How to Develop Your Own Writing Voice

I have a thing for writers with a very signature writing voice.

You know what I’m talking about. There are certain writers that you can hear in your head as you read. It’s as if they were right in front of you, telling a story or entertaining a small crowd.

There’s definitely an element of showmanship to stylized writing: It performs for the reader/listener. It pauses. It has asides with the audience. It builds anticipation and delivers solid punchlines.

How can you develop your own writing voice?

Part of it comes with practice and developing your writing style/voice over time. But some if it happens as a result of leveraging smart shortcuts in your writing. Let’s look at what they are and how you can use them.

1. The colon

Colons are great for two key things: Emphasis and reinforcement.

If you’re introducing a quote, you can use a colon instead of a comma to emphasize the message inside the quotes.

Example: My mom always told me: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

You can also use colons to restate or clarify an independent clause (just be sure to capitalize the first letter after the colon as if they’re separate sentences.)

Example: I failed the test because of one thing: I hadn’t done a minute of studying.

2. The em dash

This one’s my personal favorite. An em dash is the punctuation to use when you’re interrupting yourself with an interjection or something you want to draw further attention to. I think of these as an aside with the reader and a simple way to make your writing sound more like your natural speaking voice.

Example: I like to go on vacation — I mean, who doesn’t, really — but I have a hard time giving myself permission to take one.

3. The semicolon

This one’s a bit more tricky, but here’s the best explanation I have for when to use them: Semicolons can be used to link together two related independent clauses. They can also go before a word like additionally, otherwise, however, etc. to link two similar sentences together.

Example: I love reading her books; she’s my favorite expert on psychology.

4. Text formatting

I’m a big fan of putting text types to work in my writing. Here’s what to remember as you leverage your formatting options:

Bold = emphasis, importance
Italic = punchlines, words you want the reader to slow down on or reinforce
Underlining = importance, drama
Alternating uppercase and lowercase letters = The SpOnGeBoB meme (aka I am frustrated and saying this with major emphasis!)

5. Onomatopoeias

That $10 word for words that are sounds. These would be words like ‘Shhh!’ or ‘Whoosh!’ that add an interesting sensory element to your writing (also a great tool for building mental imagery.)

Want more how-to lessons like this one? Check out my book Write Better Right Now (that comes with a workbook section!)

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 for my freelance writing business in 2019. Maybe these will be good reminders, or maybe they’ll be inspiration for a few new things to try out.

So, let’s dive in.

1. Check in with your freelance writing clients.

Reach out to the clients/contacts you haven’t spoken to/worked with in the past 3-6 months. Send a short email and ask what they’re up to, if they have any holiday plans, and if there’s anything you can help them with in 2020. It’s a really natural time to pop into these folks’ inboxes with a friendly hello and “don’t forget about me!” message.

2. Send some handwritten cards.

Maybe it’s the Midwesterner in me, but I believe in the power of a handwritten note, even if it’s just a quick thank you. I’m taking time this week to send out personalized thank yous to the clients I’ve worked with most in the past year, sources who’ve offered great insights for my pieces, and referrers who send me gigs. (Note: These are not holiday cards. I don’t make assumptions about what people celebrate, and instead opt for a thank you over holiday greetings.) I also like to send treatos to my internet friends’ dogs. Is that weird? Hope not.

3. Make a list of what was accomplished.

I always do a Year in Review post (you can read 2018’s here), but the first step of drafting those is to sit down and make a list of all the things I accomplished within my business that make me proud. Without a boss to give a performance review, this is my chance to evaluate personal progress and helps me give myself credit for the hard work I put in. It’s easy to let these things slide by, so this deliberate activity is a form of gratitude and self-congratulations that I’m not always great at allowing myself.

4. Make plans for the year ahead.

I love plans. In fact, you could call me Leslie Knope, as I am also a yellow-haired female who loves jammin’ on her planner.

This is the time of year when I set a few goals I’d like to accomplish in the next three months (note: I’m not really into yearly goals--that’s too long of a window for me.) During the rest of the year I tend to go with the flow, but this is the one time I try to sit down and think strategically about what I want to accomplish right at the beginning of a new year.

A relevant listen:

5. Evaluate your current freelance writing rates.

Ask yourself: Have you expanded your skills or subject matter expertise over the past year? Won awards? Taken courses/upped your training for the services you offer? Have you produced impressive results for your freelance writing clients that prove you're pretty great at what you do? If so, it might be time to raise your rates with new clients--and the end the of year is a perfect time for this. As you think it over, also consider how you'll communicate the increased value you deliver that warrants those higher fees.

6. Do nice stuff.

This year especially, I’ve felt like there’s a real need for extra kindness, so I’ve been trying to step up my game in this department. Whether it’s helping a friend with social media advice, making cookies for the library’s holiday party and dressing up as Princess Elsa for the kids, leaving snacks/drinks out for the delivery people, or just giving compliments more freely, these little things go a long way (I hope.)

7. Take a break.

I’ve decided to close all of my email inboxes December 21-January 1 so I can take a real breather from my freelance writing business. It seems like lately things have been extra busy (which, don’t get me wrong, is great; last December was a complete dud), but I know this period is going to be extra quiet anyway, so I’m putting up the old OOO message and just enjoying time with family. 

I’m also really looking forward to some non-work things: Going to see the new Little Women movie, taking a trip to St. Louis for my husband’s birthday, lots of baking, and eating all the good food.

I hope your end-of-year (and whatever you celebrate!) is wonderful. I think you’re pretty great. Keep up the good work, and as always, happy writing.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

2019 In Review

This year I celebrated six years of full-time freelance writing, and it was my most productive and interesting year of self-employment to date.

Client work picked up, Paul Jarvis and I partnered on the Creative Class course and podcast again (cracking 100K downloads!), and I still find myself excited when I sit down to work each day. I’m so grateful to have found a job I enjoy doing and am truly interested in…the novelty of that never wears off.

This year I also leaned into writing about direct-to-consumer retail and sustainable fashion, which started as an outlet for my interests but transformed into a whole new world of connections, opportunities, and friendships. Writing for publications like Forbes, Adweek, and Glossy opened doors to conversations I likely wouldn’t otherwise have had access to and gave me a place to share my expertise on eCommerce in a new way. Win-win.

What else happened in 2019?

The Domina Retreat for Female Freelancers

In April, my friend Emma Siemasko and I hosted our first ever retreat and brought together a small group of women at an Airbnb just outside of Austin, Texas. I wrote up a full recap of that if you want more details on what it was/how it went, but in short: I’m so proud! It was a wonderful time, and Emma was the perfect partner to do this with. Face time with these smart women was incredibly valuable for me.

More Freelance Writing Coaching

This year I continued my one-on-one freelance writing coaching work (year three!) and I loved having the opportunity to work with more international freelance writers, including a few living in India, the UK, Australia, and Japan. While the time zones made scheduling a little tricky, we always made it work! I also got to meet up in person with a few of my past coaching partners. I love that some of these business relationships have blossomed into real friendships over the years.

Freelance Writing Business Performance

My busiest months this year were January through April and October through December, which worked out well because it allowed me to enjoy the summer months and do some non-work travel during that time.

I brought on some incredible new freelance writing clients like Monday.com, Packlane, Freshworks, and ChurnBuster while continuing to work with some of my long-standing SaaS/eCommerce clients as well. Again, I am so grateful to have had some fellow freelance writers support me on different projects, which helped me stay sane. I didn’t surpass my freelance business revenue from last year, but I’m really happy with what I invoiced over the past 12 months.

A huge perk of living in the rural Midwest and working with clients in major metropolitan markets is that the low cost of living here means higher margins for me. The trade-off is that we’re not really close to much and travel takes longer. Pros and cons, just like everything in life.

Other highlights:

• Started teaching yoga. I’ve been going to classes for years now, but when a local studio opened up this spring I got the chance to start teaching a morning class of my own. I’m loving it!

• Joined the “Friends of the Library” Board in my hometown. So far I’ve gone to a 20-minute meeting and been asked to make cookies for children’s story time. Best Board gig ever? I think so.

Work Travel, Life Travel

2019 was full of travel again. I was in LA twice this year: Once for a fun trip with my husband and our brothers, and once to attend Yellow Conference. Both times I went to Rosie’s dog beach in Long Beach, which is pretty much my favorite place on earth.

In September, Brandon and I went to Colorado to participate in the Fjallraven Classic: A three-day, 25-mile trek through the Rocky Mountains. Despite some training beforehand, it totally kicked our flatland Midwestern asses. Carrying our 30+ pound packs, we ended up walking for 8-9 hours each day (because, well, we were slow.) It was both physically and mentally challenging, but I mean…look at those views. You can’t really complain when you’re looking at these gorgeous landscapes.

The entire trek was so beautiful, and the people we met during the event were the best, cheering us on the whole way. The community this event brings together is incredible and everyone was so kind. I never thought we’d climb a mountain, but it was an amazing experience and I’m glad we did it. A Snickers bar at the summit of the highest peak never tasted so good.

