fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Put Your Mouth On It
By: Vance Larson
Tags: Meditation, Journey, Sunset, Problems, Life

Life is not supposed to be easy. If it were easy, it would be your mom. {Forgive the old childhood joke. But it’s funny though. Right?} Decades working in mental health, I see the struggle day in and day out. And over the past ten years, I’ve had more bad days than good. So how do I stay sane? Appreciation. I appreciate it all. The good, the bad and the in between. I realized that life is just life. It’s happening. And how we respond, is going to determine the level of happiness that we have. Don’t get me wrong. There are truly tragic days in front of each one of us. But it is what we do with them, that makes the difference.

I know what you’re thinking. Vance, what do you know about hardship? Well, in the last 10 years, I’ve lost everything. All my money, my houses, and my wife became severely disabled. Chronic pain, and fights to walk every day. When we turned the corner and we started to get back into the rhythm of life again, our only daughter passed away. Trust me, I know hardship. But if you ask anyone who knows me or my wife on a personal level, they would tell you that we are the most laid back, and probably generous people they know. {Some may not, you would be hard pressed to find them.} And the reason that is, because life is life. And life is happening regardless of what you think.

Life is intimate and sexy. Both hard and brash. Open your mouth and take a bite out of it. I think for the most part, it is a beautiful experience. Take a sunset for an example. A drink in your hand or a moment of meditation, it is a wonderful experience. Take that same sunset, and look at it through a different set of eyes, going through a tough day. You’re probably thinking, I am so glad this day is over. Two very different experiences. Both equally beautiful, and both serve a purpose.

I have not done a lecture in quite a while. I would often be asked to speak, because of the way I approach a topic. I would speak on an issue, and 30 minutes into it, you would realize that I am speaking about something completely different. With my very busy schedule, I don’t have time for lectures anymore. So, I turned to writing. And today I write about life. There will be some messed up days in your future. There will be some great days too. Regardless of what the day brings, chose love, hope and compassion. Don’t wait for everything to be perfect to be grateful. You’ll be waiting forever. Because life is rarely perfect. And you deserve to be happy today.

So life, yeah…put your mouth on it. Take a bite and enjoy. Because without it, there is no journey.
The Year That Was 2020
By: Shweta Rao
Tags: Journey, Life Lessons, 2020, Humanity, Life

Well, it’s the last month of the year and although we’d like to believe that the year couldn’t have turned out any worse, we know for a fact that’s not the case. It taught so many important lessons: to be grateful for what we have; that a roof on our head, food on our table, and the love of our dear ones is all we need to survive. So when people said on social media that 2020 is the teacher of the year, they are quite right.

This year saw each of us finding our own ways to deal with our struggles — internal and external, some of which we were aware of, and some of which we ignored (intentionally or unintentionally) but were confronted with during the pandemic.

It was such an eye-opener for me on a personal level — I got to see the ‘other’ side of some people, while simultaneously reflecting on myself. I was able to start a new chapter in my life on the professional front, while understanding what it means to be without work during this time, and how heartbreaking it is when you are unable to contribute to the house expenses. I thanked Lord for blessing me with the new opportunity, just as how I always have thanked Him for all that He has given me.

This year majorly taught us that little things are what matters — enjoying them, living in the present is what counts. That life may not always agree with the plans you have in mind for it. That being with your loved ones, having someone in your life is the greatest gift you could ever receive.

On an external level, the world saw the darkest side of humanity (referring to racist attacks). We also saw political ramblings — from US elections to China’s blame game to terrorism in France and other countries, and everything else. Politics took the worst turn ever and stooped the lowest it ever could in my country — India. It’s like no one cares about the pandemic and just want to fulfill their agendas, waging out their political vendetta, and of course, fill their pockets.

The year also showed the good side of humanity. We may have experienced it on personal level, too. There were many news of people going out of the way to help others.

Life will never be the same again. All of us either lost or gained something this year. It isn’t like the losses or gains have never happened, but this year we are all experiencing it together, we are able to relate to each other more. Even though we are dealing with our problems and struggles in our own way, we are still in it together. We are still there for each other. And I think that’s what matters.
My 2020 Life Journey
Tags: Learning, Journey, Life Lessons, Save The World, Lockdown

As soon as we all came to know that nationwide lockdown was implemented. I was happy because I was going to be at home for a long time.

In my head, I was in my bed with my laptop binging series eating, and having fun. I don't have to go to college and give that massive assignment.

On the other hand, I was equally scared because my father has to go to his duty every day during covid, I was afraid that he can get an infection.

But by god's grace, he is very even he had to move out and work.

