Late to the dance here today - I met with a girlfriend and talked a little shop and a whole lot of Project Runway this morning. I needed it. I've had a stressed week trying to get things wrapped up before I run off this weekend and next week. And let's not forget the time sink NaNo (the National Novel Writing Month contest for those of you new to it) has become. But that, for me, is a delicious requirement and one that's taught me plenty.
Before I took NaNo seriously, I plodded along, editing in my head as I went. It's an occupational hazard. I was once on staff and had to churn out front-page features, usually last minute thanks to sources who arrived late on the scene. That meant I had to get it out fast and good. It's not a terrible dilemma, believe me. But it doesn't translate well to book manuscripts, where forward motion can be thwarted by too much editing.
But somewhere around the 24K-word mark this year, it all clicked. Words started coming out and underlying stories evolved almost without my knowledge. The practice of sitting down intent on going ahead rather than back loosed the bond the editing monster had on me. Now I'm up to 36K words and there are plenty of notes in the margin. Reaching 50K is no longer in question. The question is whether it will happen November 30th or December 1st. Either way is fine with me.
NaNo has also taught me to add more depth. I'm near the end of the story, but I'm seeing areas that need to be expanded in order to make a richer, more lively experience for the reader. Questions I might not answer before in the quest to get to the end I'm now finding myself seeking answers for. What's this guy's motivation? Why is she acting this way? How do these people live and breathe and what made them that way? I don't know how or why a 30-day deadline made me fill in the blanks (could it be the word-count goal?), but there I am doing just that.
It's also taught me to let the story tell itself. Editing can come later. For now, these people need to speak through me.
So what has NaNo taught you?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Milestones and High Mileage
Yippee! This blog now has 100 followers! Yay! Thank you to everyone who visits, links, or comments. I appreciate every one of you, and I hope you take the time to comment. I'd love to get to know you.
If someone were to ask me what my sign was this week, it would be Out of Order. NaNo has sucked me dry of any potential free time I might have when I'm not pushing back deadlines. I'm up to a respectable 34K words, but I'm about to spend a holiday week without time to write. Egad. And I'm tired. Too many writing miles traveled this week.
A client got in touch last night and what he had to say confirmed that I am indeed following the right line of thinking. He said his company had had some unpleasant interactions with writers in the last month and he said it prompted his company to come up with extra funding for a "professional" writer. I mentioned that people were coming back after leaving due to price, and he said he could understand why. It would seem that the client world is tiring quickly of substandard, cheap writing. Amen.
I'll spend today and tomorrow finishing up work before my trip. I'm outta here next week, so don't look for me. I wanted to get some guest posts lined up, but work got in the way. How would it be if I left some writing prompts or discussion questions?
How are you spending the holiday week? How's your NaNo writing going?
If someone were to ask me what my sign was this week, it would be Out of Order. NaNo has sucked me dry of any potential free time I might have when I'm not pushing back deadlines. I'm up to a respectable 34K words, but I'm about to spend a holiday week without time to write. Egad. And I'm tired. Too many writing miles traveled this week.
A client got in touch last night and what he had to say confirmed that I am indeed following the right line of thinking. He said his company had had some unpleasant interactions with writers in the last month and he said it prompted his company to come up with extra funding for a "professional" writer. I mentioned that people were coming back after leaving due to price, and he said he could understand why. It would seem that the client world is tiring quickly of substandard, cheap writing. Amen.
I'll spend today and tomorrow finishing up work before my trip. I'm outta here next week, so don't look for me. I wanted to get some guest posts lined up, but work got in the way. How would it be if I left some writing prompts or discussion questions?
How are you spending the holiday week? How's your NaNo writing going?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Worthy Tip: The Follow-up
I'm riding the wave of some query success - I sent an idea over to a new publication and within 16 minutes I had a new assignment and an opening to be a regular contributor. Yes! That makes up for all those publications I contacted last month that never responded. In fact, only two did - the two writing publications, thankfully. Shows that they practice what they preach.
But to be honest, I didn't follow up with all of them, so my success rate could have been higher. Right now, think of how many queries you sent out and didn't follow up on. Yep. That's about where I am, too.
