Let’s say you just wrote a book on how you lost 50 pounds by going vegan. Join forces with your local vegan restaurant, and get a few people to co-present with you:

• the restaurant chef, who will talk about fab vegan recipes and offer cooking samples
• an integrative medicine practitioner who will talk about how you can manage or eliminate a cholesterol problem and other ailments, by going vegan
• a local organic farm representative, who can talk about “the box,” organic farms, and other options for bulking up on fruits and veggies
• a jazz trio to round out the evening with some awesome music while people munch on vegan goodies.

You can, of course, charge for the event, to cover costs. In addition, get some relevant local groups, or local chapters of national groups, to co-sponsor the event. In this case, local chapters of the American Heart Association and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, along with a local Meetup.com vegan group, would do the trick. Co-sponsoring with these organizations makes the event more relevant to your local community, and therefore, of greater interest to local media.

While there is never any guarantee of what editors and producers will go for, this kind of an event follows the formula for what will get their attention.

Editors and producers are always planning ahead, and they want to profile authors or feature book reviews during the month or week of the book release. So plan out your marketing strategy with enough lead time to pitch and send review copies to editors and producers – to ensure you have the greatest chance of getting media attention.

1. Primary Income

Whether it’s because you love to write; you need a job with flexible hours; or you want to be your own boss, you’re looking to support yourself and/or your family through freelance writing. In this case, seek out the writing jobs that pay the most amount of money for the least amount of time & effort – whether that proves to be tech writing for computer companies, ghostwriting for private clients, or copywriting for advertising corporations. Strive to work multiple times for a few clients — rather than a few times for multiple clients. Strong relationships encourage a regular flow of work.

2. Supplementary Income

Payment is important, but not pivotal to your work as a freelance writer. So be sure to balance out your need for income with your thirst for any of the following…

3. Political Power

You seek a platform for your ideas and strive to effect social change. Publish articles in newspapers and magazines — working your way up from the small, independent periodicals (where your message will reach thousands), to the large, corporate ones (where your message will reach millions). To get your foot in the door, start off targeting periodicals that will be receptive to your ideas — i.e., preach to the choir. Once you’ve established yourself as a writer on your topic of choice, you’ll have more success branching out to communities that really need to hear your message.

4. Artistic Pleasure

Whether through poetry or prose, fiction or non-fiction, you write for self-expression. For creative writing, direct your work to literary magazines and journals. For some combination of creative writing and reporting, direct your work to the non-fiction periodicals linked above (see #1). Keep in mind that you’ll have more room for creative expression when writing lifestyle-oriented features than when doing straight-up news reporting.

5. Education & Enrichment

You write as a means of learning about and experiencing the world: You want to be up front & center where all the action is – working with the politicians, scientists, and artists shaping our society today. Once you’ve chosen your focus topics, there are numerous options available to you — such as writing grant proposals for cutting-edge nonprofits, copywriting for leading biotech companies, or writing journalistic articles on subjects that interest you.

When did you first get interested in writing?

From the time I was a kid, writing came pretty easily to me, and I was often complimented on my work. I was in no danger of excelling at sports, math, or really anything else, so I seized on my writing ability as my one true talent.

How did you get into freelancing?

My son was born in 1986. My wife had a regular 9-to-5, and I had wanted to freelance, so I decided to stay home and try it. I pitched a piece to The Washington Post’s Sunday magazine, and the editor liked it. I wrote for The Post for about five years, then branched out to other publications for the next 15 years.

Did you have formal training?

I did go to journalism school, but the main way I learned was via my poverty: I had to make money as a writer from the time I was a sophomore in college, just to make ends meet; so I started freelancing like crazy for anyone and everyone. I would just study existing articles and work from that format. It’s not difficult if you have some natural gifts and are motivated.

Why did you stick with freelancing?

I loved being my own boss, choosing my own subjects, and getting to learn from the best people in the business — yet having the freedom to move on if a given situation grew claustrophobic, or a more interesting opportunity popped up elsewhere. I almost never took assignments. I generated my own ideas and pitched them, which had two major advantages: I only wrote about those things that truly interested me, and I spared overworked editors the need to dream up good ideas — which made me valuable to them.

