I got into freelance writing for a simple reason: I needed to earn money. There was no barrier to entry. I could set up a website, start chasing clients and wind up with money in the bank at the end of the week, provided that I wrote quickly enough.

And freelance writing has done well by me. I’ve been able to build up a stable income with enthusiastic clients who come back month after month.

But I Have to Learn to Say No

I have so many projects that I want to work on — more ebooks, a few classes and plenty of other things. Most days, I don’t work on the projects that really interest me, though.

I’ve worked hard and built up a reputation as a reliable writer. I don’t have to chase clients at this point — my marketing and networking is so automatic at this point that I get at least a couple of emails from prospective clients every week. And I can’t say ‘no’ — I’ll write up an estimate for just about any project that crosses my desk, even when I’m not sure how I can do the work. I have an incredibly hard time turning down work.

But that work is just short-term money. If I can clear my schedule and finish one of the projects I’m excited about, I know it will make me more than I’ll earn working on client work for an equivalent amount of time. The long-term wins are so much more that, if I could handle the situation based on pure logic, there’s no reason I should be spending so much time on my clients.

The Scarcity Mindset

Recently, I wrote that writers have to get out of the starving artist mindset. In a way, this is just another example of how it’s hurting us. One of the reasons that I have such a hard time turning down work is that I remember when I was starting out — when I didn’t have enough work to support myself.

I’ve gotten past the point where I can’t turn down any work at all. There were times when I’d take any project with even a little money attached, but now, if a project doesn’t hit my basic requirements, I won’t touch it. As long as it does pay at least my minimum rate and fall into what I consider my specialty, though, convincing myself not to take a project is incredibly difficult.

It’s something I’m working on. I know exactly the sort of things that I wanted to spend the majority of my time on, and the type of work I do for clients doesn’t really fit. The things that excite me today just aren’t the same as when I started out as a writer. I’ve found some ways to make this more manageable: I’m pretty much avoiding any new projects where I’m actually doing the writing myself — I tell clients that I’ll put everything together, but one of the writers I work with will do the actual work. And sometimes, I just flat out say ‘no’ to a new client.

At the end of the day, we each have to do what’s right for our businesses in the long-term. If that means turning down the short-term money, sometimes that’s just what it takes.

Image by Flickr user epsos

Mel asks,
What’s the etiquette on responses when a friend recommends you to one of their clients and CC’s you on the e-mail? Do I say hi, say anything? They sent along my web site url, so they know where to find my work, not sure how I can reach out and make friends.

Following up is usually a good idea, unless your friend slips you the word that this prospective client prefers to initiate contact. It can be something as simple as sending an email saying that if the client has a particular project in mind, you can point to your most relevant clips.

The reasoning is not to get your best clips in front of the client, of course. It’s because the more contact you can have with a client, the better chance you have of actually landing the project. That’s because most clients don’t immediately hand over a project. It takes at least three contacts (visiting your website, emails, coming back to the website again) to make a sale — that’s where most people start getting comfortable with the idea of handing over money because you’ve become a known entity.
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Got a question about the business of writing? Leave it in the comments below and I’ll answer it next weekend!

Unless your entire business model is querying editors and sending out articles from here to eternity, you need skills beyond simply writing. Just what those skills are depends on your business, of course. For me, the technical aspects of setting up a new website and designing it are important — I know just enough about graphic design to tell you when something will be entirely unsuccessful and I know enough about HTML to thoroughly break any website I come across.

Now I can (and am) working to improve my skills in those fields. I’m taking a class in typography this semester and I’ve got a stack of books on the technical side of building a website. But, at the end of the day, I’m much better at writing. I know that’s going to remain true, as well. That doesn’t mean that I’m out of luck if a client needs a website before I can start writing content for them, though.

Take on the Project Manager Role

For some of my clients, I’m just as much a project manager as a writer. I tell them, ‘sure, I can get the whole website put together for you.’ Then I email my web guy, describe the project and tell him it’s now his problem. Everybody gets paid and everybody is happy. I do charge for my time handling project management tasks, of course, but it’s certainly not a problem for me.

Referring parts of projects to someone else is certainly an option, but for me, a sub-contracting arrangement just seems to work out better. I’ve had situations where I referred the design part of a project to someone else, only to come back to the client later and find that the designer brought in someone else to handle content. That sort of set up has lead me to the decision that being a little bit of a control freak is good for my business. Of course, it’s a matter of personal comfort, too.

Bring in a Partner to Help

I’ve found that bringing in a partner is often easiest on my own projects. I’ve had some luck splitting the work (and income) for a particular project with someone else. I think ConstructivelyProductive is a case in point. There is no way that Ali Luke and I could have individually got that site up and moving — but with both of us working on it, we have enough time between the two of us to get everything done that we need to.

