Browse the All Freelance Writing collection of freelance business articles below.
This section covers the business side of freelance writing, from finding better clients and choosing a specialty to setting rates, growing income, and making smarter decisions about how you work.
Whether you’re just getting started or trying to strengthen an established business, these posts focus on practical realities, not vague freelance motivation.
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
There was an interesting comment in a recent article of mine that made me think. Another mom-who-happens-to-work-at-home mentioned that she “just can’t call herself a WAHM.” It made me smile for a couple of reasons. One – I smiled because I suspect I know exactly why that particular title makes her uncomfortable. And – Two – because I use that particular term on purpose here
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it’s another new year already. I usually have my goals and resolutions set by late October or early November. But I’m a bit late to the game this year. In fact, I’ve been somewhat absent here for months. I had a crazy year in 2011. My guy and I started looking for a new place around May. That
Are you comfortable with your current marketing plan? If not, there is no better time than now to make the necessary changes. As soon as the calendar turns over to 2012, you will want to focus your time and effort on marketing your freelance writing business through a variety of methods. In short, the beginning of the year is one of the best times to
I’m not sure how much of a mother’s personality comes from her career, her children, her life perspective or her own personality traits that have been recessed since everything else came along. I have plenty of friends who don’t have a career inside or outside of the home. I have ample friends who are highly educated professionals in their fields as they work for “the
If you are trying to break into print writing, the holiday season can be friend or foe, depending on how you use it. Over the years it has been my experience that trying to query in the period from Thanksgiving until around the Superbowl is a huge waste of time. That said, you can use that time to get your foot in the door if
Are you the type of freelance writer who avoids others at all costs? Do you work, day after day, from the comfort of your home office without any client and/or colleague interaction? This is very common in the world of freelance writing. That being said, it does not make it right. Over the years, I have found that connecting with other freelance writers, even if
I’m split at times about how kids affect my working life. In many – okay most – cases I feel very limited by having kids underfoot or in the house when I’m working. But other times I wonder if I’d be as effective as I am if my children didn’t already have me so well trained. It takes a lot of dedication and discipline to
I am so very not perfect. I would never claim to be the best writer around, the best mother around or the best teacher around. I do like to think I work hard at all of my various life choices, and I have some nice successes to show for that work. But even if you’re an amazingly awesome writer coming into this career or you’re
This article is part of a follow-up series for Demand Media Studios writers interested in moving past the content mill to find higher paying freelance writing jobs. This series features freelance advice for five writers tailored to their individual needs and goals. First let me apologize for the delay in starting this series. My schedule is a bit wonky these days as we’ve been moving
This article is a part of a five post series for Demand Media Studios writers and others interested in leaving content mills and other low paying freelance writing jobs behind. We’ve already looked at why freelance job boards aren’t the best places to find gigs and how you can make it easier for clients to find you through your writer platform. But what can you do in between
This article is a part of a five post series for Demand Media Studios writers and others interested in leaving content mills and other low paying freelance writing jobs behind. In our last post we talked about marketing your freelance writing services and how you should focus on basic market research, specialty target markets, and creating a marketing plan instead of aimlessly trying new ways
If I were going to list some favorite movies, Princess Bride would be near the top. Forrest Gump would be up there, too. But the movie that really defined where I am now is Office Space. I spent my time in a cubicle with a boss who would peek in over our heads to see what we were up to. I even had a consultant
Last week I reached out to Demand Media Studios (DMS) writers who are upset about the announcement that there will be fewer writing gigs available from the company. Some of these writers are panicked because they aren’t sure where to go from here. As promised, we’re running a five-post series this week for those writers (and any freelance writers looking for a fresh start). To kick things
As some of you might know, Demand Media recently emailed their DMS writers about pending changes. Here’s what it comes down to. This business model was hit hard by Google recently — a big source of both traffic and income for content mills, farms, networks, or whatever we’re calling them this month. Demand realized they have to change things. For example, you can’t have repeat
Writing for print isn’t just about writing for print. What? What I mean by that is this–you have to promote yourself and your work if you expect to make a dent in the print publication market. These days, a big part of this has to do with social media. Social media may seem like a strange thing to think of in terms of self-promotion–especially if
We’ve talked about setting freelance writing rates and figuring out when you need to charge more. But the amount you charge isn’t the only potential problem with your freelance writing rates. Your rate structure can be equally problematic. For example, are you charging per word when you should be charging per article? Are published hourly rates turning off prospects and sending them to the competition? Let’s
For years I’ve been a total rock star. But I’m retiring as I approach the ripe old age of thirty-two – how very rock star of me. I’m still writing – don’t get me wrong – I’m just not going to be working toward superstar status any more. Some of the most interesting advice I ever had was from a professor in my library program.
