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  • How to Write About Anything: 5 Steps for Researching a New Topic

    How to Write About Anything: 5 Steps for Researching a New Topic

    You’ve just landed a job as a content writer . . . for an industry you have absolutely zero background in.

    You’re a beginner, and this is a great job, your best so far: $100 for 800 words. You’ve gotta make it. There is no way you’re about to mess this up.

    What now?

    You’re going to write those articles, and you’re going to write them well. No one, especially your new client, will ever guess you’re new to the field.

    That’s the right attitude, and you’re halfway there. Now the question is how to do it.

    Ready? Here are five steps to effectively research your subject, so you’ll be able to write authoritative, accurate content.

    1. Define and refine your topic

    Let’s say you’re writing for a marketing manager. You’re new to freelancing, and have no idea what marketing even is. All you know is that when you need vegetables, you can go to the supermarket or the farmer’s market.

    Your first step is to define what kind of marketing your client wants you to write about. Does he want to market a service or a product? Online or offline? Is what you’re writing going to be printed, made into a wall poster, or published on a website?

    Once you’ve figured out what you are marketing, along with where, how, and to whom, you can move on. Remember, you’re not out to become an expert. If you gobble up too much at once, it’ll hurt your writing. All you need is a basic understanding of the subject at hand.

    Take a minute to write down what your specific topic is, just as if you were writing an academic thesis statement.

    2. Determine what resources you need

    Once upon a time, when we wanted to look something up, we went to the library and opened an encyclopedia. Those were the days.

    Today, it’s not so simple. If you’re looking to write for a travel agency, you’re going to read popular websites, search for cheap deals, and see what interests travelers right now.

    On the other hand, if you’re writing about whether breastfeeding has health benefits, you’re going to want to read government sites, medical reports, and organized, reliable research.

    You also need to think about whether written information is enough. Maybe you’re going to need to dig up a video or sound recording, conduct an interview or observe someone.

    3. Start your research

    If you’ve decided that your primary information source is the Internet, start Googling. If you’re looking for people who have been to the Bahamas, look on Facebook. If you need to find out whether it’s worth it to be a dentist, make a list of dentists in your area and ask for interviews.

    How long you spend on this step depends on a few things. First, consider how complicated the subject is, and how much material you will need to cover. Also take into consideration how fast you read, how quickly you learn new concepts, and whether you need to take someone else’s schedule into consideration.

    Tackle at least one of your chosen sources per day if you have the time to plot out your research.

    4. Get your sources to work for you

    It doesn’t take research to learn how to research, but it does take preparation.

    If you’re observing someone, you’ll need to think about who and what you’re observing. Write down your goals. Think about recording the observation session so you can review it later, and be proactive beforehand to obtain permission to record.

    If you’re conducting interviews, make a list of questions to ask and topics that you want to cover. You won’t always be able to ask all the questions (sometimes the conversation will go off on a tangent or you’ll run out of time), but if you have a list of topics, you’ll remember the most important items.

    For those Googling, I recommend reading through the first five-to-10 pages of results, the last five-to-10 pages of results, and a few random pages in the middle. Otherwise, you’re liable to miss important information.

    Whenever possible, take a few moments to research the viewpoint opposite to your own. Knowing both sides of the issue will give you a better understanding overall — and it will show in your writing.

    5. Write down what you’ve learned

    Make a list of the most important things you’ve learned. This can be done on paper, in a Word document, or even just by copy-and-pasting the most important selections into an email to yourself. Make sure that you keep track of your sources, so that you don’t get stuck later on.

    Remember your original document with your topic and list of sources? Open it. See if you’ve done what you wanted to do. You may want to write what you’ve learned in this same document, to keep it all together.

    Do you have tips on how to quickly learn about a new field? Share them in the comments!

  • Could Working on Retainer Help You Build a Reliable Freelance Business?

    Could Working on Retainer Help You Build a Reliable Freelance Business?

    Working as a freelancer can sometimes feel like you’re an explorer, always on a quest for greatness — or at least a steady paycheck. But without a band of Argonauts, you’re alone, trying to figure out if you’ve found the golden fleece on the horizon or just another ordinary pile of wool.

    Freelance retainers, while not quite as thrilling as Jason’s hunt for the sheddings of a mythical beast, do have an air of mystery to them. And these types of freelance contracts are often just as hard to come by!

    A “retainer” for a freelance writer usually refers to a retainer agreement. It’s a contract whereby your client typically pays you a set amount of money each month (or week or year) for a certain set of deliverables, a scope of work you agree on in advance.

    Retainer agreements can either be really good or really, really bad. To decide whether a retainer agreement is right for you, I’m going to outline a few of the basic pros and cons.

    Pros of working on a retainer agreement

    Considering the amount of freelance writers who “swear by” retainer agreements, there must be something good about them, right? Well, yes.

    If you know how to work them to your advantage, retainer agreements have several positives.

    1. The pay is more reliable

    One of the few downsides of self-employment is the income uncertainty that comes with it. The infamous “feast or famine” cycle has left more than one freelance writer running away in terror.

