Hi everyone,
As you've already noticed, I've been pretty vacant from this blog for the past few weeks. I'm still working away, still freelancing. But I guess I just kind of ... ran out of things to say about it. In a blog niche as saturated as freelance writing, I'm finding it more and more difficult to come up with new tips and new insider info when there are already so many fantastic sources out there. I would rather have this blog sit in silence for a bit than to be hashing out stale posts.
I want to keep the name of this blog, and would like to pick it up again in the future, but maybe with a different angle. I plan on having a long writing career, so I'm sure that angle or elusive inspiration will hit one day and this blog will be back and full of new, fresh things to say. Until then, though, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading, for your comments, your emails, your jokes, your support and above all, your listening ear.
You can still find me blogging at the read baron. And I'm starting up a fiction blog which will go live in a week or so, and I'll keep you posted on that.
Best of luck, and keep writing!
Sincerely,
Amanda.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Spreading Holiday Cheer to Clients
A few weeks back I was thinking about my Christmas card list. That thing needs to be updated every year as new people come into my life and others fade out, and it seems everyone has a change of address to boot. Then I really got to thinking: what about my clients from the past year? Sending a happy holidays card to all the lovely people who sent me cheques this year would be a nice gesture, I think. Even--perhaps especially--to the clients who've faded out of communication and may need a reminder that I'm still alive and writing. This will be my first holiday season as a full-time freelancer, and it's also has been my most successful year yet, so I was wondering what you seasoned freelancers think about this. Do you send holiday cards to clients, past and present? Why or why not? And new freelancers, would you be comfortable doing this? Do tell.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Freelance Writer's Believe it or Not
Thank goodness it's Friday, no? This week I have a believe-it-or-not that came to me not from the job boards, but from an editor. I was out for a casual catch-up the other night with the editor of a magazine I regularly contribute for, and we got to talking about the freelancing life. After I finished telling her of a few of the trials and tribulations, she leaned over conspiratorially and said, "I could never get into freelancing because of the pitches." Writing query letters? "I would work on one for weeks and weeks and then never send it. How do you write them?" Granted, this is an editor for a trade publication and so rarely gets pitches, and never gets pitches she can actually use since the issues are all mapped out in advance. I told her of the emotional callouses that are mandatory and how I like to include quotes and preface the pitch with a letter of introduction, and she nodded thoughtfully the whole way through.
So there you have it, dear readers. Even magazine editors have their query writing fears, and many, many of them chose the editorial route because they feel that they just couldn't do what you do.
So there you have it, dear readers. Even magazine editors have their query writing fears, and many, many of them chose the editorial route because they feel that they just couldn't do what you do.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Show Your Notes
Our notebooks say so much about us, don't they? Not only does the size, style and format of a notebook reflect the different types of creative processes we use, but also the condition a notebook is kept in, or how legible the writing is, offers up some interesting tidbits into the different--and similar-- paths that writers' minds take.
Here's my main notebook,
It's spiral bound for ease of use, with two columns on each page--I believe it's called a steno book. I like this feature for keeping my handwriting on the neater side, and for comparing ideas and laying out a story into sections on the same page. The handwriting shown here is in between; it can get much neater as well as and much messier. Note the arrows, scratches and question marks as the story is literally shaping up in my mind.
And now that I've shown you mine, it's your turn! Post a photo of your writer's notebook on your own blog and leave a link and a comment below. I can't wait to see!
Here's my main notebook,
It's spiral bound for ease of use, with two columns on each page--I believe it's called a steno book. I like this feature for keeping my handwriting on the neater side, and for comparing ideas and laying out a story into sections on the same page. The handwriting shown here is in between; it can get much neater as well as and much messier. Note the arrows, scratches and question marks as the story is literally shaping up in my mind.
And now that I've shown you mine, it's your turn! Post a photo of your writer's notebook on your own blog and leave a link and a comment below. I can't wait to see!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Pulling Teeth
For the past six weeks I've been working for a client whose communication skills are weak, to put it nicely and free of expletives. I could have completed this project weeks ago, and would've loved to have that chunk of cash before last month's rent was due, but alas, here I am in October, waiting for a couple of lines in the form of an email. Now, as the sole proprietor, employee and accountant of my business, I know that there are some things I could have done to avoid, or at least lessen, my current situation. Here's what I've learned.
*Always put an end date, due date, deadline, whatever, on a contract. In the beginning this client made it clear that rather than have a deadline, he'd prefer to have this done correctly, not quickly. He wasn't kidding.
* Read between the lines. As above, I should have read what was really being said here: this project is open-ended. In fact, this project gives 'open-ended' a whole new dimension: the thing's flapping around in the wind like a pair of dirty underpants from a flagpole.
