Forgive me, I’m a little tired. My family is sick and I braved the crowded stores today. Do you mind if I turn the FWJ over to you today?
When I checked my gmail this evening there were dozens of letters from writers looking to get their start. Now, I know I’ve posted about this in the past. Rather than rehash and rewrite, I thought I’d turn the floor over to you.
What is the one tip you can offer to writers looking to get their start? Where do they begin? How do they begin? Do and don’ts?
Here’s mine, you probably know it already: Research. Don’t enter into it blind. Just because you see a lot of work from home ads featuring writers doesn’t mean you know how it’s done. Research freelance writing, find out what editors look for, learn about cover letters, queries and rejection. Learn about pay rates and the different types of writing. Figure out if you want to write for the web or newspapers or magazines.
After you’ve taken a good month and read everything you possibly can, then you can get started.But do the research first.
Now it’s your turn. What is the one piece of advice you would like to offer to writers looking to get their start?
December 20th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Research. Take your time. Think smart and watch what other people do. Then do better. Don’t be afraid to try different angles, too. Set your rates according to the cost of goods sold - don’t bid $5 for anything.
And most importantly, make sure your writing skills are solid.
We’ve been there and done all that and more. We put together the perfect ebook for beginning writers, Write for the Web. It gives new writers the jumpstart they need by avoiding hours of research.
I wish I’d had someone hand me this guide when I started out, to be honest, which is one of the reasons we put it together.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Don’t get into this for the money, cos it’s damn hard work.
Not to mention antisocial, open to a flood of criticism and downright hard work.
I said hard work already? I’m emphasising it!
That said, I would strongly recommend anyone wanting to get into writing as a career to pick an area you’re gonna enjoy.
That is the most important part I reckon.
To get into the business, write articles then have family or friends read them.
For God sake don’t sell yourself short.
There are far too many writers out there who charge peanuts for mountains.
Don’t be one of them, for loads of reasons.
Most importantly, you won’t get hired if you quote low prices.
Do not start with freebies.
Doesn’t work and you gain no respect in doing so.
Just my 2cs.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:31 am
Your work is valuable — don’t work for peanuts. A clip from a lousy web site can be worse than no clips at all. It marks you as an amateur, you won’t learn much from the process, and you deserve to get paid decent money! Aim high!
December 20th, 2007 at 5:34 am
I’d love some help/advice on this one:
I was recently asked to write a 300 word article by a start-up magazine (less than 20 cents per word). I was given a topic and a source for the story. The publisher initially mentioned that he had a contract for me to sign, but did not get that to me until after the article was completed.
When I received the contract, I discovered that he was asking for “all right, title and interest in and to the Article, including copyrights and moral rights …”
As I understand it, when I grant “all right” or “all rights,” I no longer own that article, and this publisher can now re-sell or redistribute the article in any way or form he wishes. Plus, I get the impression I can not interview this same person again for a piece in another publication because it can bear no resemblance to the first article.
I have tried to explain this to the publisher, but he said the contract was written by an attorney and will not be changed.
Any suggestions?
December 20th, 2007 at 5:45 am
This advice isn’t for everyone because some have other commitments (family, another job) that would preclude it, but working in a traditional writing job can provide great experience and provide ideas for going on your own.
I had never planned to freelance and worked a traditional job (newspapers, then a magazine) for 15 years. I’ve now freelanced for 16. But being a darned good employee helped me be a darned good operator of my own business. As an employee, I learned to work til the job was done (overtime pay was a theory), which is what one needs to do in freelance.
Yes, it’s hard work. But you don’t get laid off, you only lose part of billable hours. But make sure you have an expanding client list, something I still work on reminding myself.
Read a lot of sales books and business books. I was lucky, I was a business writer and absorbed good info about running a business.
Never stop learning. And realize that like any career, it will take time to build. It’s not a get rich quick scheme.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Reggie
I write for many national pubs, though at higher rates than you mention, but most that I write for buy all rights.
If you’re looking to syndicate your work, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Here are a few things that really helped me along. Take each with a grain of salt.
