Do’s and Don’ts of Writer’s Conferences

Last week was my first writer’s conference that involved a plane ticket and hotel accommodations. And it was worth every penny. Before I left on Thursday morning, I posted on LinkedIn soliciting tips on making the most of a writer’s conference. All of the responses were informative and on topic, but Rebecca’s was the most detailed (not to mention that it showed off her sense of humor, too).

Here’s an excerpt:

Make sure you know in advance where you are going and what you need to do when you get there. There is nothing worse then feeling flustered and out of sorts for that first session or the keynote when you want to be on top of your game.

I’ve incorporated some of the other tips below.

Do attend as many sessions and activities as possible. You never know where you pick up an interesting tip or meet a great new contact, so try to spend as much time at the conference as you can. I admit it: I was a little distracted by the free wifi and the desire to start on a fresh batch of queries, but I really tried to interact with other people and pay attention during the sessions with editors. I also made sure to sit with a new group of people at each meal so I could I could introduce myself and chat about the conference.

Don’t overschedule yourself. I left my apartment at 4:30am, flew from Boston to Cincinnati and Cincinnati to Tampa, spent the afternoon on FAM tour of Tampa, mingled during the manager’s reception, then went to a long, formal dinner before collapsing in bed. Talk about conferencitis! This was not my original itinerary, but when Delta canceled my direct flight and rebooked me through Cincinnati (my only option since I needed to arrive by 11am), I really should have cancelled my afternoon activities and left at a more sane hour so I’d be rested for the next day.

Do chat up other writers and editors. I found the attendees incredibly friendly and approachable. Within a few minutes of talking to other writers on the first day, I’d picked up several ideas on new websites to pitch and heard a horror story about one that I now know to avoid. When another writer lamented a market that had dried up, I suggested a different website for her story, and we exchanged emails earlier today.

Don’t shamelessly name drop. I watched someone list all of the people she knew at a particular publication and the editor didn’t recognize a single name. Awkward! A better bet is to ask the editor questions to gain insight into what he or she needs. It also show that you’re interested and engaged. Also let other writers get their face time, too, or you’ll appear needy.

Do bring business cards. I brought business cards, but in my sleep-deprived stupor, I left them in my hotel room on the second day. One of the other attendees had a clever way to keep her cards close by: she put a few behind the plastic her name badge with her name in front. Whenever someone suggested exchanging cards, she was ready. I was impressed!

Don’t bring your entire manuscript. What a waste of luggage space! As last week’s conference, we could exchange business cards, but we were not allowed to bring extra paperwork and force it upon the editors or agents speaking. If there was a mutual interest, we could send writing samples or book proposals later. As a matter of fact, a few agents said that their offices are trying to go green by only accepting proposals via email.

Have you ever attended a writer’s conference? What advice would you add?

Tip for Tracking Your Writing Online

During a lunchtime lecture at last week’s conference, a presenter mentioned the importance of setting up a Google Alert for your name so you’ll know what people are saying about you and when your articles get published.

Frankly, if I set up a Google Alert for “Susan Johnston,” the number of emails would be completely unmanageable. Granted, you can set weekly or monthly updates, but when you have a generic name, there are bound to be several Googlegangers (others who share your name and show up in searches) and sorting through them is a huge PITA.

Still, I’d like to know when my articles are getting published without having to check a website ten times a day (er, not that I would actually do that). So, I came up with a better way to monitor my bylines: setting up alerts to search specific websites. That way I’ll automatically get an email when my article gets published but I won’t have to sort through the other stuff.

Here’s how to do it: Go to Google.com/alerts and create an alert for “Your name” Site:website.com. For instance, I could set up an alert for Experience.com by typing “Susan Johnston” site:Experience.com. Then, once I find a new article I’ve written, I bookmark it in Delicious for future reference.

I also set up an alert for “urban muse” so I can see when people mention my blog or link to me. What strategies do you use? Any suggestions that might work even better?

The Essay That Defied My Expectations

Last week I had this wacky idea that I could write an essay about attending one of my brother's campaign events and get it published before the election.