Seattle was one of my most favorite places we visited this year for the first time. Brandon and I spent a few days exploring the city, hiking, eating all the food, and even took the ferry over to sleepy Bainbridge Island. There were so many dogs, the people were great, and we found this city to have a very ‘livable’ feeling to it. My big highlight was having pastries at a little coffee shop on a rainy/foggy day. So relaxing.

We took Brooks north to Racine, Wisconsin not once but TWICE this year on his own little adventures where he got to splash around in Lake Michigan, stay in a hotel, and go to the fancy dog park in the Chicago suburbs on the way back. Clearly he had a very good time.

Other travel highlights:

• St. Louis: This is the closest city to us, so we visit it often. In 2019 we had amazing stays at both the Angad Arts Hotel and the newly remodeled Union Station. If you’re in the area, I can’t recommend these hotels enough. Very cool.

• Fermilab: I toured the particle accelerator at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois (and the nerd in me loved it.)

• Boston: Brandon took another executive education course this April, this time at MIT. I tagged along and worked remotely from Boston, and we both loved how walkable the city was. Also went to my first baseball game at Fenway Park!

• Chicago: I took a couple of trips to Chicago this year both for work and pleasure. I loved getting to check out the Wicker Park neighborhood while I was in town for a 2PM Executive Members dinner and again just about a month ago while we were in town for a sustainable holiday market. This Airbnb and The Robey were both *so* lovely!

Favorite reads

As usual, I put my library card to good use this year. My top five reads were:

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan: Interesting look at psychedelics, the stigma associated with them, and new research that indicates they can be beneficial in new contexts.

The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan: I loved Cahalan’s first book Brain on Fire, and after my husband and I saw her speak about her newest book in St. Louis, I was hooked. Quick read with a fascinating look at mental healthcare over the years and one very unique study.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: A fun, easy read with strong characters who are rock star band mates. I can’t wait to see this made into a TV show.

Bitter Brew by William Knoedelseder: If you liked the show Succession, you’ll like this book. It’s the true story of the family behind Anheuser-Busch beer...and it’s a roller coaster.

Lost and Wanted by Nell Freudenberger: This was an oddball fiction choice for me that I just happened to pluck off the shelf at the library. I loved it: Thoughtful and extremely well-written.

Goals for the Year Ahead

A theme for me in 2020 is stepping out of my comfort zone as a freelance writer.

For a long time, I’ve held a very anti-conference/speaking stance because 1) traveling to speak isn’t often a lucrative activity and 2) it takes a lot of time and energy. Public speaking still gives me the nervous sweats, but this year, I want to challenge this point of view.

I’d like to dip my toes in the water by participating in more panels and maybe even doing more speaking/moderation, especially on topics about retail, eCommerce, direct-to-consumer brands, and sustainable fashion.

If that doesn’t pan out, I’m at least going to make an effort to be present at more gatherings where my internet friends/peers are meeting up in person, because I’m finding that those face-to-face meetups are some of my most favorite/impactful experiences for my business.

Did you do a post like this—or do you have an accomplishment from 2019 you’re really proud of? I wanna hear about it. Tweet me @kaleighf.

This originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get future editions delivered to your inbox.

Why I Specialize as a Freelance Writer

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.

It was exhausting learning about tons of new industries and the ins and outs of different styles of writing (like blog posts vs. website copy vs. eBooks, for example.)

So a year into freelancing, my husband nudged me to take Paul Jarvis’s Creative Class course. And I did it.

During the course, I again heard this same message I'd heard time and time again: Pick a niche; be seen as a professional.

But I kept thinking, “What about the money I’ll miss out on by saying no to gigs?”

I wanted that money. But it turns out that wasn’t a problem.

The more I specialized as a freelance writer, the more I got hired.

I like to think of it this way: If you were hiring someone to paint a mural on the side of your building, would you want to hire someone who positioned themselves as a more general ‘artist’, or someone who specializes in painting large-scale murals?

Um...it’s the latter.

While the artist can probably get the job done, the mural specialist is likely going to have a process in place for each step of the execution process, can give an accurate forecast around how long the project will take, and is familiar/comfortable with the tools needed to execute this type of project.

The same is true for freelancing.

Would clients be more likely to hire a generalist that labels him or herself as a freelance writer (with no specialization around a specific industry, type of writing, etc.) or a highly knowledgeable subject matter expert who does one type of writing for companies similar to their own?

Again, it’s the latter.

Sure, generalists have their places. And I am all for the pursuit of well-rounded knowledge and expertise.

But when you’re trying to get hired, it makes a lot of sense to have a specific area of focus--both for you and for the client.

Other reasons freelance writers should specialize

• You’re pulling from an existing knowledge base rather than learning from scratch every time you start a new project.

• You build up a network of contacts within your niche that you can leverage for quotes, insights, and expertise you tie into your projects.

• Referrals come easier, because you’re constantly working with like-minded people who understand what you do as a freelance writer (and know a bit about your track record.)

  If you just want more of my insight on this topic, listen to this edition of the Everyone Hates Marketers podcast I recently did with Louis Grenier of Hotjar.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

In-Depth Writing Lessons on Empathy, Scarcity, and Conversion-Driving

I feel like it’s been a bit since I’ve given you a really valuable, tactical, science-backed writing lesson.

So today, I want you to pick your own adventure.

Below, you'll find my three best, most in-depth posts on writing.

Choose the one that best lines up with whatever you need help with this week (or could use a little refresher on.) Here are your options:

1. Writing with empathy and activating readers’ emotional brains

This post takes a look at the science of mirror neurons and explains why people buy based on emotion. It also gets into how you can leverage those emotions with the right approach. I love this post because it’s filled with contextual examples and is great for anyone getting ready to create holiday-focused or year-end campaigns. Read this one here.

2. Writing to leverage scarcity

This is another deep dive I put together on the psychology of scarcity mindset and how it can be used (specifically in the ecommerce environment) to drive sales. I feel like the general idea of promoting scarcity is conversion optimization 101, but this gives a lot of practical ways you can use it in various ways to make it ultra-effective. Read it here.

3. Psychology-based copywriting tactics that drive sales

This is the more general post for anyone who just wants a crash course on copywriting tactics that drive action. It’s the more versatile option that’s going to be a good read for almost anyone. Plus, there are lots of funny examples included (and memes!) that will make you lol. Win-win. Read that one here.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

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 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 writing career.

But I think the most important thing I shared was on my last slide. You know...the major takeaways.

So what were they?

Never stop learning; always be curious.

Loving to learn and a curious mind has helped me become a better researcher, writer, and overall better communicator. If you can dedicate yourself to always taking in new information (and learning from it) you’ll have a leg up over a good majority of folks who are content with flying on autopilot mode into adulthood.

Find people who are doing what you want to do and ask them questions.

If you can find someone who’s willing to take you under his or her wing and can share insight on how they got to where they are, you’ve discovered a brilliant shortcut when it comes to getting from where you are to where you want to be. Not only can they help you avoid some of the mistakes they made, but they might even be willing to take you on as an apprentice--which can be an incredible hands-on way to learn.

Make friends, be nice to people.

I got into working with software companies because I connected with an editor (Emma Siemasko!) over Twitter. She commented on liking a piece from my e-commerce store, and so I offered to send her one for free. That back-and-forth then moved to email, and she eventually ended up hiring me as a freelance writer. The connections grew from that one conversation. To me, this is a major testament to making friends (and generally being a nice person!)

Raise your hand and say so when you have a good idea.

It’s easy to sit in the shadows and never speak up. It’s much harder to say, “Hey, I have an idea on how we can do X, and I can help by doing A, B, and C.” However, if you do it and go out on a limb by speaking up, it can lead to major opportunities. For me, it’s how I ended up co-teaching the Creative Class, a course for freelancers, with Paul Jarvis. I say swallow your fears and say so when you can bring something valuable to the table. The worst that can happen is the other person will say no.

Be honest with yourself about what you’re good at (and what you’re not.)

I always used to beat myself up that I wasn’t a math person. It made me feel stupid and I was frustrated that my brain didn’t work that way. But then I realized when it came to words--that was my forte. And it was okay that I wasn’t a math person. Being honest with myself about where I excelled and where I didn’t simplified my life and business by allowing me to outsource things I’m not good at--and it helped me find a career I truly enjoy, too.

Eight hours a day is a long time to spend doing one thing;try to find something you enjoy.

I wish someone would’ve told me this when I was in college. When you’re spending 40 hours a week doing something, you better like it--because that’s where a good chunk of your adult life will be spent. That doesn’t mean you have to go out and find your *dream job.* But it does mean that the path you choose should be rooted in something you enjoy and can fully lean into.

Make stuff even when you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing.

I’m a do-er. I don’t think too much about details and process when it comes to creating--I just go, full steam ahead. This maker mentality is how I launched my first business, helped me get my first freelance gigs, and ultimately led to the incredible career I have now. Making/launching things is scary and hard, but I say just GO and perfect it along the way. Don’t get stuck in the planning stage. Make, tweak, repeat.

These reminders aren't just good for high schoolers; they're good axioms for anyone. They're especially helpful if you're looking to change gears and shift into a new career or life direction.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

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?

Well, in a few short months, I’ll be coming up on six whole years of full-time self employment. That’s really wild.

