SiteThe Other 85%
An editor of mine at a trade pub recently hired a well-credentialed writer to write an article. A week later, my editor’s boss received angry phone calls from two of the sources the editor provided to the writer. The writer, they complained, didn’t know what magazine she was writing for or what the article was about. My editor’s boss told her to never use that writer again.
That’s just one of the many horror stories my editor has about working with writers. Another editor of mine — this one at a national women’s magazine — told me that only 10 percent of writers turn in clean copy on time.
The freelancing business is about more than just the writing. You don’t have to be good at writing…you have to be good at what you do, which includes writing. In other words, you need to be skilled in the business of freelancing. You can write like Tolstoy, but that won’t mean a darn thing if your copy comes in three weeks late and you piss off your sources to boot.
Writers often ask me how much of my time is spent actually writing. I estimate that writing accounts for about 15 percent of the time I spend working. The rest of the time is spent:
- generating ideas
- marketing
- researching
- interviewing
- editing
- revising
- writing query letters
- doing administrative tasks like invoicing, faxing contracts, paying business bills, and copying clips
If you’re not good at these things, you won’t make a good living as a freelance writer. Thankfully, information that will help you improve in any of those areas abounds both online and off: Diana and I offer e-courses in everything from querying to the business of writing through the Renegade Writer blog. Books on the business of freelancing — as well as books on general business topics like marketing — are available at Amazon.com and in bookstores. Experienced writers in online forums are willing to share their advice for free. Blogs like Erik Sherman’s and Michelle Rafters’ (as well as the Renegade Writer blog, of course) get into the nitty gritty of running a freelance business.
I’m not perfect — for example, I’m not the strongest interviewer — but I work to make sure I’m skilled in all the aspects of my business. Want to get editors to love you — and make a good living as a freelancer? Hone your writing skills, but work on the other 85 percent as well. [lf]
19 Responses to “The Other 85%”
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DianaBurrell
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 9:44am:As strange as that first story sounds, I totally believe it. I have a few editor friends who’ve told me similar stories. I’m always telling freelancers in my local courses that if you actually *are* talented as a writer and can meet deadlines and behave like a professional, editors will worship at your feet. Seriously, the competition out there is s-c-a-r-y. Not really even competition … more like background noise in the asylum.
QuietRebelWriter
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 11:42am:This is both distressing and heartening. Sick, in that so many writers give the rest of us a bad name by doing shoddy work. Cool, cus that means we have a natural advantage
It’s baffling, though, that writers think that kind of unprepared work will bode well for the future. I make no qualms about screwing up plenty of times, but at the same time I learn, I get better, and I try to be every bit worth my fees.
Michelle Rafter
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 11:42am:This is right on, and not just because you mentioned my blog. Writing is just a portion of what we do, and to be a good freelancer, you have to be good at all of it, or at least most of it, especially what I think of as the forward-facing aspects of our work. That includes pitching, communicating with editors, turning in stories that are on topic and on time, turning around rewrites ASAP, etc. A lot of it is being organized and managing your time well. In my experience, the best freelancers are good writers and good businesspeople. Thanks again for reminding us of this.
Erik Sherman
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 11:46am:It’s an unfortunate story and I’m sure too true. I occasionally work as an editor and had an incredibly unpleasant time with one “experienced” writer on a big project. The person would lie time and again about what was done and what wasn’t, was very late with copy, and I actually had to take a couple of parts of the overall assignment back and do them myself to make sure that the project hit its deadlines.
Unfortuantely, confusion can come up at almost any point. For example, perhaps the editor was unclear in directions or in the story concept. Maybe the sources had heard something ahead of time that different from what the writer heard. All of this becomes part of the business as well, so part of the skills any writer has to develop is the ability to deal with situations that go wrong.
Kara Williams
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 12:44pm:Diana – Glad you said “As strange as the first story sounds…” because I don’t get it! If you (the writer) have an assignment from X magazine about Y topic, how in the world can you “not know what magazine you are writing for.” I TRULY don’t understand! Maybe writer was being cagey with the sources, or for whatever reason didn’t want to divulge publication name (which I wouldn’t get either) but for writer truly not to *know* who hired her? I can’t believe it.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 3:01pm:Kara, I have no clue how that could happen. My editor pointed out that the sources didn’t call the writer and catch her off goard — SHE called the sources and then seemed clueless. I admit that every once in a while it takes me a half second to remember which magazine I’m representing at the time since I always have multiple stories going on, but it’s not so obvious that the source would catch on.
Elaine Appleton Grant
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 3:17pm:Linda, this is an instructive story for so many reasons; I’m glad you posted it. One of the things that I think is important but unsaid is that for a good freelancer, the learning should never stop. When I had the good fortune to meet you a few years ago, I had been writing and editing for more than 15 years. But I still learned a ton about the business of writing — and still do — from The Renegade Writer books! And I learn from this blog, Michelle’s, and from FLX, too. And lately I’ve had the great fortune of learning from experienced beat reporters (health, science, and politics) who were only too happy to share some of their approaches to their jobs when I asked. I’d add to your list that a good freelancer needs to be a continuous learner and a good networker!
Elaine
DianaBurrell
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 3:24pm:Kara, I had to read Linda’s first paragraph a couple times, and yeah, I still don’t get it either. I keep imagining the conversation with the source.
Writer: Hi, I’m X.
Source: Hello, how can I help you?
Writer: I got your name from an editor. I have no idea for what magazine but he wants me to write about you.
Source: Oooookay. Well, what about me?
Writer: I’m not sure about that. Why don’t you start at the beginning?
Source: It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child …*
*Any film buffs out there?
Terri
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 8:31pm:Any film buffs out there?
The Jerk
DianaBurrell
Said this on September 29th, 2008 at 8:38pm:Terri wins!
Copywriters Needed- No Experience Required- $200/hr
Said this on September 30th, 2008 at 1:01pm:That is sooo true. When I first started as a writer, I was amazed to find that I couldn’t get any work. At first, I started thinking that maybe it was because the online world was saturated with writers looking for work. But,I soon realized that I had to appear more professional. I started a website and set up escrow services for my clients. I started to notice how many more clients I got when I did these things. Good posts.
Susan Johnston
Said this on September 30th, 2008 at 1:39pm:I think far too many beginning writers focus on improving their “craft” and ignore the other stuff. I certainly did not realize how much of my time would be spent tracking down sources or filling out invoices, but those are just as important as the actual writing. Thanks for the reminder, Linda!
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Ami at Write Out Loud
Said this on October 2nd, 2008 at 8:11am:I had this romantic dream (or more accurately, delusion) that freelancing would be me sitting at my desk, drinking tea and typing away all day. Since I’m still working full-time and freelancing part-time, I’m realizing more and more that all the “other stuff” is pretty important. So much of the little time I have to spend on freelancing is spent doing that other stuff that I often feel like I’m not much of a writer. The writing, while important, is only a small portion of what I need to do to get my freelance business off the ground.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on October 2nd, 2008 at 6:09pm:Ami, I think we’ve all had that dream! Luckily for me, it ends up I actually enjoy the other aspects of the business — especially marketing.
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John Agathon
Said this on March 31st, 2009 at 9:50pm:This might be tough for any new enthusiastic writer to accept. There is as particular reason why there are so many “starving” writers out there and I hope those people read this article to help guide them on the path of being a successful writer.
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