I have a feist female reluctant investigator and her friend who runs a missing person's bureau. I have an idea of the villain but am finding it difficult fleshing him out. At the moment he is Jack Devlin a Chicago ( crooked) sports promoter living in south London, and he's behind the disappearance of some local dogs and possibly the death of a local dog walker. I want my investigator to be fooled by his charm to beging with and that is what is making his characterisation difficult, which is why I've decided to leave him for the time being and start on scene outlines in the hope that it will give me more insight into his character. I'll be posting regular updates on my Nano progress here, with occasional forays over here.

1. You Can Help Others With Their Writing

One of the things that all the freelancers I know love to do, is to share their experience and knowledge with other writers or would be writers. There is nothing better than to have someone say, thanks for the advice, I've now started my own freelance writing business, or thanks, I'm now writing regularly. Helping others is a great way of sharing your own good fortune and of helping the writing community to grow. The more good writers there are, the more we all have to keep on upping our game, and that can only be a good thing. One of the secrets to better writing, is writing often.

2.Having a Website Removes Your Excuses For Not Writing

One of the things that seems to beset most writers at some time or other, is that they make excuses for their lack of writing. Whether you are a freelance writer, a novelist, a poet, or perhaps all three, you should know by now that writers write. What makes a writer is not how many words they can reach, how many clients they have, or even how many books they have written, it is the plain fact that they write.

Sometimes writing gets hard because we expect it to be perfect, and it never is, nobody gets it right the first time. The difference between a writer and a wanna be writer, is that a writer will work on what they have written in order to improve it, notice I don't say, make it perfect; that's because I think this desire to be perfect can become an excuse not to do anything, whether that is writing or baking a cake. A writer will do their best with what they have and then get it out there, a writer wants to be read. If you don't write anything and put it into the public realm, then there won't be anyone but you to read it.

3. Websites Help You Connect With Other Writers

When you have a website and you post useful or entertaining information, then you can bet that at least some other writers will read what you have written. When a person likes or disagrees with what you have written, they may often leave a comment. If someone leaves a comment on your site then you should reply to it. Conversations in the virtual world are one of the many ways that writers get to know each other and build writing communities.

4. A Website Shows Others That You Can Write

Very often, those who are new to freelance writing, find it hard to get work because they don't have any writing clips or samples. A website is a great place to showcase your writing. You can have a blog like this one, where you post on a regular basis, on a website you can also have a page that has snippets of your writing and links to anything else that you may have published online. When you apply for writing gigs it is good to have somewhere you can point potential clients to show them what you can do. Having your own blog or website can get you clients.

5. Let Potential Clients Find You

I had a nice surprise just a few days ago, someone contacted me through this website and offered me some work. I was more than happy to oblige, I completed that project, got paid the rate that I asked, and now have repeat work from that person. When you have a website clients can find you, and if you make it possible for them to contact you through your site, you could be in for an ongoing relationship. If you don't have your own site then why not take the plunge now? If you already have a website what reasons would you give for a beginner to have their own site?

You don't have to write long articles, 300-400 words is ideal and articles that provide tips or how tos are best. People love reading articles that tell them how to do something or give them information on something, and which is clearly written and easy to read off the screen. Using articles to promote a website or a product is not a new idea, people have been doing it for quite some time because it works.

Not everyone has either the time or the flair for writing simple articles and submitting them to a number of article directories. If you have a bit of cash to spare it is well worth your time to pay a writer to produce and submit the articles for you. It won't take long before you page rank improves and you get the sort of traffic to your site that is interested in buying your goods or services. If you only submit to a few sites then use Ezine Articles, Go Articles and Article Alley as these directories are the most widely read.

Yet another way of using article marketing to promote your site and to make some residual income, is to submit articles to sites like Triond and Bukisa where you not only get backlinks but also a share in advertising revenue based on the number of page views your articles receive. Article marketing makes good business sense, and because Google loves fresh and interesting content, it can raise the page ranking of your site.

