Bull addiction, a showtunes- singing linebacker, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    After shrinking to 1/4 of normal size, a slug with a snail complex, begins to build a bridge over the rainbow.

    After crash-landing in the desert, a hyper first-grade teacher, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    While wishing upon a star, a hunky, dimwitted pool boy, stows away on an alien pleasure cruise.

    While dreaming about a dream, an obsessive copy editor, can only been seen by toddlers.

    After eating some bad cheese, an angry Italian chef, injests a phermone that attracts weasels.

    While wishing upon a star, a Midwestern scrapbooking club, stows away on an alien spaceship.

    After a nightmare, a hyper first-grade teacher, joins a group of undercover magicians.

    Halfway through a cup of coffee, an Avon lady with violent mood swings, is trapped at a dead-end.

    During a summer lightning storm, a duck with a death-wish, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    After putting on eyeglasses for the first time, a hairstylist with a missing finger, represents Earth in the Galaxy Hotties contest.

    After shrinking to the size of a pea, a biker with a flat tire, unknowingly arrives at a nudist colony.

    On the planet Zorbot, an over-caffeinated kangaroo, switches suitcases with a Mafia hit man.

    After making purple taffy, a traveling Bible salesman, washes up on the shores of Zombie Island.

    With only a week left to live, a German teenager, plans a campout in a haunted bayou.

    In a world where time moves backward, a bike messenger with a death wish fights a gang of marching band drummers.

    After saying “I don’t” at the altar, a left-handed guitar, player starts to fight back.

    During a rave, a DJ with Tourette’s, tries out for the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

    Where reality and fantasy intersect, a teen idol, must kill the president to save the country.

    In a world ruled by evil flying elves, a talking blanket, starts a rumor at the North Pole.

    Battling with a Red Bull addiction, a toddler with a smoking problem takes control of a police station.

    While lost in the Bermuda Triangle, a goat with a parka, on discovers the meaning of life.

    While dreaming about a dream, an obsessive copy editor, can only been seen by toddlers.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a monarch named Walliump, receives dating advice from the afterlife.

    After saying “I don’t” at the altar, a robot with ADD, must sew up the hole in the ozone layer.

    After opening an urgent telegram, an environmentalist with a Hummer, invents the cure for a broken heart.

    On a space station filled with mimes, a failing college student, finds a lost alien puppy.

    While searching for a working pen, King Tut’s breakdancing mummy, gets lost in an ancient cheese maze.

    While lost in a department store, a plain human being, hotwires an abandoned hot air balloon.

    After crash-landing in the desert, a sentient alien sock puppet, tracks down a renegade leprechaun.

    While painting a fence, a god of the underworld, can only been seen by toddlers.

    While drowning in the Caspian Sea, a monarch named Walliump, receives the 11th commandment.

    While stealing girl scout cookies, a ill-mannered Turkish diplomat, befriends a young runaway with a secret.

    In a town called Sandwich, a god of the underworld, gets stuck at the beginning of time.

    While hanging from a ledge, a talking lobster, invents a toaster that changes the world.

    En route to a llama resort, a narcoleptic bear, hijacks a bus with one stowaway on board.

    In an attempt to evade taxes, a hunky dimwitted pool boy, must cross a ravine on a tightrope.

    In a haunted space station orbiting Pluto, a man named Tabbouleh, attempts to rewrite Finnish history.

    While lost in the middle of nowhere, a duck with a death-wish, is visited by the ghosts of the Wright Brothers.

    In the back of a pickup truck, an enormous grasshopper, ingests a pheromone that attracts weasels.

    While camping on the roof of the Sears tower, Orville Redenbacher, receives the 11th commandment.

    Badly burned in a meth lab explosion, a seriously lost Bedouin tribe, attempts to win the Tour de France.

    While scavenging for zipper parts, a superhero with no friends, discovers the answer.

    After waking from a 100-year nap, a poetry-writing middle school teacher, finds a new use for belly buttons.

    Forced to wear a grass skirt, a tone-deaf opera singer, reinvents the wheel.

    Framed for murdering the prime minister, a merry band of woodland ninjas, opens a real estate agency on the moon.

    Lost in the Africa wing of the Science Museum, a band of urban cannibals, discovers the meaning of life.

    In a world ruled by children, a stoned principal, finds the missing link.

    On a lifelong quest for pixie dust, an angry Italian chef, takes control of a police station.

    After getting lost underground, a poor lonely french fry, joins a traveling band.

    In a world ruled by chickens, a near-sighted chemist, receives the 11th commandment.

    In a rundown Villains Club, a masked villain with no teeth, discovers the meaning of life.

    Fleeing from an angry mob, an iguana juggler, finds a new use for belly buttons.

    Fleeing from an angry mob, a band of urban cannibals, shuts down power to Walt Disney World.

    While eavesdropping, a hawk with a broken wing, hotwires an abandoned hot air balloon.

    Deep in the sewers of Paris, an undead soccer team, sets out to shave a sasquatch.

    In the middle of the Autobahn, a landlocked seagull, fights a gang of marching band drummers.

    Just after dark, an assassin who kills with CDs, leaves it all behind.

    After being bitten by rabid penguins, Captain Crunch’s evil grandmother, skydives without a parachute.

    In an attempt to evade taxes, a suicidal stock analyst, teams up with David Bowie to save the world.

    After winning $1,042 on a radio show, a group of retired superheroes, finds a hope chest filled with spiders.

    While drowning in the Caspian Sea, a group of retired superheroes, fights a gang of marching band drummers.

    While lost in the Bermuda Triangle, a talking lobster, hijacks a bus full of Tae Bo instructors.

    On the planet Zorbot, a sidekick named Hero, fights a saint in a dark alley.

    At a sci-fi convention, a stoned principal, plans a campout in a haunted bayo.

    While lost in the Bermuda Triangle, a left-handed guitar player, learns to see in the dark.

WOW! Some of those sound like script material for a Jerry Springer episode! LOL! I can just imagine people reading/watching these and chanting “JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!”

Incubus: Fear the Night!

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NaNoWriMo RE: What Fish Could You, uh, Fish for in the East Coast?

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What Fish Could You, uh, Fish for in the East Coast?




[quote=Bootscooper]In the East Coat, around the tri-state area, what edible fish could you get to eat?


