A Warning for New Freelancers on Making Fast Cash

I'm "one of those people" who gives Twitter a whirl before I move from my pillow, just after the alarm clock starts singing my playlist of the morning. Normally I wouldn't blog about one singular tweet. But this one caught my eye and deserved more than a 140-character response, because I think those of you who are new to freelancing really need to understand this:

YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY QUICKLY AS A FREELANCE WRITER.

Let me repeat that in case you didn't get it the first time:

YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY QUICKLY AS A FREELANCE WRITER.

Basically, the person on Twitter proclaimed that she would show you how to make money within two weeks. The tweet contained a link to her book on Amazon, bearing the same words.

Intrigued -- because quite frankly, if this woman had discovered this "secret," maybe she had also discovered the cure for cancer -- I flipped to the "preview" section to scan her introduction. She discussed how she'd show you how to set up your business and move right into making fast cash.

Now maybe there is a new market out there that will pay people quickly, and I just haven't discovered it. Or maybe my circle of clients are the type that stick to the 30-day payment turnaround time. So I offer this caveat before I dive in. Full disclosure. I may not fully know of all of the clients out there, those of whom will pay you within 14 days.

That said .... For the uninitiated, let me explain how this works:

First you have to find someone to pay you to write an article for them.

Next, you have to do the research. And then write the article. If you're a crack journalist who has experience turning copy within 2 hours on deadline from assignment to press, that's doable. Actually, it's very easy. But let's face it -- most people do not have daily newspaper or daily wire service experience.

OK. So suppose you are like I was when I first started and you DO have that experience. That's the best-case scenario, right?

You show this editor your advanced reporting and writing techniques, and you flip a story in an astounding 24 hours (for the sake of argument, that would be what it would take to do it quickly, for a major magazine article, and that's pushing it).

You turn in the article .... and your invoice ..... but then it doesn't stop there.

The editor has to go through your copy, which in magazine parlance may not be that very day. They ask you questions about anything that needs clarification. Then they go to production.

Now. This is where the tricky part comes in.

Unless you have done due diligence by RESEARCHING the publication's payment cycle on writersmarket.com, you have no clue as to WHEN you will be paid.

Writersmarket.com is a treasure trove of information for a publication's payment cycle. Every person that I contact for work has already been thoroughly vetted via this website. I have used this site now for 15 years as a freelancer, and this is how it works: It contains an enormous database of practically every publication in the United States and Canada. Those publications list entries about their writers' guidelines, their payment scale AND their payment SCHEDULE.

Although payment amount is important, the thing that will sink or float your freelance business is the rate at which they will turn your invoice.

I refuse to work for anyone who will not pay me in 30 days or less. I have only made one exception to that rule, and that's because I know the editor personally, and her company was just bought out by a larger conglomerate that changed their pay schedule. Based on my long history with her as a writer, I give that publication a pass. But as for new clients, I will not work for them if they say anything like, "Payment on publication."

Let that sink in for a minute.

"Payment on publication."

Suppose you write a story in November. You turn it in within 24 hours and think, "Oh goody. Look how fast I churned that copy. I can make thousands of dollars this year if I keep up this level of productivity!"

Well yes, you will make a lot of money.

The problem is ... when will the money hit your mailbox?

When?

See, as much as this author on Twitter would like to assert that she can teach you to make money in 14 days, what she's NOT saying is that it takes two to tango. You're out there on the dance floor, making killer moves. But your partner is standing on the sidelines wolfing down shots of Bourbon and chatting up that girl with-legs-up-to-here.

And besides the publication's payment schedule, there are other variables.

There have been literally dozens of times when a frenzied editor has either lost my invoice or has been so busy that she has completely forgotten about sending it over to accounting.

There have also been times when accounting will say, "Oh. We lost it because it came in two days before Christmas, and we were at the company party that day."

And there was one time when a publication that normally paid me on time suddenly said, "We changed our policy, and now we're only paying on publication," I said, "When are you going to publish it?" The editor said, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe in six or nine months."

