Tag: Writers Resources

Help for freelancer writers and bloggers: Blogs to check out

Shelves-of-books-floor-to-ceiling-dimly-lit-by-hanging-lights
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Freelancing can be lonely business: sitting at a desk, tapping away at a laptop, contact through email. Thank goodness for the internet which means that the company of other freelancers is only a short search away.

There are some fantastic bloggers out there for the freelance community. There is lots of helpful information on just about any topic you can think of. Many of these bloggers have been freelancing for years and their experience matches just about anyone you can think of. I have found some of these people really helpful through the years. Hopefully you will too.

Make a Living Writing

Carol Tice has been working as a freelance writer since 2011 and what she doesn’t know about the subject isn’t worth knowing. Her writers’ community, the Den opens for new people a couple of times a year and is full of courses known as bootcamps. You also have the chance to meet people who are on the same journey and ask their advice. She has a free e-book available to download in return for subscribing and she often offers free training for different aspects of freelance writing. Based in Seattle, Carol still makes a living writing.

Words on the Page

I have been following Lori Widmer for a very long time, and I love her no-nonsense approach to freelance writing. Lori is someone who tells it like it is and she offers great advice through her blog posts. She has a regular feature that warns the reader away from badly paying jobs and her advice is great for anyone serious about making a living through freelance writing.

Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Jennifer’s blog is a goldmine of information about freelance writing. She has some great gems about running a freelance business, finding clients and managing work. She has written a book which is available to buy and also has a very helpful Facebook group. The blog has been running for a number of years and you will find some wonderful information there.

Elna Cain

Elna Cain appears in most searches for information on freelance writing. She has a variety of blog posts with information about the freelance writing life. Elna offers a free 6 day email course to help you learn to write for a living. She also posts YouTube videos.

Alliventures

Ali Luke was making money from blogging in the early days of blogging. She offers a paid-for course on freelance writing which can be bought through her website.

Sian Meades-Williams

If you want to know how a writer website should look then check out Sian’s. Creator of the amazing newsletter Freelance Writing Jobs, Sian’s expertise is in newsletters and writing and editing. She has a new book due soon, The Pyjama Myth for freelancers. If you drop by her site, definitely subscribe to her jobs newsletter – it’s well worth it.

The Write Life: Freelancing

The Write Life contains articles on a number of freelancing topics. This link leads to the freelancing category. There are articles on a wide range of topics so pick one and enjoy.

About Freelance Writing

Anne Wayman starts again. Anne was one of the first bloggers that I ever followed. Her posts were always full of wonderful advice. In 2019, Anne lost her websites and all the knowledge it contained. Since then she has been writing in Medium, but her website is back. She is beginning again, and although it does not have a lot of information on it yet, it will definitely be one to watch and return to.

The International Freelancer

Natasha Khullar-Relph, formerly known as Mridu Khullar-Relph lives in London and freelances internationally. Her website is full of great resources for freelance writers, including writing Letters of Introduction (LOI) and secrets of six figure freelance writers. Well worth a read.

 

Blogging

Blogging is an art form in itself. Blogs offer information, content, experiences and  opinions and can help to draw an audience in. Here are some websites for bloggers:

Problogger

One of the original blogging websites, Problogger offers a jobs board and blog posts about blogging. You can also find a podcast here. Darren Rowse owns the website which is full of information about how to successfully blog. There are some great courses on blogging to be found here, some of which are free and others which are paid but not so expensive. If you want to learn all about blogging, you could do worse than start here.

Be a freelance blogger

Sophie Lizard shares lots of tips and tricks on being a freelance blogger. Lots of information on finding specific paid gigs in different niches.

The Write Life – blogging

The Write Life has information on all things writing. It also offers a list of resources to check out. If you are looking for information on a particular topic on blogging then do check it out.

Alliventures

Ali Luke has been writing, blogging and freelancing for a very long time. And I have been following her for a very long time. Her blog contains information on blogging, being a writer and being an author. She offers self-study courses and access to regular newsletters. Ali is a UK freelance writer who is always able to offer an interesting take on writing.

