WritingThoughts

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If you’re a freelance writer, you know that you’re going to have problems.

I’ve written about this before. I’ve covered problems like fear, writer’s block, and even distractions.

What I’ve noticed over the years is that bloggers and other writers tend to focus on certain problems and ignore others. That got me thinking.

Are there some problems that writers face more often than others?

While I have my opinion, I really don’t know the answer for sure. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments below. What freelance writing problems do you face most often?

In the meantime, I’m starting a series to address ten common freelancer writer problems. This is the introductory post for that series.

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You may think the answer is “no.” Think again. Fear can remain hidden and affect your decisions without you realizing it.

If you’re struggling to get your writing business going, fear might be the problem.

In this post, I discuss some of the symptoms of underlying fears we writers face. I’ll also list some common fears writers have. Finally, I provide some tips to help you deal with your writing fears.

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The start of any new year represents opportunity. It’s also a good time to establish healthy business practices that will carry you through the year.

If you’ve been a freelancer for a while, the new year isn’t a blank slate for you.

But it is the start of a new fiscal period. That means changes you make now and stick with through the year can make a real financial difference for you and your business.

In this post I describe nine easy ways to reboot your freelancing business this year.

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That’s why the post Should a Freelance Writer Have a Blog? from my colleague John Soares caught my eye.

John addresses the question that many freelance writers and other freelancers are asking. “Should I blog?”

In this post, I’ll share my own thoughts on why I think blogging is still important. I’ll also provide a few tips on how to start blogging.

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links.

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Lots of would-be writers ask me about making the switch from a conventional job.

But I’m always cautious about making the recommendation. Freelancing doesn’t work out for everyone.

That’s why I’ve written posts like 5 Surprises New Freelance Writers Face and 21 Hard Decisions Freelance Writers Face. I want to give prospective writers a balanced picture of what it’s like to be a freelance writer.

In this post I revisit the question of whether you should become a freelance writer. If you’re considering freelance writing, I hope this helps you make the right decision.

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Freelance pricing is one of the most common topics that freelancers like to discuss.

There’s a reason freelancers like to discuss pricing. We talk about it because most of us struggle to set our price.

In this post I share seven truths about pricing that I’ve learned over the years. I also list seven recent articles on pricing. At the end of this post, share your own tips on how you price your freelance writing projects.

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If you write web content, you’re familiar with the struggle. Like me, you may wonder, how do I attract readers and get them to respond to and share my content?

Even the most carefully crafted piece of content might not get any reader engagement.

There’s nothing more frustrating than spending hours on an article only to have no one read it. Yet this happens all the time. It’s happened to me. It’s probably happened to you.

You can never be certain how your readers will respond to the content you write.

That uncertainty is why I was excited when I was invited to learn more about Atomic Reach’s content marketing tools. The purpose of these tools is to help you increase reader engagement. AtomicWriter helps you create more engaging content. AtomicInsights helps you measure the reader engagement.

This post is my review of AtomicWriter, which is free.

Disclosure: The folks at Atomic Reach have provided me with a demo. I also received access to the Pro Writer Package. This post reflects my honest opinion of the product.

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Did you ever wish you could go back in time and let your younger self in on some of what you’ve learned?

If we’re honest, I think we all wish that we could take we’ve learned into the past. It would be great to benefit early from our accumulated life experience.

It isn’t possible to go back in time. But we can still share what we’ve learned with other writers who are starting out.

And remember, we can still use what we’ve learned from the past today.

In this post I share ten things I would tell my younger writing self if I could. At the end of the post, share what you would tell your younger writing self (if you could) in the comments.

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While larger publications often use a copy editor, smaller publications often do not.

This means that it is doubly important for us to check over our own work.

Self-editing is hard, though. It’s easy to miss your own mistakes. That’s because when you read something you’ve written, your mind tends to “fix” minor mistakes in the copy. So what you think you read is not actually what you wrote.

Plus, time-rushed freelance writers may be tempted to skip this step. A good copy-edit takes time. If you’ve got a lot of deadlines, you may feel you don’t have that time.

In this post I share ten tips to make editing your own work easier. I call them the ten golden rules of self-editing.

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When I tell friends I’m a freelance writer, a common response is “Wow, you’re lucky. I’d love to avoid work-related stress.”

People assume that I don’t have any work-related stress because I’m self-employed and work at home. They’re wrong.

While I love freelance writing and enjoy the perks that go along with it, there are times I find it stressful.

I know I’m not alone.

The stresses of freelance writing may not be obvious, so I’ll list a few of them in this post. I’ll also provide some tips for overcoming those stressors.

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