Forget Full-time: Make Part-Time Freelancing Work for You

When I started freelancing, I put in a lot of time to get my business going. To get any business started, you must market, and as a freelancer, that started with researching publications. In other words, I read a lot (and I’m talking dozens) of different magazines, trying to familiarize myself with what they covered and find homes for potential story ideas.

            I also spent inordinate amounts of time researching stories. Like many writers, I was worried about not having enough information about a particular topic, so I’d research and research and research before I started writing. You don’t need a doctorate (or even a master’s degree) to write an article, but it took me several years before I realized I didn’t have to comprehend every nuance of a subject to write about it. 

            The bottom line is that I was working at least forty hours a week, often more, in my quest for freelance success. But it’s not the amount of time you put into your career that determines whether you make money—it’s how you spend that time. Once I cut back on unnecessary research, focused on a handful of markets instead of pitching dozens of magazines at once, and developed regular clients, I was much more efficient. Today I work part-time by choice (I'm a stay-at-home mom to two little kids), but I strive to make a full-time living—and many freelancers do the same.

            Gretchen Roberts is a former newspaper editor who has been freelancing part-time since her oldest child was born. “Part-time just made sense for me then, and it still does. I now have three children ages eight, four, and one, and my schedule has changed with their births, milestones, schedules, and child care availability,” says Roberts, author of the e-book Full-TimeIncome in Part-Time Hours: 22 Secrets to Writing Success in under 40 Hours aWeek. “I truly feel I have the best of both worlds—time to spend with my kids, but time to get away from the craziness that is raising three kids, and devote energy to my professional life. I don't consider myself anything less than a full-fledged professional just because I work part-time and am changing dirty diapers when I'm not tapping at my keyboard.”

            Still, with limited time, Roberts has had to learn to be extremely efficient. “I treat my working hours as prime time. I don't waste them checking e-mail, writing blog posts, posting my Facebook status. Well, okay … sometimes I post my Facebook status,” says Roberts. “But for the most part I try to really focus on paying projects, because if I lose sight of the big picture, it's too easy to fritter away a day, a week, a month … and my income takes a bit hit.

            “Second, I plan ahead. If I know I'm going to have forty-five minutes while the baby naps, I plan a specific task or two for that time,” she says. “If I have a story due, I block out three or four hours to write it. When you have less time, you absolutely have to be efficient about using it.” That’s why Roberts pursues bigger projects over shorter assignments that require her to constantly change focus, and works with the same clients over and over.

            “Think about it: When you get a new assignment from a new editor or publication, there's a huge learning curve. You have to fill out a flurry of paperwork, learn the style of the publication, communicate in-depth with the editor or client about his or her goals for the assignment, and possibly do a revise or two if you don't quite hit the mark,” says Roberts. “The second time, everything's easier. You're in the system, so no paperwork except for a contract. You've learned the ‘voice’ your client or editor expects from your work. The learning curve is lower, and you're a more efficient writer.”

            Roberts’ attitude and efficiency has produced an income of between $40,000 and $70,000 working fifteen to twenty hours a week for the past five years. “I think writers have to know that this kind of income is possible, rather than settling for less because they figure part-time hours means part-time income,” says Roberts.

             I know writers who put in plenty of hours but don’t make the money they want, and I know writers like Roberts who make full-time money in far less than forty hours a week. My point? Rethink what “full-time” freelancing means. It’s not about how many hours you work but how you spend them that determines whether you can support yourself with your freelance income. 

             More on writing more efficiently in my next post! This one came from Secret 31: Redefine full-time, from Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. If you're striving to write more efficiently, you need templates! My ebook, Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates (here's the Smashwords version if you don't have a Kindle) has the 10 most-needed samples to launch your freelance business. 

            Today I'm working about 15 hours/week by choice, though I plan to ramp that up as my kids get older. Readers, what about you? How many hours do you work a week? Are you working more or less than you'd like--or have you found the perfect work balance? Please share your experience in a comment, below. Thank you! 

Hot Freelance Tip of the Day: Create Templates

Your most valuable asset as a freelancer (besides your brain, anyway) is your time. If you have enough of it, you can reach just about any goal you may have. If you don't have enough--or you don't manage the time you have--you'll struggle in this business. 

I work fewer hours today than I have in the past--partly by choice (I'm the mostly stay-at-home-mom of two little kids) and partly because I don't need to work as much to make my monetary goals. (I will say, though, that promoting two books right now is definitely hurting my bottom line. How to promote a book and not go broke will be the subject of an upcoming post!)