These are some of my go-to writers and bloggers when I am looking for information on freelance writing. Check them out and subscribe to their newsletters. Enjoy.

Who do you recommend that other freelance writers follow? Let me know in the comments below.

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Blast through Writers’ Block by using Writing Prompts

New Year, new goals.

 

Has the shine tarnished on your New Year resolutions already? Or have you decided that it is best to leave resolutions alone this year? After all, look at how last year turned out…

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Image by DarkmoonArt_de from Pixabay

If you have decided that THIS is the year that you are going to start writing again, then this is the blog for you. We are going to talk about writing prompts and how they can help writers’ block. Here is a usual recipe for writing:

Ingredients:

One brand-new shiny notebook, preferably really cute

One pen

Time

Take your brand-new shiny, cute notebook and open it. Pick up your pen…

OK, stop there! If you haven’t had an idea running round your head for the past week and you don’t know where to start, how do you begin to fill that blank white page with a story?

A good place to start is a writing prompt.

 

Writing Prompt

A writing prompt is usually a short idea or picture that is designed to get your brain thinking about a story. There are many websites that offer writing prompts that can help get you started writing.

 

You can treat writing prompts as a writing exercise. Come up with a short story outline which could be turned into a full story. Spend 10 minutes writing and see what you come up with. A writing prompt enables you to have something to write about straight away, it avoids the blank page syndrome where you stare at a blank page and have a blank brain to match.

 

Tips for Using a Writing Prompt

 

  • Put aside some time to write – even just 15 minutes will do
  • Plan ahead to write – send the family out for a walk
  • Find a place to write and make sure that your tools of choice (laptop, pen and paper or old-fashioned typewriter) are available.
  • Just write based on the prompt. You may not know immediately what you are going to write but begin by writing a sentence and see what comes up.
  • Don’t worry about editing. You can edit your story once it is finished. No story is ever finished after a first draft and every story can be improved. Just focus on getting the words down on paper/screen.
  • When your story is finished, give it some space. Wait 24 hours before taking a look at the editing
  • Not every story can be a best seller, but when you write one that you are really proud of, then I encourage you to ask someone else to read it and give you constructive feedback. Preferably someone you trust. It is important to get used to the idea of someone else reading your stories if you want to do more with them
  • Know that your writing brain acts like a muscle. The more you write, the more ideas and inspiration will come to you and the more you will have to write. Ideas are all around us, you just have to tune your brain in to them.

 

 

Where can I find Writing Prompts?

A Story a Day

I have recently discovered Julie and she offers a lot for writers. She offers a free planning tool, lots of help and information as well as courses and of course, writing prompts.

 

Daily Prompt App

Currently on Apple only but Android is planned. You pick a time of day when you are most likely to write and you will receive an alert and a writing prompt at that time. This app is a gateway to a community where you can receive feedback on your story and enter competitions.

 

Writer Igniter

This is a fun tool that can turn up some quite diverse ideas. It is also a blog with lots of ideas about writing.

 

Social Media Writing Prompts

You can find writing prompts on your social media of choice. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest,  Instagram, Tumblr and Reddit all offer writing prompts. Search using the hashtag #writingprompts or #writingpromptsdaily

 

Poets & Writers Website & Magazine

Sign up for fiction, non-fiction and poetry prompts. The magazine is based in the US and runs programmes and courses for poets and writers.

 

Toasted Cheese

Offers a list of daily writing prompts and is also a literary journal

 

Literacy Ideas

Offers some pictorial ideas as well as hints on writing your own writing prompts. Could also be useful for teachers of students.

 

Reedsy

Reedsy are a great writing blog which offer a sign up for 5 writing prompts a week. It also offers a writing competition with a $50 prize every week.

 

Writers’ Digest Online Workshops

 

Picture and written writing prompts to help get you writing. Lots of information on writing, too.

 

Christopher Fielden

A great way to start writing is to write flash fiction which requires precision and imagination. Christopher Fielden offers a great resource to writers. He offers hints and tips and a regularly updated source of writing competitions, but it is in writing challenges that he excels.

