Forget LinkedIn, Substack. Your own site should be your online HQ
Freelance writers need their own websites. Solopreneurs and independent contractors need their own sites. The same protocol applies to gig workers and hobbyists with a side hustle. This is a hill I’ll die on. Too many of us rely on networks such as LinkedIn, Substack and Medium to host our shortform posts, our longform Op-Eds, our services, the odd content marketing campaigns. But why play by everyone else’s rules when you can make your own? When you craft and maintain your own site to promote yourself as a writer, you won’t face any surprises. When you solely post on LinkedIn, for example, their algorithm can suddenly pivot one day and the kind of content you produce could sink. We saw that pattern appear with Facebook’s constant Main Feed tweaks. The same with X. But when you write blog posts on your site, you can curate the branding and positioning ideal for what you offer clients. There’s a relieving freedom moving from Medium to your own site (my story, in a nutshell) thanks to stressing less about platform updates and changes affecting your content. Let’s be blunt, though. Running your own site takes time and income, so it’s a decision you’ll have to make when you survey your budget. But it’s a line item worth highlighting, and it can pay dividends. I estimate I’ve received around 20 emails through my website in the past year, most of them inquiring about my writing coaching services. With Medium, would I be fielding similar DMs or finding comments on my posts, asking for my rates? I doubt it. It never happened. So three years ago, I cut my losses with my investment of posting on Medium and focused more on my own lead-generating site. I’d recommend working with a designer or UX specialist to fine-tune what you want your site to do. Promote one nuance of your freelance business? Flush out your blog more than your portfolio? Go heavy on multimedia and remain lean with text-heavy design? As dizzying as the options are, thy represent a blank canvas; go paint the mural of your business, and recognize your ink isn’t permanent. You can shift your site’s intention any time. My next post will share my advice on how to maintain your site and make it “sticky,” meaning visitors will want to come back to it over and over again.
Every solopreneur should find mentors online, offline
When I first embarked on my solopreneur journey as a freelance journalist and content marketing specialist, I foolishly thought I wouldn’t get lonely or uninspired. I thought, I’m an introvert at heart, I like being alone, it’s not a huge deal, and I can inspire myself by listening to podcasts and reading books about freelancing. But lo! I did indeed get lonely, and feelings of inadequacy soon followed. Imposter syndrome often rears its head, but like Anne Lammott recommends, I turned the dial down on those squeaky voices and instead reminded myself I’m successful and skilled at what I do, and so what if someone else I saw on social is securing higher-paying gigs or winning more awards? I then realized something else: Networking is vital for me as a solopreneur. It allows me to learn from others, stave off loneliness and the associated melancholy, and offers me the opportunity to be part of a wider community. I began by networking more on LinkedIn and even Twitter, joining a few Facebook Groups/Pages, as well. This approach helped me learn the frustrating challenges other writers faced, whether that was administrative (“I haven’t gotten paid yet from this magazine!”) or technical (“I’m open to recommendations for high-quality voice recorders for my interviews”). I wasn’t alone here. But still, online is still detached from reality in many ways, and this networking didn’t feel sticky enough, if that makes sense. Recently, I began booking coffee dates with a few longread journalists I admire. These Toronto journos have written poignant and enthralling feature stories that inspire me as a writer, so much so I want to learn their approach to taking on these massive and investigative stories. That’s an area of journalism I haven’t delved into as much as shorter work, but I’d like to see if longread journalism is the right fit for me. I wouldn’t be able to glean that kind of detail with a few back-and-forth emails over LinkedIn. Being engaged and present in the moment of an in-person meeting felt more appropriate for this kind of discussion. I hope to learn from them, too, which editors they tend to pitch to and why, and how they sort through the administrative headaches that sadly make up a big portion of our work. Networking can be awkward or some folks, but I’d recommend swallowing that salty pill and finding the right mentors that can inspire you. It’ll be well worth the effort.
Why every writer needs to be a voracious reader
When I was falling in love with writing as a 17-year-old and enrolled in a mentorship program at the Toronto Public Library, author M.T. Kelly told me, “Dave, writing is reading, reading is writing. You have be as much a bookworm as you are a word nerd.” Those words stayed with me for decades but I worry that too many other writers don’t follow that same advice. I’ve met dozens of writers who don’t read articles beyond the newsletters pushed into their inbox weekly, or the social posts flooding their feeds. That has to change. For any writer, whether creative or journalistic, reading is critical to being a strong writer. We learn from what pulls us into a story, from the phrases that ignite a fire in our brain. When we come across le mot juste, as Baudelaire said, we know we’ll somehow find a way to bring those words into our own writing. Writers have to read a lot. I’m not talking a book a week but at least a couple longreads over that period, maybe a short story collection every month. Read heady complex stuff, read funny poetry, read books you might not even think you’ll like. And it’s fine if you don’t. Forward-thinking writers also learn from what not to do. The more I expanded my reading range, venturing beyond John Irving books to non-fiction and poetry, the more I found beautiful expression I never would’ve spotted in my usual favourites. When we go out of our comfort zooms, we’ll strengthen our writing skills and level up in ways that might have seemed unimaginable before.
