When Exhaustion Kicks In…And You’re Still Working

If the idea of an all-nighter fills you with excitement and gritty determination to see it through to morning with coffee, sugar and a big welcoming bed the moment the project is finally complete – you’re not a parent. Or at least you’re not the parent looking forward the 6 A.M. wake up call every morning of the week, every week of the year you’ve

Market your Services with a Free Report

Are you looking for a creative way to market your freelance writing services? Are you trying to stand out in the crowd? If so, you may want to create a free report as a way of increasing exposure and hopefully adding new clients. The number one benefit of a free report is that most people will take advantage if they know about it. After all,

Want to Improve Your English? Please Skip MTV

It’s a joke on too many shows these days that the alien or the foreigner learns English by watching MTV or the equivalent. It might have been marginally funny the first time, but it’s way past time for that joke to be over, and the underlying message is actually rather dangerous for those who are trying to sound like professionals. It’s hard to learn real

Freelance Fitness: Perk Up Your Playlist

Even though I’ve been doing most of my workouts indoors lately because of the heat and humidity Mother Nature’s been throwing our way here, one of my favorite workouts has always been walking (or hiking depending on where I am). When I don’t have someone with me to talk to while working out, I pop in some headphones before heading out the door. Oftentimes I

How To Prepare For A Drop In Your Freelance Writing Business

No matter if you’ve been writing 12 weeks or 12 years, there’ll be a time when when your freelance writing work dries up a little. For some writers, it’s a seasonal hazard.  For others, it’s because of something they’ve done (having changed their prices or being out of the ‘loop’ for a while are two examples that come to mind).  However, it’s likely that at

Suze Orman, Self-Worth and Freelance Writing, Part 2

Okay, so we’re back. If you haven’t read part one of this series—do so. This part won’t make sense unless you read my Kim Kardashian Botox analogy. Okay it will, but I still like that damn story. The Rates of Other Writers So right now you should be honestly assessing your skill compared to other freelance writers in your niche, and assessing the quirks you

Should You Buy a Get Rich Quick Writing Scheme?

It takes money to make money, but should you spend your hard-earned money on a writing ebook/program/webinar that promises to make you oodles of money? I once spent money on one of those ebooks and I was completely satisfied with my purchase. I didn’t get rich – nor did I believe I would – but I used the strategy to create a web product that’s

June 2010 Book Club Discussion — The Well-Fed Writer

A few weeks ago you voted on our very first All Freelance Writing Virtual Book club pick-of-the-month — Peter Bowerman’s award-winning book, The Well-Fed Writer. Today we kick off that book club discussion. The comments will remain open on this post for a week, and extended for one additional week if they’re still fairly active at that point. Below are ten questions (some from me, and

How To Find Free Stock Photos For Your Freelance Writing Blog

Since early 2010, I’ve been hired to create a lot of photo blog posts.  I don’t know whether it’s something that other people are experiencing or that for some reason it’s just my workload that’s consisting of this type of work, but I really enjoy creating them. One of the most time consuming parts, however, is actually finding photos that can be used.  I occasionally

Suze Orman, Self-Worth and Freelance Writing, Part 1

I was going through some old New York Times Magazines a few weeks ago, and came across an article by financial guru Suze Orman. A lot of advisors in the financial industry don’t like Suze Orman. Sure, she has made some errors in advice and made some mistakes in her books, but in general her conservative approach to investing and insurance are dead on for

How to make Time for Marketing when your Schedule is Full

From time to time I run into this situation: my schedule becomes so full of projects that I barely have enough time to market my services. While it would be easy to let this slide for a few weeks (or even longer) I know that marketing is the key to long term success. For this reason, I always find time to send query letters, make

How To Promote Your Freelance Writing Blog Using Social Media

Last week I mentioned that I was moving away from more traditional construction DIY projects and focusing on those that could have an actual impact upon your freelance writing business. Starting with how to install a WordPress theme on your freelance writing blog last week, this week we’re going to take an introductory look into how to promote your freelance writing blog using 5 different

Amazon Kindle: Good for Freelance Writing Work and Play but Useless as a Coaster.

This week, after much thought and back and forth arguing with my other personalities, I bought a Kindle. Now, anyone who knows me knows that as much as I like computers, laptops, and televisions, I kinda hate technology. I hate GPS systems because I like to rely on my own little sense of direction; I hate cell phones because I don’t like being accessible at

Is Working From Home Really Cheaper?

Being a freelance writer and working from home are great. There are some obvious cost savings. For example, you won’t have to pay the cost of commuting to and from work, so you’ll save money on gas. Your clothing expenses might also go down since you don’t have to buy the more expensive business casual or professional clothes for to wear to work. As you

Sending Your Query

Writing a query is one thing, but it definitely isn’t the only thing. You also have to format it well and know where it is going. Who Gets It? One thing I had a lot of questions about when I started freelancing was who to send my query to once it was complete. Most people directed me to Writer’s Market to find the proper e-mail

Emergency Planning for Freelance Writers

Hello friends, Romans and fellow freelancers. As Matt mentioned yesterday, hurricane season has begun. If you, like me, live along the southern coast you’re likely dusting off your hurricane shutters and stocking up on water. As business owners who run businesses out of our homes, we have a different set of concerns that we also must consider in the event that a hurricane evacuation takes

The Ugly Thoughts of a WAHM (Part 1)

It’s not a secret that moms have to work hard to not openly judge other moms. You see a parent disciplining a child in a way that you’re not comfortable with and immediately you’re thinking about that technique and what sort of mother would do such a thing and how you would never in your lifetime even consider….etc…. Judging is insanely easy to do, and