Recent Posts from The Freelance Writing Jobs Network HQ

Should You Be Cocky or Confident in Your Freelance Job Search?

I read somewhere recently that freelancers need to be cocky when looking for work. I’ve been thinking about that statement, and I don’t think that is the case.

When I think if a person who is cocky, it brings to mind someone who is conceited and arrogant, to be sure. This is a person who apparently has no issues with low self-esteem. Instead, they have a greatly exaggerated sense of their own importance.

Did you notice that everything in that description has to do with the person him or herself? This is someone who is definitely embracing the WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”) mindset.

Now think about what it means to be confident. This second person is self-assured and knows him or …

There are No Small Freelance Writing Gigs

I’ve been thinking about the quote, “There are no small roles, only small actors,” and how it relates to freelance writers. Freelance writing and acting do seem to have a lot in common. Consider the following:

You’re only as good as your last gig.
There is no guarantee that anyone will hire you for your next one.
Start pulling a lot of attitude and no one will want to work with you. Period.

All of us have the opportunity to decide for ourselves which gigs we want to go after and which ones aren’t right for us. Before you turn down a “small” freelance writing gig or one that doesn’t pay as well as what you normally charge, consider that all the projects you …

How to Translate Previous Work Experience onto a Writer’s Resume

Our own Susan Gunelius wrote a very thoughtful post entitled, 10 Skills Freelance Writers Must Have if They Want to Succeed. I want to expand on her idea and address the subject of people who have work experience in other areas but who aren’t sure that it can be transferred to freelance writing work.

The following list of skills formed part of a recent ad for a freelance writer:

Computer use
Continuous learning
Critical thinking
Decision making
Document use
Finding information
Job task planning and organizing
Oral communication
Problem solving
Reading text
Significant use of memory
Working with others

This list of skills apply to a number of other jobs that a person who is interested in freelance writing may have held in the past. When you are creating a writing resume and …

6 Things Freelance Writers Can Learn from Sharks

In honor of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week programming starting August 1, here are 6 things freelance writers can learn from sharks. No, I’m not advocating that we should chomp unsuspecting clients who get on our nerves, although some days that idea is tempting….

1. If something is working for you, keep doing it.

Sharks are an ancient species, and they have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. If they haven’t evolved much, it means that as a species they have been successful. Once you find a type of writing or a niche that is working well for you, stick with it as long as it continues to make sense to you….

What Matters Most: Good Brand Fit or Reliability?

I like to have some background noise when I’m working, and I often have the television on during the day. It’s interesting where ideas for blog posts come from sometimes: I started watching an episode of D.C. Cupcakes, a reality show about two sisters who run Georgetown Cupcake.

To be honest, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention at first, but when the ladies became involved in hiring new staff, the show became a lot more interesting to me. I’m always curious about the hiring process from an employer/client’s point of view, whether it turns into something I can blog about or not.

Good Brand Fit

I listened as the two women were discussing what kind of employee they were looking …

The Language in Your Cover Letter Matters

As writers, we are very conscious of words and how they are used (or we should be).We know that the words we choose to use in our work matter, but do we give the same care to the language we use when writing a cover letter?

If you are applying for a brick and mortar job, the goal of writing your cover letter should be to get invited to meet with the employer for an interview. When you write a cover letter for a freelance writing gig, your focus is a bit different.

Many clients don’t interview in the traditional sense. They base their hiring decision on the materials that an applicant submits only: your samples, resume and your cover letter. Given …

When a Client Doesn’t Want to Work with You Anymore….

This post was inspired by the thread I spotted on an online forum where a writer had been “fired” by a client and was asking whether to ask for her “job” back. The words “fired” and “job” have quotes around them because they don’t really apply in this situation. If you are a freelance writer, you are your own boss. You don’t have a job, you have assignments, and a client can’t fire you in the same way that an employer can.

If you have received the, “this isn’t working out” message from a client, you have choices.

You can do whatever you need to do to finish up the assignment, which includes thanking the client for their business to date, and …

5 Tips to Help You Develop a Good Client Base

Looking for freelance writing jobs is one of the drawbacks to doing this kind of work. In the “regular” working world, looking for work is something that you do when you are out of work or you are trying to find another job, either because you want to advance in your career or you don’t like where you are currently employed. No one likes looking for a job because, quite frankly, it sucks.

How would you like to never have to look for work again? (Or at least not as often.) Here are some tips that will help you develop a group of clients that will hopefully keep you busy most of the time.

1. Mind your manners.

Saying please and …