Writers’ Resources

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

I Want Your Stories of Social Contacts Leading to Paying Work…

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

Share Your “Here’s-How-I-Wowed-My-Client” Story…

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

How Long Did It Take You to Become a Profitable Commercial Writer?

So, I recently got the following email – similar to many I’ve gotten over the years from what I affectionately refer to as “shortcut-hunters.” Can’t blame them – we all want the path of least resistance as we build our commercial writing practices. He wrote: I have been working as a freelancer now for a … Read more

From What Background Did You Come to Commercial Freelancing?

One of the things I love about this field of ours is that there are few backgrounds one can’t leverage into a freelance commercial writing career. Over the years, I’ve crossed paths with commercial writers who started out as doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, engineers, bankers, software salesman, PR people, undertakers, farmers, accountants, scientists, and many … Read more

Instead of Just Sharing “What You Do” with Clients, Share “Who You Are”…

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

Take a Customer Service Lesson from this Amazing Company…

So, check this out… I few months back, I finally got around to returning a pair of sweatpants to Lands’ End that I’d bought a few years back to exchange for a new pair. They’d lost their elasticity in the waist, which made them droopy and draggy. And hey, when you’re a work-at-home commercial writer, … Read more