Writers Unbound

You know how you’re not supposed to bail out someone with an addiction, because it doesn’t allow him to deal with the consequences of his behavior? And how you’re not supposed to bring beer around an alcoholic, or smoke weed around a drug addict (okay, you’re just not supposed to smoke weed, period), or open up a box of Swiss Cake Rolls around a sugar addict?

I received this email yesterday after my Moleskine addiction confession:

Hi Annie,
I just wanted to let you know about a way that you can personalize your moleskine notebooks. If you visit the site above you can view all the art that we have available to be laser etched onto your moleskine or you can choose to upload your own artwork.
This could be a great way to decorate an otherwise ‘plain’ journal.
Samantha Tse
ETCHSTAR

This is the website for Samantha’s company. You can get a Moleskine with your initial on it, a favorite quotation, an artsy image, or a famous person’s face: Barak, Hillary, Bart Simpson.

Great. I’m on the road to recovery now.

I’ve eyed them, but held myself back. Why pay $15 for a notebook when I can pay $5 for a plainer one without an inside pocket? It’s all paper.
Last week I did it. Just the little three-pack of pocket plain journals, no harm in that.
I’m hooked. I peeled off the plastic, thumbed the pages, and read ‘The history of a legendary notebook’ like it was the finest piece of writing I’d encountered in a year. Who can resist a “self-effacing keeper of an extraordinary tradition”? They are trusty, pocket-sized, European. Famous people have used them. (I’m more impressed by Van Gogh than Chatwin, but we all have different heroes.)

I don’t know how I will go to Borders without buying another every time. I must write more and sell more articles (I feel like I’m talking about prostitution or child labor whenever I say that phrase) so I can support this habit. Writing more will require more Moleskine notebooks. I will be trapped in a supply-and-demand cycle of my own making.

At least I know how to say Moleskine now.

First day of the work week: we’re all tired from the weekend (ironic, since weekends are supposed to be when we get more rest), and we tend to treat Mondays like a hangover: just live through it.
Monday is the make-it-or-break-it day of the week. Being productive on Monday means less stress and more productivity through the rest of the week. Pushing ourselves a little harder on Monday means we can coast a little at the end of the week.

1. Take 20 minutes with your planner and/or wall calendar to write in your appointments, meetings, social events and deadlines. Now, with the time that remains, write in (with ink!) WRITING at least once a day for an hour.
2. Write out a Master List of your to do items for the week. Put on your writing projects, writing jobs, personal obligations, family events, things to do around the house, and other errands and projects. You can use the Master List to compose your daily to-do list for each day of the week, and at the end of the week you will know what you didn’t get to. That’s much better than the hazy, guilty feeling of knowing you’ve missed something important that can ruin a perfectly good weekend.
3. Take some time during your Monday to make sure you have what you need and where you need it: books for review or research, paper and ink for your printer, pens, paper, and if you can, go ahead and get the groceries and household items so you don’t have to waste time thinking about while you’re in the middle of writing a great scene later this week.
4. Towards the end of your Monday, set aside thirty minutes to an hour, set a timer, and attack the pile of busy work. Open your mail and deal with it. Answers important emails. File your papers, pay your bills, sort your photos, clean out your in box. Then straighten your desk. If you work full-time, you’ll need to do this at work and at home.
5. Before you go to bed on Monday night, straighten up your house. Pull out your clothes for the next day. Get your lunch in the refrigerator, ready to go. Put your purse or briefcase by the door. Then grab your Master List and your planner and decide what you’re going to do on Tuesday.

More:
Read Donald Latumahina’s great article on The Art of Nonfinishing; it’s an important concept for busy writers (and other busy people, too…).
And this article by Allen Galbraith at Life Is a Journal can help you Let People Have a Bad Day (they will be the ones not making Monday count.)

Here’s an honest Thursday Thirteen.

If you’re anything like me, …..?…….., you care about books. I mean, seriously care. I notice what people are checking out at the library, what people are reading on planes, and what books bloggers write about. I adore books.

