by Jodee I heard from an employer who recently posted a job on FWJ recently and this individual has kindly given me permission to post some comments about the applications that were submitted by FWJ readers.

by Jodee Redmond It occurred to me the other day that freelance writing is a lot like dating. Check out this list and see if you agree with me. You Make an Effort to Make Yourself Attractive When you are going out on a first date, you take extra care to make sure you look your best. The same thing applies when you are looking for freelance work. You send the prospective employer the latest version of your resume and you take care to submit samples that you feel showcase your best work.

Link love will be brief today, friends. I have a wonderful weekend planned and hope to enjoy some outdoor fun including a blueberry festival, town picnic and fireworks and a Sunday picnic complete with fishing. So forgive me for having somewhere else I’d rather be. This doesn’t mean we’re feeling less love today, just that we’re not being so liberal with it. Have a wonderful weekend. Do you have great plans to share?

by Jodee Redmond I think that most people who write are also voracious readers, and I’m no exception. I enjoy reading books and magazines on topics that I find interesting. Since freelance writers should always be open to finding new leads, I want to suggest a few things that you can try the next time you are looking at a magazine to help you find new clients for your business.

We’re aware of the problems with the orange font, and as mentioned numerous times yesterday, we’re working to correct the problem. The designers are aware of the issue and will fix it. Please stop sending nastygrams to Jodee as there’s nothing she can do to fix the situation. We’re aware, we’re working on it and we appreciate your patience. Thanks – Deb

by Christie Halmick The next time a non-paying writing opportunity slithers by offering fame, exposure, and good karma stop and answer this question: Is there something better I could do with my time and writing talent than give them away to a stranger? I think so.

by Erika-Marie Geiss Your idea is great. No, it’s fabulous. The content is good, you’ve spell-checked and proofread — even read it aloud. It’s perfect, and you are ready to send the article or query. You’re excited, because you are positive that this is definitely going to get published. You’ve even run through your mental submitting check-list and everything suggests that this baby is ready to take flight. But is it?

By Contestant #3 Sometimes getting the gig is the easy part. A well-crafted cover letter and a couple of good clips will get your foot in the door, but what you do after you land it? 10. Keep it Old School Nothing pleases a client/editor more than writers who are still working on dial-up and don’t believe in “fly-by-night” technology like Twitter or in home fax machines. Your clients lead busy lives, teach them how to slow down by waiting an hour for you to get to the local copy store and pick up their fax. Announce with a giggle [Read more…]

Posted by Jodee Redmond Looking for writers to create editorial style articles of approximately 500 words on topics related to world news through the view of Christian eschatology. Pay for articles is $10 – $20, with higher pay for longer articles. Please send e-mail to larry.amon(at)gmail.com.

by Contestant Mary Hay Davis 1. Not All of Your Time Will Be Spent Writing – When I committed to becoming a full-time freelance writer, I had glorious visions of spending my days pounding away at the keyboard creating masterful compositions. What I neglected to consider was how much of my time would be consumed by administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, invoicing, website maintenance (just to name a few) that took a good chunk of time away from my writing.

by Candidate #10 When you freelance, you need to apply a great deal of social skills to market yourself, land gigs and keep clients happy. You also need to deal with clients, hammer out rates and land those gigs. That’s psychology, pure and simple. Knowing how to interact with other people properly can help your career do well. To help you have a better writing career, market yourself more effectively and nip problems in the bud, here are ten of the best mind tricks to boost your income-earning potential.

I noticed a thread on another discussion board talking about whether more established writers should help newbies. Apparently, some people think that we should leave the newbies to their own devices and not answer questions or give them a helping hand along the way. This attitude is just plain wrong. Ever since I’ve been working online, I have been impressed more times than not about how generous people have been with their time and their advice. Some of them were people I was working with at the time, and others were just people who popped up to share their experiences [Read more…]

by Contestant #2 A writer’s income can fluctuate greatly and finding ways to save money is essential for trying to maintain some balance between your income and expenses. You can reduce your expenses with these helpful tips compiled specifically with the writer in mind: Forget the long distance feeling. If you frequently make long distance phone calls to your clients or editor, invest in a prepaid long distance phone card to reduce your long distance calling expenses. Be sure to check all the details on the back of the card for possible service charges or restrictions. Stop the Spies. Save [Read more…]

by Misti Sandefur Whether you choose to self-publish your book or publish through traditional publishing, you’ll always play a part in the marketing process. Yes, many of the big publishing houses lend a hand with getting the word out about your book, but when you help market your book using your own techniques, you’ll see much bigger royalty checks. Over the course of eight years as a published author, I’ve discovered unique places to market my books — places you may not have thought of. With that said, I’d like to share my top 10 list of unique places to [Read more…]