Slurrrrrrrrrrrrrppppppppppppp.

So…I broke one of the 10 Commandments for Taking a Break.

Actually, I broke two, if you really want to split hairs about it, okay?

Not only did I talk about my work (way beyond answering “What do you do?” – this person was already acquainted with what I do), but I also thought about work because, hello, you can’t really talk about it without thinking about it.

That’s right, writers. I sinned big time.

HOWEVER, by doing so, I also received what is probably the best piece of writing advice I’ve ever gotten.

Picture it: Labor Day Weekend, September 2011. I’m sitting around with a bunch of musically inclined friends, listening mostly to original tunes as a couple of them were still riding high on the show they’d played earlier that night, when one of the guitarists (we’ll call him “Chuck”) turned to me and asked how work was going.

Did I have any new projects? Any interesting irons in the fire?

“Oh, you know, same ol’, same ol’. Some Web copy here, a press release there,” I skimmed. “I don’t want to bore you!”

(See? I tried to stay faithful to the Commandments!)

Apparently, though, my vague answers about my writing projects did more to make him think than make him forget (I should’ve seen in coming, though; writers, musicians, artists – we creative types are fairly good at reading one another) and about an hour later he sat his guitar aside and turned to me.

“Are you happy with your work?” he asked.

“Yes. Yeah, yeah, of course. I mean, I love what I do. I love that I make my living doing what I’m passionate about,” I replied.

He stared at me. In earnest.

“I mean, I’d love to have more time for creative writing, you know,” I rambled on. “It’s tough for a lot of working writers, I think. We spend all day writing for someone else, and then when the evening or weekend rolls around, sometimes we just want to take a break, you know? Not write.”

I knew Chuck could relate. After all, he was working on his Master’s in Music Education, taught music lessons, played live shows on the weekends, spends time promoting his current album, and is working on material for his upcoming record. Surely he’d commiserate, right?

Yet, he just stared at me for a few more seconds, nodded, and went back to playing his guitar.

I felt like an idiot, but hoped that since the alcohol was flowing as freely as the music, he’d forget the entire exchange.

I wasn’t so lucky.

Maybe 30 minutes after that, Chuck turned to me again. I smiled the smile I smile when I know what’s coming and that I deserve it.

“So, how often do you work on your own writing? Stuff for yourself, for publication?” he asked.

“Not as often as I’d like,” I admitted. “Every now and then my muse will poke me and I’ll pilfer around in my novel’s chapters. Sometimes I’ll use a writing contest or two to force myself to do some creative writing unrelated to work. But, other than that…I guess I’ve just been shutting it down at the end of the day.

“So, basically, work’s going well but your own writing is suffering because you’re too tired to make time for it?”

“Well…yeah.” I knew how horrible is sounded.

“Are you happy with that?” he pressed.

“Well…no.”

Chuck leaned forward just a bit, so I leaned forward, too, and he shared with me the best advice for writers I’ve ever received:

“Sounds to me like you just need to suck it up.”

And there it was. I roared a knee-slapping, foot-stomping, roaring laughter and nodded at Chuck with all the energy I had in me. Had it been a Sunday morning I might’ve raised my hands to the sky.

“Just plant your ass back in front of that computer after dinner and write.” Chuck smiled before he turned back to his guitar.

Isn’t that the simplest answer for those of us working writers who spend all day providing words for others only to find ourselves too tired or unwilling to dedicate another hour or so at night to our own words?

Suck it up and write?

Sure, it might not be as easy in practice as it is in theory, but there are ways around everything. Charge a spouse with watching the kids for an hour or two. Choose one or two nights a week when you know you’ll have uninterrupted free time. Turn your phone off.

There are always options.

What kinds of tips for writers have YOU picked up along the way? Are you writing a book and had a veteran author offer novel writing advice? Are you more into poetry and talked with other poets about how to write poem full of imagery and emotion? Maybe a teacher or college professor has given you writing help that’s lasted through the years

Well, don’t be stingy with it: Share that writing advice with the rest of us!

Do you need a witty caption? Really? I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

One of my goals for 2010 is to stop working so much on the weekends. I was fairly good about that during the first few years of my freelance writing career – when I did work on the weekends, it was generally because I either A) took a day off during the week, or B) just wanted to. Over the last year or so, though, life got in the way and I found myself working almost every weekend.

It stops in 2010.

