I hate resolutions. But many of you know that already. Why they suck — Resolutions are promises, empty ones at best. We promise to lose five pounds. We promise to get a better job. We promise to find more clients. Notice anything about these promises? Not one of them is a plan. Not one thing…
3 Racist Assumptions to Remove from Your Writing Life
It’s been a little over a month since we’ve addressed racism in our writing. And it’s the conversation we need to keep having, even if we get it wrong or make a few mistakes along the way. The goal is to be better, and to promote better. Three things that have been bugging me, in…
My Freelance Pros (and Cons) in 2021
I’m out of the office all month. Did your throat just tighten up? The idea of taking time off at all usually gives me hives or agita or stresses me to the point it takes days to relax on vacation. But this time, I walked away easily. Very easily. Since April 2020, I’ve been working like…
Freelance Game Plan: 12 Ways to Improve Your Freelance Business
Look at you — you’ve made it to December. You worked a long, hard year and you’ve come to the end of it hopefully in a better place than where you started. And now it’s winding down. Just for a moment, look over your shoulder. Look back through each month and see not where you…
4 Ways to Reinforce Your Freelance Boundaries
It’s the holiday season. One down, several to go before January. Now is the time when client budgets are either spent or being spent rapidly. It’s also a time when clients make unusual requests. Some of those requests are boundary breakers. And it’s up to us writers to know when to say no. One example:…
5 Random Freelance Tips to Boost Your Biz
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…
5 Freelance Mistakes I Made (& what to do instead)
I turned down a steady gig recently. Two actually. And I don’t regret it. The first one was a no-brainer. The pay was there, but the workload was a bit much for what was expected. I would have lost money — and time — if I’d kept that client. So I politely declined further assignments….
Freelance Writers Behaving Badly
It happened again. Who am I kidding? It happens continuously. In forums, in email, in groups. People everywhere are committing the same sins that label them all. They act like lazy little shits. I was researching markets for a client pitch. A website I located had a list of markets for that particular niche industry….
Freelance Game Plan: Planning Your Next Year
It’s November 2021. Do you know where your plan for 2022 is? I’m a big believer in every day being your best chance to plan your future. You could start today and plan for what next week, next month, next year, or the next decade will look like. And I contend that you should. Right…
A Zen Writer’s Guide to Reducing Stress
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…