If you missed the first Popular Query Questions post, be sure to stop by and take a look! 5. What is a good query? A good query is like a old school burlesque show. Take the lady with the giant fans. There’s a show going on, but the tease is killer. You want to see how it ends even as you enjoy what’s happening. The performer knows just how long to lead you on before you get bored and turn back to your drink. She also knows how much to show to keep you interested. You’ll never see it all [Read more…]
Reusing Research: Making Your Work Twice as Useful
May 31, 2010. 4 Comments
The thing about a well-researched article is that you’re probably only going to sell it once. If you’re really on top of the ball, you may sell the reprint rights or put it into a larger piece of work, but the bottom line is that you can do hours of research and still only sell an article once. But the fact of the matter is that you can often make your research do double duty — you can use it to write more than one article, letting you improve the return on the time you’re investing. Keeping Your Editors Happy [Read more…]
Is there anything you don't know about blogging?
May 29, 2010. 8 Comments
Deb wrote a post last week called, Top 10 Things Freelance Writing Blogs Tell You That You Already Know. Not that this was news to me. In fact Deb and I were discussing this on Skype recently and it pops up with other freelance writer pals too. Deb’s post got me thinking. IS there anything I can say that you don’t already honestly know about when it comes to professional blogging? It does seem like bloggers who blog about blogging re-hash the same old stuff over and over. Although, just to play devil’s advocate… There are plenty of posts here [Read more…]
Will re-posting breaking news benefit you and your readers
May 29, 2010. Leave a Comment
As previously noted, it’s practically impossible to break actual breaking news at a blog. Still, if you can find breaking news, and it fits your blog topic, you can still post it. You’ll just need a slant that makes it your own. Before you slant with your own lovely style though you should consider if it’s worth slanting at all. Should you waste time slanting? Slanting, in the most general of descriptions means making the news your own. Giving your own opinion on it. Hopefully an opinion that will make the news interesting to your community EVEN though they may [Read more…]
Do You Tell a Client About a Disability or a Chronic Health Condition?
May 29, 2010. Leave a Comment
Working as a freelance writer is different from looking for work as an employee. You are sending pitches out or applying for gigs as a contractor. Where I live, an employer is required to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities, up to the point of extreme hardship. Contractors don’t have this level of protection. I believe that clients care about whether a particular freelancer can do the work that has been assigned, and turn it in by the deadline more than if the person they have hired has a disability or lives with a chronic condition. If you work remotely, [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for May 28th, 2010
May 28, 2010. 1 Comment
We’re heading into a three day holiday weekend on this side of the pond which means there will probably be no leads on Monday. I’ll do my best to send you some tidbits to help you on your job search though. Also, Kommein is my blog about community and social media. I hope you’ll drop by from time to time. Leads are late today because I goofed off this morning. I’m sorry to get them to you so late, but not sorry I relaxed and enjoyed conversation with friends. New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network Words v. Motives Query [Read more…]
What do You do with Success?
May 28, 2010. Leave a Comment
I’m having a week. If you’ve been in the freelance writing business for any length of time, you’ve probably had a week like this, too. What’s wrong with my week? Well, I’ve got this interesting conflagration of events: I’m spending significant time working on projects from two of my long-term clients whom I invoice monthly, and don’t require a 50% deposit. That means I don’t get to see payment for these clients for quite some time after the work is done. I have relatively new client for whom I’ve done a couple of jobs via one of the freelance job [Read more…]
How Should You Dress for a Client Meeting?
