Thanks to all my Readers

Just checked my Helium account. Only 1 cent away from payout, thanks most likely to you lot and my Facebook friends clicking away for me. Thank you all so much. I'm a happy bunny.

Some More Helium Articles

I’m just 43 cents away from payout threshold at Helium now. If you can spare a few minutes, you can help me get there by reading one of my articles. Here is a selection in the hope that one will interest you:

·         Ironbridge, UK: The birthplace of the IndustrialRevolution

·        A visitor's guide to the Harbin Ice Festival,Harbin, China

·         Luxury trains: The Orient Express

          

·         Self-Motivation. The Way It Works

·         Travel experiences: Valley of Kings, Egypt

·         Small business success tips

Or you can click on the Helium ad in my side bar and make your own selection.

Many thanks in anticipation of your clicks to help me reach my goal, so I won’t have to bother you with this again.

I'm still creeping towards payout at Helium. Only $1.80 to go, so it shouldn't be long now. Every time I post an excerpt  here, I get page clicks that add up, so I'm really grateful; to all of you. Here's a rather more personal account of a holiday adventure.

This pic by flickrtickr2009
Pic below by killer_queen1

both found at Wikimedia Commons

My husband and I celebrated his last birthday at the top of a mountain. For his present, I'd treated him to a holiday in Majorca. We knew the island quite well as we'd been to stay in a friend's apartment several times before. Each time we'd hired a car and had often driven past the 822 metre high mountain, and seen the castle - Castell d'Alaro - seemingly growing out of its summit.

But we'd never discussed the idea of climbing to the top. I don't suppose he'd imagined it had even crossed my mind.

In fact, I'd done my homework and I knew that you could walk to the top from two sides, either from the town of Alaro or from the road to the village of Orient, well known as a walking centre on the island. Of course you could go up from one side and back to the other. But then you'd have a long trek back over or around to get back to your car.

It was only March but the birthday was blessed with sunshine and just a few clouds that were whisked along by a light breeze - perfect weather for what I had in mind. I packed a generous picnic in our rucksacks, with our light rain wear just in case. And we set off on the mystery tour. As usual, he was driving and I was navigating - both of us doing what we do best.

I'd chosen to go up the side that was the shortest walk so I directed him to turn off the road we knew at the signpost to the castle. That way, you can drive a fair way up the lower slopes to the final car park where the two paths converge. This is at Es Verger, a popular farmhouse restaurant famous for its succulent roast lamb cooked traditionally in a wood-fired oven.  

At that point, I guess the birthday boy might have thought he was just getting a slap up lunch, although it was bit early for that. But no, it was into our rucksacks and best foot forward.

You can read the rest of this story at Helium

Doggie Article

I'm still pushing my Helium articles. Each time I post an excerpt here I get a few clicks to help me on my way to payout so thanks to all who've done that. As long as I keep  rating other people's articles there, I'll earn some revenue share. As soon as I reach the pay out threshold and claim my dollars, since I no longer give the site the benefit of my articles, I'll be able to give up that extra drain on my time. I'm only a few dollars short so I won't give up yet.

Trying to offer something that I think will interest my lovely followers, here is one of my most popular. It's all about the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed of dog. And the picture is of our beloved pet  whom we lost to cancer many years ago.  It took us a long time to even think about getting another dog. Now we have Jade, and she is a completely different character. But I still have such fond memories of our Sam.

If you are looking for an ideal family pet, you could consider the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This breed title is often shortened to the Stafford, or Staffie. The breed has a reputation for adoring people of all ages and for patience and gentleness with children. Staffies are so good with youngsters that they have been nicknamed the Nanny Dog. They are not often used as guard dogs because, while they can be fiercely protective of their "family", they are more likely to welcome a burglar with sloppy wet kisses than protect your property.

The Stafford is a smooth haired dog with a large head and wide mouth, short legs and a tough, muscular body. He or she will probably be playful and energetic well into old age and will need plenty of exercise.

