Got Karma?

Karma as defined by Dictionary.com means an action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, either good or bad.

I’ve been thinking a lot about karma lately. It all started over Thanksgiving weekend. We were visiting my in-laws and someone in the family had just won money off of a scratch off lottery ticket – not millions or anything like that, but a couple hundred. Everyone was making fun of him because after he won, he proceeded to tip very, very generously at the bar. In response to everyone making fun of him, he shrugged and said winning is all about good karma.

Along the same lines, my in-laws are
avid gamblers. They regularly visit casinos and they nearly as often win, which they then proceed to share their winnings generously with family. Quite often my husband and I will get a random check in the mail because they wanted to share their latest winnings with us. This has lead me to put a lot of thought into how some people seem to be so lucky, they just have that “good karma” thing going on. I want good karma.

Even my husband is fairly lucky. Unfortunately, not in the lottery sense, but he always manages to get promoted while others are being let go and things always seem to go his way when he needs them to. I’ve studied my husband for long enough to realize that good things happen to him because he is a good person. He never has anything bad to say about anyone, he is always willing to help someone in need and in general he is very accepting and kind to everyone. He gets this from his family. The reason for their luck comes down to the fact that they are just such good and nice people. When they are in a bind, people really are willing to help them out, when they want to play the lottery, the universe smiles on them because it knows that half of it will end up in the pockets of someone who needs it more.

I’ve been trying to apply good karma to my writing life. I volunteer on committees. I offer to help friends and family with things like their resumes free of charge. I go the extra mile for all of my clients. I try to offer what advice I have to give to help other writers. And, I have to say that getting clients, getting referrals and keeping clients has come way easier to me than I ever thought it would. Could this be karma? I don’t know, maybe I do have good karma after all. What is your experience with karma and the powers that be?

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

If I had my choice, I would never leave my comfort zone – that place where I can work happily along every day without ever having to feel the least bit nervous or awkward. But, nothing is ever that easy. Over the past year, freelance writing has really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone on a daily basis and while going there is often nerve racking to say the least, going there is essential to improving myself as a writer and businesswomen. Here are five ways I’ve had to step outside of my comfort zone:

Talking about money. I hate discussing rates and giving quotes. I am always worried that I will quote a client too high and they will run for the hills never to be heard from again, or I will quote too low and then I’ll be unsatisfied with what I’m making. Either way, talking about money is terrifying to me, but in this career it’s completely unavoidable.

Following up. A close second to discussing money and rates is following up. This I find myself doing for a few different reasons.

• First (and I’m lucky, I’ve only had this happen once or twice) is following up to get paid. You know those clients who you do the work for and then wait weeks to get paid. To me following up to ask for money is almost as bad as quoting my rates. It’s awkward, but completely unavoidable.
• The second scenario is when I have to follow up after quoting my rates or when I do work on spec and hear nothing back. This too is awkward, but if I have learned nothing else, I have learned that persistence is a key to success in this field.

Cold calling/emailing. I know that I won’t get work unless I put myself out there in many different ways. That being said, cold calling makes me nervous, I’m always worried about saying the wrong thing or sounding stupid. When I cold call or cold email a business I always try to think to myself: What’s the worst that can happen? So they might say no, but they could also say yes. Or they could say no, but remember me a few months down the road when they need a writer. Or they could just say no and I can move on to someone else. No big deal

Saying no. Okay, this one probably sounds weird, but I am a yes person. I don’t like disappointing people. However, I have come across some really bad offers while looking for writing gigs. A potential client offering to pay me a whopping $2 per 500 word blog post – no way will I even consider that, but it’s still awkward saying no.

Writing on topics I have no experience in. I like a challenge, so I tend to take on challenging work and often that means stepping out of my comfort zone. If I’m not experienced in a topic, I’m always afraid that I’ll come off seeming like I don’t know what I’m talking about. But you know what? That has never happened. With good research, I’m learning I can write on almost anything. Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous with the unknown.

Like it or not, I can’t deny the fact that most of what I’ve learned has come from stepping out of my comfort zone. The comforting part is that the more I step out my comfort zone, the easier these things become, and while I may not ever be completely comfortable discussing rates or asking for payment, it is getting easier. I know that no matter how nervous or awkward I feel, it’s worth it in the end.

When do you step out of your comfort zone?

Lacking the Creative Juice

I haven’t been posting here regularly, I know. The reason is I’ve been busy – not just busy but overwhelmingly busy. I hate using excuses, but with the holidays and this being my first year as a full-time freelance writer, I’m finding it hard to do everything and be everywhere at once. I have also been pushing myself to work a little bit extra at the content site I write for in order to make additional money that will help with all the gift buying.

I am very thankful that I have the option to take on extra work, that I have been blessed with landing two new clients this month and that I’ve been given a big project by a current client. However, in all this rushing around (I was literally in three cities in two days at Thanksgiving!) I have realized that being overwhelmed is not good. Yes, having a lot of work is great, but a lot of work and too much stuff going on is causing me lose my inspiration and my creativity – so much so thatI haven’t even been able to think of a topic for this blog.