Initially, I was just waking up late, eat, watching youtube, or Netflix. most of the days were wasted by doing nothing.

But one day I saw a post where that girl started earning just by writing and living her dreams.

After reading that I was like I also want to earn money not going anywhere but by working from home.

I then started to search multiple sources on how to start writing and start earning.

After some research, the information was not organized which's why I got bored and left the idea.

Then I got the idea to learn photo editing, I also started learning but got bored again.

But on a fine day, I was laying on my bed and just thinking about what should I do to make me happy and earn as well.

Started research for work that will pay me by working at home and leave my dream.

I want to travel while working. Work will be done and travel as well.

Fun, isn't it?

Secondly, I also learned a good number of dishes to prepare which made me realize I enjoy cooking letting people eat it.

In a lockdown, my friends and I were distributing some ration kits to the people who were suffering most during lockdown.

It was a scary scenario when saw the street since childhood that was populated every single day with thousands of people but the streets were vacant not a single person.

I've learned that a helping hand can make your life way easier. The thing that you are cursing now will matter the most when you miss it. just like I miss my college now.

But the lockdown was a life-changing experience.
Journey of Design Thinking
By: Samyak Nakarmi
Tags: Journey

Journey of Design Thinking

The course started in the mid of August . At first I was not sure what the course was all about and thought it to be something related to creativity . During the beginning of the course , I thought that why is this subject even included in our course .As the time passed by , I began to realize that the course was for solving a problem in the most effective ways . The course was all about identifying and defining what the problem really was then coming up with the proper solutions for it . I thought why would anyone need a course to solve the problems? One can solve a problem just on their own . They do not have to rely on some course to solve a problem . But after few weeks , I realized that the course is really helpful for everyone . From a small company to big , everybody needs design thinking to solve the problems occurring in the most effective way . The advantages of using design thinking is that it includes both the user as well as the company . It links the company to the users . Interviewing , empathizing and getting feedback really helps the company to know what the problem is really about . Then the company can then provide the users with the best solutions .

Talking about my course journey , honestly it was fun attending the design thinking course . There was something new to learn in every new class . I never felt bored while attending the classes . There were many games that we played which probably never bored me . Majority of the work was done in groups , so along with the design thinking course my team building skills were also improving . There were many real life examples shown during the class to help us understand in a better way .

We had two design thinking challenge presentations . We were given different scenarios for different groups where we have to identify the problem , then coming up with the solutions along with the prototype . So from the first design thinking challenge , I learnt about the first step to design thinking was all about defining the problem in the proper way , then only comes the ideating part . Then on design thinking challenge 2 we had the properly defined problem , then the solution along with the prototype .

After the completion of the course , I realized that the course is really important not only in the professional life but also in our personal life . It really does help us to solve the problem in an effective way . Be it professional or personal , design thinking is important in every aspect of life .
An Advent Invitation. I invite you to join me on a personal…
By: Ani Vidrine
Tags: Gratitude, Journey, Spirituality, Advent, Hope

photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash.com

Dear Friends,

I invite you to join me on a personal advent journey of hope and faith, regardless of your spiritual or non-spiritual background. While I am not uncomfortable using the word God, I do my best to use inclusive language in my posts. I honor each person’s spiritual journey and the unique way that they relate to a Power greater than themselves, whether that be as a deity, essential Unity, or a sense of integrity. Truly for me, God is Love, and so that is the word I use in my posts.

I believe that advent is not only an historical journey, but also a personal journey. I deeply relate with Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Simeon in their waiting for their hearts’ desires to manifest. While over time I have received the fulfillment of my heart’s desire for a loving marriage, beautiful children, and a fulfilling career, there was one dream that took 40 years before I saw its manifestation. As the plane was landing in San Francisco two years ago for the beginning of the first residential component of my Ph.D. program, I could not stop the tears of joy and gratitude from copiously flowing. Love has done great things for me, and holy is Love’s name!

My heart’s desire in sharing these advent reflections is that you will enter personally into this season and be encouraged in your waiting and celebrate what you have already received. I desire for you an increase in faith, hope, and Love.

The reflections can be accessed under Advent Reflections on medium.

Many blessings on the important ministry of your life!

Love,

Ani
Great article.
By: Will Ericksson
Tags: Web Development, Freelance, No Code

Great article. I’m in the same position having just moved from full time employee developer to founder/freelancer. There are so many opportunities in no-code right now to offer the same outcome for 80–90% less work effort than building from scratch. It is very empowering.
我的第一筆設計案件沒有錢…
By: 蔡點點 Dotty
Tags: Startup, 心路歷程, 創業, 設計, Freelance

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
teen years//humanity
Tags: Divinity, Poetry, Chaos, Love, Freelance

Thorns piercing my skin

More powerful than anything seen

They darken my heart, blur the light in my eye

I do not know why tears of blood I cry

Tears of oblivion, water of the primordials

They drop unknown in the inner universe of the creator's prison

Through blue hellfire the great deciever crawls

To save the monarch of a falling empire, to show him the divine's treason

How can you accept to fly with the fallen angels in their twisted paradise?

