I love swipe files. In my case it’s more of a combination of a swipe pile and collection of swipe bookmarks, but anyway…. If you’re not familiar with swipe files, it’s basically a collection of information that you can use for inspiration in your writing. Here are some of the things I keep in my swipe file: Magazine headlines if I think the format is
I’m launching a new series of short interviews with freelance writers, where I’m asking them five or so questions on a topic they’re particularly experienced with. Today you get to hear from Rebecca Garland: wife, mother, and freelance writer. Rebecca shares some of her thoughts on juggling work and family life when you’re a freelance writer staying home with the little ones. You’re a WAHM
Some recent personal discussions with a few colleagues got me thinking about ethics a little bit, and how they apply to all of us as freelance writers. We talk a lot here at All Freelance Writing about how to be a successful freelance writer. Now let’s talk about some ethics-related (and just common sense) issues, and how poor judgment can actually kill your career as
Here’s a trick that just occurred to me tonight while getting the next freelance writing jobs post ready for All Freelance Writing (I haven’t tried it myself yet): Go to a site where you can find freelance writing jobs. Search for the term “freelance writers.” Now, instead of just looking for actual job titles for freelance writers, look for freelance editing jobs where the term
People write e-books for several reasons. One of those reasons is to make money. So why would any e-book author be willing to give their e-book away for free? If you’re planning to write an e-book, how should you decide whether to charge for it or give it away? It really comes down to why you’re writing your e-book in the first place. If your
I saw someone on a forum giving a blogger really bad advice today – essentially that sticking a stupid Copyscape banner (like the one below) will actually somehow protect their content for them. That’s such a load of BS. Here’s what sticking a Copyscape banner on your site really says: Go ahead and steal my site content, b/c I’m quite obviously not aware of how
Cold calling or emailing prospective clients to offer your services can be an effective way to bring in business as a freelance writer. However, many writers are turned off by the idea because they lack confidence. I haven’t used cold contacting in quite some time, because I’ve been kept pretty busy with referrals and my own sites. I came across a company running a service
If you haven’t been poking around the comments here at AFW, you may not know about my upcoming monthly writing challenges in 2008. So here’s a bit of background on the first two upcoming challenges: January: E-book Writing Challenge In January, you’ll be challenged to write an e-book in 14 days (the final 14 days of the month). During the first half of the month,
I’m finally working out some of my service and writing rate changes for the new year. These are my two biggest changes: Press Release Writing – I’ve always offered press release writing at ridiculously low rates (compared to other PR professionals; not compared to content writers offering them). I did that ($99 this year) as a marketing strategy (I’d bring in clients with press release
With the new year fast-approaching, now is the perfect time to think about making your freelance writing business more “official.” Keeping better records will not only help you to work more productively, but it can help you protect your rights to your work and deal with difficult situations that may arise with clients. It’s always a good idea to get everything in writing, even if
Christmas is right around the corner now. Are you still not sure what to get for the writer in your life? Here are a few last-minute gift ideas for writers to help you out: Gift Cards / Certificates – Easy, and they don’t need to be shipped. Pick up a gift card for your writer’s favorite book store, or an online book store like Amazon.com.
