Words on the Page

a freelance writing resource.

  • Your Freelance Career Speed Bumps

    If you look online long enough (two minutes), you’ll find ample evidence of why some freelance writers are still struggling with running a successful freelance business. I present Exhibit One here, a writer who, upon attempting to identify the roadblocks to their success: My credentials don’t align with straightforward career trajectories. (They go on to…

  • Client Red Flags Every Freelancer Needs to Know

    I was reading through some old social media posts recently and came across discussion of a job posting that just plain sucked. In fact, I blogged about it not long ago right here. The issue was that the job poster, a household-name publication, was presenting a full-time employee position as a freelance job. Why? Because…

  • Your Freelance Writing Career: Finding work now, building for the future

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Freelancer asks the question: “How can a new freelancer become popular on freelance job websites?” Writers responded. “Create a strong profile.” “Post your portfolio.” “Get good reviews.” “Become a package designer.” Except for the obvious “Huh?” of that last one, these all seem like fair answers. Notice…

  • Freelance Game Plan: Your 2024 Freelance Writing Rate

    Welcome to the new chapter of your freelance writing career. I don’t care if you’re reading this on January 2nd or October 22nd — every single day of your working life is as good as any to turn the corner on your freelancing. If you want to use the calendar as a jumping-off point, be…

  • When a Client Breaches a Freelance Contract

    We’ve all had our share of flaky clients. By flaky, I mean clients who: Disappear at payment time Reappear three months later to complain about quality (oddly about the same time you’ve threatened litigation/collection) Change the project parameters after you’ve done the work Revise more than twice (my record is 12 revisions) and get farther…

  • Guest Post: Crafting a Freelance Writing Portfolio That Gets You Hired

    Sometimes a great idea lands in your email. This guest post is a prime example, in fact. When Jenn Mattern told me to expect a message from Monica Shaw, little did I know that the message would result in this great little post you’re about to read. The back story: Monica runs WritersResidence.com, a site…

  • How I Boosted my Freelance Career (and how you can, too)

    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the freelancer I was and the freelancer I am now. They are two different people, my friends. The old me was a hit-and-miss freelancer. I lost my job suddenly and had two kids to support. So my freelance career back then was pasted together. I’d take whatever gig…

  • How to Fail at Freelance Writing

    If you’ve been freelancing for a while, you’ve seen a lot. I’d bet you’ve seen something like what Randy Hecht shares with us today. Randy is the moderator of the popular LinkedIn forum LinkEds & Writers, which has a large population of working freelance editors and writers — the site’s target audience. As you might…