Freelance writing is like any other business - you have to set goals to make it a success. When I went freelance a year or so ago, my goal was to make enough money working from home to replace my former salary as a part time lecturer. It was five months before I made any [...] [...more]
Now that I’m a freelance writer, I’m happy doing what I’ve always wanted to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. For the first time in a long time (and I mean LONG), I had a piece of work returned to me for revision. It’s a research job, looking for additional information to accompany [...] [...more]
As a working writer you should always have a plan B for when technology lets you down. It’s my own fault. I should have known better. In fact, I usually do. When I first owned a computer in the early 1990s, I fell prey to a Word macro virus. I got my act together, installed [...] [...more]
I started a newsletter in April. Why? Because I thought I ought to. All the site building, traffic building material says you should have a way to communicate with visitors to your site. This makes you a real person, builds a relationship and keeps people coming back to the site. So I did. I found [...] [...more]
As you know, I manage the freelance writing topic for InspiredAuthor.com. When I began to write, I used some of the posts from this blog as a starting point, then extended and hopefully improved them by adding examples. Just as with WritingUp, I was forced to think about what I’ve learned as a freelance writer, [...] [...more]
I’m on a bit of a roll now. I’ve been doing some writing for Lifetips on fruit, video chat and Spanish (more about that in another post), while trying to keep up with my blogs. The schedule is hectic, partly my own fault for doing some really bad writing late at night. The result was [...] [...more]
As a freelance writer, it’s your job to keep editors and publishers happy. Aside from the issue of professional integrity, it’s a good way to make sure you’re asked to write for a publication again. One of the best ways of doing this is to be clear on exactly what a commission entails. To do [...] [...more]
Here’s a bit of fun for a rainy day (at least, it’s raining here). There’s a new vote in town. Novel Writer magazine is running a poll on which is the best online writer’s school. This got me to thinking about the value of writing courses. I’m probably old fashioned. I learned to write by [...] [...more]
New freelance writers often wonder how to charge for their writing. Writers want to make sure that they get paid fairly for the effort they have put in. In the short term, writers may work for very little while they are getting established. But in the long term, writers who don’t earn a fair wage [...] [...more]
Every now and then you find a real gem of a book - and I’ve found one that is invaluable for writers. It’s called the Insider’s Guide To Getting Your Book Published. Written by industry veteran Rachael Stock, this is a quick guide to the publishing world. In addition to her own experience, Stock has [...] [...more]
