View
226
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 117
101 SECRETS TO
FREELANCE SUCCESS
Kelly James-Enger
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 217
INTRODUCTION 1
PART 1MARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
1 BECOME A QUERY MASTER 3
2 FOCUS ON THE FRONT 5
3 USE THE TWO-PART TEST 7
4 SUBMIT QUERIES NOT ARTICLES 9
5 KEEP AN LOI IN YOUR ARSENAL 11
6 MATCH YOUR PITCH TO THE MARKET TYPE 13
7 DONrsquoT TAKE REJECTION PERSONALLY 16
8 LISTEN TO YOUR GUT 18
9 HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA 19
10 SEARCH CRAIGSLIST FOR WORK 22
11 EMPLOY THE 24-HOUR RULE 24
12 FOLLOW UP ON EVERY PITCH 25
13 CREATE A PLATFORM 27
14 PITCH QUIZZES 29
15 MASTER COLD CALLS 31
16 WRITE FOR BUSINESSES33
17 SAY NO TO CONTENT MILLS 36
18 CLOSE BUSINESS 38
19 MARKET CONSTANTLY 39
PART 2EFFICIENCY MAKING THE MOST
OF YOUR TIME
20 ELIMINATE THE UGLIEST 43
21 TRACK YOUR TIME 44
22 RESLANT EVERY IDEA 46
23 WRITE TWO STORIES AT ONCE 48
24 MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR WORKDAY50
25 RIDE YOUR WORK WAVES52
TABLE OF CONTENTS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 317
26 SELL STORIES MORE THAN ONCE 53
27 BECOME A GHOST 57
28 FIND FACTS FAST 60
29 SWIM LIKE A SHARK 62
30 WORK WHEN YOUrsquoRE NOT REALLY WORKING63
31 REDEFINE ldquoFULL-TIMErdquo 65
32 WRITE ARTICLES AND BOOKS 67
33 OUTSOURCE WORK 68
34 NARROW YOUR FOCUS 70
35 CREATE YOUR OWN TEMPLATES 72
36 LOCATE SOURCES MORE QUICKLY 74
37 MASTER SERVICE WRITING76
38 CONSIDER ANOTHER CAREER 79
39 USE E-MAIL THE RIGHT WAY 81
40 PERFORM CPR 84
41 FORGET PERFECT 85
42 MAKE YOUR OWN RULES 87
PART 3RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
43 FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE 89
44 EMBRACE A PROFESSIONAL PERSONA 91
45 CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS 93
46 SAY THANK YOU 94
47 KNOW HOW PERSONAL TO GET 96
48 CONDUCT MORE COMPELLING INTERVIEWS 97
49 MAKE CLIENTS LOVE YOU 100
50 CHOOSE RELATIONSHIPS OVER ASSIGNMENTS 102
51 LEARN TO SAY NO 104
52 REACH OUT THE RIGHT WAY 105
53 MASTER THE ONE-ON-ONE 107
54 NAME YOUR WHALES 111
55 ATTEND A CONFERENCE (OR TWO) 113
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 417
56 AVOID EXPLOSIVES AND WAIFS 115
57 MAKE SOURCES LOVE YOU 117
58 GATHERmdashAND SHAREmdashINFORMATION 120
PART 4MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
LIKE A BUSINESS
59 ASK FOR MORE 123
60 KNOW YOUR BOOK PUBLISHING OPTIONS 126
61 FORGET PER-WORD RATES 128
62 PLAN ON PAYMENT 129
63 MAKE EVERY DEADLINE 132
64 FIRE CLIENTS 133
65 USE THE FOUR-PART WORK TEST 136
66 FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS 137
67 COLLECT EVERY CHECK 140
68 QUESTION RESEARCH CLAIMS 142
69 FORGET ROYALTIES 145
70 COMPREHEND COPYRIGHT 147
71 KNOW YOUR DAILY NUT 150
72 SET BOTH KINDS OF GOALS 151
73 KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DEDUCT 152
74 CONSIDER OPPORTUNITY COST 154
75 DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK 156
76 PLAN TO PROMOTE 157
77 BLOG WITH PURPOSE 159
78 GET IN FRONT OF THE ROOM 162
79 BEAT THE FEAST-OR-FAMINE SYNDROME 165
80 BOOST YOUR VALUE 168
81 MANAGE YOUR MONEY 169
PART 5BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
OF THE OFFICE82 BEAT BURNOUT 172
83 KEEP YOUR HAND IN 175
84 STOP STRESSING OVER SMALL STUFF 176
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 517
85 KEEP AN INSPIRATION FILE 178
86 JUST WRITE IT 179
87 GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 181
88 WEAR A HAT 182
89 HAVE A BACKUP PLAN 184
90 SAY ldquoNOT RIGHT NOWrdquo 185
91 SET FOOD RULES 187
92 MAKE WAITING TIME WORK 189
93 LISTEN FOR YOUR INNER VOICE 190
94 PRACTICE DELIBERATELY 191
95 CREATE FREE TIME 193
96 FARM OUT YOUR KIDS 195
97 CELEBRATE YOURSELF 197
98 GET A PART-TIME JOB 198
99 STAY FLEXIBLE 200
100 FIND YOUR OWN PATH 203
101 SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 204
INDEX 207
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 217
INTRODUCTION 1
PART 1MARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
1 BECOME A QUERY MASTER 3
2 FOCUS ON THE FRONT 5
3 USE THE TWO-PART TEST 7
4 SUBMIT QUERIES NOT ARTICLES 9
5 KEEP AN LOI IN YOUR ARSENAL 11
6 MATCH YOUR PITCH TO THE MARKET TYPE 13
