This discount is the first of many that will be offered to Twitter followers on products I release. So if you want to save some money, follow me at @QueryFreeWriter. Other discounts will follow in coming weeks and months and they won’t all be mentioned here.

For this discount you can save almost 30% on my latest e-book, getting it for just $7 (normally $9.97). But check out the Twitter profile before it’s too late. The offer is only available this week!

• Merging my writing-related sites into AFW;
• Working on my print book, The Query-Free Freelancer

The Query-Free Freelancer blog was already merged with this one a little while back. QueryFreeFreelancer.com is still a live site, and was intended to host the book information separate from the blog. However, given that the QFF project is one part book and one part experiment, it was decided a week or so ago that the rest of the site would also merge with AFW. That will be happening in April when the new design goes live (set for April 1st, but that depends on how many edits we have to make when I see the coded version).

I wanted to give you a heads up because I know I’m throwing a lot at you all at once — we have a screenplay project about to start, we’ll be launching the writer’s market directory in April (already setup, but launching April 26th), we have the new design coming, we just added two new writers and a new series from one of our current writers, we’ll be kicking off our next 14 day e-book writing challenge in April, there’s an e-book releasing in April… and that’s not including all of the little things like new free online tools, free wordpress themes, and free business forms and templates coming out. Whew! And that’s just for April. You should see the marketing and roll-out plan for the rest of the year — trust me, this stuff will seem like nothing! :)

Because of all of the craziness, I don’t want QFF to get lost in the mix. I’m taking an unconventional approach using the very successful query-free style I’ve used in my business and putting it behind the book itself. A part of that plan will involve releasing a mini proposal directly on the site, including the first chapter (something else being polished in April). I want to make sure any information or samples released from The Query-Free Freelancer are openly available to all AFW readers.

For example, several months ago I posted the working table of contents for the book on the QFF blog, but only made it available to registered site members. That will be one of the first things showcased here more openly in the next week or so. I want to let the target market in on the creation of the book as it’s being written — much of it is already in rough draft form and some of it is still just outlined. But either way, things are still flexible, and I want the book to be something offering you real value — I want it to tell you what you want and need to know.

So keep an eye out. This isn’t a new project, but it’s going to be one of the bigger things happening here at All Freelance Writing over the next month or so. We’re all about being a little bit different here, and I really hope you enjoy the direction things are going in. I know I am. So come join me for the ride. :)

Let’s go back to Wednesday of this week. It was my first day back to work after a 5-day vacation. I started that vacation being hit with a blizzard and had just gotten used to being dug out again when bam! — another blizzard came in on Tuesday night. It snowed all day Wednesday, so I was stuck digging out throughout the day on top of trying to get caught up on client work. It was a busy day — very busy.

Halfway through the day I checked my email. There was something in my inbox from NPR. They wanted me to whip something up quickly that day on a business-related topic. I didn’t pitch them. I didn’t contact them at all. They found me and reached out. And that, folks, is exactly how query-free freelancing works — you make yourself “findable.”

I love NPR. I also have a rule against taking on any spec projects, and I’m not technically taking on new projects from anyone right now. But we all have exceptions to our rules, don’t we? Isn’t there a publication or company you’d practically give a limb to write for? NPR is probably the closest I’ll get to that limb-sacrificing state of mind. It’s the only radio station I listen to.

So anyway, I made an exception to the rule. On a day when I was overloaded on catch-up work post-vacation and being pummelled by a snow storm I had to deal with, I dropped what I was doing and whipped up the piece. Unfortunately the rush job barely left enough time to track down a source and get a quote, nonetheless go into extensive details. And I’m not a news writer, so sudden tight deadlines aren’t my forté. Still, I got it together and sent back by deadline.

In the end they decided not to use the piece, and I was stuck working ridiculously late to make up for the lost time during my work day (never fun). Rejections aren’t as common in query-free freelancing but they still happen, and you still have to be able to handle it gracefully. Disappointing? Sure. Will they come back at some point? Possibly. Would I drop everything and break my typical business rules on spec work again? I honestly don’t know. But still, despite the end rejection it was very nice to see the platform approach do its job not only with the small business and corporate clients who find me and want to work with me, but also with a large media outlet I have a huge amount of respect for.

So there you have it — an example to show you that, yes, query-free freelancing can work with media contacts just like it does with business contacts. Now tell me, what company would you consider breaking your own rules for just for a chance to write for them?

First, you can read my interview with Peter Bowerman (author of The Well-Fed Writer series, including the new release combining information from his first two books) over at QueryFreeFreelancer.com. We talked about self-publishing nonfiction books, which can be a valuable part of a freelance writer’s platform.

Then, if you’d like, you can read an interview Michelle Oxman conducted with me for Fuel Your Writing. There you’ll find out a bit about how I started out, some of my writing-related pet peeves, and more.