We Get Letters…

by 33 Comments

Dear Deborah,

Your lack of a college degree shows through every time you post. This isn’t a criticism just encouragement to look into continuing education courses at your local community college. I admire your passing yourself off as a writer, despite your lack of skills. Truly it’s an inspiration that someone so clueless can be so successful.

Yours Most Sincerely,

Bruce Lee

Hiya Bruce,

It’s equally inspiring that someone so dead can still access the Internet.

Thanks for caring,

Deb

Dear Ms. Ng,

Hello. Freelance writing is something I’ve never done but is something I very much want to do. There really is freedom in freelance writing. Not having been a freelance writer I know I have no experience to back up my statement but I believe the statement to be true nonetheless.

Since your site is the cleanest writing or home business site I’ve yet seen I applaud your efforts in maintaining the site. I very much appreciate your emphasis on the freelance writer’s not getting cheated in the marketplace. I believe that, in general, a writer should have money coming in, not going out.

Beg pardon for taking up your time but if there is anything helpful you can tell me about starting up a freelance writing career, I would be much obliged.
Thanks.

Sincerely,

Eugene L.

Dear Eugene,

First, thanks for your kind words. I credit my wonderful community for this blog’s success. It would take me volumes to tell you how to get stated as a freelance writer. My biggest piece of advice, the one thing I tell everyone who asks, is take a month and do some research. Visit the different blogs and websites about freelance writing and read everything you can. If, after that, you’re still interested in writing, visit the various job boards and start to submit your writing.

Good luck,

Deb

Whoa Deb,

Did I just read at Performancing that one of the reasons you left Writer’s Row is so you can sell your blog? First, say it isn’t so. Second, if it is so, how much and where do I bid?

Rochelle

Hi Rochelle,

It isn’t so. A few months ago I considered selling FWJ because I didn’t have enough time to troll for leads or make badly needed upgrades. Instead, I took a risk and hired Jodee and Ajay to help out around the house and it paid off. I moved FWJ from Writer’s Row for many reasons, most of them outlined in the Performancing piece. If I ever do one day decide to sell FWJ, I can now do so. No one wants to buy a subdomain. Don’t worry though, we’re not going anywhere for a long time.

Best,

Deb

Ms. Ng,

First a huge thank you to you for starting your blog. I quit my job and the market fell out on my telecommuting job in real estate. It is slowly turning around and I am their top writer but until then I am digging myself out.

I have been amazed at the fact that I have gotten three jobs so far thanks to your blog. I know my skills play a part in it, and a good cover letter and resume. But I can’t tell you the time I save by going to your blog. There are so many other blogs out there that do not deliver, or are not user friendly.

Additionally, your blog is upbeat and informative. It is a pleasure to read posts from others who get it. Get what this writing life is all about.

I wondered who Jodee is?

Thank you again for your hard work. I sincerely hope to be able to thank you with financial remuneration soon.

Sincerely,

Tina R.


Hi Tina,

Without Jodee’s help, I might have had to close or sell this blog. (See above) I hired her to collect leads from the various job boards. All of the advertising revenue collected here goes to paying Jodee to help out. Really, I can’t thank her enough for her help here.

Best,

Deb

Dear Deborah,

I don’t believe any of the letters you post. I don’t even believe half the comments you receive. I bet you make it all up to make yourself look popular. Won’t you be embarrassed when all of your blogging buddies find out you’re a sham?

Meatman72

I’d probably be more embarrassed to have people know me as meatman72

Hugs and kisses,

Deb

Cover Letter Clinic

by 13 Comments

The topic of cover letters comes up often here. Many new writers want to know if they’re really so important, and if so, what should a good cover letter include. I’m here to tell you I believe them to be very important, even if they’re not specifically requested in the advertisement. Cover letters are a given. I’m not an expert on cover letters, but I believe between all of us we can work out the do’s and don’ts. I’d also like to offer a cover letter clinic so we can all learn how to craft a killer letter and land more gigs.

Cover Letter Do’s and Don’ts

Do

  • Make it short and sweet – A cover letter shouldn’t be longer than a page or shorter than a paragraph. Three paragraphs are ideal.
  • Include your achievements and accolades – If you won awards or wrote for a major magazine, include that in the cover letter. Since many potential clients don’t look past the cover letter, you want to give them a reason to move on to the resume.
  • Include a brief work history – Brief is the key word here. Don’t list all of your employers and the years you worked, that’ s what a resume is for. But do feel free to name drop.
  • Include your areas of expertise – Tell the client why you’re right for the job.

