Freelance Writing and Research

Yesterday I was quite miserable and concerned about getting back on top of my writing. Between family troubles and health problems I have had a hard time maintaining my usual work schedule and this is a key factor in making a living as a freelance writer. The fact of the matter is that a writer writes and when they are not writing, or are only getting bits and pieces done then often the result is sheer misery.

Some time ago I wrote a post on what people might do if they could no longer write. For most writers this idea is hell to entertain as writing is so much a part of who they are as a person. So today I have again discovered how much I need to write in order to survive; not just financially but in most areas of my life.

Undertaking A PhD

Yesterday I was contacted by someone who had seen this site and wanted to undertake doctoral work in feminist theology, one of my areas of expertise as my thesis was concerned with domestic violence and feminist theology. The one thing that anyone hoping to get funding for a doctorate, or even to have their idea for a thesis accepted by a university should know is that a good written proposal is a key factor in your success. I should know because of the problems that I had in having my proposal recognized as viable by the research committee at my local university.

So, this post is for all you would be dons out there, if you are planning on applying to undertake doctoral research and don't have a knowledgeable advisor to hand as I did, then contact me and I can help you with the nuts and bolts of a good proposal, no matter what your field - the principles remain the same for a doctoral proposal. If you contact me via this site outlining what you want then I will reply within twenty four hours and we can agree a price for help with the proposal - PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT UNDERTAKE TO GHOSTWRITE SOMEONE'S THESIS, JUST TO HELP THEM WITH THEIR PROPOSAL.

Backing up your work should be an important part of the freelancer's day, says she with hindsight. Organization is not my strong point when it comes to some things. I always do my best to stick to deadlines and if there is going to be a problem to make the client aware of it in good time. However, there are some things that always seem to be on my to do list at the end of every day and they get missed nine time out of ten. Forgetting to back up my work on the computer is one of my worst faults, and until this week I have been very lucky. This week my luck almost ran out; my computer went down and I could not access anything. I was panic stricken because I had not backed up for weeks. We callled in the engineer who managed to rescue all the data from my hard drive (sighs of relief and prayers of thanks) but couldn't fix my laptop. I am now waiting on another engineer while working on a borrowed computer. We shall see whether it is £200 I have to find or £1,000 for a new laptop. Bear this in mind if you have a problem with backing up your work.

One of the problems that freelance writers face when they are working from home is how to keep track of projects. If you are working on more than one project at a time then it is difficult to keep all of the deadlines in your head. One way that a fellow writer does it is to keep track of all work in an exel spreadsheet. On this sheet you input the date you started the project, the due date for completion, progress, invoice sent and payment received sections. When you do this with your work you can see at a glance where everything is and at what stage of the project you are on.While I am not quite as organized as this I do have a system of sorts for keeping track of work. I also note down at what stage of a project I have reached on any given day. Whatever system you use, keeping track of the workflow will make your life as a freelancer less stressful.