What’s it like freelance writing?

It feels like yesterday that I graduated college and started my PR job for a local non-profit.

I was there for two and a half years, so really, that means I’ve been working on my own twice as long as I’ve worked in an office setting.

Now, there are a lot of wonderful things about working alone and from home on a freelance basis. The perks are very real, and I’m so grateful for them.

Positives of Freelance Writing

I get to set my own schedule, which means it’s often as flexible as I want it to be.
I can get up and start my day whenever I want (or sleep in a bit if needed!)
I can work extremely efficiently with zero interruptions.
I wear sweatpants most days.
I can challenge myself to earn more because I’m not on a set salary.
I get to hang with my dog Brooks and take breaks to walk him when I feel like it.
I can cook tasty lunches in my kitchen (even though I don’t very often...I’m bad at this.)

But there are also some major drawbacks to this type of work life, too.

Negatives of Freelance Writing

There are no real co-workers to vent to on a rough day or to celebrate with when things go right.
Some days I go a full eight hours without talking to another human out loud.
Living and working in the same (small) square footage can get really monotonous.
With most of my work being digital, much of what I create feels intangible.
There’s stress that comes with the ebb and flow of work, which is mostly out of my control.
Sometimes not having a set salary opens the door to endless self-competition (which isn’t super healthy.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the pros and cons of this lifestyle I’ve been living lately as I talk to friends and fellow freelancers who are now entering different life stages.

Some are having their first kids. Some are moving. Some are buying their first homes. It feels like a period of transition for a lot of people around my age right now (those of us who are shifting out of the late 20s and into the early 30s) and it generates a weird feeling.

As of right now, my life is pretty stable. No big changes on the horizon. It’s business as usual.

But I find myself wondering, “Am I doing the right thing? Am I on the right path?”

Existentialism and Freelance Writing

This is all really more of an existential question rather than one rooted in unhappiness or malcontent, but it’s there nonetheless. And I’ve been wrestling with it for a while.

Maybe you’re in (or have been in) the same boat before. The water is choppy. I’m feeling a little seasick (to get reaaaal heavy on the metaphor.)

I’m working on figuring out what the answer looks like for me, but I feel like it’s time for something different. An added challenge or a new goal to strive for.

Until then, remember to be nice to yourself. And keep writing.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

How to Make Your Writing Less Boring

Do you ever feel like your writing voice is a little...droning?

As you read back something you've written, maybe you hear something reminiscent of Ben Stein’s nasally voice saying, “Bueller?...Bueller?”

Sometimes when we forget to vary our sentence structure, the end result feels a little stiff and boring. The flow just isn’t there.

As a result, reading what we’ve written feels like hopping from stone to stone rather than skiing seamlessly on the surface of the water.

So how do you fix that without taking a high school English class again and learning about sentence structure variation via prepositions, clauses, em dashes and the like?'

How to Fix Boring Writing

You could start by reading this from author Gary Provost:

Now, I could spend the rest of this post breaking down the technicalities behind syntax, but let’s be honest here: That would be, well, boring.

The example above, however, illustrates the concept in a really easy to understand way. And I’m always up for showing rather than telling.

Quick Ways to Make Your Writing More Interesting

Vary your sentence length.

If all your sentences are short, add a comma and join a few together into one longer sentence. If all your sentences are long, sprinkle in a few short ones. Words are art, and keystrokes are your paintbrushes. Don’t paint with just a few colors when you’ve got a full palette.

Stylize.

You can start sentences with ‘and’ or ‘because’ (even though your English teacher said not to!) If that’s part of your writing style, embrace it.

Reinforce important ideas with single word sentences.

Is there an important word at the end of the sentence you really want to stick with the reader? Reinforce it by stating it again as its own sentence (just as you would while speaking.)

Embrace the em dash.

When speaking, we all use pauses to communicate inflection, drama, etc. Em dashes (—) help you do that on the page. Use them when you want the reader to slow down or when you’re shifting ideas within a single sentence. I think of them as a mental hand on the arm of the reader that communicates, “Okay, but really listen to this part.”

Implementing a few of these small tweaks can do wonders for your writing voice and can get you out of the “drone zone.”

You don’t even have to know what a dependent clause is.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

Why You Should Let Your Writing Ideas Marinate

In the past couple weeks, I’ve written a bit about the why and how when it comes to transforming your ideas into words.

I’ve also encouraged you to take the plunge and dive in and just start writing.

But...what if your post idea isn’t quite ready yet?

What if you feel like you’re on the edge of something good...but you need to sit with it for a bit longer to get a good grasp on what you’re trying to communicate?

Making a Case For Letting Your Writing Ideas Marinate

It occurred to me the other day that sometimes, it’s good to let ideas marinate a little longer before you dive in.

(This is hard for me, because I am GO-GO-GO most of the time. A pre-crastinator, if anything. The concept of “marinating” is not one I accept easily. Maybe you can relate.)

However, my husband was recently telling me about a story on the Danish concept of niksen, which is intentionally doing nothing. You let your mind wander freely, without purpose.

The truth is: For me, that’s sometimes when I get my best, most well-formulated ideas.

This is especially true when it comes to creative storylines, but it sometimes even works when I’m wrestling with a technical topic that I can’t quite nail down.

Now, on the surface level, I know you get the gist of this concept.

However, I always like to share some specific ways you can be deliberate about doing this to take the theory and put it into practice.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to practice niksen:

Go for a walk. Better yet, go for a walk in a green area that you’re not used to walking in. Studies show that “forest bathing” is a great way to spur creativity when you’re feeling stuck or tired. It’s a sort of mental reset button.

Find your flow music and go for a drive. For me, I can put on Radiohead’s In Rainbows album and drive for hours, just thinking about things and letting ideas bounce off the walls of my mind. I sometimes even keep a single song on repeat because it puts me into a more creative mood, eventually phasing into the background as pretty noise. This is your “flow.” Find your soundtrack that does that for you and go for an aimless cruise.

Sit outside (preferably in a hammock or rocking chair.) I’m sure there’s some sort of when-you-were-a-baby psychology behind the fact that rocking or swaying is good for creative thinking, but man, it works. Especially at sunset, sitting and soaking up the outdoors without an agenda allows your mind some time to work in the background.

The big idea

The way your concept of niksen manifests itself might look different than these ideas--and that’s fine.

The big idea here, however, is to give yourself permission to let the idea sit until you feel like you’re in the right mental space to really dive in.

Now, this doesn’t mean putting off writing indefinitely. But it does mean you don’t have to go straight from idea to keyboard in the same day.

A good rule of thumb: Give it a week.

Talk about the idea with other people. Create some time for awake, deliberate nothingness when your brain can absorb things but not be overly taxed with a task.

When you come back to sit down and write, you’ll likely have a fresh take on what you want to say.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

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.

I say: Take those thoughts, ideas, perspectives, or opinions and WRITE THEM DOWN.

See, writing presents an interesting, neuron-pumping activity that truly challenges your brain to translate your rather shapeless ideas into logical, syntax-conforming sentences.

It’s mental gymnastics when you have to take a fuzzy concept and transform it into writing that reads as if you were explaining your idea to another person.

That, my friend, definitely makes you smarter.

Yes, it’s hard to do.

If you’re not used to writing, it might be a big challenge.

But writing (again, even if you never publish it or share it anywhere) is a great activity with benefits that translate far beyond the page:

It changes your vocabulary, as you have to find the right words that match up to your ideas.

It changes the way you speak, as it forces you to work on sentence structure, composition, and general idea communication...which informs the way you sound off the page as well.

It helps you understand yourself better, as you get to see your ideas translate from a vague concept inside your head to words and phrases on a page. It forces you to externalize your inner monologue.

It strengthens your logos. In Rhetoric, logos = logic. As you write down your ideas, you’ll fine-tune how to logically present ideas as you sort through translating your thoughts into words. If you think of an invisible reader as you write, you’ll be driven to write convincingly with logic-driven structure--and again, you’ll challenge yourself to make sense of things, rather than leaving ideas as gray, ambiguous concepts inside your head.

All of those things sound pretty great, right? I mean, I want to communicate better, sound smarter, and think more logically--who wouldn’t?

So here’s my challenge for you:

I want you to set aside 15 minutes once a week to open up a notebook (or Google Doc) and write about an idea you have.

Pick something you’re really interested in or passionate about, and then explain why.

There are no grades.
No comment section for people to say, “Yeah, BUT…”
This is your mental exercise.

So give it a whirl. Try it out. Maybe even make it a weekly thing.

I think you’ll be surprised by all you get from it.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

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.

Summer Travel

One of the interesting things my husband does as part of his job is teaches a class on entrepreneurship to high school students every morning. They learn how to launch and operate their own businesses plus lots of important soft skills. It's a great class I wish I'd had when I was in school.

If we get a small window of school being out, we jump on it. The first place we went was Seattle.

We both loved how friendly the people were, the gorgeous hiking just outside the city (we climbed a freakin' mountain!), and the food.

Plus, it just felt very...livable. Comfortable. We liked the blend of nature and natural beauty with the tech environment in the city. And there were SO MANY DOGS! Which, of course, made me love it even more. We were both pretty charmed.

Last week we went out to Boston and spent several days exploring the city. We had Italian food on the North End, walked the esplanade, toured Harvard, and put so many miles on our shoes just checking things out. I also went to my first baseball game EVER at Fenway!

I even got the chance to meet my writer friend Liz Wellington for breakfast one day, which was so great.

In a few weeks we're headed to LA, and I cannot wait to stuff my face with Korean BBQ, to go to the dog beach (my favorite place on earth), and to LOL at the Largo comedy club.

Brooks (our doggo) is also getting an adventure trip soon...somewhere driveable, but likely out of state. He needs a vacation too. He loves to hike, splash, and ride in the car, so we're planning to take him somewhere fun.

Making Moves

Business-wise, I'm still very much focused on writing blog content for e-commerce platforms and the software that integrates with them. That's what pays the bills.

However, I've also been exploring other areas lately that tie into that and help build my ethos as a writer and subject matter expert around online business.

In the past few months I've landed pitches at retail-focused publications like Adweek, Glossy, and Forbes, and have LOVED researching and writing stories about trends and interesting approaches to business. You can read some of those stories here if you're interested.

The Great Outdoors

In the Midwest, you get just a few weeks a year of really nice weather before it becomes insufferably hot and humid and mosquito-laden. That period is right now, so I've been trying to be outside as much as possible.

We just got some kayaks and have been out on the water in a few different areas just soaking up the sunshine and "doing a serenity", which is what I call relaxing.

Brooks and I have been on lots of walks as well, and just last night he got to go for a swim in the lake. He was very happy about his work retrieving a tennis ball.

Finding Balance

The one thing I've been struggling with that comes with all the fun things listed above is maintaining a healthy balance between work time and life time.

Travel makes it hard to find a good routine. On nice days, it's hard to sit indoors at the computer.

I'm trying to shift my schedule a bit so that I can get the most done during the most optimal windows of time, but it's not perfect. Work in progress :)

Anyway, that's what's new with me.

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How to Get Your Ideas Out of Your Head and Onto the Page

“I have so many ideas, but I don’t know how to get them out of my brain and onto the page!”

I’ve heard some version of this lament about 35,346 times.

It’s usually accompanied with some hand-wringing, brow-rubbing, or face-palming...occasionally the banging of a head on a hard surface, as if the problem can be physically knocked loose like water stuck in the middle-ear after swimming. (It can’t, by the way.)

In most cases, here’s the general rub: You have a few general ideas you’d love to dive into in writing...but translating them into actual sentences (that flow well, use proper grammar, tell a story, etc.)...that’s hard.

The bad news is there’s no quick fix. I can’t snap my fingers or wiggle my nose and solve this for you. C’est la vie.

However, you can start chipping away at the roadblocks that go along with this issue.

You do that by working through some of the things that can trip you up along the way to getting your butt in a chair and writing the thing you wanna write.

What are those things?

1. Identifying your motivation.

First, ask yourself: Why do you want to write this thing in the first place? What’s going to drive you forward as you sit down to tackle the task?

There are lots of options here: Maybe it’s to teach something you know. Maybe it’s to share an interesting perspective or point of view you have. Maybe it’s to share more of your private, internal thinking with the world (or even just with a small group of friends.)

Maybe it’s just to leave something behind in the world that’s uniquely yours. Remember, no one thinks the exact same way you do, nor can they write in the voice that’s all yours. Writing offers up a chance to own, document, and share this signature piece of your personality.

Bottom line: Whatever your motivation is, define it. Know your WHY and let it guide you ahead as you write.

2. Being okay with sharing writing that isn’t quite perfect.

Lots of people won’t take the time to write (or worse, will write something but never hit publish!) because they’re worried what they’ve written isn’t perfect...and it needs to be before anyone else lays eyes on it.

Perfection is the enemy of done—isn’t that how the saying goes? Something like that.

If I waited until my writing was perfect, I’d probably never send this newsletter or submit a client blog post. However, I set some rules for myself to get over the hurdle. I only allow two rounds of edits before hitting publish for the things I write for myself. For client posts, that number goes up the three (two internal rounds for me, one for them), but on the fourth I charge extra because then we’re just getting nit-picky and in our own way, in my opinion.

You can self-edit until the end of time if you really want to, but there has to be a point in time at which you say, “Okay, I’m finished with this.”

Just remember: Perfection is elusive when it comes to writing. Be confident enough to share your writing before you feel like it’s 100% there. It’s probably close enough.

3. Getting over the “Why bother?” mentality.

If you’re stuck on the idea of “Why even bother writing this?”...you just gotta get over it.

Defining your motivation for writing something in the first place can help you get halfway over this particular hurdle, but the other half is about just doing it.

Writing can be difficult and stressful and uncomfortable, but it’s good practice. It molds the way you think and communicate with others even outside your writing practice. It’s a great mental challenge and, again, is a way for you to leave your fingerprint on the world—even if only a few people end up reading what you’ve written.

Think of all the things we would’ve missed out on if people got stuck on the ‘why bother’ mentality! Incredible inventions, art, films, books—it all started with a display of effort that the creator fully embraced could result in something 100% useless or unfruitful.

Sit down and just *do the work.* Don’t get in your own way by over-thinking things.

Time to Execute

Once you’ve worked through the above items, it’s time to get to work.

Step 1: Set aside a block of time to write.

Put time for writing on your calendar. Literally, schedule it. Make it a regular thing and devote a set time each day or each week where you can focus on writing for at least 20-30 minutes at a time. And yes, you do have 20 minutes you can spare. Be honest with yourself.

Step 2: Outline.

Not sure how to tackle an outline? I shared my practice right here.

If that’s not your thing, try writing an ugly first draft that gives you something to work with rather than a blank page. It’s sort of the same concept, but with less structure. You can also record some basic voice notes about your idea and work from those.

If you sit down and stare at a blank screen, you’re probably going to psych yourself out. Give yourself some bullet points to start with to get the ball rolling.

Step 3: Build, Polish, Publish.

Like lather, rinse, repeat, but with words rather than shampoo. Write the thing, give it a round or two of edits, and then share it. Then do it again.

• You’re going to get better the more you practice.

• You’ll find your voice along the way.

• You’ll get feedback from readers on what they like/don’t like (especially if you’re proactive and ask for people to share their thoughts.)

“Practice makes perfect” isn’t just a cutesy saying. When it comes to writing, it’s the truth. It’s the only thing that’s going to help you become a better, more prolific writer.

So start writing. Share your ideas. The world deserves to hear from you.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

How to Write a Good Outline

Today I want to get into my outlining process, as I saw a tweet from my pal Kat Boogaard earlier this week about how important a good outline is.

This triggered my memory and reminded me that while I’ve talked about writing more efficiently, I’ve never really shared a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of my outlining process.

But first, let’s address the elephant in the room. Let’s answer the question that might be hovering in your brain: Do I *really* have to put together an outline before I start writing?

Is it entirely necessary?

I say the answer is yes.

Why writing an outline matters

At least for me, outlining has been a tactic that’s helped me manage writing articles and blog posts both large and small in a way that’s both logical and piecemealed so it's more manageable.

Bonus: It helps me get past the blank page with ease.

Now, I wasn’t always an outliner. When I started freelance writing full time about six years ago, I dove into every piece starting at the beginning and just worked my way through as I went. I quickly learned, however, that this approach had some major drawbacks:

• I missed things. Because I didn’t know the main points I was going to cover beforehand, I’d get to the end of a writing project and find major holes or missing elements in what I’d put together. Then I had to go back and restructure everything to accommodate the new additions. (This was also frustrating for my editors who could’ve spotted these flaws if they’d had an outline to approve before I started writing.)

• It took longer. Lack of direction meant I was constantly grabbing at straws as I tried to pull together each individual section for a piece. It also meant I spent more time researching, as I was working one section at a time rather than thinking of the larger, overarching story I was trying to tell and how the dots connected big-picture.  

• It was more daunting. Every new writing assignment felt like a mountain to climb, and the word counts stressed me out. 3,000 words seemed nearly impossible when starting from zero, and it felt like pulling teeth to even get started. It was a huge source of anxiety for me.

Then, I got smart. I started making outlines.

I'm going to talk about my approach from a client work perspective, but keep in mind you can use this for any type of writing.

Getting started with your outline

When I sit down to put together an outline, the process always starts with a writing brief right at the top of the document.

This includes a short summary of the post’s objective, important client notes about tone/style/formatting, internal posts or research they want to be referenced in the post, due dates, post length, and any other important info I might need as I work on the assignment.

From there, I start building out my framework (ahem, my outline.)

Pssst! Want a secret freebie? Click here.

Step one: Skip the intro, start at section one

The first thing I do when building an outline is to skip past the intro section completely and go right into the first section of the article, which most often begins with a zoomed out/big picture view of the topic I’m writing about.

Sometimes this is a basic definition of a key term and some historical context, sometimes it’s a sort of analyst perspective on the idea that gives a high-level view of the article’s theme.

I add some basic bullet points to this section with that info, along with links to any key stats or news articles I want to reference within this section.

