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?

Plenty of freelance writers write business plans as a source of income, but very few have put together a business plan for their own writing business. That’s unfortunate, though: business plans are a great way of making sure you have all your ducks in a row. The marketing section of your business plan, for instance, should be your first reference when you’re marketing yourself to clients — it’s a chance for you to write out all of your arguments for why you’re the best in your niche, as well as decide which forms of marketing will serve you well.

A business plan can be extremely simple, too. There are really only six sections, and you don’t need to formally write out a plan for each. As a freelance writer, you could even just make notes — the key is knowing ahead of time how you will run your business and where you can grow it.

The six sections are:

1. The Executive Summary — You’ll want to write this section last, because it’s essentially your conclusion. If you’re handing out copies of your business plan, though, the summary goes first.
2. The Description of Your Company —  What exactly will you be doing? What niches will you be targeting? What services will you sell?
3. The Market Analysis — Who is your competition? Are they doing the same thing and, more importantly, how much are they charging? Can you get more, or will you need to settle for less?
4. The Organization Plan — How will you manage your business? Most freelance writers don’t have employees, but you might hire an accountant or other professional for some tasks? Who will you hire? How much money do you need to get setup?
5. The Marketing Plan — How will you market yourself? Where will you promote yourself? Do you need to create any promotional materials, like business cards?
6. Future Plans — Do you have any plans for expansion? Any goals?

I’d like to suggest that you take ten minutes (even if you’ve been freelancing for a while) and think about what you might put in each of those sections. Treat it like a brainstorming session and see what you might need to grow your business. Take notes! You never know what you might come up with.

As freelance writers, we are expected to invoice our clients — they won’t pay us otherwise. We don’t have to have complex systems to get it done, but there are a few things we can do to make our invoicing systems much more effective:

1. Set reminders. Whether you are using software that automatically sets reminders of invoice due dates, or you are using a basic spreadsheet and must add them to your calendar or task list, it is important to have a system of reminders in place. In the past, I’ve relied on my memory in order to know when to send out second notices, but I know I’m fallible. And very few of us check our invoicing system every day: we just check it when we’re adding a new invoice or marking an old one as paid.
2. Include your payment terms. Even if the terms of payment are set out in a contract, everyone can use a bit of a refresher. If you don’t include the terms of payment, you may not get your money. For instance, if you have no penalty for late payments, your clients have no incentive to pay on time.
3. Set out how you can be paid. If you only accept Paypal, make sure your invoice includes your Paypal user name. If you expect a check, your invoice should include your mailing address. Some freelancers set out special terms for certain methods of payment, such as convenience fees. For instance, adding a certain percentage to your invoice total for Paypal payments in order to make up for the percentage Paypal takes for transferring money would be a convenience fee. Including all of this information in your invoice can save you the effort of extra back-and-forth emails and save time as well.

As a freelance writer, I don’t really take time off of work. I may travel to another town, or even another country, but it’s practically guaranteed that I’ll get online at least long enough to respond to some emails — if not write an article about my adventures.

I have an extended weekend coming up, though, that I don’t think I’m going to want to read my email. It’s a chance for some real relaxation and I don’t want to interrupt it with even a small blog post that I need to write up. I’m working ahead now to clear off those few days entirely. I’m writing blog posts that I’ll set up to post while I’m gone, working on the projects with deadlines around that date and generally getting as much done ahead of time.

Planning ahead for this sort of vacation isn’t just about getting my work done, however. I have clients that often contact me to ask me to complete a project by the end of the day or by tomorrow. I’ve let the worst offenders know that I’ll be out of the ‘office’ that weekend, but I’m not sure that they’ll remember. I’m planning to set up an automatic response on my email (as well as a voice mail message) that will let clients know that I’ll get back to them as soon as I’m back in town — I’m giving a specific date so that I’ll hopefully cut down on their worry. But I’m not giving out an emergency number. It’s been my experience that every client thinks his rush job is an emergency. I have no interest in letting a client ruin my nice weekend.

What tips do you have for freelancers working on getting away from it all? How do you make sure your work doesn’t intrude on your time off?

