Freelance Writing Blog

How Can Writers Protect Personal Information Online?

Anonymity online is a hotly debated issue. Is it “wrong” to post anything anonymously because it means you aren’t taking responsibility for your words? Or is it an acceptable way of communicating online? And when you work as a writer, is there anything you can do to protect your personal information, whether you choose to write anonymously or not? This is an issue where I

Publication Rights for Freelance Article Writers (Infographic)

This week’s “short share” is an infographic from Brian Scott and FreelanceWriting.com. It presents common examples of publication rights freelance writers might come across while negotiating contracts. This is important information to know. I meet new writers all the time who assume that copyrights automatically transfer to clients simply because they’ve paid for the end result. That isn’t the case. Contract language has to be

Don’t Fall Victim to These 5 Blogging Myths [Podcast]

In this week’s episode of the All Freelance Writing Podcast, I highlight five common blogging myths and misunderstandings new bloggers should look out for. Blogging myths featured in this episode include: You have to post every day, or nearly every day. Every post should be “epic” content, over 2000 words, etc. There’s some big difference between “blog posts” and “articles,” and freelance bloggers should be

Writers’ Worth Month: Content Mill Conversation with Lori Widmer

Earlier this year, Lori Widmer stopped by the All Freelance Writing Podcast to guest co-host an episode on everyday marketing for freelance writers. Our chat ran long, so some segments had to be cut. That included a ten-minute segment about writing for content mills. We also touched on a simple tactic for finding better gigs and leaving mills behind — something Lori calls “stealth marketing.”

Quick Tip: Add Inline Tweets to Your WordPress Posts

Have you seen bloggers feature tweetable quotes in their posts? If they’re using one of the more popular plugins, they probably look like pull quotes. Unfortunately there isn’t much variation in design, and blogs using this feature have all started having their tweetable quotes look alike. That’s why I previously showed you how you can add your own tweetable quotes, without a plugin, and with any design

Reader Question: Turning Past Samples Into New Income Streams

Last week I received a reader question from Shirley Gazenski. She’s in an interesting position — torn between past samples in three distinct specialty areas. She wanted to know if I had any advice for her, and she agreed to have my feedback posted here in case any other community members find themselves in a similar position. Let’s start with her past work. Shirley has

What are Your Freelancing Pros and Cons?

For this week’s short share, I have an infographic for freelancers. This one looks at some of the pros and cons of freelancing, and it was presented by GraphicDesignDegreeHub.com. While this was published back in 2013, I’m curious if you see if your own freelance careers are reflected in the data. Which side do you fall on? Did you get into freelance writing because you wanted to?

How to Quickly Find Advertised Freelance Writing Jobs

“The best freelance writing jobs are almost never publicly advertised.” This is something I’ve pointed out countless times over the years. Yet one of the biggest questions I get from new writers is “where do I find gigs?” The best gigs aren’t usually advertised for a few reasons. Clients already have contacts that can refer qualified writers. They prefer to search for a writer on

This Target Market Mistake Could Cost You Money

Is your marketing helping you reach the best freelance writing prospects? That depends on your target market and how successful you are at reaching members of that group. One of the biggest mistakes a new freelance writer can make is having no target market. That’s when you simply take any gig that comes along, whether or not you enjoy the work, whether or not you

The Best and Worst Times to Post on Social Networks

For this week’s short share we have an interesting one on timing your social media updates from SocialCaffeine.com. What do you think? Obviously the actual best times to post on social networks won’t be the same for everyone because of community and niche differences. But how close does your experience come to these recommended times? I’ve done the most testing on Twitter. My main account

It’s Writer’s Worth Month 2015!

Every year Lori Widmer of Words on the Page hosts Writer’s Worth Month. In Lori’s words, the mission of Writer’s Worth Month is “to reach freelance writers and help them gain confidence in the value of their skills.” In other words, it’s about helping you earn more and build a more successful writing business. To do this, Lori features a series of posts — both

Selling E-books on Your Author Website [Podcast with Princess Jones]

In this week’s podcast I’m joined by Princess Jones (with whom I had a previous and entertaining conversation about crazy authors attacking book reviewers). In this episode we discuss some of the issues around selling your e-books (and physical books) directly through your own website. View the show notes or listen now.

Quick Tip: Put Your Blog On Your Homepage

Do you have a blog attached to your freelance writer website or author site? If so, that’s a great move because fresh content can help you improve your search engine rankings. But are you really getting the biggest bang for your blogging time? Not if you aren’t sharing your blog posts on your homepage. I’ve talked before about my test results in blog frequency and

Want to Write Faster Blog Posts? Here’s How [Infographic]

For this week’s “short share” we have an infographic from J6 Design called “8 Secrets to Writing Faster Blog Posts.” Overall, I think there are some great tips here, from creating self-imposed deadlines to avoiding the dreaded “edit while you write” syndrome. by j6design. What do you think? Do these ideas help you write blog posts faster? Are there any other tips you would add? Tell me

Quick Tip: Stay On Top Of Your WordPress Updates

WordPress released a new update this week. It’s version 4.1.2, which is an important security release. Make sure you update your sites promptly if you don’t have automatic updates enabled. A security issue affecting numerous plugins was also identified, so don’t be surprised if you see a lot of plugin update notifications come through this week. Make sure you run those updates as soon as

24 Hours to a More Successful Freelance Writing Career

Freelance writing is largely about the big picture. As you gain experience and build your professional reputation and visibility over time, you earn more money and freelancing becomes a more stable income source. That said, the big picture doesn’t motivate everybody. Sometimes you need to see changes now to convince yourself to even stick with this freelancing thing. If that sounds like you, you’re in

What Makes a Good Story?