My first thought was "That's crazy! Most of the publications you write for plan several weeks, or even months, in advance. And after November 4, no one will care how you and your brother feel about the election."

But I wrote it anyway and crossed my fingers. Now my election-themed essay appears in The Christian Science Monitor. Crazy, huh?

Conference Time

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for the first ever Freelance Success Conference in Tampa, so things may be a little quiet around here for the next few days. Or maybe not. I hope to have some exciting news to share when I get back, but if things materialize sooner, I just might have to squeeze in a quick post between sessions. Stay tuned!

Why Clueless Clients Aren't All Bad

If you've been freelancing for any length of time, then you've probably worked for a client who, frankly, didn't have a clue what your job entails. You know the type: who throw around terms in ways that make it apparent they have never worked in publishing and who refuse to give you a concrete word count ("just tell the story," one editor instructed me last week before we parted ways). Yesterday, Deb Ng posted a hilarious rant about blogging for people who don't know how to blog.

Sometimes clueless clients can be a good thing. Yes, you heard me right. When someone doesn't know how to set up a blog or write a press release and they know it, then they usually have a deep respect for you and your expertise. They may look to you as an advisor and really value your suggestions, because they know that without someone like you, they wouldn't even have a blog or a press release or whatever you're working on. Sometimes I find it endearing when clients say things like "please add this to your next blog" when they mean post. As long as they pay me on time and trust my work, I don't care if they know the difference between a blog and a post or a headline and a hyperlink.

It's when someone doesn't have a clue and they think they do that we run into problems. When someone says "I could be doing this if only I had more time" or "you bloggers have it really easy," then you know that they don't respect you and they probably don't know how much time you spend finding relevant links, optimizing photos, coming up with SEO-friendly headlines, etc. Or when they make absurd demands out of some misguided notion about writing or blogging. Or when they don't know what they want, so rather than trusting you to do what you're being paid to do, their expectations become a moving target.

I used to have a client who wanted posts that were the length of an epic poem. Not because this would provide important information to his readers, but because he wanted to feel like he was getting his money's worth and he didn't understand that a blog post shouldn't be the same length as a feature article (or that blog posts that length would cost more than he was paying me). Another guy I used to work for thought that adding buttons for social bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, and Delicious made the layout look too cluttered. Never mind the fact that this would have given readers a chance to share our posts and leverage Web 2.0.

Now it's your turn. How do you feel about clueless clients? Or have you worked with people who really get it?

10 Posts on Freelancers and the Recession

These days news about the recession is everywhere: on TV, in the newspaper, online, even on freelance blogs that wouldn't otherwise cover financial topics.

Although banks are failing, the outlook isn't all grim. In fact, the biggest difference I've noticed is that clients are taking a little longer to issue payment (which is worth noting, but not hardly cause for alarm). Still, I'm a saver by nature, so I'm certainly not making any extravagant purchases these days.

Here, I've rounded up a list of interesting posts relating to freelancers and the recession (including a few from yours truly in case you missed them earlier).

One More Point on the Ad Slowdown
The WordCount Bad Economy Survival Kit
Five Strategies for the Credit Crisis
Why Freelancers May be Better Equipped to Weather a Sucky Market
Open Thread: Is the Economy Impacing Your Business?
7 Ways to Be a Frugal Freelancer
Clients to Target in a Bad Economy
Drumming Up Clients During a Recession
Recessions are the Best Time for Business
Will the Recession Hurt Your Writing Career?

Now it's your turn. What's your recession confession? How is the economy impacting your business?

Who's the Boss? You are!

This weekend I met up with a friend from college who has a cushy new consulting job. "My boss is so chill," she gushed. "We get six weeks of paid time off, and I can take a day off whenever I want."

I almost choked on my veggie burger and asked for a referral. Almost. "Yeah, my boss can be a real b**** sometimes," I confided. "She wouldn't let me take off Columbus Day, and she makes me put in lots of overtime."

My friend laughed, thinking I was kidding. I wasn't.

Show of hands: how many of you work harder and longer at freelancing than you did when you were working for the man?

