Freelance Business

Many writers markets are listed in online collections, from paid writers market listings to various free listings on blogs and freelance writing sites. The only problems with those sources are that they often feature the same writers markets, and they’re frequented by large numbers of freelance writers, meaning more competition for the writing gigs. I f you’re tired of coming across the same writers markets,

If you write content for the Web, you probably already know about certain Web writing basics, like using short paragraphs, bold sub-headings, and lists to help make your articles “scannable” to readers browsing them for something specific. If you’re writing for clients, and they ask to have you write in plain text with HTML, do you know how to do those things? Here are a

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

This question comes from Latoya of Writers Brew: Question What’s the most professional way to deal with bossy clients? Those who like to dictate every aspect of your work as if they were your employer. Answer I’m sure plenty of writers are going to disagree with me on this one, and perhaps my mindset on this issue stems from my primary role as a consultant

Sure, you could browse through the latest edition of the Writers Market looking for outlets to query. But then you’re just querying the same outlets that all of your competition already knows about. This week I want you to forget about your typical go-to sources for writers’ markets and your more well-known niche publications. I want you to step a bit outside of your comfort

If you’re the type of freelance writer that accepts every writing job that you’re offered, you’re very likely dooming your writing career. The best writers are always choosy in who they work with. They set standards such as: The types of clients (or industry / niche of clients) that they’ll work with. This allows them to develop a reputation as an expert writer in a

It’s so easy to steal content on the Web these days that it feels like “everyone” is doing it sometimes.  Whether it’s through publishing your blog content from an RSS feed without consent (a debatable issue in and of itself) to blatantly ripping content from a site, what can you do to protect your rights when someone steals your work?  Here are a few tips

I received this note from the Editor-in-Chief of Suite101 today. I was quite content leaving it at my last post, b/c it was a simple solution to avoid the regular emails nagging me about why I was leaving. But apparently it wasn’t enough. And since I’m under no contractual obligation to keep any such correspondence confidential as it was offered after my contract termination, I’m