Do you use Facebook?  I think most freelance people are using it on some level to either market themselves or just to have a place to meet other freelancers.  But are you taking advantage of all the great groups and pages there are out there?

Since I’m on Facebook I frequently join pages or groups that have to do with writing and social media.  Some have proven to be more useful than others.  Here are some of my favorites:

Groups:

• Writing Gigs Community

Pages

• Freelance Folder
• Sharon Hurley Hall
• Facebook4Freelancers
• Freelance Writing Jobs
• The Work at Home Life
• Savvy Freelance Writers
• The Blog Squad
• Social Media Examiner

Each of these pages and groups have their own advantages and can bring something to you Facebook experience.  Instead of just hanging out on Facebook and playing games why don’t you check out some pages and groups and learn while you’re there?

Of course, I would love it if you’d join my page as well.  Danielle Gibbings McGaw is still growing but I’d love to see some interaction happening!

Do you have others that I’ve mentioned?  Do you have your own?  I’d love it if you’d leave a link in the comments!

Well, I’m one month into full-time writing and loving it.

I’ve been hustling my butt to get extra writing to top off the one regular writing/social media job that I have and I have not found it difficult. In fact, some days I’ve had too much.  But it was good to hustle for a bit.

As a result of the hustling I’ve gotten two more regular gigs and have two more in the works for September.  Between these I have no need to do anything else but I have time to take on a few more things.  That’s good.  That means that when I need to make a little extra cash I can do some of my content mill writing or I can put out word to a few sources and get a little extra in.

It’s no where nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and if I’d known how suited I was for this life I would have done it five years ago!

August is almost over and I feel like I’m starting to get the groove of this whole work from home thing.  Not completely, but starting to.  I want to finish off the month with a bang so here are some goals (and I’ve only chose 5 because there are not a lot of days left!):

1. Complete at least one blog entry per day – reach for two though because that is what I’ll need to finish the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
2. Get up early enough to treat myself to a nice walk before I settle down for the day and start writing.
3. Write one article per day for myself to submit to Triond or Bukisa.
4. End each day with a list of things that I am going to do the next day.
5. Track time – the time tracking thing needs to get a whole lot better!

I’ve got a treat for you today! My friend Cathy Miller (who I met on Twitter) agreed to do a guest post for me here and I thought it would be a great ideas because one of the things that she focuses on is health. And really, as a freelance writer I know that my health is often the last thing on my mind!

As freelance writers, we have to think about so many things. Not just about how much money we are making but making sure invoices get sent out and our records are intact and finding new jobs, and of course we have to maintain a presence on the social web so that our names out our there. No wonder we forget to take care of our health sometimes!

So, check out this great post and when you are done make sure that you go to her site and read more of her work!

By CATHY MILLER, Business Writer

Practice what you preach. That was my first thought when Danielle asked me to write about freelance writers taking care of their health.

Knowing Better

Like many of us out there, I know a lot about good health. I spent over 30 years in the health care industry. Ironically, it has been since I left to become a freelance writer that I returned my focus to good health.
Don’t get me wrong. I am getting better, but I am not as diligent as I need to be. So, instead of preaching, I will take the journey with you in exploring what freelance writers can do to take care of their health.

Work Smart

Most freelance writers love the freedom that freelancing offers. Whether you are a Work At Home Mom (WAHM) or working solo, there are things you can do to work smarter and healthier.

Ergonomic Education

One of the gifts I brought from Corporate America was the advice of an ergonomic specialist. I worked at a brokerage firm at the time that had a specialist in its workers compensation area. His simple guidance helped me stop wrist pain and sore, dry eyes. How’s that for a combination?

Here are a few tips for a healthy writing style.

The Mouse – Old school types (like me) are overly dependent on the mouse. If you must use it, make sure you use your whole arm in moving it. A better solution is using keyboard shortcuts.

Moving the mouse, just by hand – in a side-to-side motion – puts a strain on your wrist. Do you use the mouse pad with the cushioned rest? Bad idea – it encourages the side-to-side motion.

Monitor – Keep monitors at eye level. If you have your computer above your head, your eyes dry out from tilting up, and it strains neck and shoulder muscles. You were wondering where I got the dry eyes from, weren’t you?

Keep the monitor at a distance where you can read it, but not too close.  There are all kinds of recommendations, like 20-25 or 30 inches. I am all about unique. It’s a middle child of seven affliction. Everyone is different, so you have to find what works best for you.
Posture – This is the tough one. I probably abuse this one more than any other. What the specialist told me was “think right angles.” Math – ugh.
Your feet should be flat on the floor. Your legs are at a right angle from your hip. Do not lean forward – my downfall. Lean back, with lumbar support just below your waist.
Keyboard – Position keyboards slightly below your elbow so your wrists are straight when resting. If the keyboard is too high, like those of you who put it on the desk, it puts a strain on your wrists, shoulders, and other places you never knew about. Trust me, I’m a baby boomer.
Like I said earlier, you have to find what works best for you. Your body will thank you for it.

