Hi. I’m Heather. I get paid to write. I’d like to help you get paid, too.

On April 1st, 2012, I’ll be launching Mercenary Writer, a blog discussion of all the elements involved in becoming a successful freelance writer, editor, designer, or other creative independent professional.

Here are some of the topics I’m considering. If you have a preference for which topics I should address first, please let me know in the comments section at the Mercenary Writer Blog. This is meant to be a tool for YOU, my reader, so please speak up. How can I help you make the most of your profession?

• adjunct instruction: freelance teaching
• annual reports
• basic html
• best practice
• blogging
• business plan
• business structure
• cloud computing
• consulting
• content mills
• contests design
• contests writing
• cost-cutting
• curriculum design
• document design
• doing business locally
• exemplary word work
• finance business expenses
• fonts and other design considerations
• government vendor registration
• grant writing
• information architecture
• inspiration
• job boards
• life/work balance
• magazine articles
• marketing/promotion
• network Facebook
• network Linked In
• network person-to-person
• network Pinterest
• network Twitter
• organization
• political lobbying
• professional conferences
• professional development
• rates and fees
• resources for artists
• resources for editors
• resources for freelancers
• resources for teachers
• resources for writers
• review book
• review product
• self-publishing
• service
• specific measurable results
• sustainable business practices
• taxes
• teaching artists
• teaching workshops
• technology
• testimonial
• traditional publishing
• web copy
• white space
• work flow
• work pace

I’ll be seeing you on April Fools’ Day and beyond.

–The Mercenary Writer

StudioGraphia News & Events

The Tucson Chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association and StudioGraphia announce the second annual workshop for freelance writers and editors

The Mercenary Writer’s Guide to Setting Fees: How to Bid a Project in 5 Minutes or Less

TUCSON, ARIZONA  – “How much should I charge?” That is one of the top questions asked by new and even experienced freelance writers and editors. We’re here to help them answer that question.

The Tucson Chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association and StudioGraphia presents the second annual Discussion Forum: The Mercenary Writer’s Guide to Setting Rates: How to Bid a Project in 5 Minutes or Less. This workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 5:15-7:15 p.m., at The Historic Y Conference Room. 300 E. University Blvd./738 N. 5th Ave.

This will be a working meeting, so come prepared with a notebook and pen and/or laptop computer, a calculator, a list of all business expenses, and goals for financial prosperity. We will create reference charts so we will never again spend hours calculating project bids. We will address pragmatic concerns involved in supporting ourselves as professional writers and editors in the freelance market.

Heather Severson, Mercenary Writer & Gypsy Scholar, will facilitate the workshop. Heather is the owner StudioGraphia, LLC, a freelance writers’ cooperative that provides services in writing, editing, instruction, research and design. In 2010, she managed a team of 25 writers for a project that brought in nearly six figures.

The Editorial Freelancers Association includes editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, desktop publishers, translators, and others who offer a broad range of skills and specialties. EFA is a national not-for-profit —501(c)6— organization, headquartered in New York City, run almost entirely by volunteers. Its members, experienced in a wide range of professional skills, live and work in the United States and a variety of other countries.

RSVP recommended.

Erin M. Wilcox
Tucson Chapter Coordinator, EFA
Wilcox Editing Services
738 N Fifth Ave. Suite 133
 Tucson, AZ 85705
chap_arizona@the-efa.org
520.955.9379

Download Press Release

Download Workshop Flyer