5 Smart Things to Do Before 2014

Are you ready for 2014? Let me tell you, I've had somewhat of a "craptastic" year and I am more than pleased to welcome in 2014! But while you're celebrating the New Year, I'd suggest you do the following before January 1 arrives, or shortly thereafter: 

1. Get a jump on your taxes. I never wait until April to do my taxes. I like to figure out my gross income and calculate a rough estimate of my net income before the end of the year. Then I send that number to my accountant for an estimate of what I'll owe. Sometimes the number is scary, but I'd rather know that going into the new year than wait and be surprised sometime in 2014. And besides, I use that tax figure to help determine how much I put in my SEP, or self-employment plan, at year's end. 

2. Invest in your career. You can write off legitimate business expenses before the end of 2013, so this is the time to upgrade your computer, purchase software, buy writing-related books (like, gosh, I don't know, Six-Figure Freelancing, Second Edition or Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks, Second Edition! ), and other work-related products. I just stocked up on printer cartridges and paid for my annual membership to ASJA. Every work-related expense reduces your tax liability come 2014. (And see below for the half-price offer in Improvise Press' first two titles.)   

3. Review your year. Every year, I clarify where my money came from. I usually send a holiday card and/or gift to my "whales," or most important clients. I also look for "lessons." Did I take on any projects that turned out to pay a lower hourly rate than I expected? Are clients asking for me to do work I need to gain more experience with? Did I have a steady stream of work, or was I facing a "feast-or-famine" scenario much of the year--like this one? What was the most worthwhile work I did? Which work paid the best? Which seems to have the most potential? Is there any kind of work I want to cut from my roster? 

4. Set goals for the coming year. If, like many serious freelancers, you set an annual income goal, don't forget to calculate your daily nut. My goal in 2014 is to make $60,000, which means an average of $250/day. Average that figure throughout the year of 2014 and you'll meet your new income goal. Think about the other objectives you have as well. Do you want to branch into content marketing this year? (That's one of my goals.) Do you want to become an e-book author? Is this the year you get serious about writing fiction? Should you spend more time on social media--or at least use it more effectively? Decide what your goals are, and put them in writing. 

5. Take time off. Every year, I take the week between Christmas and New Year's as vacation. Before I had kids, I used this week to sleep in, spend time with my husband, watch movies, and set goals for the coming year. I even read for pleasure! Gasp! Now with the kids much of my week is spent entertaining small children, but I do take some off during this week--and just as important, I'm planning when I'll take time off in 2014. 

Too often as freelancers we wind up working all the time--nights, weekends, first thing in the morning--and that's a recipe for burnout. I know I'm more productive when I get away from my computer, so I give myself at least one day (usually Saturday or Sunday) where I do no work at all except for checking my email first thing in the morning. Unplug yourself on a regular basis. I promise it's worth it.  

Readers, I hope 2013 has been a successful, productive year for you. If not, focus on 2014, and tune in next year for more practical, proven advice about how to make more money in less time as a freelance writer. And comment below to tell me what topics you'd like to see me cover here in coming posts!  

Finally, there's less than 48 hours left on my half-price offer on print editions of Improvise Press' first two titles: Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets or Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. Until midnight on December 31, 2013,  you'll get half off both titles when you order directly through ImprovisePress.com and use the discount code CHICKENS. 

What Does "Full-time" Freelancing Really Mean?

I've been a full-time freelancer for nearly 17 years now (hard to believe!) but this doesn't mean I work full-time hours. In fact, for me one of the biggest advantages of freelancing is that I can make a full-time living working far fewer than 40 hours/week. During the last couple of years, I've worked between 10 and 20 hours/week and plan to continue to do so until my daughter is in school full-time; then I'll ramp up, hours-wise.

I often say it's not dollars/word that matters when it comes to freelancing; it's dollars/hour. In the same vein, it's not the number of hours I work that is important--it's how productive I am with that time. I aim for an hourly rate of $100, although sometimes I make less than that,a and sometimes significantly more. And that rate helps me make what I want during my working hours. It also means that I can be spend more time with my kids, as well as give me time to pursue other professional interests.  

