by Carly Schuna
I’m continually amazed by what a great community we have here at FWJ, but I think we can do better.
That’s right… I’m issuing a challenge. (Isn’t that what Megatron does best?)
One of my favorite things about coming here each day is seeing how all of the community members interact with Deb and Jodee and Ugur, respond to what’s posted, and ask their own questions that spur new posts and dialogue. It’s truly a collaborative process, and I’m proud to be a part of it.
With that said, I don’t feel as if I know every member of the community quite as well as I’d like. So FWJ readers, here’s your challenge:
During your writing lives, you’ve probably gone through a lot of experiences that you felt were unique as well as experiences that you’re sure almost every freelancer has shared. For this discussion, I’d like all of you to post something related to your writing career that you suspect you have in common with another member of the community. If you spy a comment that describes something you’ve experienced, let that person know. That person will be your temporary “buddy” (and yes, you can have more than one buddy). My goal is for everyone who posts to find at least one buddy.
Feel free to comment more than once, and be as specific as you’d like with your comment or experience, but I hope we can go beyond the very obvious (“I’m a freelance writer”) and explore more interesting realms so that we can really find out what we have in common with each other and learn more about our different writing careers.
Newbies and lurkers, please speak up! Your contributions are just as valuable as those of the veterans, and I am personally very interested in hearing from you. If you don’t have an established writing career yet, feel free to leave a comment telling us about your primary areas of writing interest—I bet there are many common areas among us.
I’ll start: I can’t write while listening to music (even if it’s only instrumental) because it’s just too distracting.
If you’re my buddy and also can’t write to music, speak up! Otherwise, tell us something about yourself and start looking for your own buddy!
Megatron — super post — and a great way to coax the lurkers (like me) out into the open.
Here goes. I was a copywriter for a catalog company (multi-channel) for many years. Last fall I left the full-time routine to venture into freelance (loved the writing, hated the office politics). Without much of a network, I have discovered finding jobs quite the challenge. I have read some of the books on commercial copywriting (Bowerman, Bly) — but to be honest, cold calling makes me sweat and many of my email queries go unanswered. I know there is work out there. But I have also found that many etailers and catalogers want just local freelancers — curious.
I know there is a formula for finding gigs — persistance, luck, hard work . . . But the quest does get daunting at times. Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced somewhat of the same responses and challenges.
Amy,
I’m glad, buddy, that you, too, are a night owl. I have to have total silence, as well. I’ve noticed many of us need the quiet so we can hear our thoughts!
Shoot, you guys, I just wrote a huge reply and then the computer ate it. One more try….
Linden, you bet I am! Now you can go around telling everyone you know that Megatron is your fairy godmother/father. That’s not something you hear every day.
Jenn, do you have to tell your clients that you’re a student? Not that there’s anything wrong with being a student (I know PLENTY of very accomplished students), but if it’s not immediately relevant, there’s no reason they need to know. That way they won’t have a chance to judge you.
Amy, thank you! And how does that work? Do you leave the TV on all night? That’s just crazy.
Thanks, Andrea. If I had to force myself to listen to music while writing, I think I could stomach Dave Matthews, but I probably wouldn’t get anything done.
Kerry, that’s so interesting. I wonder if you could give us specifics about some of your article topics. Do you write about music from an academic standpoint?
Dani, holy crap. Your computer must have the memory of an elephant.
Cherrye, thanks. I don’t think munching on beans is that weird. I’m partial to chocolate-covered coffee beans, but I can only have one or two at a time because the coffee flavor is way too intense for me. It stays in my mouth forever.
Allison, woo-hoo! I’m also a novelist on the side! Buddies!!!
Jennie, I also love it when someone is critiquing my work. There’s just something so nice about it. Most often I lack the ability to see it objectively, so I love it when someone else is willing to look at it that way for me and give me feedback so that I can improve it.
@ Kristy — You’re my “I’ve got experience and can’t prove it” buddy. I spent a while doing advertorials for newspapers, but I never got a byline… best of luck to you, though.
@ Jennie — Wouldn’t it be great if we all had time to have a critiquing buddy? I’ll read your stuff, you read mine type of deal? Even if someone hates what you’ve written, you’ve still elicited a response with your words.
@ Megatron — You’ve got my vote! I emailed the CV to your attention. Hope you get it. Thanks again for a great post!
@Megatron: Thanks for the compliment earlier!
