Life of A Writer

I was supposed to write this post on February 8, which was the eighth annual Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day. This special day is a time to celebrate the freedom home business ownership offers people, and it was created by Kristie Tamsevicius, co-founder of Webmomz.com, a site that empowers women who have chosen to work from home. My purpose for this post was to help aspiring writers who want to enjoy the freedom of working from home by finally beginning their freelance writing career. However, some family emergencies and fast-approaching deadlines kept me from posting on this day, but like the old saying goes, "It's better late then never." So without further ado, here's the information that will help all you aspiring writers who are ready to begin your freelance writing career.

Instead of reprinting two articles I've already written and published that will help you launch your freelance writing career, I'm going to provide the links to those articles. You can read them first and then come back here to discover the tips on what you should do after landing your first client. The links to my previously published articles will open in a new window so that it will be easy for you to return here for the final advice.

Setting Up Your Home Office

You'll need concentration, because noises may distract you, which is why it's important for you to set up your home office in an extra room or space that's quiet. After you've chosen a peaceful location to pen your novels and articles, you'll need to know how to shop for your home office.

Building Your Writing Portfolio

When you first begin your freelance writing career, you may find it difficult to land writing jobs. Yes, you may be able to write well, but the problem is your experience. Without a writing portfolio many companies may not take a chance by hiring you. In fact, if you try to gain exposure by offering your services free, companies may even turn that offer down. Read on to learn more on how you can build a writing portfolio that will attract potential clients.

Landing Your First Client

It will be an exciting moment when you land your first client, but during all the excitement and after your happy dance, it's important that you do your very best to build a great relationship with that first client. A happy client could lead to additional rewards: referrals, additional assignments, positive feedback to use on your website as well as in marketing materials and a whole lot more. Here are some tips to help you build that great relationship that could earn you many rewards:

• No matter how difficult or easy the client may be to work with, follow the client's directions and don't be afraid to ask questions about anything you don't understand.
• Keep the client updated on your progress with his or her project.
• Meet all the deadlines.
• Check the content you wrote for grammar and spelling mistakes before you send it to the client.
• Don't discuss personal problems with your client. Keep everything on a business level.
• Offer your client discounts. After you complete the assignment, offer your client a discount for additional content he or she may need. Also, consider offering your client a discount for referring others to you.

Keep in mind that it takes time to build a big enough clientele to support your household, but once you've conquered that, you too can enjoy a full-time career doing what you love. Just follow the aforementioned advice and you'll be a step closer to your dream, a dream that you should never give up on.

Additional Reading to Help You Get Started as a Freelance Writer

How to Make Freelance Writing a Full-Time Job
How to Gain Local Clients for a Writing Business
How to Discover Timely Topics to Write About
How to Discover Writing Jobs on the Internet
How to Request an Interview

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Back when I first signed up for oDesk I didn't know if they'd really help me gain new clients, but today I'm happy to report that thanks to oDesk I've been able to increase my clients. Not only have I gained new clients through oDesk, but I've gained friendly clients who have been great to work for. The clients that oDesk has blessed me with have been very helpful and provide great instructions, and this, my fellow writer friends, is something we all want with clients.

I'm sure you're wondering how you, too, can increase your clients, and since I enjoy helping others, I'm going to share a few tips with you. These are the things I do to increase clients with oDesk. Remember, oDesk guarantees payment on all hourly jobs!

Seven Simple Ways to Increase Clients With oDesk

1. Check writing job listings daily. If you don't want to visit the oDesk site on a daily basis, you can subscribe to be notified of new listings via e-mail, or use the search feature on your left to search for the jobs you want, and then subscribe to the RSS feeds for each search you perform.

2. Apply for jobs that only pay by the hour. This guarantees that you'll be paid for your time and work.

3. Create and save a pre-written cover letter on your hard or flash drive. Then when you run across a writing job you want to apply for, edit your pre-written cover letter to match the writing job your applying for, and then follow oDesk's steps to submit that cover letter to the potential client.

4. Use your best clips on your oDesk profile,and update every so often with more recent clips.

5. Post your resume on your oDesk profile, along with any client testimonials.

6. Follow up with potential clients who requested an interview but never got back to you.

7. Take the free oDesk skills tests, and when you score high, make the results public so potential clients can see you really do have the experience you say you have.

Disadvantages

While oDesk has been making improvements, there are still a few things I believe they could improve. For one, if you're writing in Microsoft Word or researching (reading through information), the software that tracks providers' hours doesn't always log the time as "online." Instead, it logs it as "offline," and pay for "offline" time is not guaranteed. I guess it logs it as "offline" time because it considers you idle since you're just reading and not typing. That said, if oDesk could improve this, it would be great!

Finally, there's no guaranteed payment for fixed-price jobs. Personally, I don't understand how oDesk can guarantee their providers payment on hourly jobs and not fixed-price jobs. Although I'm already grateful to oDesk, they would earn my respect more if they'd change this policy.

Rest assured that this won't be my last post about my success with oDesk, because I plan to continue sharing my oDesk experience with you. To stay up-to-date with my oDesk experience, subscribe to my full RSS feeds or opt-in to receive free updates via e-mail.

Do you use oDesk to increase clients? Feel free to share your oDesk experience in the comments area.

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Following are a few giveaway ideas related to public speaking topics. I know there are numerous topics that you may discuss at your upcoming public speaking events, so all of the following topics may not be in your plans, but when they are, here's a few giveaway ideas related to the topic.

Public Speaking Topic: Marketing Writing Services

Some tips you may share when talking about marketing writing services are to create a portfolio to keep track of clips and show to potential clients. That said, a binder and tab dividers are great to use for creating a portfolio and keeping clips organized, so this would make a great giveaway when you talk about marketing writing services.

If you'll be speaking to a small group and can afford it, another excellent giveaway idea related to your public speaking topic on marketing writing services could be a free one-year subscription to the online edition of Writer's Market.