UNACCEPTABLE.

You are RUNNING A BUSINESS. You have to pay your bills, put food on your child's table and clothes on your child's back, and someone says, "We'll pay you when we get around to it?"

No.

(Can you tell I feel strongly about this?)

Anyone -- ANYONE -- who tells you that they can teach you to get paid in 14 days probably also has a wonderful bridge for sale in Brooklyn, super cheap.

There's one other thing I need to say about this, and then I'm off to make my own money:

When I started freelancing in 2001, I already had 12 years of newsroom and AP wire service experience and newspaper editing experience under my belt. I already had interviewed crooked politicians, wise-ass cops, angry housewives at PTA meetings, bank robbers and murderers and even a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.

I already had a resume replete with proof that I was able to do the job.

And it has been 15 years since then that I have been working for magazines ranging from jobs for engineers and information technology professionals, to military magazines, to entrepreneurial magazines, to real estate magazines.

Do you understand?

If someone like me still has to hound editors for payment within the U.S.-business-accepted policy of 30 days, a new freelancer cannot expect to push for payment within 14 days.

Maybe it can be done. Maybe I'm too nice. Maybe I've been asking for my honestly hard-earned wage in the wrong way. And if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me and impart your wisdom as to how to cajole people into quick and easy payment.

But if you go on Twitter and someone says, "I can show you how to make fast cash as a freelance writer!" and you're new to freelancing, please consider my warning.

It is unrealistic.

I guess anything is possible, and again, I may need to re-evaluate my payment policies, but I truly believe it is unrealistic.

You can take that to the bank.

On Being Paid Fairly as a Freelancer

Now we come to the pink elephant in the room for many writers and freelancers:

Money.

People ask me frequently, "How much do you charge? How do you know how much to charge? Would you take work from someone who only provides a byline and no pay? Would you take work from someone whose 'payment' is copies of the magazine where my article appears?"

Before we dive in, if you want to skip past all of my rhetoric to the bottom line, the bottom line is this:

Join the National Writers' Union, and you'll get great guidance on the fair amount of money to charge, as well as the heads-up on any unscrupulous publisher, editor, publication or Web site of which to steer clear. The NWU's dues are on a sliding scale, depending on your tax returns as a writer from the previous year. So if you're new to this game, you're looking at a nominal fee for their help, and if you're not new to this game, let me assure you that they're worth every red cent.

Now if you want my personal take (why I charge what I charge, and why I think it's important to charge for your work) ... keep reading.

Let's start with the obvious ... the question of publications that are "doing you a favor" by "giving you a byline" in their publication "with thousands of readers" and "the recognition you need for your resume" and "the public spotlight on your name."

Payment of a "byline," or payment by sending you copies of the magazine in which your article is printed is not payment. It's slave labor. And if you work for one of these whorehouses, you are selling the rest of us down the river (those of us who are professional writers and depend on our craft to pay the bills). If you'd like a list of these places to avoid, just join NWU.

The same goes for publications that offer you any less than 30 cents per word for your work.

Here's why:

Do you realize that not everyone can put two words together on paper? Do you realize that most people make so many grammatical errors, that even my 6th grader can eyeball them on the Internet? I had one client who sent me her "notes" for ghost writing under her name, and they were nothing but scattered thoughts ... usually incomplete sentences .... and always riddled with grammatical errors .... FROM HER CELL PHONE, sometimes in a short text. This person could not even find time to sit down at a computer and write an email. I had to assemble her thoughts by talking to her on the phone, because there were no "notes" to be had with which to construct her book.

Do you also realize that most people diminish your value as a writer by thinking they can do what you can do? They assume that they can pay you a pittance, because you really aren't worth that much. You will be satisfied with your "name in lights," as it were. And they think they can pull off what you can pull off. But because they "don't have the time," they ask you to do their work for them. The truth is that they have no idea how to put together meaningful prose that will interest a wide readership.

