This fall I’ve cut way back on pursuing writing projects and am focusing most of my energy on education—I’m teaching an English class at my community college, and am back in the classroom as a student working toward my Master’s degree after a year off.
I admit I was a bit nervous about being a student again. It took some time, but I got into the groove of being the teacher. I was also worried about ultimately taking too much on and being overloaded with work. I’m happy to say that my workload is busy but manageable—so much so that I’m starting to send some pitches out again.
But the real surprise is how much more committed I am to my class this time around and how not-intimidated I feel by the course material and, yes, my classmates (I always think they have so many more brilliant things to say than I do!) And I think that at least some of this newfound commitment to my studies is due to my writing projects. Here’s why:
I’m more disciplined. I had a highly productive summer and spent nearly all of August hunkered down at my computer writing articles. I couldn’t afford to blow off work (which I’m ashamed to admit I did for many of my undergrad reading assignments) or not meet my deadlines. I find that I’m treating my assignments for this class just like any other writing project, so I’m making time for the reading rather than winging it as I’ve done in the past and making a genuine effort. By doing this I feel as if I’m actually getting something out of it.
Thinking of paper topics is much easier. As freelancers our lives revolve around stories—finding new ones, reslanting old ones, and making them sound impressive in our pitches. Writing academic papers isn’t all that different. Most academic papers are an in-depth discussion or analysis on an element of the reading, just as many magazine articles are a narrow focus on a broader topic.
I understand the material more. Perhaps this stems from interpreting Shakespeare for my college classes, or perhaps it comes from having to understand a topic enough to write intelligently about it. Perhaps it’s a combination of both. Whatever it is, I haven’t struggled with any of the reading too much yet this semester.
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel! I’m a few credits away from completing my Master’s, and I compare this with being in the home stretch of completing the article from hell (and we’ve all had ‘em). Whether it’s prickly subject matter, hard-to-reach sources, elusive editors, or simply not knowing where to begin, writing-wise, there’s a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when you wrap up a killer assignment. If I feel that proud of myself after successfully tackling an article, I can only imagine how I’ll feel when I finish my degree!
What about you? How has freelancing positively benefited you lately?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
How Critiquing Can Benefit Freelancers
We freelancers live in a bit of an insulated world—most of the time we’re alone with the computer screen, our thoughts, and perhaps a phone should the mood to communicate with others strike. Most of us are slugging through the ever-growing pile of work on our desks and in our inboxes—how can we possibly find the time to focus on our projects?
My schedule doesn’t lend itself to much editing—once I get the initial version of a project finished, I’ll let it sit for a bit then come back to do any last-minute tweaking or polishing. And as a nonfiction writer, my biggest concerns are having quotes correct, facts accurate, and an overall tone of a piece that sounds as though I have some knowledge of a subject. As I’m usually working on a fairly tight deadline, I haven’t had time to enlist the help of a critique partner or group to make sure I’ve done all of this. Other than occasionally asking my b.f. to read something and asking if it makes sense to him, I go it alone—researching, writing, and editing—and hope for the best.
And lately I’ve been wondering if I couldn’t benefit from a bit of critiquing for my paid assignments .
I’ve always thought of critique groups as something that can only benefit fiction writers. After all, it’s easy to edit and add and revise a story that may or may not ever see the light of day over and over again. But me, I have deadlines. I don’t have time. Does it sound correct? Then that’s all I want. “Send”. Done. On to the next project.
But I’m slowly changing my thinking. I’m participating in Steph Auteri’s “5 Weeks to Freelance Awesome” e-course, and like any other class, weekly homework assignments are included. Steph gives us feedback on each assignment, and although we’re only 2 weeks in, I’ve already taken her advice. I tweaked a query using her feedback and received a very positive email from an editor (not an official acceptance yet, but he said he liked the idea and would bring it to the next assignment meeting). Seeing as how this is a new-to-me publication (and a trade pub, no less, which I’ve been nervous about querying up til now), I was thrilled. Maybe there is something to having a reader with a fresh perspective offer feedback on projects. I’m eager to see if I land any other assignments by applying Steph’s comments.
What about you? Do you use a critique partner or group for professional projects?
