Get Paid to Write Online » Writing Talk

Are You Writing In The Most Efficient Way Possible?

Dan Smith — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:24:25 +0000

Have you seen an increase in your productivity after changing the way you write?

August has been a busy month for me outside of work. I spent a week in London visiting family during the second week of the month, followed by a long weekend with friends an hour’s drive away last weekend and then this weekend we’re heading back down to London for 4 days.

All in all, I’ve had around 18 available working days, including weekends.

And then there’s the point that mid way through the month one of my regular clients increased their order. Great stuff in general, but I really could have done with it waiting until September.

So, due to the fact I had a month’s worth of work to do in under 3 weeks, I started thinking about how efficient my writing process was and if there was anyway I could improve my productivity.

Traditionally, I would receive a request from a client, have a quick look through it and put it to one side for a few days until I had completed the project that I was working on.

When the time would come to work on the next project, I’d open up a Word document, write down a few sentences that I thought I could use or which could come in useful, carry out some research or look for quotes / statistics, write the piece and then proof and edit it straight away.

And to be honest, it seemed pretty efficient.

However, I’m a big believer that there is always room for improvement and so I made 3 changes to my writing process.

Firstly, when I received a new order through, I’d spend 10 minutes jotting down some notes that could help me write the piece. I’d also check out some websites I use regularly for statistics and quotes to see if there was anything immediately obvious that could be of use,
Secondly, I decided I would leave the editing to the end of the whole project. I wondered whether going from writing to proofing to editing and then back to writing was lowering my productivity and was interested to see whether it would increase if I carried out all of the writing first, followed by all of the proofing and editing,
Finally, I wanted to try something that I haven’t done before, which was to complete a project in one sitting. Usually, I look at how many words are going to be needed approximately overall, look at how long I’ve got to the deadline and divide them up so that I write a small amount each day. This time, however, I was going to complete it all in one go.

Did it work?

Well, yes and no.

On the first point, I found that this is possibly the best thing I could do.

When I used to get an order of, for example, 20 articles, I would treat each one separately, not looking at the next until I’d finished one. This month, I discovered that if I jotted down ideas for each (or at least most) of them first, there was no time spent at the start of each article thinking what I was going to write about. Things just flowed a lot better.

Unfortunately, the second point is arguably the worst thing I’ve ever done. In fact, it was so bad I only did it for one project.

When I proof and edit each piece as I go along, it does mean that I spend extra time on it, but once it’s proofed and edited, it’s completed and out of the way completely.

I nearly cried when I realised I’d just finished the twentieth 500 word article but still had all 10,000 words to proof and edit.

My reaction to the third point is mixed. I experimented on it first with a 22 article project and completed over 11,000 words in around 12 hours. It was pretty intense and the words weren’t as free flowing after around 7,000, but it felt great when I woke up the next morning and could start a completely new piece of writing.

Considering this month has been pretty hectic, I’ve actually learnt a lot about my writing. I’ve realised that I’m not as efficient as I thought I was; that proofing and editing in one go really isn’t a good idea and that when I want to be, I can be a writing machine!

Do you have a writing process that you always stick to? Is it efficient? Have you ever tried changing it around to see if you can increase your productivity?

Are You Writing In The Most Efficient Way Possible? was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

No related posts.

Do You Always Have Your Business Hat On?

Dan Smith — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:30:51 +0000

How often do you take your business hat off?

If you follow me on Twitter (or simply realised due to my lack of comments), you’ll be aware that I’ve been away for the past week.

We – my girlfriend and I – have a lot of family in and around London and try to get down there as often as we can.

Just like every other time, I worked longer days the week before we set off so that I could take the time off without having to think about any aspect of my business and could enjoy the time away fully.

This time, though, things were slightly different.

Whereas I usually don’t think about work at all or consider my actions in a business sense (I don’t mean I act wild or recklessly, I just mean that I’m not thinking about what might happen to my work if I do one thing or if I don’t impress a person), I found that I was looking at ways to develop my business and speak to people in a way that could be considered networking.

I thought back to the last time I was down. It was for a family wedding in May and although some of it is now a bit hazy (after the church there was a garden party with free alcohol, ahem…), I remember being introduced to people and rather than brushing over the fact I was someone who ‘does a lot of different things’, I focused on the fact I was a writer.