As a puppy, and until he is about six months old, this should be light off-road exercise that is not so rigorous that it can damage his soft, young bones. After this, you can gradually lengthen his walks and do more and more walking on roads and pavements. By the time he is a year old, he will be able to walk happily anywhere for as long as you like. Indeed, if he is off lead, he's likely to run around exploring, and will cover three or four times as much ground as you.

Before acquiring a puppy, you should be prepared to follow the procedures that will ensure he grows into a healthy dog. 

Read the rest of this article here.

Madeira: Island Paradise

Today I'm giving a taster of another of my articles at Helium that is helping the slow trickle of cents into my account towards the payout threshold. This was written before devastating floods affected the island which I understand has been recovering and welcoming its much needed tourists back again. I hope it will entice you to click on and read the rest, and maybe even go and see for yourself.

The Portuguese island of Madeira has long been a popular holiday destination for high society. European royalty, Winston Churchill and many Hollywood stars have favoured it. Much of the shooting of the famous film, Moby Dick, took place there.

The island depends on tourism so you will find hotels to suit all budgets, cafes, bars and restaurants around every corner. Funchal, the capital, is a perfect place to stroll by the sea or sit with a beer and watch the world go by. Just make sure you don't miss a visit to its colourful market, or a tasting of the Madeira wines in the St Francis Wine Lodge.

The Flora

Although it is a volcanic island, close to the more barren Morocco and the Canaries, its climate is very different. It has more rainfall and is covered with lush vegetation. Because it is so mountainous, the island has three different micro-climates, at different levels. So the plant life varies as you climb its windy roads. First you'll see banana plantations, above that it becomes cooler, but warm enough for the vines that produce the grapes for Madeira's famous wines. On the way to the highest peaks you go through National Parks with laurel woodlands, plus eucalyptus with its strong roots that help prevent landslides on the steep slopes. And from the barren peaks, you get the most stunning views imaginable, as long as they are not shrouded in low-lying clouds.

Some people choose Madeira for walking holidays. Many trails follow the levadas, the intricate irrigation system that ensures water in the right place at the right time, especially for the cultivated areas on high ground. Others want to visit its wonderful gardens. Funchal has many delightful public parks, and its Botanical Gardens are to die for. Orchid breeders open their greenhouses to the public and serve refreshments at viewpoints in their beautiful gardens. Up in the hills is Blandy's Garden, where camellia flowers bloom for many months.

Read more of this article in my Helium portfolio

The Little Chapel in Guernsey

Here is another of my articles at Helium. I hope you can spare the  time to go and read it all. Your clicks are mounting up and I will not have to keep referring you there for much longer.

Many people include Guernsey in a European tour. They've heard about the German occupation in the last great war and the moving stories about it that are displayed in the island's museums. If you are one of them, and you emerge from the German Occupation Museum or the German Underground Military Hospital with a heavy heart, choose one of Guernsey's other attractions to lift your mood.

Although they are part of Great Britain, Guernsey and the other Channel Islands are much closer to France than to England and many of the place names are French. At Les Vauxbelets, which is French for 'the pretty little valleys', you will find Guernsey's Little Chapel.

 It's well worth a visit. Said to be the smallest in the world, it is about nine feet long by six feet wide.

Read the rest of this article here.

Visiting Devon

I'm still looking for clicks on Helium, but I see the cents in my account creeping up faster than they did before I started my campaign here. Many thanks to  everyone who has been contributing by clicking through to read my articles. I do hope you are enjoying them.

The one that follows is about the area where I was brought up in the county of Devon. Be warned that it is a relatively long piece with lots of information. I think that could be why it hasn't done well in the ratings over there and I hope it won't put you off taking a look.

The coast south of Brixham

The county of Devon, in the far south west of the UK, has long been a favourite holiday destination. Its attractions are varied and will satisfy the tastes of practically any family. At the peak of the holiday season, though, for some people, fighting through the crowds to get to and enjoy some of the most popular areas can seem just too much trouble.

