Category: Follow Through

Keep Your Word

Puzzle pices spelling out "Trust" in white letters on a gradient blue background
image courtesy of Gerd Altmann via pixabay.com

Whether you’re an independent contractor or hiring an independent contractor (or anyone else, for that matter), keeping your word matters.

Yes, we have contracts to make sure the specifics, scope, expectations, deadlines, and payments are detailed.

Your word still matters.

Don’t promise more than you can deliver

On the independent contractor front, that means understanding the scope of the project and the expectations, and making decisions on whether or not you can deliver. If there are red flags in the scope and expectation, bring that up before you sign the contract. Work out the details.

On the hiring front, make sure you are clear about what support and resources you KNOW you can deliver to your contractor, not what you HOPE to deliver.  Whether it’s contact information, office space, or graphics to support the project, make sure you have it in hand before you offer it. Make sure you know the project’s budget and payment schedule. Don’t agree to one set of terms, and then present the contractor with a written agreement that’s completely different.

Keep clear lines of communication open

We live in a transient world. Things change all the time. Sometimes it’s a change of hierarchy above the person hiring. Sometimes it’s illness or a natural disaster.

Whatever it is, if something has to change, communicate EARLY and OFTEN.

Discussing challenges, obstacles, and sudden changes is different than making excuses. It’s the difference between being active and passive. The more active you are in the relationship, the more likely it will be positive for both sides of it.

As soon as you know there’s going to be a problem, communicate. And communicate with possible solutions for whatever is going on. Then, listen to the other side of the communication, so you can come to a mutual beneficial agreement.

Support that verbal agreement in writing, updating whatever written agreement is already in place.

Complete your commitment and then make decisions about the work relationship moving forward

Unless it is impossible or dangerous, complete the commitment you made, even if the situation is challenging.

Once the project is complete and paid, then take a few days to decide whether or not this is a relationship that should continue. Don’t make a decision when you’re feeling exhausted or burned out. Give yourself time and grace to think it through, and work out if there were other possible options in the scenario.

Plenty of clients choose not to re-hire a freelancer. That works both ways. If the experience was more negative than positive, then disengage, and you can both move on to work with others who are better fits.

Completing the assignment before moving on shows that you take the commitment seriously.

Try Not to Overbook

We talk a lot about the feast or famine cycle in independent contracting. Sometimes, we’re so worried about a possible upcoming famine, or we know we have a big expense looming, that we overbook.

Try to keep a realistic schedule. There will always be times when we need to push through or push harder to finish something and meet a deadline. Sometimes, we have to do it when we don’t feel well or when we are burned out.

Sometimes we take on too much because we either misjudge how long something takes, weren’t given the correct information about it, or because there is more than one excellent opportunity, and we’re afraid of losing them.

We make our choices, and then we follow through on our decisions. That’s part of what makes people want to work with us again. Someone wildly creative who is unreliable causes pain, stress, and extra work to others on the project, and, eventually, people step away and stop working with them (in most situations; there are always exceptions).

If you overbook, do your best (and often more) to meet those commitments, and then take a rest, a step back, and look at ways to avoid painting yourself into that corner again.

Earn trust from others through your actions, and build trust with them when they reciprocate. Make note of whom you can’t trust, and see how you can avoid working with them in the future. If you can’t avoid it, see what mitigation fallbacks you can put into place.

Keep your word. Don’t give your word unless you plan to follow through. Learn to say “no” when something isn’t the right fit. Communicate clearly. Learn from what does and from what does not work. Meet others with kindness and grace while holding firm, realistic boundaries.

Basically, be the type of person with whom you want to work.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Prospecting

One of the fun parts of freelancing, for me, is prospecting for clients. Because I write about a wide variety of things,  I often refer to myself as either a Renaissance Writer or the Anti-Niche. But I’m interested in most things, except for math and anchovies, and even anchovies have a place in a Caesar salad. And there are plenty of people who are excited by math, so I don’t need to be. I honor their excitement.

Curiosity & Interest. I think the world is an interesting place. Most people are interesting, too, if you give them a chance.  People who are passionate about their work and their lives are always interesting.

Those are the people who often need help communicating to a wider audience.

Remember the phrase “prospecting for gold?” I enjoy prospecting for clients.

No cold calling. I do not cold call. I know, I know, so many of those books that tell you how to make a zillion dollars in six months as a freelancer talk about cold calls. As someone who finds the phone the biggest obstacle to actual creative work, who charges for phone time, and who is rude to telemarketers and cold callers, I do not cold call.

No showing up without an appointment. I also don’t just show up in person, barging into someone’s office or knocking on their home office door, demanding they drop everything they’re trying to keep going and talk to me because I want it.