I use a lot of techniques to help me make the most of my time. One that new writers often overlook is creating templates for pieces you'll use over and over. (I posted a whole month's worth of templates back in January, 2011.) If you already have an LOI, for example, on your hard drive, it only takes a few minutes to "tweak" it for a particular market or client. Same goes with sending an invoice, simple contract/letter of agreement, or a follow-up letter. When you have a template, you're freed from recreating the wheel each time, which makes you more efficient. 

So the Hot Freelance Tip of the Day is: Create templates for your freelance business--and use them whenever you can. 

**If you want a dozen templates for your business, along with how to use them (and 89 other keys to building a lucrative career), check out my newest freelancing book, Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. Just want the templates themselves? Then download Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates via Kindle or Smashwords. And don't forget about Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Truths for Every Writer Who Wants to Get Published, which will be FREE for only four more days!  

  

A Month of Templates: 13 in All!

What a month! I hope you found the templates I shared (and my comments on same) helpful, and that they'll inspire you to create your own. As a freelancer, cutting the minutes you spend on necessary-but-time-consuming tasks like pitching, following up, bidding, billing, and getting paid leaves more time for, you know, writing--and getting paid for it.

Here's a quick list of the templates from this month:

The essential query

A "blind" LOI, or letter of introduction

A trade query

The follow-up

The cover letter

The simple invoice

The project bid

The project bid, take two

The "pay-or-die" letter

A letter of agreement

A coauthoring agreement

A nonfiction book pitch

A novel pitch

***
Holy cow! This is a lot of great info; I suggest you bookmark this page for future reference--and feel free to share it with other freelancers. Coming in February, more practical advice on making more money in less time--that's how I've approached my freelance business for years.

Finally, if you've found these templates helpful, I recommend my books on freelancing as well:

*If you want to know more about coauthoring/ghostwriting, Goodbye Deadline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books (Kindle version), has all of the templates you need to get started, plus plenty of practical advice about breaking into the field from successful ghosts (including me!).

*If you're a freelancer who wants to take your business to the next level, check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money or its Kindle version. It's helped both new and experienced writers work more efficiently and increase their income, even in this economy.

*And if you're just getting started freelancing, I recommend Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (Kindle version). It's aimed at newer writers, includes 20 queries that sold along with hundreds of helpful resources as well as a chapter that walks you through the process of pitching, selling, researching, and writing an article.

A Month of Templates: A Coauthoring Contract

Last post, I gave you a simple contract/letter of agreement. But what about when you need a more formal contract--like when you work as a ghostwriter or coauthor?

Here's the kind of agreement I like to use; I made a few comments in green:

Coauthoring Collaboration Agreement

THIS AGREEMENT is made on the _____ day of __________, 2010, by and among CLIENT of CITY, STATE (hereinafter referred to as CLIENT) and Kelly James-Enger of Downers Grove, Illinois (hereinafter referred to as James-Enger). The parties agree as follows:

1. Subject to the terms and conditions herein, CLIENT and James-Enger agree to collaborate exclusively with each other in the preparation of a book proposal based on CLIENT's book idea. [You can be more specific here if you like, and describe more about the project you're taking on.]

2. The fee for the proposal will be $7,000, payable to James-Enger in the following amounts:
• $2,000.00 to James-Enger upon signing of the agreement;
• $2,500.00 to James-Enger upon delivery of the draft of the proposal;
• $2,500.00 to James-Enger upon delivery of the final proposal, including one sample chapter. [I suggest you always get a retainer for a big project like this.]

3. CLIENT and James-Enger will work together to create the proposal, and determine mutually-agreeable deadlines at the outset for the delivery of the draft and final proposals. James-Enger will provide one revision of the proposal for the stated fee; other changes requested by CLIENT will be billed at a rate of $100/hour. [This last sentence is to protect me from a client who wants to make change after change after change after change...you get the idea.]

4. Copyright in the book proposal, in all forms and languages throughout the world, shall be held in the name of CLIENT. [Typically my ghosting/coauthoring clients want to retain copyright to their work.]

5. CLIENT agrees to indemnify James-Enger and hold her harmless against any claim, demand, suit, action, proceeding, or expense of any kind arising from or based upon language, information, advice, citations, anecdotal matter, resource materials, or other content of the work that was provided by CLIENT. [My standard indemnification language though I'm willing to tweak it upon request.]l

6. Either party can terminate this agreement by giving the other party written notice; if the agreement is terminated before completion, CLIENT agrees to pay James-Enger for work already performed under the agreement.