The time before that, however (February 2010), I can’t think of a time where I had my business hat on.

And thinking about it, this fits almost perfectly with how my writing career has developed since the start of 2010. I ended 2009 being a writer who was plodding along quite contently and I don’t really know what happened over Christmas and New Year, but I got a massive kick up the ass and decided 2010 would be the year that I pushed my writing career forward.

I found that this time in London – the city which is supposedly paved with gold – I was looking at everything as a business opportunity.

For some of the break we stayed in a hotel that was heavily business orientated and I couldn’t help but think what would happen if I spent the time striking up a conversation with some people in the lobby or bar and then handing over my business card.

Yes, I guess it’s cold calling, but surely the few minutes it would take saying a quick hello, mentioning a generic topic and working my writing business into the conversation would be worth it eventually?

Even now I’m back home, I’ve realised that I’ve still got my business hat on most of the time. Not to the extent where I’m constantly working, but that I’m looking at everything as an opportunity and a way to develop my career.

This has been a kind of light bulb moment for me. Over the past 8 months things have slowly clicked into place with my writing career and this seems like another piece of the puzzle falling into the right slot – I’m no longer having to think of ideas and ways to develop; they seem to be coming naturally.

The reason I posted this was because I’m interested in hearing from other writers who find – or don’t find – that they’ve always got their business hat on.

Are you constantly looking for opportunities? Is it a bit of a strain or do they flow naturally? Do you like having your business hat on or would you rather you could take it off?

Image: Quinn.Anya (Flickr)

Do You Always Have Your Business Hat On? was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Coping and Prioritizing in Your Freelance Life

Dana Prince — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:45:51 +0000

Prioritization and Time Management

Freelancers are regularly tested on their focus and prioritization skills. How you cope and deal with time management challenges will impact your business, your wallet, and your physical and emotional health.

Someone invites you to lunch but you know you have to put your nose down and hit that deadline… A loved one needs you but you have to juggle and make them and your client happy, too…. One client wants to be put ahead of other clients that are important, too… A client is being a royal pain in the rear and you need to decide what to do about it… Sometimes the juggling act is tricky! The good news is that it’s your business and you’re in control. Sometimes you need to just remind yourself of that fact. I’ve had to do so recently.

Anyway, here are some tips for prioritizing that I’ve learned in the last few years. If you have any tips you’d like to share, please do!

Pad your deadlines. Doing this will give you a bit of wiggle room for emergencies. And, if you treat that fake deadline as the real one most of the time, clients will be delighted at your consistently delivering early.

If you’re outsourcing, pad even further! When you have to rely on anyone but yourself, you want some extra EXTRA wiggle room.

Overquote. Overquote on money and on time. Give yourself extra time and don’t bid too low.

Turn off distractions. Shut the office door, forward the phone to voicemail, etc. When you need to focus, don’t be tempted by email alerts or instant messaging applications. Focus on one thing at a time and the feelings of being overwhelmed will soon be diminished.

Find a proven tracking system. Whether it’s a note pad, task lists on Gmail, a big desk calendar, or a digital time management application, find something that works for you and use it consistently so you never miss a deadline.

Have a plan B. I’ve had some technology problems lately so I started keeping a small stockpile of offline work so that I could work if my ISP went down. I also invested in a Smart Phone so I can keep in touch with clients on the go. The phone also keeps me more relaxed when I’m away from the office for extended amounts of time. Beware you don’t stay plugged in to work 24/7, though. That’s something I’m working on…

Get up early when you’re swamped. (Something I struggle with but when I do it, I always say I should do it more often!) Often the best time to work on a difficult project is to do so before the rest of your house is up and before your clients are calling, IM’ing, or emailing.Why? Fewer distractions and more time in the day to hit that deadline. It’s often said that ‘morning people’ are more productive than nighthawks. Not sure if that’s true but I’m much more relaxed and productive starting work early in the morning to working until the wee hours when I’m under the gun.

Get the hardest and most important projects out of the way first. This was a valuable lesson I learned from a writing client who wrote career and life coaching books. It can be awful to feel dread about something that has to be done before you can go to sleep at night and worrying about it will slow you down all day long until the job gets done. Do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. Get it over with so you can move on with your day. If you do the most difficult and most vital things first, you avoid pitfalls of interruptions and being pulled in multiple directions later on in the day and you’ll feel accomplished earlier instead of later!

