Writing

Writers’ Zone on DZone

This entry was posted in Writing and tagged technical writing writing on by

A few days ago I came across the “Writers’ Zone” on DZone. It looks like a very useful resource for people who, like me, do freelance writing on technical topics. Two different skills intersect in our work: expertise on technology and the ability to present a compelling message. A good developer or sysadmin understands the stuff, but most of them find it a challenge just to write understandable comments. There are freelance writers who can research anything, but it’s not the same as really knowing the issues. We bring the technical knowledge and the writing skill together in one place.

Writers’ Zone has articles from many different perspectives. There are pieces for customers and editors, articles on how to write better, suggestions on tools and how to use them, and — as is their right — regular self-promotion. It’s a site any technically oriented freelancer ought to bookmark.

Just by the way, DZone loves it when people submit articles. However, they don’t love it enough to pay.

Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale

This entry was posted in My writing Writing and tagged Files that Last Yesterday's Songs Transformed on by

Read an Ebook Week I’m participating in Smashwords’ “Read an Ebook Week Sale,” from March 3 to March 9, 2019. During that time, Files that Last and Yesterday’s Songs Transformed will both be available for 50% off! These are very different books, but I’m dealing with change and preservation in both of them. This is your chance to get them at an especially good price.

Busted for writing without a license?

This entry was posted in Commentary Writing as business and tagged law licensing on by

Opponents of the First Amendment rarely say they’re against it. They say things like “money isn’t speech,” by which they mean that your rights end when money changes hands. This would reduce freedom of speech to the freedom to stand on a soapbox and deliver an oration, provided you hadn’t paid for the soapbox.

Nonetheless, some states and localities won’t let you do any kind of business without government permission. This includes selling your writing. An article by Kylie Jane Wakefield gives some ugly details. Some governments demand money before they’ll give you permission to write for income, sometimes as much as $100 per year.
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Four use cases for the passive voice 2

This entry was posted in Techniques Writing and tagged grammar verbs on by

Are you plagued by passive voice phobia? Have you been told that the passive voice must never be used? As an antidote, here are some cases where the passive voice is the best choice. Remember them and don’t let yourself be intimidated!

There is no known or definite actor

If it isn’t clear who or what performed the action, you can use a subject such as “something,” “people,” or (as in this sentence) the impersonal “you.” If you’re legally minded, you can say “person or persons unknown.” But leaving the actor out altogether is sometimes the strongest choice. If you work at a help desk and customers have been giving you a rough time, you can yell (preferably while off the phone), “I’ve been abused and insulted enough!” It’s not any particular person you’re blowing up about, but the accumulated abuse.
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Powerful verbs: Beyond the passive voice

This entry was posted in Techniques Writing and tagged grammar verbs on by

“Carthago delenda est!” Do you think the passive voice is weak? That passive-voice construction (“Carthage must be destroyed!”) brought down a powerful nation.

Most writers at least vaguely recognize that the passive voice is often a bad thing. Fewer of them know why, or even what it is. People trying to sound smart use the term “passive voice” for many things that aren’t. It’s just one of several ways that verbs are often weaker than they could be. Let’s take a look at them and learn the differences.
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Note on ContentGather

This entry was posted in Writing Writing as business and tagged ContentGather on by

If you write for ContentGather, you should be aware that you won’t get email notifications when a regular marketplace article of yours sells. You have to check the site periodically to find out if you’re owed money. There isn’t any preference setting which lets you get notified about a sale of a regular article. You can, however, get notifications about the sale of custom jobs.

This seems like a way to hang on to writers’ money longer.

Writers’ echo chambers 1

This entry was posted in Writing and tagged research writing on by

Did you know that a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds? It must be true, it’s all over the Internet! The oldest mention I can find of that factoid dates from 2009. At the time, the supposed source was the FBI, without any citation. Lately it’s usually Gartner, still with no citation.

Phantom statistics

Recently a customer asked me to include that “statistic” in an article. Fortunately, it wasn’t a requirement, just a suggestion. The customer also wanted all links to be no more than a year old, so citing a nine-year-old figure didn’t really seem like what they wanted. Even if the figure was once accurate, the theft rate is sure to have changed over the years.
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Holiday e-book shopping: Files that Last and Yesterday’s Songs Transformed

This entry was posted in My writing Writing and tagged books Tomorrow's Songs Today Yesterday's Songs Transformed on by

Here are a couple of discounts for your holiday shopping.

Files that Last: Digital Preservation for Everygeek is available at 60% off with the coupon code WZ63B. It’s aimed at any computer-literate readers who want to keep their data usable for many years.

You can get Yesterday’s Songs Transformed: A Historical Tour of Song Rewriting at 30% off with the coupon code LS92Y.

Files that Last cover

Yesterday's Songs Transformed cover

Please share this information with your friends. My book sales help to support this blog. The coupons expire December 26, 2018.

Update: I should have mentioned how you can give Smashwords books as gifts. Recipients do have to register with Smashwords to accept the gift, and there’s not much I can do about that. But if you want to buy a copy (very important!) and give the recipient the PDF, I won’t object to that. Just don’t share a single purchase, please. We writers gotta eat.

Lying for money

This entry was posted in Writer ethics Writing and tagged ethics writing on by

A piece called “Confessions of a Fake News Writer,” by someone using the name Winston Wordsworth, recently came to my attention. You can look it up if you want; I’m not giving this scumbag any “link juice.” He says in the article that he currently accepts money to write lies, so there’s no strong reason to accept anything he says as true. But by Russell’s Paradox, if he’s lying, he’s telling us the truth when he says he lies. And there must be people like this. They deserve to be spat upon.

Winston says he’s “prostituting myself out.” That’s an insult to prostitutes, who mostly deliver honest value for money.
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