January 6th, 2009
As freelancers, we’re expected to hit our story and assignment deadlines so that editors, clients, and publications can hit theirs. So why is it that some clients can’t seem to hit their deadlines when it comes to paying for our work on time?
Fortunately, I’ve never been stiffed by a client (knock on wood). But many clients are taking longer to pay for work that I’ve taken pains to turn in on time. And I have to say that I still enjoy working for all of my clients. I also want to stress that they’re all still paying (thank you!). But the payment process is definitely taking longer than it was a few months ago. And fellow freelancers, you and I both know that you can’t pay bills or quarterly taxes with outstanding invoices or accounts receivable. Here’s the reality: As a small business owner, if you run out of cash, you’re out of business. It’s just that simple.
I certainly understand cash flow problems (what freelancer hasn’t had firsthand experience with this at least once?). But there are certain business practices that clients pull sometimes that can insert an element of distrust into an otherwise good business relationship. These include: lying about the fact that a check is on its way, “forgetting” to turn in an invoice, claiming to lose your invoice, arbitrarily stretching out the payment period after assignments are turned in, blaming slow payment on accounts payable or someone/something else, and the list goes on and on unfortunately.
If clients were more upfront about money woes and just used a little bit of honesty (what a concept!) about why payment is late, then they still show some degree of integrity in the way they’re conducting their business. And I don’t know about you, but I prefer to do business with people who model integrity. But if I suspect that a client is lying to me about the reasons for slow payment or a disturbing payment pattern emerges, then I have some decisions to make from a business standpoint. Because let’s face it: most of us are not hobbyists, and we’re relying on those checks to make ends meet.
Certainly, you can’t control a client’s cash flow issues, but there are some things you can do to protect yourself so that you have the money to keep your lights on, pay your mortgage, and fork over money to Uncle Sam every quarter.
Here are some ways to protect yourself and your business if clients start getting lackadaisical about paying you on time:
1) You’re fired! As freelancers, we sometimes get stuck in the mindset that we have to accept every assignment and project that comes along—especially in this economy. But one thing we never have to accept is shoddy treatment. If you’re working for a client and you’re always having to hound them for payment, think about all the time and energy you’ll save when you fire them and start working for someone else who actually pays you on time. One successful business owner told me that he routinely fires a few of his low-performing or PITA (Pain-In-The-Arse) clients every year. Companies and publications are cutting their budgets to better position themselves for the lean times ahead. As freelancers, we have to follow the same strategy when it comes to problem clients and publications. Having said all this, in most cases there’s no need to tell a client you’re firing them unless you’re really looking to burn a bridge (not recommended). Just don’t accept work from them anymore and put your energy toward finding better, more reliable clients who treat you and other freelancers right.
2) Ask for money up front. If you’re doing regular work for a client, it might be a good idea to ask them to put you on retainer so that you’re getting a set fee. In the agreement, make sure that you establish (in writing) when the payment is expected. In some cases, it also might make sense to ask for a percentage up front before you start any work. And if you’re doing a long-term project, ask for a percentage up front before you start the work, a second installment at an agreed-upon milestone or date, and the final percentage at the end of the project before you deliver the final draft. In these cases, you’ll want to set some boundaries around the number of revisions you’ll allow for the agreed-upon price.
3) Tack on a late fee. In some cases—particularly with new-to-me clients—I include language at the bottom of my invoice stating that a late fee will be applied to any balance that is 30 or more days overdue. Here’s the language I use: Payment for services rendered are due within 30 days of receipt. After 30 days, a 1.5 percent late fee will be applied to the original balance for each week the amount is past due. Having said all this, I’ve never applied the late fee. But that’s going to change this week.
4) Befriend accounts payable. I know that some freelancers feel funny about contacting accounts payable directly, but you really shouldn’t. If your payment is late or if you simply want to know when a check is on its way, place the call. In a couple of instances, I call the accounts payable person every month to find out the date that the check will be cut and mailed out. And in both of those cases, they expect my call and it’s no big deal. In both cases, they know that I am calling for financial planning purposes. And in this climate, everyone understands that.
5) Send your invoice right away. I used to wait for a few days after submitting a story or an assignment before submitting an invoice on the theory that I’d give the editor or client time to review the work. I have recently stopped doing this because some clients will take advantage of this goodwill gesture—especially in this economic environment by claiming that your good work is subpar (as a way to get out of paying the full amount). So turn in your invoice when you turn in your assignment. That way, they can’t claim that they lost your invoice if they also received your story. And you’re not handing them an excuse to attempt to discount your work.
5) Get squeaky. I just completed a story yesterday that talks about strategies that business owners can use to weather the recession. One longtime business owner said something very wise that I’ll pass along here: People tend to pay those who pester them. I’m not suggesting that you start employing any guerilla collection tactics. But I also don’t think that freelancers should be shy about asking for money that is owed to them. In some instances, I call editors and/or accounts receivable in advance of when payment is expected to find out when it might be coming. It’s for financial planning purposes—I need to know for cash flow and budgeting purposes when I can expect payment. As much as possible, I try to nail down all the particulars I can about payment schedules. Freelancers need to plan ahead too, so don’t be shy about trying to take charge of your finances.
