Steph Auteri

Your Online Platform: A Checklist of Website Essentials

8

Nov

I'm in love with my website. Is that conceited?

Earlier this year, I blogged aboutÂ whether or not an editor would judge you if you didn’t have some sort of online platform. (Short answer: Yes.)

Since then, several clients have asked me for help in overhauling their own professional sites.

Which can be difficult. A website is a very personal thing. There’s no one right way to do it. It’s up to you to surf the web and bookmark examples of websites you like, making notes on what works and what doesn’t, and drawing up wish lists of your must-have features.

It’s also up to you to figure out what message you’re trying to convey (unless, of course, you hire a branding consultant).

What I can do is provide freelancers with a handy checklist of the basics they should include on their professional site.

1. A landing page. This is your storefront, the first thing that web surfers, assigning editors, and hiring managers see. Because of this, you need to convey instantly what you’re all about, letting the viewer know that he or she is in the right place. How do you do this? With your header. With your content. And sometimes even with your color scheme (color and pattern can be a great way to convey personality). If you’re not sure what, exactly, you’re looking to convey, ask yourself:

Who am I targeting with this website?
What action am I hoping they’ll take?
What do I have to offer?
What emotion am I trying to convey?
What is my life purpose, and how can I present it in an easy, bite-sized, elevator speech-type way?

2. Your contact info. And please, make it obvious. A web user shouldn’t have to conduct an exhaustive search in order to email you. What if they want to give you money for something?? Don’t make them beg.Â Place the info in the sidebar and, for good measure, have a separate “contact me” page with a contact form. And for something extra impressive, you can register for a Gmail address that features your personal domain name right here (and sometimes through your hosting service).

3. Social media buttons. I’m going to assume you’re active on Twitter. Or LinkedIn. Or something. Because it’s in your best interest to engage in social media in some way. Right? Right. So make it easy for people to find you on those other sites, too. Place social media buttons in your sidebar, perhaps close to your contact info, and throw that info onto your contact page as well.

4. A bio. Your landing page will give viewers a basic idea of what you’re all about. An “about me” page will go deeper. Include a personal bio. A company mission statement. An origin story. People like to buy from people. Help them get to know you.

5. A mailing list opt-in form. It’s always a good idea to cultivate a mailing list, even if you don’t plan on using it right away. In the future, it can act as a publicity tool. A sales tool. A way to survey your readers. A way to disseminate breaking news. That mailing list is power.Â (You can sign up for mine over in the right-hand sidebar Mailing list and e-newsletter services like MailChimp, AWeber, and Constant Contact make popping a sign-up form onto your website easy.

6. A list of your services. Let’s return to that question you asked yourself above: What action do you want viewers to take? Do you want clients for your copywriting services? Ghostwriting collaborators? Speaking engagements? No matter how you choose to do it, make sure it’s clear to viewers what they can hire you for.

7. Some sort of portfolio. It’s not enough to tell people what you do. They’re going to want to know if you’re any good. They’re going to want to know if you’re experienced. They’re going to want to know why they should hire you. Portfolios come in all shapes and sizes, but what’s most important is that you showcase your best work, and that you focus on the work that most closely reflects the work you want to be doing more of.

8. An intuitive navigation. As mentioned above, you shouldn’t make people work to give you their money. Make sure you have a clear and simple navigation that immediately makes sense to those surfing your site, and that it repeats on every single page. Viewers should be able to easily get to whatever the hell page they want to, from whatever the hell page they’re on.

9. A blog (optional). This one’s optional, but I’m going to include it on this list because I think it’s a good idea. Why? A blog gives people a reason to (regularly) revisit your site. It establishes you as an expert in whichever topic you choose to blog about. It acts as a standalone portfolio, highlighting your writing ability. It shows editors you can write for the web. And if you’re worried about the time commitment, know that frequency doesn’t matter. Being regular does.

This is a bare bones checklist. What other web-related questions do you have?