    Your bills keep coming regularly, but your payment schedule is constantly up in the air. You might even earn more as a freelancer than you did in your day job, but not knowing when that paycheck will arrive can be stressful.

    When you work on retainer, you typically don’t have that payment problem.

    Provided your client pays as agreed, you’re guaranteed a steady flow of income. It’s the closest a freelance writer can get to a reliable paycheck and recurring work while still being their own boss.

    2. You can get (and keep) better clients

    Entering into a retainer agreement takes trust from both parties, but especially on the client’s part.

    Typically only the “best” of your clients will suggest keeping you on retainer. These tend to be the clients you’ve worked with for a long time, who are most familiar with your dependability and general amazing-ness. Since you already have a working relationship, those clients are also already familiar with your rates.

    Plus, you’ll also be able to work for a smaller group of “premium” clients – rather than a scattershot of “anyone who comes along” like you may do now.

    3. Clients love retainer agreements

    There are a few exceptions to this rule of course, but most clients would rather continue to work with a freelance writer they know they can rely on than scour the Internet looking for someone new every time they need a writer.

    By setting up a retainer agreement, your clients have an added layer of confidence that your services will be there when they need them. In other words, it creates a feeling of security not only for you, but also for them.

    Cons of working on a retainer agreement

    Not everything about working on retainer is all it’s cracked up to be. You may encounter the following disappointments:

    1. The pay can be lower

    Some clients prefer retainer agreements because freelancers sometimes offer their services at a slightly decreased rate in exchange for steady pay.

    While this can be a disadvantage, it can also work in your favor, depending on the rates you agree on. Why? Because when you’re on retainer, you no longer have to spend as much time pitching or trying to land work. Those aren’t billable hours!

    If you know you’ll get paid consistently for a certain number of hours, it might make sense to take a small hourly pay cut; if you set your rates in a smart way, you’ll still make more in the long run.

    2. Work levels can still vary

    When you work on retainer, you may find that some client months entail little or even no work; while other months you’ll be overworked.

    If a client expects you to be “at the ready” 40 hours per week, but according to your retainer, you only get paid for five, then your monthly rate quickly becomes less than you’re worth.

    As a freelancer on retainer, you still have to be clear when you communicate about expectations, scope of work, and deadlines. Even though you have a steady work agreement, you may not be able to make assumptions about what’s headed your way in the coming weeks or months.

    3. You’ll have to deal with scheduling conflicts

    While working on retainer, you’ll always have a potential deadline hovering over you. And depending on the specifics and flexibility of your agreement, your deadlines may be highly inconsistent. Essentially you’re under contract to be at your client’s beck and call.

    When you have a vague retainer project deadline looming over your head, it can be hard to accept and schedule other time-sensitive work. Even when your deadlines are clear, if your workload changes from month to month, you’ll still be left in the dark. You never want to risk overbooking yourself and, if you’re on retainer for an unpredictable client, it’s harder to judge when that’s a possibility.

    4. Dependency issues are common — on both sides

    Since your contract likely states you’ll be “at the ready” whenever your client needs you, you might be kept on a relatively short leash. Many of us left traditional work behind to be our own boss, so the expectation that you’ll always be available can be frustrating. This is something you might want to put limits on from the get-go.

    However, personal frustrations aside, retainer agreements have a potentially more sinister side-effect: dependency. They encourage you to place all — or most — of your business eggs in one basket. And that almost always spells disaster for freelance writers.

    Even with a retainer agreement, you’re still a freelancer and your client has the option to leave you at any time — so you can’t rely on a single client to get you from month to month. You still want to diversify your income sources!

    Perhaps the best solution here is to have several clients on retainer, so you’ve both diversified your income and can rely on those paychecks month after month.

    How to make the most of working on retainer

    how retainers can help you build a freelance writing business

    If you have amazing time-management skills and a little less freedom feels like a fair price to pay for steady income, then working on retainer might be for you.

    But if this is a path you want to pursue, take heed of the following:

    • Clearly define the scope of the work in your contract. Retainer agreements have a tendency to get out of hand. If your contract is poorly planned, there’s a good chance your client is about to take advantage of you — even if they don’t intend to do so.

      Make sure you understand clear definitions of not only what you’ll be paid, but also the type and amount of work. For example, rather than having “one blog post per month” listed in your contract, try more specific wording like “one blog post up to 2,000 words per month, with topic agreed upon one week prior to deadline.”
    • Suggest a trial or probation period. If you’re unsure about working on retainer and need to get comfortable with the idea, suggest a shorter payment period over a probation period. Say, “Let’s start with __________ and see how we feel.”

    Remember: you can always renegotiate with your client at a later date and sign a new contract with that updates each party’s responsibilities. Nothing is permanent.

    • Choose a service that works well with your arrangement. The best retainer projects are exactly that: projects. If your client tries to offer “per hour” services rather than “per project” services, small details may eat up too much of your time.

    Stick to project-based arrangements that can be done routinely: three blog posts per month, or a set number of social media posts, e-newsletters or other repeating content updates.

    Above all else: Be realistic. If your schedule is already stretched to the limit, say “no.” Don’t let the lure of a steady paycheck fool you into thinking you can somehow materialize extra hours in the day through sheer will alone.

