101 SECRETS TO FREELANCE SUCCESS
Kelly James-Enger
TA BLE OF CONTEN CON TENTS TS INTRODUCTION.................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ...............................1 ...........1
PART 1 MARKETING: SE LLING YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK
1. BECOME A QUERY MASTE M ASTER R .......................................... ............................................................. ...........................3 ........3 2. FOCUS FOC US ON THE T HE FRONT F RONT ..................................................... ......................................................................... .......................5 ...5 3. USE THE TWO-PART TEST. .................... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................7 ..........7 4. SUBMIT QUERIES, NOT ARTICLES ..........................................................9 5. KEEP AN LOI IN YOUR AR SENAL .................................................. ........................................................... ......... 11 6. MATCH YOUR PITCH TO THE MARKET TYPE .....................................13 7. DON’T DON’ T TAKE TAK E REJECT R EJECTION ION PERSONA LLY ................. .................................... ...............................16 ............16 8. LIST LISTEN EN TO YOUR GUT ............................... .................................................. ....................................... .......................... ......18 18 9. HAR NESS SOCI SOCIAL AL M EDIA ................. .................................... ....................................... ...................................19 ...............19 10. SEARCH CRAIGSLIST FOR WORK ........................................................22 11. EMPLOY THE TH E 24-HOUR 24 -HOUR RULE RU LE ......................... ............................................ ......................................24 ...................24 12. FOLLOW UP ON EVERY EV ERY PITCH PITC H.................. ..................................... ....................................... ........................ ....25 25 13. CREATE C REATE A PLATFORM .................... ........................................ ........................................ ................................... ...............27 27 14. PITCH QUIZZ QUIZZES ES .................. .................................... ..................................... ...................................... .............................29 ..........29 15. MASTER MA STER COLD CALL C ALLS. S. ................. ..................................... ....................................... ..................................... .................. 31 16. WRITE WRI TE FOR BUSINESSES........................ BUSINES SES............................................ ........................................ ........................... ....... 33 17.. SAY NO TO CONTENT 17 CON TENT MIL MILLS LS ....................... ........................................... .........................................36 .....................36 18. CLOSE CLOS E BUSIN ESS .................... ....................................... ...................................... ....................................... .........................38 .....38 19. MARK MA RK ET CONSTANTLY CONSTAN TLY ........................ .......................................... ..................................... ..............................39 ...........39
PART 2 EFFICIE NCY NCY:: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME
20. ELIMI EL IMI NATE THE TH E UGLIEST UGLIE ST ................. .................................... ..................................... ................................43 ..............43 21. TR ACK YOUR T IME IME.. ............................... .................................................. ...................................... ............................44 .........44 22. RE RESLA SLANT NT EVERY IDEA .................... ....................................... ....................................... ...................................46 ...............46 23. WR ITE T WO STORIES STORIE S AT ONCE ................. ..................................... ....................................... .....................4 ..48 8 24. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR WORKDAY...............................................50 25. RIDE RI DE YOUR WORK WAVES WAVES....................................................................52 ....................................................................52
26. SELL STORIES MORE THAN ONCE ......................................................53 27.. BECOME A GHOST ...................... 27 .......................................... ........................................ .......................................57 ...................57 28. FIN D FA FACTS CTS FAST .................................. ..................................................... ....................................... .............................60 .........60 29. SWIM SWI M LIKE LI KE A SHAR SH AR K.................... ....................................... ....................................... ......................................62 ..................62 30. WORK WHEN YOU’RE NOT REALLY WORKING.................................63 31. REDEFI NE “FU “FULL-TIM LL-TIME” E” ................... ...................................... ...................................... .................................65 ..............65 32. WRITE ARTICLES
.......................................................... ...................... .. 67 AND BOOKS ......................................
