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I hope that my old English teacher is reading this post. The one who openly told me in front of 28 other students that “writing is not for you.” Whilst I’ve said time and time again that I don’t think I’m a great writer, I do know that my writing has greatly improved in recent years and I’ve been able to use my words to earn me a lot of money.
What you say online is far more important than how you say it, of course, but being able to convey complex messages in a simple manner is not an easy task. To quote Blaise Pascal, “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” In this post I want to share the steps that took me from someone who was verbally raped by my English teachers and hated writing to writing for thousands of people on a weekly basis.
I’m going to quickly cover some of the things I’ve achieved through my writing but please be assured that none of them are to show off. My aim with this post is for you to see that you don’t have to be a great writer to succeed at blogging or selling online, and you can definitely advance from the situation you’re in now.
Thanks to my writing I’ve:
- Been interviewed by the 2nd largest newspaper in the UK
- Had my work syndicated on Forbes and Reuters
- Had the author of one of my favourite books interview me in a podcast
- Built the 10th biggest personal development blog in the world
- Received requests from TV producers to take part in their documentaries
- Been called a “web celebrity” on radio stations in the UK
The last item in that list is totally not my aim. I would actually remain anonymous if I didn’t think it would have held the growth of my blogs back in some form. Hopefully what I write here can help you become a web celebrity, though, if that’s your aim.
I’ll say it again for those who missed it in the intro: the messages I have shared through my writing are far more important than the words used to share them. However, I have gone from someone who was a hopeless writer and thought writing was a waste of time to having moderate abilities in this area and making a lot of money with them.
My writing earned me close to $100,000 in 2009 and if you produce any form of content online, this is definitely an area you should be working on.
Read, and Then Read Some More
Many copywriters say that writing is the best way to improve your writing. In my personal experience, I really don’t think that is the case. I have no doubt that writing frequently does help you greatly in a number of ways, but I think reading has been fundamental in my own success.
In my opinion, the best way to improve your writing is by reading. I don’t think it matters what you read but published, physical books, are probably the best place to start. Books from any major publishing house go through rigorous review by editors who’ve spent years perfecting their skills in this area, so the end result is usually some fantastic written word.
Not only will you see how things are generally supposed to be written, you’ll also pick up new words, learn to understand sentence structure, and perhaps even find that it’s totally fine to put an exclamation mark in brackets. Really (!!).
If you’re a young reader of this site then you may have the notion in your head that reading isn’t “cool”. Myself and my friends back in the UK had the thought that if any book is worth reading then someone will turn it into a movie and we’ll watch that instead. It probably sounds stupid, but that’s how we thought.
I didn’t really start reading books until I arrived in South Africa at 18 and picked up a copy of The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. This book pretty much transformed my life and in the two years since then I’ve read around 20 books with some of my favourites being: Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, Linchpin by Seth Godin, Do You! by Russell Simmons and Screw It, Let’s Do It by Richard Branson.
If you can’t tell, I’m not really a fan of fiction books as I don’t see the point in reading them. That’s totally fine though; if you’re going to read to improve your writing then you should always read things you actually want to read. I like things that I can learn from directly and apply to my life. If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy reading books then my suggestions are:
- Get the notion of reading not being cool out of your head if it’s there. If you want to read, then it’s cool.
- If you like sports, celebrity gossip or anything niche like that, then read their sections in newspapers or follow blogs about the topics online.
- Is there someone in the public eye that you really look up to or respect? They may have written an autobiography so go and pick it up.
- Remember that it doesn’t really matter what you read (preferably something edited) as long as you are reading something.
If you’re still doubtful that people will judge you for reading (this is mostly aimed at younger readers, like me) then here’s a secret: If you act confident enough about something being cool, people will fall into your reality and feel exactly the same. All the popular people are subscribing to this blog 
.
It was only when I started reading more books that I noticed my writing dramatically improved. If you aren’t reading much already, you know what to do.
Accept You’ll Never Be “Done”, Then Enjoy The Ride
When I first came across the work of Sean Platt online I have to admit I was pretty envious. The way he writes makes me question whether some people are born with natural talent in this area as his way with words is just so…clever. I’m sure that even Sean will still tell you there are areas of his writing he can improve. I’ve found that most writers – even published ones – aren’t that happy with what they produce.
Based on this I think a good suggestion would be to accept you’ll never be a perfect writer. There is no finish line to reach or some prestigious prize waiting for you. You may win awards for your writing or even sell a million books, but I’ve met many award-winning writers who simply aren’t proud of their work or at least don’t feel finished. I also think their desire to continue improving is why they write so well.
Despite my envy for Sean’s work, I also wouldn’t want to have his skills at the click of a finger. I actually love looking through my old articles on PluginID or the early days of ViperChill and seeing how far I’ve improved since then. The process from having my English teacher call me a failure to being offered a book deal (I said no because they wanted me to write on a very niche topic) has been an amazing ride.
Just like you’ll never be done with life, you’ll never be done as a writer. Learn to love the process you’re going through; feeling frustrated at the plateaus isn’t going to change the fact that they exist.
