Posts Tagged ‘freelancing’
Posted on September 22, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
Tips on How to Be a Pro | Part Two of Three
Last time, I kicked off the series with a quote from Jennifer Brozek and offered some Tips on How to be a Professional for part one of this three part series. So far, this topic has been pretty popular so I’d like to continue it with more tips and quotes from other professionals working in [...]
Posted on September 17, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
Tips on How to Be a Professional | Part One of Three
Did you know that your chances of getting published increase the more professional you act? In this series of posts, I’d like to share with you some tips from other professionals working as freelancers, writers, publishers and editors. I’d also like to cover some tips that you might find interesting to think about as you [...]
Posted on August 3, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
AP’s New Pay-Per-Quote and the Power of Asking “Permission”
If you work in the business world, you might have heard the phrase: “Ask forgiveness, don’t ask permission.” This phrase is supposed to reflect how you, as an employee, might take calculated risks in your day job to “get ahead” in your career.
As a writer, the reverse is often true, especially if you’re writing [...]
Posted on April 29, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
The Importance of Being Persistent
In an earlier post, I wrote a letter to new writers where I described how the path of a writer is one that winds, ebbs and flows. How do you keep following the same path? One of the qualities that a writer must have is the ability to be persistent. Well, that one word can have a lot of connotations, so I’d like to explain what “being persistent” means to me.
So what does it mean? Well, if you want to be a writer it means you don’t give up. It means when you “think” you have no readers, no chance of success, or that you’ve just written something terrible you keep on the path. You see, it is too easy to drown in self-pity or thoughts about how you’re a horrid writer, but the truth of the matter is that you (and only you) have control over that. To be blunt, if you think you suck — get an editor, or get your work critiqued. If you believe you can’t write horror because your fight scenes are terrible, try perfecting your dialogue for a while instead. Practice, practice, practice and play with your words. If you take a break, plan to get back on that wagon, but don’t ever give up completely.
Posted on February 26, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
Lessons in Personal Branding: Day Four
In today’s tips about nurturing your personal brand, I’d like to share with you some more tips that I hope you’ll find useful to your career as a writer.
16. Try Not to Hold a Grudge
Have you ever been in a situation where another writer said something nasty about you? What about a project that you’ve [...]
Posted on February 20, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
How Clients Get Away With Not Paying Freelancers (And What You Can Do About It)
As I mentioned earlier this week in a post about why writers need to list more skills than just writing, it’s not uncommon for businesses to undervalue communication to cut financial corners. Many businesses will add company communications to other positions as a way to save money, especially if it’s not the businesses primary product [...]
Posted on February 18, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
Job-Hunting? Writers, List Additional Skills!
One of the things that happens in a tight economy, is that employers want to get more for their money. It makes sense, right? Not only are there are number of people out of work, but employers are looking for that value-add so they save money in the longer-term. In my experiences, this has meant [...]
Posted on January 26, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
How Much Should You Get Paid to Blog?
Are you new to blogging? Do you know how much writers typically get paid per blog post? Back before blogging existed, most writers would get paid by the word. The higher the word count, the better pay a writer might receive, the more prestigious the publication. For example, publications with national distribution models might offer [...]
Posted on December 17, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli
My Predictions for the Economy and Freelancing in 2009
Every day we read more and more headlines. Layoffs. Record numbers of foreclosures. Bailout. Inflation. While many of these headlines come as no surprise to us, when the word “recession” turns into something that affects our shopping habits, we tend to feel the pinch on a more personal level. Economic recovery is not a “switch” [...]
Posted on August 26, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli
Job hunting? Here’s a Search Engine you Can’t Live Without
Monster. HotJobs. Your local paper. Company websites. If you’re looking for a job, conventional wisdom almost always says that looking for work is a job in itself. With so many places to hunt for listings, job hunting isn’t always a quick-and-easy thing to do — especially if you start adding multiple websites to your list.
Enter [...]
Posted on July 1, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli
The Cost of Writing Fiction versus Nonfiction
Before I’ve offer you some suggestions on resources you can utilize to get published, I’d like to point out the financial aspect of writing. My only caveat to this post, is that parts of this post compare the difference between how much a short story pays versus what a nonfiction article might. Books and blogging [...]
Posted on March 25, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli
10 Ways Writers can use Blogging for Marketing
Just yesterday, I posted an article about whether or not blogging affects a writer’s ability to write. I’d like to go into a little more detail, and cover my ten ways writers and freelancers can use blogging for marketing their work, building careers, and enhancing their professional “brand” personality. You may (or may not) agree [...]
Posted on March 10, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli
An Easy Way to Estimate How Many Words You Can Write
One of the questions that a lot of new freelancers ask me is, “How do I figure out how many words I can write?” Several freelancing contracts will address the concept of “word count,” because it’s easier to pay rates by the word than by the project. From a business standpoint, you might often hear [...]
My Recent Releases
The Queen of Crows
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Family Games: The 100 Best
Pre-Order at Amazon.comBuried Tales of Pinebox, TX
Available at Amazon.com
Available at DriveThruHorror.comCurrent Project
