clips

Ask Me Anything: Academic Samples

Clare K. R. Miller asks, What if you’re just starting out? Are academic samples appropriate, or should you write some things to use as samples even if they’re not published? In general, using academic samples can be a way to get around not having any published samples that you can use in terms of work [...]

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Ask Me Anything: Work Samples

Laura Renegar asks, If asked for work samples, how many should you send? My standard number for sending out work samples is to send three top-notch pieces, along with a link to my portfolio so that if a client wants to browse through and look at more of my work, he can. I try to [...]

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Ask Me Anything: Building a Portfolio

Isao asks, To build our writing portfolio, is it more important to write in places other than our own blog (and write many) or to pick a place with reputation (and keep the standard high)? Writing somewhere other than your own blog is critical to building a portfolio that will interest clients and editors: they [...]

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Are You Still Listing Your College Clips?

If you scroll down far enough on my clips page, you’ll see a few articles I wrote for my college newspaper. I don’t honestly expect most prospective clients to scroll down that far, but I’m going to leave those links live, at least for the time being. I started listing those college newspaper articles because [...]

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7 Items Your Website Should Include

I know there are plenty of freelance writers out there without websites, but it’s one step that I consistently recommend that writers take if they’re serious about their work. Not only is a website a key marketing tool, but it can also streamline your querying process and help you save time. Even a free blog [...]

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Having An Opinion Can Pay Off

I swear, the easiest way to make a living as a writer is to have an opinion, and have it loud. Some people even seem to manage by having the most contrary opinions of anything. Think of it this way. A lot of op-ed pages pay, right? Being able to state your opinion clearly with [...]

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