What do you have to say to untrained writers?

Three-quarters of “writing chops” is simply the willingness to do it. Many people want to be professional writers. Few have the discipline to actually sit and create. It is hard, and you must be wiling to be edited. Some people just have too much ego to handle a big, black “X” through their favorite paragraph!

What was one of the coolest things about your freelance career?

I wrote hundreds of articles that had the potential to make the world better. Once I wrote about the world’s only surgeon who specialized in making people with dwarfism syndromes able to walk. Many people found this man through my article, and his surgery allowed them to walk. He said to me, “You will never know all of the good that story has done.” The scenario repeated, with variations, dozens of times in my career.

Before becoming the editorial director of DrWeil.com, where did you freelance?

Parade, Reader’s Digest, Psychology Today, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Discover, Body and Soul, This Old House, and many others. I also co-wrote some books: It’s Not What Happens to You, It’s What You Do About It, Thos. Moser, Artistry in Wood, and The Complete Tightwad Gazette.

At your peak, what was your income from freelancing?

It is a tough way to get rich. In my best year, I made about $80,000 from magazines. You have to write awfully fast to make even that much.

How did your freelance work lead to your editorial position?

I wrote about Dr. Andrew Weil for both Discover and Body and Soul magazine. We formed a friendship, so when his company needed an editorial director, I had a natural entry point.

What are the major dos & don’ts you advise when working with editors?

Listen. Take direction. Don’t take it personally. I used to work with a guy who crossed out whole paragraphs and wrote “YUK!” in the margin. If that frosts you, stick to PR or teaching English.

Anything else you’d like to share with aspiring freelancers?

It takes great courage to face a blank page, fill it with words, and submit it to an editor. But the writer/editor dance is one of the things that distinguishes real writing from the random logorrhea of blogging. I have had the experience of working with editors and making something truly special — far better than either of us could have dreamed of creating individually.

Freelancing is a good way to have an interesting life. When people tell me about the mind-numbing jobs they do decade after decade, I am appalled. If you like rampaging around and seeing what there is to see, be a freelancer.

1. Set Up an Ergonomically-Correct Office

Before you run out to purchase that beautiful desk in the store window, spend time researching the latest on how to create a healthy workstation. Make sure you know the kind of furniture to get and the best way to set it up.

2. Purchase a Hands-Free Phone

“Look Ma: No hands!” Purchase a phone with a headset jack. Not only will using a headset allow you to conduct interviews in the most ergonomically-friendly way possible (kiss your neck strain goodbye), but it will also enable you to clean the dishes, do your laundry, and make a sandwich while catching up with friends. Talk about efficient!

3. Protect Your Wrists

Tendonitis, bursitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are all Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs) common to writers. Learn effective strategies for preventing these conditions.

4. Rethink Your Mouse

The WACOM Graphire tablet can be ordered with a mouse replacement that works like a pen, thereby greatly reducing the strain on one’s wrist. I got one a decade ago and never looked back!

5. Prevent Injury Flare-Up

If you already have wrist pain, consider ordering deluxe wrist braces with gel. Alternately, if your wrist pain is beyond the help of wrist braces, consider purchasing voice-activated software.

6. Take Breaks & Stretch Regularly

Put down the mouse and step away from the computer! If you’re like me, you get so involved in writing that you just can’t tear yourself away. That’s why I keep a pitcher of water or pot of tea by my side at all times: The more I drink, the more Nature calls – forcing me to get up and move around. Beyond that, it’s just a healthy habit to drink water regularly. While you’re up and about, be sure to do some basic stretches.

7. Try Yoga

A 10 minute sequence of yoga postures is one of the best ways to give your body a break from hunching over the computer and typing madly all day. If you’re new to yoga, be sure to research the basics — like why it’s important to take a beginning class and where to find the right teacher for you. If you’ve had basic yoga experience, however, consider using a video to guide you through poses in your living room

1. Use a Health Insurance Agent

Because health insurance agents are independent from insurance providers, they won’t have a hidden agenda of getting you to choose a particular plan. What’s more, health insurance agents are informed about the many options out there, so they can help you quickly hone in on what’s best for you. Check out the National Association of Health Underwriters to find some independent agents in your area.

