What I’m reading: Spartina by John Casey (it’s slow going)
What’s on the iPod: Moondance by Van Morrison
I hope you’re not in front of your computers right now. I hope you’re taking a nice holiday weekend to remember the sacrifices others made so we could have independence enough to define our careers and enjoy our lives. But if you’re just surfing around, let’s get to the business of our monthly assessment, shall we?
I don’t need to tell you how glad I am to see May disappear. Hospitals, tests, chest pains, and lumpy thyroids mingled with dying lost loves and too much bad news. Just get June here now, okay?
Because of the depression that follows bad news and stupid aches and pains, I didn’t get much done. I marketed very little, and those attempts were merely touching base with existing clients and former/current colleagues. So let’s get the task of assessing a crappy month over with:
Queries:
Did I send one? I can’t remember. I don’t think so. I did some searching for new markets, but my head was so muddled I didn’t form a coherent thought, so I backed off sending until I was thinking more clearly. I did send a note off to a local company found on Craig’s List. The note back was telling – they were reminding me of their “small business” status and expecting me to bid accordingly. My bid? My usual price. I’m a small business, too. I can’t afford to cut prices, nor can I afford to work with people who aren’t prepared to pay decently for quality service. Buh-bye.
Existing clients:
Friday two big assignments came in. They were ones pitched months ago, but the approval process the editor has to go through delays everything down the line. Luckily, these will provide work and funds when I most need them.
I sent out links to my latest article to a few colleagues that are potential clients. I want to continue to show folks I’m still in their industry, still on top of the subjects, and still working freelance. I got a few nice conversations going around those topics, which to me is a bonus. Also, I had a call with a long-time colleague where we reconnected and it felt good. We’ve been in touch through each one’s career transitions. He’s someone I admire and respect and he’s just a great person to talk with.
One client has things on hold for a week or so, but I suspect I’ll be contacted next week for some small projects.
An ongoing client still funnels one project a day to me. I have a 60-hour window on them, which is just enough time to get ahead of them and plan for breaks in my work week. It’s easy work, it pays decently, and I love the client.
Another ongoing client blog project is going very well. I really enjoy their business. Plus the work allows me to stay current on the industry.
Also, I contacted a client about a missing check and we talked about upcoming projects, so my summer may be a busy one.
New clients:
Let’s say newish clients. A newer client project, which I think I rocked, provided a nice boost in the income. Given the sucky nature of this month’s income, that was welcome. I have an ongoing relationship with them and I’ve been unofficially designated the PR/writer person, which is flattering.
Earnings:
Okay, it sucked this month, but I knew it would. You can’t step away and deal with emotional issues without feeling it in the wallet. I honored my commitments, but I didn’t take on much new stuff. Still, looking at the invoices, I’m $1,500 off my target. It felt worse than it actually was, I guess.
Bottom line:
Marketing must increase in June. I have to follow through on some definite maybes and get some new client work generated. I have big projects arriving in July, but until the contracts are here, we don’t count them. So all I can do now to get work headed this way will benefit come tax payment time.
How was May for you?
9 responses to “Monthly Assessment – May 2010”
I'm so sorry you dealt with so many negatives in May. I hope June is a much better month for you all around. I think it is perfectly acceptable and expected that you would be off your game a bit dealing with all of that.
May was full of promise for me and I'm hoping it is a sign of more good things to come. Here is to a great summer for all of us! 🙂
Hope you're taking time to relax a bit today, Lori. And thanks for sharing your monthly assessment. I haven't totaled my numbers yet, but I
I'm pretty sure that May has been my most profitable year so far in 2010. Constantly marketing is the reason. I've ventured into a new market and the only way I'll get work is to put myself out there. Now, to keep the momentum going…
May I borrow your word, Lori? May's been pretty sucky for me, too. Of course, I took a day off to help with the neighbor's garage sale…which mean four days of constant phone calls from her interrupting my would-be work flow. How I got two articles done a full day before deadline is beyond me.
Job Ads – Didn't reply to any, but spotted a promising one today.
Queries – Sent a batch of ideas to one of my regular editors, and sent a timely idea off to a magazine I've yet to write for.