For this weekend’s short share, I wanted to feature an infographic that applies to authors and copywriters alike: What Really Makes a Good Story? from Tom Albrighton at ABCCopywriting.com.   Check out the original discussion or leave a comment to tell me what you think. Are there other vital elements to a good story? Do you disagree with anything in the infographic?

Ad-Supported Content as a Blog Business Model [Podcast]

In this week’s podcast I expand upon the topic of blog revenue, which I covered in a January episode. While I touch on a variety of business model options for bloggers, the episode pays particular attention to turning your blog into a direct business model in its own right through ad-supported content and premium features. Then, I tackle a community question about querying magazines and

The History of the English Language [Infographic]

I’ve been meaning to kick off a new, light, post series here for a while — one where I share a bite-sized bit of actionable information, or even something that’s simply entertaining. Most of these posts will be infographics — some which I’ll create and some from third party sources that I found interesting or helpful. Here is the first I wanted to share —

What do You Want From a Scrivener Mystery Novel Template?

I’ve been working this week on the next Scrivener template in my writers’ resource collection — a mystery novel template. While it won’t be ready for release this week, I want to give you a chance to weigh in. Tell me what you want from a template. What would help you write your next mystery novel? When I was moving the first draft of a mystery novel

Quick Tip: Pursue International Freelance Writing Clients

I can’t remember where I read it now — maybe on a blog, maybe on Reddit. But a few days ago I saw someone complaining about international freelancers. In this case they were talking about freelance development work and all of the competition they faced from overseas. This is something I see all the time. But then the conversation flipped. People weren’t only complaining about

How to Make Your WordPress Site Mobile-Friendly Fast

On April 21st, just a couple of weeks away, Google is scheduled to roll out a new search algorithm update. This update focuses on mobile searches, and Google will start using mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor. What does this mean? If you get traffic from smartphones (it apparently doesn’t apply to tablet searches), and if your WordPress site isn’t mobile-friendly, you could take a significant

Writing Goals: 2015 First Quarter Check-In

Setting goals, tracking your progress, and adapting when necessary are all important parts of running a business. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a freelance writer, an author trying to sell books, or a blogger trying to make money from your blogs. Goals are vital to your success. Now that we’re in April, it’s a good time to check in on any goals you might

Reader Question: Where Freelance Writers Can Find Publications

Today’s reader question comes from Leigh Schrom: “Where do you locate publications that accept freelance work? Is the “Writer’s Market” the best source?” Writer’s Market is a source, and certainly a place you can start. But while it looks extensive as far as writer’s market directories go, the markets there still only represent a small portion of publications that work with freelance writers. And because most writers are

Branding Tips for Writers (Podcast)

The latest episode of the writing podcast is up. This episode is all about branding for writers. It covers: Basic branding tips for writers Copyright concerns over sharing excerpts to your book to generate reader interest A tool to help you come up with better, brandable domain names for your professional website or blog View the show notes or listen below.

The Bloom Email Opt-In Plugin: Pros and Cons

I’ve been a customer of Elegant Themes for years, using their themes on several of my smaller sites and blogs. I loved their recent social media plugin, Monarch, which I use on my small business blog. And I was rather excited about their launch this week of Bloom, their new email opt-in plugin. While I was excited to test it out on a few of

Reader Question: How Much Should Freelance Writers Charge?

When you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, the issue of rates can be a tricky one. How much should you charge? Should you bill hourly, per word, per project, or under some other rate structure? Should rates vary depending on the type of project? Today’s reader question is along these lines. This new freelancer, who asked not to be named so we’ll simply

Author Blogging and “Faking it ’til You Make It” [Podcast]

Be sure to check out Episode 10 of the All Freelance Writing Podcast which was just released. You can listen below or read the show notes for the short version (and to get any recommended links from the show). This episode covers: Author blogging (why you need an author blog, how you can keep your blog from being too much of a time-suck, why you

5 Stupid Excuses Freelance Writers Make for Not Reaching Their Goals

When you work as a freelancer, sometimes you’ll struggle to reach your goals. But one of the most destructive things you can do when that happens is make excuses. Yet freelance writers makes excuses all the time to justify their lack of success in one area or another. After all, that’s easier than taking responsibility and making changes. Today let’s look at some of those

How to Move Scrivener Documents to Word

This week’s quick tip comes from a question I received from Cathy Miller (my most recent guest co-host for the freelance writing podcast). Cathy’s thinking about making the move to Scrivener for freelance writing projects. But she’d heard from another writer that Scrivener projects don’t convert to Word well, especially when tables are involved. And most clients expect projects delivered in Word format, so that’s