Archives for August 2009

Do Freelance Writers Need Business Cards?

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debng_biz card

I just splurged on some new business cards. My friend Randa Clay designed them and I paid for quality printing. I didn’t use one of those free except for shipping places as I had in the past, because I wanted a unique design.

When I first began freelancing I didn’t really think much of business cards. My work was mostly web based and I had a website and some blogs, so why did I need a business card? Once I began face to face networking, I realized the importance of sending folks home with my number and email address.

Let me throw out a few scenarios:

Scenario #1

You’re in a restaurant. The menu is filled with misspellings and grammatical errors. You would like to help. You approach the manager and he’s interested. You reach into your purse, pull out a matchbook and eyeliner and give him your number.

Not too professional, right? You may have blown it. The restaurant manager may see you write on a matchbook or even using a pen on a scrap of paper and wonder if you have much experience with this sort of thing. However, handing him a business card shows him you’re a true professional. Plus, there’s less chance of it being thrown out by accident.

Scenario #2

You’re at a conference. You’re taking to the people around you while waiting for a speakers to take the podim. One of the people sitting at your table hires writers for various projects. You rummage through your bag for something to write with but the session begins. Not wanting to make noise, you decide to wait until the session is over. The potential client leaves before it ends, without your details and you never see her again. If you had a business card you could have handed her one right away, which she could then tuck  in her pocket for future reference.

Scenario #3

You’re at a networking session for local businesses.  You mix and mingle and you’re rocking the house. An executive from a reputable, big budget firm asks for your card. You don’t have one but hunt up a paper and pen. By the time you’re done the executive is gone, unimpressed with your lack of professionalism.

Ok. Granted. You probably wouldn’t attend any kind of networking event without business cards. Even so, I think you get the point. You never know when a situation will present itself. You never know when the school principal or local car dealership will need to hire a writer. You may even encounter some people who are planning to hire writers but haven’t yet taken the steps to do so. By giving them your card, you may have effectively eliminated the competition.

I splurged for custom desgined business cards, but if that’s out of your budget, you have plenty of options. You can try a service such as Vista Print that will print up a couple of hundred business cards and you only pay shipping (less than $15), or you can buy a program and the card stock and print up your own. There was a time when I didn’t think business cards were necessary, but I was wrong. In fact, having business cards took my career to a whole other level. Something about business cards tells people you’re a professional and you can get the job done.

Leave those matchbooks and scraps of paper in the bottom of your briefcase where they belong. Instead, stick some business cards in your pocket. You’ll find the effort is well worth it.

Procrastination

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Right, we are now inspired to produce scribblings of the finest prose so we must get to the keyboard and begin. We’ve finished the school run and kissed our partners farewell until the evening so we have the rest of follow our inspiration wherever they may lead us. The day lies before us like a glorious canvas and we have many vivid colours to spray around like Jackson Pollock on a particularly inspired day. Let’s get going!

0910 – Well, whilst I make for the computer to boot we may as well open the post whilst I wait for the coffee to brew. Oo look, we may have won some sort of lottery, all we have to do is send back these three envelopes and we have a 1 in 3 chance of winning something. What could it be I wonder?

0930 – Well, I’ve made the coffee and have got the envelopes ready to post, let’s get to it! Hey, wait a moment, that Lottery could be scam, I’d better check the internet to see if it’s been reported….it seems to be fine but there are a lot unscrupulous people out there, maybe I should do a story on that to warn people what’s out there. Where’s my notebook? I should write that down.

0945 – Right, that another idea captured for later, excellent, I have a production line all set up now. All I need now is to get some words down. DING. Oh, some emails, what’s this? I’ve won the Nigerian Lottery again. Twice. Great, I can retire. I wonder who actually falls for these things? Anyone? Maybe google knows. Oh yes, it seems like quite a few people have fallen for it, maybe it’s a good story, I should write this down. Good, another story captured. And what’s that? Extend my what?! No thank you where much. DELETE.

1030 – Well, the notebook is filling up quite nicely and it looks like the sun is coming out. Magnificent! What a great day to be creating. Hey, you know what, I bet it would be great to sit outside and write. Yes, let’s do that.

1130 – Hmm, I wonder why my wireless doesn’t reach out there, it’s a shame as it works right up to near the garden table and then cuts out. I must remember to look into that. Back to the indoor desk for me then. Still, looking out of the window the day does look magnificent. Look, there’s a squirrel running around with half an apple in it’s mouth, where’s my camera. I am going to have to put this up on my blog.

