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The Writers’ Co-op

The Writers' Co-op

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The Writers’ Co-op is an audio business handbook for freelance creatives. Host and executive producer Wudan Yan leverages her and co-hosts' freelance experiences to provide a transparent look at what it takes to run a resilient freelance business as a creative. From negotiating higher rates, to protecting your business and intellectual property, to taking time off and organizing your workflow, to doing the mindset work needed to achieve your goals, you'll walk away from this podcast with act ...
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What if we told you that all freelancers are leaders? The idea might seem counterintuitive at first: After all, freelancers provide services or products to our clients. We’re not leading or managing a team in a conventional sense. But leadership isn’t just about managing a team. It’s how you position yourself, how you talk about yourself, and how y…
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Career transitions often come with an element of fear. For freelancers, this might be a fear of rejection or of losing stable income. It might show up as a little voice in our head that says: “But what if I fail?” Fear is meant to protect us, yet it can also hold us back from trying new things and thinking expansively about our businesses. In this …
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Welcome to Season 8! We’re calling this year the “Year of Expansive Thinking.” This season will focus on how to think big about our businesses, ourselves, and what we think is possible. In the first episode, host and executive producer Wudan Yan answers questions from guest co-host Pam Moore about her businesses. Pam is an occupational therapist-tu…
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This episode is a cross-post between The Writers' Co-op and Freelance Cake, a podcast for ambitious freelancers who want to get more results with less effort, hosted by Austin L. Church. Austin had Wudan on his show to talk about how she cultivated a mindset of 'always be negotiating,' and how she got to a place where negotiations felt comfortable …
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If you’ve been listening to The Writers’ Co-op since the first few seasons, you’ve heard us say: The magic is in the mix of work you get. Slower work – work that is recurring, or on a longer contract or time period – can make us feel both steady and fulfilled. But sometimes, we just need money now. That’s where fast freelancing comes in. Ideally, y…
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As freelancers, we’ve probably all worked with clients who couldn’t pin down exactly what they wanted. Maybe they never had a clear vision for the project, or maybe they constantly changed their mind—and your scope of work. The experience can be incredibly frustrating. Yet, even these clueless clients need (and deserve) help from freelancers. In th…
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A very overdone and true statement about freelancing is: “You’re running a business!” Businesses of all sizes have things like income targets, goals, creative direction—and even business plans! While some of those terms can sound a bit like “corporate speak,” these ways of doing things and problem solving in the corporate world can also be applied …
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Most of us who work for ourselves probably don’t love marketing but know that it’s a necessary task to attract more clients. Some take a more traditional approach—constantly sharing work and services on social media or socializing at conferences. But that might not work for everyone. In this episode, Wudan talks with Ruxandra (Rux) Guidi. Rux is a …
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Most of the time, freelancers who work with clients do not own the rights to the creative work that's produced. Even retaining a modicum of your rights is frequently a prolonged legal battle that results in very little. But some freelancers who want ownership over their work are turning to another source of income: newsletters. Creating a newslette…
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Determining rates can be really tricky for freelancers. We need our clients to agree to a price for a project, but we can’t sell ourselves short and leave money on the table. Naturally, freelancers might wonder: How much can I charge before I price myself out of work? In this episode, Wudan talks to freelancer Kat Boogaard. Kat is a Wisconsin-based…
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Navigating crossroads in our careers isn’t easy — not when we’re traditionally employed, and certainly not as freelancers, where we pick the rules. The possibilities can seem endless. One assignment, one client, or maybe even one email can completely change what we decide to do next. While considering making a big career shift, we can sometimes fee…
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If you consume media, are a media worker, or just happen to pay attention to what’s happening to the media landscape, you might have heard that the industry is having… a bad time, to say the least. Hundreds of reporters and media employees have been laid off this year as newsrooms are shutting down or downsizing. Some who are affected by these cuts…
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A big reason why many of us feel drawn to freelancing is because we love the freedom and flexibility that it offers: we can work when, where, and how we want. Still, even as freelancers, we might feel pressure to adhere to working a “full-time job” – a 40-hour, or even longer, week, despite not needing or wanting to. But we have the power to opt ou…
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Welcome to Season 7 of the Writers’ Co-op! To kick off the season, we wanted to dedicate our first episode to a word that often shapes how we view both work and ourselves: success. We usually believe success is measured by hitting societally-defined milestones or accumulating fame or wealth. But what happens when our personal goals differ from what…
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Season 7 (!!) will launch shortly, after a month-long break. Wudan will be hosting and executive producing the show moving forward, after Jenni resigned at the end of last year to focus on her family. The next season will feature conversations between Wudan and co-hosts, who will help us all to navigate ways to reduce our workweek, building our own…