Public Speaking Topic: Writing Fiction or Non-fiction

Whether you plan to discuss how to write fiction or non-fiction or share a few writing tips, there are at least three giveaway ideas that relate to this topic and would make wonderful gifts:

1. Pens with your logo and website imprinted on them.
2. Most all writers love to jot down story, character and article ideas. That said, your audience would appreciate a small journal that they could carry with them.
3. Handouts of novel and character outlines.

Public Speaking Topic: Beauty

Are you a beauty writer or author who enjoys sharing beauty tips and information to promote your beauty expertise and/or beauty-related book(s)? Well then, next time you're invited to give a presentation about beauty why not consider the following giveaway ideas:

1. bath oils;
2. aromatherapy candles;
3. a gift basket filled with beauty products such as creams, makeup, lotions and etc.;
4. or any beauty products you plan to mention in your presentation.

Giveaway Ideas for Any Public Speaking Topic

Your books, any book you've had published that relates to the topic you'll be discussing, desk calendars, and/or coffee mugs with your logo and website imprinted on them.

Have you spoke on a topic I didn't mention and were able to brainstorm a few giveaway ideas that fit well with your public speaking topic? Then I encourage you to share your topic(s) and giveaway idea(s) by leaving a comment.

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Many writers avoid raising their freelance writing rates because they're afraid they'll lose their current clients and have to find new ones to hold on to the financial security they're accustomed to. Yes, you may lose clients because they can't pay you the higher rate and still profit from their business, publication, website or blog. Then if that happens, you will have to search for another client who is willing to pay you your new freelance writing rates. Of course we all know finding clients can take time, but finding clients willing to pay what we're truly worth may take more time than seeking out clients who pay mediocre rates.

Don't let any of that discourage you, though. Why? Because there is a secret that will help you give yourself a raise without losing your financial security and starting at the bottom.

The Secret to Raising Freelance Writing Rates Without Losing Financial Security

Dedicate a few hours each day to searching for clients who will pay what you plan to charge... or more. Once you find those clients, apply for the writing gigs and wait for a response. As you're doing this, continue to work for your current clients at the usual rate. Then when you gain new clients who are willing to pay you at your new freelance writing rates, work for them a while to ensure things are going to work out. Finally, after you've gained new clients and built a solid relationship with them, send notice to your older clients, the ones who are paying you less than your new rates. If the older clients agree to the raise, great! If they don't agree and you have to let them go, rest assured that loosing that client won't take away your financial security.

How to Drop a Client Without Hurting Your Good Reputation and Writer-Client Relationship

If you have to let a client go because he or she can't pay you the new freelance writing rates you asked for, apologize and let them know you have to let them go. But before you let them go, tell them you'll continue working at the usual rate for one month; this should give your client enough time to find a replacement. Furthermore, they'll appreciate you not leaving them in a bind without a writer, and your good relationship with that client should remain intact.

If you found this post helpful, please share the link to the post with your fellow writers, so they too can discover the secret of raising freelance writing rates without losing financial security. If you share the link with your blog, newsletter, magazine or e-zine readers, feel free to discuss my post and add a few tips of your own before sending your readers here.

P.S.: Yes, there was a change in plans for today's post. I was going to share giveaway ideas related to public speaking topics, but I decided to go with this topic instead. But don't worry, I'm still going to share the giveaway ideas in an upcoming post, so subscribe to my RSS feed or sign up to receive my blog updates via e-mail.

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Just the other day I was brainstorming unique ways I could sell books to locals. I tried to think of all the events that have taken place in my community -- events put on by politicians, store owners and others. I wondered how I could tweak their marketing ideas to sell my books to folks in my area. Then I had my "light bulb moment!" I remembered an annual event that most towns host. I knew this event would be perfect all authors. What event am I referring to? A parade of course! And just how easily can you sell your books to locals through your town's local parade? Decorate a float for the parades in your hometown and/or nearby towns. You could design a float related to your book and even have others dress up as characters from your book. In addition to the theme, your float will need a sign letting parade goers know who you are. When you create that sign for your float, include text such as local author, your name, your tag line and your website address. For example, my sign would read "Local Christian author Misti Sandefur. Inspiring With Words to Warm Your Soul. Find out more at www.mistisandefur.com."

On the day of the parade, join many of the others who throw out candy, but be different. While you'll still be keeping with the tradition by giving out candy, you could also include a bookmark, your business card and a brochure about your book. What you need to do is fill a plastic bag with candy, your bookmark, business card and the brochure. Once you've placed all of these items in the plastic bag, tie the bag so that nothing falls out when you throw it during the parade. Another idea would be to figure out a book marketing budget -- and remember, you can always write this off as a business expense on your taxes.

Now that you have a book marketing budget in mind, fill more bags, but this time fill these bags and set them aside on your float to throw to adults who don't have children with them, unless, of course, your book is a children's book, and then you'd want to throw the bag to adults with children. These bags will each include one copy of your book, and since they're for adults, instead of candy place a bookmark, your business card and a promotional item of your choice in the bag with your book. Again, if it's a book for children, substitute candy for the promotional item. By giving away a few free copies of your book, you could gain word-of-mouth advertising, which is more beneficial than any other form of advertising.

There you have it, my "light bulb moment," the one I chose to share with you, my loyal reader, so that you, too could see how easy it really is to sell your books to locals. Do you have any other bright ideas on what to include in the bags authors can throw out during a parade? How about other ideas for decorating an author float? Please share all your ideas in the comments area below.

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Over at Daily Writing Tips Maeve's latest post entitled Even Talent Requires Revision sparked this idea for my blog. In her post, she said, "Self-publishing authors may have plenty of potential as writers, but their novels often suffer from insufficient revision."

