February brought most of us in the States snow storm after snow storm, Valentine’s Day and some really informative posts from the FWJ crew. Here are a few of the most popular:

Applying for a Freelance Writing Gig Without Looking Desperate by Jodee Redmond

In this post Jodee cautions against oversharing when looking for writing gigs.

Is Your Blog Dressed For Success? by Gayla Baer-Taylor

First impressions are important. Gayla shows you how to make sure your blog turns heads.

I’m a Ghostwriter (Get Over It) - by Jeffery Reyes

In this terrific guest post, Jeffery hits on the many misconceptions people have about writing professionals.

How to Influence Editors and Make Friends – By Terreece M. Clarke

Some writers get all the breaks? Actually, those writers position themselves for breaks by delivering professionalism.

Why You Want to Keep Your Copyright – By Jonathan Bailey

“In short, having copyright in your freelance writing projects not only gives you a guarantee that you will always own your work and a means to enforce the terms of the contract, it also gives you peace of mind.”

A Radical Response to Piracy – By Robin Parrish

Robin explores the silver lining in having your book pirated.

5 Common Ways Freelance Writers Get Scammed – By Jonathan Bailey

Jonathan hips writers to a few of the common scams that are out there.

Non-Errors in the English Language (Part 1) - By Noemi Twigg

Noemi points out some of the common errors that aren’t really errors. Whew!

Freelance Writing Success: Are We There Yet? – By Jodee Redmond

Defining freelance writing success your way.

Job Security in Freelance Writing - By Jodee Redmond

Can you really make a living as a freelance writer?

Did we miss one of your favs? Tell us below!

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng

Clutter kills.

You don’t have to have junk piled up to the ceiling like some reality TV shows, but disorganization in any area can affect others. Gone are the days of the lovable, messy writer whose creative passion overflows into piles and piles of papers, books and knickknacks. True genius is knowing where everything is and being able to locate it within moments.

Time thief.

Shifting though papers and the like steals minute amounts of time that add to hours and hours before you know it. Think about it, if you spend 10 mins a day looking for various items – your favorite pen, a clean notebook, your phone charger, you’ve racked up up to an hour a week if you work a weekend day. Couldn’t you spend that time on something else that will further your career? Wouldn’t you rather have four extra billable hours a month rather than the time suck that is paper clip hunting?

Inventory loss.

How many pens, notebooks, note cards and other essentials do you lose a year? How about you keep the money you’d normally spend replacing them and put it toward your computer upgrade or a membership into that writing organization or writers conference you’d like to attend?

Inventory loss doesn’t just cover supplies, let’s talk about clips and research materials. Right now if I asked you to provide a clip from an assignment completed two years ago could you do it within five minutes? How about 10? How long do you think an editor with dozens of writers trying to get their attention wants to wait for your email?

Tardy for the party.

Do you arrive to an event on time with business cards and witty conversation in hand or do you arrive with a streak of smoke following you and spend the first half hour of the event calming yourself down and trying to catch your breath? The second mouse gets the cheese, but you have to hope that the other mice are to dumb to fall into the  trap.

Clutter and disorganization – looking for your keys, your business cards, your favorite shoes, purse, wallet, remembering that thing you were supposed to send off to someone at the last minute so you have to run back to the office, sit down at the computer pull it up, attach the file wait……………hit send, jump back up run toward the door, remember you left half of your stuff in the office, run back, pick it up and spend the next 20 minutes swearing at every driver who isn’t late so they aren’t doing 80 in a 45. Not only will you be late, or barely on time and frazzled, you’ll be stressed which leads me to…

Stress death.

I wish I could spend the day in a determined zen state. Calm, collected, focused. However, like most people, I’ve got regular stresses – kids, work, etc. add in the stress of being disorganized and you’ve got a recipe for all kids of stress related illnesses.

How do you eat when you’re on the go? When you’re in between several close deadlines? When you’re running about networking? The difference between eating healthy and not is time. Sure it’s economics sometimes, but you can find healthy foods and prepare them in cost-effective ways saving yourself from greasy take-out or those cookies in the cabinet.

Exercise takes a back seat for most stressed out people. They are too stressed to workout. If you take an hour a day to work out, that’s an hour you’re not hitting the keys! Well, when you don’t hit the gym, pavement or DVD player with that way-too-happy-to-be-sweating-that-much workout guru you are making time be dead 24/7.

