Wasn't I a Writer?

I've been working on my taxes this week, and I can't believe the changes this last year. The biggest change was on that line that identifies my job. For as long as I can remember, the answer has always been "journalist." Until 2008, and my new job description is "teacher." Out of all the money I made in 2008, only $500, earned during the first two weeks of the year, was from writing.

I can't complain. It turns out that my jump from journalism to teaching came at the perfect time. My friends still working at the local newspapers report that their hours have been cut back to 35 hours (or less) a week. When I worked as a full-time reporter, I routinely worked well over 40 hours a week. A cut to even 35 hours, would have meant a loss of a good chunk of my income.

Another thing doing my taxes made me realize -- I haven't had any of my writing professionally published for over a year. This is unheard of. I began writing professionally when I was still in high school. When I was still an undergraduate, I landed a job at a local newspaper. For most of the last 20 years, I have had a byline on an average of 7 articles a week plus I did freelancing and other writing work. In 2008, except for those first two weeks, I didn't write a single thing for publication other than blogging here (which was few and far between) and on my own site.

Could I still claim to be a writer if all I'd written were comments about other peoples' writing?

And then today, I went to my post office, and I found a check. It was from BlogHer, and it was my first advertising revenue from my blog. It wasn't a direct payment for my writing, but it suddenly renewed my pledge for 2009. I am going to write again.

This semester ends May 2, and I will have a bit of last minute things to finish up, but I also have plans. I have that research paper about plagiarism that I want to submit for consideration in an academic journal. And I have my memoir, with approximately 30,000 polished words, waiting for another 40,000 or so.

I am a writer, and I have been sidetracked the last few years with teaching, and I know I no longer want to be a journalist, but I am a writer, and I need to remember writers write, but I am a writer who writes for an audience, and I can't let my audience down.

Freelance Writing Workshop, Direction and Goals

Today I'll be speaking to a local writer's group about freelance writing. I'm jazzed about the prospect of helping would-be freelancers get started, hopefully help them avoid pitfalls, and basically pay forward all that I've freely received from fellow freelance writers over the years. (I'm thinking of many, many Writing Mothers here!)

One of the points I want to make at the workshop today is to know why you want to freelance. There are many possible (and acceptable) answers. Whatever your answer, it should be YOUR reason.

Knowing what you want to get out of freelance writing helps you make decisions and direct your time and energy. If, for instance, your goal is to change the world with your words, spending hours perusing Craigslist in search of SEO gigs might not get you there. On the other hand, if your primary purpose is to earn an income from writing, that may be time well spent.

There's a poem I love by Ella Wheeler Wilcox that shows how a person's intent can drive his life regardless of circumstances. I have a sneaking suspicion that I've posted this before, but with uncertainty being the word of the day economically, politically and a zillion other ways, this poem offers a little bit of solid comfort.

The Winds

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sails,
And Not the gales,
That tell us the way to go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of men;
As they voyage along through life,
'Tis the set of a soul
That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

Time after time....

We're a week and a half into the summer here.


I'm not sure about anyone else, but part of the reason I freelance is so that when we get to the holidays, I can take some downtime with my kids - so that there's no holiday problems with care for them, and so that I'm not spending every minute in work wondering whether I'll need to leave early and find they've caused riots.


It does mean, however, that all of the work I'd planned on doing is being is being sandwiched in between episodes of Hannah Montana and Tom and Jerry. It's a nice life, but it's hard to measure the value of the work I'm snatching in. It also means that I've been pushing back and pushing pack things like theme designs and my fiction writing. I got up on Sunday morning though and decided that I needed to stop procrastinating and actually take control!

So, I've written a post over at Publishhacks about the best, and worst freelance tools, in my opinion, for monitoring and supporting any freelance career.


I'm always expanding and testing them though, so I thought I'd find out what your favs and time sinks are.


(so far, I've got Xobini, RescueTime, WordPress, the Internet (wikipedia), The Internet (RSS), Zoundry Raven - some good, some bad ;)) What do you have, and come on over to PublishHacks, to find out about the tools I've mentioned.