Read my latest writing in the new Portfolio page
It’s about time I levelled up my website by alerting visitors to my latest journalistic and brand writing. That’s why I worked with my web designer to launch my new PORTFOLIO page on this website, which included my work for news outlets such as BBC News, The Toronto Star and Fast Company, as well as for brands such as Zapier. This Blog section used to be a home for my writing but I want to keep my insights and perspectives on freelancing separate from my latest clips. And, as always, if you have any questions about my coaching and consulting business, get in touch anytime!
Why you should ask upfront for half the fee for major projects
When I endured the frustration of not getting paid due to a bankrupt client, I realized I didn’t take my own advice: ask for half a project before you submit the first draft.
Read my latest clips for BBC News, Agriculture Dive
This winter has been busy, due in part to working with several new clients such as Agriculture Dive and ForesightDK.
My four-part Medium series breaks down how to write tight
A year ago, I decided to dabble in writing on Medium, where I saw many fellow writers turn to a a blogging platform. Once I found my footing and niche (writing advice), I launched a four-part series on how to hone the craft. I could’ve waxed poetic on this topic for more than four posts, but I wanted to practice what I preached and keep the tips tight and succinct. In the first post, I look at getting rid of redundancies, and in the second post I advise writers to avoid those pointless hedgers and qualifiers. In the third part, I reveal the scourge of the run-on sentence and the importance of varying sentence length to create natural rhythms and cadences. And in the final post, I outline the best ways to avoid dropping cliches in your work. Give them a read and let me know what you think on Medium (if you’re a member) or via my Twitter feed. Stay tuned to this space for more posts on becoming a better writer. Remember, if you want to get coached by an experienced prose and non-fiction writer, you can learn more about my courses here.
Why every writer needs to have an Inspiration File
In a note on my Evernote app, titled Inspiration File, a list of random words and phrases might seem confusing to a stranger’s eye, but for me, they represent five years’ worth of curating the most intriguing pieces of writing I’ve come across. In both the fiction and non-fiction I read, I pay attention to any sentences or even verbs that cause me to crane my attention and think, “Hmm. Haven’t used/thought of that one in a bit.” I contend that every writer, no matter the vertical, should have an Inspiration File on their phone or notepad. We can’t rely on our memory to pull up that moving phrase we want to tweak with our voice; at least I don’t claim to have an impeccable memory, so that’s where my iPhone’s Evernote comes in. I’ve long had my phone nearby when I’m reading a book or article (which isn’t going to help you ignore texts and notifications, so adjust your settings when appropriate). When a certain phrase strikes me oh so splendidly, I head to my Inspiration File to input le mot juste before I can forget it, and I might even add a parenthetical note to it, such as “Use to describe next restaurant I profile,” or “Potential poem ending.” These standout words and sentences don’t have to be groundbreaking metaphors; they might something as simple as the verb “amplify” which I’m using more often in some copywriting for tech clients. It’s a chewy word when used appropriately, and it’s more succinct than, say, “make more prevalent.” My file contains phrases such as, “She noticed how manicured her life had become,” thanks to the unique adjective “manicured” peppering that sentence. I also remember swiftly writing down a Harlan Ellison line that struck me as potently apt when I read it: “She looked at me like a house that’s been on the market too long.” When it comes to exact metaphors or turns of phrases you crib down in the app, this tactic isn’t inviting you to plagiarize. A strong writer will see a phrase that speaks to them and find their own way to personify it, perhaps switching out one word for another or allowing that metaphor to inspire another thought. The more you can read with intention and flex your vocabulary muscle when it’s time to face the blinking cursor, you’ll have a deeper repository of interesting and evocative writing designed to elevate your work from great to memorable.
6 lessons I learned after 6 years of working as a full-time freelance writer
Learning to say no. Hustling non-stop. Negotiating like a boss. These are some of the takeaways from my past six years of excelling as a freelance journalist.
My published work in October/November 2021
From long-running Halloween stores in Toronto to the rise of carbon labels, my portfolio was impressively varied in the past few months.