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Think you might need a Web site, but not sure where to start? At 1 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at the 2004 Writing Rendezvous in Anchorage, freelance writer Sonya Senkowsky presented a workshop about using the Internet in your writing career.

The talk covered:
• How I used the Web to help establish my freelance business/specialty. (And how to establish your own freelance writing specialty.)
• What a Web site can — and can’t — do for you.
• Timing: Why your site should be up 1-3 months before you think you need it. (And what to do if it isn’t.)
• Designing the writer’s site: Using your writing to your advantage.
• Doing it yourself without doing it all: Blogs, templates and other new options for the do-it-yourselfer (including AlaskaWriters Homestead at alaskawriters.com).
• Care and feeding: Getting Google’s attention - and other tasks for after your site is up.
• Beyond Web sites: Listservs, e-mail managers, ftp sites - and other ways to make the Internet work for you and your writing.

Special note for participants: The online writing market database I referenced in my talk (the one you could subscribe to for as little as one day) is Wooden Horse Publishing. As I mentioned, it is good to make use of more than one reference; I find this site a good addition to my Writer’s Market. —Sonya

About the Presenter
Sonya Senkowsky is a freelance writer based in Anchorage who specializes in writing about Alaska science — from dinosaur discovery on the North Slope to submersible exploration beneath Alaska seas. Formerly with the Anchorage Daily News, Sonya left full-time newspapering to begin freelancing. She has since written science stories for such publications as National Geographic Online, Scientific American, the Oregonian and BioScience magazine as well as for local outlets. Sonya holds a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Times. Her experience carving out a freelance specialty and promoting her work online inspired her to start Alaska Writers Homestead (alaskawriters.com).