As a freelance writer, excellent communication skills are par for the course. Most of us prefer email and text to telephone conversations but many companies want to discuss potential content voice-to-voice, meaning it’s essential to develop effective contract call skills: how do you know what a client really wants? Through experience and the (occasional) mistake,… Read more
The Right Words
On vacation last week, I came across a community billboard at a local gas station. Hidden among the ads for music lessons and used cars was an offer for ‘Designing Destiny’, a workshop taught by horses. But here’s the best part: It was all about ‘in-powerment’. Now look, I’m not heartless. I could forgive ‘impowerment’,… Read more
The Freelance Introvert?
A year ago, I decided to make a career change and start writing full-time. Aside from the obvious ‘will I have enough money to feed my family’ worries, I was also concerned about going stir-crazy while working from home. A comic by Internet funny man The Oatmeal does a great job of capturing the good… Read more
‘Nontent’ Marketing
I’ll admit it—I’m a fan of online comic Penny Arcade. If you’ve never read it, the (often NSFW) comic is a bastion of game culture and the once niche site is quickly becoming a powerhouse as all things game become more mainstream. In 2010, for example, it’s creators made the TIME 100 list of worldwide… Read more
Pain Points: Hit Me Where it Hurts
On Sunday night one of my teeth started aching. This was no surprise, since the dentist and I have a love-hate relationship—she loves to send cute postcards reminding me it’s time for a check-up, and I hate going. So I don’t. The result is a broken tooth, one that (so far I as knew) died… Read more
Keep on Truckin’
Here in Edmonton—as in most cities across the U.S. and Canada—we’re enjoying a food truck revolution. During our (all too short) summer, the What the Truck food extravaganza shows up to offer a host of mouth-watering dishes and extremely long lines. Standing in one such line for over an hour, screaming toddler in hand and… Read more
Application Denied!
I’ve been looking for more freelance work lately. This website is part of that process, of course, a way to increase search rankings and showcase my content to prospective clients. But I’ve also been searching out other job opportunities—the evolving freelance market has quite a few companies looking to hire virtual talent for blogging, social… Read more
Fiction and Freelancers—Three Tips from a Novelist
I consider myself a freelance writer and a novelist. It was always going to be novel writing first and freelance to pay the bills until my breakout work hit bookstores everywhere and then a poorly-cast movie bastardizing my famous book made me rich. Five years later, with three completed novels (one self-published) and a realization… Read more
Hollowman: Gatsby on Web Content
Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is what you’d expect from the director: Lavish, over-the-top and just this side of believable. But in the context of Fitzgerald’s novel this kind of direction works, gives a sort of fiendishly colored edge to the entire film, a sense of vibrant desperation. Last night the film… Read more
On Brevity
Baby shoes. For sale. Never worn. Legend has it that Hemingway penned this famous “six-word story”, though there’s little evidence to support or deny the claim. In a way that’s ideal, since the concept is more powerful bereft of a creator. Brevity is powerful stuff. The line above was supposedly in answer to a challenge:… Read more