* Always take a deposit up front. This is completely my fault, and I am still looking into where my brain was that day. This was the one and only time I didn't require a deposit before starting a project, and now here I am, wearing the heel out of my shoe from kicking myself repeatedly.
* Set up a second contact person. I know it's usually in the writer's best interest to only work with one editor, but having an in-case-the-client-falls-off-the-face-of-the-earth emergency backup contact could have saved me the grief I'm now experiencing.
Now I'm in a position no writer likes to find themselves: having done all the work, and waiting for a reply and payment. I've slid all my bargaining tools right on over to this guy and I'm reaping the repercussions. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? What did you do then, and what preventative steps do you take now?
*Always put an end date, due date, deadline, whatever, on a contract. In the beginning this client made it clear that rather than have a deadline, he'd prefer to have this done correctly, not quickly. He wasn't kidding.
* Read between the lines. As above, I should have read what was really being said here: this project is open-ended. In fact, this project gives 'open-ended' a whole new dimension: the thing's flapping around in the wind like a pair of dirty underpants from a flagpole.
* Always take a deposit up front. This is completely my fault, and I am still looking into where my brain was that day. This was the one and only time I didn't require a deposit before starting a project, and now here I am, wearing the heel out of my shoe from kicking myself repeatedly.
* Set up a second contact person. I know it's usually in the writer's best interest to only work with one editor, but having an in-case-the-client-falls-off-the-face-of-the-earth emergency backup contact could have saved me the grief I'm now experiencing.
Now I'm in a position no writer likes to find themselves: having done all the work, and waiting for a reply and payment. I've slid all my bargaining tools right on over to this guy and I'm reaping the repercussions. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? What did you do then, and what preventative steps do you take now?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Dealing with the Feast
It's been over a week since I last posted, and even as I write this my conscience is going "Work! Why aren't you working?! DEADLINES!" I know, conscience, I know. But hear me out.
Yesterday I peeled myself away from the home office long enough to meet my appointment at the blood clinic to do my regular donation. But for the first time in years, I was rejected because my iron level was slightly lower than the minimum requirement. As I got up to leave, I felt almost numb. I felt like I had failed somehow. Failed the iron test? I know--silly. And it's not like I don't deal with rejection all the time in freelance writing. When I got home, there was a message for me from the clinic saying I'd left my donor's card there in my state of shock and dejection. "You could be overtired," the nurse had said to me in the clinic, "or stressed." I just nodded then, but looking back now, I think I know why I'd been so upset with myself: I'd let the work come before my health. And that is not good.
I consider myself to my a very healthy person and know a ridiculous amount about nutrition and exercise for someone who has a degree in English literature rather than human kinetics. And I've never been what you'd call a workaholic. But with the feast or famine cycles of freelancing, I've found that there are stages wherein my life is consumed with work. I can't go for lunch, go for dinner at my mom's or even help with the grocery shopping because I'm panicky about deadlines. And that doesn't mean I'm over-reacting and panicking in advance. I'm panicking because I've been forced to leave certain projects until the last minute due to a stack of assignments that I've been plowing through in the meantime. And yet, I still search for and apply to new jobs every morning because I remember all too clearly the last famine.
So today, I have a question for you, from one freelancer to another: How do you deal with the feast? I know there are tons of posts out there about what do with your time during the famine, but how do you cope with a teetering work load? What have you learned from past feasts?
Yesterday I peeled myself away from the home office long enough to meet my appointment at the blood clinic to do my regular donation. But for the first time in years, I was rejected because my iron level was slightly lower than the minimum requirement. As I got up to leave, I felt almost numb. I felt like I had failed somehow. Failed the iron test? I know--silly. And it's not like I don't deal with rejection all the time in freelance writing. When I got home, there was a message for me from the clinic saying I'd left my donor's card there in my state of shock and dejection. "You could be overtired," the nurse had said to me in the clinic, "or stressed." I just nodded then, but looking back now, I think I know why I'd been so upset with myself: I'd let the work come before my health. And that is not good.
I consider myself to my a very healthy person and know a ridiculous amount about nutrition and exercise for someone who has a degree in English literature rather than human kinetics. And I've never been what you'd call a workaholic. But with the feast or famine cycles of freelancing, I've found that there are stages wherein my life is consumed with work. I can't go for lunch, go for dinner at my mom's or even help with the grocery shopping because I'm panicky about deadlines. And that doesn't mean I'm over-reacting and panicking in advance. I'm panicking because I've been forced to leave certain projects until the last minute due to a stack of assignments that I've been plowing through in the meantime. And yet, I still search for and apply to new jobs every morning because I remember all too clearly the last famine.
