Maybe you already know about websites where you can publish your articles and stories. I didn’t know about them until last year, when a friend introduced me to them. I’ll get right into it:

GET PAID:

You can set up to get paid for your writing in various ways. I started writing stories, essays and articles in January 2023. It’s now January 2024, and I have published around 120 articles and stories now — I make a small amount each month from medium.com and substack.com.

Want to read one of my most popular stories? Go here:
angelatreatlyon.com/how-the-voice-of-dreaming-saved-my-life/
And a silly one: angelatreatlyon.com/silly-kitty/

After you have written and published for a while, you get a feel for what your readers like and want more of, so you can start to make money from your writing. My readers seem to appreciate both deep personal stories and silly, fun ones.

I also illustrate every one of my posts with my own artwork. You can get great images at unsplash.com — and you can google free, copyright-free images — there are gobs of them. Make sure to attribute each image!

MEDIUM.com:

Medium is one of the easiest places to start if you’re just beginning to publish your writing. I signed up for medium first, and wrote like a maniac. Go here: medium.com

You set up a page there that’s kinda like a blog. And now, you’re a member of a writers community where hundreds of articles and stories get posted every day. The benefit of placing your writing there is that more folks get to see what you’ve written than on your own blog or social media.

And if you like reading as much as I do, you get to read to your little heart’s content. I make a point to spend at least an hour every day reading others’ articles. Why? Because I love to learn, and I learn something from almost every one I read.

Another reason is that when I comment on people’s posts, sometimes we have the most wonderful conversations I’d never have had if I wasn’t a member of Medium.

SUBSTACK.com:

I found substack.com, another popular site for writers, late last year. It’s a little more complex to set up, but it seems to have more pay-potential than medium. You also have a list to send emails to.

I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to use it, but I have stories there, too. So far I have one paying subscriber! Don’t laugh — at five bucks a month it adds up once you get more subscribers.

You can visit my substack here if you’d like:
lyonlyon.substack.com/

HOW-TO ARTICLES

Look up a gal named Christina God (yes, really, God) — she writes how-to articles about using medium and substack that will help you tremendously. She also makes great YouTube how-to videos.

WRITING for PURPOSE:

So — why do you write?

I don’t write to “get” followers or readers or even subscribers. I write because I have things to say and want a lot of people to read my stories.

If you’d like to do that, too, read this article by Zulie Rane, one of the top writers on substack. There are many good websites on which to publish, but she starts you off with a basic four.

zuliewrites.com/blog/4-realistic-sites-for-beginners-to-get-paid-to-write-articles

She says, “… By the end of this article, you’ll have four 100% real websites that will let you get paid to write articles….”

Her list of websites will help you get paid to write articles — it may be only a little at first, but you will build profitable skills and experience.

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ENERGY

Something I use every day — it’s made a world of difference in my energy levels. It’s truly like jet fuel without the caffeine kick: Trace Minerals!

40,000 Volts Liquid Electrolyte Concentrate
Supports hydration, muscle stamina and energy! I like it because it supplies the minerals I most need, especially magnesium, which has eradicated my leg cramps.

Get it here (my aff link): amzn.to/3viEMpe

NOTE: It tastes terrible. Don’t be expecting one of those overly-sickly-sweet multi-vitamin things. This stuff is nasty. But — if you only use 5 drops in an 8-oz cup, you’ll barely taste it. It is well worth it. I sip it throughout the day, consuming 20 drops in one day total.

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WRITING EVERY DAY?

Yes, I joined a group of folks who gathered every week day. They gathered and did a wee bit of social chat for 15 minutes, then spent three 20-minute stints of silent writing together. On Zoom.

It was fun, but my sleep schedule shifted and I couldn’t make the 8:00 am time slot. So I started writing by myself.

I do adhere to a certain hour, and I do write every day — but I don’t necessarily publish on Medium or Substack or my blog every day. When my writing time comes around, I sit down and no matter what, I write.