My Blog Writing Process
Although what you have to say is more important than how you say it, I do feel like my blog writing process helps me get my ideas into text-format in a more efficient way. In 2009 there were days where I could write four, 1,500+ word blog posts that I was really proud of and they all followed the same strategy.
Adding up over 100 posts for PluginID, around 35 guest posts, and other articles I produced, I wouldn’t be surprised if I wrote over 200,000 published words last year. Although I don’t believe writing is the number one key to my improvement in this area, there’s no doubt that it has a large effect.
The more you write and check your work, the less frequently you make simple mistakes and you also learn to enjoy the struggle of putting together coherent sentences. The journey of mastery in this area is one of many ups, downs, and plateaus, but if you continue to read and write regularly then you will start to become a better writer.
When I start to write a blog post I always have an idea of what I’m going to write about. I don’t just open my minimalist text editor and have a new idea start leaking itself onto my screen. With this post, for instance, I knew that I wanted to write about my journey with writing so from there I chose a title that would both engage people and be relevant to what the post is about.
Oftentimes I’ll have a title in mind and then simply fill out the content of the post. On occasion I’ll tweak a post just minutes before it goes live if I re-read it and something doesn’t look right or I think it could be improved. The title is the most important part of your blog post as it gets shared on social media and helps feed readers decide whether a post is worth clicking through to read. Spending a lot of time crafting your title is certainly not time wasted.
Once I have a title in mind I’ll either just start writing or I’ll carefully structure an outline that I want to follow. The outline that I wrote for this post was just a list of the exact headings you’ve seen me use so far. I also know I want to add one more section after this one but haven’t named it yet so in this case, I’m just going to keep writing.
Something quite unique about my writing process is that I will never edit posts as I go along. I may fix the odd spelling error, but usually I’ll leave all my mistakes in there. I prefer to get everything down about a subject first before making changes. Making changes on the go also takes me out of the flow of writing and makes me too logical, rather than just enjoying the “dance” of the process.
Writing blog posts does not actually take me very long. The way I write is in a very personal manner and if you’ve ever written about yourself then you’ll know that it’s very easy and quick to write this way. That isn’t why I write like this, but it is an added bonus. I’ve also been touch typing (not needing to look at your keyboard) since I was 16 so can type quite fast.
Editing the Post
Only after I’ve said everything I want to say will I start editing the post. To do this I upload my plain text draft into the WordPress Dashboard and start reading it through. This can take me a good 30 to 60 minutes as there are usually a lot of things I need to change (and I write long posts). After that, I’ll read the post once more but this time I’ll read it out aloud which helps me spot sentences that just don’t make sense and words that have been repeated too many times.
From there I’ll paste the post into Microsoft Word to help me spot any spelling or grammatical errors I may have missed. The most common ones are duplicated words, no spaces after full stops and the use of commas instead of a semi-colon. I make sure that any websites I mention are hyperlinked and then proceed to add some relevant images to the post.
After that, I’ll schedule it to go live. The posts I write never actually go live on the day I’m writing them. For example, I’m currently writing this on a Sunday and plan to schedule it for Thursday. This means that I’m always prepared for when life gets in the way and I can re-read an article once more before it goes live to spot any final mistakes.
There are probably errors in this post but generally, the result is usually a polished piece.
5 Ways to Make Money Online With Your Writing
As the title of this post contains the phrase ‘six figure writing’, let’s look into some ways I managed to earn money online through writing, and how you can do the same.
1. Build a Blog
In June 2008 I started PluginID, a blog on personal development. I was going through a lot of personal growth at the time after moving to Cape Town in South Africa where I didn’t know one single person, so it was a topic that really interested me. I’ve already talked a lot about building a successful blog in articles like How I Built a Blog with 6,500 Subscribers and 24 Things To Do Before Launching a Blog so I’m not going to cover the topic in-depth here.
What I will say is this: If you want to make money through blogging, don’t expect results overnight. Making money with remarkable (?) blogs takes a lot of time and a lot of work. However, the benefits are that you get to share your knowledge on a topic and build an audience of like-minded people. If you’re willing to put in the work on your blog then there’s no reason you can’t start making a great monthly income in around 12 months.
There are bloggers who have made a lot of money in less time than that and people who have taken a lot longer, but if you’re willing to work hard, I think a year is a great time-frame in which you can build a successful and profitable blog.
Remember, the message you have to share is far more important than the words used to share them. This is why it’s important to be knowledgeable and passionate about your topic so that you can offer genuine advice to your readers and build a hungry crowd of people waiting for your next blog post.
I managed to launch a product on PluginID which made over $30,000 and that site is still consistently making over $4,000 per month today. As many of you know, I also went on to sell the site for a mid-five-figure fee. This is how I made most of my money through writing, but it’s certainly not the only way.
2. Staff Blogging
You definitely don’t have to build a blog in order to make a considerable amount of money through blog writing. There was a time when I was consistently earning $50 for every article I wrote for Freelance Folder and I’ve since been paid $150-$200 for posts on certain design blogs and sites like Dumb Little Man.
The key to making more money with Staff Blogging is by writing exceptional content for other people. If you’re just going to write generic content that the audience you’re writing for can get elsewhere, the site owner is not going to want to pay you for your work. This article for Dumb Little Man (I’m proud of the message, but my writing is quite bad) received over 150,000 visits after going viral around the web. Quality content is a must.