So today, I have a question for you, from one freelancer to another: How do you deal with the feast? I know there are tons of posts out there about what do with your time during the famine, but how do you cope with a teetering work load? What have you learned from past feasts?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
You Know You Work from Home When...
you're in the middle of an article when suddenly this song comes on the radio:
and next thing you know you're shuffling across the floor, head and arms flailing, and you realize the only thing missing is a cigarello.
and next thing you know you're shuffling across the floor, head and arms flailing, and you realize the only thing missing is a cigarello.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
What About Your Writer's Resolutions?
I'm a compulsive planner, and I tend to forget just how much so until I get a reminder, like when last week I received an email from my sister who was sending out the annual mass email with the subject line: Need your mailing address for Christmas cards! I laughed to myself as I realized that I, too, had been mentally compiling my Christmas card mailing list just the other day. I replied to her email, There's medication for people like us.
But along with Christmas cards, I've also been thinking about the resolutions I made this last January. From what I can recall, the list comprised of these 3 things:
1. Get in better shape. Check. Note that this does not say, "Lose weight," which I didn't do, but I have indeed gotten into better shape; I joined a gym in May and go 3-5 times a week, and feel damn good about it.
2. Move to freelancing full-time. Check again. I was still holding down a very part-time day job when I compiled this list, but within weeks of the new year, the company went bankrupt and I was left without a steady paycheck, without severance and without the vacation pay I'd accumulated with them. So while I was thrust into freelancing full-time, with the immense support of my guy and that resolution resting so close to the surface, I threw myself into self-promotion and job board stumping full throttle. I look back at the steady paycheck now and again, but then I remember commuting and customer service and the smell of other people's lunches and I shudder.
3. Spend more time on creative writing. X. A big ol' thick, red X stares back at me when I come to this item, and I don't feel good about it. Especially since yesterday I learned that the local magazine I was once a co-editor of and regular contributor to just won the award of Vancouver's Best Free Literary Magazine. After sending my friends a big congratulation, I was suddenly hit with the realization that it has been MONTHS since I last picked up a pen with the intention of writing a poem or short story. I also happened to be in the middle of organizing all my paper files that day, and as if to hit the point home I came across a dusty and unfamiliar file folder labeled, "Creative Writing: W-I-P". I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen that folder, and I immediately realized that I'd been neglecting a very large part of my life for the sake of resolution #2. I made a vow then and there to make a greater effort in my creative writing, and as the familiar damp sky and grey fog comes rolling into town on the shoulders of September, I'm slowly feeling that intention being backed up by urge, and I can think of no better time to catch up than this weekend.
Have you kept the resolutions you set at the beginning of this year? What were they?
But along with Christmas cards, I've also been thinking about the resolutions I made this last January. From what I can recall, the list comprised of these 3 things:
1. Get in better shape. Check. Note that this does not say, "Lose weight," which I didn't do, but I have indeed gotten into better shape; I joined a gym in May and go 3-5 times a week, and feel damn good about it.
2. Move to freelancing full-time. Check again. I was still holding down a very part-time day job when I compiled this list, but within weeks of the new year, the company went bankrupt and I was left without a steady paycheck, without severance and without the vacation pay I'd accumulated with them. So while I was thrust into freelancing full-time, with the immense support of my guy and that resolution resting so close to the surface, I threw myself into self-promotion and job board stumping full throttle. I look back at the steady paycheck now and again, but then I remember commuting and customer service and the smell of other people's lunches and I shudder.
3. Spend more time on creative writing. X. A big ol' thick, red X stares back at me when I come to this item, and I don't feel good about it. Especially since yesterday I learned that the local magazine I was once a co-editor of and regular contributor to just won the award of Vancouver's Best Free Literary Magazine. After sending my friends a big congratulation, I was suddenly hit with the realization that it has been MONTHS since I last picked up a pen with the intention of writing a poem or short story. I also happened to be in the middle of organizing all my paper files that day, and as if to hit the point home I came across a dusty and unfamiliar file folder labeled, "Creative Writing: W-I-P". I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen that folder, and I immediately realized that I'd been neglecting a very large part of my life for the sake of resolution #2. I made a vow then and there to make a greater effort in my creative writing, and as the familiar damp sky and grey fog comes rolling into town on the shoulders of September, I'm slowly feeling that intention being backed up by urge, and I can think of no better time to catch up than this weekend.