OK, still not convinced? Let's take a couple of examples from other professions. I'm not claiming that my work is as important as these people's work, but you'll see where I'm going. Just stick with me.

SCENARIO #1:

You wake up with a high fever, shortness of breath and a gouging pain in your right side that's so bad that you start praying for death. You pass out and wake up again, and now you're on the floor next to your bed, and your dog is standing over you licking your face.

So now. Choose one. You:

1. Call your best friend on the phone and ask them what they think it is.

2. Try to solve the problem by swigging down some Mylanta and Tylenol.

3. Call 911 and get yourself to the nearest hospital.

I'm wagering it's number 3. You're going to go to the place that has the people who have been trained to solve the problem. You want a surgeon, not a physician's assistant, and not even a registered nurse. You're not going to gamble your life with someone who says they've been reading up on WebMD.com and think that you might have the latest flu bug, are you?

Let's take another situation.

SCENARIO #2

You're falsely accused of a serious crime and are looking at prison time, maybe more than a couple of decades. Choose one. You:

1. Call your cousin who is a paralegal and ask him if he thinks this is something you can beat with a public defender.

2. Represent yourself.

3. Cash out your retirement accounts to hire the best lawyer you can afford.

My guess is .... #3.

Now let's look at the lowly writer. Heck, let's just use me for an example. And this situation happens to me all of the time ... An editor will call and say, "Can you do a last-minute assignment? I just had somebody drop out." (Translation: "I hired somebody who had less experience than you do so that I wouldn't have to pay more than 50 cents a word, and they flaked out, and now I have space to fill in my magazine. Oh. And my deadline was yesterday.")

Why do they call me? At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, let's run through the reasons:

1. They know I can turn around accurate copy, and I can do it quickly. I have 25 years of experience under my belt, 12 of which were in the mainstream newsrooms, and five of which were with The Associated Press. I am accustomed to dealing with deadlines that were "five minutes ago." I have a wide network of news sources and a wider network of PR people who can connect me with sources. I can do the reporting on a story within 1 day and, if I have to, write it that same day. (That's rare now that I no longer work for daily publications, but it's definitely a skill in my toolbox.)

2. They know I have experience unearthing unusual details to give the story edginess. I know how to ask questions. I know how to interview people to get to the heart of the issue. I know how to find the hard-to-uncover truths, because, again, I have experience.

3. They know my copy will be clean. Unless we have a miscommunication about the editor's desired angle, there is a rarely a time when I have to do any rewrites. Editors can take my raw copy and pretty much print it, verbatim. Fact checks come back clean, and if there are discrepancies, it's because the source usually has second thoughts about their quote once they see it in black and white.

4. They know I'm honest. I don't make things up. I don't take people out of context. I don't rush a job. I don't turn in substandard copy to make a quick buck. I am available day and night, for any question, any edit.

5. They know that if I have an emergency, I'll still get the work done. Remember the story earlier about waking up with a gouging pain in your right side? OK, well that happened to me in September 2013, and I had to have emergency surgery. AND, I had a story that was due in four days. I spent the day at the hospital, went under the knife and was released at 11:30 p.m. The next morning, I called my editors and explained what had happened. They told me I could have extra time to finish the story. But you know what I did? I rested for 24 hours, and then the NEXT morning, I wrote that sucker from bed while my mother brought me mugs of tea and chicken soup.

Sorry if I sound like a street-wise teenager, but I don't mess around when it comes to my deadlines. And the editors know that.

Now I don't have any qualms charging what I charge. I am very confident in my work, and I am not shy about letting a client go if that client 1) acts like my work is substandard (because it isn't) and 2) acts like I'm not worth what they're paying me and 3) gives me all kinds of reasons why their pay scale is so low.

If you are working for someone who is short-changing you on payment, they are probably treating you very badly. Anyone for whom I ever worked who paid me on the low side of the scale ALSO was very manipulative, very unappreciative, very demanding, very difficult to please, very full of their own opinion of their own ability to "write."

Conversely, people who have paid me well treat me well and love my work.