Tomorrow, I’ll continue the discussion about how to make sure you get paid on time. In the meantime, please tell me about your strategies—what do you do to ensure timely payment from clients and publications? And what measures have you taken when clients or publications have missed their on-time payment deadline?
-Jenny
Photo credit: Simon Davison (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 5 comments
January 5th, 2009
Good Monday morning readers! Today, I’m shining the spotlight on Alison Stein Wellner, a prolific travel writer, author, and longtime freelancer.
Alison, who has freelanced full time for 13 years, writes a blog about travel for the Huffington Post, a travel and lifestyle column for TheStreet.com, and writes a blog about her travel adventures and observations at A Very Curious Mind (previously A Curious Mind). Alison also is also a writer-in-residence at Alaska House, New York, where she is working on a book about King Island in the Bering Strait. She also is the author of Americans at Play (New Strategist 1997), and Best of Health (New Strategist, 2000).
Her work also has been widely published in Boston Magazine, Business Traveler, BusinessWeek, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Continental, Fast Company, Glamour, Ladies’ Home Journal, Men’s Journal, Money, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, Reason, Robb Report, Sierra Magazine, USA Weekend, The Washington Post, Working Mother, Yankee, Yoga Journal, and others.
Alison also has worked as a contributing editor at Inc. magazine and is a former editor-at-large at American Demographics magazine. She also is a New York Times Professional Fellow and a National Press Foundation Fellow. Her articles have won awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the American Society of Business Press Editors.
And starting Jan. 12, Alison will be teaching a 6-week course, Travel Writing Workshop, for The Renegade Writer.
How long have you been freelancing full time? What did you do prior to freelancing?
This January, I will be freelancing for 13 years, interrupted by approximately 9 months of W-2 employment, once when I went in-house at a magazine (and quickly realized I was happier freelance) and once for an incredibly brief stint as an “ideation consultant.” Prior to freelancing, I was in college. I started freelancing right after I graduated.
Can you talk a little bit about the progression of your career? When did you start doing travel writing? Do you also do other types of writing as well?
Progression of my career. Well, when I started in 1996, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I was 21, I’d graduated from college a semester early, and was looking for a way to earn some money while I was deciding whether to go to law school. I read every book on freelancing I could get my hands on, and tried a lot of things that first year: I wrote greeting cards, press releases, and tons and tons of queries that got rejected. I found that it was easier to get assignments from publications in my town—I was living in Ithaca, New York—so my first gigs were writing about farm management (American Agriculturist, which is still around) and demographics (American Demographics, which isn’t). This began to loosely congeal into a career focused on writing about business, and I moved to writing for trades.
In 1999, I attended my first ASJA conference, and heard a BusinessWeek editor speak. I queried, and to my shock, got an assignment. I started writing for the small business section of BW regularly. I also became a contributing editor, and the editor-at-large at American Demographics. My career really took off at
that point, and I started writing for a number of consumer magazines, business titles (with the dot-com boom and all) and other titles as well. Six-figure income and so on.
Although I was often described as a business writer, I never thought of myself that way. I’ve always just thought of myself as either a writer, or a journalist, interested in the craft of research, reportage and writing, and in satisfying my own curiosities.
At some point, probably due to my long-standing membership at Freelance Success, I became interested in writing for women’s magazines, and so starting in about 2001, spent time writing for those mags, mostly about health. I did a few pieces there that I was pretty proud of, but as many writers have noted, the process of writing for women’s magazines is pretty much awful. I call it “the sorority gang-bang.” I still do write for a women’s mag or two, but it’s always with a lot of trepidation and preconditions.
Oh, I should also say that I was contributing editor at Inc. for five years. I stepped down from that position earlier this year for a variety of reasons too complicated to go into here, but I was very much identified with that role, I think more than a few people assumed I was on staff. In my career, I’ve tended to have a few long-term and steady relationships with magazines, those editors have thought of me as “part of the team.” There are positives to that: steady money, for instance. And negatives: too many eggs in one basket, and related, self-imposed career strangulation, since it’s just so easy to give your ideas to the editors who know and love you, rather than to pitch to new places that will further your progression as a writer. I am determined to avoid these types of relationships going forward. We shall see how I do with that.
As far as travel writing goes, I did some travel stories here and there over the years, but I really started doing more of it over the past four years, as I realized how much I enjoyed it.
Most of my work now happens to be in travel writing, or has some element of travel to it. I think “travel writing” is sort of an odd term, travel is a verb, after all. I do some travel service pieces which are undeniably “travel writing,” but my non-service pieces could also be classified as essays, or history pieces, or food pieces. Again, I tend to have a resistance to classification.
And I still do take on a few assignments that have nothing to do with travel or essays, mostly for clients that I’ve worked with before and enjoy working with.
With the current economy, people are not spending as much money or traveling as much. As a result of these trends, have you found that you’ve had to change your strategy or focus at all as a travel writer?
Well, my steadiest work is for publications that target luxury travelers, and this is a sector that is the last to be affected by world economic meltdown. I would say that I have my eye more on affordability than I have in the past, but for the most part, I’m more aware of the affects on travel patterns due to various terrorist attacks and political instability.
How does one go about getting started as a travel writer? Any pieces of advice for someone who would like to venture into travel writing? Is it even possible to break into the field right now given the current economy?
