Jim Sutton: NAIWE Member of the Month, April 2012

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Ann Hoopsick

Our Member of the Month for April is Jim Sutton of Creative Solutions. Listen in to the recording below as we interview Jim on The Freelance Life. He shares some of the online networking skills he teaches others to help improve their online networking for profitability.

A self-described onion networker, who is passionate about networking and helping others master the skill, Jim built his LinkedIn network to 3600 direct connections in 6 years. He has successfully managed complex learning management systems and led the creation of performance-based qualification programs. To help improve the skills of job seekers he is currently facilitating a weekly interview preparation session. He lives in Venetia, PA, is married and has a degree in computer systems and a masters in Training and Performance Improvement.

How to Get Most Out of Everything You Do: A Teleclass with PR & Entrepreneur Expert, Diana Ennen

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Ann Hoopsick

Join us for a member teleclass-
3:30 pm EST on Wednesday April 4, 2012
with Public Relations Expert Diana Ennen

You’ll learn:

How to write a great how to article on topics specific to your expertise.
How to get the most exposure for that article by adding it to your blog, newsletter, etc., and submitting it to the top ranking article submission sites as well as industry-specific places.
How to take it a step further and get even more exposure with your social media by creating tweets, facebook postings, etc., right from that article.
How you can review your website stats and online search stats to see what keywords brought the visitors to your site and with that knowledge create a Google Adword campaign.
And as a bonus, we show you how to create a video of your article and add it to your YouTube channel.

Dianna is President of Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com. She has been in business for 25 years and has authored five books on starting a business including the best-selling book, Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA. Today she specializes in PR and marketing. She has been featured on Fox News, CNN Radio, CBS4 News, etc., and co-hosted a radio show for over 3 years.

Members will find call-in information for the classes in the member area of the NAIWE.com website. You’ll find it by logging in on any page of the site, then going to the Library link, then to the Expert Teleclasses link. NAIWE teleclasses are totally free for members ($27 each for non-members).

If you’re not a member and you’d like to join in time for the teleclass, you may click on this “Join NAIWE” link to do so. If you would like to register for the teleclass only, you may do so by visiting the Teleclass page. We hope you’ll join us!

Words Matter Week Blog Challenge, March 4-10

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Ann Hoopsick

It’s time to focus on words once again, and it’s not too late to participate in the Words Matter Week 2012 celebration. We’ve uploaded a new poster. You are welcome to print it, post it, distribute it, and otherwise use it, as long as you leave it intact. If you’d like to link back to this site, please use http://WordsMatterWeek.com to get directly to our home page.

Words Matter Week takes place
March 4-10, 2012.

Check out how the Junior Joy Team celebrates Words Matter Week with a video about the power of words. Participate in the Words Matter Week Blog Challenge at Words Matter Week.

10 Strategies for Earning Six Figures in 2012

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Ann Hoopsick

What makes the difference between high-earning freelancers
and low ones? In this teleclass, six-figure freelancer Carol Tice
talks about the key moves that can keep you earning well, even
in this economy. Join us for special members-only teleclass
with NAIWE member and professional blogger, Carol Tice.
Carol’s own blog, Make a Living Writing
was chosen as one of the Top Ten Blogs for Writers
at the well-known Write to Done site, so it’s apparent that she really understands the world of blogging.

In her bio, Carol states, “I started Make a Living Writing because I wanted to share what I’ve learned about successful freelancing and help writers support themselves with their craft. This blog is my give-back to the profession that allows me to pay my bills doing something I truly enjoy.”

You may enjoy one of Carol’s recent articles
How I Made Six Figures as a Freelance Writer in 2011

Join us for this special teleclass-
3:30 pm EST on Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Bring your questions and concerns, and be ready to boost your income with Carol’s strategies.

Tax Expert Carol Topp, CPA, to talk about Taxes for Freelancers

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Editor

NAIWE members are invited to join us on Wednesday, 22 February, for a special call with our Accounting for Freelancers Expert, Carol Topp, CPA. Bring your accounting and tax questions, and Carol will answer as many as possible during our hour together. In Tax Tips for Writers in 2012 she’ll cover:

Anything new in taxes?

Mileage records

Business use of the home deduction

The IRS doesn’t email (scam alert)

Tax software can lie to you

When do you need a CPA ?

This members-only program will air on February 22, 2012 at 3:30 EST.

Carol Topp,CPA, is an accountant and the author of Business Tips and Taxes for Writers. Through her writing, speaking and consulting, Carol converts confusing tax rules and business language into clear, easy-to-understand English for readers. Visit TaxesForWriters.com for tax tips and business articles for the writer, blogger, freelancer and author.

Bonus: We’ll give away one copy of Carol’s new book, Business Tips and Taxes for Writers, to one lucky teleclass attendee. If you’re a member and would like to enter but can’t be at the teleclass, just e-mail a question for Carol to Janice@NAIWE.com, and you’ll be included in the opportunity to win the book. If you don’t win, the book is available from the NAIWE Bookstore.
3:30 pm EST on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Members will find call-in information in the member area. Just log in at the top of any NAIWE page; click on the “Library” link, and then the “Members-Only Blog” link. We’ll send a reminder via e-mail as well. Be sure that you’ve whitelisted *@naiwe.com (an asterisk, followed by @naiwe.com) in your e-mail program so that you receive the message.

