Jennifer Mattern In our last Monday Motivation post I wrote about self-motivation and what a struggle it can sometimes be. In that post, I also mentioned we’d be talking more about gamification in the future as a way to keep yourself motivated to write. Today we’re going to start by looking at one example of gamification for writers: setting writing challenges for yourself. I don’t know about
Sharon Hurley Hall joins me for the latest episode of the All Freelance Writing Podcast. We chat about a wide range of issues related to freelance blogging. For example, you’ll learn: The difference between business blogging and niche / publication blogging (and benefits of each); The difference between blogging for small businesses and larger corporate clients; How much you can really earn as a freelance blogger (if
Not even a month in, and I find myself wondering why I chose to start a motivational series of blog posts on Mondays. Perhaps I just liked the alliteration of a “Monday Motivation” series (probably). Today I find myself struggling to find the motivation to write, or do much of anything other than curl up with a good book. If the series’ posts came later
In the latest All Freelance Writing Podcast, I’m joined by UK freelance journalist, Philippa Willitts. Philippa and I discuss “insta-experts” and the dangers of building a false sense of authority instead of legitimate expertise in your writing niche or industry. This is a follow-up to my previous post and podcast episode, An Open Letter on Trust, “Experts,” and Blogging. (Be forewarned, the older post contains quite
In the latest All Freelance Writing Podcast, I’m joined by fellow freelance writer and indie author, Dann Alexander. Dann and I pick up where Princess and I left off in Episode 19 on fear and confidence issues to discuss rejection and its impact on a writer’s confidence. Dann brings a unique perspective in that he has a very optimistic outlook on rejection as a writer, while being someone
It’s time to catch up with another former regular contributor (from this blog’s days as All Freelance Writing). This week’s guest is Rebecca Garland. Rebecca covered not only issues related to being a work at home parent, but also grammar and ESL topics thanks to her experience as a high school English teacher in her full-time job. Rebecca has been writing for clients for 11 years now. Even
Freelance writers would be wise to specialize. I’ve given this advice for years, and for good reason. Whether you choose to specialize in a niche or industry (or even type of writing or type of client base), you’ll generally earn more as a specialist. But there are other benefits too, as today’s guest points out. In my interview series talking to freelance writers about their
I’m just going to come right out and say it: 2016 sucked. Yes. Past tense. I refuse to let it take, destroy, or corrupt anything else I hold dear. I declare 2016 officially over. I’ve decided to spend the next several weeks living in some limbo-like state free from the confines of time and space. You are welcome to join me. Because I’ve decided to leave
Before this site was re-branded in 2013 under the All Freelance Writing brand, it was known as All Freelance Writing. For a while, All Freelance Writing was a group blog with a handful of regular contributors. The site’s 10-year anniversary felt like a great time to reach out and reconnect with some of those writers. So, this month, four former contributors to the blog will
This post is the first in a new “Monday Motivation” series designed to encourage you to take risks with your writing and keep pushing forward despite the fear, doubts, and confidence issues that often creep into a writer’s mind. You’ll find a mix of personal stories, tips, exercises, reality checks, and motivational quotes and resources every Monday moving forward. Fear. Doubt. A lack of confidence
NaNoWriMo 2016 is well underway. Plotters have their stories outlined. Pantsers have hit the ground running. And aspiring and experienced novelists alike have that 50k word target in their sights. Today let’s talk about the NaNoWriMo writing process — what we’re working on, how we’ve scheduled our writing time during November, and what tools and resources we use to keep us on track. NaNoWriMo 2016:
The All Freelance Writing Podcast returns today with a very special episode. This is the first group episode of the show. I’m joined by my “go-to gals” — Yolander Prinzel, Cathy Miller, and Lori Widmer — for a round table style discussion about the changing freelance writing industry and what they’ve learned as veterans in their field. The ladies weigh in on several things including:
NaNoWriMo has barely started, and I’m already behind this year. I changed my novel idea at the last minute (I believe around 10:00 p.m. the night before). I still haven’t finished the scene-by-scene outline, though I hope to by tomorrow morning. And it’s now November 3rd and I haven’t even begun drafting my novel yet. That seems like a cause for concern, right? But I’m
All Freelance Writing has served the freelance writing community for ten years now. And what a journey it’s been! Not only has this site changed significantly, going through two re-brandings — from SixFigureWriters.com to AllFreelanceWriting.com to AllFreelanceWriting.com, but the industry itself has changed quite a bit in that time. Some of those changes are good. Some, not so much. And lately we’ve even seen trends
Can you believe it? All Freelance Writing is 10 years old this month. Since November of 2006, I’ve been helping new writers build successful writing careers through better business and marketing practices. You may have noticed a lack of updates here recently. That’s because I’ve been busy working on some new things on the back-end. So think of today as a sort of re-launch. A
