Making Money Online With Amazon's Publisher Studio

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles, freedigitalphotos.net

If you're an affiliate of Amazon.com you can now take advantage of their new Publisher Studio toolbar.

This is like nothing they've done before because it's a toolbar that you add to your website so that when you view your site online, you can add affiliate links to Amazon products without going to the Amazon website.

All you have to do is log into your Amazon affiliate account, click on the new tab for 'Publisher Studio,' add your website URL, copy and paste the supplied code to every page of your website, and that's it.

Next time you view your website online, the Publisher toolbar will appear at the edge of your screen.

How to Write 1,000 Words

This is something you don't get to see often. A writer actually doing a piece of writing.

And in this revealing and insightful video, you can watch as, in only 5 minutes of time lapsed video, author Scott Berkun writes a 1,000-word essay called How to Write a 1,000 Words.

It's rather fascinating to see how he writes, how he changes things as he works, how he organises his notes and a whole lot more.

After watching it I felt like I wanted to see it again in real time.

It's quite hypnotic to watch so make sure you have 5 spare minutes to watch before you hit 'play'.

3 Fast Ways to Make Money Writing

In an ideal world it would be great to sit and write one best seller after another, and get a movie contract offer for each book.

In the real world, that’s unlikely to happen. And even if it did, the money wouldn’t be instant because books take time to write, especially epic novels. And movie rights take ages to set up.

So, in the meantime, while you’re waiting for your big break, how can you generate some fast money from your writing?

Here are 3 ways you can try right now.

http://writeaholics.net/articles/2014/3-fast-ways.html

Is Google Stealing Money from Web Site Owners and Cheating AdWords Clients?

I’ve had my own websites for quite a few years now and I’ve always had AdSense Ads on most of my sites to earn a bit of income on the side.

I’ve never earned very much money from the AdSense ads, but the odd hundred dollar payments are nice.

Most of my online income comes from my own eBooks and from affiliate products that I recommend. So AdSense has always been very much a sideline for extra income. I use it because it’s simple to use. I just place a few ads on my web page templates and then let them do their own thing. It was a really easy “set it and forget it” system.

And it worked really well until recently when I started noticing money being taken from my AdSense account. Not only that but the number of clicks kept disappearing too.

So I started to wonder if Google is not only stealing from website owners, but cheating their Adwords clients too.

Never Pay For Shipping On Books Again

Because we're writers, we love reading books.

The problem though, is that if you want to own a print book, you usually have to pay for shipping if you order it online, whether it's international shipping or national shipping.

But did you know that there is a company (and it's owned by Amazon) that does free shipping on any book to any country on the planet?

I recently discovered it and it's a great website with millions of books in stock and ready to ship for free.

Sometimes the cost of shipping can almost be the same as the book itself. So being able to order books online without paying any more money to get them delivered is great.

How To Get Great Ideas Then Find Even More

I love getting great ideas for writing. I love it when I suddenly get a brilliant thought that will make a great article, ebook or story.

Whenever I do, I grab my ideas book and write down what I’m thinking, and I usually find that once I start putting my idea down on paper, even more ideas start exploding into life inside my crazy, monkey mind.

Don’t you just love it when ideas are born this way?

But how can you get them more often?

Read the rest at:
http://writeaholics.net/articles/2014/great-ideas-and-more.html

How to Be a More Productive Writer

People often think that there is some big secret to writing more and being a more productive writer.

But the real secret, is that there is no secret.

All it takes is for you to be able to sit down and write and not let yourself become distracted.

You need to cultivate zen-like focus on what you're writing instead of trying to write while you're thinking about picking the kids up from school later or worrying that you haven't made your latest car payment.

If you read online about successful and prolific writers, the one underlying trait they all share is that they have incredible focus.

And it's not just focus on what they're writing.

3 Great Offers For Writers

Today I wanted to tell you about 3 great offers for writers. One is a free offer and the others are substantial discount offers.

The first one is the free offer which is not only great for writers, but for everyone.

Video of my Tiny House

Today I managed to upload a short (8  minute) video of my new tiny house.

I actually recorded the video 3 months ago back in November 2013. This was before we actually moved into the house the following month which was late December.

We were going to wait a few years before we actually moved into the house b/c it's a fixer-upper and we planned to retire here eventually, after we fixed it u[.

