Don't forget to follow up with old clients once in a while. Several times in the last few months I've had old clients return for more help. In two cases, I thought perhaps the clients weren't happy with the work or moved on with other writers but in both cases they simply didn't need my help for a bit. The fact that I touched base after their last order just to check in and not pressure them probably helped. If I had been given a clear "No" instead of a "Not right now." I definitely would have backed off. Reminding them of my existence probably helped keep my name in their minds to a degree.
As a freelance writer, I own my own little business and am responsible for producing the product for sale but I'm also responsible for selling it, for customer service, for everything to do with my little biz. It's important as a business owner that I try to nurture existing client relationships while going after new relationships.
This week I plan to share some daily tips with you instead of longer blog posts to give you some ideas or food for thought for your writing career.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Keeping The Ideas Flowing
I am regularly thinking about writing assignments and drafting blog posts in my mind before they get started. Sometimes I think about them when I'm doing something else and before great thoughts and unique ideas escape my mind, I like to write them down.
A great way to organize my thoughts and ideas is my 'WIP' folder. My 'Work in Progress' folder lives on my desktop and is often filled with ideas.
I have many blogs including health blogs, cooking blogs, a WAHM's life blog called Momphabet Soup and some sites I've built around other topics as well and I try to make the rounds regularly to keep fresh content everywhere. A great way to do that is to refer to my list of ideas and continually add to it. It really reduces the pressure when I realize blogs haven't been updated in a few days and I have time to sit and get new posts in. Nothing is an imagination killer more than setting a deadline unless you have titles and ideas or half written posts or articles or outlines already done.
Here's how I organize it:
In my folder, I have individual word documents for each site I run and I refer to them as my scratch pads. If I want to tuck an idea away for later, this is where it goes. That way, when I'm ready to post something new on a health blog or my cooking site, I don't have to chew my lip and rack my brain for ideas because I have a list of ideas waiting to be explored. On my health scratch pad I currently have about 7 different blog posts either started or at least given titles which can jog my memory later on and spark some creativity.
When I come up with ideas for a client project that's on the go, I jot it down in a notebook that I keep by my computer but instead of fighting to find pieces of paper later on for projects I don't have to do right now (that might have all kinds of scribbles and doodles on them, Yes, I'm a serial doodler.), my WIP folder is a great way to organize my thoughts. When I've written the post, I pull it from the scratch pad and post it to the site. This accomplishes two things.
1) It saves me from losing posts because I've stopped writing posts directly in blog posts for the most part. Except this time with this post right now so I'm praying that nothing goes wrong here. Most of us have made the mistake of writing a blog post directly in the blog and then losing it. Come to think of it, let me cut and paste this into a notepad window before typing another word.
There.
Where was I?
Oh yes,
2) It also shortens my idea list so I remove the blog post from the scratch pad after I know it's safely posted. Sometimes I write a full idea and sometimes I write a snippet. It makes it much easier and I often find inspiration for various blog posts throughout my day.
This reminds me...time to replace the little notebook for my purse. Sometimes I find inspiration for articles or ideas for my novel in public as well and hate when I've forgotten the idea by the time I get home. I have jumped out of the bath sopping wet to write down writing ideas as well. Something about soaking in hot bubbles releases the muse. I really should think about installing a whiteboard in the bathroom and using soap chalk. Hmmm.
A great way to organize my thoughts and ideas is my 'WIP' folder. My 'Work in Progress' folder lives on my desktop and is often filled with ideas.
I have many blogs including health blogs, cooking blogs, a WAHM's life blog called Momphabet Soup and some sites I've built around other topics as well and I try to make the rounds regularly to keep fresh content everywhere. A great way to do that is to refer to my list of ideas and continually add to it. It really reduces the pressure when I realize blogs haven't been updated in a few days and I have time to sit and get new posts in. Nothing is an imagination killer more than setting a deadline unless you have titles and ideas or half written posts or articles or outlines already done.
Here's how I organize it:
In my folder, I have individual word documents for each site I run and I refer to them as my scratch pads. If I want to tuck an idea away for later, this is where it goes. That way, when I'm ready to post something new on a health blog or my cooking site, I don't have to chew my lip and rack my brain for ideas because I have a list of ideas waiting to be explored. On my health scratch pad I currently have about 7 different blog posts either started or at least given titles which can jog my memory later on and spark some creativity.
When I come up with ideas for a client project that's on the go, I jot it down in a notebook that I keep by my computer but instead of fighting to find pieces of paper later on for projects I don't have to do right now (that might have all kinds of scribbles and doodles on them, Yes, I'm a serial doodler.), my WIP folder is a great way to organize my thoughts. When I've written the post, I pull it from the scratch pad and post it to the site. This accomplishes two things.
1) It saves me from losing posts because I've stopped writing posts directly in blog posts for the most part. Except this time with this post right now so I'm praying that nothing goes wrong here. Most of us have made the mistake of writing a blog post directly in the blog and then losing it. Come to think of it, let me cut and paste this into a notepad window before typing another word.
There.
Where was I?
Oh yes,
2) It also shortens my idea list so I remove the blog post from the scratch pad after I know it's safely posted. Sometimes I write a full idea and sometimes I write a snippet. It makes it much easier and I often find inspiration for various blog posts throughout my day.
This reminds me...time to replace the little notebook for my purse. Sometimes I find inspiration for articles or ideas for my novel in public as well and hate when I've forgotten the idea by the time I get home. I have jumped out of the bath sopping wet to write down writing ideas as well. Something about soaking in hot bubbles releases the muse. I really should think about installing a whiteboard in the bathroom and using soap chalk. Hmmm.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Canadian English: A US and UK Hybrid
Just an interesting (to me anyway) observation. I've got Canadian writing clients, US clients and UK clients. I've noticed recently that Canadian English seems to have become a hybrid of the US and UK versions. I have to pause when I'm writing for the US and make sure to type color instead of colour. I've gotten really good at changing hats and not having to think twice to remember when to write centimeters versus inches, miles versus kilometers, dollars versus pounds(£), cents or pence, or kilograms versus the other kind of pounds (lbs.) but I do have to be deliberate when writing for various markets, and the US makes up more than 60% of my work. It bothers me when I see that accusing red line under words I know I'm spelling correctly and while Canada is a unique country, linguistically we're sort of somewhere in between US and UK with a few of our very own nuances as well.
I have UK English clients and not long ago, a client corrected a few spellings on my work and told me I was using US English. I was surprised. These words are ones that I've spelled this particular way my whole life and yet I write favour instead of favor. I have come to a conclusion that Canada, as a British commonwealth is so Americanized (Americanised?) because we read so much from just shy of the border instead of way across the pond. I say realise not realize but I say specialize instead of specialise. I write program instead of programme. Strangely, I say Mum but spell out Mom on notes and birthday cards.