I thought so. Many of us leave our jobs for the flexibility of freelancing, then end up feeling we're chained to our laptops pounding out query letters and emails to editors (or maybe that's just me on an especially intense day). Of course, most of this pressure is self-induced, because freelancers tend to be highly driven and hard-working. And we'd rather boss ourselves than have someone else running our lives.

Steph Auteri has a great post reminding us not to skimp on sleep, food, or bonding time. How do you balance your personal needs with your professional drive? When you're crunched for time, what needs are non-negotiable?

Resumes for Writers

I have a confession to make: until recently I was using the same version of my resume every time someone requested a copy. And it hadn’t been updated in a long time. As someone who often covers career topics, I really ought to know better. Truth be told, I was kind of enjoying the whole “I’m a freelancer, I have no need for resumes, bosses, or other trappings of the corporate world” mindset.

Most freelance writers do just fine with a well-crafted cover letter and writing samples, because, let’s face it, you can inject more personality and humor into a cover letter than you can a resume. A bulleted list of publishing credits and job titles doesn’t exactly lend itself to clever prose. But sometimes that is what the prospective client wants.

When I was college student applying for jobs, I had a few different versions of my resume depending on where I was applying: administrative jobs, PR agency jobs, writing jobs, non-profit jobs, etc. So, I applied that strategy and created versions of my resume for copywriting, journalism, and blogging.

Each version includes much of the same information, but it’s packaged a little differently. For copywriting, for instance, I include descriptions of a few different projects at the top and make my publishing credits secondary. For the blogging version, I play up a few of the places I’ve guest blogged, blogging awards I’ve won, and my social media experience.

To help myself stay sane without sending the wrong version to the wrong person, I included the title at the top in big bold font (“Susan Johnston, Freelance Copywriter” or “Susan Johnston, Freelance Blogger”) and used a C, B, or J in the file name. How do you handle your freelance writing resume? Do you even use one? Let us know!

Comment for a Cure Recap

I can't believe it is already October 9. What happened to September? I have no idea. But I did want to update all you readers on the Comment for a Cure campaign I introduced back in August. In addition to getting many, many comments, I also got a lot of emails, facebook messages, phone calls, and cards. So many, in fact, that I lost count and decided to donate the full $500 in memory of my Dad. Thank you to everyone to who reached out to me and my family over the past month and a half!

How Not to Impress Your Editors

Diana Burrell over at The Renegade Writer posted a hilarious video parodying British restaurant reviewer Giles Coren. Apparently Coren got his panties in a twist after an editor altered his closing sentence.

The offending word or phrase? A. That's right - one letter difference! I have to say, I understand Coren's frustration. The sentence did make more sense the way he originally wrote it. But jeez, is it really necessary to curse the hand that signs your checks?

Why Money Goals Are Overrated

This week I started an online class through The Renegade Writer. The focus is on building the freelance business you want. I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately, so it seemed like a good way to explore the business side of freelancing with the help of a more experienced writer. I also considered hiring a business coach to help me strategize, but this was much cheaper, and I can always hire a coach later on.

One of the things that struck me immediately as I was visualizing my business goals is that agonizing over financial freelance goals does not serve me (or my business). Of course it’s necessary to earn enough money to cover your expenses. It’s also important to think about saving for short-term money needs (for instance, a new laptop if your old one poops out) and long-term money needs (uh, like retirement). But if you’re focusing entirely on your bottom line, then you’re missing the point of freelancing. That is, earning a living by doing what you love.

I’m very practical about money, so when I left my full time job, I calculated how much money I needed to maintain my current standard of living (including paying for insurance on my own) then gave myself a raise by bumping up my monthly income goal. I also determined how much money I needed to earn on a weekly and daily basis to stay on track.

Sounds smart, right?

Actually, trying to make a daily money goal made me crazy. Some days I made my numbers before noon, and other days I felt guilty because I spent the morning scanning clips or following up on queries, which needed to happen but couldn’t be tied to a specific dollar amount. Once I (mostly) let go of my daily goal and focused on the big picture, I became more relaxed and got more done.