So, it’s hard for me to do this Thursday 13 honestly, because I truly don’t know what’s lying around right now. Guess we’ll see.

13 Books In My Office:

1) Premium Green Markets Ebook. Ahh, that’s a mystery to ya, huh? Guess you’ll have to visit Women on Writing to see what the heck I’m talking about.

2) The 2006 Writers Market. Yes, 2006. Yikes.

3) 100 Banned Books by Karolides. LOVE it.

4) 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez. The English version. The Spanish one is in my living room.

5) They Take Our Jobs and 20 Other Myths About Immigration. 

6) Aura by Fuentes. Another excellent selection

7) Raising Nuestros Ninos by Rodriguez.

The 5 Love Languages by Chapman. A little too religious for my taste, but not bad.

9) The Essential 55 Workbook. Haven’t read it yet.

10)Writer Mama by Katz. Cannot WAIT to get to this one, looks promising.

11) Make Money Reading Books by Fife. Bought this the day I graduated with my English degree. Hasn’t failed me yet.

12) Great Jobs for English Majors. See above.

13) Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer by Allen. Read in one delightful weekend a year ago. Perfection.

That’s it for today’s Thursday 13. Someone pulled all the books off the topshelf of my library, and now I have to go put them back. Grrr.

I just finished up two pieces of one-time local work. Other than my ongoing magazine editorial client, these were some of my first forays into local work. I had been, up to now, avoiding local work because of some perceptions on my part.

Many freelancers want to delve into the local market, so I’ve decided to list the pros and cons of getting into this particular market for my freelance colleagues out there.

PROS:

• Immediate pay! Yay! Both of my local clients paid me when they picked up their project. They probably felt like they were exchanging a product for pay, instead of a service for pay. Since I was giving them something tangible, they felt that they had to do the same.
• Ability to make connections and to ask for referrals. The face to face interaction give you lots of opportunity to take that next step.
• Getting a little interaction outside the house! I don’t know about you, but I get a little tired of talking to my dog all day.
• The ability to get immediate answers to your questions. Just pick up the phone! 
• The higher likelihood of tax write-offs occurring. For example, if you meet outside of your home or office, you’ll be able to write off mileage and the coffee you purchased at Starbucks. 
• Local recognition. Depending on your clients, you may have the opportunity for some local recognition.

CONS:

• Clients come to your office…which means you have to clean it beforehand…Yeah, dust balls aren’t professional.
• Small talk cuts into your bottom line. There is no option to “just hit send.”
• If you live in a state with a craptastic economy, you may need to adjust your standard rates.
• Phone calls feel more pressing than emails, so I feel the need to respond quickly.

Overall, I would definitely recommend taking on local work. I’m glad I did both of these projects, and am looking forward to some more!

In order to make more money and work less hours, I’ll need to be more efficient. This past week has been an experiment as such for me, and so far so good! So, I’m going to share with you, dear reader!

• Check your email once or twice a day- no more. I’m addicted to my email, and I really like having a clean and clear email box. But, that means that I will follow up on things if I think I can do so quickly. However, those quick follow up almost always get drawn out. Turning off my email notification has solved that.
• Speaking of notifications, I’m addicted to my Crackberry. I”m kind of a geek about it. At anytime of the day, it’ll make a little noise telling me I’ve got a call, an email or a text message. I love it. I love the connection, I love being “in the know.” Guess what else I like? Quiet. It’s been working out!
• I have more issues. I can’t transition well. When I finish one project, I take too much time to move on. I get up and move around, check email, etc. One solution to this is to restrict “transition time.” Instead of getting up and walking about after one project or piece of a project, I require myself to complete two or more pieces, thus avoiding transition time wasters.
• Another way to ease the transition between projects is to compile a to-do list at the beginning of the work day. This may seem obvious, but it tends to get lost in the shuffle of early morning email and phone calls.

Following are some questions I’ve ran into lately from various peers, online and etc.

