The short answer is this: whether writing competitions are worth it to you depends on the competition, your writing goals, and how well you handle rejection. A writing contest can be a fun way to flex your muscles, get feedback on your work, and potentially win something.

As someone who used to work in a coffee shop, I can tell you that the adage is true - you can tell a lot about a person by their coffee order. Since many readers (like myself) subconsciously assign personalities to different books, I can't help but take a guess as to what these books would order for their morning pick-me-up.

As the writer-gift cliché goes, many stores market notebooks as the best gift for a writer (similar to the way the Barnes & Noble where I took this photo markets them as the only gifts for readers). Unless they specifically ask for a notebook, believe me, your writer has plenty. So, what do you get someone with such a minimalist hobby?

Doing taxes as a freelancer is not fun. Personally, I cross my fingers every year and hope that I’m not doing everything completely wrong (although, TurboTax’s tips have helped a lot). When I saw an ad for Keeper Tax pop up on my social media, I thought, “finally, I’ll have some help!”

Before I found my freelance writing niche, I did anything and everything under the sun to find paid writing work. Job boards, content mills, cold emailing… you name it. That journey led me to become a member of over 20 Facebook groups for writers to find leads and information about growing my clientele. Sadly, not all of these groups were fruitful. Many of them were a big waste of time.

One way I learned to help conversations go smoothly was to set ground rules for all participants. Ground rules make the flow of a meeting a collective responsibility, and they help put everyone on the same page.

From that moment on, I decided to approach business meetings the same way, and these five rules changed my meetings for the better.

The internet seems like it should be a haven for introverts. In some ways, it is. But when it comes to online self-promotion tactics, the usual advice (“just put yourself out there!”) still poses a challenge.

Introverts like myself tend to avoid pedestals, and creating newsletters and social media blasts can feel self-aggrandizing in the worst way. Not to mention, participating in live videos and replying to endless messages is still socializing.

I struggled to find consistent work. Some months I’d be set. Then, the next month the well would dry up, and I’d have to start fighting for gigs again. Finally, I decided to wise up and search for other platforms. That’s how I found these four sites for freelance writers. For the most part, these sites won’t make you rich. However, they are great places to find consistent and interesting writing work. I recommend them if you’re trying to build your portfolio or get some extra side money from home.

When you start a freelance business of any sort, you find out a lot of useful information through trial and error. 2020 was my first year as a full-time freelancer, and one of my hard-learned lessons was that there are certain documents I need to have ready to keep my business running smoothly.

Doing taxes as a freelancer is not fun. Personally, I cross my fingers every year and hope that I’m not doing everything completely wrong (although, TurboTax’s tips have helped a lot). When I saw an ad for Keeper Tax pop up on my social media, I thought, “finally, I’ll have some help!”