However, before it stops (I’m such a junkie), I’ve decided to spend the first few weekends of 2010 doing some housekeeping – of the writing career variety – and this past weekend, my task was to tackle my freelance writing rates.

I knew I was going to have to do it sooner or later, and the beginning of the year seemed like a much better time than, say, mid-June. Plus, Deb Ng’s recent blog post about making a profit with your freelance writing business provides some solid information about setting and raising rates and proved to be just the kick in the tail I needed.

Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates

I’m not going to pretend I’m qualified enough to advise you on how to set your freelance writing rates. I’m not. When it comes to setting your writing and editing rates, you have to think about things like flat rates and hourly rates; how to use your hourly rates to come up with projects that require flat rates; your rates and how they line up with your expenses, your cost of living, and your profit goal; how your rates compare to the rates of others in your business; and how it all relates to the ever-tricky “How much are you worth?”

However, I’m not saying there aren’t veteran freelancers out there who are in a position to help you do this. There definitely are. If you’re just getting started and haven’t set your rates yet, or if you have but think it’s time to reevaluate them, check out these resources:

• Anne Wayman of About Freelance Writing has an entire blog category dedicated to Dealing With Money. Also be sure to check out her Setting Freelance Rates series and guest post by John Carpenter, How Much Should I Charge?
• The Money Matters section within the Business Tips for Writers part of the FWJ Network includes posts about setting fees, getting paid, and managing your money.
• Allena Tapia’s How Much Should I Charge looks offers several tips for setting your freelance writing rates and includes resources like FreelanceSwitch’s Hourly Rate Calculator and the Editorial Freelancers Association’s rates page.
• Jennifer Mattern’s Guide to Setting Freelance Writing Fees breaks down the difference between writing goals and salaries, working and billable hours, and how to diversify writing income streams. Also take a look at Mattern’s Setting Freelance Writing Rates: Working Hours vs. Billable Hours which, in addition to explaining the difference between working and billable hours, offers a good explanation about setting hourly rates to achieve your desired yearly salaries.
• Jake Rocheleau’s Freelance Folder piece, Tips And Guidelines For Smarter Price Estimates, discusses evaluating skillsets, clarifying the job details, and hourly rates vs. flat fees.

Increasing Your Freelance Writing Rates

How have your skills sharpened since you started freelance writing and editing? How has your cost of living and expenses increased? Do your current rates allow for the profit you want, or are you just making ends meet? Once you’ve brushed up on the rates you’ve been charging, it’s time to think about whether you need to increase those rates.

The thought of increasing rates usually brings about two reactions from freelancers: Excitement about potentially making more money, which is easily handled, and fear of losing clients, which is not-so-easily handled.

Deb Ng’s article I linked to above about making a profit with your freelance writing business is a good resource for those freelancers who wonder if it’s time for a rate increase but afraid of losing clients; so are financial writer Yolander Prinzel’s Associated Content article How to Increase Your Freelance Writing Rates for Existing Clients and Jennifer Mattern’s Raising Freelance Writing Rates: Demand Isn’t Enough.

Sticking To Your Freelance Writing Rates

You might think that sticking to your freelance writing rates is an easy thing to do. Admittedly, for many freelance writers and editors, it is. However, no matter how new or seasoned you are, situations arise when you might be tempted to lower your rates or offer a discount that’s not exactly conducive to your financial goals or representative of the quality and quantity of your services. A nonprofit or charity approaches you, your friend is starting her own business and needs some help, you’re in a bind and really want to land a gig you just read the advertisement for but don’t usually charge what the advertiser wants to pay – you know the situations.

While pro bono work or discounts can be good for your business (and morale), there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Too, although there are times when accepting a figure less than what you normally charge is okay overall, constantly doing it doesn’t help you get to where you want to be financially.

Consider these tips to help you stick to your freelance writing rates as well as make adjustments when you see fit:

• Put it in writing. Some freelance writers post their rates on their websites; some don’t. Regardless of where you write (or, type) them, make sure you have them somewhere so you can quickly refer to them when you’re replying to job advertisements or clients requesting rates. (Having your current rates in black and white right in front of you will also help you determine your rates for a project that might be new to you.)
• Predetermine your discounts. While you’re “putting it in writing” is a good time to go ahead and figure out – and also put in writing – any discounts special to nonprofits and charities.
• Consider offering packages. Some services lend themselves to being fit into packages. Blog posts and marketing articles, for example, are services you can group into packages and offer at prices slightly less than if the client ordered that many separately.