• What the heck does FNASR mean? This stands for First North American Serial Rights. First of course indicates that this is the first time your piece has been published in North America. While well known as the U.S. and Canada, you should also be aware that Mexico is geographically and officially part of North America, meaning a publisher will not have to ask for International Rights for printing in Mexico. Of course, this will most likely only be an issue in academic works, or bilingual/Latino-targeted publications. Serial rights indicates that the rights apply to a serial (repeating) publication- such as a magazine. For information on managing and making decisions about rights for your work, I highly recommend joining the Freelance Writer’s Union.
• Should I query by phone? Very rarely is this an acceptable method of pitching an article or article idea to an editor. Instead, you should carefully investigate the preferences of an editor through their writer’s page or through the Writer’s Market.
• I haven’t got paid even though I submitted my article at the beginning of December! I saw that my article came out yesterday. Am I dealing with a scam? Actually, probably not. If you have a contract for your work, check the wording. Often magazines will pay after publication. You may be getting your check any day now.
• I notice you’re a full time freelancer. Do you like it? Is it a good fit for moms? Can one really get the bills paid? I do like my job and running my own business. The bills are getting paid, but I have to bust my butt just about every single day to do so. As far as being a good fit for moms, I would not recommend trying to make full time money if you have children who are not yet in school- at least not without some kind of childcare. I have a four year old who is in preschool 3x a week. I do try to get work done the other 2 days, but it’s just so very stressful.

Thanks for all the questions, and sorry about the comments issue. The boss man here at 451 Press is working on it as we speak. Meanwhile, keep emailing using the link to your right!

I go back and forth every day about the pros and cons of running my own business versus working for someone else’s bottom line.

Now, I do realize that this Work At Home freedom is very much sought after by many people, and I’d be mistaken to not appreciate it. But, at the same time, there are some things I miss about past jobs.

I read about one freelancer who went to work for only one company, which seems like a near-perfect balance. But, I do find myself avoiding jobs that are “full time” (even if they are telecommutes) because I think I like the “newness” of my varied projects. I tend to have a short attention span, and this feeds right into that.

So, I’m doing a pros and cons to help me get a grip on my recent feelings of burnout.

PROS:

• Freedom. All sorts of freedom
• Always beginning a new job, a new subject 
• Pursuing my writing dreams
• Working for my own bottom line, not someone else’s
• Setting my own hours
• Setting my own rates (to a point, not including magazines)
• Being able to work when inspiration hits
• Being more available to my family

CONS:

• Added responsibility
• Always being “on”
• No set vacation days
• No set end time
• Beating the pavement for jobs
• Getting stiffed!

I know the vast majority of writers out there are hobbyists. Do you all think I’m crazy and looking a gift horse in the mouth? And for those that work as writers full time or freelance full time— have you ever wavered? 

This morning I watched a CNN report on barrel pricing hitting $100 a piece and thought how nice it was that I don’t have to drive to my cube job anymore! When I do have to drive somewhere, for example to client meetings, interviews, etc, I get to keep tabs of my mileage and deduct it from taxes. In the same vein, last night I spent over an hour of my Verizon minutes on a conference call….but I get to deduct it! Yet another bonus of freelancing!

This got me thinking about writer’s rates, and I wanted to pass on this useful resource that I found over at FreelanceSwitch. This rate calculator allows you to plug in your budget, the number of hours you work, the number of hours you can actually bill for, and comes back with your minimum hourly charge and your ideal hourly charge. Cha-ching! I found out that what I was billing was about right.

Here are some ways I’ve worked to set my rates. These methods have worked for me, but perhaps you have some additional suggestions for newbie freelancers out there?

• Since I used to work full time as an Editor, and also as a Marketing Writer, I knew I wanted to make at least what I made in the cube zone.

• However, one also needs to consider the fact that freelancers pay for their own health insurance, equipment and retirement (among other things). So you’d increase your hourly rate. 