Remembering to breathe (occassionally)

Sometimes, just sometimes, you spend three weeks doing nothing. You can spend hours researching posts, days, writing and painting wonderful sketches for sites.
And then....like my article on 'feast and famine' (though, what I was referring to was building a buffer for the leaner times), things get madcap.
In the last four weeks, things got madcap for me.
I'm STILL designing the new theme for this place, which is a giggle and a half. I love doing themes, but I'm not overly fond of writing the documentation for them, and whilst I'm doing this theme, I'm also doing the docs for someone that decided that they needed them, after I designed thier theme :)
Most of all though, I'm working through documenting stories too. Following the 30 day manuscript book, I've finished adapting the worksheets to what I need (and they aren't - really - that different from the book) and I'm about to dive headlong into my third and fourth outline. And THEN I get to go back and clean up the first two, do five and six, redo three and four, etc. :) I've got 54 books to get through, so I'm thinking that this is going to be refined in about 10 books, and go so much faster after that.
And yes, I said 54. I'm always getting more ideas than I can use, so once I've sifted them, I might file some of them - though I totally love all of my ideas, I get the feeling some of my outlines - and some of my novel ideas are complete busts. And to find that out, I'll need to outline first ;)
And I've got the whole summer to work it out.
I just have to remember to breathe occassionally. :)

Guest - Jennifer Fink

We have a guest today, Mamas!

So Tiff go put on yer bra, Kai get yer hair in a pony and let's welcome her! And someone tell Linda to git a wiggle on it because she's always off doin' somethin' or other.

Jennifer L.W. Fink is lives and homeschools her boys in Mayville, WI. She is a freelance writer who has been published in Parents, American Baby, Ladies’ Home Journal and more. Suddenly Homeschooling (HEM books) will be out in late 2008.

With four sons ranging in age from two to ten, my house is a whirlwind of light saber battles, pillow fights and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Getting any writing done in such a testosterone-heavy environment is, uh, a challenge, to say the least. But it can be done. On a recent day last week, I conducted three phone interviews, nursed my toddler, made some last-minute edits to my Journal Sentinel op-ed, cooked three meals, considered teaching a writing class, hiked with the boys and wrote for three hours.

Freelancing with a family isn’t easy. It requires patience, devotion and time management skills. These tips, from my chapter, Living with Kids 24/7 in the soon-to-be-published book Suddenly Homeschooling, can help you get some work done:

• Develop simple household routines. Don’t be afraid to involve your children. Your kids can help pick up their rooms, prepare meals and clean up the yard.



• Use a master calendar to avoid scheduling conflicts. Be sure to transcribe your professional obligations onto the family calendar as well.



• Take advantage of empty moments. Try transcribing for 15 minutes on your laptop while the kids play video games. Or take your notebook along and outline an article while you wait for soccer practice to end.



• Get up before the kids or stay up after they go to bed. Many mom-writers find these quiet hours to be the most productive of the day.



• Offer to trade childcare with another parent, join a babysitting co-op, or hire a teenage babysitter or pre-teen “mother’s helper.” Even just a couple hours a week of kid-free time go a long way toward meeting your professional goals.



• Have realistic expectations. As one Mom told me, “Life with kids is very different. Be willing to accept the limitations that come with the territory.”

THANK YOU Jennifer, we kiss your feet, FOUR BOYS, PEOPLE!

(I have one, that's about enough!)

Feast or Famine

Yesterday I was figuring out my schedule for the summer. What are my commitments? When will we be able to do that family vacation?

I realized when I was mapping it all out that I am going to be busy this summer. I will have three regular contracts, and they will span the entire summer -- starting next week and continuing right up to the end of August. When will I be able to take a week for vacation? It looks like no matter what I choose I will end up with a working vacation.

When you work as a writer, you cannot turn down work. It just seems that it all arrives at once. I'm lucky though because this summer it looks like I won't have any down time. Last summer was mostly down time.

How do you schedule your work? Do you ever have to turn anything down? I don't think I could do one more thing this summer, and I hope I won't have to.

Writing by the Numbers

The results on my college entrance exams made it perfectly clear -- I am not a math-oriented person. The number was OK, but out of all the categories, I scored lowest in math.

I wasn't worried. I planned on being a journalist, and I was sure math wouldn't be involved.

Not long after I began taking journalism courses, I realized how wrong I was. At times, I felt like everything I was doing involved math. I would have to write an 8-inch story, or lay out a front page leaving a 3x4 hole for a photo. I needed to scan in an original photo and figure out the percentage I needed to convert it in order to have it fit the opening. This was before desktop publishing was widely used, and I learned to do layout using blue-lined paper and lots of hot wax.