So here's the assignment for this week (and I'm taking part, as well): Follow up on all those queries from last month. All of them. I usually hit Forward, send the note back to them, but remove the "FW:" in the subject line - for some reason, spam folders love to eat these messages. Just type them a little note asking them if they received the query you sent XX weeks ago. If not, you're resending it for their consideration. Thank them. Repeat with the next one.
How often do you follow up with client projects or article queries? Do you send thank-you notes regularly to job posters who have sent you "thanks but no thanks" notes? Try it. You'll be amazed at how much of an impression that leaves.
But to be honest, I didn't follow up with all of them, so my success rate could have been higher. Right now, think of how many queries you sent out and didn't follow up on. Yep. That's about where I am, too.
So here's the assignment for this week (and I'm taking part, as well): Follow up on all those queries from last month. All of them. I usually hit Forward, send the note back to them, but remove the "FW:" in the subject line - for some reason, spam folders love to eat these messages. Just type them a little note asking them if they received the query you sent XX weeks ago. If not, you're resending it for their consideration. Thank them. Repeat with the next one.
How often do you follow up with client projects or article queries? Do you send thank-you notes regularly to job posters who have sent you "thanks but no thanks" notes? Try it. You'll be amazed at how much of an impression that leaves.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
And Now a Word for the Slow Pokes
Oh, you've been at that career of yours for a while now, haven't you? And you're making money, but not what you want, right? Here's a word you may not have thought you'd hear from me - patience. Patience, my friend, for the foundation you lay today is the place where that career of your dreams will sit.
Look, I get that you feel desperate sometimes. Really. I've been there. Remember, I had to start from zero, too. I know you've taken a job or three that haven't exactly put you on the Fortune 500 list. Me too. Yes, I've taken stuff that's paid some pretty crappy wages along the way. Sometimes the stuff that seems like garbage is actually more valuable on a resume than not, though. I took a job a while back writing for a nursing magazine. Lousy wages, but darned if those clips didn't give me clout when I proposed something to a physican magazine. No one need know how much you make, you see. They only need to see you've done the work and it's presentable, respectable work.
We all progress at our own paces. The key, though is forward progression. If you've been stuck in the same jobs for six months, time to branch out and away from that sure thing or two. Take that experience you've built up and farm it out to a higher bidder. Seriously. You can do it. It's how we get from zero to something fabulous.
Don't feel badly if your career is going slower than expected. Instead, get active. Read others' experiences, try things out, and by all means, extend beyond your current comfort zone. Soon you'll be looking back at your progress and patting yourself on the back. As you should.
What's your current sticking point? Maybe we can help you figure out an alternative, so post it here. And established writers, when did you make a move to expand the income potential? How'd it go?
Look, I get that you feel desperate sometimes. Really. I've been there. Remember, I had to start from zero, too. I know you've taken a job or three that haven't exactly put you on the Fortune 500 list. Me too. Yes, I've taken stuff that's paid some pretty crappy wages along the way. Sometimes the stuff that seems like garbage is actually more valuable on a resume than not, though. I took a job a while back writing for a nursing magazine. Lousy wages, but darned if those clips didn't give me clout when I proposed something to a physican magazine. No one need know how much you make, you see. They only need to see you've done the work and it's presentable, respectable work.
We all progress at our own paces. The key, though is forward progression. If you've been stuck in the same jobs for six months, time to branch out and away from that sure thing or two. Take that experience you've built up and farm it out to a higher bidder. Seriously. You can do it. It's how we get from zero to something fabulous.
Don't feel badly if your career is going slower than expected. Instead, get active. Read others' experiences, try things out, and by all means, extend beyond your current comfort zone. Soon you'll be looking back at your progress and patting yourself on the back. As you should.
What's your current sticking point? Maybe we can help you figure out an alternative, so post it here. And established writers, when did you make a move to expand the income potential? How'd it go?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Burn, Baby, Burn
Pop quiz for you: If you're in the middle of a client negotiations and the client counters your price with a request to put something together quickly for them while ignoring all mention of your price, what do you do?
Answer: Nothing.
The hard fact is that until you have a contract, you have no obligation to do anything for any client, emergency or not. Thus was the situation that came to me last week. The aforementioned "we want you back" client followed that plea with "we need you back" and "what's your price" notes. Fine, but my response back to the client with my price clearly stated, was at first ignored for days, then answered with a "we really need your help - can you put something together for us now?"
