Freelance Writing Jobs Blog – The Best of January

Every month, the bloggers at FWJ work hard to provide quality and helpful content. Hardworking freelance writers click through looking for great leads and info, but let’s face it, some posts may slip by in the daily hustle and bustle. Here’s some great posts you may have missed:

Writing From Home: Warnings & Tips on How to Survive When You Have No Office by Robin Parrish

Robin captures the writing from home experience perfectly. My favorite:

Get Out of the House. As important as it is to guard your at-home work time, sometimes you just have to get away from all the around-the-house distractions in order to get anything done. So grab the laptop and head out to someplace where there’s free wifi, like Barnes & Noble or Starbucks.

How to Use Your Freelance Work Personality to Your Advantage: Know Yourself Before Applying for a Gig by Jodee Redmond

Jodee gives great advice on shifting your job search to looking for work that fits you:

When you are looking for freelance writing jobs, first consider your work personality. If you are someone who enjoys the relative security of working with a client over the long term, then look for someone who can offer a steady gig (or the potential for a series of projects). If you are someone who gets bogged down working on large projects, move on and apply for something that is a better fit for your freelance work personality.

How to Get Your Contracts Signed: How to Deal with a Physical Act in an Electronic World by Jonathan Bailey

Jonathan saved me time and photoshopping time by giving these great alternatives to the whole snail-mail-signature thing:

A Better Answer

There are several companies that offer digital contract signing. They include the following:

1. RightSignature: Offers a free trial with up to five documents, paid accounts start at $14 per month for unlimited documents and 1 template.
2. FillAnyPDF: Can be used for free without an account but a free account opens up more editing options and allows storage of 5 filled forms. Paid accounts start at $19 per month and allow the storage of up to 1,000 filled forms

DocQ: Offers a free account for up to 5 signatures per month and a paid personal account starts at $7 per month and offers 25 signatures.

If I Lay Here… Using Lie and Lay Correctly by Noemi Twigg

I have several web pages bookmarked that explains the freaking lie and lay conspiracy in several different ways. *Don’t judge me* I’ve added Noemi’s to the top spot:

Let’s get the meanings of the words straight, once and for all.
Lay is a transitive verb and needs a direct object – a receiver of the action. It means to put something down.

Example: This bag of groceries is heavy.  I will lay it down on the bench while I wait for the bus.

Lie is an intransitive verb and does not need a direct object.  It means to recline. ²

Example: My back hurts. I think I’ll lie down for a bit.

Can Anyone Make Money Blogging? by Gayla Baer-Taylor

A great response to a timeless question:

First and foremost, the critical ingredient to blogging success is having staying power. The ability to not allow defeat due to setbacks. A successful blogger must be willing to put their self out there and put in the hours upon hours of hard work that’s the proven foundation for successful blogs.

Article Clip 911: Protect your career and back-up your work by Terreece M. Clarke

Not to toot my horn, this is great info for writers:

Not saving your clips, backing up your blog posts, etc. is like throwing money away. Why work so hard, research so thoroughly only to toss your work to the wind? Three steps will save you time and tears:

What were your favorite blog posts?