Bleeding Espresso

24 March 2009

Freelance Writing Week: Freelance Writing Resources

You’ve read yesterday’s Freelance Writing Week post, Is Freelance Writing For You? and you’ve answered a resounding “Yes!”

So now what?

Well before you start looking for jobs, I highly recommend doing a bit more research about how freelance writing works. You’re off to a great start by following Freelance Writing Week here, but let me point you to some of my favorite freelance writing resources in print and on the web:

My Favorite Freelance Writing Resources

Freelance Writing Books

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer. Hands down my favorite freelance writing book. Glatzer breaks down each and every part of freelance writing in simple and easy to follow chapters; her writing is clear, entertaining, and best of all, inspiring. I find myself going back to this book periodically whenever I need to get re-motivated to continue freelance writing–and it always delivers.

The Street Smart Writer: Self Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World by Jenna Glatzer and Daniel Steven. Another great one by Glatzer with straight-forward advice, this time on the business end of writing. Excellent tips on how to protect yourself and your work.

2010 Writer’s Market by Robert Lee Brewer. Markets, book publishers, agents, and lots of advice from successful writers. The 2010 version will be published in June, but if you can’t wait, the 2009 version is still available.

On Writing by Stephen King. This one isn’t necessarily about freelance writing, per se, but it’s one of the best books on writing in general out there. Period.

Also be sure to check out the “Writing” category in my Amazon store for more great writing books.

Freelance Writing Websites

About.com Freelance Writing: pages upon pages of awesome advice on every aspect of freelance writing by Allena Tapia.
About Freelance Writing: Anne Wayman’s blog in which she shares what she has learned as a copywriter, ghostwriter, blogger, e-book author, and more. Great job lists too.
AbsoluteWrite.com: started by the aforementioned Jenna Glatzer; be sure to check out the forums in particular.
Freelance Writing Jobs: Deb Ng’s amazing collection of articles and advice on all different types of freelance writing; great job lists as well.
WOW! Women on Writing: “an e-zine promoting the communication between women writers, authors, editors, agents, publishers, and readers.” Fun place too!
WritersWeekly.com: Angela Hoy’s site with lots of great articles, but especially helpful are the forums, namely “Whispers and Warnings,” which tells you which clients to avoid.

There are really lots of writing sites I love, but these are the absolute best, IMHO. Be sure to check out the “writers” section in my links for more suggestions.

Now I’m not saying you should read all of these straight-through before you dive into freelance writing, but a quick look around them will certainly help you get a feel for the business. All of these are great to keep coming back to again and again whenever you need a particular piece of info, advice, etc., so be sure to bookmark!

Now be sure to come back tomorrow when we’ll talk about How to Find Your Freelance Writing Niche!

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe through an RSS feed so you don’t miss a single post of Freelance Writing Week!

Also free free to bookmark, Stumble, and share these posts with friends via email, your blog, and Twitter. The more people we have reading them, the more ideas and suggestions we can come up with in the comments. We freelance writers have to stick together!

Please share your favorite writing resources in the comments!

13 beans of wisdom »

13 beans of wisdom to “Freelance Writing Week: Freelance Writing Resources”

Cherrye at My Bella Vita on 24 Mar 2009 at 9:54 am #

Great list. I like the Writers Market online tool, as well. You pay an annual membership and you can search their databases for publishers, agents, contacts, contests, etc. Can be useful.

Cherrye at My Bella Vita’s last blog post..Travel Tip Tuesday: Fly Round-trip from Rome to Lamezia for €50

Great tip! Thanks Cherrye
joanne at frutto della passione on 24 Mar 2009 at 10:27 am #

Great advice, my biggest issue is still finding enough time to get everything done, especially since I don’t want to quit my full time job – and I think I’d get even less done without it!

joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Sometimes having less time actually does make me more productive…we just love the pressure, don’t we?
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 24 Mar 2009 at 12:21 pm #

Excellent advice.