Therefore, it seems to me that I'm using English potpourri as my standard language in both the written and verbal worlds. Maybe my English teacher would use her red pen, I don't know. I recently took on an Australian client and so I am now working out the nuances of Australian English...Oh joy oh bliss :) It would be rather nice if everyone paid me in Pounds Sterling though.
Nope, I wouldn't complain about that!
I have UK English clients and not long ago, a client corrected a few spellings on my work and told me I was using US English. I was surprised. These words are ones that I've spelled this particular way my whole life and yet I write favour instead of favor. I have come to a conclusion that Canada, as a British commonwealth is so Americanized (Americanised?) because we read so much from just shy of the border instead of way across the pond. I say realise not realize but I say specialize instead of specialise. I write program instead of programme. Strangely, I say Mum but spell out Mom on notes and birthday cards.
Therefore, it seems to me that I'm using English potpourri as my standard language in both the written and verbal worlds. Maybe my English teacher would use her red pen, I don't know. I recently took on an Australian client and so I am now working out the nuances of Australian English...Oh joy oh bliss :) It would be rather nice if everyone paid me in Pounds Sterling though.
Nope, I wouldn't complain about that!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Web Writing - Learning From Clients and Peers
Today I have a new client who has joined the Dana Prince Writing Services family. I'm looking forward to it as they're a company in SEO but one that does things a little differently. I look at this as an opportunity to learn some new angles on search engine optimization.
One thing I truly love about my business is how much information I get to assimilate on a day-to-day basis. Not only do I get paid to do something I love but I learn new things on a regular basis as well and learning provides me with a huge pay-off.
Learning from Clients
Many web writing clients do things a similar way but some of them do things uniquely and as an extended member of their team, I get to learn their secrets. I guard them closely but they help me in my career as well. I'm now working for three very different SEO companies, a successful internet marketer as well as a global writing agency with many different clients plus I have other clients as well.
Most of them approach things such as search engines and articles and keyword usage a bit differently from one another. Through so many approaches I've learned many secrets and tricks of the trade by seeing what works well and by seeing what approaches actually kick butt as well.
As a writer trying to create multiple streams of profitable income, I get to use these skills to help my clients and the bonus is that I help myself too. One client taught me a lot about how to get my page rank up. Another client taught me all about The Long Tail. Yet another has helped me learn to write kick butt autoresponders. One client bought me a copy of a valuable e-book to help me learn his desired formula for writing his copy. That book taught me some great tips that I still use when I write even though that client is finished their project and hasn't needed me in a while.
Another client shares internet marketing insider information with me that he has paid a small fortune for that's allowing me to write effectively for him and is also teaching me marketing skills that will help my business as well.
Learning from Peers
I also learn from others in the industry. Some of them are a little out of my league in terms of experience but through their sharing, I'm building my skills. Each day I try to do something to increase my knowledge level. Today, for example, I spent time practicing some tag line creation after reading a post on CopyBlogger by James Chartrand.
And then, I picked up some valuable info from an older post on a different blog about the word Freelance and how it can be a dangerous word in business by reading: Are You Using The F Word Around Your Clients? which prompted me to do some tweaking of my own website copy.
Fun Learning Stuff
And on the fun side of things, yesterday, I learned about 50 Uses for Plastic Easter Eggs. Ok, that info won't necessarily make me a better writer but can help me be a more organized person and after my publicly flipping off the innocent and very helpful FlyLady (sorry about that!) the other day out of frustration for the clutter in my house, I need all the help I can get!
In all seriousness, learning not only exercises my brain but helps me be a better writer and a happier person. So instead of looking at that assignment on my desk with that flared-nostril-rotten-egg smelling disdain-filled face, next time, I'll attempt to think about it in a new way. I'll consider trying out some new copywriting techniques and will treat it like a learning assignment as well as a paying one.
Gotta love the information highway!
One thing I truly love about my business is how much information I get to assimilate on a day-to-day basis. Not only do I get paid to do something I love but I learn new things on a regular basis as well and learning provides me with a huge pay-off.
Learning from Clients
Many web writing clients do things a similar way but some of them do things uniquely and as an extended member of their team, I get to learn their secrets. I guard them closely but they help me in my career as well. I'm now working for three very different SEO companies, a successful internet marketer as well as a global writing agency with many different clients plus I have other clients as well.
Most of them approach things such as search engines and articles and keyword usage a bit differently from one another. Through so many approaches I've learned many secrets and tricks of the trade by seeing what works well and by seeing what approaches actually kick butt as well.
As a writer trying to create multiple streams of profitable income, I get to use these skills to help my clients and the bonus is that I help myself too. One client taught me a lot about how to get my page rank up. Another client taught me all about The Long Tail. Yet another has helped me learn to write kick butt autoresponders. One client bought me a copy of a valuable e-book to help me learn his desired formula for writing his copy. That book taught me some great tips that I still use when I write even though that client is finished their project and hasn't needed me in a while.
Another client shares internet marketing insider information with me that he has paid a small fortune for that's allowing me to write effectively for him and is also teaching me marketing skills that will help my business as well.
Learning from Peers
I also learn from others in the industry. Some of them are a little out of my league in terms of experience but through their sharing, I'm building my skills. Each day I try to do something to increase my knowledge level. Today, for example, I spent time practicing some tag line creation after reading a post on CopyBlogger by James Chartrand.
And then, I picked up some valuable info from an older post on a different blog about the word Freelance and how it can be a dangerous word in business by reading: Are You Using The F Word Around Your Clients? which prompted me to do some tweaking of my own website copy.
Fun Learning Stuff
And on the fun side of things, yesterday, I learned about 50 Uses for Plastic Easter Eggs. Ok, that info won't necessarily make me a better writer but can help me be a more organized person and after my publicly flipping off the innocent and very helpful FlyLady (sorry about that!) the other day out of frustration for the clutter in my house, I need all the help I can get!
In all seriousness, learning not only exercises my brain but helps me be a better writer and a happier person. So instead of looking at that assignment on my desk with that flared-nostril-rotten-egg smelling disdain-filled face, next time, I'll attempt to think about it in a new way. I'll consider trying out some new copywriting techniques and will treat it like a learning assignment as well as a paying one.
Gotta love the information highway!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Do You Have Productivity Traps?
When you sit down to write, do you always meet your goals or do you get driven to distraction by a number of things? Do you feel like you work all day but rarely get as much done as you need to? Are you on your pc from morning till midnight and still having trouble hitting deadlines?
