Got the following note from a reader and fellow commercial freelancer: I wrote a website recently in which I dropped the reader right into the environment of the business and took them on a tour of the facility, while describing their experience of the place. Nice flow, lots of mental imagery, etc., if I do … Read more
PB Note: Gordon Graham is the reigning guru of white papers, and he sent me this great overview of the craft (and its exceptionally promising potential). Seriously consider picking up his brand-new new book, “White Papers for Dummies,” an excellent soup-to-nuts primer that’s been called a “must-read that contains priceless information you just can’t find … Read more
I went to a networking function recently, and struck up a conversation with a middle-aged gentleman who’d recently moved to Atlanta from Minneapolis. He offered event-production services including light/sound design, DJ’ing, and more. Since his business often involved subcontracting—especially his DJ business—we got to talking about his experiences hiring people in Atlanta versus the upper … Read more
PB Note: Great guest post from freelance medical writer and author Laurie Lewis. I must confess, I have been less than rigorous in always keeping track of my time. But, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that getting a handle on exactly how your time gets split up between different project-related tasks could … Read more
Recently, high-profile house Simon & Schuster, Inc. launched a “self-publishing division,” partnering with the true Dark Star mother ship of POD (print-on-demand) companies, Author Solutions (AS). Not familiar with AS? A few years back, four members of the “rogues gallery” of POD companies—AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris— joined together to form AS. And Penguin actually bought … Read more
So, I’ve been working on an interesting commercial freelancing project lately, one that doesn’t fit the typical list I (and others) rattle off to explain the kinds of things we commercial writers do: “marketing brochures, ad copy, newsletters, web content, direct mail, case studies, etc.” Here’s the deal… Every year, a group of folks from … Read more
I make my thoughts on editing no secret. Self-edits have their place — initial rewrites, shorter information products that need a very quick turnaround, etc. But for most indie publishers there’s no good excuse to release your work without it crossing the desk of a professional editor. Even more than that, I’m a strong believer … Read more
Great guest post from fellow commercial freelancer (and fellow Atlantan), Don Sadler. Don’s carved out quite a lucrative niche in his area of specialty, and how it all came about is a good story. I hope it can serve as a good discussion catalyst, and can spur others who’ve either been there as well (or … Read more
I’ve been keeping an eye on a recent trend in the indie publishing community — paid reviews (and family/friends reviews) and the controversy surrounding them. But I fail to see why it’s such a hot topic. On one hand, when I see people asking the question of whether or not it’s okay for authors to … Read more
In the last post, erstwhile copywriter/now graphic designer, Mike Klassen, on whom I can always depend for wisdom, shared this comment: When I started out, I hated the thought of losing any potential copywriting client. Now, I do little things to weed out the potential problem clients. One thing I will no longer do is … Read more