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Men with Pens - For Freelancers, Writers and Online Entrepreneurs
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Men with Pens is a web tips blog to help writers, freelancers and online entrepreneurs have a better business on the web. Oh, and it's just cool, too.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'way off topic'
It’s All About You
You’re freelancers, entrepreneurs, and nine-to-fivers. You’re single or you’re married or you have so many children that you don’t know what to do, just like the little old lady who lived in a shoe. You work in fields so varied that we couldn...
Special Fiction Writing Week: Creating Character Flaws
In honor of the super-exclusive offer for Men with Pens readers only in regards on the Gamer Lifestyle Course, we’re turning our attention in this latter half of the special fiction week towards how to write realistically in fantasy worlds. If you&...
Special Fiction Week: Your Exclusive Men with Pens Offer
We’re going to ask you a serious question: Is copywriting really what you want to do to make money? Because I’ll tell you right now, it’s not what I want to do. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy copywriting immensely. It’s hard to find a better j...
What the Heck is Going on With James?
Today’s guest post comes to you from Alex Fayle of Someday Syndrome, whose good work in the world makes sure that freelancer burnout becomes a thing of the past. Please welcome our personal vacation agent and check out what might happen to you when...
In Which James Writes Something That Makes Him Squirm
I’m going to do something today that I don’t normally do. I’m also going to be really clear that I’m doing it, so that no one thinks I’m being sneaky-assed about it: If you click this link, you’ll get a sales page....
How to Write an Outline for a Post, An Ebook or Your Thesis Paper
I’ve recently writing on how to write a good ebook. I’ve also made it quite clear that we are talking theoretical ebooks in general and not specific ebooks that might make themselves appear at Men with Pens for the mass public at any poin...
How to Be Funny
So Copyblogger (for whom James writes regularly) recently ran an article on how to be 20% funnier than you currently are. Now, I enjoyed this article, so I’m not going to trash it. I will say that I think the author missed some seriously easy ways ...
An Acting Lesson That Teaches You to Write Well
I was at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival last week. You should all be warned that I will probably be having a lot of fun with play titles for awhile here. Also, should anyone happen to be out in Oregon for whatever reason (like, because I told you t...
Do You Need Support to Take a Break?
Today’s guest post comes to you from a good friend of mine, Alex Fayle. He’s been here before, and his posts struck a chord with many people. Now, he’s going to strike another chord. Enjoy. I’ve posted on runaway speeding trai...
Did You Hate Our Black Background?
Dark alley. Dangerous. Empty. I couldn’t say they weren’t accurate descriptions. The black brickwork and the cement textured background of our site look did look like a dark alley theme - now that it had been mentioned. We’d worked ...
Getting Zen About Writing
As a freelance writer, you get to learn about many interesting things in the course of your work. Sometimes you learn about boring things, like why this widget is the coolest widget in the history of widgets. Sometimes you learn totally random things...
Are You A Big Spender or a Cheapskate?
Do you freak out at spending $5 more than you have to? What about a price change at your favorite store - does that bug you? How about books that used to be $6.99 and that are now over $12? Here’s an example: the price of coffee. It was $6.99 a...
Interview with Pen woMan #4: The Rogue Taylor Reveals All
1. What prompted you to join Men with Pens? You already have your own business, right? I do, and I intend to continue expanding it. The Men cannot bring me down! Seriously, though, James has been indispensable for business advice, and working with th...
How to Plan a Freelancer Vacation So You Can Refuel
Last week’s post on the life of freelancers and their runaway trains hit a nerve - many people could see themselves on that crash course to burnout already. One resounding question many people had was, “How do we take our hand off the thr...
Are You Doing What You Do Best?
Some people go through life thinking they’re on the right path, doing what they’re supposed to be doing, but it’s a struggle every step of the way. Maybe that person is you. Maybe you have a career you never wanted but everyone told...
Three Men (with Pens) and a Lady
A long time ago, a commentator came to our blog with a cheerful greeting. She popped up one day out of the blue, new and innocent to this world called blogging. She was perky. She was fun and inquisitive. She was adorable. She came back the next day,...
Are You An Abusive Person?
Maybe people are stressed about the media doom-and-gloom news lately. The economy isn’t doing too well, and that can cause some concerns. Maybe people are suffering cabin fever and need to release a bit of energy. Maybe too many people are tryi...
Twitterranting: On Ego Pedestals and Auto Following
If you have something important to say, do you say it? Or do you discuss it? Who do you talk about it with? These questions came to mind recently as I watched people on Twitter use the social media tool as some personal soapbox to talk out at the wor...
Do You Feed Your Muse Well?
Writers are typically desperate to find inspiration. They seek creativity like a desert cries for rain. They quest for the perfect undiscovered angle, turning over ideas like a grub-hunter turns over stones. I know this to be true, because my life is...
Drive-By Shooting Site Critiques Are Back!
Our public Drive-By Shooting Sunday site critiques were always a popular feature here at our blog. They’re fun, they’re helpful, and they’re definitely all about value. Where else can you get your site crawled by two pairs of expert...
TweetDeck: Stacking Your Deck with New Tools
I have a new toy. No, Santa didn’t come early. Some late-night surfing yielded a new tool called “TweetDeck“. I don’t use Twitter much. I’ll turn it on for a day or two, get bored and forget about it for another few week...
Do You Have the Courage to Ask for Help?
If you needed help, would you ask for it? Before you answer, think about that. Think really hard. I’m not so sure the answer is yes. I thought about how we don’t ask for help when we truly need it when I read about Michael Martine’s...
Balancing Work and Work
How’s your balance these days? I’m not talking about the balance between work and life. There are enough people covering the subject of working too hard and compromising your personal life. They’re right, too. But they also don̵...
Are There Cons to Overhauling Your Site Design?
Are there downsides to overhauling your site design? You betcha. Week after week, we shoot up other people’s sites to help them improve their image and get more business. We sing the praises of how an overhaul can better your business. We’...
Interview with Pen Man #3: Charlie Pabst Goes Naked
1. What prompted you to join Men with Pens? You already have your own business, right? I’d been following James and Harry for quite a while, probably before they knew I existed. From their blog posts, I knew they were a couple classy fellas and...
On Listening to Shepherds and Finding Your Green Pastures
“There’s a saying old says that love is blind. Still were often told, seek and ye shall find, So I’m going to see a certain lad I’ve had in mind.” - Someone to Watch Over Me, George Gershwin The sweet little crooner Gers...
Have a Gun and Tell Us What You Think
My teen recently dragged me to the big city before high school began. Alright, I went willingly enough – I love shopping. There’s just something about plunging into urban life after small-town living. I love being a discriminate shopper. Alwa...
Does It Look Easy to You?
While I was watching the Olympics, I was constantly amazed at how easy the athletes make their sport appear. Look at Michael Phelps: That man swims like a fish. Break a world record? No problem. It’s just another day in the pool. Even our commu...
