Why My Focus is on Freelance Editing (+ Why I Stopped Freelance Writing)

Why My Focus is on Freelance Editing (+ Why I Stopped Freelance Writing)

Freelance editing is what I am made to do! 

My focus is now on freelance editing instead of freelance writing.

Do you think you’re made for editing instead of writing?

I have always loved words and I have always loved writing.

When I first started blogging and got an offer to write an article a month for Dear Blogger, I decided to try my hand at freelance writing. This was all before Wording Well was born… back in 2013. 

When I founded Wording Well in 2014, I started out offering only freelance writing services. It wasn’t until later that I began offering editing services. Looking back, I realize that I should’ve had my focus on freelance editing all along. It’s what I love to do most of all!

Is freelance editing “your thing”?

If you want to become a freelance editor, check this out!

There are so many awesome things about being an editor. These are 12 benefits of being a freelance editor that I get to enjoy EVERY DAY.

How I Built Up My Freelance Editing Reputation

I used to get free books from authors I met online in exchange for my promise to write a book review for them.

I did this for many authors. Most of them were relatively unknown… but I really lucked out when the famous author, Lisa Jackson, saw that blog post, sent me a Tweet, and then took me up on this offer!

I was thrilled when she sent me an autographed book because she has been one of my favorite authors for years!

Lisa Jackson's autograph on my copy of "Tell Me"

While reading books published by authors I met online, I noticed that many of them didn’t have a good editor. I ended up editing their books for them!

At first, I did this for free. This is how I started to build my reputation as an editor. (Remember, I was an unknown editor back then!)

Why I Began to Diversify My Services to Focus on Freelance Editing

After editing for free for a while, I realized two things:

1: It takes a lot of time to edit a novel. (It takes longer to edit a novel than reading it does!)

2: My time was valuable. Read More

Where to Find the Motivation to Work

Where to Find the Motivation to Work

Do you struggle with finding the motivation to work, even though you are an entrepreneur?

The greatest part about being an entrepreneur or a freelancer is that you’re your own boss. You don’t have someone peering over your shoulder at all times. You don’t have to worry about sleeping in and getting fired. The list goes on and on.

However, this can be a big disadvantage as well.

What do I mean by this? Well, let me explain.

When you’re depressed, anxious, or easily distracted, you can end up being less productive. This can mean less income or more time working on stuff that seems to take forever to do.

Here are some ways you can get the motivation to work.

Play Some Music

When you’re bloggingg or doing something else that requires intense focus, playing some good music can help you keep focused as you work. Many people will have different ways to play music. Some people will stick to binaural beats and white noise that is ambient and drowns out everything around them so they can stay focused. Some like to play classical music or soundtracks. There are some who like songs with singing, though this may be distracting for some people.

Just open up YouTube or Spotify and see what the music gods can give you. You may even discover music that you never thought you’d like.

Eliminate Distractions

If you have children around, try to work when they are away.

If you are always looking at social media, try using filters to block the site or limit your time during working hours.

Check all your emails before you work, or after.

Being able to do these things can help you stay focused. When you have a normal job, it’s easy for you to stay on track because you may be reprimanded if you aren’t. With freelance work, you may find that you have to discipline yourself a bit. Read More

5 Blogging Tips for Busy College Students

5 Blogging Tips for Busy College Students

Busy college students have multiple assignments to submit, essays to write, and exams to prepare for. Does this make you wonder why you even bothered to begin blogging in the first place?

Firstly, starting a blog in college is a great decision. Apart from improving your writing skills, it helps you form a strong network, build your personal brand, and push your creative boundaries while making money on the side.

It sure is difficult to manage a busy college schedule and run a blog… but it is not impossible! All you need to learn is how to manage your time effectively. If you do that, there is no stopping you from being productive in every aspect of your life!

Here are 5 tips to succeed as a blogger if you are an extremely busy college student.

Tip #1: Allocate Time to Blog

Sometimes, in spite of having the intentions to blog, it’s easy to get busy with college and ignore your blog in the process. In order to take blogging seriously, you need to set aside time specifically for doing tasks related to your blog.

