Funny how you can begin to think you feel at home on the internet when suddenly you stumble into new territory — and then you remember just how big the world is.

I have really been enjoying my new work blogging at NCRegister.com.

But the commenters over there? These are not my usual peeps. Did you see the way the Matt Archbold’s post about atheism exploded, for example?

And pro-life posts that I could write all day long here at my blog or over at Faith & Family and never hear a word of disagreement — get negative comments almost immediately at NCRegister.

Today’s post about how the youthful enthusiasm of the pro-life movement frightens the opposition is a great example. Only two comments in, we have an angry tirade against the “anti-choice right.”

I think it’s good for me to venture out of my Catholic mom-o-sphere bubble in this way, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t welcome your company out there in the great big world.

Come on over — and make your voice heard!

Have you seen the all-new, awesome-looking NCRegister.com yet? No? Well, get on over there and check it out!

I am thrilled to be a part of the new NCRegister blogging team, among such greats as Mark Shea, Jimmy Akin, Matt and Pat Archbold, Matthew Warner, and Tom Hoopes.

As the only female, though, I am feeling just a little bit lonely there. Please come visit me, leave me some comment love, and let me know what kinds of blogging you’d like to see me do at NCR.

Talk to you there!

The internet makes plagiarism and copyright infringement astonishingly easy to accomplish and terrifically difficult to keep track of.

I sometimes stumble upon something as brazen as my words published with someone else’s name attached. I usually address that kind of thing.

But then there’s the subtler stuff —

• a blog post or article of mine copied in its entirety without a link or permission
• a chapter from one of my books copied in its entirety and without permission
• an original phrase of mine used by someone else without credit
• a theme for a series of posts or gathering of links used elsewhere without mention of the original

And when I happen upon things like this, I sometimes grow righteous and angry.

How dare they? Those are my words, I think, and my ideas!

But that’s when I hear a more reasonable voice from somewhere deep inside.

No they’re not, it says.

Were they good words? Was it a good idea? Were they good enough for someone else to want to share them? And will greater good come from that sharing?

Then rejoice and be glad. None of us does anything good or worthwhile on our own.

And we’re all copycats in the end.

(HT: Elizabeth’s sidebar long ago)

Have any of you been participating in the Catholic Writers Conference Online?

I’ll be taking part in a live chat there tomorrow afternoon (Monday) at 1:00 pm Eastern time. My topic will be Writing With Passion While Keeping Perspective and I hope to answer moms’ questions about balancing work and family life, writing from home, and time management.

Signing in is easy and I don’t believe you have to be registered at the conference to take part in the chat.

Do not leave me there all alone — Please join us!

Are you on Twitter?

I am.

See you there!

***Updated to share this cute comic (one of my favorites!) that Shauna sent by email (click on image to see it larger).

I am not alone! I heard from more than a few of you after my last post about grammar and proper word usage, and so I thought maybe it would be fun to share some of our pet peeves here.

It’s a rainy Saturday, there’s nothing else to do, and we all might learn something new anyway. Let’s be language snobs. What mistakes bug you when you see them? The word “infer” when a writer really means “imply”? Mispronunciation of “mischievous”?

To get us started, I’ll share this one that makes me laugh and want to bang my head against the wall every time I hear it — misuse of the word “literally.” As in “When I told him the news, he literally blew up in my face.” Really? Wow.

Technorati Tags: mispronunciations, grammar mistakes

The part about “begging the question” in the cupcake post below, that is.

Did you know that when you write online, small words and phrases that you use with little thought to their proper usage are left up on the screen for people with altogether too much time on their hands, like my brother, to scrutinize and then email to correct you?

I stand corrected.

I accept this correction and hereby withdraw my previous begging of the question. But only because I want to reserve the right to remain snobby and smug about the proper use of “affect” and “effect,” “it’s” and “its,” and “lose” and “loose.” And please, big-time blogger whose name I will not mention, don’t ever let me catch you typing the words “deja view” again. Unless it’s a seriously clever play on words.