[/quote]


Tri-state – my homeland :) And me living right on the ocean, I’m surrounded by rifle toting lobster man, and get to see the lobster war shoot outs all the time. Fishing is our # one source of income, and it’s big business. If you are not a fishermen, you are related to one, married to one, work for one, or at least know some one who does. Maine is 73% water and has the longest coastline of any other state. Yeah. Every one around here has fish on the brain.

You didn’t say what type of fishing you plan on using so I’ll list both:

Off the coast/deep sea:

    Lobster is #1 (the #3 source of income in Maine, after Tourism and Blueberries. Potatoes and Milk are 4 and 5.) Marlin Shrimp Sea bass Atlantic Salmon Pollack Sea Urchins Halibut Flounder Eels (big ones) Skate (what we call Sting Rays) Octopus Squid Manta Rays (big ones – big, big, big ones – 8 foot wings are not uncommon) folks don’ fish for them, but once in a while one will get caught in a net. People don’t eat them, btw. Shark (lots of types, Sand, Nurse, etc, keep in mind though the Great Whites are extremely rare, so you can mention them, but it would be a fluke to see one around here) Humpback Whales, if your story is set before the anti whaling laws. Whaling was a big business around here in the 1700′s ish. and also Scallops, Clams, Mussel, Crab, and several assorted snails but technically that’s not called “fishing” it’s called “digging”. Also, we are in the “Man o War” region. Man o Wars are giant killer jelly fish, that can get 30 feet long. In warm summers they get washed in along the coast, by the gulf stream. People don’t fish for them, but fisherman do once in a while get killed by them. Areas have to be closed down if any Man o War are sighted, and wait until they head back out to sea again. This only happens once every few years though, and is not that common an event.

Inland – river/lake/pond/stream:

    Eels (small ones) Brown Trout Rainbow Trout Catfish Salmon

Sorry, afraid I don’t know many inland fish, I live right on the ocean and rarely leave town.

I’m afraid I can’t help you with any details or specifics. Ive never been fishing in my whole life! LOL! My boyfriend is a hobby fisherman and my neighbor is a lobster men (every one’s neighbor is a lobster man around here.) and these are the fish they commonly catch and or mention seeing, or have known others to catch. They are the ones I just always hear getting mentioned around town and such.

Also, Harbor Seals are every where, and commonly get caught by mistake, and have to be released. But if your story is set old enough, like before the 1950′s, fisherman used to shot every seal they saw on sight, hundreds and hundreds of them, because the seal attack the nets and traps and lines and steal the fish.

Pretty much every one eats fish, most every meal, every day of the year.

Here in town we have fishing shacks on every street corner. A fishing shack is like a dinner that is run by the wife of some local fisherman, and all they serve is fresh fish. The Clam Bake, Bailey’s, WormWoods, and Ken’s Place are the biggest ones, and attract tourists from all over the world. The Clam Bake is a giant restaurant now as a result.

Hey – why don’t you just read what they sell off their menu? Or ask them on their FaceBook page? Plus all those actual picture of what the stuff looks like cooked should give you plenty to work with. That should help you out:

http://www.clambakerestaurant.com/ or http://www.clambakerestaurant.com/dinners.shtml

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scarborough-ME/Kens-Place-Seafood-Restaurant/64297093127?v=info (2009 was their 82nd year in business)

These two are right across the street from each other (more or less) and I live right behind them on the beach. :)

and this one is right next door to Ken’s

http://bayleysseafood.com/ and is the one I personally like to eat at most often. I like their Seafood Platter, which is a little bit of everything that got brought in that morning. Usually it includes Haddock fillets, scallops, shrimp, clam strips, etc.

and they make the best Lobster Rolls in Maine. You can’t visit Maine with out trying a Lobster Roll and drinking Moxie.

and here’s one from Portland:

http://www.portlandlobstercompany.com/menu.html

and Moxie btw is this:

http://www.moxiefestival.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie

your Maine readers will think your Maine characters are weird if they are NOT drinking Moxie.

You know, you might want to head to the Maine Regional Forums and ask there. Some one might have more info for you.

And writing this list up for you . . . wow! You just gave me some great ideas to add to my story, which, happens to be set in a fishing villsge off the coast of Maine – couldn’t imaging why. ;) =P

Incubus: Fear the Night!

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NaNoWriMo RE: Who publishes?

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The question and my answer:

Who publishes?

[quote=Esmeralda_m]Do any of you go on to publish your books later? [/quote]

Always. I started writing short stories in 1978. All of them published via indie-press chapbooks. Though most never had more than 12 or 15 copies made. =P I moved on the adding novels in 2006, and started writing non-fiction stuff in 2003, but didn’t start pubbing the non-fiction stuff until 2007, which I publish both in print format and online.

[quote=Esmeralda_m] Do you self publish or go through a company? [/quote]

Both. It depends on how you look at it. Some would say I self publish, others would say I don’t. Explanation: I own a publishing house (The Twighlight Manor Press). I publish my own work through said publishing house. Therefor my work is being published via a company, but it is also self published because, I just happen to be the owner of that company. =P

I submit some of my work to the big publishing houses too (Harlequin, Scholastic, etc.) but not very often. Usually I just stick with my own publishing house.

I also am under a work-for-hire contract to write scripts for copyrighted characters (The Duck Family aka Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck) through Edgmont (Disney Comics). This means technically I work for Disney and can write Disney “fanfic” so long as I follow Disney’s really rigid super strict guidelines and send every thing I write to them.

[quote=Esmeralda_m] Has anybody considered it but not followed through? Why not?[/quote]

I always consider EVERY THING I write as publishable. My theory is there is a market for every thing and every thing that is written, can be edited to make it marketable. (Some stuff just needs more editing than other stuff.) With that thery in mind, every thing I write eventually gets published some where, some how, though in some cases it may take several years of editing to make a piece publishable.

[quote=Esmeralda_m] I’m curious what the statistics are. Who goes “further” than the 30 days of writing and does a 2nd, 3rd, and final draft? Who takes that to a publisher and says “Lookit what I got!” and either gets turned down or accepted. Who opts to Lulu their book, and who takes it to the copy machine at kinkoes. [/quote]

My stuff usually goes through 4 edits, before reaching the final draft. This process can take a few weeks for shorter works, to a year or more for longer works.

