When we talk about building your author platform, the inescapable challenge every author must face is marketing. Particularly, email marketing. You need an email list, not just to sell your book to subscribers, but to build relationships with readers and other writers...
The following is an excerpt from Breaking the Time Barrier: How to Unlock Your True Earning Potential, a free ebook offered by our friends at Freshbooks. In the ebook, Freshbooks co-founder, CEO and co-author Mike McDerment makes the case for independent workers...
The day I quit my day job to become a full-time freelancer, I was convinced I had it made. After all, minus the cute clothes, sassy friends, and spacious apartment, I was planning a plus-sized Carrie Bradshaw life on the isle of Manhattan, burdened only by my laptop,...
We all have at least one of those people in our lives. The ones who are just dying to tell the restaurant server about the menu typos or who can talk for hours about what the Fifty Shades of Grey series has done to the world of fiction. (Hint: it’s not good.) We...
If you use Elance to find freelance writing gigs, listen up: The Elance-oDesk power couple rebranded in May to become Upwork, and the way you grab freelance gigs through the platform is changing. There’s drama! And intrigue! And, don’t worry, I’m going to explain it...
A lot of new freelance writers worry about being overshadowed by their competitors. Quotes like these are all too familiar (let me know if these sound like you, too): “So-and-so’s been writing for Entrepreneur.com for like, three years. How will anyone think I’m...
Writing prompts are everywhere, from published collections to free online tools. But when you use them, are you getting all the potential benefits? Even among writers who take their writing seriously both artistically and professionally, this question isn’t often...
After self-editing your manuscript as best you can, it’s time to start looking for a book editor. You want someone who will give your book the best shot possible, but how can you make sure you select the right person? There’s a big difference between editors who point...
Hi! If you’re new to this column: I track my freelance income every month and share it with all of you. This is my third year of public income tracking, and my first year sharing my income with The Write Life. You probably have a daily work routine, right? Get up,...
When you’re pitching an article or writing a blog post, nothing is more important than your headline. Goldfish have longer attention spans than Internet users, so how can you expect your audience to stick around for 900 words if they’ve already checked out halfway...
