EVERYTHING ELSE
UNDER THE SUN
Like most teenagers, I was a regular visitor to McDonald’s. In fact, if I think about it long enough, it’s pretty scary just how often I patronized the golden arches, and just how quickly I devoured those Quarter Pounders.
I was also a proud employee of the megalith chain for a glorious six months during the summer of my fifteenth year. While furtively downing boxes of McNuggets in the storage room, I would often read the copy on the tray liners, marveling at how frequently they were rotated. I’d also think about who wrote them. Was it someone at Head Office with a bit of downtime? A guest writer who’d swagger in like Sinatra in a studio, toss down the copy, and swagger back out? A team of writers with papers crumpled in their fists shouting at each other about precisely what should be said regarding hotcakes and sausages?
Though I was never again able to wear the shoes I used while employed at McDonald’s—I worked in the kitchen—my time there was still extremely valuable, given that you can’t put a price on free McNuggets. What I couldn’t have predicted was that my McDonald’s experience would come full circle twenty years later. Here’s what happened. A freelance writer with a slowly-but-surely growing practice, I’d developed a solid association with a guy who coached companies on their brand focus and consistency. He would kindly look for opportunities to throw a few bucks my way when it was appropriate for me to help write brandrelated copy for his clients. I’d bust my hump on these assignments both to repay his generosity and to try to generate referrals.
One of these referrals, originally a direct client of the brand coach, ended up moving on to a big ad agency that served A-list companies across North America. This guy asked me to write a speech for the executive to whom he reported when that executive was on the hook for delivering the keynote at a big gala thrown by one of the agency’s biggest clients. Because the speech made an impact, someone else at the agency asked for my name and contacted me to ask if I’d like to work on the account he was about to take over: McDonald’s. What were they looking for? I asked. They’re about to push a new “Chicken Choices” campaign, he said, and they needed someone to research and write three different tray liners to support it. The project turned out to be equal parts challenging, stimulating, and rewarding, to say nothing of the importance of adding a client of that stature to my résumé.
The longer I write, the more I’m surprised by the frequency with which work comes to me from unexpected sources or in unexpected ways. I don’t know of any other career that allows one to become knowledgeable in so many different areas, gain access to such a diverse set of people, or bear witness to so many different types of products or outcomes that are at least partially a result of your contribution. It often seems as though for every magazine article I’m assigned or corporate assignment I earn, some new writing project lands in my lap from an unforeseen corner. And, while the magazine articles and corporate assignments are all wonderful in their own way, it’s the stuff I don’t see coming that usually proves most memorable.
The Landscape
One of the best parts about being a freelance writer is discovering just how often people have writing needs they’d rather have handled by someone else. Typically these projects don’t belong in any formal publishing category, though taking them on can enhance your career in manifold ways. I sometimes feel as though I’ve written just about everything for people over the years, but every time I have this thought, something new comes my way. Attempting to define the landscape for all the miscellaneous writing projects that exist is in many ways an unfair exercise, since the possibilities are virtually limitless. Instead, let’s just talk about some of the different requests you might encounter as you spread your writing wings ever wider.
RÉSUMÉS
Résumés, also called CVs (from the Latin curriculum vitae), are the essential tool in anyone’s potential-employment bag. Companies differ greatly in their hiring methods and criteria, but every one of them asks for a résumé, because that’s how they find out where you’ve worked, what you’ve done, and where you learned to speak all those languages.
When someone asks you to work on his résumé, keep a few things in mind.
First, it’s going to take twice as long as you think—to make it good, at least. Most people’s résumés contain dull, dry, passive language that reads more like the phone book than a document meant to intrigue a potential employer. The average résumé also lays out a laundry list of standard points explaining a person’s duties in their previous roles, when what employers actually want to see are examples that show (a) the person takes initiative, (b) the person gets results, and (c) the person takes on challenges. Altering language in this way isn’t easy, and it isn’t quick. Often it requires lengthy conversations with the person in question to draw out the information that will give the résumé the substance and pop it needs.
Second, people tend to want to cram everything they can into their job history, but take me at my word when I tell you no résumé needs to be more than two pages long. Think of it this way: If someone has three pages’ worth of impressive job experience, the first two pages of that experience are representative and impressive enough not to need the third.
Finally, to craft the best résumé you can for someone, keep in mind that you aren’t just presenting a random set of points; you’re telling a story.
| 84 RÉSUMÉS | In anyone’s potential-employment bag, résumés are the essential tool. |
Get This Gig: Résumés
Where Do I Start?
In your marketing materials, call out résumé work clearly—it can be a regular hit, since there are always people looking for jobs, and always resumes crying out for improvement.
Who Do I Contact?
Everyone in your personal database. I once had a bank executive I’d worked for on a contract ask me to work on his wife’s résumé after she was laid off.
What Do I Charge?
As I said, résumés should be kept to two pages, but they usually require considerable work. It depends on whether you just need to tighten some bullet-point language or give the thing a complete overhaul. Between one and five hours’ work is usually appropriate.
Riding the
RÉSUMÉ
Shel Horowitz, freelancer, Hadley, Massachusetts
Back in 1981, I started my business originally as a typing service. My intention was to run it until my freelance magazine/ newspaper career took off. Early on, clients started asking if I could help with their résumés. As it happened, I had struggled with my own résumé, encompassing seven different career paths, short job histories, and other challenges, and had a pretty good handle on how to package people’s best virtues to prospective employers. I began actively seeking résumé work, and it was my primary source of income for ten years. And that was good, because the typing work dried up as computers became popular. I still write résumés today, when asked, but other parts of my business have replaced it as the primary income stream. Oh, yes, and one of my résumé clients landed a job as founding director of a university Family Business Center. He asked me if I would cover his conferences for his newsletter, and for the next fourteen years, I had a steady gig writing conference coverage for him, about twelve articles a year. For the ten years that followed the résumé stint, I focused on writing marketing materials for authors and publishers, small businesses, and nonprofits. This in turn evolved into book shepherding, which typically has a large writing component to it. For example, I have a recent client with a memoir, and I wrote her a letter that got her noticed by Paramount Pictures. I’m currently writing three articles for another client who originally came to me for consulting on book publishing and marketing.
WEDDING SPEECHES
Most wedding speeches one hears are interchangeable with any other wedding speech one hears, because they’re typically filled with generic descriptions, clichéd metaphors, or empty platitudes. A professional’s touch can make a wedding toast memorable instead of forgettable.
I’ve been asked to help with a number of wedding toasts over the years—by best men, maids of honor, grooms, brides, parents of the bride and groom, and friends asked to speak—and I’ve been tickled by each request, because I consider such assignments particularly special. After all, the words one delivers on his or her wedding day are frozen in time— not to mention heard by, sometimes, several hundred people. Wedding speeches can be slippery animals for a writer because they’re going to be written by you but delivered by someone else, and that someone else has to make the words you’ve written sound spontaneous and sincere.