7 DONrsquoT TAKE REJECTION PERSONALLY 16
8 LISTEN TO YOUR GUT 18
9 HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA 19
10 SEARCH CRAIGSLIST FOR WORK 22
11 EMPLOY THE 24-HOUR RULE 24
12 FOLLOW UP ON EVERY PITCH 25
13 CREATE A PLATFORM 27
14 PITCH QUIZZES 29
15 MASTER COLD CALLS 31
16 WRITE FOR BUSINESSES33
17 SAY NO TO CONTENT MILLS 36
18 CLOSE BUSINESS 38
19 MARKET CONSTANTLY 39
PART 2EFFICIENCY MAKING THE MOST
OF YOUR TIME
20 ELIMINATE THE UGLIEST 43
21 TRACK YOUR TIME 44
22 RESLANT EVERY IDEA 46
23 WRITE TWO STORIES AT ONCE 48
24 MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR WORKDAY50
25 RIDE YOUR WORK WAVES52
TABLE OF CONTENTS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 317
26 SELL STORIES MORE THAN ONCE 53
27 BECOME A GHOST 57
28 FIND FACTS FAST 60
29 SWIM LIKE A SHARK 62
30 WORK WHEN YOUrsquoRE NOT REALLY WORKING63
31 REDEFINE ldquoFULL-TIMErdquo 65
32 WRITE ARTICLES AND BOOKS 67
33 OUTSOURCE WORK 68
34 NARROW YOUR FOCUS 70
35 CREATE YOUR OWN TEMPLATES 72
36 LOCATE SOURCES MORE QUICKLY 74
37 MASTER SERVICE WRITING76
38 CONSIDER ANOTHER CAREER 79
39 USE E-MAIL THE RIGHT WAY 81
40 PERFORM CPR 84
41 FORGET PERFECT 85
42 MAKE YOUR OWN RULES 87
PART 3RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
43 FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE 89
44 EMBRACE A PROFESSIONAL PERSONA 91
45 CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS 93
46 SAY THANK YOU 94
47 KNOW HOW PERSONAL TO GET 96
48 CONDUCT MORE COMPELLING INTERVIEWS 97
49 MAKE CLIENTS LOVE YOU 100
50 CHOOSE RELATIONSHIPS OVER ASSIGNMENTS 102
51 LEARN TO SAY NO 104
52 REACH OUT THE RIGHT WAY 105
53 MASTER THE ONE-ON-ONE 107
54 NAME YOUR WHALES 111
55 ATTEND A CONFERENCE (OR TWO) 113
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 417
56 AVOID EXPLOSIVES AND WAIFS 115
57 MAKE SOURCES LOVE YOU 117
58 GATHERmdashAND SHAREmdashINFORMATION 120
PART 4MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
LIKE A BUSINESS
59 ASK FOR MORE 123
60 KNOW YOUR BOOK PUBLISHING OPTIONS 126
61 FORGET PER-WORD RATES 128
62 PLAN ON PAYMENT 129
63 MAKE EVERY DEADLINE 132
64 FIRE CLIENTS 133
65 USE THE FOUR-PART WORK TEST 136
66 FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS 137
67 COLLECT EVERY CHECK 140
68 QUESTION RESEARCH CLAIMS 142
69 FORGET ROYALTIES 145
70 COMPREHEND COPYRIGHT 147
71 KNOW YOUR DAILY NUT 150
72 SET BOTH KINDS OF GOALS 151
73 KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DEDUCT 152
74 CONSIDER OPPORTUNITY COST 154
75 DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK 156
76 PLAN TO PROMOTE 157
77 BLOG WITH PURPOSE 159
78 GET IN FRONT OF THE ROOM 162
79 BEAT THE FEAST-OR-FAMINE SYNDROME 165
80 BOOST YOUR VALUE 168
81 MANAGE YOUR MONEY 169
PART 5BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
OF THE OFFICE82 BEAT BURNOUT 172
83 KEEP YOUR HAND IN 175
84 STOP STRESSING OVER SMALL STUFF 176
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 517
85 KEEP AN INSPIRATION FILE 178
86 JUST WRITE IT 179
87 GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 181
88 WEAR A HAT 182
89 HAVE A BACKUP PLAN 184
90 SAY ldquoNOT RIGHT NOWrdquo 185
91 SET FOOD RULES 187
92 MAKE WAITING TIME WORK 189
93 LISTEN FOR YOUR INNER VOICE 190
94 PRACTICE DELIBERATELY 191
95 CREATE FREE TIME 193
96 FARM OUT YOUR KIDS 195
97 CELEBRATE YOURSELF 197
98 GET A PART-TIME JOB 198
99 STAY FLEXIBLE 200
100 FIND YOUR OWN PATH 203
101 SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 204
INDEX 207
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 317
26 SELL STORIES MORE THAN ONCE 53
27 BECOME A GHOST 57
28 FIND FACTS FAST 60
29 SWIM LIKE A SHARK 62
30 WORK WHEN YOUrsquoRE NOT REALLY WORKING63
31 REDEFINE ldquoFULL-TIMErdquo 65
32 WRITE ARTICLES AND BOOKS 67
33 OUTSOURCE WORK 68
34 NARROW YOUR FOCUS 70
35 CREATE YOUR OWN TEMPLATES 72
36 LOCATE SOURCES MORE QUICKLY 74
37 MASTER SERVICE WRITING76
38 CONSIDER ANOTHER CAREER 79
39 USE E-MAIL THE RIGHT WAY 81
40 PERFORM CPR 84
41 FORGET PERFECT 85
42 MAKE YOUR OWN RULES 87
PART 3RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
43 FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE 89
44 EMBRACE A PROFESSIONAL PERSONA 91
45 CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS 93
46 SAY THANK YOU 94