So what am I planning to do about this? Well, no one said this career would be easy and this is definitely one of the harder times I have experienced, so I may need to work a little harder this month. I’m going to try to get up an hour earlier every day and perhaps spend some extra time on work at night. I’m also going to turn down a few holiday party invitations to stay home and just relax with my husband. I won’t be volunteering to bring a dish to every party that we do go to and I may cut out making cookies for all of my neighbors.

As far as my writing inspiration goes, I’m looking into creative exercises now. I’m thinking of scheduling myself some time each day to focus on creative exercises, writing about what I want to write about and doing other inspiring things like reading my favorite blogs. I haven’t been keeping up with my favorite bloggers and that bothers me because a lot of my inspiration comes from them.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is feeling pressed for time and as a result uninspired around this time of year. What do you do to combat the holiday stress and manage to stay inspired through all the chaos?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I feel like in the past few weeks I have been pulled in a thousand different directions. Aside from the coming holidays, things in general have just been really busy. Not that I’m complaining – I’d rather be too busy than not have enough to do. Unfortunately though, that means that my personal blogging has fallen to the wayside. I do want to get back to more regular blogging here, but for now, I just want everyone that reads this blog to know that I am truly grateful for having met all of you and for the encouragement that I get from you. Soon I will be back much more regularly. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

What I’ve Learned from Freelance Writing

When I decided to leave my full time job, I thought I had made a very planned out, informed decision. I had saved enough money to keep me going for six months. I had researched what jobs I could do, the type of clients I could take, how much I should charge and more. I thought I knew everything I needed to know. Boy was I wrong. After almost six months of freelance writing full time, here is what I’ve learned:

• I will never know everything.
• This is one big roller coaster ride with huge highs and incredible lows.
• Accounting and book keeping take up a lot of time and is a lot more complicated than I thought.
• There will never be enough time in the day to do everything.
• Other writers are so nice and always willing to help out.
• Being by myself all day is hard.
• Making big decisions by myself is hard.
• Success directly depends on how hard I work.
• Success is what I believe success is.
• The small things should be celebrated.
• I shouldn’t get my hopes up until a contract is signed.
• There are many good people out there, and just as many bad.
• A livable wage means learning to go without some things.
• Some people will never understand what I do, no matter how many times I try to explain it.
• Opportunities are out there, I just have to find them.
• There are so many writers out there.
• It’s easy to be disciplined when I get to wake up every day and do what I love.
• Not every project is something that I love.
• I now know what other writers meant when they said you have to have a thick skin.
• I thought I had worked hard in the past, but I have never worked harder than I do now.

With everything I’ve learned and am continuing to learn, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love what I do. I love being my own boss, setting my own schedule and working hard to overcome challenges. I know that I have so much more to learn and that my journey may never be complete, but the journey is the best part.

Spec Work: Beneficial or Not?

Over the past two weeks I have been asked to do four separate spec pieces. Normally, when I get these requests I email the potential client and let them know that I don’t do spec work, the reason why and I send them some of my published clips. Generally, I don’t hear back. Ever.

My issue with spec work is that in the past when I have done it with no questions asked I have never heard back. Once, I even found that my spec piece had been used, without my permission or even my name and after repeatedly trying to get in touch with the company, I never heard back. Yes, I got burned. How does the saying go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…..

I’m not sure why all of a sudden there is a flurry of spec work requests but, here are some tips on how I handle these requests:

• Don’t do it if it sounds like they are asking for spec pieces from a bunch of people. You know those emails that start out “You’re in the top 20 candidates, to determine the best fit we are asking for…..”
• Always ask questions before you do any spec work. Clarify that your article won’t be used without your permission and get it in writing.
• If you can’t get in touch with the company about your questions, it probably isn’t going to benefit you to do the piece anyway.
• When a company asks for a spec piece just to apply for the gig, give a few sample paragraphs, but not a whole article. Explain why you can’t give a full article and direct them to samples of your published work.
• Follow your gut, if you have a bad feeling about it there is probably a reason.

I have not actually gotten a job off of a spec piece. Most clients that hire me look at my online portfolio and can determine if they want to hire me based on my published clips without needing additional writing. That being said, I don’t like to rule out opportunities, especially if it’s a gig I really want. I try to handle every request on an individual basis. How do you handle spec work requests? Have you had any luck with spec work?

Procrastination

Today was one of those days – I have several big projects for private clients waiting for me and I just couldn’t seem to get started. After messing around doing little chores around the house, playing with the dogs, running a few errands, it dawned on me that I procrastinate. Having never thought of myself as one to wait until the last minute, I started wondering why I am doing that now. I’m not lazy or usually distracted, rather what I think the problem is, is that I want to do such a good job on certain projects that I sike myself out. I will finally have a shot at a project that I really wanted or a magazine article that I know I can nail, but for some reason I freeze, get nervous and can’t produce – it’s like I’m afraid that my work won’t be good enough. And I’m sure I’m not the only one to suffer from this.

Here’s how it usually goes for me: First I put off that big project for a few days and spend my time working on smaller less meaningful projects. Then, when I finally designate a day to work on it, for the first few hours I mess around on Facebook or Twitter or like today I do things around the house that could wait until later. Then I start checking things like my eHow account, my bank accounts, my email (about 50 times in an hour) and so forth until before I know it half of my day is wasted and I still haven’t started said project.

