Pop quiz, hot shot! How many of the old, conventional writing rules do you break on a daily basis? You probably know the ones I’m talking about. These are rules like: Never start a paper with a question. Never start a sentence with “and” or “but.” Never end a sentence with a preposition. Paragraphs must be a minimum of five sentences. There are countless more
Update: I received an email from David from Writerbay.com this morning. While we still disagree as to the spam nature of these kinds of contests, I do want to update you about a positive development. The primary concern with the contest was the target list of bloggers that was published for participants. I was informed (and then verified) that the list has been removed. Writers can
Do you ever put in long hours, working overtime? Are you strictly against working overtime as a freelance writer? There are good cases both for and against these late nights, working weekends, or whatever kind of overtime schedule you might have. Today I’d like to share a few thoughts on when I work overtime, when I think it’s smart to work extra hours, and why I think
Ever wonder what an editor does? Chances are it’s a lot more than you think. It’s an editor’s job to make sure your readers can see the forest despite the trees—that they don’t get caught up on typos and mistakes that will cause them to focus on the words instead of the story. And, in the process, a good editor will look for things you
Whether you’re a new freelance writer or you have decades of experience in freelancing, there is always more to learn. That’s why building a professional library is a smart idea. You can learn or refresh yourself on the basics of being in business for yourself. Good books for freelance writers can teach you about new marketing tactics you haven’t tried before. And if nothing else,
If you bank with a major bank, you’ve probably received notice that a monthly fee is being added to your account. For the most part, these fees can be waived if you maintain a certain balance, make a certain number of debit card transactions, or have a certain amount direct deposited into your account. Basically, you may have to go through a little bit of
Successful freelancing involves more than having the ability to write (or design, code, or whatever service you offer). Freelancers also need some basic business skills to manage and grow a freelance business. These are the skills that allow you to attract clients, manage finances, and make appropriate plans for the future. Let’s look at three basic business skills all freelancers should have, and resources that
What do you value more as a freelance writer — money or your reputation and professional ethics? For me, it’s the latter without a doubt. It’s not uncommon for me to turn down new prospects for ethical reasons. There are some niches I won’t touch. And there are clients with histories I wouldn’t want to associate myself with. They include anything from sponsorships from content
Running a successful blog isn’t only about the new content you create. It’s also about your archived blog posts. Moving forward with strong content is always important. But if you want to improve your blog content strategy, increase traffic and give readers what they really want, you should start with a blog content audit. What is a Blog Content Audit? Think of a blog content
Some freelance writers spend a lot of time sending query letters via snail mail to editors. Although this is a great way to drum up new business, there is something else I want you to think about: traditional direct mail. This could be anything from post cards to sales letters. Rather than send these pieces to an editor of a publication, you are instead focusing
There is a lot of resistance to the idea that working at home makes you lazy. I’d heartily agree that stereotypes are generally unfounded among successful business people who choose to work from home, but I’d also offer up the argument that having worked in a few places in corporate America, people are lazy workers at times no matter where they are stationed for the
You know me as Jennifer Mattern. That’s my “real” name, or at least it was before I got married. And it’s the name I’ll continue to use here and in running the bulk of my business. But I’m also pursuing fiction, and for that I use two pen names. I don’t stress over keeping those pen names private though. In fact, I’ve noticed a trend
Last month Tim Berry wrote about learning that a stop sign requires a full stop—one where the car rolls backward slightly—and how that reminded him of decision making. That sometimes we all need a full stop now and again to think things through and prepare ourselves to head off again in the right direction. I couldn’t help but think of how the same concept applies
Tax time is still a few months away but if you wait until then you could be in a rush to get all the paperwork together. You can make it a lot easier on your tax preparer (even if you do your own taxes) by keeping up with necessary financial documents throughout the year. W-9 forms for contractors to whom you paid more than $600
So you want to write for a magazine? If that is the case–one of the most important things you will do is study publications that you want to submit material to in query form. But what is the best way to go about that? Let’s face it, buying tons of magazines can be really expensive. (Fun, but expensive!) So how do you do your research
My inbox has been flooded with newsletters that I subscribe to from SEO, marketing, and Web development sites. And lately all they seem to be talking about is Google. Panda. Penguin. Whatever update they’re rolling out or mucking around with at the moment, it’s always the same cry. “The Internet as we know it is ending! Duck, cover and prepare yourself for plummeting rankings and
When you make cold calls as a freelance writer, you should expect to be the one doing most of the talking. However, any conversation has the potential to quickly turn. In other words, you may find yourself answering questions at some point during the call. If you have somebody asking you questions, it is safe to say that they are interested in what you have