Well, I have a long answer to the first question and a short one. The long answer is my six-week Travel Writing Workshop over at the Renegade Writer, and here’s my short answer: First, you should travel. Somewhere, anywhere. It amazes me how many people want to be travel writers who really dislike leaving the house. Second, read travel writing you admire. Third, pitch travel ideas. Wash, rinse, repeat.
As far as the current economy goes, it may take more pitching to break in now than it would in a time where ad dollars are freely flowing and magazines are adding pages. But if you are determined and talented (in that order), you can break into any field of writing.
And as a general policy statement, I don’t see any reason to focus on the bad economy, it will only depress you. And a depressed writer will not have the necessary enthusiasm to sell any editor on any idea.
How often do you travel throughout the year? Do you schedule the trips and then pitch stories or do you do it the other way around?
I travel a lot. I try to limit it to ten days a month, this past year (2008) it was probably more like 12–15 days. My goal is to travel less in 2009, again, we shall see how I do.
As far as the pitch then travel, travel then pitch question, this is difficult for me to answer. I have several steady gigs for which I determine my own stories, so I won’t go somewhere if I don’t feel confident that I will get at the least a story for my steady outlets. I consider a trip successful if I come away with enough ideas to pitch to merit a return trip with assignments.
Traveling can sometimes generate some funny stories. What is your most memorable?
My most memorable . . . gosh. Well, probably when I allegedly scaled the fence between South Africa and Mozambique, sprained my ankle, nearly stepped on a poisonous puff adder, was not able to allegedly climb back over the fence and had to hobble for a half an hour to a hole in the fence where, thank heavens, my guide had a Tanqueray and tonic waiting for me in the Land Rover. That makes me sound more adventurous than I actually am, so I like to tell that one.
I have had so many moments while traveling that have made my heart almost stop at the wonder of it all. Standing on the black sand beach of Kare Kare in New Zealand, flying over the frozen Bering Strait in Alaska, looking for polar bears, listening to the call to prayer on the backwaters of Kerala in India . . .
What are some common myths about travel writing?
That it’s all moments of wonder like the ones I’ve just described. There are a lot of times where it’s difficult, annoying, and actually quite boring.
What advice would you offer budding travel writers?
In addition to my advice in answer #4, I would say, really learn the tools of narrative. Learn about character and plot and description and dialogue, with as much intensity as you would if you were learning to be a novelist or a screenwriter. Great travel writing is great writing.
What are the top three pieces of advice that you’ve received as a freelancer?
Well, it’s life advice, but since writing is a part of life, it applies.
1. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. (Don’t expect to get something for nothing, or get somewhere worth going without effort.)
2. This too shall pass. (The editor who’s torturing you will eventually go away. The editor who you love probably will too. Plan accordingly.)
3. To thine own self be true. (Nothing works well if you’re pretending to be something you’re not.)
I recall you talking about some tough times that you went through early on in your career. Can you talk a little bit about that and what you learned from that period?
Well, when I was first starting out (after college), I didn’t have any work and I didn’t know anyone in the business. I was writing a ton of queries, as I said earlier, but at a certain point it occurred to me that if someone gave me an assignment, I really wouldn’t know what to do. I was good at writing queries, but had little experience writing articles. I decided that I had to fix that, so I made my credo “aim low” —I started querying places that paid less than 50 cents a word, on the theory that I was qualified to write for them. (I found these places via Writer’s Market.) My query skills were so well developed at that point, that the assignments started coming in, and I began to learn how to write articles. After a while, I added a second part to my credo “know someone.” I asked each of my editors for suggestions of other editors who might like to hear from me. This worked to build my clip file, and I started aiming higher, and higher and higher.
Do you have any advice for freelancers who want to remain competitive in this environment? How can freelancers keep work coming in the door in these tough economic times?
My advice is, as much as possible, to forget all about this economic environment. I agree that it is scary times, but there are writers that are still getting work and there’s just no reason why you can’t be one of them. Step up your querying efforts, keep those queries out there, don’t let them molder in your computer where they can’t possibly do you any good.
If you find yourself with less work than you’d like, try to think about how to use that time wisely. It may mean taking a class, it may mean starting to write queries in an area that you haven’t tackled previously, it may mean working on a passion project. Remember: This Too Shall Pass.
Any other advice for full- and part-time freelancers?
I think it’s so important to remember why you started writing in the first place. I’ve never met a writer who has been in it for a while that’s ONLY doing it for the money. There are so many easier ways to make a buck than being a writer.
Hang on to your joy, to your passion and to your curiosities. These, more than anything else, will see you through the tough times.
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 6 comments
January 2nd, 2009
Okay, here’s some honesty for you: I already broke one of my New Year’s resolutions.
Yesterday, I had every intention of staying within my Weight Watchers points for the day and was actually doing very well. And then I went to a New Year’s Day function that had a spread of all the things I needed to stop eating two weeks ago—cookies, chips, fudge, chocolate, the list goes on. Instead of walking away from the buffet of bad-for-me things, I stood there and grazed. Hoovered up some chips, mint cookies, chocolate fudge, and shortbread. Ick.
