May 17, 2012

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5 Free Online Tools for Writer

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I’m guest blogging for Alisia Leavitt today, and the topic is online tools for writers. Here’s an excerpt:

I’m one of those writers who feels a little lost with only a pen and a blank page. Sure, I carry a notebook everywhere I go to jot down ideas, but I do my best writing on my computer. It’s sad, but true. By now most writers have discovered social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There are tons of other online tools that can help you in your writing or freelancing endeavors.

Click on over to read about how tools like Delicious.com and Picnik.com can improve your writing/blogging.

Filed Under: freelance writing, guest post

Open Thread: What’s Your Policy on Free Samples?

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Say a client contacts you about a project that’s right in your area of expertise. Though you’ve sent them samples of your work (several samples, actually), they’d like you to do a custom sample, because they’re concerned about whether you can write in their voice or their niche.

What’s your next move? Will you suck it up and do the sample, knowing you can handle it and hoping you’ll wow them with your clear, crisp copy? Will you call and negotiate payment for your sample? Or will you stand firm, insisting that your samples speak for themselves and the client should just hire you based on those?

It’s a situation that, unfortunately, I’m seeing and hearing about with increasing frequency. And it’s a tough call, because some of these clients are legit. Some are happy to pay for your time if you ask nicely and show that you’re a professional, and some are incredulous, making statements like “I’ve never heard of a candidate invoicing a company for their time spent in a job interview” (yes, someone actually said that to me a few weeks ago, and no, I was not interviewing to be an employee).

I’ve been fortunate that a lot of prospects have offered payment for samples early in our email exchange. Other times I’ve had to finesse the payment issue a little more or weigh how much I wanted the gig against my distaste for writing free samples. And, I admit, I’ve written on spec on a few occasions when I really wanted the clip and the editor seemed interested. (In my mind, writing on spec and writing a sample are similar.) Each time it has paid off, but I know that next time could blow up in my face.

How do you handle these kinds of requests?

Filed Under: freelance, open thread

Reflections on a PR/Editor Panel

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If writers and PR pros had a relationship on Facebook (and many do), then they’d almost all check the box for “it’s complicated,” because, well, it is complicated. I know because I used to work on the other side, and I remember the pressure to pitch wildly inappropriate articles just because the client (or in this case, my boss) wanted press NOW. I also remember how torturous it is to craft a personalized, carefully tailored pitch and never heard from the recipient. (Heck, that still happens to me.)

But I have to admit that lately I haven’t had such great interactions with PR pros. This is partly my fault because I don’t often take PR pitches and send them to my editor (who was potentially bcc’ed on the press release anyway). I’m more likely to contact a PR person out of the blue and request a short interview with their client. In theory, this should be a PR pros’ dream, because it’s media coverage that they didn’t have to hunt down themselves.

But like I said, “it’s complicated.” Sometimes their client is uncooperative or they really don’t have the time for an interview. I get it. But please don’t tell me you’d be happy to help and then go MIA for several weeks or tell me your client will only speak through you or wait until two days before my deadline to offer me sources who will then decline the interview (all of which has happened recently).

Rants aside, I attended a PR event last night, and it reminded me that we’re not really that different. They want to please their client and get media coverage, and I want to please my editor and get more assignments. We chould be working together towards this goal. Repeat after me: “freelancers are your friends.” (Sort of, I won’t pitch something wildly inappropriate to my editor, because that only makes me look like a PR puppet.) Sometimes we know stuff about a publication that you don’t. Sometimes we can spot that gem of a story idea hiding beneath all the corporate-speak.

Several of the other women at my table work in PR and were surprised to hear about my recent experiences. I’m sure they are the exception, the 9% or so that the editors on the panel said they actually want to hear from (yikes! I empathized with them when those numbers got thrown around, because basically everything the editors said about studying the magazine and remembering lead times could apply to freelancers, too). We exchanged business cards and talked about a few potential story ideas, and I’m hopeful that my impression will prove accurate.

Writers, what’s your experience working with PR professionals: good, bad, ugly? And PR pros, what can freelancers do to help gain your trust and make your job easier?

Filed Under: freelance, public relations

15 Reasons Your Idea Got Rejected (and How to Fix It)

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Rejection is a fact of life for freelance writers. Sometimes a kind-hearted editor takes the time to offer a little direction or nuggets of wisdom (“I really need pitches related to X right now” or “we’ve done enough on Y”), but often we never know the real reason, because we never hear from the editor. Still, if we’re being brutally honest with ourselves, I think we can often see the holes in our query letters. I know I can!

Thus, I’ve compiled a list of 15 potential reasons why you might get rejected. Some of these are tongue-in-cheek, but many of us are pulled from my own rejections (most notably 5-10).

1. You submitted a seasonal idea too late. It’s not too early now to be pitching back-to-school, fall fashion stories, or even Thanksgiving stories to monthly publications.
2. You misspelled the editor’s name. This one’s an easy fix. You know what to do next time.
3. Your voice didn’t match the voice of the magazine. If you’re pitching to BusinessWeek, you’d better not include slang or pop culture references. Likewise, if your target is Seventeen, you need to show that you know the lingo (without trying too hard).
4. Your grammar was a little lacking. This is a nice way of saying that you need to hit the books and bone up. I recommend the Grammar Girl podcast for help on the finer points of grammar.
5. Your query was too general. Don’t say “I want to write about cats,” say “I plan to offer readers 10 ways to save on cat care products.” Make sure that your article idea is clear and focused.
6. Your query was too specific. Sometimes we have the opposite problem and get a little too focused; for instance, “this article will show readers where they can buy vegan cookbooks in Houston” is too narrow for a national consumer audience.
7. You didn’t convince the editor that you can pull it off. If you’re pitching a new-to-you editor and you don’t have major clips, then you have to work extra hard to prove yourself. Include a little original reporting to give her a taste of what’s to come. Or try pitching a front of book (FOB) piece instead of a feature.
8. The publication just covered this topic. Oops! Happens to the best of us. Next time read some back issues or search the archives.
9. The publication is about to cover this topic. C’est la vie. At least it shows that you’re thinking along the right lines. Keep trying!
10. The publication already maxed out its freelance budget. Totally out of your control, so pitch one of their competitors instead.
11. Your topic might scare off advertisers. Unfortunately, this is a concern that many magazines have, especially with advertising dollars so hard to come by. That’s why you may have a hard time selling an expose on inflated airline salaries to most consumer travel magazines. In this case, you’d need something a little more indie and off-beat.
12. Your topic feels tired. Try to come up with a reason why readers will want to read this now. Maybe it’s a new study or a news story or a movie tie-in.
13. Your email got lost in the shuffle. Thus why you should follow-up!
14. Your clips are not impressive. True, some clips are better than no clips, but if they have typos or read like a glorified press release, then they may be doing you a disservice. Keep at it, and you’ll get better clips.
15. The editor was having a bad day. See? It’s not always about you. Sometimes it really is them. And, unfortunately, we as writers can’t do anything to change that.

The bottom line is that there are lots of reasons why we get rejected and not all of them mean we’re destined to fail as writers. In fact, most are simple things and mean that with a few tweaks, we’re back on track. Anything you’d add?

Filed Under: freelance writing, querying, rejection
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