He publishes a number of anthologies for charity, based on short 100-200 word stories. To enter you can either email your story to him or fill in the contact form with your story. You will need to write a short bio and your story, and that’s it. As long as it meets the brief then Christopher will include it in the anthology. There is also a Facebook for authors who contribute to the anthologies. A community can really help you keep writing.

 

So there you have it. If you have decided that 2021 is the year that you want to start writing and get past your writers’ block, then here are a selection of good resources to get you going.

Please do drop a line in the comments if this article has given you a push to get writing.

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Stronger Fiction: Should you write every day?

One of those pieces of advice given out to every writer is:

Write every day

It is given out so often that we are in danger of feeling that we are not writers if we don’t write every day. What if you find it hard to find time to write every day, however? What if you are at home with work emailing you, your children asking for help with school work and your partner locked away in another room constantly in another Zoom meeting? How can you possibly find time to write every day?

clock-coffe-mug-typewriter-spectacles

The fact is that we are not super-women (or men). We have a lot going on at the moment and that may mean that some things do not happen. But should the thing that gives, be your writing?

To be honest, it depends on how you feel about it.

The thing about writing is that it’s like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more easily it comes to you. So if you can find some time to write as often as you can, then your writing will flow better and you will find more ideas for inspiration coming to you. If you are on the look out for ideas, they will come. Many writers carry small notebooks around just to jot down ideas as they happen, although in these days of smartphones, it is just as easy to make notes on that.

Perceived wisdom has suggested that it takes 100,000 words of practice to make a novelist. That’s a lot of words, you had better get going now. Seriously, though, most successful novelists have a rough novel or two, hiding somewhere in their house, which they have sworn will never see the light of day. That’s a lot of work for something that people will never read, but it was important to achieve to find out how a novel is structured, how you manage to sit down and write words by the thousands and whether you can actually do it. Until you try, you will never know.

Do you need to write?

When you have been away from your notebook or laptop for a few days, do you find that you are itching to write? If you find that you are missing writing, then it will be important to find time for it.

Equally, if you are in the middle of writing something and you have got stuck, then you may avoid writing. You may open up the document, stare at it for a moment and close it again, without any idea of what you want to say. It can be hard to know where to take a story, when the characters seem to have a mind of their own.

If you want to write but just can not find time:

Write down your daily routine for a few days, then look for times when you might be able to fit writing in. Look for quiet times, times when the children are busy and times when the partner is in a meeting.

You could get up earlier, when the children are not expecting to be working, and take 15 minutes for writing

Why not write at a point when you are normally slumped in front of the TV in the evening?

You may have a small amount of time between when the children are finished schoolwork and it’s time to start cooking dinner.  Why not ask your partner to cook dinner occasionally to give you a bit more time?

Your writing time does not have to be every day, but it does have to be regular. It is no good just finding time to write once a month. Writing more regularly than that will help improve your skills. However if you are not working on something that you want to get done, then you may be happy writing 3 or 4 times a week.

Plan to write

If you are working on something that you expect to finish at some point, things may take a little more planning. You will want to snatch 15 minutes here and half an hour there so that you can finish your work. You will find that you do not have time for writers’ block, and that your need to finish the piece might outweigh all other considerations.

If you are stuck at a point and you are not sure where to go from there, then  leave it for a few days and come back to it. Pick up something else for a short while.

Go for a walk or a run to clear your head.

You may decide to carry on with the story for now and then come back to it. This may help you decide what happens next.

Try plotting out what happens next to help you get past the place where you are unsure where to go

If you are not happy with the direction your story is going in, you can always change it.

So should you “write every day”?

I suggest that you take this advice as a guideline. It depends on the jobs that you have got to get completed and how busy you are. Writing every day will certainly help you to feel more like a writer, but far more important is that you are happy with your writing life. You need to be comfortable with what you are achieving.

What are you writing at the moment? Are you finding it possible to write every day? Let me know in the comments below.

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What systems does a beginning freelance business owner need?