So today—instead of beating myself up—I’m going to dust myself off, hop back on the scale <whimper>, count my points, and have another go at that resolution again.
I’d recommend the same strategy for any freelance goals or resolutions that you’ve already fallen away from—don’t dwell on the failure or the shortcoming. Just dust yourself off and try again. It’s a new day and another chance to make good on those promises you made to yourself.
One of the reasons that so many resolutions fail is because we flog ourselves unmercifully every time we miss the mark. And I don’t know about you, but that’s where the whole motivation problem creeps in for me. After a couple failures and the self-flagellation that follows, it’s easy to get the F&^k-Its and a What’s-the-Use? attitude about this whole goal-setting business.
Here’s a better strategy: Accept the fact that you will probably fail a few times before you establish the habits that are going to get you where you want to go with your freelance goals. So you didn’t write the first 1,500 pages of your novel yesterday? That’s okay. Try again today. You didn’t send out two queries like you said you would every day of the new year yesterday? That’s okay. Today is a new opportunity to try again.
The key is to keep trying and to focus on the progress that you’re making—not on the failures you’re experiencing on the way to meeting your goal. And if you continue to miss the mark on that resolution, reconsider your strategy or the goal itself. Maybe it would be more doable to send out three queries in a week than one a day. Or perhaps you are missing the mark on writing those daily pages for your novel because you haven’t yet scheduled that daily discipline into your day.
It’s like the Rejection Letter Olympics that I’ve hosted here in recent weeks. You know that you’re going to meet failure on the way to success. But the point is to keep trying anyway.
Focus on progress, not perfection. And remember, failure is your friend as long as you continue to learn from it and adjust your strategy for success the next time!
So what’s your strategy for getting back on the right track with a resolution? Drop me a line—I’d love to hear about it!
-Jenny
Photo credit: hans s (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 2 comments
January 1st, 2009
I hope all of you have a wonderful, happy, healthy, successful 2009!
Photo credit: Sally M (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 0 comments
December 31st, 2008
If you’re like me, you’ve written a few New Year’s resolutions that you just keep transferring from one year’s list to the next. And who hasn’t written the “lose 10 pounds, write a best-selling novel, eat more vegetables” New Year’s resolution list at least once?
The goals look great on paper in that new year, clean slate sort of way. But several months into the new year, you might find that forgotten list of lofty resolutions stuck in a book you were reading three months ago. And the list will be an uncomfortable reminder of the fact that you’ve only lost 2 pounds, written five pages of that novel, and simply upped your intake of french fries. (Hey, they’re a vegetable, right?)
Based on my experience with failed and successful resolutions from years past, here are a few pointers on how to make your freelance resolutions stick.
- Do a commitment check. Are you writing down the same resolutions or goals year after year? After so many times, you really have to ask yourself: How badly do I want this? Maybe you want to have accomplished the goal, but maybe you just don’t want to do all the work in between. That’s okay, but just be honest with yourself. Sure, you’d love to see your name at the top of a BusinessWeek article, but maybe you just don’t feel like writing the 20 queries and follow-up e-mails it’ll take to land you that assignment. That’s okay! But if you want the credits behind your name, get ready to roll up your sleeves, find a shovel, and start digging. Because here’s the cold, hard truth about dreams: you can’t achieve them by wishing hard, writing well-crafted resolutions, and holding onto good intentions. You have to do the work. And sometimes the work is long, hard, messy, tedious, frustrating, and plain old just not fun.
- Break it down. Two years ago, if I would have written down: “Walk a half marathon by August” on my New Year’s resolutions list, it never ever would have happened. But my walking partner and I broke the goal down into day-sized pieces. We started out walking two miles a day, then upped it to five miles a day, and then finally to 10 by the time August rolled around. So if you want to write that novel by the end of 2009, break the goal down into daily objectives. For example, if you write only three pages a day, you’ll have 90 pages at the end of 30 days. And at that rate, you could easily have a first draft of a 270-page novel written in three months. By focusing on the smaller daily goals, you make the bigger dream more achievable because you’re actually laying the groundwork for getting the work done. The practice of daily goal-setting puts action behind the words on your New Year’s resolution list—and that’s the way to turn your dreams into reality. Be sure to set milestone goals too. Map out where you want to be at the end of each quarter, or at the end of every three months (e.g. write first draft of 270-page novel by end of March, early April; complete first revision by end of June).
- Cultivate good habits. It takes about three or four weeks to make a habit stick. So once you’ve broken your goals down into day-sized chunks, create a routine for yourself. If writing a novel is on your list of goals for this year, write those three pages at the same time every day. If you want to break into new markets, send out two LOIs or queries to a new-to-you publication or client every day. The key is to develop the habit of self-discipline behind every goal on your New Year’s resolution list. Several years back when I was very out of shape and a few pounds heavier than I am now, I made a deal with myself: I only had to stay at the gym for 10 minutes. In reality, I can only remember a couple times when I packed my gym bag, drove across town, changed into my workout clothes, and then walked out the door after only 10 minutes on the treadmill. But the idea was to get myself in the habit of showing up every day. Once I established the habit of showing up, the rest followed. So with any of your freelance goals, develop the habit of showing up first. I can almost guarantee that the rest will follow.
