Freelance Writing Tips: The Research Process
I've recently received several posts about my research methods, requesting tips on how to research multiple articles quickly and effectively.
I'm thinking that now might be a good time to cover a few of my research shortcuts – the methods that I use to find quality sources quickly, as well as how I store them for future reference.
First, I write for multiple clients, but I try to keep my focus narrowed to a few niches: parenting, health, mental health,gardening and alternative medicine.
I occasionally take projects outside of these areas, but I focus on these broad topics. I'm slowly building a reference library, so I have print references for many of the articles that I write handy, which helps a great deal. If you choose this route, remember that your purchases may be tax deductible.
Tips for Online Searches
First, I use Evernote to store my research and sort it by category. This means that I don't have to do my research more than once – if I write an article on Radon safety this week, and an article on the symptoms of Radon exposure next week, I can use the same reference materials for both articles. This saves me a good bit of time.
Next, I find reputable sources by adding specifiers to my search string. So I'll search like this:
radon site:.edu or radon site:.org or radon site: .gov
This will pull up high quality information from government publications and websites. Your results will be even more focused if you turn off Google's new Instant feature.
Google Scholar and Google Books are also great sources for reputable sources for your articles. You may be able to find previews of a print book, journal article, or abstract, saving you a trip to the library.
Your local library is another excellent resource. Many libraries offer free access to online research databases, allowing you to search medical journals, periodicals, and more. If you have a week or more to work on your article, you may also find the interlibrary loan feature helpful.
When I sit down to write, I research and draft my articles first. So, I spend about an hour researching, drafting, and laying out SEO keywords for 5-10 articles. Then I break the writing up into 25 minute chunks. This allows me to see right away if I'm short on research for a particular article, if I need to work harder to fit in a difficult keyword, or if I'll need to find another reference or resource.
What are your tips for freelance writing research?
The Juggling Act that Is My Life ( or Flexibility vs. Focus)
I was reading the Oatmeal's post about Why Working from Home is Both Awesome and Horrible the other day, and I got to thinking about flexibility and focus. Namely, about how easy it is for the flexibility of working from home to totally take over. One day, you're actually getting things done and making money. The next, it's 4 pm and you're sitting in your pajamas eating Doritos and watching Fraggle Rock with your kids, wondering where the time went. (Ask me how I know, and I'll deny everything.)
It seems like every time I mention the fact that I work from home and homeschool, people suddenly look at me like I'm superwoman. I'm not. If you could see the chaos at my house, the cereal on the floor, and the general weirdness that we call life, you'd understand. But you can't. So instead, I'm just going to offer a few freelance writing tips about scheduling.
The key, for me, is to find a balance between focus and flexibility. I use my own unique brand of time management mixed with a dash of chaos in order to make this work. Use at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. Don't mix children and coffee. This blog post may self destruct at any moment.
First, I work from home to have time for my kids. I made a promise to myself once, while calling home from the office and crying on the phone and telling my daughter that we'd get to see the Christmas tree lighting NEXT year, that important family events would always come first if I ever worked for myself.
I work for myself. Important family events come first. We homeschool, so this time is included in "important family events".
I put these times into Google calendar in red, first, before I schedule in work time.
Next, I schedule in time for working. I aim for around 30-35 hours a week – some weeks more, some weeks less. I, personally, include weekends in this time so that I have the flexibility to attend daytime weekday events with my kids. I enjoy doing this, and they enjoy spending time with their daddy on the weekends while he's off. I also build in extra time around deadlines – I put things on the calendar for at least one day before they're due. Sometimes two. If we're having a rough month, or someone is sick, I stay away from deadline oriented work for awhile and stick to content mills.
Last, I schedule in less important but still essential stuff – haircuts, errands, grocery trips, etc. Things that have to be done, but that can be done pretty much any time during the week.
The schedule looks different each week, but I generally end up with enough time to accomplish both my work goals and my personal goals.
And sleep.
And I only occasionally end up in my pajamas at 4 pm 
The other key, for me, is to really, really focus when I work. When I'm writing, I'm writing. I'm not watching TV, or making dinner, or listening to the kids with one ear.
I'm in my office, with my door closed. I've often got my noise cancelling headphones in, with a binaural beats track running through them so that I can't hear the chaos in my house. My kids are with my husband or my childcare provider.
