The Business of Freelancing

On Feb. 17, 2001,  panelists Eugenia Daniels with 15 years of editorial print, broadcast, and Internet experience; Kit Bernardi, a photographer and writer who spent six months recently traveling the world; and Nancy Shepherdson who has 400 articles and books to her credit, shared their insight on the business of freelancing for the Illinois Woman's Press Association.

Eugenia Daniels
"You want a speciality, yet you want to be diverse," said Eugenia Daniels.  Below is her checklist for freelance writers from an editor’s viewpoint:

1. Be speedy. Turn copy around quickly.
2. Meet deadlines.
3. Be flexible. The focus of a story can change over a short period of time. 
4. Be accurate. Experienced editors remember stories that gave them problems by fielding phone calls or responding to e-mails.
5. Be available. Once editors know you are a quality and timely writer, they will try to monopolize you. Daily publications could pay as well as magazine and nontraditional venues.
6. Have a specialty. Yet be a jack-of-all trades. Euguenia takes her own advice, writing on technology, women, business and American black women.
7. Establish contacts. If you go to the editor with a story idea, have the interview contacts to make it happen.
8. Be tenacious.
9. Have good Internet skills. If you can e-mail, that’s 50% proficiency. If you can attach a file, that’s 75%. If you can cut and paste a file into an e-mail that’s 100%.
10. Be able to perform online searches. "Time Magazine asked me to write on ‘Inventions in the Midwest,’" said Eugenia. Using the search engines and the government Web site that handles patents, Eugenia was able to narrow that down to anyone who had invented something within the last three months. Electronically gathering articles or photos to accompany your story and e-mailing them to your editor brings you within the 150% range of proficiency. "If you can manipulate a photo in Adobe Photoshop or write HTML, you are in the 200% range," says Eugenia. Basic HTML tutorials can be found on www.webmonkey.com.
11. Ask your editor if she is technically inclined. This is particularly important if you include a link in your e-mail. However, always emphasize your technology skills. For example, let your editor know that you have a digital camera or that you can create Web pages.

Kit Bernardi
"Don’t quit your day job," suggested Kit Bernardi. "The romance and the reality aren’t the same." Establish your standards upfront. Many of the top travel magazines will not accept pieces if the travel was paid for by the resort, an airline, etc. Kit views herself as a traveler pilgrim in a publishing world.

1. Passion not pay. Keep your day job. Travel writing does not pay well.
2. Play the odds. The more you pitch and submit, the better the odds of getting your article into print.
3. Practice your craft and pursue relentless. "Watch trends," says Kit. "Become technology savvy."

You need optimism, heart and confidence in your ability. "You need to be able to stand up and out of the crowd," said Kit. Editors buy ideas. You must know your subject matter well, the publication well, and their audience well. Prepare articles that are well written, accurate, and well researched.

Once you have established a relationship with an editor, don't be afraid to send e-mail if you have an inkling of a story idea. Go for it based on that relationship. And always meet deadlines and any technological requirements. Kit agreed that magazines pay better--$1 a word.  However, the amount of space for articles is dictated by the number of ads sold.

Kit had been courting Midwest Living for three years. One day she received her dream assignment. "They called me out of the blue. I didn’t know what they wanted." said Kit. However, since Kit lived in the area, Midwest Living felt she knew something about the topic. The magazine paid Kit for her research in five states, plus she will get paid for her articles as well. "You can build up additional income by being willing to do the legwork," offered Kit.

Write about what you know. Your backyard is full of stories. Kit’s top success tips include:

1. Be professional and tenacious.
2. Be alert to new publications and trends. Try to get in on the ground floor of any new Web sites. One client sent its gold card customers a custom fashion magazine. Although now the publication is dead, it paid $1 per word six times a year. Look for custom publications or must-read newsletters.
3. Hone your craft.  Kit keeps all her old drafts to bolster her confidence with tangible evidence that her writing is constantly improving. However, the most positive reinforcement is when the check is in the mail.
4. Perfect your interviewing skills. Know what information you want.
5. Share your manuscript with others. "Run your writing past a writer you respect," said Kit.

Have a creative spirit, a business mind, a thick skin and a trusting soul!