Maeve isn't the first to notice that many self-published novels contain spelling and grammar mistakes. I've read several articles where other authors point this out, and the sad fact is it's true. However, you're self-published novel doesn't have to be a statistic. How can you keep it from being a self-published novel that's judged by others because of the grammar and spelling mistakes? Simple, hire a professional editor to edit your novel. Personally, I think it's worth the investment, because if your novel contains too many mistakes, you risk losing your readers. Think about it, how many novels have you put down and never picked up again because they were riddled with so many grammar and spelling mistakes that it made it difficult for you to enjoy and understand the story that was being told?

I know it's not entirely the author's fault that self-published novels are criticized for their spelling and grammar mistakes. Why do I say this? Because a print on demand publisher isn't the same as a traditional publisher. Most print on demand publishers don't take the time to throughly edit the author's novel. Therefore, it's up to you to catch the mistakes, and after so many of your own revisions, you tend to overlook things. A professional editor, however, could greatly improve your novel, and she may catch many of the mistakes you overlooked.

What are your thoughts on hiring a professional editor for self-published novels? Have you ever hired a professional editor for a novel you self-published, or are you thinking about hiring one to edit a novel you're working on or just finished? I invite you to discuss this topic in the comments section.

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I know the Lord blessed me with the ability to write, so when I share my blessings with others, it's my way of thanking the Lord for His many blessings. Not only do I share my blessings through writing, but I also share them in other ways.

Share Your Blessings by Helping Others

The Lord expects us to share our blessings with others, and to do that we should share our knowledge. We can share our knowledge by mentoring aspiring writers and speaking in public. Not only will the knowledge we share help and inspire others, but we'll feel good about ourselves afterwards. Besides, who knows, what you shared could spread when those you taught, helped and inspired goes on to share the blessing you helped them achieve with even more folks looking for a little assistance and inspiration.

Give Generously and With Sincerity

2 Corinthians Chapter 9 Verses 7 through 8 in the King James Version says, "Let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." Basically, what this means is we must give out of generosity and with sincerity, and if we do, God will bless us even more.

How can we give financially to others out of generosity and with sincerity? Simple, by donating a portion of the profits from our writing to charity. Now I know many of you are probably thinking you don't make enough and won't donate until you can give a large amount to charity, because you'd be embarrassed to give a small amount when other well-known authors and writers can donate six figures. I've thought the same thing, but the truth is, the Lord only expects us to give what we can, and then later He may bless us with even more to give. If the day does come when the Lord blesses you with a large amount, then by all means, give even more, but until then, the Lord will be proud of you even if you're only able give $10.

Help Those in Need

Normally, I don't write for free, and yes, I know I said the Lord expects us to give, but we do that by giving to charity, as well as in other ways. The Lord knows we have to make a living, and in order to provide for our family, we have to charge for our services. However, a time may come when an organization that also gives is in need. When that time comes, we could be gracious enough to donate our services. Whether it's an article, brochure or short newsletter, it would be okay since it's for a good cause. By a good cause, I'm referring to organizations that help others. For example, maybe there's a church trying to raise funds to help a family in need, feel free to donate your writing services to help them out.

Back in November 2005 I donated a personal essay to the Stories of Strength anthology. A group of writers and editors wrote and published the anthology to help victims of natural disasters. When I donated my personal essay, I knew that 100% of the proceeds from each sale would go to disaster relief charities in the region, so I felt that was a good cause and was glad to be a part of it. In fact, not only did I donate a personal essay, but I donated my time and marketing experience to help promote the launch of the anthology, and I bought a copy to help support organizations such as the American Red Cross.

Share the Word

Have you written and published a children's book with a Christian message? Inspire and share the word with children by visiting hospitals. During your visit, read your book to the children, and then give some more by taking along a gift for each child. A great and affordable gift is a small guardian angel pin or a small teddy bear with angel wings.

Go ahead and start sharing your blessings today. Just as soon as you begin sharing those blessings, you'll feel good about yourself. Moreover, the Lord will bless you; it may not be when you want him too, but with faith and patience, He will bless you.
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." (Psalm 36:7; King James Version).

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Jennifer Mattern wrote an interesting topic at All Freelance Writing that I believe is inspiring and encouraging, so I thought I'd discuss her topic here at Life of a Writer, as well as add a few of my own tips on her solution to finding time to work on personal projects that could add to your freelance writing income.

In Invest in Your Writing Career and Build a Richer Future, Jennifer admitted to taking time off from her clients to work on some of her own personal projects that she hopes will add additional income to her freelance writing career. While I think Jennifer has a great idea, her post left me with a question: Did she leave her clients hanging and miss deadlines when she took the week off? This question is what prompted me to discuss her topic here today, because I wanted to include additional tips on how you could do the same thing without neglecting your clients.

I doubt Jennifer actually neglected her clients and risked losing them, so I'm assuming she took the necessary steps to arrange the week off for personal projects. However, since she didn't specify in her post what steps she took, I thought I'd let you know what steps you can take if Jennifer's post inspired you enough to set aside time each week for your personal projects. The following two steps will keep you from neglecting clients, as well as missing deadlines...

Work Ahead

One thing that may prevent you from spending an entire week on personal projects is a project for a client that you have to write each day or week. For example, if you write a blog post every Wednesday for a client, then you must meet the deadline each week, and this could interfere with the week you've devoted to a personal project. The good news is those daily and/or weekly deadlines don't have to interfere with the week you'd like to take off to work on a personal project, but the bad news is you'd have to spend a little extra time to make sure you meet the deadlines to keep your good reputation with your clients intact.

"What do I have to do?" you ask. Simple, write the article, blog post and/or etc. that will be due in advance. Yep, that's where the extra work comes in, but at least you'll keep your clients happy and be able to use the following week on a personal project. Do this for each client you write for on a daily and/or weekly basis and you should be able to set aside one week each month for personal projects to help you gain additional freelance writing income.