    Have you ever worked on a retainer agreement? What advice would you add? Let us know in the comments!

  • Tracking Freelance Earnings: August Income Report From Nicole Dieker

    Tracking Freelance Earnings: August Income Report From Nicole Dieker

    How often do you ask for what you want from clients, whether it’s an extra assignment or a rate increase?

    This month, asking for extra work helped take my income to $6,500, my highest ever.

    Here’s the roundup for August. This month, it’s impressive:

    Completed Pieces: 70

    Work Billed: $6,513.00

    Earnings Received: $6,649.30

    I wrote just over 54,000 words, with an average per-piece earning of $93.

    That’s significantly higher than July’s per-piece earning of $69, and a lot of it came from the two highest-paying pieces I wrote this month: one that brought in $1,039, and one that paid $953.

    That second piece, the $953 one, was the one I asked for.

    Ask and ye shall receive

    Remember how last month I worried that I wasn’t going to earn much over $5,000?

    I was planning to take a week to visit my sister and her husband and be a featured guest at Intervention, and — as I wrote in this very space a month ago — “Traveling always means taking an income hit, even if you work on the plane.”

    But I asked myself: what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if I asked my best-paying client for a second assignment, to cover the income gap that came from taking a few days off? The worst possible scenario would be a polite “No, we have enough pieces for this month,” so I asked — and my client said yes.

    It’s great for two reasons. First, it added $953 to my monthly income total, and second, it set a precedent. Now my client and I both know that I can complete two pieces in a month, which means I am going to pitch two pieces this month. Next month, I might pitch three.

    Sometimes I forget that I can ask my clients if they want more work from me. This month, I’m glad I remembered.

    The power of the pageview bonus

    The $953 piece took me from $5,000 to $6,000 last month.

    What pushed me over $6,500? A $500 bonus for an article on The Penny Hoarder about getting paid for junk mail. This article received more than 250,000 pageviews, which meant I earned an extra $500. This is the second time I’ve received a bonus on this piece, which I wrote in January 2015. I’m delighted that it still resonates with so many readers.

    I love pageview bonuses, because I get paid without having to do any extra work. I always do my part to increase pageviews by sharing my articles on social media (and responding to Facebook comments and Twitter replies), but that doesn’t feel like “extra” work. I’m not able to track my own pageviews with this client, so I don’t know when I am getting close to a bonus, but I am always glad when I get one.

    This type of pageview bonus is also great for me because it comes on top of a competitive base pay. Some publications prefer to offer low base pay and structure more of their compensation through bonuses. I prefer high base pay and the occasional bonus — after all, I can’t really control how many people view my articles!

    One of my other clients gives writers bonuses for being active in the comments section, which I also appreciate. Any time a client offers me a low-effort way to make a little extra money, I know that client values its writers and the work we do.

    Crowdfunding still doesn’t beat client work

    Last month, I announced that I’m writing a novel titled The Biographies of Ordinary People and crowdfunding the process through Patreon.

    I’ve been posting two chapters of my novel every week, and have received a lot of amazing feedback from readers, including a reader who tweeted, “This is maybe the most beautiful book I’ve read in a long time — thanks!”

    However, the crowdfunding initiative has not grown to the point where I can consider dropping — or even seriously cutting back on — any of my current freelancing clients.

    As of this writing, my Patreon brings me $350 per month in crowdsourced pledges. That’s more than many of Patreon’s featured writers bring in, so I feel like my project is successful, but it’s not enough to make a significant difference in my freelancing life aside from the fact that I’m developing a community of readers who are invested in this novel.

    That community of readers makes the whole Patreon project worth it. But crowdfunding still doesn’t beat client work financially, at least not for me. I like knowing roughly how much income I’ll earn every month, and I also like knowing I can increase my client income just by asking.

    When was the last time you asked a regular client for extra work? Did they say yes?

  • The Drinkable Book: The Only Book We’ll Let you Rip Up

    The Drinkable Book: The Only Book We’ll Let you Rip Up

    Books do a lot for people — they educate, they entertain and they help us understand ourselves and our world.

    What if books could do a little bit more? That’s what the team behind the Drinkable Book hopes to achieve with a new book designed to act not only as a text, but also as a water filter.

    As the BBC explains:

    The “drinkable book” combines treated paper with printed information on how and why water should be filtered.

    Its pages contain nanoparticles of silver or copper, which kill bacteria in the water as it passes through.

    In trials at 25 contaminated water sources in South Africa, Ghana and Bangladesh, the paper successfully removed more than 99% of bacteria.

    Read the book, get four years of clean water

    The Drinkable Book serves two purposes. First, its text teaches readers how to maintain clean water and how to avoid contaminating water with trash and human waste products.

    Then, the pages itself serve as a water filter. Tear out a page, place it in a filter box and use it to clean impure water and make it safe to drink. These filters protect against diseases such as cholera and typhoid, and give people who might not have clean water sources the opportunity to make their own safe drinking water.

    Each filter provides 30 days of drinkable water, and the entire book provides clean water for approximately four years.

