As a kid …

I’ve been on both sides of the special needs parenting relationship. Well, I don’t think I was a special needs kid, but I do have a unique challenge because I’ve been deaf since birth. My parents always told my teachers to treat me like any other kid with one exception: make sure I sat where I could read lips.

However, my parents championing for me didn’t stop there. In third grade, the school put me in the lowest reading level and in the middle of the math level. Mom disagreed with the placement. The school moved me up to the middle reading class and to the highest level math class. It worked well except my mom didn’t like the reading teacher. One advantage of being a “sort of” special needs child is that I picked up this championing skill from my mom and put it to work with my child.

The magnet program started in fourth grade in my school district. The magnet program is an honors type program where kids worked with harder material and faster. I didn’t make the magnet program because my standardized test score wasn’t high enough. Mom had me tutored and retake the test over the summer and I entered the magnet program in fifth grade. It was one of the best years in grade school.

As a Mom …

As a Mom of three kids, I’m on the other side of the coin and have one child with unique needs. While I’m open to talking about what makes him different, I don’t write about it online. It’s not for me to reveal. I don’t want to affect his future (not that it should). You and I know that the Internet has a memory of a million elephants and exposes its memory to everyone.

The downside of not talking about it publicly is that parents in the same situation don’t have me as a resource to know they’re not alone. I came across a blog about a Mom in my situation and appreciated her sharing experiences. Instead of posting online, I talk to parents in my area. However, I sent a message on Facebook to one parent I rarely see to find out how her moving was going. Her family hadn’t moved yet and she told me about her child’s current challenges.

I told her about a program in our public school system. She knew nothing about it. At least, she was in touch with the right administrator who can help her child get into the program that I spoke of.

No matter what support they have, parents of special needs kids never stop fighting for their children. Even with my child in a special program, I have had to go up to bat for him when something wasn’t working.

As a worker …

Thanks to freelancing, I have the flexibility to be there for my kids when they need me without the guilt. While I always put in my hours, I felt stressed when I had to leave the office outside of lunch time. Goodness knows, we have lots of appointments and meetings with teachers. These meetings occur during the day, a time when corporate parents struggle to leave the office. Then, they may have to make up the time by working late — more time away from the kids. A vicious cycle.

Fortunately, more companies offer flexibility. I believe that as long as the employee gets the work done well and meets goals, then flexibility shouldn’t be an issue. Of course, if the hours start shrinking too much — then the manager needs to address it.

Companies may fear hiring parents of kids with special needs or people with special needs. But we tend to stick around longer, which keeps turnover low. When we find a good company that’s flexible, we tend to be more loyal. Because of the work parents do for their kids, they tend to put the same type of knowledge and energy into their jobs. Also, people living with a unique situation have creative ideas because they look for solutions that few need. Just read Chynna Laird’s bio below and you’ll see what an amazing person she is who does more than most parents of children with no unique challenges.

Inspiration for this post …

I wrote today’s post as part of the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Not Just Spirited by Chynna Laird. The book is a memoir of a mother fighting for a diagnosis when countless doctor’s told her that her daughter was just “spirited.” Chynna shares the heartbreaking reality of mothering a child with a severe “No touch” rule. She calls it “Mothering without touch.” Although Not Just Spirited is the perfect match for parents of children with sensory processing disorder (SPD), the determination and victories shown in the book will encourage anyone parenting a child with special needs or working to overcome an obstacle in their own life.

Chynna has also written a children’s book, I’m Not Weird, and resource book about SPD, At-Home Strategies for Managing Sensory Processing Disorder: A Guide for Parents. She is now working on another book, White Elephants. When not writing, Chynna is a mom to her three young children and a student wokring on her BA in psychology.

Win …

If you comment on today’s post by 11:59pm on December 1, 2010, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Not Just Spirited: A Mom’s Sensational Journey With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the commenter whose name will go into the WOW drawing for the book. To read Chynna’s post about parenting and a list of other blogs participating in Chynna’s Blanket Tour for more chances to win, visit The Muffin.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

Lori Widmer of Words on the Page tells the story of running into a fellow freelancer and playing catch up. The freelancer reported an empty client pot and that “no one’s calling.” I’d love to know how many businesses thrive by sitting back and expecting everyone to come rushing in to hire the business.

Waiting for Clients

If I waited for people to call, I’d be in her situation, too. Marketing isn’t a passive activity or one that we do when we have more time on our hands. Successful freelancers make marketing part of the job. Picturing cold calls? Cold calls work well for many freelancers while others don’t touch that. Networking without Walls or Boundaries lists a few ways to do marketing and they work for me.

