Finding great article ideas to pitch to magazine editors is one of the most challenging parts of being a freelance writer. But, if you can master the craft of finding the best article ideas, you’ll earn a good living from writing! Here, freelance writer Susan Johnston of The Urban Muse shares five tips for finding article [...]

Want to improve your writing? Avoid these five over-used words and phrases! These writing tips are from a successful writer who isn’t just my regular guest blogger – she’s a recent Top 10 Blogs for Writers winner. I’ve learned a lot from freelancer Susan Johnston – such as how to increase my blog readership, earn [...]

These writing and editorial tips are from a senior editor I write for regularly – and they include some of the most frequent errors she sees in article submissions. Pay attention, fellow scribes, because even when you think you’ve got writing down to a fine art, there’s always more to learn!
“It is perfectly okay to [...]

Published author Iris Waichler, MSW, explains how a writing or publishing co-operative affects a writer’s platform – and describes the writing, publishing, and book marketing process.
First, Waichler offers a writing tip from A Book is Born: 24 Authors Tell All (which she contributed to).
“Don’t be afraid to contact people you feel may be out of reach [...]

These tips for writing feature articles that sell are from one of my favorite writing books, The Portable Writer’s Conference: Your Guide to Getting Published. In it, there’s a great article by Donna Elizabeth Boetig – and she shares her secrets to great writing! 
Before the tips, here’s a writing quip:
“Fiction writing is lonely in a way most people [...]

If you’re a freelance writer with a magazine assignment, you’ll want to interview experts and other sources. But, do you telephone, visit, or simply email? Here are some tips on interviewing experts for articles…
But before these tips, a quip from Italian dramatist Luigi Pirandello:
“A fact is like a sack – it won’t stand up if it’s [...]

Here are ten solid tips for becoming a better freelance writer. You don’t need a four leaf clover to be lucky in writing – because you can create your own luck!
First, here’s a quip from Thomas Jefferson: 
“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” 
To improve your [...]

To help you stay motivated, here are several tips on succeeding as a freelance writer!
First, a quip from a published writer:
“Teach yourself to work in uncertainty.” – Bernard Malamud, author of several novels and short stories – and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Malamud also said, “I write a book or a short story three times. Once to [...]

Improving your writing skills and discipline is much easier when you find mentors with whom you resonate. That can be a matter of luck – which is totally influenced by your efforts.
First, a quip:
“The harder you work, the luckier you get” (unknown)
Finding writing mentors can be hard work…but it’ll help you get “luckier” and published! [...]

These ten solutions to the most common writing mistakes apply to all types of writing: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, technical, etc. Writing tips like this can make you a better writer and self-editor…which increases your chances of getting published!
But first, a writing quip:
“Don’t write down to your readers,” writes Jack Bickham. “The ones dumber than you can’t [...]