Freelance Writing

Helpful Links

I know finding legitimate job leads can be difficult for a freelance writer. Even finding job leads in bulk can be difficult, if you don't know where to look. Below you'll find a few more links to the websites I visit on a daily basis, and that have helped me immensely throughout my budding career.

Deborah Ng's Writing Blog- Huge lists of freelance writing job leads daily, plus other freelance positions including graphic designers, web designers and a host of others. You'll definitely want to check it out.

Freelance Wurk Weblog- A site worth noting, you'll gain access to a variety of job and market listings, author interviews and a variety of information designed to help an aspiring writer get on the write track.

Screw You! Weblog - Fellow freelancer details her daily "Screw you" moments. A must-read for those downtimes, when you're procrastinating, or any time!

These sites may turn into some of your most invaluable resources on your path as a freelance writer. Let the owners of these sites know if they've helped you, and drop me a line or post a comment if you've come across a site I haven't listed here.

Regards,

Denise

posted by Denise @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

Writing Help

I recieve e-mails on a daily basis from people who'd like to know how to get started in the freelance business. While I don't have years and years of experience in the industry, I read everything I can get my hands on about freelance work and writing in general. I subscribe to several forums and message boards, and read through their posts daily to find new information, job links, etc. Throughout the years, there have been several websites I've visted on a regular basis that have served as the foundation for my writing career. Below, I share some of these invaluable resources with you in the hopes that they help you as much as they've helped me.

Craig's List - This website is a veritable wealth of information, linking to literally thousands of writing gigs worldwide. Many of my freelance opportunities have come from this website.

WAHM Message Boards - Possibly one of the largest Work at Home sites around, they have a forum dedicated specifically to freelance writers, with daily job leads, writing resources and plenty of people willing to lend a helping hand!

Golden Prose Tons of freelance writing jobs, updated on a regular basis. Definitely worth taking a look at.

These are but a few of the myriad of sites that have helped my writing career immensely. Look for this page to be updated in the coming days with even more great links. Please feel free to leave a comment, or send me links you feel would be pertinent.

posted by Denise @ 2:41 PM 0 comments

Monday morning comes too soon

If you're like most writers, you find yourself constantly having to work on something. As hard as I try to take the weekends off to spend time with my family, inevitably I end up sidling up to the computer, with the idea that "I'll only work on this piece for a half hour." Suddenly, it's 7:00, dinner's on the table and I'm left wondering where the time went. Does anyone else share this same phenomenon?

My relationship with writing is continually love/hate. I love writing for the freedom it gives me to set my own hours, but conversely I spend more time procrastinating on writing than anything else. Now, that's not to say I'm lazy. Far from it, actually. But how often have YOU swept the kitchen floor, did a load of laundry, or idled over a cup of coffee on your back patio in the morning before starting your work for the day? As much as I love my avocation, I can and will procrastinate in order to preserve my sanity.

I am but a humble writer, offering my take on how writer's react to their life's work. If you have any thoughts on the matter, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I welcome each and everyone of your opinions with open arms. Or in this case, open eyes.

posted by Denise @ 11:38 AM 0 comments

Of course, it has its perks

Most people when discovering what I do don't seem to fully grasp the concept of what a freelance writer's duties are. When I reveal I work from home, there's usually an audible gasp, followed by a "Well, if I worked from home I'd.... *insert pithy comment here*" If I fail to get the dishes done or vacuum the living room floor, most fail to understand why, if I work from home, the household duties are still falling to the wayside.

Here's the thing, people - working from home is still WORK. Yes, I have the freedom to set my own hours but that does not mean I can take a two hour extended lunch break to fix some arbitrary broken drawer or scrub out the sink with Comet. I work full-time as a freelancer, and as such I rarely have time to attend to all of the household duties in a single work day - much as it was when I worked 10:30 to 7 Monday through Friday, ensuring people's dry cleaning was located in the proper place.

Granted, I now have the opportunity to ditch the commute; forget about standing on my feet for 8 hours, now I get to sit on my ass and type away at a keyboard. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I wouldn't go back to working a dead-end, minimum wage job for anything. But I'm not Wonder Woman. So on the days where I've forgotten to take a shower, the dishes haven't been scrubbed, and my dog is looking at me with those sad eyes of his as if to say, "I'm hungry, feed me!!" well... I'll say, that's life, feed my dog at 8:00 at night, take a shower at 10 and forget about the dishes again until the next day. Or two. They aren't going anywhere.

posted by Denise @ 11:11 AM 0 comments