Wondering why I have a picture of my son doing archery? Marketing is like archery. If you don’t do it at all, you have no chance of landing anything. If you shoot 10 arrows without aiming, at least one is bound to hit the target. It may not be the bull’s eye, but it’s something. Don’t just sit there, do marketing.

Finding the Right Marketing Activities

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the many options we have available to us for networking and marketing. Start with one thing. Ignore the rest. Just pick one. Don’t make yourself crazy. Need some ideas? Here are 40+ Easy Marketing Activities for Freelancers.

After you find two or three activities that work for you, then proceed with the next step on How to Manage Your Time with Social Networks.

I’m busier now than two years ago. I used to do book and game reviews all the time. Now, I hardly do them because I have more writing and other work to do. That’s on top of managing my family of five (and doing all the appointments), exercising daily for at least one hour and getting my seven to eight hours of sleep. In spite of this, marketing remains a consistent part of my job.

In writing for several business newsletters, one message keeps repeating itself. When a business needs to cut back on spending, successful ones never cut the budget or time spent on marketing. Those that do eventually lose momentum that by the time things improve, they’re behind their competitors who kept on marketing.

How do you make marketing part of your work? What activities do you do?

Few people can think of all aspects of starting a new business and know how to do each one. In Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works, Melinda Emerson outlines all the key things to do and provides support with questions to ask, activities and resources to help you. And she does it with an honest, straight-forward approach.

Emerson has been through the good and the bad of starting a business, and shares her experiences and mistakes. She covers everything. Having family support, quitting your job too soon, creating an online strategy, marketing and more. The month-by-month plan built around the six-phased Emerson Planning System works like a step-by-step list so you’re won’t get stuck wondering what you need to do next or if you’ve omitted a step. Every chapter ends with an action steps checklist for easy referencing.

Most start up businesses tend to be conscious about money. Emerson gives options and resources for saving money. For example, you have three choices for hiring an accountant: bookkeeper, accountant and certified public accountant (CPA). She explains the differences, lists questions to ask when hiring one and offers suggestions for which one to hire as each has different hourly rates. What about leasing office equipment? I wouldn’t have thought of that or know how to decide if it’s the best option. Emerson guides you through all that.

Even if you’ve already started your business, you can gain value in this brimming guide as you may have areas that need addressing or improvement. Though my business is a one-person business and doesn’t have the complexities of hiring people, I uncovered some useful tips and information to strengthen parts of my business or to fill an overlooked gap.

The only nitpick is the formatting. Some pages have inconsistent content formatting in terms of paragraphs, spacing and bold text. Numbered and bulleted lists also feel off and take away some readability. Italics — hard to read when there’s too much of it — appear a little too often.

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is a fast and easy read because of Emerson’s casual writing style that stays away from dull, corporate-like business talk. For those starting out, I suggest reading the entire book on the first go-round to grasp the whole picture. Then, reference it often as you work on specific activities.

No one can guarantee your business will succeed. However, Emerson’s solid and organized plan makes good business sense. Her guidance will put you on track to do it right and increase your chances for long-term success.

FTC disclosure: Author received copy from publisher, which had no influence on the review or the affiliate link.

Photo from stock.xchng user Dan Milligan

I’m the editor of several email newsletters. Every issue has a reader question that everyone is welcome to help and answer. Sometimes the questions stump readers, so I post it in Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Most of the time I receive dozens of replies. The latest submission had 40+ replies and only ten made the article.

Here’s the short version of the reader question. “My clients come from all over the country. So I wondered if I should pursue some of these options (referencing social networking), or stick to phone calls and emails? Which networking tools are best?”

Many replies didn’t make the cut, even good ones. Here are the reasons they ended up in the rejected pile.