Nothing doing. The price topic first needs to be addressed and it hasn't been. A contract has to be in place, and no amount of begging, niceties, or SOS talk is going to suffice. I type not one keystroke until agreements are signed. No trusting the "email word of honor" either. It's signed or it's a no-go. And the deflection of that discussion had me more than a little distrustful of their intentions.
I dislike attempts to instill frenetic negotiations on me, or on any freelancer. Some people are under the mistaken assumption that if they start a fire, the rest of the world will rush to extinguish it. In reality, their fires are exactly that - their fires. Not mine. Not yours. Not anyone else's who doesn't have a vested interest or a contractual interest in said fire. So without the contract, burn, baby. Burn.
I think what most unhinged me about this was the sense that once again, this client doesn't get that I'm a professional. The assumption that I'm waiting impatiently to hear from them or that I'm going to take the lack of any solid offer because they're such swell folk had me seeing red. It also convinced me that this client is running a business on little forethought and a whole lot of cheekiness.
No thanks.
What was the weirdest negotiation or contract talks you've ever had?
Answer: Nothing.
The hard fact is that until you have a contract, you have no obligation to do anything for any client, emergency or not. Thus was the situation that came to me last week. The aforementioned "we want you back" client followed that plea with "we need you back" and "what's your price" notes. Fine, but my response back to the client with my price clearly stated, was at first ignored for days, then answered with a "we really need your help - can you put something together for us now?"
Nothing doing. The price topic first needs to be addressed and it hasn't been. A contract has to be in place, and no amount of begging, niceties, or SOS talk is going to suffice. I type not one keystroke until agreements are signed. No trusting the "email word of honor" either. It's signed or it's a no-go. And the deflection of that discussion had me more than a little distrustful of their intentions.
I dislike attempts to instill frenetic negotiations on me, or on any freelancer. Some people are under the mistaken assumption that if they start a fire, the rest of the world will rush to extinguish it. In reality, their fires are exactly that - their fires. Not mine. Not yours. Not anyone else's who doesn't have a vested interest or a contractual interest in said fire. So without the contract, burn, baby. Burn.
I think what most unhinged me about this was the sense that once again, this client doesn't get that I'm a professional. The assumption that I'm waiting impatiently to hear from them or that I'm going to take the lack of any solid offer because they're such swell folk had me seeing red. It also convinced me that this client is running a business on little forethought and a whole lot of cheekiness.
No thanks.
What was the weirdest negotiation or contract talks you've ever had?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Triskaidekaphobia and Other Big Ideas
This is a mish-mash sort of post. Just consider it my random brain dump - perfect for a Friday!
Happy Friday the 13th. If you're like me and oddly fascinated by all things superstitious, this is your day. I'm more of the morbid-curiosity type. I'm not superstitious, but I find it interesting to see where these ideas were started. I am into the idea that the cosmos sends us messages and guidance to some degree, so any notion that a ladder or a cat could spell doom is intriguing. Weird, but intriguing nonetheless.
What a difference a haircut makes! I was feeling all disheveled thanks to too much work and too little hairstyle (the latter being the real issue). But after yesterday's cut and "enhancement" I feel like a new woman. In fact, my hair is now the color it was when my better half met me, which thrills him no end. I say hair fades over time (and gets whiter). He thought I'd gone lighter on purpose. Hell no! Why would anyone implant grays on purpose?
It's been about four days since I gave my price to the boomerang client. Silence. They may eventually respond, but I believe their budget just isn't up to snuff with their wish list. I hope when they do get in touch they don't try countering. Not cool considering the "we want you back at your price" condition. I don't think they would, but I've been burned too often to dismiss the thought.
I was reading a neat blog post on how to get big marketing bang out of minimum dollar input. How many of you use social networking sites to market? I found one ongoing job on Twitter and have reconnected with two clients on LinkedIn. Have you had success with marketing via such places? If so, how'd you do it and how much success are we talking?
What's on your mind today?
Happy Friday the 13th. If you're like me and oddly fascinated by all things superstitious, this is your day. I'm more of the morbid-curiosity type. I'm not superstitious, but I find it interesting to see where these ideas were started. I am into the idea that the cosmos sends us messages and guidance to some degree, so any notion that a ladder or a cat could spell doom is intriguing. Weird, but intriguing nonetheless.
