Writers Worth: An Interview with Laura Spencer

There are some people who just show up in your life one day, and Laura Spencer is one of those people. As you know from Laura’s guest post on May 5th, she is owner of WritingThoughts.com and a veteran freelancer. Laura has been helping freelance writers for years, and her advice comes from a strong background in corporate writing.

I believe I met Laura in the same place I’ve met a lot of freelancers — through Anne Wayman’s former About.com freelance writing site. Laura is one of those people who is instantly appealing. She has an easy demeanor and a sweet nature.

An unassuming person, Laura has made a successful career from those corporate beginnings. And she’s learned a lot along the way.

Writers, please meet Laura Spencer.

Q: How long have you been
freelancing?
Laura: Fifteen years. Prior to that I worked in
various corporations as a technical writer and a marketing writer.

Q: What’s your area of focus?
Laura: My focus is on business writing and
blogging although I also enjoy editing.

Q: How were those first few
years of freelancing?
Laura: I’d say there’s a learning curve
that goes with freelancing. It was a little steeper for me in those first years
since I hadn’t yet connected with other writers online. Being a part of a
writer’s community and learning from the experiences of writing colleagues is
definitely a better way to get started.

Q: What’s been your toughest
challenge? Why?
Laura: There are a lot of challenges that
go along with writing. You can include everything from loneliness, writer’s
block, getting adequate pay, and more on the list. At one time or another, I
think I’ve faced almost all of them. I would say that one of the constant
struggles for me over the years has been that I’m naturally shy, which makes
marketing more of an effort for me.

Q: What was your a-ha moment
– the event or circumstance that shifted your perspective or had you
changing the way you do things?
Laura: Like many writers, when I started I
undervalued my work. When I actually started doing the math, adding up all of
the effort that writing takes, that was a big a-ha moment for me. It’s
important to me that I earn what I consider to be a decent wage. I think many
writers earn less than they should without even realizing it because they don’t
do the math.

Q: If you could tell new
freelance writers one thing to help them build a better business, what
would that be?
Laura: I think business is the key word in
this question. To succeed as a writer, you need to treat your freelance writing
as a business. That means promoting your business, charging enough for your
projects so that you can earn a profit, and keeping good accounting records.