    See the book and support its development

    The nonprofit pAge Drinking Paper is seeking Indiegogo funding to pilot test the Drinkable Book in various countries. They also need to prepare the Drinkable Book for mass production; right now, every page is made by hand.

    Lastly, they need to ensure there are multiple versions of the Drinkable Book in different languages, as well as versions that use pictures to communicate to people who cannot read.

    If you are interested in learning more about the Drinkable Book, visit page Drinking Paper.

    Is this a cause you would support? What’s the most important way a book has helped you?

  • How to Find an Hour a Day for Your Freelance Side Hustle

    How to Find an Hour a Day for Your Freelance Side Hustle

    When you first set out to freelance on the side, everything looked great. You already had a steady full-time job, so making extra cash on the side would be a breeze. After all, what’s another five to 10 hours in your weekly schedule?

    At least, that’s what I thought when I first started freelancing.

    Holding a second job isn’t as easy as it sounds. Especially if that second job doesn’t have a set schedule.

    When I first began freelancing, I was working full-time, taking courses, and I was involved in other activities. Squeezing in freelancing “whenever I had the time” seemed to make sense. I could go to work, do some studying, and then spend the remaining time freelancing.

    In reality, I would get home from work exhausted. I would surf the internet or watch TV, and before I knew it, it was time to sleep. All the other tasks competing for my attention earlier in the day left me with no motivation to do anything else.

    It can be tempting to let freelancing take a back seat to other priorities in your life. If you’re in this situation, you can either hope that you’ll start writing someday, or actively make changes to create time for your writing career.

    How to fit your freelance business into your schedule

    Work, family, and other activities make it easy to put off freelancing until later. But with some changes to your schedule, you can consciously decide to make your writing a priority.

    Here’s the three-step process you can follow to carve out more time for freelance work.

    1. Assess your schedule

    Look at your daily routine. What time do you normally get to bed? When do you wake up? Are you incorporating a healthy lifestyle? These factors affect how much free time and energy you have to write.

    Try using a timer to log how many hours you spend on freelancing in a week. Also track how many hours you spend on non-productive activities such as surfing the net, using social media, or watching TV. You don’t have to give up these activities, but it helps to know where you might be able to steal some time for your side hustle.

    When do you feel the most energetic? As you track your time, take note of your energy level throughout the day.

    I found that I wrote best in the morning, which meant that I would have to squeeze in time before work. When I tried this approach, I felt that as long as I had done a certain amount of writing first thing, the rest of the day was free to do other work and activities.

    Waking up earlier can be difficult at first because it also means going to sleep earlier. But if you find you’re too tired later in the day to do any work, it’s well worth the effort to try adjusting your schedule.

    Even if you don’t consider yourself a morning person, give it a shot. Over the course of a few weeks, you’ll likely find yourself waking up earlier with less effort, creating time to do freelance work in the morning.

    2. Determine your ideal freelance work plan

    Imagine your ideal scenario. For example, you might want to spend an hour per day on your business.

    If you want to fit that hour into your morning, you can gradually adjust to an earlier wake-up time.

    Novelist Huraki Murakami has a pretty strict routine: “When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4 a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9 p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation.”

    Even if you don’t have five to six hours to spare, training yourself to stick to a routine helps you stay productive each day. And if you can also fit in a quick workout, daily exercise is another way to energize yourself to work on writing projects.

    3. Identify small steps to find time for freelancing

    Once you’ve assessed your current and ideal freelancing situations, create a series of steps to get there. Start small.

    For instance, aim to go to sleep a little earlier than you’re used to. This could mean relaxing in the evenings by reading a book, and setting your alarm to go off 10 to 15 minutes earlier in the morning.

    Experiment to see what gives you more time to write. You might need to cut out social media in the evenings, or keep a notepad near you in case you want to jot anything down.

    If you find yourself with periods of downtime throughout the day, you can try fitting your writing in then. “I’m a security guard, and have pockets of downtime throughout the day,” horror writer Mark Allan Gunnells explained in one interview. “I have trained myself to write in those pockets. It isn’t ideal for some, the constant stop-and-start method, but I’ve managed to make it work.”

    You might find that long, intense periods of writing help you work most productively. If that’s the case for you, a few hours working during the weekend might get you to your goals. Or, writing in short bursts may work better for your schedule and work style.

    The key is to make gradual improvements over time so that you can adjust and get used to a new routine. It may not be easy, but it’s certainly doable if you plan where you want your freelance career to go.

    Do you have a full-time job and a freelance business? How do you make time to write?

  • How to Become a Successful Writer: 5 Daily Habits

    How to Become a Successful Writer: 5 Daily Habits

    Your phone alarm buzzes on the bedside table. 6:30 a.m.

    Before you get out of bed, let’s freeze frame right there. What are you about to do?

    If you’re like everyone else, you’re dreading the day ahead. You think how mind-numbingly boring work’s going to be. Then you will yourself out of bed to get on with it.

    If you’re not like everyone else, your day will start off a lot differently. Instead of dread, you’ll feel energy flow through you. The fire in your belly is stoked. You can’t wait to start writing. You know the moment pen touches paper (or fingers touch keyboard), powerful, pulsating prose will flow.

