When you first get started freelancing, it can be a world of flowers and unicorns. Someone’s actually paying you to sit at your kitchen table and do something you love! You feel like the cat that ate the canary. For some folks who’ve come into a freelance writing career after being laid off from their first career, it seems like a true Godsend. Still, there are some stark realities you’re going to have to face, and fast. Here are some that tend to hit the hardest, and that you need to be ready to face: If you don’t work, you [Read more…]
Do You Care About Your Clients' Business?
February 28, 2010. 5 Comments
At first glance, this may seem like a bit of a silly question. Your answer may be something along the lines of, “I care if my clients are doing enough business to make sure I get paid, so yes….”, or some such thing. What I am getting at is something that is much deeper than that. Do you have an understanding of what your clients’ goals are and what they want to achieve through your writing? Here’s the thing. There are a lot of people out there who are working (or at least trying to find work) as freelance writers. [Read more…]
Your Turn: Freelance Writing Goals
February 28, 2010. 12 Comments
What are your freelance writing goals? I’m not talking about a monetary goal, I’m wondering what you hope to achieve as a freelance writer. For example, my goal right now is to be entirely self-sufficient and earn a living as a writer – but writing for myself and not for others. I’m at the point where I could give up client work if I wanted to, thanks this blog and my ebooklet. However, I’m not at the point where I would like to be yet. I have some projects and collaborations in the works to help me achieve my ultimate [Read more…]
Grammar Book Review: Grammar Done Right
February 27, 2010. 3 Comments
Based on the cover of Grammar Done Right, which shows the words Grammar Done “Good” and “Well,” with those adjectives crossed out, I expected a humorous, lighthearted look at grammar. Compared to other titles written in the same style, however, Grammar Done Right falls short in the humor department. If you’re expecting “wit and wisdom,” you’ll find plenty of wisdom, but the book doesn’t exactly keep you up until all hours perusing its laugh-out-loud anecdotes. It is, however, a comprehensive yet tiny desk reference guide to grammar. On her website, author Karen L. Reddick notes: “No lecturing or using silly [Read more…]
Do You Have Perfect Pitch?
February 26, 2010. 1 Comment
While folks come into the freelance writing world through several different paths, the fact of the matter is that they often enter by either working for someone else, or through a relatively low-paying gig with a bigger firm. Yes, there are writing majors who jump into writing for print right out of college, but there are a lot more work-at-home moms who start with Demand Studios or someone similar. Eventually, though, you get to the place where you want to earn more. To do that, you have to convince clients that your writing is worth more than what you’re currently [Read more…]
Asking Questions VS Confrontation
February 26, 2010. 2 Comments
Overheard at the supermarket: “I don’t like the way they do things over there. I’m going to give them a piece of my mind. There’s going to be a confrontation.” To be fair, I don’t know what prompted the above-referenced quote. It stuck in my mind for a variety of reasons, the first is that I’m not confrontational and avoid heated confrontation at all cost. The second is that I wonder if the woman above, who was clearly on the defensive, took some time out to ask questions and discuss whatever set her off before deciding on her confrontational course [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for February 26, 2010
February 26, 2010. 11 Comments
The end of a short month, I’m sure everyone is finishing up projects in order to meet deadlines. Enjoy your day. New around the Freelance Writing Jobs network Types of Companies that Hire Freelance Writers The Dark Side of Freelance Writing: Burnout Your Turn: What Makes a Qualified Freelance Writing Blogger? Is Your Blog Traffic Down? It Could Be a Good Thing 10 Time Sucking Websites that Actually Rock Recommended reading How to Get Your Blogging Mojo Back at Blogging Tips What’s the Next Step in a Freelancing Career at Freelance Switch Project Management and Editorial Calendars for Freelance Writers [Read more…]
Types of Companies That Need Freelance Writers
February 26, 2010. 16 Comments
Do companies hire freelance writers, or do freelance writers mainly create web content? You bet that different types of companies hire writers, and some of those projects pay quite well too. If you have solid business writing experience and good skills, chances are good that you can find writing work within a company. Last week we examined a dozen high paying writing fields. Today, we’ll explore how the size of a company affects the work that it offers. We’ll look at some general advantages and disadvantages of writing for small, medium, and large companies so that you can make the [Read more…]
Creating an Outline that Works for You
February 26, 2010. 2 Comments
While creating an outline is an important part of the article writing process, it doesn’t have to be your 6th grade English version of an outline. Outlines can be made to fit your style including as many details as you’d like, however there are some parts of an outline that you must include in order for it to really work as a framework from which you can base your article: How it begins When outlining your article, it’s best to formulate your lede (lead) paragraph. The lede paragraph, depending on the type of article, can tell the readers what they’ll [Read more…]
Is Your Blog Traffic Down? It Could Be a Good Thing
February 25, 2010. 6 Comments
I pay careful attention to blog traffic. I religiously read my stats and keep a close eye on the search terms and keywords bringing folks to the Freelance Writing Jobs blog network. While we have been enjoying a steady rise for years, a few weeks ago we experienced a brief dip in traffic. At first I was concerned; what could be causing folks to stay away? After a careful analysis of my stats, I realized people weren’t staying away. In fact, more people than ever were reading blog posts from this network. So why the drop in blog traffic? Because [Read more…]
What is Your Freelance Writing Target Market?