I'm juggling multiple careers at the moment. In addition to freelancing and ghostwriting, I own and operate Improvise Press, which publishes books to help creative people make money from their passions. (Don't forget--through year's end you'll get 50 percent off of print editions if you use the discount code CHICKENS.) And in January, I started working at my local Y as a personal trainer and I love it. 

This summer I got certified to teach Les Mills Body Pump classes, which I'm now doing at two Ys, and somehow I wound up teaching a circuit class once a week, too. I typically have about five clients I'm training at any given time, and I teach two-five/week depending on the week and sub schedules. The money is nowhere near what I make freelancing and ghostwriting but I love the interaction with clients and being part of something bigger than myself. I've trained clients ranging from high school athletes to seniors post-spinal-surgery and it's rewarding emotionally if not financially. 

However, I'm looking for ways to combine both better. This year I'll be focusing on finding more content marketing gigs in the fitness arena (for obvious reasons) and I've been working for one publishing client as their fitness expert. It's great because I no longer have to interview an "expert" to write the workouts or the Q and As; I am the expert. And that means I can make a great hourly rate--for example, I'm writing a workout now that will take less than an hour for $300. No, I can't make that kind of money training people but it definitely informs my writing work and makes me want to do more of the same! 

So, while I call myself a full-time freelancer, I'm anything but. My plan for the coming year is to continue to do pursue multiple careers, spending about 10-15 hours freelancing/ghostwriting and running Improvise Press, and 5-10 hours training/teaching. It's challenging to "do it all" and be an involved mom, too, but I've found that these different careers use different parts of my brain/personality/etc, and make me happier overall. To me, that's one more huge advantage of freelancing--the freedom to spend my time the way I want to. 

Readers, what about you? Are you really a "full-time" freelancer? If not, how else do you spend your "work" hours? 

More on Writers" Goals for 2013

For the last couple of years, Kristine Meldrum Denholm has asked writers about what their coming goals are for the coming year. Check out her roundup post, to see how your goals stack up--and possibly add some new ones as well!

Time to Set your Freelance Goals for 2013

Hi, readers, and happy new year! This is my favorite day of the year. To me, January 1 represents promise, potential, possibility. It's also when I set my goals for the year, and I suggest you do the same for your career. Because I'm working today (I have a story due tomorrow!), I'm reposting last year's January 1 post. The advice is just as good now as it was then! 

           Consider the Past           

           Before you look forward, you first must look back. At the end of each year, I review what types of writing work I performed, for whom, and how much money I made as a result. I also add up the amount I made fromselling reprints and from speaking engagements so I know how much I’m making from both activities, and I look for trends, both good and bad.

Another issue to explore is how you spent your time last year. Look at when projects were assigned and when you turned them in. Are you turning around your profiles quickly but spending too much time on shorter, lower-paying pieces? Are those heavily-researched business articles really worth spending so much energy on? Remember that it’s not how much you make for a particular project—it’s what your hourly rate turns out to be.

            Finally, how diversified were you this year? Were you working for only a handful of clients or for dozens? (The former may be unavoidable if much of your work is writing books, which take much longer than articles.) Did you have lots of short, lower-paying assignments or did you focus more on bigger projects or feature stories? Does your income come from a variety of sources or only a few?

Consider the Future

So, now you know where your money came from. The next question is how much you want to make this year—and what kind of work you want to perform to make it. Should you focus your efforts in a particular area or would you rather try something new? Are you feeling burned out and want to switch gears—and try writing fiction, for example, instead of essays? Consider too how much time you can dedicate to “projects of the heart” compared to the work that pays your bills.

After you’ve set an annual income goal, determine how you’ll get there. How many hours must you write to earn that income? If you’re freelancing fulltime, the answer may be as many as necessary. Having adaily financial goal can help keep you on track. If your goal is to make $30,000 a year from freelancing, that averages to $2,500 a month or $125 a day (with four weeks off during the year.) In other words, if you can average that amount of income 240 days a year, you can make $30,000 this year. Make sense? 

Strive for a Balance  

By setting monthly, weekly or daily financial targets, you’ll be on your way to achieving your overall financial goal this year. But remember that your writing career isn’t only about the money. Your goals may also include non-financial ones like spending more time writing fiction or developing a stronger voice. (One of my goals last year was to finish my latest novel, The Honesty Index, and get it into print. And I did! 