If you are a work at home parent, you might not be able to avoid distraction by your children but if your productivity is hampered by other things, it’s important to deal with it. There are at least two productivity traps that can slow you down. I’ll call them Writer’s ADD syndrome and the WAH syndrome. I’ll explain them so you can identify some of your own productivity traps. If you don’t nip those traps in the bud you’ll miss deadlines, have trouble meeting financial goals and find yourself “working” way more hours than you need to.
Writer’s ADD syndrome
Do you have attention deficit disorder when you are online? If you are prone to stopping and starting writing tasks, it’s time to become more militant. Many writers type a little, check email. Type a little, get into an Instant Messaging conversation. Type a little, answer the phone to the sister or friend who thinks you’re on the sofa watching Oprah and have all the time in the world to gossip. Before you know it you’ve sat at your desk all morning and typed only fifty usable words instead of your goal of 2000 words by lunch. You probably get paid per word for many of your gigs so you when you look at time and money it will quickly become apparent that you might be someone that needs to buckle down.
Getting Un-Trapped
Read your e-mails at set times. Maybe you want to only check every hour instead of every five minutes. Turn your phone off or screen calls for emergencies only when you’ve scheduled writing time. Schedule time for work and a different block of time for self-promotion or play. Don’t turn on MSN or Yahoo and resist the urge to tab back and forth between your writing assignment and checking your Adsense or Commission Junction earnings ten times a day.
While tabbed browsing is fabulous, it can also be a productivity trap for writers who work at home. Instead of being a click monster that tabs back and forth endlessly between work and other things choose to reward yourself if you want to read blogs, check community forums or play online Scrabble. Only let yourself do this when you hit milestones in your day. Set your schedule up for rewards and you might find your word count per day and $$ earned per day count up substantially.
The WAH Syndrome
As a work at home writer it can be tempting to do too many things at once. Family and friends see you as a stay at home Mom or dad instead of a work at home mom or dad so may decide to drop in, call incessantly or ask favours like babysitting when you really should be working. Define parameters with people in your life and let them know your home office is just as much a working office as their office outside the home. Take a lunch break to make calls or do laundry or wash floors but when you establish a working schedule, try to stick to it. Part of the bonus of working at home is the flexibility but if you are too flexible with your work schedule you become lax and this will hurt your productivity.
If you make a to do list and prioritize your tasks as well as set special time for surfing, chatting or self-promotion and networking with other writers you might find you have more writing work completed, more time with your family and a better work/family balance
If you are a work at home parent, you might not be able to avoid distraction by your children but if your productivity is hampered by other things, it’s important to deal with it. There are at least two productivity traps that can slow you down. I’ll call them Writer’s ADD syndrome and the WAH syndrome. I’ll explain them so you can identify some of your own productivity traps. If you don’t nip those traps in the bud you’ll miss deadlines, have trouble meeting financial goals and find yourself “working” way more hours than you need to.
Writer’s ADD syndrome
Do you have attention deficit disorder when you are online? If you are prone to stopping and starting writing tasks, it’s time to become more militant. Many writers type a little, check email. Type a little, get into an Instant Messaging conversation. Type a little, answer the phone to the sister or friend who thinks you’re on the sofa watching Oprah and have all the time in the world to gossip. Before you know it you’ve sat at your desk all morning and typed only fifty usable words instead of your goal of 2000 words by lunch. You probably get paid per word for many of your gigs so you when you look at time and money it will quickly become apparent that you might be someone that needs to buckle down.
Getting Un-Trapped
Read your e-mails at set times. Maybe you want to only check every hour instead of every five minutes. Turn your phone off or screen calls for emergencies only when you’ve scheduled writing time. Schedule time for work and a different block of time for self-promotion or play. Don’t turn on MSN or Yahoo and resist the urge to tab back and forth between your writing assignment and checking your Adsense or Commission Junction earnings ten times a day.
While tabbed browsing is fabulous, it can also be a productivity trap for writers who work at home. Instead of being a click monster that tabs back and forth endlessly between work and other things choose to reward yourself if you want to read blogs, check community forums or play online Scrabble. Only let yourself do this when you hit milestones in your day. Set your schedule up for rewards and you might find your word count per day and $$ earned per day count up substantially.
The WAH Syndrome
As a work at home writer it can be tempting to do too many things at once. Family and friends see you as a stay at home Mom or dad instead of a work at home mom or dad so may decide to drop in, call incessantly or ask favours like babysitting when you really should be working. Define parameters with people in your life and let them know your home office is just as much a working office as their office outside the home. Take a lunch break to make calls or do laundry or wash floors but when you establish a working schedule, try to stick to it. Part of the bonus of working at home is the flexibility but if you are too flexible with your work schedule you become lax and this will hurt your productivity.
If you make a to do list and prioritize your tasks as well as set special time for surfing, chatting or self-promotion and networking with other writers you might find you have more writing work completed, more time with your family and a better work/family balance
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
A Candid Look At Running A Writing Agency
My Writing Team: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...
It’s been about three months since I started subbing out writing work to other freelance writers.
I now have 8-10 people that I regularly use as a pool to subcontract to. It's working quite well most days but it's very hard on other days.
The purpose of today’s blog post is to share my experience as I like to do. Also, to help others who are thinking about outsourcing writing work to understand the scope of this kind of thing as well as to help people who work for other writers learn a bit about the structure. Maybe it’ll help you see what you need to do to be a better team member ;) It’s been a real learning experience so far.
A Few Gripes: (The Bad)
-When people ask for work and then disappear. I had a new person ask for all the work I could give to help her with her a financial gap and then she disappeared, never to be heard from again. Of course this left me scrambling because I had deadlines. Lesson learned. Now I don’t try out hard deadline assignments on new team members and if you mess up your first try with me, you probably won’t get a second chance.
-When people don't understand the brief but wait until the due date to ask questions. If you can’t write it straight away, I wish you’d at least read the thing before putting it on the back burner so you can be sure you know what to do and how much time it’ll take you. Don’t go by word count requirements alone!
-When people miss deadlines. (In my books, deadline is very literal. Not everyone else realises they're causing the 'death' of my business if they miss my deadline.) My client relationships have been built on my effort and my ability to meet deadlines so I really need team members to do the same. If they can’t meet them, they need to tell me ASAP. This is improving as I’m getting a pretty solid team together after three months time.
-When people don’t follow the brief. i.e.: they say they read the directions but decided to do it another way. Um, No. The client gave directions for a reason. If you’re not sure, ask and please don’t improvise.
-When people select “ok to all’ on spell check or grammar check. If you don’t proof your work yourself, you’re causing me extra work. Word makes stupid mistakes. I once had to manually undo possessive apostrophes for a plural on a very keyword dense set of documents. I’d have sent it back but it came to me the day I had to hand it in.
