Eight tips from a long-time freelancer on how to diversify and build your practice, set rates and keep discovering new clients — It took more than a decade to build up a freelance practice that allowed me to freelance full-time. To be fair, I am, by nature, an overly cautious person, especially when it comes to money. …

Five action items and a dozen websites that will get you on the road to freelance writing right now — Start by getting paid to write what you know If you have a job right now, you know something about your job, industry, workplace, customers, or task that other people don’t know. That knowledge is power, and it might be able to translate to money if someone is willing to pay for it. For example, if you work in…

The trick to checking every obligation off your growing to-do list is starting with less, not more. — Writing 28,000 words in 28 days is no easy feat, but the fact that it’s not impossible makes it a great challenge for someone like me who needs to get more words on the page every day. Today is Day 2, Groundhog Day. For my 28 posts in 28 days…

A few things my imaginary friends and I have to teach you about trusting yourself, meditation and mindfulness — I’ve been a writer my whole life, since before I could read a word. I remember sitting on the floor of my room playing with my Little People toys, wishing I could have another “me” to play with so we could act out all the roles together. I didn’t want…

See what happens when you challenge yourself to write for just an hour a day in the dreary days of February — Join us in the quest to write 28,000 words, 28 pieces of flash fiction, or 28 posts this month. Whether your challenge is finding time to write or finding things to write about, the Coffeehouse Collective has your back. Joining a challenge can help build a habit, strengthen your skills…

Move past impostor syndrome, get your act together and live your dreams in 6 easy steps — I don’t know you, but I do know this: if you’re worried that people will think you’re a fraud, you probably aren’t. I also know this about you: You can do hard things. Achieving is hard. Finishing is hard. Heck, some days getting out of bed is hard. But you…

Keep this list on hand when you’re writing or editing to ensure you’re keeping these ten vital storytelling elements in mind and using them to their best advantage. — I’ve written more than 80 books for children and I’ve been a children’s book editor for several years. …

What I’ve learned from a career as a writer, editor and book-lover — “You’re a writer? I could never be that creative.” I hear a version of this phrase more often than I’d expect when I tell people I write children’s books for a living, yet it always takes me by surprise… and makes me feel kind of sad. As kids, we use…

Crafting antagonists, creating dramatic tension and finally writing that outline. In week one, we began with the ending in mind, focusing on the feeling you want to leave your readers with at the end of the story. In week two, we focused on crafting or discovering the main character of…