Once upon a time there was a blog. This blog had several thousand visitors each day. They shared. They chatted. They commiserated. It was all good. Soon some mean people came by and began scaring away the happy chatters. The vibe changed from warm and fuzzy to not so much fun anymore. The owner did her best to build up community, but she was so busy with her projects and her job it wasn’t happening. She put a comment policy into place but the damage was already done. She had a reputation for having a community that liked to bicker.

She wants to change that.

If you remember the days when FWJ was a huge, lively community of writers helping writers, you may miss the golden days as well. Let’s try and get it all back. Several years ago, we built this community with a contest – a comments contest. We offered a $25 gift certficate to the person with the most comments. People came and never left. It was good.

We’re doing it again, except we’re upping the ante.

Beginning today, October 1st, we’re giving away $150 to the people who help to bring back this wonderful community. We’re giving away three $50 prizes.

• The person with the most comments between now and October 31st, on the homepage Freelance Writing Jobs blog, will receive $50.
• The person with the most comments across the whole FWJ network by the end of the month, that’s all of the blogs, will receive $50.
• The FWJ blogger who does the most to build community and join the conversation will win $50 at the end of the month.

Just a few notes:

• Comments that only say ” I agree” or add nothing to the conversation won’t count.
• Comments not adhering to our comment policy will be deleted and won’t count.
• Spammy comments or comment dropping links – unless they’re truly offering something to the conversation – won’t count.

I know you’re here. I see the numbers. Thousand of people visit each day and even more subscribe. Come join the conversation. Let’s bring community back!

It’s all anonymous, we’re not collecting names. By filling it out it will let us know a little about your habits and your thoughts about this network.

Click Here to take survey

Thanks, once again, for your continued support.

Thank you so much for your time!

- Deb

Here’s the thing. When you are a freelance anything, you are not working for your clients. You are working for yourself. You are the head of your own company – “Me, Inc.” for want of a better name.

You are not a prospective employee of the clients you are sending applications to or pitching directly. That would imply that your relationship is not one of equals. Instead, you are a highly-talented company owner who wants to talk to another one about about a business proposition that will benefit both of you.

An employee may not have a lot of choice about the amount or kind of work they do, or the conditions they are expected to work under. When you are your own company, though, you get to make decisions about which clients you want to take on, and the amount and type of work you want to do.

You want to present yourself in the best possible way when you are communicating with a prospective client, of course, but you are not looking for a “job.” You already have an employer: you. If your boss is anything like mine, you work a lot harder than you have for anyone else you have ever worked for. Your boss expects no less from you than your best effort at all times. That’s just how it is.

The next time someone asks you who you work for, tell them that you work for yourself. I’ll leave it up to you whether you want to reveal who your clients are or not.

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
6. Be more or less specific.
7. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
8. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
9. No sentence fragments.
10. Don’t use no double negatives.
11. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out or mispeld something.
12. Eschew obfuscation.

If you love coffee (mmmm…coffee…..),  check out the Win a Dunkin Donuts Coffee Gift Basket Contest at Deb’s Freelance Writing Jobs and Other Stuff blog.

The other contest is over at Network Blogging Tips. Two readers will win a set of 250 post cards to help them promote their business.

Please check them out and enter for your chance to win.

Nacie Carson, who wrote a guest post recently about life after quitting her day job to go freelance, has writen an e-book about choosing to live The Life Uncommon. I have to agree wholeheartedly with the concept this e-book shares. This is not a dress rehearsal for something else, folks, and it’s up to us to make our lives what we want them to be.

She has generously decided to offer FWJ readers a 33 percent discount when they purchase the e-book. All you need to do is use the coupon code “FWJ” when you place your order. It’s Nacie’s way of thanking the FWJ community for being the wonderful people you are!