One such area is the Borough of Torbay, which is known as The English Riviera. It encompasses the towns of Brixham, Paignton and Torquay, the latter being nicknamed the Queen of the English Riviera. Torquay has been a fashionable holiday resort since Victorian times, but these days the season gets too crowded for some. It even gets to me, and I grew up there and love the place.

But a desire for peace and quiet needn't rule out the Torbay area completely. If you have transport it's easy to get right away from the crowds. Go into some of the outlying villages and you will marvel that such tranquillity can exist so close to all the sophisticated resorts. Ignore the more famous beauty spots in nearby Dartmoor National Park, and you will have miles of wild and wonderful countryside to yourself. In fact, you can have the best of both worlds.

Either take your own wheels or hire a car, a motor-bike, or even a push bike if you have the energy. Arm yourself with a good map, like the Ordnance Survey Landranger Sheet 202, and off you go.

If you have to travel at a busy time and want to avoid the long crawl on stretches of the A380 to Torbay, past Newton Abbot, it might be a good idea to base yourself there, or in one of the comfortable guest houses half way between those two towns, in Kingskerswell. From there you can immediately take to the country lanes where you will only occasionally have the problem of finding a passing place because of oncoming traffic.

Kingskerswell is only a short drive to Torbay's main beaches as well as to the more remote coves at Watcombe and Maidencombe and the tranquil coast path. If you can manage the distance - 10.8 miles from Torquay Harbour - and several punishing climbs, you can walk this trail all the way to Shaldon, on the south bank of the mouth of the River Teign. Or you can drive the coast road with its glorious views.

Please read the rest of this article here of you have a few moments to spare.

Ironbridge, UK: The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Here's a taster of another of my Helium articles that I placed there after they had sold for one-off rights at Constant Content. If you have time and it has piqued your interest, please click on the link at the bottom and read the full article on that site. Every click helps me towards my goal of a final payout there.

The birth of the industrial revolution is believed by many to have taken place in the picturesque Ironbridge Gorge, on the banks of the River Severn in Shropshire, England. In his ironworks in nearby Coalbrookdale, in the year 1709, Abraham Darby exchanged coke for charcoal, in the production of iron for making pots, pans, kettles and the like. Darby's Coalbrookdale foundries prospered and diversified. Seventy years later, in 1779, his grandson, Abraham Darby III, built the first iron bridge in the world across the Severn, so the town became Ironbridge.

The iron bridge attracted attention worldwide and was to become a symbol of the industrial revolution that was based on the availability of coal reserves beneath England together with the enthusiasm and ingenuity of the engineers of the day. They produced machines that revolutionised the production of textiles, and they built roads, canals and a network of railways, engines and rolling stock. Over the next century and beyond, this revolution spread from the UK into Europe and around the world.

One of the most famous engineers of the time who was influenced by the iron bridge was Thomas Telford. Born in Scotland in 1757, he trained as a stonemason, wanted to be an architect, but in 1820 was to become a celebrated first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. During a lengthy stint as Surveyor of Public Works for the county of Shropshire, he became familiar with Ironbridge, and built some iron bridges himself. He is also known for building canals and his projects in London include the St Katherine Docks beside Tower Bridge. He died in 1834 and 134 years later, in 1968, he was commemorated by the naming of a new town in Shropshire – Telford.

To read the rest of this article on Ironbridge, click here.

Travel experiences: Valley of Kings, Egypt

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my Helium articles and helping me reach my revenue share pay out. I've noticed the cents building up more quickly since my post about this.

I'm planning to post excerpts here on Mondays for a few weeks (if I remember), with a link to the full article, so I hope you will all find something interesting enough to follow the link. Here's the next one about some aspects of our holiday in Egypt.

Visiting the Valley of the Kings is a must for anyone interested in the ancient Egyptians. Here, close to the west bank of the city of Thebes is where the pharaohs and their people made sure of their after life.

