At the beginning of the year, we tend to set our freelance writing goals, or resolutions. But sometimes we take a set it and forget it approach. Now that we’re in July, we’re a bit more than half-way through the year. I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the progress we’ve all made so far.

Take a look at some of your goals set at the beginning of the year, and see how you’re doing. Here are mine:

• I want to flip at least 6 sites. (Probably not going to happen. I flipped 2-3 early, and have a few others built and sitting until I’m ready to flip them, but I’ll likely wait until they’re earning a bit more to get a better price, rather than the originally-planned quick-flips.)
• I want to finish drafting at least one of my outlined novels. (I’m not sure about this one. I got about 11,000 words into the first draft, but I’m not really happy with it. This is the novel I outlined in 2004, and let sit because I was torn between whether it would be a better novel or screenplay. Frankly, it seems more screen-worthy than appropriate for a book. I’ll finish pursuing that story one way or the other this year – it may just not be in novel form. If I do go the screenplay route, I’ll likely finish that and then start on one of the other novel outlines – putting together a first draft. But I don’t expect to finish it, since I’m focused on the nonfiction book for The Query-Free Freelancer and my e-book series right now).
• I want to get AllBookMarketing.com on a regular posting schedule, even if just once per week. (I actually opted to merge that site into All Freelance Writing instead.)
• I want to get back on posting to AllBookWriting.com about my books and e-books-in-progress. I didn’t post enough there during my e-book process. (This was also merged into AFW. Most of my book writing talk for now will focus on QueryFreeFreelancer.com, because it ties in nicely to the book there and writing books is a part of platform-building, although any references to fictional work will likely stay here.)
• I want to launch at least two more Web Writer’s Guide E-books after I settle my marketing on the first one. (A part of me wants to say I’ll likely only get one more published, but it’s possible I’ll hit two. The marketing e-book is a bit delayed, but will be out soon enough. The next will probably be a shorter, more specialized one, so it is indeed possible that it will launch by year’s end.)
• I want to get published with my byline in at least one print publication. (Frankly, while I’d still like to do this, it’s just not a huge concern of mine right now. And with the push on QueryFreeFreelancer.com, querying publications just for the sake of meeting this goal would seem hypocritical. So if an opportunity presents itself, great. If not, I’m not too worried about it.)
• I want to finish eLearn101.com, build some traffic and revenue, and then sell it. (This is a tougher one. I’m not pursuing the directory there anymore. That’s what I know for certain. I have considered moving FreeOnlineCourses.info to the elearn101.com domain (monitizes well as it is, but I’d probably be able to build more traffic and income with the more brandable domain, either to keep it for the income or to sell it. It’s just not going to be a priority for a while, so might be a 2010 project when I’m doing my own sites full-time.)
• My big goal for the year (and one I know will be a struggle to achieve) is to move from full-time freelance writing to full-time income from my blogs, e-books, etc. (writing “for myself”), with just part-time client work by the end of the year. (I am very happy to say that progress towards this goal is moving along very nicely. Next year, client work will be a part-time income source, while the bulk of my earnings should be coming from my sites, blogs, e-books, and hopefully the QFF book. I’m quite excited about that prospect, I’m thrilled at how some of the sites have progressed this year so far – more about that below.)
• And of course, I want to see my overall income keep climbing year over year. (This goal will absolutely be met.)
  
• I desperately need to finally get a new accounting and filing system setup to help me with my always-messy records and such. (And this goal probably WON’T be met! lol)

So there you have it — my goals published here early in the year, and how they’re coming along. However, those aren’t my only goals. As the year progresses, new goals are formed, old ones change a bit (hence the site mergers), and some cease to matter. Here are some of the things I’m up to currently that weren’t originally-planned goals for 2009:

• I’m writing the nonfiction book — The Query-Free Freelancer. I finished outlining recently, and began drafting this week (sign up over there, and today I’ll be publishing the rough TOC to let my members decide what I draft first, since I’ll be publishing excerpts for them).
• I launched QueryFreeFreelancer.com. It’s tied to the book-in-progress as a way to get people thinking about the issue of becoming query-free, while building an audience for the future book.
• I’m re-designing several sites. Basically, I’m going to custom designs instead of templates (for the bigger sites for now). I wanted something very simple and “old school” blog format for NakedPR.com, and that was the first to be done. Then I did the unique design for the QueryFreeFreelancer.com launch. I redesigned AllFreelanceWriting.com (that design is off with the coder now being finished up and should go live next week I hope). I’m in the process of redesigning a small business blog (more on that below, as one of the “Big 3″). Then I’ll likely redesign AudioXposure.com and possibly Free Online Courses (if I get around to moving it to the elearn101.com domain this year). I may redesign WebWritersGuide.com, but I don’t know if I’ll have time for that this year (more worried about getting additional e-books up there).
• Big 3 Blog Changes – My previous “big 3″ blogs are having some overhaul work done. NakedPR is pretty much finished. Just a design change there (and income is surprisingly nice over there, considering I rarely update it). I do need to update a few of the older pages / posts there, like the distribution site list.

  All Freelance Writing is going through its changes now. Design changes will come first, followed by a few minor changes for monetization. Income on this site could easily be improved, and I’m going to be trying a plan that doesn’t involve a lot of sitewide banners and such (which you can see on the design itself). The job board will be reinstated (used to earn well when jobs were on their own domain). The e-books will have a prominant link on the site to hopefully keep those sales coming in. I’ll also be moving more towards affiliate promotions which were doing very well here before, but which I stopped to focus attention elsewhere. The contextual Clickbank ads will be gone – they’ve proved pretty much useless over time. Instead I’ll be going to back to promoting specific products that I’ll hand-pick because I think they’re actually worth your time. I don’t intend to promote them with any banners, buttons, etc. sitewide.

  The business blog will have the most changes. In that case, I’ll actually be going with more ads. I’m doing the design for BizHow2.com, but that’s not where it’s currently located. I’ll be moving the worthwhile blog content over to the new domain when the design is ready, updating and better-optimizing a lot of those posts as I go along (meaning a very big project indeed). The current domain will be wiped clean. The only thing I’ll likely keep is the slogan (and possibly the logo altogether). A new site will be launched on that old domain, so it won’t be redirected to the new one (meaning the new site will need a lot of early promotional work). The old domain will instead be used to house a collection of business tools and resources, and will either be a static site or a Wordpress site setup to essentially be static (no blog).

I’m sure there are other smaller things that I’ve forgotten, but those are the activities (aside from client work) that I’m personally focusing on right now.

What about you? How are your 2009 goals coming along, and have you set any new ones?

Related posts:

1. My 2009 Freelance Writing Goals – Have You Set Yours?
2. 2009 Goal Check-in: How are YOU Doing?
3. Five-Step Plan to Setting and Achieving Goals for Your Freelance Writing Career

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I came across an article called “The Reason Freelance Writing is in Such Piss-Poor Shape” on TumbleMoose.com. In it, he claims that freelance writing is in bad shape because of sites like Elance where the so-called global market leads to extremely low bidding (making it hard for other writers to earn a decent living). While these kinds of thoughts are common, they’re not exactly correct. Here’s why:

1. If you judge freelance writing as a whole based on a single site or type of site, you’re choosing to look at the situation with blinders on. There is far more out there — high-paying freelance writing work at that. But if you rely on it to be advertised and laid out in front of you to bid on it, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. That’s not how the bulk of the pro-level markets work.
2. Yes, some writers do choose to “whore themselves out.” But why should you care? You shouldn’t! (At least not in reference to your own ability to find work.) If you’re above the jobs and rates on Elance, then stay off of Elance! It’s not that difficult. You need to go where your own target market is (the people who want work in your specialty area, and who are willing to pay within your rate range). In this case, the author’s target market obviously doesn’t look to Elance when looking for writers like him. When you work as a service provider, it’s your job to make yourself visible and accessible so potential clients can find you. It’s not their responsibility to throw jobs out publicly just to make it easier on you.

More interesting is that the author mentions wishing he could organize a writer’s strike over things like this. Look. If your mission is to help other writers realize there are better options out there, then go ahead and discuss the issue and share other ideas. If your concern is just finding jobs of your own, then a strike will do nothing. Why? Because those clients weren’t in your market in the first place. They couldn’t care less if you go on strike. There will always be other low-rate writers to replace the ones who leave. On the other hand, to people who actually would pay you higher rates to begin with, you just make yourself look ignorant and you risk alienating the people who otherwise would have been happy to hire you.