My friend Ali has actually written a course on Staff Blogging (not an affiliate link) which covers this process in much more detail. If you’ve ever read a personal development blog then it’s likely you’ve seen Ali’s name in there somewhere. She was making around $1,500 per month if I recall correctly from this which isn’t bad for getting to do what you love.
3. Bum Marketing
Bum Marketing is a phrase coined by Travis Sago for his free course that burst onto the scene a few years ago which taught people how to make money through article marketing. The process involves you finding affiliate products you want to promote on sites like Clickbank and then writing articles for sites like Ezine Articles in order to promote them.
No longer can you use affiliate links in your bio on these sites but you can link to your own site which sends people to a product page. The benefit of directories like Ezine and Article Dashboard is that you don’t have to build your own website and you can usually rank quite highly for the phrases used in an article title because the site has so much ‘weight’ in Google.
I don’t think this is a great long-term strategy as you will still have to build links for your articles so you may as well be building them for your own website – Cloud Living style. However, if you’re not that confident in building your own website and simply want to get started then writing articles around certain industries and products can make you a lot of money if you can get them to rank in search engines.
4. Become a Freelancer
There are a lot of freelancers writers who don’t make that much money, but then there’s also freelance writers who make a great income by utilising their talents. James Chartrand and the team at Men With Pens are one example that comes to mind. I hire a number of writers to produce content for my sites but it’s mostly “filler” content that doesn’t require much thought and thus, people don’t charge me very much for.
I’ve met a number of writers in person who are making a few thousand pounds ($3,000+) every month by working for large clients who are looking for people with skills in this area. Their typical days are spent putting together press releases or writing copy for important website pages. Some freelance marketplaces that come to mind are the likes of Freelance Switch Jobs, the Problogger Job Board and Elance.
The great thing about freelancing is that you get to work wherever you want and usually get to set your own hours. The downsides though are that unless you get some good contracts and retain clients, you’re never going to be certain about how much money you’ll make each month. Freelance writing definitely has its benefits and drawbacks, but it’s another way to make great money through writing if you’re good at what you do.
5. Write for Content Sites
While I don’t think this is the best way to make money with your writing, it’s another way to use your words to make money online. Sites like eHow, for example, offer a writers program via Demand Studios which allows you to sign-up and write articles for their site in return for some of the Adsense revenue that each article makes. Their site has a lot of trust in Google so if your article is on a popular topic then you can make quite a bit of money.
The good thing about this strategy is that you only have to write an article once and it can continue to earn you money for months or years to come. Other sites with a similar approach include Hubpages and Squidoo, which each offer a share of the Adsense revenue that your article makes you. Squidoo and Hubpages also allow you to insert affiliate links in your content which can make you even more money.
As I said with Bum marketing, I don’t think this is a great long-term strategy if you’re looking to make a serious amount of cash. It makes far more sense to write content for your own sites (or get paid more money to do it for others) than relying on these sources to give you a great monthly income.
If you have any questions, feel free to share them in the comments. I’m certainly not an expert writer, but I do know how to make money with my words. If you want to do the same and I haven’t covered something here, I can help.
And remember, you are a writer.
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Excellent and inspirational post once again Glen!!
I was nothing more than a commenter on websites for several years, and I would always use the excuse that I’m “not writing material” based on (as you very amusingly put it) also getting “verbally raped by my English teachers”. It’s one of those things that you really just have to jump into, make mistakes and improve as you go. I always tell people the same thing with languages – just because you sucked at school doesn’t mean you can’t be a polyglot
I’ll be referring people to this post in future when encouraging them to write their fantastic ideas and share them with the world! Cheers!
Thanks Benny,
My family members always hate when I use the phrase verbally raped haha. But hey, it describes what I want to convey perfectly
Thanks for your support! Nice to know you’ve overcome similar experiences.
Hey Glen
It makes me angry the way some teachers speak to their students about their skills and dreams but kudos for you for being a great example of ignoring that terrible advice and becoming such a success.
I appreciate your ’5 ways to make money online with your writing’ – some good resources there. I am still getting my head around where I am heading with my online journey but it has helpful to have information like this to help along the way.
Hey Jen,
Great to see you here. Luckily I’ve had some awesome teachers over the years to make up for it
Awesome, I’m glad you took something from the post.
I can totally relate to this. I was very bad with italian at school, and when I decided to start writing (in english) my gf (now ex) told me that I had no chance at all. She still thinks that but I didn’t so I did it anyway. 2000 subscribers later I’m coming to think that maybe what you say is more important than how you say it. Of course I have a lot more to learn, but oh well…
Hey Oscar,
I’ve definitely noticed your improvements in writing from the first time I stumbled across Freestyle Mind! You’re doing a great job over there
Hey Glen!
Very cool article, I enjoyed this one the most out of all the articles I’ve read in a long time. Probably because I can really relate to it.
I am still far from a good writer but I’ve come a long way since I started blogging almost 2 years ago. I look back on some of my very early posts and it just feels bad reading them! I definitely think writing is something you can learn, but it takes practice and a lot of reading.
