Free Scrivener Case Study Template

Yesterday I announced a new Tuesday Quick Tips series for the blog. Today marks the start of another series — Wednesday Resources. Every Wednesday (at least through the test period in June), I’ll either release a new resource for All Freelance Writing readers or I’ll promote a resource I highly recommend. Through June I already have new resources lined up every week though. . That

How to Change Your Twitter Handle Without Losing Followers

Today I’m kicking off a new weekly post series: Tuesday Quick Tips. Each Tuesday moving forward I’ll publish a short post with a simple tutorial, generally covering a common question or something you can do in just a few minutes. Let’s start by talking about Twitter. If you follow me on Twitter you might have noticed that I recently changed my handle (the name I

Freelance Blogging Pay Rates: Exposing Some Myths

This post was originally published on June 20, 2009. But I wanted to share it again today (and update it a bit) as the issue of blogging pay rates is hotter than ever as more and more freelance bloggers come onto the scene. As some background, this was originally written in response to Kevin Muldoon’s post, Bloggers Need to be Realistic About Blogging Rates. It

Copyright Concerns When Crossing the Client-Employer Line

In the past we’ve explored some of the problems with letting clients cross a line by treating you more like an employee than an independent contractor. For example, if they cross that line and are held accountable they could end up paying back taxes and benefits. That can be a good reason to pursue issues when clients are really employers trying to scam the system

Should Writers be Responsible for a Client’s Bad Business Decisions?

It’s common for clients to overstep when hiring freelance writers these days. Writers are expected to wear multiple hats, and clients are rarely willing to pay more for these added services. The Northeast Ohio Media Group’s “zero-tolerance policy” on typos is an insane example; writers are expected to have their spouses edit their work after copyeditors were dismissed. Blog owners are an even more common example, expecting

Free Scrivener White Paper Template

I mentioned previously that I was having a difficult time finding Scrivener templates for freelance writers. Most are focused on writing books. I already released two free templates that will help you use Scrivener for blogging — one for managing a single blog and one for managing multiple blogs. Today I’m releasing my first template for common freelance writing projects — a white paper template.

Freelance Writers: Better Pay or Better Bylines?

As a freelance writer, do you care more about being paid well for your work or about seeing your name in print (or online)? The two often don’t go hand-in-hand. Personally I put pay first (but hold gigs to strict ethical standards — I don’t simply take any well-paid gig that comes along). After all, I’m running a business. I’m not in this for vanity.

Gamification: Make Freelance Writing More Fun

In the comments on a previous post about loving your work, Anne Wayman mentioned that she wanted to try to turn some of her marketing into a game. That’s something I try to do with my daily work as much as possible too. So I thought it might be fun to look at gamification and how you can gamify your freelance writing work. Gamification doesn’t have to

Free Scrivener Template for Managing Multiple Blogs

Recently I wrote about my decision to move to Scrivener for blogging. I also released a free scrivener template for bloggers that allows you to easily manage a single blog as its own project. But personally, I use Scrivener to manage multiple blogs, and I manage them all from a single project file so I can see all of my blogs’ content in one place.

Free Scrivener Template for Bloggers: Manage a Single Blog

Recently I shared some of the reasons I now use Scrivener for blogging. In the comments on that post I promised to look into creating a simple template you can use. Today I’d like to share that Scrivener blogging template with you. About the Scrivener Blogging Template This simple template was designed to be used in managing your content strategy for a single blog. The

5 Reasons Not to Write Blog Posts Directly in WordPress

All of my blogs are run in WordPress, and that’s been my blogging platform of choice since switching to it in 2006. WordPress offers fairly extensive writing and editing tools right within your site’s admin area. Over the years, I’ve written many of my blog posts directly in WordPress using these tools. That was probably a mistake. In my last post I mentioned that I

Scrivener for Blogging: Why Scrivener is the Ultimate Blogging Tool

A while back I mentioned that I was giving Scrivener a try. My hope was to use that writing software during last year’s NaNoWriMo instead of a standard word processor. That didn’t happen. I was still uncomfortable with the software at the time, and I worried it would slow me down. I’m still a Scrivener beginner by a long shot, but I’m finally putting it

How to Add Custom Tweetable Quotes to Your Blog Posts (Without a Plugin)

Have you ever seen custom quotes in a blog post with a “tweet this” link? It’s cool, right? Instead of focusing your Twitter links on your blog post title, you can have several tweets with unique content for each of your posts. And by highlighting your best quotes, you increase your chance that readers will share your posts. Here’s an example of a completely customized

Free Target Market Planner for Freelance Writers

Have you ever struggled to pinpoint the target market for your freelance writing services? If so, I have a free tool that might help. I decided to overhaul my old target market worksheet, previously only available to those who purchased my Web Writer’s Guide e-book which is no longer available. I’m releasing the updated version as a freebie. You’ll be able to find it in my collection

3 Things to do Before Upgrading WordPress Plugins

I wish I knew why, but over the last month and a half or so I’ve noticed far more WordPress plugin updates than usual being pushed through. Perhaps developers are getting ready for the WordPress 3.9 core update. Whatever the reason, more plugin updates equals more risk for your website or blog. Plenty can go wrong when you update a plugin. Sometimes the updates will

When Should Book Marketing Begin?

