Writing-Resource

Effective Freelance Writing

I am not strictly ‘a morning person’. I prefer to do my Freelance Writing work late into the night and get up as late as possible. Nevertheless, the late night part of my writing schedule is about organisation and structure of my written content, plus marketing. Because, despite having a heavy head in the mornings, that is the time I get my best writing ideas.

Are you like me: someone who wakes up with a head full of written content? I know that sounds strange (and it could well be down to working on my freelance writing projects just before I go to bed), but this works for me. I hastily grab pen and paper and sit with my morning coffee, jotting down everything which comes into my head. As I write notes, more ideas appear. They may be disorganised, but I can deal with that later, when I am fully awake.

Much later in the day, when I am more alert, I organise my notes according to projects and type up the articles for clients, or for blogs and email posts.

In the morning I am a creative person and later in the day I become an organised one, because I work according to my body’s rythms.

My partner, on the other hand, is not a ‘morning person’ in any sense of the word. His brain does not appear to function much at all until he has had at least two cups of coffee and some cigarettes. As to writing, he can hardly produce a single word (written or spoken) until he is fully awake. But come the evening, he is busy typing up all his freelance writing work and his ideas flow at the same time as he organises them.

Two different patterns of writing, but they both work, because we know what works best for us.

As a freelance writer, it is very important to know when you are at your most creative and when you are at your most organised. This way you will type your best written copy and be much more productive. There is no point in working against your body’s natural rythm. It will burn you out and your writing will not be as effective as it could be.

So think about this, the next time you type that copy. Have you found your best time to write?

How To Generate An Extra Freelance Writing Income With Ebooks

The posts at Writing-Resource have been delayed again. This time because of a sad loss which affected several of us here. I apologise for this, especially after my recent post asking Can You Deliver As A Freelance Writer? It seems that I could not. But there are some times when you simply cannot produce written copy, even when you are a professional Freelance Writer, so please accept those apologies.

What I have been doing in preparation for writing again, is browsing the web trying to generate that ‘writing spark’ and I found it in an unexpected place - a guest post on ProBlogger, about Writing and Publishing Ebooks.

In fact, as the author, Mary Jaksch, says, this is The Comprehensive Paint-by-numbers Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Ebook and she should know as she is a successful author, with a wonderful ebook called From Tragedy To Triumph which I highly recommend.

But “Ebooks?” I hear you say. “I want to be a copywriter and produce great written content for websites, magazines and commercial advertisers. I would like to write a book and have it published in hardback, but ebooks? Will I really make a living as a freelance writer this way?”

Yes you can. And the successful freelance writer will produce written copy for all sources, if they want to make a living from their writing skills.

If, like me, you write a great deal, you can easily make an ebook, either to promote your freelance writing site, or to give as a ‘freebie’ to your email subscribers, or of course to sell.

People who enjoy writing always have a pen in hand and some paper ready. They write about anything which takes their fancy. They usually have no choice. If something produces that ‘writer’s spark’, then they have to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. Often writers will have reams of hastily scribbled notes and they wonder if they will ever be able to use them.

So why not use all that unique written copy to publish some ebooks?

As Mary Jaksch says, once you get going, it isn’t that difficult.

I have a host of those hastily scribbled notes and files, on a wide range of subjects, including the internet, health, self-help, travel and, of course, writing, and I am going to put them to good use. All I have to do is organise that unique written copy in a coherent fashion and produce some well-written ebooks on those subjects.

With the correct marketing, those ebooks should make me a nice extra income and once the books are written, published and marketed, this is latent income - no extra work involved!

Thanks Mary, for that excellent post. You have shown me another outlet for my written content. All freelance writers have to be open to using their writing skills in every area possible, if they really want to make a living from writing, and I intend to keep on doing that. So just wait, those ebooks will be published any day now.

You may even see one of them advertised on Writing-Resource. Who knows?