If you aren’t happy with the freelance writing marketplace you’re immersed in, then get out of the pool. Specialize. Choose the right target market. Understand your own value to that market. Focus on building your writer platform. Build your network to get referrals. And if you need filler gigs while you’re doing those things, then start looking at other places to find freelance writing jobs. It doesn’t take as long as you might think.  Also remember this — all of the time you spend hanging out in the wrong places (like Elance in this case), complaining, or planning strikes is time wasted that could have gone into making you more visible to the clients who actually matter — those that will pay you what you’re worth!

Related posts:

1. Why Should Clients Pay You More Just for Doing Your Job?
2. 5 Reasons Your Writing Career is Going Nowhere
3. Building Confidence as a Freelance Writer

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While I transition from full-time client work and part-time writing for myself to full-time writing for myself with part-time client work, I’m moving several of my blogs to unique and custom designs. All Freelance Writing is next on that list. This weekend I finished the design itself. I’m hoping to get my coder started on it this week, and as soon as it’s ready, tested, and functioning properly with the plugins and such I want to use, it will go live.

Rather than just springing it on you one day, I’m including a preview here, so you can get an idea of what AFW will look like moving forward. Just click the image below to view the full-size design (and note that while the preview is fixed width, the coded design will be fluid so it will extend to fit your screen size, so you won’t see the white surrounding it).

I hope you like it!

(Note: I just realized I forgot to put the bullet points in the design – other than that, this is what the finished design would look like!)

Related posts:

1. A Few Design Changes – Any Problems?
2. How to Design an E-book Cover
3. Query-Free Freelancing: Coming Soon

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I wanted to pass along the links to two interviews that each went live this morning: one I conducted, and one where I was being interviewed.

First, you can read my interview with Peter Bowerman (author of The Well-Fed Writer series, including the new release combining information from his first two books) over at QueryFreeFreelancer.com. We talked about self-publishing nonfiction books, which can be a valuable part of a freelance writer’s platform.

Then, if you’d like, you can read an interview Michelle Oxman conducted with me for Fuel Your Writing. There you’ll find out a bit about how I started out, some of my writing-related pet peeves, and more.

Related posts:

1. Media Coverage for Your Blog (or Yourself!) – Radio Interviews
2. Review of The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success
3. Freelance writer/pitch to editors

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While I added my Twitter link to the site a little while ago, I didn’t actually mention it.

So…

If you’re on Twitter, feel free to say hi @QueryFreeWriter!

Related posts:

1. Is Immediacy (re Twitter and Blogging) a Good Thing for Writers?
2. Paid to Tweet – How Much Should You Charge?
3. It’s a Jungle in Here

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The following is a guest post from Dena White, discussion health insurance for freelance writers and other Web workers.

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For many, becoming a self-employed webpreneur is everything they could ever want. When you are a self-employed web worker, you will enjoy benefits that include, but are certainly not limited to, working your own hours, being rewarded for the work that you do and for most, no longer making the commute back and forth to a job you hate.

However, as anyone who has worked for themselves for any length of time will tell you, life is not always greener on their side of the fence. Hurdles pop up that must be overcome when you are self-employed that are different from those that you face when you work for someone else.

Health Insurance Matters

The area that often gets the most attention is health insurance. When it comes to benefits such as health insurance, small businesses and self-employed web workers are often at a disadvantage when compared to larger corporations. In the United States, the majority of people get health insurance through their employers.

Several people believe that the benefits are better and cost lest when they are associated with a health insurance plan that is sponsored by an employer. However, you would be incorrect in assuming that these healthcare plans sponsored by employers are always superior.