Working with a partner is one of the fastest ways to get something done, especially if that partner has some passion for the project.

Hiring a Spare Pair of Hands

A lot of writers seem reluctant to hire help for their projects. They’d rather have a lower quality final product (such as an ebook), but do everything themselves. I used to all into this category, but I’ve come to the conclusion that hiring help is often a matter of investment — if I bring in a designer to work on an ebook, the final project will look more professional and sell more copies. Sometimes, after all, you have to spend money to make money.

Further Resources

• When You Need to Subcontract (from FreelanceSwitch)
• How to Choose a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Mind (from DuctTape Marketing)
• Should Freelance Writers or Bloggers Hire Bookkeepers or Accountants (from The Adventurous Writer)

Image by Flickr user Brenda Gottsabend

I like to go to bookstores and browse through magazines. I get new ideas for articles, find new markets and even occasionally find something I want to read. Recently I saw Chicken Magazine, which was dedicated to providing recipes on how to cook chicken. I came home and ran a search for ‘chicken magazine’ — I didn’t find the exact magazine I saw at the bookstore, but I did find Backyard Poultry Magazine, Home Grown Poultry Magazine, Poultry USA, Poultry Press, Chickens Magazine and more. That’s not even counting the mini cookbooks companies like Tyson’s publish regularly.

To put it mildly, there are are lot of publications buying content just about chickens — enough that it’s not out of the question that a writer could cover nothing but chickens, if she so chose. If that writer was willing to invest time into pitching articles on chickens to broader publication, we could be talking about a very good income.

Where’s Your Expertise?

If you want to focus on a given topic, you almost always can find publications that will buy your content. It’s becoming even easier, with the number of long tail websites, focusing on topics too obscure to support a magazine and printing costs, but with enough interested readers to pay for new content. That means that focusing on a specific niche — being the go-to writer about a specific topic — is becoming more beneficial. Even more importantly, if you are truly the expert in your field, you can just as easily start up that long tail website yourself. That not only means that you’re earning money directly off your expertise, without having to rely quite as much on clients, but you’re also getting an added benefit from articles that you write on a freelance basis — if your bio includes a link back to your site, you can pick up interested readers who find you through work you’re already getting paid to complete.

The big questions are figuring out your passion — what would you love to be an expert on — and deciding if there’s enough of a market there to support you. On certain topics, there’s no question: if you want to write about NASCAR racing, you’re probably going to be able to land enough gigs to support yourself and you can easily create a site of your own. If, however, you want to write just about the Old Faithful geyser at Yellowstone National Park, you may have a harder time generating interest in it every day of the year. There’s no set rule that a given topic is too narrow, but you may have to actually start writing about it to see if you need something broader.

Further Resources

• The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson
• You Can Be an Expert
• Five Reasons Why Freelancers Should Blog from FreelanceSwitch

Image by Flickr user Steven W.

Last week, I asked you for what questions you need answered to be able to move forward with your writing career. The big questions I received are below — there were a couple that were fairly simple, so I’ve brought them together into one.

1. How can I better manage my time, both so I can pick up more clients and I can keep working on my own projects?
2. How do I keep writing about the same topic regularly? How do I find new ideas?
3. How do I find jobs? How can I go through job sites efficiently? How can I get pitches out of the slushpile and in front of editors?
4. How can I make money off of my blog and my own writing without a client?

These are some big questions but they’re all questions that I have piles of information on. In particular, I’ve got some information that I think will be particularly helpful when you’re ready to move beyond what I refer to as introductory level freelance writing. 

I’m going to start working on some help for each of these ideas, but I want to make sure that there isn’t one of them that you’d greatly prefer I start with. If there is, please let me know below.

I’m also starting to think about format. I’m generally inclined to write everything up, put it in a PDF and share it with you that way. I prefer to be able to read material, but I know that’s just me. How do you prefer to learn? Once again, let me know below.

I’m very excited about this and I can’t wait to get started on it!

What would you say if you could post a creative idea somewhere and get people to agree to pay you a small amount in order to complete it? That’s the concept behind Kickstarter, generally speaking. Users are able to describe their concept creative project in some detail, offer certain returns for their supporters (like a writer could provide a copy of a finished story) and collect money from supporters. It’s a sort of grass roots approach to getting certain types of work done.

A Few Success Stories

• The Misanthropic Misadventures of Bony Levi: 89 supporters have paid a total of $2,130 (passing the requested amount of $1,500) to help Magen Callaghan produce a comic book from a script she’s written. The first issue will be coming out soon and backers will receive a copy, along with t-shirts, character sketches and other rewards for different levels of financial support.
• Hadean Lands: Interactive Fiction for the iPhone: In one day, Andrew Plotkin raised $10,000 for an interactive fiction game that he wanted to work on full time. His goal was $8,000 and now, with 32 days still to go on his goal, he’s received more than $17,000 in pledges. That amount could easily go up.  
• The Book of Knish: Loss, Longing and the Search for a Humble Hunk of Dough: Laura Silver needed $5,000 to cover the costs of writing her book on knishes. She received pledges of $5,055 from 71 backers, including one pledge of $500. 

