Apr82019 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

Self-Publishing vs. Vanity Publishers vs. Trade Publishers

I came across this question on Quora: “ Why do publishing companies charge authors for publishing their books when the publishing companies make their money from a percentage of book sales?”

Here is the answer:

They don’t. What you’re referring to are “vanity publishers,” which are companies that help authors SELF-PUBLISH their books. They charge for editing, formatting, cover design, and often marketing and promotions to help your book get exposure.

They are typically far more expensive than simply self-publishing your own book. They also typically require an upfront payment and do NOT take royalties from book sales.

Traditional publishers do NOT charge the authors any money and take care of editing, formatting, cover, publishing, distribution, and promotions and DO share royalties with the author for all book sales.

If you are a big enough author, they may offer an advance payment on future royalties, however, most trade publishers these days do not pay first-time authors an advance and instead start paying royalties from the first book sale.

Why Do People Use Vanity Publishers?

There are a few reasons why someone would use these online vanity publishers.

They don’t know how to or are intimidated by self-publishing. (Or do not know how to find professional editors, designers, and formatters and want help.)
They don’t know how to market or promote their self-published book.
They do not know the difference between vanity and traditional publishing.

These are the main reasons I have seen. I’ve worked with several vanity publishers as an editor and have had a good experience with most of them.

While I, personally, believe that most vanity publishers overcharge for their services, I also know that many authors are happy with these services and get to realize their dreams of being published authors without having to find, interview, and retain professionals for editing, formatting, and their cover, and can hand over that responsibility to people who know what they are doing.

The marketing and promotions aspect is something many vanity publishers do well. They know how to use social media, ads, and blogs and podcasts to get their authors exposure the authors may not know how to get themselves.

These promotions often lead to book sales, which is what the author wants.

Upfront Payments

The payments are the main difference between vanity publishers and traditional publishers. While most vanity publishers are NOT promoting themselves as trade publishers, many people not familiar with the publishing industry simply don’t know the difference and may feel duped.

As an author, it is really your responsibility to do your research and identify if the company you’re working with is really what you want.

A simple breakdown is this:

Vanity publishers require upfront payments for their services, do not usually distribute your physical books to bookstores and libraries, and the publishing is done under the author’s Amazon account. There are generally NO SHARED ROYALTIES on book sales. [Note: If you’re talking to a vanity publisher and they want to split royalties, run away. It’s YOUR Amazon account. How will they know the book sales or how much you owe them? How long will they want royalties? You are already pre-paying for their services.]
Trade publishers do not cost the author any money. They take on the risk of paying for everything with the assumption your book will sell enough copies to make a profit for both them and the author. The publishing is done under the company name and not your personal Amazon account. They distribute to many physical and electronic locations.
Self-publishing is truly doing it yourself without the help of marketing or people who know editing and formatting vendors. You find those people yourself, pay them for their services, and upload your own book to Amazon.

Self-Publishing vs. Vanity Publishers

The end result is the same. Whether you do it yourself or a vanity press does it for you, your book will be self-published under your personal Amazon account and royalties will be sent directly to you, and you’ll be able to track book sales on KDP.

It’s the process of getting your book ready for publishing and then promoting it which the vanity press addresses. Some people simply don’t have the time or inclination to do it themselves and prefer someone who knows what they are doing to just take care of it. This is where vanity publishers shine. They understand the process, have the vendors, and know what books need to be ready for publishing.

It is up to the author to decide what is right for them and how they prefer to publish.

Just remember — being self-published does not preclude you from being picked up by a traditional publisher later. I know, it happened to me. Some people think it does and blame self-publishing, but that is truly not the case. Self-publishing is a great way to get your work out there, get book sales and exposure, and be a published author while retaining full creative control.

What are your thoughts on the different ways to publish?

Mar252019 by Jyssica Schwartz1 Comment

Self-employed vs. Employed: Pros & Cons

Which is better??

This is not going to be some deeply controversial rant about why one way of making a salary is better or worse than the other.