No matter who approaches you, simply get them talking so you can get past the ordinary stuff and find the depth and originality in their particular relationship. For instance, when grooms come to me for help, they’ll have often scribbled down thoughts such as “There are no words to express how much I love you” or “You’re so beautiful outside and in.” I’ll take him out for lunch and start asking questions—about his bride, when they met, the things that make her special, his parents, his friends, his passions. Then I think about where the true meat of the story lies, just as I would if I were drafting branding copy for a client. His saying he loves her because “she’s so funny,” for example, doesn’t qualify. What makes her funny? Does she giggle in her sleep? Is she endearingly klutzy? Does she compose limericks on the spot? Similarly, saying he finds her “the most beautiful girl in the world” counts for zippo. Which of her features really does it for him? Do her eyes freeze him in place? Is it that charming smirk that sometimes only he notices? Is it that irresistible spot on the small of her back? No matter who you’re helping, get specific, and remember that you aren’t just laying out thoughts—you’re telling a story.
| 85 WEDDING SPEECHES | The words delivered at a wedding are frozen in time. You can help make sure they age beautifully. |
Get This Gig: Wedding Speeches
Where Do I Start?
First, draw attention to this part of your practice in the marketing materials you use. Second, whenever you’re around an engaged couple, casually mention to the groom in private that part of your work is speechwriting, and you’d be happy to offer your help if he’s interested. Yes, I know you hate doing that sort of thing, but if you’re going to be a professional writer, you’re going to have to tell people about the stuff you write. Trust me, they’ll appreciate knowing.
Who Do I Contact?
Who speaks at a wedding is driven by numerous factors, including culture, religion, geography, and, of course, the particular inclinations of the family you’re dealing with. These days, for instance, more and more brides are getting up to say a few words. So feel free to drop mention of this part of your practice to anyone involved in planning a wedding. You never know who’s up for help when it comes to writing.
What Do I Charge?
Charge according to length—say an hour of your time for every double-spaced page.
Using the Ol’ Cranium
Tiffany Owens, freelancer, Lincolnville, Maine
I’ve always been a pop culture princess, with a head filled with trivia, especially about music, movies, and entertainment. I received one of my favorite and most unusual assignments—writing trivia cards for the Cranium Turbo Edition game—after a former colleague of mine from MSN.com went to work for Cranium and suggested me for the job. That gig led me to write trivia cards for kids for another of Cranium’s games, Cadoo. The questions were later included in Burger King’s kids’ meals. The best part came later, when my five-year-old niece got a Burger King kids’ meal and my sister told her, “Oh, your auntie made those cards.” The quizzical look on my niece’s face was priceless.
LOVE POEMS
When I was eighteen, I went on one of those whirlwind Contiki trips with my best friend—you know, the kind where you’re in a different European country every few days and you rarely know which country it is, but you soak up the experience just the same, and afterwards, when you’re back home and you hear people say things like, “Vienna is beautiful in July,” you respond by saying, “Oh, I loved Vienna when I was there one summer,” even though you realize you might be picturing Barcelona.
There were something like fifty people in our tour group, so it stands to reason that over the course of six weeks a few of them might become, um, romantically inclined. This occurred in spades with Linda, a fellow Torontonian, and an Australian chap named … let’s call him Conrad, since that was his name. Linda fell hard for Conrad’s puppy-dog eyes and nearly unintelligible accent, and she wanted to let him know. A few weeks into the trip, she asked if I could help write a romantic poem to Conrad on her behalf. Lesson number one: When someone asks if you can help them write something, you are going to end up writing the entire thing start to finish, as much because you don’t want her help as because she doesn’t want to give it. This works better for everyone.
After spending some time with Linda asking her what it was about Conrad that charmed her most and what she felt when she was with him, I composed a few stanzas for her to write in her own hand. This felt funny, since the only poetry I’d ever written before was my own. What made me comfortable was that Linda freely admitted to Conrad that she’d enlisted my help. She’d just wanted to capture her feelings as well as they could be captured, she told him, and he, after downing a few beers, got pretty choked up about it.
Again, I encourage you to treat such cases as professional jobs, with corresponding fees. The reason you’ll receive such requests is that people recognize how valuable your talent is. Make sure you realize it, too.
| 86 LOVE POEMS | The more people discover you’re a writer, the more you’ll find them coming to you to help them express their feelings. |
Get This Gig: Love Poems
Where Do I Start?
Make this particular offering a specific part of your marketing letter or brochure, or maybe create a separate tab for it on your Web site. If you think there’s no appetite out there for this service, think again. Remember: Nonwriters don’t like writing, nor are they good at it. Writers tend to forget that because they adore writing and it comes naturally to them.
Who Do I Contact?
Send occasional e-mail blasts to your friends, associates, clients, and prospects announcing exciting news, business promotions you’re offering, and so on. Send one of these a few weeks prior to Valentine’s Day and make its focus your one-time offer to ghostwrite a romantic poem for, say, a flat fee of $25. Or something to that effect. The goal here is to let people know, in a subtle way, that this is one of the things you do.
What Do I Charge?
People recruiting you to help write poetry for them are doing so because they’ve tried it and discovered how hard it is to do—or do well, at least. Charge what you think is fair. Most people will be glad to shell out for a poem that will melt their sweetheart.
Setting Expectations
There’s nothing wrong with doing work pro bono for your family members or close friends. But be careful not to set the expectation that you’ll do endless work for free. You’ll find that lots of people start to ask you to just glance at a letter to make sure it’s okay, read their resume to see if it’s up to snuff, or provide general input on their book idea to see if it’s publishable. The problem is you’re a writer, so you aren’t going to be able to just look at a resume and tell someone it’s good enough if it isn’t—you’re going to want to make it good enough, because you hate to see any piece of writing done poorly.
It will no doubt feel awkward and hateful at first to charge people you know, but the earlier you start to separate your business life from your personal life, the better, both for your practice and your relationships.
There are three reasons it’s important to set expectations for your practice early:
1. Almost everyone underestimates how long good writing takes. I have an ex-colleague for whom I’ve written dozens of little things over the years. Early on, he’d typically send me some raw thoughts and ask me to turn them into whatever it was he needed at the time. Usually the request would be accompanied by his saying, “I figure it will take you two or three hours.” I would almost always have to reply that it would in fact take me 20 percent longer than that, then I’d ask him if he still wanted me to proceed, which he always did. In underestimating my time, he wasn’t deliberately trying to belittle my work; he just constantly forgot about the time it would take up front to think about and arrive at a proper structure and storyline to frame the actual writing part—the only part he was thinking about when he suggested the “two or three hours.” Eventually he asked me simply to run a tab and report to him each month how much he owed. He no longer mentions how long he thinks it will take. He just asks me to make it is as good as it can be, and he trusts that I’ll charge him fairly. “Easy reading is damned hard writing,” wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne, and he was damned right.