-When you don’t tell me you have the assignment. I need to know you have it and that the e-mail didn’t go into an abyss. I have to often chase a few days after assigning something to make sure someone has it.
-A few projects have come in so horribly written that I’ve had to pay out of my own pocket to get them fixed. Thankfully these are few and far between.
What Works Really Well:(the good)
It’s not all bad, honest! I love having the team and am enjoying it overall. I have some people writing on the team who are brilliant writers who hand work in on time, every time and whose work is flawless all (or most)of the time.
The team thing is beginning to evolve into what I intended it to do, to allow me to focus on getting the work I want and writing what I want. I don’t have to write 11,000 words a day anymore on anything and everything to cover all my client needs. I also haven’t had to turn away any clients either and I can bring on new ones.
Team members get a flow of work without risk. The rates might be a bit lower than what they get on their own but they don’t have to hunt for the work and don’t have to assume the risk with new clients of not getting paid. The also get the benefit of my experience in the business. A few team members have taken full advantage of my mentoring which I enjoy
I’m developing some great working relationships and even some friendships too and am getting to know team members strengths so I’m now to the point three months in where I see some assignments come in and know automatically who would be perfect for them. I have a skills sheet with a list of what everyone likes and wants to write so not only do people get work but they can get work they like that can help them build their own career. This will happen more as time goes on because I’m building a list of specialties and that will help me find suitable work to target.
Another thing that works really well is that sometimes team members take on low paying or pain in the butt assignments to help me cover a need. Those that do this get a special spot on my ‘nice’ list which means I reserve better gigs for them. (Better pay, more fun, longer deadlines) I have clients that do the same for me.
The Commission. (This is kinda the uglyish part but I’m sure it’ll get better)
The commission is small and usually only around 25%. I have a few clients that pay better so I can take a bit more and a few bulk clients where I get less. For the commission I get, I have to pay paypal service charges, write out directions, manage a lot of files and paper back and forth and talk to the client and the team member as well as do editing and proofreading. There’s also issuing invoices, paying invoices and following up not to mention the odd rewrite if a team member has left or not worked out and the client has come back later with a problem with the work. Some might say it’s a lot of work for the money involved. $2.50 on a $10 article doesn’t go very far.
In my first month of subbing, I took a huge dip in income because I spent more time on the admin side than anything. As I get more familiar with team member strengths, it's costing me less of my time and efforts because I'm quickly learning who to sub to. And, as I get higher paying gigs, I can raise rates for both myself and the team.
When I first started the whole money end of things ran very smoothly too as I’d pay each writer out of each payment and take out my %. But lately, I’ve had some delinquent clients and slow payers that have thrown things off and for example, I’m making less than minimum wage for the year so far for myself because I’m paying team members out of assignments I’m doing myself to keep things manageable. It’s a tricky balancing act but all in all, it’s going quite well and I plan to keep doing this.
My Writing Biz
So, I sub to others and I sub for others as well who are more seasoned than I. It's great...I have mentors and I do mentoring. That's something I love about this biz, the ability to share with one another instead of holding our cards close to our chest and being greedy. Managing my business this way gives me a team with a great pool of knowledge and specialties and helps me build my writing career and take it in the direction I want. Will I do this forever? I’m not sure but at the moment it’s a very symbiotic relationship.
It’s been about three months since I started subbing out writing work to other freelance writers.
I now have 8-10 people that I regularly use as a pool to subcontract to. It's working quite well most days but it's very hard on other days.
The purpose of today’s blog post is to share my experience as I like to do. Also, to help others who are thinking about outsourcing writing work to understand the scope of this kind of thing as well as to help people who work for other writers learn a bit about the structure. Maybe it’ll help you see what you need to do to be a better team member ;) It’s been a real learning experience so far.
A Few Gripes: (The Bad)
-When people ask for work and then disappear. I had a new person ask for all the work I could give to help her with her a financial gap and then she disappeared, never to be heard from again. Of course this left me scrambling because I had deadlines. Lesson learned. Now I don’t try out hard deadline assignments on new team members and if you mess up your first try with me, you probably won’t get a second chance.
-When people don't understand the brief but wait until the due date to ask questions. If you can’t write it straight away, I wish you’d at least read the thing before putting it on the back burner so you can be sure you know what to do and how much time it’ll take you. Don’t go by word count requirements alone!
-When people miss deadlines. (In my books, deadline is very literal. Not everyone else realises they're causing the 'death' of my business if they miss my deadline.) My client relationships have been built on my effort and my ability to meet deadlines so I really need team members to do the same. If they can’t meet them, they need to tell me ASAP. This is improving as I’m getting a pretty solid team together after three months time.
-When people don’t follow the brief. i.e.: they say they read the directions but decided to do it another way. Um, No. The client gave directions for a reason. If you’re not sure, ask and please don’t improvise.
-When people select “ok to all’ on spell check or grammar check. If you don’t proof your work yourself, you’re causing me extra work. Word makes stupid mistakes. I once had to manually undo possessive apostrophes for a plural on a very keyword dense set of documents. I’d have sent it back but it came to me the day I had to hand it in.
-When you don’t tell me you have the assignment. I need to know you have it and that the e-mail didn’t go into an abyss. I have to often chase a few days after assigning something to make sure someone has it.
-A few projects have come in so horribly written that I’ve had to pay out of my own pocket to get them fixed. Thankfully these are few and far between.
What Works Really Well:(the good)
It’s not all bad, honest! I love having the team and am enjoying it overall. I have some people writing on the team who are brilliant writers who hand work in on time, every time and whose work is flawless all (or most)of the time.
The team thing is beginning to evolve into what I intended it to do, to allow me to focus on getting the work I want and writing what I want. I don’t have to write 11,000 words a day anymore on anything and everything to cover all my client needs. I also haven’t had to turn away any clients either and I can bring on new ones.
Team members get a flow of work without risk. The rates might be a bit lower than what they get on their own but they don’t have to hunt for the work and don’t have to assume the risk with new clients of not getting paid. The also get the benefit of my experience in the business. A few team members have taken full advantage of my mentoring which I enjoy
I’m developing some great working relationships and even some friendships too and am getting to know team members strengths so I’m now to the point three months in where I see some assignments come in and know automatically who would be perfect for them. I have a skills sheet with a list of what everyone likes and wants to write so not only do people get work but they can get work they like that can help them build their own career. This will happen more as time goes on because I’m building a list of specialties and that will help me find suitable work to target.
Another thing that works really well is that sometimes team members take on low paying or pain in the butt assignments to help me cover a need. Those that do this get a special spot on my ‘nice’ list which means I reserve better gigs for them. (Better pay, more fun, longer deadlines) I have clients that do the same for me.
