I met Alice Rene through a blogging group and immediately feel in love with her writing style. She recently offered to write about how she became a writer and what advice she might offer others. Please enjoy her article below and feel free to ask her any questions through the comment section. Also visit her site to learn more about her and her book: http://www.alicerene.com

Why Write?
By Alice Rene

I wasn’t a writer for most of my life. There was a fleeting moment when the subject did come up. It was when I was about nine years old and I’d written an autobiography for my fourth grade class, an assignment the teacher had given in order to get to know us better. There had been so much drama in my life already that the teacher not only gave me an A, but also told me to write a book. I agreed with her and then promptly forgot the whole thing … until my grandson interviewed me for an assignment he had in his high school history class. It was the birth of Becoming Alice, A Memoir.

I am still writing … this blog, other stories, emails, messages on birthday cards; the list goes on and on. Writing is fun! Sometimes I’m at a cocktail party and someone tells a story about themselves or something that happened that is so unusual, so dramatic, so interesting that I say, “You could write a book about that.” My remark will often get a laugh, as if I’d told them to climb Mt. Everest. That isn’t so. Writing isn’t hard at all. I once read a book entitled If You Can Talk, You Can Write. It’s true.

The first thing you must do is to not worry about saying it right. There is no such thing as right and wrong in writing. Most people don’t speak in perfect grammar. And even when you write dialogue and someone is speaking, you can write it as it sounds, misspelling the words terribly. How often have you seen a quote where someone says, “Wanna have lunch?” or, “Gotta go.” or “You betcha.” In my opinion, it loses its character when you write, “Want to have lunch?” or, “Got to go.” Or, “You bet, you.” I’ve just read a wonderful book, The Help, in which most of the dialogue was written in the southern drawl of African-American women who were the household help of well-to-do white folks. If spelling really bothers you, you can always get a dictionary.

Don’t know what to write about? One of my favorite things to do is to go to old photo albums and look at pictures of your family, your friends, or even yourself, which were taken long ago. Doesn’t it bring back memories? Write about them. Or, go to a cocktail party. But write. It’s fun.

Alice Rene was born in Vienna, Austria and grew up in Portland, Oregon. She went to college in California and earned a master’s degree in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley. She’s worked as a medical social worker, travel consultant escorting groups to exotic foreign destinations, and in recent years, as a writer. Married with three children, she lives in southern California with her husband and Golden Retriever. Becoming Alice, A Memoir is her first major work.

As a blogger and entrepreneur I use stock photography a lot. I admire the photographers who capture these images for us to use.

Brian Meeks is a fellow networker on Linkedin.com.  He and I belong to several groups and have chatted back and forth a lot.  I enjoy his writing and admire his photography, so I asked him to share some tips about becoming a stock photographer for my blog.

Brian Meeks On Stock Photography

 It is not unusual for my blog pieces to consist of strings of silliness, bound together in a tight wrapping of the absurd, to create a tidy package of blog drivel. Today I hope to break out of my pattern of compulsive rambler and provide something that may be helpful. Each day I like to include images and on occasion I have talked about my experiences in taking ‘Stock Photos’, and how it has helped me to improve my skills. This post is one that has been bouncing around in my addled brain for some time. I hope it is interesting and helpful.

One of the fastest growing and most exciting areas of photography is the royalty free market. A royalty free stock photo is one that can be purchased, granting the buyer a limited one time use of the image. The photographer retains the copyright and though they don’t earn much per image, but they are able to sell it over and over again. Sounds easy right?

The truth of the matter is that the photos submitted to stock sites are put through a rigorous review process. The image must be technically sound. It isn’t good enough to have a beautiful picture. This article is about how one joins a stock site, some tips to help one get accepted, and why it is such fun.

I like to start with the fun stuff. I like fun, and cookies. Working on building an online stock portfolio improves one’s technical skills. I think most people enjoy improving at their craft, I know that I do. The next best part is the external validation. I was filling up my car with gas two summers ago and there was a hose lying on the ground. It had the tiniest pin hole in it. Water was spraying out and it looked interesting. I took my camera out and got two pictures. The fun came when I had my first sale of ‘Leaking Hose’. I made 25 cents, and one would have thought I had won the lottery. I was giddy. Now two years later, I still feel good every time it sells, and it has sold, numerous times.

Ok, so on to the tips.

1) The larger the photo the better. Prices increase with the size of the image, at most sites. Some people will want really large images, and those that have only the minimum size allowed will be left out.

2) Don’t upsize your image. The inspectors are very clever and they will reject it immediately. Most people aren’t even aware of how easy it is to take a small image and expand it in Photoshop. The problem is that when you do this, the computer is helping to fill in the gaps. It may not be apparent to you that the images have changed, or that it now has little imperfections, but it does. These imperfections will make the image useless to most publishers, and that is why you should never make your 1600 x 1200 image 2400 x 1800.

3) Learn and understand the sites rule with regard to copyright. If the image has a person who is identifiable, or a child of any sort, you will need a model release. The model releases can be downloaded from the site. If there are any copyrighted images within your shot, they must be edited out. This could be a logo on a pair of jeans, a sign above a restaurant way off in the background, or even building that is famous. The Eiffel Tower can be photographed during the day, but all the night photos, with the lights on are copyright protected. Any of Frank Gehry’s buildings are off limits. Don’t even think about using the Opera House in Sydney. And lastly, most all makes of car and all cruise ships, if they are the main subject, are not allowed by most places.

In the hotel photo, which has sold very well, I created my own art in Photoshop CS 3 and replaced the art on the wall in the room. It may seem that was being overly cautious, but the people who review photos will likely have rejected the image, had I not taken this step.