Don’t

  • Make it too long – Make it easy for the client, let him see all of your information “at a glance.” Remember, he may read dozens, if not hundreds, of cover letters.
  • Talk about personal issues – Clients want to know you can do the job. They don’t want to know you’re a stay at home mom struggling to make ends meet or you’re a homeless musician.
  • Be too familiar – Don’t try and be funny and don’t address your client by her first name unless invited to. Don’t use text messaging type abbreviations or make an attempt at being “hip.” Very few people can pull off humor in a cover letter.

Cover letter clinic

So lets have a cover letter clinic. It can be anonymous so no one gets embarrassed. Send them to me (or post) and every day I’ll post a couple and we’ll discuss why it’s great or what might need more work. Let’s figure out a great formula together.

Freelance Radio

by 1 Comment

Here’s something cool. The folks behind the awesome Freelance Switch site are now launching Freelance Radio. Here’s the press release:

FreelanceSwitch.com Launches Freelance Radio

Biweekly Podcast Explores Growing Work Lifestyle

Sydney, Australia (October 11, 2007)—Adding to the success of the popular blog geared towards existing and aspiring freelancers, the FreelanceSwitch team has announced the launch of their biweekly podcast, Freelance Radio.

The digital radio show features tips and commentary about marketing, business development, money matters, travel, and more. Incorporating the active audience at FreelanceSwitch.com, the show gives listeners a variety of ways to contribute to the podcast’s content, including submitting their own questions and advice. With a growing number of designers, writers, programmers, illustrators, photographers, and others freelancing on the side or as a full-time career, the goal of the show is to engage listeners with valuable content for a growing work format.

“Eden Creative Communities is the parent site for FreelanceSwitch, and our sites are a home for creatives around the world.  FreelanceSwitch was the next logical step for us, to support the many creatives (and others) who freelance around the world. Freelance Radio is so exciting because it allows us to share our experience and engage with a whole new audience,” said Cyan Ta’eed, co-founder of Eden Creative Communities and founder of FreelanceSwitch.com, who is also one of the show’s panelists.

The show is led by John Brougher, a technology and new media guru from Providence, Rhode Island. Other panelists include Dickie Adams, an Oregon-based freelancer specializing in design and consulting; and Kristen Fischer, a New Jersey copywriter and author of Creatively Self-Employed: How Writers and Artists Deal with Career Ups and Downs.

“We’re very excited to bring this free podcast to the ever-increasing amounts of people who are working—or looking to work—for themselves,” added Fischer. “I believe that the practical business tips and entertaining repartee between the four of us will support the growing number of people looking to work for themselves.”

“It is a great honor for us to be able to serve the Freelance community in this way,” Adams said. “By helping to further spread the available knowledge base, we hope to encourage and enable others to accomplish their goals.”

Freelance Radio joins a crowded field of podcasts, but its audience and content make it unique.  “I’m an avid podcast listener myself, and there’s nothing quite like Freelance Radio out there right now,” explained Brougher.  “Just like FreelanceSwitch is the home of the freelancing community, Freelance Radio occupies a podcasting niche that really hasn’t been filled.”

Freelance Radio is available for download at FreelanceSwitch.com, and through iTunes.

FreelanceSwitch.com features daily postings about succeeding as a freelancer. The interactive community was founded in 2007 and boasts over 500,000 visitors monthly and 14,000 RSS subscribers, as well as a host of regular advertisers. FreelanceSwitch is one of a family of sites owned and operated by Eden Creative Communities based in Sydney, Australia.

 

Freelance Writing Jobs for Friday, October 12, 2007

by 10 Comments

Leads….

Good Luck!

Jodee

Please make note of our new address

by 8 Comments

If you look up at your browser you’ll see you have been directed to https://www.freelancewritinggigs.com. Please adjust your feeds and bookmarks. We still have a few tweaks so bear with us please!

Thanks for your patience throughout all of our changes!

Deb

We get letters…

by 25 Comments

Dear Deborah,I read about your blog at WAHM because you show people jobs. I want to work at home except I don’t have skills in anything. I think I can write because you can do that at home and you don’t need skills. Please tell me what do to start writing at home and earning money.Sincerely,Brandy G.

Dear Brandy,

Get yourself some skills.

Good luck,

Deb

 

Hi, Deborah.

Can you shed some light on this for me? I see so many ads posted by people who want already existing articles “re-written,” and I can’tthink of a legitimate reason why they would hire somebody to do this. Is it plagiarizing without really plagiarizing?

I see these ads on sites such as GetaFreelancer.com and Elance.com.

