WritingThoughts

“I’ve been freelancing for over seven years and in all that time I’ve never had a day off, not even a weekend.” Those words made me sad when I read them on a forum for freelance writers. I know firsthand that not taking a break can exact a heavy toll on a freelance writer. Of […]

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Do “prospects” ask you to write for free or way below market rate? If you’re a freelance writer, chances are good that you’ve been approached by a so-called “prospect” with an offer you must refuse. You must refuse the offer if you want to stay in business, that is. After all, you can’t spend all […]

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One of the most important things that a freelancer can do is get their client agreements in writing. I’ve said this over and over again, yet many freelance writers still fail to get a written agreement before starting a project. I get it. I do. Writing a client proposal is hard. What do you do […]

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Freelance writing is a tough field. Getting started takes a huge leap of faith. Plus, most new freelance writers struggle at first. New writers struggle because they’re faced with situations that they didn’t expect. They don’t know what to do. Many quit. Others wind up working for far less than they’re worth. If you’ve been […]

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When it comes to writing for the web, you have to grab your reader’s attention quickly. In many cases, you have just seconds before they click away. That’s why shorter is better. Shorter paragraphs. Shorter sentences. Shorter words. A newbie mistake when it comes to online content is to write like you’re trying to impress […]

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Recently, I’ve seen another flurry of posts and even eBooks that claim to teach writers how to write more quickly. (Out of respect for the authors, who are some of my most admired professional colleagues, I’ve decided not to link to those posts and resources here.) I have to ask myself, is speedier writing really […]

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Can you use words to sell your product or services? The quick answer is “yes.” Words do sell. That’s what copywriting, content marketing, and many other writing-related marketing endeavors are all about. But not all words will sell your products or services equally well. One of the most popular older posts on this blog is […]

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By Shanna Mallon “In the digital age, short writing is king,” says Roy Peter Clark, president of journalism think tank the Poynter Institute and author of How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times. People don’t have attention spans for fluff. They don’t want to read language that’s verbose. That’s why, today more than […]

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Clients want them. The search engines want them. Social media wants them. The Internet is all about original ideas, or so it would seem. Yet often, the most popular articles and blog posts are not those with unique ideas. What gives? Why don’t original ideas generate more shares? In this post, I’ll discuss my thoughts […]

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Clients are often confused about voice. I often get the question “what voice should I use on my web pages and blog?” Like the answer to so many questions, the answer to this question is…it depends. It depends on who your intended audience is. It seems that there’s a lot of confusion about voice. The […]

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