Informed Ideas

Where Good Ideas Become Great!

Good ideas become Great here. Writers and online content providers have many good ideas. The trick is making money with them. Informed Ideas helps you hone ideas, discover opportunities, target markets and succeed as a freelance writer.

Latest Activity

Marie Sultana Robinson replied to the discussion Dealing with writer's block 12 minutes ago

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Deborah Brauser joined Informed Ideas. Leave a Comment for Deborah Brauser. 8 hours ago

Georgia replied to the discussion Online reviews? 8 hours ago

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Georgia replied to the discussion Dealing with writer's block 8 hours ago

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Career Development opportunities

Beyond the Inverted Pyramid

Writers struggling to tailor their stories to today's wide variety of media formats will want to stop by News University soon.

Andy Bechtel, assistant professor at the university of North Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is offering journalists and others the opportunity to spend a couple of hours exploring alternative story forms and the tools needed to create them.

The course is self-directed and FREE to registered users. Visit News University for more information and to enroll.

News You Can Use

Writers are constantly updating their skills. Whether it's to meet the needs of a new client/employer or open up new markets, we are all learning all the time. To help you succeed in your chosen career, Informed Ideas is pleased to announce the Writers TeleSummit 2008.

The Writers TeleSummit 2008 September 4 -7, brings you 24 World-Class Writing Professionals dedicated to helping you Write Regularly, Effectively and Deeply, Sell what you Write, and Live the Writing Dream!

I like this e-workshop because it includes seminars on many different types of writing from Fiction to Nonfiction to the business of writing. Best of all, it's online so there are no travel costs and it is accessible to all Informed Ideas members, regardless of location. Unfortunately, it looks like you do need to speak English.

To learn more and to register for the Writers TeleSummit, please click here or copy and paste www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=827703 into your browser. Informed Ideas is an affiliate of the TeleSummit and earns cash rewards for every writer who registers using this link. Please, help support Informed Ideas effort to bring you top quality content and opportunities by using the link above when you register. Thank you!

What's Going On?

Welcome to Informed Ideas! Yes, it is the same group you know and love, we've just updated the look. All the content and group members you count on are still here for you! The change is strictly in appearance, not content or function.

Along with the change in appearance, we've instituted an approval process for new members. This is to help protect the valuable time and attention of our members from unwanted spam.

Now that our LinkedIN Group has topped 1,200, more changes will be coming soon to help us all build a powerful, useful and enjoyable network that will enhance our writing lives.

LinkedIN Group Limits

As most of you are probably aware, LinkedIN has limited the number of Groups individuals can belong to. This means that some folks will be disappearing from the list of members for the Informed Ideas for Writers Group. It will not affect membership on this site. You can still remain active here even if you choose to drop the LinkedIN Group. In fact, I hope you do and encourage other writers you know to join us here!

If you do need to leave the LinkedIN site, please invite me to join your network. I am working on an enewsletter that will help keep writers up to date on what is going on here and in the wider writing world. In your invitation, specify that you are leaving the Group. I will accept all invitations to connect.

Blog Posts

Jobs, Markets & Opportunity

I am one of those people who joins. Not that I particularly like being part of groups. I just like to know what's going on. Everything that's going on. Everywhere. It seems that lately much of what I am seeing is repetitive. No, not the usual repetition of advice about how to survive and succeed as a writer, that is constantly repackaged and resold. I'm talking about the fact that many of the jobs, markets and even projects I am seeing listed are the same. Exactly the same. Sometimes the job/pr… Continue

Posted by J. Hammond on August 21st, 2008 at 8:30am — No Comments (Add)

A Spelling Smile

English is a ridiculous language. Cobbled together from virtually every other language, it may have made sense once, but today the basic rules are so riddled with exceptions even those of us whose career and vocation are using English to its fullest are left shaking our heads...and thumbing through style guide for every company, publication, and organization we work with. It's a demonstration of our love of language that we bother to do so. That said, I came across the following buried in an As… Continue

Posted by J. Hammond on August 8th, 2008 at 7:00am — No Comments (Add)

A Quick Celebration

I don't know how many, if any, of you have taken up my challenge to contact 31 new markets/clients/employers or other opportunities this month. I have and I am really trying to make this pace work. I'm 4 for 4 but it hasn't been easy. Fortunately, I have received some encouragement in the form of a sale or at least an assignment letter. Yesterday morning I queried German Life about an article exploring what happens when Bavaria meets the Old West at Oktoberfest. Much to my surprise (really!), t… Continue

Posted by J. Hammond on August 5th, 2008 at 8:39am — 7 Comments (Add)

Working on the Weekend

Well, I've managed two queries in two days for the challenge. Not a monumental feat but if I can keep up this pace it will be life changing. In the process of writing these queries, I've been struck by two questions: first - is the pace of a query a day sustainable and second - how effective is submitting queries on weekends? Having worked under daily deadlines, submitting a query a day does not strike me as terribly onerous. The problem occurs when I consider combining the research needed to v… Continue

Posted by J. Hammond on August 3rd, 2008 at 6:35am — No Comments (Add)

can i have my first assignment!!!!!

hmmmm this is my first entry on informed ideas.....i hope someone reads this and realizes that i am not that bad after all..........now, how do i define writing,i dont know'coz i think diff people have different reasons for writing what dey do.....i write whenever i feel like writing writing is a form of an expression for me..if i can put across the agony inside me to the reader minus the technicalities,de commas and the full stops then i wud say dat i achieved what i set out to do............

Posted by maverickrahul on July 23rd, 2008 at 2:55am — 4 Comments (Add)

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Editorial Guidelines & Communicty Rules

Just a reminder of what we are all about before trouble rears its ugly head and spoils the amazing network we are building here. So here they are:

First, BE NICE (homage to Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse). I think we are all adults here, so let's act like it. Be Nice to each other. Respect the fact that experience has taught us all different lessons and that there is room here for everyone's perspective. We won't all agree on everything all the time. And disagreements are part of the creative and growth processes. Be Nice, especially when you disagree with someone. Argue the merits of an issue. Do Not Personally Attack Your Fellow Writers. Do Not Insult or Belittle Them. If you are going to criticize them, do so constructively. Let's help each other succeed rather than tearing each other down. Treat your fellow writers the way you would like them to treat you. Be Nice.

Second, Be Open-minded and Generous. We are truly an international group. Inevitably, miscommunication will occur. Some things, like humor, slang and popular culture, do not always translate well. If you unintentionally offend someone, apologize. If someone offends you, take time to explain what was offensive and why. Give the other person the opportunity to apologize. If you don't understand something, ask. Don't take a request to explain yourself as an attack. See it as an opportunity to expand your world and someone else's.

Finally, Be Consistent. This primarily deals with content organization. As we grow, it's going to become more and more challenging to keep track of things. When you begin to type, please keep these rules in mind. Use the Blog space on your Member Page to voice opinions, make observations, report news and post work samples. Use the Forums to ask questions, request help or input and start discussions. Select the best Category for the conversation you are initiating but don't be surprised if the conversation moves.

Many of us maintain blogs and websites elsewhere. Feel free to include links to your blog in your signature or comments. You can also put an RSS feed of it on your member page. For the time being, I would prefer that we do not promote individual businesses or services, at least not the group at large. Please do not post blatant marketing/advertising messages in your blog unless you are asking fellow members for a critique of it. If you have an announcement or know of an event that ought to be featured on the front page of the site, please contact me directly so we can discuss it.

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