When I got this computer I installed a huge memory card (in addition to what it already came with – I think I quadrupled the memory or something) and I store my writing and photos and such on flash drives which seems to help.
I have to share something with you. I have been trying to get back in here to reply but I got an error message about the site – your post is so popular we broke FWJ
Congrats on creating such a fun and popular topic.
@ Judy — Yes, cold calling can be a very daunting process and is not for the faint of heart.
I found two good ways to break in are to not solicit clients directly, but to subcontract through a) SEO companies who will farm out work to you, and b) full-service graphic design and website development firms who need content for their clients.
Write up an e-mail prospecting letter -keep it brief. Let them know what you can do not only for them, but for THEIR CLIENTS — and how your informative and persuasive copy will make their clients happy and build their business.
If you approach this as a business-to-business (B2B) mindset, you’re not cold calling or selling. Instead, you’re offering a valuable service that meets their needs. You’d be surprised by how just simply changing your mindset — transitioning from focusing on your fears to instead how your service is truly helping someone — you can build up your prospecting skills (and thus, your clientele.)
Good luck!
CC
Megatron — I don’t leave the tv on all night. I set the sleep timer for an hour; I usually fall asleep within 45 minutes.
Another lurker/occasional commenter here! Aurora, you’re my buddy–I can NEVER say no to new projects. I’m juggling nine magazine articles, a book edit, and a PR campaign at the moment, in addition to my own poor, neglected novel. It drives my husband crazy how one moment I’m moaning into my coffee cup over my workload, and the next I’m enthusiastically accepting three new assignments from an editor. If you find a way to give yourself a break, let me know!
P.S. Great conversation-starter, Megatron!
@ Kristen, Leigh & Amy – Add me to the growing list!!! I also fled (practically jumped out of the 3rd story window in my office!!) corporate America to pursue freelancing. I just couldn’t stand another day of micromanaging, office gossip or Nazi-inspired admin specialists.
Buddies??
CC – thanks for the great advice. I’ll give it a try. (good point about shifting my mindset) Oh yeah, and regarding initial post — definitely, no music.
Dani, I’m with you. Silence is deafening. But I also can’t write if someone is talking or singing at me when I write, so I usually have piano music playing in the background. I’m addicted to Pandora radio because I can pick the type of music I want at any given moment.
Leigh & Kristen: I too left a job recently without too much forethought about what I would do. I did get a couple of good jobs right off the bat, but things have been very, very quiet this summer.
One of my biggest issues is making myself apply for jobs. I can sell a lot of things with my writing, but I am horrible at selling myself. I also need to develop a thicker skin – the rejections make it even harder to keep on putting myself out there.
Sue — What is Pandora radio? This sounds like something I need.
@ Sue: I use Pandora a lot, as well. I have music (video) playlists on YouTube I also use. Plus I listen to K-love online a lot, too.
I got an email from Amazon stating they have free MP3s so I downloaded them and in the process discovered how to access and play my son’s iTunes on my computer. Hope he doesn’t mind that my downloads defaulted to his iTunes – I had no idea it had been set to be the default program – I was sure I had set it to MediaPlayer. Good thing we like mostly the same music, eh?
Dani — I use itunes. There is a way to create a separate playlist over on the right), if you wanted to keep your music by itself. I didn’t know Amazon had mp3s. I will have to check that out.
Amy, visit http://www.pandora.com
Dani, I don’t use iTunes. I have a number of CDs burned to my hard drive and mp3 player if I want to listen to something specific.
Man, my comment got eaten again! I was trying to say to AndreaPage that I don’t blame her for leaving. Another thing that irked me besides the gossip and cattiness was the fact that everyone in the office had a regular, multi-line office phone…except me. I was told to use a $29.99 cordless phone – it had two volume settings, low and lower, and I lost huge chunks of conversation when trying to talk on it. I could only make calls on the cordless; if someone called the company for me, I had to find an empty desk (if a co-worker was at lunch or in a meeting) and pick up the call from someone else’s phone. I just thought it was unprofessional and unfair that I wasn’t given the same tools as everyone else. I always got accused of “not paying attention” and I was also told that my listening skills are terrible – maybe if I had a phone that didn’t have a ton of static and no way to increase the volume to an acceptable level, I wouldn’t have missed so much information! (I know, I seem bitter – I’ll get over it eventually).
Boy, I have a lot in common with many of the FWJ’ers here.
Like Grace & Megatron, I seem to spend more time surfing these days than writing.
