Freelance Writing

To Query or Not to Query: Part Six

by

Today we’re finishing up our interview series with our guests: Chris Bibey, Angela Booth, Jenna Glatzer, Kristen King, Allena Tapia, and Anne Wayman. I asked each guest to share some parting words of wisdom or advice for other freelance writers. I hope you’ll find it a fitting close to our series. Here’s what they had to say: Chris Bibey 1. Be willing to speak with

To Query or not to Query: Part Five

by

This week we’ll be finishing our series with successful freelancers, where we’ve been talking about queries, platforms, and finding freelance writing jobs. A major aspect of query-free freelancing is building a writer platform–your visibility and demand. There are many possible elements to a writer platform such as blogs, a professional website, published books, microblogging (Twitter), and speaking engagements. (If you’d like more examples, check out

To Query or Not to Query: Part Four

by

In part three of our series, our guests told you flat out what they thought of querying, and how important they considered the query process in building freelance writing careers. Before that, we found out how our guests land most of their freelance writing jobs these days. And today we’ll turn back the clock and find out how each of these writers landed gigs during

Specializing in Article Writing – Where to Begin

by

Today I’d like to answer a series of questions sent to me by Matt on a webmaster forum I frequent, where I often talk about freelance writing issues. I hope my advice to Matt helps other new freelance writers out there. I’ve broken his message into several parts to make things easier. Note: Where you see references to “DP” we’re talking about the DigitalPoint forums.

To Query or Not to Query: Part Three

by

In the second part of our series, our guests shared with you the type of writing they most often do for clients and how they personally get most of their freelance writing jobs. I hope you’ll notice the recurring mentions of things like repeat work and referrals. No matter how you choose to start out, these are the kinds of things you should always strive

To Query or Not to Query: Part Two

by

In part two of our interview series with successful freelancers, we'll take a look at the different types of writing they do and how they personally land most of their writing gigs. Why is this important? As I mentioned previously, query-free freelancing isn't the only option available to you as a freelance writer. While the Web 2.0 world makes it much easier for new writers to build a platform and their visibility early on, other tactics still have a place. You'll get a glimpse of what other pros are doing, and how some things changed over the years for a few of them.

It's also important that you understand queries or query-free approaches to freelancing can vary depending on the type of writer you are. For example, query letters will have a larger role in freelance magazine writing than they would on the Web. On the other hand cold call pitching might work in commercial writing, but it might annoy editors with national publications.

I'm regularly asked how writers earning decent rates find their gigs (or where they find their gigs). For me it's the query-free approach where my clients most often find me. I understand that alone isn't very helpful for a new writer. Our guests come from a mix of backgrounds, from ghostwriting books to writing for corporate clients, and here they share how they find new work.

Let's get to it. I asked our guests what types of projects they most often take on for clients and how they land most of their freelance writing jobs. Here's what they had to say:

To Query or Not to Query: That’s a Question for the Pros!

by

I announced previously that we would be hosting a sort of round table interview series here with successful freelance writers to discuss querying, platforms, networking, and the process of landing gigs. While I fully support the query-free way of doing business because of my own background, I know it’s not the only way to manage your freelance writing career, and I’ll never pretend here that

Land More Freelance Writing Jobs by Questioning Your Clients

by

Do you spend enough time questioning your clients (and prospective clients)? You should! No. I’m not suggesting that you get into a spat with a client about how they want you to handle a project. I’m talking about good old fashioned information-gathering. If you spend some time looking at public responses to job ads from writers (bidding sites, forums, etc.), you would notice a common

How to Get Freelance Writing Referrals Even if You're New

by

New freelance writers have a lot on their minds. More experienced writers often tell them that they need to build a presence, start networking, and focus on getting referrals instead of simply searching job boards (the best gigs are rarely found on job boards). But they don’t want to hear it. They don’t want to wait a few weeks to a few months to have

"Web Content Writing" Is Not a Dirty Word

by

Yikes. Can you believe there are still people out there who think “Web content writing” is nothing more than the garbage $5 and under gigs involving poor English and rehashed articles? I guess I thought we were beyond that, but I came across a post somewhere earlier today (can’t remember what it was I was reading) which lumped “Web content writing” in with things like

Write for Magazines Without Writing for Magazines

by

I’ve shared this tip with freelance writers at All Freelance Writing previously, but it’s worth mentioning again here. If you’re open to the idea of ghostwriting, and you’d like to write print features, you can do it query-free. Really. No pitching of publications required at all (not on your end at least). How? This strategy works best for writers working with commercial clients (especially PR

Freelance Writer Business Plans: How In Depth Should They Be?

by

When you first launched your freelance writing career, did you compile a business plan or marketing plan? Do you update it every year? How in-depth are your plans? Do You Need a Business Plan at All? I’m a big believer in research and planning. Without it, it’s impossible to make decisions that are going to give you the best return on the time or money

What is a Writer Platform?

by

You’ll see me talk a lot about building a writer platform here at QueryFreeFreelancer.com, but what exactly is a platform? Your writer platform is basically a collection of tools and tactics that allow you to build and maintain both visibility and demand for your freelance writing services. Think of it as your built-in audience. The idea is to build an audience that will benefit your

Why Become a Query-Free Freelancer?

by

Let’s kick things off by explaining what I mean when I say “query-free freelancing.” Basically, you attract freelance writing clients without mailing query letters, without sending email queries, and without cold calling just to pitch an idea and “sell yourself” to a potential client (or editor). Is Query-Free Freelancing for Everyone? Absolutely not. There are many types of freelance writers, and there are many approaches

