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  • Make a Living Writing From the Road: Tips for Working While Traveling

    Make a Living Writing From the Road: Tips for Working While Traveling

    One of the great things about figuring out how to make a living writing is you can work from anywhere.

    You can jump on a plane and then, while on a beach in Thailand or in a ski lodge in Canada, tap away at that laptop to pay for the trip.

    Well, that’s the theory anyhow. But the first time you try working while traveling, you’ll likely find it’s more difficult than anticipated.

    When I first tried to write while traveling, I realized my usual routine was broken. Hunting down morning tea was an adventure rather than a short walk to the kitchen. Hotel checkout times snuck up on me just when I was doing my best writing. And there were distractions; after all, I travel to see things and have new experiences, so it wasn’t easy to fit work into my days on the road.

    Of course, you could just take a vacation from writing and get back to work when you return home. But here’s a thought: If you can learn to write while away from home, you can afford to take trips more often.

    And yes, I did finally learn how to get some work done while traveling. So if you like to travel and want to do more of it, here are some tips for making a living writing while on the road.

    Prepare before you leave to increase productivity

    Your important files need to be available wherever you are. That’s not a problem if you use the same laptop at home and on the road. Otherwise, consider free cloud storage options like Dropbox or Google Documents, so you can access everything regardless of your location. Just remember to upload everything necessary before you leave.

    You can also install a remote access program to use your home computer that lets you log in from anywhere. LifeHacker recommends using either TeamViewer, or the built-in remote connection options available on many Macs and PCs with Windows Professional. All of these options require leaving your computer on with the remote program running, so don’t make the mistake of powering off before you head to the airport.

    I prefer to carry important files on a USB flash drive. That way I can still work where there’s no internet connection, and if my laptop crashes, I can still accomplish some work from any computer. Imagine you’re using your home desktop remotely and it shuts down on day one of a two-week trip. Of course, you could use cloud storage, remote access and a USB flash drive for total safety and convenience, but most of us don’t take that many precautions.

    What about passwords? Don’t leave home without them. Bring a paper list or email it to yourself. For security, add a certain number of digits and letters to each password but leave those off the cheat sheet, making them unusable to anyone who sees the list. Just remember the pattern you add, or you won’t be able to access anything at all!

    Bring tools that will help you write your best

    Even when using a laptop, my big clumsy fingers prefer a regular keyboard, so I take one on road trips. I use a small tape recorder for safely taking notes while driving; many of my best ideas come on long quiet stretches of highway.

    You’ll have to decide which tools are most important for you, but here are some possibilities to consider for your list (and you should have a list, so nothing is forgotten):

    • Laptop
    • USB flash drive
    • Keyboard
    • Mouse and mousepad
    • Extra battery for mouse
    • Camera
    • Pen and paper
    • Tape recorder
    • Headphones
    • USB plugin for wireless mouse and keyboard

    Check your internet connection before you move in

    One night in a hotel, my wife and I had already used the pool and watched a movie when we discovered the wireless signal in our room was worthless. Management moved us despite the room already being well-used, but it was a hassle.

    Lesson learned: Always check the connection before you settle into your room.

    Let your surroundings inspire your work

    You will be distracted from writing when you travel, but you can also be inspired. Once, sitting with my laptop in a rented cabin in the mountains of Colorado, it occurred to me how wonderful it was that I could work from anywhere, so I wrote about that for one of my websites. On another occasion, after a catamaran cruise on Lake Tahoe, I wrote about the experience and sold the article. And many writers find simply changing their setting and routine makes them more reflective and in a position to produce their best personal essays.

    You don’t have to cover travel topics just because you’re traveling. Inspiration can come for just about any niche you work in. If you write about small businesses, check out the ones around you. If you write for a landscaping magazine investigate how yards are commonly landscaped in the cities or countries you visit. Keep an open mind get inspired.

    Develop your own unique travel routine

    Routines keep you focused and prevent deadly procrastination. But since you probably can’t replicate your home pattern, you may need to develop a routine just for traveling.

    I find it easiest to write as soon as I get up in the morning, and maybe for an hour just after I check into a hotel (by that time the pool or bar is calling my name). I also find I can work well at the airport if I arrive a couple hours early, especially if I’ve brought an internet hotspot with me.

    But I have a confession: I can’t write half as much while traveling as I do at home. Instead, I do other things to be productive. For example, long road trips and a micro-cassette recorder help me come home with a ton of new ideas I can execute once I’m back at home. And although it’s tough to write articles in hotel rooms and fast food restaurant booths, when in these places I find it easy to do research and take notes for future articles.

    Of course, what works for me may not work for you. Perhaps you have to stay several days in each place to get some writing done and truly enjoy the trip. Maybe you should go to a coffee shop wherever you are, if that’s how you normally work.

    Write outside, write inside — who knows until you try. To find a routine that works for you, just hit the road and start experimenting.

    Do you try to write when traveling, and if so, what routines work best for you?

  • How to Overcome Social Anxiety When You Work From Home

    How to Overcome Social Anxiety When You Work From Home

    I could tell that my hovering without speaking was making her nervous, and yet I couldn’t seem to move away. Good manners compelled me to thank this woman, an Internet acquaintance and hopefully future colleague, for inviting me to her event.

    And not just inviting me, either, but comping me a ticket, which is how I justified prying myself out of my home office and driving 15 miles on a weeknight.

    When we finally spoke and made it past the introductions, things got even more awkward. I couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence, and mumbled something about traffic being good.

    Fortunately, she was gracious about my incoherence, but it wasn’t until I sat at a table in a dark corner of the club, waiting for the proceedings to begin, that it hit me — full-time freelance writing is turning me feral. If I was going to keep from losing my social skills entirely, I would need to figure out how to overcome social anxiety.

    An introvert at heart

    I’ve always had some social anxiety, and as a child, my natural introversion was reinforced by interactions with bullies. But I worked hard at getting over it, first in the theater and then in journalism.

