About Me

My photo
Maine&NY, United States
Ronna Lambiasi DeLoe is an author, writer, photographer, professional musician and NY attorney living in Maine and New York. She has an office in NY and is still actively doing appeals. She also play keys, synth & organ in a 7-piece band. Ms. DeLoe's poetry website provides custom poems or personalized poetry for every occasion. The new site is at: https://www.facebook.com/PoetandWriter/?fref=ts. Her photography website is: www.mainestreamphotography.com (live but under construction). Ms. DeLoe's first book of poetry is Serenity at Two Lights and Other Social Issues. It can be found on www.Amazon.com. Her children's book, Goodbye Monsters, can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Monsters-Ronna-Lambiasi-DeLoe/dp/1633810011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436384727&sr=8-1&keywords=ronna+lambiasi+deloe. Contact her at ronnadeloe@gmail.com and view her webpage at www.ronnalambiasideloe.com.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Writing Class: www.ed2go.com

This website was an incredible find. Ed2go at http://www.ed2go.com/ offers classes on many subjects, including writing. I took a few courses with instructor Steve Alcorn, who taught more in an online semester than I had ever learned in college. There are basic writing courses, advanced courses, courses in mystery writing, resume writing, technical writing, and dozens of other courses. If you are interested in writing fiction, I highly recommend Ed2go and Steve Alcorn's classes. The classes last for approximately six weeks and yes, there is homework, but the learning experience is great. You get to interact with your teacher and with other students in the class. You will have help with your ideas, book or whatever you are writing, and there are materials available for downloading or printing. I was disappointed when my classes ended. This website also offers courses in computers, language, and just about any subject you can think of. Highly recommended.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

MWPA: Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance

MWPA, or the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance (no apostrophes) can be found online at: http://www.mainewriters.org/. It is a dynamic group for published authors, wannabe authors, poets, publishers, and people interested in supporting a writing organization. MWPA offers many different events during the year, such as writers' conferences, a chapbook competition, awards for non-fiction, fiction, poetry, etc. to authors who are members, pitch-to-agents conferences, writing retreats, and it provides lists to many literary events in the State of Maine. It offers a website complete with a forum and guest blogging. It also has a quarterly newsletter called Maine in Print which features some outstanding articles and interviews with successful and some well-known authors.
The Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56419552174.
Please check out this non-profit organization which has done so much for writers in this state. If you live elsewhere, check Google (use state name and the word "writers" and either "group" or "association") for a similar organization in your state. For example, North Carolina has The North Carolina Writers' Network; Connecticut has Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. Some states have more than one such group.
Many of these groups are non-profit organizations. Maine's MWPA has been in existence for thirty-five years.
For more information, contact www.mainewriters.org or call 207-228-8263. MWPA is offering special membership discounts (December, 2010) for gifts and referrals. See website for details.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

PoemsforAllOccasions

Please check out http://www.poemsforalloccasions.com/. This is a chance to have a poem, toast, speech, roast or story made for a friend or loved one for a special (or ordinary) occasion. You provide the information, and we'll provide the poetry or whatever you'd like. This can be printed out on your end or we can send it on special designer paper, with or without a frame. Inexpensive and thoughtful gift.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Writer's Digest Magazine: A Must for Writers

If you are serious about writing that novel, non-fiction book, or book of another genre, you should consider subscribing to Writer's Digest. It is chock-full of information about crafting characters, prompts, ideas, creating villains, genre writing, how to get agents, how to get your book published, best websites for writers, how to get your poetry published, interviews with successful writers and how they achieved their success, and helpful information about writing, freelancing, and other types of writing such as copy writing.
I just looked at the issue from May/June 2010 again and was amazed at how many useful and informative articles there are about the craft (art) of writing, websites, and lots of the above. It gives a generally quiet profession--with the exception of your children or barking dogs in the background--some much-needed company. Sit with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate and get some great tips that you might not have gotten anywhere else.
Also, check out http://www.writersdigest.com/ (without the apostrophe). It is chock-full of writing advice for established and new writers. The website is invaluable; used in addition to the magazine, you are armed for the serious business of writing.

