Writers Unbound

Just a quick review of the previous work principles we’ve covered in the last two weeks:

1. Imitate high quality
2. Learn from successful people
3. Ignore cheaters, scammers, and get-rich-quick promises
4. Never think you know it all
5. Help other writers
6. Don’t pick fights

Today we will add the next three principles to the list, but first a little more review: What is a principle? To my favorite source for word definitions, Webster’s 1828 dictionary, and we find the following among the list of meanings:

• Ground; foundation; that which supports an assertion, an action, or a series of actions or of reasoning.
• A general truth; a law comprehending many subordinate truths; as the principles of morality, of law, of government, &c.
• A principle of human nature, is a law of action in human beings; a constitutional propensity common to the human species.

I am presenting these work principles as the grounds for the actions you take as a writer, as general truths applied to a specific area (freelance writing), as tenets derived from principles of human nature. For example, our first principle for today is

7: Be diligent in your work to succeed

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There’s nothing new or unknown to successful people in this idea. You know that if you want to get beyond the scraping and pinching that so many of us freelance writers are stuck in, you have to work regularly, diligently, sometimes (it seems) ceaselessly. It’s easy to forget though, easy to put aside, easy to procrastinate, easy to look for another perfect job that won’t require you to be so darn diligent all the time.

That’s why this principle is out there: it’s true, and if you print out the list and tape it by your computer, or copy and paste it over to your desktop, you can remind yourself that you have to be diligent to succeed. Yes, you know it’s true: but sometimes you need a concrete reminder of the truth, something to stand on, a visible foundation for the action you already know you need to take.

8: Work ahead, even when there is no immediate “need”

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It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then I get through the first half of the day and realize that I’ve done everything on my schedule. My to-do list is just a pretty row of check marks, my drafts document is caught up with my editorial calendar, and I still have a beautiful afternoon in front of me. What’s my first instinct? What would yours be?

I want to take off, take a nap, take a drive, play Tetris, call friends, take a walk, do anything but move ahead on the work waiting for me. It’s a general truth that when we get comfortable, we start getting lazy, a little apathetic. It’s another general truth, though, that opportunity comes unexpectedly; if you’re not ready, it keeps on walking.

When you get caught up, don’t make that illogical leap into feeling that you’re automatically ahead. You’re not, yet. You’re just at the breaking-even point, and if you want to be more successful than you are right now, you have to push past that mark. So when you finish a project early, don’t go nap. Keep working on and be ahead of schedule on your next project. You’ll see three benefits from this action: first, if you run into a need for more research than you thought or trouble with some portion of an article, you have a little extra time to deal with it; second, if you complete the project and send it to the client done well and finished early, your reputation with that client is forever in the highest ranking; and third, when you finish work early and have a clear afternoon or day, you are free to find rush jobs that otherwise would not fit into your schedule.

9: Do good work, always, for every client

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When you were growing up, did you have one parent who was kind of a stickler for details and another who just wanted the job done? I did. I knew their preferences, and you can be sure I never did more than I had to in order to make either one happy. If I were cleaning up the kitchen for Mom, I washed those dishes until every part gleamed: otherwise, I would be going back and doing it again. If I were helping Dad in the yard, I did what had to be done to get the job finished: he just wanted it done, not perfect.

It’s easy to fall into the same set of varying standards with clients. We humans tend to discern pretty quickly what the minimum requirements for “survival” are, and then we set our mark there and never push ourselves further. And I’m not suggesting that you provide a 1000-word article with 3 referenced sources when all your client wants is a 500-word, opinion-based article from your perspective. Certainly, you can stay within the guidelines of each project. But certainly within those guidelines you can produce the best 500-word opinion-based article that it’s possible for you to write.

Even if you know a client will accept something less than high quality, don’t produce it. Don’t lower your standards. Don’t accept mediocrity from yourself. Mediocrity spreads like cancer, and soon you’ll be trying to get away with less than your best for clients who won’t take it. You put your writing reputation in jeopardy.

