Many thanks to Wired Magazine for my geekness. Until recently, technology was a thing in my peripheral. I watched tech geeks in the same way I would watch cheerleaders at the highschool pep rallies, rolling my eyes and wishing I had skipped school that day. Although, with tech geeks it was more like rolling my eyes and being thankful I wasn't the one spending $3000 on a computer or trading out my PDA every year. Now it's: More gigs to the iphone? Rock on! (not that I even have an iphone...yet)

Now, however, things have changed as things do and I find myself saving paychecks and skipping lunches to buy these cool toys that are out. Luckily, many of them can be used in some way for my writing and since I make money off of writing it looks like they are attractively tax deductible. If that's not a reason to buy a new toy, I don't know what is.
But there are also a lot of non-geeky things out there for writers that are nearly as fun and cool and less expensive which I'll also post about as we go.

I'm going to start posting reviews, books and tools for writers on this blog since I couldn't seem to keep up with my geek blog. That blog is now deleted and gone for good! (or at least for now).

Microsoft Office 2007

If you do not have Microsoft Office 2007 you need to head to your nearest Circuit City and get a copy. Recently they had a sale on Office 2007 and you could get it for $99.99...normal price is around $150.
Maybe you're used to the drop down menus and such, maybe you like everything hidden from sight, maybe you're just used to this way of life and don't know any better.
I am pretty proficient at Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier and had become accustomed to how to use it, where to find things, etc. but with 2007 everything is right in front of you. Office 2007 is by far one of the most intuitive programs I have ever used. I am a very visual person and the first day I opened it I immediately found all kinds of things I had never known about in previous versions because everything was in drop down menus and I only went to those if I knew what I wanted but the visual interface of the 2007 version lets me see things I never even knew I wanted to use. It's actually buttons now, big beautiful buttons that so effectively illustrate what to do with each one that it takes every bit of guess work out and I can accomplish things much more quickly and efficiently and the visual quality of my work is much better.
And all of this goes for all the programs in the suite. The usability of this program gets 5 stars from me and a "hell yeah!"

This is a beautiful tool. For writers, you really couldn't ask for a better suite of programs for your writing. Well, actually there aren't exactly a lot of other options out there.

I am dragging my feet on Windows Vista however, I don't think it can impress me as an operating system as Office has impressed me in it's own category. There aren't many options out there that are comparable to this type of software so there's not much choice, but if you are still using 2003 or earlier, please, for the love of Steve Ballmer, upgrade to 2007! (otherwise you may incite his wrath and good god, you don't want to do that!)

By the way...this post was in no way influenced by Microsoft themselves, Steve Ballmer or others. If I had it my way I'd be using Google Office 2007 but 1) there's no such thing and 2) let's not go there today, I'm not in the mood to get on my soapbox about Microsoft and the shenanigans of late. We'll save that for another post.

Knowing When to Give Up on a Niche Blog

I launched 5 blogs the day I started blogging. I picked five things that interested me or niches I am relatively good at and what I thought might be helpful to others. But as time went on I found that I don't ever feel like posting to most of them, or I don't have time, or whatever other excuse I come up with on a daily basis when I am feeling guilty about not keeping up with them.

Soooooo...I've decided to delete a couple (maybe more) and focus on the ones I am more likely to post on. Maybe I'll find another niche I know and like later and try that one out, but for now I'm just going to focus on the ones I seem to be more interested in. It's all about quality, not quantity.

Some things are trial and error. Sometimes you just don't know that you won't follow-through with something.
Sometimes you just have to let go....

Organizing Your Time for Blogging

Often my mind is filled with the work that needs to be done for clients every day, or personal essay ideas I need to pursue while the muse is still sitting on the couch with me, my laptop and my pot of coffee. So when I need to sit down and do a blog post I have problems shifting my brain into that mode and focusing on a topic, or even coming up with a topic.