May 28, 2010. 19 Comments
What’s the appropriate way to dress for a client meeting? Apparently, there’s a great deal of confusion on this topic. Freelance writer, Jesaka Long, describes an instance on her blog when she attended a client meeting and saw another freelancer at the same meeting in a tee shirt. (Fortunately, Jesaka had the good sense to dress professionally for the meeting.) We freelance writers enjoy our freedoms–and one of those freedoms is the ability to wear whatever you want when you are working from your home office. You don’t have to look too hard to find tales of freelancers working in [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for May 27, 2010 – 43 Places to Find Gigs
May 27, 2010. 7 Comments
In lieu of leads, please see this list of places to find freelance writing jobs. 43 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs Craigslist – Craigslist is my number one place to find freelance writing jobs. Say what you want about them, but I’ve found more legitimate, high paying opportunities on Craigslist than any other job search site. It has a bad reputation for being a haven for scammers, but they also have plenty of terrific gigs listed each day. About Freelance Writing – Many of you know Anne Wayman as About.com’s original Guide to Freelance Writing. I know her as [Read more…]
Words v. Motives
May 27, 2010. 6 Comments
Today I’m remembering a conversation I had with my editor when I was an editorial assistant for a publishing company. We were sitting on the floor of her office going through the slush pile, when I began reading a pitch for an article for one of our local magazines offering an in depth look at why it’s a bad idea to open a proposed superstore in lower Manhattan. The pitch was well written and had me at “hello.” I told my editor it was a keeper. She suggested I read it again, and this time I include the author’s bio [Read more…]
Query Letter Writing: More Silly Mistakes
May 27, 2010. 15 Comments
You when they say that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff? Well, I would agree except when it comes to query letter writing – that’s when the small stuff can really break you! From catching random typos to making the gaffe of saying “Dear John” when you’re writing to Emily, first impressions count, so make ‘em good. I do receive pitches for my travel website pretty regularly, and I thought I’d share some of the silly things that people come up with that they really should have left off their query letter. “My last editor decided that she didn’t want [Read more…]
Why I Hate Giving Out My Phone Number
May 26, 2010. 17 Comments
I often talk about the importance of live conversation and how much more can get accomplished using a simple phone call over a whole bunch of emails. I think many believe hearing a voice builds trust. I think so too. Mostly I like how we can complete an entire conversation in one phone call and I don’t have to wait to receive and respond to emails to get all the details. Lately though, I hate giving out my number – and here’s why: 9:00 phone calls: People who call after 9:00 because they know I’m home piss me off. I [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for May 26, 2010
May 26, 2010. 1 Comment
New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network Introducing the Writer’s Success Resource Center Separation, Integration and Working as a Freelance Writer: My Peas are Touching My Carrots and It’s Good Recommended Reading 5 Must Know Copyright Facts for Freelance Writers at Plagiarism Today Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Jobs Writer for Latin Website Freelance Writer -Politics/Elections Blogger Jobs Green/Frugal Personal Finance Bloggers at Savings.com Organic SEO Writer/Blogger Financial Writer/Blogger – $20/post Blogger Wanted Real Estate Blogger – Miami Content Writer WAnted Proofreading/Editing Jobs Copyeditor for the InfoPro.com – NYC RFP Writer/Editor – Mt Laurel NJ Freelance Proofreader – Carson CA [Read more…]
Kommein
May 26, 2010. Leave a Comment
I used to co-blog at Kommein, a blog for community managers. It was my place to talk about social media, especially community management. The problem was, FWJ became too big for me to manage on a part time basis and most of my personal projects fell to the wayside as I worked hard to grow this network. So Kommein faltered for a while. It’s time to dust it off. The truth is, I miss discussing social media. I know I touch upon it here from time to time, but you’re here to learn more about writing than anything else. So [Read more…]
Independent Online Writers- Telecommute
May 25, 2010. Leave a Comment
Position Summary: Have your work featured on some of today’s leading online publications including USAToday.com, LIVESTRONG.com, eHow.com and several others by writing for Demand Studios. This freelance writing position enables you to work and earn around your schedule and focus on the topics you are most knowledgeable about. Learn more about this position here Responsibilities: • Claim diverse assignments based on your personal area of expertise • Complete claimed assignments within 7 days • Interact with editors to ensure polished and publish-ready articles • Focus on short-form (300-500 word) assignments • Click here to view a sample Demand Studios article Benefits: [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for May 25, 2010
May 25, 2010. Leave a Comment
