PWG: Writers Groups, Cronyism and Playing Favorites

A few years ago, I was invited to join a "Buddies" writers group on Facebook by a FB friend who was the admin. I joined and posted a few links and clicked on a few links. It was similar to the other reciprocal groups which I usually shy away from. What happened next cemented my idea that these groups usually fall into cronyism and favoritism. After seeing others sharing info about a variety of...

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Writing Tip: Why Seekyt Uses VigLink

This may be the last in my series of articles about Seekyt for the Preferred Writers Blog as I have covered that writing site fairly thoroughly from top to bottom. However, since several from the PWG community have signed up to write for Seekyt, I wanted to do a post for the writers here about the new affiliate program Seekyt now uses which appears to be better than Amazon and AdSense. The program...

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Comparing Popular ABC TV Series 'Castle' to Former FOX Show 'Dollhouse'

 Nathan Fillion photo from Wikimedia Commons What Do 'Castle' and 'Dollhouse' Have in Common? I'm glad you asked! The two television series actually have several things in common besides being TV programs on two fairly mainstream networks. "Castle" stars actor Nathan Fillion and is a popular crime-mystery-detective show broadcast on ABC. "Dollhouse" starred Eliza Dushka and was a sci-fi,...

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Referrals: Another Reason I Like Writing for Seekyt

In my recent article "Earning Money Writing for Seekyt.com," I provided a summary of how Seekyt works as a site for writers and why it is one of my favorite sites to write for. However, I neglected to add one of the unique things Seeky does to encourage writers to support and share each other's posts. We are each given a unique referral ID (mine is /referrerId/2158) which not only allows people...

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Barbie and Sports Illustrated Remain #Unapologetic!

SI Barbie from press ki The publication of this year’s highly anticipated Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition coincided with the American International Toy Fair taking place in New York City February 16, so the magazine partnered with Mattel to put Barbie doll an advertising wrap on the cover of 1,000 issues of the magazine for the annual toy convention. The cover was revealed on "Jimmy Kimmel...

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What Was the Deepest Message of 'The Lord of the Rings?'

Bust of Tolkien, Wikimedia Commons. Julian Nitzsche Are you a fan of "The Lord of the Rings" books and/or movies? Have you ever wondered where J.R.R. Tolkien found his inspirations as a writer and what his deepest message might have been? J.R.R. Tolkien grew up as a devout Catholic and was deeply guided by his faith. Many people are aware that Tolkien's good friend C.S. Lewis wrote a large number...

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Angela Lansbury's Two Disney Children's Movies

Angela Lansbury photo - public domain Veteran movie actress Angela Lansbury, who has also been a star on television's "Murder She Wrote," has starred in not one but two Disney children's classics. Can you name them both? If not, read on! In 1971, Lansbury starred in her first  Disney film as Miss Eglantine Price in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks." This film established the actress among the...

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Earning Money Writing for Seekyt.com

Seekyt is another great writing platform for aspiring writers. It has similarities to Examiner and other sites that pay based upon page views, but it is quite different in how the money is earned. Instead of paying a percent of a penny for each page view, Seekyt pays their writers a percentage of ad revenues. However, as page views translate into purchases, there is a direct correlation between...

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Why Professional Writers Write for Pennies: A History of Recent Journalism Trends

  Do professional writers REALLY write for pennies??? Why, yes. Yes we do. We just earn a lot more pennies than those who don't strive to be professional in their writing. The trick to writing successfully for the web is to BE PROFESSIONAL. It all started back in the days when print was king. Many of us could earn on average $450 per article writing for major publications in the 1990s....

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Study: acne pathogen transferred from humans to grapevines -- National Skin Care Examiner

Seriously, this bacteria transferred from humans to plants--grapevines to be exact If you have acne, drink the occasional glass of wine, are a fan of musician Frank Zappa, or just like weird science, here's some news you will find intriguing... -- Examiner This could be big news for acne sufferers, because as researchers study the pathogen in grape vines, they might hit upon a cure for the...

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PWG Discussion: Journal Posts & Discussions vs. Articles

In visiting some of the other posts on PWG, I see quite a few that are journal posts: chatty, about me, what-I-did-today, what-I-am thinking kinds of posts, what my pet did, what my toaster did, how much PWG has changed since I last visited, etc. It looks like those posts are fine here, so this is not a complaint, but there is a difference between a journal post and an article, and if we are attracting...

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Poetry for St. Patrick's Day--a Shamrock of Three Poems

Photo © Kathryn Darden Leprechauns, kelly green, shamrocks, pots of gold... In honor of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, whose day we celebrate every March 17, here is my shamrock of three wee poems about Ireland and Saint Patrick which I wrote for St. Patrick's Day. Ireland Acrostic: A Poem About the Emerald Isle I reland always beckoning: R ainbows and pots of gold; E...

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Valentine's Day Poetry - Poems for Valentines

Although Valentine's Day may be over for this year, being in love is never out of style! Here is a trio of original poems I have written in honor of Valentine's Day, and also in honor of love, whatever the season or time of year. Clip art I purchased rights to use. The Essence of Valentines - A Poem for Recalcitrant Men! A poem for men who think Valentine's Day is a waste of your...

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Converting Analog Television to Digital TV Still Not Working For Millions of Americans

I'm one of the millions of Americans who are without television as the converter boxes don't work on my old TV set. I havewasted hours and days of my life since February2009  trying to make the digital converter box work and nothing works. You can read the full article at "Converting Analog Televisions to Digital TV Not as Easy as Promised" After going through the same frustrations,...

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Analog to Digital Television Conversion Problems Continue; Fcc Passes The Buck

Image from National Archives and Records Administration.  As reported in Converting Analog Television to Digital TV Not Working for Millions of Americans, we let Congress and the FCC take away our free TV. What else will we let the government take away? I have been without television since June 12, 2009, when I lost my analog signal. I have tried everything from purchasing two...

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A Look Back at the 2010 Official Twilight Convention with Peter Facinelli, Gil Birmingham, Charlie Bewley, Michael Welch, More

Photo © Kathryn Darden Nashville played host to assorted vampires, werewolves and mortals when the Official Twilight Convention came to Music City the last weekend in January 2010. Held during one of Nashville's rare snowstorms, the event was otherworldly in more ways than one! The Twilight event was so memorable, it was almost an eternal memory, so I decided to remember it again... Official...

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Birthdays Of Christian Artists - Month By Month Birthday List Of Gospel Artists

  MercyMe and me photo property of Kathryn Darden Have you ever wondered when your favorite gospel artist was born? Find out when your favorite Christian artists celebrates his or her birthday here! January birthdays of gospel artists at: What gospel artists were born in January? Jeremy Camp, Kirk Franklin, Phil Joel, Elvis Presley... February birthdays of Christian artists at: What...

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Six Quotes & Bible Verses For Father's Day & Birthdays - Best Quotes For Dads

Photo property of Kathryn Darden The special holiday for our dads, Father's Day, arrives the third Sunday of June each year in the United States. Do you who live in other countries also celebrate Father's Day? Let us know when and how you celebrate your dads in the comments below. Unfortunately, no matter our country, we all usually take our fathers for granted while they are still alive,...

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Creative Commons -- Gateway to Black Hat Copyright Infringement

 Will We Be Protected at Preferred Writers Group?  I am reprinting an older article from Bukisa for the Preferred Writers Group in hopes it opens some dialog on whether or not our articles will be copyright protected here. It would be nice to have a notice somewhere on the PWG that all articles are copyrighted by the writers, all right reserved.  Bukisa had so many issues with keyword...

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