Entries from May 2008 ↓

Wow.

I’ve got to say that, if I’d have known where this project would take me, I probably wouldn’t have promised to give you all The Helium Report free.  What I thought would be a 10-page/2,000 word document quickly became a 30-page/5,500 word document!  As I went along, I realized there was more and more great information I wanted to share with you all.

But, honestly, I’m OK with it.  I’m a man of my word.  You can get The Helium Report today, free as promised.  If you find it useful, I’ve included a PayPal donation button on the download page.  Feel free to use it

Be sure to download your copy today.  I will likely begin charging for the report no sooner than May 30, 2008.

Here is the link:

http://www.writing-journey.com/the-helium-report

Enjoy, pass it around, and let me know what you think!

Hi folks.  Happy Niebuday!

Just wanted to give you an update on the Helium Report.  I’m putting the finishing touches on the report today, and will post it late tonight or, more likely, some time tomorrow.  I’ve discovered that I have a lot more to say about Helium than I thought at first.  The word count is over 5,000 at this point!  I’m thrilled to be passing along so much good info.

While you’re waiting, make sure to check out a couple of my favorite posts from the last few days.  Some are useful, some not so much.  I’ll let you decide which are which:

A Mother’s Gratitude

Should You Specialize in Website Content?

Why PoeWar?

Chris Brogan: est Social Media Advice From This Site

How to Get More Freelancing Work from Your Writing

I Am Not Useful. (And Why You Should Be Cool With That)

Should You Tattle On A Bad Client?

5 Tips to Grow Your Twitter Presence

How To Stop Regretting The Past And Start Building Your Future

Are You Cut Out for Freelance Writing?

Have an awesome day, folks!

I have to admit, I occasionally worry about referring folks to Helium.  After all, the fact that I’ve had amazing success with it doesn’t mean that everyone will.  It’s not that I think I’m that good of a writer, but I’m much better putting my word behind something that won’t change (like the Freelance Rockstar eBook I recommended earlier in the week) than something that I can’t control, like Helium.

The results of this weeks contests, however, have made it worth it, and reminded me why it is I am comfortable recommending Helium.  One of my readers and my good friend Kameron won first place in one of the Helium contests this week.  Good form, Kam!

For myself, I only entered one contest, and placed 3rd.  This week could be especially fun, as there’s a “Writing Online” category.  I’m going to try that one, and It’ll be cool going up against some of the best and brightest and Helium (and maybe some of you!)

I have to say that the one area I’m most interested in right now on Helium is the marketplace.  I’m trying to score you all an interview with one of the big marketplace writers, and hope to post it next week, but we shall see.

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If you missed it earlier in the week, make sure to check out Eight Violent Truths About Freelancing - Part 1 and Eight Violent Truths About Freelancing - Part 2 over at Freelance Folder.

Enjoy your Friday evening, all!

Overview

For months now, I’ve seen the button and banner ads for How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer.  To be honest, I assumed that I really didn’t need the book.  The fact is, I was (and still am) already wildly successful in my freelance career.  While I love reading Freelance Switch as much as anyone, I assumed that the book would be must a re-hashing of what I’d already read there and elsewhere. But, curiosity finally got the best of me, so I decided to check it out.  Here are my thoughts, for what they’re worth.

For Experienced Freelancers

In many ways, I was right.  How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer didn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know from five years in the field.  It did, however, reminded me of some of the basic lessons I’ve learned in that five years.  I can’t say I’d recommend How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer to anyone who’s been at the Freelance business for more than a year or two (unless your business is in the tank, in which case you might give it a read).  If you’re already a successful freelancer, it is a good read and a pleasant reminder of the basics, but your $30 would probably be better spent elsewhere.

For New Freelancers

If you’re just getting started out as a freelancer, How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer will give you more than what you need to jump-start your freelancing career.  If I had this book when I first started freelancing, I probably could have saved a good year’s worth of headaches, and would be a full year closer to realizing my ultimate dream of writing solely for myself.  If you haven’t yet taken the freelancing plunge, How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer can help provide you with an accurate picture of the field and the lifestyle so that you can decide if it’s for you.

From practical issues like setting up your workspace to big ideas like branding, the folks at Freelance Switch offer up a ton of useful information.  There’s information about how to figure your hourly rates, how to increase your rates over time, getting leads, managing clients, marketing, and subcontracting. 

 What’s Not There

I’d like to have seen more Information on Internet-specific writing and marketing.  How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer is probably just slightly more useful for the print freelancer than the Internet freelancer, although both can benefit.  To be sure, Internet writing is my thing, so I’m partial to seeing this sort of content.

Where It Excels

How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer is awesome at providing the basic principles from which you must operate to be successful as a freelancer.  What How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer lacks in tactics and small-picture questions (although there is quite a bit of minutia there) it more than makes up for in strategy and big-picture ideas.

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Overall, I give it a 9.5/10 for new freelancers, and a 7/10 for those who’ve been at it for more than a couple of years. Oh, and yes, by way of disclosure, it’s an affiliate link. You buy it, I get a pittance

Click here to check it out!

I want to take a minute to thank a commenter on the blog by the name of “Andy the Expat.”  Andy the Expat left this little gem of a comment on one of my Helium posts:

Call yourself a writer? You sound more like a second hand car salesmen. Get a life

Now, I admit it:  At first, I changed his comment to: “Great advice, I chek it out. I lik u write guy.”  Realizing that was probably not appropriate behavior, I marked it as spam and went on. 

Today, though, it dawned on me: Andy just gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about something near and dear to my heart, and an important part of the freelance writer’s life: sales.

The thing is this: while good writing matters, it isn’t the only thing you need to succeed as a freelance writer. You have to be able to make a living from your writing, and an important part of that process is selling your writing. That’s why just about any freelance writer’s blog has a “services” page (or pages): they want to make a living from their writing.

Now, some folks like Andy automatically bristle when they think about sales. They think about the “second hand car salesman” stereotype we’ve all heard about.  They picture a balding, rotund and mustachioed man in his late 40s wearing a plaid leisure suit trying to get them to buy a broken-down lemon. In short, they think Danny Devito’s character from Matilda.

Some folks like Andy have a different view of a writer.  A writer is someone who sits around being inspired. He gives his writing to the world to enjoy, out of the kindness of his heart, and he asks nothing in return. In short, they think Michael Caine’s character from The Quiet American.

But Andy’s stereotypes are plain wrong, about writers and about salesmen. Writers and salesmen have a lot in common.  Both writers and salesmen are honest folk. Sure, there are some dishonest salesmen. Heck, even Hasbro can be misleading in their marketing. But most people in sales, and most freelance writers, aren’t dishonest. They believe in their product, and they stand behind it. They are willing to let potential clients take their product for a spin, to see how it feels. They are willing to haggle a little bit on their pricing. And, at the end of the day, writers and salesmen both go home, kiss their wives and play Monopoly with their kids. Both writers and salesmen go to sleep, believing that they have made the world a little bit better by providing someone with something they desperately needed.

I don’t think Andy will be back here, but that’s all right. There are plenty of wonderful folks reading my blog, and most of you get it already. Many of you already make your living writing, and others want to, and you all realize that sales is an integral and even enjoyable part of the bigger picture.

Next time you hear someone talk about a “second-hand car salesman,” make sure to tell them about Andy the Expat.

Photo by KB35