It's not worth it for you to spend time with the bloodsuckers. Cut yourself a break and cut them loose. Work for people who will pay you what you're worth and treat you with the professionalism that you deserve.

Now what if you're really a "physician's assistant" and not a "surgeon?" What I mean is, what if you're fresh out of school, jumping into writing from another profession, etc.?

You still have the right to expect fair payment for your work.

Do a personal assessment. How much would you pay you?

How much do you really think you bring to the table? Get a number in your head and then inflate that by another 30 cents per word. That's how much you should be charging. The reason I can assert this is that it goes back to the original issue: Most people can't write. Most people are paying you to do what THEY CAN'T DO. Don't let those people -- those who would underpay you or not pay you enough -- treat you like they're doing you any favors.

You're doing them a favor by giving them the words they don't have.

Do yourself a favor and demand that they treat you fairly.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!

People ask me all the time:

"How do you come up with your ideas as a freelancer? Do editors assign you stories, or do you have to come up with things by yourself?"

Both. I do get assignments from editors. But before that can happen for any freelancer, you have to establish a rapport with those editors to receive unsolicited work.

And how do you go about doing that?

Send them a list of ideas that will appeal to their readers.

Believe it or not, it's not as difficult as it sounds. Here are a few things I do regularly online to come up with no-fail pitches:

1. A simple Google search: I know you're going to laugh and say, "It can't be that easy," but here we go: Go to the Google search box and type the type of market you are pitching along with the word, "issue." For example, I write for military magazines. Yesterday, I needed to come up with pitches for a publication that is read by members of the U.S. National Guard. So I went to Google and typed in, "National Guard issues." Voila, up came lists of news stories that affect my readers. I drilled into those to advance them into timeless ideas. You can do this with any market. One of my other magazines reaches pizza restaurant owners throughout the United States and Canada. I do the same thing: "waitress issues," "front of the house issues," "back office issues," "entrepreneur issues" ... you get the idea. I know, I know, I know, it sounds too simple to be effective, but you'll be amazed at how many things you can find that can be expanded upon into great feature stores.

2. Subscribe to blogs and e-letters focusing on your personal interests: I have varying interests and hobbies that are separate from the types of trade magazines for whom I write. I practice yoga. I'm a single mom. I'm dating. I'm an antique lover. I dig British history, everything from Richard III to the Regency era. And I love experimenting in the kitchen. Attached to all of these interests are blogs that I hit periodically. "Well," you might say, "what do any of those things have to do with a military magazine? Or an entrepreneur magazine? Or a Realtor magazine?" Sometimes nothing. But sometimes I'll hit a blog entry pertaining to single parenting that can also be applied to military spouses whose husbands or wives are deployed. I might read a blog about the history of a battle in the Middle Ages or weaponry and spin that into an article about how ancient warfare tactics apply today. Or I might hit a yoga blog about building a yoga teaching business -- and the concepts are similar to what a Realtor can do to advance his or her operation. Or I might see something about Victorian architecture, which can also be applied to home sale stories for Realtors. Last year, I saw a blog about recipes for people with allergies, and that led to a story about marketing to people with allergies for pizza restaurant owners at my pizza magazine. Basically, it's taking your personal interests and thinking outside that box to see how those interests might dovetail into your niche readership. Yes, it requires a bit of brain pretzel twisting, but it's worth your time and effort. And, frankly, it's fun!

3. Keep an eye on trends in social media. I have about 4,200 followers on Twitter and 300-some on Facebook. Besides my addiction to Candy Crush (it's pretty bad, but I digress), I use social media to chat and keep my radar up for issues that concern my friends, which always translates into something that concerns my readers. On Twitter, I follow a lot of parents who have children with Asperger's Syndrome, which my child also has. Again, that leads to story ideas. I also have met great PR professionals on Twitter, who tag me when their clients have stories that may interest my readers. Facebook is another treasure trove, because my inner circle friends will discuss things that I may not otherwise hear on the more public Twitter forum. This week, we were talking about the differences between Internet Service Providers, because I'm moving to a new house and am shopping. The discussion led to an idea about customer service and marketing tactics for people moving into new homes, which I will pitch to my Realtor magazine.