The Commission. (This is kinda the uglyish part but I’m sure it’ll get better)
The commission is small and usually only around 25%. I have a few clients that pay better so I can take a bit more and a few bulk clients where I get less. For the commission I get, I have to pay paypal service charges, write out directions, manage a lot of files and paper back and forth and talk to the client and the team member as well as do editing and proofreading. There’s also issuing invoices, paying invoices and following up not to mention the odd rewrite if a team member has left or not worked out and the client has come back later with a problem with the work. Some might say it’s a lot of work for the money involved. $2.50 on a $10 article doesn’t go very far.
In my first month of subbing, I took a huge dip in income because I spent more time on the admin side than anything. As I get more familiar with team member strengths, it's costing me less of my time and efforts because I'm quickly learning who to sub to. And, as I get higher paying gigs, I can raise rates for both myself and the team.
When I first started the whole money end of things ran very smoothly too as I’d pay each writer out of each payment and take out my %. But lately, I’ve had some delinquent clients and slow payers that have thrown things off and for example, I’m making less than minimum wage for the year so far for myself because I’m paying team members out of assignments I’m doing myself to keep things manageable. It’s a tricky balancing act but all in all, it’s going quite well and I plan to keep doing this.
My Writing Biz
So, I sub to others and I sub for others as well who are more seasoned than I. It's great...I have mentors and I do mentoring. That's something I love about this biz, the ability to share with one another instead of holding our cards close to our chest and being greedy. Managing my business this way gives me a team with a great pool of knowledge and specialties and helps me build my writing career and take it in the direction I want. Will I do this forever? I’m not sure but at the moment it’s a very symbiotic relationship.
Friday, January 4, 2008
A Writer's Plan for 2008
2007 was a big year for me and my writing career. In the spring of ’07 it was my one year anniversary as a freelance writer and the point where people in my life started to get an inkling of why they couldn’t ever reach me on the phone. This was because I was online working. They didn’t really know at first what I did but now some of them seem a little impressed with my creating a business from thin air doing something I said from almost toddlerhood that I'd someday do.
As the year began I was growing weary of slave wage article writing that didn’t follow any pattern or match my desired niche. I felt like I was in a sweatshop and although I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to move forward. I had learned a lot and paid some dues and I decided I wanted to focus more on writing what I wanted to write and I needed to up my rates too (desperately). I think I’ve had a very successful year and I have met some goals. My income has increased by more than 50% in 2007 over 2006 and in 2008 I aim to double 2007’s income.
In 2007 I worked to get better paying jobs and started my own little business venture where I became a team leader for the agency I’d been working for. I formed my own team of writers mostly from an online forum of wah moms. Some had writing experience and some wanted mentoring. I help those who want regular work by giving them a pretty constant flow of writing work. This larger volume allows me to pick and choose what I want to write, allows me to earn a commission off the work I sub out and has helped me help others. The rates aren’t the best yet but I continue to work to find gigs that are better paying for me and for the team and it's a pretty symbiotic relationship.
Those on my team can pick and choose their assignments and can tell me their desired niche so I can help them get more work in that area so they can shape their own careers in the direction they desire. The team thing is still pretty new and despite some challenges has been going fairly well. I’ve taken my strong client relationships and used them to my advantage and writers who are proving talented and organized can look forward to plenty of work and guidance from me. I’ve learned a lot in just under two years and am happy to pay it forward.
Although I ghostwrote countless articles and an e-book in 2007, I also saw my name in print and got some recognition. I saw my name in print in a magazine that was not an e-zine which was a great feeling. I also started a new venture with a connection in my offline life who has asked me to co-write a life coaching book with him. That’s something that has me pretty stoked about 2008. I’m co-writing instead of ghostwriting this book so it could be great for my career. I love the self improvement niche and getting involved in it is what really launched my career in the first place.
And, as much as I enjoy ghostwriting, the ability to write something I can claim is pretty exhilarating. I’m also planning to move forward with the novel I’ve been sitting on for most of 2007. Those who’ve previewed a few rough chapters have given me great feedback.
I am writing more about the subjects I enjoy such as internet marketing, food, health and self improvement and I’m doing less search engine fodder and more creative writing. I also created my own website at www.danaprincewriting.com which saw the birth of a new blog that I’m still in the early stages of developing but that I believe will benefit my business and my writing career.
This year, I plan to further expand my writing team, raise my rates by at least a third and my team member rates too (I'm thinking of tweaking my team structure in a few months) plus get more creative writing work for us all. I’m planning to delve into a few new markets that I haven’t yet worked in and am hopeful for improvement in my work/life balance by doing some technical upgrades at home to help with my productivity. I’m planning to do more subbing out to my team instead of hoarding some of the harder projects due to possessiveness over certain clients as well.And I'm going to write many more words that I will claim as my own.
I’m looking forward to 2008 and to continuing to share my journey in this blog to help others and I am thankful every day for the blessings I’ve been given in being able to call myself a writer.
As the year began I was growing weary of slave wage article writing that didn’t follow any pattern or match my desired niche. I felt like I was in a sweatshop and although I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to move forward. I had learned a lot and paid some dues and I decided I wanted to focus more on writing what I wanted to write and I needed to up my rates too (desperately). I think I’ve had a very successful year and I have met some goals. My income has increased by more than 50% in 2007 over 2006 and in 2008 I aim to double 2007’s income.
In 2007 I worked to get better paying jobs and started my own little business venture where I became a team leader for the agency I’d been working for. I formed my own team of writers mostly from an online forum of wah moms. Some had writing experience and some wanted mentoring. I help those who want regular work by giving them a pretty constant flow of writing work. This larger volume allows me to pick and choose what I want to write, allows me to earn a commission off the work I sub out and has helped me help others. The rates aren’t the best yet but I continue to work to find gigs that are better paying for me and for the team and it's a pretty symbiotic relationship.
Those on my team can pick and choose their assignments and can tell me their desired niche so I can help them get more work in that area so they can shape their own careers in the direction they desire. The team thing is still pretty new and despite some challenges has been going fairly well. I’ve taken my strong client relationships and used them to my advantage and writers who are proving talented and organized can look forward to plenty of work and guidance from me. I’ve learned a lot in just under two years and am happy to pay it forward.
Although I ghostwrote countless articles and an e-book in 2007, I also saw my name in print and got some recognition. I saw my name in print in a magazine that was not an e-zine which was a great feeling. I also started a new venture with a connection in my offline life who has asked me to co-write a life coaching book with him. That’s something that has me pretty stoked about 2008. I’m co-writing instead of ghostwriting this book so it could be great for my career. I love the self improvement niche and getting involved in it is what really launched my career in the first place.