Another reason I disagree with focusing solely on financial goals is that you could end up with working with people who pay in gold but treat you like crap. In addition to money, you need to factor in questions like “Is this someone whose business ethics I trust?,” “Might this assignment connect me with interesting people I can work with again?” and “Will I be proud to tell others about this project or will I have to swallow my pride and pocket the cash?” These things do matter.

Now, I advocate for earning what you’re worth, but sometimes the lower paying gig might make sense if you’re trying to break into a new industry (for instance, the technical writer who yearns to write restaurant reviews) or if you already have plenty of high-paying gigs and need a project that feeds the soul instead (again, that poor technical writer needs a break!). And I think ultimately you'll earn more writing about a topic that you're passionate about, even if that genre starts at a lower rate.

What do you think? Should freelancers follow the money or follow their instincts? Is it possible to do both? Leave a comment and let me know!

Managing Multiple Freelance Personas

Anyone who’s read a book on freelance writing has heard the advice: find your niche. I’ve even encouraged other bloggers to specialize because then they can target a specific community and gain a following. It’s good advice in a general sense, because it acknowledges that you can’t be all things to all people and that specializations often mean higher pay.

But when it comes to actually earning a living as a writer, most of us can’t afford to be too specialized too early. In my case, I’d love to spend all my time writing for glossy magazines, but since I’m not a big name like Allison Winn Scotch, it’s not realistic for me right now. (Allison has even branched out into book publishing, which proves my point: diversification is the new black.)

So for now, I’m balancing writing projects for websites and magazines, as well as copywriting writing projects for non-profits and small businesses. It can be a little daunting at times, but I enjoy the variety and having a few steady copywriting gigs helps me sleep at night. Plus, if one client or industry suffers, I won’t suffer financially because my client base is pretty diverse (Peter Bowerman, aka The Well-Fed Writer, recently blogged about diversifying, too).

The trick is to focus on the client or industry you’re talking to. When I’m emailing an editor, I usually leave out the copywriting stuff and play up my publishing creds that relate to the topic or audience we’re discussing. When I’m talking to a potential copywriting client, I emphasize projects that show my track record with that type of writing, whether it’s ghostblogging, web copywriting, or product descriptions. I’ll even tweak my email signature depending on who I’m emailing.

And, of course, I'd think twice before taking an editor's assignment to write an article about one of my copywriting clients, because that might be a major conflict of interest.

But sometimes it can be tough to know which persona to use. Printing two different business cards with a specific, targeted message would be too confusing. If I’m at an alumni event and someone who’s not an editor or a creative director asks for my card, which one do I give them? And if I’m using one business card for both audiences, how do I avoid seeming generic?

My LinkedIn profile is connected to editors, writers, clients, sources, classmates, and people I’ve worked with in previous jobs, so it’s hard to know which aspects of my career should take center stage. My website is another issue, but I think I’ve solved that problem my creating pages that describe these different aspect of my business (to be unveiled very soon), all within the same domain.

I think it ultimately comes down to the direction that I want my business to take. But I’m curious how other freelance deal with the need to be different things to different people but still maintain a consistent brand. Is this something you think about? What have you done to manage your freelance personas?

Next week, look for tips on tailoring your resume to highlight different aspects of your freelance career, but in the meantime check out two more posts from other bloggers writing on a similar theme:

Finding Your Niche: Walking the Tightrope
How to Update This Site to Reflect The Fact That I'm Pimping Two Books

Networking in the Flesh

A little birdy told me that the November issue of The Writer (featuring an article by yours truly) has just hit newstands. I've written a lot about online networking, but this article focuses on good old-fashioned networking face-to-face: choosing which events to attend, overcoming nerves, breaking the ice, and following up afterwards.

Unfortuantely, the article isn't available online, so I can't link to it. Instead I'm going to link to some online resources about in-person networking.

Six Essentials for Networking
Get The Most Out Of Blogger Events*
Networking Events: Conquer Your Fears by Thinking Like a Journalist

What strategies do you use for networking events? Do you prefer networking in-person or online? Leave a comment to share your networking secrets!

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