Business Boosts | Words on the Page

Getting Unstuck in Your Freelance Biz

Posted on April 7, 2025March 10, 2026 by lwidmer

A common question I get — and have gotten over the years — from struggling freelancers is: How do I improve my freelancing results? Mind you, that’s a big question. I don’t know you or your efforts well enough, nor do I know who your client is or what specialty or focus you prefer. It’s…

Freelance ‘Anti-Niche’ Niche Boost

Posted on August 21, 2023August 18, 2023 by lwidmer

I’m going to say something that’s a little controversial — We’re all niche writers. We’re also all generalists. No matter what you start out writing, you eventually end up with two things happening: You start to write a lot of the same topic or writing form (blog posts, ghosted articles, case studies, etc.) You write…

An AI Target or Irreplaceable: Which Freelancer Are You?

Posted on May 10, 2023May 8, 2023 by lwidmer

There’s a whole lot being written and discussed right now regarding ChatGPT and other AI applications. Either AI is going to wipe out millions of jobs or AI is going to be the next version of cryptocurrency — pretty hit-and-miss in terms of its value. No matter which camp you’re in, AI is going to…

5 Freelance Writing Biz Improvements

Posted on May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 by lwidmer

I was in conversation with a beginning freelancer a while ago when I realized that the writer was approaching her freelance writing business as if she were an employee. The signs were all there: Applying for jobs Treating networking like a sales pitch Looking for others to tell her what to do and how to…

6 Habits of $100K Freelancers

Posted on March 13, 2023January 24, 2025 by lwidmer

Before anyone gets all huffy, thinking this is yet another “How to make $100,000 freelance writing post” just simmer down. I don’t care if you make $100K or $100 at freelancing. What I care about is your improvement over time. That’s what this post is about. If you’ve been around this blog at all, you…

1 Career-boosting Freelance Shift

Posted on March 18, 2022March 17, 2022 by lwidmer

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

Posted on March 11, 2022March 10, 2022 by lwidmer

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

Posted on March 7, 2022April 6, 2022 by lwidmer

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 Random Freelance Tips to Boost Your Biz

Posted on November 17, 2021November 16, 2021 by lwidmer

When I interview people, I emulate Bryant Gumbel. In my head, I’m sitting in front of the person, and I’ve got my glasses in my hand, sort of dangling to one side as I balance a notepad on my lap, just like Bryant Gumbel. I’m asking the tough questions, and I’m ending the interview with…

Paula Hendrickson

November 17, 2021

I can’t say I’m that familiar with Bryant Gumbel’s style, but I often steal one of Dan Rather’s tricks (which he uses at the end of every episode of his current AXS TV show, The Big Interview) and ask if there’s something the interviewee wished I’d asked. And yes, when someone says they love that question I admit I stole it from Dan Rather.

Last month I was overwhelmed with lots of short interviews that needed to be Otterized (my word for what you do when you edit an Otter transcript while listening to the recording), so I asked a friend who does some transcribing work how much she’d charge – $1/minute – and hired her to clean up several of them for me. After she’d done a couple, she gave me a great compliment by saying I made the interviewees feel relaxed and comfortable and gainedtheir trust. I always just try to keep it conversational—I never want anyone to feel like they’re taking a pop quiz!

Back to your points, Lori: Just this week a client said they’d soon be assigning articles for December. I explained that I always take the last two weeks of the year off, and already have enough work to see me through mid-December. I said I MIGHT be open to a short, quick, single-source article if he could extend the deadline. Next day he asked if I could take 1,200-word single-source article.

I’m conditioned to write super short things for most of my clients (often with more than one source), so 1,200 words was a bit long, so I passed. Did the editor get huffy or threaten I’d never work for them again? Of course not. He praised my work and said they’d have plenty more assignments to make after the holidays.

1. lwidmer
  
  November 17, 2021
  
  Paula, I love it! And I know exactly the Dan Rather move you’re talking about. 🙂 Good one.
  
  I need to take your example and run with it. I’m off the entire month, but there is someone who wants me to work right up to the last second before I head off. Nope. Boundary is drawn.
Paula Hendrickson

November 19, 2021

After that, a new-to-me client also wanted to assign a 1,200-word article (with six interviews) due December 17. I felt awful declining, since it would have been my first article for them, but I was honest. I have several things due that week and would not be able to do it justice – and I am taking the last two weeks of the year off. I said if they have any assignments that don’t need to be started until January, I’d be glad to take them on.

More than 24 hours and still no reply. I hope I didn’t lose a new client, but I’d rather be honest than say yes to something I know I don’t have time to do – especially since Thanksgiving reduces the number of work days between now and December 17.

1. Lori
  
  November 19, 2021
  
  I think you did the right thing by you, and by them. That’s a lot of pressure to finish all these other things, then have to learn a new client’s style when your attention is divided.
  
  Good for you. I hope they appreciate your honesty.