How could He forsake us, tell us all these lies?

But when the angels turn their head at the sight of your light

The demonic will embrace you, darken your sight
7 Questions Every Designer should always ask from the Client!
Tags: Designe, Business, Freelance

Originally posted on Creative Gaga

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

After completing my MBA, I joined an advertising agency where I fell in love with the whole concept of designing communication. For two months, I used to sit next to my graphic designer friends and play around with colors, fonts, and copy; it was so much fun. After a few months, I noticed a pattern; the creative team created five options for one poster and multiple feedback every day. It wasn’t fun anymore.

Being client-facing, I felt responsible for my friends in the creative team, creating multiple options, and spending drunken nights in the office (Working!). It came to the point that I learned how to make the ‘logo bigger’ myself, export PDF, and send it to the client myself. (Kidding!)

I thought it’s not me; it’s the client. They are indecisive and cribbed about them with the creative team to gain sympathy and get the work done. But I knew I was in trouble when it happened to us again.

That’s when I decided to seek help and gathered my creative team to brainstorm ways to increase efficiency and get the design right in the first go. We discovered the problem wasn’t that the client was indecisive, but we didn’t know the client and the business much.

Why was that happening? Every meeting with the client, we tried to please the client by filling the awkward silences with something while we should have heard the client instead. We were not asking the right questions to solve the business problem with the design.

When you start talking, you have taken away your client’s chance to think about what you have said. You stop them from digesting the design you carefully created, and you start sounding like that annoying pushy salesperson that no one likes. Instead, you can get inside your client’s head, so you know what they really want — and let them do the talking.

You can become a trusted advisor in the business process, and you use your client’s own words to give them what they want.

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” ― Voltaire

Listing down the questions that we decided to ask every client before getting onto a design phase, use these questions for your next campaign brief or freelance project to save time and become that trusted advisor to your clients.

1. What are your long-term and short-term business goals?

This question does two things. First, it gives you a roadmap to follow to help you provide for your customer’s immediate needs. When you can help make your customer’s short-term goals a reality, you become a partner in their success. Second, beginning to understand their long-term goals establishes you as a partner for the long haul. You stop being just a person trying to achieve a one-time sale, and you build a relationship that helps you to become a trusted confidant.
According to the research and report of the some freelancing sites every American will be working…
By: Hammad Maqbool
Tags: Freelancing Tips, Freelancing, Freelance Writing, Freelancers, Freelance

According to the research and report of the some freelancing sites every 1 out of 4 Americans will be working remotely in 2021 and by 2025, more than 35 million Americans will be working remotely.

This big change is caused by the pandemic in the world, people lose the jobs in this pandemic and freelancing increase about 87%.

Now this thing is becoming a new norm, industries specially the small one are adopting this trend of freelancing and getting into the pace and protocols of working from home.

Even the bigger firms are in the race of getting into comfort zone. Microsoft is also planning to close its physical outlets and switching to online store so they can manage the store from a single computer by sitting any where. The other big reason of switching from physical to online store is the customers increasing interest in online shopping.

When it comes to the freelancing the reason behind increase in freelancing is not only the current pandemic situation but huge unemployment in every country as well and the statistics shows the way freelancing is increasing it will be the future.

Most of us think that the freelancing means working online but that is not true anyone who provide service on the contractual basis is doing the freelancing. A DJ who come to your party and get paid for providing his services on that event is also a freelancer.

Although the trend of digital freelancing (Selling your skills online) is increasing and lots of websites are providing platform to digital freelancers where they can sell their skills online. Fiverr, Guru, Upwork and peopleperhour are some of the famous freelancing sites where any freelancer can sell the skills.

Basic things to become successful as a digital freelancer are

English Writing skills Portfolio Response time

But the competition in the field of digital freelancing is high, You are not the only who want to sell skill online, after setting your platform on any of the above mentioned freelancing site you have to wait to become successful. You have to get good reviews from your clients by providing your best services so you can be successful digital freelancer.

At the end of the day in the field of Freelancing one thing you have to keep remember.
How I failed at Freelancing.
By: Binny Baburaj
Tags: Learning, Entrepreneurship, Business, Work Life Balance, Freelance

How I failed at Freelancing.

