This is a heads up to all clients and potential clients, not-so-cleverly disguised as an informative blog post. I am raising my rates at the beginning of April by about 10%. This is both a cost-of-living raise and reflects my improving skill-set and specializations. If you are a current client – don’t fret, I’m not going to raise the price halfway through a project. Rates for future projects may be slightly higher, or not, depending on several factors. 

If you are a new potential client and would like to lock in a project at the current rates, then contact me now – I’ll be quoting based on current rates till the end of the month.

The rates charged for different freelance services vary drastically between individuals. What I charge $50 for, another writer might do for $10 and another for $120. While there are definitely market bands in freelancing, they are often more fluid than you realise, and it’s impossible to get a “standard rate” by which you can benchmark yourself.

That’s why it’s important for freelancers to consider raising their rates every year. You need to take a look at your business and figure out if you’re earning what you’re worth, whether your rate needs to go up, and by how much. The same goes from anyone in a non-freelance business – year-end time is coming up fast and it’s a good chance to assess your pricing and whether it’s time for a change.

Read On…

Guest Post by Lamer Cook

Working as a freelancer is a fantastic decision in our current era, and the value of freelance work seems to be on the rise. There’s a few clear reasons why freelancing skills can be better than many career options for millions of people, and many employers could even learn a thing or two from all this.

Reason One: Build an Immaculate Portfolio or Start a Business

Most employers these days are looking for individuals that already have experience. This creates a kind of “dead zone” for entry-level workers with marketable skills. They want to gain experience with the job, but they can’t get the job to gain experience. It’s an unfortunate catch-22, and contrary to popular belief, a college degree does not replace the desire for hands-on experience in the workplace. Businesses do not want to pay to train people any more than they have to, and this attitude is creating a shortage of trained individuals.

Read On…

Do you want to learn how to get your articles in print and online magazines?

• Maybe you want to be a writer, but you don’t know where to begin.

• Perhaps you’re a small business owner, and you want to brand yourself an expert in your niche.

• Or maybe you’re a creative soul who wants a fun way to earn a little extra money.

You’re not alone. I was in your position six years ago. I wanted to write. I’d just given up on my career as an archaeologist, and writing seemed like the most obvious choice for a backup. I knew I had the determination and skill to succeed, but I didn’t know where to begin.

I wanted to get paid to write, but I didn’t even know if this was possible, let alone how to get that first paycheck.

Now, I’ve had over 300 articles published in print and online magazines, including internationally-syndicated magazines with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. I’ve got writing clients in every corner of the globe. I’ve interviewed some of my heroes and learned from the best and brightest. I’ve endured all-nighters to meet deadlines and slogged through articles while I should really be getting the dinner on.

I’ve gone from a hobby writer to supporting my family through my writing. Even with the economy in tatters and publications downsizing left, right and centre, I’m still earning money and landing high-paying gigs. And I want to help you achieve the same writing success.

Writing transformed my life, and I’m willing to bet it will transform yours too.

So, do you want to:

• Publish craft articles and tutorials to promote your etsy shop?
• Write about what you love and want to earn money from your hobby?
• Build a platform to launch your business to the world?
• Create a unique brand that’s recognised within your niche?
• Gain a publishing deal and market your book successfully?
• Write with abandon, passion and joy?

Then you should check out my new guide – the Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing.

In The Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing, you’ll learn:

• A SEVEN-STEP method for Freelance Success. It’s easy to remember and implement, and works whatever industry you’re in.

• The SINGLE BIGGEST reason people fail as freelance writers, and how to avoid it.

• 50 writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing

• A step-by-step guide to conducting article research.

• Tips on how to create a market database.

• A handy query checklist to make sure you include all the information the editor needs.

• A breakdown of the copyright process for writers, including which rights to sell and which to keep.

• The ONE thing you must do before sending off an article. Not doing this thing is the difference between selling and not selling your writing.

• The TWO aspects of freelance writing that other courses WON’T tell you about. Knowing these will help you earn more.

• Plus Four Query Letter samples from my own collection.

The Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing doesn’t contain a list of writing “secrets” – it simply explains what I’ve done to make my writing career successful, and gives you easy-to-follow, actionable steps to do the same things. I also tell you what other people have done, and why that’s successful, and show you how to do those things, too.

I show you lots of different techniques, and give you the tools to implement and test them to figure out what works best for you. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution that works for every writer or business – no secret success formula that will get you those writing jobs every time, guaranteed. And if someone is trying to tell you there is, you have my permission to kick them in the shins.

With every section of the ebook, you’ll receive a list of activities to test your writing skills and set you up as a grymm & epic freelance writer.

Plus, there’s a FREE Bonus Guide

Because I love surprises, I include a FREE PDF of BONUS material with every copy of the Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing. I don’t tell you what’s in this PDF, because that spoils the surprise, but I will tell you the free PDF contains over 25 resources that will help you get started writing for magazines.

I’m excited to share all my knowledge and tips with you, and I want to read the fantastic blogs you write. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to start blogging!

The Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing is only US$11, or NZ$13 for New Zealand customers.

BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

NZ CUSTOMERS: BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

Why Small & Awesome?

My first ebook, the Grymm & Epic Guide to Blogging, was rather epic. This guide is Small & Awesome. Here’s why:

It’s SMALL because I wanted to give you a shorter guide to get you started on your writing journey. This way, you can focus on getting your first paid assignment without feeling overwhelmed by how much there still is to learn.

It’s AWESOME because I believe in giving you a valuable resource you can return to again and again, so I’ve packed this guide with more than 60 pages of tips, tricks and resources to help you land that paid writing gig. I don’t make anything up or steal it from someone else – all this advice is based on my own experiences as a paid freelance writer.

But What if The Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing sucks?

I’m pretty sure it doesn’t, but I’m assurred suckage is subjective, so you might well read the whole thing and decide it was a complete waste of money. That’s cool. I’m not gonna hold it against you.

I stand behind my products, sucky or not, so if you’re not satisfied with the Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing, I will give you a full refund. Every cent. And this guarantee lasts a lifetime. You can email me in ten years time and say “Hey Steff, I just realised, your guide is hopeless.” and I will give your money back, even if I’m a hobo and sleeping in a bucket. Although, if I’m sleeping in a bucket, I’m not sure how I’ve managed to access my email, but maybe by that time, it’s directly downloaded into my brain.

So, yeah. Lifetime guarantee. You can’t lose.

BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

NZ CUSTOMERS: BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

PS. There is some kind of “bloggers rule book” out there that says I need to add a PS. I wouldn’t do it, just to rock the system, but the truth is, I rather like PS’s – they’re like that extra bit of the movie that plays after the credits, but no one else sees it because they’ve all left, but I’m still looking for my shoe and my husband is tapping his food impatiently and then … yay! All the characters are eating pie. So I would just like to add that, unlike most ebooks about freelancing, the Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing has a picture of Cthulhu on the cover. If you need a more compelling reason to buy it than that, I can’t help you.

Any questions or comments, just contact me and I’ll talk you through.

BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

NZ CUSTOMERS: BUY FREELANCE WRITING GUIDE NOW

Sincerely
Steff

This week I accompanied 26 other sassy ladies in a post on Karen May Dy’s blog called 27 Hot Tips for Getting Your Digital Program Started. My tip is about asking questions and listening to the questions being asked by your audience, but I reckon you should hop over and check out the whole article, because there’s a ton of good tips in there.

Are you thinking of creating a digital training product like an ebook, ecourse, video, podcast or email course? That’s great! For many small businesses who operate on a blog-based website (like mine) these types of training programs can be a great way of creating royalty-based income alongside more. As a freelancer, you’re constantly trading hours worked for money earned, which means that you quickly reach an upper cap on the amount of money you’re able to make.

Creating training products enables you to add an additional income stream that you can sell long after you’ve finished the initial creation stage. I already have two products on Grymm & Epic – the Grymm & Epic Guide to Blogging and the Small & Awesome Guide to Freelance Writing – and I will soon be launching another – the Grymm & Epic Freelance Writing Course for People who Don’t Write Good (name change likely). I also sell a wedding planning ebook through my other site that does quite well indeed

Read On…