I make it a point never to schedule anything else during that time. It pays off — my writing has improved exponentially.

I had been putting out at least four or five stories/articles a week. Now I write and publish two or three stories in the same time frame.

QUALITY FIRST

Why did I reduce the number of articles per week?

Because I started getting feedback about typos and confused story lines, and more importantly, that, ‘You post too much, I can’t make time for all your stories, much as I love them.”

So I slowed down, and put more effort into the quality of the writing, rather than just hitting publish without editing each article or story more than a couple times.

Now I go through and edit, enhance, and improve each post as best I can at least five times at the minimum. It’s well worth it — the feedback now is more about how people love my inspiring stories, and gratifyingly, how well-written they are.

RESOURCES RESOURCES RESOURCES

When I first wrote this article, I had a few links I wanted to share for your interest. Now it’s been a few days, and I have found a crap-ton more.

I’m adding them below, but being kind of a freak for finding good things and sharing them, I’m going to add them to a resource page on my blog, where you can find them and bookmark the page, because some of them are evergreen and you’ll want to go back to them over and over.

So here they are, below, and here is the link to the page on this website you can bookmark: angelatreatlyon.com/goodies/

GREAT WRITING COURSES

Here are some excellent courses to find out more about being an outstanding writer: authorspublish.thinkific.com/collections

GET the BEST WRITING INFO

Hope Clark, a highly popular, incredibly prolific writer, has one of the best newsies I’ve seen, emphasizing finding money to make writing a realistic career. She features a ton of info and links to awards, contests, publishers, agents, competitions, residencies, grants, and places to submit your writing. fundsforwriters.com/

Make sure to go through her emails carefully — she really packs a wallop — they are long, and overflow with lots of great resources.

GET PAID TO WRITE!

You can google ‘get paid to write’ and up will come hundreds of links. Here are some of the best.

20 Fiction Magazines and Anthologies Paying $50 to $800
freedomwithwriting.com
freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/20-fiction-magazines-and-anthologies-paying-50-to-800/?2

These magazines/anthologies pay by the word, by the article, or by set amounts — some pay a lot. A few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. They are open now, or will open soon for submissions. Some deadlines are approaching quickly. Some of these calls are themed.

INSTAGRAM SUCCESS

How to make use of Instagram for more engagement: authorspublish.com/12-ways-authors-can-use-instagram-reels-to-increase-engagement/

40 MAGAZINES LOOKING FOR YOUR WORK

Remember that mags thrive on our writing — they couldn’t even function without writers! So don’t get all up into imposter syndrome or ‘why would anyone want to read my writing’ bullshit. Believe me, they want you to pitch them.

That said, be SURE to read each and every submission page for each and every publication you want to pitch! They are all different, and if you can’t adhere to their rules for pitching, they will reject your article out of hand before even reading it! Don’t risk that.

Find out how to WRITE, PITCH, GET PUBLISHED!

FUNNY, QUIRKY, IRREVERENT: amberpetty.com/classes

Amber Petty is bar none THE best teacher I have ever taken classes from, no matter the subject matter. She’s outrageously fun, joyful and relaxed, and really knows her stuff. I took one of her courses and loved it so much I signed up for more, plus her weekly pitching class.

She had me pitching one of my stories to a magazine in the 2nd week of the first class! I didn’t think I was ready, but tried it anyway — and got published in a small online magazine!

Not only that, but they asked for more — they have now published three of my stories! I’d still be stalling if it wasn’t for Amber.

Talk about over-deliver — she’s the Queen. She hands out lists of good places to pitch like candy — she’s amazing. And kind. Not one of those whip you until you work-or-die coaches. Even if you just be lazy and do the minimum of work she suggests, you can’t fail!

