Interview with VarietyWriter

Today, we get the chance to hear about one of Zujava's most prolific authors, VarietyWriter, who has 97 leaves published as of today. Her drive and positive attitude has been a great influence on Zujava and on the forums, so people have been anxious to hear her interview. Here's what VarietyWriter had to say when we caught up with her:

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your passions, and why you started writing online?

I am a mother of one daughter, a wife of 27 years, and the eldest of 7 children. I was born and raised in New York until the age of 12, which is when my family move to sunny California and where I reside today. I am also an animal lover with 2 adopted dogs from the rescue shelter, and a volunteer. In 2008 I was laid off from my job. Fortunately, a month later I accidentally came across a site called Zazzle and took an interest it in as way to earn income. Through the Zazzle forum I heard of a site called Squidoo. Squidoo not only gave me an opportunity to make more money online but it also provided me with a platform to share my passion for writing and promote my Zazzle products. Through the Squidoo forum I learned about this wonderful site called Zujava, where I spend most of my time writing now. Today, I have 8 Zazzle stores, I have published over 1,500 Squidoo lenses, and I am 3 leaves away from reaching my 100 leaves in 100 days goal. 

You are amazingly prolific. By the time this blog post has been published, you may have published 100 leaves, so congratulations! What is your secret to staying motivated to publish so often? How do you stay focused on your writing goals? 

Thank you. There are 2 things that keep me motivated when it come to making leaves, money and a passion for writing. What else does one need to stay motivated, right? I don't have a secret when it comes to publishing and staying focused. I just treat it as I would a normal full-time job, which is to show up 5 days a week, work 8-10 hours a day, and produce the best work I can. 

What promotional methods do you rely on to get the word out about your leaves, if any?

To promote my leaves I use the forums and Twitter, and link my leaves together. Promotion is one area I need to work on. There are so many sites that I could be utilizing to promote my leaves more, such as Pinterest, Facebook and StumbleUpon. It's just finding the time to start those accounts. I enjoy writing leaves more than promoting them. However, I know that promoting is essential to getting traffic and something I must work on in the near future.

How do you choose which topic you’ll write about next?

Sometimes I choose a topic that I think is popular and people will be searching online for, sometimes I choose a topic that I have a passion about, and sometimes it's just a topic I want to share with others or think will benefit the reader. 

Original photos that you’ve personally taken have played a prominent role on your leaves. When do you take these photos, and how would you recommend others do the same?

People want to see photos. Photos are important and can tell a story. I take my camera everywhere I go and I recommend that other people do the same. 

What do you like best about writing on Zujava?

There are so many things I like about writing on Zujava. I like that Zujava is easy to use and that I can earn money with my passion for writing. I appreciate that Zujava holds high standards for their authors. I also like that Zujava has contests, which help to keep me challenged and motivated. Additionally, I like the support that the owners provide to their authors, that they implement many of the suggestions submitted by the authors, that they interact with their authors in the forum and on the leaves, and that they hi-light authors and leaves on Zujava's homepage. 

If you could give just one tip to other authors publishing on Zujava, what would it be?

For authors that are here to earn money writing on Zujava my one tip would be to add Zazzle products to their leaves. Zazzle pays 15% for referred sales, which is more than most associates. Zazzle has a large selection of products to choose from and products that suit just about every topic I write about. I published a leaf on how to add Zazzle products to leaves. My other tip is to not only write about the things you have a passion for but to also publish leaves on popular subjects that people may be searching for on the internet. 

What would you like to see next on Zujava? 

At the top of my wish list is an easier way to find the leaves I'm looking for on my bio page. I link my leaves together and when I go to find them on my bio page I have to scroll through the entire list to find the leaves I'm looking for. That isn't a difficult task when you have a few leaves but when you have 50 or more it can be time consuming. I would also like to have an Amazon widget on the sidebar where we could add a couple Amazon products.

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There you have it! The secret to being productive and focused with your writing? "...treat it as I would a normal full-time job, which is to show up 5 days a week, work 8-10 hours a day, and produce the best work I can." 

Thanks for this excellent interview, VarietyWriter! We appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. 

Here are some of VarietyWriter's most successful leaves below:

• Gender Reveal Party
• Pink Zebra Baby Shower Invitiations
• Barbie - A Pop Culture Icon and Fashionista
• Angels vs. Dodgers
• Bettie Page - the Most Famous Pin-Up Girl in the World

If you have any further questions for VarietyWriter, be sure to ask in the comments!