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Saying No is something I have trouble with; if someone approaches me with an assignment, I’m (1) flattered, even though after 12 years of freelancing this is not a rare occurrence, and (2) excited at the prospect of moolah. So even if an assignment is not ideal, in the past I’ve typically said Yes. But after the project from hell I wrote about in August, I vowed to never again take on work that flies red flags (and I really really mean it this time).

So what are these red flags? How do you know when an innocuous-seeming project will turn into the assignment from hell? Here are some signs:

The pay stinks. This is an obvious one, and it is one situation where I’ve never been afraid to say No. I’ve come up with my own per-word and per-project minimum, and if an editor offers less, I try to negotiate. If the editor won’t negotiate, I walk away. It’s up to you to set your own minimum rates based on how much you need to make per hour to be profitable. The minimum I set is also simply the amount below which I know I’ll just feel bad. I know it’s often difficult to turn down any money at all, but keep in mind that you can use the time you would have spent writing for peanuts to seek out better-paying assignments.

The editor doesn’t know what she wants. If an editor can’t describe, in a few sentences, what she’s looking for — beware. Try repeating, in your own words, what you understand about the assignment and get the editor to confirm it. You can also send the editor an e-mail reiterating the assignment: “Just to confirm, I’ll be writing 1,200 words about why Linda Formichelli rocks, with a sidebar on ways we can worship her.” But if the editor simply can’t give you clear assignment specs, it may be time to walk. You can’t read minds, and chances are this “I’ll-know-what-I-want-when-I-see-it” editor will make you do rewrite after rewrite.

The deadline is unreasonable. Only you know what kind of deadline you can handle. For example, if I’m not busy and the topic isn’t too difficult, I know I can turn around an assignment in just a few days (though of course I’ll ask for a rush fee). But if the assignment is complex or I’m busy with other work, I’ll need a few weeks. If you don’t think you can do a good job in the time you’re allotted, the most professional thing to do is tell the editor, and turn down the assignment if he won’t negotiate.

The assignment is vague. This is another one I walked away from: An editor of a new magazine asked me to write about “the history of diners.” That’s it. Notwithstanding the fact that this topic could take up a whole book, I didn’t even know what aspect of the history the editor wanted. I took a look at the rest of the editorial calendar and noticed that the topics were all over the place. I ended up turning down the assignment, and later found out that writers were not receiving their checks. This is one time my intuition saved my butt.

You’ve had bad experiences in the past. I used to work for an editor who always made me do multiple rewrites. No matter what I turned in, within a few hours I would get back my article covered with red comments. Next draft — same thing. Then, months after the assignment was finally accepted and I’d been paid, I would start getting requests for more information. Finally I wised up and started turning down any assignments from this magazine, even though the per-word rate was good. One bad experience may be a fluke, but several are a trend. Don’t keep working for magazines that give you grief; again, you can use the time to find more writer-friendly magazines.

You have a bad feeling. This is the one I’ve had trouble with. I have no problem walking if the pay is too low, the deadline is too tight, or the assignment is too vague. But in the past, if an assignment simply gave me a bad feeling, I would ignore the warning signals and accept — with disastrous results. Your intuition knows if something is awry…learn from my experience and listen to it. [lf]

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You know how it is — you do everything right, and still you never hear back from a beloved editor again. Or it always feels like you’re breaking in for the first time, even though you’ve written for a magazine several times.

Same here: I always say to myself, “I don’t get it. I’ve never missed a deadline, I can turn around a rush article with no problem, and the editor seems to love my work. And yet I haven’t heard from her in six months and my e-mails are going into a black hole.”

I’ve been rereading my well-thumbed copy of Work Less, Make More by Jennifer White, and the author brings up the idea of offering not just benefits, but value. Making your deadlines and being a good writer are benefits — benefits that a lot of other writers offer. But what do you do that elevates you above all other writers and makes you indispensable to an editor? What does she really need from you to truly make her job easier? That’s value.