Although my journalism degree required it, I didn't plan on doing a lot of layout in my career. I was a writer. I wanted to write stories.

I landed my first journalism job before I graduated with my journalism degree. I was working part-time at a community newspaper, and my number one responsibility was covering the county government. I attended the first meeting, and I took notes as the board members discussed budgets, millage (tax) proposals and contracts. Almost everything on the agenda involved numbers, which meant I would be doing math.

As the journalist, it was my responsibility to take all of those numbers and explain them in a way that made sense to my readers. If the county board approves a millage increase of .25 mills, how much should the average taxpayer expect to pay? The board members didn't always provide the answer. If the sheriff gets a 10 percent raise, and the sheriff's department budget isn't increased, how many hours of deputy patrols will be lost?

It was math. Lots and lots of math.

I'm not the only writer who found out math was an integral part of writing for a living. I distinctly remember when my good friend Shelley Haggert began working as the editor of Windsor Parent magazine. It was layout day, and she was shocked to learn layout involved math. She'd been tricked! Who knew math was involved in writing, she wailed.

Even for writers who are not involved in layout or journalism, math is still an integral part of the writing career. You have to invoice clients and write-off expenses and figure out how much you need to sell in order to pay your monthly bills.

Just this week, a number of members of The Writing Mother were admitting how they hate math. But you heard it hear first -- math is entwined in writing more than most English majors are willing to admit. Otherwise that ivory tower room where you spend your days writing won't have any heat and lights.

Math, I've learned, is much easier to accept when it involves adding up the invoices due to you.

Teleclass from Marcia Yudkin - How to get those first clients

I thought some readers of MNABC might be interested in this. Reposted with permission from Marcia Yudkin:

How do you get your commercial freelance writing practice off the ground?

I would like to invite members of this group to a FREE one-hour teleclass in which I share the six methods of getting first clients that have been successfully used by copywriters, marketing consultants and publicity specialists whom I have worked with.

Three of the six methods I'll be discussing cost nothing at all, and the other three methods cost a modest amount to implement.

Here are the details:

Monday, February 18 at 4 p.m. Eastern time(3 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Mountain, 1 p.m. Pacific time)

To join the call, go to the following link and look for the yellow-border box, which contains the signup form:

http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm

You'll then receive the call-in information by return email.

My previous call for Wellfed Writers produced testimonials like these:

"Marcia Yudkin is a great teacher and mentor. I have
learned more from her than from anyone else in the
marketing business." - Charles Brown, Dallas, TX

"Very informative. Great call!" - Carolyn Erickson,
Wichita, KS

"This session has value for anyone trying to market their
services to other businesses in the B2B arena." - Mark
Bohrer, Saratoga, CA

Can't make the call? I'll be recording it, and you can pre-order the CD for just $10, with free shipping anywhere in the world.

There will be ample time for questions and answers during the call.

With all best wishes,
Marcia Yudkin
Copywriting Mentor
http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm

Tra-La-La!!

I booked today and tomorrow off from work so that I could write. But I sent my kids to their childcare... After I got over my guilt, I realized it was a wonderful day of being by myself writing!

E didn't sleep very well last night, she has a cold and I think that when she laid down it was hard to breathe. So she slept most of the night on me... as I was propped up on the couch. So I didn't get much sleep either!

But what a good day I had. Might have been the most perfect Writing-at-Home-Mother day!

First, hubby brought me cupcakes in the morning for Valentine's Day.

Then there was a steady supply of coffee and yummy coffee creamer.

I balanced writing with watching two of my favorite daytime programs, shows I haven't seen for many months.

I turned the TV off for most of the day and just enjoyed the silence - no one playing army guy, no one screaming, no whining ... just peace and quiet and the sound of my fingers on the keyboard.

I realized just after noon... I cannot remember a day like this before I had kids. I didn't appreciate days like this. Now I do.

The trick is to also appreciate the loud and noisy days... because one day those will be history too.

Trolling for Sources could Lead to Far Stickier Issues

A frequent question I hear from those new to writing is what amounts to a "fair use" question, but it can quickly develop into so much more.