My schedule doesn’t lend itself to much editing—once I get the initial version of a project finished, I’ll let it sit for a bit then come back to do any last-minute tweaking or polishing. And as a nonfiction writer, my biggest concerns are having quotes correct, facts accurate, and an overall tone of a piece that sounds as though I have some knowledge of a subject. As I’m usually working on a fairly tight deadline, I haven’t had time to enlist the help of a critique partner or group to make sure I’ve done all of this. Other than occasionally asking my b.f. to read something and asking if it makes sense to him, I go it alone—researching, writing, and editing—and hope for the best.
And lately I’ve been wondering if I couldn’t benefit from a bit of critiquing for my paid assignments .
I’ve always thought of critique groups as something that can only benefit fiction writers. After all, it’s easy to edit and add and revise a story that may or may not ever see the light of day over and over again. But me, I have deadlines. I don’t have time. Does it sound correct? Then that’s all I want. “Send”. Done. On to the next project.
But I’m slowly changing my thinking. I’m participating in Steph Auteri’s “5 Weeks to Freelance Awesome” e-course, and like any other class, weekly homework assignments are included. Steph gives us feedback on each assignment, and although we’re only 2 weeks in, I’ve already taken her advice. I tweaked a query using her feedback and received a very positive email from an editor (not an official acceptance yet, but he said he liked the idea and would bring it to the next assignment meeting). Seeing as how this is a new-to-me publication (and a trade pub, no less, which I’ve been nervous about querying up til now), I was thrilled. Maybe there is something to having a reader with a fresh perspective offer feedback on projects. I’m eager to see if I land any other assignments by applying Steph’s comments.
What about you? Do you use a critique partner or group for professional projects?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Fall Projections
I wrap up the last of my summer assignments on September 7. My plan was to give myself a breather from pitching stories unless a brilliant idea came to mind, or an editor sent a story my way that was too good to pass up. (Although, who am I kidding—I’ll take on just about any story that an editor would want to give me!) My plan was to focus on academics for the next few months, and maybe write an occasional article.
As usual, things aren’t exactly working out that way. It’s a good thing—I’m just trying to figure out how to fit it all in.
Let’s see. I’ve already been assigned a holiday assignment due in mid-October, was just greenlit for a feature story for a new-to-me publication, and am waiting to hear on another assignment I’d pitched a few weeks ago. And I can’t leave out a regular series of articles that another editor offered to me which are still in development. I sent an LOI over the weekend and (surprise!) the editor already got back to me. Luckily, they use freelancers and assign stories (a definite win-win if my idea well is running dry!), so that sounds pretty promising.
Most exciting of all—another freelance writer friend was approached about writing web copy for a gentleman who designs and builds websites (he’s planning to add web copy as an additional service)—and she asked me if I’d be interested in working with her. We’re in the process of working out the details of a proposal, but I’m really excited about finally starting to branch out in a big way.
So that’s what I have on my schedule for the next few weeks.
How’s the fall shaping up for you?
As usual, things aren’t exactly working out that way. It’s a good thing—I’m just trying to figure out how to fit it all in.
Let’s see. I’ve already been assigned a holiday assignment due in mid-October, was just greenlit for a feature story for a new-to-me publication, and am waiting to hear on another assignment I’d pitched a few weeks ago. And I can’t leave out a regular series of articles that another editor offered to me which are still in development. I sent an LOI over the weekend and (surprise!) the editor already got back to me. Luckily, they use freelancers and assign stories (a definite win-win if my idea well is running dry!), so that sounds pretty promising.
Most exciting of all—another freelance writer friend was approached about writing web copy for a gentleman who designs and builds websites (he’s planning to add web copy as an additional service)—and she asked me if I’d be interested in working with her. We’re in the process of working out the details of a proposal, but I’m really excited about finally starting to branch out in a big way.
So that’s what I have on my schedule for the next few weeks.
How’s the fall shaping up for you?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Q&A with Jane Porter
I'm very lucky to be speaking with Jane Porter, author of Odd Mom Out, The Frog Prince, and Flirting with Forty, among other novels. Jane's latest, She's Gone Country, has just hit the shelves. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons. Today Jane talks about writing, Texas, and her latest book!Q: Thanks for speaking with me, Jane! You’re certainly busy—writing Harlequin romances along with more mainstream women’s fiction. Do you prefer one over the other?
JANE: I don’t have a preference. I love them both and really enjoy having two different genres as it allows me to create very different worlds and very different characters. Going back and forth between the two has also made me a much better writer.
Q: In many of your books, your main characters are women facing a turning point in their lives—many of them are hiding their true selves from the world for various reasons. Does any of that come from real life?
