Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Avoid Writing Income Disasters with These Five Tips - Part Two

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These days, writers can make an unlimited income. If you set your mind to it, you can make as much income as you choose. Many writers are earning six figures. You can too, as long as you avoid common writing income disasters.

In the first part of our article, we discussed three of the most common disasters:

1. Not asking for a retainer

If you don't ask for a retainer of at least 50 per cent, you have no way of knowing whether or not a client is genuine, or whether he's a scammer.

2. No writing services agreement

Without a writing services agreement, you're in a very bad place.

3. Procrastination

When it's time to write, write. The more you write, the more you earn.

You can read about the above three disasters in detail in Part One of this article.

Now let's focus on the other two most common disasters I see.

4. Writing for low pay

Assuming you have some writing credits (in other words, someone, somewhere, sometime has paid you for your writing), you can charge appropriately.

Writing for higher pay is actually easier than writing for low pay, and here's why: clients who pay you appropriately know their business and they know the value of writing. They're successful, so they want the best writers.

Many writers start their writing career on the out-sourcing sites. Now, while I have nothing against these sites, once you have a couple of writing credits it's time to get away from those sites, and FAST.

Why? Because of the "rush to the bottom" mentality that abounds on these sites. The writers on these sites use them inappropriately - they want to win projects by under-bidding each other. They've never learned any marketing skills.

Nobody wins when writers do this. Not the writers and definitely not the clients.

The writers don't win because they're forced into writing like battery hens are forced into laying eggs. They write so much the quality suffers. They have no time to get out of the writing ghetto and look for better writing jobs. They have no time for self-promotion, which would ensure that they get better writing jobs.

The clients don't win because sub-standard writing ensures that their projects are sub-standard.

Now let's look at the next writing disaster.

5. Forgetting to promote yourself

Writers need to learn self-promotion, and then they need to promote themselves.

Want to know the easiest way to spot a newbie writer? OK. Here it is: the newbie writer creates a name for their writing "business", like "The Write Standard", or "Writing Wonder Words" or "Just a Another Writer" or whatever... Please note that all these names are fictional, as far as I'm aware. I made them up; I certainly hope that no one's using them - if anyone is, I'm sorry, because I'm not referring to you specifically.

Big, big tip: a professional writer uses his or her own name ONLY. They realize that promoting anything is hard work, so they might as well turn their own name into a brand, rather than creating a ditzy name for their business.

Use your own name. It helps you to build your credits. Editors, publishers and clients will remember your name, so use it.

Please avoid all five writing disasters, now you know what they are. When you treat your writing with the respect it deserves, you will make an income beyond your dreams, and you'll richly deserve it too.

Recession-proof your freelance writing career

"Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process" gives you all the tools you need for a thriving writing career, no matter what the economic climate.

Three weeks after completing the class one student wrote:

"Thanks Angela, for all your help and advice in class. I'm quitting my job next week. I printed out my letter of resignation tonight after landing a contract writing job that will pay me more for three months part-time work than I earned in from my day job in the whole of 2007! You were right – the great gigs are out there, and now I've got the skills to land them. Your class opened my eyes. Bless you…"

"Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process" shows you how to thrive as a freelance writer. Would you like to write five times more than you're writing now, and sell to higher-paying markets? Take the class.

Avoid Writing Income Disasters with These Five Tips - Part One

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There's never been a better time to be a writer. You've got the potential of earning an unlimited income. Writing jobs abound, on the Web and off it.

However, some writers manage to cripple their income, both by not understanding all the opportunities which are available, and by not understanding that their writing skills deserve to be well-recompensed.

So let's look at five writing income disasters, and how you can avoid them.

1. Not asking for a retainer

Sadly this disaster is very, very common, especially for writers who are used to writing for magazines and newspapers.

If you don't have a regular gig writing for them, magazines and newspapers are lousy markets. After they cherry pick your proposals and you get a commission, they take their time paying you. They pay on acceptance or on publication, but they don't pay a retainer.

They train writers to wait for their money, and it cripples writers when they write for businesses or for the Web. They fail to understand that they must get a retainer.