I also signed up to Copyblogger a few months ago and have gotten quite a few good tips from his posts. Writing online is not just writing. You are a designer, an artist, a teacher, a friend and a role-model to everyone who reads your work.
Cheers
Diggy
If you like CB, you might want want to check out http://www.procopytips.com/ Quality is v good.
Hi Glen!
I can really appreciate this post as it’s relevant to my current situation. I’ve been working on trying to start a blog now since July 09 and I’ve found it’s my writing skills that are standing in the way. Hopefully within the next few months I can overcome some of that and launch my blog.
Your writing has greatly improved over time! I started following Plugin ID in early to mid 09 and now I am following Viper Chill. I think it’s your sincere and genuine attitude that shows in your writing and really makes people want to stick around and read what you have to say. In a world where everyone is trying to make a little money online, it’s refreshing to know that there are people that are still “real”. Thank you!
Hey Marci,
Great to see some PluginID readers followed me over here! Thank you for the kind words, they’re appreciated.
Nice article Glen – you can crank out the length too… I tend to write longer, and appreciate the quote by Pascal. To write shorter takes a lot longer! I hadn’t realized you only started this blog in June 08. That’s kicking a**. If I could ever focus on one of my 20+ sites long enough to smatter it with blog posts focused on a niche, well then, someday I’ll be in your shoes. As it is, my interests are varied across a whole realm of wacky stuff. Not to mention I’m hopelessly ADD/ADHD’d out.
I opened 4 more of your posts in new tabs and reading them momentarily. Great article. Keep ‘em cranking. You’re helping a lot of people who are trying to get the formula for success.
Awesome Mike, I hope you enjoy them!
If I would life in an english speaking country I would digg, twitter and share it all around.
^^
And I only read the first few sentences and scrolled down after that. Because I do not know how many teachears destroy the self-confidence of so much students. Like my german teacher in the 1st class said to me, that I will never be able to read accurately. And this at my first year at school.
A lot of teachers could really use a “How to Motivate” seminar.
A lot of teachers could really use a forceful kick in the head too.
Good point Johannes,
Your English is definitely readable. Good luck on your journey and thanks for the comment
Hi Glen,
There’s the saying that you will be the same person in 5 years from now, except for the books you read and the people you meet. As an avid reader, I can definitely say that I learn something from every book that I read. I can now add, every blog that I read.
I don’t think that anyone is born with natural writing ability. Like anything else, it’s a skill that can be learned. It takes dedication and practice, of course, but like any other skill can be improved if you are willing to put in the work. You, obviously, have put in the work so no worries there.
I would also like to say that it’s a pleasure reading your articles because they don’t have any spelling mistakes, typos, grammar problems, etc that many people your age don’t concern themselves with when they hit the ‘publish’ button. We appreciate the time you take to proofread your work and it flows so well.
I wonder if you would have worked so hard, if your English teacher told you that you were a wonderful writer? Maybe her criticism spurred you to write better so that you could prove her wrong? Just a thought.
Thanks,
Karen
Thanks Karen!
I actually don’t think anyone is born with writing talent, I just meant that Sean really impresses me. It really puts me off when I notice some obvious errors in peoples work so I try my best to make sure I avoid them. If you don’t care about what you’re putting out then why should anybody care about reading it?
That’s possible, though I’m not so sure. I really did not like writing up until I started PluginID.
Glen, this is awesome. Can I come work for you?
Seriously, you’ve got a great way of organizing things and describing them in detail that’s simple to read and understand.
Thanks Mark. You might want to speak to my assistants first though before requesting something like that
Awesome to have you stop by
Interesting, Glen. I enjoy reading your posts and you seem to have a very fluid writing style. One day, I’d like to be at that kind of level. I’m pretty informal with my posts and need to plan them out before writing.
I knew English as my first language since I was born in the States but then we moved overseas where I kind of forgot it. I couldn’t converse it in for a number of years (probably hesitation) but I could write in English. We’ve been in the States for about 15 years and now I do both. I haven’t written in a few years so it’s a bit of challenge and something I need to improve drastically.
It’s nice to see that someone like you has their struggles that work though. Keep it up Glen, you’re kicking ass no matter how you dice it.
(P.S. Your teacher sucked. I had a couple of similar ones who gave me a horrible complex for years).
Hey Moon,
Yep, I definitely have a long way to go in a number of areas online. Writing is the main thing I want to progress with though as it’s something I do on a daily basis and it’s clear to see improvements over time.
Thanks!
Hi Glen – the master, Stephen King, says exactly what you do about reading to become a better writer – more, more more…
I too, was a failure at high school English. I was redeemed a few years later, though, when I found out the teacher was let go by the board for being inadequate at her job (a big thing considering the strength of the teacher’s union in Ontario, Canada). Now I write gooder!
Haha, I think you mean betterer
Another really insightful article, Glen. I especially liked your point about thinking carefully on the name of your topic before writing. This can be helpful even in writing fiction. Having a name of a short story can give you a vast amount of inspiration for it.
Glen, this is an excellent post. As a blogger, I loved reading about your experience and I really appreciated the tips you offered. Thanks so much for writing this article. It was a great read and has given me some ideas for making the most of my blog.