JANE: Undoubtedly. I grew up the typical first born, good girl. I was a pleaser my entire life, feeling obligated to make everyone happy. What I wanted and needed was secondary to others needs. And while I don’t discount those needs now, I learned at forty that I’m important, too, and that I will never be happy if I’m waiting for others to be happy first. I realized there’s only so much one can do for others, and that I have to be responsible for my emotions and let others be responsible for theirs. This discovery allowed me to ‘find’ me and it started in The Frog Prince, continued in Flirting with Forty and the rest is history!
Q: Can you tell us about your writing routine? How do you power through those rough spots (aka writer’s block)?
JANE: I write pretty much every day, although when I finish a book I take anywhere from 2-4 weeks off. I can be a bit of a procrastinator now, too, but having a firm deadline goes a long way to keeping my tush in the chair!
Q: Your new book, She’s Gone Country, sounds like a lot of fun. You’re a California girl—what kind of research did you do to get the “flavor” of living on a ranch? Where did you get the idea for this book?
JANE: Shey is a character you see in some of my previous novels, playing a minor character role in Odd Mom Out and Easy on the Eyes, and her background was established from the beginning as a tall blonde Texan with a heart of gold. And writing about Texas is a natural for me as I’ve spent a lot of time there, and my mother’s father was a rugged Texan who had two Black Angus cattle ranches. He actually died on one of our ranches during a round up, and we still have the ranch in the family today. I think once you have that affinity with the land and a certain lifestyle, it just stays with you.
Q: What's next for you?
JANE: I’m just now putting together a proposal for a new series about an Irish-American family in San Francisco with four daughters. The stories will revolve around the Brennan sisters’ relationships with their families and each other. I’m really excited to be writing about sisters for the first time!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Revving Up the Writing Engine
Even with the fairly steady flow of assignments lately, getting started on a new project is not high on my list of favorite things. In fact, I’d be a little embarrassed to let people see an article in raw form—bits and pieces of sentences all over the page, notes to myself (things to look up, reminders to include a person’s title, statistics to double check, etc.), and even a rough outline to guide me as I write. Friends, here’s a trade secret—that article you’re reading in a magazine didn’t look like that when the writer first started working on it. That short little 800 word piece may have taken the writer hours (and many cups of their beverage of choice) to put together. It’s not pretty.
Much as I love landing new assignments, I loathe getting into “the zone” and getting started. Sometimes—but not as often as I’d like—a brilliant lede will come to me and the story will flow on its own. But more often than not, I rely on an outline to help me get my thoughts together and determine the final story. I’ve been a fan of outlines since college, and wouldn’t have much of a writing career without them.
But before all of that…I have to psych myself up to put butt in chair and write. Anything!
If I have a fairly long stretch of writing time ahead of me, I work on smaller projects just to get my mind working. I’ll typically work on my writers’ group newsletter, answer email, or put together blog posts. On a good day, by then I’m usually ready to tackle the work at hand. If I have my interviews ready and my outline in place, I’ll work on the final version for as long as I can. I’ll take a break every hour or so, or switch between projects if I feel myself getting a bit stale, but once I get into “the zone” and my thoughts are really clicking on a certain article, the time flies by. If I only have a short turnaround time, I’ll put together a fairly detailed outline so that the final story all but writes itself—I mostly fill in the gaps in my outline. They’re the best days. On not-so-great days, I’m struggling to put every sentence together. It happens. Especially if there’s been a lull between assignments. But I’m usually able to get myself back on track fairly quickly.
What about you? How do you psych yourself up to write?
Much as I love landing new assignments, I loathe getting into “the zone” and getting started. Sometimes—but not as often as I’d like—a brilliant lede will come to me and the story will flow on its own. But more often than not, I rely on an outline to help me get my thoughts together and determine the final story. I’ve been a fan of outlines since college, and wouldn’t have much of a writing career without them.
But before all of that…I have to psych myself up to put butt in chair and write. Anything!
