Uncategorized | Words on the Page

4 Questions to Help You Find Freelance Purpose

Posted on August 26, 2014 by lwidmer

What I’m listening to: Your Long Journey by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss It’s been a good start to the week. After a busy, enjoyable weekend, I sat down on Monday with just one project in front of me, but with a few client calls to prepare for. It was nice to have the luxury…

Free Advice Friday: Using Writing Contracts to Nail Down Projects

Posted on August 22, 2014 by lwidmer

What I’m reading: Strip Jack by Ian Rankin What’s on the iPod: Just Another by Pete Yorn Yesterday was a bit of a blur. I sat down to accomplish something. Well, I managed my marketing and a little editing on my poetry. Nothing more. There’s a fatigue running through me that can only be thyroid-related….

Worthy Advice: This Job, Not That Job

Posted on August 20, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: The Road to Home by Amy MacDonald (including Caledonia) I don’t need a calendar to tell me September is almost here. The clients are starting to call, email, and send projects. It’s going to be a busy fall, and I’m happy for it. I was looking for something else when the Craig’s…

When to Follow Writer Advice (and When to Go Your Own Way)

Posted on August 18, 2014October 18, 2017 by lwidmer

What I’m reading: Strip Jack by Ian Rankin What’s on the iPod: Conductor by We Were Promised Jetpacks It was nice to get away. It wasn’t a long break — 4 days — but it was welcome. Saturday afternoon, we started the 7 1/2 hour ride. It’s always made longer because we stop at our…

7 Lousy Marketing Tactics

Posted on August 13, 2014 by lwidmer

What I’m hearing: Rain on a tin roof, a loon in the bay…. Today I’ll be waking up to the sounds of birds, frogs, and maybe some rain. The cottage I sleep in (there are two on my parents’ property) is a one-room place with a tin roof. There are no amenities beyond the four…

This Job, Not That Job

Posted on August 11, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Nothing. I’m fishing. As I spend this week tormenting Canadian fish, I wanted to leave behind a few things for you all to discuss. And anytime I want a good laugh, I just head to Craig’s List and look at the job ads. That’s not to say all the ads suck,…

Free Advice Friday: To Contract or Not?

Posted on August 8, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Rain King by Counting Crows Yesterday felt like Friday to me. That’s because today, I’m out of here. There’s a little river in the middle of Ontario where there are some fish and a few parents camped along the shores. I must go visit them all. I did manage three newsletter…

Finding More Writing Time

Posted on August 6, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie by Red Hot Chili Peppers It’s been a productive week so far. Monday was nonstop work.Tuesday I had to stop for a few phone interviews and a furniture delivery, plus I had to get out of this house before I suffered some serious cabin fever….

Marketing Monday: Removing Client Reservations

Posted on August 4, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Don’t by Ed Sheeran Since I’ve been talking to a good many client prospects lately, I’m realizing that there are some pretty big obstacles we writers have to overcome. Just having a client interested doesn’t guarantee it’s going anywhere, as most of you know. Some writing clients get so close and…

Monthly Assessment: June and July 2014

Posted on August 1, 2014 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Temporary Ground by Jack White Three articles in four days — yes, it can be done. I finished a 2K-word piece yesterday around noon. That made a total of 4,200 words for the week in just client work. I might even take today off. I was embarrassed to find out that…

Eileen

August 1, 2014

July was the first month ever in 14 years of freelancing that I had zero income. Big fat zero. This is on the heels of losing two big retainer clients who took the work in-house. I've spent the month enjoying the lull, going to Disney World, developing a new prospect list of 100 likely candidates, sending out lumpy mail packages and making follow up phone calls.

I've had a good response so far on the lumpy mail campaign – I've emailed or spoken with about 10% – and did two small test projects that may morph into more work. If this were September or October I'd be worried – but it's July, the absolute trough of workflow based on my decade+ experience freelancing. I continue to work the process, knowing that the process will ultimately work.

Just curious, Lori, if you're comfortable sharing – how many LOIs do you typically send out each month?

Lori Widmer

August 1, 2014

Eileen, thanks for your candor. I love that we're able to share both the positives and negatives.

I was wondering how that was going! Ten percent is great! I think you're right — eventually, that approach is going to hit home. Boy, you've got it absolutely spot on about July. Trough is a good word for it.