Do you have any other tips or resources to share for setting, increasing, and sticking to freelance writing rates?

I know I can't have been the ONLY writer having trouble with them.

We’re eight days into 2010, and a major trend I’ve noticed this year is that more job advertisers than ever before (at least, in my experience) are requesting writing resumes. Fortunately, producing a copy of my writing resume doesn’t aggravate me as much as it used to.

Since I started freelance writing, I’ve spent the first few weeks of every new year following exactly the same routine: Telling myself this is the year I will consistently apply for new writing jobs (no need to put all my eggs in one basket again, right?), sticking to that goal with fevered excitement, and then finally realizing I have to take a break to update my writing resume.

Here’s the deal: I used to hate updating my writing resume. I mean, I really loathed it. (Sure, I never ran into a ton of job advertisers who required them, but all it takes is one, right?) I’ve had tons of clients – big companies, small companies, individuals – I can’t include them all! What makes the cut? What goes unmentioned? How do I organize it all?

Then, last year, I sat down with a pen and a pad of paper and made an outline – a very old school, to-the-point outline of headers, subheaders, and even squiggly doodles when my mind started wandering. What I ended up with was an outline that looked very much like what the resume for a traditional, 9-5 job would look like – with a few tweaks, of course.

Well, that was easy. Maybe I’d been overthinking it the whole time? Maybe I just needed a visual? Probably both.

Whatever the case, below is the cleaned up version of the outline. It’s nothing new for seasoned freelancers, but it might help those of you just getting started.

No-Brainer Information To Include

There are certain bits of information every resume must include – no matter what job you’re applying for – and this information generally appears at the top or bottom of your resume depending on the template you use.

Make sure your writing resume includes:

• Your name. (Regardless of the template, this usually is always at the top.)
• Your website name and address if you have one – and really, you should.
• Your contact information such as your email address, your physical or mailing address, and your home, office, and/or cell phone number. Some freelancers also include information such as their Skype or Yahoo Messenger names. (Note that if you’re applying for jobs via the Internet, feel free to omit any information you’re not comfortable handing out to strangers.)

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the meat of the thing.

Start With An Objective

Depending on the job advertiser, this objective might be as specific as “To obtain employment as the Senior Editor at Rock Out Company” or as generic as “To provide search engine friendly web content and copy that will help improve the look, usability, and visibility of small businesses websites.”

Actually, don’t copy that last one. I might use it myself in the future.

List Your Specialties

Press releases? Newsletters? Sales copy? Here’s where you’ll include a brief list of all the kinds of writing in which you specialize.

If you’ve noticed, many job advertisements call for writers who are “proficient in Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Express” or “know how to create PDF documents,” so you might also want to include any programs or software with which you’re experienced.

Move On To Your Work Experience

Really, this is the only difficult part of the whole resume-writing process you’ll have to deal with (and who knows – it might not be difficult for you). This is where you decide what stays, what goes, and how to organize it all.

Making it no easier is the fact that freelance writers have such wide variety of experiences under their belts. Long-term contracts with companies, brief liaisons with individuals,

I handle this section by breaking it up into subsections. For example, one copy of my resume includes a subsection about the companies I’ve contracted with, a subsection about the various kinds of web content I’ve provided, and a subsection about my blogging experience.

It’s also important to make sure that you include subsections, and jobs under those subsections, that are related to the job you’re applying for.

NOTE: Remember when you listed your specialties? Now’s a good time to elaborate on those, if you can. For example, if you write spectacular sales copy, this is the section to mention the sales letter you wrote for Whatever Company more than doubled said company’s sales that month.

Link To A Few Writing Samples

One of the best things about resumes you can email or post on your website is the ability to link. Clips of articles archived in online versions of magazines, copy you wrote for the front page of a website, a client’s About or Bio section – you can link to all these.

Be careful to uphold any privacy policies you have with your clients, of course; you might have an agreement with some clients about not disclosing the nature or results of your work with them.

Tell About Your Education And Training

Some job advertisers specifically call for people with “at least [this degree] in [this or a related area]“; some don’t care.

If you have a degree or some sort of special training (if it’s related to the job), go ahead and include it.