Pingy Web Application

Yesterday I stumbled across a site that listed this blog, www.mainewriterphotog.blogspot.com,  as something to check out. My blog was listed in the #1 spot with three others. Not bad for a site I hadn't heard of. Thank you!

It's called Pingy, and its purpose is to help you promote your website. While there are ads on Pingy, you can skip the ads and download an application to help promote your site. Pingy's website is: http://www.pingywebedition.somee.com/. It doesn't cost anything and it may help with promotion. I got more hits yesterday than any other day, probably because of Pingy.

The steps to download this application are listed. Follow them and you should be ready to have Pingy help you even when you're away from your website. Check out http://pingymasspingtool.blogspot.com/p/promote-your-site-with-pingy.html which is the promotion page.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Tess Gerritsen and Gerry Boyle - Mysteries, Thrills & Crime Novels

Maine is blessed with probably more writers per capita than most states. If you walk in "downtown" rural Maine, chances are you're literally surrounded by writers.
I wrote about Gerry Boyle previously. He's an outstanding mystery writer who doesn't have the following he deserves. He lives in the next county, I've seen him several times, and he knows I'm a huge fan. In fact, I have every one of his books, all autographed. He made "the drop" to my husband and teased about wearing a trench coat to do so -- my husband met him off Route 17 and picked up autographed copies of his books to complete my Gerry Boyle library. If you haven't read anything of his, I urge you to do so. His site is http://www.gerryboyle.com/. He has two new books from two different series: Damaged Goods is his latest of the Jack McMorrow series -- engaging characters, descriptive passages, excellent dialogue, terrific plots. You can learn a lot about writing by reading any of Gerry Boyle's books. His other recent book is Port City Shakedown, which was very well received. He's an outstanding writer and a super person, and I'm happy to call him a friend. His books Cover Story and Port City Shakedown were excellent and I'm now reading an older one entitled Bloodline.

Tess Gerritsen is another sweetheart who lives nearby. I've seen her at readings a few times as well. She is super-talented: a writer, an accomplished musician and also a medical doctor. Not bad credentials! She now has a TNT show based on her characters Rizzoli and Isles. Check out her blog at http://www.tessgerritsen.com/. People comment and she will often answer if there are questions, as she reads her blog frequently. I was at a book signing at the Owl & the Turtle Bookstore in Camden, Maine, where she announced the Rizzoli and Isles show on TNT; the audience was thrilled for her. Rizzoli and Isles is now playing in France, Sweden and Australia as well as the U.S., and it's going global all the time.

Speaking of thrills, she writes medical mystery/thrillers, which sound a bit unusual and definitely have a different twist and perspective than most authors. Her latest, Ice Cold, is in my bookcase begging to be read, and I have a bunch of her books, all autographed. She hands out promo cards and is a great public speaker. Her books are page-turners and can probably be called mysteries, medical thrillers and crime novels. Harvest was an excellent book. Tess Gerritsen is a writer who keeps getting better and has you hooked before you know it, usually on page 1.

Maine is blessed with many famous authors, and many of you have heard the name Tess Gerritsen. If you like a good story, plot and are into mysteries, her books and Gerry Boyle's books are must-reads.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Writing Gigs: Textbroker and Caveat Emptor Again

Here's another online writing mill that actually involves copy writing rather than writing articles. There are some articles that are needed, but primarily the site involves copy writing, from my experience with it. Here's the problem with this site. I figured there were probably a few catches and there are. The pay? Oh, do we get paid? You can write a 400 page copy ad for sneakers or whistles or whatever other product the client is selling and make anywhere from $1.25 to maybe a whopping $7.00 for your efforts. On one occasion, when I wrote about a law-related topic, the pay was about $15, but that's the most I've ever been paid on that site.