February 25, 2010. 2 Comments
One of the positive aspects of working as a freelance writer is that you have some control over the amount and type of work that you do. Unless you have an idea about what kind of work are looking for and what kinds of clients you want to target, you are going to end up spending a lot of your time on a shotgun type of approach to finding work. This is not the most effective way to find the kind of freelance writing jobs you really want. You could come across some really great freelance writing jobs advertised in [Read more…]
Top 10 Time Sucking Websites that Actually Rock
February 25, 2010. 5 Comments
So, one of the things I like to do with this little blog is to direct you to fun diversions, or even to make up some of my own. Apparently, I’m too good at it, as after introducing my husband to several of my favorite time-sucking sites, he disappeared from the face of the planet. I’m now diving into the Internet to mount a search and rescue operation for him. I thought I’d do my part to help you find oblivion, too. You may already know some or all of these sites, but they’re worth checking out every once in [Read more…]
The Dark Side of Freelance Writing: Burnout
February 25, 2010. 9 Comments
Not everything about freelance writing is bunny slippers and bon bons. Sure, we have the best life. We have flexibility and the abililty to work anywhere we please, pick and choose our own clients and set our own rates. With all the perks, freelance writing also has a dark side. We already explored what happens when clients don’t pay in a previous “Dark Side” post. Today we’re going to discuss another topic we don’t touch on enough here at FWJ, burnout. What is Freelance Writing Burnout? I think every freelancer has experience burnout at one time or another. For me, [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for February 25, 2010
February 25, 2010. 3 Comments
The East Coast is being hit with yet another blizzard today. Snow days, boots, heavy coats, and less productivity are on tap. What’s on your agenda today? This past week has been positive, productive and absolutely rocked. when I have good days I wake up the next morning and ask myself “How will I top yesterday.” Tell me, how will you top yesterday? Enjoy today’s lists: New around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network Your Turn: What Makes a Qualified Freelance Writing Blogger? Time Management and the Business of Freelancing 5 Realistic Organization Tips from a Notoriously Disorganized Person Demand Studios [Read more…]
Your Turn: What Makes a Qualified Freelance Writing Blogger?
February 25, 2010. 17 Comments
In the past few weeks I’ve received a flurry, no a barrage, of angry emails asking why I’m qualified to be a freelance writing blogger. Though I don’t quite get the anger, I’m happy to receive these questions because it means writers and aspiring writers are thinking about who to trust and that’s always a good thing. There’s too much blind faith in the Internet world and we need to spend more time questioning the credentials of those who claim to be authorities. We’ve discussed my background and qualifications many times before, I’m really not going to get into that [Read more…]
Demand Studios Announces Editorial Advisory Board
February 25, 2010. 5 Comments
This is another Demand Studios blog post. If you’d rather not read about them, feel free to move on. We won’t be upset, we promise. I do feel this is important news, otherwise I wouldn’t bombard you with two DS posts in the same week. Full disclosure: Demand Studios is a sponsor for this blog. However, I am in no way required to blog about them, comment about them on other blogs, Tweet about them or promote them beyond some basic advertising and conference promotion. However, they’ve been sharing some great news with me and I feel like sharing it [Read more…]
Freelance Communications Specialist (10 – 20 hrs/week)
February 24, 2010. Leave a Comment
Responsibilities: Write content for use in weekly employee email Edit submitted content for use in weekly employee email Write content for use in employee communications Develop content for client communications including collateral, email messages and presentations Special projects such as creating client demos Requirements: 3-5 years experience with B2B marketing or communications Portfolio with examples of employee and client communications required Experience taking ideas from concept to completion Adept writer capable of translating complex concepts into meaningful content Expert skills in Word and PowerPoint Prefer HTML and Flash development experience Notes: Uses existing formats and style guides – not responsible [Read more…]
5 Realistic Organization Tips from a Notoriously Disorganized Person
