Tweet Photo by: Vicki’s Pics Sherri Shepherd has a book coming out entitled, “Permission Slips.” If I had a book coming out, I’d call it, “Rejection Slips.” I’m sure every writer gets them. Those standard letters or brief emails that says, “Sorry the position is filled. We liked you but…” So close, and yet so far. How do you keep querying, writing, and pursuing your dream as a freelance writer, when you keep getting those heartbreaking slips?
-
-
Tweet photo by broken thoughts I took an evening writing class late last night. For 4 hours I sat, listening to the teacher speak. Four hours later, I realized. Why didn’t I learn this as an undergrad in English?! Then it hit me. There was this entire aspect of freelance writing that I hadn’t even considered previously…the Business Side of Freelance Writing! Doh!
-
Tweet Photo by: Onion I’ve already listed “What Being a Writer Has Taught Me” in an earlier post, but one thing I didn’t mention was how it has changed me. See, I’m a shy person. As a grad student in Counseling Psychology I took the Myers-Briggs personality test which only confirmed my introverted-ness. Yet, when I put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard I’m suddenly transformed. Kind of like superman with his cape I guess. It makes me “more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Well, maybe only in my dreams.…
-
Tweet photo by Lisa Norwood Here’s what I’ve learned. Tell me if you think I’m wrong or right. It seems like in the digital world particularly in the area of freelance writing, there is a wave of what I like to call “lit cliques.” It’s kind of like being in high school, you know which group you belong-the geeks, the oddballs and you know which group you’d like to belong-the jocks, the popular crowd. Well social networking on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is kind of like a big popularity contest where top freelancers are in one corner and…
-
Tweet photo by nickwheeleroz MacKenzie Phillips shocking confession on Oprah startled the world! At least it shocked me. And though I don’t have quite a huge secret, I do suddenly have a desire to share a tiny one. Here it is…I don’t like every writing job I get. Phew! It might not be a big secret but it’s a difficult one to say. Being a freelance writer means I get to live my dream. I get to work at home and make my own hours which means sleeping as long as I want and going to the gym when I please.
-
Tweet photo via Great Beyond There’s been a ton of buzz on the web lately about balance and schedules and how to keep up to par with the Jones’s, now that they too are all online. So what’s the secret for getting things done when you are a stay at home freelancer like me? Unfortunately, there’s no secret formula. I admit that like everyone else I succumb to bouts of procrastination every now and again. The lure of online sales, blog feeds and Twitter updates are hard to keep at bay especially when stress comes calling.
-
Tweet In elementary school, we had to write a journal article entitled, “What is my worst habit.” I cringed when I reread it, crossing my fingers that I didn’t declare something utterly embarrassing. When I read “nail biter,” I thought “guess not much has changed.” Although I have been known to grow these nails long enough to get a mani pedi once in awhile, I did choose a nail biter of a career so my habit is understandable. What is it about writing that makes me bite the tips of my poor fingernails?
-
Tweet 1. That you need be thick-skinned to handle a mind-blowing number of rejections but be thin-skinned enough to be an observant, sensitive, intuitive and honest writer. 2. Publishers can get away with a lot like promising to pay you and then suddenly disappearing into thin air. 3. That you need to have an insane amount of faith (comparable to the number of rejections you receive). 4. That this would be the best and yet the hardest job of my life. I’m talking 10 hrs a night and weekends. 5. That you need to be good at everything (marketing, accounting,…