Freelancing was a part-time gig for me when I started out. Not unlike a service that I sold in my free time for clients who couldn’t afford full-time employees yet.

Honestly, my story of freelancing is a raging pile of fear of commitment, work tensions, and travel in search of inner peace. Something which I continue to this day.

But I think there is a lot to learn from even my tiny career so far as a freelancer. I hope my mistakes will perhaps keep you from doing the same, or at least laugh with me when you inevitably commit the same ones that I once did.

Here are some of the most dreaded mistakes that I struggle with to this day. I am actively working to correct them, but it takes lots of practice. If you can relate to any of them, you can already see me.
How to make half a million dollars 3 months on dating sites
Tags: USA, Dating, Money, Girls, Freelance

How to make half a million dollars 3 months on dating sites
How I organise my freelance make up artist kit
Tags: Freelance Makeup Artist, Beauty Tips, Makeup Artist, Mua, Freelance

What a pain it is when your kit is in disarray: carrying around more bags than you have arms and shoulders for, making several trips back and forth to the car, or leaving an essential item at home.

Fear not freelancers, HotPatch has sought the help of our talented and insightful friend @jodiesheehanmua, who has a few tips to help you declutter your MUA kit and make freelancing an absolute joy. Who doesn’t feel a whole lot better organised?

I’ve recently reorganised my kit for when I freelance and I can now carry it all in one go without numerous trips back and forth to the car. Hopefully these tips can help other freelancers going through the same pain!

Main large clear bag

This bag holds all of the makeup in your kit. External pockets are handy for extra storage, and the clear plastic means that you don’t have to dig around for pencils and brushes.

Clear pencil cases

Yes, these are just pencil cases! 99p ones from home bargains to be exact! They’re so handy I have one for foundations, one for eye products, one for lipsticks and one for powders.

Brush bag

I used to carry my brushes in a regular wash bag and lay them all out on the surface I was working from when freelancing. However, this bag is game changing!

I’m sure all MUA’s will know how limited for space we can be, so anything to help with that is soo welcome. It’s basically a giant freestanding brush pot.

It also has a handy pocket which I keep my disposable applicators, hair clips and scissors in.

Any more essentials?

The best swap I made was from a ring light to a panel light! These are really compact and easy to carry. Then I have a mirror, hand gel, IPA and @isoclean_southwales. Last but not least…. Blitz Roll is a lifesaver! I’ve previously used it to protect surface tops from my products, general cleaning, along with isoclean to clean my brushes and to dry off bouquets before handing them out to bridesmaids… this stuff is essential!

What are your Freelance Kit essentials?

Let us know here, online or on instagram @hotpatch_ and @jodiesheehanmua
My Current Freelance Writing Tech Stack
By: Daniel Rosehill
Tags: Marketing, Small Business, Freelance Writing, Technology, Freelance

Website, Web Hosting, Wordpress (And Staging Environment)

If you’ve got a freelance writing website, then you’re going to need somewhere to host it.

In general, I prefer the hosting + server software model to all in one website builder packages, although the latter make getting online quickly very easy.

In terms of hosting, basic shared hosting is going to be fine for most freelance writing portfolio websites.

Those that really want to ensure proper resources allocation to support high traffic might wish to consider (managed) VPS hosting. But in most cases, this would be unnecessary.

The ‘server (side) software’ you’re probably going to use will be a content management system (CMS) — and Wordpress is the easiest commonly used CMS to get to grips with (it’s also a handy tool to know for clients).

My freelance writing site uses a Wordpress multisite install (the portfolio and main website are separate sites).

My top recommendation is to set up a staging environment for your Wordpress site.

Instead of attempting to edit your site live — while clients might be trying to navigate it — you work on a version of your website that isn’t publicly accessible.

I use Cloudflare Access for this purpose. Then, when you’ve finished QA-ing it, and it’s ready to go live, you push it to your production version. Details above.

If you’re using a shared host that includes Softaculous in cPanel, then you should have accessed to all the functionality you need to set up a staging environment for your Wordpress site.

WEBSITE

A Domain Name

You need two things to get a website online: web hosting (to store the files) and a domain registrar to rent the URL. There are many options to choose from here.

Gsuite

Most web hosting packages are going to come with a built in email server and give you the ability to use it to send and receive email through it.

While that’s a fine approach for some, more freelance writers will probably want to sign up for a service like G Suite which contains a whole suite of cloud-hosted collaboration tools.

Gsuite essentially lets you use Google services on your domain name. If you already have a Gmail address then you could just use that.

Although if you begin working with a lot of clients through Gsuite, sharing resources from a personal domain is going to look more professional.