Hey Dani,
It has been a while! Great to have you here.
Thanks a lot
Totally agree with the “forget that reading IS NOT cool” – I read a study last year comparing 3 of the richest men in the world. Two things they all had in common: They read every single day, and they set goals.
Great post.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing that!
Excellent Post Glen and very inspirational
Writing skills is what i lack in. Three months ago, when i started my blogging journey than i afraid to comment on other blogs. Why? Simply because i make a lot of grammar, mistakes, typos etc.
You’re one of my favorite blogger..Glen
I started following you, when John Chow has written on his blog about you. Keep at it !!
Damn…just one of them?
Thanks for your support, Dev!
Great piece, Glen, and thanks for the link to the Staff Blogging Course! I’m probably making a little less than when I wrote it as I’ve dropped a couple of jobs (but my rates have gone up, so I’m making more per hour/per post…)
Good on you for proving your English teacher wrong! English was my best subject at school (and I went on to study it at uni) so I guess I’ve always been destined to be a writer
but I have a huge amount of respect for people who work to get there.
I completely agree with your advice here. Reading is CRUCIAL if you’re going to be a writer. And don’t just read, when you come across a piece you love — eg. a blog post which grips you from start to end — then stop and figure out *why*. How did the writer structure it? What words did they use to paint a vivid picture? What words did they choose?
The only thing I’d disagree with you about is fiction. It *is* worth reading! Can I hazard a guess that you got forced to read “classics” in English at school, and hated them? There’s almost certainly some fiction out there that’s for you, and personally I find that movies/TV shows/etc are rarely as immersive or as memorable as a really good novel. Fiction can be life-changing too: there’s a lot of power in story. Also, fiction is a *lot* harder to write well than non-fiction, so if you’re interested in the craft of writing, fiction’s a good place to turn.
Hey Ali,
Great to see you here and thanks for sharing your tips! You’re one of the few people online I always feel like I have something to learn from.
That is one reason, but I have tried to read other books as well. I liked Harry Potter (don’t tell anyone) but that’s it. I have also read the Alchemist as Bud suggested below and while it was fantastically written, it just really didn’t resonate with me. Do you have any recommendations?
Hey Glen,
I’d have to agree, reading has taken my writing to new levels. I thought reading was uncool when I was in high school but once I got into college I realized that reading is a form of self improvement. Thanks for the great article.
You’re welcome Jay,
Nice to see you’ve had similar experiences.
Love the reading list, everyone making it on their own needs to read a Branson book.
Cheers Glen
Henry
Inspirational post Glen.
Reading and writing on a daily basis have improved my writing skills. Successful writing is a confidence issue. Believe in your work and it shines through. Repetition of a certain skill builds faith in it.
Bravo Glen..
I think one of the greatest things about being a writer is that you are able to see your improvements over time. Your post inspired me to quickly go back and take a look at some of my older posts at A Boundless World, and it’s just crazy to think I wrote that. Sure, even now, I’m not even close to where I want to be, but seeing how much I’ve improved over time is amazing. I’ve even gone back and looked at your older posts at PluginID and I see too how much you’ve progressed. As you said, no one is born a good writer because writing is a personal art.
I also happen to agree with Ali on the fiction. Maybe you’ve just yet to read the right fiction book? For example the Alchemist is one of my favorite books because it carried a powerful message.
Your story is nothing short of remarkable man. Keep inspiring people like me
Stop stalking me Bud!
As I said below to Ali, I wasn’t really a fan of the Alchemist. I’m sure you are inspiring just as many people as you go
Dude, I’m not going to beat around the bush here. You are killing it…. Keep up the good work.
P.S. If you have the time, reconsider your decision not to read fiction! I think I understand your thinking for only reading non-fiction (I presume it’s because you want every book you read to contain ideas that enhance your life in practice).
The thing is, fiction can often be more beneficial in this regard than any self-improvement book you will read. Some of my most important life lessons and principles have been discovered whilst reading works of fiction. Not to mention, they can be ridiculously enjoyable to read.
Jason.
One thing that has always impressed me about your writing is your ability to come up with excellent headlines. I really wonder how you developed this skill. I’m getting better at crafting consistently good headlines, but still find it to be a serious challenge every now and then. I consider you one of the better writers on the net. You writing is very clear, which isn’t easy to do.
Great post. Thankyou for so generously sharing your story,and supplying those of us who aspire to your success level with links and additional information that have helped you so far.By the way,if that teacher’s still around,I know a guy, just sayin’. Rob
Everybody has their own writing style, and different readers will be attracted to different styles. I like your writing better than Sean’s. You are clear and concise, and I prefer that over Sean’s flowery syntax. Also, you do a good job of conveying a lot of information while making it more interesting by adding just a little personal background. Congratulations on using your words to make a living.
Hey Glen,
You’re right all over the place.
Yeah, I’m usually happy with what I write, but I never feel as though it’s really finished.
Your teachers sound a lot like mine, too. I never went to college, and actually dropped out of high school after getting into a fight with my guidance counselor junior year when she told me I’d be a failure by the time I was 30.
Sorry sweetheart, but 30 was a good year for me and this year looks to be the best one yet, so um, yeah, neener neener neener!
