eBook: Greening Your Freelance Business

Greening Your Freelance Business

An eBook by Shannon L. Buck

Greening Your Freelance Business is a very helpful book for any freelance career. In it, you will discover many ways in which it is possible to green your business activities as well as your office. So, if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, or if you are looking for more greening tips, then this is the eBook for you.

With the offered Action Steps in this eBook, you will soon be greening your business with the best of them. Learn how to green your freelance business with tips for:

* Paper, mailers, etc.

* Pencils, pens, etc.

* Shopping.

* Computer use.

* Reusing items.

* And more…

This eBook is available through: PDF Format

This eBook is available for: $12.95

Greening Your Freelance Business

Thank you!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

Advice for the New Freelancer

Family Fun Day (Photo credit: Peter Liu – Kaiscapes Media)

Whether you want to be a freelance writer, photographer or (insert career here), I would like to give you some advice to get you started along your path.

1. Find your motivation, and keep it in mind at all times. This may be anything from ‘I need to eat!’ to ‘I want a better life for my family.’ Whatever it is, hold onto it at all times.

Why?

Because sometimes you will want to give up.

2. Stay on course. Sometimes you will wake up and say, I just don’t want to do it today. While this is okay once in a while, don’t let it become habit… at least not in the beginning.

Why?

Because you need to keep your momentum in order to build a successful career. Do at least one quick, easy thing to further your career on these days. This will usually take you out of your funk and get you moving.

3. Be professional, but have some fun with it. Don’t be too serious.

Why?

Because too much stress can be a contributing factor in loss of sleep, weight gain and high blood pressure.

4. Eat well and get your exercise. This is especially important if your career of choice has you sitting a lot.

Why?

To help you stay in shape and maintain overall health. This will lead to a happier you!

5. Stay positive. Keep positive thoughts flowing in your head throughout the day. Do things that keep you happy, such as taking an hour to read or socializing with your neighbors.

Why?

This will also help you to live a happier, healthier lifestyle.

6. Spend time with your loved ones.

Why?

It is important to nurture relationships. This keeps everyone happy.

So, stay on course. Be happy. And strive for a healthy lifestyle. 

These actions will aid you in creating a successful personal and professional lifestyle.

5 Ways to Grow Your Blog

My new Blog (Photo credit: Crazy Ivory)

 

Growing your blog is easy, and really does not have to take large blocks of time. If you already have your ideas set to paper, in the form of titles and/or notes, you can get started right away.

 

How do you start?

 

By setting aside 30 minutes a day to work on your blog. In this time, you should be able to write a quality blog post, proof it for grammar, spelling and punctuation, and do at least one other quick task related to the blog.

 

So start now, and grow your blog.

 

1. Invite other bloggers to write an article for you. Be sure they blog about things in your industry, and will link to their post on your blog.
2. Add links in the side bar to articles (in the same industry) you have written for others.
3. Use Bottlenose to look for trending topics in your area of expertise.
4. Add a description and link to your sidebar, featuring a free or paid eBook, workshop or special report that you have created. Write a blog post about this same product, also linking to where your reader can find the product, and be sure to link to the post on all your social/networking profiles.
5. Link to your main blog page from all your social and bookmarking profiles.

 

Extra: Whenever you come up with an idea for your blog, but cannot get to it right away, write the idea down. Use this list as your 30 minutes of daily blogging checklist. You will always have something to do. The list might contain topic or title ideas, sidebar addition ideas, networking ideas and more.

 

Happy blogging!

 

Shannon L Buck

 

Special Report: Careers for Freelancer’s

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Careers for Freelancer’s

A Special Report By Shannon L. Buck

Are you interested in building a freelance business from home?

Are you interested in expanding upon the freelance business that you have already created?

Careers for Freelancers was written with you in mind. Take a journey into the freelance career base with this special report. Decide what careers interest you, buckle up, and enjoy the ride. There are many opportunities out there for each and every one of you. Which one(s) will you choose?

This Special Report is available through: PDF Format

This Special Report is available for: $3.95

Careers for Freelancer’s

Thank You!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

Tips for Becoming a Freelance Writer

Blog! (Photo credit: solofotones)

Becoming a freelance writer may seem confusing, but it really isn’t. There is a lot that goes into building this type of career, yes, but you can take it slow, getting your feet wet before jumping in head first.

Build up to it.

Don’t be too hard on yourself.