Where I send it and how it gets published depends on what it is I wrote.

I taught myself bookbinding and so from the 1970′s through 1980′s my books were hand bound. Papers hand cut. Pages hand sewn, with olde fashioned needle and thread book binding stitch. The words themselves hand done in calligraphy. That’s why there were usually less than 15 copies of each book. It took about a month just to make a single copy. I was like a 15th century monk or something! LOL! =P

I went the desk top printer road in the 1990′s. Quality sucked.

Tried a local print shop once. eeh. Quality still sucked.

In 2005 I switched over to using http://www.LuLu.com for my publishing house’s printer. Quality has skyrocketed. I love it, and will likely stick with them as my printing house from now on.

As for where do I send stuff when I do send it out to an outside publisher?

Well, right off the bat, EVERYTHING I write with a Disney character, gets shipped to Edgmont and from there it’s Disney’s problem. Getting published with Disney, let me tell you – NOT EASY! Pay sucks. It’s not worth it unless you are mega super obsessed with whatever character you are writing about, which I am, so it’s not like I’m going to stop writing Duck stories any time soon. =P

My Harlequin quality stuff gets shipped off to Harlequin for consideration.

Short stories head out to various random magazines depending on genre.

My unagented attempts with Scholastic continue to fail; yeah, I know, I need an agent for Scholastic. Someday when I can afford an agent, I’ll hire one. ;)

What I am most well known for however is my trademark long running, banned, M rated series. My Twighlight Manor series, has since the 1970′s been sent to various publishers, and I get back lots of nice rejections, telling me that my unique writing style is wonderful and they’d really love me to write a different book for them, but my subject matter is just too outside of what can be published main stream, could I tone it done a bit, try to be a little bit more politically correct, use a little less gore, make my teenage rape victims over 18, make my rapists not always elderly men, and could you TRY to write a Happily Ever After ending . . . just once? Hey! I write what I know. Older men rape teenage and preteen girls. Been there. Done that. I was the teenage girl. I’ve known others. It happens. It happens a lot. These girls don’t get peach scent happily ever afters with rose colored glasses. I write about it. I write about it a lot. I write it like it is in the real world, older men, 8 year old girls and all. I’m not going to glamorize it and make it into some pretty happy romance story because that’s what people want to read. This is not romance, this is a girl traumatized for life in a world that would rather look the other way and protect the false integrity of their beloved church leaders. You know what? Life for these girls is hell, in a world that doesn’t care, why should I tone it down and make it more digestible for the reader when it isn’t digestible for the real victims? No! I won’t do it. Some one has to speak out for these girls, and I’m not changing these books just because you don’t like it.

And so, my Twighlight Manor Books, continue on published via indie press and remain to date, still not mass produced. And I am being excommunicated from my church for writing them, because well, it’s a big No-No to say anything against one of their priests. :(

Actually, I’m being excommunicated for writing my autobiography, the 433 page story behind the story of the Twighlight Manor books. My autobiography was what I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2008. It took a year to edit, went through 4 drafts, and was edited online with the help of some of my online friends. The draft had been posted on my blog, which, unknown to me, my bishop reads, and when he read what I had to say about several of the leaders in our local church building, he just flipped out, and called me into his office and DEMANDED that I not publish this book or else. Or else? He’d rather hide his head in the sand and protect the criminals in his church, than stand out in the open and protect the innocent victims????? Well, that book got published a month ago, and so I got called in again and told I was being excommunicated from the church. Oh well. Such is life. My NaNovel 2008 has become some what of a local controversy, and really, I don’t see why my bishop is going all freak out like this, but whatever.

As for this years NaNovel, yep. It’s being published. At the moment I’m planning on going through my own publishing house. (Which currently PODs books via http://www.LuLu.com btw, no more hand bound books for me! LOL!)

[quote=Esmeralda_m] I’m just kinda curious since I’m thinking of persuing more than a one month fling with my characters. I have a professional artist, willing to do the cover, and a professional editor even, but I’m intimidated by the prospect of tranforming a nanobook into a “real” novel. Can a nano even BE a real novel?

[/quote]

Every year, about 3 or 4 NaNovels get accepted through Harlequin. They even have a place to submit special NaNoWriMo submissions to them. (Check out their web site, info changes each year). If you are writing romance, Harlequin is very open to reading NaNovels.

and one word: Eragon.

Look up the Hal Spacejock series. Long running series of best sellers, every volume was writing right here on NaNoWriMo

Every year hundreds of NaNovels get published. A few through mainstream big publishers, but most through small press, indie press, and self published POD (LuLu and CreateSpace).

So, yeah, a NaNovel can be a real novel. All you got to do it edit, edit, edit, polish, polish, polish, and submit, submit, submit! EVERY THING you write, can be published, it’s all in the amount of time you are willing to put into editing it after you write it.

There are probably a lot more mainstream published NaNovels out there than we realize too, because a lot of authors, don’t tell you here on NaNoWriMo who they are and just come on here, write their draft, and never tell any one they wrote it via NaNo. Besides, when you submit it to a publisher, there is no reason to tell the publisher where your wrote the book. The publisher couldn’t care less wither you wrote it on NaNoWriMo or in an igloo on top of Mt Everest. All they want to know, is will our readers want to read it?

You will only need a cover artist if you plan to self publish. Authors have no say or control when it comes to cover art on their books, unless they are self publishing the book.

Incubus: Fear the Night!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

NaNoWriMo RE: Hi I am… and I tend to write a lot of…

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I like this writing exercise. It helps you to focus on what you write and what you need to work on, as well as helps you to see what your “style is”. The entire original post is very very long, so you’ll need to click on the link to read the whole thing, as I only quoted the very start of it, so you’d know what I was responding to.

Hi I am… and I tend to write a lot of…

[quote=Kimberly Dawn]

Move at will… but I think this is on topic…

I’m not sure how to get out of the rut of these principle scenes I tend to write tons of. But I thought if I shared what I tend to write a lot of, someone else out there will have another crux and I can try to bum off of them their weakness for writing those scenes and we can help each other…

I tend to write a lot of pet scenes. This has to do with dogs, snakes, whatever pet is on hand. Don’t have a pet I make up one. Dogs are the most useful for me, but I take horses, dragons, etc.