Shortly after Christmas, a writer on a writing list I belong to asked the list in general if it would be OK to quote a passage from a book if the writer gives the author credit. Despite my convoluted summary, the questioned posed seems like a simple question, but I see it as a much more complicated issue that I think those new to writing for publication need to be aware of.

While on the surface, it may seem OK to quote someone from a book while giving credit to the original author, I would argue that this is almost never OK. I have several reasons for my answer, and I want to share my thoughts with you.

The first consideration as the author of the article, you have to ask, what is your ultimate purpose? If your ultimate purpose is to develop an ongoing relationship with an editor by providing an article that indicates you are a well-qualified, professional writer, you want to provide a high-quality article with original reporting. This indicates to the editor more than just your ability to write; it also indicates your ability to identify the need for and the ability to utilize legitimate sources. In other words, you are also promoting your reporting skills to an editor as well as your writing skills. Proven, dependable reporting skills can get you a second assignment over another writer that just offers solid writing skills.

If you rely on published material in your article rather than directly interviewing the author and/or another expert, you may unwittingly use outdated and/or inaccurate information in your own article, which isn't something editors want to buy. For that reason alone, I would always recommend interviewing the author and/or expert directly. You never want to put yourself in the position where you are repeating another writer's mistake.

There are also the more complicated issues that arise when you quote from published material such as copyright, fair use and plagiarism.

In response to the writer's query on the listserv, one person mentioned learning from a teacher that it was considered "fair use" as long as you quoted less than 30 lines from a book. The problem with this understanding is that fair use operates differently in a classroom and/or academic setting than it does when you are writing for publication. Guidelines provided by an instructor may have been intended to apply only to a specific class or assignment. In that class, the instructor and students may have understood all books used for that class are large tomes, but some books (like children's books) may be less than 30 lines total and weren't considered in the guideline offered by the teacher because shorter books were not an option.

Copyright, fair use and plagiarism are all differing terms in the U.S. You can find a lot of information at copyright.gov including this bit about fair use, "The distinction between "fair use" and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the
copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission." http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

For any questions any writer may have about copyright and/or fair use in the United States, http:/www.copyright.gov is the best reference source.

Copyright infringement and fair use is determined, ultimately, in a court of law. It can depend on what you quote as much as how much you quote. For instance, if the book takes 250,000 words to get to a key concept, and you write an article revealing just that key concept, you may be overstepping your bounds in terms of fair use. I don't think anyone can say "more than 30 lines" needs permission because books can vary in length, and how do you consider articles? The content in determining fair use is just as important as the length as well as how the new author uses that information. That's why it is ultimately a legal decision. I would say that a good guideline for writers would be to consider how pertinent the original material is to your work. If your work can't survive without the quoted material, you are using enough that you should seek permission from the original author.

(I feel as if I have to add the caveat that my thoughts regarding this particular discussion applies to articles written for the general, commercial-oriented audience and does not consider any exceptions/conventions that apply to academic writing.)

Fair use and plagiarism are two different things. Copyright and fair use are legal matters while plagiarism is an ethical/moral/professional issue. I make that distinction with the complete understanding that all three are serious concepts that any writer must be well versed in. Plagiarism should not be tolerated. Proper credit must always be given to avoid plagiarism. The specific requirements for what constitutes "credit" can vary depending on what genre you are writing.

Regardless of the genre, you must give credit when you do any of the following: 1) direct quotation from a source, 2) indirect quotation from a source and 3) the use of an idea from a source. It doesn't matter if you use just one word, you should still give credit. Often that one word would be a catch phrase; for instance, Rebecca Moore Howard of Syracuse University coined the term "patchwriting" when referring to students who replace key words in a sentence without really changing the sentence, like replacing "good" for "great."

I particularly like to use Howard's phrase as an illustration for number three because it is both on the topic of plagiarism as well as being a great example of how a single word can convey an idea that is directly tied to the original author, which is why citation is required for an idea. Not to mention it gives students a heads up about what is expected when it comes time to paraphrase a source.

Genre and Citation considerations:

How to cite and credit a source is often just as important as providing credit. In academic writing, the way sources are cited varies depending on the profession's standards. For academic writing, citation is very formal and follows a complicated set of guidelines that varies from field to field. Humanities uses MLA while nursing uses APA. There are other citation standards for other fields too.

The genre you are writing in often sets the standards for the type of citations you need to use.

