You need your freelance writing to be professional so that clients pay you well. This means your words read well and contain no major grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. Freelance writers with poor copy editing skills either don’t make much money or they don’t make any money at all. First up… 1. Improve Your Writing […]
Why Freelance Writers Often Miss Deadlines
Hey freelancers, why do your writing projects take you all the way up to the deadline to complete, and why do you sometimes miss deadlines, even when you had plenty of time to do the project? It’s because you’re making a key time management mistake: you’re letting yourself fall victim to Parkinson’s Law. Parkinson’s Law? […]
Your Writing Income and Career Goals
“I know what I’m gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. I’m shakin’ the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world.” Ah, George Bailey. He never realized the big dreams of his childhood. Instead, he found great joy […]
When a Freelance Writer Gets Only Silence from an Editor
One unfortunate aspect of freelance writer/editor relationships is dealing with rejection, and also dealing with silence, which sometimes means rejection but often does not. Here’s an e-mail I received recently from a purchaser of my ebook Writing College Textbook Supplements who was diligently applying my advice on how to connect with editors at textbook publishing […]
How I Chose My Freelance Writing Niches
Choose the best freelance writing niches for your skills and interests and you’ll have a more interesting and financially rewarding career as a freelance writer. Here’s how I chose my niches… Why Focus on Freelance Writing Niches? Because you’ll get a higher rate of return on the total investment of the time you spend marketing […]
How I Do My Taxes
Like many of you fellow freelance writers and other self-employed folks, I’ll be doing my taxes soon. Since productivity is an important focus here, I’ll share how I do my taxes. You can chime in below with comments and we can all learn from each other. (Note: see this recent post for other important advice: […]
How Content Shock Hurts Freelance Writers
On January 6 Mark Schaefer published a provocative post about the declining utility of content marketing, a phenomenon he dubs “content shock.” The piece has garnered a great deal of scrutiny and attention both from those who agree with Schaefer’s thesis (including me) and from those who disagree or downplay the impact. I’m not here […]
Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination With My Kindle Ebook
If you want to be a successful freelance writer, you must overcome writer’s block and procrastination. How much have these two maladies cost you in your freelance career? Fortunately, I have the perfect solution: my Kindle ebook 50 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination, and it’s just $2.99. Note: you don’t need to actually own a […]
Lower Your Freelance Writer Taxes With These 8 Tips
Note: this post was updated in late January of 2014 with new info from Carol. Happy tax season! We freelance writers need to take advantage of all the possible tax deductions and make the best use of good tax management practices. Luckily, Carol Topp, a Certified Public Accountant and the author of Business Tips and […]
Hey Starbucks, Here’s Why This Writer Ain’t Around Much Anymore
Important Update: I Take It All Back… Starbucks has delivered on its promise to provide much faster wifi through its partnership with Google. Basically, at the Starbucks I frequent in far northern California and the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon, the connections are now quite fast, certainly on par with other coffee shops I hang out at, […]
Want to Be a Better Writer? Just Relax…
Relax! You hear it frequently. You may say it to yourself. And it’s very important. When you’re relaxed, you help keep your body healthy and you preserve energy that your mind needs to get your writing projects done. Here’s what you need to do… Proper Ergonomics I’ve written a popular post on writing ergonomics, so […]
19 Successful Freelance Writers Share Their Top Goals for 2014
Good goals help you gain good results You need to have realistic and motivating goals for all areas of your life, from income generation to health to relationships. That’s why I’ve asked 19 of my favorite successful freelance writers to share top freelance writing goal and top personal goal for 2014. Linda Formichelli My top […]
The Best Way to Bid a Freelance Project
Freelance writers often do a wide variety of projects, and occasionally they get offered new type of project that requires some careful evaluation. That was the case with freelance science writer Christopher Crockett. He has a strong background in physics and astronomy (a PHD in astronomy, actually), and he’s using that to carve out his […]
How My Computer Screen Background Photo Inspires My Writing
What we see where we write can help us be more productive and more creative. That’s why I chose this photo for my computer screen background… That’s my life partner Stephanie Hoffman entering Bell Canyon in southern Utah’s San Rafael Swell. This hike is the best we’ve ever done together. We saw stunning sandstone […]
Top Interview Tips for Freelance Writers
As a freelance writer, you’ll frequently need to interview important people for magazine, newspaper, and website articles, or for a book you’re writing. In this post I’ll give you a comprehensive list of the five key aspects of the interview process. First: Getting Agreement for the Interview First off, contact the person as soon as […]
How Stoicism Will Make You a Happier Freelancer
How can Stoicism make you a happier and better freelancer, and make you’re entirely life better? You have to start by gaining a basic understanding of this ancient Greek philosophy. Stoicism: a philosophy of dour, unfeeling people? No, Stoicism has much practical advice about how to live a happy life with minimal stress. It’s as […]
Setting Freelance Writing Goals That Work
To be a successful freelance writer, you must set clear goals for your writing business and the other important areas of your life. Psychological studies show the usefulness of setting goals, as long as those goals are set properly and pursued diligently. 3 Reasons Why Goals Are Important for Freelance Writers 1. They Provide Energy […]
Health Insurance for Freelance Writers Under the Affordable Care Act
Working from home (or a coffee shop) as a freelance writer certainly has its advantages, like schedule flexibility and everyday being casual Friday. However the freelance writing lifestyle is not without its share of shortcomings. One of the most frustrating parts of the job for anyone who’s been freelancing for a while is trying to […]
My 11 Questions About Publishing Ebooks on Amazon’s Kindle
Like just about every other writer, I’m interested in self-publishing ebooks for Amazon’s Kindle. I’m also interested in publishing print versions, and I want to know about the other distribution channels for ebooks. This post won’t be like many others here. I’m no expert in this; in fact I’m a noob. I’ve done the traditional […]
How Writers Can Minimize Eye Strain at the Computer
Eye strain from staring at a computer screen is a common problem for many writers, freelancers, college students, and anyone who needs to use the computer a lot. Eye Strain and Your Computer Screen Your eyes connect you to the computer screen when you type, an important connection to be sure. However, if you’re not […]
My Nightmare Freelance Writing Client
I’m a higher education freelance writer who creates supplementary materials for college textbooks. Here’s my nightmare story about working for an education-content project management company… An Education Content/Project Management Company Contacts Me An editor working at one of the dozens of education content/project management companies finds me on LinkedIn and sends an e-mail. Her company […]
The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Organizing Papers
As a productive freelance writer you want a clean and clutter-free home office. A big part of that is efficient handling of papers, books, and magazines. Otherwise they will bury your desk, your work, and your creativity. Here’s what I do… Papers Handle a piece of paper only once if at all possible. If it’s […]
Why Writers Need Nature
Want to be happier? Want to be a more productive and creative writer? Then you must have free time alone, free time to reconnect with who you are and what you really want in life, free time to just release and relax and recharge. When you do return to your normal activities, you’ll be […]
Find Your Best 2023 Freelance Writing Niches with This Course
Choosing one or more freelance writing niches is the best way to make a good living as a freelance writer in 2023. I’m proud to announce that I’ve created a comprehensive course to help you do just that… “Find Your Freelance Writing Niches” Course Details Are… Over at this page. I discuss: Exactly what’s in […]
Freelance Writers, Please Do Me a Quick Favor
UPDATE Find Your Freelance Writing Niches: Make More Money for Less Work is ready! Click either the preceding course title or the course cover in the sidebar to the right. Important Note… I answered a nearly a dozen of your best questions in this post: New Course Shows Freelance Writers How to Find Their Niches. […]