The Six-Figure Freelancer – Blog

Secrets of Successful Independents: Toronto, March 7

Professional Independent Communicators presents:
Secrets of Successful Independents
Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 6 to 9 p.m., Toronto
(Preregistration required; exact location to be announced)

Join the IABC panel of successful communicators as they share insights and tips to help you achieve your business goals. You will learn:
- How to extend your brand into new areas
- How to market yourself to attract the clients you want
- How to generate “passive” income from self-publishing

Panel: Dawn Boshcoff, Principal and Trainer, BOSHnewmedia Communications; Cathy Ledden, R.G.D., Chief Designer, Ledden Design; and Paul Lima, freelance writer and business writer trainer.

Registration Fees*:
$22: IABC member ($24.86 with HST)
$32: Non-member ($36.16 with HST)
*Advance registration and payment is required. Registrations and payments will NOT be accepted at the door. Soft drinks, juice, coffee, tea and cookies will be provided.

Event Schedule:
Check-in and networking start time: 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Presentation, workshop and Q&A: 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Networking: 8 to 9 p.m.
Location: To be confirmed

Brought to you by: Professional Independent Communicators

Posted in Workshops, Seminars & Online Courses | No Comments »

Four reviews for Everything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing

Here are four reviews for Everything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing. The book is now being used for the University of Toronto’s online version of The Freelance Writing Business as well as courses offered by The University of Western Ontario and Humber College.

Review: I found your book, Everything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing, practical as well as valuable. I’ve read just about every book on freelance writing on the market and I’m beyond the “start-up” phase, but I still found your book beneficial–particularly how it helped me update my business plan…. In addition, I’ve read a great deal of advice on setting rates, but your breakdown of billable hours allowed me to see not only where I needed to be, but how I am going to get there.
- Kathryn Messer, Commercial Copywriter, KMC Communications

Review: Well! How do you teach an old dog new tricks? When it comes to writing, I discovered the answer is simple; get your hands on Paul Lima’s books. His Harness the Business Writing Process and Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing are like mini-workshops packed with practical instructions and exercises. Now when a new writing project arrives on my desk, instead of staring at the blank screen, I pick up one of his books, scan the appropriate sections and I’m off to a great start — every time. I would not be writing successful copy and articles today without Paul Lima’s handbooks and guidance.
- Alastair Barnett, The Writing Butler

Review: One of the best things I have purchased for my business (not counting my computer) is Paul Lima’s book Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing… I highly recommend this book for new freelance writers, to give them an idea of how to get started in freelance writing, and for seasoned veterans…
- Full review by Heidi Turner

Review: “Your expert plan, as outline in your book, has demystified the marketing and other business aspects of writing for m. I find your instructions to be straight forward, informative, and valuable. ” – Bonnie Zink, corporate writer and editor

Posted in Everything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing - Corporate, Freelance Writing - Newspaper/Magazine, My Books | No Comments »

Solid overview article on becoming your own boss

“Everyday I’m Hustlin’” is a solid overview article on becoming your own boss:

Have you ever thought about creating your own job? … For many types of work, it’s possible to shop your skills around for short-term work as an independent service provider — a freelancer or consultant. You’d be in good company: according to Statistics Canada, there were 2.67 million self-employed workers (about 16 percent of the workforce) in this country in 2010 — 12 per cent more than a decade ago. About half were sole proprietors, unincorporated and working without paid help.

Being your own boss sounds awesome, right? Imagine it: more control over the work you do, greater flexibility in your schedule, and no more irritating commute to the office. And, in a way, you have more job security than you would working for someone else — no one can fire or downsize you.

But before you declare your independence, be warned:… [Read full article here]

Posted in Business Vision, Freelance Writing - General | No Comments »

Find & price corporate editing & writing freelance assignments – Toronto workshop

Conquering Corporate Markets:
Find & Price Corporate Editing & Writing Freelance Assignment
Sat. Apr. 14, Toronto; sponsored by Editors’ Association of Canada

Business writing and editing can be a lucrative source of income—if you understand how to sell your services to, and price your services for, corporate markets. To sell your services to corporations, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies, you need key skills you can learn from this seminar, such as how to do the following:
• establish a business vision
• create a marketing plan
• identify corporate writing and editing opportunities
• target corporate, not-for-profit, and government sectors
• find contacts within targeted sectors
• market yourself and your services
• price your writing and editing services for the corporate market
• issue accurate quotes and estimates
• manage the corporate approval process

Who should attend? Writers and editors who want to find, price, and manage corporate assignments, and boost their freelance income. Register online.
Date/Time – Saturday, April 14; 9:30 am to 4:30 pm (Lunch provided)
Registration - $225 members, $255 non-members (HST extra)
Early Registration (to April 7) – $185 members, $205 non-members (HST extra)
Location - Northrop Frye Hall Room 007, 73 Queen’s Park Crescent East, Victoria College, University of Toronto
Instructor – Paul Lima has worked as a professional writer, editor, and writing instructor for over 25 years. He has run a successful freelance writing, editing, and copywriting business since 1988. Paul is the author of ten books on writing and the business of freelance writing, including Harness the Business Writing Process, Everything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing, and Copywriting That Works.