    Journalism helped the most, since nothing gets you over your shyness faster than having to ask a government official if he’s embezzling money. And newsrooms may no longer be the chaotic caverns portrayed in old movies, but they’re not quiet places where anyone can hide. Even so, for years working from home was my dream.

    But since I left the newsroom and fulfilled that dream, things have been quiet, so quiet that I often turn on the news for background noise, or play music. This surprised me, since I’ve always needed to get away from noisy situations, if only for a few minutes, to regroup.

    The downsides of working from home

    But all this solitude, while productive writing-wise, is definitely eroding my social skills. Unless I take some action, will there be a time when I’m reduced to grunting, unable to make conversation unless it’s in writing?

    It doesn’t help that, several days a week, the only person I’ll talk to is my husband. He has an exhausting job outside the home, so we don’t even talk that much. When I do get out, I mostly interact with retail workers, who have no interest in chatting, and frankly, I return the sentiment.

    It also doesn’t help that, while I’m lucky to have dear friends, many are in different time zones, while the ones nearby are swamped with work and childcare. We mostly connect via social media, hours or days apart.

    So it’s not surprising I was making my poor hostess uncomfortable. I’m just not used to small talk — that social lubricant that helps turn strangers into at least friendly acquaintances — anymore.

    And as someone who is working hard on building a brand as a freelance writer, I know there is only so much I can do online. Eventually I’m going to have to meet people face to face.

    Reclaiming my social self

    And so, here is my plan for turning myself back into a social person. If you’re feeling similarly feral from your own freelancing solitude, I urge you to consider it as well.

    It won’t be easy, because, as anyone who’s ever freelanced knows, it’s tough to stop working, whether it’s on the weekend or at night. Keep reminding yourself that efforts to reverse your ferality won’t hurt as long as you make sure to meet your deadlines.

    After all, wasn’t setting your own schedule one of the biggest reasons you started freelancing?

    1. Try to attend one social event with mostly strangers each month

    This may not sound like a big step, but it’s terrifying enough to inspire excuses. Take baby steps to reverse your ferality by connecting with people in real life, rather than through a screen.

    No, an event being on a weeknight is not an reason to shirk it. And not being able to bring a date isn’t either, nor is feeling icky and/or unkempt, though a raging flu is a forgivable excuse.

    Speaking of forgiving yourself, it’s okay to be a bit awkward at your first few events. Just try not to spill anything on the host. You’ll be amazed at how many people can relate to social anxiety, especially if they’re also writers.

    2. Become the friend who plans social gatherings

    Yes, it’s exhausting, but it’s usually worth it. Have difficult schedules? Try to plan a few weeks ahead, and offer different alternatives.

    Whoever has the least rigid schedule should be the most accommodating, but just because you freelance doesn’t mean your time isn’t important. Work to find a time that fits into everyone’s schedules, whether you’re planning a drink with one friend or a dinner party with eight.

    Not every meetup needs to be large or elaborate; even a brief coffee date will get you out of the house and socializing. Remember, only you can prevent your friends from feralizing.

    3. Pick up the phone

    Even if it’s just a rambling voicemail, I always enjoy hearing a friendly voice, and I’ll bet your distant friends do too. If they do answer, it’s a great chance to catch up.

    If someone is always hard to reach, try to make a phone date, or get an idea of his availability over social media first. Spontaneity is overrated.

    4. Find other freelancers and form your own newsroom

    I’ve started doing this with a local writer I met through social media. Her social skills are far less rusty than mine, but she, too, is concerned. We meet up at venues away from our own homes, and get a surprising amount of work done, and feel less isolated than if we were in a cafe by ourselves.

    Some freelancers rent office spaces together, some choose coworking spaces, and others try services like ShareDesk that allow you to rent desks in different venues. Beware, though, that those options cost more money than just writing in a cafe, and that the culture may not suit you. (Also, working in pajamas is probably not an option.)

    5. Think like a journalist at social events

    It can be hard to strike up a conversation at social events, but I find going back to my journalism roots helps me out. I’ve had my share of reluctant sources in the past, and my job was to get as much information as possible before they shut me down.

    While there’s no need to be so aggressive in a social situation, I find it helps to have a plan for what you want to learn about your conversation partner. What’s her name? What does she do? Where is she from? What brings her here?

    If the conversation goes no further, move on. It’s all practice — and you’ll be working your way back from the precipice of ferality.

    Have you struggled with isolation or started developing feral tendencies as a result of freelancing? What do you do?

  • What Literary Agents Want to See Before Signing With a Writer

    What Literary Agents Want to See Before Signing With a Writer

    So you’ve written a book. It’s taken you three months or 18 months or seven years. You’ve shared your manuscript with your sister, significant other, office mate and that kind-looking stranger and they all really, really liked it.

    Now what?

    In the best of all possible worlds, the right agent would fall in love with your writing at first glance and guide you through the publishing process. But how do you find your perfect literary match and convince him or her to love your book?

    The New Jersey-based Writers Circle Workshops recently presented a panel discussion with three literary agents: Liza Dawson, founder of Liza Dawson Associates; Tamar Rydzinski, Vice President of the Laura Dail Literary Agency; and Marietta B. Zacker of Nancy Gallt Literary Agency.

    These agents shared what attracts them to a manuscript, what turns them off and how aspiring authors can improve their chances of matchmaking success. Here are some of their best tips from the discussion.

    1. Keep your query concise and professional

    Query letters are intended to pique an agent’s interest in seeing your manuscript. Think of your query letter as a job interview: It should be concise and professional.

    “This is your sales pitch,” Dawson said. “I need you to tell me why I need to read your book.”

    A query should include a brief biography, but agents don’t want to read paragraphs or even pages about your life. “Give us too much information and you just give us a reason to reject you,” Rydzinski said. “Just tell me what your credentials are briefly and what your book’s about.”

