Writers Bloc India (the group) has been a bit sluggish since my move to the UK. The group and the blog will be active once I get a chance to revive it again.

Till then, hop over to the other blog and let me know if you have any comments.

C Hope Clark has 3 free newsletters (http://www.fundsforwriters.com) which I would highly recommend as they contain some great paying markets and her editorials always make you want to stop procrastinating and get back to writing.

The TOTAL funds for writers newsletter is a paid-for one, normally available at $12. Hope’s offering it at 1/2 price for $6 (£3.50) upto Dec 31, 2007. If you are looking for high paying markets and can afford this expense, it may be a good investment. Here’s the page to sign up: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/total.html

I (as mentioned before on this blog) recommend Hope’s newsletters for their wit, inspiration and motivation. And oh yes, the markets she digs up. I’ve subscribed to the Total Funds newsletter. Fingers crossed for all the new markets that I hope it will bring!

Read it and then take action. Do something for your health today.

All that changes today (where have I heard that before?!) The latest Funds for Writers newsletter brought me back to earth with Hope’s usual kick-in-the-butt editorial.

Hope talks about tackling procrastination by breaking things into smaller goals. Now, this is an old tip, but it needs an occasional reminder (and a forceful one such as this editorial really works) to put it into action.

From Hope’s editorial, here’s the challenge :

List what you expect to write by the end of the week.
List what you expect to submit by the end of the month.
List your goal for the end of the year.

That’s what I’m going to do right now. Disconnect the Internet, work out the first drafts of two articles due soon and tackle point 1, 2 and 3 on the To-do list.

As Hope, in her straightforward way says “Put your finger on what you want to do as a writer. If you don’t, nobody else will.”

Okay. Message received. Time to go to work.

That’s me. What’s stopping you?

If you have any questions on writing which I could include in the newsletter, please email me or leave a comment.

I love deadlines. That is the one thing that gets me writing – no two ways about it. Writer’s block, procrastination, doing the dishes…everything fades into insignificance at the thought of letting down an editor who is counting on an email due in her inbox with my words. What could be more important for a writer?

Having just submitted an article to deadline, I’ve begun working on two others. Then there’s the blog at Reading and Writing Lounge to update, and this one, and the personal blog. I’ve got two pages of Writing related ‘To-do’ lists to go through. And I’m loving every moment of it.

If you’re a writer, take a look at my posts on the Reading and Writing Lounge Blog : Essential reading for Writers, Finding writing markets online and Keeping a Reading Journal.

Any comments and suggestions for future posts are highly welcome.

As thousands of struggling newbies across the planet will tell you, becoming a freelance writer is not easy. It’s one of the most difficult things you could do. Writing your article, essay, story or poem is just one aspect of the job. Getting an editor to read it, publish it and pay you for your words is what makes it challenging.

Editors receive hundreds of proposals for their publications. How do you make it through that pile?

Here are some tips to help you make that first sale:

Read the entire post here.

Read the rest here