2. Consult with eHealthInsurance

eHealthInsurance has a full range of plans to choose from, and you can compare them side-by-side. Quotes depend on the area where you live.

3. Explore Association Health Plans (AHPs)

Association Health Plans are organizations that have a health insurance option, but that do not sell insurance as their primary function. One example is the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). AHPs don’t offer the best coverage, so they may be a bad choice if you have ongoing health concerns. On the plus side, it’s easier to get accepted into AHPs, and they have lower premiums. Find out more about the pros & cons before contacting an AHP.

4. Contact Freelance Writers Organizations

Freelance writers organizations offer group insurance policies in some states, as well as guidance on where to find policies out of these areas. Media Bistro and National Writers Union are good places to start. Just keep in mind you’ll have to join to get access to the health benefits.

From journalistic reporting to technical writing and editing to proofreading, you can get paid for many different writing styles. Discover the possibilities through an interview with Mike Chen, who does it all and does it well.

Why do you offer so many different services? Why not focus on one or two?

The more services I can offer, the more jobs I am capable of taking, and the less I have to search for work.

What are the similarities and differences between each of your lines of work?

Copywriting, journalism, and ghostwriting are similar in that you try to generate an emotional response, and good marketing copy tells a story — even in a few words. All those lines of work are on the creative side. Tech writing and business plan writing are both rather dry; those are more about pace, accuracy, and content. White paper writing blends the tone of tech writing and the emotional response of copywriting. Proofreading is more of a mechanical gig.

What kind of training is required for various lines of work?

You don’t need an English degree, but you have to like writing and be willing to work at it — through blogging, creative writing, reporting, whatever. You need to get used to writing fast, with a certain style.

As far as tech writing, an engineering degree has helped me intuitively pick up the logical process of an assignment, even when it’s in a field I’m not terribly familiar with. Though my degree is in mechanical engineering, my tech writing has been all over the map — used in the fields of software, hardware, semiconductors, and medical devices, for example.

As far as business plan writing, I had to look at a lot of sample business plans to understand patterns within each document. Every business plan I’ve written has been different, though, and clients have wanted different extra touches here and there. One client, for example wanted success stories to start each section of his business plan, so creative writing came into play there.

Is it hard juggling these different approaches to a writing career?

I don’t think so. I think it keeps things fresh, but then again, I get bored pretty easily. I like being able to jump from web content for a health spa, over to a white paper for a piece of hardware, over to an article for a non-profit. I think that by mixing different industries and different project types, you really get a sense of how far you can push your skills. I’ve learned that there are certain areas that I can’t get into, and I’ve also learned that I can pull off some stuff I used to think was impossible.

Does it otherwise enhance your career to have your hands in many different pots?

When dealing with small businesses, the answer is yes. They love having someone who can advise them on so many different things. It gives them a level of flexibility and trust with me as a vendor. It also allows me to advertise to different niches and sectors based on what’s going on at the time.

In your experience, which lines of work pay the most money?

Probably marketing copy, but that’s if you’re looking at a per-word basis, since you’re always trying to streamline the message there. I charge by the hour for tech writing, and depending on research, you can get a lot of billable hours — even though you’re just clicking through someone’s software. I think I’m most efficient at writing articles, so if you’re looking at hourly rate, that probably gives me the best pay.

Which of these lines of work do you enjoy most?

I like them all for different reasons. Web content is always interesting — just because there are so many businesses out there, and you learn a lot about random things. Tech writing projects tickle the engineering part of my brain. Article writing is fun, because I get to tell a story and push for that emotional response. I’d say business plans and instructions are probably the most dry.

How did you become a freelance writer?

While I was working as an engineer, I began writing sports articles for fun. Then I enrolled in some tech writing classes and got a tech writing job pretty fast – just out of dumb luck. I started freelancing after reading Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer, and things kind of grew from there.

How and why did you branch out in so many different directions as a freelancer?