What I have found is that after I waste a whole bunch of time and I finally get to work on the project, it goes pretty fast and I produce high quality work. The problem is just getting started. It’s like I have nervous energy that I need to get rid of before I can get down to business. Hopefully acknowledging this problem will help me work through it. While I have made massive improvements in my time management skills, I can’t make a living by messing around up until the last minute on the big projects. What do you do to stop from procrastinating?

Staffing Agencies

A new potential way to find work has, odd as it sounds, found me. Here’s what happened: I was online, applying for projects and I applied for one through what I now know was advertised through a staffing agency. The agency is a creative staffing agency that happens to be local for me. A representative called me and I have an appointment to go meet with a recruiter next week. I can’t really say much on if this will work or not, but I can say that initially when I hung up the phone I wanted to call right back and cancel my appointment.

Here’s the thing, I am a freelance writer, I charge a decent hourly rate, I work from home and I like (really I do) looking for my own work. One red flag when I spoke to the staffing agency was that most of their work is for on-site projects. This I’m willing to try only IF it is a job I really want to work on. So, right there we might have a problem. The second red flag was that they really didn’t seem to care so much that I have an online portfolio. Umm, when working with “creative” people and trying to help them find work, an online portfolio is pretty important.

However, aside from those two red flags, I’m very willing to give them a try. What can it hurt, right? Plus, I stumbled upon these two posts on staffing agencies: Why I’ve Lost Faith in Creative Staffing Agencies, by Susan Johnston over at  The Urban Muse and 6 Ways You Can Add an Agency to Your Arsenal of Work-Generating Tools by Jesaka Long over at a.k.a. Writer. They have further spurred my curiosity in staffing agencies.

Have you ever tried a staffing agency? What are your thoughts?

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Four years ago today, I wore a white dress and walked down the aisle while nearly 500 people watched as I said “I do” to the man of my dreams. In the four years that have followed, we have had much laughter, joy and tears, we have seen loved ones get sick and loved ones be born, we have endured financial difficulties, furloughs and career changes and not once have I doubted that we belong together.

He is calm and steady and keeps me grounded. He is collected where I can be completely scattered. He keeps me focused and makes me laugh. When I get caught up thinking that the glass is half empty, he is there to point out how it is half full. He is patient where I can be completely impatient. He is fun, exciting and adorable. He is my other half, the part that makes me a better person.

I never thought it was possible to love someone more than I loved my new husband on our wedding day, but today, I can truthfully say that in four years I have grown to love him even more. How lucky am I to have a man that supports all of my dreams and aspirations, who accepts me for who I am, and who so flawlessly accepted my need to change our situation in life in order to pursue my dreams? Here’s looking forward to another four happy years and the many new and exciting things it will bring our way. Cheers!

What happens when you depend too heavily on a content site?

I started my freelance writing career years ago with clients here and there, but if I’m really honest my writing career actually began earning me a livable wage when I began writing for several content sites. In fact, the work I was getting from several content sites allowed me to save enough money to leave my full time job in July and pursue freelance writing full time. As you can imagine, I have a lot of love for content sites. But this post isn’t about how happy I am with content sites, it’s more about how they can make you lazy.

Writing for several content sites gave me a base in which to grow my talents and my income. That being said, soon after I left my full time job one of the content sites I had been writing for dried up and eventually went away. Then I was left with just two – one that provided more than enough work and one that was hit or miss. I still write for both, but the one that was providing more than enough work has started to fade. Now all of a sudden, I have a slight problem. You see, part of my work load is in the form of private clients and part is from said content site. So what happens when this site doesn’t provide as much work as it once did? Well, I have been forced to re-evaluate and look at what I’m really working towards here. Do I want to work for content sites forever? No! That was never my intention, but the content sites have made me lazy.

I have always struggled with putting myself out there and finding more private clients. I would think to myself, why should I when I can make quick money writing for a content site? But the problem is that my work isn’t really being recognized – frankly, it’s not my best writing and it’s not like I am reaching for better by being stuck in the content site rut. Nor does writing for a content site give me much networking opportunities. What started out as my safety net has turned into the thing that is holding me back.

It has become very apparent to me in the last few weeks that while I have a steady flow of private clients, I haven’t been putting myself out there, I haven’t been networking like I should, I haven’t been searching for new opportunities and I haven’t been reaching for better. All because I can sit at home and churn out article after article for quick pay, but at the cost of zero networking opportunities, not many usable clips and no improvement to my writing skills. Plus, when those articles become less available, then I am left struggling to meet my income goals.

While content sites will probably never go away and I could probably find another one tomorrow that would supplement my income, I don’t want to rely on them anymore. I want any income that comes from content sites to be extra income – not depended on income. My solution? Tomorrow I start hitting the job boards again, I start networking more than I have been, I start querying magazines again and I put myself out there like I used to before I got comfortable and lazy working on content sites. My new goal is to fully support myself on private clients. I’ll let you know how it goes!