Google Analytics + Google Search Console (GSC)

Installing Google Analytics on your site is going to allow you to gain valuable insights into how many people are visiting your freelance writing website — as well as where they are coming from and what content they are checking out.

Google Search Console will allow you to make sure that your website is being properly indexed in Google and allow you to request the removal of URLs from Google’s index (among many other features).

Implementing Google Analytics, and validating and adding your site through Google Search Console (GSC) are important first steps towards ensuring that your site can be discovered through search engines.
Title Search Jobs | Title examiner jobs
Tags: Mortgage, Jobs, Title Loans, Titlesearch, Freelance

Are you title search professionals? And if you’re the best at what you do, then come and work at titlefreelnacer.com

Interested candidates can share your resume to shruti@titlefreelancer.com

or

Apply now @ www.titlefreelnacer.com for projects.

#titlesearch #titleexaminer #titleinsurance #titleinsuranceagent #mortgage #mortgagejobs #bangalorejobs #bangalorejobseekers #jobsinbangalore
Freelancer’s Log #1: You Can Cringe at my Content Mill Thoughts
By: M Anastasia Kinderman
Tags: Writing, Freelancing, Content Mills, Pitching, Freelance

It’s easy to say “I want to make a living writing.” It’s harder to actually figure it out, at least for me. So this is my attempt to hold myself accountable. And also log what I try, so I can look back years from now and shake my head at my naivety!

The two avenues I’m exploring are copywriting and articles/blogs. The annoying thing about being curious though, is I have a lot of things I know a little about. But not enough to make me confident I can write on them. Because of this, I’ve been focusing more on studying copywriting the past couple weeks and creating specs.

Pitching Wins

Between scouting potential clients on social media and LinkedIn, I ended up doing 20 pitches this past week. For each one I aimed to do my research so I could personalize it, whether through a cover letter or a cold pitch email. The good news is, I think I’m mentally toughening up so pitching seems less scary. The downside is, I got no responses. But I read a post from someone else in my copywriting class who said he did 80 pitches and got 3 nibbles. So instead of feeling discouraged, I’m looking at this as good practice for perfecting my pitches!

The Content Mill Got Back to Me

I know if you have been in freelance writing for a bit you’re about to cringe at this next part, but hear me out first. I had applied for a content mill a couple of weeks ago (as I floundered around, trying to get my bearings in this big, writing world….). They finally got back to me and I passed their screening process. I got the chance to write up to three articles to show I can do the work, and I did.

I think the research I’ve had to do thus far and some of the editing feedback has been helpful, so I’m grateful for that. I admit though, it’s grueling. I’ve been trying to make it “either-or” in my mind to keep me motivated: either you can continue plodding away at this and burn yourself out, or you can do it on the side and focus on better prospects.

Peace of Mind

The biggest reason I’m keeping the content mill on the side for now, besides the bit of polishing it’s giving me, is the peace of mind. I’m going into a major life change, and it’s scary. I experienced a massive sense of relief when I got the acceptance email. It may be tough, underpaid work, but I’m not worried about where money for food is coming from. In a sense, it was also validation. It probably sounds silly, but it would have been depressing to not have my writing skills considered good enough for even the content mill.

My to-do list is overwhelming, but technically I have till at least next August to complete it. So in the meantime, I will tackle it little by little and hopefully improve as I go!
Freelancing is the Future…Join Us
By: Sarah Duran
Tags: Freelancing, Be Your Own Boss, Freelancers, Independence, Freelance

Photo by Viktor Hanacek from Picjumbo

Our economy has been moving toward more independent forms of work for a while now. As traditional employment scenarios have come up short in terms of pay, benefits, flexibility, autonomy, and fulfillment the freelance economy becomes more and more attractive to young people entering the workforce for the first time and experienced professionals who are no longer getting what they needed from their 9–5. Freelancing, contract work, gig work, consulting — whatever category you belong to or label you want to use — has filled this gap.

For me, it was about control and being stuck in a system that wasn’t giving me what I needed financially, personally, or professionally.

I was sick of struggling…so I stepped outside of the system and created my own.

All of the ways that work has shifted in 2020 have made me feel incredibly grateful that I already work for myself as I watch so many people lose what they thought were forever jobs or realize that their job wasn’t really giving them what they needed in the face of a global crisis.

Crises have a weird way of making you rethink your priorities.

The crises of 2020 have made many turn to independent work, whether they made the decision on their own or were forced to by necessity.

36% of the US workforce freelanced in 2020 and the number of freelancers who do it full time went up 8% from 2019*.

58% of workers in traditional settings who started working remotely during the pandemic are now considering freelancing*.

