"Do You Need Help with Your Writing Project? Well You’ve Certainly Come to The Right Place..."
Hi! Welcome to my website. You may have come here because you’re looking for a professional freelance writer... or maybe you’re curious. Either way, I’ll help you as best I can.
My name is Michael Ward. I’m Irish and I live with my lovely English partner, Michele, in Dorset on the south coast of England. I’ve been writing since I was about four years old. I love writing and I like helping people.
Now this website is geared to you – to your writing needs and your writing wants. But obviously you need to know a little about me. Specifically you need to answer the question, “Can this guy deliver what I want?”
The Best Freelance Writer?
(Malcolm Gladwell: The 10,000 Hour Rule)
The title of this website is bestfreelancewriter. It was deliberately chosen to be keyword friendly. And it was also chosen because, if you want the best freelance writer available, then you’ve certainly come to the right place.
Let me explain. You may have read Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Outliers: The Story of Success’. (If you haven’t read Gladwell, I thoroughly recommend him.)
In 'Outliers', one of Gladwell’s key findings is that top performers in just about any activity tend to have spent at least 10,000 hours practice at that activity.
10,000 hours practice is an hour a day for 30 years – or two hours a day for 15 years. It’s an awful lot of HARD WORK. But Gladwell’s top performers don’t mind HARD WORK... because they love what they do.
Well I’ve spent well over 10,000 hours writing because I love writing. That’s why I’m better than almost any other writer. It’s not ‘natural talent’; it’s simply that I worked far harder and far longer than almost everybody else.
Now you have a choice. You too can spend 10,000 hours writing – or you can avail yourself of my expertise.
So What Have I Done?
Well, let’s take just a few highlights:
International Bestseller
One of my business books, ‘50 Essential Management Techniques’ (Gower Publishing) sold in 25 countries. For many years, it was Gower’s top-selling title. As well as being massively commercially successful, it was critically acclaimed by a wide variety of academics and businesspeople.
Ghostwriting
Over the past five years, I’ve ghostwritten five books for the same person, a well-known author, now sadly in declining health. Four of our books have been published; the fifth is due next year. All four published books were widely reviewed and critically acclaimed.
Three of these books received superb reviews in the most eminent literary magazine in the UK. One was chosen by a well-known journalist as her ‘book of the year’ in The Sunday Times and also short-listed for a major literary prize. The first edition of this book sold out in just under six weeks. These days, that’s close to a record!
Training Material
A series of manuals written for London Electricity Board was described by my clients as, ‘the best training material we’ve ever used’. They also commented, “You delivered within budget and well ahead of schedule.”
Magazine Articles
I’ve had many dozens of articles published in magazines. These comprised investigative journalism, profiles, essays, reviews and regular monthly columns (e.g. columnist for ‘Business in Yorkshire’ and ‘Climber’ magazine.) Interests include business, management and rock-climbing (where again I’ve spent over 10,000 hours!)
Website Copy
In addition to writing copy for my own websites, I also write it for other people. Do you know how long most new visitors remain at a website? Eight seconds! Do you know why they leave? Because the website copy doesn’t give them a compelling reason to stay.
Fancy graphics will not keep people on a website. If the website doesn’t conform to the WIIFM rule (ask me about it), your visitors will have disappeared before you can mutter, “Wasted Google Adwords!”
Marketing Copywriting
All businesses have to describe themselves in either words or images. Which is more powerful? Words! (Trust me, this one has been tested to death.)
You use words in website copy, in product descriptions, in promotional articles, in press releases, in sales letters... The list goes on. If these words are lacklustre, you will lose sales.
Conversely, superlative marketing copywriting will send a client’s profits soaring. Some time ago, I revamped a client’s marketing process (adverts, website, etc). I also advised him to increase the price of his main product from £1,900 to £2,997 and guaranteed that he wouldn’t lose a single sale. His sales increased! In fact, within one week, he had made an extra £10,000 profit.
Press Releases
Most press releases end up in one place, within 10 seconds of being picked up. Guess where? The bin! Conversely a well composed, well targeted press release will rocket your sales figures and do wonders for your business image.
In the example given above, as part of revamping my client’s marketing process, we composed a press release which led to an extended piece on his business in a leading national newspaper. Directly underneath this ‘third-party endorsement’ by the newspaper was his (revamped) advert at the new price of £2,997. The result? £10,000 extra profit within a week.
CVs – and Covering Letters!
Most CVs end up in one place, within five seconds of being picked up. Yes, it’s that overflowing bin. Most people think that a CV is an employment record. Wrong! It’s an ‘advertisement for myself’ as Normal Mailer used to say. (And yes, of course, it’s a highly selective employment record also. But that’s strictly secondary.)
And the covering letter. Oh, you wrote a standard covering letter? What a pity! Because your covering letter provides a far more powerful advertising platform where you can say anything you want. If you send in a standard covering letter, I will virtually guarantee that you’ll lose out to someone else.