-Learn a little about the industry. Not just how to write, but also what to do after it’s written. Grab a Writer’s Market and delve in, see what the business is like. Don’t just think that because you can put words on paper, you’re set for a career in writing. Get a Freelance Life and the ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing are inspiring and realistic.
-Make contacts. Check out a writer’s conference based on the genre you’re in to. I met people in ’05 I’m still in touch with, and they can provide me with other contacts as well once I’m ready.
-Don’t spend too much time prepping and over-thinking a piece. I can outline something to death, but until I get complete sentences on paper, it ain’t writing to me.
-Keep in mind that you don’t always have to crank out amazing work or feel that you have to be the best in the biz in order to be a successful. Everyone wants to be a J.K. Rowling, but people forget that there are jillions of writers who are successful in selling their work without being a big name. (Check out a newspaper or magazine and see how many stories are authored by people you never heard of before.)
-But always try to improve. You can always learn something, you can always pick up a new way to twist words or create a lede.
And perhaps the 2 most important (and also obvious yet unheeded) pieces of advice:
-Read a lot. About writing, about the business of writing, fiction, nonfiction, vacuum cleaner instructions, etc. You can pick up a little bit from everything you read that will add to your own voice.
-Write a lot. As much as you can, even if it’s bad. Like skiing or guitar playing, you can read about it as much as you want, but reading about it won’t help you develop the muscles you need.
I could go on about this forever. I hope this helps.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:02 am
I’m going to disagree with people here just a little bit. The question is about how to begin, and I think that’s a whole lot different that the choices you make once you’ve built clips and/or credentials.
I liken it to breaking into the speaking business, which I did a number of years ago. I spoke at a lot of rubber chicken lunches and I honed my craft, made contacts, and built up material and references. I did it for free, or a minimal honoraium, and was happy to do so because I know that I had to both learn and pay my dues before moving up to higher fees.
I think writers have to be willing to do this too — write on spec, write for lower paying markets, etc., as we hone our craft, build a dependable reputation, and build our resumes.
Once you got your chops, though, you analyze your market(s), set fees that you can live with, and continue to move up to bigger and better paying gigs.
While some people are capable of bypassing this learning stage, I probably wouldn’t give that as someone just starting out.
So, after rambling now, my advice is to be prepared to work hard pay your dues. There’s rarely a magic formula for eliminating hard work.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:06 am
@ Mary Jo - I agree that it’s gotten a little off topic. However, I don’t agree with the advice of writing on spec.
Writing on spec means, “Here is your free article that I just spent an hour on and will receive no compensation or credit for.” In today’s online world where a portfolio is easily visible on a website, there is no need for spec work.
Also, be wary of advising people to write for lower paying markets. I agree with this tactic, though there is lower paying and dirt cheap abuse. Writing 500 words for $2 is sweatshop work, but many people do it because they think they don’t have a choice or because they should.
I don’t think anyone should bypass a learning stage, but I do think learning doesn’t involve being taken for a ride.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:16 am
@James - Actually spec doesn’t mean free at all. My first sale was written on spec. Basically it means the client hasn’t agreed to buy the piece, just to see it. When you agree to write on spec it means you write the piece and submit it to the market. If they like it they will buy it, if they don’t you’re welcome to shop it elsewhere.
I have no problems with writers starting out on spec. It worked out well for me.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:33 am
@ Deb - Theoretically, yes. I should have phrased that better. In practice? Many a “buyer” has walked off into the sunset with a writer’s spec work, unfortunately. Either that or the spec work is on a topic that would be ludicrously impossible to sell elsewhere. High risk for writers, low risk for buyers - not a good situation.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:33 am
I think it’s important for people who are really new to understand the difference between low paying and dirt cheap, as James points out. I believe that if Deb won’t post it here (less than $10) then it’s too low paying to be worth it. That is the one piece of information I wish I’d had before I started bidding.
I also broadcast that I’m a freelancer to friends, family and acquaintances. I don’t necessarily hand out my business card to everyone, just mention it in conversation. You never know who might need a writer, and they might not realize it until you mention what you do.
