THE WRITING
ENTREPRENEUR

by J.M. Lacey

If you are writing full time, or even part time, and you claim the business on your taxes, you are an entrepreneur. Running a business comes with unique challenges and perks. If you are a sole proprietorship, or LLC, and you have no staff, you are marketing your own business, managing contracts and filing your own taxes. So how do you enjoy writing while simultaneously running a business? How can social networking ease your burden? Do your business cards scream amateur? How can you get a client to sign a contract—on your terms? And what really is considered tax deductible for a writer?

THE HAPPY WRITER

Before you even begin your writing business, there are some things to consider to help you build your career.

Kelly James-Enger, author of Six Figure Freelancing–The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money and freelancer for the last 14 years, says that finding a niche, something you’re good at, will help stem the tide of financial insecurity. “Specializing helps set you apart from everyone else and it’s easier to get assignments.”

To maintain a happy, balanced writing life, she also offers some tips for writers:

GETTING CLIENTS

Things that seem small to you—business cards, websites, stationery—can make a big impression. Prospects will never know how well you write if they can’t get past a non-professional set-up.

Get simple, classy, clean and sophisticated cards professionally printed. Include your phone number, mailing, web and e-mail addresses, if you want paying clients to contact you. Your stationery should be the same.

Your website is going to be your most important marketing tool. Make sure your site is personalized, professional and provides the information your prospect will need, such as articles, client list, and portfolio.

Your website is going to be your most important marketing tool.

There are many books and articles that will tell you to save money and go ahead and design your own site. I disagree 100 percent. Unless you have had training in marketing, design, SEO and html construction, your site will look homemade. Plus, you are too intimate with your own business to have an objective outlook.

Websites aren’t as expensive as they used to be, but you will have to dish out a few to several hundred dollars, depending on your needs. To run a business, you have to spend money, and if you pour your investment into anything, it should be your website. Write your own content and save money, but hand the rest over to the professionals. To keep more dollars in your wallet, offer to do a trade with your designer—materials for them and a website for you.

“But I’m a writer,” you say, “what does design matter?” If your site looks thrown together, prospects will think your writing is treated the same. And frankly, if your site is difficult to navigate—too much scrolling, tiny fonts, unorganized, dark background—they’ll give up looking. No one has that much time or patience.

You also need a professional e-mail address, so get rid of your Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail, and use your real name. JMLacey@jmlacey.com sounds a lot better than trixie_partygirl@hotmail.com. Save that for your personal accounts.

Next, find work by writing letters, making cold calls, sending e-mails and getting out there. Target businesses (or magazines) for whom you’d like to write. My first major client came via a cold call to another prospect. After I met with the initial contact, she referred me to someone else. I contacted that business immediately, and within three days, I had snagged that client and am still with them over two years later working on multiple projects.

Can social networking help? Yes, if you use it wisely. Join groups like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, but make sure anytime you type a comment or message, it’s with the purpose of building your business. You can direct people to your site and blog, but don’t ask for their business. Try to type messages and/or guide them to helpful articles and information. Remember the WIIFM—What’s In It For Me? It’s about them, not you. Eventually, your readers will gain confidence in your expert abilities. Be cautious that your networking habits do not become time suckers. Try to have a set time each day, and a set amount of time, to check in with all your networks and forums.

CONTRACTS

Once you have a client, how do you get paid on your terms?

As you establish your business and writing credentials, try to have a solid, though not inflexible idea, of how much you will be paid. Understand what to charge for your level of expertise and geographical area. Most clients, especially corporate clients, prefer project fees instead of hourly rates. So have a base in your head, if you can, of how long something will take you, and come up with a reasonable fee.

Figure out how much you’re willing to go down if the client tries to negotiate. Be confident in your figure, but be agreeable with the client. Before I type the contract, I usually state the estimate then ask: “Will that work within your budget?” You want to avoid going too low just to get that project, but don’t quote so high you quote yourself out of a job. It takes trial and error, but after a while, you’ll learn and gain confidence.

Make sure your contract covers everything unexpected because once you quote a price you can’t retract and ask for more. For example, my contracts outline the project and everything that goes with it—three edits, one additional meeting (even via phone), conception, content and design. If the project goes over what was agreed upon—additional edits, meetings, pages, etc.—I charge the additional fee stated in the contract. I also charge extra for commercial photos and anything that might crop up as I go along. But I have to have it covered or I lose money. And don’t forget to include the deadline.

Most important, be certain the contract states what you will be paid and when. For my new clients, especially for large projects, I always ask for one-third to one-half down payment. If I’m hiring outside contractors, such as a web designer, I will ask for my contractor’s fee in full, if I can, just in case the project flops. All my clients know they will receive an invoice when they’ve approved the final draft, and my invoice states “payment due upon receipt.”

Some commercial clients have their own contracts written by lawyers who really should use writers. If you don’t understand something, ask. Contracts are for negotiating. Include your requirements, like the additional charges for extra work. You want to be comfortable signing that contract.

Do not do the work or research until you have it in writing. People will try to get you to “look” at their stuff so you can get a handle on what they want. That’s fine, but either wait until you have the contract, or tell them you charge for your research. The reason? You want people to respect you as a professional from the start. Otherwise, they will expect more for nothing.

Do not do the work or research until you have it in writing.

Target clients that will pay you what you are worth. Again, use your discretion, but be firm. If they start out by saying, “I don’t have much money,” run, because they don’t and you have a business to operate. If they tell you, “We can market you,” then unless they are a marketing agency, they can’t do anything to help you that you can’t do. To run your business effectively, establish yourself as a professional by not catering to the low-paying, time-sucking gigs that will get you nowhere except homeless.

TAX DEDUCTIONS

If you claim your writing on your taxes, then it isn’t a hobby. This means that almost everything you do and buy for your business is tax deductible.

So what can you deduct? Pretty much anything office-related (computer, pens), books, magazine subscriptions and conferences are among your deductions. And anything you need that will help you in your research, such as travel expenses. In my case, CDs and concert tickets are included in my write-offs as a classical music writer.

Building your writing business takes time. It can take several months to a few years, but it will happen. The more effort you put into it, the sooner it will thrive. But above all, your professional habits will only increase your chances of being successful.

NEGOTIATING TIPS FOR WRITERS FROM AN EDITOR

While being an editor pays the bills around here, I always see a writer when I look in the mirror. And just to show you how much I care about my fellow writers, I’m going to make my life as an editor potentially more difficult by sharing my negotiating tips for writers. Different editors surely approach negotiation in their own unique ways, but these are my tips for handling editors like myself.

—ROBERT LEE BREWER









J.M. LACEY (http://jmlacey.com) is an independent writer, marketing and public relations professional. She has over 14 years worth of experience in journalism, marketing, public relations, and sales, working for both the corporate and non-profit sectors. She maintains a classical music blog (http://seasonkt.com) and works with small to large businesses creating websites, advertisements, biographies and other marketing and publicity needs. She is also a public speaker and teaches workshops on writing for businesses and on marketing at writing and corporate conferences.