This is not a verbose way to toot my own horn and make you spend your time and energy reading about how great I am.

This is not an article filled with cat pictures (sorry).

Because the question of “Which is better?” is an unfair question. The “right” answer is completely subjective.

I am currently self-employed and I love it, though of course there are drawbacks.

I previously worked for 10 years in corporate America and it was also both good and bad.

There are “dream jobs,” of course, but the reality is that even your dream job has drawbacks and days that suck sometimes.

Both self-employment and traditional employment have advantages and disadvantages, it is truly about what is best FOR YOU as an individual and for your family.

As Quora user Kelven Swords points out:

Pros:

YOU make the decisions, no one else… and you thus reap the rewards.
YOU control the finances, no one else… and you thus reap the profits.
YOU determine who is on staff, no one else… and you thus control the social structure.

Cons:

You make the decisions… thus have no one else to blame for your errors.
You control the finances… thus have no one else to blame for any wasted money.
You determine who is on staff… thus you have no one else to blame for any parasitic staff members who poison the well.

Let’s take it a step further than what Kelven has described above.

There are obvious advantages to working for yourself.

You can set your own working hours.
You choose who to work with…and who NOT to work with.
You have significantly more control over processes, contracts, clients, work, time, and everything else.
You can work in your pajamas — and even sleep in!
You get to build great relationships with your clients because you’re steering the ship and choosing how to cultivate those relationships.

There are some obvious disadvantages, as well.

You have no one else to rely on.
You do not have a manager setting tasks or deadlines, so all deadlines are self-imposed, which can be difficult for some to manage and stick to.
Time management becomes extremely important, which is hard for many.
No company insurance or other benefits.
No sick time, paid vacation time, or maternity leave.
Less stability in terms of income.
You will find yourself working far more than 40 hours most weeks.
You do not have coworkers and it can be sometimes lonely and isolating.
You are probably not an expert in every single thing a business needs: processes, sales, closing sales, marketing, website building and maintenance, creative stuff, contracts, organization, admin work, etc.
Higher potential for burnout/overworking.
Doing your taxes is harder.

When it comes to working for a company, you are getting some very specific advantages, in terms of a stable, dependable income, medical and other benefits, having people to ask when you need help, and being told what you should be doing.

Something people rarely think about when dreaming of being self-employed is the lack of structure and organization.

You have to create your own schedule, keep yourself on task, make sure work gets done, track deadlines, invoices, payments, all business expenses, and create a structure to your day.

It is incredibly easy to lose track of time or lose focus and end up spending half your day on social media when no one is watching!

There are many tools out there to help you get organized and create a structure for your day. Some are free and some cost money — which you need to keep track of so that you can make sure to deduct it on your taxes as a business expense.

Taxes are different and a bit more difficult when you work for yourself, and you have to save some of your income to pay it, and it WILL be a difficult check to write.

If you have personal assets, you’ll need to consider if it makes more sense for you to be a sole proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, or several other options, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. There is much research involved in starting your own business!

For Me

Being my own boss has been fun, challenging, interesting, and lonely. I love being a writer and being able to choose what I write and who I work with, and I created a business model which works well for me.

I also continuously refine and evolve my business offerings, update my own website, look for clients, maintain my social media accounts, and blog regularly. All of which is part of running my business, but is ultimately unpaid work.

I love my business and what I do, but I also enjoyed my work as a Business Development Director in the recruitment industry. I had a great boss, cool coworkers, a stable and dependable paycheck, and a set end time to my workday, none of which I now have.

However, I have the freedom to do the work I want, charge the rates I want, and am much more flexible with my schedule. I can go to the gym in the middle of the day, run errands whenever I want, work in the middle of the night if I am so inclined, and pet my cat all day.

For You

It’s about what works best for you. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be one way or the other or let people tell you one is “better” or more “right” for you than the other.

Make plans, do research, interview people, and figure out what is best for youand make sure you have a clear idea of both the advantages and disadvantages so you are well informed!

