About Heidi (The Happy Freelancer)
My name is Heidi, and I am a Happy Freelancer.
Being a happy freelancer isn’t just about making money (although that’s a big part of it). It’s about making decisions that are good for you; decisions that make you happy. I think that money isn’t necessarily the first thing on a person’s mind when she goes into freelancing. After all, when you’re a freelancer there is no guaranteed income. I think people get into freelancing for a variety of reasons. Those include being their own boss, setting their own hours, following their dream and doing what they love. But, implied in that is that they want to be happy.
Unfortunately, economics sometimes get in the way of being happy. We take on a couple of clients that require long hours and don’t pay well. We set ourselves up by setting our rates too low to live off of. We say we want flexible hours and then we work 20 hours a day, including weekends, slaving over the computer even when we’re so sick we should be in bed (or the hospital!).
That’s why being a happy freelancer is about more than money. I won’t neglect money on this blog–after all, happiness does involve being able to live off what you do. But it is about the decisions we make while we earn money as freelancers. Some of this might seem like common knowledge, but occasionally we all need someone to gently remind us why we do what we do—and how we just might be a bit happier doing it.
About Heidi
When I was eight years old, I was the runner-up in a local Hallowe’en writing contest. My story was read on local radio, although unfortunately I didn’t hear it because we listened to the wrong radio station. But, I did win a hat, so it was the first time I was compensated for my writing. In high school, a poem I wrote was included on placemats at a local restaurant. I got a good grade on the poem. I graduated from a writing program to ensure that from now on, my compensation for writing amounts to more than hats and placemats. I am a freelance writer, editor and consultant. My life is pretty good. I am definitely happy but I’m still learning to make decisions that help me to be even happier.
My website is heiditurner.ca
Oct 19, 2011 @ 13:25:21
Great blog and great advice for writers! :)
Oct 19, 2011 @ 16:26:45
Thanks for visiting and for the comments.
Jul 17, 2011 @ 22:11:39
Hi Heidi – This is a wonderful blog – of course that does not surprise me after meeting with you.
Cheers Susan Carr
Jul 17, 2011 @ 22:10:28
Hi Heidi – I love your blog – It is just like you – excellent.
Susan Carr
Jul 25, 2011 @ 11:41:51
Thanks for stopping by, Susan. I appreciate it. I really enjoyed meeting you last week.
Jan 28, 2011 @ 09:15:01
Hi Heidi, I love your blog!
I really hope we can keep in touch, and maybe you can pass by to my blog sometimes and leave me some comment! That will be great for me! I would love to hear from you on two specific post if you don’t mind:
“When you blog in a language that is not yours” http://wp.me/pXsUB-ye
and “Nothing feel like a book in your hands” http://wp.me/pXsUB-CP
Thank you so much!
elenasc.wordpress.com
Nov 16, 2010 @ 07:14:15
Dear Heidi Turner,
My name is Eric and I am a Media Buyer at Grammarly.com. I found your website through a keyword search where your web property’s rank was high and well-targeted for our product. Therefore, I would like to discuss potential options for an advertising campaign on your website.
Grammarly.com is the world’s leading writing support solution, with over 300,000 users around the world. Grammarly is based on a market-leading technology that, by one click, can fix all your grammar problems, spelling mistakes and otherwise automatically proofread your texts. I believe that your website, with its compelling content proposition and great design, could be a perfect fit to market Grammarly writing support solutions. Accordingly, I would like to speak with someone from your organization about a potential cooperation. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience to discuss this further.
I look forward to a lucrative business relationship and keenly await your reply.
Jun 24, 2010 @ 05:15:09
Hi Heidi,
Love your blog!
I look forward to following it.
Kevin
Jun 24, 2010 @ 13:08:46
Thanks, Kevin. I’ve really enjoyed your blog, too. I love baseball!
Jun 05, 2010 @ 12:31:21
I am a recent graduate of the Université de Sherbrooke where I obtained a B.A in English and Intercultural Studies. My last job was a web editor for Pratt and Whitney Canada. Would I have the qualifications to become a freelance writer, despite my lack of experience in freelancing, and if so, do you know good places where inexperienced writers can apply?
Jun 05, 2010 @ 15:10:05
Hi Simon,
You absolutely have the qualifications to be a freelance writer. Most people start with little experience in freelancing. The key is to start marketing yourself. There are also some questions you should ask yourself: Do you want to be a periodical writer, business writer or both? Then figure out which areas in each you enjoy writing about. There are some fantastic books to help you get started in freelancing. My favourite is Paul Lima’s book “The Six-Figure Freelancer: How to Find, Price and Manage Corporate Writing Assignments,” which you can find at his website, http://www.paullima.com. He gives excellent advice on choosing sectors to write for, how to market yourself and how to write your business plan. I highly recommend it for any freelance writer.
Feel free to let me know if you have other questions. I’ll do my best to answer them. Good luck in your freelancing career!
Jun 06, 2010 @ 07:38:19
Hello Heidi
Thank you very much for the advice, I think it will be very useful.
You have a great site.
Simon
Apr 29, 2010 @ 16:40:26
My name is Amanda, and I’m a bored (and broke!) freelancer. What gives?!
Mar 22, 2010 @ 20:47:07
Hi Heidi,
Was interested to find your website via your tweets, which was via Steve Slaunwhite’s tweets. Nice site, and your writing is very engaging. What sort of writing do you do, is it advertising copywriting? I just bought “The Wealthy Freelancer” myself but haven’t started reading it yet, as I’m still finishing Slaunwhite’s other book called “Start and Run A Copywriting Business.” Would love to exchange thoughts about TWF though when I get to reading it. You can find me on Twitter, I’m @MikeCopywriter. Hope you have a great day.