The Writing Base

5 Things to Consider When Negotiating a Deadline With Your Client

Samar Owais — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:03:14 +0000

Every freelancer has his or her own preferences when it comes to scheduling deadlines. Maybe you don’t want to work on the weekends so you never schedule deadlines on Mondays and Fridays. Maybe you prefer specific deadline days for specific clients. Or maybe you don’t schedule more than one deadline a day even if it [...]

The post 5 Things to Consider When Negotiating a Deadline With Your Client appeared first on The Writing Base.

5 Reasons Freelancers Accept Low-Paying Work And How To Break Free Of Them

Samar Owais — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:30:52 +0000

Low-paying work is a reality for many freelancers—and probably is or has been for you too. It certainly was mine for a long time. Come to think of it, I don’t know any freelancer who started out at the top of the freelancing pay scale. I do know plenty who started at the bottom though! [...]

The post 5 Reasons Freelancers Accept Low-Paying Work And How To Break Free Of Them appeared first on The Writing Base.

Why ‘Write Like You Talk’ is the Worst Writing Advice You’ll Ever Get

Samar Owais — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:00:30 +0000

For the longest time, I was scared to say that I thought writing like you talk was bad advice. I was the new, unknown kid on the block. What did I know? Then Men With Pens published Why You Should Never Write Like You Talk and I thought: Yes, exactly! Secure in the knowledge that [...]

The post Why ‘Write Like You Talk’ is the Worst Writing Advice You’ll Ever Get appeared first on The Writing Base.

How to Impress the Socks Off Your Client Before Writing a Single Word for Them

Samar Owais — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:03:14 +0000

Much as we’d like to be judged by the quality of our work alone, that’s not the only thing clients look for in a freelancer. Clients love or hate a freelancer based on his or her ability to impress them. To that effect, there are three rules of freelancing. Produce your best work, submit the [...]

The post How to Impress the Socks Off Your Client Before Writing a Single Word for Them appeared first on The Writing Base.

Why You’re Not ‘Just’ a Freelance Blogger

Samar Owais — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Here’s the thing. You’re not just a freelance blogger You’re also a content planner, proof reader, editor and in-house blog consultant. If you come up with your own topics to blog about for your client, find yourself proofing and editing work other than your own and explaining different aspects of blogging and blog related marketing [...]

The post Why You’re Not ‘Just’ a Freelance Blogger appeared first on The Writing Base.

3 Decisions That Can Make or Break Your Freelance Business

Samar Owais — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:03:06 +0000

Ever since I broke free from content mills, I’ve had a 3 sentence manifesto that has helped me set up my freelance writing business and get better paying clients. I have it taped to my desk, my dresser and even my bathroom mirror. Here’s what it says: I’m a writer I’m a bloody good writer [...]

The post 3 Decisions That Can Make or Break Your Freelance Business appeared first on The Writing Base.

4 Ways to Fire a Client without Burning Your Bridges

Samar Owais — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:39:03 +0000

If freelancing were a religion, firing a client would be considered blasphemy. But there comes a time in every freelancer’s life, when for the sake of her freelancing business (and sanity!), she must do exactly that. Maybe it’s the client who’s difficult or maybe it’s you who finds the work soul crushingly boring and want [...]

The post 4 Ways to Fire a Client without Burning Your Bridges appeared first on The Writing Base.

Email Course: Break Free From Content Mills – In Just 6 Weeks!

Samar Owais — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:44:16 +0000

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a freelance writer in possession of good writing skills will never be happy writing for content mills. (If the above sentence sounds familiar, it’s because I stole it from Jane Austen and… modified it Brownie points to whoever guesses which novel it’s from!) Writing for content mills [...]

The post Email Course: Break Free From Content Mills – In Just 6 Weeks! appeared first on The Writing Base.

3 Things Writing For Content Mills Teach You About Freelancing

Samar Owais — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:55:09 +0000

Content mills have been a topic of hot debate on almost every freelance writing blog I follow at one time or another. While I haven’t written about them here, I did guest post over at Make a Living Writing about it last year. What you might not know (unless you’ve read that post) is [...]

The post 3 Things Writing For Content Mills Teach You About Freelancing appeared first on The Writing Base.

About Writing Squared – The 5 Buck Forum

Samar Owais — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:39:56 +0000

A few months ago, I wrote a post for Hongkiat.com about the benefits of joining online forums. At the time I wrote that post, I was and had been part of quite a few forums with varying degrees of success. Ultimately though, I gave up on all of them. I tried free ones and paid [...]

The post About Writing Squared – The 5 Buck Forum appeared first on The Writing Base.