Six-Figure Freelancing: Upcoming Events (Chicago and New York)

Is making more money--even six figures--your goal as a freelancer? If you're in the Chicago area, come see me present on Six-Figure Freelancing at Off-Campus Writers' Workshop in Winnetka on Thursday, April 21 at 9:00 a.m. OCWW is a great organization for writers of all stripes, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about successful freelancing. Let me know if you're planning on coming!

I'll also be moderating a panel on Six-Figure Freelancing at this year's ASJA's annual writers conference in New York on May 20 and May 21. (I've posted about the annual conference before: if you're serious about your work as a writer, it's well worth the expense.) making money as a writer You'll hear from three uber-successful freelancers: Damon Brown; Wendy Helfenbaum; and Jodi Helmer. Each has a very different career path but all have  reached a level of success that many writers only dream of. 

Some of the strategies I'll cover on Thursday include: 

• Specializing. Early in my career I took on any assignment, on any topic, that was offered to me. That helped me gain a lot of experience but meant that I spent a lot of time getting up to speed on topics as varied an animal dissection alternatives to community leadership schools to charity car shows to religious-based weight loss programs. Today I specialize in health, wellness, nutrition/diet, and fitness subjects (with a bit of psychology and self-help tossed in). It may limit my work opportunities a bit but makes me far more efficient in the long run.  
• Developing regular clients. I have moved from doing mostly articles for print magazines to a mix of ghostwriting (mostly books and book proposals), content marketing, and blogging. I'm always looking for regular clients, however--those who will hire me more than once (and hopefully many times!) Even some of my ghostwriting clients have hired me to write more than one book for them, and that means I spend less time marketing myself. 
• Working efficiently. Specializing and developing "regulars" is one way to to do this. Another is to use my time wisely. I use my mornings to write and save less challenging tasks (like doing interviews, sending queries, and doing background research) for the afternoons, when I'm not as focused. Sounds simple, but you'll get more done when you take advantage of your natural energy ebbs and flows. 
• Building relationships. I do a lot of interviews even today, and always take the time to send personal thank-you notes to those I speak to. I also refer work I don't take on to other freelancers, and attend conferences like ASJA to meet not only agents, editors, and potential clients but other freelancers as well. Being connected means more than having a social media presence; it means having IRL (in real life) connections as well. 

Let me know if I can hope to see you this coming Thursday, April 21, in Winnetka, or on Saturday, May 21, at ASJA in New York! 

Power Up Your Queries with Query Boot Camp

Some of my most popular posts on this blog have been on querying, including the query critiques I've offered. That's not surprising considering how important strong query skills are to successful freelancing. If your query skills aren't up to par, or you want to make your queries even more effective, I suggest Jodi Helmer's upcoming Query Boot Camp class. Here's the scoop: 

Q: Jodi, tell me a little bit about the class. 

A: Query Boot Camp is a six week virtual class. Every Monday, I send a video lesson related to querying; on Friday, participants email a query and I do an in-depth critique that helps them hone their idea and pitch to increase their chances of landing an assignment. I offer an upgraded version of the class that includes three 30-minute phone mentoring sessions. We can spend the calls doing a deep dive into a specific idea and brainstorming angles and potential markets or use the time to develop goals/business strategies for freelance success. It's a good option for writers who want extra support to launch or build their writing business.

Q: What can participants expect to get out of the class? 

A: Writers, myself included, often send ideas to editors without the benefit of a second opinion. Having an experienced freelancer review a pitch before the editor sees it can mean the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. As the saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Your query is your first introduction to an editor; you want to make sure it shines. Offering the class virtually lets writers work at their own pace (and we know how much freelancers like to set their own schedules)! 

Q: What made you decide to offer this virtual class?

A: I kept getting requests for a query intensive. Even experienced writers with a lot of clips in their portfolios wanted to have their queries critiqued before sending them off to new editors or dream publications. 

Q: You also offer one-on-one mentoring/coaching for freelancers, correct? What does that entail?

A: Yes, I work one-on-one with writers who want individual support to reach their freelancing goals. Writers can hire me for a single query critique or an hourlong phone call to work through an issue or get feedback on an idea...whatever a writer needs to sell a story or take their business to the next level. Interestingly, query critiques are the most in-demand service I offer!

Q: Can you share a couple of success stories from your students? 

A: I love bragging about my students! The nuts and bolts: I've helped writers break into Natural Health, Parents, Experience Life, Urban Farm, Gluten Free Living, Natural Home & Garden, Modern Dog, Country Woman, Today.com and cottagelife.com. While the publishing credits are exciting, there are other successes that are important, too. A writer scheduled a one-hour session for help managing her workload. She was offered three long-term projects, all due in the same timeframe, and wanted to tackle all of them but knew she didn't have the bandwidth to accept all three gigs. We talked about the pros and cons of each project, crunched some numbers and, most importantly, evaluated which project would get her one step closer to her long-term goals. At the end of the call, she made a decision and followed through. 