1200 – I really need to redesign my blog, it looks OK but it doesn’t really bring across my true commitment to writing. Let’s have a quick fiddle with it.

1230 – WordPress can be really awkward sometimes, how do you create a page with a separate RSS feed for my published articles? OH MY GOD, the squirrel is back and what does he have this time? Is that a Twinkie? The squirrel has a full Twinkie in it’s mouth! Where did it get that? WHERE IS MY CAMERA?

1300 – Seeing that squirrel eating a Twinkie has made me hungry. I do worry about squirrel nutrition habits now but I suppose it had an apple before the Twinkie so maybe it’s a balanced diet. OK, time for lunch.

1430 – Delicious lunch now digesting and dinner baking away for the kids, we are domestic Gods and Goddesses! What, what’s that smell? Did I put the oven on the correct temperature? Let me go check.

1445 – All fine, it was just a little spillage on the oven base. It always wafts the smell through the house when that happens because of the fan assistance technology. So the brochure tells me. SO THEN, to writing! Where was I? Wait, I’ve only written 20 words? How can that be I’ve been working at this all day! Oh, someone’s at the door?

1530 – Two guys made out they were looking for Jesus and wanted to know if I had found him. I hadn’t. Turns out they actually had and wanted tell me all about him and I felt too rude to tell them ‘no thanks’. I have a pamphlet showing me how to find Jesus now, should I ever feel that I lost him or need to demonstrate to further callers that I have at least the method rather than the compulsion.

1540 – Wow, is that the time? I need to go pick up the kids and drop them off at soccer practise and swimming coaching. Then chess club and ballet. Or is it science club and a sleep-over tonight? Actually, I think it’s a science club sleep-over as they have to hand in their projects by tomorrow. They’re all staying at the Johnson’s as they have a huge garage to work in for their experiments. Right, where’s my keys, let’s get going.

1545 – I really could go for a Twinkie right now, where did that come from?

Quick Query Tip: Work Your Contacts

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Picture 1Writers tend to meet with, connect and befriend other writers. We build social networks and professional contacts that are both supportive and invaluable. These same contacts can be used to help get your foot in the door with editors and publications.

Now before you hustle off to pitch a magazine using the name of a Twitter friend who has also written for them,  you should know there is a fair amount of courtesy and responsibility that comes with using someone’s name to further your career.

The first thing you have to do is ask the person – seems obvious, but many people ignore this simple common courtesy.

Remember, before you ask permission, be sure you two actually have a relationship. Have you ever recommended a friend or family member for a job only for them to turn out to be a less than stellar or, at times, adequate worker? The same thing happens in writing.

An established writer can count on a couple of things: requests for hook-ups and advice. Advice is free to give as long as a person has time, but a hook-up costs. Many established writers are reluctant to allow their good name, one they’ve worked years to build, to be muddied with an editor because a writer-friend turned out to be a chronic deadline blower.

Part II of Work Your Contacts will discuss when and how to ask a friend for help and how to use their name to attract the attention of an editor.

Self Editing Tip #3: Check if You’re Not Sure

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Picture 1Lay versus lie, awkward spellings, AP style versus Chicago – all can be difficult things for even the most accomplished writer to navigate. That’s why great writers check and double check their resources to make sure they are not relying on hunches when it comes to editing their articles.

Style guides are there for a reason – to guide writers to the correct usage of words and standards that the publication follows. Some publications have more than one guide – they may use a general one like AP Style and then another one that is specific to them.

The World Wide Web is at your fingertips so there is absolutely no reason why some writers continue to guess and use lay, lie and all of their forms incorrectly. It’s lazy and no one wants to hire a lazy writer.

When that little voice in the back of your head says “Hmm…” pay attention and use your resources.

Here are few sites I like to visit when I have a question or a “Hmm…”
Quick & Dirty Tips: Grammar Girl

AP Associated Press

Chicago Manual of Style Online

alphaDictionary.Com

Do you have a fav grammar site? Tell us below!

What Would You Do If You Became a Famous Writer

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Yesterday I shared a little video about the “Imaginary Publishing Process,” as well as an anecdote about how it was so relevant to my life because…um…I know someone going through the process.  Well, here’s another one by the same folks that is probably even less likely to pertain to me, but is still really funny.

I particularly like #4.