If you can’t force yourself to maintain high quality standards for “low-quality” clients, then don’t take those jobs.

Make it a good day.

This is the first in a series on (you guessed it) Work Principles for Writers. I’ll be posting these every Wednesday, and once I have enough accumulated I will compile them into a report which you’ll be able to download (free).

Feedback is great! Please let me know what you think. Is this information helpful? Too general? Redundant? Have you heard it all before? Do you have a different opinion? What are your experiences in these areas? I would love to add additional information when I begin the compiling process, so please offer any critique, comment, or question you have.

1. Imitate high quality.

We’ve talked about originality before, and how it is almost one of those unattainable qualities that resists pursuit. The more you try to be original, the less original you become. You can’t avoid universal themes, shared experiences, and common origins. A good writer will learn that originality is not the key; good stories, accurate information, and clear expression are. Find writers who produce that kind of writing and try to write the way they do. Imitate, but don’t imitate anyone. Imitate writers that tweak you, the ones who write paragraphs you remember for weeks, the ones who turn mundane stories into emotional experiences. Imitate quality, and soon you will find that the feel, the sound, the flow of that kind of writing. It will begin to be something you do with your own perspective, in your own writing. You might even find yourself being original without even trying.

2. Learn from successful people.

Not just successful writers, successful people. Read biographies, watch documentaries; better yet, define the successful people in your life and talk to them. Ask questions, listen, find out how they make decisions and set priorities and determine which risks to take and which to pass by. You will find that success has common themes regardless of the area. A successful mom of small children can tell you a lot about time management, juggling projects, and dealing with stress. A successful restaurant owner can tell you about dealing with people, expanding business, and trying new products. And, yes, successful writers can tell you a lot too. So find successful people in your world and learn all you can from them.

3. Ignore cheaters, scammers, and get-rich-quick promises.

Or, in other words, do not imitate or learn from low quality, unsuccessful people (writers or otherwise). Some people do get rich quickly in a completely legitimate way; more often, though, attaining “wealth” requires time, diligence, and a lot of hard work. I don’t say that to discourage you (I’m out here too; we’re all trying) but to encourage you to ignore plans and people that will simply waste your time.
Choose carefully, then, the websites you frequent, the books you read, the material you believe, and the conferences you attend. Test the legitimacy of the sources. Talk to other (unassociated) people who have worked with the company or individual and find out what they think. Trust your gut. If it is just a little too shiny, too sparkly, and too fluffy, let it go. Find the real substance instead.

What do you think?

Make it a good day.

Image Credit: Books by Bacteriano, Success by alter1fo, Money by Unhindered by Talent.

There are, literally, hundreds of blog communities out there screaming for your writing ability. Be a little discriminating about which ones you choose, however, and you can actually earn money (faster). Here’s my list of good potential sites. My criteria is pretty simple: 1) legitimate, non-spammy content and 2) cash up front or very high ad revenue sharing percentage. Or both. I’m not picky.