That's why I suggest you build writing time into your schedule for projects that don’t produce income (at least not yet) but are important to you for other reasons. Even though I write for a living, I give myself time to write for myself as well. After all, if you only focus on the bottom line and continually take work that bores or frustrates you, you’ll be likely to become bored and frustrated with your career as well. 

Instead, strive for a balance between the money you want to make and the work you want to do—and both you and your bank account will be better off in 2013. 

***I've got a great list of blog topics for this year, so stay tuned. If you have a question or subject you'd like me to address on the blog, tell me so in a comment below. And in the meantime, thanks to all who have bought Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. I'll have more book news soon, and I'll be conducting my annual freelance income survey again soon, so stay tuned! 

Smart Year-end Advice: Name Your Whales

          

You may have heard of the 80/20 rule in business, which says that 80 percent of your income (and your work) comes from 20 percent of your clients. In the gaming industry, they call the high-rollers “whales,” and casino staff do everything possible to encourage them to spend time, and money, at their casinos. 

Do you know who your whales are? The only way to be sure is to do (eek!) some math.

The end of the year is the perfect time to take a closer look at your income. Every quarter, I add up my gross income, but the last quarter of the year I take it a step further, and divide it by client. Then I categorize my income into categories--like money from original magazine articles; money from my own books; money from ghostwriting and coauthoring clients’ books; money from reprints; and money from teaching and speaking.

Totaling these figures tells me where my money is coming from, and what types of work have been the most lucrative for me. It also helps me set my goals for the coming year—such as increasing the percentage of income I receive from books, for example, or doubling the amount I make from reprints, which are a relatively easy way to make extra money.

You can do the same thing quite easily. At the end of the year (or any other time you want), list your clients, and add up what each has paid you this year. Then determine what types of work you’ve been paid for in the past year. The categories you use will depend on the nature of freelance work you perform. If you write for magazines, do PR work for nonprofits, and do copywriting for corporations, for example, then add up the income you've made for each type.

Adding up your income and where it came from is a critical first step. With this information, you can set more specific, realistic career goals for the coming year, focusing on what areas of your business are promising. You’ll also identify your whales--the clients who provide with you with the most work and money. Those are the ones you want to continue to work for. It’s much more efficient to do a lot of work for a small number of clients than it is to do a small amount of work for many clients. This seems obvious, but a lot of freelancers don’t take the time to determine who their most valuable clients are, and focus more time and energy on them. 

Your mileage, of course, may vary. If you write books or do ghostwriting, you may have more one-shots, or clients you only write for once. In this case, you may have different whales each year, but I still suggest you stay in touch with each--they’re a source of referrals and possibly more work in the future.

            

            Then go a step further and consider cutting ties with clients who aren’t worth the time and effort. If you’re writing for more than ten clients a year, chances are that there is some dead weight--let’s call them remoras--on your client list. Maybe you’ve been writing for a client for years but your hourly rate isn’t all that great--or the client’s PIA factor is so high, you’d like to cut him loose. Every client you work for involves opportunity cost, and if you never get rid of your remoras, you may be losing out on more lucrative ones.

            Make it an annual goal to determine not just your income, but where it comes from. When you know who your whales are, you can make sure they get the attention they deserve.

**This post comes from Secret 52: Name your whales, from my latest book on successful freelancing, Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. If you want to make more money from your freelancing in 2013, I suggest you pick it up! And happy holidays to my readers...I'll be back in 2013! 

Setting your Freelance Goals for 2012

          This is my favorite day of the year. To me, January 1 represents promise, potential, possibility. It's also when I set my goals for the year, and I suggest you do the same for your career. 

           Consider the Past           

           To look forward, however, you first must look back. At the end of each year, I review what types of writing work I performed, for whom, and how much money I made as a result. I also add up the amount I made from selling reprints and from speaking engagements so I know how much I’m making from both activities, and I look for trends, both good and bad.