But ancient Thebes has been swallowed up in the modern city of Luxor, from where we crossed the bridge over the great river to make our pilgrimage to the wondrous tombs. Our visit was a birthday present for my husband who had long wanted to make it. I'd booked an organised tour ahead of our two week holiday just to make sure we got there.

The tour seemed quite expensive, but on the day we agreed that we'd received very good value money. The main reason for this was Helen, our guide, who pulled out all the stops to make the day perfect for everyone. When she introduced herself at 6 am that day, she told us that she, and all the qualified guides, had to undergo rigorous training. She had gone through a four year university course in antiquities and was clearly very proud to be able to show us the wonders of ancient Egypt. Her English was excellent, and she had a mischievous sense of humour, making the day great fun as well as educational.

As our coach travelled between the desert to the west and the fertile Nile valley, Helen explained that main crops were sugar beet, but this year (2009) many farmers were also growing wheat. The reason for this, she believed, was that they had been let down over wheat supplies by the US government in the previous year, causing near starvation in some areas of the country.

We drove past villages and groups of houses that looked unfinished, although many had brightly coloured washing strung on lines between scaffold poles on the top storeys.

"Yes," said Helen. "You'll see a lot of that. In this country, we don't have a mortgage system like you do. Families save until they can buy a plot of land and build on it. When the first level is built, they move in. When they can afford it, they build on another level for their offspring to move into. They might then add another level for the next generation, and so on."

Soon we came to the entrance to the excavation site of the mortuary temple of Amenophis III which was brought down by a horrendous earthquake in 27 BC. Guarding the entrance are two enormous seated statues which miraculously escaped destruction. (See picture above)

You read the rest of this article here.

Overcome your Fear of Cold Calling

What follows this paragraph is part of one of my articles at Helium. I still hold the rights to them because I posted all of them there before they insisted on having exclusive rights. This one was rated best of four on this topic.

If you can put your hand on your heart and say that you enjoy making cold calls, you don’t really need to read this. You are one of a small minority for whom picking up the phone to call a complete stranger out of the blue holds no terrors.

For most people, it’s not something they enjoy because they fear they will not be a welcome interlude in someone’s busy day. Let’s face it, most of us dislike taking cold calls and immediately feel an animosity towards the caller, even if it is tinged with sympathy for someone who has to earn a living this way.

Unfortunately, this kind of marketing is more essential than ever before in today’s climate of economies and cut backs. Disappearing customers and clients must be replaced. For many businesses it means they have to do it or die.

So is it a case of feel the fear and do it anyway? Perhaps it is, but only to begin with. Strangely enough, if you spend enough time cold calling, it does get easier. And when you get a positive reaction, it’s positively enjoyable. Here are some tips to help you get to that unbelievable state of looking forward to the next phone call.

1        Stay within the law. You will, of course, have checked that you are not breaking the law by calling this person or company. Regulations differ between countries and some have lists of those that have opted out of receiving such calls, often with hefty penalties in place for those that ignore them. The lists are usually readily available on the Internet.

2        Believe in what you have to offer. If you are in business for yourself, this is not likely to be difficult. You wouldn’t be selling something you don’t have a passion for and believe in. As an employee doing this for someone else, you need to find that passion and really believe that the product or service is something that will make the prospect’s life easier or more successful. You can’t communicate enthusiasm for something you don’t believe in.

3        Be prepared. Know your offer inside out, so that you will know how it can benefit the prospects when you find out more about them. Prepare the sort of questions you could ask to help them discover that they really do need your help. And be prepared to listen. Calls where the prospect does most of the talking are usually the most successful.

There's more of course. If you'd like to read it all, click here.

