What are the 7 habits of highly-paid freelance writers?
1. They don’t waste time on low-paying gigs. I recently had a mentee sent me a plaintive email as she wondered how she would make more money than the $10,000 a year or so she was earning. “So, do I just say ‘no’ when people offer me $20 articles?” she wailed.
Yes. That is exactly what you do.
Say it with me. “No.”
Or better, “No thank you, but feel free to contact me in the future if you find you’re in a position to pay professional rates.”
2. They’re not neurotic. They are not spending hours a day wringing their hands over the state of journalism today. They do not need to dust their office five times daily, or have all their desk knick-knacks lined up just so to start working. They get down to business and start writing. They don’t have a lot of writing tics, either – they know how to spit out a draft, polish it up, and file it.
3. They take good care of themselves. The wan, flabby, sleep-deprived yet wildly successful writer is a bit of a myth. To earn well, year in and year out, you have to write and live in a sustainable way. Personally, I try to go walk uphill and down around my home for about an hour before I start working, or do Wii Fit yoga. I catch a nap if I need to. You have to be in good shape to be brilliant.
4. They’re always prospecting. To find really well-paid work, you have to troll a lot, sifting out all the junk offers and moving forward until you find really good clients. This requires a focused, coordinated, consistant marketing effort, not the occasional, sporadic attempt at networking.
5. They’re efficient. Well-paid writers don’t waste time applying for obviously low-paying jobs through online ads. They know how to quickly find information they need for stories. It doesn’t take them a day to write one short article — it might take them an hour or less. They prioritize their day’s tasks and then knock them out, one by one.
6. They’re diversified. I once met another writer working on a story package for a special section of the Seattle Times. I admired her work and asked her what other accounts she had. Turned out she also did copywriting for a major American automaker!
This was my first introduction to really diversifying my clients. Now I find that if you locate a well-paid writer and ask them about their client list, they’ve usually got at least one major copywriting account up their sleeve. They may write white papers as well as newspaper articles, online content, and product manuals. When one sector suffers, they have other writing types to fall back on.
7. They have goals. Writers who end up at the top of the heap usually don’t land there by accident. They have laid a deliberate course to get where they wanted to go. They break down their goal into small steps and strive to accomplish some small task to propel their career in the right direction each week. They make it a priority in their lives to work on those goals.
By Carol Tice
After recently heard from a brand-new freelance writer.
“Do you have a helpful list of suggestions for people trying to break into writing?” he asked. “I’m totally new to this.”
This got me thinking about the important habits for writers looking to break into earning and getting those first few clips. Here they are:
1. They write regularly. Develop a writing routine and try to write every day. That’s the only way you’ll be ready when you get a paying assignment.
2. They believe in themselves. Rejection letters do no phase them. If they send 20 resumes and queries and get no responses, they don’t take it personally. They don’t dwell on it – they move right on to the next step in their plan to find paid writing.
3. They are willing to market their business. Their methods may vary – they may favor in-person networking, cold-calling, social networking or sending query letters. But successful new writers are always looking for a new, better-paying client. They have a plan to market their writing and stick with it.
4. They seek out mentors. Writers who want to earn a good living attend workshops, hire mentors or coaches, or ask editors for advice. They know mentors can help them develop and get better-paying assignments.
5. They are open to criticism. Successful writers are not prima donnas who moan over ever tiny change an editor wants to make to their story. They join writer’s groups to seek feedback on their work. They are self-confident enough to listen with an open mind to suggestions for improving their work.
6. They keep learning. Whether it’s reading the newspaper to study the style of it, or buying writing books, downloading e-books, taking college classes, e-courses, or a writer’s group, successful writers look for opportunities to increase their knowledge.
7. They have goals. Vague dreams of earning a living from writing will not put money in the bank. Writers who want to move up in pay set long-term goals and break them down into shorter-range goals. They break those down into concrete to-do lists and focus on accomplishing their tasks, and track their progress. Periodically, they analyze their results and to adjust their goals based on what’s working best for them.
By Carol Tice
A Make a Living Writing blog reader asked me for more information on how to convince corporate clients to pay higher rates for your services.
“Tips about how writers can articulate their worth would be very interesting,” she wrote. “Not what does the writer NEED, but what is professional writing WORTH to the client — especially relative to other professional services they retain.”
Great question.
Here’s the speech I give prospective clients who ask me about rates. One of the things I’ll frequently say early on goes something like this:
“If you’re having a bidding contest to find the lowest price, I’d like to tell you right now I’m going to lose. I will not be your lowest bidder, and I don’t generally work with companies that are only concerned with how little they can pay for writing.
“I work with business owners seeking exceptionally talented writers who can help establish them as the pre-eminent thought leaders in their sector. They need to communicate in a sophisticated, compelling way with their target audience.
“That’s what I will deliver for you — authoritative content that communicates that you are the most knowledgeable source for information in your industry. This will attract quality clients, build Web traffic, and will pave the way for you to charge more for what you do.”
Of course, when presented with it that way, most of my prospects rush to say, “Oh, that’s me! I understand that I need to be the authority. That’s just what we need to do.” And discussions of how little they can get me to work for tend to evaporate.
They get it immediately — I’ve helped them put their finger on what it is they’re really in the market for. They need content so compelling and strong that it will enhance their brand and company reputation, and bring them more business. Not every writer can give them that — but I can.
Once you’ve framed it that way, if they balk at a rate, I tend to point out that paying, say, $1,500 for a custom-written article they can get republished in newspapers, use on their site, hand out as fliers, email to their prospect list, expand into a white paper, and otherwise use FOREVER to promote their business and drive Web traffic at no additional charge is the marketing bargain of the century.
Compare it to the cost of placing a single decent-sized print ad! To doing one radio spot, or putting up one billboard! The reality is that having strongly written information about your company is a real deal, even at prime rates.
I find most writers don’t think about their services through the client’s eyes. Writing is usually part of companies’ marketing budget — and in that context, it’s very affordable compared with many other forms of marketing spend.
So ask for a great rate, and explain why you’ll be worth it. You’ll be surprised how often you find yourself with a wonderful new client who’s happy to have you, and willing to pay you what you deserve.