Filed Under: checklist, marketing, professional, website

How To Harness the Power of NaNoWriMoâ€¦ All Year Long

4

Nov

By Steph Auteri

We’re just a few days in to NaNoWriMo, and the tweets and motivational blog posts are already flying fast and furious. Not that I’m participating, mind you. I’m not a novelist, and all of my attempts at “fiction” back in college were thinly-veiled, totally emo personal essays (as were everyone else’s). But I can’t help feeling envious that fiction writers have a month like this, during which they can go all in on that large project they’ve been daydreaming about for eons, a built-in support network (and hard-core accountability) just an email or dedicated forum away.

Of course, I get my motivation and accountability elsewhere. My writing partner, Lyz Lenz, sends me threatening emails every week.

But what about the rest of you? Where can you go to ensure that your writing goals are met, thanks to a mix of motivation, camaraderie, and abject fear?

1. For those of you who have trouble updating your blog on a regular basis (shut up; I was doing very, very important things… okay, I was tweeting and surfing Etsy), there’s NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month (also in November). You can check out the BlogHer site for writing prompts and badges and then dive on in, secure in the knowledge that, at least for one month, you were on top of things.

2. If your November is just too damn busy (with Christmas shopping), there’s always Michelle Rafter’s WordCount Blogathon, in May. Check out Michelle’s Blogathon page for all the ways in which participating can help you build your biz.

3. And of course, those are just two of the more well-known ones. You can search for blog carnivals within your specific niche at this handy-dandy online directory.

4. If you’ve got your blogging covered, however, and would rather concentrate on content you can create for actual money, I highly recommend Freelance Success‘s twice-a-year Query Challenge. For the brief period of time in which I was a member of this professional writer’s group, I found the Challenge to be its most beneficial resource. Participants were split into teams and pitted against each other, earning points through queries and LOIs, and through the assignments that resulted from them. Team members had to report their points once a week, and team rankings were sent out in the weekly e-newsletter. There’s nothing like some healthy competition (and the fear of letting your teammates down) to make you sweat.

5. Then there are those sites and applications that target your writing productivity, and that can be used year-round. 750 Words is one such resource. It’s a site on which users aim to write at least 750 words a day and, for their troubles, receive points for their progress, and stats about what they’ve written (such as their most productive times of day, their quickest entries, their most common topics, and their most frequently used words).

6. Finally, if extreme terror is the most effective form of motivation for you, there’s always Write or Die. I’m afraid to use it, but rumor has it that, if you don’t reach your writing goals for the day, this application send you a threatening email, announces your failure to the entire Twitterverse, erases your hard drive, and makes your coffee pot malfunction.

Just kidding.

Write or Die tracks your writing and, if you pause for too long, you either a) receive a gentle reminder pop-up, telling you to stop being such a goddamn slacker (gentle mode), b) are subjected to an “unpleasant sound” that only ceases if you continue writing (normal mode), or c) are forced to watch your writing unwrite itself (kamikaze mode). Note: I am afraid to use this app.

7. Of course, you could always use mini goals, rewards, self-imposed deadlines, and good, old-fashioned self-discipline, but where’s the fun in that?

Any of you guys have an app or non-technical trick that keeps you at your keyboard?

Filed Under: accountability, application, blog carnival, blogathon, motivation, nablopomo, nanorwrimo, productivity, query challenge, Resources, write or die, writing

Didnâ€™t Get It Done? Thatâ€™s Your Own Damn Fault

1

Nov

By Steph Auteri

Things that distract me:

- my cats
- an opened bag of Candy Cane Kisses
- music that is particularly peppy
- the knowledge that there is an unwatched episode of The Sing-Off on my DVR
- the dust I just noticed on the far edge of my desk
- a sink full of dishes
- Etsy
- my sudden obsession with yoga bolsters, brightly colored jeans, or illusion necklaces
- Twitter
- etc.

This past weekend — at a time when I was supposed to be working on the first chapter of my book so that I could get it to my writing partner by Monday — we lost power (along with hundreds of thousands of others on the east coast, thanks to a freak October blizzard). Okay, fine, I thought to myself. I’ll give myself a pass. My laptop will die in under two hours anyway.