    This can happen every single day, starting tomorrow. All you have to do is master five habits of highly successful writers.

    “A life of discipline is better than a life of regret,” is a pearl of wisdom most attributed to the late Jim Rohn. When you think about it, that’s really what good habits are about: discipline. Anything worth doing — staying fit, being a better partner, improving your writing — comes down to what you do, day in, day out.

    Uncommitted writers who write when they feel like it have bursts of inspiration that inevitably fizzle out. They blame their circumstances or make excuses, and they don’t have what it takes to be a successful freelance writer or published author.

    Disciplined artists produce refined beauty. All admirers see are the fruits of their labor: the gravity-defying, breath-taking leap across the stage, the masterful strokes across the canvas or the tale that transports you to a different time and world.

    What they don’t see are the stubbed toes, embarrassing, empty exhibitions or the publishers’ rejection letters.

    I’m not going to lie to you: these habits are hard to keep. But if you can stick to them, you’ll be surprised at how much your writing can improve.

    1. Exercise your body

    I don’t need to tell you why exercise is important. Do it first thing in the morning to start the ignition and rev your engine. Your brain works better when your body’s working well, so if you want your writing to improve, get some exercise.

    I’m not asking you to run a marathon. Sit against a wall and reach for your toes. Do push ups. Do squats. Do Tai Chi. Do something. Do it for five minutes first thing in the morning and do it every day.

    2. Exercise your brain

    If exercising is your physical warm up, free-writing is your mental warm up. It’s difficult to hit the ground running (or hit the paper writing, in this case), so this is a great technique that can dissolve stubborn writing blocks.

    There are a couple different free-writing techniques. You can write what comes to your mind, or you can write what comes out of your mouth. You can do Morning Pages or follow writing prompts. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you choose. The point is to write something to get primed and focused before you write anything meant for readers’ eyes.

    3. Ask your subconscious

    Every writer comes across gargantuan writer’s blocks that just won’t budge. Maybe you’ve arrived at an important point in your story. Maybe you’re writing sales copy for a client and don’t know how to keep to keep the persuasion strong.

    Make a habit of communicating with your subconscious — it could be just what you need to unblock your writing.

    Some writers will literally ask their subconscious out loud what they should do. Obviously, they don’t expect a voice to speak back to them, at least not immediately. It’s really about bringing the issue out into the open where it can’t hide. You can also do this by writing in a journal, taking a walk to ponder the issue, or chatting with a trusted friend.

    Next, go about your daily routine. If your subconscious is ready to tell you how to solve your problem, it’ll pipe up on its own accord. Setting the problem aside for a while can lead to clarity or a fresh perspective.

    4. Schedule nothing

    It’s tempting to keep your schedule jam-packed. A busy writer is a successful writer, right? Wrong. Yes you’re a writer, but primarily, you’re a creator of ideas. Ideas come to you when your mind is empty. That’s why it’s important to schedule time just to exist.

    Even if it’s just half-hour a day, shut everything off and go outside. This is one of the best writing habits you can cultivate.

    5. Make new contacts

    While writing itself can be immensely fulfilling, let’s face it: we’re all in it to get some recognition. That’s why it’s important to meet as many new people as possible to grow your network.

    It doesn’t need to take place in person. Reaching out online counts, too. You could send a fellow author you admire an email. You could send a guest-blogging pitch to one of your favorite sites. You could respond to a blog comment. Connect with others every day and success will find you.

    Surprised that only one of the five habits relates specifically to writing? Writers can love writing so much that we forget true success as a writer involves many people and activities beyond our words on the page.

    How many of these habits can you commit to doing every day?

  • Writing Can Cause Premature Death?! How to Avoid Wrist Pain, Headaches and More

    Writing Can Cause Premature Death?! How to Avoid Wrist Pain, Headaches and More

    My wife suffered headaches and red eyes after hours in front of her computer working on a poetry book. So a few weeks ago, she bought tinted computer glasses that are supposed to ease eye strain.

    They seemed to cut the glare, but I notice she isn’t wearing them any longer.

    That’s not surprising. The evidence for computer glasses is mixed. Whether or not they work may depend on how they’re constructed and who is wearing them. So if you have eye strain and headaches from hours in front of your computer, the only way you’ll know if computer glasses provide relief is to try them.

    But achy eyes may be a minor problem compared to some of the other health risks of writing.

    In fact, if you sit in front of that computer for enough hours every day, you might even die!

    Don’t panic. Read on to learn how to deal with wrist pain, fatigue, and other health risks of being a writer.

    Premature death and other hazards of writing

    Too much sitting is linked to diabetes, heart disease and premature death, according to a recent study highlighted by the Harvard Medical School Health Blog.

    It noted that the average person spends more than 50 percent of his or her waking hours sitting down, but that figure might be higher for the average writer.

    The study was a meta-analysis of 47 other studies, which makes the findings pretty solid. The researchers concluded: “Prolonged sedentary time was independently associated with deleterious health outcomes regardless of physical activity.”

    Yes, they found that your risk of dying increases with prolonged sitting, even if you exercise up to an hour per day!