Lori Widmer

August 1, 2014

Sorry, to your question:

I usually target 10 LOIs a week/30 a month (gives me a little wiggle room to find some new prospects) with that many follow-up notes, too. My goal is 30 LOIs in a month and at least that many followups. If I get to 40, great. Thirty seems to be my magic number.

Cathy Miller

August 1, 2014

After a really great April & May, June & July stunk in the income department. I had a work-related trip in June and family has been here going on 2 weeks in July.

I had a prospect who cancelled 8 minutes before a scheduled call and although he assures me he is still interested in moving forward, he has gone silent for weeks. It has been nearly a month since a new client was billed for a deposit and he keeps promising to get me the contact info. for a subject matter expert. And nothing.

A long-time client tells me she'll get in touch in late Fall regarding blog posts that are supposed to be monthly. At least with that one the Agreement is to bill monthly (which I reminded her) but I am anticipating a dump of backed-up posts. *Sigh*

Other prospects have also gone silent (again despite assurances that they are interested). I think it's the summertime blues when it is so hard to nail people down.

Lori Widmer

August 1, 2014

Cathy, you may be right. Summer isn't exactly the time people want to buckle down and get to work. Sorry you're having such troubles. Same here. Plenty of inquiries and conversations. Very little movement.

Eileen

August 1, 2014

I am noodling with the idea of sending out a mailing to drop right before Labor Day weekend so it will hit the Tuesday or Wednesday after. Something along the lines of "Summer's been fun, now it's time to get back to work … I can help you clear the decks." Work tends to pick up after Labor Day anyway, and this may help to generate even more.

Paula

August 1, 2014

For me, July's always a busy month thanks to Emmy nominations and pre-awards coverage.

In June my income was only about $400 shy of my monthly goal, but the largest check was one that was a couple weeks late (Instead of arriving the first week of the month, it arrived at the end of the month.)

July was busier, but the income was less than half my monthly goal.

Queries – In June I sent two batches of queries (one landed me a series of assignments) and two individual queries (one was assigned). In July I sent three queries, getting a solid "maybe" for an evergreen idea I sent Favorite Editor, and the others went to new-to-me markets.

LOIs – In June I sent three and followed up on a another. One of the three came back undelivered – snail mail. Followed up on other LOIs in July.

Social Media – I'm still not really tracking it, but I gained quite a few new Twitter followers last month. In June I tracked down a former client and asked him to write a LinkedIn recommendation – it's big to me, since it's someone I did ghostwriting for.

Listings – I answered five each month. One replied saying they knew their 20¢/word pay rates were too low for me, but to check back in a few months. If advertising picks up they plan to raise their rates.

Existing clients: In June I turned in five columns, three articles and three copywriting projects to four different clients. In July I turned in four columns and three articles, and started on four new assignments from three clients. And yesterday another client asked if I could take on a new project.

New clients: I joined Ebyline on the advice of a friend. The first two "pitches" I replied to fell flat (odd, since they were writing about TV), but the third one landed an article that's due today. The pay is decent and the client is well known. Fingers crossed it leads to more work.

Bottom line: As busy as I've been, I really need some of these payments to come in soon!

Eileen

August 1, 2014

Lori, I find it astonishing that if you are sending out 30 LOIs per month — 360 per year for multiple consecutive years — you haven't yet run out of prospects in your industry! This makes me want to try a whole lot harder. 🙂

Lori Widmer

August 1, 2014

Eileen, that's a great plan! Super time to hit them up, I think.

Keep us posted on the eByline stuff, Paula. That's intriguing. And congrats on a good month!

Eileen, I haven't come close to running out of prospects. The industry is pretty big, and there are a ton of specialty areas and supporting industries to tap into. Plus I'm starting to expand into another specialty area (albeit slowly — must learn the ropes and jargon first!).

Gabriella

August 4, 2014

Hi there.

I really appreciate that you share this info, so here's mine.

July was decent. Not great, but decent. But August will be a bear, so I'm not stressing.

That said, I agree with the idea that summer's a slower time. So hard for me to get sources who are free–so many are vacationing. And editors do that, too.

Just a suggestion on the idea of a mailer landing right after Labor Day. Love it, but I'd give people a few days to get back into a groove. Maybe get it there the Monday after the post-Labor day work week? Just my two cents.

Lori Widmer

August 4, 2014

Good two cents, Gabriella!

Like you, my August is already full. I've no idea how I'm going to get it all done. Work harder and longer, I suppose!