Words on the Page

1 Freelance Move That Nets More Work

Posted on by lwidmer

“I liked it a lot. It looks like you have been with this company for years.” That’s feedback that a writer friend received from a new client. One two-hour job that was written in the company’s voice to the audience they’d stated. Know what that does? That small job netted my writer friend some serious…

Writer’s Roundup: Posts to Improve Your Freelancing

Posted on by lwidmer

How’s your August going? Ready for that post-Labor Day client crush? You do experience that, right? Or does your rush come during the summer months? Whenever your rush is, there’s almost always an opposite drought period. Mine used to be around July 4th, then right before December until mid-January. These days, the work is much…

The Freelance Semi-retired Kinda Life

Posted on by lwidmer

Did you just start humming this song? The lyrics are on target for those of us who are transitioning out of our freelance writing career and into a slower-paced one. I want somethin’ else To get me through this Semi-charmed kinda life That’s what I want to talk about today — how to get to…

Ending the Freelance Rate Dance

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m betting you’ve had a conversation just like this at one point in your freelance career: Client: …. so that’s what we’re needing. Any questions? Writer: Yes, what is your budget for this? Client: Well, we’re hoping to find a writer who fits with our needs first, then we will go down that route. At…

4 Ways to be Your Own Freelance Coach

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m going to share a secret with you: Business coaches are helping you discover some pretty common-sense stuff. Okay, not a big secret after all. But a coach — a good coach — can help you uncover the simple shit you’re overlooking. They can give you some pretty good advice on what to try to…

3 Steps to Blissful Freelancing

Posted on by lwidmer

Freelancer: Just how happy are you? Really? I didn’t set out to ask, nor answer that question this month. Yet after nearly three weeks of being away from the computer and driving across the country, it’s exactly the question I found myself wrestling with. And wrestle I did for about 1,967 miles. Yet somewhere mid-Kansas…

Freelance Shorts: Random Advice to Improve Your Writing Biz

Posted on by lwidmer

With summer bearing down, it’s a great time to reassess your freelance writing business. Anytime is a good time, but if things are slowing down or you’re needing to step away, use the time to find better footing within your business. Since it’s also a time when my life goes into vacation mode and utter…

Tuesday Freelance Take: Taking Time Off

Posted on by lwidmer

It’s the unofficial start to summer. A time when vacation schedules are blown up by deadlines, laptops are packed along with beachwear, and conference calls happen from the car. Such is the life of a freelancer. Or not. How about not? My summer is already mapped out. I have three months of traveling, with some…

1 Move That Can Increase Freelance Income (and it’s not what you think)

Posted on by lwidmer

On a former teacher’s Facebook post recently, I was bemoaning how I’d been writing in my specialty area for 22 years and how I still get sources — typically men — overexplaining the industry to me. You know, the industry about which I’ve written articles that they’ve read. In one hilarious case, an over-explainer actually…

The Truth About Job Board Freelancing

Posted on by lwidmer

You’ve done it. Admit it. I’ve done it, too. You’re not alone. I’m talking about applying to ads listed on job boards or (gasp!) on paid job listing sites. The ads are enticing. The posters are asking for exactly the skills you have. So what the hell, right? Apply. Take a few minutes — maybe…

Diane

Yes! I use Upwork and yes, I still have clients with different and ongoing jobs as a result.

Also yes, many were one-offs, but I still don’t undercut myself (or anyone else), and if the application is too much work for what is likely to be the wrong result, I don’t bother. i.e. I don’t do samples. Even if they pay for them, and especially when they don’t, I don’t do samples. I like one-off jobs too, as they add variety and they exercise my pitching muscle. And if I decide I never want to work for that client ever again, then I don’t have to. I’ve also gone back to a client when I’ve been a bit short on work to ask if they have anything for me, and they’ve always said yes.

I paid for a short while for extra ‘connects’, but as most of my work was then recurring, I wasn’t using the connects to pitch for new work.