If I did become a famous author, though, I think my first order of business would be to attach that title directly to my name.  You know, like how once someone has won an Oscar, they are forever known as Academy Award Winner George Clooney/Gwenneth Paltrow/Denzel Washington/Christopher Rouse?  I would want to be known as Famous Author Lorna Doone Brewer. 

Do you think the DMV would put it on my driver’s license?

Getting Published is Soooo Easy

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I’m currently cheerleading from the sidelines as my business partner goes about trying to get her first novel published. Shoot. I’d better call her and make sure it’s ok for me to out her as a romance junkie…

Thumbs up from the soon-to-be-famous Tamara Morgan.

Where was I? Oh, yes. Tamara took some time out last November to pen her first romance novel during NaNoWriMo. I was quite impressed by her stick-to-it-ive-ness as she wrote in fits and bursts, as well as the occasional overly-wrought dry spell. I was supportive and encouraging and didn’t even laugh at her when she told me she cried over her own characters ala Joan Wilder.

But, the writing was only the beginning. In the ensuing months, Tamara has entered contests (and even won some), sought out an agent (and signed with one), and gone through a grueling revision process…while working on her second novel.

So, when I saw this video about the “Imaginary Writing Process,” I couldn’t help but think of all the time I wasted in junior high school, fantasizing something similar while pining to be the next Stephen King. (Because I was way more into ghosts and vampires than corsets and hard, throbbing members.)

You Have a Full Plate: Do You Still Look for Work?

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The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Marketing your writing business should be an ongoing activity. Many freelancers have peaks and valleys in their work load. It goes with the territory.

If you want to keep the work coming in, you should be constantly doing activities that will grow your business. Even if you are at the point where your time is completely booked and you couldn’t possibly squeeze one more thing in, do it anyway. Find a few minutes to check out job boards, the job leads we post here at FWJ, to make a couple of cold calls, or approach a potential client by e-mail.

Don’t worry about how you are going to fit the next gig into your schedule. You haven’t got it yet. It may take time to hear back from your job searching efforts, and chances are that you will apply for many more gigs than you actually get. You can always discuss deadlines when you are negotiating fees with the client.

Part of being a freelancer is juggling the work we have in front of us with being on the lookout for our next project. Do you look for work constantly, or do you back off from these activities when you have a lot of work do do?

Things Not to Do with a Sick Toddler

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Lorna last week:

funny pictures of cats with captions

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

 

Things not to do with a sick toddler:

1. Drive 539 miles in one day – Spokane to Billings
2. Expose tons of other little kids to her illness – Sorry, cousins and cousins’ friends.
3. Let her put her fingers in your mouth – Now I’m sick, too.
4. Feed her dairy products – Hello, mucous.
5. Attend an hour+ -long church service – She sure looked cute in her matching hat and dress, though.
6. Expect her to spend more than five consecutive minutes without being held – My arms ache!
7. Drive another 535 miles – Billings to Helena, Helena to Spokane

A Word About Plagiarism

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Picture 1Yes, we need to talk about it. Yes, many of you have heard this talk since the 6th grade, but it is worth revisiting. Plagiarism is serious and quite common, particularly on the web.

The OWL at Purdue University defines plagiarism as the uncredited use (both intentional and unintentional) of someone else’s words or ideas. Many writers and not all of them are newbies, include information in their articles, blog posts, etc., that originally appeared somewhere else without giving credit to the originator of the information.

Look at the first sentence in the paragraph above, see how I gave credit for the definition of plagiarism to Purdue University? It’s just that easy. It is also a necessary and essential part of being a responsible writer. When I was a journalism student, one of my professors would issue an automatic fail for an article if a writer failed to cite their sources. As far as credibility goes, the public will institute their own “fail” to writers who steal work from others.

It sounds harsh, but it is stealing. Someone else did all the work and you used it without their permission and without giving credit. It’s a sucky thing to do to another writer and you shouldn’t allow it to happen to you either.

There are websites and programs that will track where your work appears and when it comes across a lifted quote, paragraph or whole article, you’ll be notified.  When it does happen you have every right to contact the site admin, author, etc. and let them know your work has been used without permission and you’d like it taken down immediately. You can also try to be a nice person and offer to allow them to use your information for credit AND compensation.  If you do make an offer, be sure it doesn’t violate the policy of the publication in which your article first appeared.

If you ever have a question about whether you should cite a source, then you most likely need to cite the source. So be a responsible writer and give credit where credit is due!

Has your work ever been plagiarized? What did you do? Share!

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