Let’s compare a few publishing models authors might consider: traditionally-published books, self-published books, and e-books. Each as their own benefits. For example: Traditional Publishing – There’s a certain amount of respect that comes from being a published author, you’re often paid an advance, and there’s a publisher to help with the marketing of your book. Self-Publishing – You can become a self-published author without getting
We’ve talked a little bit about goals and resolutions for writers in 2008. I took some time today to review my domain names and their expiration dates. As it turns out, I currently have 43 domain names (still a good bit, although much fewer than I used to have, and that’s not counting about five .infos I may give away just to unload). As I’ve
There are several different ways to make money with articles as a freelance writer. Here are a few ways articles can help you make money online, whether as a full-fledged business model or as some side income: Make money writing articles for clients. Pros – Direct payments, Income can come quickly Cons – Limited rights usually limit earning potential per article, Deadlines Make money writing
Quite a while back, I was introduced to the blog points system from Passionate Blogger (referred by Judy Gombita of PR Conversations). I forgot all about it until today, and decided that this system would be a good tool to help me better manage my multiple blogs. The idea is simple… to be a better blogger you need a certain amount of consistency, and you
We’re getting close to the end of the year, and there’s no better time to rethink our freelance writing rates. While I’ve already covered the issue here and on the writing forums, I want to revisit the topic again by taking a close look at the numbers and possible freelance writing rate strategies. Common Strategies for Setting Freelance Writing Rates Per word Per project Per
Before the launch of her e-book, The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success, Dee Power sent me a review copy, and I featured the e-book on the All Freelance Writing blog. I wanted to share this resource with my readers here as well, so you can find my original review below: The following is a brief review of a new e-book, The Publishing
The new year is approaching faster than I’d like to think, so this week’s writing challenge is about getting your affairs in order to more effectively grow your business next year. It’s time to evaluate your progress and rethink your freelance writing rates. Has your freelance writing career been growing satisfactorily, or are you still not earning as much as you’d like? Are you working
In a forum discussion today, the issue of a freelance writers’ rate per hour came up. To summarize, the potential buyer’s thought was this: They earn $20 per hour in their position (where they wear multiple hats, including the current writing), so in their mind a freelance writer charging more than that is “excessive.” I have a few thoughts on that (not meaning any disrespect
I’ve been itching to respond to Jennifer’s post at CatalystBlogger: Five Reasons to Embrace the Humble Keyword Article Gig for a few days now, after seeing it mentioned at Anne Wayman’s blog. So here are some of my reasons as to why most freelance writers should reject these keyword article gigs (and for the record, my comments aren’t meant to be an attack on Jennifer
As an independent professional, do you respond to everyone who contacts you? I don’t. I had a comment left publicly for me on a forum today because I didn’t respond to someone’s contact through the forum’s private message system. While a part of me understands their frustration (I struggle to reach colleagues that I know personally half of the time because of their busy schedules),
Today I’m going to tackle one of my own areas of expertise: press release writing (not sure why it took me so long). If you’re interested in PR writing (public relations writing), knowing how to write a press release is essential. Use these press release resources to help you learn how to write effective press releases for your clients (or yourself!) – please note, most
I was tagged by Misti Sandefur of Life of a Writer to offer seven little pearls of blogging wisdom on what not to do as a blogger if you want to keep your readers, subscribers, and fellow bloggers in your network happy. So here you go… seven reasons I won’t read your blog: 1. Your font choice makes my eyes bleed. I’m still a sweet
It’s easy to get stuck in a certain way of working. Sometimes our methods can become stale and negatively affect our productivity as writers. So this week’s challenge is about scheduling, and how mixing it up once in a while can keep your work fresh. If you think you’re already working as productively as you possibly can, there’s no need to take part in this
This week’s reader question comes from Mariella on the writing forums, regarding a request she recently received for copywriting services through a forum private message system: “I’m guessing someone referred him to me, I just can’t get it out of him because he barely speaks English. If I’d ever ask a question for your blog Jenn, it would be how to deal with such clients.”
While a marketing calendar can be an important tool in book marketing, it can also help writers of all kinds promote their work more efficiently. What is a Marketing Calendar? A marketing calendar is a calendar (you can choose whether to make it monthly, weekly, or daily), where you lay out your planned marketing activities based on events throughout the year. How to Create Your
Advertising your writing services on writing forums may seem like a natural marketing activity to bring in freelance writing clients, but it probably won’t be the most effective way to harness forum postings to bring in gigs. Here’s why: A forum for writers to network won’t necessarily be overflowing with clients looking to hire within your niche. A writing forum is going to very likely
It can be a common misconception that being a freelance writer is an “anyone can do it” kind of career. I’d imagine most of you reading this blog know that’s simply not true. A successful career as a writer means that you have to do a lot more than just dream about being a famous novelist or enjoying a “cushy” career in your pajamas writing
Writing a letter to the editor of a publication (newspaper, magazine, or even online publication) can have several benefits: Direct exposure / publicity Helps build your reputation as an authority source or expert on a subject Provides a networking opportunity between you and editors This week’s writing challenge is to start using this often-neglected publicity tool by submitting at least one letter to the editor
Latoya had a third great question for this week’s reader question set: Question “Anytime I’ve worked with clients for more than a few months, I noticed the relationship gets kind of stale. It becomes a very robotic process of receiving assignments, returning the work, and then receiving payment. So, do you have any advice for relationship building when you work with someone strictly via email?”