And, as much as I enjoy ghostwriting, the ability to write something I can claim is pretty exhilarating. I’m also planning to move forward with the novel I’ve been sitting on for most of 2007. Those who’ve previewed a few rough chapters have given me great feedback.
I am writing more about the subjects I enjoy such as internet marketing, food, health and self improvement and I’m doing less search engine fodder and more creative writing. I also created my own website at www.danaprincewriting.com which saw the birth of a new blog that I’m still in the early stages of developing but that I believe will benefit my business and my writing career.
This year, I plan to further expand my writing team, raise my rates by at least a third and my team member rates too (I'm thinking of tweaking my team structure in a few months) plus get more creative writing work for us all. I’m planning to delve into a few new markets that I haven’t yet worked in and am hopeful for improvement in my work/life balance by doing some technical upgrades at home to help with my productivity. I’m planning to do more subbing out to my team instead of hoarding some of the harder projects due to possessiveness over certain clients as well.And I'm going to write many more words that I will claim as my own.
I’m looking forward to 2008 and to continuing to share my journey in this blog to help others and I am thankful every day for the blessings I’ve been given in being able to call myself a writer.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Writer’s Blog Is Going On A Short Hiatus
You may have noticed my posts are less frequent this month. My to do list is massive at the moment. This writing business certainly is NOT suffering the typical December slow down. I’m busier than ever and just took on a new team member (and thinking of taking on another new one) to keep up.
Here’s what’s on the go by me that’s due within the next week :S
-12 pages of main website content for industrial cleaning website
-partial content for life coaching site
-seo article package in progress on men’s fashion
-seo article package on telemarketing
-gift articles
-write sample articles for three potential upcoming projects on construction, party favours and tiling
-seo package on home improvements
-health article
Here’s what I’m overseeing for my team right now that requires, proofing, editing and coordination as well as project brief writing.
-large project of 1400 word articles on pets with dozens weekly to proofread and coordinate
-real estate seo article package
-industrial steel seo article package
-62 pages of website content for autism site
-several blogs with daily posts
-large plr rewrite project
-several smaller article packages on various subjects.
Add to this the fact that I have queries to answer and schedules to coordinate plus invoices to process and send and you have a busy busy lady.
I’m not only busy with work and but have to get the pre-holiday craziness too and start shopping, cooking, cleaning, tree trimming, wrapping, etc. so you might not see me here for a week or two. I will happily respond to comments and might take the odd break or two to pop into a few of my regular forums or blogs but am going to try to buckle down and get a lot done.
Be back soon!
Here’s what’s on the go by me that’s due within the next week :S
-12 pages of main website content for industrial cleaning website
-partial content for life coaching site
-seo article package in progress on men’s fashion
-seo article package on telemarketing
-gift articles
-write sample articles for three potential upcoming projects on construction, party favours and tiling
-seo package on home improvements
-health article
Here’s what I’m overseeing for my team right now that requires, proofing, editing and coordination as well as project brief writing.
-large project of 1400 word articles on pets with dozens weekly to proofread and coordinate
-real estate seo article package
-industrial steel seo article package
-62 pages of website content for autism site
-several blogs with daily posts
-large plr rewrite project
-several smaller article packages on various subjects.
Add to this the fact that I have queries to answer and schedules to coordinate plus invoices to process and send and you have a busy busy lady.
I’m not only busy with work and but have to get the pre-holiday craziness too and start shopping, cooking, cleaning, tree trimming, wrapping, etc. so you might not see me here for a week or two. I will happily respond to comments and might take the odd break or two to pop into a few of my regular forums or blogs but am going to try to buckle down and get a lot done.
Be back soon!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Do You Need a Pre-Holiday Pep Talk?
Do you need a pep talk? I know I do so please bear with me while I give myself a pep talk here. Then, give yourself one when you’re done if you need one! We need to learn to be our own life coach sometimes!
I’ve been doing a bit of the “chicken with its head cut off “dance lately. My writing business is booming but I’m running a tad ragged. It’s exhilarating and frustrating at the same time because I’m limited by technology constraints in my home and trying to balance my job, house and be an attentive Mother. Throw into the mix the fact that it’s a hectic time of year and you have someone frazzled, admittedly bitchy and teary- eyed almost daily. I’m changing that behaviour here and now.
A new client and newly made friend wants me to work as co-author on his life coaching book with him. I’m really excited about this but the task of getting started has been a bit daunting because I’m in multi-task holiday mode and finding it hard to talk the talk because I’m not walking the walk.
Once I find my focus, I find my voice and I know at that point, working on his book for a few hours a day will definitely HELP me with my focus. What better way to get stoked other than talking about the power of positive thinking?
New prospects are knocking on my door due to my advertising efforts in the last month and due to the release of my new writing website. It’s like I’m reaping some harvests for sowed seeds but it’s been bittersweet because my existing clients are extremely busy.
Amid the mayhem, something great happened yesterday. A client of mine gave me a new project and I earned $77 in an hour by writing. I felt very accomplished and it helped me see the direction I want to take my career in. It’s a nice leap from the $4-$5 articles I started out with almost 2 years ago.
I need to remind myself that I have already overcome some pretty serious obstacles in life in the last few years and I should pat myself on the back for it. When I feel overwhelmed, I need to remind myself of what I’ve recently accomplished and I know that will help me muster the energy to keep truckin’.
A new friend and team member, Holli commented today on the fact that she was surprised at how new my business was and said I had the air of an old pro. I told her I started my little business less than two years ago on a dial up internet connection with an old clunker PC. The chat with her inspired this post because I realised how much I have accomplished in a short time and how proud of myself I should be. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am and I’m only planning to continue to do better.
Today, I’m still on dial up (grr. It's the area I moved into two years ago) and my pc is a few years younger but still a clunker by today’s standards. When I look at the fact that I’m working full time and increasing my income each month PLUS providing work for up to eight writers at a time I think I should be pretty proud of myself. Have you got any idea how slow it is to work online when you’re on dialup? Here’s an example. Tonight I did what some would find simple and paid about 12 invoices on PayPal. This seemingly simple task took me fifty minutes!
Despite the obstacles I’ve overcome and the obstacles still in front of me, I’m happy with how my career is going and I’m proud of my accomplishments. I did a great thing…I achieved my dream of being a writer for a living and found a way to do it while staying home with my younger son. I’ve even found a way to help other writers. I have up to eight writers getting a good chunk of their monthly income from my efforts! Maybe it wasn’t such a crazy thing after all to give up my old high paying, high profile job because I wanted more…
I might not be at my old income level (yet) but my happiness level sure is pretty high most of the time and I feel accomplished and proud when I tell people what I do for a living. I'm often at the computer working in the morning before the coffee is finished brewing and that's a pretty huge indicator.
