…But I want to talk about a writer building a career that lets him work on pretty much any project he wants, including the odd video game.

If you read any web comic at all, chances are pretty good you’ve run across Penny Arcade, the brainchild of of writer Jerry Holkins and artist Mike Krahulik. Now, Krahulik’s art is very good, but I think that it’s Holkins’ more-than-irreverent wit that brings genius to their comic strip. And the two more than make a living from the strip these days — it is their main source of income, and they can afford employees simply off the revenue from advertising and merchandise. We’re talking about the ultimate in a creative business, about an illustrator and a writer who support their families off their work.

Holkins and Krahulik haven’t just let the Penny Arcade name stop at comics though: for them, writing funny lines and drawing accompanying pictures is a business, as it has to be, and they’ve expanded it. They now support a charity (Child’s Play) with a yearly toy drive, run a gaming convention (PAX), and — as of this morning — have released a video game (On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 1).

And it’s the video game that has me all worked up. The other parts of their business don’t necessarily require either man’s creative skills, but even if you only watch the video game’s trailer, you can see their fingerprints all over it. They’ve put forth a lot of effort to put together a game, which is probably going to sell like hotcakes and just proves once again that you can make a living as a creative — especially when you build up your own business instead of relying on the odd assignment an editor hands you.

Among the property you own, you might count a house, a small business and the rights to your written work. And those rights — even if they aren’t to the Harry Potter novels — are worth something. Because your rights to your work (selling it, publishing it, etc.) are considered property, they are a part of your overall estate and comprise, in particular, your literary estate.

We may be talking about articles you’ve submitted to magazines, poems, novels or even screenplays. But no matter the form your writing has taken, it’s worth considering what will happen to it in the future. The word ‘estate’ may have been the giveaway that this post is focused on the extremely long-term, though issues regarding your literary estate may come into question during your life.

Considering a literary estate means considering some key legal issues, including who should benefit from and who is responsible for a writer’s work after his or her death. Because of the unique nature of a writer’s rights, the normal executor of an estate rarely is equipped to handle a literary estate. Copylaw has a great article about selecting a literary executor, but I’d like to point out some things that I’ve been thinking long and hard about.

Because I’ve been trying to build up a business based on writing, I’ve taken on some unusual projects and agreed to some fairly diverse rights arrangements. I know for a fact that a lawyer I could approach about the rest of my less-than-extensive estate probably wouldn’t know where to start with my literary estate. Even more complicated, I’ve been a bit lax about keeping track of certain rights — I have them written down in contracts and agreements, but I would need to create a central document to make any consideration of my literary estate easy.

I’m not dwelling on some far-off morbid day, though. I’m trying to make managing my projects simple — and having a plan to handle rights for my projects (and therefore my literary estate) makes a whole list of things easier, from defending my copyright to reselling pieces. Just chalk my interest in literary estates up to my penchant for emergency planning.

1565109194Just like most writers, I often struggle to put a price on my words. I try to set prices that I feel are fair and that can keep me in the style I’ve become accustomed to — that is to say, able to eat.

So, when a freelance client asks me for a discount, I have a consistently hard time deciding how to respond. Sure, there are certain situations in which I’ll give a discount — nonprofits, companies guaranteeing me long-term work, etc. — but that’s not why clients ask for discounts.

Honestly, it isn’t because they don’t value your work, either. It’s a matter of business: a good business owner always tries to minimize expenses, and one of the best techniques is asking for a discount. I’ve asked for discounts myself (and even gotten a few).

But just because a potential client asks for a discount doesn’t mean that you have to offer one. Some writers refuse to negotiate on their rates — and there are many situations where negotiations can only lose you money. Remember, most business owners are asking just to ask: the worst that can happen is that you might say no. Odds are they aren’t even really expecting a discount and as long as you stay polite, refusing won’t lose you a client

I’ve been putting together an article celebrating an anniversary for a now defunct comic strip — don’t worry, you’ve heard of it.

But I made the mistake of assuming that the business people still managing that particular comic strip would like, you know, a little publicity and would be willing to let me use a panel or two from the 3,160 published strips they have as art for the article. I even told the editor I’d talk to them and arrange it.

The first set of email exchanges implied that they’d look into the publication and get back to me. A million years later and another set of attempts to contact the lady handling my request and I get a short response that no, we can’t use any of the strips. But, hey, it’s a cool angle and they wish me luck!

