It’s been an interesting, COVID-filled few weeks. You read that right. I have COVID. I contracted it from my mother, who’d fallen and broken some bones, ended up in a rehab facility, and contracted it from someone there. We’re both mending, but this post isn’t about that. It’s about the expectations you set with your…
Category: Finding freelance work
The Fallacy of the Easy Freelance Living
Honey, stand back, for I’m about to launch. I had a video forwarded to me by someone who thought it was interesting. In the video, which is 10 minutes long, a freelancer flaunts their easy lifestyle while talking about how they make — are you sitting down? — nearly $400,000 a year on a freelance…
Your Freelance Identity Crisis
Saw this on LinkedIn the other day (details altered to spare the guilty): Jane Doe, Expert in Business Consulting and Grant Writing – Speaker and Author Founder of Rapunzel Business Consulting LLC Client-focused business consulting and grant writing for nonprofits and small businesses. I free up your time so you can spend it with family….
3 Freelancing Trouble Zones (and how to find better clients)
Having been ’round this freelance writing block a few times (yesterday was the 15th anniversary of this very blog), I’ve come to spot things that, on the surface, may not seem obvious. But once you look under the surface, even just a little, you start to build a healthier level of skepticism. And believe me,…
Your Freelance Career, Murdered (& how to bring it back to life)
There are some self-inflicted wounds that just leave you wondering if there’s a death wish involved. I saw an insane exchange on a writers forum recently that had me thinking the writer was either 1) way too sure of himself, or 2) really that foolish. I’m leaning toward a combination of the two. In the…
4 Things to Stop Doing That Will Grow Your Freelance Business
Just when you think nothing can shock you, something else does. A friend of mine moderates a LinkedIn group. The group has specific rules regarding what you can and cannot post. For example, one cannot post a thread that’s a link to that person’s blog or website or anything that is intended to be self-promotional….
Freelance Game Plan: February
I know, I know. It’s midway through February and I’m just getting to this. My apologies; a good bit of work came in all at once. I started with this Freelance Game Plan idea last month with the idea of giving us a bit of a monthly kick in the pants to change something up,…
All Freelance Advice is Not Created Equal
Sigh. (insert large exhale here) A writer friend alerted me to a few posts and tweets seen recently that offer “writing tips” from freelancers that can help nearly any writer find more work this year. I guess the word “freelancer” is pretty loosely defined these days. I’m not saying only veteran writers have great advice…
Market in 2021 Like a Freelance Boss
A few weekends ago, I sat down to tally up my invoices for 2020 and pay that final self-employment tax installment. It’s an exercise that used to fill me with untold amounts of angst. I loathe figuring taxes. I never get the percentage right no matter how high I estimate. This year, I still owed…
Freelance Game Plan: January
Welcome to 2021. It already looks better, doesn’t it? That is, unless you’re trying to kickstart your freelancing business. However, I have good news for you: Fact: clients need freelance writing help any time of year. Another fact: finding them isn’t always easy. But once you figure out what works for you, it can be….