Starting this month, I resolve to save 5% of my income every month, always, no matter what. If I can consistently pay the IRS, the cell phone company, the electric company, the health insurance provider, etc., there’s no reason I can’t do the same for myself. I do have an automatic savings draft set up, but it’s just $50 a month and I now feel
Let’s go over some common components of the author (or book) media kit. While most of these will work for a hard copy media kit / press kit, let’s focus on online author media kits (those in newsroom formats on your website or downloadable .pdf files). Author Media Kit Components – Essential Author bio Published book list (titles, cover images, brief summary, ISBN, etc.) Media
The following is an interview with independent author, Peter Bowerman. Bowerman is the author of The Well-Fed Writer and The Well-Fed Self Publisher (a book I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interested in pursuing indie publishing). When did you first decide to self publish, and which was your first self-published book? I decided to self-publish my first book, The Well-Fed Writer (2000), after only half-hearted attempts to
Do you use Google Analytics on your blog to track your website traffic statistics? If so, have you ever looked at your bounce rate there and wondered “why is this so high?” The problem might have very little to do with your blog and have more to do with the fact that the typical bounce rate metric isn’t always relevant to the blog format. Fortunately
Three different freelance colleagues mentioned using editorial calendars to me within the past week. And it made me wonder — is this a new trend among freelance writers and bloggers or are many of you already using this tool? I don’t have an editorial calendar per se, but I do a fair amount of post planning. I use editorial calendars for special circumstances (like my
Are you looking to get in touch with potential clients from your local area? If so, you may want to think about joining at least one chamber of commerce. This may sound like a lot of work, but once you know what you are doing it can bring in new business on a regular basis. Here are three chamber of commerce networking tips: 1. Choose
I had every intention of writing you a nice, long sales page full of random lies and musings. I was hoping that I could create a really cool, (imaginary) expert name for myself like Dr. Rebecca Frankenfurter, M.D. so that I would have instant credibility through my fake letter when I went to sell you some aspirin in a pretty bottle I colored with my
When “indie publishing” is discussed here at All Indie Publishing, we’re talking about professional independent publishing. That means there’s an entrepreneurial element as opposed to publishing just to see your name in print. You plan to make a serious go of it. You plan to make money with your books. You work with professionals to put out your best work possible. You won’t see many
You know my thoughts on content mills. You know I’m pissed that Google has so far allowed these MFA (made-for-adsense) sites to spam their rankings using tactics that would have smaller independent publishers penalized in a heartbeat (and that’s been the case for years). They didn’t pay attention when we brought up the issues in writing communities. But now that the tech segment is on
Do you ever feel embarrassed as a blogger? Maybe the grammar police came a-calling. Or maybe you forgot to post when readers were expecting something. Or maybe you missed a publicly self-imposed deadline. Here’s what I have to say to that: lighten up! Coming to Terms with Typos Blogging is a relatively casual and conversational medium and yet we sometimes get worked up over simple
Don’t let stereotypes fool you. Financial freedom is not about being rich. In fact, you could be a millionaire and still be a financial slave. You know you’re financially free when you’re not worried about money anymore. The path to financial freedom isn’t much different for freelancers. I’d even say we have the ability to get there faster by making certain business choices. So how
Everyone is willing to give you advice about freelance writing — from non-writers with preconceptions about the freelance lifestyle to professionals who have run successful freelance writing careers for years. In between you’ll find newbies who try to give advice like they’ve found the holy grail of freelancing, former freelancers who couldn’t cut it but still feel qualified to tell you how you can, and some
Let’s face it, most writers aren’t the type to “hard sell” their services. For this reason, face to face networking can often times be a difficult task. There was a day when I felt the same way. Fortunately, I overcame this soon enough. Nowadays, I love getting out there, talking with others, and making new contacts. Tips to Ease the Tension 1. Dress for success.
Let’s face it—almost every writer would love to land the coveted “travel article” in a glossy magazine. Writing about a destination is considered one of the most glamorous things you could do as a writer—but how do you break in? Competition is fierce, and there are some pretty established pros out there doing it, so knowing where to begin is important. The Good News It
Bloggers usually love to receive comments. But as a reader, I sometimes don’t leave them, even if I love the blogger and content. It occurred to me as I looked through my RSS feed this morning that there’s one blog in particular that I almost never comment on. I admire the blogger. I love the content. But I don’t comment. Why? There’s one simple reason
I’m obviously totally awesome at what I do because I’m not completely burned out yet although I do get very, very close at times. In fact, I admire my productivity and economy so much I thought I’d share some real-world tips for saving money while starting up a freelance business any moms just breaking into this madness. This is, after all, a very, very serious
Sometimes we find inspiration in the strangest places. And today I’m going to turn the floor over to my two kitties, Baby and Tubs. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from these little beasties that apply to the freelance writing life: Baby: There’s Always Time for a Nap Sometimes we get so caught up in work and deadlines and finding new projects that we
Sometimes the things I find through Twitter make me want to cry. “How to Retire on Residual Income from Writing Articles” was one such link (although I can’t remember which darling follow felt it was a good idea to share). This is an article about how writing for sites that offer residual income is an option for people who want to retire. In other words,