The Trick to Getting More Freelance Work

Many of us writers pitch our articles and blog posts. We do all the right things for those pitches, we identify the audience, explain why our article fits the publication, and we include the word count and resources we’ll be quoting. Perfect.

And when our pitch is accepted, we are overjoyed. We set about writing the article and we send it in, knowing that we’ve done a good job. We’ve finished the job and it’s time for a celebratory beer, right?

Photo credit: FontFont

But not so fast. If you’ve forgotten to include this one single trick when you pass in your article, you’re missing out on easy opportunity to consistently get more work.

That trick? Always be sure to include a suggestion for another project.

“Like this article on the behavior of local bears at the dump in the winter? How about another one on how the local fox population is dwindling due to residential development?”

“I’ve included a blog post on the best way to use social media, how about another follow-on post on best practices for using social media to create a network?”

I *never* return a project without suggesting topics for new ones. In fact, I have one editor with whom I rarely even return an email without pitching another story. Fortunately, she and I have a good working relationship and I know what kinds of stories she is looking for.  But still, I’m not going to wait around to be assigned a story especially if I have a few ideas in mind.

I want the work now.

The same goes for marketing work. Whenever I submit work (website content, blog posts) I’ll always include suggestions on how to make something else better.

“You know your “About Us” page? It’s not clear exactly what it is you offer your customer. Want me to take a look at that to make it stronger?”

“Here are 4 blog posts, want me to get started on another 4 for next month so you’ll have a queue ready?”

When you make additional project suggestions, not only are you seen as a go-getter, but you are also viewed as someone who is a critical thinker. Someone who is always wondering “how can we make this better?” and “what will keep the audience engaged?”

Editors tend to like those kinds of people.

I don’t know of an editor or a marketer who doesn’t appreciate additional article and work suggestions. In the case of the editor, you are helping to fill the publication. You’re actually making her job easier. In the case of the marketer, you are helping to sell work, and guess what? Marketers like to sell work, that’s their job. When they know you can upsell like that, they are going to come back to you for work.

Again and again.

This past week I was contacted by an editor who sent me a request for an article idea I had submitted last summer as an attachment to a finished project. She couldn’t use the idea then, but she did want me to write the article now. Could I still do it? She asked.

You betcha.

Not only will I do it, but you can be sure that when I send the finished article over, I’ll be pitching a few additional articles ideas for her consideration.

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

How about a post next week on the top 5 questions to ask when writing content for a website?

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Are you a “where” or a “how” writer?

I know of some writers who can’t start a project until they have the “perfect” title. Although I do admit, I’ve have stumbled across some title-worthy phrases (like “The Joy of Six” as a memoir title for our family of 6 kids) I have never really understood this approach.  Pardon my bluntness but for *me*, these writers seem to have it literally ass-backward.

I think that a more effective approach to writing stories, articles, and blog posts is to come up with the ending first and then create the story to justify that conclusion.

Remember the brilliant and hysterically funny movie “Blazing Saddles?”(Seriously is there anyone who didn’t fall on the floor laughing over the beans scene?)  I’m convinced that one of the reasons Saddles was created was so that Mel Brooks could film the ending. From the final dialog with the town’s people to the breaking of the fourth wall by having the actors get off their horses and enter a limousine. Brooks lets us know that although he makes some strong social statements, in the end, the movie is just that, a movie. Let’s all have a good laugh.

Every line, every scene led up to and justified that final gotcha image.

 

 

 

I suppose it comes down to whether you are a “Where do we go from here?”  type of person or a “How did we get here?” kind.

The “where” people’s stories tend to go all over the place, they never know what their characters are going to do or say from day to day. There is a certain freedom in this type of writing and I’ve spoken to many successful writers who use this method. They sit at the computer and let their stories dump out of their brains.

Others (like myself) are the “how” people. We know where our characters are going to finally be, but we need to work backwards in order to make sure that all steps lead to the ending. I have created what often look like reverse flowcharts for my stories.

Is this approach a little too analytical? Too stilted and restrictive of creative freedom? I don’t know. I’ve tried to work like a “where” writer and I always find that I get lost, I go down rat holes and spend time on material that ends up being cut in the end because it gets my characters nowhere. I tend to waste a lot of time.  But is that such a bad thing? Sometimes those who wander are not lost.

