Last month, the Freelancer’s Union launched a neat website – WorldsLongestInvoice.com – which totals unpaid invoices from freelancers all over the world. The current total unpaid invoices is just a couple thousand dollars away from $16,000,000 and the site has only been live for a little more than week! Dozens of writers have added their names to the list. For example: Lanelle: $300 for Content
Starting out in freelance writing is an exciting time. Dreams of typing all day in a sunny coffee shop and nonchalantly telling people you write for a living are seductive. The alternative stereotype is also appealing to many: getting up at noon and working in your pyjamas, perhaps in bed. Surely this career is bordering on perfect. However starting out is also a time of
You wake up, get that cup of caffeine, go through your morning ritual, then work through your daily ritual of writing. Marketing? Yea, that doesn’t happen because you’re busy. Yet if you have fifteen minutes to play Facebook games, you have plenty of time to locate new clients and more projects. Just fifteen minutes – that’s less time than it takes to run to the
As you continue to market your freelance writing services, you will find that some people don’t have any need for you – at least for the time being. To give yourself the chance at a future project, it is important to provide any connection with both your email address and phone number. The more times you give out your phone number the better chance there
It might be the hours I keep, but there are some things about this business that just strike me as funny at the most unusual times. I’m sure it’s not a condition isolated to this working-mom-freelance-writer-person, so let’s see how many of you have the same random bits of humor that I do: I’m a Mystery to Advertisers Everywhere I don’t know why, but it
As a freelance writer, you’re used to getting paid for your work. But as a business owner, you’ll undoubtedly make some payments to your own contractors. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you outsource work to other freelancers and businesses. Make sure your business can afford the payment As with all expenses, be sure you have enough money to pay the
Last week, I was faced with a somewhat common situation. After sending out a few cold emails, I got two responses. One client hired me on the spot, based largely on the samples that I provided. However, the other company wanted to see more of what I could do for them. They asked if I could provide a free sample, based on their particular needs,
It’s amazing what a three-day weekend can do to your morale when it comes to picking up that virtual pen and getting back to work on Monday. I won’t lie to you – my schedule sucks sometimes and this is definitely one of those days. My day started at 6 am, I was in a meeting on a Monday morning at 7:30 where I learned
From my last post on Payment Policies, Anne Wayman gleaned that there are basically four ways for writers to charge: per hour, per word, per page, or per project. Pricing methods might differ, but the price should equal about to about the same. In other words, your hourly, per word, per page, or per project rate are just different ways of saying the same thing.
I’ve run into some interesting situations while doing print writing. As publications started to develop their presence online, there were some opportunities to make a little more money here and there. What? More money? Do tell, right? Some magazines also offer partial (or full) articles on the web as well as in their print version. And some of them will pay more for it. This
Last week, I decided to make a few cold calls. Believe it or not, this is something I miss when I don’t get around to it as often as I would like. After a few calls, I got a business owner on the phone. What ensued was something I had never experienced before. With this call, I had to first get through the receptionist. She
The wall. The block. It exists for all of us, and in my tired brain it seems to be hitting harder than it used to. Normally I don’t run out of things to say when I hit writer’s block – I run out of energy to say them. How can I get fired up to write something amusing or brilliant when I’d much rather be
Having a standard payment policy not only makes you appear more professional, it also makes it easier to manage your business and get paid. With a documented payment policy, you don’t have to come up with payment terms each time you do a project nor do you have to rely on your client’s payment terms. I considered my own payment policy and looked at a
More so today than ever before, freelance writers are in position to obtain new business through cold emailing. However, this is anything but a simple marketing strategy. In fact, it takes a lot of time and determination to make a success of this technique. Here are three potential cold email problems you are sure to face at some point in time. 1. No replies. Put
Those of us who have found success working in freelance writing or freelance anything are bound to have at least a little bit of arrogance. After all, we’re the ones who’ve figured out how to make the system work for us. We’re not cogs in a giant machine anymore – or if we are, it’s by choice. We’re successful business owners. Ah, independence. Declaring Arrogance