Technorati Tags: grammar, begging the question

And since we are talking about writing for money, I thought I would also share with you this article I wrote on the topic a short while ago:

4 Freelance Myths

Good for you! You’ve got a dream and you are ready to make it a reality: You want to be a freelance writer. Before you get started, though, let’s consider some mistaken ideas many beginners have about the business of writing for money.

1. Writing is art. A good writer shouldn’t have to work at it.
Writing may be an art form, but even the very best professional writers will tell you that they work at their craft. Not only is good writing work, it’s hard and sometimes tedious work to boot. Freelance writing means producing content for someone other than yourself. That might mean doing research or conducting interviews in a subject area you find rather uninspiring. It might mean tailoring your style to suit a particular audience. It might mean swallowing your pride and re-writing an article that an editor sends back to you for changes you don’t think are necessary.

Artistic inspiration is a wonderful thing, but if you want to turn your art into a profitable business venture, you will need to work at it. Editors will not be impressed with first draft writing, no matter how “inspired” it feels. They want professional writing that is honed, clear, concise, polished, and targeted to their readers. To get there, you will have to work and re-work, write and re-write.

2. A rejection letter means I stink and I should give up.
A rejection letter might mean you stink, but it also might just mean you sent the wrong pitch to the wrong editor at the wrong time. To increase your chances of success, you need to know and target a specific magazine’s editorial needs. Sending out generic queries to dozens of magazines without researching them first is a waste of everybody’s time.

If you focus on a few publications that publish material similar to your work, research them, and send out focused queries, you will greatly increase the chances of finding the right home for your work. Keep in mind that most publications work on issues 6-12 months in advance. Knowing a particular publication’s lead time will help you pitch seasonal topics at the appropriate times.

Even with the best of research, however, you will need to keep in mind that rejection is an inevitable part of the freelance process. As hard as it might be, try not to take rejections too personally. Look at rejections not as failures but as a stepping stones toward your future success and look for ways to learn from them.

When I was first starting out, a particular editor at Family Fun repeatedly rejected my submissions. Though I was disappointed each time, I brushed myself off and kept submitting and she kept rejecting, often with one or two brief comments explaining why.

This continual rejection process helped me to further understand that particular magazine’s needs, fine-tune my work, and make my name recognizable to the editor. As a result, I did eventually make the right submission in the right way at the right time. I was published in the magazine and, though she is now at a different magazine, I have maintained a working relationship with the editor who rejected me so very often. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t persevered after receiving that original rejection letter.

3. I have talent. Once I am “discovered” finding freelance work will be a piece of cake.
An important part of the work of freelance has nothing to do with the writing itself. It has to do with self-promotion, looking ahead, and planning future projects. Successful freelancers keep projects going in three different stages:

1. projects in the “idea stage” that they are actively pitching to editors
2. projects they have been assigned and are actively researching and/or setting up interviews for
3. projects for which they have completed the research and are now writing, re-writing, and polishing for final submission.

Part of the thrill of freelance work is that you work for yourself, no one “owns” you, and you can pick and choose your own projects. A consequence of this boss-free living, however, is that no one is going to be handing you work (not in the beginning anyway) unless you actively seek it out. To be continually successful, you need to be continually selling yourself and your work.

4. I am an artist. I can’t be bothered with such practical things as figuring out how to send email attachments, maintaining a professional website, or working a fax machine.
Being an eccentric “artistic” type might have worked for Hemingway, but if you want to find freelance success in the 21st century, you need to make your talents, your pitches, and your submissions as readily accessible as possible for potential editors to consider.

While some publications still accept snail mail queries and submissions, many do not. Like it or not, it’s a fast-paced, online world and the trend is headed toward more and more editors expecting even their on-paper writers to be as web-savvy as possible. Simple skills like email attachments and faxing are just plain expected. Also, a well-maintained, professional website makes it easy for potential editors to review your work and read your clips when they are considering giving you an assignment. The more professionalism and techno-savvy you can exhibit, the more likely editors are to take you and your work seriously.