2. It looks professional. If you do something for free for one person and charge someone else for the same type of work, as word spreads of your practice no one will know what to expect, the unintentional consequence of which is that everyone will hope for the freebie. Naturally I’m not talking about your family or closest friends, but requests for your time from anyone else should be addressed with absolute consistency.
3. It usually just takes once. Anyone skeptical about the monetary value of good writing is usually converted after witnessing just one before-and-after example. So, while you may hear lots of “It really takes that long?” comments at first, the longer you write, the more people you write for, and the more word of mouth you generate, the less frequent such comments will become. Eventually, they’ll disappear for good.
If you don’t believe your time is valuable, others won’t, either. So it behooves you to get into the habit of telling people, the moment they ask you to just “have a look” at their résumé, that you estimate it would take you X hours to improve it. That lets them know that those hours are going to entail a fee. Eventually you’ll get used to this, and your practice will function a lot more successfully because you’ve established early on that you’re a professional whose time is, like everyone else’s, money.
APPLICATION ESSAYS
Both the standards and the competition surrounding academic programs seem to increase every year. Those applying for a spot must present information in two forms. One of these forms—grades—is objective.
The other form—essays—are anything-goes efforts in which people must explain, within a specific word count, why they are a better fit for the program, or more passionate about it, or more destined to be part of it, than the other seventeen zillion people applying. The essays count for a lot; ask anyone on an application committee. And because people realize how important they are, it usually scares the bejeezus out of them when they read over their own drafts, sending them straight to the door of someone who knows what they’re doing. Someone like you.
Let me acknowledge the possibility that you may have an ethical issue doing work of this type. I don’t. I consider it a professional service, and that’s that. But if you do, I respect your choice.
| 87 APPLICATION ESSAYS | Application essays tend to be much more of a struggle than people assume they’ll be—which is why they often see writers as precious resources. |
Get This Gig: Application Essays
Where Do I Start?
If you know of a friend or acquaintance applying to a program, offer to have a look at his application package pro bono. Then, once you’ve impressed the pants off him, tell him you wouldn’t mind it a bit if he wanted to tell others about your potential to help.
Who Do I Contact?
Let people know about this part of your practice individually. It will be by nature a private activity.
What Do I Charge?
Use good judgment when determining which end of your pay scale to use for these assignments. On one hand, the use of your skills can prove pivotal. On the other, people applying to academic programs aren’t usually rolling in money. Be fair but conservative.
ACADEMIC PAPERS
There’s the issue of getting into the program, and then there’s the issue of doing well once you’re in. A nonwriter’s troubles hardly end once application essays are in the rearview mirror. In fact, they’ve only just begun, because looming now are multiple deadlines for, depending on the program, various types of writing assignments, from business cases to reports to essays. Want to see the picture of despair? Watch someone who doesn’t enjoy writing working on an academic dissertation. In such cases, you’re pretty close to a superhero—Writerman, perhaps—swooping in to help save the day. Again, you may or may not feel comfortable pursuing work of this sort.
| 88 ACADEMIC PAPERS | Academic writing requires discipline, the ability to make cogent arguments, and adherence to structure. Such things are probably second nature to you—not so to others. |
Get This Gig: Academic Papers
Where Do I Start?
If you’ve written academic papers before, you’ve already got your start. This isn’t a service you want to broadcast explicitly, nor will the people who enlist you to write them want to make it public knowledge that they’re getting your help. But feel free to mention it in conversation.
Who Do I Contact?
No one actively. They’ll come to you.
What Do I Charge?
Not unduly little—good academic writing takes time. Two hours per page is a fair base rate.
Casket Copy
Paula Hubbs Cohen, freelancer, Phoenix, Arizona
Today I’m a full-time freelancer specializing in writing marketing copy and feature articles about luxury homes and properties. But as with most writers, when I was more of a neophyte I was scrambling for any assignment in any industry. One day, and I honestly don’t recall the full cycle of events, I stumbled across an assignment that I eventually won: writing about various aspects of the funeral industry. For example, I had to research laws regarding the interstate sale of caskets, including information from the Federal Trade Commission and the National Funeral Directors Association. I also learned about funeral home software, Casket Price Lists (referred to in the industry as CPL)—and about the fact that you can order a casket online, including from Costco. I’m serious! Just go to the Costco Web site and click on “Funeral.” You can even get expedited shipping. To this day, when the subject of funerals comes up, most people don’t believe me when I tell them you can order a casket from Costco and have it shipped overnight.
LINER NOTES
For a long time I would read the liner notes contained in the music CDs I bought and wonder who’d written them. Some of them were quite good; some left me thinking I could do better. Then I happened to connect with an ex-classmate who had become the marketing manager at a music production company. Today, one of my most enjoyable ongoing challenges is writing liner notes for the CDs they produce, a diverse array of albums ranging from classic artist compilations to hits from specific eras to interpretive nature compositions. Their creative director usually provides pretty detailed creative briefs, so I know in general what I need to deliver, but they also give me a lot of latitude, making both the research and the brainstorming thoroughly pleasurable. The notes are usually 250 words or less, so they need to capture a certain mood while being entertaining, informative, and accessible to a broad audience. Plus I get to listen to music as part of my work.
Once, they asked me to write notes for a country album. I wasn’t sure I could deliver an authentic note, because I assumed I didn’t like country music. I put the CD on, closed my eyes, and waited to see if I’d have a reaction. You know what? After a few bars of “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” I was hooked. So I’m thankful to this client for expanding my personal horizons, too. They still haven’t sold me on hip-hop, but you never know.
| 89 LINER NOTES | Music and writing—can you think of a better combination not involving chocolate? |
Get This Gig: Liner Notes
Where Do I Start?
Take out all your music CDs, open the jewel cases, and read the liner notes for those that have them. Make a note of the companies that produce those CDs. Then prepare a version of your introductory letter that includes mention of liner notes.
Who Do I Contact?
Call the company’s office, identify yourself quickly as a professional writer, and ask the receptionist if you could please speak to someone about the possibility of writing liner notes. Acceptable responses are someone’s name, voice mail, or e-mail address. Keep at it until you get one of those, then get in touch.
What Do I Charge?
Bill an hourly rate combining the writing itself and any research that may be required. For the 250-word notes I write, I charge three hours for the writing plus any research time.