Setting up as a freelance business owner can be quite exhilarating – that rush of being your own boss and working as much or as little as you like, however there are some things that you will need to get organised. There is no one else to do it, it’s just you. What kind of systems will you need to get your freelance business up and running?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

Billable hours

Work out how many hours a week you wish to work. Fit them in-between the school run, walking the dog, unloading the dishwasher – stop! By all means get jobs done as well, but the most important thing is making sure that you have some hours that you can use to get work done. You can organise yourself as you wish. If you work best waking up very early in the morning and stopping work at midday, then do that. If you prefer to sleep late and work into the evening, that is fine too. Your work schedule is your responsibility and as long as you can get your work done, then nobody is going to worry about the hours you keep.

Marketing hours

You will need to set aside some time for sending out queries, pitch for work, sending out your CV and all the other things that need to be done. You may wish to network at an expo or go to a business festival, but know where you can start to find clients.

Time off

Nobody can work for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Do set aside some time that is untouchable, the equivalent of a weekend. When the time is, depends on the work you are doing. Working with overseas clients may mean unsociable hours for the country where you live. Just make sure that you plan some time so that you can recharge your batteries.

Invoices

Know in advance what you need to charge in order to pay your bills. It is up to you to negotiate a wage that you can live with. I will cover this in more detail in another blog post, but for now, you need to set up an invoicing system so that you can get paid.

Decide how you can accept payment. This may mean by Paypal, direct bank transfer or some other means. Invoices are legally required to have certain information on them and it is worth checking out what is needed for your country. At the very least, you should have your contact information, the client’s contact information, the work done and the price. You should also explain how you are to be paid and how long the client has to pay.

Some word processors offer an invoice template which you can customise for yourself and fill in. I would suggest saving a template for each client, so that you can quickly send the next invoice. I set up a code for each client, for example Joe Bloggs would be JB01 – the first invoice for Joe Bloggs, the second one would be JB02 and so on.

There are some great accounting packages out there and some freelance business owners might just prefer to set up some software to help them. It’s a great option, if you can afford it, but for people starting out, you can begin with a spreadsheet.

Contacts

Freelance business owners need contacts. Keep a spreadsheet of all contacts made and the date made. Part of freelancing is meeting people and keeping contact with them. If you can keep a list of people and when contact was last made, it can help you make sure that no one gets lost. You can keep different lists of contacts for different subjects.

Marketing contacts

You might like to keep a separate list of marketing contacts – people who may be interested in your services or business but have not bought from you yet. Again, keep dates and a note of when you were last in contact.

Email list

Starting an email list is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner. It enables you to keep in contact with people who have already bought from you and might again. Don’t just use it to sell, but offer interesting news items, networking events and industry news. Keep it simple but interesting and always include an opt-out. Also make sure that you understand and conform to GDPR guidelines.

Tax

Register your business for tax purposes and understand how many times a year you will need to put in your accounts. Finance software may produce your tax return for you, but if you are using a spreadsheet, you will need to put in your own return. When things start to take off, it may be wise to engage the services of an accountant to help make sure that your tax affairs are in order.

Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar helps you put together a list of subjects for your blog or for other companies. It’s good to keep a list of ideas for blog posts. You can keep website urls for reference and date when the blog post was published. It means that you should always have a steady stream of ideas for what to write next. It is also worth keeping a list of content that you publish and the urls so that you can promote them easily.

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Are You Using More Freelancers?

One of the websites that I consider well worth bookmarking is Freelance Switch. I’m a big fan of the cartoon ‘Freelance Freedom’ by NG Winters which comes out every Tuesday. I

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ff51_photoshopmagic (Photo credit: Stefson)

try to catch it every week.

This week there was an article on there that suggested that the global recession has been good for freelancers It was entitled ‘Online Jobs are on the Rise by Melanie Brooks. It did spark a discussion on the nature of poor payment rates for freelancers, but I believe that you don’t have to accept those rates. Better paying jobs are out there. The article made the point that we as freelancers are finding it easier to find work as we no longer have to look in just our backyard. The Internet enables us to search on a global scale for work.

From my own experience, I would say definitely that things are on the up. The UK as a whole is apparently stagnant at the moment, growth is slow and seems almost to be getting slower. However there are signs that things are changing. I have had more offers of work this year already than in the whole of last year, when it felt like I was constantly trying to market myself. Good content writers are in demand and they don’t have to settle for rubbish rates.

