In The Courage to Write, Ralph Keyes says: “Just thinking about being a writer can be scary (as well as thrilling; the two tend to go hand in hand). Saying-even to yourself-“I’m a writer,” or “I’m going to be a writer,” or even “I guess I’ll do some writing now,” feels presumptuous; like a five-year-old playing make-believe for bemused grown-ups.” What makes calling ourselves “writers” so scary? Doctors, teachers, heck even my husband can spout out their careers as if they were describing the weather. Whereas I? I fumble through the word inaudibly. Fear of Being Judged I think it…
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Talent can take you far in life. But hard work will push you further than talent alone. What I’ve learned in the last 6 years I’ve been freelance writing is there are other skills besides writing that can benefit the successful freelance writer. And that’s a good thing! This means that I don’t need to be as creative as Young House Lovers John and Sherry, funny as Martha Beck or as pushy as some go-getter writers to be successful. Talk about a load off of my back. If I had to be naturally talented like the authors I drool over,…
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Here it is. I can write to my heart’s content meeting and surpassing deadlines if it is for someone else. In fact, it is one of my writerly strengths to submit a piece days before it’s due. But my own work? Sadly, still sitting untouched in Google Drive. I know that writers need a break. I understand that paid work feeds the hungry writer. But the idea that I’ve let this dream of mine slide eats away at this writer’s soul. It makes me feel like a failure and a fake. I see successes like hers and a pulsating thought…
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Thank you Stephanie and Jan for reminding me about 2 things: 1) To keep up this blog! 2) To be more compassionate. Their comment comes on the heels of a short answer I compiled for O magazine. If you want to read my little published shpeal on compassion, it’s right here. But the main reason I’m writing this is that I think too many of us get comfy in our writing couches and stop taking chances. Maybe we had HUGE dreams about what it would mean to be a freelance writer and since we didn’t achieve them, we kind of…
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Every freelance writer is skilled at something. Maybe you’re a social media whiz or a marketing pro (If so, email me.). Or you’re just savvy with your “born-this-way” natural writing abilities. Bravo! We should all celebrate what we’re good at. As for me, I think I’ve got a hankering for getting or at least almost getting jobs. Call it years of experience from being a job hopper, but it’s how I was able to get a job as a PI and a RA and graduate with a MFT. It’s the type of learn-on-the-job info that’s helped me get responses like…
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There’s lots to keep you busy in December. Need I list them? Christmas, Hanukkah, gearing up for your Resolutions list come January. But there are a handful of things you won’t want to forget while you’re busy making a list and checking it twice. Here are 5 things you don’t want to miss if you’re a freelance writer: 1. Say, “Thanks!” We often forget what it was like when we had no clients. When there were no deadline, no phone calls, no projects in the near future. Or worse, when we had nightmare clients who were worse to work…
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As the holiday approaches, you may be winding down your freelance writing business. Or you may be reaping the benefits of less saturation in the market. More writers taking a holiday means more work for you! If you’re looking for fresh ways to add more work to your portfolio, here are a few tried and true methods that have worked for me in the past and is sure to work for you: 1. Peruse your local pubs. I get about 5 free local publications sent to my address every few months. They’re like hidden job ads for writers sent straight…
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Hurray for daydreaming! It’s the thing you loved to do in school, but what you were most likely to get punished for. Well now there’s legitimate reason to zone off when bored. Yes, according to author Jonah Lehrer’s book Imagine: How Creativity Works, it’s those moments when you’re dazing out the window that your getting the most work done. Perhaps all of us writers knew this intuitively. But Lehrer’s book provides actual research to back that statement up. In it, he describes the work of psychologist Jonathan Schooler and his research on daydreams and their benefits. And what did…
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I’ve been struggling with the editing process for awhile. A part of that is psychological. I would rather pretend that my piece looks good enough instead of deal with the agonizing reality that it’s far from perfection. But if you want to be a successful writer, this won’t bode well for a long-term career. That’s why I’ve developed a quick system to insure I won’t make a fool out of myself by submitting less than par prose. It’s easy as 1-2-3. After you’ve worked on the final draft of your latest endeavor take a breather. In a day or two,…
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I got the idea for this post while “meditating” so it might sound a tad overzealous. But it came out of a recent laborious task of finding work in Hawaii. Every corner like an inkling of opportunity seemed to land not at an open door, but another wall. How do you keep your cool in a desert of opportunities? Here’s what you don’t do: Don’t show your cards. Don’t react from a place of emptiness. The desperation has a tendency to attract more desperation and less opportunities. Don’t confide in the cynics and the pessimists. They’ll give you more reason…