These past few months have yielded some wonderful and thought-provoking discussions. I’m very proud of my little blog and its wonderful community and I’m so pleased this has become a haven for such fine writers. Many of the topics discussed here are things I find interesting or feel like talking about. I’m also interested in knowing what it is you’d like to talk about. I get my best ideas from you, so let me know what sort of things you’d like to discuss in future blog posts.
Have a good evening,
Deb
See my other blogs:
September 24th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Perhaps something about what to do when a client is defaulting on payment? I think every freelancer has had (or will have) a client who tries to evade payment (assuming the freelancer in question completed the project to their satisfaction, of course).*
*Can you tell this is a current problem for me?
September 24th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
hey MS DEB…….. did you stop sending out the “update” email, or am I just a walking zombie?
September 24th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Jacqueline said:
Perhaps something about what to do when a client is defaulting on payment? I think every freelancer has had (or will have) a client who tries to evade payment (assuming the freelancer in question completed the project to their satisfaction, of course).
I just e-mailed you today asking this very question, Deb, and how to prevent it from happening. GMTA
September 24th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
i guess you can’t send a guy with a baseball bat to pay the client a friendly visit anymore eh!
Darn i miss the old days!
September 24th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I think that an open question regarding different ways you can make money as a writer would yield interesting results. I’d like to know about all the different kinds of clients and what they are looking for, and the best way seems to be asking what people here have gotten a little vig out of.
I also wonder what people think about education - the various degrees, courses, and workshops - and what they find the most useful. I have taken none of them, but I’m curious as to what people think they had that was useful. (I would try to be good during such a discussion and not go all Bukowski).
I’ll answer the “How to get money out of deadbeats” when it becomes a real topic.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I’d have to agree with the suggestion about what to do when a client defaults. It does seem to be a chronic problem.
Tips on how to keep track of it all wouldn’t go amiss either, I’m sure.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
How about sample letters and contracts and stuff we can use/work from as a base to let potential clients know we don’t work for free (ie samples) and we WILL collect our fees? Anything that y’all actually use and that works would be great!
September 24th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Oo, although it’s not an issue for me anymore, I think a discussion about proper query letter and resume formatting would help newbies in the business. I knew I struggled with how to do things properly when I was just starting out because I had noone to ask and was practically alone.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Yes I too would like the query letter with samples idea. I have someone who has given me great ideas of what to do but still it’s a great idea.
I would also like to know about affiliate links on blogs and which ones some of you think are good, and the others that simply aren’t worth our time.
The idea of courses to take is another good one.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
If no response time is listed for a query response, how long should you give the editor before following up? How long after not getting an answer to the follow up should you wait before you cross it off? If a pub ignores you once, do you submit again?
If an editor doesn’t do a contract, does an email agreement (on price, words, etc) count?
September 24th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Ok, this isn’t a serious discussion (and I completely agree with the “what to do with deadbeats”) but I think it would be fun to discuss what you tell people you do (for those of you who write almost entirely for the internet). I find it funny what people think I do - and especially find it fun to try to explain it to someone who has never touched a computer (my hubby’s grandma).
Also, perhaps what to look for to avoid in contracts. The wording in them confuses me sometimes, and I wonder if I should avoid them or sign them. Like the one scam a while back with the guy selling 50 magazines or something like that. Luckily I avoided them, but I don’t know that I would have noticed the problems in the contracts that other writers mentioned (Personally, what turned me off was waiting until publication to be paid - I have very real bills I need to pay now, so I went to other work).
Just my two cents. I don’t post much, but I check daily, and I have actually landed 3-4 jobs from this site, which have been greatly appreciated.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Deb..
How the heck do you do it all? Lordy Bess…you must drink a lot of coffee!
Keep plugging, lady!
RSH
September 25th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Along the same lines of people not “getting” what we do, I’d like to know how many people have family and friends who actually read their stuff. Honestly, the only person in my family or group of friends (not counting online writing friends) who reads my writing is my husband. And even he doesn’t entirely “get it.” But he tries, and for that I am truly grateful.
