6 Freelancing Lessons from Tony Stark, aka "Iron Man"
May 19, 2008 by Deb Ng
Filed under Freelance Writing
by John Hewitt
Embrace Publicity
"The truth is…I am Iron Man."
Tony Stark knows who he is and he isn’t afraid to tell a room full of reporters. If you want to be successful as a freelance writer, don’t be afraid to tell anyone and everyone what you do for a living. Carry business cards. Call potential clients. Send out query letters and proposals. Create your own web site and blog. Advertise in the local paper. Do whatever it takes to make sure that the people you want to do business with know who you are.
Challenge Yourself
"Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk."
Don’t be afraid to take on goals and projects that challenge you. Taking on big tasks, even "impossible" ones, gets your blood flowing and forces you to be innovative and learn new things. People are always telling you what you can’t do when it comes to writing. You can’t sell an article to Vanity Fair or Time if don’t already have clips from other glossy magazines. You can’t land a major corporation as a copywriting client because they only deal with advertising agencies. You can’t sell a fiction book without an agent. You can’t get an interview with J.D. Salinger. The truth is, even if you don’t pull any of these things off, chances are you’re going to learn something in the attempt. If you do pull it off you’ll have proof that impossible only means hard, and that will help you do the next impossible thing.
Evaluate Your Situation
"Okay, this is where I don’t want to be."
It can be all too easy to get off course as a freelancer. In many cases, the problem is money. You take an assignment you don’t particularly want because you need the money. You don’t enjoy it, but you do it well enough to land a second gig doing essentially the same thing. That leads to a third gig. In a relatively short time you find yourself in a business you don’t want to be in. Clients can also be a problem. You take on a good client, but eventually the client wants you to take on more work or different work than you want to do. You do it because they are a good client, but the next thing you know, you’re miserable. Don’t let yourself be miserable as a freelancer — that’s what jobs are for. Evaluate your situation, no matter what it is, and work out a plan for getting back on course.
Communicate Clearly
"If you douse me again, and I’m not on fire, I’m donating you to a city college. Please don’t follow me around with it either because I feel like I’m going to catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down. If something happens, then come in."
One major problem freelancers run into is poor communication, especially with clients. When you take on a job, you need to be clear about what you are doing. Take the time to make sure you and your client have the same ideas about what you plan to do. It may take a little extra time in the beginning, but it never takes as much time as starting over from scratch. Whenever possible, get your instructions in writing. Before you get too deep into the work, send an email that details what you plan to do and ask them to confirm the assignment. That way, you can go back to this if there is any disagreement, especially if they try to increase the scope of your work without paying you any more money.
Figure Out What Makes You Unique
"Yeah. I can fly."
You have a unique set of skills, talents and attitudes. You even have your own set of weaknesses. Any one attribute on its own may not stand out, but as a whole, they set you apart. Tony Stark is a brilliant engineer and scientist, a charismatic speaker and a tireless worker. More notably, he has a flying metal suit that helps him defeat bad guys. He also happens to be impulsive, a womanizer, a poor team player and an alcoholic. It is important for you to know your own strengths and weaknesses. You should build your career around your strengths. Figure out two or more things that you are better at than most people (Scott Adams of Dilbert wrote an excellent article about this). As for your weaknesses, you need to either improve on them or find a way to work around them. In today’s world, it is easy to find people or devices that can do the things you can’t do or don’t want to do. That is the entire basis of freelancing – being available to do what other people are willing to pay for.
Do What You Enjoy, Enjoy What You Do
"I’m sorry. This is the fun-vee. The hum-drum-vee is back there."
If you don’t enjoy freelancing, you probably shouldn’t do it. Going to a job every day when you are unmotivated is hard, but running a business (and freelancing is a business) when you are unmotivated is a painful. Freelancing is not an easy way to make a living, but if you are doing what you want to do, it is a very satisfying way to make a living and that makes it much easier. Take on jobs that interest and excite you. Not every freelance gig will be fun and fulfilling, but make sure at least some of them are.
