A freelance writer needs a couple gigs she can depend on. That is why I write for and edit blogs. When the back and forth of the query process with magazines slows, my blog gigs cover the bills. Sometimes, you lose a regular gig. Several years ago, the owners of a site I […]
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Where to Sell Reprint Articles
Some years, selling reprints has made up to a third of my income. When you look at it one story at a time, it hardly sounds worth the effort. But if you have a well-written article on a popular topic, you can easily triple your rate from the initial publication. And considering I […]
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Planning for Writers — Why, What, and Methods
This week I conducted a workshop for my local writers group on planning for writers. Since it went so well, I thought I’d share my top points with you here. I have always been a planner. In fact, I used to spend the greater part of my shopping hours in November-December looking for […]
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Show Your Clients You Care
Early in my freelance career I started sending Christmas cards to my most regular clients to thank them for working with me. Then I wondered if, in the hub of all the holiday mail, they even saw them. I envisioned some editorial assistant opening my card, putting it in a stack of a hundred […]
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How to Set Yourself apart from the Competition
As an executive secretary, a loooong time ago, I learned an invaluable lesson: do everything you can to make your boss successful and you will succeed. As a freelance writer of magazine articles my boss is the editor. So I ask myself, “What does that editor need?” Time. If my editor spends less time […]
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Make Technology Your Friend
I started my freelance career without an internet connection. And yet when I started getting assignments, and running back and forth to the library to use its internet became a hassle, I embraced learning my way around. I designed and set up my own blog. I taught myself to transfer that blog from Blogger […]
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How to Serve Your Client
Writing is a service profession. When we write content for a magazine, blog or website, we provide a service for our clients. That makes you, and me, servants. Do you have a servant heart? Do you go above and beyond to serve your editor or are you frequently counting the words to make sure […]
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Does a Freelance Writer Need a Website?
As a freelance writer, I want to be able to find folks to interview. I wrote a story about blogging for hobby farmers. I was excited about this story because I could highlight some of my favorite blogs by interviewing those blog owners as experts. But I had some trouble. Where is your contact […]
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Check the Changes Your Editor Makes
This is one of my best tips, ya’ll. And I’m giving it to you for FREE! What makes this one of my best tips? If you do what I’m going to share with you here, you will build a great working relationship with your editors so that they want you to write for them. […]
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Do You Know Your Reader?
One of the main reasons I reject story pitches I receive as editor of a regional lifestyle publication is that the story would not interest our readers. The clue is in the word regional. Our magazine covers a certain region of the country. I regularly receive pitches for articles about places to go and people […]
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