Lots of scenes on food. Almost every book I’ve written has ….READ MORE… [/quote]

And here is my answer about my own writing:

The weather – lots of it. Wind. Fog. Rain. Thunder. Lightening. Hurricanes. Blizzards. I’m really good at lengthy (2000 words or more) descriptions of weather related things. Tonight I just wrote a 2k scene where my MC gets caught walking during a thunder storm, I spent most of the 2k describing the black clouds and lightening bolts! LOL! And even when I’m not writing long descriptions of weather, the weather is there: wind in her hair, wind in the trees, she can smell the fog, he hears the rain on the roof etc, etc, etc. Boy, I should have been a meteorologist or something. I’d be good at writing weather reports for the meteorologists to read on TV! LOL!

Aghasty men who brood about dead wives, and usually have dead wife’s coffin in his bedroom or dining room or some place else in the house so he can sit there staring at it and going all Vincent Price/Edgar Alan Poe monologuing about death and eternity and soul mates and lost love. Yep, I was raised on Vincent Price movies and Edgar Alan Poe books, one look at any thing I write will tell you that in a flash.

Monologuing. BIG TIME! My MCs are prone to sitting themselves down and than talking to themselves about the way things are, the way things should have been, and how cruel and wicked life has been to them. I can make one of my male MC’s drone on like that for 9k words without stopping to take a breath!

The ocean. It’s always there. My characters can’t get away from it. They are drawn too it. Mesmerized by it. Often I have mermen, guys who’s dead wife was a mermaid, silkies, kelpies, eels, and all sorts of other real and mythical sea creatures in my stories. I have writing hundreds of stories over the years and every single one of them was set on a beach, in a cove, on the cliffs, on a ship, under the sea, etc. Always the ocean is there. The ocean is so in your face in every thing I write, that it is almost a character itself.

Pretty much everything I write has a big gloomy stone house overlooking the ocean, owned by a broody goth guy morning a dead wife, and there are lots of dark gloomy clouds and thunder storms rolling in off the ocean. It’s like everything I write, no matter what the story is, that is the basic setting or backdrop for the story.

I did grow up on the shores of the cold, stormy North Atlantic Ocean, and being farmers weather effected our lives a lot, and Vincent Price was my fave actor and Edgar Alan Poe was my fave author, so, yeah, I guess you could say I’m one of those people who writes what I know. =P

Most of that stuff, isn’t all that bad, seeing how I write creepy goth horror, and those things all fit in with the genre well. I do have one problem that I get stuck on real bad, and it is that I write like this:

Dialog, dialog, dialog, MC sits alone and monologues to self for 30 pages, dialog, dialog, dialog, dialog, BOOM! CRASH! BANG! (weather), looooooooooooooooooooong pointless narrative about haunted house-ocean-weather, MC sits alone and monologues to self once again while hallucinating about ghost of dead wife haunting him, dialog, dialog, dialog, dialog, dialog . . .

Yeah. All that dialog is my problem. I’ll have two characters start talking, back and forth – for 100 pages. Not a word of narrative, not even any “he said/she said” tags! Just straight dialog. It’s like reading a play. The only time they stop talking about the MC is when the MC starts monologuing to himself.

It’s not that I can’t write descriptive narrative. I can. I’m wicked good at it too. My problem is shutting up my characters long enough so that I can add some narratives between all that dialogging!

And than there’s one other problem. Sex. Smut. Erotica. When I finally do get my characters to shut up, they all jump into bed together. Usually every one of them all together all at once too. Except for the gloomy MC with the dead wife. Gloomy guy + dead wife – yep necrophiliac, got a lot of that in many of my stories, LOTS of it. I had one guy who was a necrophiliac first gloomy widower later, and ended up with 70 dead wives in his attic, just so he could have sex with a different wife each night. My gloomy guys usually should be in a metal institute, but live so far off in the middle of no where (on a cliff over looking the ocean. . . . the middle of no where is always over looking the ocean no matter where it is.) that no body knows they are out there doing the weird freaky things they are doing while they mourn dead wife. If I could keep the sex scenes a little less freaky deaky, I would have a lot more mass produces books and a lot less indie press books. =P

Incubus: Fear the Night!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

NaNoWriMo RE: First Person Tense Issues!

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The question:

First Person Tense Issues!

[quote=Adjective]“Okay, yeah I was really thin. I had kids that randomly walked up to me and asked me if I was anorexic. But I ate really badly. I should be morbidly obese, but I’m not, I just have a super fast metabolism. Which people say is good, but you are always hungry and you always have to pee. 

Then again, I like being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want and even if I didn’t get any exercise; I would still look like this. “

Do you want to COUNT how many times I switched tenses in that paragraph! Which one do I use? It’s not *really* a retelling of anything, so present? But aren’t they usually in past?

AHHH!

———-

Photobucket

[/quote]

My answer:

[quote=Adjective]“Okay, yeah I was really thin. I had kids that randomly walked up to me and asked me if I was anorexic. But I ate really badly. I should be morbidly obese, but I’m not, I just have a super fast metabolism. Which people say is good, but you are always hungry and you always have to pee.
Then again, I like being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want and even if I didn’t get any exercise; I would still look like this. “
[/quote]

One thing stood out to me:

But I ate really badly.

Badly means – to be doing something that is bad, wicked, or otherwise criminal — in other words she is eating while getting ready to rob the bank;

or to not do something well, to do it poorly — in other words she rarely eats at all and may go days with out food, which seems to be the opposite of what you are intending to say here.

This implies that your character is some sort of evil villain because s/he eats something or that she does not eat anything at all. Changing the word “badly” to a word such as “a lot”, “more than I should”, etc. will sound much better and make more sense.

For example:

But I could never stop eating.

But I ate so much more than I should.

But I ate a lot, really, I did.

But I ate like a horse. I just couldn’t get enough food.

Each of those not only reads better, but it actually means that your character is over eating, not getting ready to rob a bank or hiding in a closet not eating for days on end.

