New Year Goals vs Focus – All Freelance Writing in 2024

In the more than 17 years All Freelance Writing has been around, I’ve often shared my New Year’s resolutions, goals, and plans with you. Some years are successes. Some years go far off-track. And most are a mixed bag. But this year, I’m doing something a little bit different: exploring goals vs focus areas. This is something I’ll talk more about over on my broader

Ethical AI: Legal & Ethical Considerations for Writers & Publishers

Will they, or won’t they? That’s the question many writers and publishers face right now—whether or not they’re willing to publish AI content or use AI tools in their businesses. They have legal and ethical AI concerns. And that’s fair. Are there ways to engage in ethical AI use in your freelance writing business? Absolutely. But to do that, you first have to be aware

AI Content and the Future of Freelance Writing

If you’ve followed developments around freelance writing, blogging, SEO, or technology in general in recent months, you’re aware of “generative AI.” In particular, you’ve heard about—and might have tried—an AI content tool called ChatGPT. And if you’re like many of our fellow freelance writers, you might have some concerns. Namely, is ChatGPT a threat to your freelance writing business? We’ll get to that. But first,

How the PRO Act Could Hurt Freelance Writers (& What You Can do About It)

  March 10, 2021 – UPDATE: The PRO Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will make its way to the Senate. The act previously failed in the Senate, and this is the most likely time we could see amendments to remove the freelance-career-killing ABC test. Remember, this is the first step in codifying the ABC test in federal law. The Biden administration has

The Issue of “Ethics Creep” in the Writing Community

I recently caught up with fellow freelance writer and author of The Well-Fed Writer, Peter Bowerman. One topic that came up in our conversation was professional ethics and some of the problematic behavior we’ve seen in the writing community in recent years. Or, as Peter put it, we discussed the issue of “ethics creep.” What I’d like to do today is explain what this means.

Common Flaws with Freelance Industry Surveys

It’s that time of year again. No doubt, if you haven’t already, you’ll start to see freelance industry surveys. They might summarize 2020, or they might offer trend predictions for 2021. Industry surveys can be fun to review, but be careful about using them to make serious business decisions. Let’s look at why industry surveys can be interesting. Then we’ll go into some common flaws

Introducing Freelance Writing Pros

Over the past 13 years, All Freelance Writing has published over 3000 posts. There are still about 1500 in the archives after post merges, purges, and some being split off onto other sites. But it’s still a lot of content and doesn’t even include things like the podcast and numerous tools and downloadable resources. The vast majority of that content was written with beginner freelance writers in

Updates & Improvements to the Job Board, Writer Directory, and More

In my last update here I let you know that the All Freelance Writing blog would no longer be updated regularly but that the site as a whole would continue to serve as a resource through more frequent updates to the freelance writing job board and writers’ market database, as well as the freelance writer directory. And I’ll also be updating older content in the

Podcast: Risks of False Authority and Becoming an Insta-Expert (with Philippa Willitts)

In the latest All Freelance Writing Podcast, I’m joined by UK freelance journalist, Philippa Willitts. Philippa and I discuss “insta-experts” and the dangers of building a false sense of authority instead of legitimate expertise in your writing niche or industry. This is a follow-up to my previous post and podcast episode, An Open Letter on Trust, “Experts,” and Blogging. (Be forewarned, the older post contains quite

Podcast: Writing Confidence & Dealing with Rejection (with Dann Alexander)

In the latest All Freelance Writing Podcast, I’m joined by fellow freelance writer and indie author, Dann Alexander. Dann and I pick up where Princess and I left off in Episode 19 on fear and confidence issues to discuss rejection and its impact on a writer’s confidence. Dann brings a unique perspective in that he has a very optimistic outlook on rejection as a writer, while being someone

Podcast: Round Table Chat on the Changing Freelance Writing Industry

The All Freelance Writing Podcast returns today with a very special episode. This is the first group episode of the show. I’m joined by my “go-to gals” — Yolander Prinzel, Cathy Miller, and Lori Widmer — for a round table style discussion about the changing freelance writing industry and what they’ve learned as veterans in their field. The ladies weigh in on several things including:

All Freelance Writing is 10 Years Old. Help Me Celebrate All November.

Can you believe it? All Freelance Writing is 10 years old this month. Since November of 2006, I’ve been helping new writers build successful writing careers through better business and marketing practices. You may have noticed a lack of updates here recently. That’s because I’ve been busy working on some new things on the back-end. So think of today as a sort of re-launch. A

Risks and Rewards When Writers Share Personal Stories Online

  In the most recent All Freelance Writing Podcast, Princess Jones stopped by again. This time we chatted about writers sharing personal information and stories online (or in books in some cases). Are there any benefits to opening up to your readers? What are the risks? And when does being open turn into oversharing? These are some of the questions Princess and I answered in Episode

Ask Us Anything: Taking Questions for Next Week’s Podcast

This weekend Princess Jones and I will finish recording a podcast episode on writers sharing personal information on blogs, in books, and in social media. And we need your input! The episode will go into the benefits of opening up (such as building community), the risks (such as safety concerns), and then we’re answering a series of questions from readers and listeners. We thought this

Catch Up on Recent Writing Podcast Episodes

In the past, I’ve published blog posts to announce each podcast episode. But I haven’t done that lately. So today I’d like to go back and introduce you to some of the episodes you may have missed if you don’t subscribe to the podcast itself. You can learn more about, or listen to, the six most recent episodes below: Ep. 23: Creative Teams for Professional

Pen Names and Gender Anonymity (Podcast)

This week on the All Freelance Writing Podcast, I tackle a question from Jeremy Tarrier. He was curious about how a writer might protect gender anonymity when writing under a pen name (or if it’s really even a problem). Listen now. This was an interesting topic for me because I actually have the opposite problem: I write under an ambiguous pen name that could easily

Should You Critique a Friend’s Writing? (Podcast)

  This week’s podcast episode is now up. If you aren’t subscribed yet, you can listen from the show notes page (or directly via SoundCloud).   Listen now.   This week’s episode features guest co-host, Yolander Prinzel (find her on Twitter). Yolander and I chat about serving as a critique partner, beta reader, or editor for friends and other writers you know well. Is it a good

Personal Branding for Freelance Writers: Social Media Dos and Don’ts (Podcast)

Last week’s podcast is now up. If you aren’t subscribed yet, you can listen from the show notes page (or directly via SoundCloud). In this episode I pick up on my conversation with Dann Alexander, having answered another of his questions in Episode 18. This time Dann wanted some social media dos and don’ts when it comes to building your personal brand as a freelance

Fear, Confidence, Lying, and Using What You’ve Got (Podcast)

Princess Jones is back at it again, co-hosting the All Freelance Writing Podcast. OK. She pretty much ran the show. But that’s why we had so much fun with this one. We chatted about fear and confidence issues writers often deal with. Listen now. (Extended cut) *Note: This episode contains explicit language. Also, if you prefer the shorter version you can find it at the bottom

Find Writing Motivation by Going Back to Basics [Podcast]

I’m a bit late in sharing this, but last week’s podcast episode on writing motivation is now up. This one is the first solo episode after the re-launch. Dann Alexander (DannAlexander.com) and I were chatting on Twitter about show ideas. He suggested going back to basics as a way of staying motivated to write. He specifically brought up the idea of writing by hand rather than typing.

Why Freelance Pros Should Care About Media Outlets Not Paying Writers [Podcast]

The All Freelance Writing Podcast officially re-launched yesterday with Episode 17. Lori Widmer stopped by the show again to serve as my guest co-host, so a big “thank you” to Lori. Some of the things we touch on in this episode include: The Huffington Post, and Stephen Hull’s stance that he’s “proud” to not pay their bloggers; Why freelance professionals should care about (and keep

Get a Sneak Peek Before the Writing Podcast Re-launch

The All Freelance Writing Podcast has been on a break for several months while I sorted out some technical issues and figured out the direction I wanted to take the show. I’m happy to announce the podcast is re-launching later this week. Today I’d like to give you some background on the upcoming changes. Plus, I’ll share a couple of sneak peek clips from one

Updates on the All Freelance Writing Podcast

Update: I’ve decided to hold off on the podcast’s relaunch until early in the New Year so it wouldn’t go through a start-stop phase right away due to my already-scheduled vacation time in November and December. It will return in January.   If you were a regular listener of the All Freelance Writing podcast, you’ve probably noticed that the show has been on hiatus for a

The All Freelance Writing Podcast Q&A Special

Apologies for the delay in this episode of the All Freelance Writing Podcast. I ran into some recording difficulties last week. But that will not affect the schedule for our next episode, which will go out Friday of next week. This week’s episode is a Q&A special — the first general writers’ Q&A special, although I’ve done one specific to bloggers in the past. I

Writers’ Worth Month: Content Mill Conversation with Lori Widmer

Earlier this year, Lori Widmer stopped by the All Freelance Writing Podcast to guest co-host an episode on everyday marketing for freelance writers. Our chat ran long, so some segments had to be cut. That included a ten-minute segment about writing for content mills. We also touched on a simple tactic for finding better gigs and leaving mills behind — something Lori calls “stealth marketing.”

Selling E-books on Your Author Website [Podcast with Princess Jones]

In this week’s podcast I’m joined by Princess Jones (with whom I had a previous and entertaining conversation about crazy authors attacking book reviewers). In this episode we discuss some of the issues around selling your e-books (and physical books) directly through your own website. View the show notes or listen now.

Ad-Supported Content as a Blog Business Model [Podcast]

In this week’s podcast I expand upon the topic of blog revenue, which I covered in a January episode. While I touch on a variety of business model options for bloggers, the episode pays particular attention to turning your blog into a direct business model in its own right through ad-supported content and premium features. Then, I tackle a community question about querying magazines and

What do You Want From a Scrivener Mystery Novel Template?

I’ve been working this week on the next Scrivener template in my writers’ resource collection — a mystery novel template. While it won’t be ready for release this week, I want to give you a chance to weigh in. Tell me what you want from a template. What would help you write your next mystery novel? When I was moving the first draft of a mystery novel

Writing Goals: 2015 First Quarter Check-In

Setting goals, tracking your progress, and adapting when necessary are all important parts of running a business. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a freelance writer, an author trying to sell books, or a blogger trying to make money from your blogs. Goals are vital to your success. Now that we’re in April, it’s a good time to check in on any goals you might

Branding Tips for Writers (Podcast)

The latest episode of the writing podcast is up. This episode is all about branding for writers. It covers: Basic branding tips for writers Copyright concerns over sharing excerpts to your book to generate reader interest A tool to help you come up with better, brandable domain names for your professional website or blog View the show notes or listen below.