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I've only ever used Blogger.com and I've been pretty happy about the service and the interface. What does everyone else here use for their own blogs? I'm open to trying out other providers and hosts to see if there is something better than what I've been using.

I have been stuck with a PageRank of 0 and although I am mainly working on adding content I am starting to get worried that I won't be able to increase my status and get more attention, jobs, etc..

What methods are available for increasing your PageRank? I've heard conflicting views about different practices and one of my friends went from a 4 to a 0 because of some kind of back linking he was using to increase his traffic.

I signed up and made a profile with resume, samples, etc. on Guru.com a while ago but quickly found that I'm pretty limited on there due to not paying for enhanced membership. Does anyone else here use this website as a job hunting tool without paying for it?

It seems like a great resource but I don't know if I want to pay for it at this point because I'm not really making enough money freelancing to spend on it. I'd like to hear other people's comments that are users of the site though.

I got into copywriting only a few months ago and since then I have been working very hard to try to find jobs and begin to discipline myself into a real work-day but sometimes it feels like it's taking forever and never going anywhere or that I'm juggling far too many sites and struggling to provide work for the ones that pay upfront.

How long did it take those of you who are established freelancers/copywriters to "get on your feet" so to speak? Mainly I guess I'm just fishing for success stories to motivate myself. Haha.

Since one of my roommates in first-year university downloaded Firefox onto my computer I haven't been able to go back to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Recently it seems like IE updates are just attempting to fashion themselves after Firefox but it's still not quite as good.

Which web browser do you use?

Where is the best money to be made within the realm of freelancing or copywriting? Do those of you who write full-time make the most on article writing, copywriting, blogging, or something else?

So far I have tried pretty much any avenue I have found but I was wondering if anyone had tips toward where to focus and success stories from different areas of writing.

Currently I am creating an arts based blog that is centering on music and literature topics. My question is if anyone here knows of any of the big music blogs that I could peruse?

Also; has anyone seen posting to the effect of hiring music bloggers or freelancers? This is the area of focus that I would love to work in the most of any so I figured it would be worth a shot to see if anyone here knows of resources.

I don't have any objections to taking low-paying article work but I'm also still in need of experience to build up my profile. Until you have the right to demand higher pay for your services you need to have a portfolio that can back it up in my opinion. As a matter of pride, writing is just like any other job in certain senses and everyone has to start somewhere or slum it sometimes.

I write a lot of short stories but in the last few months I have finally pulled together the framework for a full-length novel that I'm about a quarter into writing. I love the room for expression and time that long writing allows for and I always end up having grand visions for books (although many of them are too impossible to actually create).

I feel like the novel is the ultimate form of writing for the majority of those you practice it and I will probably always strive to create full-length fiction whether it is published or not.

I try to write articles but not in an extremely professional manner. For me, the best blogs to read are ones that have the author firmly implanted within the writing itself. If posting takes itself far too seriously it becomes boring and less fun. Blogging seems like an opportunity for freely expressed writing or journalism and I like the authors who do that the most and take the medium to where it ought to be rather than using it as a diary or a sales pitch.

I don't think there is anything to be embarrassed about in regards to "unprofessional" writing.

I've gotten a decent amount of flack from family thinking that the arts are too dangerous to try to get into because of how hard it is to land decent jobs but my immediate siblings, girlfriend, etc. are extremely supportive. I have a lot of people around me who think that writing is a good occupation to strive for and even some friends and family who have given me articles to use when I've started new projects that they can submit to!

It can be very difficult though if you have family who don't see writing as a "real job" and think that you're doing nothing with your time when really you're working just as hard as others.

I checked out Associated Content but never got too far into it because I have been more interested in different websites. I definitely like the idea of passive income from building up a body of articles there as well though. Essentially you can write for AC and still have a body of work for your own blog or elsewhere without double crossing anyone and to me that just seems like a good idea overall unless I'm mistaken and the articles must be only for AC.

Once I get my feet onto more solid ground with writing I plan on using Associated Content quite a bit. AdSense is also a great idea though because it is definitely the most passive of these ideas.

It's always been a good idea to me. Signature linking is sort of just letting others know where they can read more of your work if they like comments and such that you wrote.