    Apparently, the only sure way to reduce your risk is to sit for shorter periods of time. The authors of the study offered these two tips:

    1. Stand up and/or move around for three minutes every half hour.
    2. Use a timer or alarm app to remind you to get up.

    I just got up to vacuum the living room. Now where was I?

    Clearly, you have to find natural break times so you don’t lose your train of thought or interrupt the flow of your writing. But avoiding premature death probably makes it worth the effort.

    You might consider trying a standing desk. Standing has an additional advantage of burning more calories than sitting (and yes, sitting is correlated with obesity). According to one online calorie calculator, I could burn almost 300 more calories daily if I worked standing up.

    Some desks are convertible, letting you sit and stand depending on the task and your mood. I tried a standing desk and found that hours on my feet were hard on my back. Alternating between sitting and standing would probably help. An anti-fatigue mat beneath your standing desk space may be a good idea too. (Maybe you should let friends and family know these make great gifts for writers!)

    How to manage the writing-related health issues

    Eye strain and fatigue. Pain in your wrists, shoulders, and neck. Repetitive motion injuries. The University of Pittsburgh Environmental Health and Safety department notes these among additional health risks of computer use.

    Been there, done that — every one of them. Writing is dangerous for your health!

    Fortunately the University of Pittsburgh’s EHS department and other experts offer some tips for avoiding these problems, or at least relieving the pain. They include:

    • Alternate tasks frequently
    • Take frequent breaks
    • Use a good ergonomic chair
    • Sit against the back of the chair
    • Relax your shoulders
    • Use a light touch on the keyboard
    • Have your arms parallel with floor and level with keyboard
    • Stop to let your arms relax from time to time
    • Keep work materials within easy reach
    • Adjust the computer screen angle to reduce glare
    • Blink often when working at your computer
    • Frequently stop to focus your eyes on more distant objects
    • Have your computer screen at eye level or slightly lower

    I’ll add an obvious tip to that list: Spend less time writing.

    To do that and still get some work done, I brainstorm while taking walks, carrying a recording device as I go. I probably have more ideas for new articles during a 20-minute walk than I get from an hour in front of the computer. And it’s good exercise.

    Well, despite having splurged for a good chair and adding a soft pillow, my bottom is sore as I write this — along with my eyes and shoulders. I don’t like pain. I also don’t like the idea of dying prematurely. So I’m going for a walk and a swim before I start my next post. You might want to take a break too.

    Have you suffered any health problems from writing? What do you do for relief?

  • How to Be a Successful Writer: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

    How to Be a Successful Writer: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

    When I get frustrating news from my literary agent, and then I see famous writers I admire tweeting about their successful careers, it can make me feel bad.

    Likewise when I haven’t had a productive writing day, and I notice writers chatting away in a Facebook writing group about their amazing daily word counts.

    It’s hard not to compare yourself to your peers, your colleagues, or even the people you look up to in this age of nonstop social media. Comparing yourself to other writers, though, is not only unproductive — it can be downright harmful. And it certainly doesn’t help you figure out how to be a successful writer.

    The next time you feel the urge to compare yourself to Stephen King and wonder why you’re not yet a bestseller, here are some reasons why you shouldn’t sweat it.

    1. Each writer has a different process

    You may read about writers who write first drafts quickly and don’t edit until they are finished. But maybe you like to edit as you go.

    You may read an article about how productive it can be to write in the morning. But maybe you work better at night.

    Just because one way of writing works well for one writer does not mean you’re not allowed to write in a different way. It can certainly be helpful to find out about different writing processes, but don’t be afraid to try different things and find the process that works best for you.

    2. No writing advice works for everyone

    It’s important to read writing craft books, to take writing classes, to read blogs like this one, and to seek advice from other writers. A lot of this writing advice will be extremely helpful to you, but some of it won’t.

    In a workshop, you might be advised to kill off a character in your story or to take out that last line in your poem. Sometimes advice won’t resonate with you or help you to create the piece you want to create. It’s a good idea to listen to those who have studied the craft, but don’t forget that all art is subjective. Don’t be afraid to listen to your gut and think for yourself.

    3. Each writer has a different publishing journey

    Some people write eight books before they finally publish the ninth. Some people have a dream about vampires and try writing for the first time and have a bestseller on their hands within two years.

    It takes some people two months to get a literary agent and sell their manuscript to a publisher. It takes others two years.

    And self-publishing? It works really well for some writers, but others won’t even touch it, preferring the traditional route. Even within the realm of self-publishing, some writers love Kindle publishing, and some writers love iTunes and Barnes & Noble.

    There are so many different ways to go about publishing your work. If you try to follow someone else’s publishing path, it may not work. You have to find your own.

    4. Your passions and experiences make you a unique writer

    It may be tempting to look at J.K. Rowling and think you really need to write a story about wizards because that seemed to work for her. But it’s more important to find the story only you can tell.

    What are you passionate about? What excites you? What kinds of experiences have you had that makes your writing unique? Instead of trying to imitate a story that was successful for another writer, find the story you need to tell. Find out how your writing is unique and embrace it.

    So next time you find yourself reading your favorite author’s tweets and feeling like you aren’t going anywhere because you aren’t having the same experience, stop.  