The bottom line is, if you have a computer, tablet or phone, you can find ideas. The trick is using the tools online effectively to constantly think creatively and intuitively. Your editors will thank you, and your bank statement will balloon in no time.


 

Avoiding Pitching Pitfalls

Pitching ideas to editors is the lifeblood for every freelancer. And for me, if an editor says, "Send me your ideas," it's my opportunity to prove that I have the researching ability to handle any topic. It also gets my foot in the door, because once an idea is accepted, it opens opportunities for more stories to be eventually assigned.

But sometimes I actually choose not to send ideas to an editor, based on the initial email response from them.

The only comparison I can make to this is dating: I sift through a lot of people, and I have eliminated men based on what they may or may not say to me ... not in person, but in an email.

In person, everybody is putting their best foot forward and uses non-verbal communication to their advantage. But in an email, people have a tendency to say what they really think. I'm not sure why or how this happens, but a computer screen automatically tears down a psychological barrier to people saying things they otherwise may not say in person. For example, I lean strongly to one political argument. On a date, if a man tells a political joke, he'd pick up my non verbal cues on whether I agreed with the joke. But in an email, he can send a joke freely and not fully anticipate my response. Why on earth would anyone send out a political joke in an email when they can't predict how the other person will react, I can't tell you, but it happens to me a lot. And if I know that a person is on the opposite polar spectrum of a political issue, chances are we're not going to agree on other meaningful areas in life. I don't have to waste anyone's time or money on a date.

So. How does this relate to shopping for editors?

Let's look at what happened to me yesterday.


I'm on vacation, which may or may not have set up my frame of mind to reject this editor, but suffice it to say, I'm glad I had the presence to walk away.

I sent an introductory email to an editor at a trade magazine for theaters -- not the kind where you see movies, but where you'd go for live, dramatic productions. I'd written for this magazine from 2001-2003, but the pay was low, and I'd move on. But I took a renewed look at its Web site and thought I'd test the waters to see if pay had risen in 10 years. I enjoyed writing for the former editor, so I sent the new editor an offer to come up with a list of ideas.

Yesterday morning in my hotel room, he got back to me ... and it was clear from his email that he thought he was doing me a favor. You know how this works if you're on a date, especially if you're a woman. Think of it as a guy taking you out for dinner and overtly checking out every other woman in the restaurant.

So this editor says, "Go ahead and send me a list of your ideas. And I only work with writers who have experience in the theater, so tell me why you're qualified to write these stories."

Well, I picked up a hint of snobbery. Let's look at our dating analogy. It's like a guy saying, "I'll take you out to dinner, but be aware that I'll be looking at other women the entire time we're out. And I only date blonds, so if you're a brunette, no chance, but let me know why you think we'd be a good match, anyway."

But I wanted to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. So I responded that I had 24 years of reporting experience on many subjects and easily adapt to writing about any area. I've written about everything from rocket scientists at NASA to window treatments in pizza restaurants ... and, point in fact, I'd also written for his magazine about theaters. I explained to him that I didn't want to waste time for both of us -- mine to research story ideas, or his if he was going to dismiss me for not currently working in theater.

Here's the way I saw this situation: An editor who understands how experienced reporters work understands that they are chameleons and have no problem at all researching and presenting stories for the targeted professional audience. But an editor who is a little too puffed up with self-importance would make things difficult for even a producer at "60 Minutes." It's just not worth the time and effort to try to please someone like that. The hint is that these types of editors will insist on people who only work in their industry. And, of course I see that as short-sighted, because they are missing out on an opportunity to work with someone who can give stories a fresh and objective eye, while digging thoroughly to uncover an insightful storyline.

I sent this editor my email and then left on the second part of my trip -- a six-hour drive to Charleston, SC.

