The Writer's Blog By Dana Prince

Thanks so much for sharing. As an illustrator/desi...

2011-08-09T20:25:57.880-05:00

Thanks so much for sharing. As an illustrator/designer new to Elance, it's comforting and informative to hear about other people's experiences.

I wholeheartedly agree with you in the sense that ...

2010-11-04T20:32:03.153-05:00

I wholeheartedly agree with you in the sense that I think it is good to step out of one's comfort zone. However, I think the desired result from such an exercise should probably be related in some way to self development- which is almost always a part of the pay off of trying something new. People who venture into unknown territory primarily seeking financial gain right away might be

Nice to see you here, Lori! Yeah, some client or p...

2010-06-03T14:03:39.402-05:00

Nice to see you here, Lori!
Yeah, some client or prospect emails do require a bit more of a "think" first :)

Great points, Dana. And I took your advice - I'...

2010-06-03T13:58:04.362-05:00

Great points, Dana. And I took your advice - I'm here via Firefox. :)

I answer emails same day. To me that's as fast as I can muster if I'm busy, and I think it's well within the acceptable range. Rare is the client email I don't get to for a day or two. If that's the case, it's because I have reservations about it or I'm not around.

Thanks @Jael and @Janis :) I happen to be working...

2010-05-01T08:56:17.091-05:00

Thanks @Jael and @Janis :)

I happen to be working this Saturday but last week I took Friday off so flexibility is nice too. More than anything I am trying to achieve balance of taking days off more often and the weekends are nice for doing that as I often feel robbed of weekends because of being programmed to think that's when I *should* be relaxing / or having fun :)

I agree, Genesis.If I do work on the weekends,it&#...

2010-05-01T08:54:35.155-05:00

I agree, Genesis.If I do work on the weekends,it's nice when it's only on my own stuff.

Ugh, I'm so one of those people who literally ...

2010-05-01T05:22:10.828-05:00

Ugh, I'm so one of those people who literally wakes up and stumbles to the computer. I have been gradually weaning my clients off weekends, but I still work on my own stuff. My kids are a great reminder to stop that, though!

These are great tips. I'm pretty new in freela...

2010-04-29T07:51:34.087-05:00

These are great tips. I'm pretty new in freelance writing and I really have to work on setting a work schedule- and taking most of the weekend off. You are right, when you love what you do, it's hard to not do it all the time. I love writing and I am always on the computer and the hours just fly by with the blink of an eye!

http://freelancewriterroad.com

Hi, this is Nicole from Rent a Coder. Rentacoder p...

2010-04-27T03:06:12.486-05:00

Hi, this is Nicole from Rent a Coder. Rentacoder provides access to programming, writing, illustration, even data entry jobs. (You can get a sense of the broad scope of work available here: http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/SoftwareCoders/BrowseWork.asp).

I'd like to point out a few issues with using services like Elance, Guru, and Freelancer (GetAFreelancer) since those issues

Great post! It might sound harsh, but we train cli...

2010-04-26T22:37:38.553-05:00

Great post! It might sound harsh, but we train clients by the way that we respond to their needs. Of course, we want to be available to them, but setting limits early on is the best way to avoid hard feelings later. Retraining them is much more difficult them is more difficult on everyone.

oooh, some messed up fonts in this post. But this ...

2010-04-08T08:25:09.341-05:00

oooh, some messed up fonts in this post. But this is what happens when you write after midnight (and two non-decaf coffees after 6:pm) so I'm leaving it as is...let this be another lesson about not writing after midnight. This post was also supposed to be post-dated for Friday. LOL.

Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly the right approach,...

2010-04-08T08:20:50.260-05:00

Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly the right approach, Dana. If you don't set those limits, no-one else will.

I use doccop.com for checking plagiarism. However,...

2010-03-05T01:57:04.748-05:00

I use doccop.com for checking plagiarism. However, I am not very much fascinated by the fact that it will take several minutes to hours for the report to be emailed. I am a newbie, investigating free ways to check for plagiarized contents.

Hi Dana, Very helpful and informative post. I lik...

2010-02-09T23:04:01.618-05:00

Hi Dana,

Very helpful and informative post. I like the optimized byline the best as I haven't fully utilized that marketing tactic for my freelance writing business here in San Francisco. For a year now, I try to stay away from article marketing but I recently realized that I'm missing a lot of opportunities so I am going back to online marketing. I thought of writing optimized

Thanks, Sharon. Me, too :)

2010-02-07T09:33:10.019-05:00

Thanks, Sharon. Me, too :)

Excellent post, Dana. These are pretty much the st...

2010-02-07T07:16:18.235-05:00

Excellent post, Dana. These are pretty much the steps I followed in creating an online presence and they have worked well. I'd add that the relationships I've built up by doing so have enhanced both my personal and professional life.

Thanks, Jenn. It was useful. I now know a daily ta...

2010-02-02T19:27:40.463-05:00

Thanks, Jenn. It was useful. I now know a daily target to strive for financially so that I can meet my goals regarding earning and life balance.

Thanks,
Dana

Thanks for mentioning the new freelance rate calcu...

2010-02-02T19:13:01.282-05:00

Thanks for mentioning the new freelance rate calculator at All Freelance Writing Dana! I'm glad you found it useful. :)

I hear you, Menandro. I've definitely built up...

2010-01-21T08:36:13.452-05:00

I hear you, Menandro. I've definitely built up speed over the years as well :)
Keep writing!
Cheers,
Dana

I remember when I started writing. i can finish on...

2010-01-21T06:24:51.819-05:00

I remember when I started writing. i can finish one in one week! It's been improving. Your post gave me inspiration to keep on writing for traffic as well as self development. Thanks!

Thank you for all your excellent advice. As somebo...

2009-12-30T11:13:25.809-05:00

Thank you for all your excellent advice. As somebody who is looking to start a career in journalism all the information provided on your blog is highly appreciated.

That's great, Lori! Holli, I don't always...

2009-12-08T15:28:25.746-05:00

That's great, Lori!

Holli, I don't always have time but I do log in to different accounts related to different ongoing projects so that helps. I also use Social Oomph which lets me schedule tweets for clients so I plan to start using it more for my own tweeting too :)

How do you find the time to manage even one twitte...

2009-12-08T15:26:24.383-05:00

How do you find the time to manage even one twitter account, let alone four? I have three accounts, but I find it so overwhelming that I rarely log in and thus miss out on the benefits of twitter that you mention.

Everyone praises twitter, but I don't know how to use it right. Maybe I need to read your ghostwritten report. Ha ha. :)

I've had great Twitter success! Two new client...

2009-12-07T15:25:58.241-05:00

I've had great Twitter success! Two new clients in the same week. It's a tool that needs to be used wisely, but it's a great way to open new channels.

Hi Angel, I'm near Toronto as well :) Yes, esc...

2009-12-04T22:49:02.443-05:00

Hi Angel,
I'm near Toronto as well :)
Yes, escrow helps protect both you and the provider and I highly recommend using it. If the provider doesn't deliver, you won't get ripped off and vice versa. Good luck!
Cheers,
Dana