Words on the Page

Writers Worth: Change One Thing

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye Thanks again to Ashley for yesterday’s blog post. I love it when you guys give your perspective. I learn something new every time. Ashley, you framed worth in one of the more creative ways I’ve seen. I think the primary challenge we writers…

Writers Worth: Who’s the Boss?

Posted on by lwidmer

Welcome to the first full week of Writers Worth! Thanks again to everyone who posts, comments, shares, and makes this a fantastic celebration of awareness and personal growth. There’s still time for you to contribute, if you’re interested. Just send me a note at lwbean AT gmail and let’s talk. One of my favorite people…

Writers Worth: Why Your Price Isn’t Arbitrary

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: I’m Shakin’ by Jack White I’m back again for the second installment of this month’s Writers Worth Month celebration. I promise you’ll hear from plenty of guest bloggers in the coming weeks. This week, short as it is, I wanted to talk price with you. Imagine this scenario: You contact a…

Writers Worth Month: Having What It Takes

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Holy by Frightened Rabbit Welcome to the first day of the 6th Annual Writers Worth Month celebration! Started as just one day based on my rantings over fair pay, the event has grown to a month-long awareness campaign where we remind each other to realize the value our skills hold. When…

Monthly Assessment: April 2014

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Life by The Avett Brothers Starting tomorrow: Writers Worth Month: Join us tomorrow and all month for the 6th Annual Writers Worth Month celebration! Read inspiring advice and posts by writers just like you. Plus, there’s still time to contribute your own thoughts. Get in touch via lwbean AT gmail and let’s…

Nostalgic Notes

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Beautiful Day by U2 After a long week/weekend respite, I’m back to work today. Mom got on the train yesterday afternoon and headed home. It was a great visit, and we had a gorgeous day on Saturday for my daughter’s bridal shower. Her bridesmaids are fantastic–they spoiled her with a wonderful…

Free Advice Friday: 10 Steps to Your Freelance Writing Brand

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: How to Save a Life by The Fray I’m still away from the desk entertaining my mom. My daughter’s bridal shower (the first of two) is set for tomorrow, so there’s much to do in the meantime. I was talking recently with a friend about her client’s struggles with gaining name…

6 Ways to Work with Writing Clients

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Nessun Dorma by Luciano Pavarotti COMING IN MAY: THE SIXTH ANNUAL WRITERS WORTH MONTH Have an idea for a post or want to guest post? Write to me at lwbean AT gmail and let’s talk! Beginners especially welcome to submit posts dicusssing challenges they face. This is an abbreviated week for…

Free Advice Friday: This Job, Not That Job

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: The Loneliness & The Scream by Frightened Rabbit I’m running a virtual marathon right now — two articles are done, one more to go, one other project to complete this morning, and a world of stuff waiting for me in May. I love it. Makes you feel alive. Since I’m busy…

10 Essential Freelance Writing Lessons

Posted on by lwidmer

What I’m reading: Fraud by Anita Brookner What’s on the iPod: What Happened by Corey Smith This has been the single most productive week I’ve had all year and it’s only Wednesday morning. I’ve finished one article, nearly finished another, have one more interview for a third, started on a fourth, and have interviews lined…

Cathy Miller

Freelancing has taught me you can do whatever you want to do. The hard part is tuning out all the noise about what that should be to find your own answer.

What I wish I knew from the beginning was charging what you deserve and walking away are both okay.

Lori Widmer

So right you are, Cathy. The noise can bog us down. I know I have had writers tell me there's only one way to do something– you MUST join this society, you MUST look for work in this way…it's tiring. One friend in particular has told me constantly that I have to outline my novels. I agree to some extent, but I'm one who gets lost in the details and the story then becomes tedious. I have to start and then put some structure around it once I've decided who my characters are and where they're going. God love her, she's about to finish her first novel, but it's taken her years.

Charge what you deserve and walk away — amen.

Anne Wayman

Lori, just in case you haven't thought of it, this would also make a great ebook.

Paula

I wish someone had told me when I started that magazine rates almost never go up. I would have put my focus on finding corporate clients then instead of climbing to higher per-word rates only to get stuck at top of the ladder where you have to write more and more articles each year to increase your income. Or shift gears and expand to other types of writing – which is what I'm now trying to do.

(Disclaimer: I've never solely relied on feature writing – I've done copywriting, editing and even résumé writing on the side. "Anything in English" has long been my motto.)

Lori Widmer

It would, Anne. I give one away like this, but not with this much detail. Not a bad idea for a freebie!

Paula, agreed. It's that idea that once we get into magazine work, life will be sweet. Right. I remember waaaay back when I started out, I'd read something that said you'll never make it in freelancing on just magazine work. I found that odd, but it's played out to be true in my own life. Magazine work is a great part of your income stream. Can you survive on it solely? If you're selling to the BIG names, probably. Otherwise, you're writing. A lot. And chances are those budgets are going to dry up after Labor Day.

P

I'd say 80% of my income is from magazine features, most from top-level titles, and it's getting harder to stay ahead of the bills each year. Another factor: across the board, articles are shorter now than 10 or 20 years ago. Places that now assign 2,000 words are increasingly rare, and used to assign 3,000+ words articles.

Most of the magazines I work with don't have budget issues at year-end. In fact, last October was when one of them assigned me more articles at once than at any point other than for the massive issue they put out each June. Fiscal years probably depends on whether it's consumer or trade title, and if it's a trade, the industry's busy season probably plays into the equation as well.

Lori Widmer

Paula, that's what I'm seeing in the trades, too. The needs are the same, but the word counts are lower if they're paying by the word.

Thank you for correcting me on magazine budgets. I generalized there, didn't I? Glad to hear my experience is not typical. Sounds to me like the magazines you're working with have different fiscal calendars than the ones I work with.

You've just given me an idea for finding magazine work –time I branch out into consumer mags a bit more. 🙂

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