    Take stock of the things that are working for you in your writing and in your career.

    Maybe you don’t have a bestselling novel, but your short story was just accepted by a publication you admire. Maybe you didn’t write 3,000 words today, but you wrote 1,000.

    Instead of comparing your writing and publishing experience to the experiences of others, take a minute to appreciate the experience you’re having.

    Ever get caught in the comparison game? How do you snap out of your funk and appreciate your own writing journey?

  • Big Writing Project? Why You Might Want to Hire an Editor

    Big Writing Project? Why You Might Want to Hire an Editor

    When I first started teaching writing more than 20 years ago, I was excited to have my college students participate in what was then a newfangled idea: a writing workshop.

    What a wonderful concept, I thought. Have new writers share their works in progress with each other, in order to improve and learn from each other! Everyone benefits from a second set of eyes, right?

    It was — and still is — a good idea to have other writers critique your work. Writing workshops are more popular than ever, whether they are classroom exercises or informal groups of friends who meet once a month to share drafts in progress.

    But after a while, I stopped having my students workshop each other’s drafts without me leading the discussion.

    Why? Because not all second sets of eyes are created equal.

    Not everyone is gifted with the ability to provide pertinent, accurate and clear feedback. Some writers might be very talented at essay-writing themselves, but offer terrible advice to other writers about how to improve their essays. Writing workshops without an expert leader often become a case of the blind leading the blind.

    Too often we confuse feedback from a friend for authoritative editing.

    I’ve learned this by teaching writing workshops, but I’ve also learned through my own experience writing books.

    Good intent doesn’t always equal good editing

    When I was  working on my first book manuscript, I asked friends to read drafts. They provided lots of interesting feedback, but they did not help me navigate the difficult terrain of book writing. Eventually, I stopped asking friends to read my work and started hiring editors.

    At first it seemed odd: I was a teacher of writers, a prolific freelancer, and even a book editor myself! Surely I did not need to hire an editor? But then I remembered my own lessons: 1) everybody needs a second set of eyes, and 2) not all feedback is created equal.

    The first book editor I hired was someone with experience editing narrative nonfiction magazine features. I needed her help to transform my book from eight separate chapters into one book-length story. I couldn’t see how to restructure the chapters on my own, although I’m an astute editor of narrative nonfiction.

    I was too close the material, and needed that second set of eyes for one particular revision my publisher wanted from me. No writers’ group would have been able to offer me that assistance.

    Every writer — even me — needs an experienced editor to be their second set of eyes. [bctt tweet=”The right editor can be invaluable, the wrong one disastrous.”]

    Poor feedback can do real harm, turning a promising manuscript into a muddy mess, even if (and especially if) it is from a well-intentioned friend in your writing group.

    Why even experienced writers need editors

    As a professor, writer and editor, I have decided that a good editor should be as essential an aspect of the writing process as writing daily or revising often. But not any editor will do. Finding the right editor for your project is key: the right match is important.

    For instance, a developmental editor can help a writer restructure a manuscript, turning a mediocre draft into a stellar one.

    A copy editor, who focuses on sentences, can take a brilliant, dense manuscript and make it a brilliant, compulsively readable one.

    Book authors who are also experienced book editors can help a writer navigate the process of submitting a proposal to an agent.

    I have hired all three kinds of editors in my writing career, depending on my needs at the time.

    How to know if you’ve found the right editor for you

    If you’re worried about how you and a potential editor will work together, think about asking a few of these questions before you sign a contract.

    1. Will you focus on developmental editing, line editing or proofreading?

    These are three different types of services. A developmental editor will assess the overall project and suggest ways to revise and restructure. A line editor will improve your sentences and transitions between paragraphs. A proofreader will ensure the project is grammatically correct and free of errors.

    2. What do you specialize in?

    There as many genres for an editor to specialize in as there are genres to write. You want an editor with experience in your genre. Specialties include fiction, non-fiction, memoir, essay, scholarly writing, history and journalism.

    3. How do you charge?

    It’s not enough to know what an editor charges — you also need to know whether she works by the hour or the project. If you receive a flat project quote, divide the total by the number of pages to figure out the hourly rate.

    A project rate with a cap (“no more than x amount”) is easiest when budgeting.

    4. What won’t you do for me?

    Do not assume your editor will help you get your project published. It’s one thing to improve a manuscript, but another to sell it.

    Make sure you and the editor agree on the scope of services so you are not left disappointed at the end of the process.

    5. Who are some of your previous clients?

    Asking this question will help you gauge how experienced the editor is, as well as how similar your project will be to ones she has recently completed.

    Still not sure you’ve found the right person? Here are a few more questions to ask an editor before you sign a contract.

    Have you ever hired an editor to review your writing? What did you learn from the experience?

  • Writing for Corporate Blogs: How to Get Hired as a Freelancer

    Writing for Corporate Blogs: How to Get Hired as a Freelancer

    One of the most draining projects on most freelance writers’ to-do lists: pitching. I don’t know about you, but it’s exhausting to constantly think about the next story idea, the next pitch, the next contact — and the next rejection.

