Writers Unbound

“It’s called a lance, helloooo?”

-A Knight’s Tale

So here you are, the Mercenary Writer, seeker of fame and fortune and a good cup of coffee, out to conquer the world, abolish dangling participles, and make enough money to pay off your new laptop. How will you do it?

With these amazing, unstoppable, unbeatable, fear-reducing, critic-crushing, voice-of-self-doubt-demolishing

WEAPONS OF WRITING WARFARE!

I think that lance is supposed to be red, but I like that it turns out kind of pink. Cuz I’m a girrrrrrl. (And everybody knows how much all girls love pink.)

Lance, Check; Shield, Check; Horse, Check; Gigantic Battle Axe, Check.

Your weapons are as follows:
1> a mission, vision, goal, purpose
2> a means (your type of writing)
3> a method (how you get your means on paper)
4> an experience, voice, perspective, history
5> an inflowing of ideas, inspiration, and information

I know, I know, not as cool as, say, a mace. Just as effective, though, for the writer’s enemies, which come from within as often as from without. I’ll elaborate a wee bit on the first two of our five essential weapons. (The last three will come tomorrow.)

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It…

Mission, Vision, Goal, Purpose, Big Picture, Dream, Ideal, Change, whichever term you prefer, that’s what I mean. You must be writing for more than this moment, more than this payment, more than another comment on your post. Why? Because the moment fades. The cash gets spent faster than you can say ‘alliteration.’ The comment is forgotten. (But not the post, please, not the post forgotten, too!)

You need a deeper well to draw from on the dry-weather days. You need a better reason to force out another article. If it’s just about the money, you can go get a better-paying job (maybe even one with health insurance!). If it’s just about being well-known, you’ve been deceived about the freelance world. Get out now and go into pop music (if you’re under 22 and halfway good-looking) or get your child to go into pop music (if you’re slightly over 22).

I will stop myself here. You understand what I mean. Why do you write? You know this, but it’s better if it’s plastered all over your desk, your computer, your space, so you can’t forget it. Take a moment to refine your vision into one or two crystal-clear sentences. Repeat them to yourself often.

A Means to Your End

Once you have refined your vision, you can usually see the way - the means - to get there. What kind of writing corresponds with your vision? Do you prefer a lance, a sword, or a crossbow? Fiction or nonfiction? Online or print? Prose or poetry? First person or third? Memoir or biography? Essay or how-to manual? What will best serve you right now, in what you need to accomplish in writing for yourself, for your career, and for the people who read what you’ve written?

Sure, your means will change over time. You probably won’t be limited to only one within the course of a day. But what is your primary means of output? What do you prefer? If you know this preference, you have the information you need to choose on job over another, to determine if an offer is worth the time. Knowledge is power, remember.

Ride on over tomorrow for a look at the last three weapons in the mercenary writer’s arsenal.

Image Credits:
Jousting Knight from Richard S. William’s wsu.edu page.
Knight in Armor from Aurora History Boutique.
Medieval Mace from KnightsEdge.com.
Medieval Axe from StormTheCastle.com.

You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair, the sense that you can never completely put on the page what’s in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.” - Stephen King

Why are there so many websites for freelance writers? Have you noticed? Job hunting sites, resource sites, sites to post your work and get a critique, sites to compare various freelance employers, sites that whine about how difficult it is to write, sites that proclaim the continual joy of writing, and a mass of blogs by writers, about writers, for writers, through writers, with writers, and between writers. (Yes, including this one.)

Many writing sites are there to gain profit through the ad revenue generated. I have no problem with that, I just think it’s interesting that we, the ones who are supposed to be writing, can create enough traffic and ad clicks to support all these websites. Writers are notorious for avoiding the act of writing.I know I waste more time reading about writing, thinking about writing, researching writing, and looking for writing jobs than I spend actually writing.

Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. - Gene Fowler

I have a theory that if I reduced the time I now spend on researching, reading, connecting, marketing, and finding jobs to about 20% and used that other 80% for actual writing, I would be more successful.
(Remember my definition of success: “Success as a writer is when I, through my writing, reach people and make money.”) My theory is unpolished, I admit, and I don’t even really like it. Why? Because I love reading about writing, thinking about writing, researching writing, and looking for writing jobs. Writing itself? Writing and I have kind of a love-hate relationship. Or maybe it is a codependent relationship. I think I will start an organization called Writers Anonymous, a safe place for those of us abused by but unable to leave the Writing Urge.