In journalism, sources need to be cited, and the information provided can vary. Most often you will find a name, position and residence, but it can include age or other identifying information relevant to the article. The position used in the article will be selected in relation to the article's topic. If you were to interview Dan Smith, a professor, about his son's accomplishment in wrestling, it would be more relevant to the article being written to identify Dan Smith as a parent not as a professor.

In academic writing, citations are much more detailed and can include source name, how the information was obtained (personal interview, e-mail, book, article, etc.) as well as the date the material was written and often for online sources when the information was accessed as well.

In fiction, citations may be much more informal and may be found in a number of places such as the acknowledgments, in an author's note or thank you, buried in the small print at the beginning of the book or in an entire section at the end. Although it is fiction, authors do a good deal of research, and it is the research that is cited. I'm not a fiction writer, so I can't offer any more suggestions about how this could happen beyond what I have noticed as a reader. Two of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult and Patricia Cornwell, often have a long list of acknowledgments in each book indicating the sources of their research most often with a caveat that notes any errors should not be attributed to the source but rather to the creative license of the author. (Even as I write this, I have the urge to check books I have by both authors to see if my memory is correct. I am going to resist the urge. I am pretty sure I'm right. Let me know if I'm wrong.)

A couple of interesting cases regarding plagiarism:

Just this week, two accusations of plagiarism have made the news.

An online web site noted a striking similarity between the work of a fiction writer and several nonfiction sources. The allegations ended up making Yahoo News. Since the original article breaking the story, other articles have followed like this one: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_en_ce/books_romance_writer_2
I encourage every writer to read this particular article since it illustrates how plagiarism can seriously injure a writer's reputation even when the writer in question won't face any formal/legal ramifications. In this instance, the author's publisher is supporting the author.

Jerry Seinfeld's wife is also being accused of plagiarizing her newly-published cook book. The author of the book Seinfeld allegedly plagiarized is suing for copyright and trademark infringement. This case is important to note because it is often being referred to in the media as the Seinfelds' being sued for plagiarism and defamation. Even CNN's headline, "Seinfeld, wife sued for plagiarism, defamation," but plagiarism is not a legal issue. You can't sue for plagiarism. It is an ethical/professional/moral issue, remember?

While it is true the Seinfelds' are being sued, Jessica Seinfeld is being sued for copyright and trademark infringement NOT plagiarism despite numerous headlines saying otherwise. The confusion seems to be arising from wording in the legal complaint filed in court in the section where the defendant sets out their allegations. The fifth allegation mentions "brazen plagiarism" that is so often being quoted, but the complete wording makes it clear the legal basis for the suit is more than plagiarism. TheSmokingGun.com has the entire legal document available, and the source of the misunderstanding seems to be this line: "Jessica Seinfeld's brazen plagiarism of Lapine's book constitutes copyright and trademark infringement under Federal and New York law."

As writers, it is important we report accurately especially when reporting on plagiarism and copyright issues. Other related terms you may want to investigate include ghostwriting and boilerplating. I would say what these two terms describe is NOT plagiarism, and I encourage you to do some research to find out why.

To me, another interesting recent case of plagiarism happened in November 2007 when a well-respected journalism professor wrote an opinion column that used quotes obtained by a student journalist without properly crediting where he obtained the quotes. He cited the person who was quoted, but he didn't get those quotes on his own but instead copied them from a news article in another paper. The professor and author, John Merrill, later called it "unintentional plagiarism," but other professors at the University of Missouri (a top journalism school) said it was plagiarism without any hesitation. You can read the entire opinion here: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=133994

For other plagiarism stories in the news, I refer you to one web site that publishes an end-of-the-year round-up of plagiarism/fabrication events, primarily in the press. You can find the latest round-up here: http://www.regrettheerror.com/regret-articles/2007-plagiarism-round-up

WAHM's and Low Pay

Being a mom is probably the lowest paying job of all, which puts an odd sort of perspective on the following... Recently, one of the major freelance writing job blogs sounded off about WAHM's taking low paying writing gigs. You can read her rant at Freelance Writing Jobs about how the tendency of WAHM's to take $3 writing jobs make people think of them as a source of cheap labor--and take advantage of them in the process. Her solution is the WAHM's should stop taking low paying writing jobs; that this will force article buyers to pay more.

