May 17, 2012

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Happy Memorial Day!

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I realize not all of you celebrate Memorial Day today, but wherever you are, I hope it’s a good day! I’m using the holiday for some catch up work and some sunshine. I’ll be back on Wednesday with your regularly scheduled blog programming.

Flickr photo courtesy of Lida Rose
Filed Under: announcements

5 Ways to Avoid an "Uh Oh" Moment

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Confession: I made an embarrassing error this week when I called to follow-up with an editor. All was going well thanks to the voice mail script I’d written in advance (it’s a major magazine, so I wanted things to make a favorable impression). Then at the very end, in a bout of unscripted enthusiasm, I blurted out, “I’d love to write for ____ magazine!”

Except it was a competitor’s name that sounds very similar to this magazine. *Gulp!*

Tempted to call back and amend my message, I decided to let it go to avoid drawing undue attention to my gaffe. It’s a voice message, after all, so my slip may be too quick to notice. Or she may be too busy to listen that closely anyway. Let’s hope …

In the past, I’ve covered tips on what to do when you screw up an article. As the anecdote above illustrates, I’ve had my share of slip-ups. We all mess up on occasion, but today I’d like to share some tips on avoiding assignment-related mistakes before they happen (boy, do I wish I could undo that voice message!).

  1. Allow extra time. Always try to build in a little breathing room. If an article is due on the 15th of the month, I would act as if it were due on the 10th to trick myself into getting it done early. Then I’ll let it marinate for a day or two before turning it in and wowing the editor with my punctuality. Even if you’re one of those masochist types who thrives on getting things done at the last possible second, I’d suggest trying this technique. You never know when you might have an unexpected illness or a computer meltdown or … a TLC makeover marathon to watch (just sayin’). Giving yourself extra time makes it easier to follow these other steps.
  2. Reread the assignment letter. I know writers, good writers even, who have turned in articles that completely missed the mark simply because they misread the assignment letter. They thought the editor asked for 1,500 when she actually wanted 500. Or they write about occupational hazards among pirates when they were supposed to be interviewing pilots (extra credit to the person who correctly identifies that reference). When I start writing an article, I usually copy and paste the editor’s instructions at the top of the document and remove them at the end, once I’ve confirmed that all her criteria have been met.
  3. Double-check every single fact. That goes for source’s names, their company affiliation, dates, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and anything else you’ve included. Use a calendar to check that the days of the week actually match the dates mentioned. Copy and paste phone numbers into Skype and dial them to ensure you haven’t transposed any of the digits (you can do this after-hours if you prefer). Use Google Maps to double-check that addresses actually exist and are accurate. Click on all the links to make sure they still work.
  4. Read it out loud. I know it’s cheesy, but reading your article out loud can help you catch missing or repeated words, awkward syntax, and a slew of other faux pas. Another strategy is to print your article on brightly colored paper, because it forces you to read more carefully and takes you out of your usual reading routine.
  5. Error-proof your emails. It’s very common for people to send an email without attaching the document(s) they intended to. Here are two ways to avoid this. First, make it a habit to attach the document before writing the subject line or body copy. Second, if you’re using Gmail, you can enable this handy little tool called the forgotten attachment detector which will remind you to attach a document if you have phrases like “see attached” or “I’m including” in the body of you email.
Now it’s your turn, readers. Have you done anything like my botched voice message? How do you prevent slip-ups?
Flickr photo courtesy of ktpupp
Filed Under: freelance advice

Open Thread: Freelancers, How Do You Handle Vacations?

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Next week is Memorial Day, which kicks off vacation season for many of us. Some freelancers simply bring their laptops and smartphones on vacation, while others put up an out-of-office message and go cold turkey for a week. Some don’t take vacations at all, because for most of us, not working means not getting paid. I’m curious where you folks fall on this spectrum.

