Good ideas are crucial to the success of freelance writers and all creative types. But you have to do more than generate good ideas: you have to get those ideas out of your brain and into some system to save them. Only then can you evaluate those ideas and pick the best for implementation. The […]
On Freelance Writers Who Write For Free or Low Fees
Many freelance writers write paid blog posts in order to pay the bills and further their writing careers. One freelance writer who has had success at it is Carol Tice, but she recently wrote an insightful and important post called “Will Huffington Post Syndrome Kill Paid Blogging?” in which she discusses how two of her […]
Take A Writer’s Retreat: Go Camping or Rent A Cabin
Do You Need a Writer’s Retreat? We freelance writers are bombarded with distractions: e-mail, blogs, social media sites — the entire Internet — along with phone calls, visitors, family, pets, and more. It’s difficult to get our writing done. My solution? Get away from it all by heading out into mountains to focus on completing […]
When You Should Write a New Edition of Your Book or Ebook
Many writers have written books and e-books, but aren’t sure when, why, or how to write a second or revised edition. I’ve written two mainstream trade paperback books and 2 of my own e-books, and between them I’ve done both new editions and revised editions. So let’s examine… 4 Reasons to Write A Second/Revised Edition […]
How to Write Faster: 12 Top Tips
When you write faster, you get more work completed in a given amount of time. If you write slowly, you make far less money per hour, you can’t do as many projects, and you have less time for the rest of your life. The goal: Work Less ~ Earn More ~ Live More. Let’s dive […]
My Guest Post and Live Call on Carol Tice’s Make A Living Writing Blog
Update… I had a fantastic response to my guest post on Carol’s blog (see details below). As of now the comment count stands at 37. And the call with Carol had some great questioners from listeners. Carol and I discussed my freelance writing niche (writing college textbook supplements), and then we had some fun and […]
Freelance Writer’s Guide to Internet Research
As a freelance writer, you need to practice good time management skills so you have high productivity, and searching the Internet without the right skills can waste a lot of your time without giving you quality results. So let’s examine the best methods for ferreting out exactly what you need from that huge mound of […]
8 Ways to Increase the Joy of Freelance Writing
Maximizing my happiness and enjoyment of life is my top priority, and that includes my freelance writing. Like me, you probably spend a lot of time writing. Life is short — make sure you get the most joy out of your writing time by following these 8 tips. 1. Write About What Interests You Specialize […]
House-Sitting and the Location-Independent Freelance Lifestyle
My location-independent freelance writing lifestyle lets me house-sit in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and other northern California and world locations. I love to travel to interesting places — to experience different local cultures, to see different local geographies. And I also love living in my rural corner of the world near Mount Shasta in far […]
Over 2500 Listeners to My Recent Podcast
Some of you may remember that I did a podcast/teleseminar interview with Kim Pawlak from the Text and Academic Authors Association last December about how to succeed in my specialty: freelance writing for college textbook publishers. Shortly afterward I wrote a popular post here: “Top 10 Tips For a Successful Teleseminar-Podcast Interview.” Kim recently e-mailed […]
Just Released — The Second Edition of My Writing College Textbook Supplements E-Book
Most of you who visit ProductiveWriters.com know that my main niche is freelance writing for college textbook publishers. Today I’m proud to announce that I’ve just released the second edition of my e-book that details everything a smart freelancer needs to do to be successful in that niche: Writing College Textbook Supplements: The Definitive Guide […]
Interview Tips for Podcast and Webinar Guests
Going to be a guest on a podcast, webinar, or teleseminar? Here are the top tips to make sure you do an excellent job. Last December I was the featured guest on the Text and Academic Authors Podcast. I really enjoyed being interviewed by Kim Pawlak of the TAA. I’ve been interviewed many times in […]
Selling E-Books with E-Junkie: My Experience
Recently I put my new e-book Intelligent Productivity For Freelance Writers: Manage Your Time, Make More Money, and Get More Enjoyment From Life for sale using the E-junkie shopping cart. (Note: Intelligent Productivity For Freelance Writers is currently off the market. I’m revamping it into a time management course that will be available soon.) In […]
Top Time Management Techniques for Freelance Writers
Time management is absolutely critical to achieving success in freelance writing and in the rest of your life. Time is the great equalizer: we all have 24 hours in a day. The big question—what do we do with our time? How you spend your time — what you choose to do and with what intensity […]
2010 Book and E-Book Sales Data for the United States
Freelance writers, book authors, and creators of information products should pay attention to book sales. The data for both print books and e-books tells us what consumers are paying for and gives indications of future trends, trends we can take advantage of. 2010 Sales Figures for Books and E-books The Association of American Publishers provides […]
How I Improved My Sales Page and Increased Conversion Rates for My E-Book
A few months ago I made some changes to the website for my very first information product: Writing College Textbook Supplements: The Definitive Guide to Winning High-Paying Assignments in the College Textbook Publishing Market (WCTS for short). Go over and have a look at the page. I”ll wait… Writing supplements and ancillaries for college textbooks […]
Why Publishers Should Pay a 50-Percent Royalty of Net Income on E-Books
Many freelance writers and entrepreneurs/business people are very interested in writing a book for a mainstream publisher that will appear in bookstores across the country and help build the author’s authority, reputation, and bank account. Today we focus on the bank account part, specifically determining a fair royalty rate on mainstream hardback and trade paperback […]
Why I Won’t Buy Demand Media Stock
Demand Media (DMD) just did its initial public offering of stock on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. For those of you that don’t know the company, it owns a series of websites (such as ehow.com) that contain many thousands of articles primarily written by low-paid freelance writers, articles designed to rank high in Google and other […]
Freelancers, What Magazines Do You Read?
Reading magazines stimulates our minds and helps us generate ideas for writing and business. Reading magazines also helps us understand the world better and thus navigate the many different facets of life: relationships, health, politics, the economy, and much more. We need to know what is going on so we can adapt ourselves to the […]
Download my Podcast on Freelance Writing for College Textbook Publishers
I had a great time yesterday being interviewed by Kim Pawlak of the Text and Academic Authors Association about how I’ve made a successful career by writing for higher education/college textbook publishers. Right-click here to save the podcast to your computer or mp3 player for later listening. If you are serious about about this freelance […]
Podcast About Freelance Writing for College Textbook Publishers
Update You can now download the podcast interview freelance writing for college textbook publishers. ——————– I make my living freelance writing supplements and ancillaries for college textbook publishers. This Wednesday I’ll be the featured guest on the Text and Academic Authors Association podcast on BlogTalkRadio: Ever wondered who writes all those college textbook test questions, […]