I’m about to start ghostwriting Book 10 for a client I started proofreading for and then editing for. I’ve been with them for more than 5 years. This isn’t a great payer, although I’m on his highest rate and about to ask for another raise, but it is a regular gig and one I can rely on. I’ve had other clients I’ve ‘met’ on Upwork and then after the required 2-year period, we’ve taken it outside. One was an ex-pat Brit working in Spain and he decided, after about 4 years of being ‘outside’, that my ‘exorbitant rates’ were ‘breaking’ his company! A client I thought would be a one-off has come back to me with another job that starts this week.

Advice to others? Don’t undercut yourself. Work out your minimum rate and stick to it. If you’re lucky enough to get a repeat client, negotiate a raise after your third job at the latest. If someone is asking for work for free, report them. It will be removed. Above all, don’t take on any work you’re not going to enjoy.

I have other clients too, with many referrals. But I certainly don’t rule out the job boards and I do go back to them every so often when I can see a lean period on the horizon. But yes, I can also spot the charlatans a mile off. (Call me a bluff old cynic…)

Hope that helps! 🙂

1. lwidmer
  
  Being a cynic isn’t a bad thing, Diane! Thanks for sharing your experience. That does help!
Paula Hendrickson

About once a week I glance at job listings, mostly to see if I can spot anything for your This Job, Not That Job series of posts.

Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed that a couple of content companies always have ads for the SAME freelance “positions.” (Um, for starters, “position” implies “job,” and jobs require benefits. Freelancers aren’t on staff.) Seeing the same listings from the same place over and over tells me they have a very high turnover. One time I dug deeper – they didn’t pay much at all but wanted the world. No wonder they constantly need to look for new writers and editors.

1. lwidmer
  
  And I appreciate those listings, Paula!
  
  That’s what’s disturbing (well, besides the cruddy pay) — the language they use. “Positions” itself bothers me because it suggests they’re hiring a bunch of writers. That’s a red flag. The more writers they hire, the less they’ll want to pay each of them.
  
  But you’re right. “Position” implies a job and a job comes with benefits. Worse are the ones that say you must be available for X hours a week. No, I’m freelance. I must meet deadlines that I’ve agreed to, not be on call constantly.
  
  The higher up the client food chain you go, the more those irksome things disappear.
Paula Hendrickson

Remember that time one freelance client basically stalked me on social media? I retweeted something during my lunch break and she emailed saying, “If you have time for social media you have time to return my call.” I am not beholden to her schedule, and was going to call her after lunch. After that email I didn’t. I told her it didn’t feel like a good fit. (Did I mention the call was so she could coach me on how to use their CSM? Um, I’m a writer, not a web editor. I don’t deal with fonts, formatting, photos, or HTML.)

1. lwidmer
  
  Whoa, THAT is too controlling! I agree with you — you are not at her beck and call. How does she know you didn’t tweet that from a dentist’s waiting room or in line at the DMV? She doesn’t. It’s none of her business where you were. That kind of stalking is inappropriate in anyone and way, way out of bounds for a client.
  
  Pity her employees. Imagine the scrutiny they’re under. Egad.
Dava

In my crotchety old age, I’ve stopped applying to job board posts (don’t even really look at them anymore) and largely stopped pitching. I don’t want to spend my work hours doing work that I might or might not get paid for doing, and that’s what both pitching and job boards feel like. Of course, if things went south and I found myself desperate for work, I’d revisit those opinions and reconsider the unpaid labor of pitching and applying.

1. lwidmer
  
  We must have the same crotchety approach, Dava. 😉 Agreed — it’s all good as long as you’re working. I fall back on magazine pitching. Thankfully I’ve not had to have a fallback approach for a number of years. But it’s there if I need it.
  
  And I’d bet you’re younger than I am. 😉
Devon Ellington

“Price like you mean it” needs to be a mantra, and on tee shirts and billboards.

One of the things I like about looking at the listings (even when I don’t apply) is that I can see where
there are frequent turnovers (also known as companies to avoid).

1. lwidmer
  
  Oh, great point, Devon. I hadn’t thought to look for the same offenders, as it were.
  
  I’d like two t-shirts, please. 😉
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