What’s on the iPod: Floating in the Forth by Frightened Rabbit
Yesterday felt like a massive wheel-spinning. Playing dodge on the phone with interview subjects has never appealed, and much less so when I’m under deadline. So today is aggressive follow-up. By aggressive I mean I become more pushy and a little more of a pest than usual.
I was looking at this summer compared to last summer. The difference is incredible. Last year I was twiddling my thumbs, thankful for a bank account to sustain me. This year, I’ve worked straight through, exceeding my monthly earnings targets each month. July may not be an “over the goal” month, but it’s still much stronger than last July.
It’s because I’ve been marketing. I’m lucky – I have enough face time with clients that my marketing doesn’t have to consume more than a few minutes a week. I have a wide base of clients and so far, I’ve only had to go outside that base a few times. That doesn’t mean I won’t still look for new clients. We live a quicksand existence – what’s here and hot today is often sunken and lost tomorrow.
So how can you have a lucrative summer? Try building a new to-do list.
1. Market when you’re busy. I’ve preached it before, but you can’t avoid a lull in work unless you have something waiting for you as you’re working on your current projects. Take five minutes. Seriously, five minutes. Send out emails to your current clients asking if they have anything you can help with. Take fifteen minutes and write a magazine query. Reach out on those social networks and let the world know you’re available to rock someone’s project.
2. Plan ahead. The slowest months of the year are typically July-August and November-December. Now is a great time to plan those holiday articles, start negotiations on new projects, and line up work that can sustain you through an expensive season.
3. Say no more often. Why are you stuck at the same income level? Because you’ve said yes to too many projects that pay too little. Or you’ve started one project only to see it plagued by project creep – the snowball effect of more work being piled on to your original project (and at that low, original price). Say no. Negotiate higher rates. Walk away if the project and fee doesn’t fit.
4. Secure payment. They’ve owed you for three months, yet you’re reluctant to push for payment. Stop being reluctant. They’re welshing on the deal. Chase it. Chase it by various means – debt collection, litigation notices, whatever it takes. No writer should wait longer than 30 days for payment, and at three months, it’s time to take serious action.
What else is on your to-do list?
13 responses to “Your Next To-do List”
Get more fiction and more plays out the door. The time is longer to publication and payment, but royalties are wonderful.
I made more in July than I made the entire first quarter of 2010, so I'm a happy camper. I hope it continues to grow — and it's up to me to make sure it does.
One of my goals is to have my e-book done to use during the slow months-not as a major source of revenue, but to at least have that going as well.
The other, is like yours, Lori, to line up some bigger projects. Great list & great thinking!
Once again, Lori, you've hit the nail on the head. This has been my busiest,most profitable summer as well. It's due to several factors which include letting go of lower paying gigs, increased marketing (and analyzing my progress and results), and following through on a plan to reach out to a new market. This post is an absolute jewel – keep 'em coming!
Along those lines, Devon, I got some fiction out the door myself yesterday. 🙂
Cathy, great idea! It reminds me to get cracking again on finalizing my course. It's almost done and I could get it done in a heartbeat if the back were to the wall…. 😉
Kim, I knew you'd agree. 🙂 I put work into the marketing early and like you, it's paying off. What would be neat is to see how you market – I bet I could learn something new!
My to-do list starts with making more time to market myself. I also have a massive story idea that I want to pitch somewhere, but I'm looking for the right place. I've done hours of interviews already, but I need to make some time to sit down and write it.
I guess what needs to be at the top of my to-do list is figure out what type of freelance writer I want to be. Commercial writing or magazine writing? Does anyone do both? I think I want the mix and variety of working on different types of projects.
All I can say is thank goodness most places encourage e-mail queries. I've done so much marketing this summer that I'd be broke if I had to pay postage (and the dreaded SASEs) for everything I've sent out.
The downside? Spam filters.
How else can I explain the fact that I've had barely any response from the LOIs I've sent to new markets? I've been careful about the wording in the subject line (words like "opportunity" can send things straight to the spam folder)
Yes, I will be sending follow-ups soon, hoping they too don't land in spam. If I don't hear back from those attempts, I'll resort to re-mailing some LOIs via snail mail to see if that works.
I wish I could say my summer was proving profitable, but it's been one of the slowest summers I've had in about ten years. The only assignments I've picked up so far were after sending quick notes and story ideas to editors I already work with.
Could desperation be seeping into my queries and LOIs? Or perhaps a bit of frustration?
Ashley, I do both. Frankly, I think beginning writers should try out whatever interests them. Don't worry about limiting yourself to one thing or another. Careers have a way of shaking themselves out, you know?
I'm a little more concerned that you've done a ton of work for an article you've not sold yet. We gotta break you of that habit. Can we get a pinkie swear on that? Start with just preliminary work – a little research, maybe a quick conversation with an expert, then formulate a query that fits the publication you're targeting. Don't go to the trouble of interviewing everyone and getting a story written before selling because here's what happens – the editor says "Great! But we'd rather it be on this angle and that you talk to these people instead." You've just doubled your work.
Paula, I think you're experiencing a case of bad manners on the side of the recipient. I know they're overworked, but dammit, one sentence saying "Thanks but no thanks" takes no time at all. In fact, I've had to cajole even that out of some of them. (I use "Article idea" for my subject.)
I totally know you're right on that, Lori. I was just afraid that I wouldn't have enough info unless I did the work first. I'll unlearn that tendency, pinkie swear!
You'll have enough. Trust me. 🙂 Tomorrow's post will help.
I'm dubbing tomorrow "Follow-up Friday," and will sent polite follow-up messages to several editors who never acknowledged my LOIs (or queries, as the case may be).
Hmmm….Follow-Up Friday has a nice ring to it. A new tradition, perhaps?
Sort of like Thirsty Thursday. 🙂 Great idea, Paula! I think I'll adopt that one, too.
Ashley, I write a bit of everything — magazine, business, a lot of fiction, plays, speeches, brochures — you name it, I do most of it. I don't ghostwrite. I don't have the patience or the diplomacy, and leave it to those who do.
Paula bad manners are getting worse, and it's part of the content mill culture and the "we'll only respond if we want to use it." No, you give me an answer, or you're not a pro.
Anyway, my initial cold mailings usually get a 1-3% return (about average for direct mail/cold queries). My follow-ups get a 25%, especially when I stick to a regular follow-up schedule every 3-4 months. Good luck.
Paula, Devon's right. It's about follow-up.
I've found that if email or snail mail isn't working, the phone might. If they can even a voice to the message, the response is better. People want to connect with other people, not just a message. Giving them a little "Hi, did you get my note from last week? Is there anything I can help with?" does work, but if you have the courage, try the phone.