Everyone here gives good advice. To piggy-back a bit, research is also important internally. Think hard about your strengths as a writer and researcher, and what you are an “expert” on…that’s a really good place to start, and chances are you can craft a compelling cover letter or query without a strong writing background if you are passionate about the subject.
Also: Be prepared for rejection, and remember that it only takes one yes to start your career.
And: Blog. People actually send me work because they read my blog. It’s insane.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Deb, that’s my understanding of “on spec” as well. However, I also had the impression that Mary Jo was advising beginning writers to work for free, perhaps because she said that’s how she started out in her speaking career.
I don’t think writing for free or writing for dirt-cheap is necessary. No, you won’t get $1 per word gigs right out of the gates, and probably not even 50 cent per word. But you don’t have to write entire articles for 50 cents or a dollar apiece, either.
The danger with saying “take low-paying work until you build your credentials,” is that these $1-per-article jobs are often referred to as low-paying work.
Which brings me to my advice for beginners — and that is to try to convert everything into an hourly figure in order to decide what rates are acceptable (and what aren’t). Most freelance and contract jobs that are listed online are paid at a flat rate, which can be deceiving at times.
Also, sometimes just researching the industry isn’t enough, as there is a lot of variety between the rates people expect in different areas (i.e. India vs. the US). However, if you know that you need or want to make at least $15 per hour (which is the minimum I recommend for beginning freelancers), you can then decide whether a job is worth it by estimating how much time it’ll take you to complete.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:39 am
James, your last comment reminded me of a piece of advice I’ve given before, and that is:
Only write on spec if it’s a piece you can shop around with minimal changes if the first publication turns it down.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Maybe I should clarify what I meant by implying that IN THE BEGINNING writing for free is okay. To me, that means writing on “spec” which to me is as Deb defined.
You do the work - the writing - and aren’t sure if you’ll eventually be paid for it. You have to shop it around, re-work it, try to make the sale. Hopefully, it’ll sell, but in the beginning the writing fee may be disproporionate to the time and effort involved.
I don’t believe many BEGINNERS get paid assignments with kill fees. I think that only comes when you have established yourself.
This also doesn’t mean getting sucked into slave shop labor, or failing to develop a healthy business approach to our writing. I really am just talking about the beginner, who is just thinking about putting pen to paper.
Now don’t get me wrong. I absolutely believe we are entitled to the best pay for possible for our work. It’s just that “best pay” can be defined differently at different stages in our careers. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:44 am
I agree with James,
I think one is better off actually “selling” a piece before writing it. Any time spent developing a spec piece, would, in my opinion, be better spent finding someone who will pay for it, not just consider it.
If you’re literally just starting out, look at community newspapers or non-profit organizations to build clips. If in college, the college paper. I was involved with the newspaper, the university radio network, my dorm radio station, the university’s AM radio station and squeezed in a few classes while I was at it.
One of my peers actually quit school to get more practical experience. Not something I’d recommend, but several years later this person worked on Bill Clinton’s presidential PR staff.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Mary Jo, I’m glad you clarified that. I think it’s important to differentiate between writing on spec — where you’re writing for free until the moment that you sell your work — and giving your work away. Big difference.
I’ve only written on spec once, and the piece was turned down for its subject matter — something they should have noted when I initially queried them, and they agreed to take a look at the piece when it was finished.
All of my other work has had at least an email agreement, if not a full contract, before I even started work on it.
In my opinion, writing on spec is risky, albeit sometimes — sometimes — necessary. However, I don’t think beginners have to get all of their work this way, because there are actually plenty of job listings online.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:10 am
@ Mary Jo - Thanks for specifying.
@ Karen - I agree with you - writing on spec is risky. I’ve done it once in my whole career. Every other job I’ve agreed to work on has paid. Some risks aren’t worth taking. However, I’ll concede that some have written on spec with success.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:28 am
Phil,
Thanks for the feedback.
I just figured that because I was writing for such a low rate I might be able to rewrite and resell. I figured First North American Serial Rights was the norm, but maybe I’m wrong! I guess I’ll sign and chalk it up to experience.