So you lose your keys every now and then, do you now have to turn into SNL’s Anal Retentive Chef? Not at all – tomorrow I’ll give some great tips for organizing that fits into your lifestyle and personality.

What do you do to combat clutter? Tell us and your tip may appear in tomorrow post!

Once upon a time there was a blog. This blog had several thousand visitors each day. They shared. They chatted. They commiserated. It was all good. Soon some mean people came by and began scaring away the happy chatters. The vibe changed from warm and fuzzy to not so much fun anymore. The owner did her best to build up community, but she was so busy with her projects and her job it wasn’t happening. She put a comment policy into place but the damage was already done. She had a reputation for having a community that liked to bicker.

She wants to change that.

If you remember the days when FWJ was a huge, lively community of writers helping writers, you may miss the golden days as well. Let’s try and get it all back. Several years ago, we built this community with a contest – a comments contest. We offered a $25 gift certficate to the person with the most comments. People came and never left. It was good.

We’re doing it again, except we’re upping the ante.

Beginning today, October 1st, we’re giving away $150 to the people who help to bring back this wonderful community. We’re giving away three $50 prizes.

• The person with the most comments between now and October 31st, on the homepage Freelance Writing Jobs blog, will receive $50.
• The person with the most comments across the whole FWJ network by the end of the month, that’s all of the blogs, will receive $50.
• The FWJ blogger who does the most to build community and join the conversation will win $50 at the end of the month.

Just a few notes:

• Comments that only say ” I agree” or add nothing to the conversation won’t count.
• Comments not adhering to our comment policy will be deleted and won’t count.
• Spammy comments or comment dropping links – unless they’re truly offering something to the conversation – won’t count.

I know you’re here. I see the numbers. Thousand of people visit each day and even more subscribe. Come join the conversation. Let’s bring community back!

It’s all anonymous, we’re not collecting names. By filling it out it will let us know a little about your habits and your thoughts about this network.

Click Here to take survey

Thanks, once again, for your continued support.

Thank you so much for your time!

- Deb

• Share tips and ideas with other members of the FWJ community
• Post your own (non spammy) blog post
• Discuss issues in the forum
• Share images, videos, podcasts and more
• Receive alerts to what this blog network is up to, as well as what the other members of the FWJ community are doing
• Network with other like-minded people

FWJ also has a Twitter presence. You can follow me @debng or to receive updates everytime there’s a new post at the Freelance Writing jobs blog network, follow @freelancewj.

Have a great day!

What is an internship?

An internship is a job one takes, usually working for a business, corporation or the government, in order to gain experience, build up a reputation and learn from the best. The focus is on the job training, rather than monetary compensation. Most interns are in college and work in this capacity in hopes of having a very good job lined up upon graduation.

What are the benefits of working as an intern?

In addition to the aforementioned on the job training, many interns can earn college credits, a small stipend, important business contacts, the promise of employment and references. In short, the ability to advance their careers. Interns don’t work for free. They gain something valuable in return.

Why do so many jobs offer internships, when they’re not offering anything in return?

Because these so-called employers feel that by offering a non-paying job as an internship rather than what it really is – getting something for nothing – they’ll look less like an ass. “Working as an intern” sounds a lot better than “working for free”, doesn’t it?

Questions to ask when applying for an internship

A job churning out web content from home all day every day, for an employer you contact once a week via email, isn’t an internship. Other than turning you off from writing as career, what can it possibly offer in return? Before you accept an internship, ask the following questions:

1. What will I gain from the experience?
2. How will it benefit my career?
3. What kind of on the job training will I receive?
4. Will I receive college credit?
5. Will I receive the promise of a full time, salaried position after I graduate?
6. Will you act as a mentor and offer me guidance?
7. Will you introduce me to others who can act as mentors and offer guidance?
8. Are these clowns just looking to get free labor?

If you browse Craigslist, you’ll find plenty of opportunities for interns, but many of these jobs aren’t. Remember, internships offer something in return. Job experience is more than writing web content. A true internship will attempt to teach you all you need to know about your chosen profession or major.  A true internship works in conjunction with your school so you earn college credits and recognition for your efforts. Before accepting an internship, research the opportunity thorougly. If it sounds like someone trying to get a whole lot of something for a whole lot of nothing, pass.