Getting The Most For Your Health Insurance Money

The decision about how much money you plan to spend on healthcare coverage each month is one of the biggest decisions you will make. Once you have that number in your head, you will need to know how to get the best coverage for your particular budget. These tips should help:

1. Do not pay any attention to the marketing extras that you may be offered such as massages, club memberships and other “bonus gifts”. These gifts will only add to the cost of your coverage, and probably nothing you need anyway.
2. It may be advantageous to purchase coverage only for emergency needs beyond check-ups, dental care and prescriptions. Designate a specific portion of your budget for basic medical expenses.
3. You may be able to save quite a bit on premium payments over time by selecting a higher deductible. Carefully put away a certain amount of money every month depending on your budget, you will eventually build up enough funds to pay off the deductible should you ever need medical care.
4. Research the Internet for a number of websites specializing in displaying several offers from multiple providers by submitting your basic information once. This is a powerful tool because it allows you to compare offers from different providers without having to bounce around from website to website. According to the plan that you choose, you may be able to proceed with purchasing the policy online without a physical exam. Just type “health insurance” in you preferred search engine to begin.
5. Prior to paying for any policy, ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate provider that will honor your policy. Remember, anything that sounds too good to be true probably is, especially when it come to health insurance. Go to the Internet for help. Enter “[company name] complaints” or the like in your favorite search engine to find any major problems with the provider you choose.
6. You may want to consider a membership with a union or trade association that provides benefits, such as the Freelancers Union and Sam’s Club.
7. Bundling your insurances is also an option. If you are able to locate a provider that offers policies for all of you healthcare needs, you may be able to get a better rate.

Now you can see that being self-employed may in fact be an advantage because you can research to save money as well as tailor the coverage to meet your specific needs. As a self-employed web worker, it’s up to you to maintain your good health in all ways. Getting a good insurance program at an affordable cost is the first step in that healthier, happier direction.

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Dena White is a freelance author and writes about healthcare career topics, such as how to obtain an online nursing degree, tips for job advancement, and more.

Related posts:

1. Should You be a Full-Time or Freelance Web Writer?
2. Save $10 on my Web Writer’s Guide E-book – LIMITED TIME!
3. Proofreading Tips for Web Writers

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On Mondays I usually post a list of freelance blogging jobs here. Today though I found myself somewhat disgusted by the blogging jobs I found. Based on those ads and their requirements, I wanted to offer a few tips for those considering hiring freelance writers. Here’s what you should not do in your job ads (and why):

1. Don’t ask for custom samples unless you’re paying for them. – Working as a freelancer doesn’t mean we work for free. If you want a freelancer’s time, pay for it. If you want a sample before hiring them for long term work, you have two options to do that. First, you can review their past portfolio pieces to see if their style fits your needs (the most common route). You could also hire them to write a single article (or whatever you need) up front as a test, and then make a long term hiring decision based on that. Asking for free custom work on the hopes of being hired is completely unprofessional and inexcusable.
2. Don’t act like you’re hiring a full-time employee. - I’m shocked by how many people request formal resumes and such from potential freelancers. What’s worse though is that today I saw a company asking for things like cumulative GPAs. Folks, these traditional requests are fine if you’re hiring an employee. They’re often completely overboard when hiring someone for short-term per-project gigs. Instead look at their portfolios. Their work will speak for itself. (And frankly, there’s no reason you need someone’s GPA to hire them as a part-time, freelance blogger. That’s just silly and makes a bad impression – this particular advertiser came across as absurdly demanding for example with their list of requirements.)
3. Don’t tell us what you think is normal or standard pay. - For starters, you’re sure to be wrong. Beyond that, you just look foolish and inexperienced when you tell writers that the standard rates should be $5-10. Get real. If you can only afford to hire amateurs or hobby writers, that’s fine. But don’t waste your time (or ours) trying to justify those rates as anything more than what they are – token pay.
4. Don’t tell freelancers how to manage their clients. - Frankly, you don’t have the right to do this (in the US at least). One ad I saw today emphasized that while the writer would be allowed to take on other clients (not that the writer needs their permission), they would have to be their primary client. Um, that’s not how it works. You’re a client. So are their other clients. It’s up to the writer to decide when to work for each, how to work for each, and how to prioritize their time. Clients can’t control these things without bordering on an employer / employee relationship (and if they try, they can end up subjected to taxes and other expenses on the writer’s behalf because of demanding an employee-style relationship). It doesn’t matter if your project is estimated at 30 hours per week. That doesn’t mean you’re a primary anything. Maybe that writer works 60 hours per week. Or maybe a client they work with 10 hours per week pays them several times as much. Only the freelancer gets to determine their priorities. Their responsibility is simply to deliver their work as promised by their deadline. Anything else is out of your hands, and shouldn’t even be discussed in a job ad.