I’d be curious as to how many people rewrite and resell? (Sorry for all these questions.)
As for the spec topic, I’ve never tried it, but this is an interesting issue!
December 20th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Reggie,
I’m not a legal expert, but I don’t think they can keep you from interviewing the same person for a different article for a different pub. I write for a lot of financial and tech pubs. Often during an interview I find information that would would into a different article for a different pub. The pubs know I write for others, and I’ve never had an issue. It’s not a rewrite and resell, but there are probably some overlapping elements. But if an interview subject makes sense for both…of course, I inform the subject about the “end of interview A and the start of interview B” or conduct the interviews at different times.
However, I don’t write for competing pubs in the same “vertical.” And some pubs do expect to “own” there freelancers — figure they can get by without paying benefits.
The agreement you referenced is probably standard and is more to protect the pub from having you syndicate or sell the same article to a competitor. That makes sense.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:53 am
I am considering trying my hand at this, and see the advice about researching–what sources do you recommend for researching?
December 20th, 2007 at 8:11 am
I’m still very nwe but I have found that you need to squelch the guilt you feel for charging a fair price. I know I have had clients come back and say, “Wow, that’s a little pricey,” or “You know there are lots of writers who will work for less.” A few months ago, I would stop and lower my price out of guilt but now I just say forget it. I actually had someone tell me that I was too experienced obviously and they would get their content written by less “experienced” writers. I took that to mean that he was going to exploit some poor writer who just wanted to write.
Also, stand up for yourself, along the same lines as the guilt issue but I know I had to do so with a gardenign magazine, my missing name on my article, and the fact that they never paid but expected to have full rights. By the time I got through with them, I had a full apology, and my article was taken down off their e-zine. It was a wonderful feeling when the editor admitted that she had behaved like an a**.
Great advice from everyone else and I will have to add a few points to my personal guidelines.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:17 am
How do you determine a fair price for a piece of freelance work?
December 20th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Phil,
Thanks again. I have written for a few publications on a long-term basis and have never signed a contract (which may be bad!), so I haven’t encountered this before.
I think the person I am writing for isn’t trying to be greedy, so you’re probably right in that it wouldn’t be a problem to talk with the same source and craft a new story.
I just think that writers are under-appreciated, so I’m a little sensitive about turning over “all rights,” especially when the pay isn’t spectacular.
Thanks!
December 20th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Don’t work for free.
Yup, the whole spec vs. free conversation appeared above already but that’s what I tell people. That and send off an obscene amount of queries. If you can write at all the law of averages will work in your favor. Sometimes it works even for people who can’t write well.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Of course, the answers to the questions “how to get started” all depend on which type of writer and which type of writing we’re talking about.
Queries are an unknown to web content writers. Magazine writers probably know little about keyword content. There are many distinct writing worlds and each with its own path and pattern to success, I think.
(Of course, I’m on the web content side of the fence…)
December 20th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Find a mentor… an established and successful freelance writer in your field. That is probably the single key to my success. I had a great mentor.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:12 am
@Elle–I agree with the broadcasting tip–that is one of my top recommendations to people. When I started freelancing (while still working a full-time office job) I told everyone I knew that I was starting to freelance. I didn’t consider it networking at the time–I just felt the need to share it with my friends. If someone asked my how I was doing, how things had been, etc., I told them I was starting to freelance. You’d be surprised the number of times I heard, “Give me your contact info–I can put your name on our list” or “My husband’s company uses freelancers all the time–send him an email and he’ll tell you whom you should talk to.” That’s when I realized how important it was to broadcast yourself as a freelancer. By the way, it was a freelancer and friend of mine who helped me get my first client.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Aaaaaah, Deb!
I finally decided on a topic for my first pro blog yesterday and here you go posting about it!
Good thing it’s not EXACTLY what I had in mind. But it’s close enough that the comments here are useful. I may just start stalking some of the people who posted great comments. As soon as I finish up with finals, that is.
Anyway, in order to make a REAL contribution to this discussion, I’d like to pose a question to all the experienced writers out there. Suppose you are working for a client who doesn’t have a big public face (or perhaps you don’t have access to it). How do you keep them from running away with your work? How do you set the terms of payment?