47 KNOW HOW PERSONAL TO GET 96
48 CONDUCT MORE COMPELLING INTERVIEWS 97
49 MAKE CLIENTS LOVE YOU 100
50 CHOOSE RELATIONSHIPS OVER ASSIGNMENTS 102
51 LEARN TO SAY NO 104
52 REACH OUT THE RIGHT WAY 105
53 MASTER THE ONE-ON-ONE 107
54 NAME YOUR WHALES 111
55 ATTEND A CONFERENCE (OR TWO) 113
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 417
56 AVOID EXPLOSIVES AND WAIFS 115
57 MAKE SOURCES LOVE YOU 117
58 GATHERmdashAND SHAREmdashINFORMATION 120
PART 4MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
LIKE A BUSINESS
59 ASK FOR MORE 123
60 KNOW YOUR BOOK PUBLISHING OPTIONS 126
61 FORGET PER-WORD RATES 128
62 PLAN ON PAYMENT 129
63 MAKE EVERY DEADLINE 132
64 FIRE CLIENTS 133
65 USE THE FOUR-PART WORK TEST 136
66 FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS 137
67 COLLECT EVERY CHECK 140
68 QUESTION RESEARCH CLAIMS 142
69 FORGET ROYALTIES 145
70 COMPREHEND COPYRIGHT 147
71 KNOW YOUR DAILY NUT 150
72 SET BOTH KINDS OF GOALS 151
73 KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DEDUCT 152
74 CONSIDER OPPORTUNITY COST 154
75 DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK 156
76 PLAN TO PROMOTE 157
77 BLOG WITH PURPOSE 159
78 GET IN FRONT OF THE ROOM 162
79 BEAT THE FEAST-OR-FAMINE SYNDROME 165
80 BOOST YOUR VALUE 168
81 MANAGE YOUR MONEY 169
PART 5BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
OF THE OFFICE82 BEAT BURNOUT 172
83 KEEP YOUR HAND IN 175
84 STOP STRESSING OVER SMALL STUFF 176
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 517
85 KEEP AN INSPIRATION FILE 178
86 JUST WRITE IT 179
87 GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 181
88 WEAR A HAT 182
89 HAVE A BACKUP PLAN 184
90 SAY ldquoNOT RIGHT NOWrdquo 185
91 SET FOOD RULES 187
92 MAKE WAITING TIME WORK 189
93 LISTEN FOR YOUR INNER VOICE 190
94 PRACTICE DELIBERATELY 191
95 CREATE FREE TIME 193
96 FARM OUT YOUR KIDS 195
97 CELEBRATE YOURSELF 197
98 GET A PART-TIME JOB 198
99 STAY FLEXIBLE 200
100 FIND YOUR OWN PATH 203
101 SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 204
INDEX 207
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 417
56 AVOID EXPLOSIVES AND WAIFS 115
57 MAKE SOURCES LOVE YOU 117
58 GATHERmdashAND SHAREmdashINFORMATION 120
PART 4MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
LIKE A BUSINESS
59 ASK FOR MORE 123
60 KNOW YOUR BOOK PUBLISHING OPTIONS 126
61 FORGET PER-WORD RATES 128
62 PLAN ON PAYMENT 129
63 MAKE EVERY DEADLINE 132
64 FIRE CLIENTS 133
65 USE THE FOUR-PART WORK TEST 136
66 FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS 137
67 COLLECT EVERY CHECK 140
68 QUESTION RESEARCH CLAIMS 142
69 FORGET ROYALTIES 145
70 COMPREHEND COPYRIGHT 147
71 KNOW YOUR DAILY NUT 150
72 SET BOTH KINDS OF GOALS 151
73 KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DEDUCT 152
74 CONSIDER OPPORTUNITY COST 154
75 DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK 156
76 PLAN TO PROMOTE 157
77 BLOG WITH PURPOSE 159
78 GET IN FRONT OF THE ROOM 162
79 BEAT THE FEAST-OR-FAMINE SYNDROME 165
80 BOOST YOUR VALUE 168
81 MANAGE YOUR MONEY 169
PART 5BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
OF THE OFFICE82 BEAT BURNOUT 172
83 KEEP YOUR HAND IN 175
84 STOP STRESSING OVER SMALL STUFF 176
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 517
85 KEEP AN INSPIRATION FILE 178
86 JUST WRITE IT 179
87 GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 181
88 WEAR A HAT 182
89 HAVE A BACKUP PLAN 184
90 SAY ldquoNOT RIGHT NOWrdquo 185
91 SET FOOD RULES 187
92 MAKE WAITING TIME WORK 189
93 LISTEN FOR YOUR INNER VOICE 190
94 PRACTICE DELIBERATELY 191
95 CREATE FREE TIME 193
96 FARM OUT YOUR KIDS 195
97 CELEBRATE YOURSELF 197
98 GET A PART-TIME JOB 198
99 STAY FLEXIBLE 200
100 FIND YOUR OWN PATH 203
101 SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 204
INDEX 207
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 517
85 KEEP AN INSPIRATION FILE 178
86 JUST WRITE IT 179
87 GET (AND STAY) PHYSICAL 181
88 WEAR A HAT 182
89 HAVE A BACKUP PLAN 184
90 SAY ldquoNOT RIGHT NOWrdquo 185
91 SET FOOD RULES 187
92 MAKE WAITING TIME WORK 189
93 LISTEN FOR YOUR INNER VOICE 190
94 PRACTICE DELIBERATELY 191
95 CREATE FREE TIME 193
96 FARM OUT YOUR KIDS 195
97 CELEBRATE YOURSELF 197
98 GET A PART-TIME JOB 198
99 STAY FLEXIBLE 200
