Expert tips from a nurse-turned-writer

Hello writers,

I may have some big news regarding my 2026 goals already, but I don’t want to jinx it. You’ll just have to wait until next time. Sorrynotsorry for the teaser!

How’s your January been?

Talk soon,

WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK

Don’t bury your lead

Whether we like it or not, the average human’s attention span has shrunk. And this affects us as writers, especially for web content.

In a world of video reels and infinite entertainment, we need to grab attention fast. That means front-loading. We have to dangle the good stuff in the first phrase and leave enticing “breadcrumbs” throughout the piece to keep readers interested.

That may sound discouraging, but you’re probably already doing this to an extent. How does it look in practice? Look at this example intro on the menstrual cycle:

Women have hormones that fluctuate on a cycle that lasts around a month. Hormones like estrogen and progesterone rise and fall, and these changes can cause symptoms like headaches, nausea, irritability, cramping, bleeding, and more.

Now check this one out:

Painful cramps, random nausea, and moods foul enough to send anyone running. Sound familiar? If so, you may have experienced the wildly changing female hormones of a classic menstrual cycle. Find out how these changes follow a month-long pattern and cause joy or mayhem as they go.

Start with the most interesting tidbits, then move on to the meat. Once you’ve hooked your reader, you can spend more time getting into the details. But throughout, use those breadcrumbs to keep them on the hook. Breadcrumbs can look like teasers for upcoming nitty gritty, plentiful headers for easier skimming, and links for even more detailed info.

TRIVIA-PALOOZA

Frankenstein tagline

Your trivia question for the week is…

💡What is the subtitle of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?💡

(The answer’s at the bottom!)

FREELANCER/INDIE AUTHOR CORNER

How I vet clients before saying yes

We’ve all been there. You get a LinkedIn DM that reads something like this:

Subject: Freelance Writer Needed

Hi there,

I’d love to talk to you about an opportunity to write for XYZ Company. We’re a small team and need some help with our website and content. Let me know if you’re interested!

In the early days, my heart leapt at those messages. “Holy cow, someone wants to pay me to write!” 🥳 So you set up a discovery call, prepare your pricing, and get ready to land a new client.

Then the hammer drops. “Our budget is kind of non-existent — we were hoping you’d like to donate your time.” Or, “We need you to attend two unpaid virtual meetings a week.”

After quite a few of these, it’s easy to get a bit jaded about incoming messages. So I now have a vetting process. It goes something like this:

1. Check them out on LinkedIn: I flip through their profile, look at their last several posts, and make sure they seem legit (not a scam).

2. Find their website: I want to see their online storefront. That tells me a lot about where they are in their content needs, what they’ve put into it so far, and sometimes also gives me budget range clues.

3. Inspect their current content: If their already-published content reads as rushed, incorrect, lacking in compassion, or I feel it doesn’t adequately source reputable medical references, I’m not interested.

4. Schedule a call/email questions: If they tick these preliminary boxes, I know a call might be worth both our time. On the call itself, I’ll have a bunch more questions, but I’ll dig into that another day!

How do you screen your potential clients?

‘Til next time

Thanks for reading and see you in a few weeks!

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💡 Find the trivia answer HERE 💡