Jan72019 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

Top 3 Myths of Freelancing Debunked

Entrepreneur, JS, writing

There are a few overriding myths when it comes to freelancing as a writer. I see these all the time and want to address the top 3.

1. You have to work for free or at a very low price to get “experience.”

2. You have to specialize in one niche to make decent money.

3. You should do stuff for free or little money to build a “portfolio.”

You have to work for free or at a very low price to get “experience.”

I have been very clear that you should never ever work for free. Never. There is NO REASON anyone would ever need you to work for free to “prove yourself” or as a “trial.” That is what writing samples are for, and your time is worth money. Your skills are valuable. Any potential client who asks you to work for free — even on just one piece — is scamming and taking advantage of you.

Pricing yourself appropriately is understanding that you and your skills have value and not compromising that. It took me some time to learn that just because writing comes easier to me does not mean it is WORTH LESS than writing from someone who struggles.

In fact, it is worth more and is more valuable because writing does not come easily to all people. Which is why they hire you. If they could do it themselves, they wouldn’t need to hire someone.

Also, as a side note, all freelancers will tell you that the clients who negotiate and dicker and force you down to the lowest possible price are the most demanding and negative “bad” clients and always looking for something for free.

You have to specialize in one niche to make decent money.

When it comes to this second myth, it could not be more wrong. It is also not the only or necessarily “best” way to do it. Specializing is just ONE way to be a writer, and it drives me up a wall that writers preach like this is gospel. Yes, specializing could make searching for clients slightly easier, but I have gone in-depth explaining how choosing to be open and work in many different topics has allowed me to have more clients, more diversity in my work, make more money, and market myself to ANYONE instead of just those within a small niche.

Sometimes people say that because they are bad at (or don’t like) selling themselves or marketing their business. They find it easier to market themselves when they are only going after one type of business, so they can say “See? I only work on your topic, hire me!” They may even claim you can get paid more for specializing.

I like to market myself and see everyone as a potential client, so I have a lot of clients. While you may be able to charge more for super-technical or specialized topics (“I only write about drones and understand all technical aspects!”), most general topics like business, law, beauty, fashion, medical marijuana, entrepreneurship, etc., are fairly general and require little research to create a great article.

It has been my observation that deciding not to go into a specific niche has made for more successful and well-rounded writers.

In addition, being a generalist has given me a lot of knowledge on many different topics and I find my clients like that I am a jack-of-all-trades because it means I can help them with more types of things.

You should do stuff for free or little money to build a “portfolio.”

You don’t need a freaking portfolio. You don’t even actually need a website to get started. Not many people really go to my website, but I knew I “should” have one eventually.

You need writing samples.

That’s it. I have been completely profitable and sustainable as a freelance writer for almost a year and when potential clients ask for writing samples, I send them here to my Medium so they see various posts and styles and topics. Before I had a Medium blog, I sent prospects a couple of PDFs of articles I have written.

That’s it.

Just examples of your writing. If you are just starting out, do what I did. Go to your blog and grab a couple of pieces you like, re-edit them and then throw them into a PDF. You can also write up 2–3 new articles if you want some new pieces or more diversity. In total, you should have about 3 well-written writing samples of 500–700 words.

Potential clients don’t care about a beautiful website or a perfect portfolio. They just need to know you can write well.

When you are first starting as a freelancer, don’t waste your time trying to make the perfect website or write ads or any other of the million excuses there are to NOT reach out and find a paying client. And there are so many ways to find clients!

I’ve written before about finding clients and how they are everywhere! And about how being open to new opportunities is what allowed me to have such diversity in my clientele. I’ve spoken about how important it is to be confident in yourself and your writing.

Build a business you are excited about and interested in. Work with people you like, writing things you enjoy and learn from.

Be interested, confident, excited, and happy!

But Christ on a cracker, you do not need a freaking portfolio.

Check out my new YouTube channel!