    As a children’s book agent, Zacker added, “Don’t tell me your child loved your book or her teacher thought it was like Percy Jackson. Very few children tell their parents their book sucks.”

    But all three agents agreed there’s no “one-size-fits-all” template. “The query letter that tells a [brief] story … works best for me,” Dawson said. “If you can entertain me and keep my attention, I’m more likely to read your submission.”

    Take a look at publishers’ catalogues and review Chuck Sambuchino’s Successful Queries blog series for ideas and advice on crafting your query letter.

    2. Polish your manuscript

    Before you send out your queries, make sure your manuscript looks its best by revising it, getting feedback from beta readers and working with an editor.

    “People forget that getting an agent is not the end. It’s barely the beginning,” Zacker said. “When you send out a query, you should feel that your manuscript could be published tomorrow. It needs to be ready if we ask for it.”

    Zacker also recommended printing out your manuscript when you’re revising. “There’s a difference between seeing text on a screen and reading it in hard copy,”she explained.

    3. Do your homework

    If you send query letters to agents who don’t represent the type of work you’re pitching, you’ll expose yourself as an amateur.

    Every agency has information and submission guidelines on its websites that define the types of books it represents. The websites often also list which genres each specific agent is interested in, or you can use resources such as Publishers Marketplace and MS Wishlist, a compilation of tweets from agents using the hashtag “#MSWL” to call for queries.

    Other places to find this information include the Writer’s Market agent listings and associations representing your genre, such as the Historical Novel Society, Mystery Writers of America or the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators.

    And, no surprise, writers need to read a lot and know the market. “That’s part of our homework, just as it’s part of yours,” Zacker said.

    While agents and publishers want to find that “unique voice,” they also need to believe there’s a market for your work. Writers need a solid grasp of who and what is being published in their genre and any relevant trends.

    This is also useful information when comparing your book to another author’s work, an important part of any literary pitch. All three agents recommended picking a notable writer in your genre, but not an author who has become a phenomenon — not a J.K Rowling or a Lincoln Childs. Over-reaching is a turn-off, they agreed.

    A corollary to knowing the market: “Don’t write ‘what’s hot,’” Rydzinski warned. Finishing her sentence, Zacker added, “… because you’re already too late.”

    Today’s hot trend consists of books sold to publishers two years ago. Moreover, if the market is saturated with the type of book you’ve invested your heart in, you may have to shelve it for a while or redefine your book’s genre in some manner. Write what you’re passionate about, the agents concurred.

    4. Keep up with social media

    A lot of book marketing is on your shoulders these days, Dawson and Rydzinski confirmed. That means you need to have a solid author platform, including social media.

    The agents agreed it’s important to find a social media platform that makes you comfortable. “There’s nothing worse than opening a Facebook page and seeing a year-old post,” Zacker said. Concise writers might prefer Twitter. Writers of adult works might be better off on Facebook. And children’s authors should try Instagram. Play with each platform, and tweak your online profiles to make them work for you.

    If posting to social media feels too daunting, Rydzinski suggested checking out communities like Wattpad where writers share their writing to get feedback and create buzz.

    Not sure how to get started? Here’s a great guide to building an author platform from scratch.

    Rydzinski advised writers to keep it civil online. “We Google you, just like you Google us,” she said. “I don’t want to represent someone who’s posted really nasty remarks. Why would I want to work with someone like that?”

    But the most important message was: “The book comes first!”

    If you had been at the event, what question would you have asked the agents?

  • How to Write a Letter of Introduction for Landing Content Marketing Clients

    How to Write a Letter of Introduction for Landing Content Marketing Clients

    Looking to break into the lucrative world of content marketing?

    There are dozens, if not hundreds of places for writers to find content marketing clients: job boards, LinkedIn, through agencies, via websites such as Contently that match writers with businesses, and of course, by contacting potential clients directly.

    With the exception of websites that allow you to put up your portfolio and let clients find you, most times, you’re going to have to be proactive about contacting potential clients and finding work. And you do this by sending a Letter of Introduction — a short email introducing yourself, mentioning your clips and credits, and outlining why you’d be a great fit to do content marketing for this business or agency.

    A strong LOI can be the difference between getting thousands of dollars worth of work within a week and never hearing back from anyone.

    But if you’ve never before written an email that sells you and your writing services, it can be intimidating. Here’s what to include in your Letter of Introduction to increase your chances of landing content marketing clients.

    1. Your writing experience

    You may be a new writer, but if you’re sending an LOI, you need to be able to convincingly show the person you’ve contacted — whether that’s an agency or a potential small business client — that you’re capable of producing the work.

    You can’t do this if you have no writing credits. This is why, if you’re a new writer with no clips, I recommend networking and finding clients in other ways (through Contently, for instance) before you start sending out dozens of pitches.

    2. Your business and content marketing experience

    Ever written brochure copy for a corporate client? Blogged for the Indian restaurant down the road? Put together a case study for an animal rights organization?

    That’s all experience you should highlight. If you’ve ever written for a business or worked for a business or association, pick the most relevant experiences and highlight them — even if you did the work for free. There’s no need to point out your volunteer status; what matters is that you did the work and you did it well.

    3. Your understanding of their business

    Enough talk about you. Let’s talk about the business. When you send an LOI to a small business or a corporate client (this doesn’t apply as much when pitching agencies), the one and only question they’re really asking is: What’s in it for me?

    So make sure you provide a good answer to that by first making it clear you understand what problem they’re trying to solve and what need they’re filling with their business. This could be as simple as referencing some of their older content and explaining how it helped you (if you’re the target market, that is), or pointing out that no one else seems to have the same unique selling proposition (USP), which really helps them stand out in the market. Compliment them, but be sincere.

    4. Your understanding of their needs

    One of the best ways to make your LOI stand out and get immediate responses is to do as much research on the company as you possibly can and find a couple of areas where they can do better. I’m not a big fan of the “you suck at this and I can fix it” approach, but I do sometimes point out obvious areas of lack that I’m sure the business already knows about and likely wants to improve.

