So, if you've been a regular reader of this blog in the past, you've probably noticed that I kinda skipped the whole year of 2011. It's something I could be kicking myself for now. After all, isn't this the cardinal…

I love the barter system. And I've gotten a lot of valuable things from it. In the past few years, I got a swanky overhaul on my freelance writing website by bartering for freelance work. I also got a great…

I came across a post on Words On the Page about resumes. Namely: do freelancers need them? Lori expands the definition of "resume" to include websites, brochures, and other documents about your business and writing background--but I'm going to stick…

Right, so how long has it been? …Yeah. Pretty long. So, apologies to my followers that I dropped out of blogging for such a length of time. New York City will do that to you sometimes, but I missed blogging…

I was recently asked by a friend of mine how to get started in freelancing. This is such a common question--and, to be honest, frustrating to answer--because there are so many ways people get started. However, thinking about it, I…

I was recently asked by a friend of mine how to get started in freelancing. This is such a common question--and, to be honest, frustrating to answer--because there are so many ways people get started. However, thinking about it, I…

I'm taking a break from work--and everything else--for the week of Thanksgiving. I'll be back next Monday. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is an excerpt only. Visit my website for the full story!…

No matter how long you've been a freelance writer, you will continually run into the client whose frame of reference for hiring freelance writers is the $5-an-article market. These clients expect you to charge less than nothing. They think it…

As a freelancer, it can be tough to stand up to a client who wants something unreasonable. And when you're starting out, you may not have the confidence to say when things are and aren't OK to expect. When I…

As a freelancer, it can be tough to stand up to a client who wants something unreasonable. And when you're starting out, you may not have the confidence to say when things are and aren't OK to expect. When I…

I've been running up against unrealistic client expectations lately. It can be a frustrating thing--especially when you don't realize how unrealistic those expectations really are until you turn in the first draft. When I first started freelancing, I believed that…

So, I haven't been around for a while. A lot's happened in my life. I met a fabulous guy. I traveled all over Europe with him--and went to Kenya. My brother got married. I finished a second novel. I started…

So, I haven't been around for a while. A lot's happened in my life. I met a fabulous guy. I traveled all over Europe with him--and went to Kenya. My brother got married. I finished a second novel. I started…

I just have to share this experience. So I was walking down the street in the East Village the other day. I was on my way to see a movie with a friend, and I was late. And as I…

This has happened to me twice in the past few weeks. Someone sends me an email marketing message asking me to buy into something, promote something on my site, something like that. It’s not something I’m interested in. Since I…

Once, when I had been in business for only a little over a year, I had a client I had worked with several times hire me for a small writing assignment. “No need for a contract,” the client said before…

On Wednesday I wrote about reasons why you might not hear back about a quote or proposal you’ve submitted to a possible client—reasons that aren’t your fault. But there are reasons you might not hear back that do have to…

t happens to all of us. You get really excited about a lead for a new project. You talk to the client at length, get to know their needs, spend all day crafting a proposal. Then you send it over…

“We’d love to hire you, but your price is too high.” It’s not an uncommon response from prospective clients. And I’ve let many exchanges end at that—even though I could have ultimately landed the job, if I’d known what to…

This week I went to a poetry slam competition in New York City…and I won. Not exactly a professional success, but a writing-related one—and a lot of fun. I struck up a conversation with someone in the crowd before the…

I think I was about as surprised as everyone else when I read that James Chartrand is actually a woman--and started using a male pseudonym to get freelance writing work. There's a tradition of this in writing--witness George Elliot--women pretending…

I saw a post on Words on the Page the other day about setting work boundaries. The post covers the line freelancers have to draw in the sand when they decide which projects to take and which to skip. I’ve…

I saw a post on Words on the Page the other day about setting work boundaries. The post covers the line freelancers have to draw in the sand when they decide which projects to take and which to skip. I’ve…

I had a long phone conversation with a client the other day. We were discussing our approach for an upcoming project and some revisions from a previous project. At the end of the conversation, the client said something that made…

I’ve written about this before—about the way most businesspeople want to expand, and I don’t. Oh, sure, I’d love to earn more. But I’m not wild about working 80-hour weeks—and when it comes right down to it, really what I’d…

I’ve never been good with developing positive habits. I could never get into exercise, for example. I had a few years’ worth of traumatic experiences with team sports as a kid, and I guess exercise is too closely associated in…

I often find myself glancing at my clock, realizing it’s the end of the day, and noticing that I got about half the things on my list done. Sometimes it’s not just that my list is too long. Procrastination is…

I was negotiating a contract with a client the other day. The client sent me their contract, I looked it over, and found a term I wasn’t too comfortable with. The job was interesting and paid well, and I wanted…

I've gotten plenty of bad business advice--advice that would up holding me back, going down roads that didn't ultimately lead where I wanted to go, and feeling required to do more work on my business than might be absolutely necessary.…

Over at the Well Fed Writer blog, I saw a post about an ad for a copywriting program that offers, well, let's just say pie-in-the-sky promises if only you'll pay for their class. This got me thinking about the copywriting…

I saw a post at Words on the Page about how veteran freelancers handle the "feast or famine" cycle that comes as part of the job. One of the ways I get through that cycle is by having a nice…