If I have a fairly long stretch of writing time ahead of me, I work on smaller projects just to get my mind working. I’ll typically work on my writers’ group newsletter, answer email, or put together blog posts. On a good day, by then I’m usually ready to tackle the work at hand. If I have my interviews ready and my outline in place, I’ll work on the final version for as long as I can. I’ll take a break every hour or so, or switch between projects if I feel myself getting a bit stale, but once I get into “the zone” and my thoughts are really clicking on a certain article, the time flies by. If I only have a short turnaround time, I’ll put together a fairly detailed outline so that the final story all but writes itself—I mostly fill in the gaps in my outline. They’re the best days. On not-so-great days, I’m struggling to put every sentence together. It happens. Especially if there’s been a lull between assignments. But I’m usually able to get myself back on track fairly quickly.
What about you? How do you psych yourself up to write?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
A Freelancer's Education
I’m all about education this fall. Besides the classes I’m teaching and taking, I thought I’d give my freelance writing education a boost, as well. I signed up for the fabulous Steph Auteri’s first-ever e-course, 5 Weeks to Freelance Awesome. Though I don't know Steph personally, I think she'd be a hoot to hang out with. I love her irreverent and candid writing style (she blogs for YourTango.com and writes a sex column for The Frisky.com, and her writing can be found in a bunch of other places, too).
This is my first foray into taking any sort of class related to freelancing. I normally go for the direct approach and will email specific questions to certain freelancers, or contact them via Twitter. But that can only get me so far—I really want to learn more about successful self-marketing strategies, polishing queries, and breaking into bigger markets. The regional pubs have been very good to me and I’ve developed great working relationships with the editors I write for regularly, but I’m more than ready to take things to the next step, and I’m hoping this course will help me. Steph’s broken into some incredible markets, so if I’m lucky enough to see even a fraction of those results, the money spent will be well worth it.
What about you? How have you advanced your freelance education? What worked? What didn’t?
This is my first foray into taking any sort of class related to freelancing. I normally go for the direct approach and will email specific questions to certain freelancers, or contact them via Twitter. But that can only get me so far—I really want to learn more about successful self-marketing strategies, polishing queries, and breaking into bigger markets. The regional pubs have been very good to me and I’ve developed great working relationships with the editors I write for regularly, but I’m more than ready to take things to the next step, and I’m hoping this course will help me. Steph’s broken into some incredible markets, so if I’m lucky enough to see even a fraction of those results, the money spent will be well worth it.
What about you? How have you advanced your freelance education? What worked? What didn’t?
Monday, August 23, 2010
Back…Back…Back…Back to School Again
(I thought I'd kick off the week with a little Grease 2 reference).
Blogging has taken a major backseat this summer, especially over the past few weeks. I’ve had a blur of interviews, frantic writing sessions, and meeting deadlines. It’s been hectic since mid-July, with no end in sight.
I should warn that my posts will become more sporadic again at the end of August. I just can’t cram enough into my schedule. Besides all of the other things I have going on, I decided to get my Master’s degree moving again and signed up for another course. I keep telling myself that I’m in the home stretch—at the end of this semester I’ll only have 6 credits left until I have my degree!
How has the summer been treating everyone? As you can tell, it’s been one of my busiest, writing-wise, that I can honestly remember. July was my most financially lucrative month since I started freelancing, so I’m totally thrilled. I have a few more assignments due in the next few weeks and a few lined up for September, but with the way my schedule is looking, unless some totally fabulous assignment (or idea) falls into my lap, the writing will have to once again take a back seat while I spend most of my time in academia.
I’ve been working on some pretty great assignments and I have some other very interesting projects in the works, so I really can’t complain. The writing life is good!
How is your fall shaping up?
Blogging has taken a major backseat this summer, especially over the past few weeks. I’ve had a blur of interviews, frantic writing sessions, and meeting deadlines. It’s been hectic since mid-July, with no end in sight.
I should warn that my posts will become more sporadic again at the end of August. I just can’t cram enough into my schedule. Besides all of the other things I have going on, I decided to get my Master’s degree moving again and signed up for another course. I keep telling myself that I’m in the home stretch—at the end of this semester I’ll only have 6 credits left until I have my degree!
How has the summer been treating everyone? As you can tell, it’s been one of my busiest, writing-wise, that I can honestly remember. July was my most financially lucrative month since I started freelancing, so I’m totally thrilled. I have a few more assignments due in the next few weeks and a few lined up for September, but with the way my schedule is looking, unless some totally fabulous assignment (or idea) falls into my lap, the writing will have to once again take a back seat while I spend most of my time in academia.
I’ve been working on some pretty great assignments and I have some other very interesting projects in the works, so I really can’t complain. The writing life is good!
How is your fall shaping up?
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