Posted in Freelance Writing - Corporate, Workshops, Seminars & Online Courses | No Comments »

“Harness the Business Writing Process” workshop for HR professional in Toronto Mar. 29

I will be conducting “Harness the Business Writing Process: Become an Effective, Efficient Business Writer”, a workshop for Human Resources professional in Toronto on March 29.

The seminar is sponsored by the Human Resources Professionals Association. You can read the workshop description and other details here.

Posted in Workshops, Seminars & Online Courses | No Comments »

New kudos for business writing and freelance writing books

I’m please to share new kudos received from veteran writer Alastair Barnett about two of my books: Harness the Business Writing Process and Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing.

Well! How do you teach an old dog new tricks? When it comes to writing, I discovered the answer is simple: get your hands on Paul Lima’s books.

His Harness the Business Writing Process and Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing are like mini-workshops packed with practical instructions and exercises. Now when a new writing project arrives on my desk, instead of staring at the blank screen, I pick up one of his books, scan the appropriate sections and I’m off to a great start — every time.

I would not be writing successful copy and articles today without Paul Lima’s handbooks and guidance.

- Alastair Barnett
www.thewritingbutler.com

Posted in My Books | No Comments »

The writer who made millions by self-publishing online

In “20 months Hocking has sold 1.5m books and made $2.5m” … all through self-publishing! – Disbelief! But true…

Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online

A couple of years ago, Amanda Hocking needed to raise a few hundred dollars so, in desperation, made her unpublished novel available on the Kindle. She has since sold over 1.5m books and, in the process, changed publishing forever… [Full article in the Guardian]

Posted in Self-Publishing & Print On Demand | No Comments »

Print on Demand blog posts and video trailer

If you are interested in learning a bit more (non-technical) information about self publishing, you might want to take a look at my blog posts on POD (print on demand) and e-books:
- Print on demand: Self-publishing getting started primer
- POD authors go Kindle, ePub: Here’s a bit of a primer

Also, I have a self-publishing video trailer on YouTube. Go to www.paullima.com/pod and scroll down to the video trailer link at the bottom of the page if you want to watch the trailer, based on a POD workshop I conducted for members of the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

Posted in Self-Publishing & Print On Demand | No Comments »

Be Your Own Boss But Say “No” to Pajamas

I was one of several people interviewed for article on working at home: “Be Your Own Boss But Say “No” to Pajamas”. The article appears online in Possibilities: Toronto’s Online Employment Resource Centre

Be Your Own Boss But Say “No” to Pajamas

JOWITA BYDLOWSKA, Staff Writer

Working from home is perhaps the most misunderstood work environment. One imagines a dreamy poety type (sorry, real poets), slogging around the house in pajamas with a steaming cup of cocoa, greasy hair and a dreamy look on face, while … not doing anything specific in particular. A few years ago I tried it myself (freelancing, not slogging around) and can testify to the fact that this is an erroneous impression. As a self-employed writer and editor, I quickly realized that my saving grace was an increased dose of self-discipline and a steady schedule. And I considered burning my pajamas in a symbolic gesture of fighting the stereotype.

[READ the full article here]

Posted in Freelance Writing - General | No Comments »

Make sure your book title is Amazon “SEO” friendly

I can’t believe how How To Write A Non-fiction Book In 60 Days and several other of my books on writing and freelance writing continue to sell well on Amazon – in the US and the UK, especially as Kindles. I am doing no promotion, other than the odd tweet and blog post, and the information I have on my website.

The books are selling in numbers greater than my promo merits… It took me a while to figure out why, but I’ve figured it out, and it makes so much sense… But first, a bit of background…

When I first started to self-publish, I did not use a distributor that got my books into Amazon. I worked on optimizing my website so the book titles would show up in Google searches. People could then click through to my site and buy the book from me or Lulu (the POD company that I was using). Books sales have spiked exponentially since I found a POD printer/distributor (in my case, Lightning Source Inc.; you can now do this with Lulu and Create Space, and several other POD companies) that could place my books in Amazon.

Why the spike?
It took me a while to figure it out…

If I wanted a book on a certain topic, but didn’t know the title of a book, I might search Google, but let’s face it — I’d be more inclined to search Amazon (or Chapters) and read about the books that were returned in the search results. While I don’t have hard numbers, I suspect 80% of my print online bookstore sales, and maybe even more of my Kindle sales, are the direct result of searches conducted in Amazon.

With that in mind, when you title (and subtitle) your non-fiction book, make sure you use words and phrases that relate to what your book is about. For instance, in my case, you will find ‘non-fiction’ in 60 Days, ‘creative writing’ in (re)Discover the Joy of Creative Writing, ‘copywriting’ in Copywriting that Works and ‘freelance writing’ in my three freelance writing books…

Those key words in your title and/or subtitle can pay off if you are selling your books in online retailers like Amazon and Chapters – at least that’s been my experience.

Posted in Self-Publishing & Print On Demand | 4 Comments »