Make time for family. I don’t know about you but there are more family flare-ups around here when I’m overworked. As the peacemaker of the house, if I’m somewhat available and plugged in to the family instead of just my office, the house seems to buzz along more happily and that results in less stress for all of us. Have you had a day off lately? Have you spent time reading a story to your toddler or having a leisurely cup of tea on the porch with your spouse? Keep the home fires burning and work will probably be smoother sailing for you.

Speak your mind. If a client is being too demanding, push back a little. If a spouse’s help could make a big difference to you, ask for help proactively (if I ask when I’m calm, rather than wait until I’m on the verge of a meltdown, chances are I get better response anyway).

Say No. I’ve said “No” more often lately and it has served me well. Be selective about the writing jobs and personal favours you take on. It’s your business and your life so you need to stay in charge of it!

Sometimes you have to take a close look at your priorities and do some shifting around. I’ve had to do that lately and when I do take the time to make decisions and action plans and then stick to them, I work and feel much better.

Please share your words of prioritization wisdom with us!

Coping and Prioritizing in Your Freelance Life was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

What Should Online Professionals Do When Someone Ticks Them Off?

Dana Prince — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:50:24 +0000

For every action there is a reaction and your reactions will impact your professional life. One of the benefits of working from home is the lack of dealing with a huge amount of office politics. But, (sadly) this doesn’t mean you’ll never have to deal with people acting like idiots in your work life again.

I’ve had to deal with writers working for me that have upset me, clients that have annoyed me, and writing friends/ acquaintances that have done things that have ruffled my feathers. Such is life when you deal with various personality types. Just as with my former cubicle colony, there is a certain online code of conduct that should be followed in order to preserve professionalism and protect the business you operate online. An online war is almost NEVER the answer as it can cause some real damage. My advice:

Think carefully before you react….No matter how mad or how right you are.

Here’s what I do when I’m upset at something either in my writing business or related to writing or marketing communities I frequent:

Wait!

Try not to react instantly. One of the great things about working from home is that you have an opportunity to censor yourself. You don’t have to let people see your knee jerk reactions. If you do, it can be hard (or impossible) to undo because you’ve probably reacted in writing and others have seen and / or saved that reaction. It can make you look unprofessional and haunt you repeatedly. Take the time to carefully think about your response. Walk away. Take a breather first.

Not so hasty with that reply….

Carefully read your reply before you send it. Consider letting it rest for a bit and then re-read it once you’ve simmered a little.

Tone

Remember that things can come across the wrong way in writing. It can be difficult to communicate and to read tone electronically and most of us can recall at least one scenario where we’ve misunderstood someone in email. Writers tend to pull off tone a bit more accurately than the average person because it’s our job to be able to come across with adequate emotion but there’s always room for interpretation so before you react, stop and ask whether or not you’re reading things the way they’re intended. The web encourages lazy communication and things do get lost in translation. This applies to notes from clients, from people working for you, or other things that are in writing.

What’s Next?

Make an educated guess of what could happen next and decide what you would like to happen. Do you want to clarify your position or defend yourself? Do you want to exact revenge (not usually worth it!)? Or, do you want to simply sever ties, move on, and forget someone exists? Before you respond in anger to someone online, ask yourself if the response you’re ready to shoot back will help you get the reaction / result you’re hoping for. Is it worth it?

Sanity Check (Or the benefit of a moan to a friend)

Bounce the scenario off a trusted friend. Nothing wrong with a sanity check! And, getting the story off your chest could be just the thing to help you simmer down and think clearly before acting.

After you’ve had a chance to think carefully about how to respond and you’ve carefully analyzed your response, go ahead and react. If any time has passed you’re either going to be more calm or you’re going to be more determined to make your own point but in either case you’ll have a chance to get your desired reaction because you’ll have the opportunity to articulate yourself for the best outcome possible. How many times have you reacted quickly and then thought, “I wish I’d have said ____________”.

I say, take time to carefully weigh your online reactions, no matter how upset you are or how out of line the other party is, and you won’t likely have to regret how you’ve handled difficult situations.

