Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

I know, I know--I've been woefully absent from the blogosphere again. My apologies. These last few weeks have been very eye-opening and a little scary, but luckily, I think my worst days are behind me.

I am happy to report that I've gotten a bit of my writing mojo back. I've landed a few more assignments and am reaching out to editors (both those I've worked with in the past and a few new markets) with gusto. See what happens when you finally get out of your own way and just decide to push forward?

I've also been scarce because it's simply been too hot to sit in front of the PC longer than necessary! (And no, I'm probably one of the few people on this planet who does not have a laptop. Yet.) Like most of the country, we here in the Northeast have been at the mercy of temps that have pushed 100 degrees for the past few days. (Last Wednesday and Thursday it was over 100 here, which is highly unusual). On Friday I wrapped up a short little project, sent it off, and skedaddled for the comforting chill of the A/C in various places (had a lot of errands to run). Let me tell you, being able to take the afternoon for myself really does not suck! However, it left a nice long "to do" list for me to tackle this week. Luckily, the temps are supposed to be a little more tolerable this week, so I have no doubt that I'll get my various items crossed off in no time.

How about you? Have the steamy temperatures affected your productivity at all lately?

Life as a Freelancer: Week #1

Today officially wraps up my first full week as a FT freelancer. Spoiler alert, however—I am still looking for a full-time, non-freelancing job. I certainly hope my writing projects will come flooding in, and I have a few articles on tap (plus I’ve been sending out LOI’s like a crazy lady), but I have to face facts that a writing business can take some time to build, and I really like my cable TV and electricity, so I might have to head back to the grind sooner than I’d expected.

BUT—I’m happy to say that my first week has gone pretty well. My fellow work-at-homers were right: it is hard to establish a schedule and stick to it…not to mention getting others to respect it, too. I’ve had to run out due to various appointments, but I was able to wrap up a long-lingering article and sidebar today, and I’m planning to start lining up some interviews for a few other articles I’ve just been assigned.

Last night my business partner and I attended a networking event and handed out a lot of business cards. We made some pretty good connections, so we’re both hoping this leads to some projects.

I had a rough few weeks leading up to my last day at the job, and I’m definitely still grappling with moments of pure panic, but I’m trying to power through my fear. I’m trying to focus on my writing projects and see every day as a new opportunity, but it’s hard to break my usual habits of worrying and over-thinking everything.

How is everything in your writing world?

No Time? No Excuse!

I’m the first to admit that I’m a busy person. My schedule is pretty unforgiving, but since I mostly bring it on myself, I can’t blame anyone else. I work some downtime into the calendar, sure, but usually at the expense of time I could’ve used to do work.

And not just writing work, either. My projects have taken a backseat to my grad class and the comp class I’m teaching at the community college, so most of my “free” time has been spent reading, writing papers, grading, or prepping for my next few weeks’ worth of classes. In between all of that, I work full-time and am president of my local writers’ group. Besides all of my presidential duties, I write and edit the group’s newsletter and we’re in the thick of planning our spring conference. Any time left over is for writing/interviewing/querying, hanging with the b.f., friends, and family. Oh, and reading. Jam-packed? You betcha! Do I ever think of ditching what I truly love (writing and teaching) for the sake of some extra time? NO! I've just simply learned to make it all work.

I’ve gotten used to buzzing through my weeks at a killer pace, so when I stop to think about everything I accomplish in a week, it’s sometimes mind-boggling. So when I hear people say, “Eh, I don’t have time to sit and write”, it makes me so mad! Okay, so the only missing element of my schedule that many other folks have is kids, but my b.f. has a son and the three of us spend a lot of time together, so in a way, I do have that, too. And I make it work. The assignments get done, the queries get sent, and the payments come in. I feel that if you truly love something, you’ll make the time for it.

Where do you make the time in your day to write?

Hugging My Deadlines

Most writers design their whole work schedule around their respective deadlines, whether it’s something due daily, weekly, or a one-time assignment due in several weeks. Most writers that I know agree that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to be effective without deadlines—even if we have to set them for ourselves.

I’ve never missed a deadline (although I admit to asking for an extension a few times), and I usually like to be a few days ahead of schedule. A few weeks ago I was working on a beast of an article that required several interviews, changes, and additions, and it occupied most of my week, and I somehow managed to complete it a full week ahead of the due date. They’re the ideal situations, but as most of us know, unforeseen circumstances can pop up at any time and make finishing a piece a real challenge.

