You Can Write for the Web!

You Can Write for the Web!
by Glenn White

Opportunity Knocks

You have a great opportunity as a Christian writer for publication when you write for the Web. The exciting news is that devotional writing opportunities will literally explode in the next few years.
George Barna, the guru of tracking church trends, said in a recent report; “By the end of the decade we will have in excess of ten percent of our population who rely upon the Internet for their entire spiritual experience. Some of them will be individuals who have not had a connection with a faith community . . .”
The same report notes that teenagers are very interested in reading devotions online and submitting prayer requests. The good news for you, as a writer, that the single activity most appealing in all age groups, according to the report, was reading online devotionals.

What does this mean for you as a writer?

Understand this is a low pay or no pay market

At least for right now, in the future this market may pay better. If you’re looking for a lucrative market today, then the devotional market is not for you. It is a great market, however, to see your work published for the first time. This is where I got hooked on writing for the Web. It was exciting to see my work on the World Wide Web for the first time. I suddenly realized, “Yes, I can write and get published on the Web.” You, too, can write for the Web.

Make time for your personal devotions.

If you do this already, that’s great. If not, this is a good time to start. Begin writing in a journal your daily devotions with God. I use a daily Bible reading plan that takes me through the Bible in a year. You can use the popular One Year Bible or a Bible reading plan.

Read, study and learn to write for the Web

A couple of excellent books are Writing.com by Moira Allen and Writing for the Web by Crawford Killian. I refer to these quite often.

Start reading online devotionals.

Subscribe to as many devotionals as you can read to get a feel for writing online devotionals. The writer’s adage, “Write what you read” is good advice.

Don’t be intimidated

Online devotionals are quite easy to break into as a writer. Devotionals are short, personal, and usually only make one point. You can do it!

Offer your devotionals to Web sites.

Find a site with devotions you feel comfortable with, and then offer your devotional to the site. Don’t get discouraged. Keep up your daily devotional habit, write, offer your work and you’ll be on your way in the exciting journey of writing for the Web. Not only that but you will grow in your walk with God. What more can you ask for?
Try these two devotional sites:
Manna Cabana
Daily Wisdom
When you are published let us know. We believe you can Write To Inspire!