Nov122018 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

How to Get Paid What You Are Worth!

Entrepreneur, JS, Medium

Even when you don’t have as many clients as you would like or if you’ve been working with someone for a long time, you deserve to get paid for your time and your skills.

As a freelancer, it is hard to keep this particular boundary in place.

It’s so damn easy to say, “Sure, it’s not THAT much less, and we’ve been working together for a long time…”

But you’re devaluing yourself and your brand.

It can be nervewracking or difficult to have the money conversation with potential clients and more so when you need to have it with people you’re already working with.

But it must happen.

Your time is your most important commodity. There are millions of writers out there, but you want to work with me.

Whether that is because I was referred to you by a trusted source, or you read my books, or we got on a call and we just clicked, there is a reason you’re interested in working with me specifically.

And yes, I am a damn good writer. I know it, you know it. It’s how I make a living and I know for a fact that I’m good at it. I am nothing if not confident in my skills.

If I am editing your book or helping you write one, it’ll be edited well. If I’m blogging for your company, they will be researched well-written posts.

I have had to have the money conversation with every client I’ve ever had.

Sometimes it is at the beginning of the process when we’re putting together contracts and agreeing on a price.

Sometimes it is after we’ve been working together for a while and my responsibilities or time commitment has increased.

Either way, I approach it professionally and politely.

And I approach it similarly to how I used to ask for a raise from a manager in my corporate days.

First, I look at how many hours per week I’m working for them, and divide my monthly retainer fee by the number of hours. If the result is less than I want to be making per hour or less than we originally agreed upon, I bring it up to them.

“Hey, it has been great working with you. In the last 4 weeks, the number of hours I’m working on stuff for you has increased to X, which is putting me Y dollars per hour. We need to discuss either me working less and what tasks you want to take off my plate or renegotiating my monthly fee.”

And then let them talk. They may have questions or may hem and haw or may put a hard boundary down and not be willing to discuss a higher rate.

That’s fine.

If that’s the case, I will work fewer hours and continue on at the same price.

If not, we’ll discuss what I want to be paid and come to a mutual decision.

Either way, I make more money. Because I either have free time to get a new client or make more from the one I already have.

You cannot be afraid to discuss money with clients. As a freelancer, you are your own advocate, your own salesperson, and your own biggest obstacle.

It doesn’t matter if it makes you uncomfortable to talk about money. These people are your clients. They are paying for your services. They understand the relationship. They are not your best friend for whom you’re doing a favor.

Buck up. You are running a business, not a charity.

I know, right? Truth bomb.

Are you picking up what I’m putting down? Check out my story and freelancing guide, “Write. Get Paid. Repeat.” with tons of practical info packed into a short book! I also created a writing course called “How to Write a Book in 3 Months.” Check it out here!

Oct42018 by Jyssica Schwartz2 Comments

How My Writing Has Evolved with Time

JS, Medium, writing

Writing is so interesting because it is one of those things which is both a skill and a talent.

The difference between those two is that a skill is a buildable, progressive thing you can practice and work on and improve on over time and a talent (at its core) is more inherent. It’s something you have.

Those are my definitions. Let’s check in with Merriam-Webster for the official ones.

Skill: “1a: the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance

b: dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks

2: a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability. Language skills”

Talent: “1a: a special often athletic, creative, or artistic aptitude

b: general intelligence or mental power; ability

2: the natural endowments of a person”

Oh, good! Pretty similar. Feels good — and I love words and knowing and learning precise definitions and synonyms, antonyms. I am a proud word nerd.

Singing is another great example. You can be born with and grow up with a good or great singing voice, and you will still improve and learn to sing even better with practice and lessons.

My Writing Evolution

I was recently asked about how my writing has evolved or changed over the years and I was struck by how fantastic of a question it was.

My writing has evolved over time from being more personal and for me (such as LiveJournal and my first Blogspot blog) to writing FOR and TO an audience and my readers.

