What’s on the iPod: Wasted Words by The Allman Brothers Band
Amen for June. I was glad to see the arse-end of May, and June proved to be much better all the way around. Emotional upheavals gone, biopsies out of the way, work issues vaporized, and checks actually arrived, amen. Here’s the low-down:
Queries:
I did manage a few. And the few I managed turned into projects and ultimately, invoices. What’s more, the work is done and the check is cashed. Amen.
I’ve noticed I’m able to be much more selective in querying. Maybe it’s because I have nice relationships with a number of editors that I’m able to get solid work without a ton of effort. One or two queries for ongoing projects were never answered, but I have enough keeping me busy through August.
Existing clients:
Two ongoing projects continue to produce a combined $1,600-2,000 each month. Both projects are for good people, so I’m happy to continue with them.
A newer client has funneled much more work to me, and I’m loving it. It’s great when you feel you can contribute to their cause, and also when they appreciate it.
Through that client, I reconnected with a friend/editor. He asked me to provide some article ideas. I love working with him. He’s like a distant partner in crime. We’ve shared meals and conference meetings, plus we both held the same position at different times in one company. We get each other and I just think he’s fun.
New clients:
None of those yet, but my concentration this month tended toward existing clients and building the newer client relationship.
Earnings:
Yes, I love June. At the moment I’m about $2,500 over my monthly target. That makes up for a crappy spring.
Bottom line:
July already has two client spaces filled along with the ongoing client work. With luck I’ll be adding one, maybe two more magazine jobs to that. I’d love to have a July like this June. Normally, July is a “floater” month – no work, no money, no projects until August. I’m glad that’s not the case this year, especially after the tax bill in April.
How did you do this month?
9 responses to “Monthly Assessment: June 2010”
Pretty much sucked. I can't take much work out of town due to Elsa, I had to smooth things out with the editor on the publication that changed ownership, but at least I got my last set of royalties from the play. I was nowhere near productive enough.
I did book some seminars for the fall, though, which iwll bring in some cash.
June was my best month of the year. Of course, now I'm getting twitchy about July (does the twitchiness ever end?) as I am finishing up the last of some big projects. More marketing needed.
Congrats, Lori, on a great month, and hope all is well with your health!
Devon-best of luck with the seminars!
Wow, awesome month!
I love the feeling of having a little extra cash before a vacation — I don't feel so guilty about all the money I'm spending on hotels and nice dinners. All my extra earnings lately have gone to vet bills, but the fur babies are so worth it.
I haven't been as productive as I would have liked because my crammed 4-week class has taken up most of my spare time. But it will be over next week, and I can focus on marketing. Gonna be a busy working weekend!
June was awful. Beyond pathetic, actually. It's not over yet, so I'm still hoping a couple of checks might come in. But even with those, my June income is a fraction of a fraction of my goal. (My first 4-digit installment of property taxes and my quarterly check to Uncle Sam combined were about, oh…10-times more than my income this month.)
I promised to play along, so as of today, here's my June assessment:
Finished three short articles (a fourth was killed since the source was unavailable).
Completed three columns (the fourth will be sent in today or Monday) and four blog posts.
For one week I challenged myself to send at least one LOI per day to markets that fit well with my background. I sent six. Had two immediate replies – one said they have no current need for freelancers, but will keep me in mind; the other said he was forwarding my info to two of their editors who use freelancers. No replies yet from the others.
I sent one query and got the assignment, conditional on whether the subject agrees to do the interview.
Unbelievably, I found and replied to six job ads that matched my abilities. One replied the next day asking for additional samples. Fingers crossed.
Adding some more marketing oomph, I reached out to several existing clients (including the one I queried, above). I sent one an updated resume and a quick note – no reply. Another editor who typically gets back to me the same day hasn't replied (vacation, I presume), but another quickly wrote back saying he was ironing out details of the next issue and would have something to assign me any day now.
As for new clients, I did two really quick one-off jobs for two people: Grand combined total less than $200. I also had a disappointing experience with a would-be new client. When a friend's boss decided to hire someone to ghostwrite about 3 blog posts per week to their company blog, my friend suggested me. We had two productive calls with the boss. He explained exactly what he wanted, provides sources and direct quotes. He wanted 300 words. I turned it in – he complimented my writing but said he hadn't given me enough "meat" for the "article." Um, dude – it's a blog post, not an article. He said he'll be in touch when they have something worth my time. Right.
And other people's vacations are really screwing me up. When the editor who handles my column was out, his replacement decided not to run my column. It was a timely one, not an evergreen. Argh. Another editor was a week late getting my invoice sent to accounting. Another editor took two weeks off, and she'd the one who approved invoices and sends them in, so there's a delay there, too. (Even with that delay they'll pay faster than most magazines.) I've spent three weeks trying to reach a key source, who is apparently unreachable this month.
July can't get here fast enough!
Sorry for all those typos. It's been a tough month. LOL.
Devon, you've had a tough month with Ms. Elsa. Life gets in the way a little sometimes. Also, I applaud your ability to generate seminars. The list of ones you hold sound so impressive. Getting mine going is on my to-do list….
Cathy, twitchy is exactly how I felt at the tail-end of May. Funny how 30 days can make a difference. Then again, it can swing the other direction, too. 🙂
Ashley, that's why we work – so we can enjoy life a little bit more. Good for you for trying so hard, though. Remember, the more you do now, the sooner you can get dessert. 🙂
Paula, sounds like you're laying a great foundation. Come on, July! I think I'd throttle that stand-in editor. No way he/she should've killed that article, especially if your pay was contingent on it running. Sometimes they like to impress themselves and their bosses on how decisive they can be. Sorry. 🙁
Knowing I'll be taking 6-8 weeks of leave in August-September, I've been trying to get my clients' late-summer work done in advance little by little over the past month-plus. Between the greater workload and a variety of unusual home/family details to take care of, I fell way off the schedule. So I will be ending June with several (self-imposed but nonetheless irritating) deadlines unmet and beginning July already behind the eight-ball, so to speak.
But there was a flip side to all the stressing to get on track. I managed to impress a current client enough that she's now contracted for another monthly project in addition to the work we were already doing regularly. I LOVE extending with current clients–it beats seeking out new (untested) ones by a mile.
In the end, then, June was good. Not easy–and not yet over according to the calendar AND my to-do list–but definitely productive.
Contacted a previous client who had cut back last year due to the recession. The good news is that their rates went back up to previous levels (they had cut back on how much content they bought AND slashed the price) and they want a couple of articles a month. I was previously doing four, but I'll take two for now. It's a topic that I know well and I enjoy the writing for them. Win-win!
In three words, my June was kind of crappy. I was almost $800 under what I consider minimally acceptable. The good news is that I marketed a lot in my free time and believe (time will tell) I have secured an ongoing new client. I also scored a small new project that may lead to more work down the road. In addition, the large project I started in May actually materialized as the continuing one that was promised. Finally, one of my longest-standing clients, whom I hadn't worked with in quite some time, resurfaced. Hence, July is looking a lot better.