New Clients – None.
Existing Clients – Assignments dropped off sharply from a newish client. This was after some high praise of my work, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I checked in with her, and she said summer is a traditionally slow period for them, but it should pick back up in a couple of months.
I also checked in with another client that was supposed to be ramping things up in May. She replied saying their site was under new ownership, and they *might* be looking for story ideas "later in the year."
I e-mailed a couple of my regular editors to see if they needed ideas for some upcoming issues. Neither did, but one of them said he was waiting for a "capsule" from me (basically three to six sentences on the pros and cons of top TV shows' seasons). Problem is he hadn't assigned it, as a quick glance at our previous e-mail exchanges proved. I was able to knock that out in less than an hour, and he immediately assigned a second one, which he had in hand within about 20 minutes. Had I not e-mailed to see if he needed anything, I would have missed those assignments (worse yet, he might have thought I'd blown a deadline for something he'd never assigned!). Those capsules earned me enough to splurge on a few gorgeous flowers for my front porch and window boxes, plus a couple of herbs for my new mini kitchen garden.
I was about to e-mail a third editor when she called me. She said the magazine is trying a new format for the front-of-the-book – more super short pieces "like all the other magazines are doing now." She liked the ones I did for the previous issue, so she assigned three. They're 200-words or less, single-interview pieces, she said e-mail interviews were fine. She also assigned a slightly longer article for the same issue. Quick turn-around, minimal research/transcribing, and maximum pay. I can handle that! I especially love that she took the time to compliment me on my knack for writing pithy pieces.
Output: Turned in two articles and the two quick capsules. Wrote three blogposts and four columns.
Marketing plans: Spent a couple hours this weekend revamping my resume (so much harder than doing someone else's resume!), and will include it with my reply to the job ad I spotted today. While updating my resume, I wanted to include blogging experience, but didn't think three posts per month was enough. So I began kicking around ideas for my own blog. After I start and manage a blog, I'll be more comfortable listing "blogging experience" on my resume.
Earnings: Paltry. Almost $900 under my target, but it really hurt since I paid the first installment of my property taxes this week.
I took it pretty easy Saturday. Sunday I bought and planted all those flowers (90 degrees? I was having so much fun planting flowers to care! Okay, so most of the time I was in the shade, and there was a nice breeze). After the sucky-sucky month of May, I was tempted to work all weekend, but limited myself to revamping the resume and writing one blog post. This afternoon I might actually read. For me, that's a big deal.
Lori, I'm sorry you had such a difficult month. Would it help any if I mentioned that "sucky" is a legitimate word in computer Scrabble? I scored 36 points with it this morning.
Um, I meant to say "May has been my most profitable month" so far in 2010.
Eileen, I'm glad SOMEONE is getting mileage out of sucky! 🙂
Thanks, Stacey. I think once I look beyond the emotional garbage, my May was a lot like yours – things are now set up for June and July.
Kim, I'm very glad your May was so awesome! And I knew what you meant. 🙂
Paula, ouch! Taxes. I'd forgotten. Aren't the federals due this month instead of July? I hate that we pay them April then two months later. Really hate that.
Lori, after all you've been through, you're allowed an off month. I took the entire holiday weekend off for a change, so I'm just finishing up May invoicing. I actually had a surprisingly good month, with total billing at the upper end of my monthly goal range. I had one new client in May, who *should* turn into a lucrative one, but the subsequent work is on hold until the week of June 21, and I never count an ongoing client until he actually comes back with the promised work. He found me, not the other way around. I'm sticking to my goal of marketing about three times per week, but none of my applications have panned out of late. I came close with one, being one of two in the final running, but lost out because I said I couldn't start for two days instead of immediately. When I found that out, I was actually kind of glad I lost the job. I didn't become a freelancer so clients could dictate my schedule.
Thanks, Kathy. Off it was, but it still didn't reflect much in the invoices, thank God.
I agree – if they dictate your time, it's a deal-breaker.
What impressed me here was your pipeline… you've got stuff coming in even though you didn't get much marketing done … that's professionalism.