Hi Writer,
Do people ask you how things are going with your writing? It’s been a month of full-time freelancing and it seems every friend and contact asks me how it’s going. Authors probably get asked how their book is coming along. And poets probably wish someone asked about their poetry.
What do you say? After all, success is subjective. A New York Times best-selling author can still be filled with doubt and insecurity. And it’s a law of nature that a freelance writer will never think they’re earning enough money.
That’s why this week’s GIF is inspired by how I respond to the question, “How’s it going?” What do you say when you’re asked about your writing?
Thanks for reading,
Nick
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New This Week
Most of my writing’s been on client work (see above, “Fine GIF”), but I did publish a review of Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers.
Tweet of the Week
Great writing advice thread ☝️
For All Writers
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And Bloggers
For Freelancers
Writing Gigs
Medical Writer (full-time, remote)
Race Reporter for Vox Media (full-time, remote)
Calls and Contests
Bolded items are new additions. Non-bolded items are repeats. 👍
2020 North Carolina State Poetry Contest; North Carolina residents only (Deadline: Feb. 24)
Speculative City Open Call for Speculative Fiction, Poetry, and Essays (Deadline: Feb. 24)
RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers; Canadian citizens who’ve been published in a literary magazine or anthology but not in book form (Deadline: Feb. 25)
Quantum Shorts Flash Fiction Competition (Deadline: Feb. 29)
Thimble Literary Journal Open Call (Deadline: Feb. 29)
Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction (Deadline: Feb. 29)
Speculative Literature Foundation Working Class Writers Grant (Deadline: Feb. 29)
Sonic Boom, a Literary Journal, Open Call (Deadline: March 1)
The Fountain Essay Contest (Deadline: March 1)
Jewish Book Council Open Call for Short Story Submissions (Deadline: March 1)
National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships; Citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. only (March 11, 2020)
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (Deadline: April 1)
The Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction; Book must be set in the U.S. states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia (Deadline: May 1)
Somebody responded to this on Medium, and I forgot I even asked you about the "Upwork" link. (It was two years ago.) I was trying to figure out what made another reader "like" your comment and eventually ended up here. THANK YOU for sharing my "6 Upwork Clients to Avoid" post.