Freelance Writing Blog

Charging for Consulting

Posted on September 14, 2011 by lwidmer

Look for big news from Anne Wayman and me tomorrow – to get notified directly, sign up here. No spam, I promise. We had a great tweetup yesterday afternoon. Thanks to those who could make it and to those who spread the word. It was a nice manageable group, and we had a good time,…

Ideas and How to Use Them

Posted on September 13, 2011 by lwidmer

Time once again for a tweet-up! Anne and I are hosting one this afternoon. To join, head to Twitter and use the #writingsquared hashtag. (Best way is to make a column in your viewer just for that hashtag.) Yesterday was productive despite a “travel hangover” and the lack of several promised files. I worked ahead…

Hitting the Ground Running

Posted on September 12, 2011 by lwidmer

Good morning! I’ve been gone a total of three working days, but it feels like years. The switch in cultures from here to my favorite fishing hole is so drastic that you can notice the change even in how you behave. It’s quiet there. Situated facing the river with bays on either side, the cottage…

This Job, Not That Job

Posted on September 9, 2011 by lwidmer

Just because I’m away doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun. So why not a round of This Job, Not That Job to placate ourselves as summer becomes a shrinking memory? This beauty came via Twitter, where I didn’t have enough characters to tell him what I really thought: #freelance #writing #job – Make my…

The Subject Line

Posted on September 8, 2011 by lwidmer

Still north of the US, where I hope there’s less rain and even less 9/11 talk. I have my own memories of that awful day. It’s nice that we want to remember. It’s kind of awful (to me, anyway) that we have to make a huge television event out of it. Something very wrong about…

Giving in to Lethargy

Posted on September 7, 2011 by lwidmer

As I bask in the “balmy” lake district of Ontario, I wanted to leave you with something to discuss and debate. I have this strange work process that seems to kick in out of the blue. I get lazy. I work my tail off when I have projects that are due immediately, but give me…

Starting in the Middle

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lwidmer

Good Tuesday to you! Feels odd starting in the middle of the week, but here we are. Had a great week last week. How was the holiday weekend? It rained for part of ours. My son wasn’t able to come for a visit, so we decided to head to a meditation retreat at the last…

Friday Stuff and Hilarity

Posted on September 2, 2011 by lwidmer

Don’t forget to sign up for notification of Anne’s and my upcoming announcement. Give us your email and we’ll give you the announcement – not spam, and certainly not a spot on someone else’s list. Your info stays with us. Sign up to be notified here. Great day yesterday. I wrote an article in the…

Definitions and Those Who Don’t Get It

Posted on September 1, 2011 by lwidmer

Anne Wayman and I are about to let you in on our secret! Don’t forget to sign up for notification. We promise no spam – just notification. I think you’ll be glad to hear of it. Super day yesterday. I managed to get one more article written and another of two remaining interviews out of…

Monthly Assessment: August 2011

Posted on August 31, 2011 by lwidmer

Want to know what Anne and I are doing to improve your business? Sign up for notification of a special announcement coming soon – click here to register. We’ll inform you, not spam you. Is it really the last day of August? I could tell without a calendar, for the summer clothes I’m forced to…

Colin Galbraith

August 31, 2011

Great work, Lori!

I spent the last couple of weeks at the Edinburgh Book Festival, a lot of that time I spent looking back at the previous year and planning my next 12 months. Charging on – just like you! 🙂

Lori

August 31, 2011

How was the festival, Colin? I've wanted to get to Edinburgh for that and the Fringe. Someday….

Devon Ellington

August 31, 2011

It was supposed to be vacation, a time to recharge the batteries. Instead, I'm dealing with the Client from Hell (who, in two days, will be the ex-client from hell) and had all the life/creative energy/everything else sucked out of me

Tomorrow, the year-long intensive starts.

And I've still got a book to finish.

Kimberly Ben

August 31, 2011

I'm glad to hear you had such a prosperous month. August was a slow month for me, but I expected as much since I moved to a new city, got the kids back to school and began observing the month of Ramadhan all in the same week. now I'm on a marketing mission.

I'm curious, Lori – what do you consider to be the average waiting time when awaiting responses from editors for the queries you send?

Lori

August 31, 2011

Devon, you'll need a REAL vacation after this.

Congrats on the yearlong tomorrow! I've been eagerly awaiting news on this one. Your energy is inspirational.

Great question, Kim. I wait three weeks for email queries, six weeks for mailed ones. After that, I send them one follow-up. If I hear nothing in one week (email) or two weeks (mailed), I'm moving on. They may come to me after that and give the assignment, but I'm not going to wait for that. And so far, it's only happened a few times (and it didn't sell elsewhere, as well).

