May 17, 2012

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5 Q’s with Stephanie Dickison (& a Book Giveaway!)

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Stephanie Dickison is a freelance writer and the author of the recently released book, The 30-Second Commute: A Non-Fiction Comedy About Writing And Working from Home. Stephanie and her publisher have graciously offered free copies of her book to two lucky Urban Muse readers, so be sure to read to the bottom for details on how to win! For now, here’s how Stephanie approaches her writing projects and working from home.

Urban Muse: So, Stephanie, tell us how your book came to fruition.
Stephanie: The book happened because throughout my over a decade long career as a freelance writer, I had been a pop culture, book and music critic. While working 2 jobs and writing in the evenings and on weekends, I started working on a book about the recent history of pop music. After 5 long years of research I completed it and started shopping it around. An editor at ECW Press read it and liked the writing style, but thought the book would work better as columns. She asked if I had any other ideas. I had a bunch but I’d always wanted to read a behind-the-scenes book about the writing life, no holds barred, secrets revealed, truths unfurled and photos if possible, and luckily the editor and publisher thought it was a good idea too.

UM: Did you uncounter any surprises as you were working on the manuscript or did it play out the way you’d expected?
S: As this was my first book working with an editor, what happened with me was what I started out with and how it finished were 2 different things, yet the essence, style, heart and meaning all remained. It just kind of got shuffled and reshuffled until the unnecessary parts got whisked away and what was left was hopefully the good stuff, the funny stuff and the stories that will let people in on the life of a freelance writer and all the havoc and hilarity that follows.

UM: Many of my readers are aspiring freelancers. Any tips for those who are hoping to dip their feet in the freelance pool?
S: For those wanting to freelance, I say work at it and do it for the love of writing and not for the money. I enjoy freelancing because it allows me to write about a number of different topics in a variety of formats, so I don’t feel like I’m “churning out” articles. But as many freelancers will tell you, I think, it is a struggle to keep the work coming in continually and its work to invoice each publication and follow up being paid. You never know when and where your work is coming from and when the money will arrive, so it’s never boring!

I started when I had a full-time job so that I could simply apply for the work I wanted without having to worry about the money. Going freelance full-time takes huge guts and faith – somehow you’ve got to pay the rent/mortgage every month, so you have to make sure you’ve got enough work to cover it, but not so much that you can’t honour your deadlines.

I say follow your heart and your dreams – if you’re tentative, stick with doing it part-time while you have a regular pay check to count on. If you want to go full-time, have some savings set aside to get you through the lean times, and be sure that you have a dedicated space set up either at home or at an office – treat your writing with respect and as you would any other job.

I also think reading about freelancing (like my book for instance…) talking to freelance writers and taking courses about how to set up a home business or writing for magazines etc., can go a long way in helping you with the transition.

And as difficult as it may sound here, it really is the best job in the world. Once you get the hang of being your own boss, perhaps sleeping and writing in the same room (as I do) and writing for a bunch of different outlets and keeping track of them all, I think you’ll find it can be extremely rewarding (as I do).

UM: And what about those freelancers who living “the dream” but need to bust out of a rut?
S: For me, it can be hard if I’m at home writing to deadline for a week or two without much outside stimulation. I try to incorporate daily walks into my schedule, even if it’s just half an hour. Crunched over my desk typing like a fiend for 14 hours a day can make for a cranky body and mind. The other thing that I do is I work evenings and weekends, which I am forever trying to change, but with the book, I found I needed the time to work on other aspects of my career – applying for more work, promoting, blogging – but my goal is to not work on one of those days at least.

Ruts happen because we get used to, or stuck, in our routines. Take your laptop to a sunny café, get up early and finish at noon and take the rest of the day off. It is in replenishing yourself with things outside of work that will help you push through the tight deadlines and high demands of running your own business.

In other words, change it up.

UM: In your opinion, what is the best/worst part of freelancing?
S: There are so many joys and rewards to freelancing, many of which I’ve already mentioned. I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have this opportunity to do what I love and be mentally and creatively stimulated and satisfied on a daily basis

The hard parts are getting away from it – especially if you work from home, giving up certain social activities for deadlines on long weekends or Sundays, for example, and striving to challenge yourself with each piece and not just whisking something off quickly because it’s due or being lazy and writing in your same ol’ patterns.

But really, I think these are fine problems to have. After all, the writing life is the best life of all.

Want to win a free copy of The 30-Second Commute? Leave a comment between now and June 15, 2009. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact the two winners, who will be randomly selected using Random.org’s integer selector. Good luck!

