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How to Find More Story Ideas

  By Carol Tice (Carol is on vacation this week. This blog post is a reprint of a post that original ran in October 2009 on her writer site, caroltice.com, back when her blog was still called Start Freelance Writing. Enjoy!) Other writers often ask me how it is...

My Online Writing Job-Search Rules…and When to Break Them

Back when I first started out as a freelance writer, it was tough to find writing jobs. I’d either have to look in the Writers Market, or get in my car and go down to the library and get out the Gale’s guide to research possible article markets. Next, I carved my articles on a rock…OK, I’m not that old, but there was a lot more legwork involved!

GUEST POST: 5 Things Carol Tice Taught Me About Writer-Client Negotiations

NOTE: I’m on vacation this week, and co-founder Angela Atkinson of the WM Freelance Writers Community offered to supply a guest post to keep you amused in my absence. I didn’t know it would be all about things she learned from a little informal mentoring I gave her (in exchange for a Facebook fan page for my Make a Living Writing e-book soon to come!). It was thrilling to me to see how my tips helped Angela increase her writing income — and now you can be a fly on the wall and hear about them, too.

10 Ways to Find Your First Copywriting Clients

by Carol Tice I've frequently discussed the virtues of adding some copywriting to your freelance-writing mix. But, many writers ask, how do I get started as a copywriter? Most copywriters break in by writing for a small, local business in their town. The good news:...

How to Find the Best Writing Opportunities

There are so many types of writing gigs out there, it can be confusing for new writers. Which are the best opportunities to pursue? This is one of the questions asked me recently by budding freelance writer Barry Weymouth.

How I Became A Freelance Writer Again: 7 Steps to Earning Big

So, earlier this week I related the story of how I blundered into my career in freelance writing. I used my freelance clips to get a full-time, staff-writer job. I worked there for five years, then at a business weekly here in Seattle for another six and a half. But after all the editors who’d hired me there left, it wasn’t the same.

By fall of 2005, I was ready to try freelancing again. Only this time, the stakes were higher. I had three kids! And my husband wasn’t earning much. I really needed to replace my full-time writer salary through my freelance work.

Here’s how I did it:

Boost Your Writing Earnings by Winning Awards

By Carol Tice I read the most amazing article the other day, about the tragedy of parents who forget their babies in their cars, and they die of the heat -- and whether that should be considered a tragic accident, or a crime. It won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for feature...

A Great Source of Hidden Writing Gigs Revealed

When writers think about writing for magazines, they tend to just think about the magazine they know from the newsstand. But there are a lot of hidden writing opportunities at magazines and other periodicals.

GUEST POST: 9 Time Management Tools for Freelance Writers by James Adams

Note from Carol: I am not necessarily the world’s most highly organized person. I have to admit I’m still tracking my jobs and payments in a Word document…works for me, but I’m sure there are better ways. Turns out there are some great cheap and free tools out there — and U.K. writer James Adams knows about them. Here he is with some tips on time-management programs!

Finding sources — fast

By Carol Tice One of the biggest stumbling blocks for new writers is locating really great sources for stories on deadline. I recently had one of my mentees say she was doubtful she could finish a story she's started this month, because she was having so much trouble...

4 Tech Tools For Higher Writing Income

I recently did my half-year analysis of my writing business. Earnings are looking good for ’10, and one reason is that over the past year or so, I have acquired some new technical skills. Those skills, combined with my writing portfolio, have led to some new, great-paying jobs writing online. I think they’ve really made the difference in getting me fully booked with lucrative writing jobs.

Looking for writing courses & community support?

Our online community, Freelance Writers Den, was founded in 2011. Since then, we’ve helped 14,000+ writers connect with peers, improve their skills, and grow their freelance writing income.

Our lively community is stuffed with useful tools and career-building resources. Use our 24/7 forums to get your questions answered by pros. Tap our 300+ hours of self-study trainings to learn new skills.

The Den has live events and multi-week bootcamps where you can tap experts’ knowledge, an exclusive job board, accountability buddies, live chats, and more. Also, if you want feedback on your writer website, LinkedIn profile, or article draft, we’ve got you.

Visit the Freelance Writers Den site to see if we’re open for new members right now. Sign up on the waiting list if we’re not, and you’ll be first to join when we reopen (plus, you’ll get useful free resources in the meanwhile).

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