From brainstorming ideas and curating content to scheduling and promoting it, blogging is a time-consuming process. However, if you give yourself 2 hours every day or devote a few hours every weekend to it, you are likely to make better progress.

Ultimately, having a schedule and organizing your tasks lets you be more disciplined and productive. That way, you don’t even feel guilty choosing one thing over the other.

Tip #2: Prioritize Wisely

While you have allocated blogging time, it’s important to prioritize wisely as well. After all, there is no denying that focusing on academics is of utmost importance and nothing should take precedence over that.

For instance, if you need an essay written now, you need to focus on your submissions rather than spending time on your blog.

So, be prepared for unexpected delays and tasks added to your to-do list. Plan your days accordingly and don’t lose focus of the bigger picture.

Tip #3: Maintain an Editorial Calendar

You might think you can hurriedly jot notes on your phone and schedule posts when you feel like it. This way of working is not only haphazard but can also affect the quality of your work.

Instead, why not maintain an editorial calendar? Doing this will let you streamline your thoughts and consistently post in a timely manner. Don’t be too hard on yourself by posting every day or every second day. Studies have shown that posting daily on your blog won’t work.

Determine the time you can allocate to blogging, decide on a posting schedule, and stick to it. Give yourself deadlines so you know you have to publish a post in the given time period. Read More

3 Essential Articles Every Website Needs to Make Money Online

3 Essential Articles Every Website Needs to Make Money Online

To make money online, there are 3 articles you should have on your website.

Are you making the most of your writer website or your blog? Do you even have your own site?

For many writers and bloggers, setting up a website is crucial. It allows you to brand your business, display your portfolio, and gives you a place to write that is all your own.

However, unlike social media pages (which help with the above), websites incur costs. The natural thing to do is attempt to generate revenue through your website. After all, if you can break even or (preferably) turn a profit, your website truly becomes an asset rather than a liability.

However, to many, this can cause a conflict. After all, you want to offer genuine value to your audience, but you need revenue.  So, how do you not only provide great content for your readers but also turn some revenue without losing credibility?

Today, I’ve invited Dave Chesson to share with you three types of posts which have been proven to generate revenue for writer websites while also providing genuine value to audiences. He will even include examples so you can put these to work on your own site.

Although I actually have multiple income streams, Dave says the three types of posts you should have on your site to make money online are:

1: Product Review Posts

2: Product Comparison Posts

3: Resource Master Lists

Take it away, Dave!

1: Product Reviews

One of the keys to successful revenue-generating blog posts is getting the right mixture of enthusiasm and likeability. One of the best ways to achieve this mix is by taking the time to review and share the products you truly use and care about.

When you review a product you genuinely use and love, your enthusiasm will be tangible. It will be clear from the level of knowledge you provide that you are a genuine fan of the product.

Product Review Posts – Best Practices

Some of the best practice tips to keep in mind when putting together a product review post include:

– Be sure to take pictures and even videos of you using the product. This not only shows that you genuinely own and use the product, but it also conveys your personality more than simply writing about it.

– Make sure that the products and services you review have an affiliate program available. Be sure to register for this in advance of putting your review together.

– Check out the other reviews that are ranking on Google for the same product you are looking at. Make sure your own review offers something extra.

– Be honest about the product. Highlight its flaws as well as its advantages. This adds credibility to your review and shows it’s a genuine analysis rather than a fluff piece.

Now that you know some of the best practice tips for putting together a review for your website, let’s consider some of the types of products you might wish to review.

– Software relevant to your audience. As a writer, this could include writing software, editing software, or anything else you think your audience might enjoy and find useful. Examples could include notebooks, pens, or anything else writers need to get by.

– Off-topic products. These might not relate directly to writing, but might be useful for writers, such as a special brand of coffee.

Basically, anything that you love, and that you think your audience might as well, is the perfect choice for a review post.

Product Review Posts – Examples & Lessons

Now that you know how to go about creating a review post, and the type of products you might review, let’s check out some examples from real websites for the final piece of the inspiration puzzle.