Take Advantage of Advanced Technology

Once you've written your clients' articles, blog posts and/or etc. in advance, you'll still be faced with the dilemma of having to turn in those projects when they're due. No problem, advanced technology allows us to schedule e-mails and blog posts in advance. With that in mind, if you've written a blog post, schedule it to go live on the date it's supposed to. If you have to send your article, blog post or etc. to your client via e-mail, then use the scheduling feature on your e-mail program to schedule the e-mail to be sent to your client on the date it is due.

There you have it: two ways to meet the deadlines with all your clients so you can set aside one week each month for personal projects.

Don't have the time to devote one week each month to personal projects? At the end of her post, Jennifer said, "If you don't want to take time away from other work, consider spending on extra hour a day writing 'for yourself' with one of these types of projects in addition to your normal work."

That last piece of advice from Jennifer leads me to a blog post I wrote back in February entitled Complete Writing Projects You've Put on the Back Burner. The information in that post is what I've been doing for a while now. However, I like Jennifer's approach better, and Lord knows I could use a whole week for one or more of my personal projects -- projects that have made their way to the back burner. With that said, I plan to follow the steps I've given above to do just what Jennifer chose to do this week. If it doesn't work out, though, I'll go back to the advice I gave in February.

For those of you who may not be able to set aside time each week for your personal projects, feel free to follow the advice in Complete Writing Projects You've Put on the Back Burner; you may not have a week to devote to your personal projects, but at least you'd have a little extra time to complete a project you've had on the back burner for way too long now.

Go ahead, use the comments section to tell me if you plan to do what Jennifer did, which is set aside time each week for your personal projects. Maybe you know of a better way to work on personal projects, feel free to share it instead.

Leave a comment to add any of your own thoughts, suggestions, tips and/or advice to this discussion.

Photo credit: Jm3

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Congratulations on landing a publisher! Your next step -- whether you chose traditional publishing or print on demand -- will be promoting your fiction novel. Yes, traditional publishers do more in terms of promotion for their authors than print on demand publishers, but the author should do his or her part as well. In fact, all publishers appreciate it more when the author steps up to help, and one great benefit for the author could be bigger royalty checks.

When should you start to promote your fiction novel? Before your fiction novel hits the bookstores is best. Some promotion will take place after your novel hits the market, but today were going to explore three ways you can promote your fiction novel while it’s still in the publishing stages.

Write and distribute press releases. Create a persuasive press release announcing the release of your book. Then distribute the press releases to local newspapers and other media contacts.

Create a media kit. You’ll want to create two media kits: one to send through postal mail and another for your website. Your media kit should consist of a cover letter, a booklist (if you’ve had other books published), press clippings (can be included later if you haven’t gained any yet), your press release, your bio, a color and black and white photo of yourself (headshot), a fact sheet that includes information about your book (release date, ISBN, publisher, etc.), sample questions and answers (in case they want to schedule an interview), a sample chapter or excerpt from your book, a flyer, brochure and your business card. Those are just the essential materials your media kit should include; feel free to add any additional materials.

Plan a virtual book tour. Virtual book tours are becoming popular among many authors, and the majority of them have reported success in sales. While you should wait until your fiction novel is released before beginning your virtual book tour, there’s nothing stopping you from planning in advance. For more information on planning a virtual book tour, read Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s Authors Tour the World With Virtual Book Tours. Cheryl organized her own virtual book tour and then wrote this wonderful article to teach other authors how they can do the same.

And there you have it, Three Ways to Promote Your Fiction Novel Before Publication. This is also the final post in my Fiction Writing Tips series. If you missed any of the topics covered in this series, visit the Fiction Writing Tips Series Table of Contents for a complete list with links.

I’ll announce the winner of the Mentoring Session Contest, which was tied into this series, here, tonight at 11:00 p.m. (CST). I’ll also contact the winner via e-mail so we can get started with the mentoring session.

With that in mind, if you haven’t entered the contest yet, there’s a few more hours left. One way to receive an entry is to comment on this post. Not sure what to say? Why not share your own advice on promoting a fiction novel before publication. Would you like a second entry after leaving your comment? Then subscribe to Life of a Writer for free e-mail updates.

Thank you for sticking with me throughout this long series, and may the Lord bless you with many book sales! Don’t forget to join me here again at 11:00 p.m. (CST) to discover who the lucky winner of the Mentoring Session Contest will be.

Photo credit: Nathan Dainty

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So far in this Fiction Writing Tips series you've learned how to create a character outline, how to write a novel outline, how to write a first draft and how to edit your first draft. With all that out of the way, you should now be ready for the publishing process -- but don't rush into it just yet. By rushing to land a publisher or agent for your book, you'll risk becoming the victim of a publishing scam. And after all that hard work you've put into writing your fiction novel, I'm sure you don't want to take that risk, right? Of course you don't, so in part five of this series -- Chasing the Right Publishers or Agents --I want to share some tips to assist you in your search for a publisher or agent -- tips that I pray will save you from being the next victim of a publishing scam.

Control your excitement

You deserve to be excited about the novel you've just finished, but don't get so excited that you fail to take the extra time to research the publishers or agents that will get your attention with their promises.

Take advantage of improved technology

Head to Google and enter the name of the publishing company or agent you plan to query. When entering the company or agent's name, place quotation marks around their name (this searches the exact phrase). Next, take the time to browse through the results to see if anyone has anything good or bad to say about the publisher or agent you're researching.

After you're finished at Google, search for, then visit, websites and blogs for writers that list publishing scams. Some include the National Writers Union, Preditors & Editors, Absolute Write's Beware Board, Writer Beware, Writer Beware Blogs and Writers Weekly: Whispers and Warnings.

Don't be shy

Contact the publishers or agents and ask them for references. Some may tell you their privacy policy prevents them from giving out their clients' information, and if that's the case, ask them to have some of their clients contact you instead. If their clients do contact you, make sure the client isn't one of their employees. To verify this, perform a quick search on their name and see what information pops up. If you discover that the publisher or agent did give you the name of an employee, that should be a big warning sign.