I was working on another piece that seemed to have no end in sight. Again, I wanted to interview several folks, and working around schedules can be difficult. After numerous messages, unanswered calls, and rounds of phone tag, before I knew it, I was staring my deadline straight in the face and was nowhere near finished. Somehow—no doubt there was some divine intervention involved—I was able to connect with 2 folks for much-needed quotes late Friday afternoon, which meant I spent all day Sunday writing to get the piece finished in time for my Monday deadline. Whew! I felt a little bit like a college student pulling an all-nighter—not normally how I like to work, but I got it done and that’s the bottom line. Despite our best efforts and no matter how much we plan, sometimes we do wind up going right down to the wire. I have a few more pieces in the works, and trying to get as much of a jumpstart as I can now to keep this from happening again.

What about you? What do you do to prevent last-minute cram sessions? Even the best of us face one of these now and then—how do you handle them?

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?

On Turning Down Work

This is a bit unbelievable to me, but I’m finally at a point where I’ve had to pass on writing opportunities twice this week.

Now, I should add that at least one request was from a company I work with writing regular online content. The work is divvied out weekly, so I can always just pick up more next time or another week. I’m finding that’s the nice thing about a regular gig that includes other writers—there always seems to be someone able to pick up the slack should you need them. The other opportunity was writing a few blog posts in only a few days. I’ve accepted these tight assignments before, and though I prefer a little more time to complete them, I’ve always been able to hunker down and get them done (even with a raging sinus infection where I could barely sit up). But this time—well, I had to decline.

I passed on both of these things because I’m working on larger assignments that are much more time-consuming. One article is a rather long feature on various businesses, so I have to do quite a few interviews for the piece, then turn those interviews into workable text. I’m basically chaining myself to the PC to get as much of it done as possible. I’m also coming up on deadlines with a few other larger pieces and, well, I just felt that the regular assignments will be there next go ‘round.

However, I totally surprised myself because I rarely turn down any kind of writing opportunity that’s offered, no matter how small or what the pay might be (although I did turn down a non-paying gig a few months back). Part of me thinks that if I don’t say yes to whoever is asking, they’ll never ask me again, and I don’t want to turn down any opportunity that might lead to more work, or even something semi-regular. But this time, I just had to say no. And you know what? I feel pretty good about it!

How often do you say “no” to opportunities? How do you weigh your decision on what to accept and what to decline? If you’ve turned down work once (rates and nature of the project were great, you were just too maxed out at the time), were you approached by the same person for other opportunities?

Balancing Writing and a Day Job

A few writers are lucky to work at the craft whenever they want. For the rest of us who haven't been able to make the leap yet, we first have to put our time in at an outside job before we can come home and get back to our real work. Time management is important to any effective writer, but for those of us who have limited hours to spend pounding the keys, it's even more crucial.

This semester I had the added weight of my teaching gig, which was a real challenge. I had to hit the ground running since I was offered the job on a Friday afternoon and would start the following Tuesday! I had no idea what I was doing, and tried my best to keep up, but I had many late nights over the last few months where I wondered what I'd gotten myself into and when would I ever have time to get back to writing?!?

But I made it, which just goes to show that it does pay to be organized. Here's how I've been able to juggle everything--my methods may not work for everyone, but maybe they'll give you some ideas of how to manage:

Make the most of any, and I mean any, spare time. I'm talking nights, weekends, early mornings, and yes, even downtimes at work (or if you're totally swamped the entire day, use your lunch break wisely!) And don't forget days off (yes, that might even mean a holiday now and then.) That's time that you could be spending researching, querying, or doing some actual writing. Even if you only get to email that query, it still counts as productivity. (Obviously, never use your work email address for writing-related business, but you knew that already.) Early weekend mornings are my prime writing time, followed by weeknights. But really, I squeeze in some writing time whenever possible. I prefer a solid chunk of time to get bigger assignments finished, but will make the most of whatever time I can get.

Make friends with your to-do list. If you don't have a to-do list (and I don't know many writers who don't), it's time you started one. Or two. The list might seem a trifle overwhelming, but as most time management experts will tell you, start with the smaller, less time-consuming tasks and work your way up to the more demanding projects. Also, invest in a good planner. Or two. I can't seem to have enough calendars. I carry a "master" planner in my purse with all of my commitments listed, but decided to get a second one just for my writing-related activities.