Now That’s What You Call
DEVOTED WRITING
Brandy Brow, freelancer, southern Vermont
While searching LinkedIn for members near my town, I found a person who had graduated from my high school who also happened to be in the arts/music/writing field and, like me, a Christian. I introduced myself as a fellow alumnus and invited him to read my profile. In a few messages I learned that he happened to be a key person from one of my early childhood memories: the teenage boy I saw one time standing with his bicycle outside my grandfather’s art shop in the foyer of a large building when I was about five. We both found it interesting, and apparently he also found my profile interesting. He requested devotional writing samples, and I landed a job you don’t find on the market—writing thirty meditations for songs by popular Christian artists, now appearing in the CD and devotional book set Songs of Hope for the Hurting Heart.
GREETING CARDS
Companies like Hallmark and American Greetings are constantly on the lookout for freelance writers who can come up with clever new angles for all of the different occasions their cards address—Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, the holidays, births, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and on and on. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve spent some time browsing greeting card racks, decidedly underwhelmed by the number of mediocre cards you come across. Nor would I be surprised if you could do better.
| 90 GREETING CARDS | Greeting cards can be a surprisingly competitive area, but it’s worth the effort of gaining entry, because they’re virtually recession-proof. |
Get This Gig: Greeting Cards
Where Do I Start?
Browse the racks of greetings cards at your local bookstore or gift store. Look at the ones you feel most closely match your tone and style. Turn the cards over, find out who produces them, and contact the companies directly to find out how you can submit some ideas. Also, look in your copy of Writer’s Market under the section called Greeting Cards, which lists over twenty markets.
Who Do I Contact?
Go to the Web sites of the companies whose cards you selected and those listed in Writer’s Market. Some of them will list writer’s guidelines. For those that don’t, call their offices and ask.
What Do I Charge?
Most companies pay from $25 to $150 for each idea they buy. Some pay as much as $500 for a single idea or verse.
Taking the Grant
BY THE HORNS
Sue Chehrenegar, freelancer, Culver City, California
While attending weekly City Council meetings as a reporter for the local paper, I learned about a request for proposals. I had recently taken a grant writing course, and I felt certain that a local restaurant owner would be interested in going after the available grant. I spoke with him about the possibility of my writing a proposal on his behalf. He agreed. After two meetings, I showed him the final proposal. He had me deliver it for him, and I made $200.
P2P CORRESPONDENCE
There’s this ex-colleague of mine. He’s one of the busiest people I know and also one of the most tactical. He holds firm to the belief that he should deal with the things he does well and recruit help for everything else. To that end, he’s had me write dozens of things for him. Often he’ll ask for my help composing e-mails to colleagues, friends, or others—what I call his P2P, or Personal to Personal, correspondence, because he doesn’t necessarily trust himself to get the tone and feel just right. In soliciting my help, he isn’t trying to sound falsely writ-erly; he just wants to ensure his personal communications achieve what they’re supposed to. I admire this attitude, I enjoy helping him, and he never for a moment balks at paying me for every minute of my time he uses.
Recently, he realized that he and his wife were having to write a lot of cards—thank-you cards from their own wedding, congratulatory cards for births or other people’s weddings or anniversaries, condolence cards—and he didn’t feel their true feelings were being done justice because they were such average writers. So he asked if I could prepare for him a series of templates they could use for different occasions that would help them deliver stronger, more heartfelt sentiments. I created three frameworks each for four different types of event: births, anniversaries, weddings, and deaths. The three frameworks corresponded to different relationship levels—the first for loose or peripheral acquaintances, the second for steadier relationships, the third for intimate family or friends.
When approached with an assignment like this, remind yourself not to treat it lightly. I worked extremely hard developing the templates for my ex-colleague and his wife because I knew how important it was to him, and I also knew that he viewed me as his go-to guy for any of his writing or compositional needs. If I want to maintain this status, I’d better not take it for granted. That means treating every request he brings me no differently than if it were accompanied by a purchase order, a confidentiality agreement, and a contract signed in septuplicate.
| 91 P2P CORRESPONDENCE | Because personal requests naturally feel more casual, they can also seem less important. But they can engender the kind of loyalty that ends up just as lasting, and wide-ranging, as the most secure contract. |
Get This Gig: P2P Correspondence
Where Do I Start?
There are two ways to approach P2P writing. The first is secondary promotion: Once you’ve done more typical writing work for someone, send a follow-up communication listing all the other types of services you offer, including P2P. The second is primary promotion: Actively publicize it in your standard marketing letter or kit.
Who Do I Contact?
Everyone has personal writing needs, and sometimes the only reason they haven’t paid a writer to help is because they haven’t realized there’s one available. Using the primary or secondary approach, announce your services through every channel possible to everyone who will listen.
What Do I Charge?
P2P work should be billed at the low end of your hourly rate.
There’s Research, and
THEN THERE’S RESEARCH
Casey A. Johnson, freelancer, Dundas, Canada
The first year I was in business, I was approached by a woman looking for a skilled writer. After some initial discussion and a review of my portfolio, she said she wanted to hire me because of my journalism training and writing skills. The next thing I knew I was working as a part-time licensed private investigator taking statements from witnesses on high-profile cases. After several months, I was happy to give it up, as some of the statements I took included testimony against some rather unsavory characters, and I didn’t fancy being part of the witness relocation program under the heading of “Ticked off too many bad guys”—but it was certainly an interesting experience.
WORDS
Literally, individual words. If your mom calls you because she can’t think of a particular word, sending her a bill might be inappropriate. But consider that for every fifteen minutes of work many lawyers do, they bill an hour. No, I’m not aiming to match people’s perceptions of writers to that of lawyers. But small requests tend to have a way of growing into larger ones, so I want you to manage people’s expectations in a strategic fashion.
What I mean is this. Someone calls you because they can’t come up with a word. “It’s like that thing where you feel two different ways about something, or you’re like on the fence about it but not really, you know?” As a writer, you know full well that one can’t just pluck a word out of the air without knowing what kind of sentence it’s being inserted into or what kind of piece of writing that sentence is a part of. So you ask the person to read you the whole sentence for context. “Let me just e-mail you the whole thing,” he says. “You don’t have to read it all, but it’ll be easier this way. I’ll highlight the part where I need the word. If you want, you can tell me if you think it’s any good or if I should change any parts.” Two minutes later you’ve received in your e-mail inbox a five-paragraph letter the person has drafted to send to his local congressman regarding a proposal to place speed bumps along the length of his street.
The one elusive word aside, the letter is filled with room for improvement. Your instinct is, of course, to work on the whole thing. Don’t. That creates the expectation that you’ll do it again next time, and the time after that. Without making any changes, suggest a word in the highlighted spot, and, if you feel comfortable doing so, include a note in your return e-mail that says something like, “For future reference, I can always put in an hour or two on documents like this to get them just right if you’d like. My normal rate is $80 per hour, but for you it’s $60.” And then don’t be surprised if you get asked to put in that hour or two right then and there. This might seem distasteful to you at first, but in the long run you’ll be glad you’ve established suitable expectations, even for “small” requests.
| 92 WORDS | Establish suitable expectations even for “small” requests—it will serve you well in the long run. |
Get This Gig: Words
Where Do I Start?
