Ruth Sternberg ✨Certified Career Coach

Authors, a few reminders as the "rush to publish" before the end of the year begins: 📚 Editors and proofreaders book services in advance. Many do not accept rush jobs or "squeezing in" extra work. If you find someone you jive with to work on your book expect that you may have to wait to work with them. 📚 If you're waiting, use that time to draft and revise. Find some trusted free sources to read your book and provide feedback. Friends and family members can be great if you've never had any feedback. Critique groups or partners, or even beta readers, may give you more critical feedback. Both types of feedback are valuable. 📚 Make a plan for publishing. Unless you're a rapid-release author (and those folks are a particular brand—they have their process down pat), you're going to need to plot out your publishing timeline over at least 6 months, especially if you're a first-time author and you're learning the ropes as you go. 📚 Ignore the temptation to rush. I know it feels like you have to get your book into the world right now, but really, you don't. Take your time. You'll thank yourself for it after publication when you have a quality book to show for it and reviews to match. --- Hi, I'm Sarah. 👋 I'm a freelance fiction editor and proofreader. Can you tell I've encountered some authors in a rush to publish lately? 😉 Now booking manuscript reviews, line/copyediting, and proofreading for October through the end of the year. If you're a fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, or romance author desiring to publish a high-quality book, let's chat! 👉 www.sarahfraps.com/contact Image by Stephen Phillips on Unsplash

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“Can we hop on a quick call?” Translation: “I don’t respect your time, I don’t have a clear ask, and I want free consulting without commitment.” Early in my freelance career, I used to say yes to every call. (Ok, it happened until about 5 years ago.) I'd think: What if it’s a big opportunity? What if I offend them by asking for context? 90% of the time, it wasn’t an opportunity. It was a time suck. Calls with no agenda are rarely worth your time. • They’re “picking your brain.” • They’re “exploring ideas.” • They want strategy or ideas without paying. Here’s what works better: ✔️ I ask what the call is for before scheduling. If they can’t articulate it, we don’t book it. ✔️ I pre-qualify my clients on the call-booking form. ✔️ I direct casual inquiries to email. Boundaries = respect. ✔️ I charge for strategy. Always. Because strategy is the work, not the prelude to the work. Freelancers aren’t on-call consultants or vending machines for ideas. We are business owners with booked calendars, processes, and pricing. You don’t need to be “available.” You need to be intentional. What’s your policy on “quick calls”?

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Free quick writing tip: Often, sentences that begin with, “As” become stronger if you eliminate “as” and start with the next word. Examples: “As I turned the corner, I saw my former boss, but he didn’t recognize me.” VS. “I turned the corner and saw my former boss, but he didn’t recognize me.” Here’s another one… “As I scanned the horizon, looking for an answer, I saw no other way.” VS. “I scanned the horizon, looking for an answer. I saw no other way.” Why use more words than you need? Check your sentences beginning with “As…” and see if a little extra magic emerges if you delete that little two-letter word.

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I am often asked why it takes so long to edit a manuscript or grant proposal. Here's why... With every sentence I read in the document, I ask: 🔹 Does the sentence support the core idea and story of the document? 🔹 Does the sentence align with the topic of the paragraph? 🔹 Does the sentence make the point the author intends? 🔹 What does the reader already know and need to know at this point? 🔹 What do I (or the author) want the reader to think after reading this sentence? 🔹 What do I (or the author) want the reader to feel after reading this sentence? 🔹 Are the sentences organized logically? 🔹 How does this sentence connect to the preceding and following sentences? 🔹 Would the sentence be better placed somewhere else in the text? 🔹 Is the sentence parallel internally and with neighboring sentences? 🔹 Is the subject of the sentence clear? 🔹 Is the verb strong and accurate? 🔹 Does the verb agree with the subject? 🔹 Is the verb close to the subject? 🔹 Are the terms consistent with those used elsewhere in the text? 🔹 Is the sentence too long or overloaded with information? 🔹 Does the sentence contain unnecessary nominalizations that can be simplified? 🔹 Does the sentence contain unnecessary noun strings that can be broken up? 🔹 Does the sentence contain any long words that can be changed to shorter words? 🔹 Does the sentence contain the most accurate words for the intended meaning? 🔹 Does the sentence contain wordiness than can be condensed? 🔹 Does the sentence contain redundant or repetitive details? 🔹 Does the sentence use inclusive language? 🔹 Are the words spelled correctly and consistently? 🔹 Is the grammar correct? 🔹 Is the punctuation correct or confusing? 🔹 Could the sentence be written more persuasively? 🔹 Is the tone, formality, and readability appropriate for the intended readers? 🔹 Does the change I want to make maintain the same meaning or strengthen the intended meaning? 🔹 If I make a change to this part of the text, will that change affect another part of the text? 🔹 Is the formatting consistent? 🔹 Does the text align with the required style guide? And all these questions do not include the critical thinking needed to analyze the data, frame the interpretations, and clarify the conclusions made in the text. Editors carry a tremendous cognitive load as they review and revise text. This load takes time, energy, and attention to process and refine. What would you add to this list? #editing #medicalwriting #science