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Top 10 Freelance Writing Job Application Mistakes

1. Not Proofreading: It should go without saying that any one seeking any job opportunity should proofread cover letters, resumes and writing samples not just once, but twice, thrice and however many more times to ensure there are no errors. If you need a second pair of eyes to go over your paperwork, ask a friend to help out.

2. Not Enough Information: I can’t tell you how many times I received cover letters saying only “My resume is attached”, “My experience speaks for itself”, and even “Google Me”. Don’t be that guy. You don’t want to rehash your resume but you don’t want your potential client to wonder who you are and why he should hire you either. Your cover letter, which is really your job application, should briefly touch on your career as well as a paragraph telling the employer why you’re the best candidate for the job.

3. Too Much Information: Even though you may be going for the sympathy vote, your client doesn’t need to know that you’re a work at home mom with eight kids or that you were just laid off from your job. The information on your introductory letter should be relevant to the job only. Your home situation could work against you. For instance, if you are a work at home mom with eight kids, your employer might feel your family will be too distracting for you to complete the task to the best of your ability.

4. Poor Writing Samples: Like your resume and cover letter, your writing samples have to be well written and proofread to the nth degree, but that’s not enough. Anyone can submit a typo free article.Your writing samples have to be the best of the bunch. They have to convince the employer you’re the best person for the job. They should be relevant to the subject matter and engaging. There should be no doubt in the client’s mind that you are the person for the job.

5. Unqualified for the Opportunity: Don’t apply for a job as a pet expert if you know nothing about animals. Don’t apply for a job as a sports writer if you hate sports. Don’t apply for a job as a grant writer if you have no clue as to how to go about getting one. You’re wasting your time and your client’s. If you have no passion for a topic it shows. Your client asked for experts for a reason.

6. Not Following Directions: Did the employer ask specific questions? It means she wants to know the answers to those questions before hiring you. Did the employer ask for a rate quote? It may mean she has no idea of the going rate and would like some guidance. Clients are frustrated when they put specific information in a job ad and receive application where it’s obvious the freelancer didn’t read the ad at all. If you can’t follow the instructions in a job ad, how can you be trusted to follow the client’s wishes for a project?

7. Not Doing Research: If a job ad mentions the name of the business or website, do some research. Learn about your client. Knowing about who he is or what he does will help you to tailor your details to suit his needs. Perhaps he just places an ad looking for a “green writer”. That’s pretty broad. By reading his website you might learn he sells environmentally safe products and wishes to stock his website with articles relating to green cleaning. Now you can submit writing samples befitting the website’s content or message. If the ad gives you enough to go on, always take the time to learn about your potential client.

8. Cookie Cutter Cover Letter: Employers hate receiving cookie cutter cover letters. They want to see your personality. They want to learn about you and why you’re the right fit for the job. You can have a standard template, sure, but no two job ads are the same. With that in mind it should to without saying that you should tailor your application to meet each individual client’s needs.

9. Lack of Follow Up: So you sent in your details, now what? You wait. And then…what happens? What happens if your email went into the spam filter? What happens if your details were saved but then fell between the cracks? There is nothing wrong with following up once. Just a simple note letting them know you’re still interested in the opportunity if its still available, and if not you would appreciate it if they could keep your name on file. Sometimes following up shows a client you’re ambitious and really into the gig. It could put you at the top of the list.

10. Lack of Confidence – The words “I think…” have no business being on a cover letter. You think you’re the right person for the job, or you feel or believe you’re the right person for the job? There’s a big difference, there. Make no mistake about your ability and your potential client won’t either!

Search for jobs in your area on SnagAJob.com

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The other day, I reviewed a copy of “Kick-Ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps.” I recommend the book because I feel it will empower many writers to get out of the low paying freelance writing rut. In fact, we’re going to have a contest to help us do just that.

Author Susan Guenelius has generously offered a signed copy of her book to give to a lucky member of the FWJ community. Could that be you?