Have you kept the resolutions you set at the beginning of this year? What were they?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Friday's Believe it or Not
Since hardly a week goes by that I don't come across a few things that cause my freelance writer's head to shake in disbelief and my eyes to pop out of my head, roll across the floor, picking up crumbs and carpet fuzz along the way, and I have to feel around for them, blow the dust off and pop them back into my face, I thought I'd make the Freelancer Writer's Believe it or Not a somewhat regular Friday post. Because by Friday, I've sufficiently had my fill of the job boards.
I'll just bust these out like a redneck does babies then, shall I?
And this one's my favourite type of non-paying gig:
And it seems someone picked the wrong dude to be his best man:
Have a pleasantly job board free weekend, everyone!
Earn $150 for a web writing project. Work from home! Creative mind needed to bust out 50 pages of content (250-350 words a page). Scope of the project is to write 1 page for every US state using a theme connecting the state with its recognized industry industries or large businesses.
I'll just bust these out like a redneck does babies then, shall I?
And this one's my favourite type of non-paying gig:
Job DescriptionSo... you're a well-respected, successful and big-name-touting company who wants to "employ" writers, but can't even offer up a minimum wage as payment? Just checking.
[Media company name] is seeking non-paid contributing writers to the site for the re-launch of [website] as well as writing going forward.
We have branded ourselves as the place to find out what is happening in our home base of [state] as well as other major surrounding cities [...] Viewership to the site is in the hundreds of thousands, with major online publications already doing feeds from our site to theirs [...] Such big name players in their prospective fields will be manning each sector of the blog. Our hope is to employ a number of contributing writers to add their perspective and insight in the following cities for launch [.]
And it seems someone picked the wrong dude to be his best man:
I need someone to help write a Best Man Speech. I need the speech for the end of this Wednesday. I am writing one on my own and might be just fine, but figured if I could find someone with experience that would be something that would help relieve my stress and ensure my speech is great [...] I basically need this for Wednesday so that leaves about a day.Oh, I've got a great one! Remember that time when we built our own water slide in the backyard and slid off the roof--oh wait, that was someone else. Oh, there was that time when that chick at the bar turned out to be... Ya, someone else again. Sorry, don't think I can help you out with your speech about YOUR best friend.
Have a pleasantly job board free weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Quiz: Are You Headed for Burnout?
As freelancer, it's all up to you to juggle your workload, get your assignments completed by deadline and still have time to live the rest of your life. This can be difficult even for the most organized writer. Take this test and find out if you're an ace or a disgrace at time management.
1. Every weekday morning, you stumble over to the computer and flick it on. You spend the first hour of your day:
a) easing into awake mode with the non work related stuff: emails to friends and family, catching up on blogs and forum discussions, reading newspapers, etc. while caffeinating.
b) emailing clients so that when they arrive to work your email is already waiting for them. That is, if you don't just delve into work straight away.
c) morning? It's usually brunch by the time you're up, and you take care of that first.
2. On average, you check your social network accounts (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.):
a) 3 times a day, usually when taking a break.
b) never. Those things are time-wasters that you can't afford.
c) too many times to count.
3. Come lunch time, you can usually be found:
a) at the table or reading at the computer while eating, but sometimes eating out with a friend or client.
b) working while eating. Or not eating.
c) cookin' up a big ol' heap o' food, than vegging out in front of the TV for an hour or two.
4. Choose the word that best describes what 'success' means to you:
a) pride
b) prolific
c) groupies
5. Your work day often ends:
a) around dinner time, when the family starts looking at you like those photoshopped animals with the ridiculously enlarged eyes.
b) when you realize you've read the same sentence over 12 times and can't remember what the meaning was supposed to be, or when you wake up with an F key embossed on your forehead, whichever comes first.
c) when the Seinfeld re-runs start. There's no point going back after that.
6. When was the last time you took a weekend off?
a) you usually take the weekend off, unless there's an exceptional circumstance and you have a Monday deadline.
b) wee...kend?
c) Last weekend. You don't work them as a rule.
7. You've been convinced to take a few days off for Atlantic City for a long weekend, but just as you're packing up a new client contacts you with a project that's due the day you're scheduled to return home. You:
a) thank them but let them know you're just about to leave town, but you'd gladly take on the project when you return or else recommend some other writers for them to try.
b) tell them to use your cell number and email for contact, and take on the project. Isn't that the point of Wi-Fi in hotels?
c) tell them you're on vacation as of this minute, and decline the offer.
8. Since leaving the rat race and going freelance, your work load has:
a) pretty much stayed the same, give or take some hours according to the work flow that week.
b) doubled, at least. Have to make extra sure ends are always met!
c) Gone down to a 4 day week, sometimes less. Isn't that the point?
