Author Archives: thatreaderbee

Over the past few weeks, I have been receiving tons of messages with questions about freelancing and I can not sum it all up in one text message so, here’s my journey of freelancing and how you can start your journey too!

(Also, this blog focuses mainly on freelance writing, please let me know if you have any questions on bookstagram and book blogging too. I will be happy to write about it!)

I started freelance writing when I was 13 as a side hustle because I loved researching and learning about things that were new to me. I had a little experience and knack for writing both non-fiction and fiction. To get an idea about what I was getting into, I started reading freelancers’ experiences and stalking their profiles on Fiverr. I researched how to present myself as the perfect fit for the client. After I had made up my mind, I went on looking for courses.

COURSES!!

Courses can help you so much if you are just getting started. I took a course on digital marketing and learnt how to promote myself and open my small biz. The course I took isn’t available now but while researching for this blog, I found some amazing courses to refer to-

•https://alison.com/course/introduction-to-journalism-revised (A free course on journalism to help you improve your writing skills!)

•https://alison.com/course/introduction-to-online-marketing-strategies (A free course on digital marketing and strategies!)

•https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-freelance-writing-course/ (This freelance course will guide you through the whole process! It’s originally costed at ₹6,400 but for today it’s ₹385. Go Check It Out!)

•https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-digital-marketing-course/ (Another digital marketing course to help you start from scratch! It is originally costed at ₹8640 but for today ₹385. Go Check It Out!

Once you understand how freelancing works, you are going to need a portfolio. For your portfolio, write a sample on every genre to show your clients the diversity of your content, to let them know you can write what they want. REUSE THOSE ARTICLES!!

Now that you have your portfolio ready, create a Fiverr or UpWork account. Post your services, your qualifications and your experience. It is difficult to get clients at first, I posted an offer saying I would do the first 5 articles for free. It helped me gain little traffic and I spent more than 3 hours writing those articles, I wanted to make them as perfect as possible then I asked the clients for reviews which helped me gain more attraction.

INCREASING YOUR AUDIENCE

Make a blog to show your clients your consistency! Post those articles on sites and apps promoting writers to increase your audience! I started posting at various apps like Medium, We Heart It, etc. There are tons of freelancers out there, you need something that would make you stand out to the client.

Another way to increase your audience and learn about freelancing is NETWORKING. Networking works wonders, you can learn from experienced freelancers, have them review your portfolio and profile. To increase your network, connect with freelancers on LinkedIn and join Facebook Groups!

WORK ON THE PROJECT REGARDLESS OF THE DEADLINE. I can not stress this enough, there have been so many times, I had slacked off because of the deadline and later it costed the quality of the project.

All The Best for your Freelancing Journey. Let me know if you have any more questions!

2021 has been a rough year till now but I have been trying to catch up and get my life back together and I am gonna finally get back to reading after a long time.

In 2020, I went through a terrible reader’s block and couldn’t read a lot of books, I started writing poetries and fiction instead of non fiction and articles. I have been wanting to get back to reading and writing more non fiction because I LOVE researching and learning while writing non fiction articles.

And for reading, I have made a short accomplish able TBR list for this summer/ year, check it out!

1. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

2. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

3. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

4. 100 Poems by Seamus Heaney

5. Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

6. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

7. Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata

8. Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

9. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

10. Purple Hibiscus by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie

11. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

12. All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

13. The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya

14. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh

15. Normal People by Sally Rooney

I have grown up reading Jane Eyre, Virginia Woolf and Louisa M. Alcott and these books have made me the writer AND the reader I am today. I really feel every young woman should read books by women, books by women, they make a huge part of your personality. Here are some of my favourite women centic books-

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

This list is incomplete without Jane Eyre and I feel this is a must read, the way the story unfolds, the coming of age trope. This is a masterpiece.

2. Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott

Little Women based Alcott’s early life, follows the story four sisters, Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth. It’s easy to read, grasps reader’s attention and the characters are so carefully built!

3. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

If I had to describe this book, it would be powerful. It’s an extended essay on the speech she gave on “Women and Fiction”. It majorly focuses on two points: i) women must have a fixed income and ii) a room of her own.

Every woman should read this at least once. It may not be easy to grasp for a beginner, so, I would recommend you to start with the easy to read classics mentioned above and then move onto this one!

”Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. Without that power probably the earth would be unknown”

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I read Anne of Green Gables as a child and it still is one of my favourite books, it’s the perfect book if you are a beginner to reading!

I still haven’t the series adaption, Anne With An E, but let me know if you have watched it and your views about it!

5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar follows the story of Esther Greenwood’s journey of mental illness and her recovery. This book is dark, depressing but hauntingly beautiful.

Wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

I have loved Sylvia Plath’s poetry since forever and the poet in her is seen so gracefully in this book, the metaphors, poetic sentences and even the symbolism of “Bell Jar” are so carefully built.

6. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

They are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.

Evelyn Hugo, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The protagonist, Evelyn Hugo, is one of the greatest characters written in all time. The book follows the story of Evelyn, a bisexual woman of color’s, life of glamour, success, relationships and discovering herself.

“I spent half my time loving her and the other half hiding how much I loved her.”

Evelyn Hugo, The Seven Husbands

Also, this book smashes patriarchy SO WELL.

7. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Palace of Illusions shares the re-imagining of Mahabharat from Draupati’s perspective and this is a MUST READ! Retelling a folklore with a completely new perspective in around 300 pages, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni did it so well.

“The power of a man is like a bull’s charge, while the power of a woman moves aslant, like a serpent seeking its prey. Know the particular properties of your power. Unless you use it correctly, it won’t get you what you want.” His words perplexed me. Wasn’t power singular and simple? In the world that I knew, men just happened to have more of it. (I hoped to change this.)”

8. Before We Visit The Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A beautiful tale following three generations of women from India to California to Texas. I feel like this book isn’t talked about enough, it’s so beautiful with the indian culture, delicacies and the strong women characters.

My mother clutches at the collar of my shirt. I rub her back and feel her tears on my neck. It’s been decades since our bodies have been this close. It’s an odd sensation, like a torn ligament knitting itself back, lumpy and imperfect, usable as long as we know not to push it too hard.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

9. We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

An essay to understand what feminism actually is and why we need it. Chimanda Ngozi Adichie makes some very effective points in the book!

We must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists

The Rape Trial by Bidisha Ghosal

Revolving around the aftermath of the protagonist being raped, The Rape Trial shows us the story of the victim and the harsh realities.

“Rape isn’t just that one time of sexual violence; women have to live with it long after it’s done. Once you’re dead, it’s over. Murder, at least in my opinion, is not the best, not the most accurate response to rape.”

Bidisha Ghosal, The Rape Trial

BONUS BOOKS!

1. Endurer: A Rape Story by Kapil Raj

2. Becoming by Michelle Obama

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee