There's a great book by Seth Godin called Purple Cow. It's about being remarkable and how we should aim for this in business because being boring doesn't get you noticed, you're left blended into the crowd. Vanilla rather than Marmite. Take Banksy, for example. He's...

When Amazon started, 25 years ago, Jeff Bezos made his intentions clear in six letters: Amazon's name. He didn't call it book.com (assuming that domain name was still available at the time) or similar. Instead, he chose the name of the world's greatest river, which...

Yesterday I wrote about how contingency planning can help to avoid sticky situations. What I forgot to add was a word about scheduling simple tasks that technology can do for you. So when I'm approaching a trip away, and I want these blog posts to continue to go out...

When going on holiday or travelling for work, freelancing for a living requires a bit of extra planning. There are the normal scheduled tasks to think of and accommodate while you're away, as well as unexpected, urgent requests from clients that always come up. So to...

As a sub-editor, I rarely have to rip anything to pieces and start again (I've done it to my own work a few times, mind) but here's a brief list of things I do: Check all facts for accuracy Ensure the same fact isn't stated twice Avoid repetition of words in a single...

Here's a clue abut my work as a sub-editor. It's the point Mark Twain (or was it Blaise Pascal?) was making when he suggested that it's easier to write many words quickly than fewer but more concisely and precisely. Editing takes time and energy. Hence the variation:...

One reason why I promote freelancing - and there are many - is because it puts you in control. If a client shouldn't get past your Velvet Rope, you have the power to say no. If you no longer enjoy doing a particular type of work, or if it doesn't pay enough, you have...

Successful freelancing takes a certain kind of resilience and an ability to get on with what's available, even when it's not great, and then working for better. Probably worth teaching kids that.   >>>Playlist<<<

I talk and write a little bit about the conversation I had in 2005 with Deenita Pattni, a recruitment specialist, who gave me some of the best advice I've ever had. \ She suggested that I should try to be "more than just a writer", meaning that I should try to acquire...

An early version of this blog was called ForShianaAndMischa.com, which was up and running in 2015. To improve it, I sought the opinions of people throughout the world, rather than friends, family and colleagues who happened to be in the room with me at the time. It...