But after several months of travelling between the two houses (which were over an hour's drive apart) and paying two mortgages and two lots of bills, we grew weary of the whole thing.

Also we loved being at the small house more than we liked being at home. So in November 2013 we put our bigger house on the market and it sold in just 6 days. Late in December, we moved into our small house for good.

And now I have uploaded the short video that I filmed of our small house.

You'll notice as you watch it that I am really bad at videoing, so you'll just have to try and watch it around my shaking and not-very-well-aimed camera work.

The link to the video is:
http://youtu.be/B6WEV4-2R3U

Or you can watch it below:

BBC Short Story Submissions

Opening Lines run by the BBC in the UK is currently looking for short stories to be broadcast on the radio.

The competition is open to any writer who hasn't been previously published on radio.

You can only submit one story and it must be between 1,900 and 2,000 words and this is rigid (b/c it has to fit a 14 minute reading slot) and should be strong on narrative and not have too much description, dialogue or digression.

This competition closes on 14th February so you don't have much time. But for any writer worth his/her salt, this should be plenty of time to write a short story.

Writers of the short listed stories will be notified by 16th May.

You can read the full submission guidelines and read previous stories that were broadcast at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007tmq5

Free Fiction Writing Course

Start writing fiction

This free writing course is intended for those with an interest in starting to write fiction or improving their fiction writing, and does not require any previous experience of studying this subject.

Starts on 28 April

Duration: 8 weeks

Time Required: 3 hours pw

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/start-writing-fiction

Run by the Open University.

Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 Short Story Competition

For published and aspiring writers alike - enter the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 short story competition and you could win:

• a cash prize of £500
• a place on an Arvon residential writing course of your choice
• publication of your story on www.writersandartists.co.uk

You have the chance to win £500, plus a place on an Arvon writing course of your choice! All you have to do is enter a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of 'the visit'.

The closing date is midnight on Saturday 15th February 2014. The winners of the competition will be announced on this site in March 2014.

Read the rest of the rules at https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions before you enter.

The Misguided Monk

This is such a sweet video I just had to share it.

An old monk finds his daily practice interrupted by an unexpected visitor. He is then led on a journey to discover the meaning of companionship and tolerance.

I think we all feel a bit like a misguided monk when we want to get our writing done but people or circumstances seem to get in our way and interrupt us when we're writing.

Enjoy...

P.S. If the video doesn't load, watch it online at http://vimeo.com/61481633

The Misguided Monk from Tom Long on Vimeo.

A Great Offer for Screenwriters & Freelance Writers Who Want to Make Money

This is just a quick note to tell you about a fantastic offer for screenwriters who want to get their work published and for freelance writers who want to start making more money.

These are two huge collections so click the links and take a look at what you'll get.

The offers finish at the end of this month so you have to be quick.

Selling Your Screenplay Premium Collection
Is your screenplay complete and ready to be sold? Nearing the finish line and want a leg up on your next steps?

This premium collection, only available in February, includes five great resources that will help ensure your screenplay is presented in the best possible way, and gets into the right hands.

A $250 value when purchased separately, you’ll receive tips and techniques to help you write one-sheets, prepare query letters, and pitch like a professional.

The Fall/Winter Hollywood Screenwriting Directory provides over 2,500 up-to-date listings for when everything is ready to go. Order today and save over 68% on this exclusive collection!

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And here is an offer for freelance writers who want to make more money from their writing this year.

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Earn Money with Your Writing: Freelance & Copywriting Premium Collection
Are you ready to make money in 2014?
Freelance and Copywriting can be substantial revenue generators if you understand what you’re doing.

This new collection from Writer’s Digest contains everything you need to get started!

We’ve compiled information for beginning copywriting, financial information, and tools to help you better your writing skills.

This is a kit you won’t want to miss.

Start making money doing what you love!

10 things You Should Watch Out For In Your Writing

10 things you should watch out for in your writing, according to Elmore Leonard

The recently deceased author (August 2013) of 45 novels, including Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Rum PunchHombre, Swag, Raylan, and Glitz, was reluctant to write about his own style of writing. But back in 2001 the New York Times convinced him to make a list of his 10 writing rules.

Anyone who has ever picked up a book by Elmore Leonard knows that he's such an incredible writer that it's easier to finish one of his books than to put it down and stop reading. Once you get into one of his novels, you forget reality as you dive deep into the story.