• Mahalo. I haven’t written for Mahalo, but they are in my top five of the “next blogging community sites to try out” list. (Okay, I don’t actually have a written down list with that long of a title… but mentally, well, yes, I must admit that I do…). The Mahalo deal is a little different; it’s not technically a blog you’re writing, it’s a Search Engine Results page (SeRP in Mahalo-speak). Basically, you apply to be a Greenhouse Guide, write an SeRP from one of the available titles, submit it for consideration, and get paid if it is approved. The pay rates vary pretty wildly: from a quick $10 or $12 up to $250 for (much) more involved pages. It also looks like, depending on which category you want to write for, you might have to contact particular editors for approval even after you’re approved as a Guide. I’m not sure. Once you’re logged in as a Guide, it may all be wide open. Anyway, it’s worth applying for and you could definitely pull together some quick cash because it’s a lot more researching and organizing information than spinning beautiful prose from the top of your head. Good gig for when your brain is mushy.
• Content Quake. I’m waiting to hear back on an application I submitted a few days ago. There are quite a few blogs in need of a writer, covering lots of different topics: American Idol, Home and Garden, Technology, Digital Cameras, Entertainment, Reality Cooking, Single Parenting… and many more. Some of the blogs are already up and had a previous writer and need someone new. Some are new blogs for which you would be the original writer. Content Quake pays per post (though they don’t say how much), uses Wordpress (always a good sign), and the application is quick and simple. The overall feel of the community is clean, fresh, and professional. I hope they like me.
• Bright Hub. This is a great, professional blog community with a goal to “share knowledge about how the simplest scientific idea evolves into tomorrow’s technology.” That whole “scientific” and “technology” aspect is not going to pull me in, as I have not enough expertise in either area to write consistently about it. I guess I could go back to school and try for a degree in physics or something, but that kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? However, for those of you who do know something about science, or technology, or science and technology, or some other, unnamed combination of the two, this is a great place for you. They have clear Writer’s Guidelines, pay $10 per post of 300 to 750 words, plus future revenue sharing (rate not specified, nor when “future” begins), and the application won’t take very long.
• Wise Bread. I’m an avid Wise Bread reader, and their writers consistently produce well-researched, well-written, in-depth articles. We’re not talkinga bout chintzy 500-word posts here. These people produce good content on a regular basis. One day I will be like them… Ahem. Okay. The deal is no cash up front or pay per post, but you getr 100% of the ad revenue from the pages that host your articles. Wise Bread, or Killer Aces Media, the parent company, makes their money from the ad revenue on the shared, community pages (topic lists, introductory pages, etc.). Pretty good deal. You can read through their guidelines for application here and decide if it’s a fit for you. Let me know if you get in…
• Parenting Squad. If you love Wise Bread and you have kids, you will love Parenting Squad. It’s part of the Killer Aces Media network, too, so you’re going to find the same high-quality articles, just across a totally different set of topics.You’re also looking at the same payment set-up as Wise Bread. See their guidelines for application here. Not surprisingly, very similar to the ones that Wise Bread has. Imagine that!
• Demand Studios. Not technically a blog, either, Demand Studios is the parent company of eHow.com. Now you can go to eHow.com and join as a writer and (potentially) make money from traffic revenue. Or you can go to the Demand Studios site, apply from the back-end, and earn $15 per how-to article. Sure, it’s not a huge amount and sure, you could potentially make more from the ad revenue generated over time. But sometimes a little cash now is a whole lot better than a shadowy big pile of cash in the distant future. There are lots of titles to choose from, once you’re approved as a writer, though some are kind of, um, obscure. Still, $15 is $15. If you know something about anything, you can write some of these.

That’s it for today. More to come, as I continue to check into all the blogging job options out there. Remember, you don’t have to write anything for $2 per post. Great content can get great pay, you just have to dig a little more.

Make it a good day.

Work Opportunities

DEMAND STUDIOS
I write for Demand Studios, and overall it’s a good gig. They have several websites but you start out writing for eHow.com. You can write for eHow.com simply by being a registered member there, and you have the potential to earn money off page views. However, if you apply at Demand Studios, you get paid cash for every how-to article you produce. If you pick how-to articles
within your knowledge base, they can be simple and quick to write. You can include graphics or not. You can include resources at the bottom, which I’ve used to send people back to related articles at my website.You want to be careful not to overdo the self-marketing there, but if you have high-quality, related content, it’s a good opportunity.

The drawbacks? It takes a week or two to process an article from “Under Review” to “Published,” which keeps your queu full (you have a limit of 10 articles in progress at a time) so you can’t claim other articles to write until yours are far enough along in the processing line. There are lots of categories, but not always lots of articles to choose from. When there is a fresh infusion of available titles, they go pretty fast, and I can’t find a pattern or schedule for when those new articles are going to appear. So I just check out the available articles every other morning or so.

