Notes from Minnesota

Today Beth shares a crazy story about an expert who mistakenly deleted a large chunk of her email list, and Jacklyn shares a bit about the “power of the microphone.” Do experts need insider information or are they simply a bit louder than the rest of the audience? Hmmm…

After you’ve been in the creative biz for a while, you’ll encounter some crazy stereotypes. Writers are flaky. Musicians are unreliable. True? False? We talk about all that today.

Enjoy!

Is your freelancing biz an actual business or a hobby? Today we wrestle with that burning question and discuss tax deductions and steps you should take if you want to present your creative endeavor as an actual business.

Freelancing… yeah. Getting paid can be an issue sometimes. Today Jacklyn (a long time musician) and I talk reeling in the moola and how to avoid that uncomfortable situation where you’ve done the work and payment has become an issue.

Today’s a red letter day because in today’s Notes from Minnesota I’ve got a fantastic co-hostess (with the mostess.)

Her name’s Jackie. She’s one of the best musicians you’ll ever meet. She’s been playing forever and a day… worldwide. Plus she’s awesome.

Enjoy as we chat about what differentiates an amateur versus a professional. Then answer may surprise you… 🙂

Well, this one’s not very fun. Bad news on the family front. It’s amazing how quickly life can change. Go hug your family. Stat. (We’ll be back to our usual schedule next week.) 🙂

 

Yup. When you work in a home office, you can bet that you’ll face some interesting challenges.

Writing Etc.: Become a Writer for Hire

December 3, 2015

~~~ Notes from Minnesota ~~~

Hey Freelancer!

The grand Filbert Publishing restructuring of 2015 is going well. Watch for our ebook selection to continue to grow in the coming weeks; I’ve got some incredible titles ready to roll. (Trade paperback updates and revisions to follow.)

In that vein, I wanted to extend a big “Thanks” to you. It means a lot that you stuck with me through this entire cancer nightmare. My latest tests came back NED (No Evidence of Disease… ha, I may have just expanded your medical vocabulary). Good test results are quite a relief.

So, to celebrate my probability of good health, my first, fully revised and updated title “Jumpstart Your Writing Career and Snag Paying Assignments” is temporarily only 3.99. It’ll go up to its regular price (8.95) shortly. So, if you’ve been thinking about expanding your freelancing income streams in 2016, you’ll likely find this title invaluable.

Today is all about goal setting. It’s not as hard as it sounds. Jeepers, I pretty much suck when it comes to fancy dancey calendars, day planners, and hard core scheduling. I’m weird that way.

But I’ve found a system that works very well for my purposes. Be sure to check it out below. (Oh, and nab your copy of Jumpstart if you want to get in on its special new-release price.)

Hmmmm… I think that’s it. For now.

Onward and upward, see you next time,

Beth 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think it’ll take forever to earn a great living as a writer? Think again. With Jumpstart Your Writing Career and Snag Paying Assignments, you’ll discover how easy it is to:

* Think like a writer

* Hone your writing skills until they’re razor sharp

* Tackle the most lucrative branch of writing

* Learn secrets of fiction

* Organize your nonfiction articles

* Write powerful queries

* Promote your writing business for little or no money

Completely revised and updated, if you want to be a freelance writer who snags paying assignments, this book’s for you.

It’s currently 3.99 for the digital download and the price will go up to its regular 8.95 price shortly. Nab yours when the getting’s good. 🙂

Get it at Amazon.

Worldwide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Preparing for 2016

Beth Ann Erickson

When I sit back in my office chair, sipping pumpkin chai tea, I can barely wrap my head around the fact that I’ve freelanced for 20 years. Yikes. Where did the time go?

I’ve seen fads, trends, and exponential changes in this industry since I was a doe eyed young lady exiting college with her dream proudly displayed on her sleeve.

But you know what? When it comes to actually writing, marketing, and selling writing, much has remained constant. When you drill down the latest hype, distill Internet brouhaha, and take a step back, writing success generally boils down to this:

Write. Market. Repeat.

A great way I know to do this is to set flexible goals. And setting goals for 2016 can be broken down like this:

1. Think about what you want to accomplish.

Some people set financial goals. Some set daily word counts. Others decide how many books they’ll publish.

2. Purchase a calendar you like.

I’ve seen calendars costing close to a hundred bucks (they call them day planners). Just to contrast, I often get my calendar at the dollar store.

So… how do you keep writing when you’ve got something heavy on your mind? Interesting question…