Your excerpt would sound better like this:

Past:

    “Okay, yeah I was really thin. Kids would randomly walk up to me and asked me if I was anorexic. But I ate so much more than I should. I should have been morbidly obese, but I wasn’t. I just had a super fast metabolism. People say that is good, but I was always hungry and I always had to pee. Then again, I liked being able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and even if I didn’t get any exercise; I would still be thin. ”

. . . OR . . .

Present:

    “Okay, yeah I’m really thin. I have kids randomly walk up to me and ask me if I’m anorexic. But I eat a lot, really, I do. I should be morbidly obese, but I’m not. I just have a super fast metabolism. People say that is good, but I’m always hungry and I always have to pee. Then again, I like being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want and even if I don’t get any exercise; I can still look like this. ”

Yes, it does make a difference which you use in your story and where you us it.

In the past tense, your character sounds like an adult reminiscing about her teen years, and mournfully wishing she was as thin as she was so many years ago..

Whereas in the present tense, she sounds like a 14 year old trying to justify her physical appearance to a school guidance counselor, who has just told her she needed to see a psychiatrist to find out why she isn’t eating.

Changing the tenses, changed the reader’s mental image of the girl. In one tense she is a young girl, while in the other tense she is and older woman. In one tense she was speaking in self defense, in the other she was thinking about things that happened years ago.

So, is your story about a teenage speaking about this past week, or a woman talking about way back when? That will determine which tense you are writing here.

All Hail Bela Lugosi!
Dracula!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

How Do You Come Up With Your Ideas For NaNoWriMo?

I’m coming up with my idea as I write it.

In August my plot was a ghost circus comes to town. . . my town of course. ;)

By September it was Jack Frost moved into (my) town and took over.

By October it was Jack Frost and a Frost Zombie apocalypse that after decimating my town, where now taking over the world.

On Halloween night I logged in here at 7PM and than went on Twitter and did a count down all over the world – It was like New Years Eve – watching folks in New Zealand shout out that midnight hit; than Australia folks started screaming it was midnight, and it just keep going on like that – I started getting really freaked out when the UK folks started writing, because I’m on the Eastern most point of the USA and that meant I was next in line to start screaming midnight. At midnight I was logged in and typing and freaking out and I did not get any sleep last night at all because once I hit 1667, I rushed back to Twitter and was shouting out word counts with every one else. OMG! Twitter and NaNo at the same time is so much fun. and Twitter and NaNo at midnight all over the world is just amazing!

I had my plot all ready to go – outlined, character bios, world created – spent 2 months writing it all up, was all excited and ready to go. Than midnight strikes and I start writing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT plot all together!

I stayed up all night (seeing how it was Halloween) watching Bela Lugosi movies. The Devil Bat ended at 12:13 and I started writing and before I realized what I was doing I found myself writing Bela Lugosi/Dracula fan-fic instead of my plot! Now I had no plot, no characters (except Bela Lugosi), no world created, and yet, here I am writing away at the seat of my pants with no idea where it’s going, and I’m actually liking it and it’s surprisingly really good – damn good! YAY! I may have something worth publishing when I get done!

So now I’m coming up with my idea as I write it. And I have no idea what I’ll write until I write it. Which is sort of fun, because it’s like a big adventure trying to guess what I’m going to write next. With no plot or outline to lead me, I’m just sort of jumping all over the place and having a blast.

At the moment, I’ve got vampires taking over my home town. Do you notice a trend here? No matter what plot I go with, it always ends up with the bad guy raising hell in my home town. I know why too – a few years back a real crime lord moved to Old Orchard Beach, got himself hired as town manager, and really did raise hell here in town, messed up a lot of folks lives, and than he disappeared when the FBI showed up to investigate him. My family was one of the ones who messed up bad, ( http://www.squidoo.com/OnBeingHomeless2 ) because he had plans to build a set of condos on our farm and we absolutely refused to sell and he took to all sorts of weird acts of terror to try to get us off our land. We went through 9 years of hell, including 2 years of being homeless after someone set fire to our house. The whole event had a really big impact on my writing and after the fire in 2006 you saw a change in my books – namely that since 2006, everything I write now involves a bad guy moving to Old Orchard Beach and making life miserable for the locals. So, it’s no surprise that once I started writing this year’s NaNoWriMo that same theme showed up as my plot.

I’m weird, but I set my novel in my hometown Old Orchard Beach, Maine, partly because I know this town so well that it’s easy to write about, and partly because it’s the absolute LAST place you’d expect Bela Lugosi to be hiding out 60 years after he faked his death. :)

As stated in my profile title my story is about Bela Lugosi (though he’s really only a cameo character in my book), who 60 years after his “reported” death, has moved into an abandoned house next door to 3 kids (who are the main characters).

Bela Lugosi, who is not really dead, is hiding out in a tiny coastal town in Maine, only he’s using the name from one of his movies: Dr Laouse. Dr. Laouse was a character who in the movie turned out to be Dracula masquerading as a mad scientist.

In my book, the kids, now suspect that Dr Laouse, is in fact the actor Bela Lugosi, and that he’s not dead, because he’s one of the undead, and he really is the real Dracula, thus explaining why he could play the part so well in his movies, and now he’s hiding out here in Maine because – well, who would think to look for long dead silent film actors who are really vampires pretending to be doctors in a tiny fishing village on the coast of Maine?

And so that’s how I came up with the idea for this year’s NaNovel. How did you come up with yours?

All Hail Bela Lugosi!
Dracula!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

Find Out More About My 2008 NaNoWriMo Book Which the LDS/Mormon Church is up in arms about. (NOTE – this link goes to the unedited proof of the book and not to the actual listing.)

Find Out More About My 2009 NaNoWriMo Project

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

———-
Editing and Drafts
Create a Fantasy Realm
Advice For NaNoWriters!
Creating Character Profiles
Are You A Renegade A Writer?
How To Become a Better Writer
The Top 5 Tools For NaNoWriMo
What Genre Is My Vampire Story?
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Improving your writing with what you read.
Have You Written Your Author’s Interview Yet?
How I Reached 50,000 in 30 Days and You Can Too!
———-

Thank You Kitty. . .Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

————-

Blingo

Day 2 and Nearing 5k (NaNoWriMo)

just hit 4713 words – trying to hit 5k before midnight

I bet I would have hit 5k hours ago if I didn’t stop every 5 minutes to rush back here and update my word count! LOL! I’ve been updating my word count about every 25 words. ROTFLMAO! LOL! LOL!