Okay, I can live with not being allowed to use their copyrighted material. It won’t kill me. Waiting until two days before my deadline, however, might.

In conclusion, writing about stuff that I either can’t go create art for myself or use stock photos — that is to say, the grand majority of pop culture — is surprisingly painful.

I finished reading Never Eat Alone a few weeks ago. I haven’t reviewed it until now because I’ve been trying to implement some of the suggestions made in the book.

My immediate response to Keith Ferrazzi’s book was complete enthusiasm. I do think this is a book that every writer needs to read — we seem to have a tendency to do well in fairly solitary work environments where we only see our families for long stretches of time. Many of us, myself included need a reminder that there are plenty of people out there who not only can help our careers along but can help us stay happy in our lives.

One of the best points I can make about this book is that it focuses on creating real friendships and relationships with people you meet throughout your life. While there is an underlying theme about how contacts may make your life easier, Ferrazzi is careful to make it clear that he’s not suggesting that readers aim for the biggest address book in the world. Instead, he suggests that cultivating friendships, and making a point to strengthen them over time, is a far more helpful technique than picking up business card after business card.

I’m not going to regurgitate the whole book — I’ll leave it at the fact that I think it’s a great resource and I’ll be picking up a copy to refer back to (I borrowed it from the library initially). But there is one quote that I think will get the attention of most writers: Ferrazzi thinks journalists, freelance or no, are the one of the best contacts that other people can cultivate:

Journalists are powerful (the right exposure can make a company or turn a nobody into a somebody), needy (they’re always looking for a story), and relatively unknown (few have achieved enough celebrity to make them inaccessible).

Those three points also make it easy for us to find new people and get to know them, and to stay connected. Think about it, and read Never Eat Alone.

Wikis can be just about anything: organizational websites for events, encyclopedias, or project management tools. They’re amazingly easy to edit — no knowledge of HTML required. And you can set wikis up for free without having to worry about domains or hosting.

All of these characteristics make wikis useful for writers. I think, for instance, they’re a great option for organizing research for a book. If you wanted to do just that, the first step you have to make is to sign up with a site like Wetpaint.com for a free wiki. Wetpaint is especially easy to use. When you start the process, you’ll see this screen:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

All you have to do is fill in a few blanks. One note for writers using wikis for projects: I recommend choosing to make your wiki private if you don’t want other people to be able to see, and even edit, your work. You can always invite specific people if you want their input on a project.

The next step is making your wiki visually appealing. You can stare at a page of notes all day, but why not make your page more enjoyable?

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Lastly, you just need to give Wetpaint a little bit of information about yourself so that they can manage your account. And, even better, once you’ve established an account (for free, remember) you can set up multiple wikis for all those little projects you’ve got going.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

From there, it’s as simple as clicking a few links and typing in whatever you want. Wetpaint even provides options for adding photos and other options with a few clicks, rather than messy HTML. You can add multiple pages for different aspects of a project.

There are a wide variety of things you can do with a wiki. But, for each one, it’s really easy to set up the wiki itself. It’s a versatile tool that should be in any writer’s toolbox.

I have an article in the current issue of WOW! Women on Writing about freelance invoicing. The article just went live and is located here.

Some of you know that I’m currently working on my MA. Right now, I’m taking a class on publication management — it covers stuff like setting up budgets, managing people, and a wide variety of other topics.

Our current assignment is to interview a person who works as a publications manager (a very loosely defined term) and I thought this might be a valuable discussion for this blog, considering that many freelancers move into management positions, from editing to starting their own publications from scratch.

I have two questions that I specifically want to hear your thoughts on in the comments:

1. What’s your philosophy on managing people, whether you’re managing a client or a staff?
2. What is the most important characteristic of a publications manager?

Today, I’d like to introduce you to two writers who have found opportunities to put their talents to good use. Star Lawrence and Nancy McKeithen operate the Writer’s Catablog, a website full of humor to help writers stay on track, along with a few accessories for your favorite writer. Their blog is here, and their mascot, Scribbles the dog, has a blog as well.

What are your respective backgrounds, writing-wise?

Star: I made the mistake of starting at the top, making it all downhill from there. I was a Hill lobbyist in Washington and wrote up a little adventure I had and sent it to Washingtonian Magazine. No answer. So, since I was a lobbyist, I went and sat in their lobby. Finally the editor saw me….What the heck did I want again? I said, “Do you want my article or not?” He seemed shocked and asked me if I wanted to write their “What to Do in Summer in Washington” cover story—I learned later no one else wanted to do it. I went on to write for them every month for a couple of years, then got in a disagreement and left. After having a late-in-life baby at 37, I never went back to my “real” job and have been freelance ever since.