Another issue to explore is how you spent your time last year. Look at when projects were assigned and when you turned them in. Are you turning around your profiles quickly but spending too much time on shorter, lower-paying pieces? Are those heavily-researched business articles really worth spending so much energy on? Remember that it’s not how much you make for a particular project—it’s what your hourly rate turns out to be.

            Finally, how diversified were you this year? Were you working for only a handful of clients or for dozens? (The former may be unavoidable if much of your work is writing books, which take much longer than articles.) Did you have lots of short, lower-paying assignments or did you focus more on bigger projects or feature stories? Does your income come from a variety of sources or only a few?

Consider the Future

So, now you know where your money came from. The next question is how much you want to make this year—and what kind of work you want to perform to make it. Should you focus your efforts in a particular area or would you rather try something new? Are you feeling burned out and want to switch gears—and try writing fiction, for example, instead of essays? Consider too how much time you can dedicate to “projects of the heart” compared to the work that pays your bills.

After you’ve set an annual income goal, determine how you’ll get there. How many hours must you write to earn that income? If you’re freelancing fulltime, the answer may be as many as necessary. Having a daily financial goal can help keep you on track. If your goal is to make $30,000 a year from freelancing, that averages to $2,500 a month or $125 a day (with four weeks off during the year.) In other words, if you can average that amount of income 240 days a year, you can make $30,000 this year. Make sense? 

Strive for a Balance  

By setting monthly, weekly or daily financial targets, you’ll be on your way to achieving your overall financial goal this year. But remember that your writing career isn’t only about the money. Your goals may also include non-financial ones like spending more time writing fiction or developing a stronger voice. (One of my goals this year is to finish my latest novel, which has been languishing for months.) 

That's why I suggest you build writing time into your schedule for projects that don’t produce income (at least not yet) but are important to you for other reasons. (Need a boost? Check out Kelly Stone's 90-day writing challenge that launches tomorrow.) Even though I write for a living, I give myself time to write for myself as well. After all, if you only focus on the bottom line and continually take work that bores or frustrates you, you’ll be likely to become bored and frustrated with your career as well. 

Instead, strive for a balance between the money you want to make and the work you want to do—and both you and your bank account will be better off in 2012. 

** Want to publish a book but aren't sure which route (i.e., traditional publishing, print-on-demand, e-publishing, or self-publishing) is right for you? Check out my Writer's Digest webinar on Thursday, January 5. You'll learn about your book publishing options today, and their pros and cons. 

5 Things For Freelancers to Do Before Year's End

Wow, there are just two weeks left before we leave 2011 behind for 2012. I'll be taking some much-needed (and if I say so myself, much-deserved) time off for the next two weeks, but I'd like to leave you with five  suggestions for your freelance career before year's end:

1. Get a jump on your taxes. I never wait until April to do my taxes. I like to figure out my gross income and calculate a rough estimate of my net income before the end of the year. Then I send that number to my accountant for an estimate of what I'll owe. Sometimes the number is scary, but I'd rather know that going into the new year than wait and be surprised sometime in 2012. And besides, I use that tax figure to help determine how much I put in my SEP, or self-employment plan. 

2. Invest in your career. You can write off legitimate business expenses before the end of 2011, so this is the time to upgrade your computer, purchase software, buy writing-related books (like Goodbye Byline!), and other work-related products. You'll reduce your tax liability and hopefully have some time over the holidays to read or familiarize yourself with your new tools. 

3. Review your year. Every year, I clarify where my money came from. I usually send a holiday card and/or gift to my biggest clients. I also look for "lessons." Did I take on any projects that turned out to pay a lower hourly rate than I expected? Are clients asking for me to do work I need to gain more experience with? Did I have a steady stream of work, or was I facing a "feast-or-famine" scenario much of the year? What was the most worthwhile work I did? Which work paid the best? Which seems to have the most potential?  Is there any kind of work I want to cut from my roster? 

4. Set goals for the coming year. If, like many serious freelancers, you set an annual income goal, don't forget to calculate your daily nut. Average that figure throughout the year of 2012 and you'll meet your new income goal. Think about the other objectives you have as well. Do you want to branch into corporate writing this year? Do you want to become an e-book author? Is this the year you get serious about writing fiction? Should you spend more time on social media--or at least use it more effectively? Decide what your goals are, and put them in writing. 

