Yahoo recently announced that all of its remote workers must either find their way back into an office or they should quit. Legalities and unemployment eligibility aside, this may very well mark a turning point for those of us who choose to work at home – that is, those of us who are at the whim of an employer. Stable work-from-home jobs aren’t always as
Ah, taxes. It’s almost all you hear and read about this time of year, but we freelance writers have been thinking about taxes all year long. That’s because we, along with other self-employed workers, are required to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS four times a year: in January, April, June, and September. If you’ve ever paid too little or *gasp* not paid at
If you’re anything like me, you love to write. If you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t have chosen a career in freelance writing. But it’s not enough to love the writing. You also have to love the work. No freelance writing business will succeed on writing alone. You have to network, market your services, maintain a website or portfolio, and handle basic administrative and financial tasks on a
I make my thoughts on editing no secret. Self-edits have their place — initial rewrites, shorter information products that need a very quick turnaround, etc. But for most indie publishers there’s no good excuse to release your work without it crossing the desk of a professional editor. Even more than that, I’m a strong believer in hiring an editor. I don’t care how many editors you’re friends
Your freelance writing website is an important tool that can attract new clients. It’s how they find you when searching for writers. And it’s where they go to learn more if they come across you via social media channels or after receiving a pitch from you. If that professional website isn’t up to date or portrays a negative image, it could cost you great freelance
As a blogger, you’re probably well-versed in content writing. After all, that’s what you do every time you write a blog post for your readers. Content is designed to inform, educate, or entertain. But it isn’t the only type of writing that you might pursue. There is also copywriting. This is writing designed to sell, persuade, or otherwise influence readers. Is copywriting important for bloggers
If you spend any amount of time cold calling, you will soon find that your primary targets are not always available to talk. For this reason, you have two options: Call back at a later time and/or date Leave a voicemail message and hope for a return call While there are pros and cons of both options, I always prefer to leave a voicemail message.
When we talk about freelance writing jobs, we usually focus on nonfiction writing like magazine features or business documents. We talk about that side of freelance writing more for two reasons. First, it’s where most of the jobs are. It’s also where most of the money will come from for the bulk of us. But there’s another side of freelance writing — writing fiction on
This morning I woke up to a beautiful sight. I live in a wooded community, and we had snow last night. This morning the snow was still sticking to the trees. That’s rare. It gets windy up here, so snow usually blows off the trees right away. The view made me think about how this environment sometimes impacts my writing. The view this morning outside
There is not much easy about our job unless you compare it to something like digging ditches or building a skyscraper. But that at least wears out your body rather than your mind. At the end of a day wrestling obligations to kids and careers, my brain is tired. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels mentally split almost constantly throughout the day.
It can be easy to get comfortable in a routine as a freelance writer. And sometimes that means we don’t continue to market our services as much as we should — something we should do even when our schedules are full. So today let’s look at some signs that you should seek out new freelance writing opportunities. Some are signs that you’ve waited too long
As a blogger, it’s important that you continuously strive to improve your writing skills. While no one is expected to be perfect all the time, you’ll want to focus on a few key things including: decreasing spelling and grammatical errors; making sure your writing style and language choices are appropriate for your audience; keeping your blog posts clear and concise. It’s true that some bloggers
I’m a big fan of what I like to call “query-free freelancing.” That means I don’t generally pursue freelance writing jobs. I do things that attract clients to me instead. For example, I run blogs that keep me fresh in prospects’ minds and I make sure my business site is well-optimized for search engines so I’m one of the first writers prospects find when they search for
Is your freelance writing business netting you more money than what’s needed to pay the bills? It’s not a bad problem to have. Here are some ways you can spend that extra money. Make sure you set aside enough for taxes. If you’re earning more than you expected, you may also owe more taxes than you expected. Update your estimated tax calculation and set aside
When starting out in print writing, clips are an important part of the picture. You need clips to get work and to prove that you can in fact write. The earlier you begin thinking about the clips you need, the better your chances of having one handy when an editor asks for it. Tweak Your Specialty How about an example? When I started writing I
Sometimes everyday life gets in the way of writing (and sometimes writing is that everyday life). But in the former case, one of my favorite things to do is go somewhere else — plan a mini writer’s retreat of sorts. I’m doing that with my husband this weekend. We’re heading to a B&B called Sayre Mansion, about an hour from where we live. We stay in a
As a blogger, you’re already used to creating content on a regular basis. That makes content marketing an ideal option for promoting your blog, increasing traffic, and growing your readership. Today let’s talk about the two different kinds of content marketing — inbound content marketing and outbound content marketing — and which makes more sense for blog promotion. Outbound vs Inbound Content Marketing Outbound content
There are many types of freelance writing success, and only you can determine what exactly that means for you. But no matter what your definition of success is, there are plenty of ways to get there. And it’s important to know that you don’t have sell out to make that happen. What Does it Mean for a Freelance Writer to Sell Out? Selling out is
As a freelance writer, new clients are your lifeblood. The more gigs you land the more money you will earn. Pretty simple, right? Your marketing plan is going to determine how much success you have in this area of your business. While true that some marketing strategies are free, others are going to set you back a few dollars from time to time. This leads
Tired of dealing with awful clients who disappear as soon as “where is my money” crosses your lips? Deadbeat clients are every freelancer’s nightmare, and it seems like we all run into one or more over our careers. However, you don’t have to just sit idly by and hope for the best! You can take steps to protect your business and your pocketbook with just