Paula, exactly that. It was easier then. Sure, we had to have envelopes and stamps and no fear of a phone, but the writers who were willing to put the effort into their careers were successful.

Elizabeth, you've done a magnificent job in a short amount of time!

I love your take on pre-Internet freelancing. It seems like such a different time. I'm often amazed when I read about the rates freelancers were getting in those days, but I can't imagine sending out a physical query letter and waiting weeks to hear back (OK, sometimes we still wait weeks to hear back).

It sounds as if you've been able to grow your client list very quickly in three years, Elizabeth. I used to think those of us who started before the internet exploded with opportunities had a harder time finding clients. But after reading your post, I realize that it was easier for us to cut through the clutter.

Another advantange: we weren't establishing ourselves in era where self-professed experts offer pricey one-size-fits-none solutions, market listings, or webinars in an effort to separate us from our hard-earned dollars.

We may have subscribed to newsletters with market listings, but those went out to small mailing list and weren't accessible to any freelancer who wanted to see them, so our queries had a better chance at standing out.

Yeah, we spent a lot on postage, but today we pay for internet service. The irony is that snail mail LOIs stand out more today than ever before.

We had fewer options, but and they were harder to find, but we weren't quite as overwhelmed with information then like we are now.