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Courses >
Writing & Publishing > Introduction to Internet Writing Markets
 You may have heard that every day, another traditional writing market disappears. Don’t let that discourage you from writing! Instead, discover the thousands of lucrative publishing opportunities that await you on the Internet if you understand Internet marketing. Whether you’re just taking your first steps toward that dream of getting published, or you have a dozen books to your credit, this course will show you how you can start earning income on the Web right away. You’ll learn how to make the Internet work for you from a writer who has spent years exploring its potential. You'll find out how to sell e-zine articles, write for Webzines and online magazines, create a blog, sell manuscripts to an e-publisher, and self-publish your own work as an e-book or a traditional book using print-on-demand (POD) publishing.
You'll also find out about the unlimited opportunities to make income from your writing through advertising revenue. You can achieve that either by adding advertising to your own Web content or by letting a revenue-sharing site take care of the technical details for you. We'll explore both options. Then you'll learn how to query and submit your writing electronically, how to understand electronic submission guidelines and online contracts, and all about the future of Web writing.
So, get ready to publish whatever you want, whenever you want, and make good money in the process!
This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Linda Aksomitis.
 Linda Aksomitis has a master's degree in adult vocational/technical education, with a minor in English. She has published 19 books for readers of all ages (fiction and nonfiction) including five e-books, and she has more than 1,000 publications in newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet. She's been an acquisitions editor for an e-publisher, Webmaster of half a dozen Web sites, and is currently the managing editor and Webmaster for an Internet magazine. Linda traces all of her publishing success to the Internet and the contacts she's made in cyberspace.
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
The Internet grows every day, and so do your opportunities to publish on it. In this lesson, we'll begin by exploring Internet publications. Digital information archivists have identified not only the characteristics of Internet publications, but also three specific types: Web magazines, Webzines, and E-Journals. By the time you've finished this lesson, you'll not only understand how these three differ, but you'll also know which type of publication best suits what you want to write. And to make sure you have all the tools you need to begin publishing on the Internet, you'll have the chance to learn about querying by e-mail and to read some of my electronic queries that have landed assignments.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
In this lesson, you'll learn what makes e-zines, or electronic magazines, different from the Internet publications we talked about in Lesson 1. You'll find out the history of the zine and how it evolved to become the e-zine, We'll look at the kind of content you can expect to sell to an e-zine. Of course, you'll get some of my best e-zine writing tips, too! You'll also see how to prepare and submit content electronically after an editor asks to see your work.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
You can probably name dozens of businesses that have Web sites. Some use them as online business cards or brochures, while others use them to sell directly to customers. Today, you'll learn how to write content for all these types of sites. When you write for a business, you're likely to have a payment agreement in which the business owns the copyright to the content, not you. After this lesson, you'll understand the various ways you can license or sell your writing.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
The majority of Web sites you find when you're surfing aren't Web publications, e-zines, or business sites. Instead, they're content-focused Web sites. From your own experiences reading online content, you know that some content or information sites are easier to read and navigate than others. In this lesson, you'll learn how to write content that will capture the attention of the average online reader, who stays just 45 seconds on a Web page. That's right—you have only 45 seconds to draw your reader in, and today you'll discover some key writing techniques to help you do that! We'll also cover the key contract points to look at when you're selling your writing to an Internet market.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
In this lesson, you'll learn the deepest, darkest secret of the Internet—how Web sites make it into the top 50 listings with search engines. Your writing style has a big impact on search engine ranking, so we'll go step-by-step through how to improve the focus and keyword density in the content you create. Even the way you organize your content makes a difference, and after this lesson, you'll know various strategies to make you an effective Web writer. You'll also find out how to make your Webmaster's job easier by paying attention to the keywords and headers that search engines notice.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
Did you know that 70% of Web surfers say they read at least one blog every week? That's a big opportunity to have your work read! In this lesson, we'll explore how writers are using blogs—some to make their big publishing breaks. In fact, one previously unknown writer landed a $300,000 book deal after just three months of blogging! You're going to meet some expert bloggers who are handing out blog awards and analyzing what makes a blog successful. Then, we'll take a tour of your options for getting started blogging.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
Maybe you're interested in writing about a niche area. If so, then publishing your own Webzine could be the best direction for you. I've gone that route myself a few times! Today, you'll discover exactly what it requires to self-publish a content site on the Internet. You'll learn about Web hosting, selecting domain names, Web publishing software (some of it's even free), using images, and registering your Webzine copyright. Even if you're not planning to publish a Webzine, you'll find the information useful when it comes to creating a personal Web site or writing content for a start-up business.