I began receiving inquiries about project types I’d never done before. After getting a few requests for, say, business plans, I figured I might as well look into it — to see if I could add it to my arsenal of skills.

If you were to advise a potential freelancer on how much money to expect in the first, second, and third year, what would you say?

You’ll be surprised how fast money comes in when you’re really looking for work. I think it’s feasible to basically double your revenue and clientele from year one to year two and year two to year three. At that point, you’ll probably start to max your time out, so it will be more about determining what your rates are and finding other income streams, such as consulting.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to aspiring freelance writers?

Build your portfolio by volunteering for non-profits. You’ll help a good cause, get great references, and have diverse pieces.

In your book, All in My Head, you describe the day you got Chronic Daily Headache. Please recount that moment.

It seemed to start one afternoon, when I put in my left contact lens and felt it trigger a sharp stabbing pain, which radiated from the surface of the eye to deep behind it. It felt like someone had put broken glass in the eye. I took the contacts out, but the pain stayed for the rest of the day. After that, the sensation happened every time I put in contacts — even though I kept trying new pairs, and the ophthalmologist said the eye looked fine. Then the pain started reappearing on its own, even without any time of outside irritation. It became more frequent and with a longer duration, until it transformed into one constant headache — “The Headache.”

Looking back, I see that I was getting headaches more frequently before the contact lens incident. But that incident was the first time that I really knew something was not right. I now realize that my nerves in and around the eye were becoming more and more sensitive over time. This is often the case with chronic illness: It indeed builds slowly, but we all have one incident where it seems to have suddenly started.

While my problem may sound freakish, I’m far from alone with what has come to be known as the Chronic Daily Headache. About four percent of the population has a headache every day, and half a percent has it constantly. Most of the sufferers are women, meaning it’s often not taken very seriously by doctors. And more recent statistics indicate these numbers may be much higher, with women typically underreporting the problem to doctors.

As with many people, my problem came on following a period of stress, when my immune system was down. (I had just finished my first book under extreme deadline pressure.) For others, Chronic Daily Headache happens after a period of illness. Typically, the teens and early 20s – when my Headache began — are when the onset of pain and fatigue happen.

How did suddenly having Chronic Daily Headache affect your capacity to work in general and write in particular?

After The Headache started, I kept seeing more and more doctors and taking more and more medications, expecting my condition to go away within weeks. But the drugs only made things worse: I began feeling hazy and drugged up, as well as in constant pain. Of course, that made writing nearly impossible. At the time, I had another book contract with a bigger publisher, and the book was due in a year — December of 1992. I did not panic at the time, which was the Fall of 1991, thinking a year was a luxurious amount of time to do a book. I did my previous book in about six months, from start to finish.

But the months started to pass. 1991 became 1992, and I became overwhelmed with the magnitude of this problem. It was the first time in my life I was not able to overcome a problem through sheer force of will. It was bigger than I. Besides, with chronic pain new to me,I had not yet learned how to manage it. Making matters worse, I was relatively unaware of my body, used to living in my own head — a common state for writers. I did not yet know which behaviors (like staying up very late) made Chronic Daily Headache worse; I did not know how to say no to people; and I did not know how to conserve my energy. I was also in utter denial of The Headache, doing things like planning too many activities, then having to cancel everything else that week when I crashed. In addition, I was very depressed — as anyone would be, going through such a struggle. This is why the first few years of a chronic illness are often the worst: The illness tears your world apart, and you have not yet made any other structure to replace it.

How did Chronic Daily Headache impact your ability to survive economically?

I was making very little money. I did take on seemingly well-paying freelance assignments for two glossy women’s magazines, but those fell through, as they often do, with capricious editors changing their mind at the last minute about what they wanted. I got two kill fees for 20% of the original commission, which was almost nothing for a few months of work and time spent away from my second book.