Show Off Your Awards, Achievements, Etc.

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Just be sure to keep your list succinct and stick to awards and achievements that are related to your writing career. I’m willing to bet the job advertiser looking for a copywriter doesn’t care if you won the neighborhood award for Most Original Use of Red Christmas Lights back during the winter of 1997.

Tips to Consider:

• Create a “master copy” of your writing resume – one that includes everything but goes out to no one. Having this copy will help you keep up with all your jobs, skills, etc. and act as a quick reference for when you’re creating the resumes that do go out.
• Don’t shy away from having multiple writing resumes. Different jobs call for different experiences, and pretty soon you’ll have a nice stock of resumes you can make simple tweaks to and use over and over.
• Regularly update your writing resume. Whether it’s your master copy or the more targeted versions, make a point to update your resume(s) as you gain new experiences in order to prevent scrambling and trying to remember what happened six months ago for a job you’re applying for today.

Look at all my pretty eggs! This basket will hold them forever! Muahahaha!!!

One of the best pieces of advice I received when I first started freelancing was: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Really, it’s pretty common sense advice for any freelancer or self-employed person. If you put all your eggs in one basket – in other words, if you devote all your time and attention to one particular client and job and come to financially depend solely on that job – you’re left with nothing when something happens to that basket.

Notice how I’ve used “when” instead of “if”; it’s been my experience that, eventually, something always happens to the basket.

Yes, this was one of those lessons I had to learn for myself, unfortunately.

Within my first few months as a freelance writer, I landed a cushy writing gig with a stable company (of the reliable, and not equine, variety). Work was plentiful (nearly 24 hours a day if I chose – and, as a newbie, sometimes I chose), the company paid well, and life was grand. I continued writing for this company for about two years, very rarely taking on additional writing gigs. Why should I? That weekly check certainly didn’t require additional jobs.

Then one day, the well dried up. Or, someone stole my basket. The company had no more work for its freelance writers because the project was complete. I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment – after all, I’d been working on the project for a long time – but that wasn’t enough to squash the feelings of fear and being lost.

Obviously, the story has a happy ending – I’m still here and freelancing, aren’t I? – but it didn’t come without some serious scrambling and the vow that I would never, ever, put all my eggs in one basket again.

Oh, the pain we can avoid if we would just listen to the advice of those who are experienced.

If you’re just starting out as a freelance writer, or if you’ve been freelancing for a while and just looked around to see that yes, all your eggs are indeed in one basket, here are a few ways you can ward off disaster before it strikes:

Regularly Apply for Writing Jobs

Applying for writing jobs when you already have a writing job might not make sense now, but the benefits will definitely be crystal clear when your big basket disappears. Set some time aside in your daily (or weekly) schedule to do nothing but search and apply for new jobs. You won’t get hired for every single job you apply for, so as long as you’re careful to only apply for those you can juggle with your current workload, you should be fine.

Of course, there are other good reasons to frequent the writing job boards. Deb Nj of Freelance Writing Jobs published an excellent post yesterday explaining why. Check it out.

Spread Yourself Out

This goes right along with regularly applying for new writing jobs. Having a big basket full of many eggs is a little safer if you also have a few small baskets full of a couple of eggs. Not only do having these jobs on the side help you in case your big basket disappears, but they also help build your portfolio, skill set, and contacts.

Just be careful to avoid spreading yourself too far out. It’s possible to have too many jobs that take up too much of your time and the finished products of which don’t accurately reflect your skills (i.e., you end up producing crap and having no life outside of writing).

Keep a Money Cushion

Many freelancers are familiar with the phrase “feast or famine,” and this should go without saying, no matter how many baskets you have, how long you’ve been freelancing, or really even what your job is: You need a savings account. Not just a savings account, but a savings account specifically for paying your bills and feeding yourself in the event you lose your big basket.

So, how about you? Have you ever made the mistake of putting all your eggs in one basket? What’d you do to survive it? What do you do now to avoid it?

Because I'm so creative with my images.

On Friday, I sort of joked about writing a post titled “The Top 7 Ways to Screw Yourself Out of a Writing Gig,” but over the weekend I thought, “You know what? I really could write that post. I really could list seven ways for a writer to shoot herself in the foot. Whether I’ve witnessed fellow writers make these mistakes, or I’ve made them myself.”