The article suggests that freelancers are best placed to take advantage of the market conditions. We don’t carry big overheads we can negotiate quickly and often network with other freelancers so that we can offer extra skills to our customers. We are attractive in that we pay our own taxes and in the UK at least our own National Insurance too.

Let me know in the Comments: do you use freelancers? Do you find them easy to work with? What advantages can we offer to you as a business?

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  • Why We Keep on Freelancing Despite All Warnings(freelancefolder.com)
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Starting out as a Copywriter

Photo on Flickr by itselea

It seems such an easy job that the world and his wife could do it with one hand tied behind their back (not their writing hand, obviously) – copywriting!

How can you become a copywriter? If you have always wanted to have a go, then here are some of the steps that have got me here today.

Read. Yes, I know you want to write, but every good writer is also a reader. Find out all you can on the subject and keep reading. There is some really great information out there and not all of it is paid for. If you want to learn to write, then keep reading.

Write. Now, we’re getting to it – you have to write. What can you write about? The easiest way to start is to begin with a free blog. Pick a subject that you are reasonably knowledgeable about and set up a blog through Blogger or WordPress. If it is just for you, then it doesn’t matter too much about a domain name, but if you want to make money with it later, then you will have to buy a relevant domain name at some point. These free blogs offer some great themes which you can customise to your own design. You can use them to upload photos and videos too.

Bookmark some websites that you think are really helpful and keep going back to them. There are places that you can publish for free like Suite101 and Hubpages. These can be useful to form the basis of an online portfolio. A portfolio is a body of work that you can show a potential employer, and it is important to build up clips or articles so that you can prove that you can write. Don’t expect to make a lot of money with these two websites but they are great for teaching you the basics of Search Engine Optimisation or SEO.

You might like to read some writing magazines. These are really helpful with lots of ideas for how to get started in writing. One of the first ways they suggest is by writing a readers’ letter to those very magazines! Look for those that are available in your country. Some are available online.

The best way to get confident in your writing is to join a local writing class. Some are run from libraries, and some from colleges, but they are a great way to meet other writers and get some feedback on your writing. Your tutor will provide you with subjects to write on and if it is a general class, you will get to try out lots of different writing. Find out what kinds of writing you really enjoy and pursue it.

As your confidence grows, so might your wish to earn some money from this new-found skill. You can find job boards, search Google for jobs or approach potential employers directly. This all depends on the kind of writing that you want to be doing. Always be comfortable with the rate you are being paid – don’t accept work for free. You can try reviews for your local press or write letters to your favourite magazines. Start small, keep going and keep learning.

Photo Link: Photo on Flickr by itselea

 

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Organising Your Writing

Sometimes you have a large amount of information which you need to get in a document. It can feel overwhelming and be difficult to know where to begin. Spend a little while organising your thoughts which can help you sort it all out.

Organising your writing
stack by hobvias sudoneighm on Flickr CC

Sketch Out an Overview of Your Report

Start with a piece of paper and a pen or a blank document on the computer and begin to write down the aims of your work. What do you want to get out of it? Who is your document aimed at? Why are you writing it? Is it for a blog or an article? Is it a white paper or report? Then think about what kind of information you will want to include.

Make a rough list of the information that you consider essential to include in your work in the form of rough headings. If you have a lot of information, then you may wish to divide it up into parts and schedule regular releases of your work as a series of blog posts or reports. If it is to be one long document then divide it up into chapters and start each chapter on a fresh page.

Write Out Your Information under the Sub-Headings

Now you have a choice. If you are happy with your headings and ready to write, then write up your information under each heading. If you are going to insert photos, then you can show this with an asterisk for the time being. If you are still organising your thoughts and your information is scattered throughout your notes, then you can continue to write rough notes before writing up the information properly.

This may take two or three days depending on how much information you have to write up and how easy you find it to write. Some people are able to write easily and it flows, others find it much more difficult to think in writing. Take your time, be methodical and check that you have the information that you require.

