May 17, 2012

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Open Thread: What’s Your Weirdest Client Request?

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Recently an editor included the question, “what’s the weirdest thing a customer has requested?” on a list of topics to discuss during an interview with a small business owner. And I got a pretty wacky response that will add some humor to my article, so I thought I’d pose the question to you fabulous freelancers. (But please keep it PG.)

I’ll start. Two years ago, a new client wanted me to write articles for his website, but he was only willing to pay for words of three letters or more. Shockingly, the relationship fizzled out rather quickly. What about you? Any oddball requests or projects lately? Do tell!
Filed Under: open thread

Building Relationships, Managing Your Client Schedule & More

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I’m wrapping up some big assignments this week and preparing for a few trips, so today’s post is shorter than usual. Instead of my musings on the writing life, I wanted to share some posts from other notable bloggers. Here goes:

Filed Under: business of freelancing

Guest Post: Tips from the TMI Queen

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By Steph Auteri

The first time I wrote a piece of adult content — a review of Carol Queen’s Exhibitionism for the Shy — it didn’t even occur to me to use a pen name.

A year later, if you googled my name, “masturbation poetry” was the first hit, followed closely by a series of only slightly less colorful results.

I wasn’t embarrassed, though. By that time, I’d come to realize that my willingness to reveal absolutely everything was a gift.

Now I’m a sex writer. I’m an assistant editor at YourTango, a web magazine about love and relationships; a sex columnist for The Frisky; the co-author of 52 Weeks of Amazing Sex; and the sexy lady behind a number of sexy pieces in Playgirl, Time Out New York, New York Press, Lemondrop, and other publications. (My poor mother.) But I’m not only a sex writer, and I’ve found that — when it comes to any sort of writing at all — it can be smart to be a little bit TMI.

Why?
Over the past 10 years, I’ve learned that editors crave writers with a voice like mine — open to a fault, and with a sense of humor. The type of content created in this voice can achieve a number of things: It can be polarizing, bringing in a number of comments… both positive and negative. It can allow readers to connect with and relate to a piece, in turn making them feel safe participating in a dialogue around a topic. And as a result of both of these things, it can bring in more traffic, making your editor love you to bits, despite the fact that you are now super-duper depressed because of all those nasty comments. (Quick tip: Ignore them. Or just concentrate on the positive ones. Seriously. The service you are providing to readers who can relate to your piece is worth a billion good karma points.)

How do you go about being open and authentic in your writing?
Don’t hold back. Be willing to lay out the details of your most humbling experiences, and lay bare your most embarrassing thoughts and feelings. Humor can help. It can act as a welcome relief from a dark or difficult topic, in turn putting readers at ease. As I told a writer for mediabistro, you should be able to shine a spotlight on your most cringe-worthy moments, laugh at them, and then learn from them. Basically, show that you’re human. Show your doubts, your neuroses, and your flubs. Be a reliable narrator and, not only will your editors appreciate you, but your readers will appreciate you, too.

Of course, you need to prepared for the backlash. As I mentioned above, revealing yourself so completely can leave you open and vulnerable to a lot of reader judgment. And if you’re not careful, even your own friends and family could turn against you.

But that’s the thing about writing. You’re always putting yourself out there, and readers can easily get fired up over, or offended by, the most innocuous of things. The best thing to do is to ignore those who are unnecessarily vicious; engage those who are constructively critical; and be grateful for those who are both positive and supportive. Don’t let yourself get hurt.

And be mindful of hurting others. While my own life may be an open book, I’d never reveal so much about the other people in my life without first getting their permission. (My husband, obviously, loves the attention.)

Where do you place your own writing boundaries?

When not writing about the relationship-based angst between men and women, Steph Auteri blogs about the freelance, word nerd lifestyle, and coaches other word nerds. She invites you to stalk her on Twitter.

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

Filed Under: guest post

Open Thread: Does Freelancing Ever Feel Like a Clique?

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Remember all those cliques in middle school and high school? How you were either popular (or not) and no matter how hard you tried, it seemed like the cool kids were all part of some secret society where only they knew the code?

Freelancing feels like that sometimes, too, doesn’t it? You labor over a query until it’s flawless and still somehow the editor misses its brilliance, dismissing it with a curt “no thanks” (or worse, giving it the cold shoulder). Seems like there are certain publications where a sense of clubbiness or clique-yness prevails. Sometimes this works in your favor, when you catch the editor at the right time and make it in the inner circle of freelancers. Other times, it seems inexplicable that you keep writing these killer queries and not getting a response. Anyone else notice this?
I mentioned it to a fellow freelancer yesterday when she asked me why a certain editor I work with regularly hadn’t written her back. Now, I don’t know for certain what was going through that editor’s head, but because I see the same bylines over and over again, and because I happen to know that the publication’s pay process is a cumbersome mass of paperwork, I suspect they aren’t looking to expand their stable of freelancers, however clever this freelancer’s query. I’ve been on the receiving end of this mentality as well, so I know how frustrating it can be.
Back in high school, you could usually find your place, even if it wasn’t at the cool kids’ table. Maybe you were a Gleek or a brainiac or one of those art kids who dressed like a Beatnik, but you could usually find like-minded people who accepted you and even enjoyed your company. So, I think the solution is to focus on those editors who do take the time to read your queries and write back. Fortunately, not all publications have that exclusive clique mentality.

Have you run into this? How did you handle?

Flickr photo courtesy of Samantha Jade Royds
Filed Under: open thread
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