I am much more focused on trying to give information or teach something than in just writing to myself. I can write to myself in a journal, and I sometimes do, but I now prefer my online writing to be useful and valuable to others.

I also write for my business. As a freelance writer, I am often writing for specific companies or people. I needed to learn how to write in different tones and styles in order to get their messages across while fitting their brand.

Even when I wrote my books, they are both so different in style, tone, messaging, and audience. The writing for each is different and distinct.

It’s extremely interesting to think of the changing, adapting, and evolving writing.

How has your writing changed over the years?

…

Are you picking up what I’m putting down? Check out my story and freelancing guide, “Write. Get Paid. Repeat.” with tons of practical info packed into a short book! I also have a brand new writing course called “How to Write a Book in 3 Months.” Go to the site to learn more!

Aug142018 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

How To Be Confident in Your Entrepreneurial Journey

Entrepreneur, JS, Medium

What is the most important part of being an entrepreneur? Confidence. You have to believe with every fiber of your being that you‘re doing the right thing, on the right path, and that the hard work is totally worth it.

Sometimes I joke about working 14 hour days, so I must be a hustler, but it was true. I started my business while I still had a full-time day job, a sales career I’d built for almost 10 years, and have been successful in. I enjoyed my career and the opportunities I had within it.

I’ve met some of the most amazing people, learned from the best bosses, and gotten marketing, conference, travel, and training opportunities I would never have had otherwise. I appreciate what I accomplished, and in some ways, the transition to entrepreneurship has been bittersweet.

I’d been working nights and weekends for a few months building my own writing business. Every free moment was spent communicating with clients, research for articles, writing articles and copy for websites, editing, sending it to the client, posting it online, sharing, etc. And when I wasn’t doing that, my time needed to be spent marketing myself and my services and looking for additional clients, then following up with potential clients, proposals that are out, checking on invoices, and applying to additional writing gigs.

I was so busy, and it was exhausting, but it was also pretty amazing to see what I’m capable of. I may have been tired sometimes, but I was also invigorated and interested in my clients and what I was doing. I was building something from nothing, which is extremely exciting and also terrifying.

Interestingly, many of my clients are entrepreneurs themselves, so I’m also surrounded by incredibly smart, funny, interesting people who completely understand my journey and are excited to be a part of it.

I’ve also had the very interesting discovery of learning to utilize Instagram as best as I can. I’d never really used it at all but decided to give it a shot, and hey — free marketing. It’s been fantastic! I’ve gotten half of my client list from Instagram. I’ve been enjoying posting pictures, engaging with people, and really finding fascinating new people all over the world to follow. It’s a really cool visual platform.

As I got more clients, I took my leap of faith — in myself. I quit my day job to focus on writing and editing full-time.

That was over 18 months ago, now. And every day I am confident in my journey and my abilities and myself.

I’m busy, but I am supported and growing and learning and excited and some days I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I keep learning and researching and I will not stop. I will NOT STOP because I know I can do this.

What’s an important quality to being an entrepreneur? CONFIDENCE.

I am good at what I do, I deserve to do it, and I am bringing great value to my clients. I am completely confident in these things.

How can YOU be more confident?

Identify what you’re good at. What do you feel you are good at and like doing? What special skills do you have?

Once you know what you’re good at AND feel good doing, you’ll feel that spark of confidence — you KNOW this is something you’re great at, no matter what it is.

Body language. Act confident, walk with your shoulder back and head up. Project confidence.

Research if there is a way for you to use your skills in a career you’d find fulfilling. I am confident in my writing, and I found a way to be a writer.

I know it sounds a bit simplistic, but confidence boils down to how you FEEL about your skills and yourself. You don’t have to be confident in everything about yourself to be successful. That’s not realistic for most people.

Find something you ARE confident in and build from there.

And remember — you can fake it ’til you make it. When you project confidence and act confident, you will internalize that feeling and the reactions and will continue to act that way, which eventually becomes a real part of you.

