Words on the Page

Brain Freeze

Posted on by lwidmer

Today’s workload is much lighter. I labored through a complex article, complete with Congressional debates aplenty, expert advice up the wazoo, and more than enough last-minute debate to keep me reading every release up until Congress took its break. Today, it’s on to cloud storage. My life is one evolving issue after another. Because my…

Freelancers: Why We Don’t Owe You All That

Posted on by lwidmer

Oh, if I had a nickel for every time a new or somewhat-lost writer chastised me for not helping more…. well, I wouldn’t even have a nickel. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve yet to come across new, lost, tired, burned out, or otherwise unmotivated writers who think I owe them not just advice, but hand holding…

Worthy Tip: Reuse, Recycle, Repeat

Posted on by lwidmer

Ever get those days you think you worked three times harder than others, but accomplished half? That was my yesterday. Got a client project done in the morning, but like bad Chinese food, it repeated on me twice. Minor stuff, but it made me realize that reminding clients to send all information ahead of time…

Time to Take Up Juggling

Posted on by lwidmer

Yesterday was much more productive than I expected. I finished a smallish project in the morning, then devoted the afternoon to research and outlining an article. A large project due in a few weeks ago has a delivery date – I should see it by the end of the week/Monday of next week. That gave…

How to Blog Like You Mean It

Posted on by lwidmer

Today’s a busy one. Plenty of work came in – none of it from my marketing efforts but plenty from older contacts. You never know. I had a conversation with a few folks about bloggers and trust. We came to the same conclusion; there are some people who ruin it for themselves. Blogging isn’t rocket…

Friday Weirdness

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Into the Mystic by Van Morrison Why am I so glad Friday is here? It wasn’t a tough week by any means. I may be working today in an attempt to finish up a smaller project in order to get going on the massive one due in any moment. At any…

Losing the Career-by-numbers Approach

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: She’s Mine by Brett Dennen Got a post up over at About Freelance Writing. Check it out! If you know me, you know I love Lisa Gates and think she practically invented life coaching. In her latest Craving Balance post, Lisa says this: “If you don’t study the masters, you’ll continue…

Worthy Tip: Upping Your Game

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson Yesterday was one of those rare days – ones I used to dread, but now am thankful for. There was a lull in the work. Nothing due, nothing coming in that needed immediate attention. That was my cue – I grabbed the laptop and…

The No-wait Policy

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen Super weekend. I know it’s Tuesday, but when you have a nice time off that lasts into part of the week, that’s a good thing. We met with a friend on Saturday for some bonding time and support during a rough period in her life. She’s…

Monthly Assessment – July 2010

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Mustang Sally by The Commitments I’m still in denial about July being gone. It didn’t end well, with a few frustrating moments brought on by people I suspect are fussing to get out of payment. I’ll drop them once again, only this time for good. I don’t play games, and these…

Devon Ellington

I made more in July than in the entire first quarter of the year, and now I need to build on it.

I've got several long term things going that won't actually pay off for a good long while, so I need to get on the marketing horse and beat the bushes a bit in the next few weeks.

I've got a good chunk of worked booked for September, but need some smaller, quick payment projects for August.

Looks like I sold a book, though. However, it's not real until the contract's signed, no matter what work we're doing.

Valerie

July was expensive. To the point where it began to feel like a farce. I'm going to have to drum up some new business to compensate for sure.

I also keep getting offered big projects that are "on hold" for now. I'm worried that I'm going to book up and then have to back of these bigger projects if I ever get the green light. I hate danglers!

Lori

Valerie, I hear you. It's a sweet dilemma to have too much work. Here's how to alleviate it a bit – when they put projects on hold, mention your availability for the next two weeks. That's it. No promises of future availability. If they all come in at once, as they tend to do, subcontract some of it.

Devon, don't you love that "future" payoff, though? Nothing like sowing the seeds and then having the harvest when you least expect it. 🙂

Paula

Why oh why did I say I'd play along this year? June was bad, and July wasn't much better.

Queries:
I sent out seven separate queries, four of which contained multiple ideas for my long-time editors. (I probably sent out 40 separate article ideas in those seven queries.) One quick-paying editor should be assigning soon, fingers crossed. Another said he'd have a lot to assign this summer, so after completing the single article he assigned I asked if he had anything else. Nope. They were done. I usually get a lot of work from them in July, and this year one article and two tiny "capsules."

LOIs:
Sent five more LOIs. One editor replied immediately and asked me to pitch ideas. Another one or two responded quickly saying they aren't using freelancers much right now, but will keep me in mind. Last week a former editor of mine asked if I might be interested in writing for a place she's doing some freelance editing for. She passed my info along to her editors there, and I followed through by contacting them independently.