This twist on door-to-door salesmanship is prevalent on the Cape. In fact, in the so-called “career building workshops” they force you to take when you’re on unemployment (I was on unemployment when my job at the library was eliminated several years back), they encourage you to do just that.

I know, with the small business with whom I work, that is a quick way to get on the list of “No Way in Hell.” Small businesses are working as hard as they can to stay afloat. They might need your services. But if you barge in when they’re in the middle of something else, you are not a savior; you are an obstacle.

For local prospects, I find the most effective way to work with them is to meet them at Chamber events or other local networking events. I don’t march around going, “I’m a freelance writer. Hire me!”

Instead, I ask them about their business. What do they do? Why do they love it? What kind of direct mail campaigns do they use? What’s the website like? How’s their social media presence? If they admit they’re lacking in something, I might toss a general idea or two their way. I make sure that we exchange cards, but I don’t try to sell them in the moment. 

The business day following the event, I send them a quick email, reminding them of our conversation, and letting them know I’d be happy to talk to them in more detail about what we discussed, or if they have any other copywriting or marketing needs in the future.

Then, I put them on my postcard list. 2-4 times a year, I send post cards out via regular mail. Spring and fall always, on seasonally-appropriate card stock. It lists my most popular services, suggests I am happy to help create, consult, or handle overflow when their marketing team is overwhelmed. It has my email address and suggests contacting me for further discussion and/or a quote.

If I get an email requesting a phone consult, I let them know I charge for that. I do NOT put my phone number on the postcards. Phone calls, even preliminary ones, are only by appointment.

I write a lot of holiday cards. I write about this often. I believe they are important. I believe it is important to MAKE time for the cards. It lets people know that they matter enough so that you MADE the time to jot a few words and chose an image you thought they’d enjoy.

I use both postcards and regular cards. I send them out separately from the direct mail postcards. There is no pitch in the cards. It is ONLY a wish that they enjoy the holidays.

But what about prospects I want to reach that aren’t local? You’ve heard my anecdotes about the challenges of local businesses in the area where I live at the moment. I won’t re-hash them here.

I keep an eye on companies via social media and news reports. If a company is doing something interesting within the realm of what I call my “Areas of Specialized Knowledge” I dig a little deeper. I do some research on the programs and people involved in the company. If they are connected to something I disagree with, such as supporting candidates or legislation that restricts rights, healthcare, or supports concentration camps, I’m out. Not the place for me.

If they are genuinely trying to make the world a better place, with their product or service and beyond, I keep researching. I dig around on the website and the PR wires to find the person who heads the department I want to work with. I do a bit of research on the person.

Then, I craft an LOI about what I like about the company, what I do, how I think it would make the company’s life easier, and why my unique background makes me an unusual, but strong choice.

Off goes the letter (by email, whenever possible).

On they go to the postcard list, for the direct mail reminders. I’ll often do a follow-up two to four weeks later. Usually, I’ve heard back before then. The best companies always respond, even if it’s along the lines of they don’t need me at this time, or they handle it in-house. When a company doesn’t respond, it’s a red flag. They may not be all they’re trying to portray.

I do two versions of the postcard, as I believe I’ve mentioned before. One is for potential clients. One is for clients with whom I’ve worked.

I revisit the text before each mailing and tweak as needed.

The direct mail postcard usually gets a 25% response, which is high. People like getting mail. They also like it when it’s friendly and cheerful, instead of a negative hard sell.

Sometimes, it’s three or four years before a prospect becomes a client, but persistence, especially positive persistence, pays off.

What are some of your favorite ways to prospect clients?

Ink-Dipped Advice: Holding To Your Own Standards

I admit it. I have some pretty high standards and expectations when it comes to dealing professionally with others.

They often fail to live up to it.

I’ve discovered, however, that it is important to me to live up to my own standards for myself, even when they don’t.

One of the things that I find most insulting about so many so-called “professionals” is the refusal to give a definitive answer. I don’t care if you’re an agent, a publication, or a business. When you’ve interacted with someone and decide not to hire them, TELL THEM.

Only answering if you want to do business with them is not, to me, acceptable. You don’t want to hire me? Fine. Your choice, and I respect it. But have the professional respect to TELL ME, not just never contact me again.

Sure, I get it when X amount of time has gone by.

But it’s rude, infuriating, and unprofessional.

However, it also proves to me that the business wasn’t worth my time for the interviews/meetings. I lose respect.

The next time you approach me? I set stronger parameters with specific deadlines for answers. And the price goes up. Or, I just say no.

Am I always perfect? Of course not. I lollygagged about writing notes after a recent series of meetings that dragged over six weeks. Had I lived up to my own standards, no matter what the result, I would have written notes after each set of meetings. But I felt jerked around, especially when, a few times, the day after the initial meeting, additional meetings were requested, I cleared the time , and then . ..crickets.