I’m going to take my own advice and look positively at my goals and my accomplishments instead of letting myself feel overwhelmed and dragged down. I’m going to start by setting goals for next year and I will find a way to meet those goals.
How will I do this? I will practice what I preach and I will have some new freedom next year as my little one goes into kindergarten (although I’m thinking of walking the pregnancy plank one more time :s) and my husband will soon be out of school and embarking on a new career so that will open up several hours of more productive work time each day and reduce my need to work every spare moment due to being the sole earner right now.
This time of year can be frustrating for various reasons. If you’re feeling like I was feeling... full of apprehension and panic it’ll hurt your productivity and more. It’s time to stop and take stock. Do a review of this past year and all you’ve accomplished (no matter how small it seems) and make your own goal list. Having your goals and feeling pride in your achievements can change your frame of mind and increase your productivity.
I’ve been doing a bit of the “chicken with its head cut off “dance lately. My writing business is booming but I’m running a tad ragged. It’s exhilarating and frustrating at the same time because I’m limited by technology constraints in my home and trying to balance my job, house and be an attentive Mother. Throw into the mix the fact that it’s a hectic time of year and you have someone frazzled, admittedly bitchy and teary- eyed almost daily. I’m changing that behaviour here and now.
A new client and newly made friend wants me to work as co-author on his life coaching book with him. I’m really excited about this but the task of getting started has been a bit daunting because I’m in multi-task holiday mode and finding it hard to talk the talk because I’m not walking the walk.
Once I find my focus, I find my voice and I know at that point, working on his book for a few hours a day will definitely HELP me with my focus. What better way to get stoked other than talking about the power of positive thinking?
New prospects are knocking on my door due to my advertising efforts in the last month and due to the release of my new writing website. It’s like I’m reaping some harvests for sowed seeds but it’s been bittersweet because my existing clients are extremely busy.
Amid the mayhem, something great happened yesterday. A client of mine gave me a new project and I earned $77 in an hour by writing. I felt very accomplished and it helped me see the direction I want to take my career in. It’s a nice leap from the $4-$5 articles I started out with almost 2 years ago.
I need to remind myself that I have already overcome some pretty serious obstacles in life in the last few years and I should pat myself on the back for it. When I feel overwhelmed, I need to remind myself of what I’ve recently accomplished and I know that will help me muster the energy to keep truckin’.
A new friend and team member, Holli commented today on the fact that she was surprised at how new my business was and said I had the air of an old pro. I told her I started my little business less than two years ago on a dial up internet connection with an old clunker PC. The chat with her inspired this post because I realised how much I have accomplished in a short time and how proud of myself I should be. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am and I’m only planning to continue to do better.
Today, I’m still on dial up (grr. It's the area I moved into two years ago) and my pc is a few years younger but still a clunker by today’s standards. When I look at the fact that I’m working full time and increasing my income each month PLUS providing work for up to eight writers at a time I think I should be pretty proud of myself. Have you got any idea how slow it is to work online when you’re on dialup? Here’s an example. Tonight I did what some would find simple and paid about 12 invoices on PayPal. This seemingly simple task took me fifty minutes!
Despite the obstacles I’ve overcome and the obstacles still in front of me, I’m happy with how my career is going and I’m proud of my accomplishments. I did a great thing…I achieved my dream of being a writer for a living and found a way to do it while staying home with my younger son. I’ve even found a way to help other writers. I have up to eight writers getting a good chunk of their monthly income from my efforts! Maybe it wasn’t such a crazy thing after all to give up my old high paying, high profile job because I wanted more…
I might not be at my old income level (yet) but my happiness level sure is pretty high most of the time and I feel accomplished and proud when I tell people what I do for a living. I'm often at the computer working in the morning before the coffee is finished brewing and that's a pretty huge indicator.
I’m going to take my own advice and look positively at my goals and my accomplishments instead of letting myself feel overwhelmed and dragged down. I’m going to start by setting goals for next year and I will find a way to meet those goals.
How will I do this? I will practice what I preach and I will have some new freedom next year as my little one goes into kindergarten (although I’m thinking of walking the pregnancy plank one more time :s) and my husband will soon be out of school and embarking on a new career so that will open up several hours of more productive work time each day and reduce my need to work every spare moment due to being the sole earner right now.
This time of year can be frustrating for various reasons. If you’re feeling like I was feeling... full of apprehension and panic it’ll hurt your productivity and more. It’s time to stop and take stock. Do a review of this past year and all you’ve accomplished (no matter how small it seems) and make your own goal list. Having your goals and feeling pride in your achievements can change your frame of mind and increase your productivity.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Learning To Manage Others
I'm embarking on a new stage in my writing career where I'm outsourcing some of my own work and working as a team leader for an agency I work for. This requires that I assemble a team, mentor the writers, edit their work and manage the workflow process. A week into the new role, I'm already finding some challenges.
1) I want to hire everyone. I feel so fortunate to be writing for a living and know what it's like to yearn for a chance to prove yourself. I am having a hard time weeding through resumes because I want to just give everyone the chance I got. I can't do that obviously because I have to keep my staff at a level that I can manage
2) There are not yet enough hours in the day to write my own work and manage the hiring and review process. Now assignments are starting to come in and I have to find time to proofread and manage a multi-step process there. I expect this to get easier once I find a rhythm
3) Some people aren't serious about working as a writer. Being a writer and working as a writer can be two different things. Freelance writers work hard. Sometimes the assignments you get to test your skills aren't very fun but how you approach them could determine future work. I've already had a few let downs so far with people backing out, not meeting a deadline or wasting my time. I'm hopeful I can assemble a great team quickly and deal only with people who want the work. Is it wrong to want to clone myself? lol. Seriously, when I started out, I worked my tail off to prove myself. I hope I can find a few people like me (a year and a half ago). We'd both make money and I could teach them a lot about writing for a living.
I hope that things settle down for me a little but it's a very exciting time. I have been staying up way too late, drinking way too much coffee, getting up way too early and my house is a bit of a tip but...I love how transitions and learning and being busy. I also love that I've met some great women and men in this profession so far and look forward to running a team and racking up more knowledge and new friends.