Look for other warning signs

Browse the publisher or agent's website for the following:

• Will the publisher require you to buy a certain number of books before they'll enter into a contract with you?
  
• Does the publisher or agent charge extra for editing or reading your novel, or do they offer referrals to third parties who charge for these services?
• Does the agent charge fees other than a percentage of your royalties? If an agent asks for up-front fees such as reading fees or etc., run, it's a sure sign of a publishing scam! A legitimate agent will only ask for a percentage of your book sales, and they should work with you to help you publish and market your book.
• Did the publisher or agent offer publication or representation only after reading a few chapters, synopsis or query letter? A legitimate publisher or agent will ask for the complete manuscript before making a decision to enter into a contract with you.

If you can't find the information I mentioned above on the publisher or agent's website, contact him or her and ask about the things you were unable to locate on their website.

Seek legal advice

Always take the contract you're offered from an publisher or agent to a lawyer for him or her to look over and explain to you. Trust me, the investment you make for legal advice will be money well spent for your peace of mind.

Look for contact information

Make sure the publisher or agent's website lists their phone number, complete address and other contact information. Another way to check them out is to give them a call to make sure the phone number is valid and answered in a professional manner -- have a few questions ready when you call.

Turn to other writers for assistance

Join groups, message boards, forums and other social networks for writers. Use your membership with these networks to find out if other members have heard of or used the services of the publisher or agent you're considering.

Research the publisher's history

Explore the publisher's website to see how many books they've published. Once you reach their electronic bookstore, write down the names of some of the authors they've published. Then, Google that author's name to see if you can find their website or contact information. Next, contact the author to ask about their experience with the publisher. Are they happy with the services they've received thus far? Does the publisher do anything to help them with marketing (most print-on-demand and vanity publishers won't, but some will)?

Those are just a few tips you can use to avoid being scammed by a publisher or agent. No matter what, always keep that old saying in mind: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Do you have some tips on researching publishers and agents or know of a resource that lists publishing scams? Help a fellow writer and receive an entry in the Mentoring Session Contest by sharing your tips and/or resource in the comments area?

Join me next week for part six in my Fiction Writing Tips series. In part six, you'll discover what you can do while waiting on the responses from the publishers or agents you contacted. Subscribe for free e-mail updates to stay up-to-date with the Fiction Writing Tips series and Mentoring Session Contest. After you've verified your free subscription to e-mail updates from Life of a Writer, you'll be entered into the Mentoring Session Contest.

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I can't begin to tell you how many times in a given day I use to get so caught up in reading and studying that I lost track of the time. Next thing I knew I didn't have enough time left in the day for my writing. Can you relate? If so, here's some advice to help you tackle the dilemma of reading and studying so you can get your writing done. And if you think I'm going to suggest you cut reading and studying out of your habits, think again! Reading and studying, in my opinion, makes us better writers. Therefore, both should definitely play a part in your writing career, and the good news is there's a way to work all three into your writing life. I've been applying the following advice to my writing career for a while now, so I know it can be done, and today I'm more than happy to share my strategy with you.

Add the Activities to Your Schedule

I know, here I go with schedules again, but I truly believe in schedules because they help you organize your writing life and get things done. That is if you make yourself follow the schedule.

Take Advantage of the Bookmark Feature on Your Browser

If you come across an interesting article, blog post, story or etc., bookmark it and read it on the day you've scheduled a free reading or studying day. Same goes for all those newsletters and e-zines you've subscribed to, and since those usually arrive in your inbox, just move them to the "read later" folder.

As for books by your favorite authors, do as I do, read in bed. I like to read before I go to sleep, usually two to three hours, depending on how good the book is, of course.

Take One Day a Week for "Me" Time

I just started doing this five weeks ago, and I love every minute of my "me" time! This is basically a day off, which is something every writer needs to recoup. You can use this day for whatever you like. For example, on my "me" day I update my website with new information and/or resources, read the newsletters and e-zines I placed in my "read later" folder, read articles and stories on the Web, go for a drive or walk, visit friends or family I haven't seen in a while, get some things done around the house that I've put off, plant flowers, play games with the kids or whatever I feel like doing. Then, when the next day arrives and it's back to work, I discover that I'm ready to go again, and the creative juices are back to their natural flow.

There you have it. That's how I tackle my reading, writing and studying dilemma: with a schedule. One last tip, when you sit down to make that schedule (or update one you've already written out), schedule your paying clients first, and then include everything you want to do in terms of reading, writing and studying. Yes, this includes trend or other research as well. Your schedule is, of course, part of your work schedule, and reading, writing and studying are all a part of writing, because they help you become a better writer, wouldn't you agree?

Do you have any tips for tackling the reading, writing and studying dilemma? Please share your tips in the comments area.

Photo by John-Morgan

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After I signed up for a free Entrecard account, I browsed their website to learn more. While browsing, I went into the Shop section and noticed writers offering to write blog posts for payment in Entrecard credits. That's when I realized this could be a great way for writers to market their writing services.

Many of you may already write guest posts for other blogs related to yours in an effort to create a backlink to your blog and draw in more traffic. Well, now you can market your writing services through Entrecard, and it's the same concept. You'll offer to write guest posts on blogs in exchange for payment in Entrecard credits. Or, in addition to writing guest posts for blogs, you could offer to write short articles for websites, newsletters, e-zines and other publications as well. However, before you advertise your writing services on Entrecard, think about your current writing schedule. Will you be able to handle the extra work? If you're schedule isn't full or you currently have no clients but are looking for clients, then marketing your writing services on Entrecard may help you fill your writing schedule with clients that pay in dollars. Again, I strongly advise you to make sure you can fit extra work into your current writing schedule, because I've read where many writers with Entrecard accounts have had tons of contacts after they marketed their writing services on Entrecard.

Can you handle the extra work? If so, keep reading to find out how you can market your writing services on Entrecard.