1. Write. Every day. Something. A blog post. An article. Something.
2. Write more. Two or three articles, plus a blog post or two, will get you even further.
3. Edit everything you write.
4. Create a blog. One about the topic you write the most about, or a writers’ blog about you and your business.
5. Monitor comments on your blog. There is a lot of spam that comes through on a blog. Set your controls to indicate you want to read comments first, then allow posts manually.
6. Edit the blog as well. Grammar and punctuation are so important.
7. Find the clients you need to keep yourself in business. Your blog is the first step, but you also have to actively search out writing opportunities. Make sure your query letters are also well written. So many are not these days.
8. Offer guest posts to other freelance writers, or to bloggers who cater to the audience you are looking for. Be sure these guest posts are well written and edited as well, as they are an example of your work.
9. Check your email. Limit the amount of time you do this, but check. Especially if you are waiting to hear from someone about a possible writing job.
10. Meet your deadlines.

Freelance writing is a worthy career choice, but you will have to work at it.

Shannon L. Buck

Related articles

• Do You Have What it Takes to Become a Freelance Writer? (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)

Special Report: Your Teen Can Help Your Freelance Career

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Your Teen Can Help Your Freelance Career

A Special Report By Shannon L. Buck

In my Special Report, Your Teen Can Help Your Freelance Career, you will see how it is possible  for your teenager to help you out while you are building your freelance career and how much, if anything, you should pay him or her for that help.

Teens can be a big help with:

* Their younger siblings.

* Keeping up the house.

* Your business tasks.

This Special Report is available through: PDF Format

This Special Report is available for: $3.95

Your Teen Can Help Your Freelance Career

Thank You!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

Special Report: A Freelancer’s Helper

A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de eBook Беларуская: Фотаздымак электроннай кнігі Русский: Фотография электронной книги (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Freelancer’s Helper

A Special Report by Shannon L. Buck

In this special report, A Freelancer’s Helper, I will show you the value of having people to help you with every day tasks while you work. Each person will have different needs, and this report will help you to decide what help would be best for your circumstances.

* A Mother’s (or Father’s) Helper

* A Part-Time Housekeeper

* A Yard Worker

It will also help you to determine what your own needs are so that you can decide what services may be worth your hard-earned dollars.

This Special Report is available through: PDF Format

This Special Report is available for: $3.95

A Freelancer’s Helper

Thank You!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

FREE Special Report: 365 Writing Prompts For Articles, Short Stories and More

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I am offering a free copy of 365 Writing Prompts for Articles, Short Stories and More in PDF format for all of my readers.

There is a link to this document on the Free Writing Prompts page here on the blog. It will stay there so you can get to it whenever you like. You can also download it.

Enjoy! And I hope you get many usable ides from the document.

Shannon L. Buck

Related articles

• Special Report: A Freelancer’s Helper (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)
• Special Report: Careers for Freelancer’s (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)
• eCourse: Organize Your Paperwork (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)
• Special Report: Formula for A Successful Blog (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)

Special Report: Formula for A Successful Blog

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Formula for A Successful Blog

A Special Report by Shannon L. Buck

In this special report, Formula for A Successful Blog, I will show you how easy it is to set up a successful blog for your business. Whether you own a store online or off, you work in one of the many freelance fields or you work in another area all together, you will find this Special Report useful.

It will also help you to determine what your own needs are so that you can decide what the best features are for your blog.

This Special Report is available through: PDF Format

This Special Report is available for: $3.95

Formula for A Successful Blog

Thank you!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

eCourse: Setting Up Your Business Blog

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Setting Up Your Business Blog

an eCourse by Shannon Buck

Do you want to put your business online?

Are you unsure about how to set up a business blog?

Then this 5 week eCourse is for you!

The eCourse Setting Up Your Business blog will help you to brainstorm and plan your career blog. You will learn about affiliate marketing, informational products, and how to set up a blog. The eCourse also covers such topics as newsletters, online filing systems and business accounts.

Format: PDF

Price: $10.95

Setting Up Your Business Blog

Thank you!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

My Most Recent Short Story: The Shack

THE WOODS AT DUSK 1 (Photo credit: A QUIVERFUL OF FOTOS)

You may remember that I joined the NaNoWriMo Challenge last November, and competed it! The entire book of short stories, a collection called Tales from the Woods, is not yet complete, but I have begun the editing process just the same. This keeps me working on the book while I wait for inspiration

The Shack is just one of the stories in this collection. The other two stories are titled Alone and The Woods.