Most critical is that you firmly establish the parameters of your business. It’s important to send the implicit message that all of your work is billable. This way, people will never assume you’re going to do something free for them, and when you do, they’ll be doubly happy about it.
Who Do I Contact?
The sky’s the limit. Let everyone know you’re here to help with words, whether one word or a thousand.
What Do I Charge?
In the case of someone truly asking for a single word and no more, don’t charge—at least not the first time. If it happens multiple times, gently explain that you’re going to have to charge. In the more common case where that word needs to be considered in the context of an entire piece, and that piece needs to be looked at, too, charge an hourly rate. Just be clear what you’re charging for.
And From the
“YOU REALLY NEVER KNOW WHERE
WORK IS GOING TO COME FROM” FILE …
Annika S. Hipple, freelancer, Seattle, Washington
I recently got an out-of-the-blue request from an English-language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates to write an article for their House & Home section. They wanted to profile a home interiors store in Seattle for their weekly “Cult Shop” feature. I suspect they had run a search for Seattle freelance writers and found me through my profile on Biznik, a social networking site that does a lot better in Google than my own site (the profile then has a link to my Web site). It was fun to get an unexpected assignment from halfway around the world!
P2B CORRESPONDENCE
A letter to a congressman is an example of what I call P2B, or Personal to Business, correspondence—letters people write or e-mails they send to companies, ministries, government, institutions, chambers of commerce, or any other professional organization or person affiliated with one. People write such things all the time, and they’re constantly frustrated by their inability to say something as forcefully as they wish they could.
P2B correspondence ranges widely. An associate of yours might be writing a strongly worded letter to the Ministry of Transportation to challenge its wanting to suspend his license due to a rash of unpaid parking tickets. Perhaps a soon-to-be-graduating schoolmate has asked some of her professors for reference letters, and each one of them has told her to write whatever she wants and then bring it to them for signing, but she has no idea what to write or how to make it sound convincing while not over the top. Or maybe one of your friends is just dying to compose the perfect letter to Oprah about why she’d be an ideal guest on the show.
| 93 P2B CORRESPONDENCE | People are constantly frustrated by their inability to say things to businesses as persuasively as they’d like. Enter you. |
Get This Gig: P2B Correspondence
Where Do I Start?
Make people aware of your services by sending out professional, properly thought-out letters, brochures, or marketing kits that allude to all the things you want people to realize they might need help with.
Who Do I Contact?
Anyone and everyone.
What Do I Charge?
For this type of work, charge an hourly rate that’s lower than your corporate rate but not so low that it isn’t worth your while.
Starbucks Serendipity
Avil Beckford, freelancer, Toronto, Canada
A couple of years ago I met with the president of an association that I am a member of. I usually meet her for coffee a couple times a year to update her on what I’m doing and to find out what’s new in the association. During that particular meeting, at a Starbucks in downtown Toronto, I told her that I was writing my first book, Tales of People Who Get It, and explained to her that I’d used interviews to gather my information. She became quite excited and said, “I have a project for you, let’s go to the office.” It turns out that the next year the association was celebrating its fifteenth anniversary and wanted to profile fifteen of its members in an anniversary booklet. My associate was also a subscriber to my newsletter, in which I present one interview of a highly accomplished individual each month. So my newsletter, coupled with the book, demonstrated that I was qualified for the project. The anniversary booklet turned out great, everyone was happy, and the association continues to use it when seeking funding for its programs because they feel the profiles are compelling. Talk about finding a project in an unexpected place!
RADIO SCRIPTS
Television depends on pictures, and radio depends on words. Call-in shows, news programs, the “spontaneous” banter between deejays, the simple life truths shared by your favorite easy-listening host—all of it gets written somewhere, by someone.
| 94 RADIO SCRIPTS | Radio depends on words. Some of those words are spontaneous, but the rest need to be written. |
Get This Gig: Radio Scripts
Where Do I Start?
Spend time listening to a few of your local stations and key in on the nonspontaneous stuff you hear—the stuff that sounds like it’s been scripted. Then check out books like Writing for Radio by Rosemary Horstmann to get smart about the process. Radio producers and directors are fast-paced people accustomed to having quick conversations and making fast decisions, so a letter isn’t an effective way to approach them. Prepare a verbal pitch of thirty seconds to one minute that outlines your interest in writing for radio and the qualifications and/or special skills you bring to the table.
Who Do I Contact?
Get in touch with the stations you’ve been listening to, ask to speak to a producer, and make some general inquiries: You’re a local professional writer, you love the radio business and are looking for writing opportunities within it, do they have any writing/scripting needs, and so on.
What Do I Charge?
Rates for radio writing vary widely depending on your credentials, what you’re writing, and who you’re writing it for.
Exercising
YOUR OPTIONS
Jan Yager, freelancer, Stamford, Connecticut
I was working full-time as an editorial assistant at Macmillan publishing in its school division, but I wanted to be a writer of my own work. During lunch hours, I took an exercise class at the Y near the company’s office in midtown Manhattan. While we were doing our jumping jacks, another class member and I started talking. She shared that she’d just become editor of a new magazine on Long Island and was looking for freelance writers, and I shared that I was looking for writing assignments. She asked me to send her a query. I queried and got an assignment, “Who’s Who on East Hampton,” which led to a second. One of the assignments was to interview famous artists who lived in East Hampton; the other was to interview famous actors and actresses. The magazine, called Paumanok, no longer exists, but because of it I went on to sell articles to Parade, Opera News, the op-ed page of The New York Times, Newsday, and, ultimately, twenty-six books translated into twenty-two languages, and counting.
TV SCRIPTS
You know that sitcom you watch every week? If you take all the lines of dialogue and add them together, they amount to somewhere in the neighborhood of just a couple thousand words.
Of course, the words are incredibly precise, and they’ve probably been worked over a dozen times or more before actually getting to the tube. The important thing to remember is that they, and the rest of the script (like scene details), came originally from some writer’s head and were typed and submitted by that writer, and she is now enjoying residuals every time the episode is aired.
TV writing has always carried a special allure. Though it’s hard work, it’s also undeniably fun, and there is a certain prestige that goes with having TV credits as a notch in your writing belt.
| 95 TV SCRIPTS | To get into TV writing, you need to write spec scripts, and then you need to get those scripts into someone’s hands. |
Get This Gig: TV Scripts
Where Do I Start?
At one time, TV shows were written almost exclusively by freelancers; today they’re written mostly by in-house staff, but most of those people only became staff in the first place because they were freelancers who wrote so well that the shows hired them full-time.