Should You Outsource Your Client Writing?

by

I received an email this morning from another writer. In short, they were pitching me on their own writing services, asking me to outsource client projects to them. I let them know I don’t do that. Do you? I think it’s a topic worth discussing. The Ethics of Subcontracting First let me be clear: I don’t think there is anything inherently “wrong” with subcontracting client

Upfront Payments: A Buyer's Perspective

by

Not only am I a freelance writer, but I’m also a client to other freelancers from time to time. Most of my clients are billed up front for my work. As a provider, I get to set the terms I work under and decide if or when to negotiate or make exceptions. Obviously there are benefits to being paid up front. As a client though,

Not Earning Enough as a Freelance Writer? You Have Only Yourself to Blame

by

I’ve been a part of an interesting conversation on freelance writing (specifically on the Web) at the DigitalPoint forums recently, and I think it’s a topic worth talking about here. In short, it started with a member asking why buyers always seem to be looking for “cheap content” there instead of quality. Then came calls for us on the forum staff to implement rules or

5 Reasons You Deserve a Raise as a Freelance Writer

by

As a freelance writer, no one truly has the power to give you a raise but yourself. When we work for employers, we know what to do if we want a raise in the future–respect authority figures, work hard, show up on time, be “present” with the boss so they take notice, be innovative, etc. But how do you know you deserve a raise as

Author and Book Media Kit Components – What Should You Include?

by

Today let’s very briefly go over some common components of the author (or book) media kit – in other words, what you should include. While most of these will work for a hard copy media kit / press kit, let’s focus on online author media kits (those in newsroom formats on your website or downloadable .pdf files). Author Media Kit Components – Essential An author

Chris Bibey on Offering Online Courses

by

You know how I personally feel about broadening horizons as freelance writers–that you need to diversify to really find the best overall business practices for yourself. There are many ways you can diversify your work and income streams. We’ve talked about releasing e-books. We’ve talked about launching blogs. Another option is to offer online courses. Since that is something I’ve never pursued personally, I asked

Why I Recently Broke My "No Free Work" Rule

by

If you’ve noticed anything here at All Freelance Writing, I hope it’s my effort to show writers that they can, and should, charge what they’re worth to earn a livable wage (and then some). I’ve also on more than one occasion poo-pooed the type of “client” who asks for free work (or who offers pay so low it might as well be free work). It’s

Proving Your Value to Prospective Writing Clients

by

We’ve discussed the benefits of specialization and how that can lead to higher earnings as a freelance Web writer. However, the real key to earning a decent income freelance writing online is proving your value to your clients. Specialization plays a major role (if you’re offering a certain amount of depth or understanding others can’t, you’re providing more value). Today let’s talk about other things

Sell Your Own Information Products with E-junkie

by

One of the best things you can do as a freelance Web writer is diversify your income streams by creating, and selling, informational products. I would hazard a guess that the most common informational products for freelance writers to be selling would be e-books or reports (you also might sell membership to premium content on a website though). Now I’ve tried a few different services

Your Best Web Writing Client is… You!

by

One thing you’ll learn in The Web Writer’s Guide to Launching a Successful Freelance Web Writing Career is that being a Web writer can be about much more than taking on articles, copywriting, or other writing projects from clients. Something I like to talk about when I’m chatting with new writers is moving beyond that client work and writing “for yourself.” What is “Writing for

How to Build a Freelance Writing Portfolio

by

One bit of advice I see commonly given to new Web writers (or any type of writers) is that they have to either do free projects for normally-paying clients or take on work at ridiculously low rates (like $5.00 per article) when they’re new just to build a portfolio or get references. That’s a load of garbage. If you’re really cut out to be a

Should You Hold Onto Print Rights?

by

Let’s talk specifically about Web content writers today, and the rights they give up when they sell their work. In many cases, when a client purchases Web content from you, their primary objective is to target search terms for traffic or online readers. Most have no use for your content beyond their websites or blogs, leaving potential non-competing reprint markets available as an additional income

Should You be a Full-Time or Freelance Web Writer?

by

After you’ve decided what type of Web writer you want to be (as in specialties and / or niches), you need to decide if you’d like to freelance in Web writing or look for a more permanent full-time Web writing job. Here are some of the benefits of each to help you decide what’s right for you: Benefits of Full-Time Web Writing as an Employee

2009 Goal Check-in: How are YOU Doing?

by

We’ve recently completed the first two months of 2009, so I think it’s a good time to see where we all stand on our goals. What have we accomplished so far? What would we like to make more progress on in the coming month? Here’s where I stand: I’ve completed over 10,000 words of the novel – not nearly as far along as I’d like

Do Established Businesses Really Need Web Content?

by

I received the following reader question from Nina Lewis, and wanted to address it to everyone, as it’s an excellent question: “In your e-book, do you explain what kind of clients need web content? You see that is what I want to specialize in however, I am not too fond of those low-paying job boards. And I may sound naive, but established businesses already have

Benefits of Specialization as a Web Writer

by

Whether you’re a Web content writer or a Web copywriter, specialization can be one of the biggest factors in earning a higher income from your writing. Here’s why: More Money The most important point is that most clients will pay more for a specialist than a generalist. You can specialize in niches (such as for content writers) or even in types of writing if you’re

Load more.