Jul92018 by Jyssica Schwartz1 Comment

How Important is “Exposure”?

Entrepreneur, JS, Medium, writing

What is it and how to (& not to) get it.

Merriam Webster defines exposure as “ the condition of being presented to view or made known” and “the condition of being subject to some effect or influence,”along with a couple other definitions.

Practically speaking, as a freelancer or entrepreneur, you need exposure.

It’s a fact of business.

People need to know you exist in order to buy your product or services.

How Can You Get Exposure?

There are many different ways to get exposure, like having a column in a major publication, but like Nicolas Cole learned, it may not be the best way (he shares some great insights in this article). You can start a blog, pay for ads, do work for free (but you shouldn’t!), you can pay social media influencers to feature you, you can use PR tactics like pitching to media outlets, and more.

You can become a top writer on Medium and Quora (I’m currently both), though those don’t necessarily mean more exposure, they certainly have the potential to do so.

You can also just be marketing yourself to individual clients and focus on building up your client base.

Finding Clients Using Social Media

Answering on Reddit: Finding Clients

What Works Best?

That one is a bit harder. What works best for me — using social media to find clients and then selling myself on the phone — may not work best for you.

Most people and companies find that a combination of several tactics is best for them.

You have to figure out what works by judging cost versus benefit. Whether it’s costing you money or your time, it is costing you something.

If you boosted a Facebook ad or sponsored an Instagram ad, look at the stats and results. Did you get any new clients from it? Or inquiries? Did any more people subscribe to your mailing list or buy your book?

Testing different ideas is a great way to see what works for you with minimal risks. Don’t spend $200 on your first ad, start small and figure out your audience and then move up.

You Still Have to Pay the Bills!

Be careful not to do too much for the elusive “exposure.”

There are websites, comics, twitter accounts, and more showing just how often freelancers and craftspeople are asked to do things for free or “for the exposure.”

There are very few times when the exposure they are offering is actually going to be worth your time and energy. Amy Morin wrote a piece for Inc on this exact topic.

You can’t pay your rent/mortgage with exposure. Be very careful not to just do a bunch of free or vastly underpaid work in the HOPES it might get you some exposure. Your time will be far better spent looking for actual paying clients.

I found clients even when I had zero professional writing experience, using only my old personal blog as writing samples, simply by approaching people and asking if they would be interested in any writing or editing services.

Make your OWN exposure. Value your work and yourself very highly!

Of courses there are exceptions!

I am NOT saying to not do anything for free ever in your life! I am talking specifically in the context of potential clients and paid work. For example, there may be a charitable organization you choose to volunteer your time and skills for — of course, that’s wonderful and is also your own choice.

You also may find yourself in a HuffPost situation.

About a year before I ever even thought about looking for clients and being a paid writer, I started contributing to HuffPost for free. I loved it, it was something I chose to do knowing there was no payment. However, when I weighed the benefits I’d get (major publication byline, the marketability, write what I want) against the cost (my time), it made sense to me.

So of course, find what works best FOR YOU and don’t just trust every stranger on the internet!

Are you picking up what I’m putting down? Join my mailing list for more info (not spam!) or check out my story and freelancing guide, “Write. Get Paid. Repeat.” with tons of practical info packed into a short book!

May102018 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

The Truth About Freelancing

Entrepreneur, JS, Medium

And how to make money doing it!

The world of freelancing is swirling with myths and straight-up lies in between all of the great people and advice within the writing community.

It can also be confusing and can feel like every freelancer has specific rules they say are the only way to make money.

Sometimes it feels like no one makes money AS a freelancer, they are just selling their books and courses trying to teach others how to be a successful freelancer!

I’ve seen people upset about the lack of strong resources or how much tools can cost, and I’ve seen people put off starting to work simply because they felt overwhelmed with information.