A retainer is standard, it's vital, and if you don't ask for it you have no way of knowing whether you're dealing with a genuine client, or with someone who's out to scam you.

So get a retainer of at least 50 per cent of your fee. On long projects, your writing services agreement should include payment milestones - weekly, monthly, or as the project progresses.

You send an invoice for your retainer when you send your writing services agreement. Don't start writing, until you've got the retainer payment.

2. No writing services agreement

This is the second most common writing disaster I see.

You must have a writing services agreement, and you must state your payment and delivery services clearly in the agreement.

The project as you understand it forms the main part of the agreement. Please don't copy and paste into the agreement from the project brief. Rewrite the brief in bullet points and in your own words, as YOU understand it.

Rewriting the brief in your own words will not only clarify your thinking about the project, it also means that you will ask more questions of the client so that you understand completely what's required of you.

3. Procrastination

The more you write, the more income you make. Procrastination is a writing income disaster - and it's easily avoided.

Here's how. Make a commitment to write when you're at your computer. Write! Don't "research" (surf the Web), or dither. Decide that when you're sitting at your computer, you'll write. You can Web surf after all your writing for the day is done.

When you commit to a writing project, and have received your retainer, your speed of delivery is paramount. Your clients expect speed, but 90 per cent of the time their expectations are dashed.

Therefore when you fail to meet a deadline, not only do you guarantee that your current client won't send you further projects, you also poison the pool for other writers he may consider hiring.

So please, meet your deadlines. All it takes it commitment.

Watch for Part Two of this article, in which we'll cover other writing income disasters. If you avoid all five disasters, your writing income will soar.

Write more - the key to your writing success

Yes, you can write more - even if you're a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them - they're not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, "Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process" is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you're struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you'll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

Boost your writing income: write and sell ebooks online

If you're a confident writer, you should explore writing and selling your own ebooks.

Information sells online. People are used to getting the information they want instantly; they don't want to wait for it, and ebooks are the ultimate in instant gratification.

I've just posted "The Fast Way to Write Hot-Selling Ebooks - in Four Steps" on Writing Hacker - you can get started writing ebooks very easily.

Of course writing your ebook is just the start: you need a way to sell it.

That's why writing and selling ebooks isn't covered until the sixth month of the Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) training. I want SYWON subscribers to have a complete structure in place, so that they can sell anything they like on their various Web properties, including ebooks.

(BTW, if you're not subscribed to SWYON yet, the charter subscription offer for SYWON is closing on Tuesday March 18.)

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The Truth about Selling your Writing Services Online

The Web offers unlimited opportunities for writers to make money from their writing skills. You can create and write blogs, sell articles, sell reviews and much more. It's just a matter of getting started and following the simple process I'll outline for you in this article.

Not a writer? Of course you are. If you've been writing email messages and reports for your day job, you qualify as a writer. A writer is just someone who writes.

So let's look at the truth about selling your writing services online. Here it is in a nutshell: you must have something to sell, and you must have a Web site at which you promote your writing services.

Let's look at this in four easy steps:

1. You must have a Web site to sell your writing services

If your eyes are rolling up in your head at the scary thought of creating a Web site, relax. There's nothing scary about creating a blog on Blogger, for example. (Do a Google search for Blogger if you're not familiar.) A blog is a Web site, and if you can write an email message, or use a word processor, you've got all the skills you need to set up a blog on Blogger.

2. Create samples so prospects can see the type of writing services you offer

Your next step is to decide what writing services you'll offer. As stated, you can write articles and reviews, and these are easy options for you to get your feet wet.

Write a couple of articles and reviews, and post them on Blogger as your writing samples. Your samples should be around 400 words - there's no need to write long screeds: Web writing tends to be shorter than print writing.

You can also add a "Hire me to write for you" note in the sidebar. This alerts people that you're open to taking on writing jobs.

3. Add a way for people to contact you on your site

I'm constantly amazed at the number of writers for hire who'll set up elegant sites and blogs, but totally neglect to mention that they're available to write for others. Worse, even if a potential customer was psychic, and worked out that this writer was available, there's no way for the customer to make contact.