I’m not saying that either approach is better or worse, in the end if you are successful, then whichever method you use is the best. What I am saying is that you, as a writer, should be aware of how *you* compose a story. Do you tend to compose forward or backward? Identify which approach works best for you and then the next time you write something, don’t waste time with something other than what works best for you.

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

Yes, I keep a flowchart on my wall of the book I’m working on. It helps me see where I’ve been.

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Friday Fun – Author Sightings

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: Today we’re talking about brushes with fame, unexpected (or planned) run-ins with authors in their native habitats. Have you ever gotten up close and personal? Do you have any strange stories from book signings? Has any author surprised you by being someone other than you expected?

Lisa J. Jackson: No real surprises with authors I’ve met. They’re people like you and me, and it’s always fun to meet them in person and hear them talk about their work. I’ve met many authors: Chris Bojhalian, Gary Braver/Goshgarian, Sylvie Kurtz, Charlaine Harris, Martin Cruz Smith, Michael Connelly, Joe Hill, Michael Palmer, Daniel Palmer, Denise Robbins, Elaine Isaak, Felicia Donovan, Kate Flora, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Mary Johnson, Leaf Seligman, Dave Zeltserman, Michelle McCorkle, Paul Doiron, Deborah Lee Luskin (hi Deb!), Stacy Juba, Archer Mayor, Joe Finder, and so many many more. (Can you tell I favor the mystery genre?)

Diane MacKinnon: I grew up with a healthy respect for authority figures, and I thought everyone but me was an authority figure! I’ve had to “unlearn” my automatic response to famous people (or people who I consider experts in their field) and allow them to be human, rather than keep them on the pedestal I have built for them. The best part about meeting authors is that just about all of them turn out to be really great people who are just like you and me. I’ve met a number of authors over the years, and become friends with a few (like Martha Beck). I was really impressed with Joseph Finder at last year’s Crime Bake. He taught a master class that was really fun and interactive and he participated in every event of the conference, including dancing at the banquet on Saturday night. I thought he was a really good sport about the whole thing. And I guess I’m still putting authors on a pedestal, because why wouldn’t he be a good sport about it? It was a really fun weekend.

Wendy Thomas: I’ve never been shy about talking to “famous” people, not at all. I figure they put their shoes on one at a time just like I do. I also don’t faint at the sight of blood and I’m convinced this lack of being alarmed at overwhelming situations is probably genetic.

A while back, I reached out to several authors and offered them a chance to have one of our chickens named after them in exchange for an interview. As a result, I’ve corresponded with: Chris Bohjalian, Jodi Picoult, Joe Hill, Janet Evanovich, Judy Blume, Meg Cabot, Sy Montgomery, Lee Goldberg, Laurie Halse Anderson,  Joan Bauer, Karen Romano Young, A.S. King, Jonathan Fields, and Chandana Ekanayake (who is a MNC game designer and who ended up incorporating one of our chickens into a video game.)

I’ve also spoken with Carole King, John Edwards, Michelle Obama, John Kerry, and both Hillary and Bill Clinton (yeah, okay, maybe a few goosebumps on those last two.)

Without a doubt, I’ve found authors to be people who love to communicate. They typically have a good sense of humor and will always appreciate a unique idea (not one person I contacted for my Good Egg chicken project said “no” to the project.)

In my experience, what authors appreciate most is hearing that their work has somehow touched or inspired you. They also don’t want to hear the same questions that everyone else is asking them hundreds and hundreds of times. I wrote to A.S. King to tell her that my teen son loved her YA book, Please Ignore Vera Dietz. My intent was simply to let her know that she had written something that both girls and boys were reading. I thought that was quite a feat and thought she should know. It was a compliment that I would have wanted to hear, so I passed it on.  One thing led to another and now I consider Amy to be one of my friends.

That’s the way it usually is with authors, they appreciate sincerity (and having a good sense of humor doesn’t hurt.) Go ahead and try reaching out to one of your favorite authors, you just might be surprised at what you get in return.