Kind of told me what I needed to know.

Should I have sucked it up and written a polite note, even though it would have been difficult on my part to say anything polite that was also true? Yes. Because I am disappointed in myself.

No matter what the other party does, I demand a particular standard of behavior for myself. Small gestures that follow protocols WITHOUT hypocrisy are important to things running smoothly. They also indicate a level of professionalism, in my opinion.

When people choose not to fulfill those protocols, it gives me important information.

I’m not talking about pointless hoop-jumping fake “tests” where I expect someone else to read my mind. I’m talking basic professional courtesy. “Please.” “Thank you.” “Thank you for your time.”

These matter.

When a company or business or individual ignores the small details, how can you be sure they’ll pay attention to the big ones?

Decide what your professional standards are. Live up to them, even if those around you don’t.

What refusals of basic professionalism and courtesy bother you? How do you deal with them?

Ink-Dipped Advice: Conference Follow-Up

 

I was honored to teach at the NECRWA Let Your Imagination Take Flight Conference over the last weekend of April.

I’m in the process of follow up from the conference. I usually try to get it done in the first two business days after I return. I was so wiped out from the month of April that I crashed and burned last week, and I’m still working on my usual post-conference protocols.

I’ve written about this before, last year, in the Authors Publish newsletter. I haven’t referred to that copy for this post — I’m simply sharing what I do. Returning from a conference can be overwhelming, when you unpack and look at all you’ve brought back.

Thank the Conference Organizers
I believe this is the most important piece of follow-up. It takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and emotional stamina as well as physical stamina to put on a conference. The organizers deserve a little thanks.

I thanked them in person on the final night, and I’ve thanked them across several social media platforms.

I’m behind in the written thank you, but that went out at the beginning of the week.

All of that matters.

Send out Promised Materials
Did you meet with any agents or editors? Did they ask for something specific? Get it out, as soon as possible. Some of them will ask you to wait a week or two after the conference, because they have a lot to catch up on. Make a note on your calendar, and send it when requested.

Make sure to send the materials while it’s still fresh for them.

This is also true if it was a trade show style conference and you spoke with vendors about possible freelance jobs.

If you talked to agents, editors, or publishers who didn’t ask for anything specific, just send them a quick note or email saying you enjoyed the conversation. Not every interaction has to be an immediate submission. There are plenty of agents and editors I love talking to at conferences. But I don’t write what they represent or publish, so I don’t submit or query what they don’t want. I do, however, keep in touch. If I ever do write something in their wheelhouse, I’ve laid the basis for a relationship.

If you met a potential critique partner and talked about exchanging manuscripts, or a fellow writer, where you did a book exchange, send the materials or say thanks. If it was a book exchange in the moment, make the time to sit down and read the book within the next two weeks. Tossing it on the TBR pile and not getting to it for a year isn’t helpful. Be the partner that you seek.

Thank presenters
Did you attend presentations you particularly enjoyed? Most presenters include their website or social media information in their presentation or handouts. Send them a quick e-mail and thank them on social media.

Even if we intellectually know our presentations went well, it’s a big emotional boost when a participant takes the time to say “thank you.”

Follow up with fellow conference goers
I collect cards, flyers, bookmarks, postcards from everyone. If we’ve had a conversation, I follow up as soon as possible, either to say I enjoyed the conversation, or to continue it.

Sort the Swag
In addition to picking up material from those I meet, I also accumulate plenty of material from those I didn’t.

When I get home, I sort it.

Agents, Editors, Publishers go in one pile. This is AFTER I follow up with promised materials, as stated above.

Authors I met go in another pile.

Authors I didn’t meet, but picked up material go in a third pile.

I follow up with authors I met first. That includes buying at least one of their books, if I didn’t do so at the conference. And reading that book in a timely manner. And then, LET THEM KNOW YOU READ IT — especially if you liked it. Leaving a review is also helpful.

I research the agents, editors, and publishers, especially if I didn’t get a chance to meet or cross paths with them at the conference. Do I have anything I think will suit? Does what I have meet their guidelines? Are they open for queries?

There have been times when I’ve been signed with an agent, and I run into an editor or publisher at a conference with whom I click. I then discuss it with my agent, and together we decide if there’s anything to query, or if we save it for another time.

If I have good conversations with an agent or agents while l’m under representation, I let them know. I don’t want my agent to feel I’m doing anything behind their back; I don’t want the agent I talk with to think I’m behaving that way either.

I go through the pile of authors I didn’t meet last, and check out their books and websites. Conferences are one of my favorite ways to find new-to-me authors.