My Helium Articles

When Helium declared it wanted exclusive rights to articles, I stopped submitting there. Previously I posted pieces that I had already sold for non-exclusive rights so they could earn a little more for me. I have a small portfolio of 49 articles still there and earning from revenue share provided I keep rating other people's articles. I currently have a little over $20 in my account which I am determined I'm not going to let them keep. So I have to get it up to the payment threshold of £25. If I stop rating I stop earning, so I still have to spend time at Helium out of my busy days.

So, my blogger friends, this is a plea for help. I seem to get 1 cent for every five or ten views of my articles, so, if you have time please go and read one that interests you. How about one about staffie dogs or another about visiting the largest tree in the world. Many of my pieces have lost their top rating but most of them have already been snapped up by customers at Constant Content, so they aren't that bad. You can see more articles listed at my Helium page by clicking on this sign in my side bar.

Once I've claimed my payment I'll be able to forget about Helium, but it will have served its purpose in bringing me over $100 over a couple of years.

That King's Speech Film Again

The background of this movie is the period of British history leading up to the time that Albert, the second son of King George V, had to take over the monarchy unexpectedly in December 1936. His older brother had decided to abdicate in order to marry the love of his life, American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Bertie, as he was known to his family, was to become George VI and lead his country in the second world war against Hitler.

 Photo credit: allmoviephoto.com

The film, however, dwells not so much on these sensational episodes of history, as on the serious personal challenge that Bertie had to overcome – his stammer. 

You can read the rest of my review of this film here.

As is my practice, I first submitted it to Constant Content, offering all rights, which meant I couldn't post it here or anywhere else.  However, only non-exclusive rights were purchased. The bad news is I earn less this time round. The good news is that it is still for sale, so I could earn the same amount again, as often as someone wants to buy it.  

It also means I retain the copyright and can do as I like with it. So I've posted it at Helium. If you have time, please go and take a look by clicking the link above, and get my passive income from it started.

You can also view a King's Speech trailer video in this blog.  I posted that when I'd seen the film and was planning to write the review.

Nell Gwyn at Hereford

I found this plaque on a wall close to the bishop's palace next to Hereford Cathedral.  It was a surprise to me because I didn't know Nell Gwyn (sometimes spelt Gwynne) had been born in Hereford, although I have written about her scandalous life.  If you'd like to know more about her, you can read my full article about her at Helium, or you can buy it at Constant Content.

Helium and Constant Content

I love it when I wake up, get on the internet and find another sale at Constant Content. It's happened twice this month and I haven't even written any articles as I've been too busy with other things. The ones that sold have been sitting there for a few months just waiting for a good home. One of them sold for full rights and one for a one off licence only, which means I'll be able to sell it again.

I've written about this here before, so you may already know that my practice is to post articles at CC, making them availabel for both exclusive and non-exclusive rights at appropriate different prices. If they sell for non-exclusive rights, I usually post them to a relevant Helium title so I'd get a little more income from their up-front payments and revenue share. One was even purchased from there, but they only paid me $5 for it and I have no idea what the buyer paid them.

There won't be any more up-front payments from Helium though. They have decided they will now only pay up-front for exclusive rights, although authors can still post non-exclusive work for revenue share.

I thought about this and looked at what they are likely to pay out. But why should I offer articles exclusively to them for a fraction of the price I can get by selling at CC. This month I am over $50 up for selling two articles at CC, whereas I might get $10 for two articles from Helium if I am lucky and my work is rated high enough. It would probably be more likely to be $2, or even zilch.

Some writers say they can earn a living at Helium. To do that they must have hundreds or thousands articles on the site. But they would still earn a good deal more at CC if their work was of good emough quality.

Cold Calling

My latest article at Helium is about cold calling. At least we don't have to use phones like this 19th century one any more.

Here is an excerpt from my article.

If you can put your hand on your heart and say that you enjoy making cold calls, you don’t really need to read this. You are one of a small minority for whom picking up the phone to call a complete stranger out of the blue holds no terrors.

