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How to Self-Publish Your Way to Better Freelance Writing Gigs

How to Self-Publish Your Way to Better Freelance Writing Gigs

One question Be a Freelance Blogger readers ask a lot is: how can I convince a potential client that I’m the right writer for them?

The answer: you don’t have to convince. You just show them, and they convince themselves.

The convention of proof in freelance blogging is that you give the potential client links to 2 or 3 of your most relevant published posts, or to your online portfolio. But what if you had bigger, more powerful proof to offer?

What if you gave them a copy of your book on their niche topic?

Let me give away your potential client’s big secret right here: they’re human, and they’re impressed by the same stuff as anybody else. That means they view you as an expert in any topic you’ve published a book about. Magazine articles and academic publications count for a lot, too, but a book tops the list.

Yeah, yeah, publish a book. Riiiight, Sophie.

I’m not kidding. Self-publishing isn’t difficult; there’s a learning curve, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. And I’ve brought in an expert to give us a few pointers. 

Self-Publish to Self-Promote

How to Self-Publish Your Way to Better Freelance Writing Gigs image

Dana Sitar is a self-publishing expert, founder of the DIY Writing community, and the author of A Writer’s Bucket List (plus a whole range of other books for writers and entrepreneurs).

She’s self-published her way to a level of credibility and professional authority that’s sure to impress any client she chooses to query.

Here are just three of the tips I’ve learned from her about self-publishing as a marketing tactic for freelance writers.

  • You don’t have to go into print. Ebooks are popular and most of your potential clients already use them, so they’ll have an e-reading device or app and they’ll know how to use it.
  • You can offer your ebook as a free PDF if you like, to reach a bigger audience. But if you offer a Kindle edition for a small fee, your ebook may get more respect (because it’s worth money) and has a chance to become an official bestseller (because there’s no chart that tracks PDF downloads across the internet, but Amazon’s Kindle bestseller lists are public).
  • Plus, charging a small fee for your ebook lets you make passive income that can be very handy to bridge any gaps between freelance writing gigs.

For more info on the benefits of self-publishing your ebook, check out the blog and resources at Make a Living Writing and the Freelance Writer’s Den. But if you know this is what you want to do, don’t sit around reading about it — get started!

Win a Place in the E-Pub Bootcamp by DIY Writing

E-Pub Bootcamp logo

Today’s prize, donated by Dana Sitar, is a place for one Be a Freelance Blogger reader in the E-Pub Bootcamp, a series of learning modules that walk you through the self-publishing process from idea to launch and beyond.

For your chance to win, all you need to do is tweet the following message [click to tweet it now]:

“Win a $180 e-publishing bootcamp with @DIYWriting! http://beafreelanceblogger.com/self-publish-ebook via @sophielizard #bafb”

We’ll choose the winner at the end of January 13th. Good luck!

Sorry, this contest is closed.

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Comments

  4. Thanks so much for letting me be part of your anniversary celebration, Sophie! I’m always happy to share this topic with freelancers. Self-publishing can be easily overlooked when you’re hustling and every hour not spent on client work is sacrificed pay — but it’s a fantastic way to take control of your career in the long run.

  6. I’m working on a book called SEO It Yourself: The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization. A lot of small business owners have very small marketing budgets and just can’t afford to pay an SEO expert to go through their sites. My book will tell them how to get the most important elements right without stressing over every detail.

  8. Dana, I wish I had more time to follow your work because you seem to be exploding in all my feeds and emails recently. 🙂 And anyone who’s taught Sophie a few things about online business is pretty awesome in my book.

  10. It is so mind blowing to me that in this day and age we can actually self publish. I’m stealing Dana’s phrase, but producing an awesome ebook that really helps readers is definitely on my ‘bucket list!’

  11. I self-published my first poetry book in February 2013. It was a long time dream and one I achieved. However, my blog is not about poetry; it’s about living green and restoring our environment. I would have to put some thought and time into coming up with enough (unique) text to publish a book about green living. You’ve given me food for thought!

  13. I never thought of doing this and should have because I’ve been working on my fictional book for awhile but never thought to do it for my business niche. This is definitely a project worth investing in!

    *writing this on my to-do list*

  14. For awhile, I considered writing a short how-to ebook on navigating the ins and outs of starting to homeschool, using a non-religious curriculum.

    Instead, I just started writing posts and pages about it on my mom blog.

    I pulled my kids out of public school because they weren’t being helped with their learning disabilities (dyslexia, ADD, and dysgraphia). I’ve been homeschooling for about 6 years now.

    It’s fairly daunting trying to figure out how to homeschool when you have no experience or help. I had to research and learn all on my own, and I’m still learning and tweaking our curriculum.

    It’s also difficult searching for curriculum when you want to keep the religious aspects separate, as most homeschoolers include religion and most homeschooling curricula are geared toward this.

    The ebook is just one among many projects that are rattling around in my brain. 🙂

  16. This article is outstanding. Thank you for sharing idea to self publish my blog with us. I am visiting this blog on a daily basis and I am finding extremely helpful article each time. Keep working on this and thank you once again.

  17. Can I simply say what a comfort to uncover an individual who truly understands what they are
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