I use a method I described in a previous post where I save a bunch of drafts that either just have a topical title or a bit of text so I can just log in, pick one that's already started and be good to go. However, I needed a little more help to keep me on task so what I've started doing is sitting down for a couple hours on Sunday, writing 2 or 3 blog posts and scheduling them to post during the week. That way I don't have to worry about it when I just really have to buckle down on a personal essay idea I have or a client project. It helps to keep me organized, posting regularly and keeps my stress levels low because it's one less thing I have to do several times a week. Plus, when I start writing a blog post I'm often tempted to shoot off onto other blogs and get sucked in for 2 hours reading blogs when I should be working.

Something you could try if you also have trouble finding time or motivation to blog at inconvenient times.

Ten Things To Do Before Starting a Freelance Business

There are a lot of things to think about when starting out as a freelance writer, and it's not just about the query letters, the writing, the submitting, the search for publications, etc. It's about running a business and being a professional.

Here are 10 housekeeping items to do before starting your freelance business:

1) Create an inspiring work area. Set up your desk, your book shelves, your cup of pens. Put images on your walls, pictures on your desk. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable and inspired.
2) Get a website. I am a full-time freelance writer who still has not finished a website, and I'm doing alright, but I have made several connections who wanted to know what my website was and I couldn't direct them to anything. Try to do this as one of the first things you do.
3) Get business cards. A very simple and inexpensive marketing tool for networking and giving current clients little reminders when you stuff one in with your invoice.
4) Get a separate checking account for business. Never use your personal account, the IRS doesn't like this when it comes to tax time and it's easier for you to keep track of your expenses and receivables.
5) Get a savings account for your business. Then put a percentage of what you earn into it every time you are paid for estimated taxes you will owe.
6) Get a blog and keep up with it. A great marketing tool, it lets people see your expertise, your style, etc. It helps to brand you a leader in your niche or field.
7) Choose your niche(s). You can be a generalist or specialist, but either way you should have a few (no more than approx. 4) niches that you know well. More on generalist vs. specialist in another post.
8) Create spreadsheets. I use one for all corporate jobs, one for publications, one for general contact info of clients and one for general contact info for publications. Lots of database upkeep, but VERY helpful in the long run.
9) Create a filing system. You'll need this to hold receipts for things you've purchased for your business so that you may deduct them at tax time, you can keep hard copies for everything you do, keep a file for every client you have, keep your banking info there, keep EVERYTHING.
10) Make a daily or weekly schedule. This can be tentative but I find I stay on task a little bit better if I have a schedule of what I need to do for the day or week and I break it up into segments of time judging from an estimate of how long it takes to complete each task. Don't get too worked up if you don't ever end up following it exactly. It's about finding out how you work best and making changes as needed. A schedule can just be a guide for your day or week, not an absolute.

Positive Thinking and the Freelance Writer

The life of the freelance writer can be quite hard. The rejection specifically can make or break a freelancer. However, I'm a huge believer in the power of positive thinking. Perhaps a bit Romantic, idealistic, ethereal, woo-woo, whatever. It seems to work for me.

Negative thinking and discouragement brings you down, it puts up a block in your brain and inhibits your ability to write anything besides self-deprecating words in your diary. It puts a cloud over everything and what you do end up writing you will often end up deleting immediately.

As writers, we're often sensitive, easily overthrown, fragile even. Have you heard that thing about how it takes like 12 positive comments to make up for one negative one? Rings pretty true.

So, as much as I may be at risk of sounding like a certain SNL sketch from the 90's (I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and gosh darn it, people like me. ...) here are a few things to help keep you thinking positively...

1) Write down 3 things you want from your writing, three goals, three positive thoughts, whatever and tack them on your computer or somewhere you can see them. But don't write something like "I want to be a better writer." That statement causes your brain to assume you aren't already good enough and although we should all strive to be better writers, it's the semantics that put up a block in your brain. Use something else like "I am a good/great writer" or use past goals completed like this: "I got 12 query letters out last month" to remind you that you are working hard and meeting your goals. I don't pretend to be a psychologist, but this seems to work well for me. It gives me a sense of pride in my accomplishments and motivates me to keep it up.