The site "rates" your writing skills by some method, and you can bet it's subjective. The highest score you can get is a 5. That is when you start making some money on this site. However, the editors tell you that a "5" writer has to be absolutely perfect, no exceptions. Apparently there are a bunch of people who are rated 2s and 3s and probably a lot of 4s. I received a 4 and wrote my initial five articles/ads for clients. I worked hard, double-checked everything and tried to move up in ranks. I was told that it is possible to move up, so I went for it. I was also told that since there was no COMMA in the first sentence, which was really one of those debatable uses of a comma, that I had to stay as a "4." A comma? Give me a break. Their answer to me was that "it has to be perfect." I would love to hear from the few people who have been rated "5." I don't think most authors would get that rating; certainly not Grisham or other best-selling authors who write well but then again, nobody is perfect. (I wonder who decides who garners this number).

In any event, Textbroker is okay if you get a client who likes you and you can set your own price. I set my own price although of course they can get someone to do the same thing for a lot less than what I am asking. I'm not asking a fortune either, but I'm asking for a respectable amount of money, still lower than what I should be asking for.

When freelancers ask and get so little (see yesterday's entry on Examiner.com), we have to ask ourselves why we are paid so little and why we accept it. We wouldn't accept it for anything else. It's not a fair price for the work. Do freelancers value their work so little that they take scraps? I won't do it. It's not worth it. I'd rather work in some other aspect of writing, such as resumes or definitely legal writing. My time is worth more than Textbroker is willing to pay. If I hear from a client, great. Two of them said they were interested but I haven't seen any orders yet and I might not. After all, they can get lesser quality work for about $3.00.
Not interested.

Freelancers - we need to value ourselves more. Ask for more. Demand more. If not, move on to something better.

All the best in writing,
Ronna

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Writing Gigs: Caveat Emptor Examiner - Bugs, Kinks, and Will We Be Paid?

A writer can find many outlets for the art or craft of writing. As a New York attorney, I do most of my writing for appeals, writing legal briefs. It's not a novel but it's still writing and I love it. With apologies, that is why I have been absent from this blog for the last month. I was served with a 59 page "brief," which is the largest I've ever received. I've been busy doing research and writing and am close to finishing my own brief in response. It's been a challenge keeping it short because of the six days of trial testimony. This is probably my favorite type of writing and I wish I could get more of it. I do have another brief to do in December but will try to write on this blog daily.

In the meantime, I wrote an article tonight for Examiner. Why? Not sure. The "new" Examiner is nothing like the Examiner I initially signed up for. Mind you, not that that was great either. I see articles with misspellings, poor grammar, and one woman was given several columns and she writes like this! and like this!! and like this!!!! This isn't writing--it's butchering language. What my "colleagues" do at Examiner is not a reflection of my work, but it does not speak highly of Examiner, so it is little wonder that the online writing content mills are not highly regarded.

Examiner wasn't good. Now it's worse. The Pub Tool has so many problems they can't even keep up with it. Tech support gets back to you a month later. Photos fail to upload. The kinks and bugs in the Pub Tool come with sincere apologies from administration. Who cares? While I'm trying to throw my computer out the window, they're telling me they're sorry it took me 4 hours to write an article I can usually write in a half hour.

The new Examiner also comes with new legalese. This is right up my alley, of course. So I read the new legal jargon, which I understood, and noticed that there is no guarantee of payment in the new rules and regs. Great. So now there is this possibility that I might not get paid for my writing.
Writers should not value our writing so little that we accept pennies for our articles, or less than pennies for our articles. The only reason I wrote an article for Examiner tonight was to get paid--if you haven't written in a month, you cannot get paid the following month. I haven't written in awhile and I'm still owed money from August. Well, I'd like to get paid, so I figured I would write one article, publish a few photos, and then maybe write an article a month in the future if I feel like it.
A lot of "Examiners" are leaving Examiner. It's a shame, because there are some great writers, albeit not too many, on the site. However, the Pub Tool and the possibility of NO PAYMENT should make everyone think before writing for Examiner unless their articles garner lots of $ and readership. Mine are specialized: New England Landmarks (listed under Travel) and Cooking, which competes with 5000 other cooking titles, so I don't get the numbers that some other writers do.
This is for people who are thinking of joining Examiner or who already are Examiners and haven't read the fine print. Caveat emptor -- buyer beware -- because you might not be paid, and you might just get paid LESS than a penny a click IF you get paid. Good luck to Examiner in its new form. It's going to need it.

Tomorrow: What's up with Textbroker?