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
This lesson is a student favorite. Who wouldn't want to know dozens of ways to earn money from their own Web content? You've already learned about blogging and starting your own Webzine—now you'll learn how to turn blogs and Webzines into profitable writing opportunities. Take all that content you have archived on your computer and turn it into revenue-generating online content just by signing up with the programs of your choice and adding computer code to your Web pages.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
Now that we've started talking about ways to earn money with your writing beyond simply selling it, today we'll look at publishers who share revenue rather than buy your work outright. Revenue-sharing sites let you upload and publish everything you write rather than go through the process of querying and waiting for an editor to accept your work. They're the fastest and easiest route to publication and to making money from it. We'll also talk about e-book publishers who share revenue with royalties, or a specified amount of what they receive for each of your books that they sell. Get ready to find out all about e-publishers and e-book contracts.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
In this lesson, you'll find out what kinds of writing sell well on the Internet and how to decide if self-publishing is for you. We'll also take a whirlwind tour of the latest trend for self-publishers: print-on-demand, or POD. With POD, you can turn your e-book into a traditional print book with little to no investment beyond printing costs!
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
Today, we'll look at Web 2.0, the intelligent Web, and see it in action. From blogging, to wikis, to open source licensing, Web 2.0 is all about putting publishing power in the hands of the creators. We're going to explore neat developments such as folksonomy and services like Flickr and del.icio.us, and you'll see how these tools can help you promote your writing. You'll also get some tips about writing for Web 2.0 publishing opportunities—tips that get you ready for the marketplace.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
In addition to being the intelligent Web, there's another aspect of Web 2.0—it's the participatory Web. You'll be headed into the future with this lesson as we explore social networking and how it has changed the way that we interact. We'll also talk about how you can incorporate multimedia in your Internet writing. Finally, we'll lift the curtain to see what Web 3.0 has in store. Imagine a virtual reality replica of the real world, along with some imaginary ones, where you interact with your own avatar. It's here now, just waiting for you to discover it!
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To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Student Reviews:
"Excellent course taught by a very experienced and dedicated writer. She covered a tremendous amount of territory over a short time span and provided a wealth of useful and practical information. The instructor was very responsive to student questions and also communicated enthusiasm about the subject matter which gave me a lot of motivation."
"I have taken several online courses and this was by far the best one yet. I would recommend this course to anyone considering a writing career."
"Linda brought a lot of her own experience about writing for internet markets and shared it with her students! Long after this class is over, I will be exploring, in depth, the various links she gave us for both the assignments and supplementary material. So much information!!!"
"Linda is an excellent instructor. Her lessons, supplementary materials, and discussions supplied lots of valuable information and resources. She is exceptionally attentive to the student discussions and continuously feeds the students additional information on markets and other related matters as she comes across them. I highly recommend this course."
"Linda, this is a great class. You've succeeded in clearing some of the fog. I'm walking away with a lot of helpful info and experience, which will surely benefit me in pursuing my goals in writing. Thank you."
"Thank you for offering this course. I have learned a great deal and look forward to using all of the resources you gave us."
"Thank you so much for this course. It gave me so many resources to help me with my book. The lessons were great and the instructor was very helpful at answering all of my questions!"
"This course provided valuable information about writing for the Internet. Everyone that writes should take this course. You will be amazed at what is happening in cyberspace. This course opened up a whole new world and market for my writing. Excellent course. The supplemental materials are excellent. Most have been bookmarked for further study and use. Thanks for a great course."
"This is a fantastic course as a starting point for beginners and a wealth of information for anyone interested in internet writing. Actually, I learned a great deal about the internet itself! Thank you very much, Linda."
"This was my first online course. I liked the course and the tools for reading the lessons, commenting and taking the quizzes. I thought it was a very good job by the instructor."
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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