    Some brands get a lot of cold pitches from writers, and most of those aspiring freelancers don’t do their research, so showing you put in the time and effort to really learn about this particular business will set you apart from everyone else.

    For instance, you might find the content marketing strategy for that budgeting app you use has a lot of information about creating and sticking to budgets, but not enough on how to organize those savings they’re creating through budgeting. By proving that you understand their needs, not only do you make clear that you’re interested in what they have to offer, but you highlight the fact that you’ve invested time in learning about their business and are keen enough to come up with solutions without any guarantee. Especially when you’re new, this can get your foot in the door.

    5. Your niche

    When it comes to content marketing, it is absolutely essential to choose a niche and make clear to your potential clients what that niche is. Businesses don’t just hire freelance writers, they hire writers with expertise in a subject — their subject.

    A writer who specializes will always win assignments more regularly than a writer who writes about “everything.” While writing skill and reporting ability are more valuable when it comes to journalism and freelance writing for publications, deep knowledge of a subject and the ability to convey it is the prized skill when it comes to writing for businesses and brands.

    My rule of thumb: When connecting with individual clients or corporates, mention one, at most two, areas of specialization that are relevant to their business. When contacting agencies, give them at least three or four niche topics you can write about so they have an easier time placing you within their existing client base.

    6. An invitation to connect over the phone or Skype

    While freelancing tends to be accomplished over email, business is frequently done on the phone. Most editors I know absolutely hate having to answer phones in the middle of the workday. On the contrary, most entrepreneurs cannot understand why you’d waste half a day with emails flying back and forth when you could easily pick up the phone and sort it out in less than ten minutes.

    What I suggest is that you give people options, and let them choose what works best for them. If they prefer email, continue on. But if they’d rather discuss working together on the phone, make sure you’ve offered them the option. This is one effective way to make their job easier, so they want to work with you right from the start.

    An effective Letter of Introduction can be the sharpest tool in your content marketing toolbox. Even better, once you’ve written a good LOI that you know works and can get results, all you need to do is tweak it for new clients.

    You write it once, and you reap the rewards repeatedly. That’s why it’s important to get yours right from the get-go.

    Do you pitch potential clients regularly? What do you include in your LOI, and what do you leave out?

  • How One Author Earns $450,000 a Year Self-Publishing on Amazon

    How One Author Earns $450,000 a Year Self-Publishing on Amazon

    Self-publishing success stories are all around us… but it’s not often we get a glimpse into how, exactly, these authors manage to sell so many books on Amazon.

    That’s why we love this piece from Forbes on how one author earns $450,000 a year self-publishing on Amazon.

    The UK-based author, Mark Dawson, writes thrillers and crime novels, and has sold 300,000 copies of his thriller series about a British assassin named John Milton. The Forbes piece says Dawson earned six figures last year, but never quite explains the math behind the $450,000 total it says Amazon has paid to the author.

    Of course, any measure of six figures is impressive when you’re just starting out in the Amazon self-publishing world, and the tactics Dawson shares in this piece offer a number of takeaways for up-and-coming authors.

    Here are some practical tips for succeeding as a self-published author based on what worked for Dawson:

    1. Give away your book for free

    It sounds counterintuitive, but many self-published authors who manage to gain traction on Amazon give their books away through Amazon’s KDP Select program.

    KDP Select allows you to offer the book for free for five days or discount it for up to seven days using what’s called a Countdown Deal. If you offer the book for free, it can rank on Amazon’s Top 100 Free list if it does well, while discounted books are included on the Top 100 Paid list. Once your book makes one of these lists, even within a subcategory, other readers are more likely to see and download it. And if your book does well on the free list, some of that clout will carry over into its sales rank once your book goes back to its regular price.

    Dawson tried this strategy when he released his first self-published book, The Black Mile, and readers grabbed 50,000 copies in one weekend. He also now gives away free books in return for signing up for his email list; you can’t miss this offer at the top of his website.

    Of course, giving your book away or selling it for cheap doesn’t put much money in your pocket. But this strategy can give a much-needed boost to a new release. And if you can capitalize on that success and use it to build your community so they’re excited about your next book launch, you will likely be able to sell more books the next time around.

    2. Learn how to promote your books

    For many writers, marketing is the most difficult part, either because they don’t have the skills to pull it off or simply don’t want to. But the truth is, if you want to make a living as a writer, you have to be more than a writer. Figuring out how to promote your books is the only way you’ll sell copies.

    Dawson follows many of the best practices for growing a loyal community online: he has grown an email list so he can communicate with readers about upcoming releases, engages with his community on Facebook and offers seminars to other writers who want to self-publish as well.

    His email list is 15,000 strong, Forbes reports, a figure that may sound huge to a newbie but is  relatively small compared to most successful online entrepreneurs. It goes to show you don’t need a massive list to earn a living; you simply need an engaged, loyal one.

    3. Use Facebook ads to spread the word

    Many successful entrepreneurs use Facebook ads to reach their target market, and it can be an effective tactic, so long as you learn how to do it effectively. The trick is to earn more than you spend, and once you do, don’t be afraid to pour money into the Facebook machine.

    How do you earn money through Facebook ads? Use the Facebook ads manager to select a target audience that’s a good fit for your book, then experiment with small spends (as low as $10 or $20 each) to see which of your messages and target audiences converts.

    If you spend $10 to run a campaign, and 30 people buy your book because of it, you’ve likely made money, depending on the price point of your book and how much you have to hand over to Amazon. Use the analytics in Facebook’s ad manager to track metrics closely, so you can make good decisions about how to spend.

    Dawson spends $370 a day on Facebook ads, according to Forbes, and earns double that in book buys.

