Jen's Writing Journey

Welcome to the new home of Jen's Writing Journey, the blog that chronicles Jennifer Roland's writing life and provides useful information for new and seasoned writers.

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Two interesting blog posts this week address the concept of monetary compensation for writers.

No Money…Are You Really a Writer?
Rebecca starts a series on what makes you a writer. Is monetary compensation your measure of success? Or is it a story well crafted?

Writers, Let’s Join Together on Payment
Kristine Meldrum Denholm provides a bit of a counterpoint in her call for writers to quit taking crappy low-paying writing jobs.

What is your take on payment? Do you take a different approach to fiction and nonfiction projects? How do you decide when a low-paying project is worth it?

• Short Stories Can Improve Your Writing Skill Finally! Here is a tidbit I picked up from the Willamette Writers Conference. A few months back, I questioned whether writers can work on short and long pieces at the same time. Published writer Eric Witchey says not only can you, but you should. Witchey offered some great ideas in......
• Self-Reflection If I learned one thing in my days working on ed tech research journals, it was this: self-reflection is a key component of your ongoing development as a professional in your chosen field.So, I have decided to chronicle the things I'm doing and the lessons I'm learning as I grow......
• Are You Earning What You Are Worth? This Friday is Writers Worth Day, a celebration of the importance of placing an appropriate value on the work you do. The annual event was created by writer Lori Widmer, and she gives the background and details on her blog. It seems easy to value freelance work--you charge by the......
• Writing Roundup, April 24 Better late than never, here are the items and tidbits that I hope will spur you to a great weekend of writing. The Business of Writing Writing Conference Success Mary Andonian gives tips for Writer Mamas (and Writer Non-mamas) to be successful at a writing conference. As someone who is......
• Writing Roundup, August 21 We've got a lot of interesting news posts this week in addition to the regular blog suspects. The Business of Writing The Limits of Control This article from the American Journalism Review provides a good synopsis of the ethics policies and guidelines major newspapers are asking their reporters to follow......

• Credit Card Bill of Rights Passes [/caption]I've always regarded credit cards the same way I do red wine. Moderate use has been shown to be beneficial - wine with it antioxidant...
• The Cost of Cash Ever wondered what behavioral finance is?  This is a great example: As I signed the check to my most recent car payment, I noticed the...
• Biweekly Mortgage Payments Money Saving Tip If you decide that paying off your mortgage early is right for you, you may want to consider biweekly mortgage payments. Biweekly mortgage payments let...
• Blogging for Money Guide Blogging for money is quickly becoming one of the more popular reasons for why people blog. Setting up a blog is relatively easy and straight...
• Running through payback time on a mortgage refinance Five Cent Nickel posted on how to calculate the payback period for a potential mortgage refinance.  It's indeed important to figure this out before paying...