To write for television you need to generate a few sample scripts. These are referred to in the business as “spec” scripts (as in “written on speculation”—as opposed to commissioned), and their sole purpose is to demonstrate your ability as a potential TV writer. They aren’t scripts you hope or expect will actually get produced; they’re your calling card, created to show your writing chops. A spec script can be for an existing show or for a show from your own imagination. For a half-hour sitcom, spec scripts are around twenty-two to twenty-seven pages. Script format is specific, so if you aren’t familiar with it, Google some sample TV scripts, buy a book on scriptwriting, or invest in script writing software so the template is laid out and all you have to do is fill in the words.
In general, producers want to see a few different samples so they can be convinced of your versatility. Submitting two spec scripts together is an acceptable industry norm, but it’s a good idea to have others in your back pocket, too, in case the request for more should come. There’s no magic formula or secret shortcut for writing the right TV script. Most insiders still say what they always have: To write a great spec script, at least for an existing show, get to know the show inside-out, develop as deep a feel for it as you can, read produced scripts of the series (available via a simple Web search these days), and then set to the task of writing your own, aiming to make it at least as good as the ones you watch week in and week out, if not, in your opinion, better.
Who Do I Contact?
Getting your spec scripts into people’s hands can be a tricky little song and dance, but script submitting is, in the end, no different from, say, short story submitting. Producers, like editors, are always hoping to stumble on writers of serious talent, and good scripts will eventually land in front of a pair of eyes attached to a person who matters. If you don’t have a contact of your own—someone who knows someone who knows someone else who can forward the script to someone in the industry with the power to hire writers—send a letter to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) asking for a complete list of current contacts at existing series and use it as your basis for submitting. You might also consider registering your material with the WGA, or at least mailing it to yourself and keeping it sealed so you have proof of its being written by you on a certain date.
Should someone see your spec submissions and like them, several things might happen. First, she might ask for other samples. As I said, be ready to send those. Second, she might invite you in for a pitch session, a meeting in which you’ll be expected to present more ideas for episodes or storylines. Third, she might offer to buy (or “option”) one of the spec scripts. This is the long shot—but it’s happened to others, so there’s no reason to believe it can’t happen to you, too.
What Do I Charge?
For TV writing, you don’t set the rates; they do.
Answering the Question
Friends familiar with your long-time desire to write may good-naturedly tease you about the risk of giving up your thankless but stable nine-to-five grind to tackle something so daunting. Former colleagues may wonder aloud about your decision. Busybody aunts will gossip about how no one makes money writing and what a nice doctor or lawyer you would have made (nor will they stop no matter how successful you become).
Change their perception by embracing and celebrating your decision rather than timidly defending it. When people ask, “So what are you doing now?,” answer with pride and conviction. Don’t say, “I thought I’d give freelancing a go and see how it works out” or “I’m going to try being a freelance writer, though I’m not sure what that means.” Have your elevator speech—a business term for the thirty-second spiel that describes what you do—always at the ready. When people ask me what I do, I respond, “I’m a freelance writer and communications consultant.” If they want to know more, I tell them my practice is divided evenly between journalism, like newspaper features, and corporate writing, which entails everything from marketing brochures to ghostwriting business books. Suddenly they’re intrigued. They see writing as a real, viable, honest-to-goodness business—not because I’ve given them my income statement but because I’ve spoken about it in a clear, confident manner.
Let’s stop apologizing for being writers. I love being one, and I bet you do, too. Tell anyone who asks.
SONG LYRICS
In the music industry, singer-songwriters are the exception, not the norm. Sheryl Crow, a popular female performer, got her start when a catchy little pop tune, “All I Wanna Do,” exploded during the mid-1990s, launching an award-winning career that, as I write this, is ten albums strong and counting. Did you know that the lyrics for “All I Wanna Do” were based on a poem? One day, Crow’s producer Bill Bottrell was browsing Cliff’s Books, a used bookstore in Pasadena, when he came upon a poetry collection called The Country of Here Below by Wyn Cooper. Bottrell sent the volume to Crow, who adapted one of the poems, “Fun,” into the song she happened to be working on at the time. The song took off, and Cooper, whose book had an initial press run of five hundred copies, saw it go into multiple reprints instead—not to mention the considerable royalties.
Elton John, it is well known, owes his legendary career in large part to a modest lad from Lincolnshire, England, who had a flair for writing lyrics. When Bernie Taupin was seventeen, he answered an ad for talent placed in the New Musical Express by Liberty Records and submitted some of the lines he’d written. These were passed along to Reginald Kenneth Dwight, a new singer Liberty had on its roster, and the rest, as they say, is history. As you smile each time the familiar refrains of “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” or “Your Song” come on the radio, remember that the singer wrote the music, but someone else wrote the words.
Music companies are always alert not just for those with special voices but also those who can compose a tune or write a lyric. If you think writing lyrics is up your alley, go ahead and call some music companies and ask whether they consider submissions. Because in this business, you never know unless you ask.
| 96 SONG LYRICS | For every musician who writes his own material, there are dozens of recording artists whose songs consist of melodies— and lyrics—written by others. |
Get This Gig: Song Lyrics
Where Do I Start?
Almost any kind of writing can work as lyrics—rhyming poetry, non-rhyming poetry, straight prose, experimental prose (Leonard Cohen, anyone?), letters, missives, scat phrases … even single lines can carry virtually an entire song (see George Harrison’s “I Got My Mind Set On You”). Of course, there’s no law against sitting down to consciously write song lyrics.
Who Do I Contact?
One option is to submit lyrics to the music companies themselves. Call and ask who entertains such submissions. You can also send your stuff directly to musical artists—usually through their managers or agents, whose contact information you should be able to find on the Web without too much trouble. Finally, you can actively publicize your lyric-writing services. Those adept at writing music but poor with words might just be happy to find you.
What Do I Charge?
If a music production company or established artist wants to use your lyrics, they’ll likely make an offer based on their own set of rates. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Once you’ve sold those rights, they’re sold for good, and, as in the case of Sheryl Crow above, you never know which song is going to blast off.
For your own lyric-writing services, charge a flat rate. A few hundred dollars per song is about right, depending on the length of the song and the complexity of the tune.
Culinary Characters
Serenity J. Knutson, freelancer, Brookings, South Dakota
While I make my living as a full-time writer/editor, I also moonlight, on occasion, as a server for some friends in the restaurant business. I quickly grew accustomed to the requests to proofread the new menu designs, but then one recent day I was asked to write a full-length feature article on the history of the restaurant for its fiftieth anniversary.
KID STUFF
Happily included in my usual stack of bills and junk mail today was the new issue of Chirp, a terrifically fun magazine written for three-to-six-year-olds. My four-year-old son Oliver adores it. In each issue there are a few stories, a couple of poems, some activities, animal facts, jokes, puzzles, and contests. A lot of content gets packed into a relatively small magazine, and I’ve noticed two important things: Bylines are never repeated within the same issue, and you don’t usually see the same ones appear from issue to issue, either. That means different freelancers are contributing content all the time.
