What does a successful freelance writing career look like to you? Ask a hundred freelancers and you’ll probably get that many different answers. Success could be something as lofty as making enough to retire by age 50. It could be making enough to pay the bills and bank a little. Or it could be working…
Author: lwidmer
Countdown to Freelance Success
Maybe it was the poster on a forum who was asking for advice on whether she should update her 19-year-old manuscript before publishing it. Maybe it was the writer I met recently who, despite being a career veteran, couldn’t make ends meet. Maybe it was the Twitter connection who shunned all advice and clung to…
How to Lose –and Win– at Freelancing
I call this post A Tale of Two Writers. A friend of mine knows of a writer who, on the surface, should have made a serious killing the last two years. The writer in question –let’s call her Writer #1 — has a background in healthcare, senior care, aging, wellness, and medicine, among other things….
1 Career-boosting Freelance Shift
In talking with a writer chum yesterday, I realized the difference between successful freelancers and those struggling to get a writing business going in the right direction. Actually, it’s just one difference. There are plenty more, but this one is a biggie. It’s also a difference that had me struggling at the beginning of my…
3 Shifts to Put the ‘Free’ Back in Freelance
Sometimes you come to your breaking point. Sometimes when that happens, you break. Or sometimes you find a way through the stress and you vow to make changes so that you don’t reach that breaking point again. Oh, those best laid plans, eh? We freelancers suck at taking care of ourselves. It’s true. We put…
8 Freelance Writing Biz Hacks
If only I had some quick hacks that could improve my freelance writing business! said every writer everywhere. Today’s your lucky day. As I slow my business pace in anticipation of an eventual retirement, I’ve had some time to reflect on how arrived at this point in my career. And I’ve been happy with what I…
5 Ways to Unstick Your Freelance Writing Career
I saw this question on Twitter yesterday: What advice would you give a freelance writer who is stuck at their next career step? They’re not new & not an expert. Not making pennies, but not making enough. Haven’t we all been there? We get the credits built up, get client relationships solidified, find our rhythm…
3 Truths About Writing Advice
Forgive me if I’m repeating myself, but some of you need to hear this. Hell, I’d argue we all need to hear this more often than we do. And thanks to my dear friend Cathy Miller, we got a wakeup call recently when she retweeted this post. Cathy’s social media lessons form around the same…
One Freelance Ask You Should Never Make
It happened to me last week. Twice. To be fair, it happens to plenty of established writers pretty regularly. I’m no exception, believe me. It comes from friends, but mostly it comes from strangers. It’s unpleasant no matter who it comes from. I’m talking about someone asking for my “overflow” work. Let’s just skip the…
No-Marketing Guide to Freelancing
Everyone has a sweet spot. It’s that place where the struggle is over, the work and clients come easily, and that working-hard mode you’ve been in for ages has shifted to the hardly working mode. And you’re actually better off. Man, what a sweet spot that is. But what a ton of work you put…