Creative Commons: Why is this Important to Article Writers?

Licensed To Share  Yahoo! has recently launched Creative Commons Search in Beta. This Yahoo! search service finds content across the web that has a Creative Commons license. While almost anything you find on the internet has a full copyright, the Creative Commons license allows an author to share their content with others, under certain conditions. This type of license is very beneficial to the article marketer.

The Creative Commons license has gained wide acceptance across the Internet. Yahoo and Google have now both incorporated Creative Commons search into their engines. The main Creative Commons search engine is located at http://www.creativecommons.org. A Creative Commons search has even been adopted into the Firefox browser.

Expanding your visibility

Every smart article writer concentrates on wide exposure. You want your articles to be on as many web sites as possible. By putting a Creative Commons License on your articles, you are allowing other web sites, e-zines, online publications and print publication to publish your article, therefore expanding your visibility.

Now, with a powerhouse like Yahoo! coming in with their new Creative Commons Search, you can have hundreds of your articles to be placed in a select search on Yahoo!.

To get your articles into Yahoo's Creative Commons Search, you must follow 3 simple steps.

1. Select the license that suits your preferences at http://www.creativecommons.org/license/ .

2. You will then be prompted to choose whether or not you want to allow commercial use of your work and whether or not you will allow modifications of your work. After you have set your preferences, hit Select License.

3. You will now be taken to the page that will let you cut and copy a piece of text to paste into your webpage. This text will indicate that your articles have a Creative Commons license.

You should choose the license that meets your preferences. However, if you are going to be using the license for article marketing, there are some preferences that would be more beneficial for you. It is best not to allow any modification of your articles because this could dilute their value.

You want to brand yourself as a trusted resource in your area of expertise. If someone is allowed to modify your content, this could lead to negative branding for you and your web site. With than in mind, do make sure that you put a lot of thought into the type of creative commons license you choose. Creative commons licenses are non-revocable.

Once you put up the license on your web pages, it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks for Yahoo! Creative Commons Search to find your pages as long as you have some well-placed back-links.

This strategy can create hundreds of very targeted links pointing to your site through the Creative Commons search engines. These are indexed pages in the Yahoo and Google specialized engines.

The last time I checked at http://search.yahoo/cc, boingboing.net had over 39,000 of their pages indexed in the Creative Commons. ProBlogger.net had over 500. You can do the same simply by applying the Creative Commons License to your site and letting Yahoo discover you.

The Creative Commons license allows you to declare a certain amount of rights to your article, while still encouraging its duplication across the internet and ensuring that you are credited as the author.

However, while the Creative Commons licenses hold much value, there are still relatively few people who are taking advantage of it to gain more visibility for their articles and their website. Therefore, now is the perfect time to move into this lucrative market. With Yahoo Creative Commons Search leading the way, you know there is sure to be significant growth to come.


About the Author: This article was published by Hans Hasselfors from http://www.SubmitYourNewArticle.com 



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Things To Do When You're Experiencing Writer's Burnout

    Credit: Anosmia

By Bobbi Linkemer   The word burnout was not even in my vocabulary when I first started writing. I knew I would never tire of it, never want to do anything else, never stop. I wrote at every opportunity. Looking back, I don't know how I did it, except that I was young and obsessed. I ran on adrenaline and addiction to writing, I suppose. All I wanted in life was to write full time.

Strangely, that addiction has never wavered. I have been writing for 40 years and can't think of anything I would rather do. Yet, having said that, I must admit that I have been worn out, exhausted, and blocked more than a few times over the years. Being a full-time writer means you write all the time. That's pretty much all you do, except for gathering the information you will write about.

For the first 20 years, I had a series of great writing jobs, ranging from managing a city magazine to managing a marketing communications department. If I was burned out at that point, it was more with the vicissitudes of corporate life than with writing.

But, to be sure, I was burned out.

For the second half of my work life, I have been a business owner - a one-woman band who, in addition to writing, does everything else.

When frustration has reared its head, it has been caused by the need to create some sort of balance among work, life, and the unbelievable number of administrative and financial tasks that come with the job.

The writing has been challenging, comprising virtually every industry, every subject, and every genre. The variety has stretched me, educated me, and stimulated me. What has driven me crazy is the uncertainty of finding work when there is too little, doing the work when there is too much, holding on to the work in the midst of a chaotic business environment, and continuing to love the work, no matter what it entails. Keeping all of those balls in the air all the time sometimes seems impossible. It is certainly a recipe for burning out.

Here is what I have learned that may be of help to you when you see BURNOUT in neon on your computer screen:

1. Never say never. This advice applies to everything in life. It is the one word that is guaranteed to trip you up because we never (whoops) know what life is going to throw at us or how we will feel when we must deal with the unexpected.

2. Admit it. You're tired. You're sick of what you're doing. You hate your boss/editor/client. You're uninspired. You have writer's block. You wish you were a carpenter. You want to scream. The point is, don't deny it and fight your way through it. Stop, and be aware of what's going on inside of you. The body never lies, and, if it's turning you into pretzel knots, there is a reason.

3. Don't panic. When you feel yourself burning out, getting tired, writing mechanically, or feeling too blocked to write at all - and you will - take a break. (Oh, but I can't; I have a deadline!) Yes, I know, but whatever you're doing or not doing isn't working. So, stop and take a walk, a nap, a movie, a meal, or a vacation. Read a book, veg out in front of the TV, put on your favorite CD, wash the floor, fix your car, do yoga or tai chi or karate. Do anything but write.

4. Know that it will pass. You are still a writer, a good writer in fact. You haven't lost your skill or your love of the craft. It's probably premature to throw up you hands in defeat and job hunt. Be a Taoist: go with the flow. You don't beat yourself to death when you have the flu; why do it when you are suffering from temporary malaise? Chalk it up to a passing phase, and get on with your life.

5. Think it through. If it's serious, if it's continuous, if it's painful, and it won't go away, you may have to do more than go to a movie or roller-blading. You may have to examine what is going on and whether it is indeed time to move on to something else. My guess is, that given time, you'll find some way to refresh your mind and your creativity. But if that doesn't happen, you have a right to switch gears and find another outlet for your talents. You did not sign a life-long contract to be a writer. If it's time to do something else, go for it.

Burnout is stress on overdrive. It affects your health, your psyche, and your work. When you are a writer, burnout can stop you in your tracks, rendering you incapable of doing the one thing you can and want to do. Recognize it and respect it.

About the author:  Bobbi Linkemer is a ghostwriter, writing coach, and editor. She is also the author of 14 books. Bobbi has been a professional writer for 40 years, a magazine editor and journalist, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs who want to enhance their credibility and build their businesses. Her articles on writing regularly appear on EzineArticles.com and other top online article sites. Visit her Website at: http://www.WriteANonfictionBook.com