2011 was a great year for me as a freelance writer, as a blogger, and as a person doing his best to enjoy life. I had a lot of fun selecting these posts. I hope you enjoy them!
And my deepest thanks to all of you who visit ProductiveWriters.com. May you all have a happy and productive 2012!
Favorite Posts About Freelance Writing
8 Ways to Increase the Joy of Writing. One of my faves, and one that received a decent amount of social media attention.
Write Faster: 12 Top Tips for Freelance Writers. Lots of people shared their tips in the comments. Many thought that learning to touch type was the most important.
Why Freelance Writers Must Be On LinkedIn. I feel very strongly about this. I see too many beginning freelance writers focusing on blogging and Twitter when there time would be better spent building up a strong LinkedIn presence.
Should You Edit As You Write? Turns out most people do, at least those that leave comments on this post.
Favorite Posts About Productivity and Time Management
Top Time Management Techniques for Freelance Writers. Contains my best techniques to help writers focus on what’s important for their writing business.
Writing Ergonomics: Top Tips for Proper Posture, Alignment, and Movement. I’m a major proponent of posture, alignment, and relaxation (I’ve been studying tai chi for over a decade), and I think it’s key for us to be healthy and happy freelance writers.
Small Positive Changes Add Up to a Big Difference in Your Life. A concept that’s very important to me. One of the few PW posts where I included a picture!
John does his daily yoga back-bend: the wheel pose.
And I still do the wheel pose just about every day.
Favorite Posts About Blogging
Edit Old Blog Posts to Boost Search Engine Optimization and Traffic. I strive to be a “talented amateur” at SEO. I share some of my techniques here.
The Why and How of Blogging Breaks. This ran last month right before I took a blogging break over the holidays. I loved the break and I strongly urge other bloggers to take occasional breaks.
How I Improved My Sales Page and Increased Conversion Rates for My E-Book. I discuss subtle but important changes I made to the sales page for my e-book about my freelance writing specialty: Writing College Textbook Supplements, second edition. (Click the book cover in the sidebar for more info.)
My Most Controversial Posts…
On Freelance Writers Who Write for Free or Low Fees. I wrote this in response to all the complaining I saw by content-mill writers and some Huff-Po bloggers.
Why Publishers Should Pay a 50-Percent Royalty of Net Income on E-Books. Let’s just say that not everyone thinks that rate is either fair or likely to happen.
2010 Book and E-Book Sales Data for the United States. This post still gets a lot of search traffic and has generated the largest number of people sending me e-mails asking if I know specific numbers of sales for specific books (I don’t) and if I have any advice on whether or not they should pursue a specific project (sometimes I have an opinion).
Why I Won’t Buy Demand Media Stock. Demand Media, which is well-known for paying freelance writers next to nothing, went public in an IPO just before I wrote this post. On the day it ran (January 31, 2011) Demand’ stock price closed at $20.28 per share. On Friday, January 20, a year later, it closed at $7.07 per share.
