If you regularly work the $1-an-article jobs, ignore this post. Better yet, leave freelancing and get a “real” job that pays minimum wage – you’ll be light years ahead of the game and we won’t have to keep preaching to one more person why that kind of “work” is sucking the life out of journalism. No, this post is for serious writers intent on increasing their career potential. Unless you’re up for some drastic change, just move along.
Sound harsh? Good. I’ve mamby-pambied you too long. I’ve held back telling you what I think for telling you what I thought would make you hear the message. Fact is you’re not listening. Oh, you’re reading, you’re agreeing, but in the end, you’re still letting other people dictate your pricing structure, aren’t you? If so, this post will probably fall on the same inertia as any other I’d post begging you, cajoling you, trying like hell to convince you that you’re worth more. You are, but if you’re not ready to believe it, I’m wasting my breath.
For the rest of you, here’s a checklist to help you find more value in your product and maybe more markets for your wares.
Identify your strengths. Good old-fashioned brainstorming here. Make a list of areas in which you feel especially comfortable/confident. Press releases? Copywriting? Book editing? Specialized writing? Pull from the experience and find something that could be your forte. You have one; you just may not realize it yet.
Write for yourself. Ever think “I can’t get on the phone and market?” Perhaps if you write a script, you could. Or maybe write one of those brochures or postcards you’ve been meaning to get out. Write something this week that’s a totally self-centered pursuit – write a marketing piece you intend to use to grow your business.
Contact seven people this week. Seven. That’s all. You can talk to seven people, right? One a day, then three another day. Simple. If it’s an existing client, send along an article that relates to their business. If it’s a new contact, introduce yourself (soft sell here), your specialties, and offer to call at a convenient time to get to know them and their business. At this point, it’s about meeting them and building a relationship – not entering into contracts and talking pricing structures. Oh, and follow up on each of these seven people next week, when you’ll hopefully be contacting seven more people.
Become a detective. While you may think you know all the places you could send that article proposal, you’re probably missing plenty of untapped markets. Search a key term on the Internet, sift through a Writer’s Market guide, pay attention to those websites promoting “Free magazines!” for new markets. Likewise, compile a marketing list from searching company contacts in your industry specialty.
Ask for referrals. When you finish that job and the client’s over the moon for your work, ask them in writing if they’d pass your name along to clients. Include a V-card in your email, which should be an email thanking them once again for their business. Or do it the old-fashioned way – send them a handwritten note with a few business cards/Rolodex cards for them to pass to friends.
Set your price. Lord, I don’t know how we writers expect to get any street cred when we won’t set our rates down on paper! Yet we don’t, do we? We laze around with this number in our heads and the minute a potential client pauses, we’re ready to drop that number in lieu of one that pleases a complete stranger. Try this – please yourself. Set your rates based on your intended income and your expenses. It’s a business you’re running, not a free-for-all. Write your prices down, print out a price list, and paste it on the wall. If clients ask, give them your price, which is the price. It’s not the starting point. For you, it has to be written in stone or you’re going to cave. Consider it an immovable object.
That’s a start. Some of these things you may already do, but it’s a matter of being consistent with yourself. If you put the mileage into it, you’ll find your own surroundings looking better. Oh, and if you’re one of the cheap-o writers who stuck with it and read through to the end, congratulations. There’s hope for you yet.
There's something you could add to your wonderful list here. Under being a detective, it could also say that you should your research and check out other writer's blogs.
When I first started, I bought a couple of writing eBooks that basically said it was easy as pie to start a writing business. I wasted my money on them. I learned a lot more on writer's blogs (and even through some of my clients) than I ever did in those particular eBooks.
It was because of advice like this that I realized working for pennies wasn't doing me or any other writer any good. I also learned some other valuable tips as well.
Good point, Wendy. Help from our peers keeps us from making the same mistakes they made. I know I'd have been lost without some of their advice.
And a tip for magazine writers: Since we don't set the rates publications pay, once you have a clip from a place paying 10- or 15-cents a word, aim your next queries to higher paying markets instead of getting stuck in rut.
That said, I do maybe 3 articles per year for a regional glossy that only pays 15-cents per word, but they add $25 per interview and are very easy to work with. The editor there understands that I have to prioritize my workload, and can only fit their $200-$250 articles around my better paying assignments. The distinction here is I'm choosing to take those assignments, when able, because an extra $200 here or there for minimal work is gravy. And sometimes it's fun to write about local issues. But never stop seeking out better paying markets.
I realize that this is a bit (OK, a lot) off-topic, but I just wanted to wish y'all a Happy Punctuation Day.
[And yes, this *is* a homemade semicolon-shaped party hat I'm wearing — thanks for noticing!]
I was thinking that it's not always possible to set your own rates, so Paula's comment was perfect. Thanks, Paula!
I confused someone today, Hugh, when I said I had a writing emergency. "My client's having a comma." He didn't get it. I had no idea it was Punctuation Day! LOL
I've learned that the hard way, Paula. One-and-done writing now. I stuck it out too long with one publication out of some odd sense of loyalty, and in the end I resented it. My own fault. Better still, don't take low-paying jobs in ANY case. I'm in a position where my experience is pretty thick. I shouldn't have to prove I can cross over into another industry when I've done it about six times.
That's true, Katharine. Magazines often do have set rates. But I've found you can often get a higher rate just by asking. Not always, but it's been known to happen!
Lori, in the past, some editors would give a higher rate if you asked, but these days even some big publishers are cutting rates. It still doesn't hurt to ask, but don't expect a positive result until the economy improves.
One major entertainment trade I write for a lot avoids the who's-paid-more issue by having flat rates. It had been 75-cents/word and is now 50-cents/word, but they promise it will go backup as soon as their ad rates pick back up.
Another editor who is usually very good about negotiating rates (usually around $1/word for the shorter pieces I tend to do for her, but the longer features have flat rates – so I can earn more doing two or three short articles than one long one) is now saying, "this is the max we can pay" because their editorial budget was slashed.
You have a very very very informative write up keep it up!Do You want to make money online?