This is a problem I’ve run into with my other areas of freelancing (php programming, math/statistics). Thankfully, I haven’t been conned yet, but I make a conscious effort to avoid projects that would require me to submit completed work to the client before getting paid. So, for example, in my PHP work I display a fully-functional version on my own hosting server, and I ask for full payment before emailing the files over. But there are small projects out there where all you need to do is a small code fix, or maybe you need to custom configure something for somewhere. I have to skip by those because I’m worried the guy will just disappear when I’m done! Also, I did a small excel/statistics project for someone (they had a big database which they had to do a lot of calculations on). I was afraid of them taking the work and running away with it, so I only showed them part of the completed work and asked to receive some payment before showing the rest. Alternatively, I could also corrupt the final numbers (and tell them that I’ve done so), and ask for partial payment before fixing them. But that affects their ability to judge whether I’ve done the work correctly!
All of this seems rather counter-productive, and sometimes even unethical - I’ve even outlined a scenario in my head where I could bury an exploit in my code that would allow me to disable a script if I wasn’t paid (and then remove the exploit if I did get paid). Am I being very paranoid? Or should I just stop getting my clients from Craigslist so much, and work for people who have enough legal standing to be prosecuted, or publicly discredited?
December 20th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Saad,
Taking precautions to protect yourself is a good thing. Treating every client like a potential criminal is probably not so good.
Here’s what I do; maybe these suggestions will help you, too:
1. Research every client before working with them. Google their name(s) (company name and personal name) to look for complaints. Do a WHOIS search and write down their contact info. Don’t ever work for anyone who doesn’t have solid contact information available.
2. Request a 50 percent initial payment before you start work with a new client. It demonstrates their intent to follow through and actually pay you. I usually drop this once I’ve worked with the client and know they’re good for their word.
3. Insist on a contract. If you don’t want to do that, at the very least make sure you get everything in writing (i.e. email) and be sure to save those emails!
4. If they do try to screw you, don’t hesitate to put on the heat. If they don’t pay you, the work doesn’t belong to them, period. Let them know if they don’t pay in X amount of days, you are going to file complaints with every website and forum known to man, notify their hosting provider that they are publishing stolen content, etc.
I’ve only had three occasions where a client attempted to avoid payment, and all three times it was resolved by letting them know that I knew my rights and would not be taken advantage of.
December 20th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Payment.
Have them pay a percentage upfront.
Then if they do run off with your work at least you got something out of it.
It’s very hard to do but getting some cash upfront is like an incentive for you and a guarantee for them.
I’ve had clients decide not to pay me.
Not many but enough for me to change the way I accept payment.
December 20th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
@ Saad - I think Katharine (not Karen, sorry!) has the right of it. Always ask for a deposit. I’m not big on contracts, myself, but written emails work just fine to get it all in writing. Be clear, too, right from the start. Mention what you will and won’t do before the client has a chance to ask.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Saad,
Katharine has excellent advice. Point 2, while excellent, won’t work with more established publishers (CMP, Ziff-Davis, etc.) because they’re big enough to have a “this is our payment policy (could be on publication, could be 30 days), take it or leave it” philosophy and still have more writers than they need. So they won’t pay a desposit, but do provide contracts stipulating payment terms. Even with the big guys there may be issues at times, but these firms tend to be reputable, or they wouldn’t survive.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
About 10 years ago, I’d been in an online reading group when I was approached to become a book reviewer for a woman who was a member of the Romance Writer’s Guild who was starting her own book review website. That got me started in book reviewing and over the five years I became the asst. editor and helped with the website maintenance. Now, book reviewing pays nothing other than free books, so there was never any money to be made but I love reading.
Anyway, about 5 years into it, I’d suggested branching the website out to include genres other than romance and the owner went ballistic on me for having stupid ideas. So I bowed out and started my own website where every genre is reviewed. After dealing with a number of authors and publishers, one of them asked me if I’d ever looked into writing as a career and pointed me to a freelance job posting site where I got piddly little jobs. One job was pretty good, until I learned that the woman was taking the work I did and selling it to Associated Content as her own material and making a profit by doing nothing.
