WordCount Last Wednesday Dec. 29 – the freelance year in review

Join me today, Dec. 29, for the final WordCount Last Wednesday live chat of 2010, a look at the year that was for independent journalists, writers, bloggers and other freelancers.

The chat takes place from 10 to 11 a.m. Pacific time on Twitter.  To follow along, use the hashtag #wclw.

At 10 a.m. we’ll all log on and introduce ourselves. After that, the chat will be organized around a set list of questions, and we’ll leave some time at the end for a free-for-all discussion.

Here are the questions:

1. Was your freelance writing business better or worse in 2010 than in 2009, and if so, why?
2. What was the high point of 2010 for your writing business?
3. What was the low point of your writing year?
4. What tech tools did you discover that you can’t live without?
5. What do you think are the biggest trends happening today in the media business?
6. What goals have you set for your freelance business for 2011?

We’ll try to wrap up questions by 10:45 to leave time for an open-ended discussion.

Although it’s possible to use the standard Twitter interface for a live chat, you might find it easier to follow along with an add-on application such as TweetGrid, TweetChat or HootSuite. This tutorial explains how to set them up.

If you’re afraid you’ll offend your Twitter followers by tweeting too much during a chat, you can suggest they use an app called TwitterSnooze to temporarily turn off your tweets. If you haven’t done this before, right before the chat starts, tweet a message like this: “I’ll be in a live chat for the next hour; if you don’t want to follow, turn off my tweets with TwitterSnooze.com.”

Planning for 2011: I’m planning next year’s WordCount Last Wednesday chats now, so if you’ve got an idea for a subject you’d like to see covered, send it my way. If you’re an expert in a particular aspect of freelance writing, running a freelance business or tech tools for writers and are interested in participating in a WordCount Last Wednesday chat as a guest speaker in 2011, please contact me.