This morning, as I got ready for a day at the Isle of Palms, I pulled up my email and saw that the editor had responded, unfortunately in the way I had predicted he would.

He agreed that it would be a waste of time for me to send him ideas, because he would not work with me if I didn't have theatrical experience. BUT, he said, "If you come across a burning story that needs to be told, let me know!"

And that's all I needed to know that if I'd submitted my ideas, not only would he have rejected me as a contributor, but he more than likely would have taken those ideas and given them to one of his "theatrically experienced" writers.

I could draw another dating comparison here for you, but let's keep this blog at "Rated PG."

Bottom line here is ... don't waste time coming up with ideas for a potential editor if you haven't screened them for whether they really are interested in using you. If I'd jumped at putting ideas together for this guy, I would have used precious time during my vacation, only to be told that I lacked his desired "experience."

And now ... I'm off to sand and palm trees ... I may not have an assignment in hand, but I'm glad I'll be spending today in the surf rather than at my laptop, churning work for a person that never would have validated my efforts in the first place.

The Biggest Mistake Among Would-Be Freelance Writers

So you want to write for a living.

You have dreams of crafting prose in a funky little coffee shop while everybody else is slaving in a sterile cubicle. The vagabond writer's lifestyle ... taking your laptop to hammocks, the beach, a lakeside cabin .... hey! That's something to which to aspire, right?

This is the biggest mistake of the mindset of would-be freelance writers.

They focus too much on what they want and completely forget about the needs of their clients.

Now don't get me wrong. Freelancing does provide a lot of freedom. Notice that "free" is in both of those words? As a single mom of a boy with Asperger's, I often need the flexibility of freelancing to meet my child's unique needs. However, if I focus solely on my needs, suddenly my business becomes single-mom-centric, and clients pick up on that vibe.

Not good.

So what can you do?

Stop thinking about your freelancing in terms of a writer and start thinking about your freelancing in terms of a business person.

Recently on Twitter, I found Richard Petrillo (https://twitter.com/richardpetrillo), who provided great insight to this very question:

http://workwithrichardp.com/5-biggest-obstacles-to-overcome-in-your-internet-marketing-business/

I could rehash the whole thing here, but if you're serious about getting your writing off of the ground as a business, then check out Richard's advice. Everything you need to know is right there. When he uses the word, "product," substitute it for the word, "article," or "fiction book," or "poem," whatever type of writing you're selling. And really put yourself in the shoes of your potential clients.

Because at the end of the day, you won't find yourself in that funky coffee shop unless you have people who are excited about paying for what you're generating.

Two Magic Words to Make $$$ in Freelancing

I just received an email from Writers Digest, promising the secret to making money in freelancing if I pay them $99 for their super information!

Guess what?

You don't need to pay a soul for this secret, because it's just two words.

But before I share ... be aware that I have been contacted by many people in my 12 years of freelancing for information about how I make a living. And you know how many people have taken my advice?

One person.

That's because no one really wants to do this.

Ready?

Here are your two magical words:

Cold calls.

If you're not willing to call editors -- heck, even send them an email introducing yourself if you're too scared to pick up the phone -- then this life is not for you.

Will you be rejected?

Yes.

99 percent of the time, you will be rejected.

Expect a 1 percent return on your cold calls -- that's 1 "yes" for every 100 contacts you make.

Daunted?

Well, that's what it takes, because in this economy, with thousands of news reporters facing layoffs, understand that this competition is not for the faint of heart.

I've had people listen to me and then respond with, "That's too hard. Isn't there any other way to do it?"

No.

There isn't.

And when I tell them that, sometimes they unfollow me on Twitter, or they sever the connection on LinkedIn.

You know what I say to that? Good. Less competition. Because the ONE PERSON who took my advice is now my competitor -- and that's okay. If I really thought that all of you would do what I suggested, I wouldn't even tell you this, because I'd be out of a job.

Cold calls. You don't have to pay Writers Digest $99 for the answer.

Done. The end.