Criticism is tough to take, no matter how nicely someone says it. I have an especially hard time taking criticism, even though I can see the value of constructive criticism, it is still a hard pill to swallow. I’m not so good with that pride thing. Sometimes, I just get angry.
I’m getting better, though. I’ve learned in the writing world that not everyone is going to love what you’ve written as much as you do. Clients will ask for revisions. Edits will be needed. You’re going to have to change your work, even stuff you consider to be your baby. …read more

When I started freelance writing, I would always send rough drafts to my clients for approval a few days before the deadline. These weren’t totally rough – I read through them to make sure there weren’t any glaring errors – but they weren’t polished. I just got into the habit of sending at least a few of the articles from the batch for feedback, especially with new clients.
I got so used to it, that I forgot or maybe didn’t even realize at the time that not everyone sends in rough work for approval. One day, I sent some rough articles …read more

I’ve written before about how important it is to meet with people in real life, not just online. You can find a lot of local jobs if you know where to look. I call it “real life social networking.” We usually just think of social networking as something done online at sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, but when you put yourself out there to meet potential clients, it’s like creating a profile of yourself. You have so many words or minutes to introduce yourself to others, promoting yourself as a writer or promoting your website.
Personally, I think you should treat …read more

Holidays are a great time to take days off and spend time with your friends and family. This labor day weekend, I don’t have much planned, but I do intend to relax a little, especially since I’ve been working so hard lately. I have a client who gets a certain number of articles every day, and I mentioned to him on Friday about having a nice holiday weekend.
His reply was a confused “so you aren’t going to be around on Monday?” email. Stupid me – I forgot that Labor Day in the United States isn’t Labor Day everywhere. My client …read more

Scheduling can be a witch. Sometimes, your days freelancing will be filled with trolling, with jobs seeming like a needle in a haystack . Other days, you have every client in your address book sending work your way. When that happens, you only have two choices – farm out some of the work to other writers you know or just say no.
The problem with saying no to your clients is that sometimes they just can’t wait for time on your schedule to open. They need articles/posts/ebooks/whatever…and then need them now. So, they look somewhere else for a writer. There are …read more

Three is a sacred number in many religious. In Christianity, there are three gods in one (called “The Trinity”). In the Hindu world, you have the three main gods – Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Muslims make pilgrimages to three holy cities. Wiccans believe in a rules of three. Odin takes three forms in Eddic mythology, and there are three Greek fates.
The number three is also used in industries and arts. For example, in photography and art, the rule of three refers to the best focal points on a page. Many philosophers have rules of three (for example, Aristotle’s 3-in-1 idea …read more

Writing online can be a little about online dating. You’re dealing with people primarily through email and instance messages and occasionally in person. Sometimes, a client may want to have a meeting with you to talk face-to-face, and when that’s the case, it is important to do so safely. You may also have online writer friends that want to meet you for a drink while in town. Writing is your business, and the issue of safety may not cross your mind as readily as it would with online dating…but the risks are still there.
That client who wants to meet you …read more

When you start working with a new client, they might ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. They’re actually quite common, especially on bidding sites where you might not get the job. An NDA protects the intellectual property surrounding a project…but as a writer, is it a good idea to sign one?
First, let’s understand want an NDA really is. Sometimes called a confidentiality agreement, and NDA protects ideas and works-in-progress. For example, let’s say that Company A wants to hire a writer to work on a brochure for a new cell phone they’re developing. Before telling all the …read more

Paperwork is the bane of my existence. There are days when I just want to shout “I’m a writer, not a freakin’ secretary!!!” on the top of my lungs because I’m so frustrated with the amount of paperwork and record-keeping on my plate. Recently, I hate the chance to check out Billing Boss, a new online program that could help cut down on some of that frustration.
Billing Boss is a pretty simple concept, but one that I’ve not seen available other places. Basically, the website is a place to aggregate all of your invoices. It took me about five minutes …read more

This post is part of the Be a Boss series. To see more posts in this series, check out the list on this post. They’ll be linked as they are posted!
You can’t have a freelance writing company without clients. There are good clients and bad clients, but the client that matters most? The paying client, of course!

The Best Clients for your Company
Here are some of qualities you want in a client for your freelance writing company. These things not necessarily what you want in a client if you’re an individual writer.

Clients with high volumes of work
Clients who will send work …read more