Enjoy!

Shannon L. Buck

What is Your Specialty?

Writing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

You may have noticed that I am posting questions for you to answer, coming after some goal setting and motivational posts. This is in an effort to get you thinking.

 

Thinking about what?

 

What you want to be doing. You might already be blogging on a nonfiction basis, but I want you to think about expanding your horizons.

 

Today, I want you to think about your specialty (or specialties!). For instance, I mainly write lifestyle pieces: Cooking, gardening, parenting, frugality, etc. I also write career pieces, and I love fiction.

 

What about you? Do you prefer to write about sports? Business? Economics? Politics?

 

Do you blog about your specialty? If so, what can you add to the blog to help others begin their career, or to offer some entertainment for your readers?

 

Here are some suggestions to get you started?

 

• eBooks
• Special Reports
• Webinars
• Article Collections

 

Sit down with a pen and paper, brainstorm some ideas, and get cracking! Spice up your writing career a little.

 

Shannon L. Buck

 

 

What do You Write?

MSI laptop computer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This question might mean different things to different people. For instance, some may answer fiction, while other will answer non fiction. Some of you may even answer poetry.

 

The question also begs answers such as eBooks, eCourses and Special Reports. Scripts is another fine answer.

 

There are a wide variety of formats each person can write in.

 

Take advantage.

 

Write what you want.

 

I write many things. For this blog alone, I write:

 

• Blog Posts
• eBooks
• eCourses
• Special Reports
• A Challenge
• Tip Sheets
• Writing Prompts
• Worksheets

 

I also write eCookBooks and short stories, and am editing my first book of short stories. On top of all this, I am working on writing my second and third books of short stories. On top of all this, I also write two newsletters, have other blogs and write guest posts for other blogs.

 

I keep fairly busy.

 

What do you write?

 

What do you want to write?

 

What is your plan for getting it all done?

 

Shannon L. Buck

 

Related articles

 

• eCourse: Organizing Your Work Area: When You Don’t Have An Office (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)
• 2013 Writing Goals (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)

 

eCourse: Organizing Your Work Area: When You Don’t Have An Office

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Organizing Your Work Area: When You Don’t Have An Office

An eCourse by Shannon L. Buck

The eCourse Organizing Your Work Area: When You Don’t Have An Office was specifically created for those freelancer’s who do not have their own space to work in. This is a 6 day course that will take you through the steps necessary for setting up your work space.

Learn how to:

* Choose and appropriate area for your office.

* Choose what will go into your office.

* Set up your office in an area with limited space.

* Choose and organize books and magazines for your business.

* Choose the supplies and materials that you will need to run your business successfully.

* Organize your supplies.

* Create a file system that works for you.

* Streamline your computer uses, as much as is possible.

* Add a personal touch to your office area.

* And more…

This eCourse is available through: PDF

This eCourse is available for: $11.95

Organizing Your Work Area: When You Don’t Have An Office

Thank You!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

Do You Have What it Takes to Become a Freelance Writer?

English: One example of a freelance writer authoring directly to the Web. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Becoming a freelance writer sounds easy enough. Getting to work from home, on your own time, and (maybe) even being there for your family.

However, this is not necessarily the case.

Freelancing takes time. You may still need to keep your day job, keep up with household and family responsibilities, and still find time to take care of yourself while you begin building this career.

Not exactly all peaches and cream.

Still, while the beginning steps of creating your freelance career are time consuming, leaving you with not much time for anything else, the career itself is a desirable one.

What will you need to succeed?

• A willingness to learn.
• A family who supports your efforts, if you are not living alone.
• A plan for keeping up with household tasks. Possibly people to delegate things to.
• Stubborness, to see you through the rough patches.
• The desire to succeed, to help you stay motivated.
• The funds to start the business and pay the bills until you start earning your way, or a day job.
• A good grasp on writing and grammar skills.
• The ability to spend long periods of time alone.
• A computer or laptop, with high speed internet access.

At the most basic level, these are what you need to get started. Everything will happen as you progress with your freelance career.

What do you think? Do you have what it takes to become a freelance writer?

Shannon L. Buck

 

5 Tips for Staying Positive

English: Think positive (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Staying positive is not always easy, but it is important. You do not want to get into a slump because you will feel down on yourself and your career, and then you will not be as productive as you need to be.