4) Learn to use Photoshop CS 2, 3, 4 or 5, or something similar. Stock photography is about creating images that are saleable, not about capturing ‘truth’ as one would do in journalism. On average I spend between 30 minutes and 3 hours working on a single image.

5) Shoot in Raw! This is worth repeating. Shoot in Raw! Raw gives one the most flexibility with regards to adjusting the white balance and getting the highest quality images possible. If you haven’t opened your manual in a while, give it a go, and look up raw. This setting takes a ton of memory for each shot, but it also captures the most information too. This means that if you look at the photo and decide it is overexposed, you can correct it. There are literally hundreds of adjustments one can make, because they shot in raw. Obviously it is best to get your settings correct when you take the picture, but sometimes, a picture is better with setting you wouldn’t have thought of, and by having the image in raw, you gain flexibility. The best part about raw is the ability to correct white balance. White balance is the adjusting for artificial light, or evening light, or morning light, so that the images appears the way your eye saw it. The point is this, shoot in raw, you will thank me later.

6) Learn to shoot images isolated on white. This gives your customers a good deal of flexibility; they can use the image in combination with their own designs.

Lastly where do you find the stock sites? A few of my favorites are www.istockphoto.com, www.shutterstock.com, and www.fotolia.com.

Stock photography is a bit different from artistic photography. Check out the forums on the sites and find discussion about the types of images that are selling well. Flowers may be beautiful, but there are lots of people with pictures of tulips, a leaky hose may sell better.

Brian Meeks has been a stock photographer since Jan 2008. He can be found as Ecocandle on www.istockphoto.com and others. His blog, http://extremelyaverage.com, updated daily, focuses on his journey into the world of woodworking and most days he includes photos. His writing style is, some would say, an acquired taste, as he often leans towards the silly and obscure. His second blog, which isn’t updated daily is at http://socialmingler.blogspot.com/ and deals with issues that people face when beginning to dip their virtual toes into social media platforms like twitter. He is chronicling the teaching of a student and his sister to use social media.

Image by striatic via Flickr

I love ghostwriting.  It is very rewarding to help someone put their thoughts and ideas into a story, which communicates to their readers.

People often ask me about ghostwriting: what is involved, can you ghostwrite non-fiction, how much do you get paid and do you ever get a writing credit?  The answer is, each scenario is different and each client has different needs.

Most clients will not give you a writing credit, but some will.  Some actually want your name next to theirs and they like the idea that you’ll help sell copies when the book is published (because you have a stake in the sales).

You do give up all rights to the story when you ghostwrite.  That is difficult for many writers to accept.  Personally, I don’t mind.  There are tons of stories to write and I just enjoy writing.

A ghostwriter should be paid upfront.  I would strongly suggest that writers never accept a percentage of the royalties as a sole method of payment.  Many potential clients will offer this as compensation, but honestly they will probably not be happy in the end. 

On the whole, writers who accept this do so because they don’t realize what is involved in writing a book.  They don’t understand the research required and the hours it takes to create a story. 

Once they start hitting snags and realize that they need to pay this month’s mortgage, they will drop the project.  It is better to pay an experienced writer a fair price than it is to bargain hunt.

As a ghostwriter I write fiction and non fiction.  Both are in high demand.  And both are equally rewarding.

If you are a new writer, who is interested in ghostwriting, the first step is to let people know that you’re available to writer for them.  Tell your friends and family and any networking connections.  Post it on your status line on Linkedin or Facebook.

If you are new to the industry, maybe pair up with an experienced writer and split the commission.  Allow them to guide and mentor you, while you try out your writer wings.  Enjoy the process!

If you are on Linkedin, please vote for your favorite six word story!  I hosted a writing contest on Write On, Networkers! (WON) and we have a 5 way tie.  I need your help in determining a winner!

Go to this link: http://polls.linkedin.com/p/84075/ydzuu

I’ll close the poll in a day or two, so try to pop in soon!

Thanks!

Image by TomStardust via Flickr

As I explore haiku I realize that the 5-7-5 syllable structure is not necessary.  Although that is the most widely known form of Haiku, it isn’t the only option.

Escaping the confines of the 5-7-5 structure, I wrote these haiku:

sand shapes
always shifting
filling in footprints

untouched rainforest
tent staked to ground
touched

lizard’s heart beats fast
tailless he watches
his tail twitch

My friend Ofra Friedman is an amazing sculptor.  She uses a unique medium of wire mesh to create a feeling of freedom and lightness in her work.  Recently she got the opportunity to curate a museum art exhibit, which had been a long term goal for her.  I asked her to write a piece for my blog.

The two pictures featured below show two of her sculptures. Please visit www.thesculptor.org to learn more about Ofra and her work.

Earth Visions Exhibition 
by Ofra Friedman

As a sculptor, showing my art in various exhibitions has been a very successful promotional tool for me.  The best art platforms are museums.

In the past I took part in curating gallery exhibitions, and had plans to organize a juried show, featuring many artists’ talents. I am very glad today of the opportunity to accomplish this goal by curating an art exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry Arc gallery, and promote many artists.

I invite all artists to submit images of their art for the thematic exhibition at MOSI.  My goal is to feature as many artists as possible, presenting diverse and high quality contemporary works of art.

The EarthVisions theme is about producing a vivid mental image from imagination.  It could be a future goal or aspiration.  It might include a person or item of extraordinary beauty. Any of these concepts can be explored as they relate to Earth.

This theme was chosen in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day 2010.  Many types of art media will be featured (including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video art).

MOSI is the winner of the 2009 National Medal for Museums by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s highest honor for museums.  I am honored to be a part of this project!