For most people, it’s not something they enjoy because they fear they will not be a welcome interlude in someone’s busy day. Let’s face it, most of us dislike taking cold calls and immediately feel an animosity towards the caller, even if it is tinged with sympathy for someone who has to earn a living this way.

Unfortunately, this kind of marketing is more essential than ever before in today’s climate of economies and cut backs. Disappearing customers and clients must be replaced. For many businesses it means they have to do it or die.

So is it a case of feel the fear and do it anyway? Perhaps it is, but only to begin with. Strangely enough, if you spend enough time cold calling, it does get easier. And when you get a positive reaction, it’s positively enjoyable. Here are some tips to help you get to that unbelievable state of looking forward to the next phone call.

You can buy the article at Constant Content here, but you can read the tips for free at Helium

Microcredit on Helium

Over in the Helium Marketplace I noticed a request for an article that was going to be really well paid. In common with 25 other writers I decided to give it a go and sat down to do the research.

What I read just blew me away. I spent hours reading the stories of the poorest people who'd managed to turn their lives around when they were offered life-saving loans of the the smallest amounts of money, on repayment terms that they could manage. I felt privileged to be able to write something that would do some awareness raising for the organisations that raise the money that can be loaned. I discovered that I can contribute an amount as small as $25 for an individual loan via an organisation called Kiva.

I didn't really expect my piece to be chosen (and it wasn't). I knew the competition would be stiff (and it was). But I didn't expect that it would damage my standing at Helium so much that I'd lose my stars. That was a bit of a blow, but I've now got it showcased at Constant Content with a non-exclusive price tag. If it sells I'll be investing my profit in a Kiva loan.

You could read it here at Helium (or choose to read one or more that are rated higher), or buy it here at CC.

I find the rating system at Helium very unpredictable. Often my articles start off really high and stay there for a while, then drop months later, so that I lose stars. I've been up to three and now I have none again, which means earnings are pitiful and I have little enthusiasm for submitting. But that's a catch 22 because I'm told that with a larger portfolio, you're less likely lose stars. Perhaps I'll get there one day. Sigh.

In the meantime I continue to earn from my commissions and my showcased articles at CC. At least I know some people like my work.

Feast and Famine

I’m feeling cranky today and up to now, I haven’t written a thing. That’s bad. I like to write something every day when I’m at home. At least I will get this blog post written and posted.

Earlier I was about to start responding to a request in the Helium Marketplace. In fact I started a bit of research and then went back to copy the assignment guidelines. That’s when I noticed it was just for people with Premium Marketplace Writer status. Ok. I thought I had that, but I hadn’t posted anything there for a while and my star ratings are still going up and down.

So I decided to check. And what do I find? My status has dropped to Marketplace Approved Writer. I can’t write to that title for Helium. I’d wasted about half an hour plus lots of thinking time while I’d been doing household chores. It could have been worse though. I could have written the whole damn thing and not been able to submit it.

The reason I had planned to go for it in the first place was because I had already written something similar for a client, although it would have to be translated for an American readership, whereas my earlier piece had referred to UK law. It’s always good to be able to double up my use of research and cut down what’s needed for the next job.

Last month I was especially busy with sub contracted work, and didn’t have time for much else. It was a trial month and I’d hoped it would be regular work, but that’s not happening. Although I discounted it heavily, it proved too expensive to be repeated, especially as it had felt like working for even smaller peanuts than my freelance writing usually yields, so I wanted to reduce the discount a bit.

So while I had a feast of work last month, I am now in famine time. This is when I really have to motivate myself to hunt for work and even write on spec. I haven’t posted much at Constant Content either and my sales there are down. They always seem to go up when I can submit regularly, so I guess that’s the next thing I must get on with.

Fair Pricing and Patience for Writers

Last month when I was checking my Helium account, it seemed to take a strange leap up. On checking the reason I found that one of my articles had been purchased for stock content (their jargon) for the princely sum of $5.