Step two: Explore top-ranking articles + Google’s ‘People also ask’ results

The next step I take is to explore some of the sections within the top-ranking organic search results on the topic I’m writing about. From that research, I make a short list of potential sections to cover, and then further sort that based on what I think is most relevant, helpful, or interesting to include in the piece.

I’ve added an additional step to this stage recently as well, which I just learned about from one of my favorite writers and editors, Tracey Wallace. I do a Google search around the article topic and see which questions come up in the ‘People also ask’ section.

Tracey recommended adding in these questions as section headers or sub-heads, as this is good for SEO and tackles some of the most common questions related to the topic (which Google has so nicely aggregated for you.)

This stage of the outlining process helps me determine some basic direction for the rest of the piece and allows me to put in some generic headers for the sections I’ll research and build out next.

Step three: Research and build out sections

Building out the rest of the outline from this point is fairly easy. With the generic headers and sub-heads for direction, I can dive into creating bullet points for each section with basic points to cover, relevant/new research to cite, and examples to spotlight. Sometimes I do a general brain dump of potential things to include in a section and then sort through that info, leaving behind only the good stuff.

I also use this phase to reach out to my network of expert sources for quotes to include in different sections where it’s relevant. It’s good to have a decent amount of lead time for these efforts because people sometimes need a few days to get back to me with a solid quote.

Step four: Intro and closing

Once I know what I’m going to be talking about in the body of the article, I can more accurately put together a summary for the intro and closing of the piece that brings everything together.

Sometimes by this point, I’ve realized an underlying theme, connected some dots to make a new point about the topic, or discovered a super-relevant story/example that serves as a nice backdrop for the article. Other times I’m just reinforcing the key points.

Either way, I add in a few bullet points for the intro and closing based on the main idea of the article. For the closing, I make sure to include a call to action, asking the reader to do something next.

Step five: Title ideas

Now that I have a really good idea of what I’m going to write about, I put together 2-3 potential headline or title ideas that summarize the article and speak to an interesting, often curiosity-producing theme.

When I can, I try to tie in things like:

• Hard numbers tied to results

• Questions

• Recognizable brand names (when relevant)

• Outcome-related teasers (Ex: How X did Y)

Getting approval

Once the outline is done, I send it over to the client for review. This step helps ensure we’re both on the same page before I start writing, gives them a chance to add in any important notes, and offers an opportunity for a SEO expert to step in and make any needed adjustments.

This approach saves us both time in the editing phase, which makes both parties very happy. I’d always rather talk through changes in the outline phase rather than re-work (or worse, have to remove!) a whole section that I’ve spent time researching and writing.

Other notes on outlining

One of the important things to note is that the outlining stage is not about perfection or polishing.

I don’t work on writing compelling headers during this phase.
I don’t include full sentences that will go into the finished piece.
I don’t invest time into figuring out how the writing voice will fit in.

Instead, outlining is all about getting a clear direction on where you’re headed with a story so that you’re not staring at a blank page with a huge task staring back at you.

Once you’re done with an outline, you have a clear roadmap and all of the pieces you need to put together an article quickly, with clarity, and in a logical format. Basically, all you have to do is build and polish. The legwork is done, and the rest is a downhill slope.

I hope this has been helpful and gave you some ideas that help speed up your writing process (or at least make it a little less anxiety-producing.)

The Domina Retreat for Female Freelancers: A Recap

Earlier this month, I co-hosted my first ever women’s business retreat with fellow writer Emma Siemasko. We called it the Domina Retreat, and for two and a half days we spent time learning, sharing, and relaxing at a beautiful Airbnb home on Lake Travis just outside Austin, Texas.

Emma and I, both working as freelance writers and independent consultants, had been getting together once a year to co-work and brainstorm ideas since 2016. But this year, we decided to open things up a bit and invite other women to join us for a small retreat.

It was always a highlight of the year for us to get face time with another person who truly “gets” what we do, so we figured that there must be other women out there feeling the exact same way–longing for community.

Turns out, we were right. This year, our small group included 16 female freelancers, consultants, and entrepreneurs who traveled from places as far as Japan, Hawaii, and Canada to be there.

Our first retreat for female freelancers

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous going into this event. Even with a fantastic partner and lots of planning, I still worried that something would go wrong. I spent a few nights losing sleep over silly questions like:

• “What if people hate the food and go hungry?”

• “What if people don’t talk to each other or are bored?”

• “What if someone gets hurt while they’re at the house?”

The good news is: None of those things happened. But this worrier mentality did help my partner and me think through the details and create some plans that made us both feel more secure going into the event.

Emma gathered some information about hosting successful events from Jessie Char, and I spoke with Dorie Clark who offered some great tips on planning and executing business retreats.

Tips for a polished freelancer retreat

These activities helped us come up with a few elements of the event that really made it feel more polished, such as:

• An amenity table with travel-sized items, personal care, and office supplies for anyone who needed them

• A big supply of drinks, including lots of bottled water and La Croix

• A general script for our welcome speech that explained the ‘why’ behind the event, that positioned us as capable leaders, and that outlined our goals for the days ahead

• Take-home bags with personalized, handwritten thank you notes

And guess what? From the very first night of the retreat, things went smoothly. Everyone loved the location, we ate pizza, and people introduced themselves, chatting in small groups around the house. Our location had lots of great areas for mingling both inside and out, and everyone fell in with each other naturally.

Over the next few days we had a few more structured sessions during the event:

• Tracey Wallace shared her expertise on everything from networking to technical SEO for content writing

• Linda Perry led a session on limiting beliefs and business growth

• I did a session on using Twitter for networking and finding opportunities

• Emma shared her onboarding and pitching process, then lead a goal-setting workshop

• Emma also led our business book club discussion where we talked about The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin (which was great for getting to know each others’ personality types) and business “hot seats”, wherein each person was able to present a question and gather feedback on how to solve problems within their business. Our post-event survey showed that the hot seats were one of the most-loved activities.

What worked well for our freelancer retreat

So what worked well about the retreat?

1) Balanced activities

Our agenda for the retreat was focused on striking a balance between group activities and private work time, during which attendees could co-work in a shared space or go off and do their own thing (whether that was swimming, taking calls in a private room, or going back to their hotel room to work for a bit.)

We wanted there to be some autonomy around what people could do while they were there rather than scheduling everything down to the last detail, and that served us well. While it freed people up to enjoy their time at the house, it also made time for unstructured conversations and networking between attendees–which was great.

2) Time outdoors

We were fortunate to have some excellent weather while we were in Texas, so I’m glad we had a couple of outdoor activities scheduled and available during the retreat. Miranda Hanna, one of our attendees, lead an hour-long morning yoga class on the lawn one day, and the next morning a small group hiked at Mount Lakeway trail. We also took a sunset walk one night after dinner as a group, which was a relaxing way to wind down the day.

3) The group

This group of women all specialized in creative work, but specialization varied quite a bit in regard to work type: We had graphic designers, writers, coaches, consultants, and even an interior designer. The amazing thing was that despite the fact that our day-to-day work didn’t always have a ton of overlap, this group really connected well on a personality level and just naturally gelled.

Everyone was kind and respectful, and because they were there for the right reasons (and had paid to be there), they were open communicators who showed true interest in learning from and listening to the other women they met there. Emma and I worried a bit that we’d need to lead a lot of the conversations to avoid awkward silences, but we didn’t have to do this one bit. It was amazing to sit back and see the group sharing with each other all on their own. It seemed to us like everyone made the most of their time and squeezed as much value as possible out of the days we spent together.

What we’ll improve for our next freelancer retreat

Were there some things we could improve upon? Of course.

1) Smaller food orders

Emma and I wanted to be sure we had plenty of snacks and drinks for everyone, and we also provided breakfast for everyone on two of the days, so we went to Costco and really loaded up. We did end up having quite a bit left over, but thankfully we were able to send some of it home with a few women who lived in Austin or were staying in the area.

Our meals had quite a bit of excess as well, but I guess it’s better to have too much rather than not enough. Next time we’ll know to cut down our orders a bit and maybe skip Costco, going for a regular grocery store rather than Costco-sized portions on everything instead.

2) Offsite overnights

One thing Emma and I agreed on was that next time, we’ll probably opt for offsite overnight lodging outside of full bedrooms located in our home base. We offered the downstairs bunks as a more cost-effective option for a few attendees this time, but felt like after an all-day event like this one was, it’s nice to have a private room with a door that can close so you can fully decompress at the end of the day. While we didn’t have complaints about this from those who went the bunk route, we both agreed this would probably improve the overall experience.

Emma and I also agreed that, as event coordinators, this change would give us the chance to regroup at the end of the day to talk about what was working well, any snafus, and what needed to be done for the next day logistically. With this setup, we didn’t really have time or space to do that.

3) Transportation

We discovered Uber wasn’t very reliable in the area where our Airbnb was the week before the event. It was out of our control, but it would’ve been nice if we had anticipated this ahead of time. That way, we would’ve been able to share the transportation details ahead of time, which would’ve eased some anxiety. I ended up getting an extra rental car for us to have on hand through Turo, but fortunately most people had their own cars and/or figured out carpool options with other people coming to the event. We also offered a shuttle to the airport on the last day, which helped simplify logistical concerns for folks as things wrapped up.

