5 Things to Know Before You Freelance Full-time

Last week's post was aimed at brand-new freelancers. Today's is at those considering transitioning from part-time to full-time. Here are five things that every freelancer who wants to go full-time should know:

1.You cannot save enough money. Okay, I don't mean this literally. What I do mean is that you should save as much as you can. I saved six months' worth of living expenses during the year that i was freelancing part-time (and still working 40+-hour weeks as a lawyer), and trust me--I wish I would have saved more. Aim for at least six month's worth of living expenses--and pay down your debt (credit cards, car payments, student loan payments) as much as you can while you're still employed.

2. It will take you longer than you think to get assignments. Unless you've built up a stable of regular clients already, you'll spend much of your time as a new full-time freelancer pursuing clients and assignments. And all that marketing takes a lot of time. Yes, you can pitch like crazy, but you can't make editors assign work to you any faster.

3. Corollary to #2: It will take you longer than you think to get paid. After you actually get an assignment, you have to complete it to the client's satisfaction. Then you get paid...sometimes eventually. Getting paid 30 days, even 45 after acceptance isn't unusual, so recognize that while your accounts payable may be sizable, you can't control when they're collected.

4. You'll face unexpected expenses. Trust me--that money you set aside will be spent more quickly than you realize. A good friend gets married--you need to buy a gift. Your car breaks down. You discover that you need a root canal. Unexpected bills like this can blow your budget, especially when you're not relying on a paycheck. (And that's another reason to sock money away before you go full-time freelance.)

5. You'll doubt yourself. Making the transition from relying on a regular paycheck to to freelancing is stressful. After a week or two of continual marketing--yet no assignments--you may be waking up every morning filled with dread. Recognize that this kind of emotional up-and-down (mostly downs) is part of being self-employed. Focusing on what you can do--searching for clients, sending out targeted queries and letters of introduction, honing your skills, and spreading the word about your freelance work--will help buoy you when you're feeling scared, or anxious, or full of self-doubt. 

This isn't meant to dissuade you from freelancing full-rather--rather, it's to help you succeed as a freelancer, both in the short- and long-term. Next post I'll talk more about making the transition from part- to full-time. 

**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; it's a great tool to help you go from part- to full-time. My newest  book, Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, shows writers how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field. And if you're brand-new to freelancing, I recommend Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. It walks you through 10 actual articles for different markets; how I pitched, researched, and wrote them; and includes advice on contracts and building your business from scratch. 

For New Writers Especially: Don't be Afraid to Talk Money, Part 1

And the 2014 Freelance Success/Word Count Blogathon continues!

Today's topic is one that new freelancers often feel uncomfortable with. It's the idea of talking money--with potential clients, editors, and other writers. Here's an excerpt from an email I received from a relatively new freelancer a couple of weeks ago: 

I recently wrote an article for a small local magazine and the editor said she'll be publishing it soon. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how I'll be paid. What do I do now? 

I suggested that the writer send an email that said something like, 

Thank you for letting me know about the piece; would you let me know what I'll be paid for the story, and when I can expect payment? 

The better solution, though, is to be talk money from the get-go. As a freelancer, you're not just writing because you love to write; you're doing it for the money. So it's reasonable for you to ask about money upfront. Let's say you're interested in writing for a publication, website, or blog. You check the writers' guidelines and can't find anything about pay. (That's a bad sign, by the way--the market may not pay at all, or may pay very little.) Send an email that says something like:

I'm interested in writing for your site, but didn't see your payment guidelines anywhere. Can you let me know what you pay freelancers? Thanks for your time and help. 

Once you have your answer, you know whether the market it worth considering--and you won't waste time with a market that doesn't pay enough to be worthwhile for you. 

Today's assignment: never say "yes" to an assignment without knowing what it pays. Even new writers deserve to get paid! 

**If you're a new reader of my blog, you may want to check out one of my books on freelancing: Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets is written for 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. 

13 out of 200: A Less-Than-Impressive Start to my Freelance Career

There's a big difference between seasoned freelancers and those just starting out, at least when it comes to marketing. Seasoned freelancers write much better queries than other writers. And new writers? Most of the times, their queries...well, they stink. 

My first year of full-time freelancing, I sent out more than 200 queries to potential markets. (This is including resubs, but that’s still a lot of pitching.) You know how many of them actually sold? Are you ready? Thirteen.

Thirteen out of more than 200. That's not a bad number for a direct mail campaign, but it's not too impressive for pitches that were supposed to be targeted to specific editors and markets. If I started out freelancing today and had that kind of result, I don’t know that I could, or would, stick with it.