For the next week, I’d like you to discuss ways to get out of the low paying freelance writing rut. In fact, I want to know how YOU plan on doing so. Write a blog post, record a video, sing a song, start a forum topic, offer a tweet… do something creative to discuss with me, and others, how you can change your current situation and find higher paying opportunities. Then come back and post the link here in the comments so we can all see it.

The contest ends a week from today, Wednesday April 8th, at 11:59 p.m. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see how you’re going to break out of the freelance writing rut.

I’ll say it again. There is no secret to freelance writing success. You work hard, turn in clean copy, rock the communication and you’ll do well. It’s the folks that are only going through the motions that seem to struggle.Even though the above-mentioned items are important, I one thing I learned over the last decade is that clients appreciate loyalty more than anything you have to offer.

I’m going to use Jodee as a case in point. We began working together two years ago after I posted an ad at the WAHM forum. Since hiring Jodee she’s been a dream freelancer. She works hard, meets her deadlines, turns in nothing but the best work, communicates well and is someone I’m proud to call friend. Jodee even checked with me a couple of times before taking on tasks she considered a conflict of interest and to me, that spoke volumes.

In return, I offer Jodee first shot at any writing job I have, offer recommendations to her potential clients and refer her to some great clients. In fact, when I left the world of freelancing to be a full time Community Manager, I recommended Jodee to replace me with my highest paying client and he continues to keep her busy and well paid.

Here’s a discussion topic for you, FWJ community. What are some of the ways you are loyal to your clients? How do you show them you care about them and their projects and what do they do to reward your loyalty?

Discuss…

I think about how many people I met when I started out freelancing in 2000. I think about how many more I met after beginning this blog in 2005. I didn’t meet the bulk of my readers here though. I met them elsewhere and invited them to come read my stuff. In return, I check out their stuff.  I met them through face to face networks, online social networks and conferences and I continue to enjoy meeting people.

I’d love to learn your thoughts on networking. Is is it a priority, and if so what kind of networking do you do?

Please see the top navigation for access to all the blogs in the FWJ network, or visit from these links:

• Freelance Writing Jobs for Web and Print (Job leads)
• Freelance Writing Jobs and Other Stuff
• Article Writing Tips
• Network Blogging Tips
• Business Tips for Writers
• Job Hunting Tips

by Deb Ng

Ever since having a conversation with Liz Strauss on Twitter the other day, I’ve been thinking about following the rules. Specifically is it ever OK not to follow the rules?

One of the reasons I never enjoyed any of my traditional office jobs was because of “the rules.” Every thing had a rule. From how and where one poured coffee to how and where one filed a document,  there were procedures to follow and regulations at every turn. I’m not one for a cookie cutter world. I’m not saying I have my own set of rules when working for others, because I find that disrespectful, but I do believe there are times when we should go with our hearts over policies and rules.

• What if something doesn’t feel right? Should we forget out gut and continue following proper protocol? Or should we explore further and take the course of action best suited to our own best interests?
• What if a good friend is making a bad decision? Do we not say a thing out of politeness or kindly offer another point of view out of friendship?

When are rules made to be broken?

• I don’t follow the rules with my blogging. I hardly remember to tag my posts and only sometimes do I remember my SEO. Does that mean I’m a bad blogger?
• I don’t always follow the rules when raising my son. I feel he should be raised by parents, not books. Does that make me a bad mom?
• I don’t always follow the rules when socializing. I’m always myself rather than the person some people would like me to be. Does that make me a bad friend?
• I don’t always follow the rules when it comes to housework. I don’t own a set of pearls and only give the house  a really good cleaning when company comes. Does that make me a bad wife?
• I don’t always follow the rules with family. I don’t call my mom every day and don’t visit for Sunday dinner every weekend. Does that make me a bad daughter?

When is it ok not to follow the rules?

What is the tipping point where someone makes an offer that you can’t refuse in order to return to a full time job.

For me, I have no intention of ever returning to a traditional office job. So it would have to be desperate times for my family (because they always come first) or an offer I totally can’t refuse.

What would it take for you?

Discuss…

New project alert! David Peralty and I have a great new project launching tomorrow. It’s call Kommein and it’s a blog about building community and community management. Kommein, by the way, is an Indo-European term meaning “shared by all”. In other words, community.

As you know, community is very important to me and we wanted to create a place to share ideas and tips with other community minded people.

