I decided to write a blog post on this single topic because of my own personal interest. The very idea that a simple comma could create such controversy is both amusing and fascinating. How does this even happen? Why does this even happen? How can something be right and used everywhere one day, to simply become a matter of opinion the next? I decided to explore the issue, and here’s what I found.

Right or wrong

Interestingly enough, using or omitting the Oxford comma is neither right nor...

It’s inevitable that as a freelancer you’ll meet other freelancers and start making friends. Someone will ask you what you do for a living and then tell you about their other friend who does something similar. One friendly email exchange later and you’ve promised to share leads and work when you can. This is great. A casual collection of freelancing friends creates an instant network. When one of you gets too much work, you pass it on to someone else. The referral, and approval, of a fellow...

For the longest time I avoided book clubs. I had a bad attitude about them. I mean, with hardly any time to read for fun, why would I let someone else pick the books for me? What about my ever-growing list of books I wanted to read? I saw book clubs as a deterrent to finishing my own reading list, but then I got a little lonely. Suddenly, book clubs became a way to spend an evening with a group of interesting and intelligent people, talking about so much more than books. I was hooked, but I...

This month marks two-and-a-half years for my freelancing career. Thankfully, it continues to provide enough work for me to feel relevant in the ever-changing world of content creation. The majority of my assignments, these days, are for blogs. This isn’t how it started out. The first months as a freelancer, I did some blog content, but most of the focus was on catalog copy, email copy and long-form online content. Today, I have about six regular clients — all asking for blogs.

Not everyone...

There are many reasons to say ‘no’ to a project as a freelancer. You might not have time to complete it on schedule. The money might not be right. It doesn’t fall into your wheelhouse. You simply don’t want to do it. Regardless of the actual reason, what happens when you say ‘no’ to someone? Does it sever the connection? Will they offer you work down the road?

These questions trip me up any time I even think of turning down a project. It’s hard. You worry. I’ve only really said no one time,...