File Information
I have files of conference programs, handouts, and promotional materials. I often remember a particular author or business by which conference I “discovered” them, so that’s how I file. I file the information AFTER I’ve done all of the above, because if I put away a file, my subconscious believes I’ve finished the project. I need unfinished files in front of me.

I keep files for far too long. Basically, I have an Archive. But that’s my choice. Do what suits you.

Normally, I’d have my initial contacts done early in the first week I was back, and be working my way through the Authors-I-Didn’t-Meet pile. But I’m behind, so I’m still working on thanking presenters and following up with other authors I met.

If the above sounds like a lot of work — hey, it is! But it pays off in connections and building friendships and finding great new reading material.

It’s all worth it.

Ink-Dipped Advice: What Does Your Client Want?

 

This is the central question when you’re doing marketing writing or blogging or any type of work for your freelance clients.

In initial meetings, when you decided if you wanted to work together, you hopefully discussed goals and vision. Your contract should define the parameters. Now, you can get into specifics.

For a client, the next question I have is, “Who do you see as your target market?”

Because sometimes who we/they “see” as the target market isn’t necessarily the best/lucrative/realistic market. Sometimes there’s value in targeting them anyway and expanding the market. Sometimes the desired target is so far from the reality of what will appeal, that there has to be some discussion and consideration. Desiring to sell dog food to cat owners is not going to grow your business.

Stretching and expanding is great. Casting a wide net is great. But spending money in a completely wrong direction is not worth it.

Far too often, the answer is “everyone.”

Well, yes, we live in an information age. Hopefully, we can restore Net Neutrality, and get more information (and education) available to everyone.

But “everyone” is not the right target.

Who is the ideal audience?

Novelists, playwrights, diarists, bloggers, etc. often write for a specific “someone” as their “ideal” audience, even if they can’t actually give height, weight, eye color, hair color, name, etc.

When you create a marketing campaign, or are part of a team that executes one, you need to have that “ideal audience” defined.

If you work for an organization that puts on a variety of programs, the target for each may be a little difference. You want your regular attendees to feel welcomed and included, so that they look forward to returning, time and time again, and having a fresh, fun time each visit.

You also want to expand the audience — place the materials in spots so people who are interested in this type of information will come across it and get interested.

How do you do that?

Listen
We’re back to that whole listening thing we talked about last week. Listening to your client is the most important skill you have.

Listen not just to the words, but to the subtext. What’s not being said? Is there a contradiction? Why? What’s the meaning under the words? What does the body language indicate?

Ask Questions
Ask questions, get clarifications, go deeper.

Asking questions doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. It means you’re interviewing the client and digging deeper for context and depth.

Match Message to Platform
I do not agree with the often-quoted marketing advice that the same information must be on every platform and it all has to match.

The tone and the message need to be consistent. But different platforms serve different types or portions of information better.

Facebook is different from Twitter is different from Instagram is different from Tumblr is different from Ello is different from Vero is different from Dots is different from MySpace and so on and so forth.

What is the strength of each platform? What is the weakness? Use each to its best, and slot in your information in a way that works best for the platform. Yes, if you have event information that needs to be disbursed across all platforms. But as someone who uses multiple platforms, when I see ONLY the same information on each one, I resent it. To me, it means there’s an information blanket being thrown over everything, and no individuality involved.

On a social media platform, if there’s no engagement, no response when I share or comment on something, I move on pretty darn fast.

Business has de-personalized so much, to the point of not signing legal documents, because it’s easier to hurt people when you stop thinking of them as “people.” Government is doing the same. It’s part of the reason we’re in the mess we’re in, on multiple levels. De-humanizing and de-individualizing in order to make higher profit.

The way small and medium-sized businesses and organizations can compete is by re-personalizing.

When the client gets that, and is willing to pay for the time it takes to do that, the client will see an increase in profit. It grows more slowly, but it happens.

We’ll get more into de-personalizing and re-personalizing next week.

Other messages are better shared through blog posts or articles or advertorials or media kits or web content. Match your message — or the portion of your message — to the best platform.

Message Expansion Takes Time & Resources
You need the time to come up with the message and create the materials. That means uninterrupted work time, not answering the phone or sending out invoices or doing the ten other things too many small businesses try to foist on you when you sign on. (Make sure your contract defines your parameters).

You need the time to post things, or schedule things to post. I use Hootsuite when I want to schedule posts on multiple platforms, Twuffer to focus on Twitter. I like the way Twuffer pushes photos to Twitter.

Quick response time is key, especially on social media. You need engagement. It’s not about posting and expecting audience growth. You post, there’s a response, there’s engagement, it’s shared, there’s more engagement and so forth and so on.

This takes time. When you’re building a social media presence for a business, you’re not screwing around on social media. Don’t apologize or try to minimize the time or the level of engagement necessary to make it work. Don’t sell yourself short.

