Category Archives: Uncategorized

Do What You Love–and Still Make a Living

Many of us have heard the advice, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” It’s not always true. As a freelancer or solo professional, part of your job is figuring out how to make the money follow when … Continue reading

Growing Your Business, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

The Secret of Saving For Retirement for Freelancers

The 200kfreelancer’s latest post on the AARP’s Work Reimagined site is live. The post includes five tips for keeping your retirement savings on track when you are self-employed. Among them: Take advantage of the tax breaks for saving through a … Continue reading

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The Power of Instinct

One way my husband and I have made the freelance life work for us is using the “divide and conquer” approach to childcare. One of us watches our four kids–or the ones who are at home at the moment–while the … Continue reading

The Lifestyle, Uncategorized , ,

The Value Of Multiple Drafts, With Input From George Saunders

The immediacy and the economics of writing for the web have steadily reduced the number of drafts produced on any given story. When I worked for a weekly newspaper, there were at least four or five drafts of a piece, … Continue reading

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The Healing Power of Narrative

I’ve been going through a difficult time in my personal life lately. To keep myself on an upward path, I’ve been doing everything one is supposed to do: work out, spend time with friends, get enough sleep, find distractions (fortunately, … Continue reading

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Start Your Engines

January is often a big month for freelancers. Clients are at the start of their budget year, so it’s a good time to pitch new projects. It’s also a good time to win new clients and reconnect with old ones. … Continue reading

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Too Late for Flu Shots

In the middle of last week, my daughter told me she wasn’t feeling well. It turned out she had a fever of almost 105–so I rushed her to the doctor’s office. I have a notoriously bad sense of direction, so … Continue reading

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5 ways to build your social media following

Guest post by Clifford Blodgett In the eighties hit movie Can’t Buy Me Love, the outcast Ronald Miller (played by Patrick Dempsey) tries to get popular by paying the queen bee at the school $1,000 to be his girl friend. … Continue reading

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The Simple Way To This Assigning Editor’s Heart

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about whether to approve a writer’s pitch. It lacked one crucial element. If it had been present, it would have been a sure-fire win in my book. Numbers. If a writer’s pitch … Continue reading

Uncategorized

Review: The Book Every Freelancer Should Read in 2013

I’m not a big fan of most how-to books on business that cross my desk, but  The Freelancers Bible, by Freelancers Union founder and executive director and MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellow Sara Horowitz, with Toni Sciarra Poynter, is the exception. … Continue reading

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