Over time, I learned that the little jobs were pointless and went to Elance.com. NOT a suggested site. While I landed a job, the woman kept loading me with work but complaining that she never had enough money to pay me more than $10 per article. When she upped the word count from 500 words to 1,000 words, I told her that I wasn’t willing to work for that length of time for that little pay. The articles were for remote Spanish towns that had little information, so the research to find enough to fill her requirements was taking days.
So moving on, this job put enough on my resume that I started landing better jobs. Through Craigslist (I’ve had incredible luck through Craigslist) I landed two solid jobs paying $25 to $80 for 300 to 1,000 word city or hotel guides (travel agency websites), I happened to be a travel agent before I became a stay home mom, so these articles are easy for me. Now, I have three steady clients, two found through craigslist.
My advice to those who want to get started. Even the smartest get caught into situations where they don’t get paid. You learn from them. One thing that I’ve really learned, I’ve had other freelancers tell me that $25 for a 1,000 word article is incredibly cheap and that I’m underselling myself. Here’s what I say. I live in Vermont and if you’re lucky you can get a job as a secretary for $10 an hour. My mom lost her job at the bank when headquarters opted to move the bounced check division to India. She was on unemployment for 8 months struggling to find something else. The best offer she received was for $9 an hour as the front desk for Pepsi. With travel, an area with which I am very familiar, I can turn about an article every hour. This means I’m making $25 an hour for one of the sites I work for and the other that needs longer articles generally take me 3 hours, so that’s $80 every three hours ($26ish an hour.) Those are fabulous wages around here. I always use the hourly wages in this area as my guideline for taking jobs.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
@ Ann G - I applaud you. I will be the first writer to advise others to think of the economic reality and take many factors into consideration before bidding. What it comes down to in its purest form is this: You can either write to be famous or write to earn a living.
I live in a rural area where $10 an hour is a damned fine job and people are thankful to make that kind of money. While as a writer, I always look at suggested industry rates (see writers.ca) of about $45 an hour, my own rates lie in a range where my goals of turning a profit and being able to live comfortably are realized.
Do I want to be famous? Sure, that’d be nice. Rich? Come on, let’s be realistic. Able to not have to think twice about buying that CD I wanted or realize that a pizza night just blew my grocery money for the week? Yes. Yes, that is exactly what I’d be perfectly happy with. My kids have what they need and lack for nothing. That’s more important to me than taking the high road any day.
On a separate subject, I do recommend Elance as an auction site. I know many writers who have had very positive experiences there and it’s a safe place to learn.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
@
December 20th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Good morning! While I certainly understand the “don’t write for free” theory ~ I could not get anyone, I mean anyone to consider my queries without publication clips. I found a local magazine on health & fitness (my niche) who was willing to publish me. Upon getting clips I began getting gigs on a fairly regular basis.
I get the “don’t write for free” ~ but it did work for me to get started. (I didn’t know any better!) Plus, I was able to sell two of the articles for pay later.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
UGH. Okay trying again.
@James - Rich… If only! We had the propane mess up that I mentioned a few days ago and as it turns out after talking to the atty. general office, even though our propane company messed up and delivered to us by mistake, we are still responsible for the payment. The only other option was to pay their $75 service fee and have the extra propane pumped out. My husband’s not willing to have to drop $75 on Ultramar’s mistake.
Which leads me to “rich,” apparently since our fill-up in early November, the price of propane jumped from $3.09 to $3.85 per gallon. I don’t know what other areas are paying for propane, but in Vermont it’s not like we have a choice, we NEED to heat our home in the winter. I’ve been keeping the thermostat at 60 this winter, but never expected propane to jump almost 80 cents per gallon in one month’s time.