Create your ad

This should be your first step. All you need to do is write a short ad to place in Entrecard's "Shop" section. Your ad should begin with a sentence or two about your writing experience. Next, mention the minimum and maximum word count that you're willing to write; if you prefer to write for blogs and/or websites with a certain Google PageRank, mention what their PR must be; specify the amount of time it will take you to deliver the guest post and/or article to the Entrecard buyer (i.e. 24 hours, one day, one week, etc.); and finally, let the potential Entrecard buyer know what topics you will write about. In regards to the topics you plan to write, mention topics that you would normally write for clients compensating you in dollars; this will allow you to build your experience. After all, you are marketing your writing services to gain paying clients for your freelance writing career.

Link to your writing samples

After you create your ad, include links to two or three of your writing samples. List the titles of each published article, and then include the link to those articles. This allows the potential Entrecard buyer to see if your writing style fits the style they're looking for, and it lets them see how well you write. Make sure you link to your best writing samples.

Determine your price in Entrecard credits

Determine how much you think your writing services are worth in Entrecard credits. I've seen some writing services in the Entrecard shop go for 500 Entrecard credits. Your Entrecard credits could be used to advertise your own blog on other blogs. If you'd rather exchange the Entrecard credits you earn for real money, go to your Entrecard dashboard and click on "Exchange Settings" under "Your Account."

State the rights you'll be selling

Usually a blog posts is written to sell all rights, but you can state in your advertisement that a short bio and a link to your blog, as well as your writing services page, is required. If you're selling an article to a website, e-zine, newsletter or other publication in addition to blog posts, then mention that those articles are available for X rights only and must also include a short bio with links.

Place your writing services advertisement on Entrecard

According to Entrecard's blog, they plan to place a link in the shop section for those interested in selling their services and/or products for Entrecard credits, but at the time of this writing, Entrecard has yet to add that link. Therefore, to market your writing services in the Entrecard shop, Entrecard is advising all sellers send their advertisement through the feedback form. You'll find the feedback form in your dashboard.

Once you've placed your ad in the shop section on Entrecard, you should start receiving responses soon. After you've received enough requests and are satisfied with the guest posts and/or articles you have in cyberspace, then you can send Entrecard a request to remove your writing services ad from their shop section. Good luck!

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Due to an unexpected situation I had to reschedule my interview with Phil Davis from Authors on the Net. However, he sent me an outline to help prepare me for the interview, and his outline prompted me to share some phone interview tips.

Schedule your phone interview in advance

E-mail or call the person you plan to interview and schedule a date and time in advance. Be sure to find out what time zone they're in and ask what day and time would work best for them. Next, confirm the date and time.

Send an outline to the person you plan to interview

After you've scheduled a date and time for your phone interview, prepare an outline to send to the interviewee via e-mail. Your outline should include the following:

• Date and time of the interview in their time zone.
• Calling instructions if they need to call a special number.
• Your introduction: what you'll say before getting the questions.
• The questions you plan to ask, and let them know to e-mail you any questions they'd like to add.
  

Setup the recorder

A few minutes before the scheduled interview you'll want to be prepared, so make sure the recorder is setup in advance.

Confirm the interviewee's answers

Once the interview is finished, transcribe your interview. Next, e-mail the transcript to the interviewee and ask him or her to confirm their answers.

E-mail the interviewee the link to the interview or the file

As soon as you've published the interview, send the link to the interviewee so he or she can promote it on their website, blog, social network profiles and etc. If the phone interview was made into a Podcast interview, send them the file and give them permission to promote it instead.

If you apply the aforementioned phone interview tips, your phone interviews should go much smoothly, because both you and the person you plan to interview will be prepared ahead of time. Do you have any additional phone interview tips to add? Please share them in the comments section below.

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The next time you send off a letter of interest to apply for a writing or blogging job consider the following writing tips to impress potential clients:

Visit their website or blog. When potential clients announce a writing or blogging job, some provide a link to the website or blog they want you to write for. Many do this to give you an idea of the type of writing you will be doing. Don't look over the link, instead visit it and study their style -- just like you would a publication, before sending your query letter. If the link sends you to a blog, read a few of the posts. If you believe you can add additional tips, do so by leaving a comment. Be sure to give your full name so potential clients will recognize it when you send them the letter of interest for the writing or blogging job. Others may not leave a link, but if they provide an e-mail address, the link may be attached to the end of their e-mail. Take mine for example; it ends mistisandefur.com, which is my website, of course. Furthermore, if they fail to leave a link and the end of their e-mail address is of no help, read the job announcement closely for mention of a company name. If you come across one, Google the company name and see what pops up.

By studying your potential clients, you'll be able to tweak your letter of interest to fit their style. You could also mention something that lets them know you visited their website or blog.

Last night I applied for a blogging job, but the potential client didn't leave a website address. However, he did leave his company name, and the end of his e-mail address was the link to his website. In his announcement for a blog writer, he said he wanted someone to write for his company's blog, which was the website I was on. Once there, the website had the link to the company's blog. I clicked the link, read through some wonderful posts, and left a comment with a few additional tips. Maybe when he gets my letter of interest he'll recognize my name and see from the additional tips that I am qualified for the position. It's worth a shot, right?

Tweak your letter of interest to fit the position. If the potential client needs a writer to write or blog about small business, don't send samples of parenting articles you've had published. Instead send links to samples related to small business. In addition, try to focus more on your small business experiences rather than your parenting experiences.

Send your best samples. Potential clients may request links to samples of your articles or blog posts to get a feel for your style and etc. In this case, send links to your best samples, and make sure your samples are relevant to the job. Last night, for example, I sent links to three of my best blog posts that I had written for a client, and those three blog posts were not only relevant to the job, but they were the ones that generated the most comments.

Give potential clients what they ask for. Read their ad thoroughly and deliver everything that they request. If they want a link to blogs you currently write for, as well as your profile and your resume, send them all three links.

I hope the above writing tips help you impress your potential clients, but most of all, I hope they aid you in landing the writing or blogging job you apply for. Do you have any further writing tips you'd like to add? Please share them in the comments section.

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Currently I have placed four writing projects on the back burner to put my paying clients first. Well, the other day I told myself I need to discover a way I can get back to work on those writing projects while still putting my paying clients first, and after a night of stewing about it, I found a solution… hooray!

Are you in the same boat as I? Do you have writing projects you've put on the back burner that you'd like to reheat? The solution is actually pretty simple. Would you like to know? Of course you would, and here it is: Treat those writing projects as you do your projects for paying clients by working them into your schedule. Yes, your paying clients are a priority because they pay, but stop and think about that for a minute. "Why?" you ask. Because if you take the time to stop and think about it, all those writing projects you've put on the back burner also have potential to bring you more income, but they can't bring you any extra income if they're still on the back burner, now can they? Of course not, so pull up that writing schedule and make time for the writing projects you have on the back burner. For example, if you blog for a client three days a week, then you pen that client into your writing schedule for three days out of the week. Do the same for the writing projects that have gone cold waiting on the back burner. Commit to a certain quota each week for a few of the writing projects and pen them into your schedule as well. Even if it's only for one day a week, you'll see progress and it won't be long until you'll have the project completed.

For those of you (like me) who learn easier through examples, you'll find a sample writing schedule below. You can create your schedule based on your current client list as well as writing projects you have on the back burner. In the following sample, paying clients are referred to as "paying client" and for the projects you have on the back burner, they're referred to as "writing project." Finally, if you have a blog of your own you post to, it's referred to as "my blog." You can replace "paying client" with the name of your client or the company name, and "writing project" can be replaced with that project (i.e. freelance writing e-book, send query letter, book, etc.).


If you have too many writing projects on the back burner, work a few into your writing schedule at a time. Then once you complete those projects, remove them from the back burner and reheat some more until all of your writing projects are gone.

By following my solution to add writing projects you've put on the back burner to your current writing schedule, you'll put on some added weight, but in the end you'll lose a lot and feel much better about yourself and the goals you've accomplished.

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Monday night the National Weather Service in my area issued a Winter Storm Warning. They forecasted snow and sleet in my area. I figured since ice was involved the power might go out, and because my laptop's battery would only allow me to work for no more than two hours, I knew I needed to plan ahead.

I worked as usual Monday night by writing for all the clients I normally have scheduled for that night. Then once I finished the work for those three clients, I added Tuesday night's work to my to-do list, which included three more clients. I wanted to plan ahead for what Mother Nature had in store for my area, and since some of my clients for Tuesday involved writing blog posts, I knew I could prepare those posts ahead of time and schedule them to go live when they were supposed to. Thank God for the Wordpress feature that allows you to write and schedule blog posts in advance.

As predicted, Southern Illinois woke up Tuesday morning to approximately three inches of ice. Not only did we have ice, but that ice caused several trees to fall onto power lines. The result: over 11,000 homes (including mine) were without power. I felt lucky since I had planned ahead and even luckier when I discovered that hubby's boss called him off work. Since he wasn’t working that day, we only had my income to depend on. However, things only got worse as the day went on. Unfortunately, more sleet moved in and the power stayed off longer than I had expected it to. Furthermore, when I fired up my laptop to work for two hours off the battery, I learned that the Internet was down!

To make a long story short, hubby has been out of work all week because they couldn't run the plant due to the ice, and we just had our power and Internet access restored. Because I hadn't expected to be without electricity and Internet for three days, I'm now two days behind. Moreover, I had one client who e-mailed me an assignment before I lost power and Internet access, and he was supposed to reply with further details as well as a deadline. Well, when I was finally able to get back to work, that client did send me an e-mail during the time my power and Internet was out. He included the instructions as well as the deadline. Eeek... now I have to contact that client and explain the situation.

The one tip for planning ahead that I would recommend is to plan ahead wisely. In other words, common sense told me ice could knock out power, and I did know it could take a few days for the electric company to restore power to all homes, but for some reason, that didn't register in my mind when I was planning ahead for one day. It also didn’t cross my mind at the time that the ice might knock out my DSL service. The lesson I learned was I should have planned ahead for three or four days. At least I'll know to plan ahead farther next time.

Have you ever experienced a weather emergency that put a damper on your writing schedule for more than two days? Share it with me in the comments area.

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Does being a wife and mother disrupt your writing time? Of course it does. As a wife, mother and writer myself I know how hard it is to keep the family happy and find the time to write too. So today I'm going to reveal ways that you can multi-task by still being a great wife, loving and caring mother, and write all at the same time. Yes, that's right, it can be done! And after you read my multi-tasking tips, you should be ready to multi-task your wife, mother and writer duties as well!

Before I continue, I would like to thank Stephanie Calahan for the inspiration for this post. Stephanie commented on Jim Smoot's post, Time Wasters for Bloggers, over at Pure Blogging. In her comment, she shared some of the ways she multi-tasks and I could relate. Not only could I relate, but her comment inspired me to share more multi-tasking tips with you. So, without further ado, here are those tips:

1. I cook supper for the family and write while supper is cooking. I set the timer on my stove for the food, and once the timer goes off, I get up to check on the food. If you have a real busy writing day ahead of you, fix something that cooks all day. For example, prepare a roast. Throw in the potatoes and veggies on top of the roast, and then place the roast, potatoes and veggies in the oven or a crockpot to cook all day. While the roast is cooking, you'll be writing. Some other meals that you can let cook all day without getting up and down to check on them are ham and beans or any other crockpot recipes.

2. As Stephanie mentioned in her comment to Jim's post, you can write and do your laundry at the same time. She also reminded that you'll eventually have to stop to fold the laundry, but while you're doing this, you could do as she does and listen to teleseminars. Unlike Stephanie, when I'm folding laundry, I sit in silence and brainstorm while folding the laundry.