Add your email address to your site's sidebar, and create a "About" page, with a small bio. Add your email address to the bio, too.

When you're offering your writing services, you must make it as easy as possible for people to both know exactly what you want them to do, and then for them to do it.

Writers are in high demand online, and you'll be amazed at the numbers of clients who contact you when you make it easy for them to do so.

4. Finally, advertise and promote your site

Your final step in selling your writing services online is to advertise and promote your site. There are endless options for self-promotion online. One of the easiest ways is to advertise on Craigslist, because it's popular and free.

So that's the truth about selling your writing services online: you must have something to sell, and your Web site is the venue at which you sell it.

Discover the world of Web writing - make a great income writing from home, or from anywhere

Sell Your Writing Online NOW

There's great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.

Join the Web writing gold rush with Angela Booth's comprehensive training: "Sell Your Writing Online Now".

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Write These Easy Articles To Make Money From Home

Everyone needs extra money and if you've got a computer, you can make money writing articles from home.

Consider advertising on craigslist to sell your articles, or offer your article writing services to Web sites, or collect a package of your articles and sell them on the many Web marketing forums online.

If you can write an email message, you can write these article types:

1.  The Teaching article: how to do something

What have you learned how to do? Perhaps you've learned how to take digital photographs of your baby; or how to paint your house; or how to create a household budget. Whatever you've learned to do, you can teach others.

Teaching articles explain the process of doing something in detail.

2. You bought it, now Review it - write review articles

Whether you've bought a takeaway meal, or a car - any purchase, small or large, gives you the opportunity to write one or many review articles. Just be honest in your reviews.

3. Self-help and motivational articles are fun to write

There's a huge self-help industry, and many self-help sites are eager for your motivational articles. Share with others how you lost weight, or increased your productivity, or conquered an addiction.

4. List articles are easy to write and sell

You can compile list articles about anything which interests you. An easy way to write them is just to write down a list of everything you know about a particular topic. Then chop your long list into "top five tips" or "top seven tips."

5. "Survivor" articles show others how to survive challenges

With Survivor articles you tell others how you met a challenge. The challenge can be small, or large. For example, perhaps you cured yourself of procrastination, or survived redundancy.

If you've survived a serious challenge, such as a major illness, you're now an expert. Share what you learned with others to inspire them.

The above five article types are easy to write, and they're popular too. So get started making money writing articles today.

Want more easy ways to make money from home by writing articles? Subscribe to Sell Your Writing Online NOW - the first month is devoted to showing you how to make great money writing articles.

Discover the world of Web writing - make a great income writing from home, or from anywhere

Sell Your Writing Online NOW

There's great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.

Join the Web writing gold rush with Angela Booth's comprehensive training: "Sell Your Writing Online Now".

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Fast-start to online writing success - write, get paid

Want to write for money? You can. Right now. Today.

There are millions of Web sites online, and hundreds of thousands of them buy content (text), often in the form of articles.

You don't have to be a literary genius to write these articles, in fact it's much better if you're not. :-)

How much can you charge?

You can start off by charging $10 for a 400 word article. Some sites will pay you $20. Once you've got some buyers, you can sell many articles every day of the week.

As your skills improve, you can raise your rates and can begin creating Private Label Rights content.

With unlimited opportunities to parlay your writing skills into money in the online world, what are you waiting for?

Discover the world of Web writing - make a great income writing from home, or from anywhere

Sell Your Writing Online NOW
There's great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.
Join the Web writing gold rush with Angela Booth's comprehensive training: "Sell Your Writing Online Now".

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Making money online by writing

I've just posted "Four Steps to Making Money online Writing Articles" at Writing Hacker.

Here's an excerpt:

If you can write articles, you can make a great income online. The demand for competent, reliable article writers far exceeds the supply.

Writing articles for the online environment is easy. You essentially need a topic, a major slant to the topic, several points you want to make, and an introduction and conclusion.

