I did it! I filed my taxes for my first year of full-time freelancing, and it really wasn't so bad. When you freelance, you are a small business owner, and all the financial crap that comes with that is one of the most off-putting things about this career, at least for me. 2015's taxes weren't … Continue reading Filing Taxes as a Full-Time Freelancer
I've talked about pitching quite a bit on this blog—cold pitching and responding to project listings. However, I haven't talked much about what happens if your pitch gets a response, so I want to cover exactly what that looks like for book ghostwriting projects. (Not sure how to pitch? You may find these posts helpful: … Continue reading How to Craft a Ghostwriting Bid
Today's my birthday, so I want to do something a little more casual and talk about what I have found are the best and worst parts of working in my niche. If you're new to this blog (welcome!), I ghostwrite and copy edit books (for more detail about my niche and how I chose it, … Continue reading Pros and Cons of Working in Books as a Freelancer
What is Copy Editing? Copy editing is a bit of a gray area in the editing world. No one seems to agree 100% on what distinguishes it as the editing level/step between developmental editing (big picture edits) and proofreading (cosmetic edits). There has also been a decline in its use. Some newspapers have laid off … Continue reading Copy Editing Tips and Tricks
Last week, I broke down the Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing. I've also done a three-part series covering The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of print-on-demand publishing. So what's left and why should you care? There are two main branches of self-publishing still to discuss: true self-publishing and hiring a "vanity" publisher. While … Continue reading Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
I want to get down in the nitty-gritty details today and provide you with an answer to a question I asked myself a million times: how should I charge? Notice this is not "How much should I charge?" The answer to that question depends on a huge array of factors (your niche, your experience level, etc.). The … Continue reading How Should I Charge?: Setting Your Rates as a Freelancer
This is not going to be the most jaw-dropping income report you've ever seen. Not even close. But I wanted to start sharing my monthly income breakdown with you because I have found there is a serious lack of these reports for experts in my field. You can read income reports from freelance bloggers, journalists, … Continue reading How I Make Money Writing and Editing Books: Freelance Income Report January 2017
One of my goals for 2017 was to revamp my business site, and I'm happy to report that I've already done so. I finished the upgrades a few weeks ago, and the transformation is unreal. I probably don't have to tell you that the new one is on the right. Here's my about page. … Continue reading 5 Steps to Create a Stand-Out Freelancer Website
Two days ago, I was searching for "ghostwriter wanted" job listings and came across the blog/business website of a fellow ghostwriter. Curious, I read through the post. It was a narration of a phone call she'd had with a potential client. A woman had called to ask the cost of services. The ghost responded that … Continue reading How To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
If you've ever read any of my income reports, you've probably seen a screen shot from my FreshBooks dashboard, which looks a little something like this: FreshBooks is my accounting/invoicing software. The two income tracking charts displayed here are only a fraction of the conveniences FreshBooks offers. This company and their software make my life so … Continue reading Professional Invoicing and Financial Tracking for Freelancers: FreshBooks Review