Follow-ups:
The follow-ups I sent last week to June's unanswered LOIs resulted in one "I missed, it, please re-send," one "not using freelancers at this time, but we'll keep you in mind if anything comes up," and several non-responses.

Job Postings:I could have sworn I replied to one or two, but I guess I was too busy sending queries and LOIs to note it in my log.

Existing Clients: Finished four blog posts, four columns, and four articles. The pays-on-pub magazine that pushed my article back said the issue will be mailed tomorrow, and my check will be written as soon as their accountant is back from vacation on August 16. (Saw a proof of the piece, and it will make an amazing clip.)

New Client: A friend of my sister asked me to do a couple little things for her company. Problem is I did my part and she went on vacation for several weeks, so what should have been completed and invoiced in a day or two is still not finished and ready for invoice.

Earnings: Dismal. Slightly better than last month's pathetic, but with property taxes and my September quarterly taxes coming up, I'm starting to get stressed.

It feels like everyone else has been on vacation and left me holding the bag. A big, heavy, bulky bag. Yet I somehow start each day full of optimism that some assignments will come in, or that today's correspondence will lead to new gigs.

Eileen

July often comes to a dead stop for me, so this year I'm happy to report it was only a pleasant slow down. A decent amount of production in July, but the payments are not coming in so fast. I did lose a steady $3K/month gig due to a company restructuring, and I think I can fill in that gap, but I don't want to count on anything until the contract is actually signed.

Irreverent Freelancer

July was quite a good month for me–on the higher end of my monthly goal. However, it was marred by a long-time client who is behind on four invoices, one of them now six MONTHS old. (Needless to say I've refused to work for them for the past three months.) This was a longstanding client who was very good to me. The publication hit a major recessionary bump about a year ago. I've been patient. My patience is running out. I really don't want to have to take this one to the collection extremes but it may soon come to that. SIGH

To end on a good note, I've got two potential new clients biting. Just have to decide whether I want to bite back after a trial assignment. One of them is asking for a free sample. That will only happen if I get assurance the work will not be used without subsequent payment. Even then, if it's too long of a sample, I may pass. I'm busy enough not to have to join in the song and dance.

Paula

I'm breathing a *little* easier. One editor just assigned to really short pieces (I was hoping for 3 or 4 since they're so short), another client just asked if I'll be available in September for some more work. Both of these places pay fairly well and quickly.

I'm used to summers that are fairly busy, so my super slow June and July have really thrown me for a loop. Especially with property taxes looming again. (That said, my property taxes are probably less than some people pay for rent for an entire year, so I shouldn't whine too much.)

Lori

Paula, a friend of mine has a similar story – he did the work quickly and now the editor is out for three weeks. Frustrating. Look at it this way – when those invoices are paid, think of how nice that bank account will look!

Eileen, I've usually had the same July experience. Glad things are better this year for both of us.

Kathy, that's hard when the long-time, trusted client decides to stop paying. Do what you have to for the business. They'd not wait if it were the other way around, would they?

Don't blame you on the "sample" part, either. I don't give freebies at all. They can see any of over 150 articles I've already written. If they can't tell from that, they don't know how to choose a writer.

Paula, our property taxes are the price of a decent used car, so yes, you're probably better off!

Paula

Well, I don't know how flush the bank account will be since none of the checks I'm waiting for are more than three digits. Not even up to mid-three digits. I'll soon be invoicing one in the upper threes, but that won't be paid until mid-September.

Our property taxes are also the cost of an average used car. The problem? Our property values are incredibly low, but our taxes are among the highest (percentage wise) in the nation. For a while, they were the highest. A few years ago, my sister – who owns a slightly larger home in Chicago proper, where her "fair market value" was roughly 5-times that of mine – told me how high her property taxes were. I laughed – they were only a few hundred dollars a year more than mine.

Paula

Should have said, "Barely up to the mid-three digits."

Wendy

Well, July was bad, bad, bad for me. The two weeks I had to take off was what did it. Guess it's double time in the marketing department for this month. At least I got some ideas, so things aren't too bad yet.

Gabriella F.

Hi Lori.

I've been out at the end of each of the last two months, so I haven't been reciprocating on my monthly assessments. Sorry about that. Your openness shouldn't be one-sided!

Anyway, June was adequate though not great, yet July was gangbusters. However, because I'm currently on vacay for a week, August will be back to meh.

The big thing, however, is that I simply am not doing enough marketing. So far, it hasn't hurt me, but one of these days it's gonna bite me in the butt! Thanks for your constant reminders about marketing.

Gotta go. Vacation calls!

Lori

Gabriella, I'm envious as hell. Enjoy that vacation!