There are plenty of Kickstarter users who don’t raise huge amounts of money, but there are impressive numbers of successful stories on the site.

A Funding Model for Writers

There are a wide variety of books and written projects on Kickstarter, making the site worth considering as a funding model. There’s a certain sense that particularly creative projects do well on the site — stuff that more traditional approaches (like finding a publisher) would never work for. Of course, the truly successful projects all have a few other things in common: the creators tend to have fans or followers in other venues they can bring over, the rewards contributors receive are about in line with the purchasing power of their donation ($20 will usually get you a book, for instance), and the creator is willing to put in time to promote the project. There is plenty of work that goes along with creating a successful, well-funded project on the site.

Last month, I took a month off from most of the work I do for clients because I needed some time to get my head screwed on straight. I love writing and the fact that I make a living from lining words up in a row never fails to amaze me. But I needed to know that I was going to keep moving forward — that I hadn’t reached the end of where I was able to go. I did a lot of thinking, reading and talking and I’ve come up with a plan that will get me where I want to go.

But Where Do You Want to Go?

One of my big pleasures is talking and writing about writing. I like digging deep and looking at how other people are doing it. So, I want to know, where do you want to go? Where do you want your writing to go?

But this question is a two-parter. In the course of my month off, I also noticed that there are a lot of holes in the information that someone making the decisions I was considering needs. I found what I needed, with some digging, and I have huge piles of notes. I feel like some of this information will come in handy for other writers, but I’m not sure what’s the most useful. So here’s the second question: What do you want to know about the business of writing? What do you need for your next step?

My Next Step

Depending on your answers, I’m planning to focus on what you tell me you need most. I’m going to put together the information in a way that will actually be useful — no trying to puzzle through my chicken scratch at the very least. So I really appreciate any answers you can give me. If you have a preference for how you get information, go ahead and toss that in there too.

Just leave your responses in the comments — I can’t wait to see them!

Karen Kefauver asks,
Can you suggest where more seasoned writers like me may look for these higher end markets($100 a post? )? What URLS do you find these posts at? Or are they all word of mouth?

I mentioned recently that I receive $100 or more a post for most of my blogging work, despite having started out at closer to $5 per post. Finding those well-paying clients takes a combination of tactics, and, yes, word of mouth is a big part. When you’ve built up a reputation as a good blogger with great results (like links that hit the front page of Digg), you do get approached by higher end clients, as well as hear about better opportunities.

But there are opportunities out there that you can look for. There are many blogs with high traffic that buy posts on a regular basis with a solid price tag. Many tutorial sites, for instance routinely pay more than $100 for their posts. Big networks, such as CNET or GigaOm often offer high pay rates, as well. You’ve got a much better chance of landing high paying blogging gigs if you’re focusing on topics like business or technology. It’s significantly harder to find such work in topics like food.

It’s worth noting that these posts are usually longer, in the 1,000 word range, rather than in the 300 word range.

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If you have a question about the business side of writing, leave it in the comments below and I’ll answer next week!

There are a wide variety of ways to use writing skills and build a business. I had the chance to chat with Ali Luke on the new coaching service she’s rolling out to help other writers. Full disclosure: Ali is my partner over at ConstructivelyProductive and I think she’s absolutely awesome.

1. How can a coach help a writer? What exactly does a coach do?

Many writers — however experienced — have days when the writing just isn’t quite working. Perhaps they’re branching out into a new area and struggling to find their voice, or maybe they’ve hit a roadblock. A coach will work alongside a writer: looking closely at the writer’s existing work, finding the potential there (even in first-draft material), and making concrete suggestions to make a particular piece stronger.

A coach can also help the writer with big-picture issues — like motivation, finding and developing ideas, and working on bigger projects like blogs, books and novels.

2. What’s the process when you work with a writer? How do you help a writer with his or her craft?

I ask for around 2,000 words of the writer’s current work-in-progress. That could be several blog posts, a novel extract, a short story, or even an outline or synopsis of a project.

My help is very much tailored to the writer, and to their needs. In general, I offer a combination of close reading and overall advice — for instance, I might suggest ways to reword a sentence to make it punchier, along with ideas for fleshing out a particular piece into a series or book.

I always look for the potential in a writer’s work, and I highlight areas which are working well.

3. Are there differences in working with a writer on different types of projects (like fiction versus non-fiction, or a blog versus a book)?

Yes — although the process is similar, the type of feedback I provide differs.

