Today I’d like to share a special program from American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you wish you could rake in six figures writing for businesses? If you’ve ever considered a freelance writing career as a copywriter and you want to learn how make some serious dough, AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting might be the kick you need. I’ve been promising these nice folks
When I started writing online, my daughter was a baby. Today, as my business has grown, so has she and surprisingly, has taught me several important lessons along the way. Freelancing, they say, is not child’s play but one can surely learn a thing or two from kids. Here are 5 things that I learned about being a better, more productive writer and business owner
Today we are going to talk contracts. When you write for a print publication, you will often sign a contract for the work agreement that you will have with the publisher. There’s a lot to know about this subject. Although I can’t cover everything here, I am going to go over some basics so that you aren’t going in cold…here goes… First of all, always
I am many things on a daily basis, like all of us here. At any given moment I’m wearing my hat as a mother, teacher, writer, business woman, friend, wife, public servant, what have you. It’s exhausting, of course, but then life should be for the most part. What’s the point of waking up in the morning and not using the day to its fullest
I just got finished laying engineering hardwood in the foyer and living room and there’s only one room left –my office/dining room/library. The front room of my house is having an identity crisis and frankly, it’s stressing me out. As a mom who works at home part of the time, I need to have my office in the middle of the madness. This means I
Hello hello! How about some good news? Today, instead of telling you ten thousand things you need to make sure that you are doing, or emphasizing how difficult it is to break into writing for print, I’m simply going to encourage you. That’s right. Today is a pep talk! I was not a good writer when I began. Seriously. I was pretty average, used cliches,
This post is based on a comment I recently left on Lori Widmer’s “If it Didn’t Work with Huffington….” Writing for ad revenue is usually a bad idea for writers. Some of the big networks have been doing it for years, and the problems have been clear for a long time now. It’s easy to justify it though. I’ve been there myself. I’ve crunched numbers
Virginia C. McGuire shared a link on Twitter to a local story that caught my attention. It related to legislation that would require small business owners to offer seven paid sick days to their employees. And one Philadelphia diner owner spoke out against it. The problem? He spouts suppositions as facts and admits that while he gives paid sick leave to his real estate employees
I’ve had an insane lifestyle long enough to recognize how insane it is and to simply anticipate periods of time when I feel like punching walls and throwing up my (then bruised) hands in despair. Fortunately with great responsibility comes great wisdom as well as great amounts of stress for good measure. I often use my great wisdom to find ways to reduce my great
I’ve touched on this a little bit in the past, but it’s such an important subject that it deserves a post all by itself. When it comes to writing for print, understanding your editor is a key piece of the puzzle. Editors for print are different than those that work on the web. There are different demands and priorities. While some things are universal (example:
A few days ago a colleague shared a story about a recent experience with a nonprofit organization. Here’s the gist of what happened: The client hired the freelance writer for a previous project at the writer’s professional rates. The client had need for a professional writer again. The writer sent a proposal (which the client asked for). The client contacted the writer saying they could
At the end of this month I’ll take a vacation of sorts — a working vacation. It’s a chance to get ahead on some projects and get caught up on others, all while minimizing distractions of the ordinary day-to-day work schedule. For me it’s about a problem with project overload. I try to keep busy at all times (working hours at least), but right now
While I love most things about having two jobs, the time I dislike being a double-time working mom most is at bedtime. Throughout the day I push, push, push to get everything done. And now that the day is winding down I want more than anything to just relax and enjoy myself. Unfortunately I can’t sit down and finish up a quick job just yet
Over the past five years I have worked with 100+ editors. Some work for large national publications, and others “wear many hats” for smaller operations. While every relationship is unique, one thing always remains the same: these are great connections to have. Time and time again I land new gigs based on a referral given by an editor in my network. Sometimes they pass contact
If you’re used to sending your kids away to school and working, you’re in for a rough ride – summer is almost here! Of course, those mothers who are insane like I am don’t have to worry too much about this. In fact, the summer months are the most relaxing months for my career, simply because I’m on summer vacation as well. My mornings won’t
This is going to be a different kind of post. Call it a sharing post. I’m going to talk a bit about what my expectations were when I got into the magazine industry–and also about the reality. I was pretty surprised at how different those two things are, and I’m going to throw my experience out there for you–just in case I can help clarify
When we think about marketing our freelance writing services, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of finding new clients. But what about former clients? Sometimes they get lost in the mix, or are downright forgotten. Do you remember to approach them about potential new writing gigs? Here are a few things you can do to bring old clients back: 1. Reach out.