Of course, that last part doesn’t really sound like something to be proud of, I know…

…but, it means my writing career has survived some growing pains, right?

Right.

So, on to the top seven ways to screw yourself out of a writing gig, in no particular order.

#1: Lack Confidence.

This probably sounds like a no-brainer – and applies mostly to new writers – but if you lack the confidence in yourself, your work, and your abilities it takes to apply for a writing job, you’re most likely not going to apply for the job. If you don’t apply for the job, you’re not even giving the advertiser a chance to say no; you’re already telling yourself no.

While this might make sense if you’re looking at a job advertisement for a new Content Director at some high-powered, well-established blogging network and you yourself have only been blogging for a couple of weeks, it’s just not good business if the advertisement you’re looking at calls for press release writer and you have indeed written a handful of press releases in your career.

Of course, you can’t stop at having just enough confidence to apply for the job; you also have to make sure that confidence shines through during your application process. For example, if you receive a followup phone call from the potential client looking for a press release writer and said potential client says, “Tell me a bit more about your experiences with press releases,” replying with “The last press release I wrote was for a South Texas company ready to announce the launch of its new website” sounds far better than “Um, well…I’ve really only written a few.”

#2: Be a Know-It-All.

And by “know-it-all,” I don’t mean a person who knows it all; rather, I mean a person who knows it all (or, knows a hell of a lot about it) and is obnoxious about it.

Look, chances are the potential client already knows he needs help – that’s why he wants to hire someone. The last thing he wants is for someone to point out everything he did wrong until you came along, and everything he’s going to keep doing wrong unless he listens to you.

Which brings us too…

#3: Insult Your Client.

Maybe you think his company logo is tacky, or perhaps you’ve noticed several flaws with the layout of his website. Unless he specifically asks you for your opinion on these things, stick to the job you were hired for. For all you know, his wife designed the logo and his son built the website and his cousin is going to be writing the content if you can’t deal with it.

#4: Refuse to Budge.

At some point in your writing career, there will come a time when a client asks you to write something you’re not entirely comfortable writing. Maybe he manages an online store and has decided to add leather jackets to the inventory and you, as a vegan, aren’t comfortable writing the product descriptions. Or, perhaps he owns a political blog and wants you to cover a few weeks worth of posts about policies you don’t agree with.

Here’s the deal: Sometimes, refusing to budge is okay – as long as you handle it professionally. If writing about these things would bother you, then by all means, bow out. Politely declining a job because of your own beliefs, values, and morals doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve screwed yourself out of a job; however, becoming defensive and trying to change your client’s outlook, picking a fight and potentially burning your bridges (nice transition, there), can mean just that.

#5: Burn Your Bridges.

As described above, situations (unrelated to the completion of a project) might pop up when you and a client part ways. And, also as described above, sometimes these situations are unavoidable.

Regardless of why you need to part ways, the best way to handle it is politely and professionally. Just because the two of you came to a point where you don’t see eye-to-eye and shouldn’t work together anymore doesn’t mean you should end your last call by screaming insults and slamming down the phone.

After all, just because you couldn’t continue working together one one project doesn’t mean another one won’t come along in the future the client would think you were perfect for.

#6: Lack an Online Presence.

These days, many writers and editors turn to the Web for work. Why shouldn’t we? The Internet allows us to easily connect with potential clients and other writers from all over the world and we can, after all, do this from just about anywhere.

It only makes sense then to have an online presence – a “home base,” if you will, that introduces people to who you are and what you do. Some of us go all out with a website, blog, or both, and some of us keep things simple with just a Facebook account.

Whatever you choose to do, do something. Give your potential clients a way to get to know you and your work, and give yourself a chance to connect with your co-workers.

#7: Ignore Social Media.

It’s 2010, and if you’re not involved in some kind of social website – whether it’s a networking site like Twitter, Facebook, or yes, even MySpace, or simply a news-oriented site like Digg, Reddit, or Stumble – you’re pretty much asking the world to overlook you.

Social media sites are powerful tools for connecting with potential clients and fellow writers, as well as checking out the work of others and promoting your own.

Plus, freelancing can get lonely at times and these kinds of sites are nice “water coolers” you can swing by whenever you want and chat up your friends!

Do any of these sound familiar to you? I know I can raise my hand for numbers one and five, and in the past, six and seven, too. Or, have you done something else that’s voided your shot at a writing job?

Alicia