Many of you probably caught this post on PBS.org about content farms last week. When I read it, I found it very interesting that Demand Media turned down the opportunity to be interviewed for the piece. Usually, they can’t be tamed when it comes to spouting their really cool: Hey, we never said we were journalists… but look at our awesome brand of service journalism
Non-native writers face discrimination online. Much of this negativity come for failing to write English “properly” – at least according to prospective clients. Looking been around various forums and markets, I’ve come across more than a few exclusionary advertisements about “native English speakers only” and such. Is there a reason so many jobs are asking for native English speakers only? Absolutely – and I’ll tell
It’s almost time to start another year! Parents and teachers know exactly what I’m talking about. They live in my universe where January is simply part of winter break and the REAL year starts in mid-August or early September when kids go back to school. In this family, I always go back to school and I’ll have one heading off to kindergarten *stifle sob* and
I don’t talk about finances much here other than issues revolving around rates and making money. That’s an area where I know my stuff, but I leave the rest to our resident financial experts. Today though I want to talk about money — my money — with a personal look at how freelance success has, and hasn’t, changed how I spend. Some Background One thing
We have a few changes happening at All Freelance Writing, and I wanted to make you aware of them. Here’s the rundown: Matt Willard was doing a trends-focused humor series here. He’s now switching gears. He’ll be writing a fictional serial comedy each week. His posts will still be published every Thursday. Clint will no longer be publishing freelance writing jobs. Today was the final
Yesterday on Twitter I noted that I finally made a decision regarding the book I’m working on — The Query-Free Freelancer — and whether I would pursue a traditional publisher or opt to self-publish the book. I’ve chosen the latter. I put a lot of thought into this over the last few months, and was already leaning towards the self-publishing route. But recent events in
I’ve been having an exchange with a Kontera rep about implementing their ads on this and other sites I own. As you might already know I’m not a huge fan of Google’s Adsense network, although we still use them here minimally. While I plan to keep advertisements to a minimum on this site, other than promoting my own products and affiliate products I test and
I recently received an interesting reader question from Jazmin of Capital Web Writing. Her question was about whether or not it would be appropriate for her hubby to accompany her to a conference, especially given his unique quirks. She gave me permission to share the email and my thoughts here. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the topic as well. Here’s the email: I
Cold calling is a great way to land new clients, while spreading the word about the services that you offer. The main issue with this way of marketing is that you are going to get turned down more times than not. With this in mind, you need to have a good follow-up strategy in place. In other words, one call is not often usually enough
I had a really strange few days this past week. I’ve taken on some new work, streamlined my current projects so I can take most weekends off and started to jot down ideas for the book I’ve been trying to write for a while. I should have been ecstatic, but instead I found it particularly difficult to get – and stay – motivated. I don’t
As freelance writers, we all share a secret, unspoken code of ethics. It’s not enough for me that this code of ethics remains secret and unspoken though—I want to publish it and speaketh it. So here goes. 1. I am the Lord thy Client. Thou shalt not have strange clients before me. None of your clients wants to hear about your other clients. None of
Back in April, I promised to tell you about retirement options available for freelance writers. I’m three months late, but better late than never right? I have to admit, thinking about retirement savings is not the most interesting topic. In fact, it can be boring. But I’ll do boring if it means I get to spend my 50+ years enjoying the world’s beaches. Let me
When starting as a freelance writer, it’s difficult to turn down work. You’re a rookie in the industry who’s trying to make a living writing and the simplest way to do that seems to be to take on as much work as you possibly can. There comes a point, though, when you physically can’t take on anymore work and you need to start turning projects
During the past year there has been a lot of talk about how female freelance writers are discriminated against. It is said that clients are more likely to argue with us about rates than our male counterparts, that clients expect us to work much cheaper, they treat us differently and it’s harder for us to get gigs. As someone equipped with a vagina and a
Yesterday I got a searing headache. Headaches aren’t usual for me and this one had a cause that was very easily identifiable and I should have known better. It wasn’t lack of water or lack of sleep (for once.) The IRS hasn’t called lately and the scale isn’t too horrifying for the week. The cause of this particular headache was my children. The worst part?
It was a little after midnight. The phone rang. I yawned, wiped my eyes, and looked to my night stand in disbelief. I had to be dreaming, right? No one in their right mind would call me at this hour. But no. The phone really was ringing. It might have been a family emergency or something. So I reached across my bed and picked up
As you know, marketing your services as a freelance writer is important – there is no two ways about it. Although it is good that you are spending time on marketing, it is essential that you stay as organized as possible. There are several reasons for this: 1. When you are organized it is simple to see what is and isn’t working. Are you having
I’m naturally a bit of a reclusive person. I enjoy working with others and socialising with groups of friends, but I tend to find that if I can do something by myself rather than with others, I generally will. Since being a freelance writer, however, one of the most important points I’ve learnt is that networking with other writers is key to developing your writing
Good morning my little fiends, how are you today? Well, however you were doing, you’re about to get doing better (huh?) because I’ve decided that it’s high time for all of us to come out of the hellfire and acknowledge just how much like Satan we freelance writers are. Yes, we freelance writers have much in common with that red horned, fork-tailed devil. Don’t act
Well. What I’m about to tell you is one of the most important things you will ever learn in terms of writing for print. Ready? Here goes: Follow the guidelines. Sound deceptively simple? Seem like common sense advice? Guess what? In terms of the magazine editors I know, this is the most common complaint. Writers don’t follow the guidelines. Those that do—they will get more
Now that half the year is gone, it’s a good time to take a look at your overall financial situation to see how you’re doing so far this year. Here are some things you should include in your mid-year finance check up. 1. Progression toward your salary goal. You should have started the year with an idea of how much money you wanted to make
Can you believe we’re already half-way through 2010? Wow! And you know what that means, right? It’s time to look back on the goals and resolutions we set for our freelance writing businesses, blogs, etc. and see how we’re coming along. Maybe we’ve met some of our goals already. Perhaps it’s time to let some go because we’ve made other goals along the way. And
I’ve been a freelance writer for a few years now, but it wasn’t until January this year when I actually started to make a real go of making my hobby-come-part-time-job into a full time career. Before 2010, to all intents and purposes I’d been playing at freelance writing. I had a few regular clients, kept in with the right crowds and applied for a few
As freelance writers we sometimes don’t think of ourselves as master multi-taskers, but by the very nature of our business, we are. We are individuals focused on our career and business owners attempting to drum up business and satisfy customers. We are employees of our own business and we are people with families and the need for a rich, fulfilled life. This complicated relationship between