2) Write affirmations. Freewrite some affirmations in private, in a journal or whatever. Just keep listing positive qualities about yourself and your writing in particular. Eventually they will somehow become true to you. Write things that may even feel ridiculous or arrogant. Things like: I am an awesome writer, I will get my latest article published (even be specific in the article title), etc. and even start listing your accomplishments. It will help to bring about a confidence in yourself that you can absolutely do this, you can absolutely be a published writer.

3) Be audacious. Put yourself out there and attack every opportunity with energy and focus and positive thinking. The more you do so, the more you may be rejected, yes--but also the more you have the opportunity to learn from those rejections, and the more potential you have to gain those bylines.

4) Never use "I can't" statements. Whether verbally, in thought, or in writing, don't ever let yourself believe you can't do something. If you believe it, it will likely be true and it will often come to simply being you won't do it.

I'm more than guilty of delving into negative thoughts, but practicing these 4 things helps to keep me on track more often than not. Of course negative thoughts and statements creep up here and there, but certainly less often when I am practicing positive thinking and I credit much of this practice to my successes I've had.

Deciding to Start Freelance Writing

The decision to start a freelance writing career is a tough one for some. There are numerous things to think about and organize and a certain level of motivation and commitment required in order to be successful. But you can always start freelancing slowly for those of you who are too scared to jump right into full-time freelance work right off the bat.

You can always start out as an occasional freelancer, writing when you want to, accepting the jobs you want, not starting another until you've finished with the first, all while keeping your regular job (if you need one of those horrible things). Put together a simple portfolio of some sample work you've done (whether published or not) so you can have something to show potential clients. The occasional freelancer may do some marketing or blogging but generally can just gain projects and clients by replying to ads on job sites.

Once you've gotten comfortable with your method of freelancing and you are able to complete your projects with more ease and efficiency than you did with your first project then start moving into part-time freelance. Part-time freelance (to me) means you start marketing yourself, you start blogging and getting your name out there. You may start contacting a few businesses here and there to let them know about your services and see if they need someone to do some content. You gain one or two regular clients and you basically keep a steady stream of "light" projects or one or two heavy ones.
Once you start freelancing part-time and are finding that you are enjoying it, then start setting goals for going full-time. Do you have a time-line of six months, two weeks or even a year? Where do you want to be by then? How much do you want to be making? Start making a list of all the things you need to do to to achieve your goals and put it in a conspicuous spot where it will remind you regularly about your goals.

Now you're ready to move to full-time freelance writing? Get a website, you may have done this previously, but if you haven't then it's an important step in freelancing full-time. Personally, mine is still being designed because I spent too much time trying to read Creating Web Pages for Dummies and failing. Start studying up on self-employment taxes, running a home business and finances. Make some spreadsheets to track all of your clients, payments, publications, accounts receivables, etc. or you can invest in a Quickbooks program. Then market like crazy. Network like crazy. Spend about 50% of your time marketing and doing your finances and the other 50% writing. Make sure you don't miss too many days of marketing, you may not see the effects immediately, but likely a month later you could end up with a gap in work.


All in all, this is an easy method for those who like to play things a little safer, or need a full-time regular job while starting their freelancing career, or for any other reason.

How I use Helium

If you're looking to make your millions as a freelance writer then you probably don't want to look toward Helium to help you do that. I once wrote an article on there that stayed in the first and second spots for a year and I made a whopping $.29 from it. But I still use Helium all the time.

I don't ever actually post anything on Helium anymore, but I found that it's a great starting point for getting topics and politely asking my writer's block to get the hell out. It asks questions on your opinions that you can use for an op-ed piece somewhere else. General topics that you hadn't thought of in awhile may pique your muse's interest. Then you can take off from there.

There are a couple ways you can make money with Helium, like their marketplace where content requests are posted and you submit your article based on the proposed topics. But you're submitting your article without knowing if they will select yours or not. That means you just spent time writing a specific article that may or may not be used, when you could be using that time to gain a new client or write something for a "sure thing" or whatever.