I say — join us.

There’s plenty of work to go around.

2020 has also made employers rethink their biases against using remote and freelance workers. As the traditional workforce becomes more remote, employers are more likely to start hiring independent workers**.

Freelancing is the future…and we’re more powerful together.

Just because you’re a solo-entrepreneur doesn’t mean you’re alone. Whether it is someone you know who freelances, a killer freelance blog, or an organization like Freelancers Union — there are plenty of places to go for support, help, and advice. All you need to do is ask.

Working for myself has given me a degree of freedom, satisfaction, and wealth that I never had when I was working for someone else…and I’m not alone. 75% of freelancers who left a job to go out on their own make the same or more than they did before*.

Is it always easy? No.

Working for yourself, no matter the format, comes with its own set of risks and rewards.

For me, the risks have outweighed the rewards and I have also hustled hard to make it work. But even in those moments when things are uncertain, I still know that I made the right decision because I can’t imagine ever going back to a “regular” job.
How to become a proofreader?
By: Bagmi Barenya
Tags: Proofreading Tips, Workfromhome2020, Freelance, Proofreading

Ever wondered how people earn money by providing easy services, like proofreading? Well, worry not. We are here to guide you through all the process of becoming a high-quality proofreader.

What exactly is proofreading?

Proofreading refers to the process of doing some minor corrections which includes checking punctuations, capitalization, cross-references, grammar, spelling, typograph, syntax, and accuracy.

Proofreading and editing

People often tend to confuse between editing and proofreading. So, let us dive right in to know about the differences between them.

Editing involves a series of functions like formatting, presentation, improving language and quality of writing, structure, and logical coherence. Whereas in proofreading, the proofreader is supposed to check minor mistakes as mentioned above. Proofreading is the final step after editing and before publishing.

Eligibility to become a proofreader

The most important question that our readers wants to know is that how to become a proofreader without any prior experience and what are the skills required to become a proofreader. Let me tell you a secret, pals, you do not require any experience or degree or course to become a proofreader. What you require is the in-depth knowledge of the language on which you want to work. You must have good communication skills and a detailed oriented mindset with a professional etiquette. If you have all these skills and qualities, bingo! You are absolutely eligible to become a proofreader.

But if you still want to take up a proofreading course before starting your proofreading gig, the following are some websites that provide online proofreading courses.

Income of proofreaders

Our readers must be thinking, how to become a proofreader and earn money online? How much do proofreaders earn on an average?

Don’t worry, we won’t let you get second thoughts regarding whether you are fit for proofreading or not. Keep reading to know how much money do proofreaders make with each client/ contract.

The income of proofreaders typically varies from 25$/hour to 45$/hour. If you are a fresher in this field, you might get a lesser pay but as you gain experience, your earnings will start to flourish.

How to make money from proofreading by getting clients/jobs?

Well, there are many companies where you can get proofreading jobs such as:

Proofreading is a convenient and demanding job at present. Anyone with the relevant skills can earn money working from the comfort of their homes so without wasting any time kick start your freelance proofreading career!
Your Freelance Advice Sucks
Tags: Writing, Writing Tips, Freelance Writing, Article Writing, Freelance

Where are you from

For real. Where do you hail from? It may seem like a baseless question, but it is central to the story. Once you consider where you are from, then ask yourself what language is spoken there? Good. Now we are on the right track.

If I may hypothesize, would you let a foreigner work for your writing company, yet it is in your native language? The probability of you going to such lengths would be very slim if you are not too confident with trusting distant strangers over the internet.

Now with all these in mind, we can apply the situation to the world of anglophiles. I seldom see writers mentioning the different struggles that a non-native English speaker from an “obscure” third world country would face when seeking these jobs.

According to the demographics of the people who speak English, many English speakers are not native speakers. What does this lead to in the market of freelancers seeking lucrative prospects mostly from western clients? From my experience and that of many more than I could mention, the situation is bleak.

This is what I term as the native advantage. A simple look at your profile that shows any indication of being a non-native immediately puts off many potential clients. The reason is justified; there is always the probability that the freelancer has sub-par English. The opposite could also be equally true.
BLOG POST
By: Sania Sharif
Tags: Freelancing, Content Marketing Blogs, Content Marketing, Freelancing Tools, Freelance

BLOG POST

FORGIVING is an important SELF-CARE ACT to let those grudges go that pull you down. Forgiving others isn’t condoning what they did, it’s telling yourself that you ain’t gonna allow nonsense to hold you down.

Nelson Mandela truly said that IT’S DRINKING POISON AND HOPING IT KILLS OTHERS.

