Best of WordCount recap
In case you missed it, while I was on vacation last week, I ran some of the most popular posts from WordCount’s back issues. Take a look: Online resources for writers – Help navigating the world of Web-based resources for writers, including top Web 2.0 tools, what writers should know about SEO and how to [...]
Making life work as a writer and mom
Today I’m guest blogging at The Urban Muse, Susan Johnston’s popular freelance writing blog. The subject is how to make life work as a writer and mom. Here’s a little taste: I didn’t set out to be a freelance writer. It’s the compromise I made in order to do it all, be a writer and [...]
Lessons learned from May blogathon
A month ago I had the crazy notion to blog for 31 days straight. For reasons I still don’t understand, two dozen other freelance writers hitched their wagons to the idea and joined me. 31 posts later, I’m at the finish line and here’s what I discovered: It’s not that hard to blog every day, [...]
Taking My Own Advice on Beating Bad Times
It happened. Earlier this week, the editor of a magazine I’ve been writing for told me she can’t buy more freelance pieces until summer because of budget cuts. It’s the first time in years that economic cutbacks have directly affected my business. It’s also bad news because I’d just pitched a story I thought was [...]
Freelancers' Strategies for Prospering in Bad Times
I recently shared a marketing expert’s advice for freelancer writers and other self-employed creative types to stay happy and solvent during shaky economic times. His suggestions boiled down to a few simple maxims: cultivate existing client relationships, specialize, learn new skills and network. Reality check time. Do freelancers heed such advice? Or do they use [...]
Keeping Web 2.0 Safe
Companies use blogs and social networks to keep customers informed and employees happy. But Web 2.0 technologies can open the door to corporate spies and hackers, which is why if a company uses them, they also need strong security policies for protection. You can read more on the subject in my new story, Keeping Web [...]
Make Headline News
Want a quick way to an editor’s heart? Write your own headlines. Make it a practice to send a headline – and a deck too if a publication uses them – with every story you submit. Whether an editor actually uses your headline is beside the point. Writing headlines is good practice. And it shows [...]
More than One Way to Make Freelancing Pay
In one episode of Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw character lands a freelance assignment for some incredible amount, like $4 a word. As a real-life freelance writer, I’ve never made $4 a word, or even met anybody who does. I’m not sure rates like that exist. Even $2 a word sounds [...]
Outsourcing
I write a lot about outsourcing, the kind companies do to dispense with non-essentials and focus on what they make or sell. As an independent contractor, I know a thing or two about outsourcing from personal experience. The more things I don’t have to do in my non-work life, the more time I have for [...]
Tech in the Columbia Gorge
Hood River, Oregon, is a special place. People visit because of the world-class windsurfing, apple and pear orchards, B&Bs and micro-brewed beer. It’s a picturesque town nestled on the banks of the Columbia River, with an old-fashioned downtown that’s home to lots of new coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques. Skiing on Mt. Hood is only [...]
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