- Plan ahead for low-motivation blues. There will be days when you wake up all motivated and ready to tackle your daily goals, and then several hours later—for some inexplicable reason—you’ll feel like throwing your hands up in the air and chucking the goal, the novel, the article, or whatever you’re trying to accomplish. I call these the “F*&k-Its.” You have to decide how you’re going to handle these moments ahead of time. Because no matter how much you think you want to achieve that dream of yours right now, I guarantee that there will come a time when that shiny new goal of yours becomes a pain in the you-know-what. And you’ll feel like you just can’t stand another minute of what you’re having to endure in order to turn your dream into reality. For example, if you have the goal of writing a novel and one week into it, you start thinking: “No one’s going to want to read this anyway. Why am I wasting my time? Why even bother?” Then you have to pull out that strategy that you’ve mapped out ahead of time. In this particular case, you might decide to write as fast as you can for 15 minutes and then stop for the night. Or you might decide to jump to another part of the novel and write that part instead. The key is to maintain the forward motion toward your goal, no matter how imperfect that forward motion is, and no matter how much your internal chatterbox tries to steer you off course. Learn how to override that negative self-talk by experimenting with different strategies and ideas. In short: Think less, do more.
- Keep it simple. Beware of overly long, complicated New Year’s resolutions lists. Have you ever had someone hand you a to-do list that’s two or three pages long? How does it make you feel? If you’re like most people, the long list will probably make you feel tired before you even start. So don’t do this to yourself! After asking yourself some questions and taking time to think about what really matters most to you, identify your top three to five goals and stick with those. And while you’re at it, make sure the goals you write are simple and straightforward. You don’t want to give yourself any more excuses to scrap your goals and resolutions several months down the road when your motivation is at a low ebb. And look at it this way: You can always add goals to your list later if you run out of things to do before the year is over (not likely).
- Find a mentor or buddy. If I didn’t have a walking partner do you think I’d be bolting out of bed every morning at 7 a.m. in the middle of winter to go walking? Heck no! But I have a walking partner, and I know that she will be waiting at the start of the trail at a certain time every morning. Knowing that she’s going to be there waiting makes me accountable. So I have to get up. I have no choice. I highly recommend this strategy for reaching your freelance goals too. You want to write more queries this year? Find a query-writing partner and give each other a new challenge each week. Or join a query-writing challenge. You want to write a book? Pair up with someone who has already written one or who is in the process of writing one too. Set mini goals for each other every day or week. It may sound hokey, but it really does work.
- Know when you’re done. Most of us writers, editors, and freelancers have a perfectionist streak. So it’s a good idea to decide ahead of time how you’re going to determine whether you’ve successfully met your goal. In many cases, this will be straightforward. In others, not so much. How are you going to know, for example, when a query you’ve written is “good enough?” How are you going to know when the first draft of that novel is really “done”? Give some thought to this ahead of time. Otherwise, you might just find yourself running in place.
Did I leave anything off the list? Drop me a line and tell me about it!
Photo credit: Paul Worthington (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 8 comments
December 30th, 2008
Since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, I thought I’d help jumpstart your freelance goal-setting process for 2009.
I don’t know about you, but every year around this time I start reflecting on the accomplishments of the past year and begin mapping out goals for the year ahead. Of course, losing the holiday pounds will be at the top of my overall list.
But typically, I develop a separate set of goals for my work and business life. Throughout the year, these goals help guide my decisions about how I spend my time, the assignments I pursue, the clients I decide to work for, and my overall business focus or plan. Before writing any goals down, though, I always ask myself several questions.
Based on my experience, here are some questions to ask yourself in preparation for setting your freelance goals for 2009:
- What is the least profitable part of my business? Would an increased focus or slightly different approach make that part of my business more profitable, or do I need to shift my focus away from that area and concentrate my efforts on something else (e.g. move away from newspaper and magazine work to focus more on corporate assignments)?
- What are my greatest strengths and how can I better capitalize on those this year?
- What are some skills that would make me more competitive in this marketplace? For example, would learning some multimedia skills like podcasting boost my income potential?
- Do I have some clients who are more trouble than they’re worth? If I was going to eliminate two or three clients from my list, who would those clients be? What would I need to do to replace those clients and the income they represent?
- What goal(s) do I keep putting on the back burner? Are these goals still important to me? If so, what am I willing to do and what sacrifices am I willing to make to accomplish these goals in the new year?
- If money and other factors were not a consideration, what freelance dream would I pursue in the coming year (e.g. writing a novel)? Is there a way to begin working toward this dream regardless of any obstacles that appear to be standing in my way?
- Where do I want to be five years from now with my business, and is the work I’m doing today supporting that vision? If not, what do I need to do differently in the new year to better position myself for that long-term business vision?
- Is there any work that I’m doing that I no longer enjoy? What would I like to do instead, and what would it take for me to shift my direction?
- What do I feel passionate about? Is there a particular topic area or type of work that would really fire me up? How can I incorporate this passion into my daily work? Are there clients or publications that would allow me to focus on these things?
- When I compare myself with other freelancers or professionals I know, are there areas that make me think: “Gee, I wish I knew how to do that” or “Gosh, I wish I had those credentials!” What are some specific things that I can do in the new year to help me accomplish those goals?