Love it or hate it, I’m going to test this writing success theory. My normal schedule is, on the ideal day, 4 to 5 hours of work time, 5 days a week. Not every day is ideal. I have two children under two, a hairy mammoth masquerading as a dog, a spontaneous husband, and about, oh, two dozen other regular obligations. It’s like every writer’s life: packed full and wouldn’t have it any other way.

The last few days, as I’ve been thinking over this theory, I’ve noticed a pattern in my work time. I write two posts every morning (Hour 1 of work time): one on this blog and one my other blog. Then it’s time to get kids up, breakfast, laundry, ad infinitum. When I get the kids down for morning nap, I spend time writing on my longer projects (Hours 2 and 3 of work time). However, I usually only push myself for about an hour, and then I piddle around for about an hour. Hours 4 and 5 of work time occur in the afternoon. I tend to realize I haven’t actually produced much, so I push myself through an article of some kind, something shorter that I can complete. I feel so accomplished when I’ve finished one of those that I piddle away the remaining time until it’s time to get the kids up, start dinner, etc.

Out of a potential 5 hours of actual writing, probably 3 go to things other than writing. Related to writing, yes, but not actual writing. So. Let’s reduce that 3 hours (180 minutes) to 20%, which means 36 minutes. The rest should go to writing. If the rest does go to writing… hmm. I might become prolific, after all.

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. - Thomas Mann

Trivia Library has an interesting little page on the 20 Most Prolific Writers in Literary History. In number one position is Mary Faulkner, who produced 904 books in her 70-year life. Assuming she probably didn’t begin writing books until after adolescence, say, around 20 years old, then she produced an average of 18 books a year for 50 years.

The most well-known name on the list is Alexandre Dumas; he produced a mere 277 books in his 68-year life. Assuming the same starting age as Faulkner, that’s still more than 5 books a year. And I’d venture to say that Dumas’s work is of a slightly higher caliber than Mary Faulkner’s.

And then there’s me (and possibly you). “Ten articles by the end of the week?” I whine. “That’s impossible!” I want more jobs, but when I get more jobs, I panic because how am I going to keep up with all the jobs? And in keeping up with all the jobs, how am I going to find time to work on my own novel, my poetry, my non fiction masterpiece?

We blame time, obligations, our “real” jobs, family duties, the broken computer, the library’s lame hours. (”They close at 6:00 pm. Who can do research before 8:00 pm?”) Distractions and obstacles have been part of the writing life long before our days of two-hour commutes and internet information overload. Consider this: Dumas wrote his 277 books without a computer or typewriter. By hand.

The key to becoming prolific is deciding, first, that you need to be prolific in order to be successful. Of course, this leads us to the standard question: what is success? Is success the production of 200 novels of fluff or 1 novel of depth, promise, questions, and true experience? How about the production of 200 novels of depth, promise, questions, and true experience?

You’ll have to define your own success, but here is mine: Success as a writer is when I, through my writing, reach people and make money. Writing is a calling, for me, and its primary purpose is to tell people what I see and hear and think and wonder, to share my experience in hope of helping them have greater vision, deeper understanding, and better lives. It takes a lot of audacity to think that what I can say might accomplish that rigmarole; still, it’s what I want to do and it’s worth trying.

Then there’s the money angle. I need to make money. I must eat. I must pay for this internet access. And making a fair wage for one’s work is a good thing; it’s how economies are built and people step out of poverty. Money is tricky, though, and if I were writing solely to make money, I would be doing different writing than I am now. So it’s a part of what I call success, but it is the secondary purpose. We must acknowledge money as a real, necessary part of writing, but not as the primary motive for it.

To reach people and make money with what I write means that I need to write. The more I write, the greater the chances that something I have written will 1) be read and accomplish something and 2) sell in a legitimate writing market. Prolificacy is not necessary to success, but it certainly helps my chances.

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.)

In my last entry, I whined about scheduling issues. Some of you were kind enough to leave comments- - thank you!

In an attempt to realign my priorities and deal with these types of issues more pro-actively, I did a little research. Sue LaPointe of Working Writer, Happy Writer wrote a great ebook which I recently reviewed, and it had a few great tips. I think that Freelance Switch may have also touched upon this solution.

Time for some realignment.

What do you think of the practice of letting some of your lower-paying clients go as your business booms?

Do you have any other tips for aligning/scheduling your work?

I am having  hard time making some scheduling decisions this month. I have a client who could potentially take up all of March, which is fine, as the pay also meets my March income goals. However, it is most likely that that pay won’t come until April, leaving my March income very skimpy.

