Since WordCount started in 2008, some posts have taken on a life of their own, racking up thousands or tens of thousands of page views because they touched on hot button issues or shared practices I’ve mastered over years of working as a six-figure freelancer. Instead of making you wade through four years of posts for these gems, I’ve gathered them here. Don’t see a topic you’re interested in? Let me know – maybe it’s greatest hit post waiting to be written.
Blogging
1. Dear WordCount: How should I choose a blog topic?
2. Simple steps to starting a blog
4. 8 essential reasons to put links in blog posts
5. Write killer blog post titles
6. Dear WordCount: Someone linked to my blog, is that bad?
7. How to get more comments on your blog
8. Driving traffic to your blog
9. A writer’s guide to SEO basics
10. Bad beginnings: 10 newbie blogging mistakes and how to fix them
12. 25 more ways to blog every day
13. Cheat your way into blogging every day
14. 10 sure cures for blogging burnout
15. Give under-appreciated blog posts a second chance
16. Why writers should blog: it’s not personal, it’s business
18. 5 reasons why you should obsess over blog stats
19. 6 ways to find paid blogging gigs
20. 31 lessons from blogging 31 days
21. Should you put ads on your blog?
22. 3 questions you should be asking about your blog
23. A 10-step guide to making time to blog
24. The 500 blog posts that changed my life
25. Best of WordCount: Bloggers’ favorite places to write
Writing
26. Write like a pro
27. 10 great places writers can find story ideas
28. Asking the hard questions: top 10 interview tips
29. 12 insider interview tips from 2 accomplished writers
30. 5 secrets of successful interviewers, or how to get sources to tell you anything
31. A reporter’s convention survival guide
32. 25 tips for better writing
34. Writing basics: the nut graph
37. More tips for writing fast
38. A few words on writing short
39. When it comes to writing, economize
40. 7 steps to cutting a story that’s too long
41. How to handle rewrites without wanting to kill yourself or your editor
42. 10 tricks to get the words flowing again
43. Best time management tips for writers
44. The writer as content curator
46. First v. best
47. 10 things J. K. Rowling taught me about writing
48. William Zinsser and ‘On Writing Well’
49. Why is ‘Mad Men’ so great? It’s the writing
50. My 5 favorite books on writing
Freelancing
51. Freelance 101: getting started as an independent writer
52. How writers can squeeze more money out of their work
53. 10 ways to make editors fall in love with your work
54. Are you a freelancer writer or journalist entrepreneur?
56. Top 10 blogs for freelance writers
57. Promote yourself through your email signature
58. 10 more ways to promote your freelance writing
59. How to become a niche writer
60. Dear WordCount: What do newspapers pay?
61. Why ex-staff writers make good trade magazine freelancers
62. The freelancer’s guide to e-newsletters
63. How to write, produce and market an ebook
64. WordCount Q&A – One freelancer’s DIY book publishing success
65. How to know if you’re freelance editor material
66. Do you tell editors what you’re doing when you’re not writing for them?
67. Surefire ways to get editors to get back to you faster
68. Why freelance queries get rejected
69. Should writers blog about juicy subjects or save them for story pitches?
71. The great freelance rate debate continues
72. A guide to hyperlocal news
73. Novice freelancers, instead of Helium, try hyperlocal
74. AOL’s Patch hyperlocal hiring spree – boon or bane for writers?
75. Top 13 signs a magazine is going under
76. Making life work as a writer and mom
77. 10 businesses freelance writers can start today
Social Media & Tech Tools for Writers
78. Writers’ 6 top tech tools for getting work done
79. 10 basic web tools for freelancers
80. Goodbye Google: 8 Internet search alternatives
81. My favorite freelance technology innovation: Track Changes
82. Research This: Del.icio.us and Google News Alerts
83. What freelancers should know about podcasting
84. How writers can use LinkedIn
85. The secret to my LinkedIn success (The Renegade Writer guest post)
86. New ways to uses LinkedIn to find story sources
87. Link your WordPress, Six Apart blogs to your LinkedIn profile
88. Best WordPress plug ins for writers and bloggers
89. WordPress users can add ratings to posts, comments
90. How to use Facebook to promote your writing business
91. How not to out yourself on Facebook
92. Is it OK to friend your editor on Facebook?
93. A writer’s guide to getting the most out of Twitter
94. The use and abuse of Twitter to flog your blog
95. There is no such thing as a dumb Twitter question
96. When one Twitter account isn’t enough (TwiTip guest post)
97. 10 keys to hosting a successful Twitter chat
98. How to fit blogging, social networks into your writing day
99. Social media 101 for a small business