a website & community for women who write & blog
Over the past week or so, I’ve been posting a lot about freelance writing both here on this blog and on Instagram. Today someone on IG asked, “Exactly what is freelance writing?”
The person who asked said she thought it was a “dumb question” but it’s not AT ALL. In fact, I know people who have been writing for years who don’t fully understand what freelance writing is.
So, here’s a crash course in Freelance Writing 101.
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I want to tell you why I know you could succeed as a freelance writer.
But first, I want to tell you a story.
I should be broke right now.
In May of 2019, I quit my teaching job to be a full-time freelance writer and focus on growing See Jane Write. At first, everything was going well. I was getting writing gigs and speaking gigs and even landing opportunities to get paid to travel.
Then 2020 happened. Cancer happened. The COVID-19 pandemic happened.
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Believe it or not, learning how to look good on Zoom or any type of video call can actually help you as a freelance writer.
Knowing the right thing to wear when you’re interviewing sources for a story has always been tough. You want to be polished enough that you look professional and that you’re taken seriously. But you need to look relaxed enough that both you and the person you’re interviewing feel at ease.
Then the pandemic hit and in-person interviews were replaced with Zoom chats. The good news is now you don’t even have to bother putting on pants for interviews. The bad news is looking good on a webcam is even harder than looking good IRL!
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I recently had a chat with Laura Quick, founder of Good Grit magazine, about some freelance writing best practices. I’ve been writing for Good Grit for a couple of years now. But I wondered what advice she’d offer someone looking to write for her magazine for the first time.
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The caption beneath Betty Smith’s photo should read: “If consistency were a person.”
In 2018 Betty signed up for my coaching program because she wanted help with launching a blog. Each week I gave her tasks to do and each week she completed everything I asked her to do. Soon her site BettyHSmith.com was ready to go. And we had a launch party with her family and friends to celebrate.
Eventually, Betty joined the See Jane Write Collective and her consistency shines through as a member, too. She shows up for write-in sessions, critique sessions, group coaching sessions, and more — always eager to help out and encourage her fellow writers and bloggers.
Her consistency has helped her self-publish two books, post new content to her blog each week, and write personal essays.
And her consistency is why she’s the See Jane Write Member of the Month for November 2020.
Read on to learn more about Betty H. Smith!
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