by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: February 14, 2009   Last Updated: May 13, 2011

The Internet, in one way or another, has touched and affected almost everyone's life. The way in which we obtain information, communicate, record details of events, even do our weekly grocery shopping has been altered almost beyond recognition by this huge entity that we know as the Worldwide Web. The writing community is no exception to this rule; in fact, the writing community is perhaps a prime example, as writers are the people primarily responsible for feeding the Internet with more and more content in order that it grows ever bigger and more powerful.

In times gone by, writers sat at a desk with a pen, or perhaps a typewriter, and put their thoughts and their creations down on paper. These pieces of paper were then sent to publishers by post - or snail mail, as it is now commonly known - who would either agree to publish the material or reject it. If they agreed to publish it - in the extreme case of a novel, for instance - it could easily be a year or more before the writer's work was readily accessible to their public and effective paymasters.

While this method of publishing of course still exists and hopefully will for some time to come, there are far wider opportunities available to the modern writer. The writer today can write to sites such as Helium, which you are viewing at the moment, publish their work seconds after typing the last period and begin earning on that work the same day!

The Internet also gives the writing community access to a far wider market than they had previously. Rather than having to laboriously search through writers' yearbooks or reference library material for potential markets for their work, a simple Google search can deliver such opportunistic information to the writer's PC screen in seconds. The time saved in this respect is considerable and leaves the writer more time to do what they do best: write. Perhaps even more significantly, however, while offline writing markets were restricted in the number of works they could publish, the Internet in many ways knows no such limits. Anyone who wishes to write and publish can now do so, with the various machinations of the Internet designed to help ensure that quality writing is that which is most widely read and most handsomely rewarded.

Research was once the scourge of many a writer's life and took up endless hours that could have been far more profitably spent. Just as with searching for markets, though on a far grander scale, time would be spent searching through dusty old books and journals for one simple scrap of information that was required to authenticate or complete a piece of writing. Time would be wasted traveling to and from libraries or other such establishments in pursuit of this material. It could all mount up to a costly experience not just in time but in money. Google again comes to the rescue in this respect, narrowing a search to precisely what is required and transporting the writer at the touch of a button to so many richly informative and wonderful websites.

The Internet has in countless ways been the best thing that has ever happened to the writing community. As it grows, so does the writing community with it, with ever more money making and career enhancing avenues and opportunities for its members to explore.

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