Here are the truths I have discovered on my journey in writing and entrepreneurship:

You should not spend ANY money when you’re first starting. You can start a service-based (like writing) business for free.
You don’t need to know everything when you start. You can research and figure things out as you go along.
Even when you’re first looking for clients and feel so inexperienced, don’t ever work for free. Here’s how not to and why you shouldn’t.
Market yourself, especially using social media. Social media is free and, as a small business owner or freelancer, completely necessary. Here’s how I utilize social media.
Make sure to always be creating and maintaining your pipeline of future clients to fight the natural ebb and flow of sales and freelancing.
Figure out what you need to be making and use that for your pricing. Then stick to it. Pricing and sticking to it is so important as a freelancer. Clients want work for free, so never let them dictate what you’re worth.
Focus on your main objective or idea when starting your business. There is such a thing as too many ideas.
Network constantly. Whenever I go anywhere, I have my cards in my bag. When I meet new people, I give them my card, explain I’m a writer and let them know I’d be happy to discuss any writing or editing needs they have. Here are some tips on how to network successfully.
Even when you’re first starting, you’re allowed to say “no” to work! So many freelancers feel they need to take on anyone who comes to them, to gain experience, build a portfolio, whatever. You do NOT. Saying “no” to some work has made me more successful and profitable.
Make sure you deeply understand blogging and article writing. Here are 10 lessons I’ve learned on my journey as a blogger!
Learn from others who have come before you – but remember that your journey will be your own, so take things with a grain of salt – even my advice!
When working from home (or for yourself), staying organized and not procrastinating is the only way you can succeed.
Freelancing can be lonely. Make sure to maintain friendships and hobbies outside the home to keep your sanity!
Have a contract in place. This is super important. Your contract should dictate payments, deadlines, deliverables, and anything else having to do with the client/freelancer relationship. Both of you should sign this and a deposit paid before ANY work is done. There are many free contract templates available online and you’re welcome to use mine.
Keep an eye on the future. How will your business evolve and change? Think about what you enjoy doing most as you gain clients and learn new skills and see how you can incorporate more of it or move to different pricing models. Evolution is an important part of building and growing a business.

This is real information from a freelancer who has been where you are. You do not need to pay for any expensive courses or anything to get started. Just find one person willing to pay you fairly for your work and BAM! You’re a paid freelancer.

Apr202018 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

How to Get Started & Write Your Book

Books, JS, Medium

Breaking down the process.

When it comes to writing a book, there are a lot of misconceptions.

Some people think it’s super easy (it’s not!), some think it’s too hard (nope!), others think it’s unnecessary or there are too many books in the world (never!), and still others just don’t know where to start.

And if you have a book in you but don’t know where to start, that is where a book coach comes in.

A book coach is a cross between an author, an accountability coach, a writing partner, an editor, and a therapist.

My book coaching focuses mostly on nonfiction works.

When I work with authors, our first couple of sessions really focus on creating an outline and coming up with a complete idea, a beginning, middle and end, and making sure the outline reflects what they want to say in the order they want to say it, in addition to hitting all the important takeaways they want the reader to get.

I’ve certainly spoken before about the importance of having an outline to when writing your book. And I will reiterate here: outlines are super important! They help you map out your book, keep you on track and focused, help you guard against writer’s block, and will allow you to finish your book much faster.

After putting together a cohesive outline, it’s time to start writing!

When it comes to actually writing a nonfiction book, there are dangers in being the expert!

Experts tend to want to write and discuss every little detail of their industry and experience and knowledge. After all, that’s why they are the expert writing the book!

But when it comes to putting it together into a book, you have to be able to step back and think about it from the reader’s perspective. Is this a beginner-level book? If so, that is entirely different from writing it for more advanced readers who are already very familiar with your topic, the lingo, the industry, and the background of it.

Beginners need all the acronyms explained, the concepts spelled out, and more examples given in different ways. The same way any newbie to an industry would. I have a plan for that.

There is also a tendency to write EVERYTHING YOU KNOW in your book, forgetting the audience and forgetting that you can always write a second book or start a blog or create a more detailed course, etc. You don’t have to get all of your knowledge out in one book! It’s also hard to sell a beginner on a book on a new topic if it’s 400 pages long and looks super complicated.

