A friend asked me the other day what my career plan was. It was a good question. Although I love what I do, and wouldn’t go back to working in an office, in another ten or 15 years, I would like my writing career to look very different. When you start writing, you often don’t [...] [...more]
One of the mysteries for new freelance writers is how to bid for jobs. As a new writer, you often have no idea what to charge or what clients are looking for. Sure, you can write, but bidding is about selling yourself so you can get the chance to show your skills. I’ll say up front [...] [...more]
Give me my money! That’s what most freelancers want to say when they have done a piece of work but have not been paid. When you freelance, there’s always the chance that you might fall victim to a seasoned scammer - there are lots of them about. Three Freelance Writing Scams Here are some of the potential [...] [...more]
How much time do you spend on writing each week? When you sit at your desk to write, is that all you do, or do you get distracted by other things. I’ll come clean and say that I am prone to distraction. In addition to writing/blogging, I also spend my time reading blogs, maintaining my [...] [...more]
I signed up with GetAFreelancer a couple of years ago, yet I’ve only just completed my first project with them. This is my review of the experience. Getting Started With GetAFreelancer First of all, let me tell you why it’s taken me so long to get started.The first reason is because I was busy. I’ve hardly had [...] [...more]
It’s about time for another roundup of posts that made me think in the last couple of weeks. A post on Dosh Dosh about reaching 10,000 subscribers made me wonder whether all the things we do to promote our blogs are really worth it. Dosh Dosh concludes that great content is the most important factor [...] [...more]
If you’re going to write for a living, then you need to put your writing life on a business footing. That doesn’t mean giving up the pleasure of writing; it just means that you need to take it seriously and get others to do the same. So how do you transform your writing from a [...] [...more]
Sometimes you need to admit when you’re wrong - and that’s what I’m doing today. At the start of 2007, I moved my diary online. I set up Google Calendar with a personal calendar, a work calendar, a school calendar, and a holiday calendar. Yes, the system had some advantages. I could access my calendars wherever [...] [...more]
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to finish things. As the end of the year approaches, there’s always a flurry of action, as if loose ends will cause major problems if they’re not tied up before Christmas. For me, it’s about being able to take time off with [...] [...more]
Someone said to me recently: ‘Freelance writing is not like other jobs; you never really get away.’ She was referring to the fact that I work at home, and it’s always easy to think about the jobs that are waiting for me - or to work instead of doing something social. But her comment [...] [...more]
