We or Us? Pick the Right One. Please.

"I think on the whole us creative types take rejection very personally."
"Us girls shared a bowl of butternut squash soup...."

Those are both quotes taken from professional writers, one from an author's blog and the other from a newspaper article. Detect a problem? I see this grammar mistake made quite a bit by non-English majors, but by professional writers?

I'm not getting high and mighty, but seriously, us is in the objective case, and we is in the subjective case.

The sentences should read, "I think on the whole WE creative types..." and "WE girls shared a bowl...."

If objective case and subjective case is too grammar-speak for you, then employ the following test the next time you're not sure which pronoun to use. Simply remove the subject the pronoun is emphasizing and then say the sentence out loud.

For example, say, "I think on the whole us ... take rejection very personally." Or, "Us ... shared a bowl...." Does that sound right? Of course, it sounds much more sensible to say, "I think on the whole we ... take rejection very personally," or "We ... shared a bowl."

Moral of the story? It's one thing for the average person to confuse the pronouns, we and us, but even then if people would actually say the words out loud and think about it, most folks should be able to figure it out. But for professional writers to mix this up and copy editors to miss it? Come on, my fellow authors, us can and must do better!

How to Succeed at Blogging

As a new blogger, I've found that blogging itself is unbelievably simple. Yet to do it well, attract regular readers, and maybe make some money while I'm at it, there's an exhaustive learning curve. I'm trying to learn what I can from experienced, highly-trafficked bloggers, but every "increase your traffic" article I read comes with links upon links of even more advice. I don't feel like constantly reading and reading very similar items. Really, if you have plans to do this well, as I do, you do a little research and, unless you're delusional (which might be a helpful attribute at first, just to get you to plunge in), you'll consider hanging it up and heading to the nearest bar.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon Blog Herald, which says it "was the first blog dedicated exclusively to the news of the blogosphere and remains the longest (and largest) standing resource of its kind." It's got a lot of helpful articles by long-time bloggers as well as up-to-date news pertaining to blogging--its sheer volume of info almost overwhelmed me, but I found two excellent articles that crystallized some things for me.

Lorelle VanFossen has a great article on getting noticed, in particular, how to encourage other bloggers to link to your site. Her article offers some real stand-out points that offer a guiding ethos. Some quotes that jumped out at me:

In order to make a blogger link to your blog, it must:

• Provide value
• Provide insight
• Teach
• Tell them something worth sharing with your readers
• Makes them think, sit up and GET the point
  

And:

In order to remain a consistently linkable blog and blogger, you have to back it up with a continual flow of quality content and integrity of content. In other words, don’t give up. Keep blogging.

This means you better throughly enjoy your blogging subject matter because you may be blogging on the topic for a long time.

Lorelle doesn't seem too big on "spreading the word," as she calls it, by emailing other bloggers or requesting links or doing a lot of online social networking.

Rather, she prefers "the natural effort that comes from writing the best content possible, putting all my energy into meeting the needs of my readers with quality information and resources, and they help me by spreading the word organically."

Chris Garrett's article, Are You Rushing Your Blog? reminds us to be patient and keep things in healthy perspective.

Time is an often overlooked ingredient but it is critical....If you are not seeing the progress you would like, focus on building your content and getting to know fellow bloggers through commenting, linking out and networking. Stick at it, it’s a marathon not a sprint :)

Conclusion? While it is valuable to do some things to get your blog's name and address out there--you do have to promote or few people will likely ever find your blog--the two most helpful things I take away from my research so far is:

1. Write about what truly interests you: this will keep you motivated to write regardless of how many readers you have and your passion will come through, which will enhance your writing and be more likely to connect with readers.
2. Remember, (and I hate to use cliches--it's usually very unvigorous writing to do so) the cream does rise to the top. That is, if you're truly good, eventually you will have plenty of readers.

So, blog about things you enjoy thinking and writing about, and if you're any good, you will get noticed. Good things to keep in mind as we take our shot at "this blogging thing."

Making Money from Blogging

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has a great post from a while back about the basic finances of blogging. Will you get rich right away? No. In fact, blogging is writing, and we all know that's not the way to fast wealth.

J.D.'s post Coping with Unemployment: Blogging is NOT the Answer will set you straight if you have any delusions about just chilling behind your computer and posting away instead of hustling for a job.

My favorite quote in the post:

Do not start a blog expecting it to pay your bills. Blogging can be an excellent way to make money from a hobby, a way to earn supplementary income. But blogging will not make you rich.