33. OUTSOURCE OU TSOURCE WORK ............................................ ................................................................ ..................................68 ..............68 34. NAR ROW YOUR FOCUS .................. ...................................... ........................................ ...................................70 ...............70 35. CREATE CR EATE YOUR OWN TEMPLATES T EMPLATES .................. ...................................... ......................................72 ..................72 36. LOCATE LOC ATE SOURCES MORE QUICK QUICKLY LY..................... .......................................... ................................ ........... 74 37. MASTER SERVICE WRITING.................................................................76 38. CONSIDER ANOTHER CAREER ............................................................79 39. USE E-MAIL E-MA IL THE TH E RIGHT WAY WAY ........................................... .............................................................. ................... 81 40. PERFOR M CPR C PR .................................... ...................................................... ..................................... .................................84 ..............84 41. FORGET PER FECT ................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................... ... 85 42. MAK M AK E YOUR OWN RULES .................................. ...................................................... ................................... ...............87 87
PART 3 RELATIONSHIPS: BUILDING AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
43. FOLLOW THE T HE PLATINU PL ATINU M RULE RUL E ................. .................................... ....................................... ....................... ...89 89 44. EMBR ACE A PROFESSIONA PROFESSIONAL L PERSONA ................................ ............................................... ............... 91 45. CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS ....................................................93 46. SAY THA T HANK NK YOU................... ....................................... ........................................ ........................................ .........................94 .....94 47.. KNOW 47 K NOW HOW PERSONAL TO GET ................... ...................................... ......................................96 ...................96 48. CONDUCT MORE COMPELLING INTERVIEWS ...................................97 49. MAK E CLIENTS CLIEN TS LOVE YOU ................... ...................................... ....................................... ........................... ....... 100 50. CHOOSE REL RELATIONSHIPS ATIONSHIPS OVER ASSIGN MEN MENTS TS .................. ............................. ........... 102 51. LEARN LEA RN TO SAY NO .................... ........................................ ........................................ ....................................... ................... 104 52. REACH R EACH OUT THE TH E RIGHT WAY .................... ........................................ ....................................... ................... 105 53. MASTER THE TH E ONE-ON-ON ONE-ON -ONE. E. ................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................... .... 107 54. NAM E YOUR WHA LES .................. ..................................... ....................................... ..................................... .................111 111 55. ATTEN ATTEN D A CONFER ENCE (OR TWO) TWO) ....................................... ................................................. .......... 113
56. AVOID AVOID EXPLOSIV EX PLOSIV ES AND A ND WAIFS ................. .................................... ....................................... .................... 115 57.. MAKE 57 MA KE SOURCES SOU RCES LOVE YOU .................................. ...................................................... .............................. .......... 117 58. GATHER—AND SHAR E—I E—INFORM NFORMATION ATION .......... ............... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ....... 120
PART 4 MANAGEMENT:: RUNNIN G YOUR BUSINES S MANAGEMENT LIKE A BUSINESS
59. ASK FOR MORE MOR E ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ......................... ..... 123 60. K NOW YOUR YOUR BOOK PUBLISHI PU BLISHING NG OPTIONS ..................... ...................................... .................126 126 61. FORGET PERPER-WORD WORD RATE RATES S .................. ..................................... ....................................... ........................... ....... 128 62. PLAN ON PAYME AYMENT NT ................... ...................................... ...................................... ...................................... ..................... 129 63. MAK E EVERY DEADLI NE ................... ........................................ ......................................... ............................ ........ 132 64. FIR F IRE E CLIEN TS ................... ....................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................... ....... 133 65. USE THE FOUR-PART WORK TEST TE ST .......................................... .................................................... .......... 136 66. FIGHT F IGHT FOR YOUR R IGHTS ..................... .......................................... ........................................... ........................ .. 137 67.. COLLECT 67 COLLEC T EVERY EV ERY CHECK CHEC K ...................... ......................................... ....................................... ........................... ....... 140 68. QUESTION RESEA RCH CLA CLAIMS IMS ............................ ............................................... ............................. .......... 142 69. FORGET ROY ROYALTIES ALTIES ........................................ ............................................................ .................................... ................ 145 70. COMPREHEND COMPREH END COPYRIGHT COPYR IGHT ................... ....................................... ........................................ ....................... ... 147 71. KNOW K NOW YOUR DAILY DAI LY NUT ................................. .................................................... ................................... ................ 150 72. SET BOTH KINDS KI NDS OF GOALS ......................... ............................................. ..................................... ................. 151 73. KNOW K NOW WHAT YOU CAN C AN DEDUCT ................. .................................... ..................................... .................. 152 74. CONSIDER OPPORTUNIT OPPORTU NIT Y COST ................... ..................................... .................................... .................. 154 75. DIVERSI DIV ERSIFY FY YOUR WORK .................... ....................................... ....................................... .............................. .......... 156 76. PLAN PLA N TO PROMOTE ....................................... .......................................................... ..................................... .................. 157 77. BLOG WITH WIT H PUR POSE ....................... ........................................... ....................................... ............................. .......... 159 78. GET IN FRONT F RONT OF THE ROOM ...................................... .......................................................... ...................... 162 79. BEAT BEAT THE FEAST FEAS T-OR-FAMI NE SYNDROME SY NDROME ................... ....................................... .................... 165 80. BOOST YOUR VALUE ................... ....................................... ........................................ .................................... ................ 168 81. MANAGE MA NAGE YOUR MONEY ................................................... ...................................................................... ................... 169
PART 5 BALANCE : YOUR YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSI DE OF THE OFFICE
82. BEAT BURNOUT BUR NOUT ....................................... ........................................................... ....................................... ....................... .... 172 83. KEEP K EEP YOUR HA ND IN I N .................. ...................................... ....................................... .................................... ................. 175 84. STOP STRESSI NG OVER OVER SMA LL STUFF ......................... ............................................. .................... 176
85. KEEP AN A N INSPIR ATION FILE ................. .................................... ....................................... ........................... ....... 178 86. JUST J UST WR ITE IT I T ................... ....................................... ....................................... ...................................... .......................... ....... 179 87.. GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 87 PHYSIC AL ....................................................... ................................................................ ......... 181 88. WEAR W EAR A HAT ................................... ...................................................... ....................................... ................................. ............. 182 89. HAVE A BACKUP BACK UP PLAN ................. .................................... ...................................... .................................... ................. 184 90. SAY “NOT R IGHT NOW” ................... ....................................... ........................................ .............................. .......... 185 91. SET FOOD RULES ........................ ............................................ ........................................ ..................................... ................. 187 92. MAKE MA KE WAIT WAITING ING TIME TIM E WORK WORK ..................... ........................................ ....................................... .................... 189 93. LISTEN LISTE N FOR YOUR INNER IN NER VOICE ..................... .......................................... .................................. ............. 190 94. PRACT PRACTICE ICE DELIBER DELIBERATELY ATELY ................... ....................................... ....................................... .......................... ....... 191 95. CREATE FREE F REE TIME T IME .............................. ................................................. ...................................... ........................... ........ 193 96. FARM OUT YOUR KIDS K IDS ............................................. ................................................................ .......................... ....... 