I write to pay the bills, it’s that simple for me. If I ever happen to pull a Nicholas Sparks moment and have my first book sell for a million dollars, I’d be overjoyed, but it’s not likely to happen. And Nicholas would be the first to admit, he dropped to the ground when he got that phone call from his agent.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
1) Evaluate why you want to be a writer. Is it actually something you enjoy, or are you merely interested in sitting in your pajamas all day and “not having to work.” I love what I do, but it’s still work. And, for someone who didn’t enjoy it, it would be downright torture. Be prepared for long days, nights, and even weekends.
2) Don’t quit your day job…right away. I have been a full time freelance writer for about a year, and there are many people who seem to think I just woke up one morning, said “I think I want to be a writer,” quit my job, and found myself with enough work and money to pay the bills. Not even close. I worked at it for a few years, and right before I left my office job, was putting in about 65 hours a week between it and my writing assignments. I also had numerous credits and some good clients.
3) Apply for everything you can. When I first went full time, I was spending at least an hour and a half a day looking here and on Craigslist for gigs. On average, I sent a resume to about 20 people a day. After I began to luck into more jobs, and my list of credits grew, my response rate was higher. But in the beginning at least, be prepared to apply for many, many, many jobs. If your lucky,they might respond. Most you just don’t hear from.
4) Low pay: I know many writers would never think about working for pennies a word, but I must admit that is how I got started. I knew I deserved more,but I found it hard for people to give me a chance without credits. I did write a few (3) $1 articles, but I quit after a day. It was horrible! However, I used them as published samples to get better paying jobs. I guess my advice on those types of jobs would be that it’s fine to do them for a (very) short time, but try to move on as fast as you can to something better.
I think the biggest mistake aspiring writers make is underestimating the amount of work involved. As I recall Deb saying “It’s not all PJs and bonbons.” Or something like that.
You have to REALLY want to do it. It took me several years to get to the point where I can comfortably support myself, but it was worth it! It’s a dream come true…just make sure it’s your dream.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Understand the value - nay, the necessity - of marketing yourself. You cannot expect work to find you. You have to become much more proactive in your career if you expect it to be a lucrative career.
NEVER work for free. Ever. You wouldn’t show up for a shift at McDonald’s and not expect payment. Give yourself a lot more respect. If you need “clips”, as these pseudo-employers promise, get your own website and put your own work up there. It’s only cool to work for free for yourself - no one else.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Reggie, I’d turn down that offer. Contracts can indeed be changed. That you did the work without one - shame on you once. That the “boss” is now insisting it be signed verbatim - well, what’s he gonna do if you don’t sign it? He cannot legally use your work without that contract and if you don’t come to terms, you’re free to take that article and shop it elsewhere (if he’s not paid you yet).
That reminds me - NEVER work without a contract. And be very careful what you’re signing. Don’t ever hesitate to ask for changes if the contract doesn’t suit you. Kristen King just did a great blog post on asking for contract changes (www.inkthinkerblog.com).
December 20th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Krista makes many excellent points, particularly regarding the amount of work. Remember, freelancers can work half days — and select which 12 hours those are!
At the beginning, 12 hours was a short day, mainly because the sales, administration, bookkeeping and other necessary aspects of running a business that have nothing to do with writing.
Also remember that you may be a writer, but unless you’re a salesperson, too, you’re not very likely to be a financially successful writer.
By the way, notes to James and Ann G…while rates in your areas might be low, the Internet lets you look elsewhere for work. I have clients throughout the country, so I can set rates higher than local norms would permit. I don’t have any local clients.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
@ Phil - Agreed. Finding a comfortable medium between making ends meet and becoming a Fortune 500 is good enough for me. It’s the great debate between higher rates/less work and lower rates/more work. I also set my rates according to what I - personally - believe is fair. I won’t charge higher just because I can. I charge based on what I feel is a fair rate for the skills, work and effort and what is fair for the client.
As a web content writer, you can rest assured that I know full well the potential of the Internet. I have clients in all four corners of the globe. Locally? The farmer’s cows really don’t care about my writing
December 20th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Think of yourself as a professional from the beginning.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I did write a few (3) $1 articles, but I quit after a day.