It’s disappointing sometimes to know that people ask me for links or about what I’m writing, and then they never bother to visit my website or read anything I’ve written elsewhere.
September 25th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Yes I feel the same way. It is a bother to some of my family members. They don’t get it. It hurts. On the other hand, my mother reads my work and is my number one fan.
I have a friend who is also family, who is just bored with my talking about writing. I talk about this forum too. This community is a big support for me.
One way I look at it is that this is my dream, the other is this is my job. You are so right about people being interested. A little interest shown to me about writing issues and I light right up.
September 25th, 2007 at 5:19 am
I’d like to see a conversation about contracts and guidelines from a writer’s perspective. Things to address might include:
-how many free rewrites will you do?
-what constitutes a rewrite as outlined in the agreement–i.e., poor writing yes, but if the client refuses work that was written to the brief given, then changes their mind, that should be an additional charge. For example, I had a client that approved a site map ,I wrote the pages, they decided they didn’t like the layout, changed the pages, and wanted eveything reworked to fit–for no additional charge. That’s their problem, not mine.
-Should you still demand payment when client isn’t happy w/what you deliver?
-What about deposits? DO you keep yours if things go south?
Hope you catch my drift; anything along these lines.
Thanks Deb!
September 25th, 2007 at 6:51 am
I’d like to see a discussion on whether or not it is TRULY valuable to have a Web site and why.
I’ve never had one, and have been very profitable, yet, I see that a majority of the posters here do have one.
I can chime in on most other questions (oh, no, they say
) and perhaps offers some suggestions some will find helpful.
I’ve included in some other threads some suggestions for topics, though at my age, I’ve forgotten what they were.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:56 am
I had a similar experience as that of Mary. I had a client that hired someone to be in charge of their writers. They had that person send instructions, sample, etc., for the product descriptions we were doing. I did them as asked, and was paid close to $800 for my work, when suddnely, after doing $200 worth of work in another set, the client decides that he did not want the work done as we were instructed. Hence, I am still waiting to see my $200. I offered to revise THE WORK I NEEDED PAID FOR and then was given all of the work to revise. Sorry, but I did the work according to the instructions given, was paid, and am done with that.
As there was no contract for this job, I do not know what recourse I have. I am ready to start defaming his company on the various sites out there that allow such rants. I am wondering what is the best and most ethical way to handle this. How do I contact him and sound forceful enough to get paid. I mean, I was professional enough to offer to fix the work that still needs paid for, when it was written according to the instructions I was given as it is, so I think I went above and beyond. Sorry, but in my little house, $200 is a LOT of money.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:24 am
I would really like to see a discussion about ads posted on well know job sites. I have stumbled across many a posting of small companies advertising their services on a job board of all places!
What the heck, why oh why do they do this?
Another related topic would be people who advertise ‘no pay’ gigs on such boards. Okay, some of the work may be interesting to writers who want to seek experience in a specialist area but the majority of these ads just want hard labor for nothing.
Also, I know we’ve already discussed those who offer very low pay, but I think some of the job postings on other boards are just getting plain ridiculous now. It also doesn’t seem like much monitoring is being done on such boards, unlike yours Deb where you weed out inappropriate ads!
September 25th, 2007 at 8:53 am
It would be interesting if where you could properly sell eBooks was discussed, as I have one almost finished and one half-way done. Apart from that… I’m sure I’ll think of something soon
September 25th, 2007 at 9:00 am
I’m new at freelancing and would LOVE to hear stories of how people started out, obstacles faced (and overcome), and just ENCOURAGEMENT. I find it disheartening to search the boards every day and not find too much work (I’m a copywriter), so I’d like to hear how others deal.
Another topic: random part-time jobs people took when they were getting started, funny stories, and more encouragement.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:22 am
I would like to see a discussion about how many writers bend the truth or selectively omit information to get gigs. I know I’ve done it, but only if I’m confident I will be able to do what the job entails.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:47 am
I just wanted to express my gratitude and was not sure where else to write it. Because of a lead I followed from this blog I just had my first piece of writing purchased. Thanks for everything!