195 97.. CELEBR 97 CELEBRATE ATE YOUR SELF ................... ....................................... ........................................ ................................ ............ 197 98. GET A PARTART-TIM TIME E JOB................. ..................................... ....................................... .................................... ................. 198 99. STAY S TAY FLEX IBLE ....................................... .......................................................... ...................................... .......................... .......200 200 100. FIN D YOUR OWN PATH.................... ....................................... ....................................... .............................. .......... 203 101.. SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 101 M AT .............................................. ................................................................. ..................... 204 INDEX IN DEX .................. ..................................... ....................................... ....................................... ...................................... ....................................... .................... 207
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freela freelancer ncer.. I was an unhappy un happy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated, so I quit to write full-t f ull-time ime with a career car eer plan that was murky at best. I thought I’d �nally �na lly start sta rt (and hopefu hopefully lly �nish) �n ish) the novel novel I’d dreamed of for years, years, and write a few magazine articles here and there. While I had two published clips when I started freelancing freelanci ng in January 1997 (art (articles icles in Cosmopolitan and Bride’s), I had zero connections in the publishing publishi ng world, world, no journalism journal ism exper ience, and no idea of what experience, what to expect. But eventually eventual ly I’d make some money,, right? money rig ht? That was what wh at I hoped, anyway any way.. It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I could sustain sustai n a full-time ful l-time freelance freela nce career. Along the way way, I made pretty much every mistake mist ake you can make. I pitched markets I’d never read. I wrote horrendous queries. queries. I interviewed inter viewed the wrong kinds ki nds of sources for for articles. art icles. I rewrote stories stor ies over and over—and over. I focused on what I wanted wanted to write instead i nstead of what clients wanted me to write. I wrote vain, little l ittle essays that never got published. Considering Conside ring how many th ings I did wrong, it’s it’s amazing amazi ng I survived sur vived those �rst coup couple le years of freelancing. freelanci ng. But I did. And I learned. I learned how to manage my time. I learned how to turn one assignment sign ment into a long-term long-term relationship relationsh ip with a n editor. I learned how to make the most of my time ti me by specializi special izi ng. I got over over my fear of asking for more money and negotiated writer-friend ly contracts t hat let me resell my articles art icles to other markets. Over time, I branched out into lucrativee specialties like ghostw riting, copywr iting, and consulting. I lucrativ published a couple of chick chic k lit novels (although it took me a lot longer than I expected), wrote nonfiction books, and developed a speaking busii nes bus nesss alon a long g the t he way. w ay. I started teaching writing classes, writing writi ng about writing, wr iting, and presenting presenting at writers conferences, and I wound up a freelancing freelanci ng “expert” helping oth-
INTRODUCTION
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ers break into the t he business. Today Today I have more more than �fteen � fteen years of full-time fu ll-time freelancing freelanc ing under my belt, and I make a respectable respect able income income even though I work part-time part-time hours (I have two little lit tle kids kid s who are my �rst priority) prior ity).. I recently realized, real ized, however, however, that my success wasn’t wasn’t due to my persistence or even to luck. It’s It’s because as I gained gai ned experience I discovered d iscovered the “secrets” of freelancing—the rules of success, if you will. Uncovering and embracing embra cing those t hose rules took me from insecure, str uggli uggling ng freelancer to con�dent, productive business owner. When you k know now the secrets of freelancing success, you can do the same.
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PA RT ONE ON E MARKETING:: SELLING YOURSELF MARKETING YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK WOR K
When you you think thin k successful freelancer , what skill skil l �rst comes to mind? If you said writing wr iting,, you’ you’re wrong. It’s It’s selling— sell ing—and and that’s why why the �rst �r st section of this th is book is devoted to marketing. I’ve I’ ve seen dozens of former editors dabble dabble in freelanci f reelancing ng only to retur n to staff jobs—and often the t he cause is their discomfort with marketi ng. If you can’t can’t sell your writi wr iting, ng, you won’ won’tt succeed as a freelancer. freela ncer. The secrets in thi t hiss section sectio n will wi ll help you market more efficient ciently ly to both new and regular clients, cl ients, and ensure a steady stream of freelance work.