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We need to agree that each of us had terrible things done to us rather we may have done horrible things to others as well. Reliving those moments, filling your life with regrets, holding this on your shoulders is only gonna affect YOU not the person who did wrong.

We all fuck up at different phases of life. Don’t hate yourself over it. Forgive yourself. Let it go to create space for positivity to enlighten your future.

It’s a personal exercise that’s only gonna help you. You need not to announce or declare it.

There will be people who will exploit your need to care. Don’t let them affect you.

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I hope you meet new and better people who’ll appreciate you, love you, take care of youu. Keep meeting new people, not everyone will be that ONE, but yeah take risks

~saniya
Freelancers’ pathway to freedom
By: Tanya Medukha
Tags: Altwork, Work, Freelance, Freelancing

Digital marketplaces of talent launched the freelance revolution. What was promised as an opportunity quickly turned into an oversaturated competitive landscape where a company worth billions was built on the idea of selling other people’s time for $5.

AltWork aims to decouple the freelancing sector from exploitative nature of capitalism through creating a collaborative solution that aligns with how people actually work.

The Journey and the Story track are now joining into one new, cohesive, and user friendly design. But first, let’s look at how they work through examples.

Journey track is for setting goals, gathering financial resources and advice, and getting things done.

It features images, gives space to stories, highlights feelings, and includes lessons learned to allow freelancers to craft a multi-sided narrative. Milestones are displayed so the contributors can see live progress.

Stories track is for sharing progress, failures, successes, and every realization in-between. There are no popularity metrics: no likes, no subscribes, and no blanket comment section. Users engage with each other directly in-text and articles are ranked based on coins contributed and usefulness of content.

It all comes together at a desk, from which freelancers can track their progress. Each element directs them to a part of the site where they can create journeys, track their progress, exchange messages with each other, make edits, share their stories, and cash out earned tokens.

AltWork is the only system designed especially for freelancers. Through placing freelancer goals at the center and creating a culture of support around them, AltWork gives freelancers freedom back over their destiny.
How To Make Money On Fiverr
Tags: Freelancers, Make Money, Fiverr, Income, Freelance

Fiverr has taken the internet by storm.

There is really no other way to say it. This little freelancing platform that could has totally transformed people's expectations of getting and providing freelance services through an online exchange format.

It seems that Fiverr has solved the two most common problems freelance platforms have historically struggled with.

Fiverr not only offers a ton of services from a wide range of eager providers from all over the world, but it also is able to pull in lots of buyers.

When you put these two factors together, it is no surprise that Fiverr has become the "go to" freelance service destination on the internet.

Fiverr has many testimonials of people claiming that their income on this platform has replaced their regular job's income.

But there's a big warning sign. You have to be careful about using Fiverr the right way.

If you don't know what you're doing or if you don't have a strategy, you end up wasting time and, yes, money, in the form of opportunity costs.

Here’s where my advice for you comes in.

click the below

bit.ly/2KvBQOQ
Set work hours. And stick to them.
By: Zach Charbel
Tags: Freelance, Work Hours, Remote

With being self-employed for almost for almost three full years and a remote worker for the past five. There’s one thing I have come to stand firm on over the years. And that one thing has been to set work hours and stick to doing work within those times. That’s because working from home, especially during 2020, makes it rather easy to say “Oh, I’ll do that this weekend” or “I’ll reply after dinner.” and if you keep doing that. You could get lost in not being able to define work from personal time.

Work will be there tomorrow.

I’m a big proponent of “work will be there tomorrow”. If you work like everything needs to be done today. Chances are, you’ll just burn yourself out over time and come to resent your life. So it’s okay if some things fall through the cracks here and there that don’t need to be done today. And once you’re able to understand that everything doesn’t need to get done today. That’ll make you happier in life.

Communicating after 6 PM and over the weekend can wait.

It’s one thing to get some work done that you’re personally responsible for during your evenings and weekends, but it’s another if it is constantly expected of you to respond to work communications during this time. People have families, partners and a life outside of work and to impede on this time is rather disrespectful. I also know myself well enough that I can’t be plugged in 24/7. So if you’re looking for someone to be available 24/7 to handle things or turning around a project I get files for at 8 PM on Thursday for Monday morning. I’m not your guy.

True emergencies should only come, at most, a handful of times a year.

While emergencies can pop up throughout a given year. They should only happen a handful of times a year and if you are in a position where they continuously happen. You should probably take a look around and ask yourself if this is happening because of you, your employer or client. If it comes down to you are the one putting yourself in this position. Start figuring out what’s important or not and the things that are not, let them go to the next day or completely. Now if it’s your employer or client that is putting you in this position. You may want to reconsider where you are working or consider firing that client because I’ve come to learn. Most employers or clients who are like that, won’t change.