I really can’t understand why some people think it’s alright to be overly demanding, especially when many aren’t compensating fairly to begin with. Those looking to hire freelance writers should spend a bit of time understanding the differences between contractors and employees, the market and real rates paid to these professionals (not just what you see advertised on Craigslist), and some need a basic dose of reality (Would they ask an employee to work for free first? Unlikely, and probably illegal).

Writers, the best thing you can do is pass up opportunities expecting too much for too little. Don’t allow others to control you. Don’t work for free in the hopes of getting a paying gig (it’s the equivalent of paying to be considered for a job). And for goodness sakes, respect yourself enough to hold out for the clients who are going to respect you. There are plenty of them – you just have to work a bit harder in the beginning to find them (and it’s worth it!).

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1. 3 Reasons You Should Hire Native Language Writers
2. Why Should People Hire You to Fill Their Freelance Writing Jobs?
3. How to Hire Scam a Writer

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Here’s some late Friday reading for you. As usual, we have some posts that may be of interest on freelance writing, blogging, and other issues related to freelancers. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

• The Working Table of Contents AKA Outline
• Time Management Skills: A Must for All Freelance Writers
• WAHMs: Make Sure the Ends Justify the Means
• The “Oh Well… I Can Always Quit” Mentality
• Web Content Sites: Do You Have Job Security?
• Writing: How to Get More Great Ideas Every Day
• Blogging is Dead (Again)
• What to do When You Lose a Steady Client?
• Are You Tweeting Away Prospects?
• Astonishing Story of Unpaid Freelancers

And from my other blog for freelance writers–QueryFreeFreelancer.com–check out our recent series with pro freelancers:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six

Related posts:

1. Freelance Friday – June 19, 2009
2. Freelance Friday – June 12, 2009
3. Freelance Friday: June 20, 2008

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If, like me, you run one or more Wordpress blogs you want to hold off a bit before upgrading to version 2.8 (if you haven’t already).

I upgraded some of mine only to find the same repeated problem: the visual editor wouldn’t work correctly. The buttons disappeared, the text was whited out, and you couldn’t work in that mode.

I’ve also had another minor issue that comes and goes as it pleases. When I go into the theme editor, sometimes the stylesheet (which shows up by default) extends over the links on the right, meaning I can’t see or click the template page I want. Since one or two are usually visible near the bottom of the list, clicking on one of them clears up the issue. But it’s a royal pain in the neck.

Visual Editor Fix

I can’t say this will work for everyone, but if you did upgrade and you’re having a problem with the visual editor, here’s what worked for me.

Go to the tools section of your admin, and click on the “upgrade” link. Click the button to “re-install automatically.” After that, clear your browser cache and navigate back to your post edit page. At that point the editor worked fine for me.

If you know HTML and are comfortable writing in it, then you can do without the visual editor. But I know all writers here who blog don’t necessarily work in HTML. For those of you who don’t, I hope that fix works.

Other than that, I’m keeping my eyes open for other problems, but am hoping they come out with an update asap fixing these issues. *crosses fingers*

EDIT: The 2.8.1 beta release is available if anyone wants to use it. (Thanks Ed!)

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1. WordPress 2.6 – Will You Upgrade?
2. Attn Bloggers – Wordpress 2.7 Released
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When I setup the Query-Free Freelancer blog, I needed it to operate as a free membership site (to control access to the members-only downloads) while also operating a member newsletter. I like to use Feedblitz for email subscriptions and newsletters when possible, but at the time there was no good way to have members sign up for both without forcing them to sign up twice–once for the site and  once for the newsletter.

I mentioned on Twitter that integration would be a nice feature, and the folks at Feedblitz looked into it and made it happen. The result is their new Feedblitz Member Mail Wordpress plugin.

When you activate the plugin, users will have a checkbox on your registration page for Wordpress that lets them agree to signup for your Feedblitz newsletter or email subscription at the same time. They check the box. They register. And then you’ll see them in both your Feedblitz and Wordpress member lists–incredibly simple.

So if you want to put together a similar setup with your blog, now you can!

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1. The Niftiest Wordpress Plugins for Serious Bloggers
2. Installing Wordpress Themes
3. New Newsletter and Six Figure Challenge Update

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