1. Unoriginal answer. I’m not going to bore readers with multiple replies all making the same point. The one that says it best wins.
2. Off track. These didn’t pay attention to the query. Notice the reader said he has clients all over the country and that he uses phone calls and email to stay in touch. That tells me that face-to-face isn’t an option. Yet, many replies mentioned face-to-face. However (the grey area), I added some strong responses because there are readers who have local clients. And face-to-face is still important.
3. Self-promotion. One response provides a URL immediately followed by a suggestion to send handwritten cards. Guess the person’s business. Yep, sending cards. Some opened with the company name and what it does. Who cares? Had the person cut that part, it may have had a chance. Several constantly mentioned their own organizations in giving examples. Sharing your experience is good, but not when your company dominates the response and adds irrelevant details. For example, an organization emphasized networking events and included the name of a speaker and other details about a specific event. Again, who cares?
4. No paragraph breaks. I got a 600-word reply in one giant paragraph. If I had five replies instead of forty, maybe I’d take the time to add the breaks so I can read it. Not this time.
5. Expects a follow up. I put the following in my query: “A reader asked the following question. Please answer it in email. No interviews or phone calls.” A couple of PR people introduced their expert and offered to set up an interview. Smart PR folks get the answer from their clients and then email me the reply.
6. UPPER CASE LETTERS. The reply itself may not be in all upper case letters, but the entire signature is. Of course, upper case is acceptable in a company name, abbreviations, initials or career as in CPA, M.D. or J.D. In this 40+ reply pile, at least three violated this. This may sound uptight to you, but it speaks to the quality of the person and business. For grins, I clicked these folks’ links to discover unprofessional-looking sites to match the emails. One person’s signature had an entire paragraph of 160 words — all upper case.
7. Unprofessional website. I add links to the responders’ websites as a way of thanking them for sharing their expertise. Well, I’m not going to send my readers to unprofessional sites. A weak website could have readers questioning our judgement in selecting experts. I expect the experts to be professionals and treat their entire business as such.
8. Wrong audience. Like I said, I’m OK with replies that use a person’s company as an example if done without promotion overkill. One person said he’s gotten a lot of X work doing Y from Twitter and Facebook. It was a business-to-consumer (B2C) type of company. Our readers are people who work in business-to-business (B2B) and professional services. Granted, my query may not give that clue, although I did mention the publication’s name. Grey area, but it’s a reason some responses go in the trash pile.
9. Missed deadline. That didn’t happen in this round, but it has happened in previous queries. Several folks were nice enough to admit they knew the deadline had passed, but wanted to submit it in case I could use it. It shows they paid attention and I consider them if…  (a) I still have time, (b) I didn’t get many replies and (c) they’re strong responses. They knew the risks of submitting a late reply.

These rules aren’t black and white. But I’ve rejected responses because of every one of them. I’ve let some through, too. When responding to queries, all we can do is be aware and do the best we can.

What annoys you when people respond to your query?

Photo by stock.xchng user Maja Lampe

I’ve lost clients over the years. Only one was because she didn’t like my work. However, in defense of my work, she wanted web site content that resembled her business plan — a bad idea that will not go over well with the audience. I tried to explain standard practice and support that with data. It was a relief to get out of that one because it probably would’ve turned into a dreaded project and a bad client.

Anyway, freelancers lose jobs because of budget cuts, changes in a company’s direction, the company going out of business and many other reasons not having to do with you. That’s why it’s important to have balance in your clients. If one dominates, losing the client will be dangerous and it CAN happen.

But that’s not what happened to me. I lost one client due to cutbacks. Another client may not be gone, but I haven’t been able to reach them. Then a games affiliate changed up its program. All this happened within a week or two, so it was a bit much.

I reacted like a human. I reeled and did the whole “Woe is me” thing for a few days, but without it affecting my work. I’m sure my husband was sick of me that week. As soon as I stopped reeling, I started dealing.

I sent emails and tweets to contacts to explore possibilities of replacing one client with a similar type of client. I emailed the non-responding client a couple of times (spread out and to both contacts). I will keep trying to reach them without nagging. I don’t think they have a problem with my work because I’ve checked in with them a few times to ensure I’m more than meeting their needs.

The affiliate thing. That’s one I can’t really fix. I need to write more reviews and articles for The Game Zen, but I’ve been too busy to play games.

Point here. You will lose clients and it will hurt even if it’s not personal. That’s OK. The key is to be proactive before and after it happens.

How to deal with losing clients:

• Ensure you have a variety of clients and projects.
• Make marketing a regular part of your job.
• Check in with your clients to see how you can better serve them.
• Stay in touch with current and past clients. Cheaper than finding new clients.

What other tips do you have for preparing for losing clients and dealing with it?

Image credit: Cecile Graat

In her latest issue of The Prosperous Writer, Christina Katz asks, “On a scale of one to ten, how’s your self-respect? Can you say no? Do you say yes to yield to social pressure and supposed-tos and then suffer for it? Are you catering to too many other people’s needs but burning out in the process? Do you listen to and trust your instincts about what is and isn’t the best way to proceed?”

