Work with Your Personality Type and Maintain Your Social Skills by Crystal Schwanke Working from home has its definite perks. You can watch a movie while you finish those product descriptions. You can wait until 3:00 PM to start “getting ready” for the day. You choose your hours, you choose your projects, and you can wear your pajamas (even if they are flannel!). But are writers who work from home stunting their social growth? Take an introvert—painfully shy, better with the written word than the spoken, and nervous in crowds. They tend to avoid social settings at all costs, and [Read more…]

I’m going to be switching FWJ to WordPress within the next couple of days. Hopefully this won’t break the blog, but if you experience any downtime, this is the reason. Have a great day,

Hi everyone, I have some great weekend discussions lined up with some great guest bloggers. Unfortunately the time got away from me this weekend, (thanks to a little emergency) and I didn’t get a chance to post this weekend’s discussion. Since I like to start my guest bloggers off on Friday, I’d rather just throw out some reader mail today – all about the same topic. Annoying affiliate links. Let’s hear your thoughts. Our guest bloggers return next weekend, I promise. Dear Deb, There are a couple of blogs that list jobs like you. Many of the links lead to [Read more…]

Work with Your Personality Type and Maintain Your Social Skills by Crystal Schwanke Working from home has its definite perks. You can watch a movie while you finish those product descriptions. You can wait until 3:00 PM to start “getting ready” for the day. You choose your hours, you choose your projects, and you can wear your pajamas (even if they are flannel!). But are writers who work from home stunting their social growth? Take an introvert—painfully shy, better with the written word than the spoken, and nervous in crowds. They tend to avoid social settings at all costs, and [Read more…]

by Karen G. Anderson I’m a writer, and when it comes to copy editing, I’ve never been anything more than adequate. And I know I’m barely even that when the words I’m trying to edit are my own rather than some other writer’s. I started out as a technical writer for academic books and journals, heavily insulated from the reality of publication by a phalanx of copy editors, fact checkers, and proofreaders. I went on to work as a reporter at newspapers, and then as a editor for newsletters and magazines. All along the way, I worked with some of [Read more…]

How to Read a Job Ad by Allison Landa When is a Craigslist rose not a rose? When it’s a job ad riddled with potential signs that this may not be the position you should be seeking. Common wisdom says that a job interview is a two-way street — you’re looking just as closely at a potential employer as they are at you, and trying to figure out if this is a good match. But by reading the ad carefully to figure out if a particular job is for you, you’ll stay one step ahead of common wisdom. Here’s a [Read more…]

Freelancers can be unpleasantly surprised at tax time. With some careful planning, you can reduce the bite to a nibble. Here’s what you need to know. Taxes hit the self-employed especially hard for one reason: Social Security tax. Every US employee is obligated to pay it, regardless of age or income. If you work for someone else, Social Security withholding eats 7.5% of your money every payday. But the tax is actually 15% (15.3, but I’m stretching my math skills here already). Your employer pays the other half for you. If I earn $1,000 at my job, my employer withholds [Read more…]

As many of you know I have a Google Group for those who wish to receive update alerts. Nothing fancy, just a link to this blog when new jobs are added. The group is closed to comments, however. For the past few weeks I received about two emails a week asking why I don’t open the Google group up for comments. People would love to be able to discuss the jobs and maybe offer warnings or advice. So I’m putting it to a vote. Should I allow all registered members to comment in our email group, or are we happy [Read more…]

Sorry, there’s no guest blogger this weekend, you’re stuck with Yours Truly. I want to address a question I’m coming across more often lately, “how much do I charge?” I receive several emails a week from newer writers asking me to advise them on how much to charge, I tell them I’m not comfortable answering this question. Rates are kind of a personal thing. It depends on the writer, her experience, the research involved and other factors. I thought maybe this weekend, you guys could discuss your tips for determining how much to charge. Here are few things to keep [Read more…]

“Just Say No” – or, Finding the Time to Write by Sandy Mitchell I’m in the middle of my third year as a full-time freelance writer and, in my mind at least, I’ve gone from beginner to neophyte. I’m paying my bills, eating somewhat regularly, and am the proud owner of a 48-page tax return. Although I’ve overcome a mountain of hurdles in carving out my little writing business, my biggest challenge is combating the myriad of interruptions that threaten to derail my writing schedule, day after day. Friends, Family, and the Jehovah Witnesses When the word got out that [Read more…]

by Lorie Witkop Guest Blogger Years before I ever contemplated the idea of freelance writing, I volunteered to write a piece for my college yearbook on the local shopping scene. I loved browsing the stores on the city’s equivalent of Main Street, so I thought I had created a great piece. However, it was quickly returned with comments like, “Who said Chios was ‘a great hippie hangout’”? Well…I did. My editor immediately saw something I hadn’t yet realized. All of the clever descriptions in the world weren’t going to give my piece what it lacked. I needed outside opinions and [Read more…]

When Freelance Writing Doesn’t Pay by Jeff Pfaller There are two kinds of freelancers in this world. Those who have been stiffed, and those that will be. You sent in the finished work, you sent it on time and you signed a contract. But when it’s pay day, the person cutting the check mysteriously disappears from the face of the earth. What do you do? Prepare, Prepare, Prepare Keep a copy of every single correspondence you have with anyone regarding freelancing. This means emails, contracts and letters. If you talk with a client on the phone and agree to something, [Read more…]

Why I Don’t Ghostwrite By Devon Ellington As a freelancer, I spend at least a couple of hours a day scanning job boards, in addition to the usual rounds of researching and querying. There are plenty of jobs with a particular word in the headline that I skip over. That word is “ghostwriter”. Why? Three of my most admired and trusted colleagues specialize in ghostwriting. Their point of view is that they are helping the client communicate his vision to his audience clearly and effectively. I’m glad they’re so generous. I certainly don’t believe a writer shouldn’t ghost (it’s hard [Read more…]

Here’s something new, and frankly I’m not sure what to make of it. I hear tell writers are applying for jobs at Craigslist and flagging the ads so others can’t apply. After two or three people flag, the fine folks at Craigslist assume the gigs are spam or scams and take the ads off the list, thereby eliminating the competition. To be honest, it would never occur to me to do this sort of thing. Not too cool, people, not too cool. This tells me some people don’t have enough faith in their ability to be the best person for [Read more…]

Dear Deb: I read your discussion at WAHM regarding the responsibility of content sites, with interest. I too have wondered why content sites don’t accept more responsibility for placing poorly written and researched articles on their site. I especially wonder who is liable if someone follows some bad advice as a result of something posted in one of these articles. Would you mind posting this as one of your weekend discussions? I’d specifically be interested in who bears MORE responsibility – the writer or the website. Yes, I know we writers have a responsibility to turn in the best work [Read more…]

What are your thoughts regarding editors who don’t respond to queries and submissions? Here’s a letter that was sent to me this week. I have permission to reprint and use as discussion fodder: Hi Deb, I check your website regularly and thought I might have an issue for discussion. Have you ever approached the issue of editors who are “too busy” to let applicants know if a job has been filled? My experience in applying for these jobs (Craig’s List, Careerbuilder, HotJobs, etc.) has been that it is a rare thing for editors/hiring managers to even acknowledge that either the [Read more…]

Writer is number 25!