Fab Freelance Writing Blog

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Photo credit: Lazy Sunday

Are you a lazy freelancer? By “lazy”, I mean someone who wants writing gigs handed to them, just like they received assignments in school.

Unfortunately, if you take the “school assignment” approach to getting freelance writing gigs, you get low-paid work. There’s plenty of it out there. However, there are also many, many highly paid assignments waiting for you. You just need to be proactive.

An interesting post “The Changing Face of Freelancing” remarks that “The jobs that are there pay squat. If we secured 20 gigs a month, the pay still wouldn’t add up to enough to bring home KFC for dinner (or tofu kabobs for us vegetarians).:”

Lori goes on to say:

Part of the blame rests with us, you know. The Internet made us passive observers in our careers. We no longer marketed nor did we make cold calls. We just clicked and clicked and voila! Work appeared. Well guess what? That’s all becoming a fruitless pursuit. Time to return to our roots. We gotta start marketing again. Do you remember how?

Yes, indeed.

Think about people advertising for writers on CraigsList etc for a moment. Many of the companies which advertise there for freelance writers do so because they want CHEAP writers. They don’t see the value of good writing, and/ or they can’t afford good writers.

That’s fine. Live and let live. But if you’re taking those jobs and complaining about it, sadly the onus is on you to get busy and get great gigs.

I’ve got a stable of clients, many of whom have been with me for years. Last night I was chatting with a friend and we were bemoaning the fact that we’re booked solid for the next several months. Every freelancer I know who’s proactive is booked solid.

When I coach students, the first step is to change their attitude - to instill some confidence and self respect. And to get them moving - working for $150 an hour is easier (believe it) than working for $25 an hour.

Want to know how to build your career? Read “You CAN Sell Your Writing Now: Marketing Skills For Writers”. Great writing gigs are out there.

And BTW, you can use CraigsList, but to advertise your services and promote them, not by responding to ads.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, jobs

“All rights” deals are usually known as “work done for hire.” If you sign an All Rights deal, the copyright transfers to the company which paid you. That’s the complete copyright, now and forever, in all media. You give up all rights.

Since you’re giving up all rights, you deserve to be recompensed for this. If you want to be a well-paid professional writer, you’ll look on All Rights deals with zero enthusiasm.

Here’s a rule of thumb which is easy to remember and which will keep you out of trouble: refuse All Rights deals to all publications which sell advertising, and to all book publishers.

Publications which want All Rights are just greedy. You’ll often find your work repurposed, and popping up in many unexpected places. Trust me on this, it will NOT feel good. You’ll know you’ve been gypped, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

There are some venues in which All Rights deals are expected. All Rights/ Work Done For Hire deal are common in copywriting, for example, and you’re paid accordingly. Once you’ve written the Web sales page, the newsletter, the brochure or whatever, and have been paid in full, all copyright transfers to the buyer.

When you’re not writing copy, steer clear of All Rights. As “Dragon Magazine Wants to Own Your Ass, Cheap” points out when discussing a publication which wants All Rights for a pittance:

Mind you, it’s win-win for Dragon, and its various corporate owners (Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro), since they’re getting viable intellectual property for very literally next to nothing with no risk of having to share revenues later. Brilliant! Somewhere an Hasbro IP lawyer has gotten his wings. Good for him. Bad for the writer.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, writers, rights, copyright, all rights

Personal essays are an easy sale - even for new writers. If you’re a complete novice, and want to see your byline in a top magazine, consider what’s happened to you, and most importantly, how you can give readers a takeaway.

Help others to learn from your experiences

Major magazines receive hundreds of personal essays a month, but accept few of them. This is because of the universality factor: the experience you’re writing about must resonate with readers, and reward them (the takeaway) for reading your piece.

So while you’re writing, remember to search for the factors which make your experience universal, and emphasize them.

Technorati Tags: personal essays, write essays