I continued freelancing for a newspaper and some alternative papers, which paid almost nothing. I had done that work a lot, before The Headache — while first out of college and living with my parents. But while trying to support myself, I spent two weeks on one article and only got $150. What’s more, the magazine wouldn’t even compensate me for the book I had to buy to do the article, saying that I “should have that book anyway” in my library. I realized that this kind of freelance writing had become impossible once I was on my own. On top of that, when I could least afford it, my expenses went up — what with all the doctors and tests, not to mention the need for more conveniences. When traveling for work, for example, I couldn’t take an early flight, because I felt worse in the morning; so I’d have to take a later flight, which was more expensive.

I came to realize that with The Headache, I could not support myself as a freelance journalist. Before The Headache, the life had worked, because I was super fast and “productive” – for example, producing a book in six months and living off its $10,000 advance. But after The Headache, my advance for the second book depleted immediately, despite the fact that it was more money than the first advance.

As the months passed, things got worse. I tried other ways of making money, which all failed. The low point was going to a temp job and answering phones, then being demoted to the mail room! I was in great pain that day and couldn’t keep up with the pace of the phones.

My next plan was applying for grants, which ended up being too time-consuming with very little reward. By then, I was getting help from my parents, who are not rich. But they still gave me about $1,000/month and paid for my car and health insurance. I knew I was lucky to have middle-class parents. My writing career would have ended right there and then, if not for them.

But I knew their help could not last forever. While I should have been easier on myself, excusing a period of weakness, I hated to be at all dependent on anyone. Since I was in horrific pain, I decided to do freelance transcription, which worked out better than writing. Even when in pain, I realized, my freakishly fast typing skills still worked. So I spent 1995 starting a transcription business, in addition to a business of lecturing at colleges about my first book on feminism and another business to write much higher paying corporate newsletter stories. I also got off all drugs, which I realized were impairing my writing more than the pain.

The year off writing was successful and gave me a foundation and peace of mind to work on the second book. Since then, I’ve been living on a combination of income from the transcription business, lecturing, corporate writing, and advances from my third and fourth books. The formula always fluctuates, but it works.

In what ways is it freelance writing a disability-friendly profession, for people with Chronic Daily Headache and other disabilities?

Freelancing can be ideal, because you usually can work on your own terms, when you feel best. For example, if you feel worse in the morning, which is common for those with pain and fatigue, work later on in the day. What I found, through interviewing others with Chronic Daily Headache, is that the main variable for happiness in life is being self employed and having control over when we work.

In what ways is freelance writers especially challenging, for people with Chronic Daily Headache and other disabilities?

Well, you have to be able to say no and to know your limits. That means saying no to an entire job you can’t handle, or saying no to turning in an assignment earlier than you had originally agreed. That can be challenging because any kind of freelance work is often feast or famine, and it could be hard to turn down a feast time.

Obviously everyone’s disabilities are different, but what are some of your general tips for maximizing freelance work when disabled?

1. Ideally, do something other than writing to earn money, so you won’t burn out when it comes time to your real writing.
2. The exception to that is corporate writing, such as doing newsletters or corporate reports, which do pay much more hourly than the more glamorous magazine writing, and with less competition. Don’t worry that you’re “selling out!” It’s a means for an end. If you’re really a socially conscious type, you can also do writing for non-profits, such as grant writing.
3. Conserve your brain energy and be picky in taking freelance assignments. Don’t write just to write. Do an article or book only if you’re really interested in it or if it will advance your career.
4. Moving at your own pace, without judgment, is the key. Don’t judge yourself as being “productive” only if you work fast. If you work slowly but steadily, you will be amazed at how much you get done in the long-term. This was my style for my third and fourth books, which I actually produced relatively quickly in the long term, although the writing felt slow at the time.
5. Do not judge yourself if you need financial help from someone like a partner or parent, or even the government. Everyone has a time in their life when they are dependent, but we often forget that. Besides, there is almost no writer who has made it totally on their own; if you peel away a layer, you usually find some covert source of help (trust fund, husband, etc.).

What are your tips for dealing with the uncertainty and fear around being a disabled freelance writer — ie, with no net?

Not having to rely solely on freelance journalism has greatly reduced the stress in my life. This is true even with my third and fourth books, which have gotten much better advances. I know, from the experience of my second book (which I resold to another publisher), that books often get rejected, and then you have to give the advance back. Until a book is officially accepted and published, I see the advance as a loan. I also have less stress knowing that I can afford to stop working on it if it starts to adversely affect my health, which is always the most important consideration.