100 FIND YOUR OWN PATH 203
101 SHOW UP ON YOUR MAT 204
INDEX 207
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 617
INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
I never intended to be a successful freelancer
I was an unhappy lawyer who wanted to escape a career I hated so I
quit to write full-time with a career plan that was murky at best I thought
Irsquod 1047297nally start (and hopefully 1047297nish) the novel Irsquod dreamed of for years and
write a few magazine articles here and there While I had two published
clips when I started freelancing in January 1997 (articles in Cosmopolitan and Bridersquos) I had zero connections in the publishing world no journalism
experience and no idea of what to expect But eventually Irsquod make some
money right That was what I hoped anyway
It took me almost two years of full-time freelancing before I knew I
could sustain a full-time freelance career Along the way I made pretty
much every mistake you can make I pitched markets Irsquod never read I wrote
horrendous queries I interviewed the wrong kinds of sources for articlesI rewrote stories over and overmdashand over I focused on what I wanted to
write instead of what clients wanted me to write I wrote vain little essays
that never got published
Considering how many things I did wrong itrsquos amazing I survived
those 1047297rst couple years of freelancing
But I did And I learned
I learned how to manage my time I learned how to turn one as-
signment into a long-term relationship with an editor I learned how
to make the most of my time by special izing I got over my fear of ask-
ing for more money and negotiated writer-friendly contracts that let
me resell my articles to other markets Over time I branched out into
lucrative specialties like ghostwriting copywriting and consulting I
published a couple of chick lit novels (although it took me a lot longer
than I expected) wrote nonfiction books and developed a speaking
business along the way
I started teaching writing classes writing about writing and presenting
at writers conferences and I wound up a freelancing ldquoexpertrdquo helping oth-
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 717
WRITER FOR HIRE2
ers break into the business Today I have more than 1047297fteen years of full-time
freelancing under my belt and I make a respectable income even though I
work part-time hours (I have two little kids who are my 1047297rst priority)
I recently realized however that my success wasnrsquot due to my persis-
tence or even to luck Itrsquos because as I gained experience I discovered the
ldquosecretsrdquo of freelancingmdashthe rules of success if you will Uncovering and
embracing those rules took me from insecure struggling freelancer to
con1047297dent productive business owner
When you know the secrets of freelancing success you can do the same
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 817
3
When you think successful freelancer what skill 1047297rst comes to mind If you
said writing yoursquore wrong Itrsquos sellingmdashand thatrsquos why the 1047297rst section of
this book is devoted to marketing
Irsquove seen dozens of former editors dabble in freelancing only to return
to staff jobsmdashand often the cause is their discomfort with marketing If
you canrsquot sell your writing you wonrsquot succeed as a freelancer The secrets
in this section will help you market more effi ciently to both new and regu-lar clients and ensure a steady stream of freelance work
1BECOME A QUERY MASTER
If you want to freelance for publications (whether trade or consumer print
or online) yoursquove got to be able to query and query well A query letter has
multiple functions It serves as a sales pitch a letter of introduction and
a writing samplemdashand itrsquos how you demonstrate that you understand the
editorrsquos market and can give her what she wants
New writers often struggle with query letters but the letters donrsquot have
to be complicated I 1047297nd that when you have a template to follow yoursquore
able to draft compelling queries more quickly
My template for a query includes a basic four-paragraph structure
PART ONEMARKETING SELLING YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 917
