Your mission this weekend, friends, if you choose to accept it, is to say something nice. Blog about something positive, or write about it in your newspapers columns, novels, emails or letters to Santa. Negativity is viral and it’s so easy to get caught up in controversy. My challenge to you is to write something nice. After you write something nice, come back here and post the link if you can, so we can all be inspired by your positivity.

Congratulations to Michael Stelzner and family. Welcome to the world Makenna. She really is a beautiful baby. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I came across a blog about freelance writing. The headline for the lead post about making a living as a freelance writer was entitled “Anyone Can Do It.” I beg to differ. Here’s why not everyone can be a freelance writer: Writing takes skill. Believe it or not, there’s skill involved with this here job. I know, I know, all we do is sit at our word processors typing in silly little words, how difficult can that be? The reality is, you have to know about writing. I’m not talking about proper grammar. I’m talking about being able to [Read more…]

Recently Jennifer from ResumeASAP placed an ad here. Some of the responses were interesting and she blogged about one of them. Jennifer raises a very good point. Read the ad thoroughly before you respond, and make the necessary changes to your form cover letter. I once received an email for “Dear Mr. Jens” And speaking of cover letters, do go back and check out our cover letter clinic. It’ll keep you from making some of these mistakes. Have a good night all.

In today’s competitive world, it’s not enough to be as good as everyone else. The Internet has blown the competition wide open and freelancers now have to vie for gigs with people from all over the world. What are you doing to set yourself apart from the rest? Become an expert. If you’re knowledgeable about a particular topic, turn that into “expert” knowledge. Visit the library and read all you can. Take some classes. Establish yourself as an authority. If you’re not already niche blogging about a particular topic, consider doing so. Having the authority to speak well on a [Read more…]

The past few days have shown a surge in traffic thanks to a couple of posts hitting Stumble Upon and Michael Stelzner putting us on the short list for the Top 10 Blogs for Writers (My vote goes to Copy Blogger). Welcome to all our new friends. Grab a cup of coffee and join us. Feel free to join in on our discussions. You’ll find this to be one of the most helpful writing communities online. I hope you’ll come back for more.

Do you turn in good work but drive your clients crazy? Plenty of  great writers spoil good, recurring gigs because they’re pains in the butt. How can you tell if you’re a pain in the butt freelancer? Check this list to find out. “It’s the first of the month and I didn’t get paid yet”. Sound familiar? When I worked as editor at a popular Internet portal, many writers would start panicking if they didn’t have funds deposited in their Paypal accounts on the first of the month. Soon the emails would start. Threads would appear on message boards. “It’s [Read more…]

Ryan Caldwell has a interesting post up at Performancing regarding the one skill he looks for in a problogger (besides writing). It’s social networking and social media skills. You all know how I like to harp on the importance of social networking, this piece gives you a good indication of why anyone who is hoping to blog professionally needs to know the ins and outs of social media and social networking. I think even freelance writers can benefit from learning how it works.

In case you don’t have enough to do, here’s a little weekend link love. As always, some of these have to do with writing, some don’t and some are shameless self promotion. They all interest me and so I’d like to share them with you. Enjoy! A major announcement at About Weblogs. You think I get nasty comments here? Check out what happens when I give a dozen reasons to hate football. Liz Strauss helps you survive the holidays. How to write Digg bait at CopyBlogger. Darren Rowse asks, “Whose Needs are You Meeting?” Freelancers and Feedback at The Golden [Read more…]

By Jennifer Chait Last week Karen asked, “Any advice for those of us who can’t seem to land a blogging gig? I’ve kind of given up on it as I’ve applied for a few for which I was super qualified but never heard a word. Is it a case of “who you know”? Or is there just too much competition out there?” It’s a good multi-layered question and while there’s no magical spell for getting paid blogging work you can do it. Step one: Be a blogger. The first step to working as a professional blogger is to have a [Read more…]

This pretty funny.

  I know, it’s only November, but time goes by quick. As we approach the end of the year, there are a few things I like to do to start the new year fresh and hassle-free. Though I don’t necessarily send in my taxes at the very beginning of January, I like to have all of my accounts in order so I can close out the old year and get on with the new. I also like to file away old clients to make room for new,and assess my current financial situation. Here are a few things I do before [Read more…]

  Happy Thanksgiving if that’s your thing. Jodee has the rest of the weekend off, but I’ll be sure to stop in now and then to say something brilliant.

Yesterday we talked about flaky freelancers. Today I promised to go on a bit about flaky clients. It happens more than you think. Here are some ways to spot flaky clients: They ignore emails. They respond to emails days, weeks, even months later. They rarely offer feedback. They “forget” to pay. They promise information and don’t get back to you for days or weeks. I know we’re all busy, but it’s important for clients to treat us as they’d expect to be treated. If you want us to adhere to deadlines, answer emails and requests in a timely manner and [Read more…]

Here’s some fodder for discussion: Markus Mertz has a post up at Performancing asking if writers are the new slaves. He quotes an ad where the blogger is expected to write five posts per day for $55 a month. As you know, this is something I can go on about forever. If you wish to discuss freelance wages (and I know you do), do stop by Performancing and add your two cents.

I’d like to call your attention to Ryan Caldwell’s post at Performancing this morning about the trustworthiness of freelancers and homeworkers. I think because we work at home and don’t have to face our employers, many of us feel we can take a few liberties. How will my employers know if I’m going out for Starbucks or watching reruns? Why can’t I take a week of sick days even if I’m not sick? And why do I have to finish a job I don’t like, it’s not like I’m on salary or anything? While the beauty of freelancing is being [Read more…]