May 21, 2012

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The Freelance Writer’s Interview Checklist

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writing interviewsEver hung up with a source and realized you’d forgotten to ask a key question? Hate it when that happens! I appreciate my source’s time and I know they’re busy, so I try to make interviews run as efficiently as possible.

As much as possible, I compile follow up questions and ask them all at once instead of annoying the $#%& out of them with lots of piecemeal questions. (Sometimes this is unavoidable if your story goes through several layers of editing.)

I also created this checklist to make sure I’m covering all my bases. Obviously, this varies depending on the publication and the nature of your article, but hopefully this will provide a good starting point.

  • If you’re using an audio recorder, always test your recorder in advance and get your source’s permission to record.
  • Confirm the spelling of the source’s name. If they use a nickname like Mike or Susie or Jim, ask if they’d prefer to be referenced by their formal name or the nickname and make note of this when filing the article.
  • Collect information on age, occupation, and hometown for “real people” sources and job title, company, and any relevant books or professionals affiliations for expert sources.
  • If your editor wants you to gather headshots or other photos from sources, it’s often a good idea to ask for photos while you have your source on the phone so you don’t have to track them down later.
  • Never promise to include links or mention someone’s book. When someone tries to pressure me, I usually just say, “that’s up to my editor, I can’t promise anything.”
  • Ask if there’s anything you didn’t bring up during the interview that would be relevant to the topic.
  • Ask who else you should interview and whether there are other trends or issues happening in that industry or topic area. This could lead to future ideas.
  • Explain the editorial process and encourage them to return calls from your editor or fact-checker (I’ve had sources ignore these calls thinking they’d already talked to me, so they were all set – publishers hate this!). Also mention that you might be in touch with follow up questions and find out if they prefer phone or email and if they’re planning to be out of touch in the next few weeks.
  • Thank them and let them know that you’ll send a copy of the article when it appears. Often I don’t know when that will be, so I explain that a variety of factors are in play and I’ll keep them in the loop.

What do you think? Anything you’d add to this list?

Image courtesy of graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: freelance writing

Guest Post: Why Accountability Partners Work

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accountability partnersBy Kristine Meldrum Denholm

When my freelance writer friend Holly Bowne told me how she and her accountability partner have been checking in with each other every week for the past year, I wanted to know more. She told me they email 3 times a week: Monday, sharing their goals for the week; mid-week, a progress check-in. On the weekend, they post how they fared.

“It’s not so much that we nag at each other, or shake our fingers at each other if we don’t meet our goals. But it’s amazing how the simple act of writing them down and sharing them with another is a subconscious motivator,” she says.

Is this a widespread practice? Google the generic “accountability partners” and you’ll have over 23 million hits. Life coaches recommend this motivation technique. Online matching services offer finding you a goal partner. Some Christian groups have prayer partners to fight temptations. Entrepreneurs brief each other.

Why should writers consider this approach?

  1. Goal-tending, and not for the NBA. Nurture your goals. Many freelancers agree that goal-setting for a writer is imperative, and you need someone to hold you to it. Alanna Klapp, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, adds part-time freelance writing to her busy life, so she feels that having partners helps her meet goals of sending out queries and looking for fulltime writing work after a grueling day job. “I thought it would be helpful to answer to other people,” she says.
  2. Money makes the world go around (or at least your house). The law of averages—or just common sense– states the more queries you make, the more work you’ll wind up with. Bowne reports her income increased dramatically since she began emailing her partner. Ditto fulltime freelance writer Steve Sears, of Bloomfield, NJ, whose goal is to triple his writing income this year and get three $1 a word clients, and says he’s already close.
  3. The fear factor. You don’t want to report you didn’t accomplish anything but post a few Facebook statuses. “It’s one thing to get lazy and let yourself down, quite another to let others down,” says Sears.
  4. Look, a bunny! Distraction for a writer is a part of our days. Hey, I should check Twitter! Though you can keep up with writing websites, and have CNN on in the background, it’s easy to get sidetracked. Your partner(s) will question you if you’ve reached your query goal instead. Let yourself tweet…but let yourself get back to work. (But first find me @writerandmom.)
  5. A watercooler for writers. My newly-acquired accountability partners and I call ourselves “the watercooler.” Our cohorts in actual offices get to chat around the watercooler; we meet virtually once a week to compare notes and bounce ideas off each other.
  6. The sounds of silence. In a quiet home office, a solo pro craves feedback. Laughs Bowne: “Until I had my accountability partner, the only one excited about anything I accomplished during the day was my dog. And really, he never looked all that enthusiastic… unless we celebrated with a cookie.”

