How to set and adjust your freelance writing rates… And why cheap clients are never worth your time.
Category: Freelance Life
Learning to Accept Help as a Freelance Writer
My hair and your freelance writing career have a lot in common! Here are six things you should ask for help with…
12 Common Freelance Writer Mistakes
Everyone has to start somewhere, but you don’t have to make the same dumb mistakes everyone else does.
5 Tips to Increase Your Productivity as a Freelancer
As a freelancer, it’s up to you to manage your own productivity levels. Time to get good!
Shady Writing Tactics: Why I WON’T Place Your Articles
I’d like to thank freelance writer Alicia Rades for inspiring me to write this post. You can see her own version of this topic here.
Hey there!
I’m writing this post because it’s going to end up in my FAQ page. Because I get asked about this a lot, and I’m tired of having to explain it to each person individually. From now on, I’ll just be linking to this.
There’s a trend lately among “potential clients” wherein they want an article written (good!)…about their product (okay under circumstances)…and then pitched/”placed” for them at a particular publication. It’s that last part that’s the problem.
I don’t place articles.
Here’s why: Continue reading “Shady Writing Tactics: Why I WON’T Place Your Articles”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
Writers VS. Editors: We’re All Winners Here!
Without writers, there would be no editing; but without editors, there would be no good writing.
I’m a freelance writer. I’m also an editor. This has put me in the unique position of being on bothsides of the pitching, drafting, and publication process.
I consider myself primarily a writer for now (after all, my business is called LittleZotz Writing, not LittleZotz Editing); however, I have a passion for both fields and feel myself more and more divided as time goes on. (LittleZotz Editing may become a real thing at some point!).
Both freelance writing and editing are pretty darn great. There are a lot of pros to both!
There are also a lot of cons though…
Let’s take a look at some of the basic “pros and cons” for each, shall we? Continue reading “Writers VS. Editors: We’re All Winners Here!”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
Blogging VS. Freelance Blogging
There’s only a one-word difference between the two, but it makes all the difference…
In my time as the Associate Editor and Community Manager over at Be A Freelance Blogger, I’ve noticed that a great many people don’t know the difference between “blogging” and “freelance blogging.” This has caused some issues behind-the-scenes seeing as bloggers who want to pitch to us at Be A Freelance Blogger need to send in topics related to how to be a freelance blogger. If you pitch to us, your post idea has to cover both freelancing and blogging. It can lean more in one direction than the other (heavy on blogging, light on freelancing; heavy on freelancing, light on blogging), but both elements need to be present in order for your submission to be considered a serious contender.
So what is the difference anyway? Continue reading “Blogging VS. Freelance Blogging”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
5 Things to Expect When You Become a Mentor
I started mentoring fellow writers looking to go freelance in 2013 and I’ve learned a lot since then!
Last month I shared five tips for people interested in hiring a mentor. But then I realized that some of you are past that point. Some of you are ready to become mentors yourselves!
Well, I’ve mentored dozens of people at this point, and I’ve boiled down my experiences — just for you! — into five things I think you “must” know before getting started:
1. No matter how clear you are, some people will still be confused.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned at my Associate Editor job, it’s this: An astonishing amount of people — even those who call themselves “writers” — don’t like to read. So no matter how informative you are on your sales page, you’re still going to get questions. Continue reading “5 Things to Expect When You Become a Mentor”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Mentor
Books and blogs are great, but you can’t ask them questions…
So there you are: You’ve read all the books, you’ve skimmed all the blog posts, you’ve subscribed to all of the newsletters, and you’ve had long chats with your peers in the freelancing community. And yet, somehow, you’re still not “ready.”
You feel “stuck” and you fear messing up. You’re paralyzed and you have no one to turn to for answers to your most “stupid” questions. (The ones your peers would scoff at and make snide comments about without truly providing answers…).
Sounds like you need a mentor!
But there are a few key questions to ask before you hire one: Continue reading “5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Mentor”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
10 Common Invoicing Mistakes Made By Freelance Writers
The difference between being a freelance writer and writing as a hobbyist? Getting paid.
Why is it that so many freelancers – writers or otherwise! – have such a hard time getting themselves paid?
My rates are stupidly “reasonable” (AKA: Too dang low!*), but I’ve never once had any qualms about getting paid. Invoicing has always been something I’ve excelled at.
*I’ve been slowly raising them over the past few months.
And considering the importance of invoices, you’d think that freelance writers would do everything possible not to make any mistakes. However, such is not the case!
Here are ten of the most-common mistakes I’ve witnessed freelance buddies and/or mentees making with their invoices: Continue reading “10 Common Invoicing Mistakes Made By Freelance Writers”
Lauren Spear (née Tharp) is the owner and creator of the multiple award-winning LittleZotz Writing. She’s written hundreds of bylined posts helping freelance writers to become BETTER freelance writers. Thousands if you count all the articles she’s ghostwritten (but she’s not allowed to talk about most of those).
