If you read the comments here, you’ll see a common complaint is from writers who apply for a freelance writing job and don’t hear back from the editor. Or they hear back from editors, but after sending in more information the editor politely declines, or never responds. Without talking to the editor, you won’t know for sure why you didn’t get the job, but I can offer a few guesses.
1. Your cover letter- Your cover letter is the first thing a potential client will see If you send an underwhelming email, or it’s riddled with grammatical errors, you won’t get the gig. There have been a few times when I’ve been in a position to hire writers. I once received a cover letter that said, “Attached is my resume. It speaks for itself. “Well so does the cover letter. It tells me you don’t care enough about the gig to talk yourself up and list your achievements.
2. You lack experience – I know. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Some clients don’t care about your employment history as long as you can write well. When a client is looking for an experienced writer, it’s not necessarily because that person has a better ability to string words together. Clients also want to know you can meet deadlines, handle the research and do the job with little or no hand-holding.
3. Your bid is too high – You better be a darn good writer if you’re commanding a high price. Even so, many clients are on a budget. If your bid is too high they have to pass, no matter how great you are.
4. Your bid is too low – A friend of mine who ran a now-defunct web portal told me she turned someone down because her bid was extremely low. This told her the writer didn’t place a high value on her work. She also said her experience tells her you generally get what you pay for. She’s all about the lowest bidder, but when the bid is ridiculously low, she has to wonder why.
5. You don’t have a very good reputation – If you have a reputation for flaking on assignments or turning in half-assed work, word will get around. Someone once joked to me about a “super-secret editors’’ forum” where they all discuss writers who are trouble. Well, I don’t know about any of that, but people do talk. You can be a great writer but if you complain too much, talk about your editors on public forums or have a rep for being difficult it will get out.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Good points Deb.
Your last point about the secret-editor club works both ways too. I’ve gotten a couple of jobs because an editor was very happy with my work and passed on the information to someone else.
No matter how difficult an editor may be, I always try to make it work somehow. Even if the job part doesn’t work out, maintaining good relationships really helps. As large as the Internet is, the health writing field is still small. Many people know other people who know you.
I’ve even had a situation that occurred a few years ago and it still makes me smile. I was an editor with a freelance team. I had to let them go because the project was finished but I kept in touch with a few of the writers, one in particular. A year or so later, she was an editor somewhere and she knew I liked to do a certain type of freelancing - and she offered me the work. The timing and the work were both perfect.
It really is a case of what goes around, comes around. Now that I write full-time, I really am very aware of the impression I leave on others and do my best to cultivate that.
Thanks for yet another good post.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Deb, you’re right about cover letters. I am almost sure that there are jobs I’ve missed out on because my cover letters are so weak. Strangely enough, my queries ROCK.
So, how about some suggestions, a little boilerplate, or examples of cover letters that made you hire someone?
October 10th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Though I agree in principal about cover letters — mine could be better — lengthy letters won’t do it either. If I’m a busy editor, I want to see something quickly, not something with too much verbage. I read through a lot of press releases that are full of garbage and would have the same thought about a cover letetr that seems to be “padded.”
October 10th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Also, for every job you think you are perfect for, there may be dozens of others who are just as perfect. Just this summer, I heard back from a couple of editors saying they received 200+ responses to their ads and they’d be back in touch if I made the cut. In one case I did. In a couple of other cases, I didn’t. You can’t dwell on the rejections. You have to move on to try and find the next job.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Another thing editors have told me in the past after hiring me is that it was that I responded quickly. If they become flooded with applications, they sometimes stop reading after they’ve reached their target number of potential applicants and discard all others. That old cliche about the early bird catching the worm can be very true.
October 10th, 2007 at 11:07 am
No. 5 got my attention. I got this angry reader e-mail from someone who suggested I do the world a favor and commit suicide. the reader also talked about how idiotic editors are and how they need to quit conforming to standards and allow writers to express themselves freely. Told her that if she had that attitude she would soon find herself unemployable, but that didn’t seem to register with her. Oh well. Some insist on learning the hard way.
Sue’s response reminds me of this buddy of mine, whose female acquintance went to hollywood to make it as an actress. she returned in five years, saying that as beautiful and talented as she was, there were thousands and thousands of women just as pretty and talented as she was.
October 10th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Well, I’m becoming something of an expert in cover letter writing, as I’m currently looking for full-time work. However, I do have a question about writing cover letters for on-line freelance job announcements. I do think it’s very important to write a letter targeting the specific gig and its unique requirements. And for some positions, that’s quite easy to do because the announcement gives enough detail or a link to a site so that you have a good idea that they are legit and what they are looking for.
But how do you handle those 5 line announcements that may or may not be legit with very vague subject guidelines (ie health or travel)? I mean, there’s not enough to go on to target the employer, and there’s a good chance that whatever you send will receive a response in the form of a mass email.
In short, my question is: do you always submit cover letters for all types of announcements or do you only do so when you have enough info about the company or employer to adequately address them and their job opening?
October 10th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I always submit a cover letter and I try to make sure it shows that I have read and considered the job posting. In other words, I try to make sure it doesn’t sound completely generic and I try to highlight one or two of my qualifications that pertain specifically to that job posting. I used to use a mainly generic cover letter, but have found I get better response responding more selectively to job postings and writing individualized cover letters.
Generally I don’t answer vague ads especially if they don’t give a payment range. I’ve found that too often these are assignments below my accepted level of pay or are SEO work that I choose not to do. When I do respond, I generally say something about how I am well-rounded and have experience writing about a wide range of topics because I have been freelancing for xx years. If the post doesn’t give specifics, then it is hard to create a targeted cover letter.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
MelissaO,
I always ask the vague ones for more info.
There can be a certain cache (don’t know how to add accent market in this format) to showing one doen’t need the work…in other words, if you have a Web site, you can invite someone there to see your work.
I know a few established writers who do this. I don’t do this, but provide links to a few clips (along with cover) and invite people to google my name for more. But I don’t even go that far if I feel the job isn’t a fit. Those opportunities that aren’t (an example for me would be sales writing) aren’t good for me, even if offered.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Great advice, Deb! Thanks for all you do to help other writers.
October 10th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Awesome post, Deb. From the gigs I’ve been fortunate enough to have won as of late, all of my clients say the same thing: GREAT COVER LETTER/AWESOME QUERY! I count my blessing with each project I earn and smile and move on past those that were awarded to someone else.
My biggest challenge lately? Those editors who respond back to queries and say “keep ‘em coming” without accepting an article. I move them to the top of my “to book” list
Erika
October 10th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
TESTIMONY:
The secret editors club exists!
Great post as usual.
I agree with not dwelling on those we don’t; if you’re a good writer and are applying for a lot of jobs, you should have work in no time.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I worked as an editor for a national women’s magazine and never really heard about bad writers. We had a few known around our particular pub, but generally they were just blacklisted by us. I never passed along the info to other editors, and I never had anyone pass it to me.
However, I always stayed out of office gossip. So maybe I missed the club meetings.
October 13th, 2007 at 5:15 am
It’s possible that you were perfectly fine. Someone else was just better.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:59 am
If I may …
I am the editor of a magazine (that shall remain nameless) who sifts through hundreds of resumes every time I post a vacancy.
Each time, I am shocked that a very basic principal escapes so many of the applicants: When you are applying for a position as a feature writer, why on earth would you write your cover letter any differently?
The letter should be written in the same way you would approach an article. Before I even read your work samples, I am already convinced that not only can you tell a story, but you are clever and understand how to get a reader’s attention.
That’s cover letter gold in my book.
Food for thought…