What Should Online Professionals Do When Someone Ticks Them Off? was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Freelance Writing – Marketing Yourself as a Consultant

Dana Prince — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:52:08 +0000

How has your writing career evolved?

Are you a freelance writer? You may also want to become a consultant. You can develop your business in a way that translates into more success for your clients and more income potential for you. Once you provide great results and demonstrate that you are a knowledgeable professional, clients may ask you for advice. You can put together solutions that help them succeed and help you maximise your earning potential with them.

I started out doing one type of service and as my knowledge grew and I evolved, my service offerings expanded. Suddenly, people started asking for writing and business advice instead of just sending orders. As a former consultant in my previous life, this was a natural fit for me. I continually work to gather new knowledge and expand service offerings so that I don’t become archaic and that’s a plus in the world of internet marketing. I have clients ask about writing advice, come to me for blogging suggestions, SEO advice, design tips, consulting for social media, and other professional business areas as well. I’ve become more than a writer; I’ve become a trusted adviser to many clients. This opens up more opportunities for me and I see that as a good thing. How do you get there? Here are some of my suggestions:

Offer free advice. When you deal with a client, don’t hesitate to make a suggestion about their business. You can do this from the start by making suggestions in your initial discussions or you can go back and do this after an order has been fulfilled. Don’t tip your hand entirely but a bit of free advice can go a long way.
When a client places an order, try the “do you want fries with that?” approach. This gives you an opportunity to upsell. Be prepared to tell them why you’re making a specific recommendation and tell them how it could help them.
Provide value. Give them more than they paid for. I try to bid on jobs with value in mind, listing my differentiators and providing them with free tips in the process. I always try to deliver more than people are expecting in an initial project. This demonstrates my commitment to value and helps them feel good about what they’re paying for. Both these things increase the chances of repeat business and referrals.
Market yourself as a consultant. I stopped calling myself a freelance writer alone and started advertising that my business provides online marketing solutions. This tells people that I can do more than article writing for them.

I believe that with every new client I learn something and sharing my knowledge helps me help customers, positions me as a consultant, and helps my business continue to evolve. How about you? If you’ve been writing for more than a short time for clients, how has your service offering evolved?

Freelance Writing – Marketing Yourself as a Consultant was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Freelance Writing Bloghop – 3 Helpful Posts

Dana Prince — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:41:07 +0000

Freelance Writing Posts

I love blog-hopping to read what’s on the minds of other freelance writers. I haven’t had much time to do this lately as I’ve had a delectable but filling smorgasbord of work but I have done a bit of reading through my feed reader or links on social media sites that caught my attention. This week I decided to share some freelance writing posts that have helped me with my writing career this week.

Allena Tapia’s post on About.com: Mistakes I’ve Made as a Freelance Writer

It’s important to learn from your mistakes. You can also learn from others’ mistakes. Allena talks about some of the mistakes she’s made. Great post! Learning from my mistakes has definitely helped in my writing career. Even four years after embarking on a full time writing career, I’m still learning from my mistakes. And getting wisdom from the benefit of someone else’s mistakes can help you further your career as well. Reading about the lives of freelance writers through their blogs was actually how I got my start.

Lori Widmer’s post on Words on the Page: Mind the Gap

Lori’s post deals with gaps in your writing income. Great practical advice here, especially regarding saving money. ! I also relate well to the “Ask writing friends if they have overflow work” tip as a way to bridge gaps. I’ve done this many times and had writing friends do it as well. For me, at times, it has brought in fast money, job leads, opportunities to develop new skills, and also resulted in some great recurring gigs.

Freelance Folder – Dave Navarro: 7 Can’t Miss Ways to Kick-Start the Writing Habit

I’ve written before on how to break free of writer’s block and I’ll take as much inspirational advice as I can get from others who’ve experienced it, too. This post is almost 3 years old but the advice and the 200+ comments provide great tips and interesting debate / commentary.

Reading blogs for freelancers by freelancers is a great way to gain knowledge, inspiration, to commiserate, or share in triumphs. Thank you so much for stopping by here to read what we have to say and feel free to comment on any of my posts here on Get Paid to Write Online or The Writer’s Blog to request that I cover a specific topic you’re interested in learning more about or getting an opinion on.

