Taking stock: The Born Freelancer’s 2011 posts
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. A very happy and healthy New Years to you, my fellow freelancer. New Years is always a good time for stocktaking. Looking back […]
Finding freelance work with Canadian governments
By Luigi Benetton Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal governments buy billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services every year that they can’t make or perform in-house. Freelance writing figures among those services, so in December I, along with a few other freelancers, attended three workshops offered by the Ontario Government. Each had a different […]
It’s a small world, after all: The Born Freelancer warns against burning bridges
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. A 9-to-5er recently commented to me, “It must be great being freelance. You can always tell your boss where to go if they’re […]
Dealing with gig loss: The Born Freelancer’s 10-step program
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. Getting that first gig is perhaps the novice freelancer’s hardest obstacle to overcome. But the endless hours of toil, of self-doubt and of […]
Tumblring toward success
Should I be using Tumblr? It’s the question freelancers ask themselves every time they come across another social network or media platform and read that ______ is the new Twitter, or _______ is the best way to find sources, to find out about new gigs, or to reach out to readers. It’s tempting to jump […]
Gifts that keep on giving: the Born Freelancer’s tips on testimonials
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. I was looking at some impressive freelancer websites the other day and noticed a common element on the sites that were the most […]
On fear and hunger: the Born Freelancer’s open letter to employers
I was having coffee recently with a colleague. Okay, actually, in my case, it was hot chocolate. Hey, it was cold outside and I needed a sugar hit. But we freelancers haven’t yet come up with a better expression than “having coffee” to denote a casual meeting. “Having tea” sounds too lightweight. “Having hot chocolate” […]
The secret to drastically increasing your income
Work more. That’s the advice Krystal Yee shared in a recent Moneyville.ca post. Over the course of 2011, she has boosted her income by 50 per cent by adding 20-30 hours per week of part-time and freelance work on top of her full-time job. She took on two part-time writing gigs, freelance graphic design work, […]
To blog, or not to blog, that is the Born Freelancer’s question
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. I’m told that blogging is dead in this era of tweets and retweets. I must respectfully disagree. It may be long dead […]
On relationships, pie charts, and SEO: How to pitch stories to editors
A guest post by Daniela DiStefano The Toronto Chapter of the Professional Writers Association kicked off its 2011/2012 Professional Development Series Wednesday night at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre with the season’s first seminar, “Getting Yes: How to Pitch Stories to Editors.” Chapter president Jaclyn Law hosted the panel of editors, Rani Sheen (FASHION), […]