Be Prepared to Change Direction
Your client might decide that’s not really the message they want out there; or that it’s taking too long to pay off.

The latter is the hardest to work with. Because so much on social media is instant, clients often don’t understand that it takes months to engage and build an audience. Months of daily interaction. Try to set realistic goals for growth at the beginning. Included engagement goals. Not just getting more followers, but the amount of interactions/the quality of those interactions. Then try to exceed those goals wherever possible.

Keep Communitcating with Your Client
It’s not just about what’s working. It’s also about what’s not hitting the mark, and what might need tweaking.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Listen, listen, listen.

Communication and being sensitive to your client’s needs and desires is key to making it work in the materials and in the office.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Hit the Ground Running

Are you the type who hits the ground running, or starts slow and then accelerates?

Both work, and it’s an individual choice.

I, however, prefer to hit the ground running. When I used to do National Novel Writing Month, I’d write ahead; at the top of the year, I try to get ahead. Because I know how things can change and upset all those apple carts we so neatly set up.

One of the things I do is work on my Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions for the year. You’ll see some questions to muse over for the year here, although my answers are on the main page.

I’m also well aware that those answers can and will need to shift over the course of the year. They are a roadmap, not a prison.

It is the second of January, a Wednesday, and I will be working on site with one of my clients today.

On my own time, I will also be working on two things I believe are important for my own growth and success this year: my personal strategic plan, and my marketing plan. They will intersect at certain points. But they will also form another roadmap for what I want in my business-related work, and in getting the work I do for myself (rather than clients – the novels, stage plays, radio plays, etc.) out to a wider audience.

In 2018, I got overwhelmed and discouraged. Instead of focused targets, I splattered a bit too much, and wound up settling for work in the short term that was necessary, and not pushing through for better work in the long-term that would have fulfilled more than one aspect of what I’m working toward.

I’m adjusting that this year.

Now, some of the things I set up last year are paying off this year — one in spring, one in fall. So I wasn’t completely off-track. But I let too much go, because of a difficult, demanding situation that took far too much emotional energy as well as physical energy. I have to adjust that this year.

I’m not sending out pitches and LOIs this week — where the holiday falls, let people enjoy it and clear off their desks a bit. But I’m planning and writing pitches and working on campaigns that will launch next week. Campaigns that are aligned more to the long-term rather than the short term.

I will talk more about this in the weeks to come.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Holiday Considerations

We all like to get as much work as possible off our own desks and onto someone else’s before the holidays and/or the end of the year.

But sometimes, you risk getting lost in the shuffle.

Everyone needs a break, so consider the why and the who before you hit “send.”

Contracted Deadlines
Obviously, if you have any deadlines around the holidays, meet them. In fact, put in time earlier in the season (like October and November), so that you can get them in to your agent or editor a little early.

Submission Deadlines
Some contests and publications have year-end deadlines for a particular issue or event. Again, try to get it in a week or two early. Don’t wait until the last minute, when something is bound to go wrong.

Pitches, Proposals, Queries, Manuscripts
Unless I’ve been asked for something by a specific date that falls within the winter holidays, I stop submitting/pitching on December 12 and start up again January 6. Unless it’s a short piece with a quick turnaround, there’s really no point.

That means, of course, that I have to plan earlier in the year to cover what’s basically three weeks without those going out – that means I’ve pitched early, and already scheduled work that is due/pays soon after the holidays, so I don’t have a fallow period.

In theatre, we always struggled in January and February; I try to make sure I plan ahead well enough so that I’m covered in my freelance life then, too.

Of course, if you hit fallow points, then you dig in, do your research, and pitch soon after the first of the year.

But I don’t do cold pitches/proposals/queries/submissions to agents, publishers, or editors during those three weeks. It’s not fair to any of us.

I do use the time for work that has a longer lead time, or for researching new-to-me markets and preparing pitches and queries to send in the new year.

Holiday Cards
As I’ve stated before, I’m big on holiday cards. However, when I send a holiday card, it’s just about sending a good wish for the holiday. It’s not pitching myself or asking if the former client needs anything – that happens again, after January 6.

Those former clients and prospects who got cards? They get a follow up note or email, along the lines of “now that the holidays are over, what are your needs for the coming months? Is there a project where you’d like my help?”

This way, you haven’t put pressure on them during the holidays, but you’ve reminded them of your existence, and now you’re following up for business.

Planning
This is a great time to plan what you want, need, and the changes you plan to implement to your working life in the next year.

I usually start thinking about this in autumn. I have a site called Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions, where we work on questions for the upcoming year, and then track our progress.

The planning involves what I want for the next cycle, the research, and a list of new prospects. I prepare proposals or LOIs as pertinent. I have everything written and ready to go by early January.