Business writing gigs can be some of the most lucrative writing work you’ll ever take on. You can easily earn $100 per hour and more with this kind of work. You can take on projects for corporate clients. Or you can work for small businesses if you prefer (and contrary to popular belief, they often significant budgets to hire professional contractors). What are some examples of
Do you ever land bad freelance writing clients? Maybe they’re too needy. Maybe they don’t pay on time. Maybe they expect the world while paying next to nothing. These aren’t good clients to have. Yet many freelancers face these situations. You don’t have to. Here are three simple ways you can better insulate yourself from bad writing clients. 1. Be Choosy As a business owner,
Writing for print has a lot in common with writing for the web, yet they are also quite different. Today I’d like to share some “tools of the trade” that have helped me navigate my writing career–especially when it comes to magazine writing. That said, many of these can also be used for freelance writing in general. Here goes: Desk Calendar There’s nothing quite like
Every now and again I think about what it must be like to have all day to work on the writing career. How much more could I do in a day? How much more could I make? If only I’d started all of this writing before kids! But here I am, just like so many of you, a freelance mom working from home. I’ve done
Today I’d like to share a special program from American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you wish you could rake in six figures writing for businesses? If you’ve ever considered a freelance writing career as a copywriter and you want to learn how make some serious dough, AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting might be the kick you need. I’ve been promising these nice folks
When I started writing online, my daughter was a baby. Today, as my business has grown, so has she and surprisingly, has taught me several important lessons along the way. Freelancing, they say, is not child’s play but one can surely learn a thing or two from kids. Here are 5 things that I learned about being a better, more productive writer and business owner
Today we are going to talk contracts. When you write for a print publication, you will often sign a contract for the work agreement that you will have with the publisher. There’s a lot to know about this subject. Although I can’t cover everything here, I am going to go over some basics so that you aren’t going in cold…here goes… First of all, always
I am many things on a daily basis, like all of us here. At any given moment I’m wearing my hat as a mother, teacher, writer, business woman, friend, wife, public servant, what have you. It’s exhausting, of course, but then life should be for the most part. What’s the point of waking up in the morning and not using the day to its fullest
Hello hello! How about some good news? Today, instead of telling you ten thousand things you need to make sure that you are doing, or emphasizing how difficult it is to break into writing for print, I’m simply going to encourage you. That’s right. Today is a pep talk! I was not a good writer when I began. Seriously. I was pretty average, used cliches,
This post is based on a comment I recently left on Lori Widmer’s “If it Didn’t Work with Huffington….” Writing for ad revenue is usually a bad idea for writers. Some of the big networks have been doing it for years, and the problems have been clear for a long time now. It’s easy to justify it though. I’ve been there myself. I’ve crunched numbers
Virginia C. McGuire shared a link on Twitter to a local story that caught my attention. It related to legislation that would require small business owners to offer seven paid sick days to their employees. And one Philadelphia diner owner spoke out against it. The problem? He spouts suppositions as facts and admits that while he gives paid sick leave to his real estate employees
I’ve had an insane lifestyle long enough to recognize how insane it is and to simply anticipate periods of time when I feel like punching walls and throwing up my (then bruised) hands in despair. Fortunately with great responsibility comes great wisdom as well as great amounts of stress for good measure. I often use my great wisdom to find ways to reduce my great