Well, color me as respectfully disagreeing. WAHM's didn't start the race to the bottom and they aren't going to stop it even if they do quit taking low paying scut work. No, they won't be seen as a source of "cheap labor," but they will not turn back the tide any more than King Canute. The problem is twofold--and it's a problems lots of industries have, not just writing:

1. The Internet has created a frictionless marketplace. When sellers cannot find buyers and buyers cannot find sellers, a market has "friction." But when sellers and buyers can come together almost effortlessly, then a market is said to be frictionless.
   With the advent of the Internet, the market for writers has become increasingly frictionless. Snailmail is slow. Email is almost instantaneous. Sending payment cross country used to be slow and iffy. Paypal is fast and safe. And so on. With the advent of Elance and Craigslist, and the increasing acceptance of telecommuting, the market for writers is nearly frictionless. And it's only going to get more so. Not less.


2. The combination of the Internet and Elance (and the like) has made a small buyer's market into a BIG buyer's market by including millions of English-speaking/writing people from all over, most notably second and third world countries with much, MUCH lower wages and prices than in the US/Canada/Australia/UK. The willingness of thousands--if not millions--of people to work for what would be a starvation wage in the west is what has driven prices into the floor--not what a few hundred thousand WAHM's will or will not write for. This is happening all over. Work that my brother contract programmer used to get paid $75/hr for now only pays $35/hr... because international competition has driven the price down. Things are tough all over, but there are opportunities everywhere.

Now, before you accuse me of being racist or xenophobic, I think people from where ever--second and third world countries included--have a right to make a living regardless of their color, nationality or shoe size. But I won't pretend that a huge influx of people willing to write for peanuts didn't drive prices down from the already low $10 each to $2 and $3 each. Economics isn't politically correct. Low paying work isn't going away. There will always be someone desperate enough to do it.

So whether WAHM's take low paying work is not going to affect the market significantly. There are just too many people whose hours are worth $5.25--or worse, $0.50/day--who figure that they can write four an hour with their PJ's on and that's a heck of alot more than they can make on their feet cashiering at Wal-mart. There's nothing shameful about doing honest work when it suits your purpose.

Back in the dark ages, when I considered $50 a good fee, $250 seemed like the moon, and we were going bankrupt supporting a house we couldn't sell, I wrote a handful of articles for Write for Cash (aka WFC). At the time, there was a big stink on the writer's list I frequented because of the low fees: $10-$20 per article. But I was desperate and the couple hundred dollars I wrote for WFC (which are still on the web today) bought two weeks worth of groceries and put something in my kid's Christmas stocking. It suited my purpose. I never spent more than a half hour on the article. I never wrote more than the minimum number of words. As long as my hourly wage came through to $15 or $20/hr, I counted myself lucky... That was as much as I made per hour as a programmer and I didn't have to dress up and commute 70 miles one way to do it. And I used those clips to move on, move up, and get better gigs.

So, having been there, I'll share a few rules of thumb:

1. Figure if something is worth your time based on a target hourly rate, not based on what a particular piece pays. Set your hourly rate, at the very least, as twice what you could make at a part time job. In the beginning (or unless you have special skills), that means anywhere from $10-$16/hr. If you can do three small pieces and hour for $4 each and make $12, and that's better than you could do at the part time jobs you qualify for, it's worth your time. After ten clips (or a couple of months), raise your target rate by $10/hr. Keep raising it at least $10/hr every six months until you get to $50-$75/hr. That's a veteran wage and a decent living.



2. Spend the least time possible while doing a workmanlike job. Don't spend four days researching an article that's only going to pay $15. If your target hourly rate is $15/hr, then you have exactly one hour to research and write that article. Go over and you're reducing your take. This is not to say you should do shoddy work and cut corners. Do good work, but keep in mind that time is money.



3. Never, never, never, never, NEVER write an article for low pay that you could pitch and sell elsewhere for more money. Always start at the top with an article idea and work your way down. You won't know if you can sell an article for $25 (or $250 or wow, $2500) unless you first pitch it to one of those better paying markets. If you come down all rejections and you still want to write it, then go ahead and write it for peanuts (or GASP for free). But start at the top.



