It’s time for our next writing competition.
This time, you’ll get the help you need with ANY current writing challenge.
Your challenge can be anything at all — simple or complex.
Perhaps:
* You’re stuck on a writing project and don’t know how to proceed; or…
* You want to write a book. We’ll get you started… We’ll create a complete step by step outline for your book, and your book proposal too… We’ll even make plans for snagging an agent for you; or…
* You’re completely new to freelancing, and want to get set up properly — we’ll create a simple business plan for you, that’s custom-made for you, and your situation…; or…
* You want to get help with marketing — advertising your writing services, or landing clients, or you want to get paid more by your current clients; or…
* You want to diversify into a new writing area: blogging, copywriting, creating info products; or…
* You want a GIANT dose of motivation and inspiration. We’ll discover your own personal motivation triggers, so that you rediscover the joy of writing and get started developing the writing career you were born to have; or…
* You’re not sure what you need. That’s fine. We’ll figure it out.
Remember, your writing challenge can be anything at all; you’re not limited to the examples I gave above.
Here’s how to enter
In 200 words or less, tell me what help you need. Include some information about your career to date, your writing goals, and how much time you have to write each day.
The prize
Your prize is a one-hour consultation with me, valued at $300. This will take place over a month, and you’ll receive everything my consultation clients receive, including: video instruction, tasks, and plans, all completely personalized to you, and your needs at this time. (You’ll find that “one hour” with me is quite intensive. )
The Contest Rules
Please read these rules carefully, and follow them.
1. You MUST be subscribed to Fab Freelance Writing Ezine to win.
2. Post your entry in the Comments to this post. No other entries will be considered. Comments are moderated, and any entries with promotional links (such as those to affiliate products) will be summarily deleted.
3. The prize is not transferable. That is, should you win, you may not sell the prize to someone else, nor may you exchange the prize for cash, by selling it on eBay, or anywhere else. If you win, you win.
4. Entries close on July 19, 2010 August 10, 2010. The winner will be notified by July 23, 2010 August 14, 2010, by email. The winning entry will also be announced here.
Good luck — I’m looking forward to writing with you, to help you to achieve your dreams.
UPDATE on July 11, 2010
I’ve had many requests to extend the date of this competition, because many writers have other commitments, or are on vacation. If you’ve been hesitating about entering, do enter: if you win, you can start your coaching at any time within the next 12 months.
UPDATE: the Winner is…
Our winner is PatriciaW; congratulations to Patricia, and many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter.
Watch for another contest soon.
Info Product Maestro: Make $500 a Day with Your Information Products
Sell Your Writing Online NOW
When it comes to my writing, I’m not stuck so much as I’m stumbling around wearing a blindfold. There’s so much information on the web, it’s not always clear what to trust and what to ignore. I’m trying to launch a freelance writing career. Wrote for confessions mags? Check. Tried pay-for-click? Dismal. Authored articles for content factories? Yup. What I’d really like to get into is magazine article writing, ghostwriting and freelance editing, although you’ve recently piqued my interest regarding owning my writing as a revenue stream vs. writing for hire. I need to think more about that as I’m not sure what my subject matter for that might be.
I started writing fiction about a decade ago but I find that with my limited time to write per day–maybe an hour or less–my fiction was going nowhere fast. Fiction makes me vulnerable in a way that I’m not prepared to deal with right now. Freelance non-fiction doesn’t and I enjoy it. My immediate motivation is additional income. Long-term, I’d like to have a sizable portion of my income come from writing to lessen my dependency on my corporate job.
When my son was born just over two years ago, my husband and I decided I’d work from home. I did the old things like Melaleuca and Avon, but that just didn’t cut it. I got into ghostwriting articles and worked for a woman who paid me very low wages – 50 hours of work a week, up until 2 AM to get it all finished, and I’d be lucky to make $100 in a week. As a result, I have experience with a variety of things but no clients to claim or published work.
I can write at least 4 hours a day, possibly a bit more – I have a toddler at home so it goes according to his schedule. I need to learn to write faster, and I am looking at setting up my own site. I want to make enough from my freelancing career to comfortably support my family – I’m interested in revenue streams, articles, ghostwriting, editing. I want to finish my books and publish those (fiction.) I just have no idea how to go about any of it and with my information overload it’s like hunting for a needle in a pitch black room.
A freelance business that allows me to write what I want and when I want is my ultimate goal.
Ideally, I seek to create a business model that minimizes the number of clients I need to make at least $100,000/year.
By making this amount I can retire from my corporate job, comfortably support my family, and enjoy lifestyle freedom(a big motivator).
Copywriting, SEO, and direct marketing styles of writing appeal to me.