I racked my brain and had trouble thinking of what I could offer to an editor that I don’t already. And then it hit me: Editors need to fill pages, and to fill pages they need ideas. Since I’ve been in the business so long editors come to me, and I rarely have to pitch any more. But what if I offered not just the benefits of fast turnaround, professionalism, and good writing, but also the value of fabulous ideas editors can use to fill their pages, which makes their jobs easier?

So here’s what I plan to do: I’m going to make a list of all the magazines that usually come to me with assignments (generally trade and custom pubs), and I’m going to brainstorm ideas for their pages. I’ll also be on the lookout for tidbits of news they can use, even if they don’t directly result in an assignment for me. I’ll let you know how it goes.

What benefits do you offer an editor, and how can you set yourself apart by adding value? Please post your experiences in the Comments below! [lf]

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The winners have been selected in the first-ever drawing for free spots in my e-course on writing for trade magazines. A total of 63 people entered the drawing; I am so psyched about all the interest in the class.   First, I wanted to explain how I did the drawing. Originally, I was going to go [...]

This week I posted Adding Value, about how we writers need to offer not just benefits but also value. The benefits I offer an editor are that I’m fast and a good writer who works well with editors — but those benefits don’t really distinguish me from other good writers. I struggled deciding what value to add, and decided that I would begin generating great ideas for the editors who usually come to me with in-house ideas. Even these editors need ideas to fill their pages, and it’s difficult to come up with them month after month.

So yesterday, I made a list of magazines that usually come to me with work (mostly trades and custom pubs), and sent quick ideas to five of them. By this morning, I had heard back from two of them:

Thanks so much for sending me this pitch. I am currently brainstorming content for our Winter 2009 issue, so your timing is great!

Thank you for this great idea! I love it. I’m actually meeting with [client] on Friday to discuss a 2010 editorial calendar, so your timing is perfect. I’ll plan to propose this idea for the January issue.

Wow! I don’t usually hear back on pitches so quickly, and with positive messages to boot. The Adding Value experiment is off to a great start.

How will you offer value to your editors next week? [lf]

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I’m reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. According to the copy on the jacket flap, “There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them — at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. The story of success is more complex — and a lot more interesting — than it initially appears.”

I always thought that writing ability was an inborn talent — either you had it or you didn’t. I just couldn’t imagine, say, Annie Dillard ever struggling in her English classes. And not that I consider myself a great talent, but I do make a good living as a freelance writer, and I was in all the advanced reading classes in elementary school and wrote my first poem — with internal rhyming — at age 6.

According to Gladwell, success can be an accident of birth timing. Those born right after the cut-off date for any activity, from school to hockey teams, join these activities a year more mature than people born before the cut-off date. For example, in Canada the cut-off date for junior hockey is January 1, and the most successful players are overwhelmingly born in the first three months of the year. Because these players are bigger and more coordinated when they finally start, they play a bit better, and because they play better, they get more attention and more opportunities for practice. I’m not sure when the cut-off date was for my elementary school (I was born in February), but because I showed a little spark in kindergarten, I was given more opportunities to learn in the advanced reading classes. One teacher even gave me a picture dictionary in the first grade because she wanted to encourage my writing talent. (Math, on the other hand? Don’t ask.)

Gladwell also focuses on the benefits of practice. He notes that amateur pianists get 2,000 hours of practice by the time they’re 20, while professional pianists at the top of their field rack up 10,000 hours of practice by age 20. The studies show no evidence of people who practice their hearts out and don’t succeed, or people who barely practice but still rise to the top. It’s all about practice — which of source is influenced by other issues, such as how much opportunity you have for practice; if you’re poor and have to work a job as a teen, you won’t have the time to practice enough to become advanced.