WRITER FOR HIRE44
I say both are wrong The 1047297rst thing you should do is to eliminate the ug-
liest In other words do the thing that you most do not want to do There are
several compelling reasons why First when you start your morning with the
worst thing you must do (whether itrsquos writing the draft of a complicated article
revising a book chapter yoursquove been putting off or calling an editor to request
some contract changes) your day can only get better right
Second when you have something you donrsquot want to do and you donrsquot
do it right away you spend a good part of your workday coming up with
compelling (and increasingly more creative) reasons why you cannot do that
thing right now You promise yourself yoursquoll do it after you have some coffee
No yoursquoll do it before lunch Wait your blood sugar is 1047298agging so yoursquoll do
it after lunch Then you put it off until three 983152983149mdashand nothing gets done at
three 983152983149 Eventually you run out of steam and you run out of work time
and you promise yourself yoursquoll do the dreaded task tomorrow
Herersquos the thing First off the dreaded thing did not get done Thatrsquos bad
enough But second consider how much time and mental energy you wasted
throughout your day coming up with excuses (oops I mean reasons) why
you couldnrsquot do it right at that moment Thatrsquos not only a waste of time itrsquos a
drain on your emotional energy and leeches your productivity
Thatrsquos why I end every workday by identifying the thing I most do not
want to do the next morning and start every workday tackling that task
Eliminate the ugliest whatever your ldquouglyrdquo thing may be and watch your
productivity climb
21
TRACK YOUR TIME
I call myself a full-time freelancer but Irsquoll let you in on a secret While I say
I work full-time that doesnrsquot mean I work forty hours a week Early in my
career yes I worked those kinds of hours but since then Irsquove gradually
cut back on my total work time I have more regular clients which means Ispend less time marketing and Irsquove become much more effi cient when Irsquom
working Since I became a parent six years ago Irsquove managed to run a ldquofull-
timerdquo writing business putting in 1047297fteen to twenty hours a week
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1017
WRITER FOR HIRE56
Reprint Rights Currently AvailableWork by Kelly James-Enger
Available as of March 22 2011 (latest additions marked with )
Parenting-Oriented
ldquoCommon Nutrition Mistakes of Smart Momsrdquo (feed kids
better) 850 words
ldquoKeeping an Open Heartrdquo (essay on open adoption benefits) 780
words [I include the rest of my story list here]
STEP 4 MAKE YOUR EDITOR HAPPY
Even though Irsquom offering a reprint I still keep my editorrsquos needs in mindWhat do I want To sell a story as many times as possible and make even
more money What does my editor want A story that will bene1047297t and ap-
peal to her readers Thatrsquos why I often ldquotweakrdquo my reprints to make them
more attractive to editors
For example I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a wom-
enrsquos magazine By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you
slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feel-ing con1047297dent in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes
throughout the piece it became aimed at engaged women in their twenties
and thirties not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat Give
your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market and yoursquore
more likely to make a reprint sale
STEP 5 KEEP IN TOUCH
Itrsquos much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you be-
fore than to constantly search out new markets Every three months or so
I update my master list making a note of the newest additions and send
it off along with a brief e-mail to editors who have purchased from me in
the past The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales and
keeps my name in front of clientsIf you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects you may
not have as much success with reprints But donrsquot ignore the opportunity
they present for subjects with wider market appeal Developing reprint
