Freelancers have to be people of tremendous character — our own decisions rule our destiny.
Freelancing means more self-motivation, creating our own atmosphere and learning on the job .
They say art imitates life, but I’ve heard the opposite as well.
There is plenty of art we could look to, but who doesn’t love a little television?
Here’s a look at some life lessons to take — and leave — from some of our favorite TV characters, past and present. Click Here to Read Article …
Freelancers of any stripe need a good pick-me-up every so often.
Fortunately, many of us know folks who love to give us gifts and the gift-giving season is on its way. The holiday season is officially upon us folks.
A little boost in spirits could come in the form of a little gizmo, one that delivers a bit of consumer goods happiness.
So when someone asks you what you’d like, make sure to add these awesome gifts to your wish list: Click Here to Read Article …
As freelancers, we get up close and personal with new acquaintances very quickly.
We go from cordially greeting a businessperson and exchanging pleasantries to sending that person the work for which they’ve hired us in a dizzying space of time.
Whether we’re designing graphics, preparing spreadsheets, writing copy, whatever our bag, we discuss the results a client wants and get to work.
After we’ve put things together and sent them off, we may find that a variation on one of the following ensue: Click Here to Read Article …
We can agree it’s important to keep up on the current state of one’s industry. It’s key to look beyond the computer screen from time to time. That could mean learning the latest trends in content marketing, outsourcing or graphic design. It could be checking in with the role of working at home in the global economy or the future of contract work as we know it. Everything is changing and it’s essential to know what to expect. Even if you have a favorite freelancing trade journal you faithfully read — in print or electronically — here are a few recent books you may wish to devour. Click Here to Read Article …
I’ve spent a lot of my adult life fretting about jobs, having job openings called to my attention, feeling a reflexive jolt of recognition at the sight of any “Help Wanted” sign.
I’ve often felt I was re-inventing the wheel and constantly redefining what I wanted to be when I grew up. That’s a sad state of affairs for someone with a guiding passion — writing — that is as well-defined, and that I’ve followed as faithfully, as the life’s work of anyone I know.
I’ve always said writers have to have two jobs. A doctor or engineer or school teacher find that their self-realization and bread-winning vocation are one in the same.
Freelance writers need portfolios of their writing. They are necessary for getting work and for establishing your status as a working, professional technician of prose.
The ideal set-up is to have and maintain a portfolio online. This can be on your own website, a professional networking site, or even a blog you establish just to post your work in the form of a portfolio.
The important thing is to have a collection that you use expressly for that purpose, not a site on which you just happened to have posted a few pieces a while ago, and not a bunch of links you e-mail potential clients. The portfolio must be created, designed, manicured, and maintained specifically for the sort of freelance work you’re seeking.
And the sooner you engineer it, the better. When you begin seeking a number of freelance assignments, have your portfolio stocked, adding and deleting as your professional life progresses.
The overarching concept guiding the building of a portfolio is to think of it as one cohesive piece. Many of the concepts below are components of this. Click Here to Read Article …
OK, let’s cut through the bee-ess. There’s no such thing as a “brain food,” if by that we mean something that will make you smarter. There aren’t Hemingwayberries or Richard Powers Grains or Sell Like Sebold Shakes. You’re already smart – smart enough to be skeptical. But the foods I’m going to describe help promote mental focus, a good, healthy energy, and most importantly, the function of your mitochondria, and thus, all of your body’s cells. I like to think of eating certain foods as a matter of not eating the wrong foods. You’re going to eat something, and these foods are the ones that will keep you from getting drowsy or lethargic as you polish your sterling prose. Click Here to Read Article …
Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, culling personal experiences or synthesizing information from interviews or research, brainstorming is at the heart of any successful project.
I think of brainstorming not just as coming up with something, but as developing ideas from a single grain into a probing, insightful exploration of your subject matter. Brainstorming can create the difference between an expected, average piece to something that adds true value by making the reader stop and think, or by revealing to her a different side of the topic. Of course, brainstorming can also be absolutely necessary when you’re in a rut and unsure of how to get from A to C.
Over my eighteen (or so) years as a writer (of reviews, short stories, blog posts, e-books and product descriptions) I’ve developed many techniques for brainstorming, since I refuse to just sit and stare at a blank screen. Here are five of my favorites.
Click Here to Read Article …
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