Now the same article at Constant Content (CC) had already sold for usage rights just over a year ago. That was when I posted it at Helium as well since I could no longer offer exclusive rights for it at CC at a much higher price. But when I sold it the first time for non-exclusive rights, the price I'd set was $20, which mean that after paying the CC commission, I got $13 for it - not much but still over 2.5 times what Helium paid me.

I can't help wondering how much the purchaser paid Helium for it. At CC we authors know that we sign away 35% of sales to the site, and for that we have the benefit of them showcasing our work, protecting our copyright and finding our buyers. At Helium I have no idea what sort of cut they are taking from such a sale.

Of course, I don't get any revenue share at CC, because they don't have any advertising on the site. Their only income is from the commission on sales. In just over a year at Helium, my article has earned me almost another dollar from page clicks. (And you can find it here at Helium and here at CC).

So far, I've just mentioned internet writing here. When I used to concentrate on writing for the print media, I often waited several months to hear whether my work had been accepted, and then many more months for the publication. And nine times out of 10, payment followed some time after that.

Did you know that writers just have to number patience as one of their most important characteristics?

CC and Helium Again

At Constant Content, you can choose to write about anything under the sun, and if it is written well enough, it will be showcased there. More than half of my portfolio, of (currently) 124 articles, there has sold. A good many of them sold for unique or full rights, which means I have given up my rights to them; while the rest sold for usage rights only, which means I retain the rights and they have to be published under my byline. They remain showcased for the sale of usage rights only, and I can also publish them elsewhere.

Usually I choose to publish them at Helium, which almost always pays me a couple of dollars for each one. Articles there are competitive and you have to be rated in the top quarter to be paid, unless you are the first to submit a new title, which will be paid for if you are a starred writer and rater. And nowadays they do limit up-front payments to titles with only a few articles. If you are thinking of following suit, you need to read the rules quite carefully.

You probably know that articles at Helium are rated by the authors. In fact I have to complete a certain number of ratings in order to be allocated payments each month, as does every other author. Some people complain about the rating system, and I don’t always agree with where my articles fall. But I don’t complain because that’s just the way the system works. And I daresay every other author feels the same at some time or other.

What surprises me is that the ratings don’t seem to matter that much to people viewing the articles. For instance, since January 1st, my earnings have come from:

• Tips for succeeding as an entrepreneur, which is 2 of 24

• The advantages of getting married late in life – 4 of 4

• China travel destinations: Visiting the Giant Panda in the Bifeng Valley – 1 of 5

• Places worth seeing in Barcelona – 1 of 13

• Travel experiences: Climbing to Castell d'Alaro, Majorca – 1 of 1

• Travel destinations: The Little Chapel in Guernsey – 1 of 1

If any of those titles interest you, please head over there for a read and earn me some more pennies.

The Taklimakan Desert

I didn’t find it easy to write about this Chinese desert, pictured above from space. Situated in the north west of the country and surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, including KR and Everest to the south, it is one of the largest shifting sand deserts in the world. In the path of the ancient Silk Road, it has two routes around it, one each to the north and south, with a number of oasis towns along the way, all with various tourist attractions within reach.

I started researching it a few weeks ago when it was one of the titles in a Helium competition, but I soon realised that I wasn’t going to meet the competition deadline with any chance of a prize. You need to post at least four competitive articles of really good quality to get enough points for that. I had only posted one other, about the giant pandas in the Bifeng Valley. (If you’d like to do me a favour, click on this link to head over there and read it. You might find it interesting.)

Anyway, at Constant Content, a client who publishes an ex-pat magazine in China is often looking for China travel features has bought several of mine in the past. So I decided not to waste my research, but to beef it up and submit an article there. I’ve been working on it for a couple of hours here and there ever since.

I finally completed, edited and proofed it today and it has now been submitted, awaiting approval. It’s really satisfying to get such a project under my belt, even if I can’t price it high enough to be a fair reward for my time. If I did, I can’t believe it would ever sell.

Such is life.