No matter how long you’ve been freelancing, if you stay in the game long enough, there’s bound to be a time when you hit a bit of a rut. Though there’s plenty of work, there seems to be a lot of the same type of projects. Things are getting a bit stale and you could use some new challenges.
This could be a great time to step up your marketing efforts or take a look at those rejected queries. Can any of them be re-slanted, any of those ideas salvaged? Maybe it’s a matter of trying to get into new markets. Most of my assignments have been with regional publications, and although it’s great to share the stories of exciting people and places with the rest of the world, I’m always hoping to break into bigger markets with a larger readership. I’ve been taking the time to really add a “fresh” spin to my queries, with more of my own voice and writing style in them. For years I’ve been following the query-writing formula I learned at the very beginning of my freelancing days—though I’ve had a bit of success with that template, changing up how I approach my pitches is giving me a much-needed jolt of enthusiasm for my ideas, which I hope is coming across to editors.
The feeling of being in a “rut” can come from many things. It can be the type of work you seem to be attracting (“Another business profile? Yawn”) or it can stem from your approach to finding work—it’s not that you’re marketing or pitching, but it’s how.
What about you? What do you do to change things up and keep yourself from falling into a project “rut”?
Showing posts with label fighting burnout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fighting burnout. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Spring Cleaning
I spent last week on my own spring break, of sorts—although I was back in class, I’ve been struggling with a bad case of burnout, so other than my weekly column, a beast of an article that had been due on Monday, and my first project for a paying client (so you can see how I spent my weekend), I basically took the week off from my writing projects.
The time off was sorely needed, and I found myself taking a long hard look at the kind of work I’ve been doing. I made the conscious decision to cut back and not do more for the sake of doing more—as in, I think I can afford to be a little more selective with the type of work I’m taking on, and I definitely need to improve my time management. Having said that, I ceased and desisted on some regular work that I’d been doing for a few months. I was finding that the time I was spending on these projects was taking me away from my larger assignments, and cutting into my already very limited time. So I had to make some decisions. As writer Elizabeth Gilbert said, “I wanted to have a bigger, smaller life”, which I interpret as doing more with less, and having more meaningful experiences overall. This is how I want to approach my writing career, and I'm understanding how vital it is to do this. I’m at a critical point with my projects, and I want to make sure that I can fully devote myself to each project. Lately, I’m embarrassed to admit that much of my work has just not met the usual high standards I set for myself.
So, as we do this time of year, I had to weed through everything and see what was worth keeping and what was worth discarding. It’s been a very liberating experience. I managed to get a few larger assignments in the meantime, as well!
Do you do any professional “spring cleaning”? How do you determine what goes and what stays?
The time off was sorely needed, and I found myself taking a long hard look at the kind of work I’ve been doing. I made the conscious decision to cut back and not do more for the sake of doing more—as in, I think I can afford to be a little more selective with the type of work I’m taking on, and I definitely need to improve my time management. Having said that, I ceased and desisted on some regular work that I’d been doing for a few months. I was finding that the time I was spending on these projects was taking me away from my larger assignments, and cutting into my already very limited time. So I had to make some decisions. As writer Elizabeth Gilbert said, “I wanted to have a bigger, smaller life”, which I interpret as doing more with less, and having more meaningful experiences overall. This is how I want to approach my writing career, and I'm understanding how vital it is to do this. I’m at a critical point with my projects, and I want to make sure that I can fully devote myself to each project. Lately, I’m embarrassed to admit that much of my work has just not met the usual high standards I set for myself.
So, as we do this time of year, I had to weed through everything and see what was worth keeping and what was worth discarding. It’s been a very liberating experience. I managed to get a few larger assignments in the meantime, as well!
Do you do any professional “spring cleaning”? How do you determine what goes and what stays?
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