It's not much of a forceful method of advertising as well, which is something about it I like. If the link is in the signature then it becomes the reader's choice whether they want to click it or not and since that is so unobtrusive it really harms no-one and can only lead to benefits on both sides.

I sure do. There is just something about the format of a blog that makes it very easy to spend a lot of time reading without even noticing that you've done so.

The more I've gotten into blogging the more good ones I've found and with comment linking and the ease of finding more related blogs it can be all too easy to spend a tonne of time reading.

I like blogs simply because they are so easy to update and make look appealing with little coding knowledge but I think as soon as possible I am going to make the move to a website. You can still have the simplicity of a blog (or a blog encoded right into the mainpage) but with a lot more ease for a client toward finding their way around.

Luckily I have a brother in web design but as to blogs versus websites I think the latter is definitely the better (long-term) although more difficult to create/update.

Actually I haven't updated my resume since I started freelancing a while ago but now it's nice to think that I have a few jobs under my belt that I could add.

Unfortunately, I'm still very much a newbie but everyone has to start from somewhere. Was it hard to start getting clients with a small resume jnj or did you find that your work samples were more important?

I've heard good things about PayPerPost but my blog is still a month away from being accepted as well. Pretty much it can make decent money if the right jobs come along but it seems pretty hit and miss in terms of criteria and such.

Just the same, one of my friends has been doing very well on it with his travel blog and told me that when my blog can get accepted it's definitely worth taking the time to use.

I find that whatever I am reading has a profound influence on how my writing comes out whether intentionally or not. Do any of you have the same problem?

Also, this thread can be used to recommend books or tell everyone what you're enjoying now or have in the recent past. I just started into Douglas Coupland's "jPod" and it's a good read but pretty fluffy so far.

I've always used a PC because it's what I'm comfortable with and familiar with. If I ever found myself doing a lot of work that a PC wasn't able to handle correctly I wouldn't be so "brand-loyal" as to be hesitant switching to a Mac however.

I have used other peoples iBooks and such and found them very aesthetically pleasing and powerful but until I had a real reason I'm going to stay with what I know. However, I would love to have a laptop if I had the money to make the switch. It's just so much more appealing to be able to work where you please rather than being stuck to your desk all the time like I am now.

I always have to be listening to music in order to get work done. Without it I feel the silence and the fact that I'm working so much more. I'll listen to just about anything when I'm writing but sometimes the best things to put on are those with either no words or unimportant ones so that I don't find myself typing a lyric by accident! Haha.

There is so much good classical, jazz and other instrumental music that finding something to suit the mood is never much of a challenge however.

Well, money is always the great motivator for me but as for writing fiction, usually I get inspired after having conversations with friends and reading great books and knowing that without hard work I will never be able to say anything important through literature.

Job writing, I just have to keep my eye on the prize as it were and know that there are far worse ways to earn a buck than by doing what I love.

I don't watch much TV but I absolutely love The Office and always tune in for that. Other than that, I enjoyed watching the Sopranos on DVD and the first two seasons of 24 and I have a big crush on Arrested Development though it's sad that there will never be any more episodes of that show.

One of my brothers is always trying to get me onto Prison Break and with the recommendations on here I just may have to check it out.

I listen to pretty much everything but mainly fall back to blues and contemporary rock as my favourites. I play in a band and thus hear a lot of different styles of music all the time which has really cultivated my love of everything from stripped back acoustic music to punk to rock to metal, etc.. Really, no matter the genre, if an artist is talented and passionate I usually find them worth listening to.

The audience and market is important but for my own original writings I ignore the squiggly red line for my Canadian, British spelling. Favourite and colour just look like they should have the "u"s in there but if I was hired by an American contractor it wouldn't be hard to drop them if need be.

It's only really irritating having to add British spelling to Word when I'm writing longer pieces and don't want to see spelling "mistakes" the entire time. Setting it to British doesn't even fix it for me.

My favourite sectors are always music and literature. History, religion, and technology are interesting to me as well but I find I'm most passionate about writing for what I care about as I imagine most people are.

If I could find steady work writing about music or books I'd be very, very happy.