Nancy Shepherdson
"A freelancer is both an artist and a CEO," said Nancy Shepherdson. This is a great time to be a writer. Editors are operating with skeleton staffs and they need you more than ever. However, they don’t have the time to really trainl.  Editors see writers as interchangeable clogs. And oftentimes you value yourself too little because what you may be willing to accept for pay. If you accept less money than the project is worth, you aren’t helping yourself or anyone else in the industry.

Your goal should be to make yourself stand out yet preserve your artistic soul. Consider yourself on the same level as Michael Eisner. Don’t treat yourself as powerless because that’s how your employers will treat you.

1. Ask yourself, "What do I know? What do I want to do with my freelance career?" Is making a lot of money--say $100,000+ a year, your goal?
2. Write about something special.
3. Have fun doing it.
4. Make a difference.

Nancy always wanted to write about the environment and politics, but had never taken the next step. She started with smaller assignment and began working her way up. She set goals. Nancy had an article published in Sierra that covered both topics, "Green Republican on Lake County Board." Nirvana.

Create a personal marketing plan:

1. What are you? What services do you want to offer? Prioritize these.
2. Who is the competition? What type of credentials do they have? What can you offer that makes up for that deficit? Can you put yourself in the mindset of the audience? For Nancy, that meant thinking like a 12-year-old boy when writing for Boy’s Life.
3. What clients are waiting for suppliers like you? Be sure to read their magazine so that you will know what they want. Look at the ads. They tell you more about what the editors are looking for. See who are in the ads. What are the ages of the people? What are their tastes? Advertisers often know more about who is the target audience than sometimes the editors. Analyze the freelance material for tone, subject and thrust. Look at the masthead for missing names. The names of freelancers won’t appear there.
4. What are you strengths and weaknesses? What do you do better? How are you going to make up for your weaknesses?
5. What is your niche? Write one or two sentences that differ you from your competition. Use these statements when cold calling so that you take as little time as possible with busy editors. Know why you are taking a job at the moment: is it first for your mind or first for your pocket? Be proactive in contacting clients in your niche. Woman’s Day wants real-life drama. The target market is women ages 25 to 45 with lower income and children under 18. Sell yourself on how well your niche fit your client’s needs.

"What can those who employee freelancers do to get a good product?" asked Nancy.

1. Treat them as CEOs even if they don’t realize they are.
2. Treat freelancer writers as suppliers. They supply something for money.
3. Treat freelance writers as peers, which means returning calls.
4. Answer queries promptly.
5. Work on projects collaboratively.
6. Edit the product with care.
7. Ensure that the supplier has been paid promptly and treated fairly.

Audience Questions
What search engines do you use?
Eugenia: I like Asks Jeeves if the research has something to do with a product. The UIC and Library of Congress both have good search engines.

How do you find out about writing opportunities?
Kit: Check the magazine’s Web site. Also the Writer’s Market lists contact information, including what departments accept freelance articles and what they pay. Always include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your work returned. Also call the circulation department to order back issues of the publication with a credit card. Always be honest with editors. Refer other writers if the topic isn’t something you can research within their time frame.

Nancy: I never request guidelines. I analyze magazines by thumbing through six to 12 back issues. My goal is to know the publication as well as the editor.

What type of money can a freelancer expect to make?
Nancy: If you want to make $100,000+ a year, plan to work 60 hours a week, focusing primarily on corporate clients and writing internal publications. Corporate work commands $100 to $125/hr. Keep a log to calculate your hourly rate. Other writing pays $1 per word, with some corporate clients in the $2 to $4 range.

Eugenia: I once received $3 per word.  The pay was $600 for a 200-word article. Newspapers may only pay 30 cents a word. Before accepting any assignment, find out what the payscale is.  If it sounds like something you're interested in, then ask the following questions:

1. If being paid by the word, when is the word count taken? Be sure it’s before the article is edited, not after.
2. When the article is going to run?
3. What is the topic?
4. What is the kill fee? Usually it’s 25%.
5. What is the deadline?
6. Is there a mileage fee?
7. Is there a travel allowance?
8. Are phone expenses for research covered?
9. Is online time covered for Internet research?
10. What is the turnaround for payment? Is it 2 weeks, 30 days, or 60 to 90 days?

Kit: Always get an assignment letter. If they don’t have one handy, offer to write one for your editor. Clarify the number of revisions you are willing to make.

All:  Since clips build clips, freelance writers should strive to get their works published while receiving fair wages for their efforts.

Back to May 2001 Issue | Back to Pen Points