start & scale your freelancing career
tips, guides, and resources to grow
What you'll
learn in the academy
- Basic steps for laying a foundation for freelance writing
- How to land your first client and get paid for writing
- Tips for scaling your business and taking it full time
- Extra resources, including expert webinars, designed to help you level up
Testimonials
You can become a better writer
Below are additional freelance writing resources that I personally recommend to help you grow and scale your freelance writing.
Grammarly
write better
One of my absolute favorite tools is Grammarly. I have it as a Chrome plugin, and it helps me stay on top of my writing. It's like having an editor available for me all the time. Grammarly works well with WordPress, as well as in Google Docs and other sites. It will catch common usage errors, spelling and grammar issues and even make smart suggestions to improve your writing.
Hemingway
pithy, active writing
Get rid of passive voice and overburdened sentences. If you want to write actively and get straight to the point in a powerful way, the Hemingway App is the way to go. It's available as an online tool, but you can also get the desktop app. I've thought seriously about just using it for my writing in general, mainly because of how awesome it is at forcing you to think about your sentences — and use every word to advantage
Asana
project management made easy
If you want to keep track of projects and deadlines, Asana is a great choice. I use it regularly. The fact that you can switch between list and calendar, and even track invoicing, is great. You can also use Asan to collaborate on projects and work with your virtual assistants (if you have them).
Are you a blogger looking to create the best content?
Two course recommendations for you
Enhance Your content
I love this course from my friend Ashley Barnett. This course takes you through the ins and outs of helping you create better content for your blog.
How to turn your blog into a business
My friend Larry Ludwig built a successful blog and sold it for seven figures. While you might not end up with a seven-figure blog, you can still make money with it.
The Freelance Blog
a collection of guest posts, guides, and helpful freelancing tips
Freelance Writing
Are You More Than a Freelance Writer?
Be clear about what you do as a freelance writer, and be careful about going beyond that description. Over the course of the last two or three weeks, I've had several people approach me about performing social media tasks. While I try to submit most of the posts I write to social media sites, I
6 Reasons to Turn Down a Freelance Gig
No matter how much money you are offered, not every freelance gig is worth doing. It's not always easy to decide which freelance jobs to take on and which to pass on. Sometimes, money is a deciding factor. Sometimes, it's possible to avoid any inconvenience if you are offered enough money. On the other hand,
Freelance Writing and Journalism: Using the 5 Ws (and How)
Freelance writing and journalism have a lot of similarities, even if it's not a perfect correlation. One way you can enhance your writing is to use the 5 Ws (and how). Because I graduated from journalism school, much of my technique focuses on what I learned while working on my MA at Syracuse. From the
Pro Blogging
Are You More Than a Freelance Writer?
Be clear about what you do as a freelance writer, and be careful about going beyond that description. Over the course of the last two or three weeks, I've had several people approach me about performing social media tasks. While I try to submit most of the posts I write to social media sites, I
What Do You Tell People about Being an Online Freelancer?
Many friends and family don't really “get” the online freelancer thing. And what can I tell them? Since I work online (and sometimes feel like I live online), I tend to find myself in this happy bubble where people know what I do. I hang around with other online creators when I start feeling lonely
Asking for More Money: Or, How I Became a Freelancing Diva
If you're being asked to do more work, it makes sense to start asking for more money. In the wonderful world of freelancing, you are sometimes asked to make revisions. Normally, this doesn't bother me. You make some adjustments to the work, and you move on. On two occasions, I even did complete rewrites. Mainly
Writing Tips
5 Famous Doses of Reality for the Aspiring Writer
Whether you plan to write fiction or non-fiction, as an aspiring writer you need a solid dose of reality. You really can make money as a writer. You can even do it as a professional blogger. My story is simple and straightforward. It's not glamorous, and following my tips probably won't lead to insane amounts
15 Tips that Can Improve Your Writing
We can all get better. Put these tips into practice, and you'll improve your writing in no time. Even though I'm a professional writer, I know that I still have room for improvement. I like to think I'm a decent enough writer (since people pay me to write for them), but I know there's plenty
5 Ways to Battle Burnout in Your Freelancing Career
In order to stay on top of your freelancing game, you need to battle burnout. I love what I do. I feel extremely lucky and blessed to be able to freelance write from home, earning a living for my family. However, even though I love to write, and I write about topics of interest to
Productivity
Paying the ADHD Tax
We don’t always talk about how some type of neurodivergence, like ADHD, can impact finances. But the ADHD tax is real. I had an amazing summer. It was AHHHHHH-MAZE-ING. Retreats, retreats, and more retreats Technically, it started at the end of April, when a dear friend and fellow content creator came to visit for a
Freelance Lifestyle: What to Do With a Family Vacation
Even though your family may have the day off, the freelance lifestyle might mean you have work to do. As Christmas approaches and I get ready to travel, I'm reminded that sometimes the freelance lifestyle doesn't always lead to the same relaxation and time off you get with a “real” job. Running a home business,
What Does a Daily Freelance Schedule Look Like for a Veteran Freelancer?
People always ask about my daily freelance schedule. Here's the latest iteration of what this mess looks like. The most common questions I get are: How do I start investing? How can you travel so much? What is your daily schedule as a freelancer? The answers to the first two questions stay pretty much the