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Don’t write without an outline
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008A friend of mine recently wrote to me telling me that she’s having one of the worst cases of writer’s block….EVER! She can’t seem to get a word out on paper…nor on her computer. I told her to take a break. She did. And she still couldn’t write. This friend of mine is new to the writing business, she’s been at it for about a year and I would have to say that in terms of creative writing, she’s good! Pretty darn good.
But what happens is that I asked her to review her outline and see if she can try to twist things around a little, to give her writing a little bit more….erm, well, to suit her mood at the moment.
She asks, “What outline?” (more…)
Recharge Your Writing By Reading
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008Regardless of how long a freelance writer has been in the business or churning out articles, copy or web content for clients, it is important for that writer to continue to grow. It’s true that once you’ve been writing for a long time or been in business for a considerable number of years, chances are, you would’ve had loads of experience under your belt. But this does not translate into gloating or staying idle on the growth front.
Grow your grammar as a freelance writer
If you’ve not taken note of this before, now is a good time to explore this now. Take a look at the latest articles that you’ve been writing so far. Do you see that there’s a pattern? Are there particular words that you see being used too many times within that same article? Do you tend to repeat the same style – to an extent that you appear to be locked in a gridlock as far as being flexible in your writing is concerned?
How to Set Fees for Freelance Article Writing to Spec
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008One of the most common questions a fledgling freelancer asks is, “Someone wants me to write some articles for them and name my price. How much do I charge?”
You have to come up with a number… so what do you do?
There are lots of things you can do to determine a price to charge:
First, you can charge a flat-rate for your writing and sell it the same to every person.
Usually this is a per word rate, such as 1-100 words for XX dollars, 101-250 words for XX dollars, and so on, or it can be a flat rate per word such as $0.10-1.00 per word, or more or less. You set the rate. The problem with flat rates is that every writing is different and the research and time it takes to write varies and thus so should the price.
One thing you can do is try to put it back on the contractor requesting your services. Tell them, “I don’t have a flat rate, but rather charge for each unique project,” and then ask them, “Did you have a budget you were looking at for this project?”
They might or might not tell you, but maybe they’ll hint at an amount so that you know what your ballpark is to work with.
If they won’t offer you any hint, then the next step is to look at other publications/sites that are similar to what is being asked of you and find out what the going rate is, or as close to it as you can get, and then set a rate that is close to that going rate.
Set your rate a bit higher than you really want or need and be prepared to offer a lower rate if they say that’s too high. After all, it’s a negotiation as it would be with any contracting type of job. Also, set yourself a threshold that you will not accept less than XX amount, and don’t let them talk you into less than that unless they can offer you some other benefit besides cash (backlink, free promotion for other things, etc that might benefit you).
Your goal as a freelancer should be to constantly increase your breadth of published credits and to make money to support you in your career. That does sometimes mean taking higher and lower payment on similar type content, BUT if someone is really lowballing you, don’t sell yourself short. You’ll get a reputation of working for peanuts and eventually that’s the only jobs you’re going to be able to get.
So, to recap:
• look at what others are paying/charging for similar content
• try to get the contractor to let you in on their budget
• don’t sell yourself short
• offer a bit higher than you are acting ‘needing’
• set a minimum threshold and don’t go below it
• and did I mention don’t sell yourself short?
Keep in mind, writing is a profession. Regardless of what some people may think or tell you, writing well is a skill, a talent, an art… and you deserve to be paid a livable wage for the quality work that you do.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle L Devon is a professional writer and freelance editor, providing editing and writing services through her company, Accentuate Services. To network and connect with other writers, please visit her FREE writer’s forum at http://www.writersforum.info. For more freelance writing hints and tips visit Michy’s freelance blog at http://michysthoughts.blogspot.com/
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Don’t listen to your teachers if you want to write for a living
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
I remember having my English teacher as my favorite teacher in the world when I was in primary school. We had a love-hate relationship back then but it was her, I remember vividly, who unleashed my passion for writing. We had a love-hate relationship because I had more than a dozen books hidden in my drawers confiscated by her and because she caught me reading while she was teaching! Anyway, one day, she asked us all to write about an exciting day we had on the way to school….which most of us most probably didn’t have! I was having a particularly bad day that day but managed to churn out a nice piece of composition for her using my imagination. Thinking back about it, I wrote that piece a little differently that day. Because I was frustrated, I ditched everything she thought me.
I wasn’t thinking about grammar or how suitable or ‘true’ the situation was. While the rest of the kids wrote about saving cats from trees, uncles falling down, feeling sick on the way to school or finding a coin on the street, I wrote about a robbery…..which wasn’t true at all, of course! But that composition won me praises from my favorite teacher in the world and admiration from the rest of the class. (more…)