High-5 for all us institutional losers who grew up to be Internet winners!
Atta boy Sean – I love the “institutional loser” moniker; actually, as a high-school dropout myself (I graduated on independent study) – I would rather say, that I experienced an early “transcendence” from the institution… Best to you!
I’ve got a massive book addiction these days and I agree that is a very important thing for writing. There are so many benefits to reading.
I’m amazed at the growth here and I need to freaking look everything over on a large monitor instead of my 13″ macbook. But, I am just gaining no traction but I watch you kill this shit. I am ini awe dude.
I know you will keep it up.
Great post Glenn. I do ghosting and copy writing, and I do subscribe to the belief that the more you write the better you become, but I also totally agree with the concept the more you read the better you become also.
I don’t have any degrees in English Lit or Journalism, nothing that particular says “I’m a writer”. And the most I wrote growing up was poetry!
But I was an avid reader, and when I set about my search to make money working from home, I realized all that reading had given me a knack for writing non-fiction and I then went on to use it to the best of my ability.
So excellent advice there, read, read, and read some more!
And no glaring mistakes that I found in this particular post btw.
Polished to near perfection!
Warm regards,
C
Hey Glen,
Thanks for the insight on your process, I like how you go with the flow of just writing, not editing. I seem to edit my posts a lot at the end, greatly refining them. Do you think this makes it “artificial”? I don’t, personally. Though I understand the danger in over-editing as well.
Speaking to you as a successful blogger, I would be interested in your opinion on length you brought up. I seem to write pretty lengthly, but I really like to write as a story/add some flare to it, and also know that it takes more effort to make something easier and simpler (Einstein: make it simple as possible, but not any simpler).
So I’m curious what you think would be better in blogging: a long detailed post with build ups and theory, or short and sweet to the point posts? I suppose it depends on what you’re goal is, yeah? I mean, this post is fairly long, and yet I still took the time to read it, so maybe it also depends on your target audience too.
Thanks again!
Andrew
Another great post Glen. I have only recently started to understand the value of writing. Now I understand it, I think daamn, I could have been writing in all that spare time I had when I was younger douching around… ahh weel.
Ohh and reading is gangster!
Hi Glen,
Thanks again for the post.
It actually really surprises me that you don’t think you’re a great writer. All I know is that I really enjoy reading your posts. As I’ve mentioned before, I spent most of a Saturday reading your ten popular articles and felt like I had just attended a very expensive, very valuable all day seminar on blogging. That was the sort of value I got from it.
Furthermore, I subscribe to your blog via e-mail and when the notification for this post showed up in my inbox a few minutes ago, the thought that immediately popped in my head was, “Oh cool, a new post at ViperChill. I can’t wait to check it out.”
Therefore, I really hope you flip what you are saying (which I believe is a limiting belief perhaps born from what that teacher said) into “I am a great writer!” BECAUSE, DUDE, YOU ARE!!!!!
Perhaps a better way to put it is that you communicate the truth in a concise manner. I COMPLETELY agree with this statement that you made near the beginning of the post:
“…being able to convey complex messages in a simple manner is not an easy task.”
I think another key part of being an effective writer (of non-fiction) is to know exactly what you are talking about. Two great examples of this are your “Cloud Jacking” post and “6500 subscribers” post where you basically told people how to be a successful blogger (and how many articles, books, etc. are written on that subject?!). I believe it is easier to be concise when you know exactly what you are talking about, because you don’t want to waste anybody’s time with unnecessary information. But when somebody doesn’t really know what they are talking about, they can go on and on and on without really saying anything.
Thanks again for the post and sharing all of your knowledge. And congrats on the continued success!!! I see you are up to over 5900 subscribers which seems a bit higher than the last time I was here. Have a great day in South Africa!!!
Glen,
You truly do provide a ton of value in your posts – thank you for the effort: we appreciate it!
I’m curious as to your “Work in Process” methods – in other words- do you keep a list of subject areas & post ideas that are in development – and allow them time to develop before you ‘harvest’ them? Or do you keep ideas on a whiteboard, etc…
By the way – I know you said you don’t have much interest in fiction – but it would be interesting to know if you’ve enjoyed *any* fiction in your life? don’t get me wrong, I have a library of something like 2-3k books, 90% non-fiction; but I do enjoy a good “story” now and again. The “Story” element in writing is a significant factor for success: writerdad.com uses a lot of ‘story’ element, and even your writing has a strong ‘story’ component; that’s why we’re fans! You tell us about the journey, and the practical & technical steps to get there.
Hey – maybe reply to this post w/ some good Fiction reads for Glen: I’ll start things off:
- The Alchemist – Paul Couelo
- The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
- Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach
- The Little Prince – Antoine de St Exupery
There is now reason to learn how to write until you have something to say.
I was held back in math for a year because I didn’t “get it”. When I got to algebra I picked it up quick because I needed it to solve the “puzzles”.
Hey Glen,
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one that just barely passed English class
I know what you mean about Fiction. I used to brush it off myself. However, there are some great fiction books that have really inspired me and have some great personal development aspects to them. Two that come to mind for me are “All I Asking for Is My Body” by Murayama and “Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” by Murakami. It may seem odd to say so, but these two fiction books have really changed my life!
