Maximizing Your Freelance Writing Income

In my freelance writing class earlier this week, many of the questions focused on money. How do you earn a living as a freelance writer? Is that even possible? And what do successful freelancers do that we should emulate?

To be fair, I do earn a decent living as a freelancer, but there are other writers who make a whole lot more money than I do. They might be better time managers or better negotiators. Or they happen to have some really kick-ass connections because they’ve been freelancing longer.

These are some of the principles I try to follow.

Think beyond the glossies (or even magazines in general). Sure, it’s nice to get an article in a national magazine like Yankee or Redbook or The New Yorker. I sometimes find myself pouring lots of energy into pitches for these types of publications. However, the reality is that while it’s fun to pursue your dream market, you often get a higher return on investment with alternative markets like websites, newsletters, custom or trade publications, and regional magazines.

These editors are often more receptive to pitches and may even have steadier assignments because there are fewer competent writers competing for the editor’s attention. Ditto on other clients who might need a steady supply of speeches, white papers, or email campaigns. You won’t necessarily get a byline for those, but in my opinion, the important thing is the name on the check. Other options for writers include teaching, fact-checking, proofreading, etc.

Think relationships, not just projects. Lately I’ve been doing a lot more copywriting than article writing, because those clients tend to have an ongoing need for writers (and there’s no need to pitch). It’s much more efficient to cultivate a relationship with one person who can assign five articles or blog posts or press releases as opposed to five different people who each assign only one.

When I do write queries, I try to target magazines or websites that use freelancers on a regular basis. Hopefully I can generate lots of ideas for those pubs (so it’s a topic I’m already familiar with) and make them a regular client. I’d love to get a gig as a regular columnist or contributing editor (who wouldn’t?), but hopefully those opportunities will come as I strengthen those connections.

Think hourly rate, not just a per word or flat rate. As I’ve said before, hourly rates can be limiting to writers who are fast and efficient. But smart writers think about how long an assignment will take before they accept. Is it research-intensive? How many interviews are involved? Will those sources be tough to find? And will this editor request multiple rewrites that will eat up precious time? You can’t always anticipate everything that could go wrong, but you can get a ballpark estimate.

With this in mind, getting $1.50/word at a national magazine might not be such a rate if the article requires extensive interviewing and rewriting to appease a committee of editors.

Think reprints and reslants, not one-shot ideas. Publications are getting more and more rights grabby, so it’s not always realistic to retain reprint rights (and in my experience, there are fewer and fewer markets that even accept reprints). But often you can spin off an idea for multiple markets. For instance, you could convert your own blog posts into handouts for a class you teach or an ebook you could sell. Or you could take that business-owner you wrote about for your local paper and see if the subject's alumni mag is interested in assigning a profile. More on repurposing ideas next week.

Your turn! What strategies have you used to work more efficiently and earn more money? I’d love to know.