Freelance Self-Promotion Archives

03Jun 2024 by Philippa Willitts

Letters to dead people (and one person who faked their own death) zine

[caption id="attachment_3448" align="alignright" width="300"] Letters to dead people (and one person who faked their own death) zine[/caption] I made a zine, my first in about 12 years, my 8th (I think) in total. Arguably, it's an actual book, but there was more to say than I thought. It's beautiful, it's sad, it's traumatic, it's lovely, and it does feel good to have turned a rough few months into a "project". @pippawill i made a zine of letters to dead people (and one person who faked their own death). I can't link in my bio, but find it at philippawrites.co.uk/bio #zine #death #bereavement #grief #griefjourney #griefandloss ♬ original sound - pippawill Get a copy from me directly here. You need to pick the right shipping option from the dropdown box -…

31Dec 2022 by Philippa Willitts

A selection of my best writing in 2022

About Writing, Freelance Self-Promotion

2022 has been a really interesting year for me professionally. My role at Now Then magazine, where I was a community correspondent focusing on reporting on the LGBTQ+ and disability communities, changed as I took over as editor for six months to cover the regular editor's parental leave. Since he has come back to work, we are sharing the role, and I am still focusing on my original remit as well. I spend half my working week at Now Then and the other half freelancing. Most of my freelance work this year has been editing, whether at Global Comment or doing sensitivity editing for a range of authors and publishing companies. As a result of that, most of my writing this year has been either for private clients, mostly in…

23Feb 2022 by Philippa Willitts

I was on BBC’s Front Row in defence of sensitivity readers

About Proofreading, Freelance Self-Promotion, Speaking

A couple of years ago, I started offering sensitivity reading for disability- and LGBT-related topics. I have worked on some fascinating manuscripts since then, including both fiction and non-fiction texts, and have worked with some brilliant authors and publishing houses. It was exciting to see this role begin to gain popularity as authors realised the benefits of making sure that their representations of marginalised characters or issues affecting marginalised communities were not going to alienate or inadvertently upset the very readers they wanted to attract. In recent weeks, however, sensitivity reading has become mired in controversy. After writer Kate Clanchy wrote a critique of her experience of sensitivity readers' assessments of her book (which, already published, had attracted accusations of racism and disablism), we are being discussed widely but the…

16Feb 2022 by Philippa Willitts

Upcoming presentation: LGBT Apostasy and Conversion Therapy

Freelance Self-Promotion, Speaking

A few weeks ago, I wrote about conversion therapy for Now Then, the magazine where I am a community correspondent. I had been trying for several months to find a local case study and, in the absence of anybody willing to talk about their own experiences, I shared mine instead. I was surprised by how confronting it felt to address the experiences I had when I was younger; surprising mostly because I did not undergo conversion therapy myself, instead I was offered it... twice. But being told you need it does profound damage to your sense of self, your sense of goodness, and your confidence. As a result of that article, Humanists UK's Faith to Faithless project have invited me to speak about conversion therapy at an online event next…

01Dec 2020 by Philippa Willitts

Book: Food Snobbery: An Intersectional Analysis of Fat, Feminism, Poverty, Disability & Health

Disabled writer, Freelance Self-Promotion

I always forget to promote this, though I should. [tweetherder]I published an extended essay that looked at the privilege of food snobs and how the reality of food and eating affects various groups[/tweetherder]: Food Snobbery: An Intersectional Analysis of Fat, Feminism, Poverty, Disability & Health. It's been available on Amazon for some time now. I wrote it because [tweetherder]I was frustrated at the ignorance of people insisting that there was no excuse to not eat vegan, or eat 'clean', or eat keto, or whatever the trend of the day is[/tweetherder]. I was also annoyed at a discussion I'd had on social media with someone about the fact that the more 'ethical' food shops tend to be inaccessible to disabled people, making them actually unethical businesses. That person said that I…