It’s also a good time for me to look at submission deadlines for theatres for their reading cycle for an upcoming season. Then, I pitch, query, or propose as is relevant to each organization that I think is a good prospect.

It’s also a good time to assess what didn’t work for you in the past year, and what you want to change. When you know what to release, when you make room for what’s better, you can start planning active steps to make it happen.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun
Spend time with the people you enjoy.

Also make sure you pay attention to those around you who are struggling. A kind word or a helping hand can make all the difference.

Go to at least one new-to-you event locally, whether it’s a networking event or a concert or an art opening. Do something different to prepare for positive change in the new year!

Ink-Dipped Advice: Navigating the Holidays

 

We’re into the holiday madness now. Of course, I consider the “Holiday Season” to be October 31-January 6, but there you have it.

How can you balance all the extra demands on your time with the extra demands on your freelance time?

Planning.

This is the time of year when your family and friends need –and deserve — more attention.

This is the time of year when your clients are worried about year-end campaigns and planning for next year.

This is the time of year when you need to start planning where you want to expand and enlarge your own reach next year.

As far as pitching to agents, editors, etc. in fiction markets, unless I have a set deadline, I do not pitch projects between December 12 and January 6. It’s just not fair. As tempted as I am to get things off my desk and onto someone else’s, it gets buried with everyone else doing the same thing.

I do research markets and prep proposals during that time (when I can), but I don’t start submitting again until January 6.

Here are some other tips that work for me:

Calendars
Your calendar is always your best tool, but especially during the holidays. I like to use the large desk blotter calendars. I have yet to have an electronic calendar that hasn’t failed me.

I put different elements in different colors. I work backwards from deadlines, break down projects, card writing, baking, etc., into workable chunks, and put them on the calendar.

This way, I can look up from my desk and keep track of what’s going on, and where I am at any particular point. I can also adjust, if necessary. I can get ahead if and when I ever find a pocket of time; I know if I’ve fallen behind, and can add in additional work sessions as needed.

Cards
I am a huge believer in old-school cards, especially around the holidays. It’s a way to stay connected to current contacts, and reconnect with those with whom you’ve lost touch.

If I use a holiday card to reconnect, that’s what it is — a reconnection. Not a request or demand for anything. But a simple well-wish.

For those with whom I reconnect, I usually send off an email or a postcard after January 6, asking where they are and what’s going on, if they need anything, if they’d like to set up an appointment. I do NOT add that in to the holiday greeting. I keep it separate.

By the way, post card contact usually gets me a 25% response rate, whereas email only gets 12%.

Assessments
I keep track of my Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions on a monthly basis (daily To Do lists make me feel trapped). I spend a couple of months at the end of each year assessing and making plans for the following year.

How much do you NEED to earn to pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, keep a quality of life?

How much do you WANT to earn for the extras?

How do you plan to get to both of those numbers?

I write, daydream, plan, strategize, and come up with what I think and hope will work for the coming year. I post it at the beginning of the year, and track it.

I also remain flexible enough for new opportunities to come in, and to drop what doesn’t work.

I assess and reassess every month. My GDRs are a roadmap, not a prison.

Market Lists
Once I assess where I am, where I want to be, and how to get there, I research markets and/or clients. I start putting together pitches, packets and LOIs. My goal is always to send out at least three LOIs a week; I don’t always meet it. When I’m deep in client work, I often let it go, which is the wrong thing to do.

When you’re deep in work is the best time to seek other work. The energy of your current work will spill into your LOI and make you more attractive to future customers.

This past year, I pitched fewer articles. I miss article writing. So in the coming weeks, I will research article markets, prepare pitch packets per their guidelines and editorial calendars, and have them ready to go at the turn of the year. If I see a call that’s got a deadline during the season, yes, I send it. But, for the most part, I wait until January, when everyone’s ready to get back to work, and to build a new slate of projects.

I hunt down reputable listings (in other words, people who vet them as paying a fair wage, such as Jenn Mattern’s All Freelance Writing). I always read the online guidelines before submitting, because guidelines change as editorial needs change.

Most important — I FOLLOW the guidelines. An acquisitions editor I know says 85% of the pitches she receives are tossed because the writer didn’t follow guidelines. Guidelines are the first test to see if you are someone with whom the publication wants to work. Are you worth their time and energy? Because if you can’t be bothered to pitch within guidelines, there are 10,000 other writers lined up behind you who are just as talented as you are who can. One of them will get the job.

My favorite way to create pitch lists is to sit down with the most recent print edition of WRITER’S MARKET, a pad of paper and a pen, and take notes. I read through the listings of any publication for which I think I could write. I make notes. I then check the guidelines ONLINE before I send the pitch.