How to Tweet Tips to Create a Product with Paulette Ensign

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Janice Campbell

On a special episode of The Freelance Life, NAIWE Expert Paulette Ensign shared how to Tweet Your Tips to Create a New Product While Marketing Your Expertise. You may listen to the recording below.

As a freelancer, you have lots of great business tips to share with the world. And you keep hearing that social media for business is the way to go. Yet there are so many social media tools you’re not sure where to start. Plus you’re running a small home business or a micro business. You want to create products from those tips marketing your business at the same time, on what little time you have. Maybe you’re thinking of a tweet book and don’t know how to do it.

This session shows you how to do that and more, a minute at a time in very short order, a tip at a time, doing double time as you market your freelance business and create a money-making product simultaneously. You’ll develop a social media strategy that is painless, with big results both online and offline.

What you’ll learn in this session not only gives you a way to create a product for your business, it gives you another service to offer your clients and prospects.

Paulette Ensign has successfully been in the tips business for more than twenty years, selling well over a million copies of her tips booklet online and offline. She has clients worldwide who have surpassed her results. You can be the next one!

The Freelance Life is hosted at TalkShoe.

Direct link: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/38165
Phone number: (724) 444-7444
Call ID: 38165

Ghostwriting Teleclass for NAIWE Members

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Editor

Why learn ghostwriting if you don’t want to be a ghostwriter?

- Ghostwriters can complete a novel in 12-14 months, concept to final draft.

- Ghostwriters can complete a nonfiction manuscript, fully edited, in 6-8 months.

They’re not necessarily better writers, they simply have a perspective and skill set different from the ones taught to writers and aspiring authors. NAIWE’s Ghostwriting Expert Claudia Suzanne will talk about the differences between writers and and ghostwriters, including what you need to see your manuscripts the way agents and publishers do.

Join us on Wednesday, 18 January, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. EST to learn more about ghosting and why it might be a good addition to your skills toolbox.

Member Teleclass: How to Complete Your Projects . . . Especially the Ones That Have Been Bugging You

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Editor

Want to know how to knock out those projects that just hang on and on? Join us for this month’s member teleclass, “How to Complete Your Projects . . . Especially the Ones That Have Been Bugging You,” with NAIWE expert Meggin McIntosh, The Ph.D of Productivity. She’ll delve into her experience to share sharp strategies for finishing even the most challenging projects.

Thursday, 12 January 2012

3:30 p.m. EST

Click this link for Meggin’s very helpful handouts.

We’ll talk about:

The #1 reason too many of your projects remain uncompleted.
The belief that is preventing you from ever getting some of your projects into the pipeline–so of course they never get completed.
The 3 tools you must have to get your projects completed.
The best secret for giving yourself peace of mind–even if it gives you a jolt of overwhelm first!  How to get started so you have meaningful projects completed in a reasonable timeframe.
The 5 questions to ask and answer to know whether you are actually going to make any progress on your projects – or if you are woefully resigned to continue to live a life of frustration, unfulfilled possibilities, and lost opportunities.

Meggin’s workshop can help you enter the new year with confidence and a clean slate. We hope you’ll join us!

Book Chat: Susan Bowman, Author of Lady Father

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Janice Campbell

Join us on The Freelance Life as we talk with NAIWE member Susan Bowman, author of the memoir, Lady Father. We’ll talk about the book and its unique title and the writing process and how it impacted Susan’s life. We’ll also touch on marketing tips she’s has found helpful, and maybe even a few tips for other writers who are planning to write a memoir.

We interviewed Susan at 3:30 p.m. EDT on The Freelance Life, Wednesday, 7 December 2011. She has a great story, and shared a number of helpful writing and marketing tips. Here’s the recording:

Lady Father by Susan Bowman

Susan writes, “Lady Father” is a narrative account of my journey through the ordination process in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia of the 1980’s and the subsequent years of ordained ministry. As the first female admitted to the ordination process by the Rt. Rev. C. Charles Vaché, seventh Bishop of Southern Virginia, who was then a strong and vocal opponent of the ordination of women, I was a “reluctant pioneer.” Read more . . .

NAIWE members: Have you recently published a book? The Book Chat is an informal interview about your book, your writing process, and your publishing story. Once it’s complete, you may download it and post it on your website and/or blog for the enjoyment of potential readers. It’s a benefit for members only.

What to Charge by Laurie Lewis: A Finalist in USA Best Books 2011

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Janice Campbell

What to Charge by Laurie Lewis is a USA Best Books 2011 Award Finalist!

We are excited to announce that the outstanding book What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants by our Pricing Expert, Laurie Lewis, is a finalist in the USA Best Books 2011 awards.

What to Charge teaches you how to:

Set rates
Assess fees dictated by clients
Evaluate your pricing experiences
Dig for information before quoting a fee
Examine the pros and cons of different pricing methods
Keep records that will enable you to maximize your profits on future projects
Use the only two rules of pricing (and why following them will guarantee you pricing success)
Analyze your income retroactively
Raise your rates with little effort

We believe it’s a one-of-a-kind book, and we’re proud to offer it in the NAIWE bookstore. If you freelance and you want to boost your bottom line, this book should be on your desk!

Note to Members: Have you or your book won an award? Let us know so that we can share the good news!

NAIWE NewsWire

News and Events of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors