Tuesday, March 30, 2010

What I'm Reading At the Moment...And Other Thoughts

With every post that I write expressing some point about writing or offering some advice about the freelance life I hope I'm offering something of value. That's part of the reason I'm here. At the same time, I think this blog is important to me because it allows me to share something of my world - my little microcosm - with the world at large.

As much as like tips and strategies, I wanted to share something else with you. This is a post about the books I've been reading lately. (I'm reading several at once.) I find that I'm caught between those books that I read purely for pleasure or the sake of some bit of knowledge and those that serve a practical function. (Actually, looking at the stack next to me, I see it's an even split.)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Overwhelmed With Writing: A Few Strategies To Manage Your Freelance Projects

As I am sure most you would agree, being busy working  isn't that much of a problem - especially in this economy. The troubles comes when you're too busy to keep up with everything you start feeling overwhelmed with your projects. Freelance writing is certainly no exception. Most of you have experienced the feast or famine phenomenon right? One month you're barely got enough going to make ends meet, then the following month you take in so much that you don't know what to do with it all.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

How Are You Juggling All Of Those Writing Projects


For many writers, this becomes a very tough question to answer. In many ways, the balancing act hasn't been going well. It is a given that writers must be able to work on more than one project at a time. Yet not all can do this without encountering some difficulties with keeping it all organized while also being efficient. Perhaps, you may be one of the few who have a system that works and you manage to keep your productivity high. The question the rest of us have is this one: How do you do it?

Sunday, March 21, 2010

When Getting Paid Is Hard To Do

It's no secret that there are many writers who are struggling to get enough freelance gigs to pay the bills. We're not totally immune to the ebb and flow of the recession. Still, there are freelance writers that are making a killing out there, putting out all sorts of work on the web and off. Sometimes, you might see a reduction in the number of projects you bring in each month. Other times, the situation can be a little more complicated. There are different breeds of freelancers at work today. Put another way, there are different categories or levels of freelance writers making use of their skills with words.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Upcoming Book For A Favorite Author

I decided to put up something different. So much of the writing I do (and hope to do) is based on how much I enjoy reading good books by talented writers. I wanted to share some news about a favorite of mine. I'm not sure how many of you read or enjoy speculative fiction like science fiction or fantasy, but such books have long been my genre of choice. One writer, a fairly new writer, has made a lot of headway in the business over the last five years or so. I'm talking about Brandon Sanderson. 


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Four Approaches To Writing Schedules

Today, I thought I would pull out some articles that I've found on the topic of schedules. There are definitely some different ways to approach the subject. What it comes down it is finding one that works for you. All of you know that each writer has their own unique writing habits. I know that none of this is original thinking. In fact, I'm sure most of you already have some type of schedule in place to help you get writing done each day. This doesn't mean that the method you're using is getting you the results you've hoped for.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

When Do You Do Your Best Writing


One of the first things that new writers may discover when they start working is that there are certain times of the day that make for better writing results. Of course, this isn't a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. No, each writer will answer differently if asked. (Some may not know when they do their best writing.)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Remembering The Importance Of Deadlines

One of the bottom line facts of freelancing is the deadline. There's really no avoiding it. Now, if you have had trouble with meeting deadlines in the past at your other job (or jobs if missing them meant a job search), then you should think hard about whether freelance writing is a good fit. On the other hand, may be you're the type who did well with clear directives from your 9 to  5 job, but you're having difficulties adjusting to doing your own thing.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Why I Started A Publishing Company?

This is a post I am writing for Publetariat's one-year anniversary contest. I'm coming in at the tail end, but I definitely wanted to contribute something about my experiment as an independent publisher. Okay, so why did I start this publishing company? Here's the short answer: Because my wife was interested enough in starting a business herself that she volunteered to help me create Founders House Publishing.

Update: The Shape Of The Week


I'm coming in with this post on an early Friday morning. As you may have noticed, there was no Wednesday post. Life has thrown me a few curve balls this week. Nearly everyone in the house has been sick, including me. Still, things are progressing in my professional life. This is going to be a few updates.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Six Reasons Why I Love Writing

This is one of those introspective posts that managed to find its way on this page. I'm sitting here, fingers poised over the keyboard, trying to think about what to write. Even though this was a day for a post, I didn't have one. I've sort of been under the weather since yesterday and still kind of struggling to get a project done. Yet, I wanted to write something for you. I hope this post finds all of you well and perhaps gives you some reasons to look again at your motivations for writing (or not writing if that is the case).