I aim for balance when it comes to my writing business and personal life. I love the flexibility that comes with my business. Spending time with my family, taking care of my health and contributing to my community are all priorities in my life.

• Family: I chose to have a family and that involves spending time with them. It doesn’t mean spending hundreds of dollars on vacation or expensive activities. It can be as simple as reading a book together, playing a board game or sitting at the dining table.
• Health: If I don’t take care of myself, I won’t perform my best for clients, family and others. I believe in “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” When I don’t get seven to eight hours of sleep, I function at 50 percent the next day, if that. Staying up a couple of hours late isn’t worth the effects it would have on the following day.
• Community: Contributing to my community matters because it takes a village to take care of our world. Without programs and people, many things would never happen to make a difference in people’s lives.

Every year, I gain a couple of new assignments, which often take me out of my comfort zone because they’re new.  Already, I have a new gig that is different that pushes my boundaries while I have fun. I maintain a variety of clients because I enjoy the diversity of the work. Plus, if one should go out of business (knock on wood), my business won’t fall apart because I still have other gigs. I’ve been fortunate that I bring in new clients on a consistent basis.

I thought about creating a course that I’d teach by email. After long deliberations, I opted not to do it. Developing a course not only requires pulling together strong, interactive content, but also promoting it and keeping it fresh. As much as I love the subject, I didn’t have enough confidence that I’d have enough enrollment on a regular basis. Furthermore, I’ve noticed those who do well in offering such classes tend to speak a few times a year and have at least one known published book.

I’m comfortable with giving presentations, but uncomfortable with the answering questions part — a very critical part of the two-way interaction. So that’s not a priority in my business, but I wouldn’t turn down free travel and the opportunity. If it happens, I bring index cards so people can write their questions down or send it  to me on Twitter. Sure, I’ve written two books, but they’re not focused on my expertise.

Because I’m not a high energy person, every opportunity that comes my way receives careful consideration. I do what I can to avoid overwhelming myself and keeping my work streamlined.

How’s your self-respect?

Streamlining has emerged as a theme with a few writers. Christina Katz said good-bye to several newsletters and her fun Back-to-School Giveaway that I participated in for all three years. Kristine Meldrum Denholm, Mary Jo Campbell and Pamela Wilson also write about streamlining and finding your direction and clarity. Freelance Switch shows how to start of your new year with an ideal project profile that can send you on your way.

I’ve shared my struggle to plan for the new year, but these posts help me realize something. Part of the struggle could be a result from my *staying* streamlined. I’ve always known that I am not a high energy person even though I played lots of sports as a kid and continue to make exercise a regular part of my lifestyle.

What can you streamline? Originally, I began to answer that here. Only to find out this post fit a client’s blog, and client comes first. So here’s the streamlining work post. Here are the bullet points from the post along with how they apply to a writing business:

• Changing direction. This can be changing your topic, industry, type of writing (articles, white papers, case studies, greeting cards, etc.) and client types (ad agency, publisher, web site, etc.).
• Replacing one for one. You can drop a publication because it no longer interests you and replace it with one that does. You take on a web content project and drop one that’s focused on doing articles for a publication.
• Dropping energy draining clients and projects. Maybe you’re tired of your beat with one publication. If you aren’t comfortable with dropping the beat without lining up another, wait until you find a new beat that energizes you.
• Social networking. How you spend your time on social networking depends on how you use it. For me, it’s my major marketing tool.
• Unpaid activities. Social networking and writing blog posts in your own blog are unpaid activities (unless you have blog sponsors). Review these unpaid activities and determine how much time you should devote to them.
• Organizations. Being active in a professional writers’ organization can be beneficial in a lot of ways and time consuming. You can change up how to stay involved. Instead of being a board member, be a volunteer on an as-needed basis.

Christina Katz left a great comment. “If you could do anything you wanted to do all day without having to worry about money or anything else at all, how would you spend your day?” I’ve been thinking about that since she left the comment, and I haven’t arrived at an answer yet. What about you? What’s your answer?

While I haven’t answered that question, I can honestly say I’m happy with all of my current clients and projects. (I weaned out the not so enjoyable work a while ago.) So I will continue that route with the occasional acceptance of new projects or applying for them. I’m lucky that my work is diverse. Maybe that’s why I can’t answer Christina’s question.

How are you streamlining your writing business so you can focus on what you love to do?

Prizes: Custom blog design by Jon of Spyre Studios and Freelance Folder, one Alawar PC game package including full copies of Virtual Farm, Curse of Montezuma, and Alex Gordon, and 80 Photoshop brush packs from our guest blogger, Jacob Cass. Just leave a valuable 30+ word comment by July 6, 2008.

As a regular reader of Freelance Folder, I read about a contest that Jacob Cass had going on his Just Creative Design blog. Once I checked it out, I became a regular reader even before I found out I won a prize! I also gave away a few prizes there, too. Jacob oozes talent in both writing, design, and business. This guy hasn’t been blogging long and already established himself as a blogger. How I wish I could be following him on his 30+ days of vacation!

Take Advantage of These Productivity Tips

This article will go through the best time of the day to do things in relation to your mental state of mind which in turn will make you more productive. I present to you… productivity tips for designers.

8am – Face Your Fears Time

This is the quietest time for suicide so this is a good time to face your fears – Know that you have a deadline due at 1pm, know that you have 10 other projects to complete, know that your house needs cleaning, bills need paying and know that there is no end to it. Just make sure you know all this by 11 at night as this is suicide o clock.

9am to 10am – Work Time

Time to tackle your work here, these are the most productive hours (for the majority). Even Darren Rowse thinks so.

10am/11am – Chill Out Time

This is the time that most heart attacks occur so it would be good to chill out or have a break at this time. Coffee or morning tea break anyone?

12pm – Sex & Uncluttered Mind Time (If that can go together?)

If you fancy someone in your office or classroom, now is the time to go in for the kill. As James Sniechowski, author of the The New Intimacy explains: “People are more receptive to advances then, because their minds aren’t cluttered with what they have to do that day or what they have to do when they get home.”

Pretty much this is a great time to get your creative juices going as you have an uncluttered mind. You may also want to check out How To Boost Your Creativity.

1pm – Nap Time

The best time to have a power nap (as I call them) is at around 1pm when your body temperature naturally dips. An ideal power nap should last for 15 to 20 minutes.

2pm – No One Can Touch Me (FIG JAM)

This is the time that we have the highest pain threshold so it is a good time to ask for a promotion or get that dental filling you were meant to have last month but ‘accidentally’ missed.

3pm/4pm – Strength and Mood is at its best

Hand and eye coordination is at its peak and mood levels are high during this period so this would be a good time to have a break. Maybe go for a short jog or for the lazy… maybe some Photoshop Tennis.

This is also the time that people are most awake and alert so how about you do that one last proof now before sending your job to the printer.

5pm – Happy Hour

We all know what 5pm means but did you know that your liver metabolises alcohol most efficiently at this time of the afternoon? After work drinks never sounded so good.

8.30pm – Sweet Sweet Food

Despite what many people think, eating late will not necessarily make you fat says Nigel Denby of the British Dietetic Association. “A calorie is a calorie whenever you eat it.” Dig in.

10.30pm – Sleep

A warm shower helps to make people fall asleep as body temperature needs to fall in order to help us sleep… I don’t think I have ever met a designer who does go to bed at 10.30.

Got any more productivity tips?

About The Author: Jacob Cass is a graphic designer / blogger based in Newcastle, Sydney, Australia. He runs a popular graphic design blog by the name of Just Creative Design of which you can get more articles like the one above just by subscribing to his feed.

Winners of Are You Ready to Hire a Virtual Assistant? entry prizes: April wins Five ebooks on writing from Anne Wayman and Tracy Fitzpatrick wins one full copy of Astraware Classic Collection, which includes Astraware Sudoku, Astraware Solitaire, and Astraware Board games. Congratulations!

This entry’s prizes: One copy of Business Daffynitions: Humor from the Workplace from Joe Heuer, the Rock and Roll Guru, one full copy of Orchidia PC game from Joyboost, (See Meryl’s Orchidia review.) and one copy of Andy King’s Website Optimization. As usual, just post a valuable 30+ word comment by July 6.

Either Peter Bowerman‘s name or books came up in the newsletters on writing that I regularly read. Eventually, we exchanged a few emails and I enjoy his knowledge, honesty, and writing. He produces a valuable newsletter and of course, his books are worth every dollar. I’m honored to have him as a guest blogger.

The $75,000 Writer: Follow the Dollars to Freelance Commercial Writing

Imagine This: The editor of a magazine you’ve written several pieces for says yes to a recent query. You outline the parameters of the piece and the conversation turns to money. He says, “Let’s try something a little different this time. Figure out how many hours you think it’ll take to do the piece. Factor in time for research, background reading, travel to and from appointments, brainstorming, interviewing, writing, and editing. Then multiply the hours by $75 and give me a figure.” You return with a number, he says “fine” and you get to work.

Has he lost his mind? Is this a freelancer’s wistful fantasy? In some writing arenas, maybe. But in freelance commercial (corporate) writing, the above-described scenario is pretty much right on the money. And speaking of money, instead of flat fees with potentially vast and open-ended investments of time, here’s a field where fees are based on hourly rates of $50-125 or more, and all time counts.

A Lucrative and Growing Opportunity
In the few decades, prolific downsizing in Corporate America has resulted in the outsourcing of an enormous amount of writing projects to well-paid freelancers. How can you get your share? Who do you contact? Well, for starters, there are two main groups of prospects: End Users (EU) and Middlemen (MM).

End Users (EUs)
EUs are the corporations, large and small (as well as non-profits, universities, and more), that will be the end-users of the writing. With large companies, approach Corporate Communications, also known as “MarCom” (marketing communications). With smaller ones, try marketing, sales, or finally, HR.

A manager with a huge telecommunications firm in Atlanta noted, “Most people would assume that a company of our size would do the bulk of our writing in-house, and they’d be wrong. It’s amazing how much writing we outsource. My writing needs these days are pretty steady, and I pay anywhere from $65-85/hour, depending on the writer’s experience.”

Middlemen (MMs)
MMs – companies often hired by EUs to execute these projects – include advertising agencies, graphic design firms, marketing companies, PR firms, and event production companies – to name the key ones. Few of these entities staff writing talent, preferring instead to hire the right talent for a specific job, and only when needed.

• Ad Agencies/PR Firms: These entities, which can be huge, do staff copywriters for high-profile ad campaigns but will often bring in freelancers to handle “collateral” (marketing brochures, newsletters, sales sheets, etc.). Small agencies offer better opportunities for freelancers.
• Graphic Design Firms: This group tends toward the smaller end and rarely have on-staff writers. They include many “lone rangers” (one-person shops), several of whom have put many thousands of dollars in my pocket over time. Cultivate relationships with the most talented designers at the larger firms. The good ones all eventually go freelance and if they like you and your work, you’ll be on their “A-list.”
• Event Production Companies: These firms handle all aspects of huge corporate conventions, conferences, product launches, etc. That may include show literature, videos, speeches, web content, signage, and more. Contact major convention facilities to get the names of the big players.

Who to Contact?
For all the above MM clients, contact CDs (Creative Directors: often hard to reach), ACDs (Assistant CDs: easier), AEs (Account Executives), PMs (Project Managers). Find them through the actual category listing in the Yellow Pages or through an annual business listing publication.

Beyond the Yellow Pages…
Where else can you find your prospects? Most good-sized metropolitan areas have a weekly business publication ending in “… Business Journal (i.e. Los Angeles Business Journal, Philadelphia Business Journal, etc.) Check www.amcity.com for the full nationwide listing. Get their Book of Lists, an invaluable annual resource listing of the top businesses in dozens of categories.

Whatever your goals or circumstances, the commercial writing field offers a lucrative and growing opportunity for those with good writing skills. Isn’t it time for a raise?

About the author: Peter Bowerman, a freelance copywriter, speaker and business coach, is the author of the award winning Well-Fed Writer titles – how-to “standards” on lucrative freelancing for businesses (www.wellfedwriter.com). In 2007, leveraging the successful self-publishing of his first two books (52,000 copies in print, and a full-time living for five-plus years), he released The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living. (www.wellfedsp.com).

• Add Spark to Your Writing with These 3 Simple Tweaks: I shy away from sentences where I use repeating words even though a comma separates them. This convinced me otherwise.
• So You Want to Become a Freelance Writer? Four part article with advice from the pros.
• Best Pro-Blogging Sentence in 2008: Wonderful quote from a CEO on why blogging matters in business.
• Disposable Email Addresses: Want something? Not sure if you can trust a source asking for your email?
• The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks: Love this. I’ve got friends who do this in email plus add unnecessary apostrophes. Nice to laugh instead of cringe for a change.
• Idea Seeds for Successful Articles and Posts: Creative approach to finding ideas.
• Searching for Mr. (Pardon, Mrs. and Ms., too) Good Host: A guest post of mine over at my guest blogger‘s site

And for fun… because we’re allowed…

• Speak LOL Cat [Link: Peter Shankman]
• Bored at work, but don’t want to get caught reading fiction or poetry? How about reading this stuff in PowerPoint? This takes work to figure out — but you log in as a user and click the folders. Start Here.