Will you be traveling this summer? And if so, how will you handle client work while you’re gone?
Last summer, I took several trips to weddings and a graduation (the graduation was here in Massachusetts, but I took time off for a few days while relatives were in town). I did my best to keep up with email, but I knew I couldn’t act as if it were business as usual, so I had to turn down a couple of projects due to timing. On the plus side, my travels inspired at least one article and allowed me to reconnect with family members and old friends from college.
This summer, I have one work-related trip in the works (fingers crossed that everything comes together) and might be taking a few long weekends with Mr. Muse or my extended family. Oh, yeah, and I’m moving at the end of July/beginning of August, so I expect some interruptions to my normal work flow then. I’d much rather be jetting off to some exotic locale than packing and unpacking boxes, but it’s a necessary evil.
What’s on your calendar for the summer?
Flickr photo courtesy of szeke
Filed Under: open thread

Guest Post: Writer’s Block is a Lie

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Last week, I asked readers what topics they’d like to see covered on this blog. Writer’s block was among those topics, and, fortuitously, Daryl had already approached me with this post. Hope you enjoy it!


Writer’s block can be described as having trouble moving forward with whatever it is you’re writing. It’s when you hover over the keyboard with your fingertips and nothing moves. The piece you’re writing is stuck. More importantly, you’re stuck. Why?

Because you’re lying to yourself. You’re trying to write what’s not natural. Trying to force something out that isn’t in you.

I want you to go back in time and remember when the words flowed. When the scene you were writing coursed through your fingertips. Nothing could stop you. Interruptions were annoying. You were in love with what you were doing.

What were you writing? What kind of writing was it? Fiction or non-fiction? What was it that got you so energized? How could you be in the zone at one point while writing, but now you suffer from writer’s block?

The difference; when your fingers were tossing the keyboard around, you were writing what was in your heart. The stuff that makes you a writer. You were writing your best material because you were so intimate about it.

Now, examine what you’re scribing when you get blocked. Are you in love with it? Do you feel it in your heart? Seriously, can you really say it is the same stuff?

If you sat down with the intention to write something, by choice, and you’ve got writer’s block, you have to choose something else to write. It isn’t in your heart to write that piece. If you force yourself and continue through it, the material won’t be top-grade stuff. It can’t be. Remember, your best stuff was when it flowed with ease.

This is a topic that almost every writer has had to deal with. Only the ones who are true to themselves deal with writer’s block less.

Any writer who has felt the full force of writer’s block knows how debilitating the feeling can be. It makes you feel that you can’t write. You can’t move forward. But that would be a lie, because you actually can write. What have you done so far? In other works you wrote some great stuff, which proves you can write.
Here are a few suggestions to be rid of writer’s block;

1. Stop: write something else. Spend time writing in your journal or write a letter. Take a period of time away from the “stuck” stuff. Let things cool. Ruminate. Maybe come back to it, maybe not.

2. Stop completely; file that blocked stuff away and don’t return to it. Write what comes out easier. Write what empowers you. Listen to your inner voice (not the ones in your head-they can be scary) and write what you’re best at.

3. Change P.O.V.; get out of that characters head and get into someone else’s. Or change from 3rd person to 1st person, or vice versa.

4. Evaluate; why are you writing topics that stop you? Isn’t life too short to wasting time on things that you force out? Look at what motivates you. Is the struggle worth it? Figure it out and stop denying yourself. Stop lying to yourself.

You are too valuable to let this get you down. Think prosperous thoughts. Get past being stuck. Don’t quit, no matter what.

I once read that the greatest limitation is the fear of failure. Belief in failure is a way of poisoning the mind. When we store negative emotions we affect our physiology, our thinking process and our state. Writer’s block is a form of this.

Daryl Sedore has written two novels and over 40 short stories with all of them published in a cottage country magazine in Northern Ontario. Five short stories of his were in the top 60 in the Writer’s Digest 75 Annual Short Story Contest, with one of them placing 6th among 19,000 entries. He lives in British Columbia.

Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.

Flickr photo courtesy of Jonno Witts

Filed Under: guest post, writer's block
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