7. This agreement sets forth the entire understanding of the parties hereto and may not be changed except by written consent of both parties. If CLIENT acquires a book publishing contract, she can choose to work with James-Enger or with another writer on the book manuscript.

8. The terms and conditions of this agreement shall be binding upon, and the benefits thereof shall inure to, the respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns of the parties hereto.

9. Both parties to this agreement warrant that they have no other contractual commitment which will or might conflict with this agreement or interfere with, or otherwise affect, the performance of any obligations hereunder.

10. This agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois.

11. Should any controversy, claim, or dispute arise out of or in connection with this agreement, such controversy, claim, or dispute shall be submitted to arbitration before the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its rules, and judgment confirming the arbitrator's award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands on the date first above specified.

_______________________________________
CLIENT

_______________________________________
Kelly James-Enger

***

Want to know more about coauthoring/ghostwriting, or add to your collection of templates? My book, Goodbye Deadline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books (Kindle version), has all of the templates you need to get started, plus plenty of practical advice about breaking into the field from successful ghosts.

If you're more interested in the templates you'll need for general freelancing, check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money or its Kindle version. It's helped both new and experienced writers work more efficiently and increase their income.

And if you're just getting started freelancing, I recommend Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (Kindle version). It's aimed at newer writers and includes 20 queries that sold along with hundreds of resources

A Month of Templates: A Letter of Agreement

When you freelance for many publications, your editor will send you a contract to sign setting out the terms of your agreement. But what about when you take an assignment for a market that doesn't have a standard contract--or when you're working for a client that asks you for one? Then you'll need to draft your own contract, so having a template for a letter of agreement is essential.

And it's not as complicated as you might think. To create an enforceable agreement, you'll want to include the following:

• The date
• Statement/description of the work you're performing
• Deadline
• Description of the rights being purchased
• The amount of money you're being paid
• The name/identity of your client

I like to keep it simple. Here's an example of a letter of agreement I recently used for an editing/ghosting gig:

Dear Dick:

It was a pleasure meeting you and Florence yesterday, and I'm excited about working together on your book. We agreed that I'll track my time and bill you at my standard consulting rate of $100/hour, and will invoice monthly. We've also agreed to keep my total fee at $10,000 or under, so I'll remind you if/when we approach that figure.

I'll provide you with a schedule that sets out our timeframe for the chapters, with a final deadline of January 15, 2010. It's an aggreessive schedule, but I know working together we can meet it.

Could you email me back when you receive this and let me know that you confirm the terms of our agreement? Thank you very much and I'll be in touch soon.

All my best,
Kelly

***
Here's another letter for a regional publication that hired me to tweak a reprint for a fee. (My editor was looking for a piece on New Year's resolutions, and wanted me to rework my story for her market.)
***

Dear Kathleen:

Thanks for getting in touch; I'm looking forward to working with you! I'm writing to confirm our agreement where I'll rework my resolutions piece for you by October 31, 2009. I'll provide a 1,200-word article aimed at an audience of both men and women, and you'll pay me $200 for one-time reprint rights to the story.

Please confirm this agreement by replying to this email, and I'll get to work! Thank you very much and I'll talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Kelly James-Enger

***
See how simple these contracts are? If you want an actual signature, you can email your client and ask him to print, sign, and return the contract to you--or send this by mail and ask that it be signed and returned.

For straightforward projects like these, a simple letter of agreement will suffice. When I work with a client on a more substantial project like a book proposal, I do like to have a written contract that is countersigned by both parties. That will be my next template...stay tuned!

A Month of Templates: The "Pay-or-Die" Letter

You accepted the assignment. You did the work. The editor or client accepted the piece. So where is your money?

Usually an invoice will do the trick, but what happens with a client doesn’t pay? Then you’ll need a demand for payment, or what I call “pay-or-die” letters. You'll want to detail the terms of your contract, prove that you have satisfied your contractual obligations, and describe the attempts you’ve taken to get paid. I’ve found that threatening to turn the matter over to my attorney usually provokes payment.

One more thing--find out who actually cuts the checks and pursue that person for payment. You can certainly enlist your editor's help, but I've found that going to the person who holds the purse strings gets me paid more quickly.