Freelance specialization is something I’ve been passionate about for years. I’ve said it before to new freelance writers, and I’ll probably say it countless times again, but: “Clients don’t pay top freelance writing rates because you can string sentences together; they pay the best rates when you bring valuable knowledge and insight to the table.” That’s why specialists often earn more. They have inside knowledge
In the most recent All Freelance Writing Podcast, Princess Jones stopped by again. This time we chatted about writers sharing personal information and stories online (or in books in some cases). Are there any benefits to opening up to your readers? What are the risks? And when does being open turn into oversharing? These are some of the questions Princess and I answered in Episode
This weekend Princess Jones and I will finish recording a podcast episode on writers sharing personal information on blogs, in books, and in social media. And we need your input! The episode will go into the benefits of opening up (such as building community), the risks (such as safety concerns), and then we’re answering a series of questions from readers and listeners. We thought this
In the past, I’ve published blog posts to announce each podcast episode. But I haven’t done that lately. So today I’d like to go back and introduce you to some of the episodes you may have missed if you don’t subscribe to the podcast itself. You can learn more about, or listen to, the six most recent episodes below: Ep. 23: Creative Teams for Professional
Recently we’ve been looking at the issue of specialization for freelance writers. John Soares and I covered the issue on the podcast, and we kicked off a blog series where freelance writers talk about their own specialties, how they market themselves, and how new freelancers can do the same. Today we’re going to continue with that series with landscape writer, Wendy Komancheck. Interview with Wendy Komancheck, Landscape
*Note* This post and podcast episode contain explicit language, as regulars will know pretty much all rants here do. If you don’t want to read / listen to that, skip this one. Bloggers. Readers. Friends. We need to talk. Do you know what I love about All Freelance Writing readers, including you? You’re out there carving your own path, pursuing the career and lifestyle you
You were asked to vote on my next big writing challenge or experiment, and boy did you come through. I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect much voting given how difficult it was to pull initial ideas out of you. But vote you did. I didn’t think we’d hit 50 responses by the end of the day Friday. Instead, you doubled that more than a day before
Journalists. Public relations professionals. Frenemies of the highest order. No doubt you’ve seen journalists and bloggers complain about bad PR pitches. You may have even seen them here (like this lazy pitch from Upwork). Despite the tendency of writers to call out PR folks, the truth is many of us need them. We need their clients and employers as sources for stories. We need access to events.
Every May, Lori Widmer runs Writers Worth Month over on the Words on the Page blog. She features a collection of guest posts, profiles of experienced freelance writers, and her own tips and insight into realizing our worth (and getting paid what we’re worth) as freelance professionals. Each year I take part in this month-long event. This year I submitted a guest post and was profiled, sharing
We’re coming up on the midpoint of 2016. That means it’s a great time to reflect on our progress thus far. Most years I share my writing goals and resolutions with readers around January and then post a mid-year check-in around early July. This year I conducted my mid-year check-in early. And I highly recommend you do the same. Why Conduct an Early Mid-Year Review? The
Maybe you want to set a story in an exotic location you’ve never visited. Or perhaps you’re creating an entirely fictional setting for your book. How are you supposed to describe real (or just realistic) locations if you can’t show up, meet some locals, and check out similar areas for yourself? Whether you realize it or not, story setting inspiration is right at your fingertips, 24/7. I’m
This week on the All Freelance Writing Podcast, I tackle a question from Jeremy Tarrier. He was curious about how a writer might protect gender anonymity when writing under a pen name (or if it’s really even a problem). Listen now. This was an interesting topic for me because I actually have the opposite problem: I write under an ambiguous pen name that could easily
This week’s podcast episode is now up. If you aren’t subscribed yet, you can listen from the show notes page (or directly via SoundCloud). Listen now. This week’s episode features guest co-host, Yolander Prinzel (find her on Twitter). Yolander and I chat about serving as a critique partner, beta reader, or editor for friends and other writers you know well. Is it a good
Ah, the dreaded all-nighter. They’re gobs of fun, aren’t they? When you work as a freelance writer, they’re occasionally a necessary evil if you get behind on a project and you’re on a deadline. Thankfully I haven’t had one of those kinds of all-nighters in quite some time. In my case it’s usually somewhere between insomnia (due to stress or evil kitties conspiring against me)
Last week’s podcast is now up. If you aren’t subscribed yet, you can listen from the show notes page (or directly via SoundCloud). In this episode I pick up on my conversation with Dann Alexander, having answered another of his questions in Episode 18. This time Dann wanted some social media dos and don’ts when it comes to building your personal brand as a freelance