1 BECOME A QUERY MASTER If you want to freelance freela nce for publication publicationss (whether (whether trade or consumer, print or online) onl ine),, you’v you’vee got to be able to query, and query well. wel l. A query letter let ter has multiple functions. It serves as a sales pitch, a letter of introduction, and a writing writ ing sample—and sa mple—and it’s it’s how you you demonstrate that you understand the t he editor’ss market and can editor’ ca n give her what she wants. New writers often oft en struggle str uggle with wit h query letters, but the letters don’t don’t have to be complicated. I �nd that when you have a template to follow, you’re able to draft compelling compell ing queries more quickly quick ly.. My template template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure: str ucture:
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I say both are wrong. The �rst thing th ing you should should do is to eliminate elim inate the ugliest. In other words, do the thin t hing g that you most most do not want to do. There are several compelling reasons why. why. First, when you start your morning morni ng with the t he worst thing thi ng you must do (whether (whether it’s it’s writing writ ing the draf dr aftt of a complicated article, art icle, revising a book chapter you’ you’ve been putting off, or call ca lling ing an a n editor to request some contract changes), your day can only get better, right? Second, when you have something you don’t want to do and you don’t do it right away, you spend a good part of your workday coming up with compelling compell ing (and increasingly increasi ngly more creative) creative) reasons why you you cannot do that thing th ing right r ight now. now. You You promise yourself yoursel f you’l you’lll do it after af ter you have have some coffee. No, you’ll you’ll do it before lunch. Wait, Wait, your blood sugar is �aggi �ag ging, ng, so you’l you’lll do it after lunch. lu nch. Then you put put it off until unti l three th ree �.�.—and �.�.—and nothing nothi ng gets done at three �.�. Eventually you run out of steam, and you run out of work time, and you promise yourself you’ll do the dreaded task tomorrow. Here’ss the thing: Here’ th ing: First Fi rst off, the dreaded thi t hing ng did not get done! That’s That’s bad enough. But second, second, consider how much time and a nd mental energy you wasted throughout th roughout your your day, day, coming up with excuses exc uses (oops, I mean reasons) why you couldn’ couldn’tt do it right at at that momen moment. t. That’ That’ss not only a waste of time, it’ it’ss a drain dra in on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity. productivity. That’ss why I end every workday by identif That’ identifying ying the t he thing thi ng I most do not want to do the next morning, and start every workday tackling that task. Eliminate Elimi nate the ugliest, whatever your your “ugly” thing th ing may be, and watch your productivity climb.
21 TRACK YOUR TIME
I call cal l myself a full-time ful l-time freelancer, but but I’ll let you in on a secret. While Whi le I say I work full-time, full-t ime, that doesn’t doesn’t mean I work forty hours a week. Early in my career, yes, I worked those kinds of hours, but since then, I’ve gradually cut back on my my total work ti time. me. I have have more more regular regu lar clients, cl ients, which whic h means I spend less ti time me marketing market ing,, and I’ve become much more efficient when I’ I’m m working. Since I became a parent six years ago, I’ve I’ve managed to run a “full“f ulltime” ti me” writing business putting putti ng in �fteen to twenty hours a week. week.
