Self-education is a must for any freelance writer. Since there won’t be any teachers or exams, you are personally responsible for your continuing education, and its results.

It’s an enormous responsibility, because your progress in expanding your educational base has direct impact on your future freelancing success.
 
If you decided to make a career of freelance writing, then you need to accept that this is one of your main tools for advancement. You simply cannot make progress with learning something new.

You are your own CEO, manager, and supervisor, and no one will push you if you do not push yourself. What can you do to facilitate your self-education? What steps should you follow? Let’s take a look! Read the rest of this entry »

Hey folks! Missed me? I hope that the first part of this article did not offend you personally. You can check it out right here!
 
This article, as a whole, described exaggerated version of some of the behaviors exhibited by a limited number of freelance writers.
 
Some of the stories are a generalization of how things may turn out, or how they look from the sidelines, to someone not directly involved in the discussion (with the RWC support team or with the customer).
 
So, don’t take anything here personally, unless you actually see that some of these behaviors are becoming a part of your life.
 
Let’s proceed to the next ‘type’ of freelance writer:
 
The Arrogant Pro
 
This might actually be the toughest nut to crack! People who are very smart sometimes display a certain arrogance towards others, especially towards co-workers. Think of the fictional medical genius portrayed by Hugh Laurie, in House, but not so extreme. This applies to freelance writers as well. Many of them tend to think that since they have done so many papers, they know, better than the client does, what the client needs. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, we’re back, bringing you with the second part of our software optimization edition. If you missed the first part, you can find it here.
 
We don’t want to waste any of your time with an introduction. So let’s cut to the chase:
 
Word Processing
 
I’m sure that most of you use MS Word 2003/2007, and it is doubtless one of the best readily available solutions for word processing. This software provides great assistance, especially if, like me, you have a bad habit of typing faster than your brain, and make a lot of typos as a result. However, there is more to the usability of a word processor – how intuitive is the interface, how reliable is it, for example? There’s no doubt about the fact that this is one of the best solutions for word processing available.
 
However, I am sure that you have faced the frustration of trying to open a document with MS Word, and got a nasty gram that the file was not supported or that the file wasn’t properly decoded. For the non-tech-savvy among us, this is not a simple matter to resolve. Read the rest of this entry »

This question is a bit controversial and might raise some eyebrows, but we still want to address it. Why? Because, over the years of working with freelance writers, we, here at ResearchWritingCenter.com, have discerned something of a psychological portrait of what makes a good one.

We want to share with you what we have observed. Now, you might ask: what does it mean to be a good person? You might wonder how this relates to a freelance writing career. Well, you may be surprised to discover how your character overlaps with your freelancing career.

This past several months offered plenty of inspiration, and there is much to share. For manageability, this article is appearing in two less overwhelming sections. This should help in making it more understandable, and of course, I don’t want to tire you or take time from your research on a writing gig.

For the sake of our argument, we want to add that the term “lousy person” in the title refers to personal traits that affect your freelancing experience. This doesn’t mean that, if you possess some of these traits, it makes you a bad person, a bad friend, or a bad family member. However, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that your personal attitudes towards key things affect your work: any kind of work, not just freelance writing. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the first things you notice when you start freelancing is how much new software you accumulate on your computer. Maybe this is not the case for you, but for many freelance writers, it’s actually an important issue.

The freelancer’s computer is like the blacksmith’s anvil; we can’t work without it! That is why it is so important to keep your PC/Mac running smoothly, swiftly, and reliably, with no software glitches.
 
To optimize your computer’s functioning, you need to be able to use the best software tools. These are the ones that don’t eat up RAM, don’t take up much space on your hard drive, and are reliable without being intrusive. That is why I am offering you a list of software solutions that are currently in use by hundreds of freelance writers that we know!

These options are road tested and are sure to deliver great results. So, if you are using something else, consider switching to one of the following. This article turned out to be so massive that we are breaking it down into two installments. Read the rest of this entry »