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If your supervisor is editing your writing, with Track Changes turned on, use those edits to help you improve your writing. Don’t just hit “Accept All Changes” and send the document out. Use Track Changes to see—and learn from—the changes made to your writing. Review each change. Try to figure out why it was made. Read any comments. If you see the same issues repeatedly, add them to your personal editing checklist. Then, when you work on your next writing project, use that checklist to identify areas that likely need editing. If Track Changes wasn’t turned on, you can still do this: Word’s Compare Documents tool will give you a Track Changes document that you can learn from.

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Don’t burn bridges. I always tell freelancers—your best clients might be your old employers and colleagues. I’m proof. The three publications where I once worked full-time? They became my first steady freelance clients. I’ve written for them at various times in my 12 years as a full-time freelance business owner. I’ve also kept in touch with editors who moved on to other brands. A lot! (Hey, something good has to come from the media industry’s volatility.) Some previous coworkers referred me to their new teams. Others connected me with content leaders looking for freelance writing help. So before you dramatically quit and exit in a blaze of glory… (ahem, that “loud quitting trend comes to mind) Pause. Someone at your current job might admire your work ethic—and one day, they could hire you. Make sure you give them every reason to do so. And… stay in touch. P.S. Digging these tips? Check out my newsletter. Poynter Institute called it a top resource for freelancers. 👇 — 👋🏼 Hey, I’m Diana. I’m a former digital magazine editor turned freelance writing business owner Brands and publications hire me for SEO article writing that lands on top search results pages, content marketing content, newsletters with OR over 40%, and executive ghostwriting. Need content help? Let’s chat. Drop me a message or hit the link in my bio. #freelancewriting #freelancer #contentmarketing #contentwriting

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The Field Goal Effect: How Team Strength Beats Writing Skill in Grant Success After nearly 15 years in nonprofit grant writing, here's what I've learned: Great grants don't begin with exceptional writing—they begin with exceptional organizations. Think of grant writers as field goal kickers. Our role is specialized, precise, and highly visible. But a kicker's success isn't just about individual skill—it's about the team setting them up: Great Snap: Strong, impactful programs worthy of investment. Solid Hold: Development directors building genuine relationships with funders. Strong Line: Clear strategy, stable finances, measurable outcomes, and leadership credibility. Interestingly, kickers frequently lead teams in scoring—not because they're the strongest athletes, but because they leverage solid team execution. Similarly, grant writers can score big for nonprofits—if they're positioned for success by organizational strength. Today's nonprofit funding environment makes this even more challenging—it's like attempting a critical field goal under harsh conditions: Market Volatility: Foundation funding fluctuates unpredictably. Political Instability: Government grants can disappear overnight. Rising Competition: Increased demand makes securing grants tougher. Economic Uncertainty: Community needs intensify precisely as funding shrinks. You wouldn't ask a kicker to try 75-yard field goals in pouring rain. Similarly, nonprofits shouldn't expect grant writers alone to overcome systemic challenges. Instead: Align roles with individual strengths—free your best relationship-builders from administrative overload. Strengthen programs to demonstrate measurable, compelling outcomes. Invest proactively in funder relationships and diversify revenue streams. Great grant writing alone isn't enough—build a strong team and a resilient organization, and the wins will follow. #GrantWriting #NonprofitLeadership #FundingStrategy #OrganizationalResilience #SocialImpact Grant Flow