With your topic in mind, write a headline (article title); an introduction; then cover your points in the article body and write a conclusion. Since online articles are usually somewhere between 200 and 600 words, writing an article doesn't take long: these are not print-style articles, they're casual articles which can be skimmed, and from which readers can pick up a few nuggets of knowledge or entertainment.

Read the rest...

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This week on my blogs - ebooks, get copywriting clients and blogging

As you may know, I have several other writing blogs, dedicated to specific areas of writing.

This week the bulk of my email has been about ebooks, how to get copywriting clients, and blogging, so here are links this week's posts which will answer your questions:

* Marketing Your Way to Ebook Success

Did you know that for a top-selling ebook, you need to start your marketing as you write your ebook? Ebooks are hot news for Web writers; you can make a mint writing ebooks, but there's more to ebook success than writing.

* Copywriting: get copywriting clients and start your new career

I've outlined the easy steps you can take to develop a great copywriting career. It all starts with your first client...

* Blogging: essential for freelance writers

In this post, I dispel the "a blog is an online journal" and reveal why blogging is essential to your writing career.

* Your 2008 Blog Marketing Plan - plan for success

I write for Blogging Tips each week, and this week's article helps you to create a marketing plan for your blog.

BTW, if you're looking for the latest information on writing skills, check out Writing Hacker, my new site devoted to writing skills.

Technorati Tags: blog how-to, blog tools, blog your writing, blogs, ebook

Web writing series - make money writing for the Web

Interested in blogging? I've just posted Web writing: How you can make money writing blogs on my new Writing Hacker site:

For freelance writers, blogging is one of the easiest ways to make money writing. Essentially, blogging involves writing snippets - short articles, anywhere from 50 to 800 words in length, several times a week.

Read the article.

Making money from your writing skills

I've had a couple of queries this week from people who write in their day jobs, wondering how to start writing for money.

(This is a common query, so I've created a new site, Start Writing For Money, just for brand new writers.)

So, if you're writing in your day job, how do you start writing for money?

Start by thinking about the skills you have.

What skills can you capitalize on?

What kinds of writing are you doing already? If you're writing advertising, brochures and other marketing collateral, you've got a leg up on the world of copywriting.

Copywriting is huge fun, as well as being lucrative. Read my "seven days copywriting" package; it's a very good deal, since it includes coaching (for which I usually charge $300 an hour.)

If you don't feel that copywriting is a good fit for you, you can blog as a starting option. Essentially, blogging involves writing short articles, of some 200 to 600 words, on a particular topic.

Blogging - the easy option

It's no secret I LOVE blogging. :-) I started blogging around 2002, before Google purchased Blogger. Those early blogs are lost in the digital mists - my early Blogger and LiveJournal blogs were unwieldy beasts; the blogging technology in those early days wasn't as good as it is now.

This blog is my primary, oldest blog. It's on TypePad, which I recommend for new bloggers if you want a platform which is highly customizable, extremely reliable, and easy to use.

The thing about blogging which makes it so useful for new writers is that it forces you to write, and in writing, you'll discover what's easiest for you, and what you most enjoy writing.

So if you're not sure about how to make money writing, start with a blog. You can monetize your blog(s) in many ways. I tell you how in my Blogging for Dollars package.

A word of warning - beware low-paying writing gigs

The Web has a voracious appetite for words. This means that it's infested with sites which want you to write for free, or for extremely low pay, which is worse than writing for free, because it's such an insult.

Now, there are times you write for "free" so to speak, as I do on this blog and on my other blogs. However, since it's writing for promotion for my ebooks, and I save money on advertising, it's not really writing for free at all.

Please do not write for free when you have no reason to do so. There are unlimited writing opportunities online for GOOD pay, and you need to go after those.

There's a lot more I could say about writing for the Web for good payment, I say most of it in my Writing for the Web ebook, and on my Fab Web Writer blog.

If you want to start writing for money, you can. You'll find that if you're keen, you can drop your boring day job quickly, and start living a much easier  life. Read my Fab Freelance Writing Ezine, which is devoted to helping writers to write full time, and earn a great income.

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