Cut back if necessary. I had to scale waaaay back on my querying and didn't pursue many projects besides my regular monthly columns. Between my new teaching gig and the full-time job, I have to admit my writing projects took a backseat over these past few months. In a way I was glad that so many editors were slow to respond--it gave me the chance to focus on the other things. I have a few assignments on my plate over the next few months, but can see it slowing down again once the spring semester starts.

Conduct interviews via email whenever possible. There seem to be writers who are very pro-email interviews, and the others who are staunchly anti-email. I do prefer the face-to-face interviews whenever possible so I can capture the sense of a place or a personality, but sometimes in-person meetings just aren't possible. One of my favorite assignments from the past year was a straight-up interview with an author and forensic psychologist. The editor encouraged email communication, and she was only too happy to "talk" over email, as well. All I had to do was add some transition material so it sounded like more of an actual conversation and spice up my intro, and boom! A finished piece. I also try to schedule phone interviews with folks as late in the day as possible (some are OK with evenings; others, not) or, better yet, in another time zone so I can call them at my convenience.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I hated to cut back on finding new assignments (especially now that I've gotten better at actively seeking markets and finding new story ideas!), but there came a point where I simply had no choice. I was swamped between my various projects, my job, and still trying to have some semblance of a real life--besides wanting to spend the very needed "quality time" with my boyfriend, that laundry won't do itself, nor will those bills get paid on their own! So I had to let the writing projects slide for awhile until I could get back to them. You just have to set priorities and get as much work done as you can without sacrificing the other parts of your life.

What other tips would you share with part-time freelancers?

Time Management for Writers

One of the biggest challenges that writers face is simply finding the time to sit down and, well, write. In fact, ask a group of wannabe writers why they haven't started the process and the majority of them will say, "I don't have time."

This could very well be the case. Demands of a spouse, kids, job, church activities, or any other volunteer commitments definitely put a strain on our schedules. But if writing is truly what you love to do more than anything, you'll find the time to fit it in between your other commitments.

I admit that I don't have many of the demands that most writers have. I'm single, have no kids, and I have a job that I leave behind at 4:30 every day--I don't have the type of job where I need to bring work home or put in extra hours at the office. But I do have a full-time job, go to grad school part-time, serve as president of my local writer's group, and have to fit in interviews and research time for articles and projects in between all of that. Oh, and there are those family events and alone time with the b.f. that I like to include, too.

But it can be done, even with a jam-packed schedule. Below are a few tips to help you say "I don't have the time to write" a bit less often.

• Work backwards from your deadlines. If you're already churning out articles, try to get a definite deadline from your editor. If they don't have set deadlines (and some don't), set one for yourself and notify the editor when you expect to have the piece finished. This way, you're obligated to both the editor and yourself to put in the time needed to get the piece done. Set a timeline for research, interviews, and actual writing time working back from the deadline you've established so you leave yourself enough time to get each stage completed. You may feel less overwhelmed or stressed, too.

• Develop a daily or weekly to-do list. This practice above all others has helped me stay on track with my goals and commitments. If you have more than one project going on at a time, work on them a little at a time. Include tasks for following up with editors, emails to sources, questions about photos, etc.

• Set aside some time each day to write. Even if you can only spare an hour, make the most of it. If you work better in the early mornings, get up a bit earlier to get some tasks accomplished. I find that I get a lot of little things (emails, etc.) finished around 10 p.m. I prefer early Saturday and Sunday mornings for my actual writing time, and find that I feel this great sense of productivity all day! If you have kids, steal some time when they're napping, at their friends', or otherwise occupied.

• Cut what you can out of your schedule. If you have kids and are used to chauffeuring them here and there, maybe you can work out a carpooling schedule with another parent. Or maybe you can arrange for a baby-sitter for your kids one or two nights a week. Look at your various volunteer activities--are you devoting as much of yourself as you can, or are you simply spread too thin as it is? Perhaps you need to reduce your time commitments, or just need to say "No" more often. You'd be surprised how much time saying "No" a little more frequently will free up!

• Make the most of lunch breaks. Since I share an office, and work in fairly close quarters with the rest of the staff at work, I'm limited with my time during the day. This makes for tricky business when I have to schedule interviews or talk to folks during the workday. I do my best to schedule phone interviews during my lunch break, when I can have some time out of the office. As a last resort, I email questions to my sources. I much prefer face-to-face interviews, but obviously, geography is often a huge obstacle. As most writers will agree, the majority of interviews are done over the phone.

How do you manage your time when it comes to writing? Do you get it all in?