Here’s an example of one such letter that I sent to the owner of a publishing company which had owe me money for months (with identifying information redacted). As you'll see in the letter, I'd already pursued the controller (i.e. AP manager) with no success:

Dear Mr. Badman:

I am a fulltime freelance writer who has spent over six months trying to collect payment for work performed for No-pay magazine. I first sent invoices for the work last August after my articles were accepted, but have never been paid for them.

In the past two months alone, I have sent two letters with copies of invoices to Michael Nogood, your controller, and have called him on nine occasions. He has never returned my calls nor paid me for the outstanding sums owed me. Your company still owes me the following amounts:

Story/Issue/Amount
“Fit on the Street”/November/December, 1999/$270.45
“Ten Health Club Commandments”/January/February, 2000/$750.00

TOTAL $1,020.45

As all of this work was long since performed (back in the summer of 1999) and these issues have already been published, I would appreciate it if you would immediately issue me a check for $1,020.45. If I don’t receive payment within five days, I’ll turn the matter over for collection and will involve my attorney.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and receiving my check soon.

Very truly yours,
Kelly James-Enger

***

This letter worked--I finally collected my check, and it cleared. And before you ask, no, I never wrote for the publication again!

Readers, what do you think of my pay-or-die letter? Do you use something similar? What do you do when you don't get paid?

A Month of Templates: A "Blind" LOI

I've written before about letter of introduction, or LOIs. A strong LOI is an essential weapon in any freelancer's arsenal, and you may have more than one. (For example, I have an LOI I use for possible ghostwriting gigs, another for possible speaking gigs, and other for general freelancing gigs. Each highlights a different area of my expertise and experience.)

In some instances, you'll know something about the market or client you're pitching, and you can customize your LOI to reflect that fact. But what about when you're pitching "blind" and have no info about the market? Then you just "dance with who brung you," so to speak, and highlight your qualifications that are likely to make you stand out from the pack.

Here's an LOI I sent to a post on craigslist seeking health/wellness writers. This pitch resulted in multiple assignments for a custom publisher. My comments are in green:

***

Dear Sir or Madam:

I’m replying to your craigslist.org ad seeking experienced writers who can cover health and wellness stories. I’m sure you’re inundated with responses, so I’ll keep this brief. I’m a full-time freelance journalist who specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness pieces; my work has appeared in more than 50 national magazines including Self, Fitness, Muscle Media, American Health & Fitness, Shape, Woman’s Day, Redbook, and Family Circle. I’ve attached two recent articles to give you a feel for my writing style. [Pretty simple, yet effective. I've described my relevant background and attached the two writing samples the ad requested. This lets the editor know that I'm good at following directions!]

I’m a skilled researcher and writer, and know how to translate complicated health topics into “plain English” for a lay audience. I’m also an ACE-certified personal trainer, and speak and consult about subjects ranging from time management to goal-setting to getting (and staying) fit. (That's the "BodyWise" part of my business.) I enjoy helping people make positive changes in their lives through my work as an author, journalist, and speaker. [The ad is looking for writers who can write about health and fitness and my background as a personal trainer gives me a unique perspective on the subject. If I was pitching a parenting magazine or business magazine, I'd probably omit this. Also note that I make no mention of my book-writing or ghostwriting experience. It's simply not relevant for this LOI, and I want to keep it short and sweet.]

What else should you know? I’m reliable, professional, and easy to work with, and strive to give my clients just what they want. It sounds like I have the background and experience you’re looking for, but if you have any questions about my skills, please let me know. [I always have a paragraph like this in my LOIs. When I pitch a ghostwriting client, I mention my sense of humor and my pleasure in collaborating. Here I'm letting the editor know that I'm just the kind of reliable freelancer he's looking for.]

Many thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

All best,
Kelly James-Enger

***

Readers, what do you think? Do you like this LOI? How do you pitch yourself when you have to pitch "blind"?

A Month of Templates: The Essential Query

Let's launch this month of templates with a query letter. Starting out as a freelancer, I wrote some of the worst queries ever. But query-writing is a skill, and one that can be (thank goodness) improved. Fourteen years later, I've written at least 1,200 queries and edited more than 1,000 for other writers, and I know what works.