Shake That Booty

Writers hate to interrupt when they are in the zone. While great for productivity, it may not be so great for your health.
Get up and move around. Even while your booty is in the chair, change positions, rotate your ankles, your head. Let your arms drop before they drop you. Move, baby, move. Set a timer if you need an audio reminder or have a child. Okay, that may be a tad extreme; however, you get the idea.

Know Your Numbers

Sorry to take you back to math, but this is important. Dr. Oz offers great information about knowing your numbers for healthy test results. Here are a few key ones.

• Blood Pressure: 115/75
• LDL Cholesterol: 100 or less
• HDL Cholesterol: 50 or higher
• Resting Heart Rate: 83 or lower

I know how difficult it is for a freelance writer to find affordable health insurance. That is a blog post for another day.
Even if you do not have health insurance, it is vital that you have your preventive screenings. As a seven-time walker in the Susan G. Komen, 3-Day, 60-mile Walk for Breast Cancer, I encourage mammograms.
It is far less costly (and deadly) to catch the early stages of health problems. Many places offer free blood pressure and other screenings. Check your local drug stores and clinics for information.
Additional free online resources include:

• American Heart Association
• My Pyramid
• Start Walking Now

Help Off the Health Pedestal

I hope you do not feel an urge to push me off the health pedestal. At least that would get me out of this chair. This all brings me back to where I started. Practice what you preach. I’ll promise to do a better job of balancing freelancing with good health if you will. After all, isn’t that what we are all looking for? A better life.

Cathy is a business writer who has been writing professionally for over 30 years. To keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours, get in touch with Cathy at Simply stated business, or email her at cathy@millercathy.com.

If you’re just getting started with a freelance writing career you may have noticed that all of the good jobs ask for writing samples.  But if you haven’t actually had any clients yet how do you get them?

Getting writing samples online is really not that difficult.  There are plenty of places that you can get your work published.  But before you start with that there are a few things you should remember:

1. Your writing samples need to have your name on it.  Without your name on it, potential clients will not know for sure that they were written by you.
2. They need to be of good quality.  Scratch that. They need to be great quality!  If you are going to use them to showcase your writing abilities, make sure that you have put the same effort into them that you would put into a clients work.  Write carefully and use the 3 step writing process to ensure that they are the best you are capable of.
3. They need to demonstrate your scope of ability.  Unless you have chose to be a writer that focuses on a single topic (and although many writers do this eventually, I don’t recommend this at the beginning; you might later fall into a specialty or find you prefer certain topics later but at the beginning you are going to need to be flexible) you will need to show potential clients that you are able to write on several different topics and that you are able to write them as if you were an expert in that field.

Now, the big question – where do you publish this writing?

I strongly believe that writers should spend at least some time writing for themselves.  The best way to do this is with your own blog.  You might want to have a niche blog if there is a specific area that you want to be able to focus on in the future.  But if you haven’t decided this yet you can have a blog that has several different focuses.  Just separate them by categories and don’t go too wide.  Keep it to about 3 or 4 topics and make sure that you identify them.  And remember that just because you are writing for yourself doesn’t mean that others are not going to read them so spell check and edit!

When I first started writing I did a lot of work for article marketing directories.  I used EzineArticles and Bukisa and I’ve since added InfoBarrel.  I know that many writers love AssociatedContent but I don’t write there because I’m a Canadian and I believe that only Americans can earn residuals there.  There are many places where you can write articles and your name is always attached.  There are some extra bonuses to writing articles for article directories.  You can earn some residual income and through resource boxes and your writer’s page, you can get valuable backlinks to your personal blog!

Guest posting is a great way to get some articles out there with your name on it.  I won’t go into great detail about guest posting because I recently blogged about it.  If you missed the post, go read about why I love guest posting now.

Finally, you can think a little less traditionally, too.  Don’t be afraid to be creative about getting your name out there on articles.  If you have an organization that you are particularly fond of, volunteer to write something for them.  Do you have a friend that needs help on their site?  Offer to help them out.  Look for opportunities to get published samples online.

And once you have them?  Be picky!  Don’t give every potential client the same list of published samples.  Choose samples that are most closely related to what they are looking for.  If they are looking for something in the health care niche – find an article that is related.  Or if they want how-to articles make sure that you choose one of your samples that is written in that style.

Getting samples is not hard – making sure that you have samples that reflect your abilities is more challenging.