Sometimes, when you sit down to write something (especially if it’s long-form), getting started can feel incredibly overwhelming. Over the past nine years of doing this type of project week after week, here’s what I’ve come up with that makes getting started (and finished!) a far less daunting task.
Read moreDoes Your Writing Take a Stance?
There’s a lot of writing out there in the world, but the stuff that stands out in our modern, noisy world seems to follow one approach: It takes a stance. It puts a stake in the ground and says, “This is what I think and believe to be true. Here’s why.”
Here's how you can do the same.
Read more35 lessons from 9+ years of full-time freelancing
Sharing a few lessons learned from my seven years as a full-time freelance writer. These insights are useful to anyone running a business. I wish I would've known these things...well...seven years ago.
I’ve also added in relevant podcast episodes where there’s more detail on these specific points.
Read morePricing How-to for Freelance Writers
Everyone loves to tell freelance writers to charge more.
But "charge more” is a little...vague.
What does more mean? What are other freelance writers charging? What can you expect to earn when you go full-time? How can you make sure you don't get stuck under-charging and working with the most stressful clients?
Today, I want to share a bit about how I answered these questions (and how you can, too.)
Read moreIntroducing: The Freelance Writing Coach Podcast
In each 25-minute episode of this new podcast, we take a deep dive on various topics and provide actionable advice (plus firsthand insights) gleaned from our combined 10+ years of full-time freelancing.
Our hope is that this will be your new go-to podcast for building a freelance writing business.
Read moreHow are Freelance Writers Faring During COVID?
I’ve had some questions on how my freelance business is doing during COVID, so I’m here today to shed some light on my personal experience and to spotlight the freelancing industry as a whole during 2020 and beyond.
Read more5 Templates Every Freelance Writer Needs
Once I started adding templates to my email writing and proposal-making process, my hamster wheel of a freelance writing career transformed into a real-deal business. I saw my proposal acceptance rate jump from 50% to 80% and my income grow by 284%.
Here are the templates that every freelance writer needs to start booking better, higher-paying clients (and more of them.)
Read moreLive Sessions + Teaching Writing Lessons via Crowdcast
Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with teaching writing lessons in a live format via Crowdcast. So far I’ve done four live (paid) sessions that average about 10-15 people each as well as one free Q&A session (which had almost 100 attendees.)
Read moreHow Does Freelance Writing Work?
Remember that feeling you had as a teenager the first time you slid behind the steering wheel of your parents’ car?
You get in, fire it up, and grab the wheel with a white-knuckle-death-grip as you jerk your way around an empty high school parking lot.
Read moreHow to Become a Freelance Writer
If you’re researching jobs that let you escape the office and be your own boss, being a freelance writer probably tops most lists you’ll find online.
You can work wherever you want (as long as you have an internet connection), whenever you want (please sleep from time to time), and for whoever you want (assuming they want to work with you, too).
But what does a freelance writer do, exactly? And how do you become one?
Read moreWays to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
When you’re just starting out as a freelance writer, it’s tempting to use job boards like Upwork to try and find work. I have two words of advice: DO NOT. Before you burn yourself out vying for low-paying gigs and shady clients with thousands of other freelancers, take a breath.
Ask yourself: if you were your dream client, who would you rather hire:
A person who you know nothing about beyond a form they completed on a freelancer marketplace?
Or a trusted member of your professional community?
What does a freelance writer do?
Why You Need to Rhyme
Hope you're doing okay right now. If you're like me, maybe you too are having trouble sleeping and feel like your anxiety is at an all-time high with everything that's going on. You're not alone in that.
That said, I've been working to keep the worries at bay. Which brings us to today's topic.
Shakespeare.
Sylvia Plath.
Notorious B.I.G.
Bob Dylan.
What do they all have in common?
How to Write Descriptively
Let's talk about writing descriptively today.
I've got three examples we're going to dive into from really varied sources: Ernest Hemingway, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, and Sylvia Plath.
How to Wrap Up The Year for Your Freelance Writing Business
I wanted to share a few of the activities I’m doing this week to wrap things up. Maybe these will be good reminders, or maybe they’ll be inspiration for a few new things to try out. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer, a business owner, or work at a company--all of these things are versatile enough to be relevant.
So, let’s dive in...
Why I Specialize as a Freelance Writer
Should you be a generalist or a specialist?
I personally started out as a generalist. I was a freelance writer who’d basically do any job that came my way that first year...because MONEY.
But you know what? That was a tough year.
Best Tips for Getting Ahead in Your Freelance Writing Career
Earlier this week, I spoke to a class of high school seniors in an entrepreneurship program. I was there to talk about my career path, freelancing, and lessons learned along the way.
I got into how connections, networking, and relationship-building got me from an e-commerce store launched on a whim in college to a full-time freelance career.
Reflecting on Six Years of Full-Time Freelance Writing
Back with another personal update this week.
No writing lesson, but if you missed last week’s post on how to vary your writing voice, that’d be a great one to check out.
So what’s new around here?
How Writing Makes You Smarter
You have unique, interesting thoughts and ideas that pop into that head of yours...probably on a regular basis.
Maybe it was from a conversation you overheard, or a show you watched, or an experience you had.
From this, you muse upon an idea...but maybe you stop there.
A Little Life Update: Summer 2019
I almost phoned in this post.
I thought about doing a roundup of old lessons I'd taught on writing.
I considered just skipping it all together.
But then I decided to just be honest and say, "I don't feel like writing about writing this week." I just didn't. You have those weeks, you know?
Instead, I'm gunna share a little life update and peel back the curtain a bit on what I've been doing lately. So we can catch up like the old friends we are.