Then, on Sunday night, the power came back on.

By Monday morning, however, Internet had still not been restored. “Ooh!” I said to my husband. “I’ll take this opportunity to write that chapter without any distractions!”

I then proceeded to spend the next few hours watching Project Runway,Â playing Spider Solitaire, and checking email on my phone.

Here’s the thing: Even without the typical distractions, we will create them. Because sitting down and starting something is hard.

So don’t complain about all the distractions at home. Don’t say you couldn’t get your book done or your business started up because of this or that or oh my god my cat needs snuggles!

Sit your ass down and let it flow.

It won’t flow all at once. It won’t come easy. But if you work hard at clearing out the cobwebs and pushing past the crap, it will come eventually.

Need help? Here are some tips and resources I’ve blogged about in the past:

Also, here are some fantastic apps for eliminating the number one distraction in your life: the Internet.

What’s worked for you when it comes to sitting your butt in the chair and forging on, despite distractions?

Filed Under: distracted, distraction, motivation, productivity

Why Itâ€™s Totally Cool If My Kids Skip College

20

Oct

By Steph Auteri

I have a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, despite myself.

I mean, there was never a question I would go to college. After all, it never occurred to me that any other path was available.

But I started out studying journalism at the College of New Jersey. I became disenchanted and discouraged by my choice of major. I fell into a depression after both the death of my grandmother and the end of an abusive relationship. I dropped out of college with the certainty that I didn’t need it to be a writer.

Which was true, but I wasn’t sure how to go about making money. I ended up in a crappy retail job, at which I lasted for two months. Is this all I’m capable of without a degree? I asked myself, horrified. It wasn’t, but I didn’t know that. I ended up at Emerson.

After graduating, I was lucky enough to get a job within two months (though not in my field). I was miserable there, and felt relief when I was laid off after six months. A year later, I had my feet planted firmly within the publishing industry. Finally. I was content… for awhile. But I soon realized I had no interest in working my way up the corporate ladder. I wanted to create. I wanted to be my own boss.

And so I made my circuitous way to the here and now, where I’m a happy, and pretty well-balanced, business owner. I’m lucky enough to be one of the few people out there who has ended up making money in the field they studied in college. But I could have gotten here quicker. I could have gotten here without incurring debt. I just didn’t know.

Last weekend, I toted my copy of Michael Ellsberg’s The Education of Millionaires to my yoga/cooking retreat up in VT, where I devoured it during the free time I had between yoga and cooking classes. As I read, I found myself giving a silent hells yeah as Ellsberg gave voice to something I had always felt when it comes to academia.

“Despite sixteen years or more of schooling,” he writes, “most of what you’ll need to learn to be successful you’ll have to learn on your own, outside of school, whether you go to college or not.” He goes on to describe a scene that’s decidedly familiar these days:

“We now live in an age when it is likely that the person pouring you your coffee at the cafe in the morning has spent four years studying literature, or even business and marketing, in a degree-granting institution. That person is likely to be carrying tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, and more in credit card debt accrued in college, for the privilege of having studied to pour you your coffee with such literary and business acumen.”

I thought of my time on unemployment. A full year. I thought of how humiliated I had been to stoop to temp work, handing out food samples at donut shops and supermarkets. I thought of how my life might have been different if I’d aimed for entrepreneurship rather than employment. But the possibility had never occurred to me. That only came later.

Ellsberg goes on to advocate self-education over academia — a pursuit I’ve come to advocate heavily in the past five or so years –providing readers with a resource-heavy curriculum in the areas of networking, marketing, sales, and entrepreneurship. At the end, he describes the “education bubble,” exploring further why a single-minded reliance on academia may cause the bubble to eventually burst.

At the end, I’m both inspired and introspective. I feel validated. I think to myself: College and the corporate ladder aren’t the only options. and my future children will know that, and will be supported in whichever path they choose.

I enjoyed my time at Emerson. I developed as a person, and met people there who are still incredibly important to me.

But did college hold me back? Would I be even more successful now if I’d gotten an earlier start on the entrepreneurial path?

