Introducing the New Freelance Writing Advice Column and a Call for Submissions

I’m very happy to announce that Freelance Writing Jobs is launching a new weekly column called Freelance Writing Advice. Think of it as the Dear Abby of the freelance writing world, and our “Abby” will be none other than Freelance Writing Jobs veteran contributor Jodee Redmond!

Jodee currently writes in the job hunting tips section of Freelance Writing Jobs where she covers topics like developing good relationships with clients, how to know when to say goodbye to a client, and much more.

Do you have a freelance writing question? Jodee’s new Freelance Writing Advice column will debut on Wednesday, August 11th here on the main Freelance Writing Jobs site. She’ll feature questions submitted by Freelance Writing Jobs readers as well as a wide variety of questions that can help freelance writers build their businesses and their careers successfully.

So what question or concern have you been pondering? Leave a comment with your question and you might see it featured in an upcoming post in the Freelance Writing Advice column.

And to be sure you don’t miss any content from the Freelance Writing Jobs Network, you can follow us on Twitter (@freelancewj) where all of the feeds and posts from all of the blogs in the network are available in one place!

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Posted

August 6, 2010

Announcements, Freelance Writing Advice Column

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13 responses

Nicole

August 6, 2010

Hi,

I have been a nurse for many years and have been looking to transition into writing, (either full-time or freelance). I do have a few clips under my belt (I write for About.com, and I have a book due to be published in January).

I have been applying for many, many positions (both freelance and full-time work) all in a medical writing capacity, to try to leverage my nursing experience. However, because almost all of my professional experience has been clinical, I’ve been finding it very difficult to find anything.

Is it worth going back to school to get a degree in English or Journalism? If not, can you recommend any training programs that might give me a little more credibility as a writer?

Thanks in advance!

Nicole

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Susan Gunelius

August 6, 2010

Nicole,
Thank you for submitting your question to the new column. I’m sure Jodee will be able to include it in an upcoming post and give you some tips and ideas!

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Ashley Poland

August 6, 2010

Hi,

I’ve actually been wondering, what differentiates a portfolio from a resume? As a new freelancer, I’ve put any writing done in my portfolio, and it feels less like a presentation of work and more like an info dump.

Thanks!

– Ashley

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Jodee

August 6, 2010

Hi Nicole and Ashley,

You have both asked great questions and I will be answering them in future columns. 🙂

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Doug

August 7, 2010

Dear Jodee, I’ve been writing for magazines for a long time, but with the print media struggling to retain readers gigs are harder to get, so I thought I’d investigate writing for on-line sources. From reading e-books and “pro” Blogger sites it seemed that a reasonable income could be earned this way. Some of the professional writer sites (not just bloggers) decry the skill levels of most Blogger forums and state that participating in them will actually hurt a good writer’s ability to get assignments from more reputable publishers.

I’ve been Blogging for Bucks only for a few weeks, but results so far are very discouraging as far as potential income, and I have felt as though participating in certain forums has hurt my chances with the better publishers.

What is your take?

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Louisa

August 8, 2010

Dear Jodee,
I was an active freelance writer throughout the 80s, publishing articles on weight loss and body image (my then-field) for women’s and health magazines. Also wrote essays, travel pieces, a newspaper column, and more. Then I changed fields, went into corporate training/consulting, and didn’t write or publish nearly as much. Now I’m trying again. I have some business columns on my website, but otherwise my clips are @ 30 years old, not available on the web, sometimes from magazines that don’t exist anymore! The publishing world is, of course, a completely different animal than before. It all feels very surreal.
I have several essays I’m currently trying to market, at top magazines. Maybe I’m aiming too high, but I was published before in high-paying markets.
I don’t want to give up, but I do get very discouraged.
Any advice? Thank you!
Louisa

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LIsa

August 8, 2010

Assuming you have what it takes to create a website with sticky content and build a readership for your blog/columns/content, what is the best way to monetize? Google ads? Amazon associate sales? straight ad space sales? commission for sales? Or…??

Also, outside of SEO – best way to build page views?

Lisa

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Georjina

August 8, 2010

Hello Jodee,
I seem to have the same problem as Louisa. The 80’s were fairly good to me for writing fillers and short articles, but that market dried up and I went back to corporate accounting.

Now that I want to return to freelance status after so long a period, the market appears to have disappeared. What I’ve completed during the interim has been to create blog content for my own domains and submit articles on the directories.

Nothing wrong with writing to get visitors to your sites or have something online to prove you know how to write, however I want to earn an income from my writing. Besides, I do use a pen name for different niches.

How would you recommend resolving this for writers who do use pen names or have clients who will not allow them to use a byline?

Waiting for your tips.

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ridgely johnson

August 12, 2010

hey Jodee-
Nice to have someone other than my husband to ask- he has no clue obviously being a watch commander/Lt law enforcement.

Writing all my life whenever possible, I jumped in the blogging arena six months ago. Because I have a background in varied, high profile subjects, I submitted my resume, as well as a sample of my writing to On Demand Studios.

Having not been creative enough on my resume, what stood out was the ten years since I retire; Those years were filled with topics readers are fascinated with, yearning to find more information on (other than ask.com)

My submtted writing did not reflect the work I am doing now. I aww advertisements for talented writers; Part of their policy states no second review of application.

My first review does not remotely resemble the second.

In addition, since then I have been vetted and published in three national edited magazines.

What should I do? Just walk away, chalking it up as their loss? Or should I resubmit

Thank you
ridgely johnson

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Iva

August 13, 2010

Hi Jodee,

I am very new freelance writing. Writing has always been a passion for me, and I finally decided to publish some stuff online. I have published an academic dissertation on scribt.com and received good feedback.

I have written on hubpages purely for fun and recently I have started ghost writing, as well as writing for an article directory.

Of course, the income is very low, but it gives me pleasure to research and write. Despite the low income, I ensure that what I write is of high quality.

I have three questions: 1. How to make that step-up form being a content and directory writer, to a freelance writer?

2. What do I need to do to increase my income?

3. Sites like demandstudios.com ask for a resume- if new to the business, will a covering letter do?

Thanks,

Iva

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Sharon

August 21, 2010

no comment …except to say an advice column for writers is an excellent idea! Every time I return to this site, there is something fantastic happening.

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Damaria Senne

September 9, 2010

Dear Jodee

I’ve worked as a freelance writer with clients in my own country for many years. However, I’ve had difficulty landing well-paying assignments from international clients.

Can you give me tips on how I can crack the international market? I’m especially looking for clients that are willing to pay well for quality work, not the ones who offer about $1 for a 500 word article and say it’s reasonable pay because I live in a third world country.

And speaking of location, do you think the fact that I’m not based in the US or the UK, and English is not my first language, is a liability to my job hunting? If so, how should I demonstrate to clients that these factors will not negatively affect the services that I deliver to them?

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Sam

October 6, 2011

Hi Jodee,

I am a college student majoring in Journalism. My entire life I have devoted my spare time to writing such as working on a novel (I plan to publish soon), writing poetry, and being apart of journalism/yearbook staff while in school. I honestly didn’t know much about what freelancing was all about until a few months ago. I thought perhaps I should begin freelancing as a student to get experience in my field of work and perhaps even consider freelancing as an option with my career. I was wondering what you would suggest for a beginner/college student, such as myself, to break into freelancing. Thanks.

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