All Hail Bela Lugosi!
Dracula!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

Find Out More About My 2008 NaNoWriMo Book Which the LDS/Mormon Church is up in arms about. (NOTE – this link goes to the unedited proof of the book and not to the actual listing.)

Find Out More About My 2009 NaNoWriMo Project

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

———-
Editing and Drafts
Create a Fantasy Realm
Advice For NaNoWriters!
Creating Character Profiles
Are You A Renegade A Writer?
How To Become a Better Writer
The Top 5 Tools For NaNoWriMo
What Genre Is My Vampire Story?
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Improving your writing with what you read.
Have You Written Your Author’s Interview Yet?
How I Reached 50,000 in 30 Days and You Can Too!
———-

Thank You Kitty. . .Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

————-

Blingo

Grade School Series? (NaNoWriMo NaNoRebels)

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Well, now that I’ve started writing, I know where my story is going, and surprisingly it’s heading in a way I did not expect at all! It has become a series of Grade School Chapter Books! (70 page books for kids ages 8 – 13) The way I figure, it’ll end up being four separate books each about 13k words long (a total of about 52k more or less).

I just checked out a bunch of grade school chapter books from the library and did a run down of word counts, and found that most of them are between 11k to 15k each, (65 – 90 pages) so my 13k figure will fit in nicely.

So, I guess that makes me a NaNoRebel because instead of writing one 50k novel I’m writing four 13k grade school “mini-novel” books.

Any one else here planning a set of grade school chapter books this year, instead on one bigger novel?

All Hail Bela Lugosi!
Dracula!
http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com

Find Out More About My 2008 NaNoWriMo Book Which the LDS/Mormon Church is up in arms about. (NOTE – this link goes to the unedited proof of the book and not to the actual listing.)

Find Out More About My 2009 NaNoWriMo Project

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

———-
Editing and Drafts
Create a Fantasy Realm
Advice For NaNoWriters!
Creating Character Profiles
Are You A Renegade A Writer?
How To Become a Better Writer
The Top 5 Tools For NaNoWriMo
What Genre Is My Vampire Story?
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Improving your writing with what you read.
Have You Written Your Author’s Interview Yet?
How I Reached 50,000 in 30 Days and You Can Too!
———-

Thank You Kitty. . .Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

————-

black birdfall leaves centerblack bird

Blingo

So how’s NaNoWriMo going?

I logged in at 7PM and than went on Twitter and did a count down all over the world – It was like New Years Eve – watching folks in New Zealand shout out that midnight hit; than Australia folks started screaming it was midnight, and it just keep going on like that – I started getting really freaked out when the UK folks started writing, because I’m on the Eastern most point of the USA and that meant I was next in line to start screaming midnight. At midnight I was logged in and typing and freaking out and I did not get any sleep last night at all because once I hit 1667, I rushed back to Twitter and was shouting out word counts with every one else. OMG! Twitter and NaNo at the same time is so much fun. and Twitter and NaNo at midnight all over the world is just amazing!

I had my plot all ready to go – outlined, character bios, world created – spent 2 months writing it all up, was all excited and ready to go. Than midnight strikes and I start writing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT plot all together!

I stayed up all night (seeing how it was Halloween) watching Bela Lugosi movies. The Devil Bat ended at 12:13 and I started writing and before I realized what I was doing I found myself writing Bela Lugosi/Dracula fan-fic instead of my plot! Now I have no plot, no characters (except Bela Lugosi), no world created, and yet, here I am writing away at the seat of my pants with no idea where it’s going, and I’m actually liking it and it’s surprisingly really good – damn good! YAY! I may have something worth publishing when I get done!

Just breezed past 2500 words! YAY! Hoping I can reach 5k before the end of the day. Looks like I might make it too. Going good.

It’s only the first day and I’m already procrastinating.

yep – I hit 2900, my goal was 5k for day one, but I got close to 3k and went, I gotta go shout out on Twitter and FaceBook and the forums and my blog and my other blog and call my boyfriend and tell him about it and oh look I need to play Vampire Wars to try to get the extra Halloween prizes I didn’t snag yesterday and oh I need to plant more pumpkins on Paradise Island before the limited edition seeds expire and by the way I need to check my FarmVille cows to see if they need milking and oh yeah I better see what my writing buddies are doing on the forums and I wonder what their word counts are and maybe I should grab some more Dares while I’m there and by the way . . . .

yep, I’m already procrastinating big time. :)

My inner editor is winning this year – YIKES! I’ve been correcting and editing as I go – my word count would be twice as high if I didn’t stop rushing back to fix things every other sentence! ACK!

Find Out More About My 2008 NaNoWriMo Book Which the LDS/Mormon Church is up in arms about. (NOTE – this link goes to the unedited proof of the book and not to the actual listing.)

Find Out More About My 2009 NaNoWriMo Project

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

———-
Editing and Drafts
Create a Fantasy Realm
Advice For NaNoWriters!
Creating Character Profiles
Are You A Renegade A Writer?
How To Become a Better Writer
The Top 5 Tools For NaNoWriMo
What Genre Is My Vampire Story?
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Improving your writing with what you read.
Have You Written Your Author’s Interview Yet?
How I Reached 50,000 in 30 Days and You Can Too!
———-

Thank You Kitty. . .Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

————-

Blingo

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Squidoo PayDay!

WOO~HOO!! Squidoo pay-day shout out! $10.28

In April I made 13 lenses, and than didn’t build any more until August, when I added 62 more (about half are still draft/WinP, I’m not finished writing the content for all of them yet). Squidu forum says that the pay-outs are for two-months past, so the one I just got now was for July, not August. So I guess after reading the Squidu forum, it means that the $10.28 was for the 13 lenses I made in April only? Cause all of my other lenses were started after August 10th. If I’m reading their comments right that means my October payday should be about $70+-, right? Cool.

Well, if my unfinished lenses are already bringing in money, than they well do better once they are finished. I hope I have them all completed soon. Once they are finished they should actually start making more money right? (I hope).

I’m hopeing that in the long run I’ll be making over $100 per month; I’ve heard that several people are doing that already. Are any of you guys reading this also on Squidoo? I’ve also heard that the Google slap will be affecting the high-payout folks this month. Did it? Did anyone make over $100 this month?