Have I left anything off the list? What questions will you be asking yourself as you set your freelance goals for next year? Drop me a line—I’d love to hear from you!
-Jenny
Photo credit: husin.sani (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 6 comments
December 29th, 2008
Good Monday morning readers!
Today, I’m shining the spotlight on Linda Formichelli, coauthor of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock! In addition to her books, Linda has written for more than 120 magazines, including Health, Woman’s Day, Writer’s Digest, USA Weekend, Oxygen, and Redbook.
Linda also teaches a query writing class through the Renegade Writer site and offers phone mentoring for writers. And she runs Creative Professionals for Animal Welfare.
Given our recent discussions on The Golden Pencil about query writing and LOIs, I thought Linda would be a great resource.
How long have you been freelancing full time, and how did you get your start? What did you do prior to freelancing?
I’ve been freelancing full time since July 1997. In 1996 I had gotten my Master’s degree in Slavic Linguistics from Berkeley. I didn’t want to continue my studies, so I had the idea to get into publishing. I went on informational interviews to see if I would like to work in this industry. I learned that it wasn’t for me, but thought my experiences informational interviewing would make a great article. I got a copy of Writer’s Market and a book called Queries and Submissions, wrote up a query, sent it to a magazine I’d never seen —and got an assignment for $500!
This wasn’t a surprising thing for me to do . . . I had always been interested in writing, and when I was a teenager I submitted short stories to sci-fi magazines. Never had any luck, but never lost the love of writing.
What are the best pieces of advice that you’ve ever received as a freelancer?
I have trouble focusing, and when I have a lot of work to do, I can’t get anything done because no matter what I’m working on, I’m distracted by the thought that I should be doing one of the other projects. I also can’t decide which project to start, so I procrastinate. I told my coauthor Diana Burrell about this, and she told me to just do *anything.* Just pick something and do it. And she was right—anything I can do to make a dent in my projects is progress. I don’t have to worry about doing the perfect thing at each moment—I just have to think about getting my work done.
My life coach, Kristin Taliaferro, taught me to think about who my market is and not undersell myself. Several years ago I wanted to start an e-course for magazine writers, but when I asked on a writers’ forum how much people would pay for such a course, they all said, “Why would I pay for what I can find online for free?” So I dropped the idea.
When I told Kristin about this, she said, “Those people are not your market. Your market is people who value your advice as an expert and are willing to pay for it.” So I started the course, and I’ve had close to 300 students!
What prompted you to write The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success? What would you say are the top three messages/lessons that you hope readers are left with after reading the book?
I was having lunch with an editor of mine and I was complaining about how all the books and magazines say you have to keep query letters to one page while I’d been having more success with longer, more researched queries. I said, “I should write an article on that,” and he said, “You should write a book!”
Really, though there are a lot of tips in the book, I want readers to learn one thing: You have to do what works for YOU. Try doing things the way the books and magazines tell you to, but if you’re not getting the results you want, chuck the rules and test out different tactics. There is no one, perfect way to do anything. That’s what being a Renegade Writer is all about.
You also have written The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock, and you teach some query-writing courses through your Web site. Based on your experience, what are the most common misconceptions that people have about queries? What are the most common mistakes they make when writing queries?
Many new writers shoot themselves down. They write, “I have no clips, but . . . ” or “I’ve never written for a magazine of your caliber, but . . .” Don’t give the editor a reason to say no! Do your best and wow the editor with your excellent idea and sparkling writing. If you have no publishing credits, just don’t mention it.
Also, some writers don’t keep the needs of the editor in mind. She doesn’t care what YOU need (an assignment, clips, whatever)—she cares about what SHE needs (a writer who will make her job easier). So leave out all the lines like, “I’ve always wanted to write for Beet Grower’s Fortnightly” or “I want to start writing parenting articles.”
Who cares? Tell the editor what you can do for her and her readers. For example, I might end a query with a line like, “Your readers want to spend less time doing housework—and more time with their families. My article ‘Speedy Cleaning Tips’ won’t disappoint them. May I write this article for you?”
Note: Readers can get a free packet of 12 query letters that worked for Linda, her husband Eric, and coauthor Diana Burrell, by sending a blank e-mail to queries@renegadewriter.com.
What are the top three pieces of advice that you can offer to people who want to write successful queries?
1. Do your research. A lot of writers balk at the idea of spending any amount of time on queries that may not land assignments. But putting in time will give your queries a better chance at succeeding. Be sure to offer statistics, research, and quotes that support your idea so the editor knows that (a) you know how to report as well as write, and (b) your idea will fly. Nothing is worse than getting an assignment and then finding out through research that the premise of your article is faulty!
2. Be natural. Sometimes writers are so worried about sounding professional that their queries come off stilted and boring. Throw a little personality in there. A good tip is to read the magazine you’re pitching and match the tone of your query to the tone of their articles.
3. Don’t be perfect. Perfectionism can keep you from getting your queries out there. Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect query; editors have different likes and dislikes, so there’s no one query that will please them all. An “imperfect” query in the hands of an editor is better than a query you work on for six months in the hopes of turning out the perfect pitch—and that ends up languishing in a drawer because you’re never satisfied with it.
There’s certainly no magic formula for writing query letters, but how much research do you typically do before sending your queries? Do you line up sources ahead of time?
I line up sources and do quick interviews with them so I can include quotes in my query. This shows that you have good sources lined up and that you know how to get a good quote. It also adds interest to your query letter.
I’ve heard some writers talk about writing pre-queries—basically a short e-mail to an editor or client about a story idea with an offer to expand on the idea and send a fully researched query if they’re interested. Have you ever tried this approach? If so, has it worked for you?
I have done this, but only with editors I’ve worked with before. If I’m approaching a new-to-me editor, I generally like to knock their socks off with a well-researched query letter or letter of intro. But if I have an idea for a magazine I’ve written for, I might say, “I’ve been working on an idea about how to get through difficult interviews. Would you be interested in this? If so, I’ll be happy to work up a full pitch for you.” Sometimes they buy the idea without the full pitch!
Do you send LOIs to editors before sending them queries?
I have been sending more and more LOIs. I like to send them to trade and custom magazines and have often landed assignments that way.
I’ll also send them to magazines that are new to me to feel out whether they use freelancers. For example, I recently sent an LOI to a free parenting magazine I saw at Babies R Us. The editor asked for clips, then gave me an assignment worth $1.50/word—no query required. It never hurts to send an LOI . . . if the editor would like you to pitch ideas, she’ll let you know.
Given the current state of the publishing industry, do you think it’s more difficult to capture editors’ attention with queries these days? Any advice for query writing in tough economic times? Are there things that people should do more or less of?
I do think that it’s been getting harder to catch an editor’s attention. I feel like I have to follow up and chase after editors more than I used to. I think this is because the Internet makes it so easy to pitch editors that their inboxes are full of pitches. When everyone was snail-mailing queries, that was a small barrier to entry —less-committed writers would be turned off at the idea of putting together a package.
Not to say I don’t advocate e-mail! I always recommend that writers send their queries via e-mail because it’s quicker and it gets directly to the right editor instead of sitting in a slush pile. But I do think that editors are deluged and that makes it harder for writers.
I don’t think you need to change the way you write query letters, but you may want to market harder and be more diligent about following up. I’ve been sending out LOIs like crazy, sending touching-base e-mails to my editors, and doing other marketing to keep my name in front of editors. So far, so good.
With so many changes occurring in the print magazine industry right now, would you recommend that people branch out and send queries elsewhere (e.g. to online publications)? Should people even bother sending queries to traditional print magazines right now?
I write mostly for print magazines, and I don’t think you need to stop pitching them. If you build relationships with your editors, no matter what kind of publication they work for, you’ll always have an in.
I don’t know much about writing for online magazines, but I don’t think that pitching them exclusively is a cure-all. I know of one magazine that closed down its Web edition and kept the print edition!
The media and publishing industries are in a state of flux right now. Do you have any advice for freelancers who want to remain competitive in this environment? How can freelancers keep work coming in the door in these tough economic times?
I always recommend that writers diversify so that if one form of writing dries up, they have others to take up the slack. For example, I write for magazines, coauthor books, teach e-courses, and have been getting back into corporate writing.
Any other advice for full- and part-time freelancers?
1. Develop a thick skin! You will experience rejection, and if you let it discourage you from sending your ideas out there, you’re guaranteeing failure. When you get a rejection, send the editor a different idea and send the query somewhere else.
2. Build relationships with your editors. Send them ideas (obviously), send them news and research studies you think they can use (without expectation of anything in return), mail them holiday cards or small gifts. Let your guard down a little . . . you can be friendly with your editors. And of course, the best way to build relationships with your editors is to do a great job on your assignments!
3. Turn your assignments in on or before deadline. It sounds obvious, but it’s one of the top complaints I’ve heard from editors. Get started on your assignments early so that if you run into trouble—a key source won’t cooperate, you get sick—you can let the editor know well ahead of deadline.
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 3 comments
December 26th, 2008
Good Friday morning Rejection Letter Olympians!
Congratulations! You have finally reached the finish line!
Whether you participated for one week or all five, I hope that the competition helped jumpstart your query- and LOI-writing process. And it’s also my hope that the competition took a little bit of the sting out of the rejections you might have received from editors and potential clients during the challenge. As I’ve mentioned here before, landing assignments is really a numbers game, and rejection is just part of the process. Every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.”
So go ahead and pat yourself on the back for every rejection you’ve received because it means that you had enough courage to risk rejection and send your ideas out into the world anyway.
I’m convinced that there are thousands of stories, books, and other great works out there that could be best-sellers or well-read pieces—except for the fact that people don’t send them out for fear of rejection or because they get discouraged after receiving the first, second, or third “no.”
The writers who dust themselves off and keep sending out queries, LOIs, and proposals regardless of the number of rejections they receive are the ones who get published. They’re the ones who have the best-selling books on the Barnes & Noble shelves and the cover stories and bylines in the big national magazines. Most people just see the bylines and writing credits—they don’t see all the rejections it took to get the book contracts or land those prestigious assignments.
So feel good about your rejections too! If you’re like most successful writers I know, you will get more rejections than assignments. And if you’re not getting rejection letters, my guess is that you’re not getting published.