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Today we’re playing an episode from July 2021 with freelancer Emma Diehl. This was from our third season, where we coached other freelancers. In this episode, Jenni and Emma talk about some of the trickiest parts of freelancing, including marketing. If you’ve asked “How do I sell my services in a way that feels authentic?” or “ how can I make mysel…
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Today we’re running our last live episode of the season! Jenni will be stepping away from TWC to focus on her family and health, and Wudan will carry on with managing the community and future iterations of the show. If you haven’t joined our Patreon program yet, please do – the Slack channel is always growing and a great place to find work, get adv…
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It’s rare to have a perfect relationship with a client. They might do small things that bug us, like scrub all of our oxford commas and em-dashes. But there might be other things they do that bother us more: Maybe they don’t listen to your feedback. Or they micromanage or do something that seriously hinders your ability to work. Or their expectatio…
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Saying no is just as critical to running a freelance business as saying yes. You can't say yes to the right opportunities if you're filling up your time with assignments that don't pay well, or where clients mistreat you. In this re-run from May 2020, Wudan and Jenni address reasons why you might say no to a freelance assignments (including if the …
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Today we have a new episode for you, which is about pacing your workdays. This episode was inspired by a tweet Jenni sent out about a month ago, asking about how people shape their days. In this episode, we dig into why pacing can change throughout seasons of your career, and we talk about ways to investigate if your pacing is working for you right…
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This episode is a re-run from May 2020. Making connections with other writers, editors and creatives is essential to building a freelance business that lasts throughout the years. When a gig ends or a client runs out of budget, having a strong network can give you a starting point for finding new work. But we know that networking can be challenging…
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This episode is a re-run from October 2020. If you want to talk about running a 6-figure freelance writing business, Matt Villano is the person to call. He has been a full-time freelancer for 25 years and during that time he’s written for publications such as The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and many others. He also specializes in …
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Let’s be honest: No one is perfect at running a business. We’ve all screwed up. We’ve all been too pushy or not pushy enough. We’ve all reacted too quickly when a situation doesn’t go the way we want it to. In both Wudan and Jenni’s coaching practices (and in our own businesses), we’ve helped our clients navigate and reflect on their relationships …
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Happy July! We hope you’re hanging in there. We are both officially OOO right now – Jenni with her new baby, and Wudan hiking the PCT. This episode was recorded about a month ago, and it’s our last new season five episode. We’ll be back in the fall with some new content! Today we’re diving into service transitions. Basically, most of us start runni…
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We're re-running old TWC episodes over the course of the spring and summer, as we both slow down. This re-run is all about career planning and growth! An oldie and a goodie. How do you plan a career trajectory when there are infinite options and no set paths? Freelancers can struggle with career building because there are no managers to give you ra…
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Wudan's love for discovery calls probably surprises very few of you: She loves connecting with others and enjoy learning about how she can bring her skills to help a new client. She gets really excited about these calls because they smell like possibilities. Lately, we've been getting a ton of questions about LOIs, discovery calls, and landing new …
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We're running some older episodes while we take this spring and summer season more slowly! This week's re-run is our very first money-related episode ever published! Your money mindset determines every aspect of your freelance writing and editing business. It's also a key to long-lasting success: Making good money allows you to live a life based on…
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Today we’re bringing you a new episode about approaching slow seasons. You know what we’re talking about: Those lulls in freelance work after all your projects are filed. You’re busy and then… very little happens. It can be stressful! Jenni and I get a ton of questions about this, so we decided to dedicate an entire episode to it. As you listen, yo…
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As we take this spring and summer more slowly, we're currently replaying some old hits! This one is from July 2021. Building a freelance career can feel directionless; there are no set rules about where to go. But Jenni and Wudan have both built their own careers (and helped other people craft theirs) by pivoting when they hit moments of confusion …
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Is it possible to buy property while working for yourself? Recently, Jenni and Wudan both bought houses -- so the answer is yes, but with a lot of caveats! In this episode, we'll talk about what kinds of things to do if you're thinking about buying property, how to make sure your team is working for you and supportive of your business, and barriers…
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It's an oldie but a goodie! We're currently releasing episodes at a slower cadence and re-sharing some old favorites. In this 2020 episode, Jenni and Wudan address the question they get asked most frequently by aspiring and full-time freelance writers alike: How and where do you find good freelance writing assignments? They share their favorite met…
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Welcome to season 5 of The Writers' Co-op! This season, we're slowing things down a bit because Jenni will be stepping away for maternity leave come June through the end of September, and Wudan will be on the Pacific Crest Trail for a month this summer. For now ‘til then, we’ll drop new episodes, at least one each month, mixed in with re-runs of ou…
