In addition to being called “freelance commercial writing,” our field is also known simply as “copywriting” (AND commercial copywriting, business copywriting, marketing copywriting, and others). But, if you’re relatively new to the field, and you hear the term “copywriting,” you’ll likely think of direct response copywriting. You know, the “long-letter” variety: 10-15 hype-filled (“Wait, there’s more!”) … Read more
Whether you’re a new freelance writer or an experienced commercial writing pro, you’re bound to find something helpful in this collection of writers’ resources. From writers’ groups and organizations to resources for work-at-home parents juggling family and a freelance career, these resources can help you learn, grow, and succeed as a freelance commercial writer. General … Read more
In Chapter 11 of The Well-Fed Writer, entitled “The Well-Networked Writer,” I share a pile of stories from commercial freelancers everywhere, about landing writing work through unplanned, largely serendipitous social contacts. The moral: You never know where your next project might come from, so let the world know (in a low-key way, of course) what … Read more
The ‘APPETIZER’ Series: The original version of this piece first appeared as an Appetizer course in The Well-Fed E-PUB in June 2016, and was one I wanted to run as a blog post (with minor alterations) in order to get input from many voices. Got this note from a successful commercial writer recently: Another new … Read more
Great guest post from Matt Seidholz, a freelance healthcare content writer in Omaha, Nebraska. Hats off to Matt for having the courage to admit some of these classics, but I’m certain each of us have our own “Really??” stories from our early days that we’re not too proud of. But, we learn, correct and move on. Thanks, Matt! ******************* When I started commercial … Read more
The “APPETIZER” Series: The original version of this piece first appeared as an Appetizer course in The Well-Fed E-PUB in February 2017, and was one I wanted to run as a blog post (with minor alterations) in order to get input from many voices. A friend of mine recently sent around a pithy quote (source … Read more
The “APPETIZER” Series: The original version of this piece first appeared as an Appetizer course in The Well-Fed E-PUB in December 2015, and was one I wanted to run as a blog post (with minor alterations) in order to get input from many voices. So I’m on the phone a few weeks back with one … Read more
Apologies for the long hiatus from the blog. As many of you know, I went on an adventure for the first three months of this year (see the photo albums linked from the Appetizer course in the March issue of The Well-Fed E-PUB), and slowly getting back into the swing of things. Thanks for coming … Read more
Note: If this post has a familiar ring, there’s a reason for that: I ran it as an “Appetizer” course in The Well-Fed E-PUB this past September. It’s one of those topics that begs for other voices weighing in with their great follow-up stories. Look for similar re-purposed stories in the coming months. How important … Read more
Got this email from a reader in Canada a few weeks back: Writers in my market are noticing a trend towards clients hiring low-cost writers, mostly journalism students from the local college. Journalism has been pretty much wiped out here so there’s been a huge increase in these writers. We’ve also noticed several big clients … Read more