1) I want to hire everyone. I feel so fortunate to be writing for a living and know what it's like to yearn for a chance to prove yourself. I am having a hard time weeding through resumes because I want to just give everyone the chance I got. I can't do that obviously because I have to keep my staff at a level that I can manage
2) There are not yet enough hours in the day to write my own work and manage the hiring and review process. Now assignments are starting to come in and I have to find time to proofread and manage a multi-step process there. I expect this to get easier once I find a rhythm
3) Some people aren't serious about working as a writer. Being a writer and working as a writer can be two different things. Freelance writers work hard. Sometimes the assignments you get to test your skills aren't very fun but how you approach them could determine future work. I've already had a few let downs so far with people backing out, not meeting a deadline or wasting my time. I'm hopeful I can assemble a great team quickly and deal only with people who want the work. Is it wrong to want to clone myself? lol. Seriously, when I started out, I worked my tail off to prove myself. I hope I can find a few people like me (a year and a half ago). We'd both make money and I could teach them a lot about writing for a living.
I hope that things settle down for me a little but it's a very exciting time. I have been staying up way too late, drinking way too much coffee, getting up way too early and my house is a bit of a tip but...I love how transitions and learning and being busy. I also love that I've met some great women and men in this profession so far and look forward to running a team and racking up more knowledge and new friends.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
How Much Does Freelance Writing Pay?
Three times this week, I've found through mybloglog stats that people have arrived on my blog by asking questions about what types of rates freelance writing pays. My answer to that question is that it varies.
Because the question has come up so frequently with my blog arriving on Google as an answer, I thought I would provide a more direct response.
I've been a writer for a little over a year although really, I've been a writer in my heart my whole life. My first paid gig was with a forum where I was paid to write interesting posts. That job paid me $12 an hour through Odesk. That was a really good rate for paid posting and isn't that easy to come by. Many paid to post jobs are a nickel or a dime per post. My next gig was with paid blogging companies and they paid $5 a paragraph with one clickable link. This was quite lucrative for a while until the rules changed and required three posts for that price for one of the big companies that had plenty of blogging work available.
I was lucky enough to be told about a writing agency hiring new writers. My first assignments with that agency averaged about .01 per word, sometimes a bit better. Most of this work required a little research and was mostly keyword dense articles or travel articles. If I could write fast and only had to do minimal research, I could make about $15-$20 an hour. I could earn that anytime day or night and in my pajamas :)
I was hired shortly after I started writing full-time by a doctor who wanted me to ghostwrite for him. He paid me 2.5 cents per word but his work probably paid me less than my .01 jobs because I had to do a lot of research and a lot of revising of my work to get it just right. I enjoyed the work though.
Today I work for various clients and my average rate is probably somewhere around .02 per word. Many writers starting out can expect to make about $0.01 when they start. There are writing companies out there paying .005 per word as well.
Are there jobs paying a lot more? Yes, there are freelance writing gigs at 0.40 per word and even more but they're typically fewer and further between and can't be written very fast. Some of my writing work is so easy that it doesn't even require an edit from me or a backward glance because I've learned on those jobs that they only pay a decent wage if you can edit as you go.
Are there downsides to freelance writing? Definitely. Sometimes you have to write about topics that are boring. Sometimes you compromise creativity and good writing for keyword density. You don't get sick days, you don't get benefits or a pension plan and you have to pay your own taxes. You can also spend time chasing down invoices from people less than eager to pay you for work delivered but is it a good job? Yes! I love my job.
My blog also has plenty of information about where you can go to look for writing jobs as well as information about other ways to earn so feel free to dig through my archives or contact me with questions. I've had plenty of help and guidance along the way and am happy to reciprocate in kind with others looking to start out in writing.
___
Because the question has come up so frequently with my blog arriving on Google as an answer, I thought I would provide a more direct response.
I've been a writer for a little over a year although really, I've been a writer in my heart my whole life. My first paid gig was with a forum where I was paid to write interesting posts. That job paid me $12 an hour through Odesk. That was a really good rate for paid posting and isn't that easy to come by. Many paid to post jobs are a nickel or a dime per post. My next gig was with paid blogging companies and they paid $5 a paragraph with one clickable link. This was quite lucrative for a while until the rules changed and required three posts for that price for one of the big companies that had plenty of blogging work available.
I was lucky enough to be told about a writing agency hiring new writers. My first assignments with that agency averaged about .01 per word, sometimes a bit better. Most of this work required a little research and was mostly keyword dense articles or travel articles. If I could write fast and only had to do minimal research, I could make about $15-$20 an hour. I could earn that anytime day or night and in my pajamas :)
I was hired shortly after I started writing full-time by a doctor who wanted me to ghostwrite for him. He paid me 2.5 cents per word but his work probably paid me less than my .01 jobs because I had to do a lot of research and a lot of revising of my work to get it just right. I enjoyed the work though.
Today I work for various clients and my average rate is probably somewhere around .02 per word. Many writers starting out can expect to make about $0.01 when they start. There are writing companies out there paying .005 per word as well.
Are there jobs paying a lot more? Yes, there are freelance writing gigs at 0.40 per word and even more but they're typically fewer and further between and can't be written very fast. Some of my writing work is so easy that it doesn't even require an edit from me or a backward glance because I've learned on those jobs that they only pay a decent wage if you can edit as you go.
Are there downsides to freelance writing? Definitely. Sometimes you have to write about topics that are boring. Sometimes you compromise creativity and good writing for keyword density. You don't get sick days, you don't get benefits or a pension plan and you have to pay your own taxes. You can also spend time chasing down invoices from people less than eager to pay you for work delivered but is it a good job? Yes! I love my job.
My blog also has plenty of information about where you can go to look for writing jobs as well as information about other ways to earn so feel free to dig through my archives or contact me with questions. I've had plenty of help and guidance along the way and am happy to reciprocate in kind with others looking to start out in writing.
___
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Famines & Feasts In Freelance Writing
This is a quirky business. I go from being unable to breathe with cramps in my wrists to watching my e-mail inbox with bated breath.
It's times like this, writers should put to good use. Instead of loafing on the sofa when you get a breather in freelance writing, take the down time and do:
-self promotion
-networking
-and most of all, write.
Work on your novel or your e-book or journal.
I have a client that I can write endless amounts for right now but they take forever to pay so I find myself not wanting to invest that time just writing articles. Instead it feels more lucrative for me to do some of the things I don't normally get to do like work on my novel.
In a day it can be a freelancer's feast again and I can be so stuffed with work that my own stuff will be pushed aside again so best take advantage and write.
Right?
:D
It's times like this, writers should put to good use. Instead of loafing on the sofa when you get a breather in freelance writing, take the down time and do:
-self promotion
-networking
-and most of all, write.
Work on your novel or your e-book or journal.
I have a client that I can write endless amounts for right now but they take forever to pay so I find myself not wanting to invest that time just writing articles. Instead it feels more lucrative for me to do some of the things I don't normally get to do like work on my novel.
In a day it can be a freelancer's feast again and I can be so stuffed with work that my own stuff will be pushed aside again so best take advantage and write.
Right?
:D
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