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A few years ago, I was checking the links on my writing samples page (a good practice for writers to do periodically) and found that all of the blog posts I’d written for a former client were gone.   Dozens of articles I was proud of—that were the main clips I had demonstrating expertise in a particular industry—just disappeared, overnight. I couldn’t even find them on the Wayback Machine.   I signed up for Authory soon after that.   One of the great things about having a freelance writing business is that it’s relatively easy to keep overhead low. A lot of freelance expenses and tools you see people talk about aren’t *really* necessary. If you want to keep your business lean, it’s pretty easy.   But Authory is the paid tool I find myself recommending to other writers the most.   There are a couple of main benefits I get from it that make the cost worth it: 1.    The most straightforward: it saves all those writing samples.   Over the years, current and former clients will do content audits and updates that involve removing your work from the web (or updating it with someone else's name). It’s inevitable. It happens to all of us, no matter how good your work is. If you don’t have them saved somewhere, you risk losing all evidence of your hard work. 2.    It keeps them looking professional.   Even if you have your work saved in old Word or Google Docs, it just doesn’t look as impressive or professional to share them with prospects in that format. Authory maintains whatever images the piece was originally published with, and keeps the look slick and official. Sharing an Authory link looks a lot better than sending over the same article as a Word attachment.   3.    It makes it easy to search all your old work.   Putting together a list of relevant samples for prospects used to take me *much* longer. I’d have to try and remember what I wrote, or go searching through old folders on my desktop or in Google Drive. With all my work saved in Authory, I can search keywords there and bring up all the articles that touch on a topic. It makes the process of putting together a list of relevant samples much faster and easier.   I’m not being paid by Authory or anything (although I’ll drop my referral link in the comments for anyone considering it), I just genuinely find it to be valuable. I still see writers sometimes bemoaning clips they’ve lost. I know that feeling too well, and want to help others avoid it.  

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To stay sane as a grant consultant, I don’t do rush jobs for organizations I have never worked with before. If a prospective client asks me to accept an assignment with a tight deadline, and I feel even a bit unsure about my ability to pull it off, “no” is my correct answer. The organization may or may not fully understand how much needs to be done in a short time. They may or may not provide what is needed in a timely fashion. There’s only one way to find out how (un)responsive they may be. The last time I said yes when I should have declined, the client took a week to sign my contract. It was a week we couldn’t afford to lose. Suffice it to say the situation failed to improve. So, lesson learned. Have I missed some good opportunities? Perhaps. But the toll is no longer worth a roll of that dice. Establish a rush job policy and stick to it.

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I said ‘Good job!’ but nothing changed...they just don’t respond to praise. That’s what a therapist told me last week. Or maybe... the praise just didn’t connect. Because reinforcement isn’t one-size-fits-all. Praise isn’t inherently a reinforcer for all learners by default! It only works if it’s meaningful to the learner. If it doesn’t change behavior, it’s just background noise. ✨ Real reinforcement is individualized, intentional, and observed through impact. 🧩 Pair with the learner. 👂 Get to know them. ✔ Start with what works. 🧠 Build praise into a reinforcer over time 🎯 Focus on what actually motivates your learner ♻️ Repost to shift the focus from “what we said” to “what they heard.” ✏️ Follow Afiya Mohammed BCBA, IBA for more honest tools, fewer assumptions.

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People who do non-profit work are not ok. It's no secret that advocacy/community services is hard work, and increasingly, it's virtually impossible to make a decent living. Why? Because we traditionally have not valued this work. Think of all the for-profit companies rushing to build patient and caregiver advisory councils to be able to say they are engaging lived experience. We know you are using these critical skin-in-the-game insights to build a better business. But why not just hire this critical experience for a legit, meaningful living wage? Make lived expertise an embedded part of what makes your company great, just like marketing, communications and IT — it will change everything. This podcast from #CharityVillage discusses disturbing realities facing people who work in community services — not being able to afford food or proper housing (!!) and burnout. The struggle is real, but it doesn't have to be this way. https://lnkd.in/gfWMb8Ra CharityVillage Services CharityVillage #livedexperience #PFAC #patientexperience #patients #inclusion #workingforfree