Freelance Writing Bloghop – 3 Helpful Posts was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

10 Ways to Break Through Freelance Writers’ Block

Dana Prince — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:44:32 +0000

Got Writer's Block?

Got freelance writer’s block? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been affected by it. It most often comes when you’re under the gun with a project deadline, doesn’t it? Sometimes it happens when you get burnt out on a topic. Read on for some tips I’ve used and that writing friends have taught me. Hopefully this post will be a good conversation starter and give us all some more ideas!

Wash the dishes. I can’t tell you how many times washing the dishes has resulted in my outlining a couple of articles in my head. I drift off when my hands are in sudsy water. The trick is getting those ideas down before they disappear (without getting soap on the keyboard!)
Take a bubble bath. All over suds takes the tension of writer’s block away and usually by the time I’m back at the keyboard, I’ve got ideas or what I’m writing starts to sound better.
Read. Reading helps. Sometimes I’ll read about the topic I’m writing about and sometimes I just look to escape for a few minutes and clear my head. Sometimes I just surf through a thesaurus. Reading about words and definitions often inspires me with ideas and helps me with vocabulary as well.
Stumble. I love my StumbleUpon toolbar. I subscribe to channels I’m interested in so often stumble upon neat writing tools. Some of them have been inspiring or useful enough to help me get back into the groove of a project. Be careful though, a single stumble could soon lead to 20!
Caffeine! Writer’s life blood! Stimulate your brain. (But watch you don’t end up awake all night!)
Eat. Sometimes you can’t think clearly because your body needs fuel or is dehydrated.
Surf. Start researching and you’ll probably find your angle. Don’t check the usual places if they’re not helping. Check out the posts I wrote about going beyond Wikipedia 1 and 2. I surf through search engines for the topic I’m stuck on and start taking notes. Sometimes I’ll look at Google. Sometimes I’ll search Bing or Dogpile. Sometimes I search through Twitter for conversations about a topic or article directories to see how other writers might’ve tackled a keyword phrase or a topic. Checking out Google News or Google Blog Search can be helpful too.
Outline. At the start of a project, I try to do some outlining to save me from writer’s block later on. Giving structure to a project before my brain goes into overload on it can often help me get through it without a problem. I used to get stuck at times if I had to write 20 articles about a specific topic but started outlining that so I knew what I’d be writing about before I started, rather than running out of fuel after 14 articles.
Ask for help. A friend of mine once had to write 35 articles about mattresses. She emailed to moan for a minute. I gave her 5 new titles she hadn’t thought of off the top of my head. I once tweeted in the middle of the night asking for help getting another 200 words for a long article I had to finish and got ideas almost instantly. If you have a good relationship with your client, don’t be afraid to check with them for any topic starters or reference sites to help you when you get stuck as well.
Sleep on it. If you can, take a break. That’s often the best way to get past writer’s block. There are times you’ll have to push through but if you’re normally creative and resourceful and just can’t seem to get unstuck for some reason, your brain probably needs a rest!

What are your best tips for fighting writer’s block?

10 Ways to Break Through Freelance Writers’ Block was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

5 Ways to Fill a Freelance Writing Schedule Gap

Dana Prince — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:07:14 +0000

Let me start this post by saying I’m lucky enough right now to not have any writing schedule gaps. It’s not always easy to fill your time with writing gigs but when it’s a feast, it’s often mayhem. I tore myself away from a busy schedule (‘cuz I’m nice like that) to write to you today with suggestions for how to fill the time when you have gaps in your freelance writing schedule.

1. Marketing

The best way to ensure you’re feasting rather than scraping by is to keep marketing. Don’t wait until things are dead slow to do it, if at all possible. When you do have a lag or opening in your schedule, spend extra time on marketing yourself and you won’t likely be seeing too many droughts in the future. Always plan to market but pump up your marketing efforts when you have available cycles.

2. Passive Writing Income

There are some writers who pay their mortgage each month with a cheque from one of the revenue share programs. The great thing about these sites is that one article could earn you income indefinitely. When you have time to spare, take the time to write for sites like: eHow, HubPages, Askables, InfoBarrel, Bukisa, and others and you could afford to take time off more often because you could earn 3 or 4 figures monthly from a small amount of effort. (Note: It often takes time to build these up so it’s not realistic to expect huge success with them over night). If you don’t want to share your income in a rev share program, develop your own content sites or blogs. After all, people are often paying YOU to do this so why not do it for yourself and reap the rewards of residual income?