Filed Under: 30-Second Commute, authors, Stephanie Dickison, writers on writing

Open Thread: How Do You Market Yourself?

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This week I’d like to swap tips on marketing yourself as a freelancer. Personally, I’ve gotten excellent results from referrals, and I always try to refer other freelance buddies when I hear about a project that might be a fit for them. It’s good karma all around!

I’ve also done well with the occasional Craig’s List services ad. This is where you post your services and weed out potential clients, rather than responding to an ad and hoping they pick you out of the slush pile. Either way, you have to sort through a lot of … well, you know what. But at least if you post an ad, you have a bit more control.

Sometimes a client finds me through my website or something I’ve posted on HARO, but these are more passive ways of landing new clients. While I’ve tried sending out postcards to new prospects or registering with creative staffing firms, I haven’t had much luck with either one. A few inquiries, sure, but no contracts.

What works for you in terms of marketing? Have you had success with postcards or other materials? Do tell!

Filed Under: freelance writing, marketing, open thread

I Said, He Said, We Said

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Last week, one of the writers on a forum I follow brought up the issue of what point of view to use on a writer’s website. Do you say “I have over ten years of writing experience”? Or “Jane Smith has over ten years of writing experience”? Or, as you sometimes see, “we have over ten years of writing experience”? I think it depends on the kind of impression you want to make on your website.

Here are the pros and cons to each option.

First Person
Personally, I use the first person, because it’s friendly and a little less formal than third person. I write primarily for consumer audiences, so this approach gives me the chance to show some personality and really connect with readers. My website is almost like a virtual extension of my apartment (which is also my office), so I want it to feel welcoming. A lot of lifestyle writers use the first person for similar reasons.

Of course, not everyone wants a breezily written bio. If you’re trying to convey authority and professionalism to a more business-oriented audience, then this might not be the right choice for you. Some people also have trouble writing about themselves in the first person because “well, I hate to brag and …” If you’re self-conscious tooting your own horn, then maybe you should try third person to gain some distance from your subject. You can always rewrite it into first person later.

Third Person
When I ghostwrite bios for businesspeople, I generally use the third person (“James Johnson holds a Master of Business Administration …”). This is the accepted point of view for more formal bios, so if you write primarily for trade publications or businesses, then the third person might be appropriate. You’ll also see this on most book jackets.

However, when people use the third person in conversation it can seem funny or border-line pretentious, depending on the person and the context. To avoid that stuffy, “I’m-so-great-I-refer-to-myself-in-the-third-person” affectation (which I’m sure you’ve seen before), perhaps limit the number of times you use your full name. Using your full name at the beginning, then using just your first name could be a nice compromise (it’s casual, but not too casual). “He” or “she” works, too.

First Person Plural
Honestly, I’m not a fan. When I see phrases like “our team of writers” and “we offer a range of copywriting services” on a website for a sole proprietor, it always seems to me that they’re trying too hard. I once wrote to one of these companies asking if they were interested in partnering with another freelancer and the person wrote back saying “uh, it’s just me.”

I know that some writers want to create the illusion of a full-scale operation so that bigger companies will take them seriously. But they’re only fooling themselves. Once a company hires them, they’ll figure out that it’s just another freelance copywriter in her living room. My feeling is that as long as you can produce quality work, it doesn’t matter if you have a cat to keep you company or a whole staff of helpers. Plus, if you’re the one with all the expertise, it’s nice for clients to know they’re actually hiring you and not some underpaid intern.

What point of view do you use on your website? Have you seen one person successfully use the third person plural? I’d be interested in hearing your perspective!

Flickr photo by eggman

Filed Under: business of writing, writer's websites

Open Thread: What’s Your Biggest Challenge?

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For me personally, and for many of the freelancers I’ve talked to, the hardest part of making a living is balancing the marketing/networking and the actual work. When I’m in the midst of a big project, it’s hard to justify spending time searching for new projects or writing query letters when there’s a paid assignment on the table. We remind ourselves that “someday this project will end” and we know that we should be marketing ourselves constantly, but many of us don’t.

I’m not a procrastinator by nature (quite the opposite), so when I get an assignment, my first inclination is to start gathering sources and dive right in. But if it’s not a last-minute assignment, I try to keep querying and get more ideas circulating before I start on an article. If that doesn’t work, then I can also contact clients I’ve worked with in the past, which is often quicker than prospecting for new ones. Still, it’s a tough balance because both finding the work and doing the work.

What do you find most challenging about being a freelancer?

Filed Under: business of freelancing, freelance, time management
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