Jamie Wallace: I am in awe of Wendy’s list and her complete lack of nervousness when it comes to talking with “celebrities.” I always have been. Though I’m not nearly as shy as I was as a child, I still get butterflies when I’m faced with meeting someone I admire. My sightings and interactions have been minimal, but two that come immediately to mind are Susan Orlean (I wrote about hearing her speak and meeting her in Susan Orlean on Courage and Curiosity) and Neil Gaiman. Sadly, I didn’t actually meet Neil. My beau and I went to see him speak and do a reading at the lovely Portsmouth Music Hall. While we were waiting in the lounge area, Neil walked through the crowd with someone I assume was the stage manager. Though I had a serious urge to walk over and put my hand out, I hesitated and the moment was gone.

 

photo: M. Shafer

Deborah Lee Luskin: Am I the only one who doesn’t want to play this game? I’ve met some Very Famous Authors, and I’m friends with Very Wonderful Authors, and I value their friendship and respect their privacy. There’s a larger issue here about celebrity that I can’t quite articulate yet. When I can, I’ll put my thoughts in a post.

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Video: Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity, writing, and saying no

Watched this earlier this week and thought is was worth a share. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and other novels talks to show host Paul Holdengraber about her creative philosophies, her friendship with Ann Patchett, and other interesting topics. Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

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Writing as a form of therapy

Sometimes it stinks being a writer. You can’t take a day off (well, of course, in reality you can, but you won’t get paid) and you have to write your articles even if you don’t feel like writing.

I recently felt that way. I didn’t feel like writing – so I relied on my favorite form of personal therapy when things are not going the way I had hoped.

Photo credit: Curtfleenor

I wrote. But I wrote the stuff I wanted to write.

It sounds odd but writing to me is like a form of therapy to another. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t “see” things. When a friend of mine feels down and goes to a fabric store, she talks about how a bolt of fabric would look great as a vintage A-line dress, I just don’t see it.

What I see is a bolt of cloth.

When another friend takes her blue mood into her studio and comes out with a wave-washed beach scene that just screams overcast, I don’t know how she does it.

What I see is a bunch of paints.

I don’t understand how they get from here to there.

But when I’m in pain, when I’m low – just lead me to a keyboard. I seem to be able to channel thoughts and ideas that I didn’t even know I had.

This past weekend I had such a mood. I’ve mentioned it before, we have Lyme in the house and as a result we have some sick kids. Really sick kids. The problem with Lyme is that like the holes in a dyke, once you get one leak patched up, another one pops up.

It’s never-ending.

It’s exhausting.

So I did what I do best. I sat down at my laptop and did some writing. It was the kind of writing I felt compelled to do (not the kind of writing that will get me a paycheck.) I started a blog (yeah, I really need to be involved in another blog right now, she said sarcastically) on what it looked like to have chronic Lyme in the family.

The blog is here: What it looks like to have Chronic Lyme and in it I used the language I had to explain what couldn’t be explained to anyone who hasn’t been there and who doesn’t “get it.”

While I don’t know where the blog will go and I don’t even know how long it will last, like my friend’s dress or painted scene, for now, it fills a need that I am able to very clearly see.

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

And, trust me, I’ll keep writing about Lyme disease until everyone understands how important it is to know about it. 

//

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New York Times Best Seller Author Elizabeth Berg to visit Nashua October 17th

Event for Writers –

On Sunday October 17th NY Times Best Seller Elizabeth Berg will be at Rivier College to talk about her book: We Are All Welcome Here – I was able to do an interview with her GREAT writer and person. Elizabeth used to be a nurse before she started writing and her compassion for others shines through in her writing.

Her book was sparked by a letter to her written by a fan – that story alone is worth hearing!

The interview with her will be in this Telegraph’s Sunday paper.

Tickets for the event are $5 for the book presentation and $25 for a private reception and presentation (seriously – you could talk one on one with her!) and are avail able at the Nashua Public Library circula tion desk, or by mail (go to http://www.nashuareads.htm to print an order form).

I’ll be there with my son – if you go make sure you also say hi to us!

Sunday, October 17
Private reception: 1 p.m.
Public presentation: 2 p.m.
Rivier College Dion Center
16 Clement Street, Nashua

 

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