Tweet {photo credit} You’re new. And confused. The world is your oyster, but you don’t know where to start and which one’s a dud, and which one’s holding the pearl. Don’t worry. We’ve all been there. Even as experienced writers, we sometimes slip and fall into the cracks. The good news is that there are a few red flags you can take note of now to prevent the white flag of giving up down the line. Here are five: 1. The client who wants to be your best friend. I’m all about making friends and being friendly with new and…
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Tweet {photo credit} There are two main reasons why you’re sitting in front of your computer and can’t type right now. You’re either physically or psychologically exhausted. 1. Physical Exhaustion. You needn’t run a marathon to be too tired to write. You could have been up all night with the baby or that darn hour gained from Daylight Saving Time ending surprisingly zapped your energy. Sometimes returning from a trip tires me out also. (Something that I often forget when intending on working right away after vacation.) Whatever the case, being tired and low energy makes it extremely hard to…
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Tweet {photo credit} If you already know writing and getting published is tough, skip this post! As for me, I think I’ve only recently discovered the depth, cruel intensity and psychological battle that can only be described as real writing in the trenches of hard work. After more than a decade of writing (maybe even two), you would think I’d get this by now. But the realization only hit me after I started my own writer’s group. It’s been an experience that I wished I had done sooner. Although there are several reasons why I believe the members of my…
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Tweet {photo credit} Ever read someone else’s writing and cringe? Not because they did a hacked up job of writing and/or editing, but because they are SO good! They are so good that you are suddenly reduced to the insecurities of a teenager. And from out of nowhere you hear yourself saying (in a surprisingly high piercing nasally voice I might add), “Why oh why can’t I write like that?!” Been there done that my friend. I too, agonize over another writer’s perfect prose. The witty way they used that word or the colorful way they intertwined adjectives. I usually…
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Tweet Yes there’s baby blues and even shopping blues, but freelance writing blues? Yep, I think so. If you’re in the low right now, when your phone stops ringing, people stop emailing and your blog is as empty as an ice-cream shop in wintertime, then you know what I mean. You wonder if this is it, the last shebang, the final sign that you didn’t make it, that your just not that good of a writer and you’re ________ (mom, sister/brother, father, uncle/aunt, cousin) was right. But before you throw in the towel and raise that white flag, let’s see if…
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Tweet I go to a once a week Meetup for professional women who work at home. In the group, one of the main issues everyone can agree on is how isolating it is. One person made a comment that the only person she talks to on some days is the UPS guy. Do I hear a Amen?! Many freelance writers love the flexibility of their job and the creativity with dreaming up their own life. But the downside? No more 15 minute coffee breaks with your pal in the next cubicle. Ever watch The Office and actually feel pangs of…