The value of having partners and sponsors

We wouldn’t have been able to pull off this event without some incredible partners who came to the table ready to support this smart, talented group of women.

These partnerships came from existing relationships I had with founders and CEOs–some from ongoing Twitter conversations, some from my reporting work. I reached out, explained what we were doing and why it was important, and made a modest ask. All of them immediately said, “Yes, this is great! How can we help?” (Ah, the power of online friendships.)

Coywolf and Noko were our meal sponsors, and the lovely folks behind these two companies stepped up to provide dinners for our guests (authentic Texas BBQ one night and a chef-made meal the next.) Both were delicious.

Along with those lovely meals, we also had a variety of ice cream pints delivered to the house from our friends at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and a some champagne and gin sent over from Taster’s Club. Yum!

Creative Class and Freelance Mastermind both provided a diversity and inclusion ticket, so we were able to bring in two extra attendees from under-represented communities and had those valuable perspectives at the event.

Two people in particular were extra crucial: Becca Matimba stepped in as our event coordinator, handling lots of logistical to-do list items and generally was the behind-the-scenes wizard that made everything go smoothly. Tanialee Gonzalez was our event photographer, and she got some amazing photos plus offered to take headshots for anyone who was interested.

Takeaways (literally!)

We also had a take-home bag for each and every attendee, which included fantastic things like:

• Verve coffee drip kits

• Original Human serums

• Krit stickers and a discount offer

• Prints from Archer & Olive

• Shawn Askinosie’s book Meaningful Work, plus a bar of Askinosie chocolate

• Ettitude sleep eye masks

• Shades Club sunglasses

• Odds & Sods Austin ‘ATX’ pins

• Highway Robery tiny drink robes

• A LavishGOLD discount offer

• Bags from AJ&Smart

I also have to give MAJOR kudos to my retreat planning partner Emma, who was nearing her third trimester in her pregnancy during this event but was full of energy. High five to her for being up for this–she never complained once! A great leader and entertainer, she was the perfect person to partner with for this as our skills and work styles were (and still are!) very complementary.

Final Thoughts on Our Freelancer Retreat

Overall, the retreat wasn’t a big money-maker for us, but we both went in expecting a low margin and really just wanted the chance to bring some smart women together that we could learn from. This was both of our first experience hosting an event, and I’m extremely proud of how it turned out.

The biggest thing I walked away with from our first-ever retreat was, aside from a sense of accomplishment, a real appreciation for the group of women who came together. Not only did I learn some valuable lessons and set goals for my business, but I also made new friends. As corny as that sounds, that’s hands-down the best thing I’ve done for my business in my nearly six years of running it.

Here’s to hoping we’ll do another female freelancer retreat in the next year or two.

---



This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

When Freelance Writing Makes You Want to Mow Lawns

Spring is finally rolling around, so I’ve been getting outdoors as much as I can.

This winter felt like it was an especially long one, and I’ve been dreaming of green grass for months now.

The other day I took a long walk on one of my favorite paths. The sun was shining, the air was fresh, and I actually felt warm. (#alwayscold)

On a day like that, I found myself going back to a thought I’ve had many times before:

Sometimes I just wanna mow lawns.

I see city workers mowing in the park and think to myself: Wouldn’t it be nice to be outdoors all summer and to always be surrounded by the smell of fresh grass?

There'd be no heavy mental load with research and writing all day. Just mowing.

At the end of the day, I’d be done and could shut my work brain off entirely.

I’d get soak up some vitamin D and have plenty of time to listen to music, or podcasts, or audiobooks.

But...then I played this scenario out a bit in my head a bit more.

I've come to some conclusions.

Number one: It’s all about perspective.

Mowing lawns isn’t a glamorous job. It’s physically exhausting, it’s hot, and it can be pretty mindless (which can lead to excruciating boredom.) The work is never done. You sweat all day long and constantly swat at mosquitos. You get sunburned. Your back hurts.

In my mind, I have this mental picture of serene days spent in the sunshine and a sea of green, but the reality is pretty different.

I’ve been trying to remember this any time I find myself resentful of my workload and dreaming of doing something else.

Number two: I can mow my own damn lawn!

Guess who has a yard that needs mowing? Me.

If I want to mow so badly, then I need to be saying NO more often and handing off opportunities to other people so I can go outside and mow my own damn lawn, right?

I know that I value soaking up outdoor time while I can during the warm months, so that means I need to adjust my workload accordingly.

Maybe that means I work more in the first and last quarters of the year and slow things down for April-September. As a freelancer, I have the ability to do that...it’s just a matter of DOING IT and giving myself permission.

So what's the point of all this rambling on about mowing lawns?

To remind you (and me) that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side (...or in the park.)
 

A lot of our problems in life (work, personal, family) can be solved by adjusting our perspectives and giving ourselves permission to make decisions based on what really matters to us.

The bottom line: Everything has pros and cons.

So if you want to mow lawns this summer, do that. I know I will be.

But as you’re out there sweating and swatting at bugs, remember to also be grateful for the days you spend indoors behind your computer in the nice, cool air conditioning.

It's all about perspective.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

How To Get Better at Twitter

If you know me, you probably know I love Twitter.

I signed up (under protest, because I thought it was uncool) back in 2008 when my now husband did...because I am a follower.

But over the past few years, I’ve come to use it...A LOT.

With more than 21,000 tweets sent (gawd), I think it’s official that I am *very into it.*

So I was excited when one of the questions I was recently asked to address in this newsletter was:

How do I get better at using Twitter?

Now, I’m no expert. I’m just a girl, writing tweets, asking you to love her.

But my tweeting has led to some cool opportunities:

• It’s helped me get a foot in the door with new writing gigs

• It’s linked me up with editors at publications I want to write for

• It’s helped me meet fellow writers who have become my internet (and real-life!) friends

My best advice for getting the most out of Twitter

1. Be selective about your Twitter follows

Every time you follow a new person on Twitter you have more content to sort through in your feed (unless you actively mute people...but...then...why even follow them at all?)

Be selective about the people you follow so that the time you spend on the platform is with people you enjoy interacting with and seeing content from (rather than having a feed full of junk and noise.) As you look for new people to follow, seek out your peers, clients, people you want to work with, and authorities in your niche.

I also go through my follows every few months and unfollow accounts that haven’t tweeted in the past few weeks, that I don’t regularly interact with, or that just aren’t relevant to my interests anymore. This helps keep my feed fresh, interesting, and more engaging.

2. Be deliberate about participation and interaction

It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and not participate when it comes to Twitter. You could spend hours a day consuming and reading content, but never once sharing a tweet of your own.

But remember: It’s called social media. That means you need to be deliberate about interacting with people and participating in the conversations happening there.

Lots of people struggle with this because they overthink their tweets or worry that they don’t have anything relevant or interesting to say. But in overcoming this self-doubt, you open the door to relationship-building and conversations that you probably wouldn’t have been able to have had anywhere else. (In fact, it’s how I landed a gig writing for Entrepreneur, which I talked about here.)

If you’re not sure what to tweet about, here are a few ideas:

• Share observations about the work you do or trends you’re noticing within your niche

• Give a behind-the-scenes look at your life/day job

• Comment on and share an interesting article/podcast/documentary you enjoyed recently

• Respond to other peoples’ questions/comments/shares when you have a helpful or interesting perspective to add

• Talk about your ideas or upcoming projects and why they’re exciting

• Share wins within your personal life or career that you want to celebrate (just don’t get all braggy)

3. Use your time wisely

For me, Twitter is my virtual watercooler. I use it as a place to chat with people throughout the day when I’m taking a break from writing. But if Twitter seems like a massive time suck to you, there are some ways you can be more strategic about the time you invest there.

Use lists: If there are certain people you know you want to talk to or build relationships with on Twitter, create a list and peruse that curated feed rather than sorting through the posts from everyone you follow.

Adjust your timeline: I love the the ‘top tweets’ timeline because it helps me catch up on relevant content from people I regularly interact with on Twitter. Your can disable this feature and have a chronological feed, but I actually like the algorithm for this and find it useful.

4. Don’t spam or stalk people

Keep some healthy boundaries around your interactions on Twitter, as no one enjoys the person who is constantly liking/responding/retweeting them. It’s creepy (and easy to see through.)

In my experience, the people who do this want something from the person they’re excessively interacting with, and when that ask/pitch finally comes, it’s always a hard pass.

Instead, interact genuinely and think about how you’d want a face-to-face conversation to go with the person you’re talking to via Twitter. That should be your guide. When we get too comfortable behind the anonymity of our computer screens, it can lend itself to doing/saying things we wouldn’t ever do in real life--so keep yourself in check with that mental model.

5. Be consistent

If you’re going to use Twitter, be consistent about it, as this will help you gain traction over time.

If you disappear for a few weeks, people may think that you’re not using your account anymore and unfollow you--and it also makes it harder for you to jump back into conversations.

