Are you familiar with the power of NO? Do you use that power in your client management strategy? Entire books have been written about how embracing the power of no can change your life. Learning when and how to say no can free up your time for what is truly important in your life. I want to state clearly that …
Running your own business (and if you are a freelancer you are running a business) is a multifaceted and complex process. You have to take care of logistics, financial issues, and marketing yourself so your clients/buyers can find you. Then what? Well, then you have to actually communicate with your clients. Client communication can make or break your business. You’ve probably heard …
Do you find writing a book an intimidating task? I did when I first started writing. Some days I still do! Blank pages seem to mock you or fill you with anxiety. You start and finish a few pages and then you decide you are unhappy with what you have written so you revise for hours. Those hours turn into …
You’ve done it! You’re holding your published book in hand. You (and possibly your ghostwriter) worked together, finished the book, and now you are ready to get it out to the world. But how do you promote your book? What comes next? Shout it from the rooftops! Book buying is a relationship activity, and you need a means to develop …
In my almost 20 years of editing and writing, one of the biggest problems I’ve seen my clients deal with is overwhelm. I had a moment of overwhelm this morning, and as I was going through my steps of resetting and moving forward, I thought you might deal with some overwhelm too. What does overwhelm look like? It’s when you have …
I was hot, sweaty, and tired of packing. Finding a story I’d written in college seemed like the perfect reason to take a break and focus on something else. The five pages were wrinkled, smudged with dirt, and ripped on the corner near the staple, but they represented something important. That paper was the first story I ever wrote that …
When you think about social media, is writing the first thing that comes to your mind? Probably not. Here are the top 5 answers I received when I asked people to tell me the first word or phrase that came into their minds when they heard “social media.” Relationships Keeping in Touch News Ideas/Inspiration Pictures While most of those answers …
I had a potential client, let’s call him Phil, come to me a few weeks ago about starting a blog to showcase his business expertise (I’m writing this with his permission). Phil knew he wanted to do a blog but wasn’t sure what he wanted his focus or tone to be, and he didn’t have an established “voice.” We scheduled …
I’m determined not to live an Instagram life. I seldom spend time on Instagram at all, other than the work I do for my clients. Why? Because while a picture is worth a thousand words, time and studies have shown that Instagram and other social media pictures are poor representations of reality. Perfection is a lie, and the pursuit of …
I received a project proposal the other day from a young man who wanted a writer for a research paper. That by itself isn’t an issue. I often help my clients with solid, well-researched writing. The issue was this: the young many was a student and he wanted me to write one of his college papers. He even let me …