You can also write for the contests on Helium. I think there's a psychological effect at play here, somehow it seems easier to write an article or piece that you don't know will win if it's for a contest rather than just a "job." I haven't done this yet, but I'd be much more likely to go this route than use the marketplace.

Point is: there are lots of places that will pay for your content, so spend your time achieving those clients/publications rather than writing articles that may never be used. It helps prevent more disappointment if you don't champion those jobs and saves you some time better used elsewhere.

Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates

When you are first starting out as a freelance writer, one of the most common questions is "how much should I charge?" The answer often varies depending on the type of work you do. SEO content has the potential to bring in more money than a general blog post for a client so be sure you are setting rates according to the amount of research or professional, specialized knowledge required.

On another note, you may live beneath your means and not technically NEED more money. That's not to say you shouldn't still charge more. It just means you can probably work less for higher pay then those of use who have unnatural obsessions with religious icon kitch, the art of buying books (as opposed to checking them out of a library), weird gadgets you don't really need, or IKEA.

For those of you who live beyond your means, be prepared to set your rates a little higher and work a little more. It's your business, you can set the rates you want to set. There are no rules and there are people and companies out there willing to pay more than you think for their content.
Plumbers can charge around $100 just to come in your house for 5 minutes and tell you that you need to go down to Target and buy a plunger, or worse, they will unclog your toilet for you for another $100 rather than telling you to get a $3 plunger. But we pay it, right? A clear toilet is what we need and a plumber can help us achieve it if we're willing to pay.

Now consider this...how suspicious would you be if your plumber charged only $5 for the whole shebang? He took the time and gas to come to your house, take a look at your pipes, give a diagnosis and fix the clog...and he's only charging $5???? There are many writers out there perfectly willing to do a job for $5 and many companies who offer the same. Well, they'll get what they pay for.
Keep in mind that there are always people willing to pay higher rates for a good writer. If it's website content, their company's image is on the line so naturally they want great content from someone who knows what they are doing.

A Handy Tool from freelanceswitch.com to help you calculate your rates.
http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/


This link was given to me by another freelance writer awhile ago. I don't follow it exactly, but it gave me a great basis of where to start, then I increased the suggested hourly rate to nearly double. Plus, it's SO easy to use.

Freelancing: The Virtually Recession Proof Business

As freelance writers it's easy to get a little apprehensive about the future of our jobs. Will I have enough work next week? Next month? Next year? Recession or not, as freelancers we don't always have the most secure jobs. Then you add the anxiety of recession in there and it's a wonder we're not all on Xanax.
However, let's put this into perspective a little bit. Let's say you had a "real" job, a 9-5 or whatever, and the gas prices continue to go up and we dive head first into full-blown recession. If you are in an industry that is affected by a recession then you become one of the first in line to to lose your job, and let's say you do. Then what? You are 100% out of work at that moment. You had one source of income that at one time seemed like the more stable option. You thought you were being realistic, sensible, doing your duty to support your family or yourself and now it's gone and you have to attempt to find a job during a recession while also worrying about health insurance and the like.

BUT, if you are a freelance writer or other freelancer, you're likely safer than you think. Consider the fact that as a freelancer you have the opportunity to work with many varied types of companies, some of which will be affected by a recession and force them to cut back, but many others won't be affected as much. So let's say you are a freelancer who has 15 clients you work with on a fairly regular basis, you might lose some of them but the chance that you'll still have at least 20% of your clients is really quite good. So that means you're at least still making 20% of your income as opposed to losing your entire income in one day. Then you just pick up the pace on your marketing strategies a bit, target the companies that seem like they have a better chance of thriving even in a recession and go about your merry freelancing way.

Then you add the fact that as a freelancer you're likely saving on gas by not commuting everyday and eating out at lunch.

Freelancing can be stressful, recession can be intimidating, but ultimately you are likely in a better position than working for Ford in the SUV division. There's always work out there for freelancers but not always work for the rest of the country. Consider yourself fortunate.