Nancy: I’ve done mostly B-to-B and marketing communications. In college, I wrote a lot of poetry, but it’s hard to make a living at that. I’ve also written a “non-fiction business book with a sense of humor,” which I trying to find a home for. Got any agent and publisher recommendations?

What prompted you to choose freelance writing as a career?

Star: Choose? No one else would have me.

Nancy: A man I had written copy for at a telecommunications company, where I was the staff writer, went to a startup and contacted me about writing some manuals and marketing material. When I told him that would be a conflict of interest, he offered me a 6-month contract (which turned into 3-1/2 years!) and suggested I start my own freelance business. So it wasn’t even my idea! I never once looked back.

What prompted the idea of the Writer’s Catablog?

Star: Have to blame Craigslist for this one—all those Johnny-come-lately “employers” trying to convince writers that their work is only worth $5 a story. Nancy and I are Internet pals—we have never met in person—and we decided, “Hey! This is a profession. We are not your bitches.”

Nancy: It was October 31, 2006—Halloween—and Star and I were emailing back and forth. She wrote about seeing some writer’s mugs on a site and thought they were lame, that we could do better. So we made a list of what “products” we could sell. And I said, “We could do a website.” We started it that afternoon, and it morphed into a humor site for writers and other freelancers. Within a few weeks it was done. I had designed other sites but never programmed one, so we hired a freelance programmer off Craigslist. He took a year to do the job. We added a couple of blogs: Scribbles the Dog and one where we archive stuff we take off the main site when we update it.

What have been the key differences between running a business based on writing, such as Writer’s Catablog, and freelancing?

Star: Business? Writer’s Catablog? Yes, we are theoretically selling merchandise, but no one has bought anything yet.

Nancy: For me, freelancing is a full-time business, and just like any other, we update, we market, we check other writer’s sites, we send out e-PR, we survey, we budget expenditures. I set aside time to do the updates. Star does the majority of the writing (she allows me to contribute though), and I do the design. We work as a team (Scribbles is our CEO).

Working as long-distance partners was a new experience for both of us. Star is the most naturally funny person I have never met. We agree so much more than we disagree—Star jokes that since nobody has ever seen us together, we may be the same person.

What advice do you have for writers trying to expand their businesses?

Star: Well, as sometime copywriters, we would advise marketing. We are doing a monthly e-newsletter/email contraption to our readers and target audience. We post comments on blogs. We also have exchanged links—though we do this selectively. We are now doing a video of our spokesdog Scribbles talking about the writing life. An actor and Screen Actors Guild member, Ron McLarty, who is also a writer, has agreed to voice the little Clipart. The video will go on YouTube. We are sort of just having fun, if you want to know the truth. This is not a hard-nosed money-maker. But we are pretty insistent on newbie writers and employers both recognizing that the professional freelancer saves them money and brings a wealth of equipment, experience and talent, available project by project.

Nancy: Market every day—I try to do it for a half-hour—during the good times and the bad. Learn new skills. The Writer’s Catablog site gave me a reason to learn new software. Although a freelance programmer coded the original site, I’ve now put it into Dreamweaver and I’m able to modify and update it. Since it’s part catalog, part blog, we don’t change it as often as a blog, but we do get new cartoons daily and change some longer sections weekly. We’ll launch the redesign in early April, with new features: another cartoon, “The Wrant,” “Scribbles’ Choice.” Stay tuned.

In the next two months, I have two fairly long out-of-town trips planned. While I am working to make sure that as much of my work is done ahead of time as possible, I’m not worried because I know that I’ll have time to work while I’m on the road. That’s one of my favorite perks as a writer — wherever I can take my laptop, I can work.

Some writers have fully grasped the fact that they don’t need to be anywhere in particular for most assignments. They’ve packed up and travel all over. Some have even moved permanently
to far off places where a writer’s salary can be stretched much further.

There’s a relatively new blog on the subject, Anywired, that I think has some great information on working from anywhere.

We may not all be cut out for the nomadic lifestyle. Kids, cats and other family members may not be so easy to pack up as our laptops are. But keep thinking about how you can be location-independent. Can you take that trip with your other half right in the middle of a big project? Can you work on an article while you’re at swim lessons with the kids? Can you pitch to a big magazine three states away and still be relevant?