Working only online, within search criteria, limits me. Reading through the entire book, with all the different publications, opens me to new-to-me publications that wouldn’t turn up in narrow search criteria.

The Personal Strategic Plan
Organizations create strategic plans to forward their growth and agenda. There’s no reason an individual can’t do the same.

It’s a little different than the Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions, while enveloping them.

In the GDRs, I list three practical steps to turn each goal, dream, and resolution into a reality.

The Personal Strategic Plan can go into even more detail.

The trap in going into too much detail is that you build yourself a prison. Workable steps are necessary. Too many details can keep you from noticing and seizing opportunities that could take you farther than your original ideas.

At the same time, you don’t want to pursue every new, shiny idea and abandon your plan completely.

You need balance and common sense.

Build in Fun
Between shopping, working, cooking, assessing, planning, wrapping things up, starting down new roads — you need to have fun. That’s what holidays are about — joy.

What gives you joy?

Think of the time from now through the holidays as “Days of Joy.”

Every day, do one thing that gives you joy, no matter how small.

Watch the positive ripple effect in the rest of your life.

Then, remember to build in the fun into your Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions, and into your Personal Strategic Plan.

We are freelancers in order to create our best lives, not live it for someone else’s convenience.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Translating Nano Advice into Work Practicalities

 

Yes, this is another National Novel Writing Month Prep Post.

Because techniques I learned and advice I heeded in my Nano years translated well into my freelance work life.

Yes, Nano is fun and a great playground to stretch into types of writing you don’t usually try.

But can build skills.

Here are the best techniques that transfer well from Nano into professional work.

Write (Almost) Every Day
Nano’s goal is 50K in 30 days, which breaks down to 1667 words/day.

Generally, I wrote a full chapter a day, of about 10 pages or 2500 words. Unlike many people, who find it useful to end in the middle of a thought, I like to work in completed chapters.

But Nano got me into the habit of working on what I now call my “primary project” (whatever I’m drafting), first thing in the morning, when I am at my most creative.

“Morning pages” don’t work for me. But working on the creative project in draft first thing does.

This has translated well into the rest of my writing life. As Carolyn See advised in her book, MAKING A LITERARY LIFE: “1000 words a day, five days a week, for the rest of your life.”

As a professional writer, I now have to write a great deal more than that on most days, but the 1K/day on my primary project works well.

Choose the Days You’re Not Going To Write
People huff and puff that “write every day” is not realistic.

It is if you’re a pro.

But that doesn’t mean you never take a break, a day off, a vacation, a sabbatical.

The difference is that you plan them. You choose to take however many days off per week or per month.

Then you do it.

I created a handout/download called “30 Tips for 30 Days” from the motivational emails I used to send out to the writers I mentored every morning. I’ll probably post it again this November. Within that, I built days off.

The second part of that means you adjust your daily word count to cover the days off. If it’s 1K/day for 5 days a week, but then you take a week’s vacation, you up your word count for THE MONTH before your vacation to absorb the words you won’t write (or will write on something else) on your time off.

Do it BEFORE you leave, because you won’t catch up if you just let it slide.

If you choose time off and then enjoy it, rather than just letting the writing slide and “not getting around to it” you will be more productive at the desk AND more productive the rest of your day, because you don’t have the “I should be writing” guilt hanging over you.

What if life gets in the way? Unexpected illness or an accident or whatever?

Deal with your life. Adjust the writing.

I find that sticking to the writing during a crisis helps me survive and cope with it better. It gives me a break from the stress and allows me to drop into my fictional world, even if only for a couple of hours here and there.

When, for whatever reason, I can’t do that, I decide how many days I can afford (on both financial and emotional levels) to be away from the writing, and I adjust the word counts around it.

I live on deadline. If I expect to keep and grow my career, I have to meet those deadlines, even while life is happening.

Bank Ahead
Instead of procrastinating, work ahead of your daily goal, especially at the top of the month.

That translates well to so doing at the top of any project.

The first flush of enthusiasm on a new project is great. Get as much down as fast as you can early on. That way, if and when obstacles come up, you’re both ahead of the game, and you don’t forget what you meant to say but didn’t write down anywhere.

Translate that to getting ahead on any project you do, and you’ll find less scrambling near deadline, unless your client is the one dragging his feet and creating obstacles (and you’ve planned contingencies in your contract. Right? RIGHT????).

Finish What You Start
This is one of the most important things I learned during Nano, although so many people lose heart and motivation during Nano and give up.

Unfinished projects drain creative energy.

The more unfinished projects you have hanging around, the harder it is to creatively breathe. The harder it is to see ANY project through.

When you rely on creative work to keep a roof over your head, you have to be ruthless about cutting out obstacles to that creative work.