4. Do NOT fall into the trap of thinking that because you are busting your arse for peanuts that peanuts is all you deserve. Every freelance writer starts out at the bottom: querying new markets, taking spec assignments, forging relationships with editors. Low paying work is a stepping stone. You don't need more than 10 low-paying clips to move into the next tier ($25-$50/article)--not to say it will be easy, but you should definitely begin your move around your 10th clip. And here's the secret... the editors you're querying don't know how much you were paid. They don't know you got paid peanuts. They see a clip: "Hmm, well written. Got published. Probably met her deadline. Yeah, lets give her a try." A clip, even a low paying one, is a sample of your writing and a demonstration of your professionalism. Not a pro? Fake it 'til you make it, girl!

And so, that is my answer... spent far too much time on this for far too little money. Broke rule #1 and #2. But at least I wrote something.

Happy New Year!

The Value of You

In random writing groups around the world, the same problem appears for writers of non-fiction, copywriting or business writing.

The writer posts that they are stuck in a bad situation because Something Has Gone Terribly Wrong. Sometimes it's a client that's not paying, sometimes there are problems with the acceptance of the work, sometimes a client is just a jerk.

But the common cause of these issues is a failure of clear communication.

We are writers, we are supposed to be good at clear communication. But for many, especially new writers, there's a sense that you have to pay your dues and scrape around at the bottom of the barrel for a little while before you earn your way into being a Real Writer.

This is not true. Here is my guide for writers new and old:

1) Get it in writing. Clearly. "OK, thank you for this acceptance! Just to clarify, I'm going to write a 1500 word article on TOPIC, this word count will include one side bar with facts about THIS. The deadline is THIS DAY and I will not be responsible for sourcing photographs, but I will provide contact information for your photographer. The fee we have agreed upon is $$$ upon acceptance of the article."

2) Have a minimum hourly rate. I suggest starting out at $25 an hour, and even that is low. This of it this way: Minimum Wage + Overhead costs (rent, equipment, insurance) + your taxes + the convenience of hiring a freelancer = your hourly rate. If someone suggests that they can have the work done cheaper, invite them to do so. You must have been under the false impression that they wanted the BEST person for the job. Oops, I guess they wanted the CHEAPEST.

3) Work Efficiently. You may not always negotiate based on your minimum hourly rate for things like article... but take it into consideration when you are accepting article work. Is this article worth your time?

4) There is only one type of compensation: money. There are other benefits you can receive: exposure, ad space, Seeing Your Name In Print... but there is only one type of compensation. If someone wants to give you "ad space" (a popular one for start ups) then you are (of course) free to accept if you have something to advertise. But you STILL invoice for the amount and you request an invoice for the ad space.

This is an important papertrail to a) prove that you did the work and b) prove to the government that you did the work and that the advertisement is a business expense. You can't prove that your advertising is a business expense unless you have an invoice for it.

5) Thank people for their referrals - it is ok to send a card or a little Starbucks gift card. But you do not owe them money for referrals. Make it clear with your NEW client that this is a deal between the two of you by establishing a contract right away. It can get complicated if the new person is expecting to invoice someone else and then has to invoice you, or thinks that you are negotiating on behalf of your previous contact. Or that you are somehow in business with that previous contact. Be clear about your independence.

6) Do not place yourself in an inferior position. Don't wait to invoice because someone is busy/sick. Did Visa wait to send you a bill when you were sick last month? Behave professionally. This does not mean you can't have a good, personal relationship with your contacts. Be yourself, but run your business. Conversely, do not use the busy/sick excuse to let any of YOUR committments go unmet. The editors that bought my first book don't even know I have children. And they certainly don't know that I was pregnant when I sold them the book nor that I was in labour the day that we accepted their offer.

7) Writing for Free is SOMETIMES OK. Bet ya didn't see that one coming. But here are my personal guidelines. If a publisher/editor accepts advertising - you should get paid. Full stop. I do not buy into any discussion about "start ups". What kind of start up forgets to take a huge expense like WRITERS when doing up their financial plan? They went to the bank to ask someone for money to invest... If they "forgot" to ask for money to pay people then that is their problem.

If you are a volunteer for a worthy organization (a non profit) and you consider writing your volunteer work, that's ok. But be careful that you are not being taken advantage of because you are the only writer. Don't write the association president's speech... edit it for him. Don't write all the web copy, delegate it and edit. If it gets too much, consider writing up a proposal for contract services. Show them how much they are getting for free and tell them that it is too much. Show how much you are willing to do but show them what the rest will cost them.