I set my timer for 15 to 25 minutes, and I focus for that time. Then I get up, take a break, stretch, get coffee, whatever, and then I start over. If I skip any of these steps, I don't get nearly as much done. For me, focus is key to getting things accomplished.
How do you balance focus and flexibility while working at home?
Don’t Forget the “Freelance” Part of Freelance Writing Work
If you choose to work from home as a freelance writer, it's important to remember that you're just that – a freelancer. You're not an employee, which means that you can't technically be "hired" or "fired". You can sign a contract with a client, and that contract can be ended or terminated. However, there's never a guarantee of future work, unless it's stipulated in your contract.
Far too often, as I read on forums, blogs, and websites, I notice an attitude of entitlement from freelancers. Entitlement to certain working conditions, certain actions on the behalf of clients, and certain availability of assignments. Unfortunately, uncertainty is the nature of the beast when you're a full time freelancer. This is why I will never, ever recommend that you freelance full time for only one client. If they suddenly go under, make your position obsolete, or simply don't need any more content in your niche for awhile, your income could be gone tomorrow. I've yet to see a freelance client promise anyone full time work – yet I regularly see freelancers who labor away under this impression, only to end up disappointed and scrambling for income when the client makes changes to their business plan.
I freelance for multiple private and corporate clients, which add up to a full time income. In general, I try to have at least three major income streams. I also maintain accounts with many smaller, lower paying content companies, so that in a pinch, the bills will still be paid. I market on Twitter. I network on forums. I spend money on advertisements, sales, and more. I don't sit around and hope that work falls into my lap – I spend time each day going out and looking for it.
Even when I have "enough" work, I still look for leads. I still apply for jobs. I still keep my resume and samples updated. There's no guarantee that I'll have enough work next week, or next month. Instead, I keep my options open, and I constantly brainstorm new income streams. I'm working on several passive income streams, as well, with a goal of earning enough passive income to cover the basic bills.
A key element of success as a freelance writer is to stop thinking of yourself as an employee, and start thinking of yourself as a business owner. Market yourself, market your content, and seek out high paying private clients. Don't depend solely on content mills for work, and don't whine when the work isn't exactly what you've always dreamed of. Instead, build your brand and market yourself to your dream clients. Before you know it, you'll be loving every second of what you do!
Managing Freelance Writing Jobs from Home – Childcare or No Childcare?
When making the decision to work from home, either part time or full time, it's easy to get stars in your eyes and forget reality. Wrapped up in the perfection featured in work at home ads, you picture how you'll work from home for hours each day, while your toddler quietly plays at your feet.
Unfortunately, that's simply not realistic. When you're taking on freelance writing jobs from home, you've got three choices – you can juggle both work and your children, you can work when your children are sleeping, or you can use childcare (your spouse, a mothers helper, a daycare, etc.). Let's discuss these options.
Juggling
Sometimes, when you're managing multiple freelance writing jobs from home, you end up in a rough spot and you have to juggle. It's not fun, but it IS possible. I spent three years juggling work and caring for my children before I was finally able to work out a full time child care solution. It involved some careful scheduling, the occasional lollipop, and a bit too much Dora, but we made it work.
One good way to accomplish your work at home goals while giving your children the attention that they need and deserve is by using an egg timer to allocate your time. Single Dad Laughing discusses this in his post Break Away Parents, and does it way more justice than I can.
Work While Your Kids Sleep
Work at home parents everywhere use this technique to get a few things accomplished. Whether you get up an hour or two early, stay up late, or work during naptime, working while your wee ones are snoozing is one sure way to ensure quiet time. If you choose this method, be sure to have a back up plan for nights you can't get your child to sleep, someone is sick, or everything simply goes to hell. Trust me, they'll happen, and you'll need a plan.
Childcare
Parents are divided on the childcare issue, and probably always will be. If you've chosen to work at home to avoid daycare or non-parental childcare, than you'll likely be using one of the above methods. However, if you've chosen to work at home for another reason, such as the income potential, the convenience, or the lack of a commute, full or part time childcare might be a great option for you. If working in the gaps isn't working out, there's no need to feel guilty about hiring a caregiver for your child. You'll accomplish more work in less time, and your little one will be in good hands.
For those wondering, I have full time live in childcare. We barter room and board for childcare (with a family friend), we've been doing it for about six months, and it's working out swimmingly. I worked in the gaps and at night until I thought I'd lose my mind, and then I started looking for other options that were both effective and affordable.
