When you become successful enough as a freelance writer, you'll need to consider when and how to hire people so that you can become even more successful and make even more money. When Should You Hire Help? Here's the simple Hiring-Outside-Help … [Continue reading]
ALS is a very serious and debilitating disease that leads to loss of motor-nerve function and frequently results in death. Unfortunately, Steve Bachman, one of my childhood friends, has ALS. Steve is an intelligent and brave man who openly discusses … [Continue reading]
Do you know the science and psychology of why you procrastinate? Hey, we all do it. The goal, though, is to do it less and less so we can become more and more successful as freelance writers or whatever it is we do for a living.I've laid out … [Continue reading]
You’re a freelance writer because you want to make money. However, you need to be clear on how much money you want to make, how you will go about earning it, and all the factors that affect your earning power.Two crucial concepts for … [Continue reading]
The Freelance Writers Den is now open to new members. All beginning and intermediate freelance writers will benefit immensely from joining the Freelance Writers Den.Just in case you haven't heard about the Den, it's a top-notch membership … [Continue reading]
Increasing numbers of scientific studies show that we need to spend far less time online and more time offline, preferably outside getting exercise and engaging directly with the world rather than immersed in the Internet and fooling around with our … [Continue reading]
Multiple-choice questions are one of the most widely used methods of testing students’ knowledge. If you are a freelance writer for higher education or K-12 companies, you could be creating student assessment questions for a test bank, for a student … [Continue reading]
To be a productive writer you must be clear on what to do and why, and how to do whatever you do as efficiently as possible.But another key component of being productive is deciding what NOT to do.What do I mean? High productivity … [Continue reading]
All freelance writers should know by now that LinkedIn is a key tool for finding clients, getting found by clients, and just being able to present yourself professionally on the number-one business networking site on the planet.I found this great … [Continue reading]
We freelance writers thrive with quality, long-lasting relationships with editors. So we need to know how to keep them happy so they keep hiring us, and we also need to know what to do if one of our favorites leaves her position with the … [Continue reading]
Some may write for love, but most freelance writers write for money — and they’ll make more money when they specialize in one or more niches.Don’t misunderstand: I really enjoy my main freelance writing specialty. Creating college textbook … [Continue reading]
Asking yourself good motivating questions and then answering them can boost your productivity and increase your happiness according to studies conducted by psychologists in recent years.That's why I always ask and answer... My Two Morning … [Continue reading]
Planning is essential in all aspects of your life, including your freelance writing. My focus here is on the little things that make a big difference when you do them early.This cuts two ways: some things done early result in a big payoff you … [Continue reading]
Freelance writing lets me travel and gives me the option of a location-independent lifestyle, which I take advantage of in winter months by house-sitting in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere with my partner Stephanie. Why … [Continue reading]
Many freelance writers and book authors are active on Twitter. However, a lot of them don't use the optimal techniques necessary to take full advantage of the social network. Twitter Rules for Writers Jennifer Mattern, the creator of this … [Continue reading]
You need your freelance writing to be professional so that clients pay you well. This means your words read well and contain no major grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.Freelance writers with poor copy editing skills either don’t make much … [Continue reading]
Hey freelancers, why do your writing projects take you all the way up to the deadline to complete, and why do you sometimes miss deadlines, even when you had plenty of time to do the project?It's because you're making a key time management … [Continue reading]
"I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world."Ah, George Bailey. He never realized the big dreams of his … [Continue reading]
One unfortunate aspect of freelance writer/editor relationships is dealing with rejection, and also dealing with silence, which sometimes means rejection but often does not.Here's an e-mail I received recently from a purchaser of my ebook Writing … [Continue reading]
I love Wordpress. It allows me and millions of others to create beautiful websites that are easy to update. Wordpress sites can be simple or complex, and they can do most anything that you want.That said, there is always room for improvement. Now … [Continue reading]
Choose the best freelance writing niches for your skills and interests and you'll have a more interesting and financially rewarding career as a freelance writer. Here's how I chose my niches... Why Focus on Freelance Writing Niches? Because you’ll … [Continue reading]
Learning to say NO is a key principle of time management.Every day we are bombarded with requests large and small: from loved ones; from friends and neighbors; from potential clients, from co-workers, bosses, and employees; and from people we … [Continue reading]
Like many of you fellow freelance writers and other self-employed folks, I'll be doing my taxes soon. Since productivity is an important focus here, I'll share how I do my taxes. You can chime in below with comments and we can all learn from each … [Continue reading]
On January 6 Mark Schaefer published a provocative post about the declining utility of content marketing, a phenomenon he dubs "content shock."The piece has garnered a great deal of scrutiny and attention both from those who agree with Schaefer's … [Continue reading]
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. Managing Your Time as a Freelance Writer The big question—what do we do with … [Continue reading]
