Elizabeth Hanes BSN, RN

What Does it Mean to Be a Source?Journalists constantly require sources (people) to provide expert information and quotes for their stories. As a nurse who owns a business, you can bring a unique perspective to a journalist’s story about some newswor...

Echoing what the lovely Mary said. Allnurses represents a wonderful opportunity for nurses to learn how to write for publication, what an editorial process looks like, and much more. It's the best place I know to get your feet wet! Wishing you much s...

Oh, that sounds like a fantastic business opportunity! Well done. I'm so happy you found the article valuable. That's music to my ears. Wishing you much success! Beth

There is no reason at all why an LPN could not become a freelance writer. In fact, most of the healthcare writers I know have no clinical degree or license at all. Any sort of clinical credential gives a writer a huge competitive advantage. Beth Awe...

Hi Sean! Thank you for your kind words. You're clearly an intuitive marketer, since you have been doing many of these things but didn't view them as marketing initiatives. That's fabulous! What is your business? Are you self-employed? I'd love to hea...

Hi, RNat55! It sounds like you're off to a great start - and I love your tagline! Glad you've found this post useful. I hope you'll consider submitting articles to allnurses.com as a way to get excellent, credible work samples for yourself! Beth

You're smart. I always recommend nurses start freelancing as a side gig because it takes awhile to become self-sustaining. Not as long as many people think, but still...time. And starting on the side gives you time to learn how to freelance, too. It'...

Congratulations on becoming a nurse at mid-life. I did the same thing! It was a wonderful career, but ultimately I decided to use my keyboard to help people instead of my stethoscope. I'll be publishing articles here at allnurses on freelance writing...

Yay! So nice to meet you! I thank you for commenting and will look forward to reading any posts or articles. Beth

Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed this! Beth

Awesome! Nice to meet you! It's definitely a good time to get back into writing - either as a side gig or a full-time job. Nice to meet you! Definitely consider writing for allnurses. It's an excellent way to get back in the writing saddle. And, yes...

Thank you, @tnbutterfly - Mary! When you love your job, it's always easy to share the enthusiasm with others!

Thank you for asking, @Susie2310 ! I always love sharing samples of my work. You can view some here: Hanes Healthcare Communications Over the course of 20+ years as a freelance writer I've amassed thousands of "clips" (work samples), but these are th...

When I talk about freelance writing, I'm talking about making a living as a writer. I'm not talking about writing fiction or poetry. It's tough to make a living at those. I like to break down the field of freelance writing this way... There are two m...

That's fantastic, TheSocialMediaCoach! It's true the beginning of the freelance journey holds a lot "more proposals sent than actual clients." That's the nature of the business. But from proposals come clients, and of course you're gaining valuable e...

In the PACU, my day started early with a 7:00am report time. By the time my shift ended at 7:00pm, I'd spent most of the day clamoring to be heard above the high ambient noise levels of the cavernous unit. Air exchangers, telemetry units, 50 or 60 pe...

I disagree completely that it is "your fault" a client failed to pay. Someone else's bad behavior is never your fault! Contracts are a tricky issue in freelance writing. I've worked on a basis of emails only (no signed document whatsoever - not recom...

I wrote for many years under my own name, without an LLC. I formed mine in 2009 when I transitioned to full-time health writing because I felt the liability involved was greater than when I was writing about art, antiques and history. I don't think t...

I agree there are a number of freelancer websites out there that simply look to capitalize on the naive. However, not every membership site is a scam. I'm referring to websites that help people learn how to become freelancers, like Jennifer Goforth G...

"What are your favorite podcasts?" Emma Hitt Nichols' podcast for medical writers!

Words cannot express my shock and dismay at hearing this news. My sincere condolences go out to all of Brian's family and the entire allnurses.com family, as well. Peace be with you all.

Hi, Paleo! Thanks for the kind words. You're not being nosy at all. You ask a very good, important question. The answer is: freelance writing is totally viable as a full-time career. One of my very good nurse-writer friends is a single mother and sup...

Hi singsandi! Starting a blog is super simple. I recommend WordPress. It's really simple to set up and use. You can start a blog at WordPress.com or use the WordPress content management system on your own website. Blogging offers a great way to showc...

Forgive my delay in responding, Kingilus. I've been absolutely buried under deadlines. The best way to find clients depends a bit on whether you want to try the journalism side of freelancing or the marketing side. The best way for reporters to break...

Hi Kingilus! It's pretty easy to get started as a nurse-writer. You don't have to quit your day job, and there's little to no investment required. Really, it's just a matter of setting up a website to promote yourself as a nurse-writer and then resea...