A friend had recommended me to a curriculum publisher. Could I revise workbooks for fifth-grade science? I said that I would give it a try, and soon a big box appeared on my porch. I eagerly delved into the materials: course samples, manuals on how to design curriculum, workbooks to revise, and the fifth-grade science textbook. The cover art featured a wise-looking owl. Was I wise enough to rewrite ten science workbooks? …
A price sheet - a list of specific projects and their costs - is a handy tool for any writer. Creating one prepares you to give "back of the napkin" estimates. And, any experienced freelancer knows that when a prospect calls about a 400-word blog article, you can often win the business by providing an immediate answer when she asks "What's it going to cost?" That's great when reacting to inquiries, but did you know that a price sheet can be highly effective for proactive marketing? Here's how... …
There is a way to effectively market yourself as a writer for free, and promote your services to thousands of people, all with only a few minutes work per day. Of course, I'm talking about comment marketing. …
Congratulations on making the decision to write your book. But if you are like me, you really don't know where to begin. I remember getting frustrated, a little angry, and then just plain stuck. If that's happened to you, then here are two simple first steps that you should consider to get unstuck and get your book written... …
The number of scammed victims is the best kept secret in self-publishing. In writing groups, large and small, fellow authors sit with dark secrets and, like the elderly woman down the street who hasn't told anyone she sent all her savings to a fake online preacher, you won't know who they are. Protecting their fear of being labeled gullible, and subjected to pitying glances, they help unscrupulous self-publishing companies to flourish... …
Everyone wants to know the "secret sauce," the precise steps they must take to become a successful self-published author. While there are no hard and fast rules that will work equally for everyone, here are six basic commandments for self-publishing success... …
One of the frequent topics popping up in magazines devoted to writers and writing is how and where to get ideas for stories, be they fiction or non-fiction. That should not be a problem for anyone who intends to be or is writing for publication. It is for many writers because they are looking into the skies for the big literary bomb to be exploded in hype they can peddle to the highest paying markets. That is a mistake... …
In these days of indie publishing, the more books you have out there, the more money you can make. But, how can you write faster? Can you really write books quickly that don't suck? By following the strategies below, you can churn out multiple novels a year and get them out to your readers. Here's how... …
How can we fix the glaring inconsistency of expecting writers to work for free while everybody else receives payment? Well, editors can either pay the writers or writers can move on to publications that do pay. Sometimes, editors do not seem to understand the unfairness of this policy or, at other times, writers sell themselves short. I wrote the following allegory to expose the issue, and to encourage fairness for the work that writers do... …
Craigslist, often vilified, if treated with respect, can make you money. In a double-barreled approach, a freelancer can post ads soliciting business or respond to ads seeking freelancers. The cost - only the time spent managing your account. …
Whether you are a full-time freelancer, or are just dabbling in the writing life, there are countless ways to make money writing. Here are 10 ways to boost your bottom line this year... …
One of the most devastating times for writers is when things seem to be going along smoothly and then the work dries up. As I close in on 14-years of full-time freelancing, I find that now and then, work can suddenly dry up for me just as it does for any writer. Whether the work and specifically whether the high-paying kind of work that I enjoy returns and how soon depends on how I respond to these lulls... …
See bad writing online? Offer to fix it. That's how I've won numerous web content writing jobs from companies. Finding the work is easy. Anytime you're online, take note of sites lacking content or whose content could use improvement. Most of these are the sites of small business owners who likely made the sites themselves with the help of a tech savvy friend... …
Sometimes we writers get hitched to the wagon and steed on a blazing trail headed to nowhere fast. That blazing trail for our purposes may be the pipe dream magazine of a bitter editor. It might be a newspaper making due at just the middle ground with no path to better real estate. It may be the dead end online portal for pulp entertainment and sports write ups that don't really get you the Pulitzer you dream of. Whatever it is, eventually you have to have a heart to heart with yourself about your ambitions as a writer. When is it time to move on to greater adventures? That, my friends, is the million dollar question... …
Less than two years ago, I purchased an item from a vendor in a large meeting hall. This was my first personal experience with a device that would take my ability to process credit card orders anywhere WiFi is available... …