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Today we’re talking about a subject that’s near and dear to Jenni's heart: getting laid off. At this point, being laid off feels like a rite of passage, particularly in the media space. Jenni herself was laid off in 2018 as part of a restructuring at her job, and she knows from personal experience how grief-filled the experience can be as you grapp…
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This week on the show, we’re talking about yet another issue we may all run into: being people pleasers. In some ways, people-pleasing feels inherent to being a freelancer. After all, we get hired by our clients, and then we help clients with their projects. Or even if we’re pitching journalism stories, we’re still creating a story for someone else…
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Today we're talking all about how to take an extended leave from your business when you’re preparing for a baby, surgery, illness, or any other kind of caretaking. We're purposefully keeping the lens of this episode wide because we want this to be helpful to anyone who needs to step away from their freelance business for an extended period of time,…
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Today we're talking about how to stop yourself from overbooking your freelance assignment roster. And we know, that description may raise a doubtful eyebrow or two – but we promise you, it’s possible! In this episode, we dig into the myriad reasons why freelancers tend to overbook, like: We’re in a scarcity mindset and think that more work will nev…
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Welcome to the new year! We’re back from our holiday break and getting ready to dive into all that 2022 has to offer. Today we are focusing on answering audience questions! We do a Q&A episode each season, and the questions get better each time. This episode, we’re digging into: Why agencies can be helpful for jumpstarting your career as a new free…
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In this episode, we address a topic that freelancers don’t talk about enough: getting to a place of neutrality and sustainability in your business. Many of you who follow the podcast may remember Wudan talking (a lot!) about burnout earlier this year. Suddenly, she felt like there wasn’t much more space for her to grow as a freelancer. She was alre…
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You asked and we're giving it to you: Today, we're finally digging into the obsession with being a six-figure freelancer. The bottom line for us is that the only people who truly care about our finances are the families we’re supporting... and our accountants! But when someone talks about 5-figure months or 6-figure years on Twitter, everything see…
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As the holiday season approaches, you might be anticipating a bit of a lull in your freelance business. Perhaps you're planning to take time off, or perhaps you're excited to work on your own stuff while your inbox quiets down. Whatever your approach, we're using the next few episodes of season 4 to talk about ways to shift and grow your business i…
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We're back, this time digging into limiting beliefs. These are beliefs that get in the way of you achieving what you want to achieve; usually, they come from people other than ourselves. They can be stereotype-based ("starving artists don't make money!"), fear-based ("there's not enough work out there for all of us") and can come from our upbringin…
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Welcome to the 4th season of TWC, where Jenni and Wudan will dig into persistent themes and issues that we haven't had time to cover in seasons past. During this season, anything goes! We’re kicking off this string of episodes with a conversation about value. Writers and creatives often grow up in a world where their work isn’t valued. See: the jou…
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We're wrapping up season 3 with a chat about balancing your passion projects with work that pays the bill. Wudan digs in with freelancer Joshua Eaton. Joshua is an investigative reporter based in Washington DC. Prior to freelancing, he was on investigative teams at CQ Roll Call and Think Progress. His work has also appeared at NBC News, The Washing…
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Burnout may be common for freelancers and small business owners, but you don't have to live with it. If you've listened to TWC episodes before, you know that Wudan and Jenni believe that time off, and the introspection required to combat burnout-related patterns, are key to running a sustainable business. And that's what Jenni is chatting about on …
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This week’s episode is sponsored by Lili. Lili is the first online bank account specifically designed for freelancers, where you can manage both your personal and business finances, all from the same place. With Lili, you can organize all your purchases the same way you organize your dating preferences, by swiping left for life and right for work. …
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For so many of us, marketing can feel like the trickiest part of being a freelancer. How do you sell your services in a way that feels authentic? How do you even get in touch with what is authentic? How can you make yourself stand out in a sea of people who are offering the same things? In this episode, we dive into those marketing questions with f…
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Building a freelance career can feel directionless; there are no set rules about where to go. But Jenni and Wudan have both built their own careers (and helped other people craft theirs) by pivoting when they hit moments of confusion or frustration. We’re calling these moments inflection points. An inflection is a slight change in tone, and every p…
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Here's the thing: If you're only offering one service in your freelance business, you're probably on the train to burnout town. What's better? Offering a few (related) services, which helps you pivot when things get wild (hi, pandemic) and allows you to shift when you're feeling low-energy or craving something more vulnerable. This week's coaching …
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If you’ve ever struggled with asking for more money or better terms from a client, this episode is for you. Jenni sits down with Jennifer Barton, a freelance writer, editor and copywriter from New York City. She currently lives in London and has contributed essays and features to a range of publications including The Telegraph magazines, The Indepe…
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