How many times have you read a book or article,and thought “I could do better”? The world is full of aspiring writers; people who write and wish that someone would ‘discover’ their work. How many of us have written a poem, a story, a thesis, and dreamed of one day seeing it inside of a publication, or of seeing our name on the cover of a book? Thanks to the wide reaching arms of the internet, one need not sit back and hope for a ‘lucky break’… the ability exists now for us all to make our own.

It isn’t an easy process; anyone with delusions of turning in their marvelous piece of literary mastery to a magic publisher, then sitting back and collecting the millions will be sorely disappointed. It is, at times, an almost tedious process. But the fruits of your labor are worth it in the end. The goal of a ‘writer’ is to have others read their work, and that can be done. And it is possible to make money doing so. Making a living might be a bit of a stretch, although like anything else in life it can be done if you put enough time and effort into it. But a nice supplemental income is a realistic goal.

To begin with, you need to realize that writing is similar in some ways to American Idol. Many people think they are great singers, while in reality most are not. Writing is similar. No matter how good your friends and family tell you your writing is, the reality is that it probably is not. Fortunately, being a published writer online does not require you to be a great writer. You have to have at least some semblance of ability, and you need to be able to put together coherent thoughts. The appropriate use of punctuation and grammar will benefit, and spell check is a must.

What I’m going to do here is outline, step by step, the easiest way to have your writing published online, and make a few bucks doing so. As I said, It isn’t an the easiest process; it requires some time and patience. As with building, you have to build a firm foundation. But in the end, as I said, as a writer the benefits outweigh the work. And anyone who is sincere about their writing is, in all likelihood, willing to do what it takes to make it work.

The first step is to find yourself a ‘Home Base’. The goal in the end is to spread your work as far over the net as possible, but to do so you need an easy to use site that gives you an opportunity to showcase your writing in a user friendly central location. There are site availablle for this that you pay for, but it is essentially a waste of money to do so, as there are plenty of free sites that will do the same thing. I would suggest taking the time to investigate the various options, but if you are a beginner, the best by far is Triond. (click to explore).

Triond is a site that publishes your work on relevant sites, so you reach a wider audience, gain more recognition and earn more revenue. It isn’t a place to get rich, but in my experience (and I have experimented with most of the available sites) It is the best site to branch out from. Signing up is a simple process, takes less than a minute, and requires only an e mail address and for you to choose a screen name. Once you have signed up, take a few minutes to customize your profile. Upload a picture, put a blurb about yourself; you can be creative, the standard “I am X years old, my family consists of…” or something creative. Bear in mind that this is the page that will serve as your hub, and aside from your writing, the first impression of you your readers will have.

The next step is to familiarize yourself with the site. Read some of the other writers’ profiles and writing. Explore the forum, which is in effect a chatroom for the Triond writers to share ideas.

A Guide to the Triond Forum (click for more info on the forums)

And now it’s time to write. Triond has a large number of sites where they publish, separated by subject. Click on any of the listings below to take a look…

Quazen	AuthSpot
Gameolosophy	HealthMad
Notecook	Socyberty
Gomestic	Trifter
Bizcovering	Sportales
Telewatcher	Cinemaroll
Webupon	Bookstove
Computersight	Musicouch
Writinghood	PurpleSlinky

Once you have completed your piece, there are a number of steps you need to follow. This is the point at which you begin spreading beyond the walls of your home site.

Promoting your work (Click)

Your next step is to find other sites where you can re-publish articles you have already published on Triond. Some Examples…

Redgage

Bukisa

Booksie

There are countless others. Like anything else in life, you’ll get out what you put into it. Once you have begun to develop a following, there are other avenues that will open for you. Many writers will begin their own blog or web page. There are always contests and competitions to enter. At this point, you should have the firm foundation built, and be comfortable enough to experiment and find your own path. Good luck, and Good writing!

For more information on this subject:

So You Want To Make The Hot List?

Writing for Money: Selling Our Souls?

How to Promote Your Content on Triond Ethically