February 24, 2010. 12 Comments
So all my neatnik freelancing friends are writing blog posts about keeping organized and clutter free. I love you guys, really, I do, but for some of us it’s not so simple. We have made many attempts at organizing our lives and it just doesn’t happen. While we’re not ready for a guest spot on Hoarders, we’re never going to be Martha Stewart, either. I’ve never been a neat person. Mind you, I don’t live like a slob, but my mother still shakes her head as she remembers my room. I’m not embarrassed of the way I live. Our home [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for February 24, 2010
February 24, 2010. 1 Comment
Enjoy your daily lists! New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network 50 Submission Guidelines Pages Demand Studios Announces eHow Premium Article Writers to Receive $80 per Article Average Pay for Blog Posts Recommended Reading from Around the Blogosphere Recommended reading will return tomorrow. Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Jobs HR Subject Matter Articles for iWorkwell – $20 – $100/article SEO Intern – Telecommute OK Blogger Jobs Blogger for GFI Software Proofreading/Editing Jobs Editor – NYC – $300/month Medical Editors & Medical Language Specialists Freelance Technology News Editors Freelance Editor in Chief – Washington DC Copywriting Jobs Freelance Copywriter – Smithtown [Read more…]
Tick Tock Tick Tock… Time Management and the Business of Freelancing…
February 24, 2010. 11 Comments
Average Pay for Blog Posts
February 23, 2010. 7 Comments
Here’s a recent email question from a Blogging For A Living reader… I’m currently blogging for free for a startup business. I’ve been writing for about 6 months for this site. I think now I should at least get something for each article posting, having proven myself a valuable commodity to bring in regular traffic. What is the average fee for writing one blog article? Is $25 – $50 reasonable? Thank you for your help. I’ll break it into parts. 1) Six months, in my opinion, is far too long to write for the same client for free. Technically I’m [Read more…]
50 Submission Guidelines Pages
February 23, 2010. 9 Comments
The job boards aren’t the only places to find freelance writing jobs. Sometimes it’s as easy as looking for submission guidelines or “write for us” pages. Granted, these aren’t client-based projects and regular jobs, but they’re good opportunities nonetheless. What I like about pitching the online and offline magazine markets is that they tend to pay more money than many of the advertised (job board) freelance writing jobs. In 2010, the work is there, provided you take the time to look. Over the past few days I’ve had the opportunity to research submissions guidelines from a variety of markets. I [Read more…]
Demand Studios Announces eHow Premium Article Writers to Recieve $80 per Article
February 23, 2010. 27 Comments
Full disclosure: Demand Studios is a sponsor of this blog. However, I am in no way obligated to blog about them on a regular basis, tweet about them or comment on other blogs about Demand Studios. I feel this is a cool bit of news and thought I’d get it out to you. That is all. Every time I talk with the people at Demand Studios I ask them if they have plans to raise their rates. They always tell me it’s something they’re working on. I know that they’re always in discussion on the best ways to pay more [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for February 23, 2010
February 23, 2010. 9 Comments
Enjoy your day – and your daily lists! New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network How to Raise Your Freelance Writing Bar and Get the Big Bucks How to Research Freelance Writers for Freelance Writing Jobs Recommended reading from around the blogosphere Spice Up Food Journalism with Multimedia and Interactivity at 10,000 Words Program Your Brain for Writing Success in 7 Easy Steps at ProCopy Tips Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using Twitter at ProBlogger Freelance Writing Jobs Submission Guidelines: Adoptive Families: Unpecified Pay Back to College: Pays $50 – $80/article Traveler’s Tales: $100/story Fantasy & [Read more…]
Are blog comments working for you or against you?
No matter if you run your own blog or write a blog for a client, your blog comments at other blogs are a good way to network. I myself will click on the name of someone who leaves a good comment and have found some of my favorite reads this way. That said, your comments can also work against you; it all depends on how you play it. What kind of comments may entice people to click your link… Comments that contain personality. I usually click on comment links if the comment makes me laugh because I assume that person’s [Read more…]