I’m doing something crazy today. I’m working on this post while my children are awake. It’s crazy – I know. I’m used to working in the still of the morning now around 4 am, but yesterday about 2 o’clock my body decided that it was done carrying me through my crazy schedule and decided to develop a sore throat and general yuckiness. As I finished
If you’re not up to date on the latest parenting drama, the big buzz word is the new Tiger Mom book and following. I’ll admit I’m intrigued, especially since I grew up with the products of these highly regulated Asian mothers who went on to Harvard and other prestigious universities before becoming doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs. But then, I’m always intrigued by parenting philosophies and
When I first began writing for magazines I had so many questions. I read forums, bought books and scoured every piece of information on the web looking for answers to some of these–and found nothing. So today–I am going to share a few of the things I learned early on so that if you happen to be wondering, you can find the answers on the
My mom doesn’t believe Michael Jackson is dead. At least twice a week she mentions that the King of Pop has been seen in the mall in Ohio or there are signs that he took a flight to Peru with Tupac and Elvis. My mother’s not crazy or old enough to be going senile. She just really, really liked Michael and was one of his
I dragged my feet for years regarding phone technology. Before I had kids, I didn’t really want to be reached by phone every second. I liked coming home to messages and not being bothered during the day. Now, six years later, I have a smart phone (iPhone to be exact, although not the latest model), attached to me at all times. It’s like my lifeline
When it comes up in conversation about my schedule, as it usually does, that I get up at 4 in the morning and jump right into writing until 6, I usually get the same response – Wow, that sucks! And it does, kind of. It’s not fun getting up at 4 in the morning. But it is fun getting things done efficiently and it only
It’s mid-March. And that means we’re nearly through with the first quarter of 2011 already. How are your goals and resolutions for the year shaping up? Is your freelance writing business growing? Do you need to pick up the pace a bit? So far I’m reasonably happy with my progress for the year. I’ve: finished outlining the first book in my novel series; gotten my
I made the mistake on Twitter yesterday of searching for “freelance writing” to see what people in the community were talking about. Wow. Just wow. I can’t remember the last time I saw so much spam and so many crap freelance writing jobs in one place. So it got me thinking about finding jobs on Twitter — more specifically finding good freelance writing jobs while
Do you ever get low-balled offers for your freelance writing services? Does it piss you off when you see countless other content producers offering to write for a penny per word while you try to make ends meet by charging professional rates? Do you feel like others are holding you back? They’re not. You are. Remember, no one owes you a living as a freelance
Catchy title, eh? Everybody likes to get paid a little extra for their work—and writers are no exception. When you write for magazines, you will sometimes have the opportunity to hold out for a bit of extra cash. Here are some of the top ways to earn more from a print article: Reprints/Royalties I wrote for a magazine that wanted to publish my article again,
I’ve been working nights for years. This wouldn’t be a big deal if I wasn’t already working days and mornings, too. I’ve mentioned a few (dozen) times already, but I have the two kiddos to get up and out of the house every morning, while I get up and out of the house as well to head to the school where I teach at-risk teenagers.
Do you ever feel flustered under the pressure of your freelance work? Do you have a client who sometimes drives you crazy? Do you fear losing a gig because you don’t know where the next one will come from? Do you constantly worry about money because you aren’t earning as much as you’d like? First: take a step back. Next: breathe. Freelancing, or running any
I had every intention of writing you a nice, long sales page full of random lies and musings. I was hoping that I could create a really cool, (imaginary) expert name for myself like Dr. Rebecca Frankenfurter, M.D. so that I would have instant credibility through my fake letter when I went to sell you some aspirin in a pretty bottle I colored with my