    That’s why 80 percent of my writing work is blogging for companies.

    Now, before you start to hyperventilate because corporate writing is the actual worst, hear me out. Businesses have blogs. Just like this blog, the Huffington Post, or that fashion blog you love to hate.

    And many companies are jumping on the content bandwagon. Some of my favorite blogs are just part of a business’s content strategy — their desire to be a voice in the design/cooking/accounting community. And, as a writer, you’re good at that. Especially if you already have a voice in said community.

    Think of it another way: Do you know who needs stories told? Companies. And do you know who pays way better than traditional media outlets? Companies!

    What is brand blogging?

    You’ve probably seen the inevitable Company Blog Fail: The ones that only post about new hires or haven’t been updated since 2010. But trust me, good company blogs exist. Some of my favorites include Etsy, Evernote, and ModCloth.

    “Writing for a company runs many parallels to journalistic writing — you need to do your research, check all your facts, and tell a captivating story,” says Shannon Byrne.

    But there are differences when it comes to writing work you may have done in the past.

    “With business writing, you focus on the business impact of content,” adds Byrne, “How much traffic it’s driving, for what search phrase and whether it’s converting.”

    While some brands act like personal blogs, others like content farms, and others still like major publishers, writing for businesses usually allows more flexibility for freelancers.

    “Those lines between business and journalism are blurring,” says Byrne. “Companies are more focused on letting quality content speak for itself and eventually convert, while media is still focused on quality, but also paying more attention to being found online.”

    What brands look for in freelance writers

    While some brands just want a good writer to churn out customer stories, most legit company blogs look for expertise — not only because experts tend to write better about their subject, but also because hiring industry-specific bloggers gives them access to untapped platforms.

    Spend any time on the internet and you’ll see popular home bloggers contributing to paint company websites, or fashion bloggers posting weekly outfits for Jeans Company A.

    Jordan Teicher, Associate Editor at Contently, advises, “The best way to differentiate yourself is by having your best work published by big-time names at the top of your portfolio. This is how you hook someone to explore your work in more detail.”

    Along with having the chops to actually do the writing, you also need to prove you’re adaptable.

    Brands, much more than traditional editorial jobs, are also going to want more control over your style. “Brands are looking for people who will quickly pick up their brand’s voice,” says Byrne.

    Along with presenting yourself decent writer with samples and a portfolio, you need to show that you can adapt your writing style for the task at hand.

    How to find corporate blogging work

    If a company has a top-notch blog, you can often find to find a form on their site calling for writers. Houzz is a great example — its submissions page is a one-stop shop for the variety of ways you can contribute to this home and garden site.

    The Layout, Flywheel’s design blog, makes it super easy to contribute. They created an online application that even suggests articles if you’re unsure what to pitch. “Of course,” says Morgan Ryan, The Layout’s editor, “if you have an original ideas, we’re open to hearing those too!”

    You’d be shocked though (or not at all shocked) how many companies do not, in fact, have their stuff together. Most corporate blogs aren’t read by anyone, never mind follow best practices.

    That doesn’t mean you can’t help. I’d even argue these are actually the blogs you want to target.

    “It never hurts to ask,” says Ryan. “Even if a blog isn’t publicly hiring freelancers, you never know what’s going on behind the scenes or what they’re working on for the future.”

    And, like anything, build relationships. “Identify the thought leaders in the verticals you’d like to work in and connect with them,” says Byrne. “Interact with their content, ask them questions. If they’re local, invite them to coffee. With these relationships, you’ll most importantly learn from them, but also get your foot in the door to secure guest contributor opportunities on respected industry blogs and publications.”

    I’ve gotten all my corporate gigs through referrals or platforms like CloudPeeps and Thumbtack. In my experience, companies posting to freelance marketplaces have a clearer roadmap of what they want for their blog — and what they want to get out of the effort. I’m more likely to get referred to a company that doesn’t yet know what they want, but knows it needs professional help.

    Compensation expectations

    I make anywhere from $50-$100 per hour writing content for corporate blogs, and the first time I realized this price phased absolutely zero marketing staffers, I was hooked.

    “When you’re doing brand work as opposed to editorial work you have a better chance of being compensated, and odds are that compensation will be worthwhile since a lot of these companies have bigger marketing budgets than strictly editorial publishers,” says Teicher.

    Since Contently, where Teicher works, connects writers with clients as well as commissioning work for its own site, pay can vary. But if you’re going to contribute to The Freelancer blog, you can expect to get paid between $200 and $350 per article.

    Flywheel’s blog pays up to $150 per post, and they offer tons of ideas to choose from.

    CloudPeeps currently doesn’t pay contributors for their blog (they’re still in start-up mode), but they do have a fantastic platform connecting freelance content pros to awesome gigs. I was recently hired on their platform myself.

    My absolute best advice to snag this kind of work is to start reading the blogs of brands you love. Find the editor (or the marketing manager or intern) online. Connect. Offer to write a few articles on a per-post basis to show them what you can do.

    While personal connections are precious, putting some effort into building connections with branded blogs is worth it for long-term freelance health and peace of mind.

    Have you ever been hired to write for a corporate blog? How was your experience?