Well, here’s the link to my Squidoo Profile, if any of you haven’t checked it out yet, feel free to do so:  http://www.squidoo.com/ekography

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT/UPDATE:

I just went through each on my lenses “Royalty links” and this is how they rank:

Most of them, as I said, didn’t bring in any money, because they are too new.

Here is a breakdown of which lenses made what in July:

The following made .04c each:

http://www.squidoo.com/writingadvicethatdidntwork

http://www.squidoo.com/RealMenBookCovers

http://www.squidoo.com/Kill-a-Character

http://www.squidoo.com/number1dime

http://www.squidoo.com/SeaMonster

http://www.squidoo.com/EnthusiasticAboutWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/FreeWriting

http://www.squidoo.com/Panspermia

http://www.squidoo.com/BlogCarnivalsForWriters

http://www.squidoo.com/nongenre

http://www.squidoo.com/liedetectortest

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasureSubmissions

http://www.squidoo.com/BuriedTreasurePlans

 

<p> </p>

<p>Now… .04c each x 13 does not equal $10.28, so how my payout ended up $10.28 I have yet to figure out. According to Squidoo, these .04c per lens is because of Google’s ads on the page. Google paid Squidoo .08c and Squidoo than paid me 50% of that.

Squidoo’s Payout levels change every month, for the month of July the payout per lens was:

$4.12 (top 100 lenses)

$0.73 (top 1000 lenses)

$0.04 (top 10,000 lenses)

and if your lens isn’t in the top 10,000 than you don’t get anything for it that month at all!

However those figures do not include affiliate commisions. If you add MoneyMaker modules you make more money, providing that people buy the items you recomend.

I use eBay, Amazon, and CafePress on all of my lenses.

The payout for those is:

eBay 50% of what the seller earned.

Amazon 4% – 7% of the sale price.

CafePress for some reason isn’t listed yet?

You also get $5 when you recommend others, after they join and after they earn thier first $15.

Squidoo says that the average payout for their lensebuilders is $35 per month. Most stay around the $10 range while a few hit $150 per month… and a handful are now making $400 – $500 per month.

As Squidoo gains more popularity these figures are expected to rise.

Well, there you have it…. how I make money on Squidoo. So, while my $10.28 is starting out small, it is something, and if all goes well, it’ll soon be in the triple digits.

So, has anyone else tried this yet? If so, have you started making any money yet? I’d love to hear how others are making out with this.

 

 

 

 

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Woo~Hoo! My first Squidoo pay day!

I’ve been building Squidoo lenses since April 2007. Today I just got an announcment on my Squidoo Dashboard. It said:

Payday, Payday! Here’s your Squidcash, earned from 06/01/2006 to 06/30/2006. Congrats, and keep up the great lenses.

OMG! My first payday from Squidoo! I can’t believe it! My lenses are actually making money! When I first startede doing this and I read that you could make money doing it, I laughed. I built my first few lenses just to see if I realy could make money by shareing info on my hobbies, but I didn’t think it’d work. As I got going, I quickly got addicted to building them, and now I’ve got about 40 lenses. I’ve been haveing so much fun here, that I didn’t even think about the money part of it any more. In fact, I forgot that I had come here to try to make some extra money! LOL! Than today they send my first pay-day to my PayPal account. WOW!

I’m making money for doing something I love doing! That is so cool!

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Woo~Hoo! My first Squidoo pay day!

I’ve been building Squidoo lenses since April 2007. Today I just got an announcment on my Squidoo Dashboard. It said:

Payday, Payday! Here’s your Squidcash, earned from 06/01/2006 to 06/30/2006. Congrats, and keep up the great lenses.

OMG! My first payday from Squidoo! I can’t believe it! My lenses are actually making money! When I first startede doing this and I read that you could make money doing it, I laughed. I built my first few lenses just to see if I realy could make money by shareing info on my hobbies, but I didn’t think it’d work. As I got going, I quickly got addicted to building them, and now I’ve got about 40 lenses. I’ve been haveing so much fun here, that I didn’t even think about the money part of it any more. In fact, I forgot that I had come here to try to make some extra money! LOL! Than today they send my first pay-day to my PayPal account. WOW!

I’m making money for doing something I love doing! That is so cool!

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Woo~Hoo! My first Squidoo pay day!

I’ve been building Squidoo lenses since April 2007. Today I just got an announcment on my Squidoo Dashboard. It said:

Payday, Payday! Here’s your Squidcash, earned from 06/01/2006 to 06/30/2006. Congrats, and keep up the great lenses.

OMG! My first payday from Squidoo! I can’t believe it! My lenses are actually making money! When I first startede doing this and I read that you could make money doing it, I laughed. I built my first few lenses just to see if I realy could make money by shareing info on my hobbies, but I didn’t think it’d work. As I got going, I quickly got addicted to building them, and now I’ve got about 40 lenses. I’ve been haveing so much fun here, that I didn’t even think about the money part of it any more. In fact, I forgot that I had come here to try to make some extra money! LOL! Than today they send my first pay-day to my PayPal account. WOW!

I’m making money for doing something I love doing! That is so cool!

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Work From Home, Is It Possible?

Work From Home, Is It Possible?

Everyone asks this question, and for those of you with this goal, you prob’ly find yourself asking it more than most people.

Yes, it is, and not really that hard to start either, though most find it hard to keep going. First you have to ask yourself, what is it you want to do?

The most successful work at home jobs are the ones you created yourself…my uncle started working at home in the 1960’s building clay bricks, and building houses for people out of them…today he owns a multi-million corperation that not only builds houses but also building brick churches, but he still runs the buseness out of his home, and he works longer and harder than the average non-home worker.

My mom worked at home too, she was a professional seamstress, sewing fancy dresses for little girls, christening gowns, and cloth dolls. At one point she bought her own brick and mortar store (the house next door to us) and was selling to summer tourists (in Old Orchard Beach we see an average of 2 million tourists each month), but the shop proved to be a bigger home business than my mother had expected. She had no time to sew the crafts anymore, which was her passion, so after 3 years, she shut it down and sold her items to other shops on consignment instead. Now she is hoping to build a web site and move her opperation online by next year.

