Personal Productivity: An Interim Report
I mentioned in my last post that I was doing something about getting organized. To help me, I’ve used two Firefox extensions, GTDInbox and Remember The Milk for Gmail. I’ve reviewed these elsewhere (links are to the reviews), but here’s how they help.
Achieving Inbox Zero
GTD Inbox makes it a snap to deal [...]
Getting Back In The Saddle
If you’re a work at home parent, as I am, then you’ve probably been making some trade-offs over the summer. It’s great to have our little darlings at home, but it’s also frustrating when we can’t work in the usual way. For me, the summer has meant paring down to essentials. I [...]
When Last Did You Pay Yourself?
There’s nothing like the security of having a cheque arrive every month, but when you’re a freelancer, you just don’t have that security any more. Instead, like many work at home professionals, payment for your labour may be erratic and intermittent, and sometimes you even have to hunt down the money that should be yours by [...]
Are You A Team Player?
A couple of years ago, I started working with a team of writers. I had good and bad experiences with that team, and the team continued to grow. Then I realised something. It wasn’t working for me. Here’s why.
I was spending more time chasing other writers for work than doing my own writing.
I was spending [...]
Talk To Me, Darn It!
OK, I am peeved. Someone that I thought was reliable has let me down. Here’s the story. A client whom I’ve worked with for a couple of years (and who pays well and promptly) contacted me about a job. I explained that I couldn’t do it myself, but that I could sub it out. She [...]
The Business Of Freelance Writing
I’ve always said that if you want to make it as a freelance writer, you have to take the business side seriously. Here’s another writer who is saying the same: James Chartrand. In a guest post on Poewar, called Want to be a Freelance Writer? Get Ready for Business!, James points out that there are [...]
How To Work With Other Writers
It happens to all freelance writers at some time. Since writers always have to plan ahead to manage their workload, they may find that a rush job comes in to disturb their well organised schedule. For example, an established client may need something in a hurry, and you may not want to refuse because it’s [...]
Freelancing Gold: Referrals And Repeats
Last night, a client I hadn’t heard from in just over a year emailed me to ask about rates for a new job. This is not the first time this has happened. I get a lot of repeat business from old clients and a few referrals as well. This is a gold mine for the [...]
Making Freelancing Personal
What’s your online personality? Do people really get a good idea of who you are from your site, blog and interactions in the blogosphere? I don’t often have face to face meetings any more. I talk to most of my clients by email, IM or Skype. That has to be enough to [...]
Freelance Writing Questions: How To Say Goodbye
As a freelance writer, you sometimes find yourself with a bad client relationship. It’s not that the client is bad; it’s just that you just can’t reach an understanding. You know that things are going wrong because:
you thought you understood the brief but the client doesn’t like what you have written
you didn’t understand the brief, [...]
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