Residual Income

Pick one or two subjects you're familiar with that you are familiar with such as cooking, auto repairs, personal finance, parenting, or whatever subject it is that you have some knowledge of. You can write articles in those subjects and submit them to sites such as Bukisa, Ehow and Triond. These sites do not pay you up front but on the amount of page views your articles get. If you just write a couple a week withing a couple of months you will have articles that will earn you residual income, and keep on earning it for as long as the articles are being read.

Some (prolific) writers say that they make a fair income writing for the sites mentioned above, but other writers would argue that writing for such sites does not a) make you very much money, b) make you a freelance writer. I think that if you are writing and getting published as well as earning some money, then you can call yourself a freelance writer. I also think that this kind of writing gets you the following:

• Used to researching and writing articles on a number of subjects
• A trickle of income that for some, turns into a steady stream of revenue that keeps on coming long after the articles have been written and published
• Some worthwhile writing clips

You can also write articles for Constant Content and Associated Content. Both these sites will pay you some residual income and AC will pay US writers a minimal sum for their work. If you write for Constant Content, not only do you get some residual income for articles that stay on the site, usually those that you set a usage price on. Constant Content allows you to set your own price for your articles one is for full rights, one is for limited rights and one for usage. I made money from this site when I started out, and a couple of my usage articles have also brought in some residual income I wasn't expecting. With each of these sites you sign up for an account and start writing, Constant Content has quite strict rules and you need to follow the guidlines carefully. They also have people who request articles on a particular subject and this is where you are more likely to sell full rights articles.

Writing Clips

One of the most difficult things for beginning freelancers is the fact that most clients will want to see previously published work. You can point them to your blog of course but they may also want to see whether you can please others with your writing. Keep your submitted articles in a file labelled clips or portfolio each with a link to where the work has been published. I found this quite useful when I started out and clients asked to see some previous work. If a client asks for a sample of your writing then just point them to Bukisa or AC, wherever your work is.

Once you have a file with some clips in it, you can use it as a brief portfolio when you sign up for other freelancing jobsites next time.

Check your handbrake and see that you are in neutral and start the engine, clutch down and into gear.

Mirror, Signal, Manouvre

When you are set for take off, there are some things that you need to have in place before you start hunting for clients. You should have a website, or at least a blog, the free ones on Wordpress are good, but if you want to earn a bit of adsense money as well then get yourself a blogger blog - bear in mind that you will need a website at some point.

You need a blog because it is a place where you can direct potential clients who will want to see your writing style and quality. Your blog doesn't have to be a writing blog, although for many freelance writers, blogging about the occupation they love is second nature, and most writers like to give each other a hand and a bit of information and advice.

Back to front as always, you will need a space to work, even before you set up a blog. You may not have room for a home office and have to settle for a corner of the room, just try to establish a place where you go to write. You should have a diary, planner or notebook, or even an online application, to keep a record of your writing activities, what you've done and what you plan to do. You should also promote your blog on the social networking sites such as Plurk and Twitter, Blogging Zoom is also a good place to promote what you have written.

If you don't have one already then set up a Feedburner account so that you can offer your posts via an RSS feed. You may already be doing all these things and if so, that's fine, other posts in this series may be of more use to you.

When you write a blog post it is worth rewriting it and then submitting the second version to one of the online ezines where you can leave links back to your blog or website. Both your blog and your aticles will serve as your writing clips to start with. Eventually you will need to set up some sort of portfolio as most clients will want to see whether your style is suitable for them.

Into Second Gear

It shouldn't take you too long to get things rolling on the activities I've mentioned above. When I started several years ago, the places that I first wrote for were similar to those that Sharon over at Get Paid to Write. I started with Blogitive and Review Stream, these are very low paying and you shouldn't spend too much time there but Review Stream in particular is a good place to direct clients to some of your writing.

Review stream will pay you $2 for a good review of a product, book, film or place, and if your piece is less than about 400 words they will pay you a bulk rate of 40cents. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't soon be looking elsewhere, just that it is a good way of getting some clips and a bit of cash.

When you sign up for an account at Blogitive, they post writing tasks and you have to write a review of a website or product with the link in the correct place, and if your post is approved you will be paid $5 for around 150-200 words, with posts either side of it.

