Saturday, August 18, 2007

Are Article Directories Worth Your Time?


The answer is Yes!


Especially for the beginning writer. Where else can a novice go to publish their words? There is a line in a song sung by Jerry Lee Lewis that says (loosely translated) “I keep giving my music to the man, he doesn’t know that I would sing to him for free” and many times when I am walking my trail and listening to my favorite walking songs, this one in particular inspires me because I feel the same passion about my writing that Jerry Lee felt when he sang about giving his talent away.


Well, “the man” does know we will write for free in the beginning and that is why there are article directories like Ezine Article Directory available. I do understand that some article directories will pay and also there are some that get more exposure than others. There is always a need for good content and article directories are one place to look for it.

Since I have been having conversations with the group of authors who are participating in the LKarticlechallenge, my learning curve is growing. Chris Smith of TecknoCoach graciously compiled a list of article directories in order of their ranking. What a great resource this is for writers who are looking to get their name out there. You can view it here.

Yet, there is an element of danger in submitting your writing for free to article directories. Plagiarism! Even though the instructions are quite clear that an author’s resource box must be included with any article that is published by someone else on another site or blog, this does not mean it will not happen. We all know that in the real world, unethical people are waiting around the corner to steal from you.

I took the risk and began submitting articles to Ezine. It was a daunting step for me because of the unfamiliarity I have with article submissions. As in my post about Pulverizing Procrastination by Andrew Grant taking the first bite of the elephant is the most important step of pulverizing the beast. I encourage you to read Andrew Grant’s seven tips to pulverize procrastination again and move forward with your writing.

Also I have two articles that have been accepted to Ezine thus far. You can click here for #1 and click here for #2. I would love to hear your comments. Your input is important to me.

Write it down,
Carma