Rory
September 25th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Congrats to you, Rory!!
September 25th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I haven’t been coming here very long, so my apologies if my suggestion has already been covered. I’d love to hear from people who use bidding sites (i.e., writerlance, directfreelance, etc) and have succeeded at finding decently paying work through them.
September 25th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Here’s a post topic! I’m tagging you for a meme. The point is to give evil advice for how to make other bloggers hate and avoid your blog.
I think a post about that would make for a fun thread of comments, don’t you?
September 25th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Amy> I tried posting a long long long story of my experience with bidding sites. Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened but there was an error.
Anyways, long story short, my experience wasn’t pretty. Clients trying to lower my rates, making ridiculous demands, etc. etc. But I heard there are some people who make good money from bidding sites, particularly from Elance.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Mariella,
A lot of times my posts don’t show up either. I haven’t gotten into the bidding site thing because I’ve figured it was primarily cheapskates looking for the lowest bid for a job, and I refuse to write an article for $2. But I’ve recently met a writer online who makes a good amount of money on jobs from bidding sites. I suppose I’m just curious to know if there are really very many other people who succeed doing this, or if it’s mostly a waste of time. When my workload slows down in a few months (I’ve got a large project coming to an end), I may sign up with one if I can’t find a few more steady gigs elsewhere, but I’m curious to know if some bidding sites are better than others and/or if the fees are worth paying.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I’m wondering about those freelance job sites where you pay a certain amount in membership and then bid on projects, or even the ones you don’t pay for, but still have to bid. What are writers’ experiences with those?
September 25th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Oops, now I see someone else already suggested this–sorry for the double suggestion and now double comment!
September 25th, 2007 at 11:52 am
Amy, I think I know who you’re talking about. I’ve seen your comments in her blog (I frequent it too)
Anyways, as I said, I think some people do earn a substantial income from Elance and Guru, at least that’s what I’ve heard.
September 25th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Elisabeth - I started out applying to positions on certain job boards but it did take persistence finding what was new and what was worth applying for.
I also research various companies because I do a combination of business and creative writing. My creative side works for the greeting card market. This can be hard to break into though. The good news is over the years it has got better and better for me
A lot of copywriters advertise their services around the local market or even widen their scope on to an international level via a website. There has been quite a few copywriting job posted around but I have noticed them more due to the amount of research I have conducted over the years.
It may also help to expand on your skills and see if you can build a portfolio up for different genres. Okay, your main area is copywriting but can you do good articles too? There is a wide market for articles out there but you have to be careful not to land a very low paying gig. Having said that there are higher paying ones around, you just need to keep an eager eye open for them.
Then you get the PR / press release writing gigs, which can be quite lucrative but they often require one or two samples, likewise with article writing.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Another idea for a topic:
Networking.
It’s possible to do this online, visiting the blogs of people in the know and becoming part of the community. But what if the key agents and publishers that you’ve run into are people that …. well, let’s just say that you plain don’t get their blog at all.
How does one network online? What about “important” places to network that just don’t make much sense to you?
(feel free to call me an idiot, it’s OK)
September 26th, 2007 at 5:51 am
Amy:
If you sign up for any bidding sites, I recommend you stay away from Guru. They are very pro-buyer, even if the buyer has done something wrong. I had a “client” from there about 18 months ago who sent me directions for a project and I sent back a reply with “will be starting this on Monday” and at about 7 p.m. on Monday, they cancelled the project saying I did not follow through.
Well, they were in a different time zone, and I tried to explain that to Guru, but they made me pay back my deposit and took the project away from me anyway!
Also, I had a Guru client call me at 3:30 a.m. once to discuss his project. He was from a different time zone, too, but I was still mad!
September 26th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Leigh, that sounds horrible. That’s exactly the kind of thing I want to avoid, so thanks for the heads up. If Deb starts a new topic on this at some point, I’ll be very interested to see what others here have to say.