Christmas Challenge 2007

I did it. I really did it. I didn't think I could, but I did, and I survived. I am not even twitching very much. I barely even thought about it yesterday. It was at least 4 p.m. before I considered it seriously but that had more to do with the fact I was busy opening presents, napping and cooking Christmas dinner.

That's right, I managed to not log onto my computer for a full 24 hours without suffering (much) withdrawal.

This is a major achievement. No computer for a day? A real holiday without any work or e-mail? It can be done. I'm living proof, and today? I logged in within minutes of waking up. I never promised I'd do 48 hours.

The Great Big List of Resources

Paul Lima with the Professional Writers Association of Canada has given us permission to post a compendeum of writer resources that he's blogged about. It's a big list, so big in fact That It Requires Capital Letters To Show You Just How Big It Is.

Here ya go:

ON NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE WRITING

Job description for newspaper and magazine freelancers
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=117

10-steps to writing for newspapers and magazines
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=24

Ideas, Inspiration and Dogs
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=73

21 Rules for Writing Stellar Query Letters
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=27

How to Structure a Query Letter; Sample Query Letter
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=50

The Query Letter - How to pitch editors
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=21

The art of the query - how to sell article to magazines and newspapers
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=107

The art of the query letter
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=96

Keep your e-query letters out of the trash folder
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=22

Pre-query Query Letter can work wonders
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=97

When to follow-up with editors
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=37

You've sold the article idea, now what.?
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=100

Deflation & Freelance Writers
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=15


ON FREELANCING FOR CORPORATE MARKETS

Establish Your Business Vision
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=4

Want to boost your business? Start with your business vision
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=85

Can a freelancer earn six figures?
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=5

How to become a six-figure freelancer in five easy steps
http://paullima.com/blog/index.php?paged=9

Writing Services You Can Offer Corporate Clients
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=48

Place Five Arrows in Your Marketing Quiver
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=35

Place Five Arrows in Your Marketing Quiver
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=47

Simple marketing task that generates repeat business
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=89

How to estimate corporate writing assignments
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=38

How much to charge for work
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=52

Freelance Writing: Do the Math
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=12

How Much Did You Earn Today? - Guest Blog
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=42

Questions you can ask a client before writing
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=32


ON SELF-PUBLISHING: BOOKS

Using the Web to sell books and special reports
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=115

Self-publishing & print on demand with Lulu
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=76


ON IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN...

Do you have what it takes to become a freelance writer?
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=105

C-student does OK, but it took a while
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=103

Just an English major from York.
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=111

Temporary reprieve from insanity proves to be permanent, or how I became a
freelance writer
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=93

My father was a janitor; my mother a housewife and I am...
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=70

Send in the Writers: How to / Why to. Hire a Freelance Writer
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=74


ON MISC. & (maybe) INSPIRATIONAL

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've
always got
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=69

The business universe is truly mysterious
http://paullima.com/blog/index.php?paged=6

Is the Internet Stealing Your Precious Time?
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=75

The only thing writers have to fear is fear itself
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=19

Dark Dingy Basements of the Mind...
...and other reasons why writers can't write
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=17

Job was a freelance writer: New Research reveals Biblical scholar was
talking to an Editor, not to God!
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=80

Speech: (Almost) Everything you need to know about freelance writing
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=110


ON SELF-PROMOTION & WEB PROMOTION

Send clients and editors your Holiday schedule
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=120

Using the Web to boost your freelance business
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=114

How to get Google to rank your website high
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=65

PR Primer for Small Businesses
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=28

Media Training & PR create a best seller
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=53


ON WRITING (SORT OF)

A creative but useful writing exercise
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=39

Creativity and Brainstorming
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=34

Know Your Target Market
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=36

AND BEYOND...

Writers often do more than write
http://paullima.com/blog/?p=77

I have nothing to say...

My brain melted this week.
I'm used to deadlines, of course, as every freelancer probably is, but I've found it hard to keep up this week. FOUR assignment deadlines, with one due today, and I've had to learn a whole new subset of skills to achieve the basic requirements of my assignments. I think I understand it all, but I'm still nervous. And I've got my regular contracts too.
I think I'll have something to say about time management, when I can actually formulate something along those lines, but for the moment, nada....

It shows though, that sometimes, bloggers really have nothing to say ;) I'll be back in a few days when my brain cools.