That doesn’t mean you need to be checking in on Twitter all time time, it just means it’s wise to have some sort of consistency around your usage. If it’s just 15 minutes a day, that’s fine! You don’t have to be a power user to find value in it (how ever you define that.)

6. Ditch the scheduled content (unless it’s working for you)

In my experience, scheduled content doesn’t perform all that well on Twitter. It’s obvious that it’s scheduled (usually because of a shortened link from a scheduling tool) and it feels a little marketery/salesy. Plus, it means you’re probably not around to respond to anyone in real time if they want to ask a question or comment on it.

If you have a post or podcast you’re proud of, share it in real time with a bit of commentary rather than blasting it out over and over via a scheduling tool. It feels more authentic when it’s shared by you directly.

That said, I know some people find scheduling content works well for them, so,as always, the real answer is IT DEPENDS. Look at the numbers and let them tell you whether or not people engage with your scheduled content.

7. Remember: It’s a cocktail party, not a private conversation

One of the best tips I ever got about social media as a PR person was to remember that it’s a cocktail party; a public setting where other people are watching what you say and do. Even though sometimes it feels like we’re having a private back-and-forth with other people, you have to keep in mind that what you post on Twitter is very much out in the open.

Plus: Deleting a Tweet doesn’t make it disappear. With screenshotting and tools like WayBackMachine, anything you post on Twitter can be dug up.

It’s always better to err on the side of caution when talking about things that may be misconstrued or misinterpreted (or that could incite conflict) on Twitter…and that’s why I keep my conversations and content pretty mild.

Tweets, as silly or flippant as they may seem, have ripple effects and aren’t something you can take back. So as a rule of thumb, ask yourself if your grandma would be embarrassed to read something before you tweet it.

---

The bottom line: Twitter can be a great tool for staying connected, for networking, and for opening doors to new opportunities if you really lean into it. That said: If it's not working for you or you're just not into it--that's okay! Maybe a different platform is a better fit for you. Don't force it.

If you're on Twitter, say hello and tweet me @kaleighf.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

Self Care for Freelance Writers

How do you take care of yourself as a freelance writer and avoid overworking?

I felt like this was a relevant topic on the heels of this piece from the New York Times about wealth, success, and misery, as well as this one on workism from The Atlantic.

And I want to be totally candid about this topic because...we’re all friends here, right?

So, here's the truth: This is an ongoing struggle for me.

Work/Life Balance is Hard as a Freelance Writer

These days, I'm taking better care of myself and trying to avoid over-working, but...there's a lot of room for improvement.

Some background: In the first year or two I was freelance writing full time, I worked a lot. These were long days with short breaks and *maybe* a 10-minute lunch.

I woke up in the morning mad at myself if I’d overslept by even a few minutes, sweaty with panic and already worrying about whether or not I’d get everything done for the day.

The reason: FEAR.

Those first few years of full-time freelance writing were 100% fear-driven.

• Fear that I wouldn’t make enough money and would regret leaving the security and stability of my full-time job.

• Fear that I’d look like an idiot failure to my friends and family.

• Fear that I wasn’t smart enough to manage running a business on my own.

• Fear that my clients would think I was a charlatan or my work would suddenly dry up.

Lemme tell you: It wasn’t a great way to live.

Turns out existing in a constant state of low-grade anxiety isn’t all that healthy, either. I got really sick. Not only was I dealing with a variety of ongoing health issues, but I couldn’t sleep well and I had terrible back pain from so much sitting at the computer (even with a nice chair.)

Was it nice to have the freedom and flexibility of being my own boss?

Um...maybe? I wouldn’t have known. I wasn’t taking advantage of either. I just worked like a dog—way more than I did at my 9-5.

I’m grateful to have a partner who called me on this and that cares about my general well-being. He was the one who finally said, “Hey, this isn’t working. Something has to change.”

Healthy Changes for a Sustainable Freelance Writing Career

I started doing some things to regain that work-life balance thing I’d heard so much about:

1. I took Paul Jarvis’s Creative Class.

From that, I created some time-saving processes for my freelance writing business. (Bonus: I finally picked a niche to focus on, too.)

2. I learned to say NO.

If you’re a people-pleasing person like me that JUST WANTS EVERYONE TO LIKE HER, DAMNIT, this is a hard thing to learn. But I did, and it helped me be more selective about how I invested my time and energy...which also made me resent my work a lot less.

3. I built in movement to my schedule.

This sounds weird, right? Probably is. However, scheduling times for walks, going to the gym, or taking a yoga class meant that getting up and moving around was just another part of my daily to-do list.

4. I instituted office hours (kinda.)

I think a lot of people are lying when they say they don’t check email around the clock. I know I do. It’s just another app I open as I’m checking social channels. But by turning off push notifications, it put some of the power over that back in my hands. No more incessant DING! at all hours of the day. Now, I use flags to mark the emails I need to respond to when I’m back at my desk. And while I read emails outside my office hours, I don’t respond until the next day. It helps me mentally prepare for what’s coming and stay on top of messages without being pulled into reacting right away.

5. I started doing things that generally made me feel better on a regular basis.

These were things like getting a massage every 3-4 weeks, drinking lots of water (the secret is lemon!), going to therapy, and implementing a sleep routine.

The other big shift that happened was that I finally give myself permission to chill. (Oooh, that should be a t-shirt.)

I toned down the self-competition and started asking for help when I needed it. I made myself get out of the house and go be around other human beings during the day. I stopped letting that fear dictate my days.

Aaaaaand now I sound like a Hallmark card in a Lifetime movie. Cue the confetti and a song about female empowerment!

In all seriousness, the concept of “self care” or whatever you want to call it...it’s pretty important. And it takes work, just like anything else.

If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your work (or anything else.)

Want a lil' more? I discussed this topic of 'dealing with stress' in episode 6 of this podcast.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

Judd Apatow's Lessons on Writing

Interesting subject line, eh?

I’ll be honest...it was a little clickbait-y.

BUT — it’s also true.

See, I’ve been taking some MasterClass courses to get me through the cruel, cold winter.

I started with the classes on comedy (because there’s nothing funnier than having someone break down the nuts and bolts of a joke to you, right? Hehe...heh...no.)

The first class I took was the Steve Martin one, as his name was what caught my eye around this course collection in the first place. His lessons were pretty good, but overall it felt a little fluffy. The advice was a bit generic and stuff you could glean on your own by watching people do stand-up.

I’ll give him some credit: I think it’s hard to teach a skill like comedy when:

1) It comes naturally to you, so it’s difficult to reverse engineer for other people
2) You have a very specific type of humor that works for you as an individual (which Steve Martin definitely does)

So, next I moved on to the comedy class taught by Judd Apatow, which was more writing-focused. I liked his Netflix special and thought it’d be interesting to compare the two courses and teaching styles.

When I dove into Judd’s class (yes, we’re on a first name basis now), right away it felt different. Rather than approaching things from a high level, he dove right into practical, actionable tips.

What I noticed right off the bat: These weren't just good tips for writing comedy. This was good advice for writing in general.

So I started taking notes. Today, I want to share them with you (you know, in case you don’t have access to MasterClass...or the time to sit through 10+ lessons.)

Here’s what Judd Apatow taught me about writing.

1. Find the people who’re doing what you wanna do and ask them a lot of questions.

As a young guy, Judd’s mom worked at a comedy club, which got him insider access to the visiting comedians. He often interviewed them before or after their shows, asking questions about how they learned to write comedy, what tips and tricks they’d found worked well, and secrets to performing.

This was a great way for him to network and build relationships with established comedians and helped him figure out how they got from point A to point B in their careers.

This is a smart thing for any writer to do, too. (I even tweeted about this.) Reaching out to people who’ve found success and learning from them is a brilliant way to figure out how you can do the same. This might happen via:

• Hosting a podcast where you interview guests

• Putting together a newsletter or blog that includes a Q&A with different authority figures

• Doing a video series where you chat with established experts

All of these things help you get insider knowledge, while offering the guest the perk of some exposure as well. The best part: It doesn’t even matter if you have a huge audience for it. It’s an A+ learning experience for you and a doorway to access you might not otherwise have.

2. Have a “take.”

Most iconic comedians have a very signature style or approach. Think of Chris Rock. Think of Jerry Seinfield. You know those delivery styles. You know their cadence. You know their voices.

In line with that, it's important for you to figure out the WHY behind your own writing. You have to be able to answer fundamental questions such as:

• What do you think about [topic you’re writing about]? Have you thought long enough to form an opinion around what you’re writing about? If not, push pause and do that. You might find your perspective goes against common consensus and gives you something interesting to say. Opposition is fine--just be able to back up your position.

• Why do you like what you like? Defining your taste as a writer means knowing what works and what doesn’t for you (and why.) For example: Do you like something because it’s similar to you? Or because it’s wildly different? Nail that down, then play it up.

• What’s your angle? Your writing voice should be uniquely yours. That means you need an angle and a signature style. Are you sarcastic? Sardonic? Quirky? Take the voice in your head and translate that into your writing.

As you add clarity around who you are as a writer, your audience will be better able to identify your unique “take” and/or writing voice and pick it out of a crowd.