And, like Linden & Pixter, I browse the lists and know I’m qualified for a lot of the jobs listed, but proving it to potential employers seems to be a battle for me. I have a resume and clips, but I always feel like what I have is inadequate, even though I know they are good.
After 24 years in television (behind-the-scenes), I quit my full-time job 2 weeks ago and moved west with my new husband. My plan is to freelance write full-time, but I’m having difficulty getting started; other than a few small blogging gigs.
Like several others here, I seem to work better at night.
Also, instead of music, I work better when I have the TV on in the background. That probably stems from my brick & mortar job where I always had TV’s (at least 2, sometimes 3 or 4) on in my office constantly. Old habits I guess.
Sorry, that should be Pinxter and not Pixter!!! I had it written down right, but I can’t read my own writing sometimes!
@ Amy: Thanks! I’ll have to do that.
@ Sue: For some reason when I run cds on my computer it ‘clogs it up’ faster. So, I keep a boom box next to my desk for regular radio enjoyment as well as CDs and *gasp* cassette tapes. (I am a technological dinosaur I tell ya – I still have vinyl! TONS of vinyl – oooh and some 8 tracks, too)
Have I said how much I am loving seeing the community interact and come together like this?
Megatron, I can’t have any noise when I’m working.
Pinxter, I’m a night owl too. I think it’s because things are quiet. No people popping up, no phone calls, or other daytime distractions.
Judy, thanks so much. It is weird that a lot of places seem to want only local freelancers. I guess that makes sense if they’re looking for people who they’d like to pop into the office every so often, but there’s really no reason that a telecommuter can’t do every bit as bang-up of a job as someone who comes into the office can. I hope you find more luck soon… it sure sounds like you have the experience for it. You should post more often.
Linden, I did get your CV, and I’ll respond presently. Thanks for sending it! And don’t promise me your vote yet–two candidates have yet to post, so maybe their ideas will blow mine away!
Dani, LOL, thanks. The post has really taken on a life of its own, and I couldn’t be happier. This is exactly what I wanted to happen in my mind. To see it actually take place is boggling in a brilliant way!
Katie, thank you! I’m glad I could drag you out into the open. I’m pretty sure we could all learn something from your (intelligent? crazy? efficient?) multi-tasking.
Andrea, this tip just occurred to me now, so I’m not sure how helpful or effective it would be, but you might try writing a cover letter in the third person. Pretend you are someone you know whose abilities absolutely amaze you, and see if you can’t write a better and more impressive cover letter that way.
Sue and Amy, I also love Pandora and iTunes–just not when I’m working.
I love to listen to music when I’m cooking.
Beth, for me, it’s all about confidence. It’s hard to sell yourself to a potential employer if you don’t really believe you’re the best person for the job. It sounds as if you’re kinda new to full-time freelancing. It might take a while, but if you keep telling yourself that you’re a freelancer now because you’re qualified to be a freelancer and be really good at it, you’ll start to believe that more and more every day, and then it will be easier to get other people to take you seriously.
Niki, buddies!!
Hi I’m a lurker. The thing that I may have in common with others- I write and publish a successful blog. Oh and I write with the TV on.
I have no PAID writing to speak of. I am interested in branching out and doing freelance work, which is why I read your site.
BUT, unlike most of your readers and regulars, I don’t want a full-time career in freelance writing. I love to dabble in many things. I would just like to get my name out there, establish some regular contacts and get paid for doing something that I love to do.
Thanks for all your wonderful tips
Hi… I have been writing and editing part-time since 2005. I quit my full-time job in 2004 when my son was born. I took some time off but then got back into writing (first with a local newspaper) so I could keep my skills current.
Now I am trying to balance my writing and editing with raising my 4-year-old and 3-month-old, keeping my house somewhat clean, having meals on the table each night (I try), balancing the checkbook (I’m really behind on that), and helping my husband with his business.
I’m slowly learning how to say “no” to additional work. I actually gave my notice to one of my clients tonight
I hear everyone here!
My biggest issues are procrastination, and the darned web surfing. Like checking all my e-mails and google-ing everything!!
Obviously we should all be buddies.
Because we are here, :p
Although it is midnight for me.
I mostly lurk about here, because everyone who posts seems to have been paid for writing something, and I haven’t. I’m a complete noob to freelance writing, and don’t even have clips from my college newspaper (kind of a late bloomer in writing; didn’t know I had any ability until four professors mentioned it.) I’ve attempted some blogs, made some rudimentary websites, but I’m still looking for that first paying gig.
