The Latest From AngelaHoy.com

This test may be freely reprinted/redistributed as long as the entire test and bio are included.

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Looking back on your life, I’m sure you can think of specific things that you did or that happened to you that made you the writer you are today. Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to be a writer but doubt your abilities? Writers have specific personality traits that help drive them to the craft! Not sure if you’re fulfilling your destiny? Well, let’s take a look!

Here is a fun test to help determine your journalistic destiny.

Points:
Always – 2
Sometimes – 1
Never – 0

1. __Does your mind try to come up with new ideas at night, making it difficult to fall asleep?

2. __Do you always feel like you need to be creating something, whether through writing, crafting, cooking or any fun activity?

3. __Do you have a constant stream of new things to write or create running through your head while driving or sitting?

4. __Do you drive by people who are sitting on their front porch and think, “Don’t those people have anything to do?”

5. __When anything happens in the neighborhood, do you rush outside to see what it is?

6. __When you’re driving through a neighborhood at night, do you try to see into other people’s windows?

7. __When you’re sitting at home, watching TV, do you always worry that you should be doing something productive instead?

8. __When you’re bored, do you call someone you know to get “the scoop” on what’s happening in the family or neighborhood?

9. __When someone tells you a secret, is it really, really hard to keep it to yourself?

10. __Do you enjoy reading celebrity/gossip magazines such as People or Us?

11. __Do you gossip?

12. __Are you hopeless in advanced mathematics?

13. __In school, did your teachers praise your writing one day and give you detention for excessive talking the next?

14. __Did you ever write papers or letters for your friends in school?

15. __Did you ever charge other kids to write their papers?

16. __Has anyone ever called you a tattletale?

17. __Do you still “tattle” on others, even at work?

18. __Do you read non-fiction with a vengeance, eagerly soaking in information about people, places, events and anything you can get your hands on?

19. __When writing or telling stories about real events, do you embellish the details?

20. __Would you rather watch the news, documentaries or the history or science channel than a sitcom?

21. __Do you wish you owned a police scanner? (Give yourself an extra 2 points if you actually own one!)

How’d you do?

31-44 points – You have a primal need to gather, organize, and share information with others for entertainment and education! If you’re not a writer, you are likely feeling very bored and unhappy in your current job. If you are a writer, you don’t like the business of querying and selling your work. You’re happiest when you’re just writing, and wish that’s all you had to do!

21-30 points – You’re an enthusiastic writer, but you may need more inspiration for ideas and information for your stories. Get out there and get nosy! If you’re not writing for profit, it’s time to start!

11-20 points – You enjoy entertaining yourself and others with witty and colorful stories and you love watching your audience’s humorous and emotional reactions to your tales! You write colorful articles, essays and/or letters (family members always find your letters and notes a treat!). You may have already started a book of essays or poems. If you’re not yet a fiction writer, you should consider diving into that world!

1-10 points – You don’t gossip or pry into other people’s lives. You value your privacy and the privacy of others. You’re a trusted friend and a keeper of secrets and your friends always know whom they can trust for a sympathetic ear and sound advice! If you’re a writer, your talents involve organizing facts and sharing how-to instructions and information. Technical writers are highly valued in the industry and well-paid!

~While this exercise has been tested on freelance writers, reporters, novelists, poets and non-writers for accuracy, it is for entertainment purposes only. ~

Angela Hoy is the co-owner of WritersWeekly.com and Booklocker.com. http://www.writersweekly.com – the FREE marketing emag for writers featuring new freelance jobs and PAYING MARKETS delivered to your emailbox every Wednesday. http://www.booklocker.com – Your book as a glossy trade paperback or hardback in only 4 to 6 weeks for only $199. High royalties, monthly payments, and you keep your rights! Submission guidelines are online at:
http://www.booklocker.com/getpublished/published.html

I’ve posted updates to last week’s Copyright Infringement Hall of Shame listings under each company’s name here: http://www.angelahoy.com/writing/archives/000366.html

Is there a company you’d like to warn other writers about? Please drop by the new WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings Forum! Post your experiences and read what other writers are struggling with. See:
http://www.writersweekly.com/phpBB2/index.php

This week, we’ve received four emails from writers who were “approached” by companies online. The writers wanted to know if these companies were a good deal. One was a book reviewer (who charged a fee). Another was an online bookstore that didn’t charge any transaction fees…because they charge authors a huge, up-front annual fee to list their books there (huh?). Another one was a website where writers can have their own “professional webpage.” In all cases, the writers weren’t approached. They were spammed!

The website that hosts author pages “guaranteed” they would announce the writer’s page to 10,000 book buyers. I suggested to the writer that if these people are spamming 10,000 new book buyers every time a new author signs up for their service, I’m quite sure those book buyers are deleting those emails. And, anytime a firm stoops to spamming to attract writers, that firm should be avoided. You don’t want your name or book associated with a spammer.

Professional providers of products and services to not spam! They have legitimate, respectable ways of attracting customers for their businesses. Any firm that spams should be avoided. And, when they tell you you’re on an “opt-in” list or that you’ve expressed an interest in them or one of their affiliates (blah blah), they’re lying. You never requested permission to be spammed by them. Any person who does business in this manner is unethical and is also a major part of the spam problem the government is trying to repair today. I receive more than 1,000 emails each day. While my filters catch a lot of it, they don’t catch it all. So, I spend a good deal of time each day wasting my time, deleting that garbage.

Likewise, if someone offers to sell you a list of “opt-in” email addresses, run. Using software, the spammers skim email addresses from websites, discussion lists and just about anywhere they can be found online. They are not opt-in and if you use the list to promote your writing or your book, your reputation may be destroyed. And, you’ll be flamed to kingdom come by the people you’ve spammed.

I’m not sure why, but I am absolutely buried this week. I can’t even catch my breath! Business is good, but sometimes I wish it wasn’t THIS good!

Have a super week, everybody!