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Publish Your Own Book: Use This Author’s Blueprint for Success
Publish your own book. That ever cross your mind? If you’re a freelance writer, chances are pretty good you’ve thought about it.
Maybe you’ve got a compelling story to tell. Or you’ve got some useful skills to share with others.
Maybe you want to publish your own book to position yourself as the writer in your niche. Or you’re just hoping to create another income stream as a freelancer.
Seriously, have you thought about it?
It’s a lot easier than it used to be to publish your own book. You don’t need to write a proposal, hire an agent, pitch dozens of publishers, and wait months or years before someone can buy it.
Today, there’s more than one way to publish your own book. And the most popular by far is publishing your book on Amazon.
But before you write a book, slap a cover on your masterpiece and put up a for-sale sign, there’s a few things you should know to publish your own book.
And there’s one guy who knows this better than most. Dave Chesson. He’s a nuclear engineer turned Kindle book-publishing expert, and founder of Kindlepreneur.
Want to publish your own book? Here’s the blueprint for success.
Freelance Writing Questions? 101 Must-Read Answers for Newbs
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 12 years of blogging and over 1,200 posts on this blog, it’s this: Freelance writers have a lot of questions. Freelance writing is a complex gig!
Five years ago, I asked readers their top questions. The result was a post with 100 questions answered. We later turned it into an e-book, too.
But with isolation, recession, and COVID-19, I feel like it’s time for a whole new set of Q&A.
Praying for Clients? Pro Tips to Earn Well as a Christian Writer
Can you make a living as a Christian writer?
Maybe you’re praying for new clients, wondering if you’re on the right path.
After all, the Christian market for freelance writers has a reputation of low pay or no pay which makes for an unlikely way to make a living.
Median annual salary for freelance writers fell to a historic low of $6,080 in 2017, down 42 percent from 2009, according to an Author’s Guild survey.
And if you’re trying to carve out a niche as a Christian writer, you might think there’s even more gloom and doom to come.
Why? Some Christian writers make even less because many of these publications have low pay for articles and expect you are doing it for “the ministry” instead of the money (which may be true and more about that later).
And it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’ve successfully made a living as a Christian writer for many years, and I want to give you some of the “secrets” to following this path…
Live Video Chat for Freelancers: 10 Free Ways to Connect
You’ve just scored a meeting with a prospect or new client. Now what? If you want to look like a savvy freelancer, schedule a live video chat.
If you’re already feeling a little anxious, palms sweaty, nerves rattled, and scrambling to figure out which live video chat software you should use, take a chill pill.
A decade-plus ago, live video chat was basically reserved for the tech-savvy geek or entrepreneurial hipster. But these days, it’s ubiquitous for business and everything else.
The global pandemic only amplified the number of live video chat services available to help you stay connected with family and friends.
But even better, it helped shine a light on software you can use as a freelancer to connect with prospects and clients face to face.
Even better…live video chat makes it easier to build relationships, share screens, collaborate, and simplify working remotely.
Ready to get on a call? Check out these free live video chat services.
Freelance Marketing Fix: A Nurse’s Cure for Crummy Writing Clients
What’s the temperature of your freelance marketing efforts to get writing clients?
If you’re fully booked with steady work and dream clients, you’ve probably got some healthy freelance marketing habits in place.
But if you’ve got bad clients and soul-sucking work that makes you sick, what should you do?
Cry? Roll around on the floor? Binge-watch more movies and shows? Shake your fist at the sky, and shout “Whyyyy?”
You might get some temporary relief. But you won’t get better writing clients this way.
If your freelance marketing habits aren’t well, you’re at risk for contracting low rates, flaky clients, and work that leaves you feeling empty inside. And the longer you let it fester, the worse it gets.
Fortunately, there’s a cure for crummy writing clients. And I learned all about it in an unlikely way…taking care of patients as a nurse.
Want to give your freelance marketing efforts a boost to get better clients? Here’s what you need to know.
Selling an E-Book: Results of My Kindle ‘Permafree’ Experiment
After writing and marketing more than 10 self-published e-books, I thought I knew something about selling an e-book.
I mean, it’s not like I’ve done too badly — I’ve earned over $50,000 from my e-books, over the past 8 years or so. I’ve done that mostly on my own blog, right here.
And I’ve done free-book offers before — just did a 5-day one for two of my ebooks, a few weeks back.
So I thought I had a clue how to market an e-book, and how to do a free-book promo.
Then I released The Recession-Proof Freelancer, in April. That’s right — as Covid-19 spread, I basically locked myself in a closet for 3 days, and wrote about how I grew my freelance income to six figures in the last recession. I also unpacked a 12-point action plan for how you can thrive in the current downturn.
My plan was to unleash this as a permanent-free e-book on Amazon, as well as selling it on my site.
But here’s what really happened…
Agency Work for Writers: 7 Insider Tips to Help You Get Hired
Wondering how to land some agency work as a freelance writer?
No, not the kind of “agency work” someone posts on Upwork. That’s almost always the path to low rates, soul-sucking work, and burnout.
Legit digital marketing agencies work with freelancers all the time. And there’s lots of them.
- Agencies that work with a broad range of clients in different industries, and…
- Agencies that specialize in specific niches like technology, healthcare, or financial services.
Google it: marketing agency + (your niche)
If you’re not sure chasing agency work is worth your time, consider this…
Right now, companies spend an estimated $400 billion a year on content marketing, according to industry data.
Here’s how it works: Companies hire digital marketing agencies to do the work. And those agencies hire freelancers to create content like:
- Blog posts
- Case studies
- Annual reports
- White papers
- Website content
- Lead magnets
- Video scripts
- Press releases, and more
Starting to get the picture? Agency work can be a great way to make money as a freelance writer, and have steady work.
So how do you get a slice of agency work? We asked two digital marketing agency pros to show you the ropes. Here’s what you need to know:
Content Mill Escape: 5 Moves a Hungry Writer Used to Break Out
As a brand new freelancer, it’s easy to sell yourself short…especially if you get trapped in the content mill cycle.
You know how it goes.
The self-doubt creeps in, along with the fear that no one will hire a newbie like you. You’re just happy to land a client at all.
So you take any $10 content mill assignment that comes along and toil for 50 hours or more per week. Only to discover that your monthly income is a measly $500.
Then panic sets in as you think about your dwindling savings. And you wonder if you’ll have to pull the plug on your freelance writing dreams.
Content mill crisis? I understand where you’re coming from.
When I started freelancing three years ago, I quickly got sucked into the Upwork trap chasing content mill gigs.
I was working long hours for clients who were clueless or cash-strapped, and was lucky to get $500 a month. My savings were quickly drying up, and I had to do something fast to save my writing business.
I wasn’t about to call it quits and go back to a mind-numbing office job. Instead, I decided to take massive action. I dropped my low-paying clients and came up with a plan to land clients that actually valued my work.
My strategy paid off, and in one month, I scored two quality clients. And just a month after that, I tripled my freelance writing income.
Here’s how I did it, and so can you:
Writing in a Pandemic: An At-Risk Writer’s Productivity Tips
You thought you had your writing productivity down. But now, you’re writing in a pandemic. And the days are melting.
As a former severe asthmatic who used to be a regular ER visitor — and who stopped breathing and was intubated once, in my early 30s — the undertow of dread is always with me. My husband is overweight and has high blood pressure, also bad comorbidity factors for the virus.
People are dying, all around us. Even though we’re isolating, we do occasionally go to the store… and I could catch COVID-19 and be very, very sick. Or die. Or he could. That’s reality.
Meanwhile, kids are underfoot. There’s nowhere to go blow off steam. There’s also little stimulation to spur creativity, since we can’t go anywhere.
And clients still want their deadlines met. But it’s hard. To. Think. Straight. Hard to reliably pull the creativity out when we need it.
Sound familiar?
Welcome to my world. As I write this here in Seattle, I’m into week 8 of isolation, with at least 3 weeks more to go. Our numbers here locally look pretty good, we’ve flattened our curve… but still.
Despite this, I’ve kept the productivity going. Still writing for clients and my blog.
Plus, in my *free* time, I took 3 days and cranked out a new e-book about how to be a recession-proof freelancer, on top of everything else.
How does an at-risk writer like me keep writing in a pandemic? Here are my tips:
Guest Post Gigs: 61 Sites for Freelancers to Get Clips Fast
Need a quick way to get started or freshen up your freelance portfolio? Write a guest post.
Guest posts come in all shapes and sizes. And in many cases, you don’t need to be an expert, authority, or have millions of social media followers.
You just need to have something useful to share with a blog’s target audience. Make sense?
But if you want to write a guest post, there’s some super simple things you should do BEFORE you pitch the editor.
- Read the blog.
- Get to know the target audience.
- Study the guest post guidelines.
Seriously, that puts you ahead of like 90 percent of writers out there trying to land a guest post assignment.
Ready to land your next guest post assignment?
This huge list of low-hanging fruit is for the newbie freelance writer looking for a quick byline for a guest post. Editors for these sites are looking for solid writing, not a big resume or huge portfolio.
Some are paid gigs, but even the unpaid gigs can help boost your portfolio, expand your network, and connect you with potential clients.
Check out these 62 sites to get your next guest post gig:
This huge list of low-hanging fruit is for the newbie freelance writer looking for a quick byline for a guest post. Editors for these sites are looking for solid writing, not a big resume or huge portfolio.
Some are paid gigs, but even the unpaid gigs can help boost your portfolio, expand your network, and connect you with potential clients.
Check out these 62 sites to get your next guest post gig:
Course Creation: Overcome The 6 Biggest Writing Obstacles
Looking to increase your income? Maybe you’ve thought about course creation, but you can’t wrap your head around all the moving parts.
There’s a lot to consider. And it’s easy to think there are too many obstacles in your way.
Maybe you second guess yourself with the thought: “I have this great idea for a course. But I’m a writer, and I don’t know anything about course creation.”
So instead of pursuing that course creation idea you have tucked away, you stick with the status quo…Take on more freelance work, raise your rates, because you think it’s the only way to increase your income.
You think there are too many obstacles to overcome to writing an online course. But as a freelancer with a product to sell…you’ve got more possibilities to make more money.
Lots of freelance writers find the idea of creating their own online course irresistible. (And with good reason!). But many get stuck when it comes to actually developing their course.
Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are the 6 biggest obstacles to writing an online course, and how to overcome them.
Writing Contest: Tell Us What You’ve Learned to Win
It’s time for a writing contest. Want to win some awesome prizes?
It all started more than a decade ago. The economy sucked. Newspaper layoffs were a regular thing. And many freelance writers were struggling to make a living writing. Sound familiar?
As a longtime business reporter, Carol Tice got hit with one of those pink slips, too. But she wasn’t about to let her writing career go down in flames.
She hustled. She pitched editors and marketing directors. She grew her network online and offline. She juggled freelancing with taking care of kids. Even the uneasiness of using new tech tools and software couldn’t stop her.
She woke up every day to this reminder: “Take the attitude that you are an unstoppable force of nature, and you won’t give up until you’ve got your freelance writing biz earning what you need.”
And you know what happened? All that hustled helped her become a six-figure freelancer. She launched this blog to help other writers move up and earn more. And after publishing more than 1,200 blog posts, Make a Living Writing has helped thousands of writers achieve success.
What have you learned from Make a Living Writing? Read on for writing contest details and prizes.
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).