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1117
89
Forget the idea of the writer tucked away in her garret todayrsquos successful
freelancers know how to create and maintain relationships with people
ranging from editors to sources to public relations pros to fellow writers
The good news is that in todayrsquos world of social media itrsquos easier than
ever beforemdashbut relationship building is more than simply ldquofriendingrdquo
everyone you know The secrets in this section wil l help you learn how
to connect and stay connected with the people who will help you suc-ceed as a freelancer
43
FOLLOW THE PLATINUM RULE
Yoursquore no doubt familiar with the Golden Rulemdashtreat others the way yoursquod
like to be treated Well when it comes to clients Irsquod suggest you up the
ante and employ the Platinum Rulemdashtreat them even better than yoursquod
like to be treated
As a freelancer yoursquore facing a lot of competition That means just get-
ting the job done isnrsquot enough Itrsquos the willingness to go beyond what editors
and clients require that sets you apart from the freelance pack
For example several years ago I interviewed a cake decorator for a
trade magazine story During the course of the interview she mentioned
that the magazine had recently run her photo Problem was the person in
the picture wasnrsquot her
PART 3
RELATIONSHIPS BUILDING
AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1217
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 137
magazines pay more but Irsquom always looking at my hourly rate not
just the size of the check And sometimes the magazines that pay
less per word actually pay more per hour
3 WHATrsquoS THE PIA FACTOR PIA is my shorthand for Pain In the um
rear end Some clients and editors are annoying to work with Irsquom
thinking of an editor I work with who takes forever to respond to
queries then assigns stuff with ridiculously tight deadlines I love
her but therersquos de1047297nitely a PIA factor to working with her And if
that PIA factor on a particular project is high Irsquom either going to get
more money hellip or I might even walk away
4 WILL THIS WORK FURTHER MY CAREERmdashAND IF SO HOW So
for example when I wrote my first book Ready Aim Specialize I
received an advance of just $2500 I spent months researching (I
interviewed fif ty-six sources) and writing the book My hourly
rate was abysmal I made more as a teenaged lifeguard
But herersquos the thing I wanted to start writing books and I had to begin
somewhere So I said yes to the book added author to my CV and even
made royalties from it My 1047297rst book led to many others which has made
the 1047297rst low advance worth it
As a freelancer itrsquos within your control to take on work or turn it down
The four-part test has helped me stay on course and prevent me from agree-
ing to work based only on what it pays I suggest you look at other factorsas well to help you determine what projects meet your short-term and
long-term goals
66
FIGHT
FOR
YOUR
RIGHTS
When I speak at writers conferences the same questions always come up
How do I 1047297nd an agent How can I turn my blog into a book And should
I sign an all-rights contract
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1317
WRITER FOR HIRE156
that assignment or client is worth it Just remember that when you say yes
to one project you may be saying no to another
75
DIVERSIFY YOUR WORK
When I started freelancing I planned to write magazine articles and work
on my novel That was my business plan
I learned pretty quickly though that magazine articles werenrsquot
enough I was pitching dozens of different magazines but my query suc-
cess rate wasnrsquot very high Even if I did get an assignment months elapsed
between the time I 1047297rst pitched an idea its eventual assignment and
getting paid for it That meant my cash 1047298ow looked more like a dribble
I broke free from my original plan and diversi1047297ed I started ldquostringingrdquo
or freelancing for my local paper and writing for a variety of local busi-
nesses which paid much more quick ly By the end of the year my cash1047298ow and workload were much more consistent [See 79 Beat the feast-
or-famine syndrome]