If you need to make some money quickly, then sign up for an account at Digital Point there you will find people looking for content and you may be able to pick up some 1cent a word jobs - don't be conned by some people who want you to write a sample of their choosing with no pay - if you write a sample you are entitled to ask to be paid for the work, if the anser is no then move on.

Picking Up Speed

Ok, the title was misleading in that you may not be in the fast lane yet, but if you get through most of the things I've suggested here in the next week or so, then you will be picking up speed for the next step. I love what I do, but there are times when it feels as though everything is going at speed I can barely keep up with, but I know that I will catch up and get things done, because that is what freelancers do.

So, are you ready for the freelancing fast lane?

A Week in The Life of A Frazzled Freelancer

I tend to get rather frazzled in many areas of my life, and freelancing is no exception. It doesn't matter how good the weather is, how much I love my clients, or how much money I've made, by the end of the week I am frazzled, as this post testifies. I don't want you to think that this is because I don't like and enjoy my life, I do, but I also know that I am not the most organized person with the most malleable family.

This last fortnight has been exceptionally frazzled as my RA has flared up and that always interferes with my work and pretty much anything else I want to do, May is also a bad month for me, which I won't go into here. This series is intended to give you a weekly birdseye view of what life is like in the frazzled freelancer's lane. So, here goes.

Feast or Famine

The freelancing life can be one of feast or famine, particularly if you are not methodical about marketing, and my marketing tends to be a bit haphazard. At the moment I have 3 clients who between them, have an order of about 75 articles a week, two clients who send me bits of work here and there, and who were referred to me by another client, one monthly job for VirtualMeasures.com and some articles for a content site. So the week is pretty full right now, especially when I add in the weekly supervision of 3 postgrads and the on/off writing of research proposals.

I do try to keep to some kind of schedule where I allocate so much time each day to regular clients and allow the odd hour or so for anything else that comes in. I keep a running list of how much money I have earned each day, what I managed to do that was on schedule, and what got left, for reasons I outlined in another post. Thank God for Moleskines, they are a great place to keep all of my writing info.

I've not spent quite as much time on Twitter this week but that doesn't seem to have freed up any time for working on my personal writing. I have been more than halfway through a novel for the last several months and am stuck rewriting one particular scene, but haven't touched it this week.

One client that I picked up on a marketing exercise at the start of May, is now talking about paying me an hourly rate as wahm staff writer, as they liked the work I'd already done for them, but that is still in negotiation. Over the last couple of months I have also developed a speciality in finance articles as one client orders 25 of these a week and they are fast becoming no brainers. If you are in any doubt about credit card debt or need some finance articles then I am your friendly frazzled freelancer.

Dracula's Emporium

This week was particularly frazzled, when I have an RA flare, it is not just my body that is at war with itself, the problem tends to carry over to my brain. I am on an RA drug known as methatrixate, which requires me to have monthly blood tests done. I was due for tests this week, the first time I turned up at Dracula's emporium and had forgotten to take the form with me, so I couldn't get it done. Yesterday, I went back, but had the wrong half of the form with me. I now have to wait until Tuesday, request another blood form, and submit myself to the needle. So much for a week in the life of a fairly fucked up frazzled freelancer.

If you are not afraid of cold calling then put together a template letter that you can use if you come across a site and feel that you can help them by rewriting their pages, then get the contact details and send them the email. Things to include in such an email are links to your portfolio or to other sites that you have worked on, basic rates for a particular job such as rewriting their sales page and a brief summary of niches you have written for and any other relevant experience. If you only follow this one tip you won't be so worried about down time.

Keeping it all in Order

Staying on top of all things that you have to do in your freelance writing life needs a bit of organization. You should have some idea of the best time for you to write and when you can do other things. You need to include looking for new work, social media sites and self promotion into your daily schedule. If you find that there is not enough time then find out where it is going. Try keeping a daily log for two weeks jotting it down whenever you stop writing and do something else like answering the phone or spending too much time with your Twitter pals. Once you find out where the time is going as opposed to where it should go it's easier to write out a schedule where some of these activities are written in.