Being a writer is one thing, having a writing business is another. Read any business book, magazine, or blog and you’ll quickly figure out that growing your business means reinvesting your business profits. Big businesses do it all the time and they even have a fancy finance term for it – retained earnings. Growing your business isn’t the only good reason to reinvest your freelance
I was thinking about what to tell you this month, and really wanted to highlight what it is that I enjoy so much about writing for magazines and print publications. It is definitely a different experience to craft a piece for this medium as opposed to writing one for the web, but it was a challenge for me to explain exactly what I like better
While most freelance writers despise cold calling, this is something I have grown to love over the years. In fact, I get a rush out of making cold calls from time to time. This may not be something I do every day, but here and there is fits nicely into my marketing plan. Recently, when working with a few members of my freelance writing course,
I ran out of patience the other day and I should have run across to the neighbor to borrow some more. After all, this working mom doesn’t rise to perfection without a liberal dash of patience. I must treat my children with patience. I must wait days or weeks patiently for a free hour to watch my favorite show. I must patiently wait on clients
Some days it seems like everyone has an opinion on how you should work. They tell you – don’t take it personally, but you need to work smarter. Well, do take it personally and they’re right But, ignore them if it doesn’t work for you Only you know what working smarter means for you. Three Smart Steps When I started my own business in 2008, I had
Here’s a lesson I’ve been trying to teach my almost-four-year-old: you have to plan for tomorrow today. Of course, I keep it age-appropriate for her, especially since the concept of today and tomorrow are still kind of vague. You know, if you eat all the goldfish today you won’t have any to eat tomorrow. Let’s lay out your clothes tonight so they’ll be ready tomorrow.
Yesterday, I spent the day out of my office meeting with potential clients. While it took up several hours, in the end it was well worth it as I closed a couple of deals. During my time in the car, driving from one appointment to the next, I began to think about what I really needed by my side and what I could have left
As we discussed in the comments of another recent post, every freelancer has a different ideal office situation. Usually we just have to make do with something less than desirable for a time, especially if we’re trying to play mom while also enjoying a home career. Personally, I’ve had a long-time dream of a cozy library style office, but it didn’t seem to be coming
Over the years, I’ve become increasingly more frugal and more DIYish. I blame self-employment for enabling me to figure out just how much I can do on my own. I never buy frozen dinners because, besides the health factors, I can make the same meal for less money. I have decent sewing skills and I’m always passing up clothes because I think I can make
If you are a writer, chances are good that you already understand that relationships in this industry matter. If you want to write for print, this can actually be a subject that is even more vital. When you write for an online publication it is fairly typical to never meet the person you are working with. Most contact is established via e-mail and subsequent information/instructions
As a freelance writer, most of your time will be spent writing. That being said, you need to save time throughout the day for other tasks such as sales and marketing. Even though you may have enough work right now to keep busy, you never know when things are going to slow down. For this reason, marketing your services should be an ongoing task. But
This morning, as I worked with my kids at school, I realized just how often subjects and verbs get complicated and mismatched. This happens most frequently when you have more than one noun in the subject in the sentence. Consider the following: One of the boys jump over the fence. One of the boys jumps over the fence. Which one is correct? Let’s dissect them
To make a good living from writing, you must (must MUST) charge a rate that you can live on. Years ago, when I first started freelance writing, I routinely accepted jobs for just one or two cents per word. I had a full-time job that paid handsomely, I was just happy to be paid to write, and I didn’t know better. Now, I wouldn’t dream
Like many freelance writers, I do not enjoy talking about myself. That being said, there is a fine line between bragging on yourself and doing an effective job in the sales and marketing department. Are you comfortable with “face to face marketing?” In short, this is the act of marketing your services to potential clients in person. No matter the setting – from conferences to
The environment I’m in influences the quality of my work, or at the very least how I feel about the work. For example, I can’t write in bed. I can’t sit with a laptop in bed and expect to create great things. I’d rather just sleep so long as I’m there. I need a real office space where I feel empowered and professional in order