How and why did you choose to write a book about Chronic Daily Headache?

I saw it as an amazing opportunity to learn more about Chronic Daily Headache — its causes and how to manage it. Before, all books I saw on headaches were by doctors promising relief through drugs, which did not work for me. Or, on the other side of the coin, I saw books by alternative-medicine people who over-promised, saying I’d get an instant cure with their method. In reality, most chronic illnesses are not curable, and people need to learn how to live with their illnesses as best they can.

Some of writing the book was a consumer focus, to keep patients more savvy, and practitioners more accountable to not ripping off desperate patients, who will do and pay anything to get their old lives back. I also wanted to provide comfort to others like me feeling very freakish and isolated and shamed about their problem. While the stereotype of our culture is to blame pain and fatigue problems on the patient being “hysterical,” I saw the opposite, of such people hiding their problems and purely blaming themselves.

In general, how can the struggles and triumphs of living with disability be turned into freelance writing material?

We need much more writing about the daily struggles and triumphs of living with disability. Right now, we only have stories about disability or illness when the person has cured himself (Lance Armstrong winning like, twenty, Tour de Frances, after getting cancer) or killed herself (Hillary Swank character in “Million Dollar Baby,” who couldn’t stand being disabled after an accident).

Chronic illness and disability is a vastly under-addressed topic, which is now starting to finally change with some shame-lifting. In the past, people have tried to hide such problems, but now we’re in a beginning movement to see them not as moral weaknesses, but as a part of the diversity of who humans are. Some people need to work at a slower pace, some are gay, some are black, some are tall, etc. We especially need more first-person accounts about pain and fatigue disorders, which are mainly experienced by women, and have thus been stigmatized as “all in our heads.”

What does it feel like to use your Chronic Daily Headache experiences as writing material?

Writing my book, All in My Head, which was part memoir, part journalism and part dark humor, was vastly rewarding. I know from the emails I’ve received that I’ve reached my main goal of letting people know they are not alone and that there is still hope, even in the worst of circumstances, to have a productive and meaningful life with the pain. I did not offer any miracle cures, but they were still emboldened with the message that life can go on, and be pretty good, even when a cure doesn’t happen. We need more stories out there about people sharing coping strategies and showing what fulfillment they do have, despite challenges. We need to write about what we still can do, not just what we can’t. I also have been very rewarded seeing the parents and friends of those with Chronic Daily Headache reading the book and gaining new empathy and understanding of it.

At first, when the book came out, I admit that I felt very exposed and strange. Because it’s invisible, pain is often not hard to hide from others. And I had been “in the closet” about it for 15 years, with only close friends knowing about it. I did feel most sensitive to being exposed to colleagues, whom you want to see you strong. The toughest moment was a review in a hometown paper, which exaggerated how dependent I had become. In our culture, being dependent is the ultimate shame – more, for example, than exposing any type of sexual proclivity.

But then I was relieved to not have the stress of hiding The Headache. When I went on the book tour for All in My Head, I could freely tell the publicist that I had to set a slow pace and have only one event a day — instead of many, like I’d done with the first two books. That made the tour much more enjoyable, and unlike before, I wasn’t a wreck when I got home.

Please talk more about the ways your reality as a disabled person has become integrated with your work as a freelance writer.

While I wish I never had Chronic Daily Headache, I’m now a much more reflective and empathetic person, which only is an asset for writing. I also am much pickier about what I write about, not writing just to write or even for money. (My other revenue sources take care of that.) I know my energy is limited, so I do only what is worth that energy. That requires much focus and ability to say “no” to some projects. I’m a much better boundary setter now!

Is there anything else you want to say to freelance writers with disabilities?

Figuring out the balance between writing and income-earning is always a work in progress, even by the day. You have to constantly adapt to external forces, such as personal connections, fluctuating energy levels, the market, your interests, a greater new expense you may have. Don’t see that as a negative. That’s all just part of the process of living life more on your own terms and setting your own boundaries.