Diversifying isnrsquot just practical itrsquos smart Your ability to perform a va-
riety of different kinds of work makes you more marketable to clients and
ensures that you keep up with an ever-changing freelance market [See
80 Boost your value]
My 2011 survey of more than two hundred full-time freelancers re-vealed that theyrsquore performing a wide array of work which includes
bull Blogging (whether they blog for others or produce income from their
own blogs)
bull Editing (all types)
bull Ghostwriting (books articles blogs)
bull Proofreading
bull Public speaking
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1417
MANAGEMENT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS LIK E A BUSINESS 167
as soon as you get an assignment take the 1047297rst steps you need to For ar-
ticles that usually means doing background research and identifying po-
tential sources After Irsquove come up with potential sources (whether experts
or ldquoreal peoplerdquo anecdotes) I start contacting them to line up interviews I
have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece
CREATE A BUM PER
Herersquos something I didnrsquot anticipate when I 1047297rst started freelancingmdashhow
long it would take for me to get paid for an assignment You canrsquot control
when work is assigned or how long it takes an editor to approve it so you can
actually get paid for it For example I pitched a piece to a magazine in May
which was assigned in July I turned the story in in August and in September
reworked the piece per my editorrsquos speci1047297cations After she accepted the story
she put payment throughmdashand I received my check in early November
Just as you assume work will take you longer than you expect to 1047297nish
you must assume that it will also take longer than you expect to get paid
That means you need to have a 1047297nancial ldquobumperrdquo to rely on when clientsare slow to cut checks Ideally you should have at least three monthsrsquo worth
of income in the bank that way you can withdraw from your ldquobumperrdquo
account when itrsquos taking time to collect your receivables
STAY ON TO P OF YOUR INVOICES
Just as you follow up on queries and letters of introduction you should stay
on top of your invoices Note the payment cycles of your regular clients so you can check on invoices that remain unpaid once theyrsquore overdue [See
67 Collect every check ]
HAVE A MIX O F EGGS
Yoursquove heard ldquodonrsquot put all your eggs in one basketrdquo The same goes for
your freelance work Itrsquos easier to work for a small number of clients but
be careful about having too few projects going at any time For examplelast year I was counting on a book proposal selling so I didnrsquot do much mar-
keting Then when the book didnrsquot sell I suddenly found myself with little
workmdashand little money
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1517
172
Yes yoursquore a freelancer but you have a life too (I hope) Creating work
life balance maintaining a positive outlook nurturing your creativity and
staying physically and mentally healthy all have a tremendous impact on
your productivity and long-term success as a freelancer The secrets in this
1047297nal section will help you avoid burnout deal with writerrsquos anxiety juggle
your freelancing with the rest of your life and set the stage for a successful
happy life both in and out of your offi ce
82
BEAT BURNOUT
Freelancing full-time has a lot of perks You get to make a living from your
words you can write from a home offi ce in sweats and thick 1047298uffy socks
and you can work as little or as much as you want (At least you can in the-
orymdashsometimes you face freelance droughts or have to work weekends
and nights to meet all your deadlines)
Sure there are the inevitable hassles with slow-to-respond editors de-
layed checks and mangled edits But overall most freelancers love what
they do and the way theyrsquore able to work A survey of full-time freelancers
I conducted in 2011 found that 90 percent ldquode1047297nitelyrdquo planned to continue
their careers another 7 percent said they ldquoprobablyrdquo would So you may be
surprised to 1047297nd yourself suffering from burnout at some point
PART 5
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1617
