I was tagged by Dana to list the reasons why I love working at home. Way back in another life, I worked as a journalist in an office. Then I worked as a journalism tutor in another office. Then I traded them both for a home office, and I’ve never regretted it. Here’s why: I don’t [...] [...more]
One of the first things to address when promoting yourself as a freelance writer is having somewhere where people can find you. These days, that means having a web presence - and that doesn’t have to cost you anything. My preferred method is to get a blog, because you don’t have to mess around with [...] [...more]
I’ve found a lot of great posts on writing this month. Here are a few that I’d like to share. Let me start with blogging. Chris Garrett gave some valuable (pardon the pun) advice on how to get more value from your site, citing the importance of building relationships in your online life. One key [...] [...more]
It’s always nice to be recognized, so it was a nice surprise yesterday when I found that Get Paid To Write Online had been named as one of ProFreelancing’s Top 60 Blogs For Writers. We’re in at number 8, which is pretty good considering the company we’re keeping. The list is divided into blogs about [...] [...more]
It happens to all freelance writers at some time. Since writers always have to plan ahead to manage their workload, they may find that a rush job comes in to disturb their well organised schedule. For example, an established client may need something in a hurry, and you may not want to refuse because it’s [...] [...more]
This may turn into a rant. Yesterday, I submitted a bid for some work. I took my time over it, addressing all the points in the client’s project outline. The client wanted a blogger to produce posts of a certain length, and I quoted him my normal rate for that. The next communication I received [...] [...more]
The other day, I came across a piece of software that is an article spinner and rewriter - online. Did I feel threatened? Did I heck. No piece of software can replace a real writer. Here’s what real writers do that pieces of software don’t: They read, so they are always up to date with changing [...] [...more]
I haven’t been quite as rigorous in collecting posts in the last month. That was in part due to blog woes, to an unexpected trip and to switching back to Google Reader after a three month flirtation with Netvibes. However, I have found time to stop off at a few favourite (and new) sites. Here [...] [...more]
Are you sick of churn? Of news stories that have no new information, but simply rehash the other stuff that’s out there? Then you might enjoy this new site that is dedicated to rooting out churnalsm. The Churner Prize highlights the best examples of rehashing and outright copying on the internet. Run by several journalists (though [...] [...more]
A post from Allena Tapia made me think more about the process of querying for freelance writing work. The post outlined all the stuff that writers sell to editors along with their idea when they pitch to a magazine. At the end of the post, Allena asked three questions: How long do you spend on a [...] [...more]