With blog writers, my advice tends to be a bit more strategic — I often encourage writers to try guest posting, for instance. When I focus on the nitty-gritty details, I look for a conversational and dynamic style.

With novelists, I’ll ask about how the writing is going in general. It’s hard to stay motivated over the course of a novel, especially when multiple drafts are required. I find that writers often get stuck part-way through — and then I’ll help brainstorm ideas for moving forwards.

Fiction tends to be more difficult — emotionally and technically — than non-fiction, and I make sure I’m pulling out positive points as well as making suggestions for changes.

In general, I find that writers working on long projects (like an ebook or a novel) will need at least three sessions so that we can discuss the project as it progresses. Bloggers or copywriters focused on one particular piece — such as a guest post — may need only one or two sessions.

4. What’s your writing background?

I’ve been writing seriously (with an eye towards publication) since my teens, and I’ve been in writing workshops since I was 14. I studied English Literature as an undergraduate, and worked on creative projects alongside.

During 2008-2010, I took a creative writing MA part-time. My income throughout the MA came from blogging — a combination of freelance work for big sites and more entrepreneurial projects of my own, like ebooks.

5. What got you interested in coaching writers?

While I was taking my MA, I organised a weekly meeting amongst a small group of fellow students. We shared our work and gave feedback to one another. I really enjoyed doing this — and particularly liked being able to encourage others with their writing.

Online, I’ve built up a name for myself as a writer, and I found myself getting requests from friends to read a guest post or help with a piece of writing. I realised that there was an unmet demand for writing coaching, and decided this was something I’d love to do!

If you’d like to learn more about Ali’s coaching, check out her coaching services page.

Image by Antonina Mamzenko

The general consensus among professional writers is that content mills are pulling down standards for online writing (personally, I think the content mill debate is more complex). As a response, Ebyline has launched as a content marketplace directed specifically at professional journalists. The goal is to work with editors (hopefully at name-brand publications) to assign stories to freelancers. The recently-launched site makes submissions, approval and payment more automatic.

Ebyline relies on a vetting process: applicants must be approved, based on submitting a description of one’s journalistic career, a few clips, educational information and a list of companies that one has written for in the past. I completed an application in the process of writing this post, but as of the time it went live, I haven’t heard back on the status of my application. I do feel strongly that the application process is biased against freelance journalists: it seems specifically geared towards journalists who have newsroom experience but have switched to freelancing because of layoffs or similar situations. The founders of the startup – Bill Momary and Allen Narcisse — are former newspaper journalists from the L.A. Times and several backers have similar print credentials. There’s no effort in the application process to determine whether a journalist is a decent freelancer, which requires different skills than excelling in the newsroom and that’s a lack that can make a major difference in the type of work the site will see.

Making Money with Ebyline

In part, Ebyline is selling itself as a tool to help editors manage their submissions process and network with more freelancers than they might be able to handle through one-on-one communications (face-to-face meetings, phone calls and so on). The site also offers publications a way to earn money by syndicating their own articles to other newspapers and sites. All of this is done with the intention of convincing big name publications to sign on. Variety is one of the preliminary publishers using the service, along with The Texas Observer and ProPublica. That means that freelancers can hopefully expect to work with higher-paying publications by signing on with the service.

I do have some concerns about what the actual pay rates will be at the end of the day, however. Ebyline takes an eight percent cut on each transaction and it seems to be on the freelancer’s end of things (although I was not able to confirm it). Also, from my experiences with other sites that promise to manage any part of the submissions or editorial process, it seems likely that over time, editors using services like Ebyline will drop the prices they pay. It’s not a question of content — rather, there are several factors to consider:

• Editors are likely to save their best pay rates for those freelancers they really want to keep on board, not the ones they find and can easily replace through some online tool.
• Services like Ebyline aren’t going to make any changes in the newspaper market as far as helping publishers bring in significant revenues, and most print publications are continuing to tighten their belts.
• This sort of process will likely eliminate kill fees, the expectation that most publications will pay for expenses and the other numbers that tend to add up.

In many cases, these problems are already in the pipeline for freelancers. But I fully expect Ebyline and similar tools to exacerbate the issue.

That said, I do see some benefits for the tool, at least from the freelancer’s point of view. Accessing an editor at Variety or a similarly well-known publication is pretty hard and anything that makes it easier to access better paying gigs makes writers’ lives easier. I’d recommend giving Ebyline a try if it fits in with your goals for your writing. The worst case scenario is that you do an assignment, figure out it isn’t for you and drop it from your freelancing efforts. After all, there’s at least a little more of a guarantee that you’ll get paid — Ebyline can’t afford to stiff freelancers, while some publications have been known to play fast and loose with payments.

More Information on Ebyline

Check out these links for more details:

• Ebyline Wants to Create an iTunes for Journalism
• Ebyline Launches as a Market for Freelance Journalists and News Syndication