Do what very few job applicants do. Put yourself in the mindset of a harassed Human Resources or recruitment professional who has to wade through 391 CVs and covering letters applying for a single position, with just 30 minutes to draw up a short-list.
Who gets on the short-list? The person with the best-tailored CV and the best-written covering letter. The person who made a career investment. The person who used my ‘tricks of the trade’ that hardly anyone else seems to know about.
(And don’t worry. When you get the new position, with the higher salary and enhanced career prospects, you’ll recoup your career investment 1,000 times over.)
Internet Article Writing
It’s well-known that writing short, interesting articles (typically 400 – 600 words) and posting them on article marketing sites is one of the best ways to drive targeted organic (i.e. FREE) traffic to your website.
My articles have received over 10,000 views on the most highly respected article marketing website on the internet, www.ezinearticles.com. As you may imagine, 10,000 views results in a great many free clicks!
What would 10,000 views do for your website, your business?
Ebooks
A great deal of hype has been written about Ebooks. Are Ebooks ‘instant riches’ – or are they a complete waste of time. Or are they somewhere in-between?
The first Ebook I wrote has, to date, taken in about £20,000 profit for me. It’s been out for six years now. For four years, I was too busy with other writing projects to promote it. (Sad, but true.)
At this rate, over the next 20 years, even with minimal promotion (I’m still too busy!) it will bring in well over another £100,000 profit. And it gives me a list of happy buyers, eager for follow-up products (back-end sales).
This Ebook is a market leader in a niche where people are very cynical and extremely loath to part with their money. Maybe you have an idea for an Ebook for a much more lucrative area. If so, get in touch!
Writing ‘Doctor’ Services
For example:
• Rewriting a photojournalist’s articles to a much higher professional standard. (Her photos were superb; her writing was dreadful.) Some time afterwards, she confided that, on the strength of the re-written material, she had been accepted into a prestigious travel writers’ association. (I’m afraid I’m not responsible for my clients’ morals!)
• Rewriting the script of a promotional film that was in deep trouble. (The new version received a rave reception at its launch.)
Writing Tuition
I started the hard way – back in 1977, with a drab grey Olivetti typewriter which seemed to weight half a ton. I bought it for £25 in a junk shop in Yorkshire. Then, decades before I’d heard of Malcolm Gladwell, I proceeded to put in my 10,000 hours - and more.
Now you are absolutely free to do the same as I did. But, at two hours a day for 15 years, you won’t be getting top-class stuff out until about 2026. Do you want to wait until 2026 for your writing success? I thought not!
I can’t turn you into a world-class author. Only you can do that. But I can dramatically accelerate the learning process. I had nobody to teach me. So I made virtually every mistake imaginable. The result? Wasted years.
I can ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes that I made - and just about everybody else seems to make.
One thing age has taught me is this: saving time is far more important than saving money. You can always make more money. But our lives are so short. So please use your time on this planet well. If you need help, then get it.
Michael Ward: A Few Writing Testimonials
• “You do write well…” Carol Smith, bestselling author
• “Absolutely brilliant!” Deputy CEO, National Organisation
• “We can’t compete!” International Film-Maker
• “We can’t compete...” Magazine Editor
• “Essential reading.” Business Executive magazine
• “A very good read and a worthwhile buy.” British Journal of Administrative Management
• “Valuable and well written.” Middle East Business Review
• “Short, crisp chapters and lively case studies slip down easily. A really valuable aid.’ Director
• “A formidable array of tools. Unpretentious. Suggestions are tried and true... never been published before.” Sheffield Telegraph
• “Michael Ward has hit on a very good idea… blindingly simple. This book brings together, in a very accessible way, many useful ideas and tools.” Training Officer
• “Ward’s book is far lighter and more entertaining in tone. It owes little to academic theory or research. Instead he shares pearls of wisdom.” Personnel Today
• “A quick-reference handbook containing a selection of tools. Concise.” People Management
• “Entertaining and instructive… a wide range of powerful tools to improve managerial performance. “ ASLIB Book List
• “Each concept is almost indispensable as Ward delves into its practicality for real life situations.” Malaysian Business Lifestyle Weekly
• “Interesting and useful reading.” Euro Foundation for Management Development.
• “This book brings together a wealth of tools.” General Business.
• “A formidable array of tools.” Management Training
Tell Me About Your Writing Project!
So that’s me. Either I’m making all this stuff up or I’m totally genuine and I’m very, very good indeed. I’ll let you decide.
At the beginning, I said that this website wasn’t about me; it’s about you. But you needed to know a little of what I’ve done and - far more importantly - you needed to get an idea of what I may be able to do for you.
Realistically, there’s only one way to find out if I can be of help to you. So get in touch (it’s FREE!) Tell me about your writing project. And we’ll take it from there.
I’m at portlandpublishing@tiscali.co.uk or, for backup, contact me at lonestar62@hotmail.com. Mark your email ‘Writing Project’, which guarantees that I’ll open it first. I look forward to hearing from you and, if possible, being of help to you.
