“It must be nice.”
“So what do you do all day?”
“Do you ever miss having a real job?”

Those are just some of the things I’ve heard people say to freelancers over the years. The truth is, freelancers often wind up working more hours than most employees. They don’t get paid days off or sick days, and they don’t usually have others to help with billing, marketing, social media – you know, the stuff most corporations have teams to handle.

In a recent post on Freelance Strategist, freelancer Dawn Papandrea takes it further, asking other freelancers to relay some of the more annoying things people have said to them. It’s an entertaining – and enlightening – read:

Really Annoying Things People Say to Freelance Writers

What are some of the more insulting, maddening or annoying things you’ve heard – or said yourself?

The Future of Content Marketing. Social Media Club New York recently hosted an event about the future of content marketing, an important topic for companies to fully understand. According to the Content Marketing Institute, marketers spend a quarter of their budget on content marketing, with 60 percent planning to increase their content marketing budgets in the future. In this recap, by ProfNet’s Polina Opelbaum, panelists from Gartner, Text100, BBC Media Action USA, IBM and Showtime Networks shared their insight on the future of content marketing: bit.ly/12xGXwC

Spotlight: Chicago Tribune’s Julie Wernau. In our monthly Spotlight feature on ProfNet Connect, we talk with a journalist who uses ProfNet, to find out more about who they are, what they do, what kind of replies they like to see from ProfNet members, and more. This month, we caught up with Julie Wernau, energy and green technology reporter for the Chicago Tribune's business section: bit.ly/12e4Ys7

Lessons Learned: Overcoming Our Mistakes. Last week, Facebook and Girls in Tech hosted a meetup with senior tech women from Kickstarter, Research Lab AT&T, Bloomberg and Facebook. The panelists discussed the mistakes and lessons they learned in their career, and provided valuable advice for women in, or interested in, the tech field: bit.ly/104jdhH

Press Release Rx: Three Ways to Improve Reader Experience. You can't read an article or blog these days on Web design or SEO without seeing a reference to "user experience design” (UXD). It's a hot topic, and for reasons that go far beyond aesthetics. The experience that users of a website encounter have a direct effect on that site's search rankings and conversion rate. And the advice offered by UXD pros and SEO gurus provide some important lessons for writers. In this post, Sarah Skerik, vice president of social media for PR Newswire, shared some ideas for designing press releases (and other content) that encourage readers to move forward, to the outcome you want them to take: bit.ly/12ADiyf

Interesting Expert of the Week, Gluten-Free Edition. Just a few years ago, not many of us knew what gluten-free food was or where to get it. Today, walk into almost any supermarket and you’ll see gluten-free food in nearly every aisle. So, for this week’s Interesting Expert spotlight, we caught up with Elana Amsterdam, founder of ElanasPantry.com, a wellness expert and “gluten-free guru”: bit.ly/10xzLSs

Blog Notes: Politics & Culture, Food and Finance Blogs. As PR Newswire's media relations manager, Christine Cube comes across great blogs that cover a wide variety of topics and interests. Each week, she offers brief profiles of blogs you might not have heard of but that might offer pitching opportunities for your clients. In this edition, she shared reviews of a few politics and culture, food, and finance blogs: bit.ly/18G60SM

Angie’s Social Media Angels: Hyundai Hope on Wheels. With all of the negativity that can be seen through social media, it’s nice to find people whose words are uplifting and positive. Twice a month, ProfNet’s Angela Smith spotlights a person or organization that is making an impact using social media as platform. In the latest edition, Smith shined a spotlight on Hyundai Hope on Wheels, which has donated millions of dollars to pediatric cancer research: bit.ly/14td2aj

What Writers Need to Know About Information Products. Writers are likely concerned that the number of opportunities for “traditional” freelance writing is diminishing as more and more news outlets close shop, but there are still plenty of markets for writers who are willing to look beyond magazines and newspapers. In this post, Marcia Layton Turner, executive director of the Association of Ghostwriters, discussed some of the challenges writers may face, and shared a few resources necessary to start creating and selling information products: bit.ly/19oDmTU

Grammar Hammer: Stop! Graduation Time! ‘Tis the season for graduation parties -- don't be caught red-faced by using bad grammar when congratulating the graduate. In this installment of the popular Grammar Hammer column, Cathy Spicer explains the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, all in a graduation theme: bit.ly/17FZ9ty

Pitch Perfect: How to Write an Awesome Query Letter. Pitching an editor is an important task for every writer, but knowing how to do it successfully enough to capture the attention of an editor is even more important. In this panel recap from last month’s ASJA conference, four writers shared their tips on how to successfully pitch an editor: bit.ly/193ndTG

What were your favorite blog posts last week? Which ones did you find most helpful/interesting?

Whether you're a reporter, blogger, author or other content creator, ProfNet can help you with your search for expert sources. You can send a query to tens of thousands of experts and PR agents, search the more than 60,000 profiles on ProfNet Connect, or get timely experts and story ideas by email -- all for free! Need help getting started? Email us at profnet@profnet.com.

