When I began the Freelance Writing Jobs blog five years ago, it was a fun hobby. I enjoyed trolling the Internet for job leads each morning and sharing with my fellow freelancers. For me, it was a relaxing way to enjoy my first cup of coffee. In those days, I woke at 4:00 a.m. to find leads as my then three year old son was too high maintenance to allow me to get stuff done during regular business hours. You really have to love what you do to get up that early.
FWJ surprised me by becoming a popular resource for freelance writers. It won awards and accolades and reached the top of the search engines. I worked hard at creating a helpful community for freelance writers, and the freelance writing community responded in kind. I don’t know that I ever meant for FWJ to become a full time job, but it did. Not only did it pay the bills, but it enabled me to hire about ten freelancers so new writers could learn from the best, and veteran writers commiserated and shared with the rest. FWJ became my life and my brand. Thanks to FWJ many clients found me and I made so many friends. This blog changed my life for the better and I don’t know where I’d be now without it. It’s my most valuable experience.
With all that said, you can imagine what I might be feeling when I tell you that I have decided to sell Freelance Writing Jobs.
Yes, the rumors are true.
The blog that became my life, now belongs to someone else.
Why now?
This has been an emotional and difficult decision, one I didn’t settle upon lightly. I have many reasons for selling FWJ. Some I may tell you in time, others I probably won’t discuss. I’m not bankrupt or broke, I’m not losing money and I’m not sick of blogging about writing. I’m not selling out for the almighty dollar. In fact, money was given the least amount of consideration when making this decision. I’ll leave it at saying it’s time to move on. If you have questions about FWJ or why I decided to sell, feel free to ask. Anything you read that didn’t come from me is purely speculation.
It’s time to move on.
Why Splashpress Media?
When I decided to sell FWJ I received a half dozen offers and the one from Splashpress Media wasn’t the highest. However, in selling I had three concerns and Splashpress was the only potential buyer who addressed these three concerns and promised FWJ wouldn’t languish or lose the message and image we worked so hard to maintain throughout the past five years.
My three concerns:
1. The Freelance Writing Jobs Blog
What would happen to FWJ if I sold? Would it sit, neglected, growing tall weeds like some old, abandoned home? Would it become a haven for dollar jobs and spammers? I don’t think I can bear to watch that happen. The people at Splashpress promised they would continue FWJ’s mission and help writers to succeed and find work. They’ll continue to post the best gigs and offer top notch advice. To ensure this will happen, my friend, copywriter and published author Susan Gunelius, is coming on as Managing Editor. I’m confident FWJ will grow beyond even my wildest dreams with Susan at the helm.
2, The FWJ Bloggers
The last thing I wanted was for Splashpress to pull some sort of b5media deal where all the bloggers were kicked out of their blogs and their hard work locked up and taken away. They care about FWJ as much as I do and I wanted them to be treated with dignity. I’m happy to tell you that Splashpress has agreed to continue to allow most of the FWJ bloggers to maintain their blogs. However, some of the bloggers have decided to move on with me. You’ll see a mix of old and new faces here in the upcoming weeks, and I hope you’ll continue to be a sharing and giving community. This is an exciting change, but it’s going to change for the better.
3. The FWJ Community
That’s you. I wanted to make sure you all still had a place to go for quality leads and advice. Anyone can start a writing blog, but not everyone has the experience and to help you land gigs or the talent to help you get where you’re going in a respectful manner. I think you’ll enjoy the new FWJ! Under Susan’s and Splashpress’ care, FWJ will grow bigger than ever.
What now?
Though FWJ will change hands on July 1, I’ll still be around. My favorite freelance bloggers have promised I can guest post for them from time to time. I’m also writing a couple of books, working on projects with other bloggers, and working as Conference Director for BlogWorld Expo. If you would still like to be a part of my bloggy community you can also find me at Kommein.com and the Kommein Facebook page where I blog about social media. I’m on Twitter at debng and will still be chatting you up each day. Though I won’t be blogging here, I have agreed to stay on for three months as a consultant to help ensure a smooth transition.
I may be moving on from the freelance writing world, but I’m not gone by any means. I’m still going to be around the blogosphere and social media space. This isn’t the end of anything, but, rather, the start of another chapter.
I hope you know how much you all mean to me, and how none of this would be possible without your continued support throughout the years. I owe so many people so much, it would be impossible to thank them all on this page.I considered a long list of thank you’s but didn’t want to hurt anyone by forgetting to include them and thought it best not to go that route. I have been reaching out with my individual thank you’s, and if you touched my life, I’ll be in touch with you.
I consider all experiences, both positive and negative to be opportunities for learning and have absolutely no regrets.
I hope you will continue to be a part of the FWJ community, and perhaps even come say hi to me at my other blogs and projects. I’m feeling a bit emotional right now, so I’m going to have to end this.
- Thank you to the FWJ community.
- Thank you to the FWJ bloggers.
- Thank you to my friends and family.
- Thank you to those of you who have supported me and my efforts throughout the years.
- Thank you to the supportive bloggers and writers who have reached out or linked to FWJ throughout the years.
- Thank you to my Twitter and Facebook friends.
- Thank you to all.
I’ll be here until July 1. Thank you, everyone.
-Deborah Ng
June 14, 2010
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