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Well it’s nearly time to pack up and say goodbye to 2008 and welcome the uncertainties of 2009 with open arms (what other choice is there?). But before launching ahead, let’s take a quick look back at the past year and share some of the best moments.
What has been the best writing-centric accomplishment for you in the past year?
What have you learned about your career in the past year that will help you to re-focus your goals for 2009?
Any funny or memorable moments?
Here is my “best of” collection for the past year:
**These are all articles that I’ve written on Suite101 that have earned me an editor’s choice award and I’m quite proud of this accomplishment**
Back to School Books for Adults
An Overview of Epistolary Novels
Politics in Literature: 2008 Presidential Memoirs
Starting a Book Club: The Basics
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
All About Book Club Discussions
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
Ok, While I may have jumped ship early on during Nano month, how successful were you? I’d love to hear stories about those who actively participated throughout the month (whether or not you hit the 50k mark).
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.
As a freelance writer, I know that I need to start querying for publication. So why am I so hesitant? I guess because it is my nature to get stuck in a comfort zone and not really know how to advance beyond it. And of course the fear of rejection also is a bit of a barrier.
However, I don’t have anything on my writer’s plate for this weekend, so my GOAL is to query. And I already have an idea and a market in mind. I am ready to put all those lessons I’ve learned to practical use and get some experience. I’ll post progress as it’s made.
Is anyone ready to jump aboard the querying ship with me?
That might sound like a no-brainer, but think about it. We as writers have the best intentions. We will query for work, we will tweak our samples, we will create our professional websites, we will stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the industry, etc. But how many of these best laid plans do we actually follow through with? I’ll admit that if I don’t make my writing tasks into goals, they more often than not fall by the waist side. How do you keep yourself accountable for the goals that you set?
I have some ideas that I’d like to try. The first one is to post a list of my weekly goals on this blog every Monday. This way I can cross out those that I’ve accomplished and I can be reminded constantly of those that are looming over me. It’s also a good way for you to encourage me to stick with them.
I’m going to also try posting a list on my desk at home. Since my desk is in a central area, I am likely to pass it all the time and I will see where I stand with my goals for the week. I’m even considering using the white board that I have on top of steps to jot down my goals. I have to look at that every time I come and go, there is no avoiding it.
I think there are two important things about goal setting that we need to learn: the first is that if we don’t make goals, we are unlikely to be proactive with our writing tasks. Second, it is important that we are constantly reminded of them, because as the old saying goes “out of sight, out of mind”.
Initially I had made my goal simple: have one article published on Suite by today. Well, I managed to write two. Hopefully this means I am getting back into the day-to-day routine of writing. If you’re interested, the second article of the week is a book review for Sloane Crosley’s collection of essays, I Was Told There’d Be Cake.
I’ve also ordered a few new writing books which I intend to scour through as soon as I get them. Hopefully they will keep me motivated and maybe fill my head with some good ideas as well.
Setting goals and then meeting them really is a great feeling. Almost Zen-like. (ok, I know that was a bit cheesy, but I needed to find a way to include this really cute pic into this post!)
I have been a bad, bad freelancer since I came back from vacation. I’ve been full of goals/ideas but I haven’t actually done anything to make them materialize. I need to get the ball rolling. So let’s get back into the groove slowly by making this week’s goal simple.
My goal is to have one new article written for Suite by Sunday night 6/22.
DONE! NEW ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON 6/19
Please help me be accountable for this small, but necessary goal. Nudging, encouragement and even GENTLE reprimanding is fully acceptable.
So I am reading The Well Fed Writer and one of the tips I’ve come across so far is something that I need to be better at: setting goals. I have all the best intentions when it comes to writing out a list of goals, but I seem to lack follow through. Something happens between the choosing and setting goal point and the actual carrying through of the goals that gets me every time. However, the book really had me convinced that goal setting is not only important in terms of being able to be a productive and successful freelancer BUT it also enables you to be a wealthy one too (or at least gives you the ability to see the reality of your work to income ratio). The example used in the book is really simple and at the same time inspiring:
Say you want to make $100,000 a year. Thats all well and good as a long-term goal but it really doesn’t do much in terms of helping you reach that goal. The key is to break up the goal into smaller pieces. For example, in order to make $100 k a year you need to do the following:
Reach a monthly income goal of $8,000.
Reach a weekly income goal of $2,000.
Reach a daily income goal of $400.
***ask yourself on a daily basis: WHERE IS the $400 COMING FROM TODAY?***
So let’s all spend some time not only thinking of long term goals, but how to make them easier for us to manage.
It’s human nature to question “what next” when you face challenges with your work. I’ve decided to start brainstorming ideas (goals, if you will) that will get me moving in a good direction, writing-wise. Here is my list in no particular order:
1. I’d really like to try my hand in the world of print pubs. I know, querying editors is a scary endeavor, but I really want to write for a publication that I enjoy about a topic I am genuinely interesting in. So that means I need to break out the old Bible for Freelancers and start picking and choosing which ones I am going to be brave enough to query to. Considering the fact that I’ve never queried for a print publication before I am very VERY very scared. So I will also read some books on query letters (there is one called QUERY LETTERS THAT ROCK that is really useful, full of examples of what works). Maybe I should make some kind of quota with myself that I will send out one, well thought out query letter a week. As I get more confident writing them I will increase the queries. Also keep some kind of chart to see how many I send and what kind of responses they generate.
2. If I am going to become acclimated into the web writing world than I also need to learn the ropes there as well. This means reading books and maybe taking a course.
3. I want to learn how to write press releases. I see a lot of clients looking for freelancers who can write them their PR. Maybe pick up some books on that, take a course if I can find one.
4. I also need to pull some numbers to see how much work I am getting from ELANCE/GURU. I will start keeping a page that tracks all of the projects I’ve bidded on and what their outcomes were. This will at least give me a bit of perspective.
I need to get thicker skin. I know, I’ve said this before over and over. It’s definitely one of my biggest challenges as a writer. It’s difficult not to take everything so personally, especially when advice is given that pertains to my writing and how to make it better. I’m speaking specifically about my Suite review which my editor just sent me via email. Boy was it extensive! First and foremost, I am honestly appreciative of the time that they take over at Suite to give everyone a thorough evaluation. It is something that I doubt other sites do. It is also a priceless way to get feedback on your work. However, it is still hard not to take suggestions personally, as some kind of reflection of my own inadequacies.
So, areas that yours truly must work on include:
1. Title/Subtitles.
2. Keywords.
3. Choosing more specific subject matter.
4. Limiting the amount of links contained within my articles.
5. Writing in the third person.
I am aware of most of these areas being problematic for me. I just keep getting in the mindset to write a certain way and I can’t seem to fully embrace web writing. For me, I’ve got a creative writing background which encourages first person narrative (which works perfectly in a blog setting, but not so much with web articles). Also, I am used to writing from an academic standpoint so most of my articles are structured with a beginning (intro of what I am going to cover in my article), body (the meat and potatoes of the article) and the conclusion (the summary of the article). Evidently this is no good. I know the keywords and the title/subtitles are also going to take some time on my part to get a handle on. As far as titles go, I am use to using catchy, fun play on word titles from print writing. But of course this doesn’t fly in web writing either (damn search engines!).
I have a lot to work on and I feel a bit discouraged. I had hoped to apply for a FW position, but now I feel the likelihood of that panning out would be slim to none. I guess I’ll just try to absorb all the advice and take it for what is it meant to be: constructive criticism.