          

But receiving so many “bongs” (that’s what I call rejections) thickened my skin. I stopped taking rejection personally. Yes, I was still annoyed. Disappointed. Discouraged. Frequently disgusted, and occasionally depressed. But I knew it wasn’t a rejection of me, only of my idea. (And looking back, many of my queries were terrible. They lacked focus, they were poorly researched, they weren’t written with the magazine’s audience in mind. No wonder they failed!)

            

By using the 24-hour rule, I turned each of those bongs into two opportunities. I kept pitching. I kept trying. Yes, I was discouraged but I kept my hand in, so to speak. And eventually I started getting assignments—not only because I kept pitching but because my queries got better. Much better. I learned to think about what the editor might want in a pitch, to highlight my I'm-So-Great paragraph, or ISG, and to present a "package" that made it easy for an editor--even one new to me--to say "yes." 

By my second year of freelancing, about one-quarter of my pitches sold, and that percentage continued to climb. (Today, more than half of the articles I pitch sell—and that’s a percentage I’m very happy with.)

            

I tell new writers that they will spend most of their time marketing until they start getting assignments. And that marketing doesn’t pay off until you get work. Well, that’s not quite true. Because the marketing you do makes you a better marketer. Write a lot of queries with the goal of improving your queries, and you will write better queries! And better queries=more assignments. 

**This post was drawn was drawn from my book, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. Order directly from ImprovisePress.com and use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps/no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order!

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For New Freelancers: What's Lead Time? And a Compelling Query

You have an idea. Now it’s time to write a query letter, or query. (Remember that query’s a verb, too. You can write a query, or you can query a publication. Both are legit uses of the word.) The query is the way you introduce yourself to an editor. This one-page letter is likely your only opportunity to make a positive first impression, capture her attention with an idea that will work for her readers, and convince her or him to give you your first assignment. It’s important.

I’ve been using the same basic structure for queries for years, and I know it works. Each query includes four elements:

*The lead. This first paragraph or two should capture the reader’s attention. You don’t need to start your query with an introduction; instead, jump right into your story and write the lead of the article you intend to write. You may use a first-person or third-person anecdote; a recent research breakthrough; a surprising fact; or any other introduction that makes your editor keep reading.

*The why-write-it section. This paragraph gives more detail about the article you’re pitching so that the editor can decide whether it’s right for her readers.

*The nuts-and-bolts section. This paragraph describes how you’ll approach the article. Who do you plan to interview? How long will the article be? What angle will you use? What’s the working title? I always like to suggest the section of the publication I believe the story belongs here. It shows I’m familiar with the market I’m pitching, which helps set me apart from other writers.

*The ISG (for “I’m-So-Great”) paragraph. This is arguably the most important section of the query for an unpublished writer. You’re unknown and unproven, so you want to demonstrate that you’re the perfect person to write this particular story.

So when do you send a query? That depends on the publication's “lead time.” Lead time is the amount of time between when a publication assigns stories and when they actually run. Typically, national consumer magazines have the longest lead times—on average, about six months. Smaller magazines and trade publications tend to have shorter lead times, and online publications have the shortest, which may be only a week or two.

You want to think about lead time when you’re pitching an idea that has some kind of “time peg,” or reason to run the story at a particular time. For example, you’d probably pitch a holiday-themed story to a national woman’s magazine in early summer, and a “get ready for the beach” workout for a spring issue of a men’s fitness magazine in fall or early winter. The publication’s writers’ guidelines may tell you what its lead time is; if there’s any doubt, it’s always better to pitch a story a little early than too late.

In fact, I suggest you always review the market’s writers’ guidelines before you write a query. The guidelines may specify what editors like to see in pitches, and tell you which sections of the publication are written in-house or are otherwise unavailable to freelancers. The guidelines will also tell how to send your query (i.e., via email or regular mail) and may also give you a suggested response time.

Here’s an example of a straightforward query using the above template. I’ve included my comments in blue.

  

Dear Kristin: 

When I launched my fulltime freelance business on January 1, 1997, I did so without any help. I had no journalism background, no clients, no connections in the publishing world, and a portfolio that contained only two clips. I made every mistake possible along the way. I wrote articles and sent them to markets instead of sending queries. I took what editors offered without asking for more money. I signed all-rights contracts without negotiating to make them more writer-friendly. I wrote for markets once instead of trying to develop long-term relationships. The list goes on…and on…and on.

But over time, I started to learn from my mistakes. I looked for ways to work more efficiently. I focused on building relationships with editors, experts, and other writers. I cut back on the amount of time I spent researching stories, which boosted my bottom line. And I discovered ways to set myself apart from all the other writers out there clamoring for editors’ attention. It paid off—along the way, I’ve written hundreds of articles, two novels, three nonfiction books, and hit the six-figure mark as a freelancer. [This is a first-person lead. Do you see how I’m catching the editor’s attention with a “true-life” story and demonstrating that I’m uniquely positioned to write this article?]