 

To begin, let’s look at some of the reasons negativity might sneak into your daily life:

 

• You are alone most of the day, with no real social interaction.
• You may be spending most of your day in an environment that is not conducive to happy feelings and thoughts.
• You may have had some (or many) of your proposals or queries rejected, and are therefore feeling down on yourself.
• You may not be keeping up with fitness goals.
• You may not be getting the appropriate nutrients.

 

These reasons are enough to leave a negative impact on anyone, so what can you do to combat these issues and stay positive?

 

1. Make it a point to get out and socialize. Talk with people in your community while at the store for your morning coffee, and while checking the mail. Make it a point to hang out with someone at least once a week, and set aside for daily family time.
2. Brighten up your office space. Keep the curtains open, and hang some plants in the window. Add some artwork or photographs to the wall, and place some flowers on your desk. Keep the air circulating, and light scented candles. Try working outside when the weather is good.
3. Don’t worry about rejection. Consider these practice runs, and keep learning more writing and marketing skills. Hold your head up and realize that your time will come.
4. Take a walk every day, or take two. Start a fitness program on your own, at a gym, or with friends.
5. Eat well. With the proper diet, supplements are not usually needed. Consume plenty of fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water. Make healthy meals and snacks. Organic foods are the best way to go, when you can afford them.

 

If change is not your friend, then change one thing each week. This will give you a chance to get used to each step.

 

How do you stay positive while building your freelance career?

 

Shannon L. Buck

 

Freelance Ponderings and Advice Issue #16

Just a heads up. The 16th issue of Freelance Ponderings and Advice is now available. Enjoy! The topic for this issue is An Opinion Blog.

International Journal of Public Opinion Research (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shannon L. Buck

Write Now, Publish Later

My schedule is a hectic one. I do not have the opportunity to write every day, but I want to start keeping somewhat of a schedule for my blogs and Examiner.com channels.

Doing so will allow me to stay on track, and give my readers for each venue something to look forward to.

Each of my blogs has this feature.

English: Examiner.com official logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Each of my channels has this feature.

By using these feature, I am able to get as far ahead as I want with my writing, and have everything scheduled to post on specific dates and at specific time. I will be utilizing this feature much more this year than in previous years. Indeed, this is a new feature for Examiner.com.

During the on season at the inn (a period of time that lasts all but a few months out of the year) I do not have enough time to write regularly. In November (NaNoWriMo month!), I do not have time to blog much at all, and certainly no time to write articles.

By using this type of feature, I can keep everyone reading by doing all my work during the off season and scheduling it for later.

This means that, for the next two or three months, I am working triple time: At the inn, writing current posts and articles as well as doing marketing tasks, and writing for the on season.

Let’s see how it all works out for me.

How do you handle busy times?

Shannon L. Buck

eCourse: Organize Your Paperwork

Organize Your Paperwork

an eCourse by Shannon Buck

Are you wondering what information you should keep on file for your business?

How long to keep that information?

What your accountant will want to see?

How to store everything?

Then this eCourse is for you! Organize Your Paperwork is a 6 week eCourse that will help you to get all of those important papers organized and will explain how you should be storing your tax packets and your business records. The eCourse also covers such topics as file system choices and how to set them up, creating a filing schedule and storing bulk supplies for your business.

Format: PDF

Price: $11.95

Organize Your Paperwork

Thank You!

Shannon L. Buck

How to Live the Freelance Life

Take Chances!

{Take A Chance} (Photo credit: SweetOnVeg)

Last week I made a post about theme words. Mine, for the 2013 year, is Prepare. My desire to be prepared for the next busy season at the inn will have me writing and doing other busy tasks like crazy over the next few months. I am determined to get as much done as possible ahead of time, so my freelancing does not suffer while I am so busy at my day job.

I also have a motto for this year.

Take Chances!

Short and sweet, right?

Last year I felt bad that I did not take any real chances. There were a couple of opportunities that I let slip by because of time restraints, as well as insecurity. i am bound and determined that I will not let this happen again.

I will take chances!

Will I get everything I want? Maybe not. But at least I will know that I tried.

What is your motto for 2013? Thank about the possibilities for a while, then decide. And share your motto with others!

Shannon L. Buck

Related articles

• What is Your Theme Word? Mine is Prepare. (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)
• 2013 Writing Goals (howtolivethefreelancelife.wordpress.com)