It’s funny how sometimes you go along, mired in stress, thinking about work after hours, losing sleep (literally), and then it hits you: You don’t have to write like this. Since early April 2020, I’ve been swimming in projects. That’s 19 months of working nearly nonstop on what amounted to (and still amounts to) roughly…
Category: Freelance writing advice
The Freelancer’s Stress-reducer Guide
It took three days for my shoulders and neck to relax. But they did. Vacations these days are tough to come by. Either you’re too busy to go anywhere or you’re out of work and can’t afford to go anywhere. Then there’s that pandemic thing… Yet it’s amazing what a week away, without electronic connection,…
Saying No to Freelance Writing Prospects
A conversation I started on a LinkedIn forum went something like this: This has been on my mind a while. And with so many writers struggling (some of them for longer than imaginable), I thought this topic might be appropriate. Writers, it’s time you become picky. Ask yourself these questions: 1: When was the last…
Writing Without Racism
This shouldn’t be a difficult post to write. And yet, it is. In 2020, we all watched it happen. As we watched a man murdered, we watched something else happen, too. Our world woke up to what millions of people have already known — racism is alive and festering. Worse, in the last decade, it…
6 Ways to Sabotage Your Freelance Career
A friend of mine asked me the other day what I knew about a certain freelancer. It was someone who crossed her email, and there was some evidence I was connected to her. “Oh, not that freelancer,” I said. That response was telling. I hadn’t heard from said freelancer since 2015. And yet I still knew…
The Six-figure Freelance Mindset Gap
I had an email conversation with a writer friend last week when one of those “a-ha!” moments occurred. In conversation with someone on LinkedIn, she was delving into why places like Upwork, Fiverr and other bidding sites are not a great starting point for anyone looking to make a living freelance writing, how they don’t…
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….
Why You Aren’t Getting Those Freelance Writing Gigs
(sigh) Here we go again. Another trip around the internet groups and forums is all it takes to wind me up. So forgive the minor rant, but this needs to be said: Know why? Because the job poster ruled you out the minute you responded. Oh yes, she did. And for good reason. This is…
The Freelance Client Balancing Act
You may have heard me whine talk about how busy my workdays have been lately. Because I’ve recently added two new clients to the stable, it’s been interesting trying to please them and keep up with the work that was there before they reached out. I was just able to keep up with all the…
The Freelance Writer’s Survival Kit
I think it was as I was lying down to sleep, still talking about work at 11 pm, that I realized I have a problem. I’m overworked to the point of not being able to shut it off at the end of the day. And for those of you who are new to freelancing or…