Leave a comment and let me know how you manage working at home with children underfoot
Writing From Home for a Full Time Income
The fact that I work from home tends to get attention in my small neighborhood. I'm often asked how we can afford for me "not to work", as if I'm…I dunno, playing computer games all day or something. The reality is that my work pays the majority of our bills, including the mortgage. While it's almost always stressful to depend on freelancing as a full time income, it's also very do-able to support your family or contribute to your household's income by writing from home.
I have a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, and I live in a pretty low income area of the country. When I worked outside of the home, before Zoe was born, I made around $15.00 an hour. Working 12 hour night shifts in a mental hospital as a supervisor. When I got pregnant, I took a…wait for it…$4.00 an hour pay cut so that I could have a "safer" desk job, only to be harassed mercilessly by my office mates because I was "poor", packed my own lunch, and used my breaks to pump milk for my infant daughter. Working outside of the home works really well for some people. For me, it was my own personal idea of hell. I had to dress up, commute an hour to a job I hated, only to make a paycheck that barely covered the bills.
Now, I wake up without an alarm clock, unless it's a special occasion. I set my own goals and schedule, and I make a really decent full time income. It's a daily juggle to balance work stuff and home stuff, and sometimes things go careening wildly out of control. Occasionally we order pizza, or have cereal for dinner.Occasionally you can find me sobbing in the corner, after fighting for hours with website code to the tune of Dora the Explorer in the background. But mostly, it's a great life.
If you're wondering if you can afford to pay your bills while freelancing full time, check out How to Make a Living as a Freelance Writer. These are the same basic steps that I use to budget each month. I start with the amount of money we need, subtract my husband's income, and set my goals from there. Carson explains the process really well, so I'm not going to repeat his advice here.
I'm not gonna lie – it takes a lot of time and effort to get your business up and running. There'll be some early mornings, some late nights, and probably quite a bit of coffee involved. However, most of the work at home folks I talk to make more working for themselves than they would working for someone else in their area, even after self employment taxes.
Do you work full time or part time? Or are you just getting started as a freelancer? Tell me about your journey in the comments!
Free Tools for New Freelance Writers – Writing from Home Doesn’t Have to Cost Money
If you're tired of being asked for money to work from home, sick of work at home scams, and want a freelance career that's inexpensive to get started with, freelance writing from home might be a good option.
One of the greatest things about writing from home is the extremely low overhead. If you already own a computer and pay for an internet connection, you're good to go. While fancy software and expensive hardware can be nice, basic tools will also get the job done. I've been freelancing on a shoestring for three years now – trust me, it's easier than you'd think.
Free Tools for Freelancers Writing From Home
OpenOffice: If you don't have or can't afford Microsoft Word, this opensource alternative works quite well. I haven't owned a copy of Word in years, and I've been freelancing full time since 2006.
Google Documents: Google's documents suite also works well, and allows you to store your files online. It seems to add strange formatting to documents from time to time, and I've had several clients ask me not to use it for this reason. However, it's great for backing up and sharing files
Gmail: I'm a little bit in love with Gmail. I've done videos about how useful it is, and I'm drafting a series of posts about it's useful features that I'll be posting later this month. Seriously, if you don't have Gmail, you need it. Trust me on this one.
Google Calendar: Google calendar comes in handy for managing multiple schedules, as you can create several calendars and color code them. I have one for home, one for work, and one for personal stuff, all showing up on the same page, but I'm geeky like that…
Skype: Free and cheap local and international calling. Skype is a great way to have a business phone number, without the expense of adding another telephone line. Google Voice is another excellent option. I use both – one for home and one for personal. No land line here!
Focus Booster: If you have trouble focusing on work, this handy timer may help. It's built to work with the Pomodoro method, so it's pre-set in 25 minute blocks with a 5 minute break. If those times don't work for you, you can tweak them by clicking on the little "i" and adding your own.
E.ggtimer: If you prefer something even more streamlined, this is another nice little timer app. On days when I'm really struggling to do something productive, I work in 10 or 15 minute chunks.
Pandora: Access to tons of free music in one place – what's not to love?
With this list of free apps, you can easily get started as a freelance writer, with little to no up front expense.
Leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite free apps for freelancing!
