We all know that the work-at-home-mom (WAHM) writers aren’t considered the upper echelon of the writing community. If you didn’t know that, you’ve never read about the cost-savings to be had by tricking desperate WAHMs into providing ultra cheap articles in a particular forum’s Special Offers. Well, as a few of us here can tell you, having children and enjoying a professional writing career are certainly not exclusive entities, and even
My hubby recently decided that we should upgrade our phones, and we both went the Android route. I’ve spent a good bit of time setting things up for both personal and business use, and in the process I’ve come across some great apps that should improve my productivity. Here are five of my favorite Android apps so far (all free) that might be of interest
Previously we’ve talked about what blog content audits are and how you can create a simple blog content audit spreadsheet to make the process easier. But why would you want to take on this potentially huge project in the first place? Let’s look at three good reasons you might choose to conduct your own blog content audit. A content audit lets you: 1. Fix problems
My nonfiction book, The Query-Free Freelancer, has been moving along in an extraordinarily slow fashion. That’s due to a variety of things (from several months of illness where I focused my limited work time on clients to simply shelving the project for a while for a fresher perspective). Now that I’m moving forward with that first draft again (my own edits to the manuscript before sending it
You may have heard of Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization for freelancers, contractors, and independent workers. Sara Horowitz, who founded Freelancers Union, has released a comprehensive guide to freelancing – The Freelance Bible – that’s everything the title suggests. Sara’s accolades includes being named a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” fellow and one of Forbes’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs. Packed With Information As you’d expect of any book
Although it may be uncommon, there may come a time when you need to meet with a prospect in person. While you are not required to do so, if you turn down the invitation it could very well kill your chance of making a deal. Is that what you want? Some writers have no problem meeting with prospects and clients in person. Others try to
Have you ever written a guest post for someone’s blog? Have you considered turning that marketing strategy into paid freelance blogging opportunities? If so, you might find inspiration in Ruan Ooosthuizen — a blogger who successfully made that transition. You already know that we’re big fans of sharing personal experiences here at All Freelance Writing. We share our successes and failures with you on a
Social media marketing is a great way to promote your blog. And when you think about social media, you might think of networking and community as the most important aspects. If so, you would be right. That said, good writers will always have an edge in professional social networking and social media marketing. That’s because so much of social media these days still involves the
While every blogger can improve their blog through better writing, “better writing” doesn’t mean the same thing for every blogger. There are some common things we can all improve — our spelling, grammar, and paragraph length for example. Beyond those basics, “better writing” largely revolves around your chosen writing style. And it’s important that you choose your blog’s writing style based on your audience rather
I’ve been keeping an eye on a recent trend in the indie publishing community — paid reviews (and family/friends reviews) and the controversy surrounding them. But I fail to see why it’s such a hot topic. On one hand, when I see people asking the question of whether or not it’s okay for authors to do this, the answer’s clear. I want to scream “of
There is an endless amount of debate over what should be the going rate for writers in this business. There is a parallel debate over what actually constitutes a writer, another one over global price structures and still another one over the different styles of writers and how they fit into the grand scheme of business models. For the sake of argument, let’s ignore the
Hi All: I’m trying to grow my writing business by continuing to write for trades, but I also want to break into corporate writing. A couple of problems that I’m running into: 1. I’m burned out from researching and finding sources for articles. I would like to be given the topic and sources for once rather than having to do all of the legwork and
Every worker, freelance or not, is undoubtedly familiar with income taxes: the percentage of your income that’s paid to the Federal, state, and sometimes local government. (The rest of this post speaks primarily on Federal taxes.) When you’re full-time employed by an employer, the employer will typically withhold taxes from your pay. They send the withholdings to the IRS on your behalf. But, when you’re
Do you enjoy blogging? Do you enjoy it enough that you’d want to make a career of it? If so, professional blogging might be in your future. But do you have what it takes? Let’s look at what professional blogging means and some of the attributes that you might need if you want to successfully launch a career as a professional blogger. What is Professional
It’s that time of year again when goal-setting and dreams of new achievements fill people’s minds. I’m no exception, and that’s why I shared my overall writing resolutions previously on my freelance writing blog. For me those resolutions include freelance writing goals, Web publishing goals, and publishing goals for books and e-books. Today I’d like to share that last group of resolutions with you and
I know I’m a bit slow to return from my winter vacation time this year, but welcome back! I feel well-rested (after being exhausted by the holidays), and I’m excited to get back to work. I hope you all are as well. Back in November I shared my 2013 writing resolutions with you. Normally I try to evaluate them each quarter, but I knew I
If you’re getting started as a blogger, chances are good you’ll hear about something known as search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is everything you do to make your blog rank well in search engine results. Ranking well in search engines can bring more targeted traffic, meaning new readers, to your blog. There are countless “SEO experts” out there who will try to teach you
Now that 2013 is underway, there is no better time to get serious about growing your business. You should look at the new year as a fresh start. You should consider this your time to shine. Although prospecting for new business is always important, you can continue to grow by offering an expanded line of services to current clients. During the month of January, you
Happy New Year all you writers out there! If you have already been published in print, I wish you more of the same in 2013, and if you haven’t yet made it in this arena, may this be your year to shine! Today we’re going to talk goal setting for all print writers. I know it sounds basic, but it really isn’t. Here are my
Just an hour or two ago, I made my first folder of 2013. It was a small thing – clicking on “Create New Folder” and filing away some work – but it made the point in my mind nicely enough. This is a new year. It’s time to start this one off correctly, because it’s much easier to continue a good routine than it is