-Clayton
PS: Is it just me, or are the little white people in your blog post images getting bigger heads?
Very comprehensive list here Glen.
I’ve wanted to be a writer for many years, in fact since I could read. Too bad we get mixed up in things like making a living – such a distraction. I gave up reading and writing through high school and it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.
Slowly though, I’m improving again and having a blog has been the number one way for me to do that.
Wow! this post can move mountain! I love articles that are deep like this, there are thousands of people struggling to make money online and just few are succeeding with it, but with an article as deep as this, these ones including myself can be encouraged. You’ve come a long way from the Viperchill that the teacher told can’t write to the person i’m reading his blog now, your writing is very okay for me, like you said, what matters most is what you have to say, not the grammar in which you express it. I can’t but feel a little envious, i wish i can write that much articles. Though i know one could make money through these means, whenever i try i get very distracted from my own site, since i write on the same niche as my site on these content sites so i can promote my site, i always feel i’m wasting useful content i could post to my blog. I feel freelancing its a business of its own, if you have a website you are trying to build and still involve in freelancing, you will be really distracted except you’re really good in providing lots of contents. Well, i think it depends on one’s goal, i don’t just want a part-time income, i want to build a site that gets the click. I want to be the owner of the business, not have to work for the owner of the business, that’s what i did in the white collar job and i hate it! So i think the way we choose to make money online depend on our individual goals. Everyone can’t be a blogger, some can be freelancers to the bloggers. I think the reason we have lots of crappy contents online is because everyone wants to be a blogger, you can own a freelance business. Choose a work at home service you can render, and set up a site and source for your own clients. That way you’re the master of your business, once you get lots of jobs and can’t afford to do all of them, you can employ some help. Bloggers and business owners need lots of help with different stuffs, find what you are good at, and build a site and start making money with it, that’s a bigger business than having to write articles for some sites just to share adsense money with them except you are promoting affiliate links in them, that’s when it makes more sense but be your own person and start an home business
A friend told me that when doing article marketing to promote your site, you should submit the same article you already posted on your blog after it has been indexed by google, is this true? or you have to rewrite the article and submit to google, or submit a completely new article? please i’ll like to understand this.
More grease to your elbow
Hey Glen,
“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” Subscribed to your e-mail based feed and this line got my attention. A few weeks ago my English professor mentioned the exact same quote while ripping the whole class due to our midterm essay assignment. He made it clear and to the point that bs’ing your target audience with extra words is not just bad style, but it makes you look stupid in front of the readers you should value.
I am more than sure my professor does not have a clue about internet marketing, he barely uses e-mail, but his advice closely matches yours when it comes to writing content with actual value and avoiding extra details just to try and impress readers.
Glen, great post and writing!
Well, I kinda had the opposite experience. In school teachers would often ask me to contribute to the school magazine or I’d be chosen to write for the school magazine. But the thing is, I never considered myself a writer material. So I never got round to contributing anything for the school magazine.
Then blogging thing happened, and here I am trying to improve my writing and become a writer, someday! Talk of missed opportunities!
Coming to the post, I agree reading AND writing should be part of your daily routine if you want to be a writer. There is simply no way to learn the craft otherwise.
I credit my writing to the hundreds of fiction (in high school & college) and now non-fiction (self-help, Malcolm Galdwell sorta books) I read. And I still have a long way to go.
I’ve always enjoyed your writing over the past almost 2 years (yeah, I followed you for PluginID) and this is no exception, maybe better than most!
Hi Glen,
I’ve only recently discovered you and your work at Viper Chill and PluginID, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you share with us. Your posts are always worth reading and learning from. And that is rare on the Internet, as we all know.
Having read the hype about a lot of ebooks that didn’t seem to be worth ordering, I bought Cloud Living without hesitation. And I haven’t regretted it. You write so clearly about blogging and about minisites.
When I was reading this post, I had two main reactions beyond the main subject. My thoughts echo those by Karen and by Ali. Like Karen, I like the fact that you obviously take great care in writing and editing. I get so frustrated with most online writers and blogs because there are so many errors in spelling and grammar that could easily be corrected if someone was actually reading what they wrote and posted.
And I also echo what Ali of Aliventures and some others wrote here about reading fiction. (Coincidentally, a couple of days after buying Cloud Living, I bought her ebook, Staff Blogging Course. So, I got a kick out of seeing her commenting here. Two of my new favorite writers.) When I first entered college, I was already an avid reader, but as a much more serious young man than I am now that I’ve aged, I thought I should spend my time on non-fiction because the world needed to be changed. As Bob Dylan wrote in My Back Pages, “Ah, but I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now.”
Then a college English teacher got me to read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and it was a watershed moment in my life. I remember thinking to myself, “Oh my god, this is the most powerful book I’ve ever read.” It moved me like no non-fiction book ever had …. or has since. It’s also my favorite movie and I was excited to see a few years ago that the American Film Institute picked Atticus Finch as the number one movie hero of all time. It’s set in the American South in the 1930s and deals with the terrible injustices black people suffered then. But it’s also a great glimpse into kids growing up (including a character based on Truman Capote as a boy), told from the viewpoint of a young girl named Scout, who lived with her brother and their father after their mother had died. Scout’s father was a courageous white lawyer who stood up against almost the entire white community to defend a wrongfully accused black man. I know it resonated with me because I grew up in Texas and I could still see vestiges of that time then and even now. But even though you’re from the UK, I highly recommend it.