I know there are plenty of freelance writers out there without websites, but it’s one step that I consistently recommend that writers take if they’re serious about their work. Not only is a website a key marketing tool, but it can also streamline your querying process and help you save time. Even a free blog can help you improve your business.
Deciding the content for a site is often frustrating, so I’ve put together a list of things your website absolutely should include. This list is a starting point: add the information that you feel will help you land clients for your services.

1. A writer’s resume: Your site should be able to point to individuals and companies that you’ve worked for in the past, although you do not need to display this information in a traditional resume format. Consider listing references or testimonials instead a blow-by-blow of your writing experience.
2. Clips: I like using links to live articles, personally. To me, it shows that my past work was pleasing enough for my clients that they still have it up. However, it is acceptable to host your clips on your own site. Being able to link to these articles can make your querying process much easier: you don’t have to hunt for old files on your computer or cut and paste them into an email. Clients don’t have to take a chance on opening a file that may or may not be corrupted, either.
3. Contact information: I’d recommend listing a couple of ways for a potential client to get in touch with you. You may rely on Skype for communication, but others might prefer to email you or use a traditional phone line. If you are concerned about putting too much information online — and plenty of us are — offer to provide it via email if a potential client will contact you in that manner.
4. Services: While many freelance writers are willing to take on many different types of writing projects, most of us have a few specialties. Make it clear on your website what your preferred niches are. I don’t list prices for my services, however. I often find that a project can be much bigger than a client thinks, and if they already have a set price in mind, it can be harder to negotiate an appropriate fee.
5. Book or project information: Not all writers have a book on sale or another project bringing in income (think e-books, teaching classes and opportunities along those lines), but if you do, make sure your website includes information about your projects — like links for buying your book.
6. A short bio: A brief introduction and a photo make you more personable to a potential client. Most of us work primarily online, making it difficult to seal a deal in person. However, presenting ourselves online as a living human being can make our clients more likely to hire us. Keep the photo simple, though. Distracting backgrounds and such can make you seem less professional.
7. Regular updates: Blogs are a great way to add new content to your website on a regular basis, but there are other options. Don’t let your site stagnate — add new projects, update old information and generally maintain your site. When I visit a site that is copyright 2000 or is otherwise dated, I assume that the owner of the site has essentially abandoned it. I move on, and quickly. Don’t lose clients by refusing to update your site.

I spent a bit too much time this week trying to update contact information on some of my sources. I discovered that, while I do have plenty of interesting people in my address book, it was hard to remember their specialties — the professions, hobbies and other characteristics that make these people good sources. Worse, I don’t have what I would consider an ideal way to track this information.

I use my GMail address book for keeping track of all my contacts. I can easily access it anywhere, and GMail automatically adds individuals I correspond with via email. To an extent, it’s even searchable — you can search by name or employer, or even a partial name. But I discovered that you can’t search for other information in an individual record. According to the GMail Help Center, it’s something they’re working on.

Why is searchability so important to me? I take notes on everything, and computerize as much as I can, simply so that I can search for keywords later. To an extent, I don’t organize things on my computer. I have a very general hierarchy that files get saved to, but I rely on naming files with keywords and searching for those words later. The same goes for my contacts and sources — I’m spoiled by the internet, and the concept of tags. I want to be able to type a keyword, like ‘accountant’ into my address book’s search tool and get a list back of all the ‘accountants’ I know. How much time have I wasted in the past by having to go through unlabelled or untagged contact lists?

I’ve considered the possibility of a database or an Excel spreadsheet. I’d consider it again if there was a simple way to import information from my GMail account and an easy way to tag the information. While I’m at it, I’d love to be able to easily import my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter contacts at the same time.

Have you come up with a system for tracking your sources? I’d love to hear about it — I’m starting to get a little frustrated with mine.

Many writers limit themselves to a niche — a single topic or type of writing — for all of their work. There are plenty of benefits to this approach to the freelance business: A writer gets accustomed to their niche and can quickly complete assignments. A writer can also quickly build a solid reputation as an expert, or the go-to-guy, for that niche. This can translate into higher paying projects and a stable customer base.

