Recently we asked our freelance writers to share their favorite writing tip from the past year. Here are some of their responses we included in our quarterly newsletter:

“I took a first step and ordered the book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. I know it’s going to improve my writing someday, if I could just get some time to read it!”

–Jennifer

“I keep a spreadsheet of all of my freelance assignments (TPS and otherwise). I include the publication, subject, word count, key deadlines, a note about where the project stands, whether it’s been submitted, and whether I’ve been paid. It helps me to stay organized and slightly more sane.”

–Dave

“The editing suggestions from the last newsletter have proven very helpful to me: walk away, give it 24 hours, read it aloud, search for repetitive words, and let someone else do it. Knowing I need the buffer of time for effective editing has caused me to get my work done earlier so that it can percolate for a while. Thanks, gang.”

–Kirsten

“In one of the newsletters, Laura gave a great tip on editing that you can “use the ‘Find’ feature to search for repeated words and change those.” I just never thought about using this option in that manner – it’s like highlighting, without pulling out the yellow marker.”

–Molly

“I like the outline. Since each story is a team effort, the outline really keeps everyone involved focused on the message.”

–Sophia

“Dave reminded us a few years ago (April of 2009) to record the interview but take notes too as you always need a backup. Recently, my note taking hasn’t been as complete as it should be and I was burned when I didn’t set up the tape recorder correctly. Now I always take copious notes during every interview.”

–Laura

“On every project, make sure you review the publication’s writer guidelines and the client’s website before you start the project. The information you discover can save you time and energy during the project development process.”

–Gerri