    4. Make time for your writing

    Next to marketing, this tends to be one of the biggest challenges for writers, especially those who are trying to break into a career as a writer while holding down a day job or raising a family. How do you make time for writing during a busy day?

    Dawson, too, holds a day job; he works in the London film industry, according to his website. And he has a young family. His job requires something most of us would complain about: a two-hour commute to and from London each day. Guess how he uses those hours? He writes thousands of words each day, Forbes reports.

    5. Don’t give up

    Stories like Dawson’s seem like overnight success stories, but if you look a little closer, almost every author and entrepreneur failed before succeeding.

    Dawson released a book through a traditional publisher before transitioning to self-publishing… and it flopped. And you’ve probably heard of most of these famous authors whose work was rejected before it was published.

    The trick is to avoid comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle. Everyone’s a beginner at some point. Don’t be afraid of failure, for you need to push past it to do your best work.

    Want more details about Dawson’s story? Read the full story on Forbes.

  • This Simple Website Tweak Will Lead to More Freelance Writing Jobs

    This Simple Website Tweak Will Lead to More Freelance Writing Jobs

    If you have a website for your writing business, you undoubtedly have a single goal: You want to land freelance writing jobs.

    That’s great! You should be using your website to reel in clients, but what if you’re not seeing results?

    You know what I mean. You spent weeks of sleepless nights fighting with your theme, researching plugins and arranging your widgets so that you’d have at least a half-decent writing website.

    Do you hear that? That’s nothing but the sound of crickets coming from your contact form. Either nobody cares about your services or you’ve gone the wrong direction with your site.

    Tons of people are looking for writers, so chances are it’s not the former. That leaves your writer website as the issue. Where are you going wrong?

    You don’t have a clear call-to-action

    One thing I see a lot of writers miss is a clear call-to-action (CTA), and it’s crippling your website’s effectiveness.

    What’s a call-to-action? It’s web-speak for asking visitors to do something on your website. That could be signing up for your newsletter, or getting in touch for a quote, or buying an ebook. Getting people to visit your website is only half the battle; you won’t make any progress if they don’t take the action you want them to take.

    In a case study, ContentVerve.com found that tweaking a single word increased click-through rates by 90 percent. Imagine what having a decent CTA could do for you!

    The two most common errors are:

    1. You don’t include a CTA at all

    You might make this first mistake because you’re under the impression your prospects know where to go next. It’s a no-brainer to head to the contact page to get a quote, right?

    However, it’s important to show website visitors what you want them to do next. That way, prospects won’t end up all over the place without any direction.

    Even if “contact me” is implied, it’s worth giving the information explicitly. This way, you get prospects onto page two without them having to think too much about it. Plus, there’s no confusion, such as whether you’re available for hire.

    2. You include too many CTAs

    Here’s an example with too many CTAs:

    Want to learn more about me? Check out my about page, then take a look at my portfolio to view my samples. If you’re still not convinced you want to hire me, visit my testimonials page to see what past clients have to say.

    Ready to get started? Contact me for a quote!

    Here, you’re giving prospects four choices, but exactly what you want them to do next isn’t clear. Should they follow these steps in this exact order? What is the most important step to take next?

    If prospects explore your first three pages before getting to your contact tab, they may get distracted or run out of time before they get a chance to contact you.

    See where both of these mistakes can point clients in the wrong direction?

    How to develop a clear call-to-action

    If your site is falling victim to one of these common errors, here’s how to fix it.

    Step 1: Determine your website’s goal

    As a freelance writer, your main goal is likely to get clients to contact you for your services. It’s not to get them to read your blog or even to download your free gift, yet many writers stick with these CTAs.

    If building your email list or getting exposure on your blog really is the focus of your writer website, then by all means go with it, but be sure you’re really thinking about what you want your site to do for you.

    Step 2: Explore and decide on a CTA variation

    You can say the same thing in lots of ways, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different wording.

    Look back at step 1. Your main CTA should be some variation of this ultimate goal.

    Here are some examples if you decide to go with the “contact me” CTA:

    • Contact me
    • Shoot me an email
    • Get in touch
    • Let’s chat
    • Drop me a line
    • Get a quote
    • Tell me about your content strategy

    Play with CTAs until you find one that fits your goal and your writing voice.

    contact me example

    Step 3: Place it prominently

    A quality CTA includes an eye-catching design, explains editor Ginny Soskey on Hubspot. As she suggests:

    Your CTAs’ colors should contrast with your website design, yet also appear large enough to be noticed (we’ve seen them perform best around 225px wide and 45px high).

    Lots of writers include a link within their content as their CTA. This isn’t a bad way to go if you’re clear about it.

    However, a well-designed CTA button placed prominently is likely to get more attention than a single link in your content, since it really draws the eyes. If your theme doesn’t feature a button on the homepage, create your own at ButtonOptimizer.com and place it above the fold (i.e. so your potential client doesn’t have to scroll to see it).

    contact me example 2

    Not all prospects will land on your website via your homepage, so be sure your CTA is clear across your website. A sidebar button, for example, can also work well so that it appears on all pages.

    Step 4: Consider your alternative CTAs

    I’m not suggesting that you should have only one CTA; I’m only saying it should be clear what your main call-to-action is. You might go with “contact me” as a primary CTA, while a secondary one could be “join my mailing list.”

    When you have more than one CTA, be conscious of how they work together. If your secondary CTA is higher on the page, has more contrasting colors or features a larger content box, it may appear as your primary CTA when that’s not your intent. Take a look at these web design hierarchical elements to make your primary CTA stand out against the others.

    If you have to ask whether your CTA is clear,  it probably isn’t. Even so, it’s worth asking a friend to take a look at your site and to report back on his or her impression.

    Do you feature a clear call-to-action on your site? Tell us what it is and how you draw attention to it! Does it work well for you?

  • Tracking Freelance Earnings: March Income Report From Nicole Dieker

    Tracking Freelance Earnings: March Income Report From Nicole Dieker

    Hi! If you’re new to this column: I’m tracking my freelance income every month and sharing it with all of you.