Queries don't have to be complicated; I use a simple, four-section query for nearly all of mine:

• The lead. Here I catch the editor's attention, usually with a recent study or other time peg, a startling (or at least interesting) statistic, or an anecdote.
• The "why-write it" section. Here I make the case for the piece, providing more details adn basically explaining why readers will be interested in the story.
• The "nuts-and-bolts" section. Here I explain how I'll approach the story, suggesting word count, possible sources, and format (i.e. will the piece include a sidebar? A quiz?). I also like to include a working title, and I always suggest the section of the publication to let the editor know I've actually read her magazine.
• The ISG, or "I'm-so-great" section. Here I demonstrate that I'm uniquely qualified to write the piece and highlight my relevant background and experience.

Pretty simple, right? Here's one of my recent queries that sold; my comments appear in blue.

***

Dear Pam:

Thanks so much for your response to my recent pitch; while I’m sorry you can’t use it for Oxygen at this time, I have another for you to consider: [Usually I open with a lead. But I've been in contact with her before, and want to remind her of that fact.]

It’s a common conundrum. You’ve actually stuck to a regular workout routine, but you’re still not seeing results. While “lack of time” is the number one excuse for not exercising, what’s even more frustrating is making the time to hit the gym—and seeing no change in your body. What is the deal? [Here's my lead. It's not bad, but I could have cited a recent study to back up my "number one excuse" for not exercising. However, this lead is aimed at the readers of Oxygen--they're women who are serious about their workout regimes and their physiques.]

The culprit may be multifaceted. Driven by a desire to burn calories and get ripped, women commonly overlook (or deny) the importance of refueling their muscles with glycogen by consuming carbs (and protein, too) within the “magic window” that closes 45 minutes after intense exercise. Without adequate refueling, your regular routine may leave your muscles chronically depleted, which affects your energy level, motivation, and workout quality. [My "why-write-it" section is pretty good. Note the amount of research I've done here--yet again, I could have cited a recent study to strengthen the query.]

“Dumb Fitness Mistakes Even Smart Women Make” will examine some of the most common mistakes, how they impact (or prevent) desired results, and most important, how to overcome them. I plan to interview experts such as Tom Holland, MS/CSCS sports performance coach, and author of The Truth about How to Get in Shape, and Nancy Clark, RD, author of The Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Fourth Edition, for this story. While I estimate 1200 words for this story, that’s flexible depending on your needs. [My nuts-and-bolts section is pretty good, too. Note I've told her the types of experts I plan to interview and provided a working title and word count. She can assign something different, but this gives her an idea of how I plan to approach the piece.]

Interested in this informative piece as a coverline fitness feature? As you know, I haven’t worked with you before but have written for Oxygen in the past and have been a fulltime freelancer for more than a decade; my work has also appeared in magazines including Redbook, Self, Health, Continental, Fitness, Woman's Day, and Shape. I’m also an ACE-certified personal trainer, which will help bring a unique perspective to this piece. [My ISG is strong--and note that I let her know I've written for her pub before as well as for other major fitness and health magazines. And I'm an ACE-certifed personal trainer, too. Even if I had no clips to my name, that fact and a strong query would give me a good chance of getting my foot in the door.]

Please let me know if you have any questions about this pitch, and I'll be in touch soon with another story idea as well. [Standard close--and note that I tell her I'll soon be in touch!]

All best,
Kelly

***

Readers, what do you think? Any questions about this query format? If you're new to magazine freelancing, you'll find 20 queries that sold (including those from inexperienced freelancers!) in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money.

Stay tuned for more templates!

Welcome to 2011: A Month's Worth of Templates

Happy 2011! Regular readers of my blog know I'm all about working as efficiently as possible...as least most of the time. When I set my business goals for 2011, I included an overall financial goal, a daily financial goal (a/k/a the "daily nut"), and an hourly-rate goal. The latter two goals--making a minimum amount each day, and averaging a certain per-hour rate--are what help me meet my "big" goal, my annual income.


To hit my daily nut and my hourly rate, I need to work fast whenever I can. One way I do so is by using templates. I don't want to have to recreate the wheel every time I write a query, send a follow-up email, pitch a new client, or write up an invoice for a reprint sale. So I have a stash of templates I use, which save me time both marketing and running my business.


So, January will be a month of templates as well as resolutions. Tune in for samples you can use and adapt for your own freelance business in the weeks to come.


A special thanks to my readers who have bought my books on writing...all, especially Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books, which is selling steadily. I'll announce another ghostwriting e-class in the next month.


I hope 2011 is your best year of freelancing yet!