I, like Linden, Pinxter and Niki, am a night owl, often going to bed at dawn. I’ve read quite a few books on freelancing and copywriting, but I still feel like I’m fumbling around. I just earned my Bachelors in Humanities back in March (and I’m WAY over 21), and college felt like my ideal element, with all of the interesting research and frenzied writing. Ideally, I’d love to work at a college in some capacity, but at the minimum you need a Masters, and to teach you have to have articles, journals or books published.
Before I can go back to school, I need a paying job. Freelancing seemed to be the answer, but breaking into it is hard when your resume reads “adult college student, cashier, pet mom.”
Robin, there’s nothing wrong with dabbling. There are several times when I’ve been working on a particularly nasty assignment when I wish I was just dabbling as well.
Jessica, wow! You sound like a superwoman.
Kat, it just takes a little while to break in. If your resume isn’t mind-bogglingly brilliant, I find it helps to write a killer cover letter and really play up your skills. There are a lot of gigs (albeit lower-paying ones, usually) that don’t require having a lot of experience. If you can build up a few of those, you should be able to land stuff with more substance before too long!
I am far from superwoman! I just have a very very very understanding husband when laundry is piled up, dishes aren’t done, and nothing for supper
I actually have been bringing in a sitter a couple days a week who also helps me with housework. Helps me get things done as well as lowers my stress 
Kristen, we’re sort of buddies. I’m getting ready to quit my unbearable job next Wednesday (I can hardly wait). I am finally going to get to do what I love, write! Let’s hope I find an amazing opportunity really soon to compliment the work that I’m already doing.
Megatron, great name, great post.
@Kat
You can be my ‘older student’ buddy. I’ll fess up. I’m 36 and proud to get my degree at any age. If you need cash now, you might want to get a part-time job, but you don’t need to give up on writing. See if you can find some volunteer gigs. I have a monthly column that I write for a website. It keeps me honest because I am accountable to someone else and I have used it for an embarrassing number of clips. You might want to also check at the career center at your college. I admit that the counselor was not used to dealing with students looking beyond entry-level jobs, but he still had some excellent advice.
Good luck!
Jenn
Dani, we could be music buddies.
I have tons of vinyl too. I’m sure there are some 8-tracks around, but I don’t have the stereo anymore to play them. I do have a turn table, though, and as soon as we get the cables we need, there is some open source software out there to turn the vinyl into mp3s. I don’t see the point on buying thousands of songs I already own just so I can put them on my Sansa.
@ Sue: Awesome! I agree about the music.
I had no clue about the open source software – that is what I need. Could you please tell me more?
I’m the same way as Linden. I browse through all the job listings, but feel way under-qualified for what they’re asking for. I’m still in college and I just turned twenty. My major is English-Intensive Writing, I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always gotten praise on papers and other things that I have shown to people. It’s just hard to break into this with nothing impressive on my resume.
Roberta, thank you. Good luck with your new career!! That’s so exciting.
Jessica, do you have any pub credits or experience writing/editing at your college? Those are good things to put on a resume, and they actually do make a positive difference. But as I think I might have mentioned to Linden, I often find that writing samples are more important than your resume. So rustle up some samples that aren’t academic papers (unless you’re trying for an academically oriented gig), make them all shiny and wonderful, and try submitting those when you apply for gigs. And really, how can you know that no one is going to hire you unless you start applying for things? If you don’t apply, then of course no one will hire you. Apply early and apply often–that’s my mantra.
Better clips and experience will come.
Thanks Megatron, I’m still a bit nervous about the transition and don’t know what to expect. I know there’s a lot of free time to be had and that’s it. I can’t wait
Boy I am really late in reading this post and in responding. Megatron, excellent discussions are going on here.
I guess I’m buddies with everyone that cannot work with any background noises. I’m also buddies with some of the teachers that have commented. I do still teach full time and freelance write and edit part time however I’d love to make a change to fulltime writing/editing.
Currently and for the past year, I am our sole income earner. Not by choice, but due to my spouse being laid off and still not finding work.
I’m also buddies with a couple of you that have chronic illnesses. Yes, it does make working outside of the home tricky on some days.
Titles and names are my challenge in writing. I even spend hours it seems to come up with a password. Go figure!