    This is my third year of public income tracking, and my first year sharing my income with The Write Life.

    It’s time to look at March’s numbers:

    Completed Pieces: 90

    Work Billed: $5,128.00

    Earnings Received: $5,539.41

    March’s income is just over my $5,000/month goal, and is significantly higher than what I was earning at this time last year. In March 2014, I billed $3,583.39 for 119 pieces. Now, I’m earning a lot more for a smaller workload.

    Here are a few more quick stats for you: I wrote just over 65,000 words this month, and my average earnings per piece comes to $56.98. My highest per-piece earning is still $300, and my lowest is still $50.

    Tracking my hours during the workday

    This month, my earnings received were higher than my earnings billed, due in part to all the long hours I put in at the beginning of the year so I could take a vacation. In March, I earned over $5,000 without the extra work or the long hours, thanks to that new client I picked up at the end of January.

    How many hours do I work every day? In general, I work from about 9 a.m. to about 7 p.m., which gives me a 50-hour workweek. I often stop in the early afternoon on Friday, but make up the hours on Sunday night writing pieces that’ll run at the beginning of the next week.

    A 50-hour workweek sounds like a lot, so I decided to spend one week in March time-tracking my hours to see how I was actually spending my time. I used Toggl, which I recommend. Here’s what I learned:

    On an average workday, I spend between four and five hours writing. On Monday, March 16, for example, it took me four hours and 45 minutes to write five pieces totaling 3,600 words.

    I also spend between one and two hours doing administrative work. This includes emails, checking in with editors, sending invoices and scheduling my upcoming workload. I expected to learn that I was spending much more time “doing email” because it feels like email is never-ending, but it turns out to be only a small part of my workday.

    I spend two hours every day reading the Internet. In fact, the first hour of my workday — before I write anything, and before I tackle any but the most important emails — is spent reading other websites and catching up on the latest news and ideas. I read a wide variety of sites, from Business Insider to The Atlantic to The Toast and Buzzfeed. I consider this work essential to my career as a writer, because it keeps me informed and teaches me what other publications and readers find interesting.

    Social media work is sprinkled throughout the workday, and I did not track it separately. In many ways, having a quick conversation with someone on Twitter or Facebook is analogous to having a quick chat with a person who stopped by your desk. I often do a quick social media pass between tasks, in that I’ll finish writing a piece and then check Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr before starting the next item on my to-do list.

    With a 30-minute break for lunch, it’s easy to see how this can add up to a nine or 10-hour workday. Do I want to make my workdays shorter? Sure, but it isn’t a priority right now. I feel comfortable managing the work that I have, and very happy that I am increasing my earnings.

    Creating a savings plan for estimated taxes

    April is a big tax month for freelancers, since year-end taxes and first quarter estimated taxes are both due on April 15. Last month, I learned that significantly increasing my earnings over the past year — remember, I was only billing $3,500 last March — meant owing a lot more in 2014 taxes than my accountant (CPA) and I had previously estimated. $5,443 more, to be exact.

    So I asked my CPA what I could do to make better estimations for 2015. Following his recommendations, I’ve decided to set aside a flat 20 percent of my earnings for taxes. This means that if my earnings continue to grow, I’ll be able to adjust my estimated tax payments accordingly and won’t get stuck with another big tax bill at the end of the year.

    I live in Washington State, which means I do not pay state income tax, and it also means that my 20 percent savings plan may be a little different from what you’ll need to save for your own estimated taxes. Talk to your own CPA to find out what’s right for you, and ask your CPA how you can plan ahead for income variations throughout the year.

    It looks like April will be pretty similar to March, work-wise. I have a slate of great clients and a bunch of work already scheduled — and I’ve definitely hit the goal I set at the beginning of this year of earning at least $5,000 per month. So now I’m wondering: How long should I ride this wave before setting myself a new goal?

    How many hours a day do you spend writing? And how much money do you set aside as a freelancer for your estimated taxes?

    Want to learn how Nicole has come this far in her freelance career? Check out her past income reports for The Write Life:

  • Fighting Writer’s Block? This Strategy Will Get Your Creativity Flowing

    Fighting Writer’s Block? This Strategy Will Get Your Creativity Flowing

    Every writer experiences this situation at some point.

    You sit down at the computer, ready to hammer out words, but absolutely nothing comes out. Not a single word.

    It’s just you and the blank page, with its blinking cursor quietly taunting you. Eventually you force a few clunky words and then…

    Backspace, backspace, backspace.

    It’s like someone ran a super-magnet over your brain’s hard drive and wiped it hopelessly clean of whatever inspiration and imagination had been inside when you first sat down.

    What should you do when the creativity won’t flow? Prolific artists like Pablo Picasso and Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, offered this answer: When you’re running low on inspiration, steal it from others.

    A point of clarification

    There’s a difference between finding inspiration in others’ work and plagiarizing it. Don’t plagiarize, ever.

    Become a student of others’ work, but do it to pinpoint the style that resonates with you and then make your point in your unique voice.

    Build a swipe file

    Staying creatively prolific requires smart tools, and the swipe file is one that should be in every writer’s bag of tricks to beat writer’s block.

    Marketing pros have used swipe files for years because they’re always looking for a hundred different ways to say something. Starting from scratch every time they need to pitch a product is both difficult and unnecessary, so they’ve learned how to engineer inspiration into the process by making it a ritual.

    They’re always paying attention, studying other marketers and collecting ideas. When a smart turn of phrase grabs them, or a competitor’s ad is a runaway success, these experts add it to their swipe files. When it’s time to develop a new concept, they use the swiped ideas to spark their own creative processes.

    When I began writing fiction seriously 10 years ago, I borrowed that approach to build an inspiration reservoir, and it transformed my writing.

    It all starts with reading

    To be a good writer, you must first be a prolific reader. As you expose yourself to ideas and stories, your brain subconsciously absorbs and files source material that will inform your work.

