Words on the Page

Keeping Customer Service Fails Out of Your Freelance Writing Business

Posted on by lwidmer

Here’s a lesson in how customer support can go so very wrong: Got an email from a company I no longer do business with. Once again (it’s a recurring problem), I looked for the opt-out link. Once again, I didn’t find one. Given that I had some time (not a lot), I decided to read…

The Freelance Saboteur

Posted on by lwidmer

Sometimes you can’t find freelance work to save your soul. Sometimes it’s there, but either the timing is off or you’re missing some of the must-haves the client is looking for. Or the client and you are not a good match. Sometimes everything that could possibly align in the right way does. And you still…

Seismic Shift

Posted on by lwidmer

It’s cliché to say it, but there’s no more accurate way to describe it: It feels like it just happened. Not 18 years ago. Not nearly two decades. Right now. I was sitting at my desk at the magazine, answering emails and scheduling interviews. A coworker from the graphics department popped her head into my…

Freelance Files: How You Appear to Clients

Posted on by lwidmer

Thanks to a few recent interactions, I’ve come to realize that some freelance writers aren’t really presenting ourselves as freelancers. In public-facing situations, there are some pretty major missteps that some freelancers are making that could be causing potential clients to look the other way. Maybe you’re doing it too and don’t realize it. Let…

Free Advice Friday: This Job, NOT That Job

Posted on by lwidmer

Let’s just say that the seriousness that seems to settle in around September does not translate to all things. Take job postings, for example. Occasionally, I will look through places like Craig’s List job ads for this post. Not for potential work for myself, no no. I’ve not cruised a job board for that in…

The Big Freelance Buckle Down

Posted on by lwidmer

Jeezuz. Where did that summer go? Kids are back to school. Vacations are over. So what time is it? Time for you to buckle down and get that freelance writing business growing. Maybe you struggled all summer to find work. Maybe you coasted, knowing you had a fallback income from a significant other. Maybe you…

Idea File: Study, Study, Study

Posted on by lwidmer

So you’re sitting here at the ass-end of August, and you’re wondering where to find work. Magazines, my writerly friend. Turn to magazines. I love magazine work. Since I started my college days in the journalism department, I’ve loved creating articles. Maybe you love article writing, too. But the ideas — they don’t always come…

What Freelance Writing Has Taught Me

Posted on by lwidmer

It’s Friday, and I’m traveling. So let’s keep it lighter. I was witnessing an acquaintance’s meltdown recently over a minor (seriously minor) issue. Instead of just getting it together (there was a slight snafu in their presentation), they became flustered. Then more flustered. Then they declared it was “such a disaster.” It wasn’t. It was…

The Art of Not Putting All Your Freelance Eggs in One Basket

Posted on by lwidmer

Sometimes life hands you lessons that, thankfully, you don’t have to learn firsthand. It was December 28, 2001 or 2002. I was at my desk at the magazine. I’d just finished an article that quoted heavily this firebrand company that had opened its doors a few years prior and had risen to household-name status (well,…

Marketing to Other Freelancers: You’re Doing it Wrong

Posted on by lwidmer

“Hey.” “Hey yourself,” said Jem pleasantly. “I’m Charles Baker Harris,” he said. “I can read. ” “So what?” I said. “I just thought you’d like to know I can read. You got anything needs’ readin’ I can do it….” “How old are you,” asked Jem, “four-and-a-half?” “Goin’ on seven.” “Shoot no wonder, then,” said Jem, jerking…

Paula Hendrickson

I can’t recall any direct requests like that, but I often hear from newer freelancers. Most approach me the right way – asking smart questions, not lazy ones.

One time a fairly experienced writer asked me to “get them in” with one of my longtime clients. Um, no. First, I had no reason to believe this writer had the specific experience or contacts required to work for this outlet. Second, I’m not letting them profit off the hard work I did in landing the client only to have them try to usurp my assignments. (Please. Anyone looking for shortcuts is bound to take advantage of a situation like that.) All I did was tell them, “This is how I broke in: I studied the publication, the masthead, and the editorial calendar. I saw which editors handled the topics I was interested in, and I sent an LOI with lots of relevant clips and my resumé. The editor called me the same day he read my LOI.”

As for the newer freelancers who ask the right questions and DON’T ask huge favors, I keep my eye open for opportunities that might match their particular skills and interests, and send those along when I see a good fit. Why? Because they weren’t pushy and didn’t beg.

1. lwidmer
  
  Yep, lazy questions get them nowhere. I see lazy questions on forums. To be fair, most new writers don’t know which end is up, so that kind of question is just going to happen. I tend to point out that if they narrow the question to something more specific, I can help.
  
  No is right! I wouldn’t, either. There have been a few times I’ve introduced writers to editors or clients, and in every case, it’s been because the editor or client needed more writing help for other areas of their business. And the writers were never the ones who initiated the introductions. Well, maybe one time. A friend saw the ad a magazine placed and knew I was already working for them. So introductions were made. 🙂
  
  I’m the same way — new freelancers who don’t look for huge favors are going to get my enthusiastic support and help. I’m always happy to help a new writer get going in the right direction.
2. Cathy Miller
  
  I have received requests in the past for referrals for my “overflow.” 🙂 And, yes, it was from people I barely knew. I’ve also been approached on LinkedIn to introduce someone to my clients. Even though I knew the people asking, they shared the same specialty as mine. If they did something unrelated, I could understand, but the exact same specialty to my clients who hire me to write for them in that specialty???
3. lwidmer
  
  Cathy, that’s messed up! Yes, I agree that it would be more than a little strange to ask an established writer to just open the door and let a stranger waltz in and steal the gig. Uh, no. I’m all for sharing the wealth, but not at the expense of my own wallet!
Devon Ellington

Yeah, or from non-writers who come to me with, “Help me land a few clients. I need some quick, easy money.” Can’t stand that. I’ve landed some gigs by approaching companies I’m interested in to keep me in mind during busy times to support their regular staff; but not other writers. If another writer wants to refer me, whether they’re too busy or they think I’d be a good fit, they’d do it. I’ve done the same. “I’m not quite right for this, but I know X, who I think would be great!” Provided it’s an ethical and decently paid gig, of course.

1. lwidmer
  
  Exactly this, Devon. Referrals are earned, not bestowed, and only after observing how the writer runs their business. If someone is not inclined to market for themselves, I highly doubt they’re inclined to finish what they started, including paid gigs. Why would any writer place trust in someone given evidence like that?
Krista

Uggg, I have not had that request from other writers but just from random people I know when I tell them what I do. These are people with no training in the area I work in, and I have no idea if they have any writing skills whatsoever. It’s a bit painful. LOL I attribute some of it to the fact that there are virtually no fellow freelancers in my town. When I say I’m a freelancer I think people equate it to those “fill out surveys and get rich” ads that used to be everywhere.