That’s difficult. Do I look for additional March projects in order to round out my March income, even though, in reality, this client should take most of my March time to meet the deadline? Or, do I go ahead and devote March to this client, meet the deadline easily, but not meet my March income goals.

It’s very likely going to be choice three: do both, therefore working myself into a jello heap, imposing on my family time and  burning myself out.

Good times.

Today’s Tuesday Tip for novel writers is to read this article and also to subscribe to the New York Times’ book page, as it’s really valuable.

The article talks about purposeful brand placement in your novel. For example, does your teenage male character only wear Adidas? Is your heroine a Marlboros smoker? Where is the line between description and over-selling in the hopes of sponsorship?

One thing that really got me about this practice is that…once again…it’s being aimed at children. HarperCollins Children’s Books is releasing MacKenzie Blue, a book aimed at girls aged eight to twelve. The main character, MacKenzie,  ”loves Converse,” among other product placements. Surprise, surprise, the “author” is a marketing exec.

Ugh. I am so sick of advertisers attempting to covertly brainwash my kids.

Great article…be sure to check it out.

And, moving on to the amusement file, freelance writers will want to take a look at this hilarious posting on craigslist. I guarantee you’ll feel like shouting BRAVO!

Another bravo for writers comes in the form of the proper use of the semi-colon on the number 5 train in NYC. Apparently the marketing writer paid attention in English class. Bravo to him, the usage is one I often have to research/remind myself. (Bad freelance writer!) 

Happy Tuesday- now go back to your writing!

Hi Writers, Once again I’ve received questions on freelance writing bid sites such as elance and guru.com. They’ve obviously got a bad rep in the freelance world, and I am one of the very few who is happy with my experience.

The main reason for my happiness is one of my biggest customers. I edit materials for a company 4-5 times per year at an hourly rate of $30-80 per hour- depending on the subject of said materials. Obviously that’s a big range, but this is an educational curriculum company, so the subject and level (K-12) has a lot to do with the amount of fact hcecking I have to do. Either way, it’s not a rate to sneeze at!

This company found me through iFreelance last Spring, and has used me for about a year now.

Last fall I met a mortgage/real estate broker who offers short ebooks on his website. I edit and format his ebooks for $150 per book. They usually take me anywhere from 1-4 hours. Again, not bad. This customer found me on elance and has used my services twice.

You do have to invest money in a bid site. That alone can throw people off. I don’t particularly like paying for jobs. I struggle with it every day. However, when I did my 2007 taxes, I used my records to compare the cost of elance to the customers I obtained from elance. The cost was about 6%  of my total elance income.  

Bid sites can work. However, you need to be smart about how you use them. Here are some ways to make bid sites work for you.

• Begin at the beginning. Veteran writers are not going to get the rate they  deserve on bid sites without any feedback on the bid site. That’s really silly, but that’s the way it works. Join a site when you are just starting out, that way you don’t have to compromise your rates.
• DON’T COMPROMISE YOUR RATES. Come up with your bottom hourly rate and stick to it. Most of the complaints about bid sites focus on the low paying buyers. Who cares? Ignore them. 
• Focus on the companies. I have found that the most reliable and best paying buyers are mid-sized American or UK-based companies.

I think my success with elance is due to these 3 guidelines. I have noticed that little by little, as my company grew, I needed elance less and less. I generally use elance for some quick turnaround projects that I need to meet my monthly income goals.

Good luck. And, if it’s not working for you— DON’T waste your writing time on it.

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! : }  )

Ok, so I actually cleaned out the mailbag when I did FAQ Friday last week. However, I did have a fellow writer ask me an interesting question regarding my personal blog post showing a picture of my office. I thought those who write at home may find the answer somewhat interesting.

Allena, I saw the gorgeous picture of your office at this link. I am working on starting up my freelance writing business, and wondered how much such a set-up set you back? I mean, I know it’s completely deductible, but do you feel that it is worth it for a writer to set up a home office?

Well, I’ll start at the end. I do think it’s “worth it” as far as the deduction goes. My writing business really didn’t make all that much profit last year, my first official “full time” year, but I still made enough of a profit to have to pay taxes. Which I didn’t like much, I may add. Had I been able to write off this office, it would have helped me out alot.

You read that right- I don’t get to write off my office. It’s not used exclusively for my business. My husband’s office is also in here, along with a treadmill and a storage closet. I wish I could write it off. I want to write it off. I just can’t. I’ve looked into some rearranging of the rooms in my house, but have not yet come up with a solution for this.

Meanwhile, I just enjoy my office as is, treadmill, tv and all.

Thanks for the mail! Keep sending Q’s here or to gwpublications@gmail.com.