20May 2019 by Philippa Willitts

Blog post pricing special offer

About Writing, Content Marketing, Freelance Self-Promotion

This sale has now expired. However, don’t despair. There is another special offer for you here. When B2B or B2C clients are looking for a freelancer to write blog posts for them, they don't just want a couple of one-off articles. Generally, they want one or two a week on an ongoing basis, as this makes the most sense when blogging. Blogging offers a myriad of benefits for all businesses. Regular new content keeps Google keen, while providing extensive written information adds new conversational keywords to their website content and ongoing posts provide content that can attract buyers, answer prospects' questions and create a sense of recognition or familiarity. Because of the importance of ongoing new blog content, I recently created some packages for new clients to choose from when they hire…

01Apr 2019 by Philippa Willitts

Notes on March

About Proofreading, About Writing, Freelance Self-Promotion

I sometimes wonder whether I should populate my blog with updates on how work is going. After all, it gives readers and potential clients an idea of what I'm up to. So, I'm giving it a try this month and will see how it goes. A particularly interesting part of March's work was proofreading two books for a French agency. The books had been translated from French and I was proofreading the resulting translation. They were grammatically very good but needed some work on occasional areas of wording that didn't sound quite right. As I have a degree in French Studies I have done my fair share of translation so am familiar with the way it works and the problems and challenges it can cause, so I felt at home…

19Dec 2014 by Philippa Willitts

Run, Don’t Walk, Away From Content Mills: Secret Sneak Peak!

About Writing, Freelance Self-Promotion, Freelancing

[caption id="attachment_1825" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo credit: Howtostartablogonline.net[/caption] One of the questions I get asked the most by fellow freelancers is how they can escape from writing for mass freelancing sites with low pay and a 'race to the bottom' mentality. The fact is that even if all your current work is underpaid and undervalued, even if you are doing some kind of ad-based revenue share that earns you 22 cents for an article you spent three hours writing, even if you are currently producing work that you know is under par because you need to write four articles an hour to break even, and even if you have never had a private client of your own, it is possible to escape from the content mill, but it takes some focused work to get your foot in…

06Sep 2014 by Philippa Willitts

I was interviewed on the @CherishedIdeas podcast: freelancing, pricing and marketing yourself

Freelance Self-Promotion, Freelancing, Podcast

[caption id="attachment_1703" align="aligncenter" width="492"] "Often, I find, my most creative thinking has to come in my work that involves the most boring topics" - Philippa Willitts[/caption] [tweetherder]Listen to @PhilippaWrites talk to @CherishedIdeas about freelancing: [/tweetherder] A couple of months ago, I was really excited to get an interview request from the then-new Cherished Ideas podcast. It is a podcast for freelancers of all stripes and I chatted to Simon Knapp all about freelancing, how to make it work, how to stay up to date, and plenty more. [tweetherder]"Often, I find, my most creative thinking has to come in my work that involves the most boring topics"[/tweetherder] Have a listen below, enjoy, and let me know what you think! [tweetherder]"Guest blogging doesn't have to be for free. I guest blog and…

21Jan 2014 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 66: Five (and a half) ways lists can transform your marketing

Content Marketing, Freelance Self-Promotion, Podcast

Everybody loves crossing things off a list, right? A to-do list is not the only list freelance writers can use to help their marketing and self-promotion, so tune in to this podcast episode where we talk you through five and a half types of lists that can help you to transform your business. Show Notes 10 most popular episodes of 2013: 10: Episode 2: Setting up as a freelance writer: website, social media and brand management best practice 9: Episode 3: Setting up as a freelance writer part 2 8: Episode 18: How to network like a ninja 7: Episode 7: Freelance Writing: To specialise or not to specialise? 6: Episode 55: Coping with rejection 5: Episode 30: It's not about you: the art and science of commercial copywriting 4: Episode 38: How to break into new freelance…

Category: Freelance Self-Promotion