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The prospect of becoming a freelance writer is both exciting and a little bit scary. Let’s face it: the freelance writing community is a big ocean full of bigger fish (a.k.a. experienced writers) and you as a newbie have to somehow manage to take a deep breath, jump in and hope you don’t immediately sink or become a larger fish’s dinner. The mere thought is enough to make any newbie cower in fear of the unknown.
As someone who has spent a majority of time dangling my toes in the edge of that proverbial ocean, I can wholeheartedly say that the experience is well worth it. However, I have also spent a fair share of time in the freelance ocean struggling against the undertow. There are a lot of things I wish I had known before I started, that would have made my journey a little smoother. But I suppose that’s the blessing of hindsight.
If you are just starting out, I’d like to share with you some things that I learned that just might make your experience a little easier. Before you dive into that intimidating ocean of freelance writers, take some time to familiarize yourself with some life rafts that dot the water.
1. Freelance writing will not be easy, nor will you become rich. Every newbie freelancer has aspirations of becoming the next Carrie Bradshaw or the next assistant at Vogue. These are great fantasies for when you are standing on the line at the bank daydreaming, but they are not reality. Dream jobs do not fall out of the sky. An editor from Conde Nast will not call you at home and ask you to pen a piece on the new Manolos. Not going to happen.
What will happen is work, and a lot of it. You will work on copy for things you have never imagined writing about. Pieces on such varied topics as hybrid vehicles, male enlargement devices and rhinoplasty, will begin to fill your portfolio. You will be paid for these gems, but you certainly won’t be running out with your new found millions and quitting your day job (not yet anyway).
Expect to write about a wide range of subjects, and know how to use the internet to search for reputable sources of information (note: Wikipedia is not a source you want to rely on for your information).
2. You need to know your worth as a writer and you need to know what rates are acceptable. Sure, you’re excited to write and you will take on any project that comes your way. However, it is important that you know the going rates for particular kinds of freelance writing, editing and proofreading jobs so that you are getting what you are entitled to. You wouldn’t be willing to work at McDonald’s if they paid you $2 for every 200 hamburgers you flipped, would you? Well there are a lot of freelancers out there who sell themselves short by taking on writing jobs that require 10 articles at two dollars a pop.
We all have to start somewhere, but being taken advantage of is never a good way to begin. If you are worried about lack of experience or published clips, try writing for a site like Suite101. You will be able to get some web-published clips and some good experience writing for the web. Another good way to build up your portfolio is to offer your writing services to volunteer organizations. While these are commonly non-paying, they are quite reputable and will give you great clips and references for future projects. Even better, you will get to feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you did something nice for someone!
To get an idea of acceptable rates, check with the most current version of the Writer’s Market book. This book will become your bible and it is advised that you spend the $25 each year and pick up the newest version. The book offers a wealth of advice from market listings, freelance market rates and helpful articles pertaining to all things freelance.
3. Providing samples of work means you are giving away your work for free. Working hard to write a quality piece, only to have someone take it from you with nothing more than a thank you is unacceptable. Do not work for free. If a client wants to see how your write, provide him/her with clips of your work (see #2). Freelancing is a job, just like any job, and when you work you are expected to be paid for your services. If a potential client will only work with you under the context of a freebie, walk away.
4. It is much easier and satisfying to write about what you know and what you are interested in. Chances are high that the first piece of writing advice, solicited or otherwise, that you were given regarding your freelancing endeavor, sounded something like this: write what you know. This is a very good piece of advice and should be something you try to adhere to when you can. Of course there will be times when a client wants copy written about colon cleansing or forex trading, and of course you have to write about these topics that you no nothing about and have no particular interest in whatsoever.
However, when pitching ideas, stick to the things you enjoy. It is much easier to write about something that you are personally interested in, not to mention the research behind the piece will be less time-consuming. You are more likely to produce more work of a higher caliber when it is about something you know.