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Reprint Rights Currently Available/Work by Kelly James-Enger Available as of March 22, 2011 (latest additions marked with **) Parenting-Oriented ** “Common Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Moms” (feed kids better) 850 words “Keeping an Open Heart” (essay on open adoption benefits) 780 words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4: MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even Ev en though I’m I’m offering a reprint, repr int, I stil st illl keep my editor’s editor’s needs in mind. m ind. What do I want? To sell a story as many times ti mes as possible and make even more money money.. What does my editor ed itor want? A story that t hat will wi ll bene�t and a nd appeal to her readers. That’s That’s why I often “tweak” “tweak ” my reprints to make them t hem more attractive to editors. For example, I had a weight-loss piece that had origina orig inally lly run r un in a women’ss magazine. en’ magazi ne. By rewr rewriti iting ng the lead (so (so it was about about feeling feeli ng beautiful beautif ul as you slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feeling con�dent in a swimsuit this th is summer) and making maki ng a few few small changes throughout thr oughout the piece, piece, it became aimed at engaged women women in their thei r twenties and thirties, not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat. Give your editor ed itor a piece that t hat appea ap pears rs custo c ustom-made m-made for fo r her mark market et and a nd you’re you’re more likely to make a reprint sale. STEP 5: KEEP IN TOUCH
It’ss much easier to sell It’ sel l to an editor or market that has h as bought from fr om you you before than to constantly const antly search searc h out new markets. markets. Every three thr ee months or so, I update my master list, making mak ing a note of the newest additions, additions, and a nd send it off along with a brief br ief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in in the past. The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and keeps my name in front of clients. If you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects, you may not have have as much success with reprints. r eprints. But don’t don’t ignore the t he opportunity opportun ity they present for subjects with wider w ider market appeal. Developing Developing reprint repr int
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PA RT 3 RELATIONSHIPS: BUILDING AND MAINTAINING MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS CONNEC TIONS
Forget the idea of the writer wr iter tucked away in her garret; garr et; today’s today’s successful successf ul freelancers freela ncers know how to create and maintain maintai n relationships with wit h people people ranging rang ing from editors to sources to public public relations pros to fellow writers. The good news is that in today’s world of social media, it’s easier than ever before—but relationship ever relationship building build ing is more than si mply “friendi ng” everyone you you know. know. The secrets in i n this th is section sect ion will wil l help you learn learn how to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you succeed as a freelancer. f reelancer.
43 FOLLOW T H E PLATINUM RULE
You’ ou’re re no doubt familia fami liarr with wit h the Golden Rule—tr Rule —treat eat others the t he way you’d you’d like to be treated. Well, when it comes to clients, I’d suggest you up the ante and employ the Platinum Rule—treat them even better than you’d like li ke to be treated. As a freelancer, freela ncer, you’ you’re re facing facin g a lot of of competition. That means just getti ng the job done ting done isn’t isn’t enough. It’s It’s the will wi lling ingness ness to go beyond beyond what editors and clients require requi re that sets you apart apart from f rom the freelance pack. For example, several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a trade magazine magaz ine story. During the t he course of the interview interv iew,, she mentioned that the magazine maga zine had recently run ru n her photo. photo. Problem was, the person in the picture wasn’t her.
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magazines maga zines pay more, but I’m I’m always looking look ing at my hourly rate, not justt the jus t he si ze of the ch check eck.. And A nd somet so metim imes es the t he maga ma gazi zines nes th that at pay less per word actua actually lly pay more per hour . 3.
WHAT’S WH AT’S THE PIA FACTOR? FACTOR? PIA is my short shorthand hand for Pain In the, um,
rear end. Some clients and editors are annoying to work with. I’m think thi nking ing of an editor I work with who takes forever forever to respond to queries, then assigns stuff stu ff with ridiculously rid iculously tight deadlines. I love her, but there’s de�nitely a PIA factor to working with her. And if that PIA factor on a particula part icularr project is high, hig h, I’m I’m either going to get more money … or I might mig ht even walk wal k away. away. 4.
WILL THIS TH IS WORK WORK FU RTHER MY CAR EER—AND IF SO, HOW? HOW? So,
for example, when I wrote my fir st book, Ready, Aim, Specialize, Speciali ze, I received an advance of of just $2,500. I spent months researc hi hing ng (I interviewed fif ty-six sources!) and writi ng the book. My hourly rate was abysmal. I made more as a teenaged lifeg uard. But here’ here’s the thing. th ing. I wanted to start writi w riting ng books, and I had to begin somewhere. So I said yes to the book, added author to to my CV CV,, and a nd even made royalties from it. My �rst �r st book led to many others, which has h as made the �rst �rs t low advance advance worth it. As a freel freelancer, ancer, it’ it’ss wit withi hin n your control to take on work or tu turn rn it down. The four-part test te st has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agreeagr eeing to work based only on what it pays. I suggest sugges t you look at at other factors as well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and long-term goals.
