Clients & Freelancing
Blogs
How to Write a Treatment for Scripts and Screenplays
A treatment is a summary of your script or screenplay idea. They are used for a variety of purposes, but mostly to pitch an idea and approach for a film or video. Writers typically use treatments for corporate work, influencer scripts, YouTubers, documentary films, short runs, and other quick pitches. They are the fastest way to convey your idea for visual or audio formats.
How to Succeed in Your Writing and Freelance Business in 2022 (Part IV of IV)
The final blog in this series focuses on how to achieve your goals as a freelance writer of self-directed work (articles, blogs and such) and as a novelist.
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 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.
Rejection: It’s Okay to Feel the Pain
Writers get rejected. It’s part of the job. But the frequency with which it happens doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
Recently I threw my name into consideration for a contract position I wanted. It would have meant a significant cut in my rate, but an increase in my quality of life. I would have been writing about a topic that would have brought me joy. It was a job I also would have excelled at doing. But therein lies the problem—I was overqualified and too expensive. Or maybe they just didn’t like my pitch or tone or samples. Who knows? I never heard. It was one of those situations where you apply and hear crickets.
Care and Feeding of a Client (Part 2 of 2)
Part one of this blog covered the first five tips for caring for your clients as a freelance writer.
Clients are essential to running a successful freelance business. They keep the lights on and the dream alive. It pays to learn how to care for those relationships.
Care and Feeding of a Client (Part 1 of 2)
Freelance writers need clients. They are the lifeblood of a strong freelance business. They pay the bills and keep the dream alive. As such, it pays to take care of them and nurture those relationships.
For the purpose of this article, I will lump editors and publishers (both traditional and online) in with clients. The tips below work for anyone who hires you to write for them.
Why Storytelling Matters in Business: Another Market Segment for Writers
Life is emotional. So is business, whether you want to admit it or not. Sure, you might not be able to cry at your desk everyday or throw temper tantrums in the break room, but emotions do come into play in business.
Organizations use emotion to make you care about their products, services, and causes. They use it as a form of persuasion, which is the art of making you desire something you might not otherwise.
Finding Work as a Freelance Writer
This past year has been a tough one for everyone. The lockdowns have torn up our economy and caused many creatives to lose their livelihoods. Contracts dried up, assignments faltered, and paychecks disappeared. But there is hope.
Life as a freelancer has its challenges, now more than ever, which is why it helps to be creative in finding solutions. Now is not the time to stick to the usual.
Work is out there. Here are a dozen places to try to find it:
Writing for Free: Is It Ever a Good Idea? (Part 2 of 2)
This two-part series began with the reasons you might choose to write for free. The key word in that sentence was choose. It is fine if it is your decision to provide your talents to a project without payment. But that is not always the case.
Here Are Some Reasons When It Does Not Make Sense to Write for Free:
Writing for Free: Is It Ever a Good Idea?
There is a pervasive idea in freelancing that writing for free is a legitimate avenue to finding paying work. In downturn economies and tough times, like trying to find work during a pandemic, taking any assignment sounds better than turning one down, even if the assignment is on spec or without pay. Don’t fall prey to this idea. It is false.
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.
A New Year’s Message for Writers
There is no question this has been a tough year for us all. The pandemic. The riots. The unrest. The economic uncertainty. The losses. There have been so many pressures and demands with little relief in sight.
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.
Living a Freelance Life
Living a freelance life has its advantages and disadvantages. Sure, you can write in your pajamas, but you can also be left waiting by the mailbox waiting for that check to arrive so you can pay your mortgage. But you get to be in control of your work and your life.
The benefits will vary depending on the person. What I find an advantage someone else may not, but here is how I see it:
Strategies for Submissions
I’m in the last days of polishing my manuscript and am gearing up to jump into research for my next one. It’s been a long haul for this manuscript. I love the characters and story, but struggled with the usual things—self-doubt, length, setting, how to transfer the story I had in my head to paper, getting it right. Writing is never an easy process. We fling words on a page and then rearrange them until they feel right. Sometimes it takes no time at all and other times it takes what seems a lifetime. In the end, all that matters is that we finish.
Firing Clients: How to Do It (Part 2 of 2)
Being fired is the worst. It never feels good being let go for whatever reason. But sometimes it is necessary. As a freelance writer, there will be times (see our previous blog as to when those times are) when you need to fire a client. In the first part of this two-part blog, we covered when this is a good idea. Now it’s time to look at how to do it.
Here are some tips for how to fire a client:
Firing Clients: When It’s Time (Part 1 of 2)
Sometimes being your own boss has its downsides. Mostly when those clients who pay the bills and keep your writing career afloat aren’t as supportive and wonderful as you’d like. When clients cross the line from professional to unprofessional, it’s time to cut ties. That’s obvious. But being unprofessional is not the only reason to sever ties with a client.
Here is my master list of reasons to fire a client:
10 Elements of Effective (Client) Writing (Part 2 of 2)
10 Elements of Effective (Client) Writing (Part 1 of 2)
Effective writing can mean so many things, depending on the type of writing you are talking about. But when to comes to client work, effective writing means work that meets a goal and does its job. It’s that simple. And that hard.
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.
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.
Blogging: A Writer’s Perspective
Writers write. It’s what we do. These days the easiest way to do that is to write a blog. Most writers have one. Some use it to post news and updates on their work. Others write about their families and lives. Then there are those, like me, who write about writing, which makes sense since writing is my passion. It’s also a great way to give back to the industry and share what I know while meeting other writers and writers in training.
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.
Freelancing Is Business
Through the years, I’ve known a lot of people who were freelance writers. Some of them did it on the side and others wrote for a living. The big difference between the two groups was how they approached the work. The ones looking at it as extra money, typically didn’t approach it like a business. It was just a part-time gig that brought in a bit of extra cash. It was not how they paid the mortgage or put food on the table.
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.
Freelancing Is More Than Magazines: 26 Other Markets to Try
The traditional view of a freelance writer is someone who spends her day querying magazines and writing articles and many do. But the majority of independent writers earn their money through client work. It’s more consistent and offers more opportunity than the magazine market.
The Niche Myth: Or the Case for Writing Broadly
There are those in freelance writing who advocate (loudly, I might add) to choose a niche and stick to it if you want to make money. I get it. It’s easier to market yourself if you have a specialty. But being a freelance writer should be about more than the money. It should be about the writing. Choosing a niche is not always the best option.
Top 10 Things People Don’t Tell You About Being a Freelance Writer
Oh, the dreams are big. Quit your job. Write all day. Make a living in your PJs, working your own hours. It’s so romantic. So appealing. The image of the writer is part of why so many people want to embrace the life of a freelance writer or novelist.
Making Editors Happy (Part 2 of 2)
I’ve struggled with the second part of my ways to avoid annoying editors series, mostly because the things that tend to annoy editors (okay, me) are difficult to write about without sounding harsh. I kept trying to couch my comments to be nicer, but in the end decided that telling the truth was more important. It is better to hear about them before you submit than after. So take this advice for what it is: tips to get better so your work is accepted instead of rejected.
Making Editors Happy (Part 1 of 2)
How? By doing one simple thing. It’s easy. Trust me. I’m going to share one of my biggest irritations as a writer/editor—extra spaces.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I dislike extra spaces, specifically the ones that appear after a period.
I spent today editing materials for a client who clings to old habits and here is what I told him:
Platform: It’s a Question of Importance
The buzz word in publishing these days is platform. Accepted wisdom (or rumor) is that an author cannot sell without one. I find this debatable, but I will call it plausible. The problem with this idea is that it suggests that platform is the most important part of publishing. It is not.
The writing is.
The story is.