Please pardon my naivete; I am truly serious. Why do people want to pay others to rewrite existing articles?

Thank you,

Beth

Hi Beth!

One day this week, I think I’ll talk about bidding sites. I won’t get into it too much now except to say they have mostly low-paying gigs and a lot of this rewriting stuff. The reason they want people to rewrite articles is because they only have to pay the “writers” to change some words around rather than write and research a whole piece. They want the articles to pass the Copyscape test. Rather than outright steal someone else’s article, they change some words around and voila! Cheap content for a new website. It’s a slimy way to stock a website. There’s even article spinning software where one can enter one article and have several others “spun” from them. So in other words, we don’t learn anything new, we just see the same content rewritten many other ways.

Hope that helped explain it!

Deb

 

Hey Deb,

What precautions do you take before sending an employer your social security number? Do you always give it over phone and never email? Should I call people listed on the company website that I’d be writing for?

-Matt Gould

Hey Matt,

 

You’ll need to give clients your Social Security Number in order to get paid. There’s really no getting around it. I know it’s a dangerous world and identity theft is a problem, but you have to do it. With that said, I do believe there’s a time and place to give out your number and it’s not on the application or your cover letter. I wouldn’t give out your Social unless you know for sure you’re hired.

 

Best,

 

Deb

 

Hello Deborah,

I just discovered your Web site and wanted to subscribe to it, but do not use Outlook. Is it possible to sign up through this email? Also, can you recommend a favorite Web site or document that comprehensively addresses the art of blog writing?

Thank you,

Shirley

Hi Shirley,

We actually have a Google group! It’s nothing major, I just alert you every time you update. If this interests you, subscribe here.

Thanks for your interest.

Deb

From the Comments…

Listening to Deb harp on and on about this over and over reminds me of the record industry lecturing people about downloading in 2000.

Deb, I’ll tell you what I told that distinguished panel, it is never going to stop, and if you can’t deal with it, then get out of the business.

BTW You never respond to e-mail, but seem to still want our sympathy on this issue. Sorry, I don’t follow that logic. Why should we care?

 

– Camera Obscura

Welcome to FWJ, Camera Obscura. Thank you for your welcome and cheerful contributions. I get hundreds of emails each day and do try to respond. Sometimes people fall through the cracks and I do apologize. If your email takes the tone of your comments here, the reasons for my not responding are obvious. As for why you should care, you don’t have to. The beauty of having my own blog is that I can discuss the issues that affect me, and you. Care, don’t care, at FWJ we like to offer the freedom of choice.

 

Oh wow, the old “work hard” lecture, never heard that before. Zzzzzzzz……

 

– Camera Obscura

Apparently not since you’re posting from your office. I like to think it’s good advice, but if you can offer us suggestions for not working hard and earning money, do share.

 

Hugs and kisses.

 

Deb’s writing is not that great (ever read her about.com page? good cure for insomnia), I can’t imagine anyone actually lifting her work. They must be new to the web.

-Camera Obscura

Well aren’t you just the joiner! A few weeks ago we never heard of you and now you’re just a chatty little bird. You should have come a few weeks earlier, in time for our comments contest. In fact with all of your insightful contributions, you’re sure to stimulate plenty of thoughtful discussions. I can’t wait until you return to work Monday so you can continue to dazzle us with your brilliance and wit.

I’m so glad to know you’re reading my work and it serves a purpose.

Love,

Deb

See ya later Writer’s Row, Deb is too big for you…

Camera Obscura

Au Contraire. We do appreciate your concern, but I’m still part of Writer’s Row. It’s just difficult hosting this blog as a subdomain. I’m still a member and hope to contribute some wonderful things in the future.

Dear Deb,

You have lots of blogs. Which one is your favorite?

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

This one is my favorite. It’s a lot of work and I barely break even but it’s worth everything I put into it. Each of my blogs has a special place in my heart though. I love them all.

Dear Deb,

Why do you insist on pimping your blogs every chance you get? Who cares about how many blogs you have or how many of your sheep nominated you for b.s. awards?

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

My blogs didn’t succeed through lack of promotion, I do try not to be spammy though. As for why you should care, as I told my new BFF Camera Obscura above, you don’t have to care. I promise not to let it upset me.

Do come by again!

Deb

 

 

Upgrade Just About Complete!

by 7 Comments

Thanks to Jason Oliver for helping me to switch to WordPress and also for FWJ’s new look. The upgrade and redesign is just about complete, though we still have a few tweaks here and there. I appreciate your patience!

– Deb

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