Headshot for Kristine Meldrum Denholm, freelance writerKristine Meldrum Denholm is a freelance journalist based outside Washington, DC, who writes about family issues, psychology, and law enforcement. Her award-winning work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, online, and the newly-released Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Dog’s Life. Check out her website at www.KristineMeldrumDenholm.com. Her accountability partners are Steven Sears, Alanna Klapp, and  Holly Bowne. 

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

Top image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: guest post

Announcing my New Rockable Press Ebook: LinkedIn and Lovin’ It

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LinkedIn and Lovin' ItMy big project this summer was interviewing creative professionals about their LinkedIn profiles, testing out obscure LinkedIn features, and turning all that newfound knowledge into a book for Rockable Press. I’m pleased to report that the book is finally available, and it’s called LinkedIn and Lovin’ It (affilate link).

Through screenshots, case studies, and more, this guide will introduce you to several of LinkedIn’s lesser-known features and show you how to create an irresistible profile, build your network, find freelance opportunities, research clients, and a whole lot more. You’ll also meet creative professionals who’ve landed new clients, reconnected with colleagues, and met collaborators, all through one of the web’s most powerful networking platforms.

Here’s the buzz so far:

Download sample or purchase LinkedIn and Lovin’ It.

Filed Under: announcements, business of writing, freelance writing Tagged With:

No Writing Clips? Here’s How to Land an Assignment Without Them

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writing clips

Pining for writing clips? Don't despair!

When I teach freelance writing, students often ask what they should do if they don’t have any published clips (which is another name for writing samples). Often they feel discouraged or overwhelmed by the fact that they haven’t published anything yet, so how can they demonstrate to editors that they can write?

Truthfully, it might be tough for an unpublished writer to land a plum assignment with The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, but I do know freelancers who’ve managed to break into national magazines without any other credits to their name.

Here’s how to get around that catch-22 of not having any clips.

        1. Play up other areas.
          Whatever you do, do not apologize for your lack of clips. This shows a level of insecurity that might be off-putting to editors. Instead, emphasize whatever expertise you do have. Are you a former HR exec pitching an article on job interview techniques? Mention your HR credentials. Are a mother of twins who wants to write about throwing a kids’ birthday party on a budget? Include a few sentences on why you’re the perfect person to write this piece. If an editor writes back asking for clips or credits, you can explain that you’re just breaking into freelancing, but don’t lead with this information.
        2. Use what you’ve got.
          Maybe you haven’t written for national magazines, but you have your own food blog or you wrote for your college newspaper. Some editors might scoff at you sending them to your blog, since it doesn’t involve working with an editor or interviewing sources, but others will welcome the chance to see what your unedited writing looks like. (That’s why you should always, always check for typos or bad links before sharing your blog with an editor.) Over time, as you start gaining newer and more relevant clips, you can phase out the blog posts or the articles from your college paper, but this gives you something to work with for now.
        3. Pitch something only you could write
          If you pitch a generic reported piece, it’s likely that piece might be assigned to someone the editor already knows. For your first few pitches, try to find some ideas that you’re uniquely qualified to write. Do you have any unusual medical issues? Celebrity connections? Knowledge of a specific niche? I know someone who broke into a national women’s magazine with a humorous essay about an embarrassing health problem. Although she had zero clips, the editor loved her writing style and her candid point of view, so she was in! Essays are a great way to go, because although they’re ultra competitive, they depend more on writing style than on reporting skills.
        4. Make your query sparkle.
          Your query should reflect the style of the publication you’re pitching, but that’s especially important when you don’t have clips. If that’s the case, then treat your query as the writing sample. Use active verbs and clear, specific language, check for typos, and otherwise make sure the query reflects your very best work. Also check out these additional query tips for more info.
        5. Write it on spec.
          Normally I’m against the idea of writing on spec (meaning writing without a contract in the hopes that the editor will buy the piece). But that’s actually how I got my first few clips back when I didn’t know any better. I’d only recommend doing this after you feel out the editor for interest (don’t just write the piece and send it blindly unless it’s an essay) and only for a reputable publication. There are tons of publications out there, so choose judiciously. Sometimes an editor will ask if you’ll write on spec because you’re inexperienced, and if you think that clip will lead to more assignments, then go for it! But don’t feel like you have to write on spec forever. Once you’ve got a few clips under your belt, you’re ready to aim higher and hold out for a contract.
What do you think? How did you land assignments before you had any published clips? 

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: freelance writing, writing clips
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