What a difference a haircut makes! I was feeling all disheveled thanks to too much work and too little hairstyle (the latter being the real issue). But after yesterday's cut and "enhancement" I feel like a new woman. In fact, my hair is now the color it was when my better half met me, which thrills him no end. I say hair fades over time (and gets whiter). He thought I'd gone lighter on purpose. Hell no! Why would anyone implant grays on purpose?
It's been about four days since I gave my price to the boomerang client. Silence. They may eventually respond, but I believe their budget just isn't up to snuff with their wish list. I hope when they do get in touch they don't try countering. Not cool considering the "we want you back at your price" condition. I don't think they would, but I've been burned too often to dismiss the thought.
I was reading a neat blog post on how to get big marketing bang out of minimum dollar input. How many of you use social networking sites to market? I found one ongoing job on Twitter and have reconnected with two clients on LinkedIn. Have you had success with marketing via such places? If so, how'd you do it and how much success are we talking?
What's on your mind today?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Worthy Tip - Ask for More
So how did you do on last week's worth-enhancing exercises? I know some of you complained (too bad, Paula!), but if you took the time to do one of those things, I'd love to hear about it.
This week, let's mix it up a bit. Some of you may find it hard to say no to a paying job, even if it's paying well below what you're worth. Understandable. Mind boggling, but understandable. The sure thing draws you, doesn't it? Some of you may reason that any check is better than no check. Not so, but you're not going to be convinced that easily.
So here's what I suggest to those of you unable to walk away from paying work - ask for more. That's right - stick your neck right out there and ask for more than the job is paying. If you find a client who wants to pay say 20 bucks when your rate should be more like 50, ask for 50. You should be able to face rejection (they're not rejecting you, just the notion of paying you more) and stand up for your rates.
If it's a magazine you've been working with for years, now's the time. Thank them for the assignments, express appreciation for your working relationship, bring up the fact that you've been a "couple" for a while now, and ask for a raise. Go on. Ask. The worst they could do is fire you.
Oh wait - that's a problem, right? Well, that depends. Is this a gig that's paying you a decent enough wage? If you're making somewhere around ten cents a word and you're not a newbie, that's not a decent wage. You have to be willing to risk losing something in order to gain a better fee.
So tell me, what has gotten in the way of your asking for more? Be honest. I'll start. I'm sitting here typing this contemplating why I still work for a client when I've long ago exhausted my interest, my income potential, and myself. I'm sitting here, like you're sitting there, a little nervous about cutting the ties. I'll be working toward a slow separation, but in the meantime, the doubts are out.
So spill. Tell me why you haven't asked for more.
This week, let's mix it up a bit. Some of you may find it hard to say no to a paying job, even if it's paying well below what you're worth. Understandable. Mind boggling, but understandable. The sure thing draws you, doesn't it? Some of you may reason that any check is better than no check. Not so, but you're not going to be convinced that easily.
So here's what I suggest to those of you unable to walk away from paying work - ask for more. That's right - stick your neck right out there and ask for more than the job is paying. If you find a client who wants to pay say 20 bucks when your rate should be more like 50, ask for 50. You should be able to face rejection (they're not rejecting you, just the notion of paying you more) and stand up for your rates.
If it's a magazine you've been working with for years, now's the time. Thank them for the assignments, express appreciation for your working relationship, bring up the fact that you've been a "couple" for a while now, and ask for a raise. Go on. Ask. The worst they could do is fire you.
Oh wait - that's a problem, right? Well, that depends. Is this a gig that's paying you a decent enough wage? If you're making somewhere around ten cents a word and you're not a newbie, that's not a decent wage. You have to be willing to risk losing something in order to gain a better fee.
So tell me, what has gotten in the way of your asking for more? Be honest. I'll start. I'm sitting here typing this contemplating why I still work for a client when I've long ago exhausted my interest, my income potential, and myself. I'm sitting here, like you're sitting there, a little nervous about cutting the ties. I'll be working toward a slow separation, but in the meantime, the doubts are out.
So spill. Tell me why you haven't asked for more.
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