Time Tracker

If you don't already have a system for keeping track of billable hours and project details then you should get one fast. I use Time Tracker it really is a simple piece of software that lets you know just where you are at on each project, how much time they take and your earnings. There is also a section for adding any notes about a particular client, useful if you're looking for repeat work from them. If you use this along with your daily do list then you should be able to stay on top of things.

Tip One: Type Faster

If you need to make some money to meet a bill payment then you can't afford to be too choosy about $5 the only way to make it pay is to learn to type faster. There are plenty of books and typing tutors around so that you can teach yourself to touch type. Learn to type 50-60 words a minute and you can easily write four 500 word articles in an hour or less, providing you choose subjects that you know well.. Although manywriters make a good living from their freelance writing, six figure freelancers are very few and far between. Don't be fooled, earning money from your writing may be enjoyable but it can still involve a lot of hard work.

Tip Two: Pick a Niche

Choose something that you are happy writing about, or maybe two or three things so that you cut your research time. It will take a while getting used to looking at a specific topic from many different angles but plenty of writers do that, couple this with quick typing and earning money is easier.

Tip Three: Market Yourself Through Cold Calling

Take some time to surf the web and see if you think you can improve the content on someone's website, then send them a query letter. I have got several long term gigs this way. It takes a while to get the right tone for the query letter but it is well worth giving this a try.

I recognize that these tips are not that original, but they do work. Tips one and two may not appeal to some writers, but each to his or her own, I happen to think that if you can turn something around quickly enough and still make a creditable hourly rate then it is worth doing if nothing else is on the cards.Do you have some tips to add on improving your freelance writing income?

Life and freelancing are inextricable, the one always impacts on the other and I am not sure whether there is any way around this. I am either up to my ears in work and loving it or not feeling like anything at all for days at a time. Do you have any answers to the highs and lows, or are yours mostly highs?

When you write for a number of clients, then it stands to reason that they all have their own idea of what makes a good article, as well as what makes good writing. One thing that they all have in common is unhappiness when a delivery date is not met. However much you love writing there are probably times when you could do with a firework under your seat to get you started.

Procrastination is not the writer's friend, nor is the type of perfectionim that means you take three times as long as the time you have allocated to write a particular article. Everyone likes to get things right and that is part of being a professional writer, but aiming for ultra excellence can work against you. That is not to say that you shouldn't provide extra value for your clients, just that some things help neither you nor your client. I have found that some of my problems in my writing business have centered around the above two foibles.

Fixing Your Writing Foibles

Most writers lose precious time because the procrastinate, they find so many important things that have to be done before they sit down and write. When this procrastination is carried to extremes it can result in an inability to get any words down on the page, which is a disaster if you want to make your living from writing. Whenever the procrastination bug hits me, and it is usually at tleast a couple of times a week, I use one of the old remedies where you aim to work on something for five minuites, set a timer and go, often this will get you past the block and onto writing. If this doesn't work then it is probably a good idea to build things into your day that allow you to procrastinate a little.

Tell yourself that you will put in fifteen minutes work after you have spent half an hour surfing  without any particular end in mind, or you have read the writing blogs that you enjoy. The main problem is finding ways to convince yourself to get on with some work. You're certainly not alone in your procrastination, it is something that afflicts everyone in general and wrtiers in particular. If you want to fool yourself you need to know just what you are doing each day. It's a well worn piece of advce but keeping track of what you are doing every half hour for a fortnight, should reveal where your time is going and what methods you can use to get around this.

Perfectionism can be a real problem for many writers who can't even allow themselves to write a draft in one go without correcting and perfecting every sentence. Perfectionism is another form of procrastination, and you need to be able to write something that is good enough. Set a timer for half the time you have allocated for researching and writing an article, get the main ponts and writing around those points try to knock out a first draft without any corrections. During the second half of the allocated time, set a timer again, do a quick spell check first, then go through the article prefecting it, bearing in mind that you have to stop when the timer goes off.

These 'fixits' will only work if you can manage to trick and talk yourself into using the methods outlined above, remember that too much perfection can lead to missed deadlines and the loss of a client. Unless you can deal with procrastination and perfectionism, you won't have a writing business left. What are your fixits for getting on with the writing?