1: Wording Well’s Review of Meaning, Self, and the Human Potential

Wording Well posted a review of Meaning, Self, and the Human Potential. Some of the tips to take away from this review include:

Provide context. The relationship between the reviewer and the product being reviewed is clearly discussed and talked about.

Explain the implications of the product. Rather than just talking about what the book is, this review also explains why it matters.

Clear suggestion of who the book is for. Rather than just saying what’s good or bad in your review, suggest the right type of person for it.

Grammarly feature comparison table

2: Kindlepreneur’s Review of Grammarly

In the above link, you can see my review of Grammarly. Some of the actionable tips you can take away from this when putting together your own review post include:

Include video content. This will capture your readers’ attention, cause them to spend more time on your page, and boost your Google rankings as a result.

Include graphic content. A large wall of text is unappealing and is likely to bore your audience. Mix things up with lists, bullet points, graphics, and tables.

Give a ‘good fit’ recommendation. Rather than include an overall verdict, suggest who the product is and isn’t right for. This makes it more likely that you will convert suitable traffic.

Read More

4 Essential Writing Tools that Will Help You Reach Your Writing Goals

4 Essential writing tools image

There are 4 essential writing tools that will help you reach your writing goals, whether you’re writing a book, an article, an essay, or publishing a blog post. These 4 tools are guaranteed to increase your effectiveness and your efficiency as a writer.

FYI, this post has been written by Dave Chesson (and edited by Lorraine Reguly, owner of Wording Well).

I’m not an advocate of using a tool for everything. I feel it’s possible to get almost everything you need taken care of as a writer using only the basic tools that come with your computer.

However, I’m a firm believer that a few carefully chosen tools can make a big difference.  In some cases, as I’ll discuss, they can even help lower costs in the long run.

So, to help you potentially get the most out of these tools, I’m going to share with you my personal picks for writing that are truly worth your time. They’ve made a big difference to my writing life and I hope they help yours as well.

Essential Writing Tool #1: Specialist Writing Software

The first category of tool I’ll recommend is specialized writing software.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Word or Google Docs… but, while these may be fine for casual writers, there are far more suitable options out there for serious writers.  With the right tools, you can become more organized, track better, and get into the writer zone with greater ease.

Scrivener

Scrivener is my personal writing software, and it’s also favored by big-name bestselling authors such as Michael Hyatt.

Scrivener is absolutely packed full of features, so expect a slight learning curve if you’re using it for the first time.  But once you know how to fully use it, it is incredible what you can do, and how you can organize your writing.

Some of the main reasons I personally favor Scrivener and why I recommend it so strongly include:

1: It is packed with everything you need to write a book, including fully integrated research, and the ability to visually storyboard your work.

2: It is complete with formatting capabilities and options to export into any e-book format.

3: It is customizable with access to a large list of Scrivener templates, allowing you to make Scrivener fit your writing style, genre, or purpose.

4: There is an app version for iOS. This is great for editing on the go.

5: Its excellent value – you can try Scrivener for a full 30 days for free, and then you can save even more money by using a Scrivener discount code to help lower the costs further.

6: Scrivener is always offering new versions and updates.

Scrivener takes some getting used to at first, but I wouldn’t want to write a book using anything else these days.

FYI, if you need a hand getting your book published, let Lorraine help you. She offers author assistant services via Wording Well!

yWriter

yWriter is a great example of software created by someone who truly needed it.

Frustrated by the options available to him while he was working on his own novels, the creator of yWriter decided to take matters into his own hands and create the software he needed to write his books.

yWriter is only available for PC, but if that’s you, it’s well worth checking out because:

1: The software is totally free to use despite having a lot of premium features.

2: It was created with fiction writers in mind, so yWwriter has the option to store data related to characters, scenes, and objects.

3: It is updated regularly with new features. yWriter is constantly being worked on, with new versions in beta mode at all times.

Overall, Ywriter isn’t as powerful and slick as Scrivener, but considering it’s free, it’s superb, making it a great option for Windows writers. Read More