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:
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
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
Do you ever feel like you aren’t living the life you really want to live? That your dreams and ambitions are going unfulfilled? That you’ve lost sight of things you’re passionate about, and you’re not quite sure when you got off-track? I do sometimes. Actually, these days, make that a lot. Maybe your dreams involve publishing your first novel. Maybe you dream of running a successful
One of my current projects is assembling a new media kit. As you might know, I have a background in public relations. So I’m keenly aware of the importance of earned media, and have been securing coverage for my clients for quite some time. While I’ve also secured my fair share of coverage for myself, with changing professional ambitions in my future, doing even more
Princess Jones is back at it again, co-hosting the All Freelance Writing Podcast. OK. She pretty much ran the show. But that’s why we had so much fun with this one. We chatted about fear and confidence issues writers often deal with. Listen now. (Extended cut) *Note: This episode contains explicit language. Also, if you prefer the shorter version you can find it at the bottom
I’m a bit late in sharing this, but last week’s podcast episode on writing motivation is now up. This one is the first solo episode after the re-launch. Dann Alexander (DannAlexander.com) and I were chatting on Twitter about show ideas. He suggested going back to basics as a way of staying motivated to write. He specifically brought up the idea of writing by hand rather than typing.
Update: As of May 6, 2016, I’ve finished this process and my name is officially and legally “Jennifer Mattern” again. Chances are good you’ve only ever known me as “Jenn Mattern.” But that’s not my legal name, and it hasn’t been since 2012 when I got married. Soon that will change. I’ve decided to go back to my maiden name. On numerous occasions, I’ve talked with
The All Freelance Writing Podcast officially re-launched yesterday with Episode 17. Lori Widmer stopped by the show again to serve as my guest co-host, so a big “thank you” to Lori. Some of the things we touch on in this episode include: The Huffington Post, and Stephen Hull’s stance that he’s “proud” to not pay their bloggers; Why freelance professionals should care about (and keep
The All Freelance Writing Podcast has been on a break for several months while I sorted out some technical issues and figured out the direction I wanted to take the show. I’m happy to announce the podcast is re-launching later this week. Today I’d like to give you some background on the upcoming changes. Plus, I’ll share a couple of sneak peek clips from one
Frequent migraines. Feeling weak and ice cold most of the time. Severe insomnia. Significant, and sudden, weight gain. Constant pain. Multiple miscarriages, and the emotional baggage that comes with each one. Ongoing exhaustion so bad I could barely drag myself out of bed for months. That was just a small sampling of my own personal hell for a few years. These health issues had the
Every week I receive dozens of guest post pitches across all of my blogs, and it’s not uncommon for that to creep over 100 in a week (and those are just the ones making it past my inbox filters; imagine how many bigger blogs must have to sort through). Yet I respond to less than 10% of those pitches. Even fewer result in guest posts
A friend and member of the All Freelance Writing community contacted me recently with a question about being a more prolific writer and balancing multiple writing ambitions. She asked to remain anonymous but agreed to let me share her question here in the hopes my answer might help someone else in a similar predicament. Here’s the gist: This is a writer in a similar position
This post was originally published on Yolander Prinzel’s blog in 2014. It was relocated to All Freelance Writing when that blog was shut down. When you decided to become a freelance writer, you probably didn’t think those old math classes would come in handy. It turns out they will. I hope you paid attention. Not understanding basic math can cost you dearly, whether it happens
At the start of each year we talk a lot about goals and planning here at All Freelance Writing. And that’s for good reason. It’s much easier to get from where you are now to where you ultimately want to be when you have a plan in place, and every good plan starts with a goal. That said, we sometimes get stuck on the concept of
Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is off to a great start for all of you. I’m excited to be back to work. There’s something about the fresh slate of a new year that ignites a fire under me to tackle big things. Even if you don’t have big projects planned, now is a great time to make other tweaks to your business. If you’re