We have the same experience. LOL. I quit after 5 hours after having written two 500-word articles.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
That’s too funny! And the woman I was ‘working’ for got majorly P*$@$ when I told her it wasn’t worth my time. She told me I had wasted HER time. Funny, but I felt like it was the other way around.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:49 am
1. Join the Absolute Write Forums. Head to the Freelance Section. Read every question asked, the information offered. Talk to the members, get to know them. I have had several jobs come from there, plus helped out a friend with a job.
2. Don’t rely on just the job boards online. (sorry deb) Do your own searching as well. Not every board will list a job that might just be right for you. Use Google and other search engines. Type in as many different variations of writing positions you can think of. ‘writer needed’ ‘blogger wanted’ ‘hiring writers/bloggers’ are a good start.
3. Leave no stone unturned. A lot of writers do not like Craigslist, while others love it. Check out every single city, you can be pleasantly surprised in what you find.
4. If you are just starting out, go ahead and swallow your pride now. Some people get awesome gigs right off the bat with the first query, then there are those who will need to work the cruddy 1.00 per hundred word jobs for some time before they get a break. A writing job is a job, take what you can until better things open up.
5. Use your name on everything you write. You will eventually have people know who you are and anticipate what you have to say.
6. Most importantly, if you are using your name all over the net, be careful with your reputation. If someone is hiring for someone to write online content and provides a byline, they will do some background checking. One nasty streak in Google can ruin many career opps.
Whew. That’s it for now. I think I might cut and paste this over on my blog now, lol, if you don’t mind, Deb.
December 21st, 2007 at 4:25 am
I would echo what Lori said about the importance of marketing yourself.
Let everyone you know know that you’re a writer.
Note: not trying to become a writer, but that you ARE a writer.
Gigs will not fall into your lap.
Networking as a very important part of getting clients.
In fact, I mentioned what I do tonight to someone I was writing a mere article for and it turns out this person needs me for some copywriting work for her charity!
I only mentioned my copywriting business on the off-chance that she’d have a tiny interest in what I do!
When you least ecspect it (sorry ecks key broken!) telling random people will have a major effect on accruing clients!
December 21st, 2007 at 4:31 am
Sarah and Lori are right about marketing.
I have a question for Sarah, though: How on earth do you get by without an X key?????
December 21st, 2007 at 8:18 am
Katharine, Sarah, James, Phil - Thanks for the great advice!
December 21st, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Be persistent, and don’t be afraid of rejection. It’s going to happen. A lot. A good freelancer needs to be aware of his shortcomings, and not afraid to face them, and sometimes that means hearing things about your own work that you’d rather not.
-Jeremy
December 21st, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Hone your skills. Don’t think of your editor as an adversary (as long as he/she is treating you in a professional manner); you both have the same goal, which is to publish a good article in his/her publication under your name, for pay (or for a good cause that you believe in, if you’re doing pro bono work).
This means that the editor’s suggestions are worth looking at and that rewriting is part of the job. I know that many freelancers specify how many rewrites they will do in their contracts, which is great if you can get the editor to agree to that language.
My first editor really helped me become a better travel writer. She took a chance on a brand-new freelancer, and that first gig gave me a lot of confidence that I badly needed.
One more tip: Get smart about business licenses and taxes. If you don’t have time, find a good CPA who works with freelancers on a regular basis.
December 21st, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Thanks to Phil and Lori for your thoughts on writer contracts. This is a good issue for newbies to pay attention to as well.
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 am
To Katharine Swan,
Well trying to type without an ecks AND a sed key was tough at first.
I really need to get them ficsed but I just can’t bear to be without a laptop for any length of time so, yeah I haven’t got round to it yet. :S
What I do is copy-paste in the letters whenever I need them, usually from a Word doc.
For instance, if I need a sed, I type wiard and it underlines it in red so I choose the correct word wisard (with a sed obviously) and then just copy and paste it wherever I need it.
Much easier and more convenient than having esses and eckses everywhere!!!
LOL
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:54 am
Sarah,
That sounds crazy, but I understand about not wanting to go without your laptop. I’ve let things go too (some of the idiot lights on my laptop aren’t working, for instance) because I can’t stand to go laptop-less for any amount of time.