I hope you stop by and read our posts and offer your own thoughts about community. This is so far a great, fun project. One that I hope keeps us busy for a long time to come.

So I spent this weekend answering some of my mail (have more to go – thanks for your patience) and a common question is from bloggers and web content writers who write about the same topic day in and day out and sometimes have trouble coming up with ideas. As someone who has been in this boat before I understand how hard it is to stay fresh.

Let us help you.

Throw a topic into the comments and we will assist you with ideas for posts and articles. Go on, don’t be shy. That’s what a community is for!

I received an interesting email a little while ago. With the author’s permission I’m repriting, but not mentioning names.

Dear Deb,

I wanted to participate in your discussion about if FWJ should have a forum but I didn’t want to post my answer in the comments. I’m not a fan of forums because I don’t want to be friends with my competition. I don’t believe in “communities” centered around one’s chosen profession because I don’t want to not apply for a job because I’m feeling the love for another writer. Community holds writers back from getting what they deserve because they’re so worried about upsetting friends. Communities like this also create more competition because we’re all applying for the same jobs. So no. No forum for me.

Just call me Cranky (name withheld by request)

Wow, Cranky. What an interesting point of view. Suffice it to say I respectfully disagree. I feel community creates a helpful atmosphere. We help each other to succeed and that’s a very good thing. I never look at my fellow writers or bloggers as competition because we have so much to offer each other, and if we both apply for the same job? Let the best person win!

I found your note to be a contradiction, however. First you say you don’t like to participate in online communities because being friendly makes it hard for you to apply to the same job as someone else, but then you also say it creates too much competition for the same job. So, it can’t be holding too many people back.

I do think the virtual world enables more people to apply for the same job, but is that a bad thing? It just means employers are now able to choose the best person for the job from a larger pool of writers. Since there are more freelance writing jobs available now than before this whole web writing thing took off, it’s also good news for you. Consider this, the Internet isn’t going anywhere. There will always be jobs for writers. If you’re a good writer, you have a good work ethic and do what it takes ensure your clients’ happiness, landing jobs shouldn’t be too much of a problem. My competitors are my friends. If I don’t get a job, it only means I’ll be happy for someone else.

What do you think? Is community a bad thing? Are we fraternizing with the competition?

As I write this, I have plans in my mind for a couple of new projects I’m working on with my friend David Peralty. I told my sister what we have planned and she agrees they’re good and something you don’t see every day, but wonders if I’m going to have enough time to do what I need to do. Some people knit or watch TV to relax. Me, I like to start new projects. I can’t help it. I have ideas in my head that are begging to come out.

Ideas are free. In this economy we can’t afford to invest in a lot of useless tools and applications. Instead, we have to take advantage of the tools we were born with and think about how we can best put them to use. That’s why I like to run with my ideas. Some of them are good and some are bad, but I never know until I put them into action.

Don’t give up on your ideas. Write them down, play with them. Put them away and revisit them, but hold them dear. You never know when your idea can become the next big thing.

Without ideas, you’re just doing what other people thought of.

What are your goals for 2009?

Every year around this time I set my goals. For the most part, I met most of my past goals. When I was freelancing more my goal each year was to earn $10,000 more than the year before. I’m happy to say this is a goal I always met. This year my situation has changed and therefore my goals have changed. As you know,  I have a full time telecommuting gig and freelance a bit less. So do I still have writing goals?

Of course.

In 2009 I’m going to be concentrating less on freelancing goals and more on personal goals. I’m exploring more residual forms of income, for instance, ebooks. I have one I’ve been working on each night and I hope will be done before the end of the year. I also have ideas for several more ebooks. I’m also continuing to work on FWJ and this freelance writing community. I hope I’m on the right track. Because I have a day job it’s a slow process but to me that makes it more enjoyable.

I’d also like to take on more speaking, guest blogging and other opportunities where I can share what I know with other people. My friend David Peralty and I have an idea we feel is a great one, and hopefully we’ll bring that to fruition in 2009.

Professionally, I will continue to do the best job I can. I have the greatest job in the world and it’s a pleasure to give it my all.

As always, my biggest goal is to spend quality time with my family who will always come first. I hope to be the best possible example to my son and best friend I can be to my husband.

So share….what are your goals for 2009?