Tag Archives: guest post

How and Where to Look for Blogging Inspiration

By on January 29th, 2013

By: Emma-Julie Fox – A man will turn over half a library to make one book. ~ Samuel Johnson When inspiration turns elusive, writers have a hard time stringing words together. For freelancers though such dry spells can become troublesome, especially when there’s a looming deadline! So, how do you deal with these periods of no-inspiration? How to Find Blogging Inspiration Here are some solutions for this problem, and tips on how and where you can come up with ideas for your blogs and articles: 1. Read other blogs. Reading gives you insight on what subjects people read the most, …

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Posted in Blogging |

Using Social Media to Find Writing Gigs

By on January 22nd, 2013

By: Adrienne Erin Freelance writers love the Internet. Whenever a company creates an ecommerce site, a newsletter, a blog or an informational website, they need people to write content. Writing opportunities abound online for writers, but only if you look in the right places. Scams and low-paying jobs are everywhere online. How often have you seen an ad demanding exceptional writing skills, no need for proofing or editing, and 100 percent unique content, for which the employer will oh-so-graciously pay $0.05 a page? Such ads are all over Craigslist and job-bidding boards, hoping new writers will take the gig to …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs |

Freelance Writers: Why Should People Care About You?

By on November 13th, 2012

By: Joshua Danton Boyd In the popular TV show Rome, the character Titus Pullo reassures the young Gaius Octavian Caesar that to be a middling swordsman is better than nothing. Caesar is quick to respond. “There you are wrong. The graveyards are full of middling swordsmen. Best not to be a swordsman at all than a middling swordsman.” This might be a slight extreme of course, but being in the middle of your industry is not a great thing. Sure, it might bring you some work, but will it be as fulfilling as being at the top of your field …

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Posted in Marketing |

When Clients Attack: An Elance Story

By on October 31st, 2012

By: Genevieve Coates I had just finished graduate school and needed a job. The problem with getting a Master’s in English with emphasis in Creative Writing is that there is no career development course in the curriculum. There may not be one in any other major either, but with this particular course of study, it seems to be completely necessary.  If you’re really interested in being a teacher, you’ve got it made. Otherwise, you’re SOL. But, I had to do what I know how to do best, so I set out to write. First, I started by writing and pitching …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs |

How to Handle Overbooking Freelance Writing Work

By on October 16th, 2012

By: Megan Harris I previously talked about why it’s a good idea to pursue too many freelance writing jobs. However, what should you do if you overbook yourself as a result of your marketing, pitching and prospecting? You’re at a point other freelance writers would envy, so congratulations! The work is coming in and your marketing efforts are paying off. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not still difficult to manage when you have numerous projects on your plate. Here are some ideas you can implement today to prepare for the days you can’t juggle it all. While these three suggestions …

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Posted in Productivity & Organization |

9 Rookie Blunders that Will Cost You Freelance Gigs

By on September 21st, 2012

by Marya Jan Ever wonder why you never hear back from the jobs you apply to? If you have done everything right, chances are that you are not the best fit for the position – maybe they can’t afford you or maybe they are looking for something else. Or, they have found someone even better. If that’s the case, at least you rest knowing that you did everything right. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t simply meant to be. But sometimes, you just don’t know. You wonder if there was something you did or didn’t do. Let me walk you …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs |

5 Big Reasons Why You Want to be a Freelance Writer

By on May 15th, 2012

By: Kari Jenkins Have you ever dreamed of waking up on a Monday morning full of sun glitter, stretching into a sprightly grin that even makes your cat look grumpy, and boomeranging out of bed with the fervent amusement left to three-year-olds on Pop Rocks? I know, it seems like a distant reverie that you could ever be that…happy. Instead, how did your Monday morning play out? Was it damp and dark when you limped out of bed? Did you ransack the bottom of your closet for a tangled piece of clothing to stumble into while sponging fleshy cereal down …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Business |

Applying For Your First Writing Gig: What to Include

By on May 9th, 2012

By: Shadab Mahbub When you are starting your freelance writing career, finding new clients always seems like a daunting task. How does a writer find new potential clients and how do we approach them once we do? Do we send them an e-mail or do we call them? Do we attach our CV’s or do we just concentrate on sending our best samples? I was always confused as to how to approach a potential client and the kind of language I should address them in. Do I be outright professional or should I be a bit informal and emphasize on …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs |

How to Network, Find Clients, and Grow Your Writing Career

By on May 8th, 2012

By: Amandah Blackwell It should be easy, right? Forget that some writers, editors, and business owners have major connections and networks. It’s tempting to see them as ‘dollar signs,’ but the truth is, they’re complex people with feelings, busy lives, personalities, and quirks. They’re human beings. It’s a dream come true when you meet people and you think they’ll help you grow your writing career, but a part of you may wonder… How authentic are they? “I look at how closely they respond to the topic versus how many times they segue off to self-promotional anecdotes about themselves. It only …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs, Marketing, Networking |

Choosing a Word Processing App for Your iPad

By on May 6th, 2012

By: Jessie Fitzgerald Whether you’re an early adopter, just received an iPad (what a fun Easter basket!), or you’re thinking about buying yourself an iPad tablet device, as a freelance writer, you’re faced with a very big decision. What word processing app will you use? What to Look For in a Word Processor What does a freelance writer need from a word processor? We aren’t your average typing Joes, we need something that can run our relatively low-fi businesses with ease and comfort. This means that the program or app that some people may spend moderate amounts of time in …

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Posted in Writers Resources |