5. Freelance writers who are not organized and cannot manage their time should consider another career path. You will be juggling multiple projects at any given time. It is essential that you keep track of all your deadlines on one central calendar (I find the large desk ones work best). You also need to keep track of payments from clients. You should create a system, even if it is a simple notebook where you devote one page to each project/client, in order to keep up with billing out clients and recording payments.
….Please feel free to jump in and help.
1. Have any of you ever wrote an ebook?
2. If so, what program did you use to write it on?
3. How did you distribute your ebook?
Please don’t be shy. Think of this as a way to help out a fellow writer and get free promotion for your book! And don’t worry this is strictly for my own info, so if you don’t want to share with the WWW, feel free to send me a private email: serenity0605(AT)optonline(DOT)net
I really need some advice so don’t hesitate to answer.
You may want to visit this article first. EW has a list of popular memoirs published since 1995 broken down categorically. Makes for some good reading material.
It’s just a matter of time before some asks me “Lisa, how’s the book going?”, so I will tell you all honestly that I had to throw in the towel. Not because it was too demanding or even that it wasn’t going well (because it was going very well, I even got a really nice email from my editor about the progress thus far). However, because of the four week full time commitment of jury duty, all my big freelance projects have taken a backseat. Editor was understanding. I felt like I couldn’t give the book my full attention for these 4 weeks and it would not be fair to ask for an extension when there was already a clear deadline date of June 12. So what will basically happen is that they will find another author to co-author the remainder of the book.I know it really is a bummer, but hey I gotta go to Jury Duty (no getting out of that one, GRAND Jury Duty no less!).
Here’s what my editor said when I broke the news to her:
I’m really sorry to hear that you will have to back out of the project.
It’s such a bummer when good authors have something like this come up.
But I do understand. Please let me know when you are through with
your obligation and hopefully we can work together on a future project.
For what it’s worth, I would like to write for this publisher again. I am comfortable with their style and I know whet is expected of their writers.
Bummer all over.
Came across this today and it had me wondering one thing over and over again to myself: WHY? Seems like a dumb way to go about getting yourself published. Try a joining a writing group if you want feedback for your work instead. Seems like a no brainer. What do you think?
“How to outsource the slush pile
HarperCollins is launching a website where aspiring writers can upload their work. Shortcut to a publishing deal or a blind alley?
May 13, 2008 11:45 AM
Good news, perhaps, for would-be authors who fear their work has been forever lost in the hard-copy slush pile (“Oops, I seem to have filed the unsolicited manuscripts in the recycling bin!”), for with the launch of HarperCollins’ Authonomy, the pile not only goes online, it goes (apparently) democratic.
Officially, Authonomy is a “social network for writers and book-lovers alike”. Just as MySpace allowed bands to succeed without the prior approval and investment of record companies, so Authonomy will theoretically help separate the unpublished wheat from the chaff. The idea is that aspirant scribes can upload up to 10,000 words to the site and then have their masterworks judged by what HarperCollins refers to as “keen, talent-spotting readers” – other people, that is, who have registered on the network.
Thus, the democracy. No longer will the disgruntled writing masses be able to complain that their work has not been published because it has been vetoed by elite, snobbish publishing industry professionals. Now they will be kyboshing each other. (Or launching each other’s careers.) Of course, this isn’t remotely the first time a social network for writers has been launched – there are numerous sites on which thousands of people upload their work and have it critiqued by others. YouWriteOn.com (funded by the Arts Council) and thefrontlist.com have both been used as sources for new material by agents and publishers, although only to a limited extent.
But I remain unsure whether this really provides a great service for writers or whether it will level the playing field. I imagine that the hearts of those behind Authonomy are in the right place, but it’s hard to ignore the suspicion that what they are really doing is outsourcing the unlovely task of sluicing through the slush pile. Of course, outsourcing is totally within publishers’ (and agents’) rights. Reading and responding to the slush pile doesn’t generally make them any money, with the cost of the time spent most likely outweighing any profit made from finding a very, very occasional diamond amongst all the rough.
