How (and Why) I’ve Changed My Thinking Over a Decade of Freelance Writing

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Pardon me while I reflect a bit…
2010 will mark my tenth year as a freelance writer. Though it’s a dream come true, it’s all rather surreal. I honestly thought freelancing would be a way to supplement my husband’s income until our son was in school full time. I didn’t expect I’d continue to do [...]

Getting Past the Pajama Mentality

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Freelancers are subject to many stereotypes. For example, most non-freelancing people feel that we have all the time in the world or that we spend a lot of time at Starbucks.
Ok, well, maybe that second one is true.
My favorite stereotype is the one about pajamas. I’m sure you see it all the time too. [...]

Are There No GOOD Freelance Writing Jobs Anymore?

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I keep coming back to Jodee Redmond’s post “Will Taking a Low Paying Freelance Writing Job Hurt Your Career?” I already wrote about my thoughts on this topic and I don’t wish to bring it up again, however one of the comments is sticking in my mind. In fact, I’ve been mulling it over [...]

On Making an Honest Living

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I’ve been thinking a lot about choices lately. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while, know that there are times when I don’t agree with some writers’ choices. However, I’ve always respected these choices. If I see something I feel is unfair I’ll call attention to it,  but I [...]

Writing Through Chaos: The REAL Truth About Working from Home

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Last week New Jersey schools closed in order for teachers and other educators to attend the NJEA convention. Mind you, this conference is only two days, but because parents usually take their kids out of school for the entire week anyway, the schools shut down for the entire week this year. Clearly, we have [...]

Good Writing is Good Writing Regardless of Price

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Yeah, there’s a lot of bad writing flooding the Internet and it’s one of my pet peeves. However, bad writing has nothing to do with the cost of each piece of writing.  It doesn’t matter if it’s free or cost $5,000 to produce, good writing is good writing.
Low pay doesn’t breed bad writing. There’s [...]

Why Negativity is So Positive

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Here’s something to consider:
Many writers try to inspire or evoke emotion and fail miserably. If you write something and receive a negative reaction, you didn’t fail. You inspired others to act. Consider yourself a success.
How sad would it be if you wrote something and no one responded? Or if every one just said, “oh [...]

Why I Don’t Use Text Speak

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At my last full time job, everyone used Skype to communicate as we all worked at home. My mornings usually began with a chat with my boss that went something like this:
Him: hi how ru?
Me: Fine, and you?
Him: bsy
Me: What’s on tap for today?
Him: cn u cll ur client 2 find out what hppned?
Me: [...]

The Freelance Writing Club: It’s Not So Exclusive Any More

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about freelance writing and how it’s evolved over the last decade. The freelance writing club used to be a lot more exclusive, they didn’t just let anyone in. Back in the day, it wasn’t as easy to make a living as a writer. Nowadays, it’s a little [...]

A Tale of Two Opportunities: One Missed, One with Amazing Potential

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One of the reasons I enjoy going to conferences such as BlogWorld is the opportunity to give and receive feedback. I chatted with several members of the FWJ community at this year’s conference, and they gave me good food for thought. Feedback is good. Feedback is important. Even the stuff we don’t want to [...]

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