Finish what you start. Then put it away for a few days, a few weeks, a few months (if it’s on someone else’s deadline, that timeline may need adjustment).

Once you can look at it objectively, decide if you want to retire it, put it in stasis, or continue work on it. Then set a schedule and deadlines and get to work.

I teach an entire course on this, THE GRAVEYARD OF ABANDONED PROJECTS, and the workbook is available here.

I developed these techniques by finding out what worked for me within the Nano structure, then applying it to my other creative work, and making the necessary adjustments to streamline and strengthen the process.

This year, the traditional Nano structure and schedule does not work for me, which is why I created the Women Write Change forum. I may go back to Nano at some point in the future. But even if I don’t, I am grateful for what I learned there, for the camaraderie, and for the chance to focus intensely on a project for a month.

What are your experiences? If you’ve participated in Nano, what has or has not worked for you? Have you been able to translate any of it to the rest of your writing life? If you’ve never done it, have you been tempted? Why did you choose not to?

I’m genuinely interested in your answers.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Positive Networking Practices

 

It’s been a busy time for me lately, and in a good way. But I’ve had some positive results of the various networking I’ve done.

When I meet people at events and exchange cards, I try to send them a note or an email within a few days of the meeting, just to say I enjoyed meeting them and to continue whatever conversation we began at the event.

Most places I’ve lived and worked — New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Edinburgh, Australia, Western Mass, Vermont, Washington DC, etc. — this is standard. You exchange cards, you exchange messages post-event and build from there, or have the initial post-event pleasant exchange and put the information aside in case it’s needed down the pike. And then use the information when and where appropriate.

Here, it’s quite different. Most of the time, I do the follow-up, and it’s crickets. If it’s a visiting artist/instructor/agent/editor from somewhere else, there’s response, but local? Rare.

If I mention, the next time we run into each other, “Hey, I sent an email after we met last time; did I get the address wrong? I want to make sure I have your correct contact information”  — the answer is usually, “Oh, I don’t have time to respond to emails” or “I didn’t answer, because I figured I’d run into you again.” In my book, those are not solid practices that grow one’s business.

I try to reconnect with those I’ve met about once a quarter. Just a quick “Hey, how are you, thinking of you, how’s it going?”  When I have an address, I often send a postcard rather than an email. Whereas email response to quarterly follow-up is about 3% locally and 15% beyond the bridge, response to postcards (by email, since I add my email address) is usually 25% or more.

I attended an event a few months ago, a lovely networking event, with about forty or fifty people. I exchanged twenty or so cards. Followed up within two business days (standard) with all twenty. Heard back from four (which, around here, is a huge response).  From those four, one was a person with skills that was useful to one of my clients, and I got them in touch and he was hired; the other opened the door to an arts group with whom I hadn’t had previous contact, and we’re talking. So that was pretty decent.

Wearing my playwright/novelist hat, I was a reader at the Provincetown Book Festival a few weeks ago (which was one of the best festivals I’ve attended in years). After the festival, I thanked the organizers and the sponsors (I’m still tracking down contact information for the fellow readers in my event, to say what a pleasure it was to read with them). I heard back almost immediately from festival personnel (not at all a surprise, since it was one of the best-run events I attended). 

I also heard back from several sponsors, absolutely thrilled that I contacted them and told them how wonderful the experience was.

One sponsor stated that they support so many local events and hardly ever hear back from anyone. So they were delighted that the event went well, and that I took the time to contact them. On my part, “taking the time” took probably less than five minutes.

And now that sponsor knows the event was money well spent.

I attended two events last week. Followed up on both. From the first, I heard back from two out of the two dozen or so people contacted. From the second, there were thirteen of us at the event. I followed up with all thirteen. I’ve heard back from and made plans with six of those thirteen so far, which is positive.

Will any of those above contacts end in cont-RACTs?

Who knows? But these are interesting people who love what they do. Interacting with them improves my quality of life, even if it doesn’t end in a contract. I hope they feel the same way. And even if they don’t hire me, there’s a good chance they’ll recommend me if they feel it’s the right match. As I will do, in the same situation.

What’s the moral of this little tale?

Follow up and follow through when you meet people. Don’t just collect cards and stick them in the drawer. Think beyond being hired on the spot. Think about getting to know some really interesting people who enrich your life.

Even if I don’t get hired by any of these people — there are some of them in fields relevant to upcoming books. You can be darned sure I’m going to consult them on their areas of expertise and thank them in the acknowledgements.

Connections are about people. As much of an introvert as I am, I find other people interesting. So I make myself get out of the house and interact, and I am almost always glad I do. Because their stories are interesting, and fuel my work.

Remember, as a writer: Nothing is EVER wasted.