It isn’t a perfect system, and it’s a little pesky sometimes, but overall it’s an easy way to get articles on a major site with your name on them and get a quick cash infusion. Go apply!

More Work Opportunities

• Part-Time English-Language Editors - freelance, telecommute, part-time; you edit essays. $16 per 250 words. (Source: Atlanta Craigslist)
• I don’t like to post non-paying jobs, unless the byline is worthwhile, but this one sounds fun: a Music Writer for an online magazine, no pay, but “with great perks like free albums/music, free shows, and the chance to interview popular musicians,” or so they say. Freelance, telecommute, part-time; no pay. (Source: Los Angeles Craigslist)

Workshops - free online courses.

These courses are from the Open University, a UK based organization offering “high quality university education to all.”
Writing offerings include Approaching Prose Fiction, Approaching Poetry, Approaching Plays, Writing What You Know, What Is Poetry?, Start Writing Fiction, and Forms and Uses of Language.
Why take online courses? Oooh, I don’t know, maybe to keep yourself sharp, to learn new things, to have an imposed deadline, to push yourself to new challenges, to LEARN (duh), to stretch yourself, to become an expert in new areas, to generate writing ideas, to set yourself on a schedule, to produce material, to understand your craft, to grow.

Go get a job. Make it a good day.

Good morning readers and writers. It’s Writers Work Wednesday. Let’s get some dollars going.

• Avalon sure is friendly to potential authors. Their ”want list” is almost always updated. They’re currently putting the call out for a guide on travel to Honduras.
• Are you new to blogging? You may want to see if you can get on board with the Families.com blog network.
• Veteran writers based in San Francisco may want to check out this posting.
• Tech and custom car blogger needed. Be sure to bookmark this board, it’s great because it tells you how long ago the job was posted.
• Here’s a magazine I would read: Mexico Xpatz is seeking freelance writers. I’m burned out on writing about Mexico right now, so I won’t compete with you! (I’ll just subscribe and read you later!)
• Habitat Magazine is looking for journalists.
• Novelists: Twelfth Planet Press has put out a call for novellas numbering between 20,000 and 40,00 words.

 Another thing I want to bring up this Writer’s Work Wednesday is this wonderful book I’m reading that WILL get you motivated to query magazines and GET ASSIGNMENTS. I’m not even done with it, yet I CANNOT wait to recommend it to you: Writer Mama by Christina Katz.

Christina takes you through the process of becoming a writer for magazines, from beginning to end (and beyond). One book has never generated so many ideas for me before. I am reviewing it for About.com Freelance Writing, and carefully crafting my review. But don’t wait, get it today! 

Hello, is it Wednesday? See, I wouldn’t know, because I am actually dripping these posts ahead of time in an effort to be a more efficient freelance writer.

Either way, it’s time for some writing work for you!

• Copywriter needed at a company with a really cool name. This is a virtual position.
• If you’re in Chicago, you may want to check out this op from Mintel.
• Poetry Coach needed. Must have a college degree.
• WRG is hiring hiring again. This is a virtual position.
• A POD Publisher needs production help.
• If you have a creative mind, you can make some extra money with Sandbox International.
• Got a niche you that you know a little something about? About.com is looking for Guides for many of its niche sites. Minimum pay is $725 a month.
• McFrank needs an advertising copywriter.
• A Tech Writer is needed by a software company. This one requires a degree.
• Eh. I don’t like this one so much, but I will put it out there for you to check thoroughly.
• Here’s a short term opportunity for writers in North Caroline. I wouldn’t mind having Wake Forest on my resume! I’ve been called an education snob though. Hmm, on second look, I’m not positive this is for the University though.
• Several positions are listed this week at Editors Only classifieds. Don’t let the name throw you off- I saw several postings seeking freelance writers.

As always, I wish you the best of luck! (And I do so sincerely, as there are literally thousands of writing positions out there, and I am willing to share! : }  )