5 Ways to Increase Freelance Income Without New Clients

“Get more clients” is the first thought freelancers have when they think about increasing their income. For the purpose of this post, let’s forget that finding new clients isn’t easy. Let’s assume that you can get more clients if you want them. But here’s the thing:  Can you afford to take on a new client? You’re probably already working at full capacity. If there was

Reader Question: Moving Beyond Penny Per Word Writing Gigs

I recently received the below questions from a fellow freelance writer, LeeOnna Sanchez. She wants to know how she can grow her career beyond the penny per word freelance writing gigs she’s been finding on forums and bidding sites. Let’s help her out. I am a freelance writer; started about 3 1/2 years ago. I don’t consider myself to be anything spectacular, but trying to

Making Big Adjustments as a WAHM

It’s that time again! The kids are going back to school! This means my house will in an uproar for a few weeks while we try to get everyone and everything settled again for the school year. While you might expect me to celebrate my kids going back to school as a sign that I’ll have more time in the day to write, I am

Getting Insurance for Your Writing Business

I met with a local State Farm agent recently about getting errors & omissions coverage for my freelance writing, blogging, and publishing services. I received notice this morning that they won’t cover my business. The reason? They said their policies don’t cover: Freelance Writers Bloggers Publishers Web content developers Website managers / owners Um… okay? We’re talking about a kind of insurance that’s not exactly

Home & Away: Writing The Travel Piece

Have you always wanted to be a travel writer? Do you long to see your byline next to some great pictures and a narrative about a cool place to visit? Do you want to know how to get there? I’ve mentioned the first part of this before–but it bears repeating. In my humble opinion, writing about where you live is the best way to break

Why This Freelancer Never Takes Vacations

After many years, I went on a vacation last week. The trip was great, of course, except for one small detail. About two days before we left for Colorado and the cool mountain breezes, my largest client “changed direction” overnight. My primary contact was laid off and my regular blogging commitments stopped effective immediately. Not exactly the sort of send off I was hoping for,

Writers: Make More Money With Your Hobbies

When it comes to freelance writing work where you have to market yourself to clients, I generally suggest not only specializing, but choosing no more than a few specialties. Beyond that, I suggest choosing specialties with similar markets so your promotional work goes farther. But I have an exception to that rule — when I develop my own sites. I’m not only a freelance writer.

Working Through Illness

When you work as a freelance writer, you probably don’t have someone who can fill in for you when you become ill. You might have deadlines set well in advance that can’t be re-worked. And when it comes to chronic problems, you probably just have to find a way to work through things. Even the best laid plans could take a serious hit from an

Freelancing My Way to a Real Vacation

I have a bit of a confession to make. I haven’t gone on a real vacation in about ten years. I know. Shoot me now. I do have some good reasons for the lack of travel. My husband is a homebody so he’s not struck with wanderlust. When I do travel, I’m usually going to see family for a few days with plenty of obligations

What Should You Outsource as a Freelance Writer?

In the U.S. political space, “outsourcing” has become a dirty word with the focus being companies that outsource American jobs to lower wage countries. But outsourcing in and of itself isn’t bad. It’s frequently done domestically too. You wouldn’t even have a job as a freelance writer if it weren’t for outsourcing — that’s what every one of your clients does every time they hire you.

Things to Consider When Choosing Freelance Working Hours

One of the biggest perks of freelancing is the fact that we can set our own schedules. But how should you set that schedule? How do you determine what your working hours will be? My “normal” working hours are 5:00 am – 12:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. But that doesn’t mean I always stick to that, especially now that I have my husband’s schedule to think about.

How to Furnish Your Home Office on a Budget

When we work from home as freelancers, sometimes we don’t have much control over our work environment. For example, some writers work from their kitchen tables. A benefit of working in a pre-established area of the home is that you don’t have to worry about furnishing a separate office space. But what if you do have a freelance office, but not a huge budget to furnish it?

Magazines: Reading To Write An Essay

Want to write for a nice glossy magazine? If the answer to that question is a “yes” – I have a question for you… How often do you read them? If you want to make a career out of writing for magazines reading matters. This is especially true if you are hoping to get an essay published in your favorite print publication. Think of it

Writing at Home: Can I Do This?

It’s not an unusual question. We all wonder from time to time if this world of freelancing from home is worth the extra time and effort it takes to be successful. Naturally we usually find plenty of reasons that it is, in fact, worth the hassles and stress. To name a few: freelance writers who work at home enjoy schedule flexibility, more time with family,

Is Freelance Writing Wasting Your Time?