And no matter what, just start writing! It’s easier to fix bad writing than it is to start from a blank page over and over. Trust yourself and your knowledge and get started!

You have a book coach to help you — take advantage of that. Write and give the coach something to critique!

Next, I’ll be talking about the best way to break down the actual writing process.

Apr62018 by Jyssica SchwartzNo Comments

How Saying “No” Has Made Me Successful

Entrepreneur, JS, Medium

You are allowed to say no to work you don’t want to do.

When I first started my business, I said yes to everything. You need a press release? Sure! You want help with a sales strategy? Of course! Oh, you need me to design the information architecture for your new website? Why not!

I didn’t know how to do half the things I said yes to. But I kept saying yes.

I learned. I researched and figured it out, and the clients had no idea it was the first time. Confidence comes in handy!

Remember, being an expert doesn’t mean you know everything, being an expert means knowing that you DON’T know something are are not afraid to go find the answer. Being an expert is knowing how to find those answers.

I said yes to everything because I was at the very beginning of building my business. I didn’t have any long-term clients yet, and I was doing what I could to make money but was not completely sure what direction my business would eventually take. I also thought I needed to say yes to everything so that I could make money!

In fact, looking back now, there is no way I could have predicted where I would be now, over a year and a half later. My business has evolved, I have cultivated relationships and have clients I adore, and my focus has shifted significantly from where I started.

And saying yes to everything helped with that! I was able to try new things and discover I was good at them and enjoyed doing them. I was able to come to the realization that some things were not what I wanted to spend my time on and focus on. I recently wrote about what I learned in my first year freelancing, and it has been amazing to see the growth.

I’ve spoken before about how what happens when you’re working on things you don’t want to do, and how to break up with clients. This was something I had to learn.

I was telling my husband about how one of my clients paid well but was really pushing me into working entirely on sales and marketing projects. Things I really was not wanting to spend so much time on. But the money was good and I felt like I couldn’t turn away guaranteed income.

He looked me in the eye and said, “Isn’t the biggest perk of being an entrepreneur getting to do the work you want?”

It was like a light bulb turned on in my head. Of course, it is. That is why I became an entrepreneur in the first place!

The next day, I spoke with that client and broke up with them. It was the best decision for me and opened me up to other new possibilities.

As I continue to re-frame and evolve my business and discover new things I love to do, I am finally saying no to work. I still often say yes to interesting new things that I want to learn, but I have given myself permission to turn down paying work that I don’t want to do.

I am making really good money now, and am in a position where I am able to be aligning everything with what I WANT to be doing. I don’t need to take low-paying projects to make ends meet anymore, and I don’t want to.

When a prospective client says to me, “Well that is too much money for this.” Instead of negotiating like I did at the beginning, I simply say, “Ok, what is your budget?” And if there is no compromise to be made (less work to fit within their budget) then I walk away.

You are allowed to say no to doing things that do not fit your business model.

You are allowed to say no to someone who wants to pay you far less than what you are worth.

You are allowed to say to people you don’t want to work with — for any reason! You allowed to choose who you do and DO NOT want to work with. If someone treats you badly, or yells at you, or does not appreciate you, guess what? You have the power and authority to hop on the Nope Train and not work with them.

As my business continues to evolve, I am able to continuously find new and interesting ways to stretch my talent and grow as a person and as a business owner.

Most importantly, I continue to find things I love to do, say no to things I don’t want to do, and work with amazing people.

This allows me to also be able to work on passion projects like writing and publishing my first book 6 months ago or putting together my second book, where I have been able to put together an anthology based on the #metoo movement.

Allowing myself more space in my business to do the work I want and the projects I love has been perfect for me and allows me to continue to be creative while also continuing to grow my business.

How did you learn to say no to work? Has this been beneficial to you and your business? If you have never said no to working with someone or on something — why not?