all to would-be freelancers, writers, and authors.
I am a big fan of Peter Bowerman. Not only is he an award-winning author and successful freelance writer, but he’s also a genuinely personable guy who is generous about helping other freelancers.
So when he published an invitation to submit ideas for guest posts on his blog, I responded.
And he said yes!
Guest-posting for Peter
Peter Bowerman’s blog is called The Well-Fed Writer Blog (after his award-winning book, The Well-Fed Writer). His subscribers are mainly freelancers who learn from Peter’s experiences and share their own. Peter has done a great job of creating a community in the midst of what can be a very competitive industry.
The blog I submitted to him was about the work I’ve done for Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Homes, which I’ve also described in earlier posts here, such as Memorial Folders: a final tribute to your loved one’s life story. But for Peter Bowerman’s subscribers, I went into more detail about the process of getting the job and arriving at a price. If you are interested in those details, you can go to Peter’s blog to read my guest post: Turning Kind Deeds to Writing Income: Helping Funeral Homes Minister to Families.
Are you thinking of freelancing?
If any of you have thought about starting a freelance business—either as a full-time career or to supplement an existing income—I highly recommend Peter Bowerman’s blog and his books. The Well-Fed Writer has a lot of practical instruction about finding work in unlikely places, marketing yourself, and keeping your customers happy. The Well-Fed Self-Publisher is more specifically about publishing your own book so that it looks as good and sells as well as a traditionally published book. (I used a lot of what I learned from Peter to self-publish Cancer Freedom in five different formats.)
In the comments below, I’d love it if you would share one or more of the following:
- What book has inspired you to start a new job or follow a dream?
- What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received—in a book or in person?
- What three books do you keep close to your desk, so you can refer to them often?
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Thanks Melanie,
I sincerely appreciate the kind words (and the nice mention of my books), and really happy you’ve found my work to be useful… And thank YOU for the great blog post. You helped me by sharing your great experience (and took a bit of the pressure off to keep up a regular blog posting schedule!)
All the best…
PB
You are a class act, Peter. Thanks for stopping by to comment! I have received a couple of emails from some of your subscribers who read my guest post, and I appreciate the opportunity to connect with fellow writers to discuss ideas. Thank you!
Melanie: I read all of Peter’s books. I loved them also, however, I am not quite there yet to go off on my own. He did get me started however on the main strategies of getting my name out there and promoting myself way before its time for my book to come out. That is why I now have a twitter account dhalvorsonbush
and I am in the process of putting together a blog at wordpress
and I read all of the things I can get my hands on like what you write. Thank you
Well, Debbie, I consider it quite an honor that you include me in the same group with Peter Bowerman! Writing a book is an exciting journey, and it sounds like you are using all the tools available to get the word out about it—Twitter and WordPress are a great place to start, and I know you’re active on Facebook too. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Debbie!
Happy to hear that my work has made a difference for you. And you’ll get there when the time is right. I’m a big one on letting things unfold organically. Sure, you need to have a good sense of the direction in which you’re headed, but forcing it before you’re ready rarely works well!
Here’s to having that day come for you sooner rather than later. I’ll be rooting for you…;)
PB
Melanie, are you tempting me to begin yet another hobby line. I would love to write more. Have many poems stashed away on paper and in this computer somewhere. Few have seen enough editing and fewer have seen the light in a reader’s eye. May there be time to do more someday. But thanks for your good ideas. In Christ, John
There’s no deadline, John. You can publish your poetry whenever you’re ready! Or, maybe you’ll choose to combine your poetry with your current woodcarving blog somehow…. The possibilities are endless!