The same can be said for other kids’ media. The four episodes of the Franklin the Turtle DVD Oliver just received from his grandparents were each written by a different person. These episodes aren’t short—fifteen minutes per, in fact. Someone got paid a nice buck to make sure Franklin and Bear patched things up after having that disagreement about the paper sailboat.
Even though the kid-related slice of the writing pie is a significant one—there’s a reason Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market contains over four hundred pages—it tends not to register on most writers’ radar screens until they have children themselves, because (a) that’s when they become immersed in all things kid-related, including literature, and (b) that’s when they become most strongly inclined to write stuff for children, since they’re around the little scamps all the time and therefore percolating with ideas to keep them entertained.
Kid-focused writing may seem easy at first blush because it appears basic in structure, light in theme, and straightforward in language. But most writers, upon tackling it for the first time, find it harder than they assumed. Go easy on yourself, then, if you find your early attempts at writing for children lacking. Those little tykes are a demanding audience, but an appreciative one, too, so it’s worth the effort to get it right.
| 97 KID STUFF | Think editors of adult publications are happy when they find a writer they can depend on? Editors of kids’ publications are over the moon. |
Get This Gig: Kid Stuff
Where Do I Start?
Head to your nearest bookstore and spend some time in the children’s section. If you’ve never entered before, you might be stunned to find how plentiful it is with books, magazines, toys, videos, and lots of other neat-o stuff. Which of them spark you? Which ones do you connect with?
Do some thinking, over the course of several days, about the kinds of stories you think would be fun to write. You probably need look no further than your own life. A great proportion of popular children’s stories come from the authors’ experiences with their own little ones. Maybe that time your daughter ate the crayon would make a good story about parental tolerance. Your son’s mix of anger and frustration over never having scored a goal in soccer could be fodder for a tale about how every kid has different talents. And so on.
Who Do I Contact?
If you want to write for kids’ magazines, contact the editors. If you want to write kids’ books, contact the publishers. If you’re looking to hook up with a toy company or kids’ retailer, get contact information either from their products or their Web site, and then ask what opportunities are available. If you want to write scripts for kids, contact TV, movie, or video production companies.
What Do I Charge?
For existing kids’ channels and outlets, rates will already be set. But there’s nothing stopping you from creating your own kids’ materials— parents are always on the lookout for stuff to help occupy their little ones—and attaching a cost.
Assume You Can Do It,
THEN FIGURE OUT HOW
When new or unusual work suddenly comes your way, it can be intimidating. There’s a certain comfort we all derive from writing the same type of article many times over or editing a report for a company with whose practices we’re intimately familiar.
But try not to say no too quickly in these situations— not until you’ve given the opportunity due consideration, at least. You can tackle it if anyone can. Plus, the project might just end up taking you out on an exciting new branch that becomes a permanent part of your writing tree.
In the same vein, don’t ever dismiss a project as something you would never, ever take on or a certain genre or form as something you would never, ever pursue. Throughout your writing journey, new ideas and assignments will present themselves to you from out of nowhere, and the fact that they scare you a little should be all the reason you need to embrace them for all they’re worth. Dip your toe in and see what it feels like. Then wade in a little further. And a little further …
EROTICA
The purpose of this book is to let you know about all the opportunities available for writers, so let’s talk not just about children’s fare but also the stuff that would fall at the other end of the spectrum—sexy writing. Don’t scoff until you’ve actually taken a shot at erotic writing. It’s easy to write poorly, not so easy to write well. If you can cage it effectively, however, there are numerous points of entry you might take advantage of. From online zines to soft-core pornography scripts (or full-bore hard-core, if that’s your thing—Lord knows they could use competent writers), erotica as much as any other genre highlights the enormous discrepancy between good writing and bad. Because of this discrepancy, well-written erotica tends to stand out from the pack.
| 98 EROTICA | As erotica in all its forms becomes increasingly mainstream, the need for those who can write decent erotica increases. |
Get This Gig: Erotica
Where Do I Start?
Erotica can be found in more places than ever before, including television, books, magazines, and online (in case you didn’t know). The advantages are that (a) it’s a lot easier to find than it used to be, and (b) it’s no longer underground. Check out the index in your copy of Writer’s Market to find places where erotica finds print these days, and do some online surfing, too. Obviously when you search “erotica” online you’re going to come across, um, lots of different varieties to consider, but it’s also going to show you the extent to which erotica has entered the mainstream and the many ways in which it’s currently packaged. Like I said, there are lots of badly written erotica out there, so if you can do a good job of it, there are lots of opportunities available. If you don’t believe me, just tune in to some late-night Cinemax. I’m serious.
Who Do I Contact?
Depending on what kind of erotica you want to write, target your search to magazine editors, book editors, online editors, TV producers, or, if you’re inclined to go that route, production companies like Vivid that specialize in erotica.
What Do I Charge?
Rates for erotic writing will be mostly established, but, based on your credentials, feel free to haggle as much as you feel is appropriate.
Eight Ball,
CORNER POCKET
Meryl K. Evans, freelancer, Plano, Texas
A number of unexpected writing assignments have come my way. Becoming a columnist for PC Today magazine was one. A guy I hadn’t talked to in ages (we worked together on a Web site) referred them to me, and I wrote for them until they stopped freelancing. Another was doing an annual column for Billiards Digest, which was particularly amusing since I don’t play pool at all. The editor found me online and I’ve worked with them for three years. But the most unusual is probably writing the copy for a board game called Fib-or-Not? I don’t remember how the owner found me, but get this: His daughter and my sons go to the same elementary school. We live within a mile of each other.
ONLINE CONTENT
So what’s your default home page? MSN? CNN? ESPN? National Geographic Online? Google Earth? Whatever it is, I bet you check it every time you log on and spend a few minutes (or more—shhh) clicking through a link or three before settling down into your real work. You’re not alone. This collective tendency is powerful and on the ascent. People are on their computers around the clock, and the degree to which they get their information and entertainment online is growing by leaps and bounds on a virtually daily basis.
The related outcome to all this compulsive surfing follows the standard supply-and-demand equation. The more people look to the Web, and the more variety they demand of their online substance, the more of it needs to get produced. And the more of it gets produced, the more words need to be written. Who writes words? Writers do. I know over a dozen former print magazine editors who now specialize in online writing or editing. When they find someone who can write for an online audience, they stick with that writer. Given the lightning growth rate of the industry, no editor wants to work with any kind of writer except the kind who is as reliable and adaptable as she is innately talented.
| 99 ONLINE CONTENT | Online editors everywhere are talking about how desperate the need is for good writers who also understand the particular nuances of writing for the Web: straightforward style, extra concision, accessible voice, an ability to embed natural breaks, and so on. |
Get This Gig: Online Content
Where Do I Start?