I also helped a former newspaper journalist (who left the business decades ago to pursue another career path) launch a successful freelance career. He recently sent me an awesome email that said, "It's all coming together. I suddenly have more work than I can handle." 

Query Boot Camp starts in January, 2015; sign up now and you can write off the expense on your 2014 taxes--and reap the benefits in 2015! 

***Looking for more advice about pitching and successful freelancing? Check out my freelance classic, Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. If you're more interested in getting into ghostwriting and content marketing, I suggest Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition. And if you're brand-new to freelancing, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets walks you through the process of launching your freelance career. 

Help a Fellow Freelancer

Blogathon, day 21. 

I've been talking about the blogathon with my kids, and letting them help me come up with ideas. This morning my soon-to-be-nine-year-old son said, "what about helping people whenever you can?" (That's him, almost seven years ago.) And that may be something that you don't always consider as a freelancer, but it's smart advice wherever you are in your career. After all, it's a close corollary to the golden rule, "treat others the way you want to be treated." 

Here's an example. Two days ago, I received an email from a reader of Writer for Hire. She said she loved the book (which is always nice to hear), but she had a question about looking for an agent, and wondered if I could help her. I responded with a section of Six-Figure Freelancing that talks specifically about agents and includes websites to help her locate potential ones. And yesterday, I referred two potential clients to Jodi Helmer, a talented writing coach and teacher I know. 

It doesn't take much to help other freelancers. Maybe it's liking their new business page. Or responding to questions about rates for one of your regular markets. Or writing a review of their new book. Or sharing a Facebook post where they're looking for sources. These little things don't take much time, but they make life better for all of us, and they make you feel good. According to karma, what goes around comes around, so why not put some good in the world? 

Your assignment: Find a way to help a fellow freelancer. 

**And now for my usual book plug: if you're a new freelancer, get up to speed fast with Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, which is aimed at brand-new freelancers in search of their first clips. Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition is a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line. And my latest book,Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, shows how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field. 

Are You a New Writer? Avoid These Common Freelance Mistakes

I've posted before about the common mistakes freelancers make (including failing to market yourself, missing a deadline, and forgetting what your client wants, but this topic never gets old. So this post I'm talking with Jodi Helmer, who's been freelancing since 2002. 

Every writer makes mistakes, says Jodi. She admits to committing a few faux pas like resending a query to an editor who rejected it a few days earlier. Oops.

Despite the occasional gaffe, Jodi has published articles in National Geographic Traveler, Shape and American Way among others. She also coaches writers to help them achieve freelance success.

Q: What made you decide to work with writers one-on-one?

A: When I started freelancing, I had a great coach who worked with me on the nuts and bolts as well as the emotional side of freelancing. She reviewed my queries, answered panicked emails about contracts and revision requests and helped me figure out a plan to be successful. It was something I wanted to offer to other writers – and judging by the number of emails I get from new writers looking for advice, it’s a much-needed service!

Q: What is the biggest mistake new writers make?

A: I think the single biggest mistake writers make is not treating their writing like a business.

No one opens a bakery thinking, “I love baking cupcakes so I’ll buy the ingredients, mix the batter, bake the cakes and give them away!” But writers do this all the time.

It’s essential to run the numbers: What is your income goal? How much does it take per month/week/day to meet that goal? Once you know the numbers, you can start figuring out the best strategies to meet your goal.

Approaching writing like a business isn’t just about cash flow. When freelancing is a business, not a hobby, your approach changes: You’re more selective about the work you take, more apt to invest in your success.

Q: When it comes to crunching the numbers, what is the best approach?

A: I think it’s a mistake to focus on per word rates. Sure, it sounds impressive to get $2 per word but, in my experience, higher per word rates often result in lower hourly rates thanks to long delays between query and acceptance, specific assignment requirements and multiple rounds of revisions.

Figuring out what a story will pay per hour, as opposed to per word, is a better way to decide if an assignment is worthwhile from a profitability perspective. You’ll have to work with an editor a few times to determine the average hourly rate for assignments.

Q: Speaking of working with editors, what are the biggest mistakes writers make in writer/editor relationships?

A: Writers often fail to think beyond their current assignment. It’s important to develop relationships with editors. You don’t want to be a one-hit wonder with dozens of editors; a sustainable business is built on being the go-to writer for a handful of editors.

To that end, think of ways to impress an editor like including contact information for sources with the piece to help with fact checking, being accommodating during the editing process, thanking the editor for the assignment. Those little things won’t go unnoticed.

To learn more about Jodi Helmer and the mentoring programs and workshops she offers, go to www.jodihelmer.com. And for the record, I agree with all of her advice! Thanks, Jodi, for sharing your insights here. Readers, do you agree with her biggest mistakes? Or do you have others to offer?