Careers

How to Make Money Off a Blog: Takeaways From The Writer’s Bundle 2015

April 2, 2015

I told myself I wouldn’t write a recap on The Writer’s Bundle recap this year, because I have so many other things I want to work on. But the truth is, this blog is how I process. It’s how I organize wins and losses, and how I determine priorities for myself and my team. I […]

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When It Makes Sense to Turn Down Potential Clients

February 23, 2015

Over the last few months, my company has gotten a lot of client requests. We’ve turned down almost every one. Why? Because they weren’t the right fit for us. Often, they were the right fit in some ways, but not the right fit in others, which made it difficult to say no. But one of […]

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When You Get a Million Requests to Pick Your Brain

February 17, 2015

I get a lot of requests from people who want to pick my brain. No one calls it that, of course, because unpaid brain-picking has gotten a bad rap. But readers and peers and random people contact me almost every day asking my advice on building a business, best practices for recruiting writers or how […]

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How I Outsource My Life: 5 Services for Avoiding Chores

January 21, 2015

I hate chores. They keep me from doing things I enjoy, like working on my business, spending time with family or simply relaxing. But I always felt like I had to do them. Like chores and errands simply weren’t avoidable, that I had no choice but to work through life’s red tape. My view on […]

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Planning for the Year Ahead and a Thoughtful Review of 2014

January 12, 2015

This is one of my favorite times of year, and not just because of the traditions, food and family. I love the turning of the New Year because it represents new beginnings, an opportunity to scheme and plan for the coming year. I plan throughout the year, of course; my husband and I have three […]

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How to Avoid High PayPal Fees: A Lucrative Trick for Freelancers

December 5, 2014

Over the last month, I’ve talked to a handful of freelancers and entrepreneurs who thought there was no way around high PayPal fees. Guess what: there is. And if you’re not using it, you are losing hundreds or thousands of dollars each year. It’s called PayPal Business Payments. If you select this option when invoicing […]

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Why So Many Projects Go Unfinished, and How to Finish Them

November 2, 2014

Most of us have at least a handful of unfinished projects: a half-written novel on our virtual shelf, a blog that never made it past the first three posts, a body that isn’t quite as healthy or fit as we want it to be. Sometimes we make conscious decisions to put aside these projects when […]

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What I’ve Struggled With While Growing My Business

October 27, 2014

This question from a reader hit my inbox recently: One thing I’ve noticed that you don’t often share on your blog … that I am always curious about, is what, if anything, you feel you had to sacrifice to get there. You talk a lot about hustling and working really hard … But aside from […]

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How We’re Monetizing The Write Life: An Income Report (October 2014)

October 21, 2014

Fifteen months after launching The Write Life, a website and community for writers, we’ve turned the corner toward profitability. Because of that momentum, and because I’ve been inspired lately by income reports from Pinch of Yum‘s food blogger duo, Kindle author Steve Scott and passive income evangelist Pat Flynn (who launched a niche site on […]

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Why I Removed Email From My Smartphone

October 1, 2014

I remember when I got my first smartphone nearly five years ago. I’d put off the purchase for quite a while, and when I finally gave in to the upgrade, I couldn’t believe the difference it made in my life. Taking email everywhere was life-changing: I no longer had to wait at home near my […]

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