My dad, he worked at home too, he was a rought driver for the local newspaper, delivering the Portland Press Herald, the Sunday Telegram, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times to over 1000 customers 7 days a week 365 days a year, with not one single day off for the past 21 years… his annual gas costs are over $5,000 each year, and he goes through 3 to 4 cars a year, his annual income was under $12,000 a year.

Another uncle of mine works at home, as a real estate agent. He at one point cliamed to own a multi million dollar alpaca farm in Astrailia. (I can’t verify that as I have never been to Austailia, so never saw the farm myself). Last I heard he had given up on the real estate business in favor of yet another work at home business he had set out to create. Don’t know the details on that, or if it succeeded or flopped.

And yet another uncle works at home, buying juck from yard sales and reselling it at flea markets. His income is average of $10,000 a year, but he does this as a side-line hobby. If he set out to do this full time instead of part-time in his spare time, he could easily triple that figure.

I work at home: I am a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and I own a small press publishing house which I built myself from the ground up.

So in answer to your question, does work at home exist?

Yes, it does, but it is not a get-rich-quick-scam-artist-work-at-home; that type of work at home well banckrupt you quicker than you can blink. REAL work at home is when you take a skill and use it to help those around you. If you are hired by a business, they pay you for your product/service. If you start your own business, you get paid when your customers pay you. It may look like a private or small business to the world, but it is in fact you working out of your home and thus working at home. However, it is hard work, long hours, no vacation, you get dirty, you get tired, and in the long run, not working at home would have been much less stressful and much easier.

In short working at home is not a get rich quick scheme. Working at home IS NOT getting paid to take survies. Working at home is not, clicking on ads on Google. Working at home is you getting a business lisnce and settingup shop, either online or brick&mortar, and selling your product or services to your customers. Most people are not cut out for the hard labor and long hours of working at home, but for those of you who are, it’s the best thing you could ever do..

Remember:

Employers ask you to fill out a job application, and will ask for past job referances, your SSN, and your criminal records history.

If you did not fill out an application, you did not apply for a real job.

If you filled out an application, but paid for the application form, you got scammed!

and if you can’t find a business to work for: start the business you want to work for an be your own boss in your own home.

We know this, saddly from experiance.

Back in the early 1980’s my mom saw just such an ad in a magazine. BIG promises of lots of money. She sent the money in, for not one ad but 2 differant ones. The first promised big bucks for sewing baby bibs, the second for making beaded earrings. Both ads were pretty much the same: send in a certain amount of money and they’d send you the supplies, you make the items and send them back to them, they sell them. Simple, sounded great, my mom had at one time been a seamstress, she thought she could sew up a storm of baby bibs for a legit company to sell them. That’s what we all thought, we should have read the fine print…or rather, we should have taken a notice that there was no fine print to read! Or maybe that it was a P.O.Box and not an actual address that was listed in the ad, that should have tipped us off.

Well, the supplies came, most of it cheap junk that we could have gotten cheaper and better quality at a dollar store, my mom haveing been a profesional seamstress thought that useing this absolute crap to make these items seemed pretty stupid and unprofessional but, that’s the items the company used so that’s what they sent…alarm bells should have gone off than…we should have realized that no REAL manufacturer, is gonna use such poor quality supplies to make their goods.

Well, we (my mom, my dad, and me) set out to sewing baby bibs and beaded earings. Comes time to send the items back and low and behold, the P.O.Box had been cancled, the “company” turned out to never have existed, and we were stuck with a bunch of stuff we couln’t use or sell.

We learned a lesson. It wasn’t a very big investment, less than $100, but it was not money well spent…or maybe it was, because it taught us to look at these scams with open eyes and questioning minds.

We learned a lot of things:

We learned to read ads more closely.
We learned to question “companies” with ONLY a P.O.Box.
We learned to ask the company for a job application form.
We learned to ask for a history of the company.
We learned to do a background check on the company.
We learned to never pay money to get a job.
We learned to REAL manufatures don’t put ads in magazine classified.
We learned to that most manufactures only hire local residants, so that the employee has to bring the items right in to the factory to be inspected, before the company well accept and pay you.
We learned that REAL jobs assembling items for manufactures, are rare and few and far between, and that you could be on a waiting list for years before they need enough help to get all the way down to your name on their list.

Now we have the internet, and it seems that with it came millions more ways to scam people out of their hard earned money. Every day thousands of new Work-At-Home, Get-Big-Bucks websites are added to the net. A Google search will bring up millions upon millions of them.

When I look at these sites, with their promises of BIG MONEY. I laugh. You see I own more than 200 web sites, 12 fanlistings, and 13 private message boards. I know how to build a website, quite well, maybe not to proffessional standards, but pretty darned close, and than I see these scam sites: many of them are made useing Geo-Cities, Yahoo, AOL, Earthlink, and countless other “free home pages”. Right off the bat that fact alone should set off a RED WARNING ALARM in any person, but it seems that many people do not even notice this fact, and send their money in.

A REAL company would not be useing a “free home page”…a small craft shop run by the sweet little old lady next door, might use a free home page to sell her knitting and cloth dolls, but she wouldn’t be asking you to send money to make money…no she’d show you a picture of her dolls with a price for each one. The Goth girl down the road might use a free site to peddel her homemade velvet capes, while the Wiccan next door lists home made soap on her MySpace. These are people like me and you who are working at home and selling what they make. These people are legit, and you’ll notice they never ask you to pay for a membership before they allow you to buy their products. These people are small business owners working from home.

The free sites that ask you to spend money to make money… those are the ones you got to watch out for. Those are the scams.

If you see a site made by a free home page site, and offering you lots of money for doing next to nothing, run for the hills, because there is no company that is going to use a free web host to seek out workers. Not a single one.

My hope in writing all of this is that it well help you to weed out the scams from the real work at home jobs.

To all: Good luck on your goal.

~~EK

Gothic clothes hard to find in stores…

most goths sew because there are very few stores that carry cloths from the Gothic, Victorian, Edwardian, or Empire eras

F.O.W.L.

As a devoted fan of F.O.W.L. (Feindish Organization of World Larceny), I join in in this goal of having an evil lair, in hopes that NegaDuck, SteelBeak, and the Fearsome Five choose it for their next secret hideout.

:D