Just a few years ago, not many of us knew what gluten-free food was or where to get it. Today, walk into almost any supermarket and you’ll see gluten-free food in almost every aisle. So, for this week’s Interesting Expert spotlight, we caught up with Elana Amsterdam, a wellness expert and “gluten-free guru.”

Amsterdam is the founder of ElanasPantry.com, where she shares simple, healthy recipes and lifestyle advice with the 20,000 readers that visit the site each day. She has written for Parents, Shape Magazine, and Delicious Living; has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including Fortune Magazine, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal; and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Live.

Amsterdam’s books include “The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook” (Random House 2009), named one of the "Best Cookbooks of the Year" by the Denver Post, and “Gluten Free Cupcakes” (Random House 2011), a tome of delightful, yet healthy and nutrient-dense, desserts. Her latest book, “Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry,” scheduled to be released June 18, contains nearly 100 gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free quick and easy recipes ranging from dinners to desserts.

Amsterdam lives in the heart of Boulder, Colo., with an assortment of grueling taste testers that range from her brutally honest husband of 18 years to her two teenage sons. She was kind enough to take some time out from cooking and baking to answer a few questions for us:

How did Elana’s Pantry come about?

I started Elana's Pantry in 2006. After being diagnosed with celiac disease in 1998, I went on a gluten-free diet. When that did not help as much as I had hoped, I went grain-free. When my children's friends and their parents began asking me for my recipes, I decided to start a website, and Elana's Pantry was born.

The gluten-free movement has really taken off. Why do you think it has become so popular?

Many people feel better when they eliminate gluten from their diets. Some of the doctors I've spoken with said they believe it may impact the immune systems of certain individuals in a negative way.

What type of ingredients do you substitute with when cooking gluten-free recipes?

I write all of my recipes from scratch, as I find substitutions in recipes rarely work unless you get very lucky. My favorite ingredients are almond flour and coconut flour because they are low in carbohydrates and high in good nutrients, such as protein and fiber.

What’s your favorite thing to make?

Chocolate chip cookies made with high protein almond flour.

You also teach cooking. What is your best piece of advice for first-time cooks?

The first time you make something, follow the recipe to a "T."

Can you tell us a little about the cookbooks you’ve written?

My first cookbook, “The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook,” has 99 recipes, all made with almond flour. My second cookbook, “Gluten Free Cupcakes,” and has wonderfully healthy dessert recipes. I'm very excited about my third cookbook, which comes out in June. It's called “Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry” and has nearly 100 recipes for breakfast, dinner, vegetables, desserts and drinks.

Anything else you’d like to add?

My website, Elana's Pantry, has more than 700 gluten-free, grain-free recipes and is a resource for people with special diets all over the world.

So says Marcia Layton Turner, executive director of the Association of Ghostwriters.

In a recent blog post on ASJA’s The Word blog, Layton Turner says one such market is information products, which she defines as the tools for sharing how-to, service-oriented information that are sold online. That includes e-books, special reports, booklets, podcasts, teleseminars, online courses and more.

In the post, Layton Turner discusses some of the challenges writers may face, and shares a few resources necessary to start creating and selling information products. She also shares a link to a free guide, “10 Steps to Creating Your First Information Product,” which she co-created with Sandra Beckwith.

It’s helpful information for any writer looking to expand their market base. You can read it here:  What Writers Need to Know About Information Products

As one of the conference sponsors, we were present not only to connect with writers, but also to attend as many of the sessions as we could and bring the highlights back to you. Over the last two weeks, we posted recaps of several of the sessions. If you missed any of them, here is a recap of the recaps:

• ASJA Keynote Speech: Bestselling Author A.J. Jacobs
• Spice up Your Storytelling With Statistics: Laura Laing, author of “Math for Grownups” and “Math for Writers,” discussed how writers can understand and use numbers and statistics in their writing.
• The Art of Sourcing: Freelance writers Bobbi Dempsey, Jennifer Nelson and Dawn Papandrea shared their experiences and advice with finding, working with and managing expert sources.
• University Writing: Get Schooled on This Great Market: Four editors share their hints and tips on how to break into writing for alumni magazines.
• So You Want to Be a Publicist…: Have you ever thought about crossing over from the reporting side to the publicity side – or vice versa? Professionals from both side of the spectrum share some insider tips.
• International Reporting and Markets: Highlights from two panels: “So You Want to Be a Foreign Correspondent: Living and Writing Abroad” and “Markets for International Reporting: Dispatches From the Foreign Desk.”
• Making a Difference: Writing a Book That Can Change the World: Writers and publishers discussed what it takes to write a social-issues book, and shared tips on how to do it.
• Pitch Perfect: How to Write an Awesome Query Letter: Four panelists share their tips on how to successfully pitch an editor.

We hope you find the recaps interesting and useful. And if you’re looking for experts for an article you’re writing, give ProfNet a try. You can send a query to thousands of experts and PR agents, search more than 60,000 profiles on ProfNet Connect, or sign up for our Expert Alerts “tip sheets” featuring timely experts and story ideas – all at no charge. Ready to get started? Visit our website or email us at profnet@profnet.com.