So what does this mean? It means I may have been wrong. You don’t need innate talent to succeed at writing, but you do need plenty of ass-in-chair. You need to hone your grammar, read constantly (when you’re not writing, that is), study great writers, and write, write, write. If your grammar stinks, you need to study grammar. If your first draft is no good, you need to write a second draft — and a third, and a fourth. Even if you didn’t get opportunities for practice when you were younger, it’s not too late to rack up your 10,000 hours.

What do you think? Is writing talent inborn or does it come from practice? Do you consider yourself a natural talent? Please post in the Comments below. [lf]

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I just heard from Marina Krakovsky, one of my travel writing workshop alumna, on the success she had in placing an essay she worked on during the course. I love getting news like that! And working with Marina, who is such an accomplished writer, was a total joy.

Marina’s goal, when she signed up for the class, was to find, write and publish deeper stories from her travels. This is a time-honored approach to travel writing, in fact, some of the finest examples of travel writing are in that genre, as opposed to what we call “travel service”, the nuts n’ bolts of how to travel, hotel deals and so forth.

Finding these deeper stories can be tricky — these are the less obvious stories, and they spring from the writer’s own unique curiosity. This is why I encourage my students to pay careful attention to the questions that pop to mind while they’re traveling, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Also, I urge my students to pay attention to the moments when they’re puzzled or startled. Those are idea gold!  For instance, when I was in Barbados this past Fall, I was taking a tour of a synagogue, and met a guy that looked to me like a younger Joe Lieberman. He was actually a second generation Barbadian and spoke in an island lilt, which totally took me by surprise. (At first I couldn’t place the accent.) That moment of startle led to this piece in the Huffington Post.

Marina also shared with me the backstory of how another piece she’d placed from her travels came about:

During my trip to Moscow last summer  I wondered what the deal was with all the unsmiling Russians–and with subway posters urging people to smile. (Remember, I was born in that region there, and still felt taken aback by all the dour looks.) I asked people about the posters, and nobody could explain them, but when I got home I did some research and got my answers.

And she got a salable story, which she placed in Psychology Today – a magazine which she’d written for in the past.

Now, what’s extra interesting about that is that PT is not in any way a travel magazine. But that’s the beauty about these deeper travel stories — your options for placing them goes way beyond traditional travel outlets.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at these types of stories, my next workshop begins April 13th! Sign up here.

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In a guest post on the Zen Habits blog, Albert from UrbanMonk.net describes the 5% trick:

My favorite tool at this stage is the 5% statement, created by Nathaniel Branden, who is widely considered to be the father of the self-esteem movement. It works by allowing you to take steps in small increments. Trying to change completely overnight, as some might suggest, often creates fear, uncertainty, and resistance.

A 5% statement is split into 2 halves. Examples would be:

If I were to be 5% more responsible today, I would ___________.
If I were to be 5% less lazy today, I would ___________.

The first part of the statement doesn’t have to change. But every morning when we wake up, we think of something that fills in blank, and then do it! As you can see, 5% is small and harmless enough to let us overcome our fears and procrastination. Being flexible enough to do different things everyday in pursuit of the same goal also keeps us from boredom and routine. Even better, it encourages us to think of new ideas to try (although we can simply do the same activity 5% more each time).

How could you use the 5% trick to reach your writing goals?

Thanks to Tim Hooker for linking to this post on his Facebook page! [lf]

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I was taking a look at a book called The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back by James Waldroop and Timothy Butler, and one of the habits stood out to me: “Never feeling good enough.”

This is what holds students in my e-course back from reaching for their dream magazines (until I make them, of course!), what makes writers accept peanuts for pay, and what makes freelancers work with pay-on-pub contracts. “Who am I to ask for more? they ask. “Who am I to think I can write for Woman’s Day, or National Geographic, or Mother Jones?”

I’m here to tell you that if you have the basics down — you know how to write, you have good ideas, you’re persistent and professional — and you add value by being an expert in a certain topic, say, or having access to good sources — you have no reason not to be successful as a freelance writer.

So how do you beat this self-defeating behavior? According to the authors of The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back, “You need to become aware of feelings of insecurity and inferiority as you actually experience them.” Do you feel a pang of anxiety when you think about negotiating up from ten cents per word? Do you feel insecure when calling sources to get quotes for a pitch when you don’t have an assignment in hand? Be aware of these moments.

Then, write down the ways you sabotage yourself when you get these feelings of insecurity. For example, maybe you give up on ideas instead of following up because you fear you’ll annoy an editor. Or you blast off half-formed e-mails to potential sources, secretly crossing your fingers that they won’t respond because you’re afraid of interviewing. Or perhaps you politely accept assignments at low pay and with bad contracts, lowering your income because you think you’re not worth more.

Finally, for each item you wrote down, think up ways you’ll counter it in the future. For instance, you may write, “When an editor calls with an assignment, I’ll ask her if I can get back to her in an hour. Then I’ll have time to think over the offer and decide if and how to negotiate.” Or you could write, “I’m going to schedule follow-ups in my calendar for two weeks after I send in a pitch — and then I’m going to send a polite e-mail that I’ve run by a writer friend to check for typos.”

Then — do it! Make a conscious effort to put the kibosh on your saboteurs. As you take bold steps, you should feel your confidence grow. (And your income should grow, too!) [lf]

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For an article for a writers’ magazine, I’m looking for writers who have gone through the following sticky situations, who would like to share what happened to them and how they solved the problem. I’m also looking for other sticky situations, though I may have enough here for this short article:

* A key source insists on seeing a copy of your article before it goes to the editor or goes into print.

* It’s your magazine’s policy to let sources review the manuscript, and your source has covered the article with so much red ink it looks like he sacrificed a goat on it…and his changes are ridiculous and incorrect.

* You receive nasty reader e-mails and letters in response to an article you wrote.

* You get a copy of the magazine you wrote for — and see your name is missing or misspelled.

* You get a copy of the magazine you wrote for — and a major source’s name is misspelled.

* You didn’t use a source who gave a terrible interview, and now he’s asking when the article will come out.

If you’re interested in participating, please contact me at [email protected] with “Sticky Situations” in the subject line. Thanks in advance for your help!

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Freelancer and author Michelle Goodwin has a must-read guest post on the New York Times‘ “Shifting Careers” blog this week. Michelle’s the author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube and the recently released My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire (and which will soon be reviewed by us — stay tuned.)

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A freelancer friend and I were just e-mailing each other about the economy. She wrote, “I just wonder how the economy will affect us as freelancers. Magazines still need articles, but they’ll probably need fewer of them so the competition will be greater.”

At first glance this sounded right. Then I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that last part might not be 100 percent accurate. Yes, magazines are getting thinner because advertisers are slashing budgets ergo editors are slashing editorial space. With newsroom layoffs occurring right and left, a lot of reporters and editors do jump into the freelance pool … but I think they tend to jump out fairly quickly. Working as a freelancer and working on staff are two different beasts. You’d think reporters would make great freelancers. But remember what Linda wrote a few days ago … writing is but a small part of freelancing. There’s all the other stuff that goes along with it, like marketing, rewriting, factchecking, and sourcing, all without a regular paycheck, vacation time, and paid holidays. Pretty soon, freelancing loses it luster for most of these newsroom and staff refugees, and they’re off to look for another staff job. These freelancing waters are too cold, except for the most hearty souls.

My position is that successful freelancers have to market a lot harder in a tight economy to get the same amount of work they had back when budgets were flush. For example, you might have been sending 10 queries out a month to make your numbers a couple years ago. Today, you’re looking at 20, or even 30 queries, plus probably a lot more followup.

Does it mean working more hours? Probably. I console myself by remembering all the long hours I pulled when I worked in Cuberia and layoffs were hanging over my head. No one’s got it easy here. The good news for skilled freelancers: you’ve got a better shot at changing your fortune than your office-bound counterparts or recently laid-off editors. [db]

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2008 is the 25th anniversary of Roger von Oech’s creative thinking classic A Whack on the Side of the Head. One piece of advice he gives that I really like is to “play the fool.” When confronted with a problem you have, a “rule” you follow in your writing, or an idea you’re trying to develop, what would a fool say? The answer could help you make the leap to same-old-same-old to a truly creative idea. Von Oech writes:

Look at the problem before you and say, “It’s not what everyone thinks it is” and then give a different interpretation of what’s going on. Deny that the problem even exists, or maybe solve a different one. Doubt the things that others take for granted. Ridicule your basic assumptions. Expect the unexpected. Ask the stupid question that nobody else seems to be asking. Do whatever you can to shatter the established way of looking at things. You’ll find that it will stimulate your creative juices.

Want more? Check out von Oech’s blog. [lf]

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If you’ve been reading the mainstream media, you’re probably unaware that there’s a story brewing with former presidential candidate John Edwards. In a nutshell, a couple weeks ago, the National Enquirer (yes, that National Enquirer) claims its reporters and photographers caught Edwards in LA emerging from the hotel room of his mistress and their “love child.” A keystone-cop chase through the hotel ensued, until staff security rescued Edwards from a bathroom, where the reporters had him cornered for 15 minutes.

I’ve been fascinated by this story, specifically, mainstream media’s handling of it. (Personally, I don’t care who politicians sleep with, as long as they’re not sleeping with my husband or, God forbid, my child. But I’m aware that for most Americans, a politician’s private life is a big deal.)  One LA Times editor forbade bloggers from blogging about this story because it came from the scurrilous National Enquirer (although I believe one blogger didn’t read the memo and blogged about it anyway). Other major news organizations around the country, print and broadcast, haven’t touched the story either, citing the dubious source of reporting and/or taking a wait-and-see position, a position that in my mind that’s essentially a let’s-turn-a-blind-eye-to-this stance.

Now the Enquirer has released photos they claim show Edwards holding his “love child.” I’m hearing rumblings that there are even more damning pictures, and the tabloid is waiting until the Democratic convention to release them. Edwards hasn’t denied the allegations. The mainstream media still maintains its wall of silence. I wonder: is the news media being protective of Edwards, particularly Elizabeth Edwards? Do they really believe this is just a garbage story? I’m no fan of McCain’s, but it seems like the venerable New York Times had no problem reporting on a supposed affair he had with an associate with far less evidence to base their story upon.

I’m curious … what do you all think? A media conspiracy or is the Enquirer’s “bust” just not news? [db]

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Denise asks: I’m a full time mommy trying to turn my “hobby” of writing into a real profession.  I’ve been stringing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, covering school districts and city halls for the Metro Briefs section.  The trouble is that I don’t get a byline unless they deem the subject worth more than a paragraph or two.  I’ve only gotten four bylines in the 2 years I’ve been freelancing for them.  And one was from an article I pitched to my editor on my own!

I’m setting up a website for my clips and they look a little thin.  Before the

Denise, despite your proclamation that your clips look a little thin, I think you’ve got some good currency  to move your career forward. Although you don’t have a lot of bylines for the big city paper, the fact that you string for them is a huge plus. In a pitch letter, I’d say something like, “I’m a stringer for X, where I contribute reporting and writing to an average of 5 stories per month” and skip sending photocopies. As for the real estate pieces you did for the weekly newspaper, are there any stories that showcase your writing, that you’re particularly proud of? Then I’d use those pieces as clips, although they’ll probably be most helpful to you if you’re pitching real estate or business magazines. Otherwise, I’d just list these pieces in my credits.

You didn’t ask, but here’s my .02 on clips: They’re overrated. The only thing a clip (or a link on your website) shows an editor is that you’ve been published. It doesn’t tell them much about how you write — they could be reading great editing — and they don’t prove how professional you are, despite expensive-looking business cards or a professionally designed website. I truly, deeply believe that most editors really don’t care how many clips you have or what magazines you’ve written for if your pitch letter’s pitch perfect: that is, the prose sparkles, the preliminary research is promising, the idea is spot-on for their audience, and you present yourself well in the exchange (”I’ve written for Boy’s Life, and I’m a stringer for X and a former correspondent for Y, where I covered real estate and small business stories.”) There are exceptions: I know of one national women’s magazine where they ask for a stack of national clips to “approve” a writer. Frankly, I think magazines that do this are a tad high-maintenance, but I digress. The majority of editors range from curious about to indifferent to your credits, so don’t let a thin stack of clips stop you from pitching a dream market and moving your career to the next level. [dianaburrell]

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What does it say about my personality that the Spanx reference was my favorite thing about this post?

I remember when I used to get wound up to the point of not wanting to be a writer anymore each time I was rejected. Then, after awhile, I started networking and realized it was as common as sneezing, itching, and getting the hiccups . . . no one likes it, we deal with it in the moment, we get over it, and then we move on until it happens again . . . rinse, repeat . . .

“Nobody died” is my catchcry. If I stuff up, who cares? I’m not a brain surgeon, so nobody died!

I just read this interview and really enjoyed it. Thanks!

Such a GREAT place to get exposure for CP! I was thrilled when I opened my Feedreader this morning and saw that in it! You gave some really great, useful info, too

You’ve convinced me to get your books and I love those titles! If you want to be interviewed for my book blog or other sites (free) let me know.

I *will* be adding this to my to-do list. It’s right before my birthday, too, so I can consider it a gift to myself!!!

Wish I was closer!!!

I’m waiting to see an interview with Elaine Grant. I’d like to get more info about her course. I’m published, so I’m not sure if it’s the right one for me or not.

But it sounds good, like focuses on the actual writing and where to find reliable statistics and information. I also like that she has a business-writing background, which is an avenue I may want to pursue.

But then again, they ALL sound great. How am I supposed to choose a course?

Maybe you guys should team up for one big mega-course. Or offer a frequent-learner discount.

Carolyn, I put up Elaine’s interview early just for you! I hope it’s helpful.

Don’t choose…take them all! If someone is crazy enough to sign up for all five classes at once, they *deserve* a discount. ;->

Hi Carolyn —

Good question about my course: is it right for you if you’re already published? While the course is not for veterans, I think it will be good for people who have up to about five years of experience — and especially for people who want to stretch their skills or get into a new arena (for instance, as you mentioned, business writing). Also, I plan on customizing the course for people who sign up for the “premium” class, which comes with email support.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly with questions specific to your own situations: [email protected].

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you both so much! I think I need to give myself a holiday present, don’t you? A course that helps me move forward with my writing would be a great gift.

I’m off to read the interview now!

Carolyn E.

Way to go Cathy! From Jan P from our J.W. group

Cathy-Personal experiences in articles are always interesting and you have done an excellent job of portraying a story of the hard of hearing plight. As a retired audiologist recently with a significant socially defeating hearing loss, I commend you for calling the devastation of hearing loss to the attention of the public. However, could you let me know what the reference is for your statement regarding the EPA’s 55 decibel tome. Thanks.

I’d love to see how you applied this — I read his post but had a hard time seeing exactly how I would do that in terms of writing, pitching etc, especially the one-week break part =)

Yes, me too. I have a huge (read daunting) revision project to deal with and to see a writer’s approach to any writerly project would be super helpful. I cannot relate to Newport’s examples somehow.

OK, I’ll upload mine later on today to give you an idea. I wrote the projects/completion criteria by hand, so I’ll type them in — no one will be able to read my chicken scratch.

I’m looking forward to seeing your planning sheet, Diana. Interesting concept!
Mary