Online freelance opportunities are almost endless, and are also, at least at the moment, part of a continuously and rapidly expanding universe. To pursue these opportunities, search Web sites for contact information and then proceed as you would with any query, sending information about yourself along with a few writing samples and a few sentences about your interest in the particular site you’d like to write for. Online editors are no less busy than print editors these days—one might argue they’re even busier—so getting responses from them can sometimes be just as challenging, but be your normal tenacious self and, eventually, someone’s going to open the door.
Who Do I Contact?
Most online sites have editors just like magazines do. The better-organized sites will have something like a masthead visible somewhere on the main page, so it shouldn’t be hard to find an editor’s name. His contact information won’t usually be included, though, so go to the Contact Us tab, call the phone number provided, and ask for the editor’s e-mail address. Just the fact that you were able to get it in the first place shows the editor that you know how to dig up information.
What Do I Charge?
Online writing rates are a source of vehement current debate. Because Web sites don’t generate the same degree of advertising revenue as traditional print, freelance rates for online writing are considerably low down in the pecking order—at least for now. It isn’t atypical to be offered twenty-five cents per word for online writing. Usually there’s some room for negotiation, but not much.
But we’ve promised to think long term and big picture, right? The Web is only going to continue to grow, and people are only going to continue to rely on it more, and therefore online writers are only going to become more valued and better paid. Don’t dwell on the present rates you’re offered for online writing. Think instead about the value of getting in today so you have consistent online gigs tomorrow.
The Glamorous Life
Brooke Kelley, freelancer, Los Angeles, California
Amazingly, one of my first clients was Glamour magazine. It was really unexpected seeing as how I never wrote them a query or approached them to write anything. I knew someone who knew someone who worked with the magazine, and he put me in touch with her. She wrote to me looking for interview subjects, so I gave her a few quotes for her stories. Then one day she got swamped with work, and because of our online communication, she knew I was a freelancer. I hadn’t said that I was trying to work with the magazine and wasn’t staying in touch with her for that reason. I was just trying to help her with her work. Anyway, she couldn’t finish a project she had started, and she got permission to pass it off to me. I did the gig, and they liked my work so much, they asked me back again, and again, and again, until I was working with them on a weekly basis for four years solid. Eventually I started guest blogging for glamour.com. You never know where it’s going to come from.
LEGAL ARGUMENTS
You know how, on all those TV shows about lawyers, the opening arguments always seem so masterful, the closing statements always so brilliant? I mean, don’t they? First of all, most real-life legal statements don’t quite achieve that level of drama and pithiness. However, whether they do or not, often they aren’t written by the lawyers themselves, but someone else. It isn’t easy to take reams of facts, mix it with a bit of conjecture and assumption, and spin it all into a brief address that can sway the opinions of twelve people, or at least one judge, in one direction or the other. And for many people—most lawyers included—it isn’t just not easy, it’s downright excruciating. Writers, of course, welcome such a test.
| 100 LEGAL ARGUMENTS | Writing a good legal argument isn’t so much about knowing the ins and outs of the law as it is about taking a complex story and making it seem simple. |
Get This Gig: Legal Arguments
Where Do I Start?
Draft a version of your introductory letter tailored specifically to law firms. Let them know about your general services, but emphasize also the specific skill of writing legal arguments. Think about offering the first one pro bono. Most legal firms handle a lot of volume, so one good demonstration of your talent might translate into a lot of paid work.
Who Do I Contact?
Start with legal firms in your area. Contact firms of various sizes to see which are the most responsive. If none of the Big Dogs respond but half of the Small Fish do, for example, you know where to concentrate your efforts.
What Do I Charge?
Lawyers live in the world of, um, healthy fees, so they shouldn’t experience much sticker shock. Not that you should be trying to gouge them unfairly. As always, you want to try to maximize your earning power while avoiding pricing yourself out of a project. Approach it the way they themselves would: Let them know your hourly rate and charge accordingly.
MENUS
I’m serious. Think for a moment about how many restaurants there are—in your town, or the next town, or the closest metropolitan center. Now think about how persuasive good menus sound and how boring poor ones sound. Not to mention those stories that sometimes appear as part of the menu, usually involving the history of the place or the family that owns and/or started it. I can tell you most restaurateurs don’t write those stories all by themselves. Menus change all the time, new restaurants open constantly, and their owners are looking for any tiny advantage that will help them avoid the usual fate of new restaurant ventures. Menus that sound great can be one of those advantages.
| 101 MENUS | Restaurant owners are looking for any tiny advantage that will help them avoid the typical fate of new restaurants. Menus that sing can be one of those advantages. |
Get This Gig: Menus
Where Do I Start?
Do a little reconnaissance work. Visit a bunch of restaurants and make notes about their menus, including possible suggestions you’d make for improvement.
Who Do I Contact?
Once you’re done, dressed in your professional duds, personally visit each of the restaurants whose menus you feel could stand improvement, and ask to speak to the owner. In one minute or less, introduce yourself, provide your business card, and mention with a smile and a friendly tone that you happened to be dining there earlier in the week, noticed an area of two in which the menu might be worked on, and, as a professional wordsmith, would be happy to lend a hand if he’d like.
What Do I Charge?
Don’t talk cost during that initial conversation. If and when you receive a phone call or e-mail, say something like, “Thanks for getting in touch, Mr. Joseph. I’d be happy to take a look at your menu. Would you like me to send you an estimate for this work?” If you get a positive response, have a look at the menu and determine a quote you think is worthwhile to you and within the appetite (so to speak) of your potential client.
GRANTS
There are always many people, groups, and companies looking for extra cash flow to help achieve their immediate and long-term goals. This extra cash can sometimes be found in the form of government grants, bursaries, subsidies, or endowments, all of which require applications that typically include lots of writing.
| 102 GRANTS | When trying to win a grant of, say, $10,000, most organizations will be happy to invest a few hundred dollars for the skills of a professional writer. |
Get This Gig: Grants
Where Do I Start?
It will be difficult to know which companies are aware of, or applying for, which grants, so simply include “grant writing” as one of the services you name in your introductory communication. It’s the kind of thing that stands out, so if a company happens to receive your letter at the same time they’re applying for a grant or considering doing so, you’ve established a strong starting point.
Who Do I Contact?
Send your letter to both the company’s human resources manager and its accounting manager or CFO.
What Do I Charge?
You may be required to do significant up-front work getting to know the company and the specific reasons it needs—and, in the sponsoring agency’s eyes, deserves—the grant. In addition, some applications are quite brief and simple, and others quite long and involved. As always, ask as many questions as possible at the outset in order to fully understand expectations on both sides—then quote whatever you think is fair plus 20 percent.