3. Job Hunting

Cruise job boards like Deb Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs or Clint Osterholz’s Tuesday column with high-paying writing gigs to keep your eye out for future gigs. Want to write in a certain market? Send out some queries. Want to be on top of job postings? Set some Google Alerts to send you job links when new gigs get posted.

4. Networking

Networking is invaluable when you’re a freelance web writer. Networking with other writers can help you improve your skills and stay up to date on market conditions, tools, and trends. Networking with your existing and past customers can also bring about new gigs and referrals. Network by hopping onto social media tools, checking out online webinars and chats, or by touching base through e-mail or phone.

5. Chillaxing

When was the last time you took a day off? Regular working Joes and Janes have no idea how many hours freelancers actually put in. Most of us work every day and many of us put in more than ten hours a day. If you’re fresh out of writing work, give yourself a chance to relax. Maybe work a bit on that fiction novel you’ve been working on / planning / thinking about or spend some time with your family watching a movie with a smorgasbord of snacks and NO pressure to get back to the computer.

What do you do when you have a break in your freelance writing schedule?

(photo: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/jan-willem)

5 Ways to Fill a Freelance Writing Schedule Gap was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

When the Client Hates Your Writing

Dana Prince — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:36:36 +0000

In my last post I talked about the need for a thick freelance writing skin but let’s delve a bit deeper. Beyond being able to take it on the chin once in a while, there will be times when you need to act after being criticised. What should a writer do when a freelance client hates the work they’ve turned in?

If everything you write is getting rejected that’s a bigger problem than I’m prepared to deal with here but if you’re like most freelance writers you get it right most of the time but have the odd occasion crop up where a client doesn’t beam with joy after you’ve sent them your work. An important first question to ask is “Why?”

**Why might the writing piece not be what they want?**

Did the client not communicate clearly?
Did you have an ‘off’ day?
Was your chosen writing voice wrong for the client’s project?
Is the client just difficult? Maybe even Bob Bly wouldn’t have impressed them much. (hey, I bet it even happens to Bob once in a while)

What should you do?

Try to make it right.

That’s it. No alternatives.

How do you make it right? Ask the client how. Very often, their response will immediately tell you which of the above categories fits and then you can decide how to move forward. There are times when a simple revision will help, and there are going to be times when you need to spend a lot of time on rewrites. There will also be the odd occasion where you’ll both decide to move on and probably won’t work together again. If you do your best to try to make it right, you can walk away looking and feeling like a professional.

How you make things right is going to depend on the scenario. It might involve a quick fix. Or, you could work tirelessly until they’re happy. You could discount the project so they can hire a rewriter themselves (not typically advisable). Or, you could tell the client your rewrite fee (because you clearly followed their directions and now they’re trying to ask for things outside the scope of the original writing contract) and see if they’re willing to pay for a revision before you touch the work again. Try to take a careful look at each situation before reacting.

Tips for Reducing the Likelihood of the Client Hating Your Writing Work

-Adequate research. Make sure you write with the appropriate amount of authority and that will usually take at least some research. The amount of research should be reflected in your price quote. No one should be willing to spend all day searching for a $15 article. Are you quoting based on the required effort? If you quote a client too low, chances are that you won’t deliver what they want because you won’t spend an adequate amount of time on it. In your mind, you’ve probably assigned a time value to the piece of work because of the dollar value you’ve quoted.

-Ask the client for examples of the writing style they like. They may have a white paper or an article somewhere that could help you find the perfect voice and style for their project.

-Ask explicit questions about the project before you write. (I always say, “Better questions now than rewrites later.”)Too many writers don’t ask questions to find out what their client wants. I have a questionnaire that I give new clients for their projects. Your client questionnaire is probably going to be a living document as it’ll change based on your offerings and your experience. Hopefully you don’t deal with negative client reactions often but each difficult project you have will probably teach you something about yourself, your skills, and about how to handle client problems in the future.