3. Look at writing like it’s a job.

Judd said that the best performers he watched and talked to were ones who approached writing as if it were a job, just like anything else. They didn’t ‘wing it’ on stage; they sat down for a few hours every day and worked on writing their material.

Some even followed a mathematic-like formula where they’d start with a piece that worked and then plug in different variables until they found the best (and funniest) end result.

For example:My wife says I am lazy on the weekends, so I __________. The blank would then be filled with 50+ variations on a punchline. From there, he/she could whittle things down to the punchiest end result.

So, see? Even comedians have to practice and look at writing as if it were a job. Practice makes perfect (and devotion to your craft pays off.)

These were the biggest takeaways I got from the first few lessons of the Judd Apatow course, but there are lots of other good nuggets in there too.

If, like a standup comedian, you’re looking for an audience to give you some feedback on how your writing is performing, I’ve been offering up critiques and would be happy to give you some notes.

All I ask is that you send me a screenshot showing you donated $10 or more to my local no-kill animal shelter, PAWS. They save hundreds of pets every year and help them find new homes (which is amazing!) but are always just scraping by.

You get some honest feedback, cute cats and dogs get food and blankies. Win-win, right? Right.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

The Shortcut to Writing Well

If you saw this subject line and were mentally rubbing your hands together like, "YESSSS, finally the magical shortcut I've been looking for!"

Then I'm sorry. 'Cuz spoiler alert: There isn’t one.

Writing takes practice.
It takes an openness to critique.
It takes a desire to improve.

The trouble is: Most of the people I know want that quick shortcut that’ll instantly make their writing better.

I wish there was one. It would’ve saved me a lot of time and energy. I'd probably have a Ferrari by now. My hair would be shinier.

(Okay, maybe not those last two things.)

But I can tell you this: There is one thing I’ve done that helps me speed up the process.

Take Notes

Marketers would call it building a swipe file. I don’t like that. Calling it a swipe file feels really formal and marketer-y. Bleck. 😝 I just call it a Google Doc with links and notes. 'Cause that’s what it is. If I find an article or blog post or email that I think is written especially well, I save the link to it in said Google Doc.

Then I pull up the article up in a separate window and try to reverse engineer it, making notes as I read about:

• The style of the intro (Anecdote? Quote? Rhetorical question?)

• Interesting quirks/turns of phrase used in the writing voice

• Examples or images that make the piece stronger or easier to understand

• Direct quotes (what are they about and how do they add to the piece?)

• The overall structure/format (and where I lost interest while reading)

See, my theory is that if I can dissect other people’s writing and pin down what makes it interesting, readable, and memorable, then I can better execute those same tactics when I sit down to write something of my own.

Make it a Habit, Keep Learning

This is not actually a shortcut. It takes some work, as most things worth doing do. It requires some careful observation and the ability to pick apart what you're reading. It means you've gotta suck it up and realize that writing well is an evolutionary process.

The reality is: You don't just get a certification or stamp of approval and then stop learning. When it comes to writing well, you have to work on getting better....always. Forever.

But there's beauty in this process. It keeps you a student (rather than feeling like, “Nah, I got this now. No more learning for me, HAHAHAAAA!)

So you should give it a whirl, too.

You’ve got access to the internet, right? And Google Docs are free, so...if you’ve got a spare 10-15 minutes once a week (or even once a month!) you can do this too.

Keep learning. That's the lesson today.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.

2018 In Review: A Recap of the Year in My Freelance Writing Business

I’ve been doing these year in review posts for a while now...and it’s that time again. If you’re curious about years past, you can check those out here:

• 2015 year in review

• 2016 year in review

• 2017 year in review

But let’s get back to 2018, shall we?

This is year five for me of full-time freelance writing (in fact, I recently did a five year recap...woo for retrospectives!)

So what happened over the past 12 months?

The Year of Finding Balance in my Freelance Writing Work

Now that I’m pretty settled into my niche and freelance writing career in general, I feel like this past year has largely been focused on working out the kinks. By ‘kinks’, I mean the things that were a bit less than ideal for me in my day-to-day work. So, no major shifts, just a lot of fine-tuning.

A big part of that was building a stronger sense of connectedness and community into my work life. For me, working alone and from home can be deeply isolating (especially in the winter when everything is gray and dreary), so I’ve worked hard to put myself “out there” more and to be less of a lonely hermit. I love my dog Brooks, but he doesn’t talk. Unless he wants lunch.

These efforts included:

• Trying a local co-working space. It was a gorgeous, light-filled space that I loved...but most days I was the only one in there...which is not really what I was going for. So I eventually gave up on that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• Regular coffee dates with a fellow writer. I’ve known Courtney Westlake for a while now (she’s a freelance writer that lives a town over from me), and she and I have been doing monthly-ish coffee dates at different cafes around where we live. She’s lovely (and really good at getting me out of my office cave!) and I’m so grateful for her company and encouragement. Find you a local freelancer friend like that.

• Taking better care of myself. I have a tendency to over-work, so this year I tried hard to schedule time for self care activities like a weekly yoga class, hiking, a massage, etc. I even took some half-day Fridays in the summer to get in some pool time. I’ve found that if I *literally* put it on my calendar, I’ll do it. But if I don’t, it gets pushed to the back burner. It’s taken some mental rewiring to make it stick, but so far so good.

But that’s not all I did. I also continued to interview a diverse mix of writers and editors for the Yeah Write Club newsletter, including a few pretty well-known names like Erik Larson and Jon Acuff. I love doing these Q&As and hearing how different people tackle their work. If you’re not signed up for that yet, get on it!

I also read a lot of books throughout the year (you can see all of them on the ‘Books’ highlight over on my Instagram.) Some of my favorites were:

• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (interesting biography)

• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (the book was a tough read but well done and very creative. We saw Whitehead speak at one of the colleges in town this year as well, and he was delightfully offbeat.)

• How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (Non-fiction, fascinating stuff on psychedelics.)

• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (Fiction: Strange but interesting!)

• The Pisces by Melissa Broder (Fiction: Even stranger, but good!)

I also continued my freelance writing coaching work, working one-on-one with students for both the four-week program and on one-off calls. I am SO PROUD to hear that past students did amazing things this year. One was recruited by HubSpot. One landed a gig with Brian Clark of Copyblogger. Others got bylines in publications like The Muse, Foundr, and Entrepreneur. So awesome, all of it. 👏👏

Volume-wise, work was really busy for me from February-November. I wrote tens of thousands of words for my SaaS/eCommerce clients like Aweber, Manifold, ReCharge, and BigCommerce and had my most profitable year to date. Woo! I'm super grateful to have had some fellow freelancers support me on some projects, which helped me maintain my sanity.

Other highlights:

• Worked with my first-ever college intern

• Co-hosted a new season of the Creative Class podcast with Paul Jarvis

• Spoke to my high school English teacher’s class

• Was part of a ‘Women in the Workplace’ panel (about gender equality) at a local university

• Won a contest by the local newspaper and got to name a baby horse (!)

• Went to a place where you can do axe-throwing for my husband’s b-day and was very bad at it but enjoyed it VERY much

Work Travel, Life Travel

My only conference this past year was Content Jam in Chicago, but while I was there I got to catch up with some of my internet pals IRL (like Lianna Patch, Joel Klettke, and Andy Crestodina.) I also met Jeff Large at the after-event and in November we ended up recording my favorite podcast interview of the year.

Look at this blurry photo we took...so great, right!?

I had two co-working getaways in early 2018: One in January with Allie Decker down in St. Louis, and one in February with Emma Siemasko in Palm Springs. I love getting one-on-one time with other freelancers who “get it” and these meetups were no exception. It was nice to escape to the California desert in the dead of winter. The Ace Hotel was the perfect spot for us.

Brandon and I took some fun trips, with our longest being a road trip to Washington D.C. We ate lobster rolls and went to 12345245 museums while we were there, which was fascinating (and exhausting), but worth it. I stole this photo he took at the modern art museum.

Other trips included:

• Columbus, OK

• Louisville, KY

• Indianapolis, IN

• Nashville, TN

• Galena, IL

On another trip to Chicago, Brandon and I checked out the AIRE ancient baths, which was an awesome experience. Highly recommend. Super relaxing salt baths of varying temperatures, really quiet, everything smells good. 10/10 would do again.

Goals for the Year Ahead

In 2019, I’m planning on doing things like:

Co-hosting my first small retreat for female freelancers.

The biggest thing on my list right now is the retreat that Emma and I are co-hosting in April. This will be my first taste of event planning, and I’m really looking forward to it. Along with personal and business development sessions, we’ll have a yoga class, hiking, and dinner with a private chef. CAN’T. WAIT.

Products!

Very soon I’ll have my *first ever* products available for purchase! This is very exciting and I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on.

UPDATE: They’re here!

Aiming high with pitches and bylines

I worked with a coach at the end of the year to refine my pitches and get closer to my goal of landing a NYT byline, and while I haven’t done it yet, that’s one of my goals for ‘19. I’m close. I can feel it :)

Did you do a post like this—or do you have an accomplishment from 2018 you’re really proud of? I wanna hear about it. Tweet me @kaleighf.

This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.