Business Tips & Tools
Blogs
How to Succeed in Your Writing and Freelance Business in 2022 (Part III of IV)
Explore strategies and tactics for finding client-based work in this third installment in the series on finding new work in 2022. We’ll finish up the series next week with a blog focusing on strategies and tactics for freelance writers (articles, blogs, etc) and those writing novels or nonfiction books.
Taking on clients is a great way to boost your business. Not only does it open up your potential sources of income, but clients offer a variety of benefits to any freelance business.
How to Succeed in Your Writing and Freelance Business in 2022 (Part II of IV)
What are you goals in 2022? What do you need to do to reach them? This series looks at the questions you need to ask and answer to achieve your vision. It looks at questions like, how many words do you want to write? How many clients do you need? How many assignments? How much will you need to charge to make it?
How to Succeed in Your Writing and Freelance Business in 2022 (Part I of IV)
Success looks different these days. Our world has changed these past couple of years and freelancing has become more common and more competitive. Standing out as a freelance writer or author has become a bit harder. How will you succeed?
This series looks at setting yourself up for success in the new year. January is the perfect time to set a course for the months ahead. It’s typically a slow period for freelancing and the weather invites introspection and planning.
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 3 of 3)
Finish out the year with our list of year-end tasks designed specifically for freelance writers.
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 2 of 3)
Finish the year strong by doing a series of year-end tasks designed to help you analyze how you did last year and set you up for a more successful year in 2022.
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 1 of 3)
Time has flown this year and it is time again to close out another year of writing.
This is a great time to take stock of where you are with your writing and get organized for the year to come. Finish our your freelance writing year with a few year-end tasks. Below you will find part one of our three-part series on steps writers and small businesses should take to finish out a year for better success in the new one.
12 Steps for Freelancers to Start the Year Off Right
It’s a new year, finally, and, despite coming off a rocky year, there is room for hope and anticipation for the year ahead. This pandemic will pass and life will resume. It always does. Eventually.
Work will resume too. I know many of us (me included) took a beating last year, losing contracts, work, and facing grim prospects. But this too will change. All you need is patience and some preparation so you’re ready to grab opportunities as they appear. And they will appear. Trust me.
Rejection—You’re In Good Company (Part 3 of 3)
In this series on rejection, we’ve looked at how to handle the disappointment and reason behind rejections. Now let’s get a little bit of perspective.
Every writer gets rejected. Every one. Even the best.
Rejection—Why It Happens (Part 2 of 3)
In the first blog of this series, we talked about how to handle rejection. Now let’s look at why rejections happen…and they are going to happen.
Rejection—16 Tips for How to Handle It as a Writer (Part 1 of 3)
Rejection is part of a writer’s life no matter if you are writing books, scripts, speeches or blogs. Every writer has been rejected at some point in letters, emails, texts, phone calls and in person. And it never gets easier.
Getting Freelance Writing Jobs Even During COVID-19 (Part 3 of 3)
In the first two blogs of this three-part series, we talked about what to prepare to do a marketing push and how to find new clients. Now we’re going to look at what to do during the in-between bits—between your preparation and your initial pitches.
Not Landing Jobs
Getting Freelance Writing Jobs Even During COVID-19 (Part 2 of 3)
In the first part of this blog series on finding freelance work, we talked about things you should do before you begin your marketing and sales pitches. Now we’ll look at concrete actions you can take to find work.
Getting Freelance Writing Jobs Even During COVID-19 (Part 1 of 3)
Writers find work in a variety of ways, dictated mostly by experience level and type of writing. In the nonfiction world, this may mean publications, blogs, websites, corporations, nonprofits, agencies, production houses, and more. This makes it more difficult to answer the question: how do I find work, especially during a pandemic when so many are out of work or are operating at lower capacity? Even given these challenges, there are ways to boost your chances, no matter your skill set or level.
Top 12 Mistakes I’ve Made in My Career
Being a freelance writer is a tough gig. Not because of the writing, though that has its own difficulties, but because of the business side of things. Through the many years I’ve been doing this, I have learned some tough lessons. Here are my top 12:
Platform or Writing…That Is the Question
It is conventional wisdom in the industry that all writers need a platform to succeed. While this isn’t necessarily the case, it is something that most writers will need to understand. The problem with this concept is that it suggests that having a platform is the most important part of publishing and it is not.
Options for Previously Published Works
Last week we talked about what being previously published means. This week we’re looking at options for work that falls into that category and your options for moving forward.
Previously Published: What It Means and How It Affects Your Work
You want to get your work out there. You want to gain an audience. You want to build a platform. And so you post. It’s so easy. There are countless platforms and opportunities from personal blogs and websites to sharing sites, like Wattpad, not to mention digital media outlets. The problem is reckless posting can undermine your ultimate goal.
Tracking Client Work
Tracking client work will save you time, money and frustration. Here is how I track my client work and clients.
Tracking Submissions—The Administrative Side of Writing
Like most writers, I love the research and writing parts of the job, but don’t care for the administrative tasks that come with the gig—doing the taxes, accounting, legal and tracking everything. It’s easy to let those things slide and I did when I first started out, until I learned better.
It is easier than you think to misplace vital information, lose track of invoices and payments, and forget to track what you send out into the publishing world. The only way to stay sane and solvent is to track everything. It will help your sanity too.
How to Create a Working Editorial Calendar for Your Blog
Blogging is fun. I love writing my blog. But it is more than that. It’s a commitment to my readers and my industry. It’s a commitment I take seriously.
Writing a blog takes discipline. You owe your readers consistently good content that can be found on a regular basis. As a working writer, it’s not always easy to honor that commitment. Life gets in the way, which is why discipline matters. It helps to be organized too.
Top 15 Tips for Running a Successful Writing Business
No matter what you write, earning money from your writing means you are running a business. If you want to be serious about having a writing career, one that will allow you to pay your mortgage and eat, then you need to know what you are getting into and plan accordingly. Here are 15 tips for setting up a professional freelance writing business.
Top 15 Tips for Working with Editors
Working with an editor is like any other business relationship. It requires professionalism and courtesy. Never forget that writing is a business. Just as you would hire a lawyer to negotiate your contracts, you need an editor to publish your work. They are there to partner with you to create something better.
Why Writers Shouldn’t Follow Publishing Trends
Trends come and go. It’s not difficult to track them, particularly in publishing. Scan the new releases book shelf at your local book shop and read book blurbs. You will identify the trends.
Publishing news and book reviews are a good source too.
The information is out there. The problem is that the information is dated by the time it reaches would-be writers. The trend began when the writers sat down to write the books, years before.