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A FEW PUBLICATIONS to PITCH

AARP — the Girlfriend
Best New Poets
Buzzfeed
Cleaver
Dorothy Parker’s Ashes
Fence
Huffington Post
Insider
Litbreak Magazine
McSweeney’s
Mental Floss
Meridian
SF Chronicle
Sleeping Bear Press
Southern Review
Sweet Lit
The Millions
The Muse
The New York Times

FIND PUBLICATIONS, GRANTS, CONTESTS, etc.

Be careful to read each call for writing carefully — some call for themed entries, some call for POC writers, some call for people only from one location or group, some call for poetry, others prose, or short flash fiction.

Deadlines — be sure to enter your application or pitch by the deadline!

Look out for entry fees! I’ve seen them range from 12 bucks all the way to 100! If you apply to a lot of them it can seriously drain your bank account.

Published/non-published — each place will tell you if it’s OK to apply to more than one place at once or not, or if it’s OK or not to have published on your blog or Medium or other online pubs.

Prizes and payments — each place has specific info about what you get paid. Some are small pubs that don’t pay, and some pay a lot. Some pay huge amounts if you win a contract, some include stipends and expenses paid — check them carefully.

Here is a very short list that will show you some of the variety you can find if you just start searching. There are so many places seeking your writing it can be overwhelming!

Short articles/stories:
fiveminutelit.com/
100words.com/
brevitymag.com/submissions/

Manuscripts and mags
authorspublish.com/22-manuscript-publishers-always-open-to-submissions/
authorspublish.com/40-magazines-publishing-literary-fiction/

Memoirs
authorspublish.com/23-memoir-publishers-open-to-direct-submissions/

New literary journals
authorspublish.com/nine-exciting-new-literary-journals-fall-2023/

Contests, grants and residencies
freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/32-contests-grants-and-residencies-for-writers-up-to-80000/

SAMPLE CALLS FOR WRITING:

TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION
chickenhousebooks.com/uncategorized/the-2024-times-chicken-house-childrens-fiction-competition-is-now-open/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 1, 2024. A worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a £10,000 advance (subject to contract) for a complete fiction manuscript of any genre for children aged 7 up to YA. The winner will also be offered representation by Lydia Silver of Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency.

THE GUARDIAN — the WHY I QUIT COLUMN
theguardian.com/commentisfree/series/why-i-quit
Writers, activists and celebrities talk about something they have swept from their lives, for the better — or worse.

CHICKEN SOUP: ANGELS AND MIRACLES
chickensoup.com
Deadline February 28, 2024. They are looking for ‘powerful, astounding stories that will make people say “wow” or give them chills.’ This book is for everyone, whether religious or non-religious. Limit 1,200 words. Pays $250 and 10 free copies of your book.

DO YOU FEEL ‘JUST’ ORDINARY?
writingcooperative.com/my-life-is-very-ordinary-but-it-still-sells-e75e0429d036
Don’t worry if your life is boring or unexceptional. There’s still a lot of story hiding in those everyday situations. Some might even change the world.

FICTION & ESSAY CONTEST
winningwriters.com/our-contests/tom-howard-john-h-reid-fiction-essay-contest
32nd annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work.
$10,000 in prizes. $22 fee for entry.

INTERNET SEARCH TIPS

Advanced tips and tricks for effective Internet research of papers/books, with real-world examples. gwern.net/search

That’s it for now — those links will keep you busy for days!

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Thanks for reading — I hope this helps you in your journey as a writer — whether you are a seasoned pro or a raw newb!

You know I love you!
Much aloha,

Angela

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QUOTE of the DAY

“May my gift of light carry you upward on wings of love.”
~ Rudolf Steiner

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Angela Treat Lyon

EFT/tapping: EFTBooks.com (free EFT book, and more)
My art: instagram.com/angela.treat.lyon/

Medium: medium.com/@lyonlyon
Substack: lyonlyon.substack.com/

My FREEbie and for-fee books on gumroad:
atlyon.gumroad.com

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Are You A Writer or Author?
© Angela Treat Lyon 2024

Image: The Truth Comes Out
© Angela Treat Lyon 2002

All Rights Reserved Internationally