In a related post, More Money: 5 Ways to Earn Extra Cash in Your Spare Time, J.D. says,

"Wait. Didn’t I just write that blogging is no way to get rich quick? Absolutely. But blogging can be a way to supplement your income. If you have a subject that you’re passionate about, and if you like to write, a blog can let you earn extra money from your expertise."

Keep that in mind and you just might enjoy your blog more.

Improve Your Writing in 20 Minutes

Joshua Sowin at Fire and Knowledge has an excellent, brief yet thorough guide to improving your writing. He includes some great quotes from revered authors. One each from George Orwell and C.S. Lewis:

Never use a long word where a short one will do.--Orwell

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.--Lewis

Sowin also has this to say about your interview notes, with support from William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well:

After the interview, distill the essence of the interview. Single out sentences that are most important or colorful. Present his position accurately, even if that means putting two quotes together that were not together in the interview:

“If you find on page 5 of your notes a comment that perfectly amplifies a point on page 2—a point made earlier in the interview—you will do everyone a favor if you link the two thoughts, letting the second sentence follow and illustrate the first. This may violate the truth of how the interview actually progressed, but you will be true to the intent of what was said.”--Zinsser

When I first started writing for publication, I did this instinctively, and it certainly enhanced the flow of my writing and better emphasized the speaker's thoughts. Lately, I've shied away a little from that, tending to simply use quotes in the order they were given. It's a bit of a dilemma--do you present what the speaker said in the exact order he said it, risking some clarity and emphasis in the process, or do you join quotes that were given at different times if the combined quotes better express the speaker's ideas?

Presidential Candidates' Book Titles

This article from the Arizona Daily Star looks at the books "written" by most of the presidential candidates for 2008.

On top of all the stump speeches, debates, hand shaking, baby kissing and "I have approved this message" messages, there's a new requirement for 2008 presidential hopefuls — they must be book authors or editors.

I expect most of these books are pretty similar, just campaign advertisements in book form--not interesting. What is interesting though, is a look at the titles each candidate chose for
his or her book.

The best:

• John Edwards: Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream
• John McCain: Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them
• Tom Tancredo: Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security

The worst:

• Chris Dodd: Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Narrative of a Quest for Justice
• Mike Gravel: My America
• Joe Biden: Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

The best titles give a clear idea right away of what the book is about: ending poverty, hard decisions made by great people, America is in mortal danger! Well, we all want to end poverty, learn how to make hard decisions, and if America's in danger, we want to win that battle.

But Dodd's father wrote letters while on a quest, Gravel has his own America, and Biden keeps his promises? I'm not motivated to read yet.

$125 an Hour? For a Writer? Peter Bowerman Says Yes.

While traditional journalism might not pay that well, and traditional journalistic outlets are regularly eliminating jobs, copy writing in general, and freelance commercial copy writing in particular, may offer better opportunities and better pay. Peter Bowerman, author of the Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less, says:

"Rates for corporate freelancers range from $50-125+/hour....For those starting out, once you've built up a decent starter portfolio (or "book"), making $30-40K just isn't that difficult. Get reasonably aggressive about getting the word out and you should start getting into the $50-70K range. Build a good reputation, start getting a lot of referrals and who knows? A healthy number of writers in this business gross $100K annually."

Read the whole thing.

How Much Do Writers Make?

According to the latest figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor, "Median annual earnings for salaried writers and authors were $44,350 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $31,720 and $62,930. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,330, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $91,260."

So, no, that English degree is probably not going to make you wealthy. It might get you a decent lower-middle class wage. It might even make you poor. But you don't write for the money anyway, right?

I've Moved--Please Read

My new blog is Robust Writing, at robustwriting.com/blog

Sign up for the new feed at:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobustWriting

Thomas Sowell's Thoughts on Writing

Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and author of many political and economic books, including Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy and Black Rednecks and White Liberals, wrote an essay several years ago about his experience as a writer. He tells of his time starting out, discusses his relationships with editors, and gives some advice to would-be professional writers.

George Will Dismisses Blogging

"It’s about narcissism, which is why a mirror is absolutely perfect. So much of what is done on the web is people getting on there and writing their diaries as though everyone ought to care about everyone’s inner turmoils. I mean it’s extraordinary."

Will was referring to Time magazine's person of the year in 2006--You--and their cover with a little mirror affixed to it.

I love Will's columns. He's one of my favorite writers and thinkers...maybe I should hang this blog up after one post. We'll see.