For new and seasoned writers alike, online job boards are indispensable. They're (usually) free, accessible, and provide leads you can't find on your own without spending hours on places like Craigslist, Indeed.com, and Monster.com. As it turns out, however, the convenience provided by job boards is a double-edged sword... …
After I started publishing content online, I got emails from visitors telling me how much they liked my websites. I smiled, sometimes responded, and hit "delete." Later, subscribers to my email newsletters sent complimentary comments as well. I smiled, sometimes responded, and hit "delete." It was almost two years, after I started putting websites and e-books together, before I realized I should save these testimonials. I then added the appropriate language to the "terms of use" pages on my sites, allowing me to use a few lines from any email received, and I set up files to sort the e-mails worth saving. From that point on, I carefully saved hundreds of testimonials, and even used a few once in a while.…
If you create anything from marketing collateral to blogs to journal articles, then you are a commercial writer. And, the commercial writer's playground is LinkedIn when it comes to social networking... …
When my book, The Secret S*x Life of a Single Mom, was just a manuscript, a few people (including two literary agents) told me they thought it would make an awesome movie. I took it with a grain of salt, assuming every author thinks the same of his/her work. Nonetheless, when my publisher, Seal Press, bought it, I held onto 100% of the movie rights "just in case"... …
No matter what type of writing you do, you can find a writer's conference that will help you learn more about your craft. While the price tag on some of the conferences may seem daunting, keep in mind that the impact of a writer's conference can continue far beyond the few days the conference lasts... …
Possibly the most exciting thing to have happened to me in my long life is knowing that my historical novel, The Pomegranate Pendant, was to be made into a movie. Despite having written 13 books, I never expected one of them to be shown on the silver screen... …
Building a strong portfolio, networking with other writers, and reaching potential clients are the usual tasks that freelance writers continually focus on. Accomplishing these used to mean hours of unpaid work, especially for budding writers. Fortunately, it's now possible to earn money early on in your writing career, or when you're in-between clients, through guest blogging... …
Millions of writers are pursuing their dreams by self-publishing. While I wouldn't discourage anyone from chasing their dream, I would like to encourage you to think about your dream in a different way... …
Despite a declining economy, my writing revenue climbed more than 32% last year. I credit much of that success to adjusting my marketing sails and capitalizing on social media netweaving, with a focus on Twitter and blogging... …
For a number of reasons, blogging has become the de facto marketing platform for businesses serious about online marketing. This has created a rich opportunity for serious freelancers to capture residual income by managing commercial blogs... …
How do you as a writer get the golden goose of being published in today's social media market? Become a Belieber... …
When I walked away from my corporate career to become a writer, I not only walked away from a steady income, but I walked into a field I knew nothing about... …
Most authors quickly discover that simply writing a good book and getting published are just the first few steps. All of us are required to quickly learn how to promote and market their work as effectively as possible. Book trailers are one way to do this... …
"I kicked Barbie to the curb. Everything must go," the online auction headline said. Intrigued, I read on, amused at the tale of Ken and Barbie's "divorce." Just because the description was so amusing, I almost bid on the grimy plastic dollhouse - of dingy furniture and frizzy-haired dolls. At a garage sale I wouldn't have paid $10 for it all, so I was stunned to see it go for $50... …
Scoring top-name interviews adds some serious clout to your portfolio and helps you obtain assignments with better pay. But, at times, it can feel like well-known people live in an ivory tower slathered in Crisco. Here's how you can scale those slippery walls.…
Writing is a valuable craft. Writers can and do earn a lot of money from books, television shows, and speeches, as well as other types of written and oral content. Almost every website, video, or product has some type of written content so there should be plenty of opportunities for writers to find decent paying work. However, many writers complain that the keep running into low paying clients and content mills online... …
I can see the headline now: Struggling freelance writer catapulted into a deadly game of fraud and foreign assassins... …
When pulling art or photography from the Internet, most authors know to be careful about copyright protection. Most of the work found online cannot be copied without the expectation of a DMAC take-down notice from an artist's attorney, so most writers focus their searches on stock photo sites instead. These sites, usually owned by massive multimedia conglomerates, sell licenses to photographs and vector artwork at reasonable prices. Professional and DIY cover designers alike rely on stock sites as a source of affordable, safe art. Unfortunately, not all stock art is trustworthy... …
