As a Freelance Writer, You’re Exposed to Competitors from Around the Globe

Here Is a (Mostly) Untapped Market for Freelance Writers

Going local is a powerful strategy that insulates you from most competitors; here’s how I did it

It would turn out to be the worst year since I started my business. The federal “sequester” had slowed down the pace of NASA projects I’d been supporting, dropping my income by 80% for almost a year.

This, right when we had just closed on an office condo and I needed to pay a general contractor to turn it from a shell into usable office space.

I had to find something productive to do, fast, to bring in desperately needed income, and to help maintain my sanity.

How to Recover from Slowdowns in Client Traffic

Not knowing better options, I became a freelance writer on Elance. I’d always been good at both verbal and written communication.

Over 20 years in academia, writing an endless flow of papers, proposals, technical notes…