Kimberly Ben

August 31, 2011

Thanks for sharing that, Lori. i don't always send a followup when I don't hear back. most editors are good about letting you know something either way, but maybe I'll incorporate mandatory followups as a courtesy before moving on.

Paula

August 31, 2011

August was the slowest month I've had in years.

I sent four queries (two of which were batches of ideas) and four LOIs. Two of the four LOIS had immediate replies. One mentioned specific needs for her December and February issues, the other said he was open to ideas. I already have a long list of things to pitch the first editor, and am looking for ideas for the second.

Replied to zero job postings, but I had looked at a few during the great August lull of 2011.

Only turned in two articles and one blog post. The column is on hold until they pay up. (Called their accountant this week and she said, "Oh, the checks were written months ago, but I'm holding them until more funds clear." Please – the grand total of two of those checks is probably less than the publisher spends when he's schmoozing an advertiser over lunch.)

I dropped notes to three or four long-time clients to see if there was anything I could help them with. One replied saying things were slow, another said he'd be in touch when anything came up.

Today I'm finishing up a small-but-intensive editing project for a sort of new client. In April I edited two executive profiles for them, working through their graphic designer. This time the designer's not working on the project. Today's mission is to find anything I missed, and to make sure there's some logical consistency for committee names. On the original copy, half were capitalized, half weren't.

Bottom line: Earnings were about $500 less than my modest monthly goal, but would have been closer to the goal had an invoice to my Favorite Editor not been lost. She's since rectified the matter and I should have the check any day now.

Gabriella F.

August 31, 2011

Hello, Lori.

Congrats on the great month! It's about darn time, no?

I'm in the same boat. August has been much better than my previous months, and September is fully booked.

I have no idea why people are coming out of the woodwork, but I've had to ask potential assignees for more time just to accept assignments (they all agreed there was wiggle room in their deadlines).

No queries went out this month, and I read the online job postings and didn't respond to any. Why do I even read them?

And I think I mentioned last month that the potential monthly project finally came through. So this month I began it, and the client is very happy. Yay!

Looks like things are back in the busy mode.

EP

August 31, 2011

Congratulations on having such reliable existing clients. As you noted in another part of your post, this past month was rather "dry" for me. But hey, it comes in waves, doesn't it?

Jake P

August 31, 2011

Wow, nice month, LW!

I had a good stretch this month, which got a whole lot better this morning: a 400-word piece accepted at a sailing magazine about our July trip in the Fla Keys. (It was so short I wrote on spec, not query.) Decent pay, great tax write-off, plus a new relationship with a managing editor. Me happy!

I'm playing street hockey with some local media/ad guys this afternoon…and…mmmm…envisioning a fine bottle of rum for the evening cocktail.

Lori

September 1, 2011

Paula, I can't believe the accountant actually admitted that to you. Must be just as frustrated with the situation as you are! Damn, I'd lose their contact information once that check does come.

About darn time indeed, Gabriella! Next month is already looking similar. I hope you're noticing the same (sounds like it). Amen. Alleluia! Congrats on pleasing that new client! Sounds super.

EP, it does come in waves. July was as dry as the Mohave. August was more of a rain forest during monsoon season. Just put on the wellies and learn to doggie paddle. 🙂

Don't you love when you can write off a portion (or all) of a trip, Jake? Fantastic! Congrats on the new gig and the happy editor.

I hope you enjoyed the hockey and the rum. 🙂

Paula

September 1, 2011

Lori, apparently the place that owed me for the past columns is dealing with their economic crisis with a new system: write the checks, but don't send them until the person has complained twice. All three checks arrived yesterday.

Because it's the column, I'll probably keep at ti, just not as frequently. Maybe go to a bi-weekly or monthly column. It's not as if it takes much effort or as if they paid enough to actually rely on the income. It's alwasy been more about re-using some of the info leftover from my real articles, or being able to write about something even if I couldn't get an editor to assign an article on it. But the new rule will be in place: I'll send in one column, and write the next, but if the first has to be paid before I'll start a third.

Damaria Senne

September 2, 2011

Great hear you had a great August Lori. Mine was not so great. Invested a lot of time in a big publishing project, which will only yield part of the returns in September. On contact in a company passed my name to his colleagues, who sent me around 4 small projects. That was great, especially because they also pay on time. Also spent time chasing clients who are late with payments. Hired a debt collector who gets paid on what she collects. It was interesting to see how fast some of the clients jumped when I mentioned that I've passed their info to someone else to collect the money. I need to market more in September. It's Spring down here and I'm feeling more energetic.