Being realistic, I think Authonomy may end up being a nice polite way for the publishers to say that they’re not accepting unsolicited submissions anymore. If the launch goes well, I’d wager that anyone asking about submissions will be directed to hit the site, keeping editors’ (and editorial assistants’) desks clear for them to get on with the books agents have sent them, the ones they are genuinely interested in.
The official line is that the most popular books will be considered for publication, but a guarantee of consideration (the promise of an actual rejection letter!) is not a very fulsome commitment, is it? It will be interesting to see whether the pressure of the masses will be enough to make HarperCollins actually go to print with anything – especially since the masses will only be reading the first eighth of a book, which may not live up to its promise after the 10,000th word. Just ask anyone who had the misfortune to read my first (and last) attempt at a novel.”
After a stressful weekend, I managed to complete the first 20k words of the manuscript. I submitted it to my editor on Monday right on schedule and I received the edited version back today, along with the second payment for the project. The comments were very helpful and the suggestions were very encouraging. No major upheavals on what I’ve already done, so on to writing the next 20k (for a total of 40k words at next milestone).
I’ve also gotten 3 responses from case study participants which is very helpful. These have yet to be written up. I need some time deciding on how to approach them and fit them into the book (either embedded within the chapters or as a section in the Appendix).
With much work, I’ve hit the 20k mark for the book project, which is due tomorrow. Only 45k more words to go!
Okay, I was a little stressed but after some R&R everything is back on track. Here’s my status as of today:
1. I have hit slightly over 15k words.
2. I have only received ONE case study participant’s response thus far, so I’ve only been able to include her info in the draft so far. Hoping to receive more back soon.
Due date for first draft of the first 20k words has been extended to 5/5.
Word counts are a difficult and intimidating beast. I have to submit 20k words to editor on 4/27 and at this moment I have a little over 50% of that complete. I find it distracting to be so concerned about the word counts at the expense of the content and the writing. I worked out an initial plan of how many words/pages each chapter would have and so far, I’ll fallen short. However, I did decide to add an additional chapter which should hopefully even out the word count.
This is what I have done this week:
1. Chapter 2 is done for now (there is some more info I’ll go back and add at a later date).
2. Chapter 3 is being fleshed out.
3. I’ve sent out the case study questions to 14 participants.
Well today is my first of four deadlines for the book project. I’ve submitted to my editor both my chapter outlines as well as a brief description of the contents in each chapter. Added bonus: Publisher already paid me for this project milestone. Thank heaven for paying clients!
I have also managed to complete the following (though they are not deadline-focused yet):
- completed Chapter 1
- completed Glossary
- completed Appendix of Resources
- submitted questions to
seventhirteen(!) case study participants - have a good portion of Chapter 2 worked through
Surprising thing that I learned:
- In the process of searching for case study participants, I ventured onto some notary-based forums where I thought I would get a majority of my help from. I was surprised by the response I received at these forums. For the most part (and this is not an inclusive statement since I was able to get one willing notary to participate via the forums) the response was on the “chilly” side. Many people could not understand why I was writing a book on a topic that had plenty of helpful books on the market already, why I was writing a book on a profession that did not offer the potential success that it once did due to the sub prime fiasco, and finally how I could consider asking people to share their successful secrets for free. I guess I wrongly assumed that the forums would be full of people who wanted another means for free promotion (which I touted as one of the benefits of assisting me in the case studies) and looking to help someone who has a genuine interest in their field.
- On the other hand, I had much better luck by simply Googling and contacting notaries who had their own websites. This seemed to be the best way for me to get in touch with helpful notaries.
- Craig’s List has not been very fruitful, though I did manage to get two notaries who were willing to help through the use of CL.
- The BEST source of case study participants hands down has been through Yahoo Groups. Very friendly and more than willing to help out anyone with an interest in their profession.
- Finally, the other odd thing I noticed was that in terms of case studies, the majority of the participants I have so far are male. This came as a surprise to me because in my personal experience (and I have 3 years working in a financial institution in my employment history), most notaries have been female. The other thing I would like to focus on since I still need a handful of additional participants is to try to get a more diverse crowd of notaries (big cities vs. small towns).