I so agree with you about the Stephen King book. It’s one of the best books I have read on being a writer and writing.

nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..HBO’s THE WIRE Airing in Italy

I only wish I had brought my copy to Italy
Bleeding Espresso » Freelance Writing Week: Freelance Writing … on 24 Mar 2009 at 12:59 pm #

[...] Bleeding Espresso » Freelance Writing Week: Freelance Writing … [...]
Rosa on 24 Mar 2009 at 1:45 pm #

Hi Michelle,

Thanks again for the wonderful information! One point I found very important (and intriguing) is how to protect yourself and your work from scams. Would you be able to expand on that a bit? I think it’s important for those who are interested in freelancing to see the warning signs right from the get-go before jumping into something that seems to be too good to be true, and to only get burned in the end.

Thanks again for your help!

rosa

Rosa’s last blog post..BloggerAid: Working Towards a Worthwhile Cause

Rosa, I plan to talk about how to know whether a freelance writing job is legitimate during Freelance Writing Week II…you’ll have to come back
maryann on 24 Mar 2009 at 2:06 pm #

I like Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life”. Have you ever read this, Michelle?

I haven’t…yet! It’s been on my list for a while now. I really need to get some new writing books soon; it’s been far too long….
Lola on 24 Mar 2009 at 2:36 pm #

Thanks Michelle, you are an unfailing beacon.
I agree with you and nyc/caribbean ragazza about the Stephen King book, and I’d like to suggest the resource I’m reading at the moment, it is “Will Write for Food,” by Dianne Jacob. This book can also introduce the next step, the niche topic as well, since it is a specific guide to writing cookbooks, restaurant reviews, articles, memoir and fiction about food. I am oriented in that direction, so that’s my contribution to your great tool for us freelance scribblers. Ciao

Lola’s last blog post..Once upon a time…
Laura at Ciao Amalfi on 24 Mar 2009 at 5:28 pm #

Ciao Michelle! Thanks for the great reading list! Looks like I have a bit of Amazon shopping to do. Thanks for the online resources, too!

Laura at Ciao Amalfi’s last blog post..Tempting Tuesday: Cetara

Don’t you just *love* Amazon shopping? I sure do….
milanese masala on 24 Mar 2009 at 6:11 pm #

I’m loving this week, Michelle! Thanks so much for the list. I’ve read Canadian author Pierre Burton’s The Joy of Writing, which I’ve found helpful. I have the same problems as Joanne though. In this economy, there is no way I’m going to quit my full-time job but I’m going to try my best to write when I can.

milanese masala’s last blog post..Festivus – Masala style!

Thanks for the book suggestion, and best of luck with finding some time to seek out and write assignments…I know you’re a busy gal!
Betsy on 25 Mar 2009 at 3:02 am #

Love, Love. Love your website. Just happened upon it! But it was just the information I needed thanks for great info and a great website. I will checkback often.

Betsy’s last blog post..Pork Tenderloin Sliders

Thanks so much Betsy! And thanks to my handy dandy Twitter plug-in, I can now follow you on Twitter
Allena Tapia on 25 Mar 2009 at 2:24 pm #

Hey, thanks for the mention of freelancewrite.about.com.
I am charged with helping newbie freelance writers break into the business, BUT I find it helps me retain an audience when I ALSO talk to intermediate freelancers and kind of follow the road (or roadblocks) where it goes.

So I guess what I’m saying is EVERYONE’S invited!

Allena Tapia’s last blog post..Book Reviewing–One Path

We can always learn more, can’t we? Thanks for coming by Allena
How Much Do Freelance Writers Make? | Bleeding Espresso on 21 Apr 2009 at 1:11 pm #

[...] Freelance Writing Resources [...]
tasteofbeirut on 26 Nov 2009 at 2:58 pm #

I found a book on writing by Helen Gurley Brown very helpful when I was looking to improve my writing skills. It is small and to the point!

Thanks for sharing!