BALANCE YOUR LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF T HE OFFICE 189
If yoursquove never had food issues you may not need a set of rules like this
and if so yoursquore lucky If you 1047297nd yourself turning to food out of boredom
or anxiety though I suggest you decide how and when yoursquoll eat Both
your waistline and your productivity will bene1047297t
92
MAKE WAITING TIME WORK
In one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons ldquoMr Plowrdquo Homer decides
to launch his own snow-shoveling business With the help of singer Linda
Ronstadt he creates a television ad that runs in the wee morning hours
(the only time slot he can afford)
After the ad runs for the 1047297rst time he sits back and announces to his
family ldquoNow we play the waiting gamerdquo But after only the briefest of
pauses Homer loses his patience ldquoThe waiting game sucksrdquo he declares
ldquoLetrsquos play Hungry Hungry Hipposrdquo
Homer is so so right The waiting game truly does suck
I know because Irsquove played it beforemdashand Irsquom playing it now I have
not one but four potential book projects that may or make not go for-
ward My agent is shopping around a book proposal I ghostwrote for
a client Another agent is shopping the updated version of a book I co-
authored to its original publisher A publisher has expressed interest in
one of my own books but the editor has yet to send the contract And
another potential client is about to sign me to ghostwrite her propos-
almdashany day
So that means I have four potential book projects in the works but
nothing has signed yet So I wait And wait And wait Every time the
phone rings or my e-mail chimes I take a breath This could be it This
could be the call But itrsquos not my agent or the AWOL editor or my poten-
tial client Itrsquos another freelancer or a former student or a spammer AndIrsquom getting annoyed
I know that something will shake loose hopefully in the next few days
And I do have a few magazine articles to write but not nearly enough work
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer
822019 Writer for Hire 101 Secrets to Freelance Success
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwriter-for-hire-101-secrets-to-freelance-success 1717
E A N
W7416
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 4
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 e 7 x M E M T A u N A I 4 M A E x B k V B
0 4 T i 0 x M w 0 5 N z g x N T k 5 N j M 1 N D k x A A = =
781599 6354919
51699
ISBN-10 1-59963-549-6ISBN-13 978-1-59963-549-1
US $1699(CAN $2950)
F n L 1 0 4 0 1 2 0
0 1 J U Y r V y B Q d W J s a W N h d G l v b n M s I E l u Y y A o
0 2 S W 9 s Y S B k a X Z p c 2 l v b i k P R 3 J l Z 2 9 y e S B L
0 3 c n V l Z 2 V y A E 6 W 6 1 4 C M T M D M T A w A T E F V V B D
0 4 L U E M M D M 1 M z E z N j U 0 N z k 0 K A = =
35313 654790 4 U P C
WRITING REFERENCE
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU LAUNCHmdashAND SUSTAINmdash
A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE WRITING CAREER
If your goal is to see your words in print and get paid for them you need
proven strategies and techniques that will help you work efficiently and
target top-paying markets Writer for Hire delivers with smart practical
advice for building a successful freelance career and getting the maxi-
mum mileage out of every piece you write
Written by expert freelancer Kelly James-Enger whose work has
appeared in dozens of national magazines including Redbook and Self this book brings you
bull 101 tips techniques advice and examples on building and main-
taining a freelance career that you can apply right away
bull Concrete advice on the business of writing including manag-
ing deadlines querying effectively working withmdashand vettingmdash
potential clients and handling taxes and invoices
bull Proven strategies for maintaining your success as a freelance
writer from securing repeat writing gigs and networking (in-
person and online) to establishing yourself as an expert and
working efficiently under tight deadlines
Writer for Hire provides all the tools you need to get published more oftento make more money and to sustain a profitable satisfying career as a
freelance writer