    If you don’t think you have time to read, that’s an indication that you need to make time and foster curiosity. Reading both broadly and specifically in your chosen genre will teach you what good (and bad) writing looks like. You’ll develop a palate for language and intuition for good ideas.

    More importantly, each idea and word that you experience is like a dot on the page of your subconscious. Creativity is little more than connecting dots, so the more dots you have, the better. When comes time to write, the well will be full.

    But reading isn’t enough. You have to steal along the way.

    Steal like an artist: How to use a swipe file

    We’ve all had times when we’ve had a great idea, or were inspired by something we saw, and didn’t take the time to capture it in the moment. “I’ll write it down later,” we say, but later never comes. The moment is lost, and the idea along with it.

    This is where the swipe file comes in. You need one place to conveniently and consistently chronicle the dots as you bump against them.

    I use a combination of Evernote and Pocket as my swipe file. Both are free and can be used on a mobile device and laptop, so I can capture text, images and audio notes for later reference.

    For those times when I purposely unplug from digital things, I use a pocket-sized Moleskine notebook, though several writerly folks I know use Field Notes.

    As I come across things I want to capture, I curate them in my Evernote swipe file or jot them down in my notebook until I can add them to Evernote.

    A peek inside my swipe file

    My Swipe Book is divided into a few separate sections:

    SIPs (Stories in progress)

    At any given time, I have dozens of ideas in various stages of development. Stories need space to grow and time to age before they’re ready to be written.

    I often have “What if… “ scenarios that cross my mind, and this is the folder they go in until I can more fully develop them.

    Story starters

    Reality is sometimes stranger and more fascinating than fiction. I keep a folder specifically to capture those things that I think carry some story DNA. Often, bits of story starters end up in my work in unexpected way.

    Stolen Words

    To be a wordsmith, you should study wordsmiths. As I’m reading during the week, I come across turns of phrase that I love and wish I had written. I’ll capture those in my “stolen words” folder and study them to deconstruct why I love them.

    I also flip through this folder when I’m stuck with own manuscript and need inspiration to see things from a different angle.

    Putting it all together

    It all breaks down to this process:

    • Create a swipe file to easily capture ideas for later.
    • Explore other people’s ideas and be hyper-aware of what resonates with you.
    • Capture great ideas in the moment and curate them in your swipe file.
    • Once a week, review your swipe file and see what happens.

    Developing a bottomless reservoir of ideas is truly as simple as it sounds. Be curious about the world around you and then document everything that sticks with you. Soon you’ll have more ideas than you can possibly develop, and your imagination will never stall again.

    Do you keep a swipe file? How has it helped you as a writer?

  • Track Your Pitches: Use This Spreadsheet to Land More Online Writing Jobs

    Track Your Pitches: Use This Spreadsheet to Land More Online Writing Jobs

    Successful freelance writers are organized and efficient. They don’t waste time looking up which pitches they’ve sent and which still need to be polished to go out. They don’t have to look up an editor’s name and contact information every time they want to re-pitch a publication.

    This system isn’t an accident; they use tools to track their pitches, ideas and contacts — tools that help them land better freelance writing jobs and make more money. For many of them, the tool of choice is a spreadsheet.

    This spreadsheet is different than one you might use to track your daily word count or work toward other writing goals, but you can use these tools in tandem to boost your productivity as a writer.

    Want to create your own spreadsheet to track your writing pitches, acceptances and contacts? Here’s how to make this system work for you.

    How to create a spreadsheet to track your pitches

    Whether you track your work using Excel or Google Spreadsheets, the process is the same. Alyssa Martino, an MFA student at the University of New Hampshire whose work has appeared in several travel publications and Narrative.ly, uses a spreadsheet that includes both pitches and finished pieces that she’s submitted.

    You’ll want columns for Title, Date, Publication and Result, and Martino also recommends including columns for the editor’s name and email address. “It’s a good reminder to seek out a particular editor to pitch, rather than just a general address,” she points out. This strategy also makes it easier to follow up with the editor if you haven’t heard back after a few weeks.

    Make your spreadsheet work for you

    Successful writers have learned how to tweak their spreadsheets to make them more useful and efficient, and to better support their work.

    Martino uses color coding to show pieces that have been accepted, rejected, and are waiting for a response. “If you’re submitting multiple pieces to multiple publications, it’s easy to forget and mistakenly submit twice or miss a crucial follow-up,” she explains. Editors are busy people, and you want to present yourself and your work professionally.

    Color-coding is not only a helpful reminder about which pieces need a follow-up — it’s also a fun way to keep you motivated to submit work, check in with editors and celebrate your success. As Alyssa says, “it’s secretly exciting to highlight a new due date or acceptance in a bright, bold color.”

    If you do multiple types of writing — for example, short fiction as well as nonfiction blog posts — you may want to track them on separate tabs of your spreadsheet. Or you may find it easier to look at all your writing accomplishments in one place. The point is, do what works best for your writing practice, business and goals.

    Tracking freelance writing pitches
    Alyssa Martino’s tracking spreadsheet

    Pitch better, faster

    Use your spreadsheet as a motivational tool. Craig Robert Brown, a contributor to The Sound and a humor/fiction writer, says that his spreadsheet helped him get over a fear of submitting. “I grew addicted to filling in the cells with information about my work being sent out into the world,” he writes.

    His spreadsheet also helped Brown to resubmit his work when it was rejected. “Yes, I got rejected a lot,” he says, “and I think those [rejections] in addition to my desire to fill that spreadsheet really motivated [me] to get over myself” and keep sending out work to new journals and magazines.

    Martino tracks rejections in her spreadsheet as well, and always follows up with editors. “When I receive a rejection, I often reach out to the editor afterwards, asking, ‘Is there anything I can do to make your reconsider? A different angle or focus?’ I try to make it clear that I’m willing to make revisions to fit the style and needs of the publication,” she explains.