Don’t Get Frustrated. Get Prepared Instead

Here’s my advice: Be prepared for a rewrite every time. If you find yourself feeling like you are getting frustrated about rewrite requests, it’s a good idea to consider when sending in a project that it’s always going to be a first draft. If you always anticipate at least one rewrite in terms of planning your time and pricing out the project, you’ll feel much less frustration when you’re asked for a rewrite. If you have any sage words of advice for dealing with clients that hate something you’ve written, please share!

When the Client Hates Your Writing was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Is Your Skin Thick Enough for a Freelance Writing Career?

Dana Prince — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:26:38 +0000

Some people who write for the web do it for money. Some do it for the passion of writing. Most that do it do it for both reasons. Unless you’re writing for yourself in a journal nobody will ever see or on a website that doesn’t allow others to post comments (and you never Google yourself to see if anyone is talking about you), you’re opening yourself up to criticism. Freelance writing requires a thick skin at times.

When someone doesn’t like something you’ve written it can be hard on the ego. Sometimes the client is right. Sometimes, the client is wrong. Sometimes neither of you is wrong. It’s important to realise that this can be a very subjective industry. What you deem as a perfect paragraph just might not resonate with your client. Try not to take it too hard. It happens to Pulitzer Prize winners, too.

Fear of Rejection

Do you hesitate to query for a writing job due to potential rejection? Do you sit on pins and needles, waiting for a reaction on work you’ve done? Very few successful published authors have never had a rejection. Freelance writers are brave. You open yourself up to potential criticism on a daily basis. But, it’s a necessity.

Every time I submit something to a client for their review, there’s a chance that I’ll get a less than delighted reaction. Time teaches you a lot of things and time with clients will teach you about what it is that they deem ideal for their projects.

The first dealings with a new client are a time of risk. Recently I had an assignment come back with a note to look at the document for feedback. The thing had the “track changes” feature of Microsoft word turned on. I cringed. That feature tends to ruffle my feathers at first. At first glance, after opening the Word doc, I saw the right margin filled with arrows and commentary. My heart sunk. The thing looked like a dog’s breakfast after the client had taken their “red pen” to it. I didn’t even closely look at first. Because I could feel my jaw tighten, I decided to give myself a ten minute break. I think I chose to scrub the kitchen counters to within an inch of their lives and then I avoided the document like the plague for about a half an hour. But I was useless at anything else because “it” was waiting for me.

When I forced myself to come back to it, it actually wasn’t all that bad and took just a few minutes to revise. The anticipation of criticism got my back up so much that it was impacting my productivity. I was stressed and apprehensive before I even saw what the criticism was. I think this is was a good lesson to myself.

Working with multiple clients opens you up to dealing with many personality types. That can be good and it can be difficult at times. Some of those clients you’ll gel with and others will make your life temporarily miserable. Some are easy to get along with and others are so anal retentive that it’ll drive you half crazy to deal with them.

Is the Client Always Right?

Sure, there are times when the client is being unreasonable. But they’re the client and they’re paying you to write what they want. If they won’t listen to your side or to your years of expertise on a matter, there’s not much that you can do. As a freelancer you have every right to opt to not deal with someone again after a project that hasn’t gone well. You also have the right to re-price if the rewrites go beyond the scope of your original agreement. Keep in mind that being accommodating (as long as it’s not to a fault. Freelance means freedom, not free writing.) is important in the services business and the first project with a new client is always a time of discovery and risk — to both of you.

I’ve seen writer forums littered with complaints about clients and editors that shredded a writer’s work to bits. Some writers take it very personally. If you’re the sort who takes everything to heart, you’re probably a passionate person and that can be a really great trait in a writer. But if you don’t want anyone critiquing you, you’re probably not going to be successful at writing for other people. We all love it when we get a rave review but how you handle rejections or negative reactions can actually make or break your success. If you’ve been writing as a career for any length of time, chances are that your reactions now are very different from how you’d have reacted early on in your career.

Learning from Criticism

I try to take each less-than-rave review and learn from it. Criticism can help you be a better writer. Perhaps one small bit of advice could help you take your writing to the next level. I try to learn from criticism, even if at first it ruffles my feathers. It might teach me a new skill, it might teach me patience, or it might help me decide whether or not a client and I are suited to continue working together. Has your writing skin thickened over time?

Is Your Skin Thick Enough for a Freelance Writing Career? was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.