Check Spelling and Grammar in Your Document

If any work is due for publication either on the web or in a document, then you will want it looking as professional as possible. Use your spellchecker and read your document out loud which will help you identify awkward sentences. You can also ask a colleague to look it over to check for glaring errors.

Once you are satisfied with your work, then it is time to publish. If you are using your work for blog posts, then schedule the posts, remembering to add tags, media such as photos or video and links. Apart from checking that the schedule goes ahead, your work here is done – apart from promoting the posts on blogs and forums with useful comments.

You might publish your work as a PDF or print it out as a report. If you are printing it out, make sure that you are certain as you can be that every error has been corrected. There is nothing worse than checking out your newly printed document and spotting an error on the first page!

Sarah Charmley is a freelance copywriter and expert in organising other people’s thoughts. If you would like to find out how she can help you with your blog project, then contact her through the form on the Contact Me page.

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How to Define the Words You Use

Photo on Flickr by Dr Stephen Dann

Each word that you use as a writer has a function. They all have a part to play in communicating your message through your writing. Here are some of the names of words that writers use every day and their function in a sentence.

NOUN – a name – dog, cat, person, girl, boy

PROPER NOUN – someone’s actual name: Jane, Susan, Jack, Frank

VERB – describes an action – run, jump, walk, ride, write, curtsey

Also includes words such as ‘is’, ‘was’ and ‘are’

ADJECTIVE – describes a noun. Includes colours.

E.g. small table, black sideboard, little girl, tall woman

ADVERB – describes a verb. Tells you how something is done.

E.g. He ran quickly. She walked slowly.

SENTENCE – a group of words which together make sense. It contains both a SUBJECT and a VERB.

The horse jumped the hedge.

SUBJECT: horse

VERB: jumped

SUBJECT – the main thing that the SENTENCE is about. It is usually a NOUN or a PROPER NOUN.

E.g. The dog ran over the hill.

The dog is the SUB JECT because it was doing the running.

Susan poured the flour into a mixing bowl.

Susan is the SUBJECT.

OBJECT – is involved in the sentence but is usually having something happen or done to it. So in the above examples, both ‘hill’ and ‘mixing bowl’ are OBJECTS.

PHRASE – a group of words that do make sense (are not just random words) but do not contain both a SUBJECT and a VERB.

Photo Credit: Photo on Flickr by Dr. Stephen Dann

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Using Apostrophes – its and it’s Part 3

Photo on Flickr by mag3737

In the first post on Apostrophes, we looked at using them with plurals and singular nouns to show possession. The second post looked at using apostrophes with contractions. This post will examine a simple little word, yet the apostrophe is often used wrongly in it.

Its or it’s?

Do you know which is which?

In this case, the answer is simple – disregard the possession rule. So if you have a sentence:

The dog lolled out its tongue.

This is correct. You do not need to put an apostrophe in because you do not need the apostrophe to show possession of ‘it’.

However:

I love going to Spain. It’s a great place to have a holiday – lots of swimming pools and sunshine.

In the case of this sentence, ‘it’s’ is actually a shortened form of ‘it is’ – a contraction. So you will need the apostrophe.

In short when deciding whether to use ‘its’ or ‘it’s’, you need to know whether the word is showing possession or if it is a contraction. Only use the apostrophe if a letter is missing.

Try these out just for good measure. Is the apostrophe right or wrong?

The horse was lame in one of its hind hooves.

It’s OK you don’t need to explain it to me.

The house was old and ramshackle: it’s whole outward appearance was one of neglect.

Its dangerous to go water-skiing when the red flags are out.

Did you get it right?

The horse was lame in one of its hind hooves. – CORRECT

It’s OK you don’t need to explain it to me. – CORRECT

The house was old and ramshackle: it’s whole outward appearance was one of neglect.  WRONG – NO MISSING LETTER.

Its dangerous to go water-skiing when the red flags are out.  WRONG – ‘ITS’ IN THIS CASE IS SHORT FOR ‘IT IS’ SO IT SHOULD BE ‘IT’S’

Using apostrophes can be easy once you know how. This concludes this series of posts on apostrophes.

Photo Credit: Photo on Flickr by mag3737

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