Yet I see many writers making the same kinds of mistakes I did early on, which prevent them from reaching their monetary and personal goals. “The Biggest Mistakes Even Smart Writers Make” will describe these kinds of errors, how they affect your productivity, and show ways to overcome them. I’m thinking of breaking the article into five to eight sections (depending on how many mistakes you want me to cover), with practical, doable advice for each type of error. [This paragraph explains how I’ll approach the story, and shows the editor how her readers will benefit from the piece. In retrospect, I could have included a couple of examples of these types of mistakes to further strengthen this section.]

Kristin, are you interested in this topic for your “Work Smarter” section? I estimate 1,500 words for this piece, but that’s flexible depending on your needs. About me: I’ve been a fulltime freelancer for seven years, and wrote an article on reprints for Writer’s Digest last year. My work has also appeared in more than 50 national magazines including Self, Shape, Health, Redbook, Woman’s Day, Continental, The Writer, and Marie Claire, and I’m the author of four books including Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (The Writer Books, 2003) and the upcoming Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money (Random House, February, 2005.) If you like, I’ll be happy to send you clips via fax or snail mail. [Note that I’ve suggested the section of the magazine where I think the story belongs. I’ve also given her a word estimate that is consistent with the writers’ guidelines, and told her a little bit about my background.]

Please let me know if you have any questions about this idea. I believe readers will appreciate and benefit from this story. [Oops! I forgot to thank her for her time. Otherwise, I think this is a great query, and it sold.]

Sincerely,

Kelly James-Enger

Feel free to use this template and my four-paragraph structure to create your own queries. A model will help you create a compelling, professional query that will help you nab assignments. 

**Looking to launch your freelance writing career--or make more money for your words? Check out Improvise Press' first two books: Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, and Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. You can order them through any bricks-and-mortar or online bookstore, or directly through www.improvisepress.com. Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps, no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order. 

Can't afford to buy the books right now? Then request them from your local library! And thank you for supporting Improvise Press, and this blog. 

When Do You Contact a Source? The McCaughey Septuplets Rule, Revisited

New writers often ask me how to make their queries stand out from the pack, especially when they lack clips. The best way to do so is to craft a compelling query that shows you've already down researched the topic you're pitching. 

Depending on the topic, this may mean including statistics, recent research, or "live" quotes from an expert or another source. So how much time and effort do you put into the query itself? Do you interview a source before you get the go-ahead to do the actual article? Or do you wait until after you get the assignment? The answer depends on what I call the McCaughey Septuplets Rule.

Let me explain. If the story I'm pitching turns on someone's participation (such as with a true-life feature or a profile), I contact the person ahead of time to make sure he or she is willing to do the story if (and hopefully when) I get the assignment. I may also use this opportunity to do a brief interview with my source and include some "live" quotes into the query, demonstrating that I've already done my homework. 

I call this this "The McCaughey Septuplet Rule." Long before 19 Kids and Counting aired, the McCaughey Septuplets, born in November, 1997, were big, big news. Every few months, their beaming faces would grace a women's magazine.

So let's say you wanted to write a profile on the McCaughey septuplets or interview one or more of them for an article. Sure, you can pitch the piece, but if it gets assigned, well, you need the septuplets. No one else will do. 

Same goes for pitching an article about a particular celebrity. If you want to write about Matt Damon, you'd better confirm with his publicist he's willing to talk to you for the story. And if you plan to write about a researcher's ground-breaking discovery, you want to be sure she's willing to be interviewed for your story. Otherwise you'll be unable to write the promised piece. 

That's why I confirm that any critical story source is willing to talk to me before I pitch the story—I don't want to be stuck with an assignment I can't deliver. Otherwise, I note a couple of people who I "plan to interview" (note my phrasing--these are the types of sources I plan to talk to--if one isn't available, I'll get someone similar), and contact them once I get the assignment.

Get the idea? If the story turns on someone's participation, I get their OK before I pitch it. Otherwise I pitch it and contact my sources afterwards. That's the McCaughey Septuplets Rule, in short. Follow this strategy and you'll write stronger queries--and never be in the position of being unable to deliver a story you pitched. 

**Want to launch your freelance career--or make more money as a freelancer? Check out Improvise Press' first two books: Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, and Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. You can order them through any bricks-and-mortar or online bookstore, or directly through www.improvisepress.com.

Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps, no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order--and please let your friends who would like to make money writing know about Improvise Press and our new line of books.