I’ll also have some feedback on the non-paying clients, contracts and queries if they become topics.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Leigh>> that just sounds horrible. I think the worst I’ve come across is when I tried bidding in GAF during my first month freelancing. I quoted really low (2 cents/word) because it was a subject I was very familiar with. I just had written an ebook on the same topic, a few weeks prior to that so all the research has already been done. The client said my writing was outstanding and I was a perfect fit but my rate is “exorbitant”.
Shell>> May I ask for advice? I’ve been trying to break into the greeting card market as well. So far, I had two pieces considered by Blue Mountain Arts. One of them has already been rejected while the other one remains in their 24-month market review. Do you know where else I can submit? I’ve tried looking for Hallmark’s submission guidelines but it appears as if they don’t have any.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:30 am
^LOL! Somehow that makes me sound like Adam Sandler in “DEEDS”.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Mariella - There are two links below… one is to the Greeting Card Organization’s publisher members’ listing. The other is to a greeting card forum where members share their advice and experience.
Hope this helps
http://www.greetingcard.org/gca_publishermembers.html
http://wwforums.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/9536054071
September 26th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Mariella - I must also add that I think the majority, if not all of Hallmark’s writing is done in house these days.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Oh wow Shell! You’re a blessing! Thank you so much! Thank you, really!
September 26th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Shell>> thanks for the info! I understand~ I think i’ll just email the lot of them and ask which ones accept freelancers~
September 26th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Mariella,
Last I checked in Writers Market, Hallmark was listed as not accepting freelance submissions.
Here are some links to submission guidelines for a few greeting card markets that did accept freelance submissions last I checked:
http://www.comstockcards.com/guide_base.htm
http://www.oatmealstudios.com/Writer’sGuides/WG-Pg.htm
http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/submissions.html#_submissions
http://www.designergreetings.com/Pages/jobs.html
http://www.recycledpapergreetings.com/artists.htm
Shell, I will have to take a look at that forum.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thank you so much Amy! I really really appreciate it! ♥
September 26th, 2007 at 11:37 am
You’re welcome.
How did you make that little heart?
September 26th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Mariella - If you take a look at that forum you will find plenty of feedback on various companies and what the writer(s) think of them. Some companies sound good and yet some do not bother replying to submissions, so it’s always good to read others’ experiences and then make your own decisions
The forum is usually a mixture of greeting card writing and art work queries.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:47 am
For the ♥ it is: & h e a r t s ;
For © it is: & c o p y ;
Remove the spaces in between the characters
I’m still trying to figure out how to do a star. Does anyone know?
September 26th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Shell>> Thanks a lot! I’ll join the forum later this day after I get my work done. The help is truly appreciated! ♥
September 26th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Ha. I love it! &hearts
September 26th, 2007 at 11:55 am
For the ♥ it is: & h e a r t s ;
For © it is: & c o p y ;
Remove the spaces in between the characters
I’m still trying to figure out how to do a star. Does anyone know?
LOL I saw in the notification email how it’s done ♥
Let’s try a star… whether it will work, I dunno!
☆
September 26th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Ooh, I tried that ☆ too but it doesn’t work.
Amy, you forgot the semi-color after the &hearts
September 26th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
*PS: Semi-coloN. Sorry. Haha~
September 26th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
As my four year old nephew would say, “Awww, MAN!” Let’s try again. ♥
September 28th, 2007 at 8:55 am
another potential blog topic: Health insurance, where to get it
September 28th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I’d be interested in learning about the best resources for new freelance writers, e.g. books on that topic, useful how-to sites (other than this blog, of course!), etc.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Here’s something I just ran into … what to do when someone takes an excerpt from content on your ad-free blog and posts it on their ad-loaded blog. They gave a link back to my blog and credited me, but still - they’re profiting from my work.
September 29th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Teresa, if you allow other people to copy your work onto their own domains, perhaps you should start thinking of making rules such as the page your content is placed should not be served with any type of advertisement.