66 FIGHT FO FOR R YOUR RIGHTS When I speak spea k at writers writer s conferences, the same questions always a lways come come up. How do I �nd an agent? How can I turn tu rn my blog into a book? And A nd should I sign an a n all-rights contract?
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that assignment assig nment or client is i s worth it. Just remember that when you say say yes to one project, you may be saying no to another. anot her.
75 DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing, freela ncing, I planned plan ned to write magazine magaz ine articles art icles and work work on my novel. That was my business plan. pla n. I learned pretty quickly, though, that magazine articles weren’t enough. I was pitching pitchi ng dozens of different magazines, maga zines, but my query query success rate wasn’t wasn’t very high. hig h. Even if I did get an assignment, assig nment, months elapsed bet wee ween n t he t i me I � rs rstt pit pitch ched ed an id idea ea,, it itss even e ventt ua uall as assi sig g n men ment, t, an and d getting getti ng paid for it. That meant my cash �ow looked more like a d ribble. I broke free from my original plan and diversi�ed. I started “stringing,” or freelancing, freelanci ng, for my local local paper and writ ing for a variety of local businesses, which whic h paid much more quick ly ly.. By the end of the t he year, my cash �ow and workload were much more consistent. [See #79, Beat the feastor-famine or-fami ne syndrome. sy ndrome.]] Diversifying Diversif ying isn’ i sn’tt just practical; practica l; it’s it’s smart. Your ability abilit y to perform a variety of different d ifferent kinds k inds of work makes you more more marketable to clients and ensures that t hat you keep up with an ever-changing ever-chang ing freelance f reelance market. [See #80, Boost your value.] My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers revealed that they’re they’re performing perform ing a wide w ide array of work which includes: i ncludes: •
Blogging Bloggin g (wh (whether ether they blog for others or produce income from their own blogs)
•
Editing Editi ng (al alll ty types pes))
•
Ghostwriting Ghostwr iting (books, art articles, icles, blogs blogs))
•
Proofreading
•
Public speaking
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as soon as you get an assignment, take the �rst steps you need to. For articles, that usually means doing background research and identifying potentiall sources. After I’ve come up wit tentia with h potential sources (whether experts exper ts or “real people” anecdotes anecdotes), ), I start contacting them t hem to line up interviews. inter views. I have to have have my interviews interv iews done before before I can ca n write wr ite the piece. CRE ATE A BUM PER
Here’s something I didn’t anticipate when I �rst started freelancing—how long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment. You can’t control when work is assigned, assig ned, or how long it takes an editor ed itor to approve it it so you can actually get paid for it. For example, I pitched a piece to a magazine in May, which was assigned assi gned in July. I turned tur ned the story in in August, Augu st, and in September, reworked reworke d the piece per my editor’s editor’s speci�cations. speci �cations. After Af ter she accepted the story, she put payment through—and I received my check in early November. Just as you assu assume me work wi will ll take you longer than you exp expect ect to �n �nish, ish, you must assume assu me that it wil w illl also al so take tak e longer than t han you expect ex pect to get paid. pa id. That means you need to have have a �nancial �nanc ial “ bumper” to rely on when clients are slow to cut checks. check s. Ideally you should have have at least three th ree months’ worth of income in the bank; that way, you can withdraw from your “bumper” account when it’s it’s taki ta king ng time ti me to collect your receivables. STA ST AY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOI CE S
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of intr introduction, oduction, you you should stay on top of your your invo i nvoices. ices. Note the payment cycles of your your regular regu lar clients cl ients so you can check c heck on invoices i nvoices that remai r emain n unpaid unpa id once they’re overdue. [See #67, Collect every check .] HAVE HA VE A MIX O F EGGS
You’ve heard “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The same goes for your freelance fr eelance work. It’s easier to work for a small sma ll number nu mber of clients, cl ients, but be caref ca reful ul about havi h aving ng too few project projectss going goi ng at any a ny time. ti me. For example, exa mple, last year I was counting on a book proposal selling selli ng so I didn’t do much much marketing. keti ng. Then, when the book book didn’t sell, I suddenly found myself with little lit tle work—and little money.