Short-term my plan is to write for content sites to make “right now” money and build a portfolio.
My dilemma is lack of training on how to really maximize writing for these sites.
I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels.
Long-term I will focus on authority blogging, information marketing, and information products.
Currently, I write for Examiner.com, and I’ve submitted some articles to Associatedcontent.com and Ehow.com.
I can dedicate two hours a day to writing.
I blogged lately for a client, but because I was a slow writer, he terminated my services after three weeks of working with him. I at first negotiated that he paid me per word but he insisted on paying me per hour in the hope that I would improve and produce the number of articles he expected for the day.
What I need is more writing speed and power and from being an article /blog writer I want to move a step higher to being a copywriter to increase my earning potential. I also need the right persons to approach to get me to high paying jobs.
My writing goal is to have the confidence to express myself clearly and evocatively in any given subject or topic and to produce quality and marketable articles that business people will be willing to buy.
I have six to eight hours allotted for writing each day and I am willing to put forth extra time to study books, manuals and stories from other seasoned writers so that I could become successful too.
I have been writing since I was a teenager and was first published when my first child was born over 30 years ago. Since then I have published hundreds of articles while bringing up 7 children and working at various regular jobs.
Now my children are grown and I only have a part-time teaching job so I’m able to spend many more hours a day writing – but I seem to be stuck with the same online and print markets I’ve been writing for, for many years.
I could and should have more markets and a higher income but I seem to be stuck in a low paying rut which I can’t dig myself out of and despite reading many writing books, subscribing to writing magazines and several writing ezines I’m not making much progress.
I have been writing all my life but have never been able to make it a priority and even now it cannot be. I waste far too much time reading writing sites instead of actually writing. I had a short story published in a woman´s magazine years ago and recently won a competition on line similar to this one.
There are discouraging stumbling blocks all the way. I have an E book of short stories I want to put on Amazon Kindle but to be honest am having difficulty in downloading it. A computer technician arranged to visit me, do this and set up a website but that day his Grandmother died! A minor delay but these sort of things seem to be happening all the time.
I do not have that much time to devote to writing, maybe an hour or two a day sometimes. I live in the Canaries because I have a sick grandchild and I am the chief babysitter.
Another great motivation to write at the moment is shortage of money. I think we are all in the same boat but it would be nice to help my husband as he struggles to balance the books.
I have your course on Article Writing but I am still not fully comprehending this idea.
Goals: To earn $50,000 per year from writing. My preference is writing for the web with a focus on SEO and copywriting, my strengths. My two passions are writing and making the world a better place; I am deeply committed to the latter and cannot help the former. Writing is a need, a pleasure, a constant. I work and live between Sydney, Australia and Ghana, Africa, where my partner and I run an NGO and development project. My work needs to be independent of location and I can see writing as a perfect choice. It’s a bonus that I love doing it.
Career to date: Writing my own blogs, co-authoring a travel guide, being featured on Lonely Planet as a blogger, writing for online publishers (Suite 101), and voluntarily for Global Voices Online. This is low or non-paying, but it’s a start. If I could actually make a living doing this—unbelievable!
Writing time each day: 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Thanks for all the helpful info. It’s my version of a library since I’m so far from any real libraries.
I just want to write and become visible in that, and be brave enough to just put my writing out there and see what happens. It isn’t always that easy though when you are sruggling with the aspects of writing. Writing is what I want to do, and do well. I just don’t want to miss it by staying in the “practice” mode too long.
So my goals are simply that I’ve just got to get busy toward the first real step in believing I can write. And I need guidance with my
writing style, and also I need help in writing more creatively.
I have written poetry on Fanstory, but my rewards there, are the wonderful reviews and all that I learn. I also wrote the news letter and prison ministry letters for my church.
I have raised five children, and I’m a substitute teacher, but now I want to take more time to write. I have about three hours a day to work on my writing, that is, if I am given that time by God, my Creator.
And did I mention, making my first dollar at writing would be just great.
I just want to become more visible in my writing, and be brave enough to just put something out there and see what it does. It is hard believing you can now leave the page and go another step, when mechanics of writing still pose a problem. And, I need help knowing and developing my style.
Right now, I just want to work toward magazine article writing, because I read a lot of magazines, and it would be more familiar to me than e-zines, which would be like a foreign language now, but I hope this is possible for the future.
I have written for my church in the form of prison ministry letters and monthly news letters. I found this very rewarding. I have always been interested in listening to others; moreso as a child when I would become almost spellbound.
I have raised five children – three my own, and two adorable granddaughters – from little girls to grown young ladies. I would like to take more time writing, now, and I need help getting started toward being more successful and just doing it.
I have about three hours, maybe a little more, to write daily – God’s will, of course.