5. Take time off. Until last year, I'd always taken the year between Christmas and New Year's as vacation time. I used the time to relax, set goals for the coming year, and read for pleasure--at least until the kids came along. Now that week is mostly family time, but I do give myself a chance to unwind and hopefully rewind before the new year begins. Last year, I didn't have that luxury--I worked every single day except Christmas and started 2011 burned out, cranky, and exhausted. Give yourself at least a few days during the holidays to do your own unwinding/rewinding. You'll start the year off with more energy and a better attitude. 

I hope 2011 has been a great year for you...tune in next year for more practical, proven advice about how to make more money as a freelancer in less time. 

***Let me end this year with a plug for my books, too. If you're considering the lucrative field of ghostwriting, check out Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks. If you (or someone you love) wants to get started writing for print and online markets, I recommend Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money. There's my classic, Six-Figure Freelancing, which unfortunately has gone out of print, but its e-version is still available. And if you want to get a jump on next year, preorder Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success, which will be released by early May, 2012.  Commercial over...happy holidays! :) 

More on 2011 Freelance Goals

What are your goals for 2011? Check out this post by freelancer Kristine Meldrum Delholm about some freelancers' goals for the coming year (including some of mine!)

Why You Need Two Kinds of Goals--and How to Set Them

Last post, I talked about revisiting your year before you set your new annual goals. Once you know where you’ve been, you can start thinking about where you want to go.

Take time to consider what types of work you want to focus on, what kinds of markets and clients you want to pursue, and how you’ll spend your time—for example, how much time you’ll devote to querying new markets versus working on current assignments.

If you’re a relatively new writer who has never set a specific writing goal, make 2011 the year you start. When it comes to lifestyle behavior changes (think losing weight, exercising regularly, and quitting smoking), loads of research proves that people who set specific goals achieve greater success and are more likely to stick with their behavior changes than those who don’t set goals.

Setting goals forces you to take a closer look at your writing priorities, and get a handle on what’s really important to you. Writers who have heard me speak know that I divide goals into two types—overall, or “outcome” goals and production, or “performance” goals. Overall goals tend to be biggies—you know, like writing a novel, finding a publisher for your nonfiction book project, or finally ditching your day job to freelance fulltime.

The problem with outcome goals is that they don’t help you actually achieve your aim. That’s where performance, or production goals, come in. They’re the actionable goals that move you toward your overall or outcome goal. To be effective, they should be “SMART,” or Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based.

For example, my income goal for the coming year is to make $60,000. That’s my overall goal. My performance goal is to make $250/day for 240 days/year, working an average of 15 hours/week. (This figure also fits with the average rate of $100/hour I try to maintain, and is realistic considering what I made in 2010 and the types of work I do.) Get it?

Think both big (your long-term aims) and small (e.g., meeting your daily nut)when you’re setting goals. After you’ve decided what they are, write them down, and track your progress in the coming weeks.

If one of your goals is more difficult to quantify than a simple income goal—say, getting more work published in national magazines—your performance goals might include researching a certain number of new markets each month, querying a certain number of editors each week, and sending follow-ups letters to editors who haven’t responded in a certain period of time.

Regardless, your goals should reflect your overall objectives as a freelancer. Don’t be afraid to tweak them throughout the year as your circumstances change. Smart goals give you a roadmap to follow, but you can always choose to take a different route to your destination.

Readers, if you’re up for it, share one or more of your goals here—and I may address them in future blog posts.

Finally, here comes a plug for my books. Want to make 2011 the year you double your income—or simply work more efficiently and make more as a freelancer? I've got books to help you do so.

• If you want to break into the lucrative field of ghostwriting/coauthoring, check out Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer’s Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books.
• If you’re new to freelancing and want to make the most of your background and experience (and learn how to break into the most popular freelancing topics), check out Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money.
• And if you want my classic book on successful freelancing that has helped both new and experienced writers get more green, check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money.

I promise if you read any (or all three) of my writing-related books and follow their advice, you’ll see a marked difference in your freelance success and your bottom line. If you've done so already, I'd love to hear about your experience here!

Commercial over. Happy 2011 a few days early, and happy freelancing to all of my readers.