Check the Freelance Writing Jobs homepage at about 1:00 p.m. EST for a cool announcement. Hope you all have a great day! New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network Freelance Writer: Tame That Wild Over Spending 5 Ways to Use GMail Canned Responses in Freelancing Popular Query Questions Answered Freelance Writing Jobs Content Writing Jobs Outdoor Writes for Pixeldirt – $10 – $100 Freelance Writers with Internet Experience Blogger Jobs Bloggers Wanted – $25 – $100/post Proofreading/Editing Jobs Managing Editor – Disney – Glendale Copywriting Jobs Marketing Copywriter – Waltham MA Journalism Jobs Journalists Needed – Dallas Ghost Writing Jobs [Read more…]
Introducing the Writer’s Success Resource Center
May 25, 2010. 9 Comments
I’m pleased to announce the launch of the Writer’s Success Resource Center, a joint project between Freelance Writing Jobs and PoeWar. The Resource Center, which is sponsored by Demand Studios, features articles, podcasts, webcasts and videos filled with in-depth information to help all freelance writers achieve success. John Hewitt of PoeWar and I will take alternating Mondays for our featured content. The content will be beyond what you see on our usual blog posts. We’ll be offering in depth tips and practices you can put to use right away and we’ve invited some special guests to join us. Chris Garrett, [Read more…]
Prepositions It's Okay to End a Sentence With…
May 25, 2010. 5 Comments
My headline isn’t a shining example of good grammar. 1). I’m ending a sentence with a preposition 2). The sentence is in passive voice 3). I’m not sharing a benefit with you, my beloved readers. Let’s start with number three on the list … why is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition — sometimes? It’s all about read-ability. Sometimes, if we find ways in which to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, we’ll wind up with awkward construction. (Like that sentence!) If we end a sentence with whatever word sounds most natural (even if it’s a [Read more…]
Freelance Writer, Tame That Wild Over Spending
May 25, 2010. 2 Comments
Last week I wrote about four potential ways that freelance writers overspend. Naturally, because we’re all dirty overspenders, the comments turned into an exultation over the joys of inhaling fresh journals in the office supply aisle and our ecstasy at purchasing that perfect, unnecessary domain name. But that must come to an end, because today is judgment day. And here’s how to catch and curb all this wild over spending you are (possibly) partaking in within your freelance writing business: Study Your Profit and Loss Sheet Or, if you prefer, call it an “Income and Expense Sheet.” That sounds somehow [Read more…]
Popular Query Questions Answered!
May 24, 2010. 3 Comments
Piggybacking again off of Deb’s popular Frequently Asked Questions and the first part of 10 Popular Article Writing Questions, I’m also tackling query questions. If I miss one of your burning questions please let me know! 10. What is a query? A query is like a sales letter aimed at the editors of a publication. It is used to pitch a specific article idea and yourself as a writer. Some liken it to a cover letter, but I believe there is a difference. A cover letter is interest in a specific job and pitches yourself to the hiring manager, a [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for May 24, 2010
May 24, 2010. 2 Comments
We had some fun discussions at the FWJ Facebook page over the weekend. Feel free to drop by and chime in. New Around the Freelance Writing Jobs Network Top 10 Things Writing Blogs Tell You That You Already Know When Freelance Writers Need a Wake Up Call Nine Tips to Becoming a Better Writing Mentor 10 Popular Article Writing Questions – Answered! Freelance Writing Business Fears Recommended Reading 8 Must Do’s for Aspiring Writers at Altitude How to Write Your Ass Off at CopyBlogger Freelance Writing 101 at Daily Writing Tips Benefits of Networking: An Introduction at Fuel Your Writing [Read more…]
5 Ways to Use Gmail Canned Responses in Freelancing
May 24, 2010. 6 Comments
Gmail has plenty of hidden features that can really help you up your freelancing game. One in particular has made me able to handle the stack of email that comes my way every day much easier: canned responses. By creating a few template emails that handle most situations and saving them as canned responses, you can speed up your ability to respond to sources, send out queries and more. Here are just a few ways canned responses can help you out. Process HARO responses: I use Help A Reporter Out to find sources, but I can often wind up with [Read more…]
The Perfect Time to Launch Your Freelance Writing Career (or Take the Next Step)
May 24, 2010. Leave a Comment
You may have heard that timing is everything in life. Being in the right place at the right time is crucial, and you need to make sure that you’re “ready” to either stick your toe into the freelance writing pool, raise rates or send a pitch to a client you are dying to work with. I have a bit of a different take on this subject. If you wait for everything to line up perfectly and for the perfect moment to take action, you’ll never do anything. This is especially true if you decide that you won’t apply for any [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Business Fears
May 23, 2010. 1 Comment
Running a freelance writing business can be a scary thing. It’s like any other small business: there are uncertainties, and there are risks. If you’re not prepared to face some of your biggest fears, a freelance writing business probably isn’t for you. Over the years, I’ve had a handful of moments when these kinds of fears bubbled up to the top. While I get that everyone is different, I thought that maybe sharing some of my struggles might help you identify some of your own, and maybe help you be better equipped to face them when they come: Fear of [Read more…]