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PA RT 5 BALANCE: YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
Yes, you’re a freelancer, but you have a life, too (I hope!). Creating work/ life balance, bala nce, maintaining maintaini ng a positive outlook, outlook, nurturing yo your ur creativity, and staying physically physical ly and mentally healthy all al l have a tremendous tremendous impact on your product productivit ivity y and long-term success as a free freelancer. lancer. The secret secretss in this thi s �nal section will wi ll help you avoid avoid burnout, burnout, deal with w ith writer’ wr iter’ss anxiety, an xiety, juggle your free freelanc lancing ing with the rest of your li life, fe, and set the stage for a successf successful, ul, happy life l ife both b oth in i n and out of your offi ce.
82 BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-ti f ull-time me has a lot of perks. You You get to make a living livi ng from your words, you can write wr ite from a home office in sweats s weats and thick th ick �uffy �uff y socks, sock s, and you can work as little litt le or as much as you want. (At least you can in theory—sometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends and nights night s to meet all your deadlines. deadli nes.)) Sure, there are the inevitable hassles with w ith slow-to-respond slow-to-respond editors, delayed checks, and mangled mang led edits. But overall, most freelancers f reelancers love what they do, and the way they’re able able to work. A sur survey vey of fu full-t ll-time ime freelancers freel ancers I conducted in 2011 2011 found that 90 percent “de�nitely” “ de�nitely” planned pla nned to continue thei r careers; another their a nother 7 percent said they “probably” would. So you may be surprised sur prised to �nd yourself suffering suffer ing from fr om burnout burnout at some some point.
172
If you’ve you’ve never had food issues, you may not need a set of rules like l ike thi t his, s, and if so, you’re you’re lucky luck y. If you �nd yourself yours elf tur t urni ning ng to food out of boredom or anxiety, though, I suggest you decide how and when you’ll eat. Both your waistli waist line ne and your product productivit ivity y will wil l bene�t.
92 M A K E WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite favorite episodes epi sodes of The Simpsons, “Mr. Plow,” Plow,” Homer decides decide s to launch his own snow-shoveli snow-shoveling ng business. With the help of singer Linda Ronstadt, he creates a television ad that runs i n the wee morning hours (the only on ly time ti me slot he can afford. a fford.)) After Af ter the t he ad run r unss for the t he �rst � rst ti time, me, he sits sit s back and a nd announces an nounces to his h is family, “Now we play the waiting game.” But after only the briefest of pauses, Homer Homer loses his patience. “The waiting waiti ng game sucks,” he declares. “Let’ss play Hungry “Let’ Hungr y Hungry Hungr y Hippos.” Homer is so, so right. The waiting game ga me truly does suck. I know because bec ause I’ve played played it before— and I’m playing it now. I have have not one but four four potential potenti al book projects t hat may or make not go forward. My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for a client. A nother agent is shopping the t he updated version of a book I coauthored to to its origina orig inall publisher. A publisher has expressed i nterest in one of my own books but the editor has yet to send t he contract. A nd another potential potential client is abou aboutt to sign sig n me to ghostwr ite her proposproposal—any al— any day d ay.. So that means I have four potential book projects in the works, but nothing has signed yet. So I wait. And wait. And wait. Every time the phone rings or my e-mail chi mes, I take a breath. This could be it! Thi s could be the call! But it’s not my agent or the AWOL editor or my potentiall client. tia cl ient. It’s It’s another freelancer fr eelancer or a former student or a spammer. And I’m I’ m getting getti ng annoye an noyed. d. I know that somethi something ng will wil l shake loose, hopefully hopefully in i n the next few days. days. And I do have a few magazi magazine ne art articles icles to to wr write, ite, but not nearly enough work
BALANCE: YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE
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WRITING REFERENCE
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