3. If you're like me and your kids are now teenagers or old enough to do chores, then you can have them load the dishwasher while you write. As soon as one of my kids finish loading the dishwasher, I always check to make sure it was loaded correctly. If it was, I start it. The dishwasher then runs while I go back to writing. After the dishwasher has finished, I have one of the other kids unload it. Don't have a dishwasher? Have the kids do the dishes for you. (Don't forget to reward your kids for their chores.)

4. When my kids were little, I wrote during their nap time.

5. While breastfeeding your baby, grab a digital voice recorder and recite your story, article, article ideas or etc. outloud. Who knows, the baby just might enjoy it too.

6. When your kids sit down to do their homework, join them at the table. Grab your laptop or a notebook and pen and tell them you're going to do your homework too, which could be research, writing an article or whatever writing you need to do. Research is always better, because you need to prepare yourself to stop what you're doing in case you have to help one of the kids with a math problem or something they need assistance with. Nonetheless, homework time for the kids may become hassle free since they'll enjoy you sitting next time them doing your homework.

7. If one of my kids are sick or has a doctor's appointment, I take along a notebook and pen to write while waiting to see the doctor.

Do you have any other tips for multi-tasking your wife, mother and writer duties? Share them in the comments section or a blog post of your own. If you share your multi-tasking tips to your blog readers, please leave a link to the post in the comments area so I can surf over to read your tips.

Photo credit: Flickr

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Unfortunately, life's problems sometimes get in our way. I don't know about you, but there are times when distractions from my life's problems interfere with my creativity. Once this happens, I discover it's hard to focus and write. I can't brainstorm, not to mention put a single sentence together. Death, tragedy, stress from marriage, relationships, bills, those are all distractions, and they can get in the way when we're trying so hard to let the words flow from our fingertips.

When this happens to me, I force myself to get away from the computer and take a break. A break, of course, is the best thing in a situation like this. Aside from the break, though, I do a few other things so I can focus and write through the distractions. Following are a few of the other things I do to help me take control and get back to work, and just maybe they'll benefit you the next time distractions from your life get in the way:

Discover Comfort Through God's Word

The number one stress reliever for me is God's word. When problems from my life distract me from writing, I grab my Bible and begin reading. Often I find the most comfort by reading in Psalms or Proverbs. If you have a hard time understanding the Bible, then I recommend Lillie's post: Reading the Bible: Part 2 - Reading to Learn and Understand.

Write Through the Distractions

You may not be able to write for publication, but you can arm yourself with a journal and pen, go to a quiet place (indoors or out) and write your feelings on paper. Other than reading my Bible, this is the most therapeutic way to relieve my stress from the distractions that are taking me away from my writing.

Pamper Yourself

Soak in a hot bubble bath or drive to the spa. A little bit of pampering could be all you need to clear your mind.

Take a Walk

Put on those walking shoes and start walking. As you walk, breathe in the scents around you. Better yet, enjoy your walk, then pamper yourself afterwards. A double dose should really clear your mind!

How do you refocus when life's problems leave you too distracted to write? Share your tips on writing through distractions by leaving a comment. After all, we could all use the help during those tough times

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Have you ever had one of those days where you sit down to write but found yourself uninspired to do so? Don't worry; you're not alone. Writers have experienced this on more than one occasion. The worst part, however, is when -- despite not being inspired -- you know it has to be done so you force yourself to do your job. But because you're not feeling motivated, the ideas don't flow, so you discover yourself surfing the web or doing other things with the hope that you'll be able to write or get an idea within a few minutes. Surprise! Next time you glance at the clock you realize several hours have passed and your work day/night is over! This, my friend, is called procrastination, and because Michele from Writing the Cyber Highway tagged me, I'm going to share a few of my tips for overcoming procrastination with you. Not just because Michele tagged me, but also because I enjoy sharing what I've learned over the years.

Are you procrastinating at this very moment? If so, keep reading and maybe you'll leave my blog and be able to get back to writing… before you lose track of time.

Overcoming Procrastination in Seven Easy Steps:

1. Night owl writers, go to bed. Day writers, take a nap. Seriously, all I have to do is lay my head on the pillow and the ideas run rapid. By then I'm up turning on the lamp. Next, I grab the notebook and pen from my night table to record those ideas (as I did for this post). Ok, maybe it won't work for everyone, but it works for me. In fact, it works even when I'm not trying to overcome procrastination.

2. Soak in the bathtub or take a shower. When I do either of these two things, it refreshes my body as well as my mind. Go ahead, give it a try.

3. Get organized again. Instead of surfing the web, focus on re-organizing your workspace or office. I learned that an organized workspace does wonders.

4. Go for a walk. Sometimes a little fresh air rejuvenates my mind. Who knows, it could work for you too.

5. Read a book about freelance writing. What better way to procrastinate than learning how to become a better writer. Many times when I procrastinate, I head to my bookshelf and grab one of the books on freelance writing, and 99% of the time, it inspired me to get back to work.

6. Go for a drive on a country road. I've found the best time to do this is in the spring, so you can open the windows and take in all the springtime smells: honeysuckles, flowers, etc. Besides, if you're going to procrastinate, then at least you won't loose track of time by taking a drive on a country road. Well, you may, but you won't waste as much time as you would surfing the Net, because you may run out of gas if you drive for too many hours.

7. Take advantage of those writing exercises and prompts. Since you may surf the Internet when you procrastinate, surf to the tons of websites that list free writing exercises and prompts. Pick an exercise or prompt and do it. By the time you've finished that writing exercise or prompt, I'll bet you overcome procrastination. If not, then at least you can say you didn't waste your writing time.

Those are my seven easy steps for overcoming procrastination. I hope they help you, because they've certainly helped me over the years.

Instead of tagging seven others, I would like to invite you to take part if you like. All you have to do is link back to me, list your seven tips for overcoming procrastination and then tag seven others to do the same. Oh yes, comment and let me know where to find your post. I'd love to read your procrastination tips too.

Photo courtesy: Flickr

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