John Hewitt writes about writing at poewar.com. His strengths are intelligence, creativity and the ability to do tedious tasks. His weaknesses are bluntness, reoccurring malaise and too much television
Agree on all points.
Evaluate Your Situation This comes naturally, and is something I don’t really like doing. As long as I’m having fun, who gives a rodent’s mule, right?
John,
Thanks — this was just what I needed today!
I’m not sure I agree that bluntness is a weakness — it’s possible to be blunt and effective at the same time. Hard, but possible!
@ Matt
“Am I having fun?” is a great way to begin your evaluation.
@ Hazel
Being blunt gets me out of trouble almost as often as it gets me into trouble.
John,
It’s a catch 22. I started writing because I like it. I write about subjects I love. I don’t have to ask myself if I am having fun, but you’re right, that needs to be the first question!
“He also happens to be impulsive, a womanizer, a poor team player and an alcoholic.” You make that sound like it’s a negative thing…
Seriously…love, love, love this post…great points.
E X C E L L E N T. This post = combo. creative + informative … favorite type to read … and save. It oozes confidence. Appreciate your article. Will check out poewar.com.
I like your tone in this article. Lots of personality in there. Good work.
Best movie of 2008 + informative article = major kudos to you!
@ Matt
Evaluation Question 2 should probably be, am I making enough money?
@ Jodee
Tony Stark is fun to watch, but I wouldn’t want to be him. Thanks for the nice words.
@ Autumn
Teaching through pop culture is my specialty.
@ Adam
it was a very fun article to write, so I think that makes it easier to find a good tone.
@ Hana
Juno came out last year, so I will cede best movie to Iron Man. Thank you for the positive review.
Wow, really great article John! I especially love the point about clear communication (and the accompanying movie quote). That’s probably the one thing that I’m trying to work on for my own freelancing career – better communication with clients (although, communication is a 2-way street – I’ve already had a couple of clients who didn’t communicate well despite my efforts, and left me guessing).
@ John: I agree that he is a lot of fun to watch….I have worked for guys who need their professional lives managed the way he does…and I’ve had to do the “…and where are you supposed to be right now?” thing more than once when I worked as an admin assistant. I’m having a lot more fun now as a freelancer, though!
You are most welcome, too.
John, great article! I love how you used Iron Man as the backbone of it. I’ve been tinkering with ways to use Frank classic sci-fi novel Dune to explore ecofeminist rhetoric with students.
I also like your section about communication. Good communication is a key element for almost any endeavor.
Yes. I can fly. I’m not sure how, yet, but I know I can.
“Okay, this is where I don’t want to be,” happens to Harry and I frequently. We’ll be working, working more, put our heads down and bulling through work, and then one of us stops and says, “Hold on. I didn’t sign up for this.”
We step back, evaluate where we are and adjust so we can breathe again.
I am Iron Man.
Loved this post. Not only is it useful and effective, but it’s creative and fun – as many others have said.
Besides, Iron Man was a great movie…
Just one point. A lot of super heros can fly. Thats not unique.
@ Morgan
Dune is my absolute favorite sci-fi book of all time. I’m sure you can make it work.
@ James
I’m starting to make “this is where I don’t want to be” calls more and more often, especially when it comes to the blog.
@ Kate
Yes, and Superman has control issues.
@ Robin
Thanks. Learning CAN be fun.
@ John – I think so many of us make that mistake for a long time before we figure out where our grief is coming from. I suppose we constantly worry about whether there will be work tomorrow so we try to make sure that all our bases are covered.
Not only covered, but heaped, piled and buried under way too much work that we don’t enjoy, which prevents us from doing what we love the most.
@ James
Work level is not one of my problems. I am nothing if not prolific. I am contemplating a change in style mainly.
Deb, great article. Looking forward to your lessons from The Dark Knight.