There are a few drawbacks, though. A freelance writer relying on a single niche could face trouble if there aren’t a lot of potential clients in that niche — it can become impossible to grow one’s business and, if a writer loses a client, that client can be impossible to replace. It can also be surprisingly easy to burn out if a writer is facing similar assignments day after day.

Personally, I don’t think that reducing my business to a single niche will help me in the long run. I think that flexibility can be a greater asset to my income than stability — it puts me in a position to choose between a wider variety of work and generally grow my business in the long run.

What do you think? Has writing for a single niche helped you?

I admit, I’m a big proponent of freelancing as a career. I send my mother markets I think she should write for and ask my friends when they’re going to strike out on their own. I know there are some people who may not be ideal for the approach to work required of a freelance writer, but I also think there are some people for whom freelancing is the perfect business opportunity. The five categories below are groups of people who I think should consider freelancing as a viable option.

1. Caretakers. I’m lumping a lot of people in this category — parents taking care of their children, individuals caring for ailing relatives, etc. Generally, taking care of other people can be a full-time gig, but not necessarily a well-paying one. However, there is some free time (nap times, etc.) that a caretaker can reach for a computer and do a few minutes of work at a time.
2. Students. During college, I had plenty of free time for side jobs. And side jobs that didn’t require to me work evenings and weekends — you know, prime “studying” time — made my day.
3. Ladder climbers. Say you want to be considered expert enough on a topic to get a raise, but can’t get opportunities  to raise your profile at work. Freelancing can be a great way to not only earn a little extra cash but to position yourself as an expert.
4. Less-than-healthy individuals. I can’t think of a good noun for this category — I mean people who want to work, but for health reasons, just aren’t up to the 9-to-5 grind. For instance, I’ve known people that suffered from extremely painful migraines that just weren’t controllable with medication. They couldn’t predict when a migraine could hit, and thus couldn’t hold down a job. They could, however, freelance and take breaks from their work whenever necessary.
5. People in Transition. There are lots of little in-between phases in life, when you might find yourself with some time to fill — you might have a few weeks before a new job starts, or a summer vacation. Those times are perfect opportunities to test out your interest in freelancing, and even build some experience.

I’m a big fan of Seth Godin’s. He’s a brilliant marketer, and he knows how to make the most of the web. A couple of years ago, he made an e-book available, for free, called the Bootstrapper’s Bible. Yes, I’m a slowpoke. But it’s not outdated, and his words haven’t stopped making sense. There is one passage in particular that I want to make sure you take a look at — even if you don’t want to spend time going through the whole e-book (which I do recommend).

DO YOU WANT TO BE A FREELANCER OR AN ENTREPRENEUR?
As you consider different business models, you need to ask yourself the critical question above. This is a moment of truth, and being honest now will save you a lot of heartache later.The difference? A freelancer sells her talents. While she may have a few employees, basically she’s doing a job without a boss, not running a business. Layout artists, writers, consultants, film editors, landscapers, architects, translators, and musicians are all freelancers. There is no exit strategy. There is no huge pot of gold. Just the pleasure and satisfaction of making your own hours and being your own boss. An entrepreneur is trying to build something bigger than herself. She takes calculated risks and focuses on growth. An entrepreneur is willing to receive little pay, work long hours, and take on great risk in exchange for the freedom to make something big, something that has real market value.

I write a lot about how many freelancers don’t seem to treat their work as a business, and this passage really drives that idea home. This is not the type of freelancer I want to be. I may not want employees and all that, but I do want to build a business that can make me more and more money, without committing every waking hour to it. At first glance, it seems like there is no opportunity to build such a business: after all, I get paid directly for what I write. I write an article or put in an  hour and get paid for it.

But there are ways to expand your efforts as a freelance writer, if you want to. Even something as selling reprint rights can make you a little extra money that you might not have thought to look for. The important thing is that you have to want it. You have to be dissatisfied with your current income, and surprisingly, most writers seem fairly content. They’ve found a comfort level. I can make a whole list of why building a business is important: Junior’s college education, affording health insurance, improving your expected retirement. That’s just me of course.

Are you content with your freelance writing business? Or do you want to build it into something bigger?