So, again, kudos for your writing and for all you share with us. I look forward to more. Soon, I’ll be launching my new website and blog and I hope you’ll become half as much a fan of mine as I am of yours. (I’ve been a Huffington Post Blogger for the past year, but I’ll be writing a lot more when my new venture goes online.)
Cheers,
Don
Hey glen. great post. I have always been an avid reader, even though I struggled with dyslexia at a young age and agree with you 100%. The amount of information you soak in while reading is amazing! I do think it’s worth saying to younger readers or those that are skint and are wondering how on earth they will afford books, library’s are a great resource for books on any topic (including internet marketing and blogging) and should be made use of. Present company accepted
They are probably the best free resource available anywhere.
Hi Glen
I have been reading your blog for a while now, this is my first comment though. Of all the blogs I subscribe to this is the only one I really look forward to seeing new posts from because I know I am going to read it!
I love your story and it is a bit similar to mine, except I am a bit behind. I am at the point where I want to move somewhere and take blogging / earning money online a lot more seriously. Your thoughtful posts really help keep me motivated. I am trying to absorb as much knowledge as I can before I try to make it on my own.
I also feel the same way as you about fiction books, if I read a book I want to learn something! Some of my favourites were how to stay alive in the woods (before I started with websites) and Yes! I bet you would like that one.
Well this seems like it should be an email rather than a blog comment
so I will leave it at that. Thanks for the great blog posts and maybe soon I will be linking to your blog!
A very inspirational post! Sometimes it is you who really knows what you can and cannot do and not other people.
Hi Glen,
Congratulations on another great article! Currently, I am reading The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. I highly recommend this book to anyone searching for answers to questions, such as, who are we? why do we act like we do? How do we find peace, happiness, and enlightenment? This book, simply stated, is life changing. The next book on my list is one I have not heard of, until I read this article. Linchpin, Are You Indispensable? By Seth Godin. This book should be a great read, thanks for mentioning it. I would also like to thank you for being so well read. You always produce articles of great quality and substance. When my Blackberry alerts me that you have posted something new, I always take time out of my day to read it.
Jim Poppell
I could say that you’ve written this blog for me, but I am sure that I am not the only one who have find this post to fit perfectly to what they do.
I feel so bad Glen, because my writing in English is quite bad, but now after reading this post, I understand that it can be improved.
Reading? Never thought about that to much, I’ve only read 1 book in English, and I can say that I don’t read anything apart from little bit online, and from time to time some newspapers articles,
Thanks for your post, very useful for me.
thats a great article, I was going to ask where do you get all your 3d little guy pictures? you use on all your articles?
As a young reader who always uses exclamation marks in brackets (!) I absolutely loved this post. I agree that reading can help, its helps us to improve our writing skills as we learn new words and phrases that we’ve read ourselves in a book. Some of us aren’t born writers and are often thought little of by their English teachers (my English teacher literally hates me!), but with a little bit of know how and a great deal of passion for our niche we can all be successful bloggers.
I’ve been an avid reader since primary school (encouraged by my parents) through high-school, and I read a lot even now, although I’ve expanded my horizons considerably.
I’m not a prolific writer, but when and where I do write I notice the influence of things I’ve read quite often. To be honest though, I do tend to skip the proof-reading and editing sometimes – I shouldn’t, because those little mistakes to slip through when I’m in a hurry – and they seem rather glaring when I notice them later.
I’d really like to put more time towards my writing though. Thanks for the post Glen.
PS The name change? More comfy with it when I’m running around the interwebz
I’m so glad that you said that reading a lot helps your writing. I’ve read many blog posts and books about writing, and most people say that I should write, and I should write a lot, and that writing a lot is what helps your writing. I read more than I write.
It’s very interesting to read about your blog writing process. I have a lot to learn from you. I don’t think that I have ever spent more than 60 minutes on the writing process of one of my blog posts. This includes research, writing, proof reading, editing, everything…
I write, read what I have just written, then I do some minor editing, and finally I publish the blog post. I have been thinking about scheduling posts and spend several days on each blog post, in order to write longer posts and with less spelling mistakes and better structure.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
Wow! Such great information, What a education you receive after reading this post. Thanks for all this detail information.
Good news dude
Hey Glen, I am sure that this comment has no connection with your article, but I still have to ask you sth. Why did you said in your book that we must find a product with monthly searches between 1500 and 20000? I mean, I found one with 130000 monthly searches and few competition, but I don’t know much about it. Would it be anything wrong if I go for a product with over 20000 monthly searches?
Excelent Post..!!
I think reading is most important thing.
But what matter most is how much you are updated
So keep reading good news of your intrest so that you will able to get your hands on good topic soon as possible.!!
Read and Be updated
Thnks
a must read article for new blogger who just give up their work soon, really this article inspired me to work more on my blogs :X:X