I was browsing through a popular working mom forum recently and found a popular thread that was both interesting and disturbing. In the thread, moms were discussing their work schedule – a popular topic I like to discuss as well. On the forum, the moms were describing how much of their day they spend dedicated to writing part-time and it disturbed me. A lot. The

The Sacrifices We Make to Freelance Full-Time

“The thing some folks don’t understand about sacrifice… Sometimes it’s more of a trade (The Skeleton Key).” One of the things I hated the most about a regular 9-5 was missing out on beautiful weather. Those first few nice days of Spring when it’s sunny and warm, but you’re stuck behind a desk and the sun is setting by the time you get off work

Freelance Writers Have to Pay Quarterly Estimated Taxes

Freelance writing can be very stressful. Some months new clients are beating down your door (well, email account). The next month, you’re scrambling to write grocery lists for a little bit of cash. It all comes and goes so fast and it’s tough to maintain a monthly rhythm. Which is why when quarterly estimated taxes come along many freelancer writers just wave their hands in

When Working Conditions Are Never Right

There are those among us who can only work when the conditions are just right. They must have the right music or show on in the background. They must have their ergonomic chair positioned just so and their office door opened exactly three inches to allow for cross ventilation while blocking 93 percent of all regular household noises. I’m not that person. Nor is any

Writing For Local Magazines

Most magazine writers don’t start out getting published in Cosmopolitan or Travel + Leisure. Breaking into the bigger magazine market typically comes after you’ve built a stable of clips from smaller publications that show you have the “chops” to handle a big assignment. Although it is certainly possible to get a gig in a mainstream mag, local magazines offer a great opportunity as well. You

The Cost of Running a Freelance Writing Business

What one of the things I love most about freelance writing is that I only need a few tools to get my job done. I can work nearly anywhere and any situation. I prefer my laptop and an internet connection, but if I have a pen or pencil and some type of paper, I can be just as productive. Because there are only a few

Freelance Business (Early) Mid-Year Check-in 2012

With the start of June right around the corner, we’re nearly halfway through the year. Just one more month. When I realized how fast time was flying by, I went back to review some of my business goals and resolutions for 2012. I decided it was time for an early mid-year check-in. Why spend another month waiting when I can start improving things today? Basically,

3 Ways to Take Your Freelance Writing to the Next Level

I consider writing for a living to be a pretty sweet career opportunity. And if you’re reading this blog, I imagine you do too. But as great as freelance writing can be, it does have limits. You’re essentially charging people for your time, even if you don’t bill on an hourly basis. You can’t mass produce freelance work the same way you can with products.

Forum Marketing 101: Getting "Easy" Jobs

It’s not exactly old news – I believe Jenn even has an entire ebook on the concept – but the best marketing is the sort that brings your clients directly to your door with the minimal amount of effort on your part. Sounds lovely, right? I won’t lie to you and tell you it’s as easy as clicking a button or signing up with some

Applying For Your First Writing Gig: What to Include

When you are starting your freelance writing career, finding new clients always seems like a daunting task. How does a writer find new potential clients and how do we approach them once we do? Do we send them an e-mail or do we call them? Do we attach our CV’s or do we just concentrate on sending our best samples? I was always confused as

Print Writing: Getting The Goods

Today we have a few tips for “getting the goods” in print writing. Let’s begin with finding guidelines so you can craft a query… Getting The Guidelines When you are writing for print, the guidelines for the publication are the golden rule you need to follow. Problem is…not every magazine puts these on the web for you. So where do you find them? Here are

Freelancers: How to Get Started Without Getting Exploited

Starting out in freelance writing is an exciting time. Dreams of typing all day in a sunny coffee shop and nonchalantly telling people you write for a living are seductive. The alternative stereotype is also appealing to many: getting up at noon and working in your pyjamas, perhaps in bed. Surely this career is bordering on perfect. However starting out is also a time of

The Small Joys of Working Online

It might be the hours I keep, but there are some things about this business that just strike me as funny at the most unusual times. I’m sure it’s not a condition isolated to this working-mom-freelance-writer-person, so let’s see how many of you have the same random bits of humor that I do: I’m a Mystery to Advertisers Everywhere I don’t know why, but it

Should you Provide a Free Sample to Potential Clients?

Last week, I was faced with a somewhat common situation. After sending out a few cold emails, I got two responses. One client hired me on the spot, based largely on the samples that I provided. However, the other company wanted to see more of what I could do for them. They asked if I could provide a free sample, based on their particular needs,

3 Ways to Kick Into Writing Gear NOW!

It’s amazing what a three-day weekend can do to your morale when it comes to picking up that virtual pen and getting back to work on Monday. I won’t lie to you – my schedule sucks sometimes and this is definitely one of those days. My day started at 6 am, I was in a meeting on a Monday morning at 7:30 where I learned

Combining Print And Web

I’ve run into some interesting situations while doing print writing. As publications started to develop their presence online, there were some opportunities to make a little more money here and there. What? More money? Do tell, right? Some magazines also offer partial (or full) articles on the web as well as in their print version. And some of them will pay more for it. This