I’m guessing that the holidays probably got in the way of racking up points for some people this week, but go ahead and tally up what you’ve accumulated anyway. Please give yourself 2 points for each rejection, and 3 points for each assignment, and log your totals in the comments section below.
And if you participated in the last five weeks or just a couple of those weeks, please also include the total number of points you accumulated for the weeks that you participated. I’ll announce three winners after the first of the year.
Congratulations again everyone!
Photo credit: Chris Kantos (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 1 comment
December 25th, 2008
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!
Photo credit: riptheskull (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 0 comments
December 24th, 2008
I’ve finished making the peanut brittle, decorated my Christmas tree, wrapped a few presents, addressed some cards, and have made the last trip to the grocery store (I hope). So now that I’m officially done with the holiday rush, I finally have the chance to enjoy some quiet moments and reflect on the past 12 months.
I don’t know about you, but every time I look back on a year, a theme always seems to emerge. And for me, the theme this past year was diversification.
Fortunately, I’ve always been the sort of person who gets strong gut feelings about things. And over a period of years, I’ve come to rely more and more on that inner knowing that I often experience. I wouldn’t say that I’m telepathic, clairvoyant, or a future seer. But I often seem to know on some level when things are about to change or get more difficult—either for myself or others around me.
Earlier this year, I started to get that uneasy gut feeling. At the time, I had no reason to believe that my two biggest clients would have far less work a few months into the year. But I paid attention to my gut, allowed myself to feel a little fear (a good motivator sometimes), and began to change my business focus. And a few times—instead of pursuing additional work from the “safe” clients—I forced myself to actually decline the work and look for income elsewhere.
I started pursuing new markets, new clients, and other kinds of work. I took a query-writing class, joined a couple of online writing communities, and increased my marketing efforts. And even though work continued to come my way from regular clients, I began to assume that the flow of work was finite. My gut told me that eventually I’d have to replace that income with some better-paying clients and more stable revenue streams.
So when my two largest clients recently started experiencing layoffs and budget cuts, I wasn’t surprised. My gut had picked up on the shift long before it happened. So bottom line, I was much more prepared than if I would have ignored that inner pull to move in some other directions. And by the time my work and income tapered off from both of these clients, I was already working under the assumption that I’d eventually have to replace them anyway.
Now I certainly can’t predict what the next year holds for me or for anyone else. But I’m getting some strong gut feelings again. And based on that inner radar I seem to have, I plan on taking certain steps to brace for rougher roads ahead. If you’re interested in my gut feelings too, here are my strong suggestions for 2009:
1) Increase your marketing efforts. If you’re used to sending out 10 LOIs and queries every day, send out 20 or 30. Boost your Web presence with a Web site and blog. Get more involved in online communities. Build and nurture your networks. When times get tough, businesses sometimes pull back on advertising and market less. That’s a big mistake. Your marketing dollars go much further in an economic downturn—often because other businesses start trimming advertising dollars.
2) Step away from traditional media. I hate to be such a pessimist, but I think print media—newspapers, magazines, and others—are going to continue their death spiral. I don’t think print media will ever die off completely. But I know what my reading habits are, and if I’m completely honest, I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical newspaper. Some of of my former newspaper colleagues might be surprised to hear me say that, but I haven’t had newspaper ink on my fingertips in a very, very long time. In fact, I’ll just come right out and say what I know some of you might not like to hear: I don’t really like reading physical newspapers anymore. I read all my news online now. But I still enjoy reading magazines in print form. Something about the glossy pages and the tactile experience of a magazine is still very pleasurable to me. Why is this relevant? Like me, the average reader is consuming more news and information online. So if you’re interested in avoiding a downturn in your own business, don’t look to print media to help put food on your table or pay your mortgage. Start pursuing assignments from more online and new media sources. Your bank account will thank you later.
3) Buckle your seatbelt. Believe in yourself and your ability to get through this recession, but be prepared to do some things that you’ve dismissed in the past. Say “no” less often, and pay close attention to new opportunities. In other words, keep an open mind, stay nimble, and come up with Plans B, C, D—and maybe even E. I don’t think 2009 is going to be an easy year for freelancers—or anyone for that matter. But I also think there are plenty of opportunities for those open-minded enough to see them. New opportunities can come in many forms. But when a new one suddenly arrives, be prepared to act quickly and take action before it passes you by.
4) Become a multimedia maven. I admit that I’m not there yet—I’m no multimedia diva. But I do plan on learning how to do a podcast this year. And I’m going to make it a goal to learn as much about multimedia as I can in the coming year. Why? I believe that in the next couple of years, more editors will want to see freelancers turning in whole story packages that not only consist of print, but also of video, audio, and pictures. And if you have the skills and the know-how now, I’d strongly encourage you to consider providing some of these multimedia solutions to your existing clients. In an economic downturn, you want to take special care to provide the best service you can, so consider offering multimedia solutions to editors when you’re pitching stories or sending LOIs. If you do this, I bet that you’ll start landing more assignments.
So what trends do you see on the horizon for 2009? What are you going to do to position yourself for success in the coming year? Drop me a line—I’d love to hear about it!
-Jenny
Photo credit: krisdecurtis (Flickr)
Share This
By Jenny Cromie -- 3 comments
Recent Comments