An Untethered Life The Commodification of Writing Hi Reader, There's a war being fought in the online writing space. On one side are the writers - and their allies - doing their best to demonstrate their value as unique, distinguishable providers of a premium product. On the other side are the forces doing everything they can to reduce writing to a commodity. The consequences of the war will be dramatic. If the writers win, we all have an economic future doing what we love to do. If we lose,...
8 days ago • 3 min read
An Untethered Life A Technique for Defeating Writer's Block Hi Reader, Whether you're writing copy and content for money (as I do), writing on a schedule on social media, or creating a newsletter, you're going to find that deadlines and client demands invariably conflict with your internal motivation. You're going to run into periods of time where you don't feel like writing but you've just gotta get stuff down on paper. I'm stuck in one of those (prolonged) stretches as we speak. Unlike my...
15 days ago • 3 min read
An Untethered Life A (Mini) Freelance Writing Industry Roadmap Hi Reader, The freelance writing industry is a bit of a Wild West. There are a ton of different paths you can take: full-time, side-hustle, content, copy, social media, blogging, grant writing, etc. The possibilities and combinations are endless. And how you approach the forks in the road as you wander down your own unique path will depend on what you're looking for from your writing and your particular skillset. In today's email,...
22 days ago • 3 min read
An Untethered Life Beware The Writing Coaches Hello Reader, Last week, I emailed someone requesting that I be added as a writer to a publication on Medium so I could submit a story for consideration. I got a friendly and timely reply saying that I'd been added. I went ahead and submitted my story, which was accepted and published. Great, right? Well, not so fast. Apparently the editor of this publication promptly added me to his mailing list. He wasted no time as he began pitching what I...
29 days ago • 4 min read
An Untethered Life How New Writers Can Find Opportunity On Upwork Hello Reader, My freelance writing career started on Upwork, a well-known freelance platform. I started by picking up a few poorly paid gigs and bagged a handful of positive reviews. That experience slowly snowballed into better and better clients paying more and more money for higher quality gigs. But there was nothing accidental about my progression from low-paid gig work to long-term and lucrative client engagements. I...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
An Untethered Life How To Build An Online Writing Business (From Scratch) Hi Reader, There are a million and one ways to build an online writing business. And while there isn't a single "best" way or one-size-fits-all solution, there are a few principles you should keep in mind when you're launching one. This newsletter is about those very foundational basics. The things you absolutely need to establish before you're likely to earn any money from your online writing. The Framework The...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
an untethered life The Supersized Consequences of Tiny Decisions Hi Reader, Back when I was a prosecutor in northern Canada, I got an up-close look at the consequences of some pretty bad decisions. And what struck me about a lot of the situations that ended up on my caseload was that they often began with small, seemingly routine choices. The choice to engage in an argument spiraled into a fight that got out of control and wound up with someone really hurt. The choice to check a text message...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Steven Toews, JD, MBA A curated selection of Medium posts from this week This week's been a productive one for me on Medium. Here's a sample of what I've published since Sunday, July 7. Recent stories This Is The Email I Send To New Freelance Clients To Clarify Our Agreements It prevents disputes and gets me paid, on time and in full Read article Should Freelancers Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements? The downsides of freelance NDAs and what to do about them Read article How To Market Your Premium...
2 months ago • 1 min read