9. The overall impression your friends and family have of your freelancing life is:
a) envy at how you're making it work doing something they don't have the self-discipline for.
b) confusion over what it is you're at the computer doing every single day, all day long. They thought freelancing would be a little more... fun.
c) disbelief at how you manage to still have a roof over your head for doing what appears to be absolutely nothing.
10. The reason you got into freelancing can be best summed up as:
a) to do what you love, be your own boss and still have time for family.
b) actually, you can't really remember.
c) to work in pyjamas! and not get up early!
If you answered mostly a's:
You're as balanced as a plate spinner! You know your limits, both work-wise and play-wise. You're tactful with clients, honest with yourself and committed to making the freelancing life work for you.
If you answered mostly b's:
Proceed with caution--you may be headed to that smoldering heap known as Burnout Central. While it's important to make sure you're never wont for work, it's crucial to your long-term success to know where to draw the line between work time and time for yourself. At this rate, you may not be able to handle the success you so deserve.
If you answered mostly c's:
How do you keep a roof over your head? Either you're independently wealthy or you have a horse shoe up your rear, because I've never met a successful freelancer who put so little effort into their career. Freelancing may be a pit-stop for you, but if you want to really make a go of it, you're going to have to start logging in more time.
1. Every weekday morning, you stumble over to the computer and flick it on. You spend the first hour of your day:
a) easing into awake mode with the non work related stuff: emails to friends and family, catching up on blogs and forum discussions, reading newspapers, etc. while caffeinating.
b) emailing clients so that when they arrive to work your email is already waiting for them. That is, if you don't just delve into work straight away.
c) morning? It's usually brunch by the time you're up, and you take care of that first.
2. On average, you check your social network accounts (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.):
a) 3 times a day, usually when taking a break.
b) never. Those things are time-wasters that you can't afford.
c) too many times to count.
3. Come lunch time, you can usually be found:
a) at the table or reading at the computer while eating, but sometimes eating out with a friend or client.
b) working while eating. Or not eating.
c) cookin' up a big ol' heap o' food, than vegging out in front of the TV for an hour or two.
4. Choose the word that best describes what 'success' means to you:
a) pride
b) prolific
c) groupies
5. Your work day often ends:
a) around dinner time, when the family starts looking at you like those photoshopped animals with the ridiculously enlarged eyes.
b) when you realize you've read the same sentence over 12 times and can't remember what the meaning was supposed to be, or when you wake up with an F key embossed on your forehead, whichever comes first.
c) when the Seinfeld re-runs start. There's no point going back after that.
6. When was the last time you took a weekend off?
a) you usually take the weekend off, unless there's an exceptional circumstance and you have a Monday deadline.
b) wee...kend?
c) Last weekend. You don't work them as a rule.
7. You've been convinced to take a few days off for Atlantic City for a long weekend, but just as you're packing up a new client contacts you with a project that's due the day you're scheduled to return home. You:
a) thank them but let them know you're just about to leave town, but you'd gladly take on the project when you return or else recommend some other writers for them to try.
b) tell them to use your cell number and email for contact, and take on the project. Isn't that the point of Wi-Fi in hotels?
c) tell them you're on vacation as of this minute, and decline the offer.
8. Since leaving the rat race and going freelance, your work load has:
a) pretty much stayed the same, give or take some hours according to the work flow that week.
b) doubled, at least. Have to make extra sure ends are always met!
c) Gone down to a 4 day week, sometimes less. Isn't that the point?
9. The overall impression your friends and family have of your freelancing life is:
a) envy at how you're making it work doing something they don't have the self-discipline for.
b) confusion over what it is you're at the computer doing every single day, all day long. They thought freelancing would be a little more... fun.
c) disbelief at how you manage to still have a roof over your head for doing what appears to be absolutely nothing.
10. The reason you got into freelancing can be best summed up as:
a) to do what you love, be your own boss and still have time for family.
b) actually, you can't really remember.
c) to work in pyjamas! and not get up early!
If you answered mostly a's:
You're as balanced as a plate spinner! You know your limits, both work-wise and play-wise. You're tactful with clients, honest with yourself and committed to making the freelancing life work for you.
If you answered mostly b's:
Proceed with caution--you may be headed to that smoldering heap known as Burnout Central. While it's important to make sure you're never wont for work, it's crucial to your long-term success to know where to draw the line between work time and time for yourself. At this rate, you may not be able to handle the success you so deserve.
If you answered mostly c's:
How do you keep a roof over your head? Either you're independently wealthy or you have a horse shoe up your rear, because I've never met a successful freelancer who put so little effort into their career. Freelancing may be a pit-stop for you, but if you want to really make a go of it, you're going to have to start logging in more time.
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