Working more hours doesn’t mean you get more work done.

Just because you log more hours behind your computer than not. Doesn’t necessarily translate to getting more work done. Yeah, there will be times that you need to put in the work, but if you pride or find yourself on burning the midnight oil. I would challenge you to setting work hours for a week or month and compare what you produced burning the midnight oil and having set work hours. My guess would be you’ll find a lot of wasted time in the former. Yet you’ll end up with the same results with working less hours. Then there will be times you find yourself twiddling your thumbs and when you find yourself in that position. It’s okay to take a step back and go enjoy some time to yourself.
An archive by Azhar — 2009 > Present
Tags: Freelancers, Freelance, Freelancing, Labs

Story

An archive of all the works from the beginning of my career that did not get a chance to have a comprehensive case study or in rare cases did not make it through ( AKA, I did not have the heart to leave out these… )

UX Design, UI Design, Responsive design, Branding, Graphic design, Illustration
How to deal with anxiety and uncertainty caused by the overwhelming competition in freelancing?
By: Igor K
Tags: Freelancers, Freelancing Tips, Freelance, Freelancing

It’s a question a guy asked me on Quora. And I know many suffer the consequences of the self-imposed pressure caused by the perception that the competition in freelancing is simply overwhelming. The truth, however, is quite opposite:

There is no competition.

I never felt anxiety, to be honest. When I see the job post that ticks me, I feel the adrenaline surge, like the one you feel before any competition. And when I think about it, I’m more excited about the competition (bidding) process than the work that follows once I win the contract. It’s like a high…a really powerful high.

In my mind, there is no competition. There’s nobody. I develop tunnel vision. Once I set my mind on a contract, I don’t see anyone else. I never check the median bid or the lowest and highest ones. I don’t care about the number of proposals either; although, the projects I’m bidding on rarely get more than 15 applications due to the complexity and extremely short deadlines.

And there’s your big secret.

You start like everyone else, from the bottom, honing your skills along the way. Eventually, you evolve and start taking on contracts only a handful dares to touch. In other words, you work to make yourself irreplaceable which, consequently, makes you important — if that’s something that’s been bothering you like it bothers the guy who asked me that question.

It seems that in his eyes, he's not important and that’s been killing him. In fact, I know a fair number of people who ditched everything and regressed to the employee mentality. In other words, they ditched freedom and went to work for someone else again. Which, if you ask me, is a crying shame.
Editors Explain: How Realistic is it to Make Money Writing?
By: Jessica Jungton
Tags: Editors Explain, Writing, Ask The Editors, Writing Life, Freelance

Editors Explain: How Realistic is it to Make Money Writing?

Artwork by Jessica Jungton, inspired by Lukas

Can you actually support yourself as a writer? How hard is it to make writing a full-time job? This week we take on one of the most frequent questions we are asked. Sandy Knight, editor of The Weekly Knob, joins Justin and me to share our thoughts about the reality of making writing into a career.

Question: How realistic is it to make money writing?

Whether you’re writing for your own blog, or sending freelance work to various publishers, the reality is the market for writing is highly competitive. Not only are you competing for readers’ attention, you’re competing with writers who share your dream of professional recognition which comes with a paycheck.

If you can commit heart and soul to the long game, take every opportunity to develop your craft, find your niche, and take rejection in stride, then yes, I believe it’s realistic to expect the money will follow.

Justin Cox, editor of The Writing Cooperative:

I’d love to tell you from experience you can make a living writing. I’m working on it, but writing is still my side-hustle. That said, I have read books from and talked with plenty of people who do write full-time online and do very well. So, it is possible.

What I’ve learned from everyone who writes full time, dedication is the name of the game. You’ve got to be dedicated to writing, pitching, working with clients, and marketing. But it can be done and, if you’re ready, get out there and make it happen.

Jessica Jungton, editor of The Writing Cooperative:

This week’s discussion is full of tough love and here’s mine.

It is possible but not easy. If you want a laid-back career you can do whenever you want and however you want, you aren’t being realistic. As Justin said, there are many other roles involved in being a writer than just writing. If you are unknown with no strong publishing connections, your ideal writing job might exist in your future but to get there are years of working long hours and reaching out to strangers.

While you work on your craft and finish that book/article/memoir/story, I suggest finding writing-adjacent jobs to diversify your income stream such as editing, researching, and fact-checking. These are often less competitive and more reliable than selling your own writing. The skills you learn in these jobs will improve your craft. They also provide opportunities to build relationships and create contacts in the industry.