Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

According to reader response on my articles about bookkeeping and finances, writers and bloggers are hungry for ways to earn more money! These ideas for making a living as a writer are from experienced freelancers…with a sprinkle of suggestions from yours truly….

Before the tips, a quip:

“A writer should say to himself, not, ‘How can I get more money?’, but ‘How can I reach more readers (without lowering standards)’?” ~ Brian Aldiss.

The beauty of reaching more readers is that it’s usually associated with earning more money. The more readers (and thus advertisers) a magazine has, the more money the editor can pay freelancers for articles. Similarly, the more readers a blog attracts, the more money the blogger earns from affiliate sources. If you’re serious about earning a living as a writer, click 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less: The Ultimate Freelancer’s Guide (pictured). If you want to increase your earnings as a blogger, you must read ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income! And, here are several tips for earning money writing from experienced freelancers… Continued

You don’t need to earn a full-time income from freelance writing or blogging to hire an accountant or bookkeeper! Investing in your writing career by hiring someone to do your taxes and keep your income and expenditures organized may be the best move you make this year. Here are a few ways to know if you should outsource your bookkeeping and accounting tasks or if you can remain successful on your own…

Before the tips, a quip:

“By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.” ~ Robert Frost.

I’m the boss of my writing and blogging career, I work ten (sometimes twelve) hours a day, and my least favorite part is doing my bookkeeping and administrative tasks! Luckily, my husband who doesn’t mind doing my income taxes…but I suspect the time is coming to hire a bookkeeper or even an accountant. If you’re doing your own taxes this year, click TurboTax Home & Business (great tax software). And, read on for a few signs it’s time to hire a bookkeeper for your small business… Continued

Are you earning money from freelance writing, web writing, or blogging? Then you need to keep accurate records of your income and expenditures! These tips for bookkeeping for small businesses are simple yet important, and they’ll save you time and frustration at tax time…

Before the tips, a quip:

“Writing is turning one’s worst moments into money.” ~ J. P. Donleavy.

Even if you only earn a couple hundred dollars a month from writing or blogging, you need to start putting these basic bookkeeping tips to work for you. Later, when you’re making thousands of dollars a month as a freelancer, you can think about hiring an accountant or bookkeeper to keep your finances organized. Think big, fellow scribes! Click Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More: Copywriter, Proofreader, Copyeditor, Journalist for more info about writing for a living, and read on for several small business bookkeeping tips… Continued

Writers with extroverted personality traits tend to spend more time with friends and family – especially when compared to introverts! Here are seven tips for increasing writing productivity for extroverts (although people with introverted personalities are welcome to use these tips, too ).

Before the tips, a quip:

“Write only if you cannot live without writing. Write only what you alone can write.” ~ writer and professor Elie Wiesel.

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, there are words and articles and books in you that only you can write. These tips for being more productive aren’t about changing who you are…they’re about figuring out who you are, so you can be a better, more prolific writer! For more writing motivation, click Time to Write: Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life. And, read on for seven tips for increasing writing productivity… Continued

In Signs of Self-Sabotage in the Writing Life, I described what being afraid of succeeding looks like for some aspiring and established writers. Here are five tips for overcoming fear of success, and achieving even the most lofty writing goals!

Before the tips, a quip:

“You just have to work with what God sends, and if God doesn’t seem to understand the concept of commercial success, then that’s your bad luck.” ~ H L Mencken.

That’s a great way to overcome your fears of writing and getting published! Work with what you have – whatever God or the Universe sends – and flow with whatever happens next. Put your fears, anxieties, and “what ifs” aside, and live it out. Here’s a book that a fellow blogger recommended about fear of success (thanks Jenny of Workin on a Ramp!) The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles – click the cover to learn more. And, here are a few ways to cope with self-sabotage for writers and bloggers… Continued

If you think fear of failure or rejection is the only thing holding you back from being a successful writer, think again! Fear of success can be just as paralyzing as fear of failure. Here’s a brief definition of “fear of success” as it relates to writing, plus a few signs of self-sabotage for writers…

Before the tips, a quip:

“The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone’s neurosis, and we’d have a mighty dull literature if all the writers that came along were a bunch of happy chuckleheads.”  ~ American novelist William Styron.

Don’t just be aware of your flaws, weaknesses, fears, and neuroses – use them to become a better writer! Remember that everyone is abnormal in some way, and don’t let your quirks get the better of you. If you’re struggling to live up to your full potential, do something about it! Click Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life for help, and learn how fear of success works for writers… Continued

I don’t often write or blog about traveling, but when I booked my third overseas vacation in a year, I decided to learn a few secrets of the travel writer trade! Here are ten ways to get vacation discounts for bloggers and writers (or what I learned as a travel blogger)…

Before the tips, a quip:

“The five principles of aloha, when practiced together, awaken our awareness of our human potential and the sacredness of our life.” ~ Paul Pearsall.

Can you guess where I’m on vacation right now? If you thought “Hawaii”, then you’re right…I’m in Maui, in Lahaina. The word “aloha” is like “shalom” or “namaste.” It means love, peace, wholeness, and connection – and it’s a great way to greet both the world and yourself. If you’re a blogger who hasn’t traveled much, I encourage you to think about how your blog can help you get discounted vacation packages! My travel tips are below; for more info on being a travel writer, click Travel Writing: See the World.  Sell the Story. Continued

Do writers face hazards at work? You better believe it: repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by the repetitious motions of typing, clicking, using a laptop’s built-in mousepad, and hitting the “backspace” or “delete” key constantly. Those motions can affect a writer’s fingers, hands, and wrists — and not in a good way! Here several symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (which I think I’m developing), plus six tips for avoiding this repetitive strain injury.

My mother-in-law is going for surgery to ease her painful carpal tunnel symptoms next week – and she’ll be out of commission for six weeks. I can’t imagine not being able to work for that long, and am on an anti-carpal tunnel syndrome rampage.

Here’s a tip for writers and bloggers: if you daydream, think, write, or blog in your head, don’t “just” stare off into space. Grab a soft stress ball or something that stretches your hand and wrist muscles while relieving pressure. Click the hands and red balls for more info — there are also exercise bands that can ease the effects of repetitive strain. And, read on for the causes, symptoms, and exercises to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome… Continued

Successful writers need to manage their time effectively, which can mean handling several projects at once. In fact, time management can make or break a writing career. These tips for writers are based on project software called Harvest, which is designed to help writers use their time well.

“As a freelance copywriter, I often work on multiple projects simultaneously,” says Karen Marcus, M.A. “In order to honor budgets, invoice my clients accurately, and gain insights for future estimates, I track my time on each project. Until recently, I used a form that I created in Word. But, analyzing the data meant I had to spend time crunching numbers. I started looking around for an automated system that could track my hours and provide reports on the time I was spending. I took advantage of the free trial offers from Cashboard and Basecamp, but eventually settled on Harvest, which I found to be user-friendly and have the appropriate features for my needs.”

In this guest post, Marcus shares her tips for using this time management software. If procrastination is your problem, click Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time – it’s one of my husband’s favorite time management books. Your goal as a writer is to make your time profitable — and either books or software can help with that. Continued