    In the best case, that No turns into a Yes with a few tweaks to the original piece. Even if she doesn’t get a yes, Martino often receives valuable feedback that can help her make the pitch more attractive to other editors.

    Whether she hears feedback or not, Martino uses her spreadsheet to reframe those rejected pitches for new publications, similar to C. Hope Clark’s recommended “keep 13 pitches in play” strategy.

    Make using your pitch spreadsheet a habit

    For a spreadsheet to be effective, both writers agree that you need to update it frequently. As soon as a rejection comes in, record it; don’t archive or delete the email until you put it into your spreadsheet.

    Use a column for “Notes” to write down any responses you get from editors, and use this feedback to improve your next pitch. As soon as you send out a new pitch, record all the relevant details and highlight it in your chosen “waiting for response” color.

    Alyssa recommends starting a new spreadsheet every few weeks or months, so that you don’t have to continuously scroll through all of your pitches to get to the most current ones. You might also try recording new pitches at the top of the spreadsheet, instead of at the bottom, or you might enjoy seeing all of your work in one place. Experiment to find what works best for you.

    When your spreadsheet becomes a habit, it becomes something more: affirmation that you are progressing towards your writing goals. A spreadsheet is proof positive that you are a working writer. As Craig puts it, “it shows I’m taking this seriously, that I’m putting in this effort outside of the writing and editing.”

    Want a free pitch spreadsheet template to get you started?

    If you don’t already have a system of your own, or you hate the idea of making your own spreadsheet, download my spreadsheet to try for yourself. I’ve polished it up with bright colors and easy instructions, so that even the most spreadsheet-averse among you will be unable to resist.

    Try it for three weeks and see if you get addicted to filling in those cells. Pretty soon, you’ll feel motivated to submit your work regularly, follow up on unanswered pitches and watch your acceptance and publications stack up. Happy writing!

    Do you track your writing pitches and submissions with a spreadsheet? Or do you prefer a different system?

  • Writing Short Stories? Don’t Make These 4 Submission Mistakes

    Writing Short Stories? Don’t Make These 4 Submission Mistakes

    When you finish a short story, you likely feel a rush of excitement and an urge to share it with the entire world — or, barring that, any short fiction magazine that will take you.

    But in the rush to submit, don’t forget to give your short stories the attention and preparation that will help them succeed. In my three years on the submissions team of Flash Fiction Online, I’ve seen countless submissions with heart-breakingly minor mistakes that kept stories from being considered for publication.

    Make sure your story stands out in the slush pile in a good way. If you’re going to spend the time crafting an intricate, exciting story, make sure to give it the best chance of success.

    Before submitting your next short story to a magazine or online publication, make sure you’re not making these crucial mistakes

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    1. Not following the guidelines

    Of all the writing advice not directly related to putting words on paper, “follow the guidelines” is probably the most common.

    And yet the number of stories FFO rejects each month for not following guidelines is distressingly high. Reasons include technical considerations like using non-standard fonts (Comic sans? Really?) or invalid file types (for example, FFO’s submissions software doesn’t accept .docx files).

    But we also see submissions whose writers have ignored basic requirements like word count and how to submit your work (for example, FFO doesn’t accept email submissions).

    Ignoring the guidelines set by the publication you’re pitching is the worst possible thing you can do for your story. It’s likely going to be rejected without even being read.

    If you want to give your story its fair chance at being selected and published, follow the submission guidelines.

    2. Not researching your market and genre

    Far too many stories in my slush queue play off the same modern-day fairytale or time traveller tropes that other stories have covered before — and done much better.

    Read lots of stories from your genre, especially if you’re writing in it for the first time. Expanding your reading list will help you identify common tropes to avoid — and even better, play with for a unique twist.

    Also, research the magazine you’d like to pitch. Most magazines and websites have their own list of favorite genres and pet peeves, and knowing these preferences will help you pitch the right stories to the appropriate publications, giving you the best chance of success. This information is usually listed in the submission guidelines — so again, read the guidelines.

    3. Not editing and proofreading thoroughly

    Submitting your short story is like going on a first date. You’ve only got one chance to make a good impression, so you’d better be at the top of your game.

    Only submit a story once it’s been spit-shined to perfection. FFO rarely gives writers the chance to revise a story once it’s submitted — and it’s extremely unlikely that a magazine will allow you to withdraw and re-submit the same story.

    To get your story in tip-top shape, do a thorough self-edit to iron out plot holes or character inconsistencies. Make multiple proofreading passes, or consider using an automatic editing tool to help squash typos and grammar errors.

    You might also want to consider running your story past a professional editor or a couple of beta readers for their feedback before submitting.

    4. Not proofreading your cover letter

    Imagine you’re going on a first date with a woman named Melissa. You greet each other, give her flowers, chat for a few moments, and then call her ”Sharon.” How do you think she’s going to respond?

    Yeah, that’s how editors react, too.

    It takes less than a minute to check if you’ve got the right name and publication on your cover letter. Yet FFO often receives submissions that were clearly not meant for us — or if they were, then we know we weren’t your first choice to publish this story.

    We get it — you’re shopping that story around. But we’d like to pretend that we’re just a little bit special to you. (Note that some publications refuse simultaneous submissions, so again — read the guidelines.)

    While you’re checking that you’ve addressed your cover letter to the correct editor and publication, give that letter’s body a thorough proofread as well.

    Where to submit short stories

    Got your story edited, proofread and ready to go? Here are a few markets for short story submissions:

    Want more? Check out this list of 44 places to submit your short story from Joe Bunting of The Write Practice.

    Is your short story ready to be published?

    Just remember that these tips are meant to help your story get into the slush pile. Once your story’s on an editor’s desk, it has to stand (or fall) on its own merits.

    And that, my friends, is an entirely different ball game.

    Do you write short stories? What’s your best tip for other short fiction writers?

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