@JennyB – Don’t they say the best guest show up ‘fashionably late’? lol
<–Chronically ill buddy here
<–Sole income provider buddy here
<–Headline/Intro(sometimes) challenged buddy here
I am ok with passwords, but usernames kill me – I can’t believe how often I think I have figured out some cute or witty username only to find its already taken! Even my own name is sometimes already taken – so now I try to sign up for stuff when it first comes out (*just in case*) so I get my name – rofl.
Jenny, what do you teach? I admire teachers so much… classrooms really intimidate me. If you eventually do move over to writing and editing full time, I bet you’d do really well with your teaching background!
Dani, oh my gosh. It is getting so hard to pick usernames!! I think up these things that I’m positive no one else could have possibly thought up, and then–like you said–they’re taken! What the heck? Most frustrating thing ever.
@ Dani
True, but I’m usually early to arrive and always early to leave it just happened that I had to be out of town on Tuesday and I think that’s when Megatron may have posted. I didn’t realize that this post was here until I was reading another post today and someone had mentioned that Megatron really had a lot of comments and discussion happening so I thought that I had better check it out.
Dani — I can be your username-challenged buddy. My name is frequently taken, and then I get emails from people who I’ve never heard of saying “but I saw you on myspace” and I have to tell them I don’t have a myspace, that there is someone else with my name on myspace. There is also someone else with my name on yahoo. So when I found gmail right away I was very excited that I could do the dot thing in between first and last name so I could still get my name. I was so excited!!
@Amy – that is too funny!
I have a Google alert on my name, and I keep getting alerts about ‘my’ Facebook page and all of ‘my’ friends. It isn’t me – though my namesake certainly does seem to be having a lot of fun.
Dani — That’s funny! I do have a facebook account, because I signed up for one just so no one else with my name could have it. How mean is that?
I never use it, but I keep getting messages like “so and so has requested to add you as a friend” or something like that. I don’t even know how to use facebook. I got a headache trying to figure it out. But apparently I have a few friends in case I ever do learn how to use it. LOL
Kirsten, Leigh and Victoria: I’m with you. In October, I quit my full-time job and started up freelancing without really knowing where I was going. I was pretty sure that I would shoot myself if I had to stay at my current job another day, so it seemed like a good time. I literally signed the documents for my house and then went in the next day and put in my two weeks notice. Three days after I started “full-time” freelancing with only one part-time gig, I got three new blogging gigs.
Samantha: The earlier the better for me, too. I think better when I work in the morning and I enjoy it more.
@Jessica: My writing professor MADE us get published – it was 20% of the grade for one of the classes (if we tried a certain number of times and it didn’t work out, we still got the grade, but we had to bring in the rejection letters). If you have a local newspaper, either in your college town or your hometown, try submitting there – a trend piece or something. And if you write for the college newspaper, that’s a clip, too (that didn’t count for us since we were all required, but it was nice to be able to send it with our “official” query like “see! I’ve been published!”).
Megatron,
I’m a primary/junior teacher. I’ve taught grades 1,2,3,5 and 6. Ilove the research and prep work. I particularly enjoy reading the stories my students write. Some of them have really developed a knack for writing that I hope they keep up. Thanks for asking.
Awww, Jenny, kids are the best. Their creativity is so amazing! I also work closely with kids’ creative products for one of my gigs, and I’m always absolutely blown away by what they manage to come up with. Sometimes I feel like I could stand taking a page or two out of their books.
Jenny — That’s really cool. I do this volunteer judging thing once a year for the Do The Write Thing challenge, where inner-city middle school kids write essays about how violence affects their lives. Every year there is at least one that really makes me cry (and I’m not a crying type). And I am always amazed at how some of these kids, even though they can barely spell and their grammar skills are terrible, can really express themselves through writing.
@ Megatron and Amy: I agree with you both. Comics work well too. For the students that are more fearful of writing their thoughts, I ask them to make me some comics. Using the pictures and just a small amount of words is just what they need. Amy, I reassure my students that I’ll be able to figure out what they write. I don’t want their fear of mispelling or grammar to stifle their self expression. It’s what I call their “Making Mistakes Copy”. Their good copy is always edited but their mistakes copy….I want them to just let go and create. I’ve also shared some of my writing with them and have written many poems/plays for my kids to perform.
Jenny — I think the “making mistakes copy” idea is great!
Jenny, that sounds so much fun! Are you familiar with this year’s Newbery winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz? I hear she originally wrote it for her grade-school classes to perform.