Words on the Page

a freelance writing resource.

  • Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide: The Professional Business

    Back in July, we set off on a journey, talking about how to ramp up your established freelance writing business. With so much beginner advice clogging the airwaves, I thought it might be a good idea to move beyond beginner stages and into building a stronger freelance writing career. Today, we’ll be covering the last…

  • Your Freelance Biz’s Biggest Legal Threat

    Struggling freelancers, freelancers who are doing well — let’s talk. In an unsettling exchange that another freelancer shared with me, a beginning writer was asking for some advice and feedback. Normally, those “feedback” requests get ignored because if every one of them were answered, who would get any paying work done? But because my friend…

  • 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…

  • Freelance Game Plan: Your Raise

    August already, huh? Looking back over the last eight months, ask yourself this: Am I where I want to be in my freelance writing career? Think back to January. What were your plans? To get more clients? To work more? To work less? To earn more? What was on your resolutions list? Didn’t quite hit…

  • Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide: Building Name Recognition

    You’ve been at this freelance writing business for a while now. People should know your name by now. So why don’t they? Continuing what we started at the beginning of the month with our first Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide, let’s just tick down the list of things that more experienced freelancers need to know, but aren’t…

  • 6 Ways to Boost Your Freelance Writing Career Now

    Ever see those tweets and posts on social media in which the writer literally asks for work from an unnamed client or fellow writer? Annoy the hell out of  you too, right? A friend alerted me to one such Twitter ask. The writer asked for someone to throw work their way — writing yes, but…

  • How to Earn More Freelancing (with one simple shift)

    It’s been years since I’ve done it. That may surprise you. I advocate for it here quite often. And for some people, it still makes sense. But for freelance writers who have built a successful freelance writing career, it no longer does. I’m talking about charging by the hour. That’s right — I no longer…

  • Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide: Moving Past Beginner Rates & Clients

    Last week we talked about building a mid-level freelance career. Part of that post touched on rates — specifically, the rate you should be charging. This post is all about two things that get your freelance career moving up the freelance food chain: Better rates and better clients. I think you’re going to be surprised…