• But, working from home also means that I save money. For one, my gas and auto use are reduced, as I mentioned above. If you’re a working parent, you may find childcare costs reduced, too. Office wardrobe is another consideration.

• Another tactic I used when considering my rates was the income goals I set. For example, let’s say I want to make $2000 a month. I am offered a project that I know will take a week. Since this project will take 1/4 of my available work time, in theory I should be able to charge 1/4 of my goal- or $500 for a one week project.

As you can see, setting your rate goals isn’t an exact science. I did a lot of this kind of figuring and flip flopping before I found my happy medium. You may have to put 6 months into freelancing before you find yours!

PS: I have heard some of the 451 blogs are having comment issues. If your comment gets eaten, I very much apologize!

freelance rates, rate calculators

Thank you kindly to those who followed our markets series that wrapped up yesterday. 

Moving on, I am currently reviewing “The Anti 9-5″ for my freelance writing site at About.com. It’s about leaving behind the cubicle farm for the “freedom” of freelancing.” Haha. While I adore the book, I do have a shot of reality I’d like to share!

For all those considering freelancing as a career, hoping for some of that “freedom,” I’ve decided to share with you a rundown of a day in the life of a full time freelancer:

• 7:30 Up and out the door. Since we’re down to one car for the next couple days, I have become the official chauffeur. Drop off child #1, drop off husband, drop off child #2.
• 9:00 Stop at Office Max and pick up ink for the printer that decided to suddenly die with no warning at 11:30 last night.
• 9:30 Back home. Let dog out, feed cats, print grad school applications and etc to get into the mail by 10a. Yeah, um, the deadline is Friday.
• 10 Time to “start work,” although I’m not sure what that means I’ve been doing since 7:30.
• 10 to 12 Work on editorial management of regional magazine. I have a meeting today at 4:30 with the magazine’s publisher. I showed up at the last meeting with not enough done, and the guy’s flying to Guatemala for a month on Thursday! Needless to say, he’s a bit antsy about the issue’s MLK print date.

So, this two hours of work consists of: managing his magazine, managing my email and other projects who are poking me for attention, researching for a subject interview for this afternoon, and researching for a client call also coming up this afternoon. In addition, I haven’t done any subject interview for over a year, so I have to cough up my recording equipment and digital camera.

• 12:30 Shower and prep for the interview
• 1:40 Leave
• 2:00 Realize I forgot my laptop, which I need for my 4:30 meeting with my publisher. Crap.
• 2:10 Arrive at interview. Early. Hoping he will be ready. Early.
• 2:40 Subject arrives…late.
• 3:10 I should leave the interview right now. We arranged a half hour, which should be enough for a half a page with the research already done and a stock bio covering the first paragraph.
• 3:15 Ok, I really should leave now.
• 3:30 Finally leave. Call my daughter’s school and let them know I am on my way to pick her up.
• 3:45 Pick kid up, 15 minutes late.
• 3:50 Coach kid not to make a peep during 4 pm phone interview.
• 4:00 Potential client calls. Did I mention I’m still in the car?
• 4:10 Arrive home, gather laptop, get back in car to head to next appointment. Yup, still on the phone interview with client.
• 4:30 Pick up hubby. Still on the phone interview. Yes, we still only have one car. But at least now he can drive while I talk.
• 4:34 Phone interview over.
• 4:35 Dropped off at meeting with publisher at local internet cafe.
• 5:15 Publisher has family emergency. Is called away. I eat dinner alone while waiting for my family to pick me up. They are finishing up their dinner down the street.
•  5:30-8 Family time.
• 8: Children to bed, back to work.
• 9: Conference call with About.com’s fellow channel guides.
• 10-11: Back to work (typing this post, among other things.)

A time breakdown:

1. 4 hours family time
2.  7.5 hours work time
3. 3 hours ”other”- shower, travel time, pets

;-} So that’s my life…not that I’m complaining! Hope I’ve infused some reality into your view. Best of luck!