Tag Archives: Writing for ehow

sometimes, it’s the little things.

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orla kiely bags are a little slice o' heaven. especially when they fit.

orla kiely bags are a little slice o' heaven. especially when they fit.

it’s true–this counting your calories and exercising thing really works. how do i know? for starters my purse fits. most normal people judge their weight loss achievements by the looseness of their pants, but not one to be conventional, i’m measuring  it differently–by my new orla kiely shoulder bag.

i ♥ this bag. and being unemployed, it’s a bit difficult to snag an orla kiely bag. so, i shopped around on ebay, talked the seller down from $65 to $40 and bought this used one. it’s fabulous. fab-u-lous!! but again, with no job, even $40 is a lot. so i got it for $8! EIGHT DOLLARS!!! how? well, i used the $32 bucks i made last month writing for eHow so I only had to add in $8. yes, yes, yes, i should have saved the $32 for a rainy day, but doggone it, it’s a designer bag!! and i had to sell my original one when times were tough…so this $8, more economical one was meant for me. :-) but i digress….yes, the weight loss….

anyhow, i bought the bag, knowing it was to be worn on the shoulder, and know that since i don’t have skinny arms, it was going to have to be a handbag. so i carted it around as such until the other day, when i was in my local co-op getting a few groceries. i was hemming and hawing over some baked chips and out of instinct, moved the bag to my shoulder. ohmigosh–it fit! it fit on my shoulder. and comfortably!! i was pretty psyched about this.  so thanks to alli, my hour long work outs, my resistance band arm reps and my healthy new way of eating, my purse fits!  oh happy day!

$12.69 feels like a million bucks.

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mommy...looking sassy and classy back in the 80s.

mommy...looking sassy and classy back in the 80s.

i can now officially say that i’m a paid writer! how amazing is that??!! it’s real live money that i made just from my very own words, and it may just be the best work-related feeling i’ve ever had.

it was wonderful to be promoted twice at the International Spy Museum, fantastic to be chosen over seasoned administrative professionals to be the new office manager at Fight Crime: Invest in Kids even though i had never been one before, and down right awesome to be promoted to a Customer Service Manager at Harris Teeter on my first try, beating out 14 others, including veteran CSMs. yes, those were all great achievements in my professional life, and while my mother told me how proud she was of me each and every time, i feel like THIS would have made her the MOST proud. she didn’t mind me working in retail, or in an office, but after seeing me through 5 years of college to earn my bachelor’s, finally seeing me earn money as a writer, would have put the most beautiful smile on her pretty face. i would have called her today to tell her my exciting news, and i would have heard the love in her voice and felt the hug through the phone. “well, i knew you could do it, cherie. i’ve known all along. you just didn’t believe in yourself. i know how good you are.” and then a few days later, i’d receive a card in the mail, with a $20 bill inside.

upon receiving the card, i’d tell her, “hi mommy. i got the card today! and the $20!” then, i’d say, “it’s more than i got paid to write!” if there were a record playing in the background, it would screech to a halt–”what? you didn’t even get paid $20? what kind of writing is this cherie? why didn’t you make more than that? what are you going to do with less than $20? oh, cherie…”

but that’s my mommy, and rest in peace, that’s how she was. actually, i’m guessing her reaction isn’t too far off from any of yours! you see, i’ve been writing  for ehow for the past month and a half and it takes a while to make the bucks on there. you basically write “how-to” articles on any subject you want, then sit back and wait for the residual income to come in. (i think my second happiest day work-wise was when i made my first $0.12 on one of my articles! it was magical to see that little bit of pocket change on the screen!) you do have to make them quality, SEO filled articles and you have to write a bunch of them. also, hope people are searching for the topic on which you’ve written. so yeah, today, i put $12.69 in my bank account for my articles for the month of july. i don’t think that’s too bad for writing about things like how to write a retail management resume–something i know all too well.
i’ve already made more money at this point this month than i did at this point last month, (every month, as your articles make their way around the world wide web, you usually make more than you did the previous month.) so i think i’m on a good path to at least break the $20 point.  i’m doing all this in a huge part based on a promise i made to her, literally on her deathbed, so i’m sure she’s looking down on me and proud of me no matter what. i guess that’s just how moms are.

is there an AA for ehow?

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don't you love me anymore?

don't you love me anymore?

i have an addiction. it does not involve alcohol, drugs, sex or gambling. my addiction lies within the very computer on which i type. i could not possibly care less about online porn or online poker. i do, though, care very, very much about ehow.

from the moment i wake up until the time i pass out from trying to write instructional steps in my exhausted mind, i am thinking about ehow. i’m trying to figure out how many more points i need to reach the next level, a level that only matters in my mind, how many more friends i can add, how many views my articles have received, how many recommendations i will get and how i can make a few more cents than i did the day before. i am constantly clicking back and forth between messages in my in-box, new comments, new posts on forums, again back to my home page, just in case my earnings and views will update–again.

i have begun to see everything in the version of a how-to article. no matter if i’m shaving my armpits, making coffee, or writing out checks (oh, already did that one–don’t hate), it all has the possibility of becoming an instructional tool for someone. i post links to my articles everywhere–twitter, facebook, digg, my other blog, this blog–anywhere and everywhere that it has the chance of having a pair of eyes land upon it. any eyes other than my fellow ehowers. i do welcome their views, don’t get me wrong, but how many more “great article! 5 stars” can i handle?? i want real comments, real words to let me know that my article helped in some way, was inspiring, taught them something. isn’t that what any writer wants?

right now, what this writer really wants is to get on ehow. i have been trying since yesterday morning to access my page. i’ve have a dickens of a time trying to see my page, my in box, my comments, my earnings, and even signing in or signing out. sporadically, i can access somethings, and, POOF, it’s all gone again. did i do something wrong? was my account deleted? is my love for ehow unrequited? i have heard that they can suspend or deleted accounts without any warning at all…but i always thought those punishments were for the rogue writers, the ones only doing it to spam others, plagarize, bash the system. i haven’t done any of the such. why am i being kept out of one of the very few things that has brought me joy this summer? AAAGGGHHHH. it’s maddening!!

i’m going to try to calm down and give it another try. several hundred tries. i’m not giving up this obsession; i’m not ready to quit.