Many first-time authors don’t spend much time thinking about book marketing until they’ve finished writing their book, perhaps when they’re putting together a book proposal. However, you should think about your book marketing strategy well before getting to that point. “What can I do to market a book that doesn’t even exist yet?” you might ask. Good question. Here are three specific book promotional activities

The Guest Blogging Risks Just Got Real

Spammy guest posts have been a problem for quite a while. I’ve certainly bitched about being on the receiving end. Here’s what it comes down to folks: If you’re guest blogging for the sake of building links so you can increase your search rankings, or running massive guest post campaigns, you’re doing it wrong. And you might just get slapped by Google. Matt Cutts warned

Fiction Author Platforms: Why You Need One and How to Build One

There is a common misconception out there about author platforms. Many fiction authors seem to think that author platforms don’t apply to them. There is this notion that platforms are only relevant to nonfiction authors. But that’s far from the truth. While the fiction author’s platform might be different than their nonfiction counterpart’s, an author platform will still help a novelist sell more books, and

What is an Author Platform?

In my first Busy Author’s Guide, I’ll cover ways you can build your all-important author platform no matter how much, or how little, time you can invest. What is an author platform? Your author platform is essentially your presence and reach among your target audience. When you have a strong author platform, you have a built-in fan base of people who are literally waiting to buy your

3 Ways Authors Waste Time With Bad Book Marketing

I hear it all the time. Authors complain that they’re fed up with book promotion. They want to spend their time writing and not marketing their books. In many cases you can cut down on marketing time significantly. All you have to do is stop making some common book marketing mistakes, doing things to help your book sales when in fact you might be hurting

Pick Your Perfect Blog Post Schedule

Your blog’s content strategy is about more than the type of content you plan to write. It also includes your blog post schedule — when you post, and how often you post. Should you post daily? Just on weekdays? Once per week? Monthly? There’s no right answer to cover all blogs. You have to find the right post frequency and schedule for your blog. Picking Your Blog Post

Looking After Your Health While Working From Home

I’ve had a rough couple of days this week. It started Sunday night. Between now and then I’ve had restless nights, fluttering feelings, a bit of lightheadedness, and a variety of other symptoms. By Monday morning I was imagining the worst. My husband worked from home that day just in case I decided to go into the hospital to get checked out. Thankfully it didn’t

Can I Really Make Money From My Blog? – Reader Question

There are many reasons to start a blog. One popular reason is to make money. When you do that, you treat your blog as a business model in its own right. Many people try to earn money from their blogs. Some succeed. Others fail. And much of that comes down to your strategy, your niche specialty, and the plan you come up with to monetize

47 Things to Consider When Setting Freelance Writing Rates

Are you confident that you set the right freelance writing rates? Are they really helping you reach all of your financial goals? Or did you find out through trial and error that there were some factors you forgot to consider? Alicia Rades brought this topic up recently. She wanted to know how she can figure out what she should be making to reach her goals and meet her

How to Organize a Virtual Book Tour Without Breaking the Time Bank

Have you considered taking part in a virtual book tour to promote your book or e-book? Have you put it off because you’re worried a virtual publicity tour might take too much time? It’s true. There are a lot of ways these promotional events can waste time. But the biggest waste of time is to go through one and not attract new readers. Fortunately there

Get Started as a Part-Time Freelance Writer: Reader Questions

Today I’d like to share some reader questions from a reader who preferred to remain anonymous. His questions revolve around getting started as a new freelance writer on a part-time basis. We’ll call him Matt for the sake of this post. Jen Grant, whom I answered in our last reader Q&A post, asked for something similar during a Twitter conversation recently: @AllIndieWriters Jenn! Thank you!

Create a Custom 404 Error Page for Your Writer Website or Blog

In my post “4 Elements of Effective Freelance Writing Websites,” I suggested creating a custom 404 error page to help misdirected prospects find what they’re looking for. A 404 error is a “page not found” error message someone sees if they try to visit an address on your site that doesn’t exist. No one likes seeing an error message. So it’s a good idea to

4 Elements of Effective Freelance Writing Websites

What are your goals for your freelance writing website? To be clear, we’re talking about your professional site — the one designed to attract clients, not your site or blog targeting other writers. Chances are that you’re hoping to attract not only clients, but the right clients. You know, they’re the ones who have a need in your specialty area and an adequate budget to hire a

Be a Book Marketing Hero. Stop Social Media Spam.

As a follow-up to my recent post and infographic, Twitter tips for authors, I’d like to share a resource from another author. Anne R. Allen shared this post with me on Twitter, which she wrote last fall. Social Media Secrets for Authors, Part IV: How Not to Spam I hate spam. You hate spam. We all hate spam. It might be the only thing everyone

Do You Have What it Takes to be a Profitable Freelancer?

As a freelancer, do you just scrape by month to month? Are you struggling to earn the kind of living that would leave you truly comfortable?  If so, you might want to check out this new website from a fellow freelance writer, a good friend, and my top pick if I ever need a partner in crime — Yolander Prinzel. Her new site is called