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𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 Technical writers don’t need 20 years of experience to mentor someone. You just need willingness, empathy, and a little wisdom gained from walking the path. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟭. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 Explaining something to someone else sharpens your own understanding. Teaching reinforces learning. 𝟮. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 Your mentee may ask questions you’ve never considered or challenge assumptions you didn’t realize you had. 𝟯. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 Mentorship creates a ripple effect. Helping one writer builds a stronger, more inclusive technical writer community. 𝟰. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 Mentoring sharpens essential skills every leader needs: coaching, guidance, and providing feedback. 𝟱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 Seeing someone else grow reminds you why you love what you do. Their wins become your motivation. 𝟲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 You just need to share what you’ve learned and be honest about what you haven’t figured out yet. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗽: 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 Offer to review a resume. Jump on a 30-minute call to help someone solve a problem. Join a Slack community. Mentorship doesn’t have to be formal to make a difference. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀? Have you ever mentored someone? What’s something you learned from the experience? #TechnicalWriting #DocumentationMatters #WritersHelpingWritersWriters #MentorshipMatters #CareerGrowth #Mentorship

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5 benefits of publishing your thinking online (even if "no-one's reading yet") 1) Ideas build on ideas Last week's rough thought connects to this week's experience, and is refined by next week's reflection. 2) The right people find you Quality readers accumulate slowly and quietly. Some of your most important connections will read for months without announcing themselves. (Not even the simplest of thumbs-ups). 3) Frees space in your brain Vague instincts become clear when you're forced to explain your half-formed ideas to the world Patterns you "just know" evolve into teachable steps once written down or recorded. 4) Your name becomes the distribution Quality readers enjoy your posts regardless of metrics, as they read first and judge later. 5) You build an evergreen digital library Instead of "creating content" view it as intellectual infrastructure. Each post becomes a building block in your searchable second brain. Digitized, labeled, ready for infinite retrieval, and training your personal AI. TL;DR You're either building intellectual assets or letting them depreciate in your head. _____________________ Pic:  Spent the week catching up with friends in London because I built a business that doesn't need me to be at my desk 10 hours a day.

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Hot take: an agent isn’t going to “fix” your writing life. Context: last week I posed a question– →Which two would you want? a.) literary agent, b.) month-long writing retreat, c.) ten-page outline, d.) two hours a day to write, e.) an awesome writing group “Agent” was an overwhelming favorite. There’s this perception: A literary agent will magically throw open the doors of a writing career. They’ll sell your book TOMORROW, Give you $500,000, And you’ll never have to work a “real job” again. It doesn’t work like that. *If* you secure an agent, and *if* the agent sells your book… Chances are small that you’d make enough from the book advance to live on. →At the end of the day, a writing career/publishing your book/being an author is YOUR responsibility… Whether you have an agent or not. P.S., If I told the story of how my break-up with my first agent left me crying in the YMCA, would you want to read that? Thinking of sharing that story with my newsletter peeps…

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LESSONS IN SELF PUBLISHING: If you are self-publishing, allow for at least two months to upload your files before a launch date. You need enough time between when you submit your files to get a proof copy and lay fresh eyes on your book. Then read it from cover to cover. Doesn’t matter how many times you proof read it before, you’ll find them—the missing full stops, italics misplaced, the odd word in the wrong place and, sigh, a wrong date. Then resubmit your manuscript knowing that you are less likely to get the dreaded pronouncement post your launch—‘there’s a flubberism on page x.’ At least you won’t infuriate your protagonist as I have mine! #lessonsinselfpublishing #MinBarklin #TreeTenders #MiddleGradeBooks #ecofantasy

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If you’ve ever sat down to write your book and felt overwhelmed, you’re not alone. The solution? Build your book around a signature framework. Frameworks give your writing structure, help your readers get results, and establish you as the authority you already are. I just shared a new blog walking you through how to identify and use your framework to make book writing so much easier. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/eNjRkjR4 #ConnectedGhostwriting #AuthorJourney #BookWritingTips #SignatureFramework

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