Doing Nothing Wrong

What’s on the iPod: Mission by Dispatch

I’m back. I promise you I’m not yet in front of the computer. I know myself enough to realize that after a long ride back from Ontario, I’m not getting to posting until two days later. I’ll avail you of my trip details, and of the fish almost caught, later.

Because I’m sure to be in vacation withdrawal, I wanted to leave you with an older post, one that didn’t move mountains, but one whose message is relevant every time we sit down to market. If you’ve ever asked yourself why nothing is working for you, perhaps this is part of the problem.

Doing Nothing Wrong

So you sit there every day waiting for work to appear, but nothing. The projects you had are finished and work seems to have dried up. You’re searching, but in those same, dried-up spots on the Internet. Well, I’m here to tell you you’re doing nothing wrong. That’s right – the nothing you’re doing is wrong. You’re going about it the same way and it’s not working. So that’s equal to doing nothing. And it’s wrong. Get it?

We’ve all fallen into that trap, too. We figure we scored that great gig on one of our regular haunts where we were somehow lucky enough to outshine the thousands of other writers worldwide (you’re not just competing with those in the lower 48 anymore, guys). But the jobs there these days just don’t look like jobs, nor do they ask for your type of expertise. Or worse, they simply don’t pay enough to make it worth your trouble. Funny how that great pipeline can dry up in just a month, isn’t it?

So mix it up. Instead of sitting there doing nothing, choose a new activity to drum up business. Remember those paper queries you used to write before computers and the Internet happened? (If you’re too young to remember this, I’m older than I think.) Try writing one or two of those out. It used to be guides like Writer’s Market were essential to our livelihood. Do you even own one? If not, sign up online (I’m pragmatic enough to know you’re not going to drive to the bookstore right now). 

If queries aren’t your thing, make yourself a little brochure, a sales letter, and mail both to local businesses. Whom to target, you ask? Try first the print shops, for they get a lot of requests for writers. Oh, and tailor that sales letter to show you know they’re not buying your services directly. Put a little effort into courting them. Start also with mid-sized businesses. You have a lot to offer them – newsletter writing, client letters, sales brochures, company employee communications pieces…. you see where it’s going.

There are any number of things you can do to get your name in front of someone who might just need your help. Don’t be afraid to leave behind what was once tried-and-true work avenues. These job sites dry up faster than a desert oasis in drought season. To survive, you have to head for a different water source. Just do yourself and your career a favor – don’t continue doing nothing, for you get out of your career what you put into it.

What was your nothing? How did you change it? What shift in your methods made the most impact on your earnings?