I’ve learned more in the past five years than I ever learned in the previous 26. This much is true.

What will you tell your children?

Filed Under: book review, career path, education, entrepreneurship, michael ellsberg, the education of millionaires

Youâ€™re Doing Great. You Should Give Thanks and Chill the Eff Out.

18

Oct

By Steph Auteri

In case you forgot, I was at a retreat this past weekend (neener neener). It was glorious, I didn’t have phone or Internet access, and I even found maple cotton candy while I was up there.

But I’m not here to gloat. (Or am I? J/K. Or not.)

I wanted to share something with you.

At the beginning of the retreat, we had a welcome ceremony, during which yoga instructor Erica Mather passed around a talking stick and asked each of us to answer a few questions. Among them: What are you hoping to gain from this retreat?

When it was my turn to speak, the talking stick shook in my hands. My eyes teared up. What was I looking for? I had been feeling a lot of anger and frustration lately, both from the continued lack of interest in our condo, and in my continued failure to get pregnant. I told the group before me that I was looking for calm.

At the end of the retreat — five yoga classes, five cooking classes, two hot tub sessions, a greenhouse field trip, a journaling session, and a s’mored up, drunken bonfire later — we passed around the talking stick again. What do you feel gratitude for? Erica asked us. What have you learned?

By that point, it was clear I’d received something much better than simple calm. I’m grateful that I was able to experience something like this, I told the group. I learned that I have a lot to be grateful for… so I should just chill out.

A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to take this trip. At the time,Â I was working a permalance gig, at which I was overworked and underpaid.Â I had also completed a career coaching certification program, but was failing to bring in clients, despite several contests on my blog, an e-course experiment, and a successful Word Nerd Networking event. I struggled to pay the bills, and was consumed by the thought that I was probably failing.

Now? I’m only two months away from eradicating the last of my credit card debt. The other month, I was able to splurge on a yoga studio membership. And this month? I was able to go on a mothereffing yoga/cooking retreat.

It’s just… wild.

It’s not Thanksgiving yet, but I don’t think it’s too early to give thanks for the circumstances that have brought me to this place:

I’m grateful my parents believed in me enough to lend me the money for my career coaching certification program. At long last, their investment appears to be paying off.
I’m grateful to my husband for spending many, many hours making my website pretty, setting up an e-course platform, giving me e-commerce capabilities, and more.
I’m grateful to the writing opportunities that have come my way as a result of the work I’ve done, and the people I’ve met.
I’m grateful to have learned my worth, learned how to negotiate… and learned how to walk away.
I’m grateful I was finally able to muster up the courage to cut that permalance safety net loose and, as a result, begin earning the money I deserve.
I’m grateful to the people I’ve met not only through work, but also through Twitter, Brazen Careerist, the YEC, and this blog. I love how we support each other.
I’m grateful for being able to find gratitude in the midst of the anger that has overwhelmed me lately.

I haven’t reached my full potential yet. Obviously. But I have a lot to be grateful for, and I need to remember that. I need to remember how lucky I am.

Have you been feeling angry lately? Frustrated. Anxious or scared or jealous or desperate? Your feelings aren’t invalid by any means, but ask yourself: What do you feel gratitude for?

Filed Under: gratitude, motivation

Spill It: Do You Unknowingly Waste Your Best Stories?

12

Oct

By Steph Auteri

Tomorrow morning, I’m heading up to Good Commons in Plymouth, VT, for a Revitalize Retreat organized by healthy travel organization Pravassa. I don’t travel (or unplug) often, and I’ve never taken a vacation alone. But I’m looking forward to daily yoga classes, and cooking classes during which we’ll prepare farm fresh meals. I’m looking forward to field trips to nearby sustainable farms. I’m looking forward to soaking in the hot tub, and stuffing my face with s’mores at the fire pit. I’m looking forward to spending quiet hours with my stack of books (Michael Ellsberg’s The Education of Millionaires, Elizabeth George’s I, Richard, and Karen Russell’s St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves), and to meeting other blissed-out, beginner yogis.

When I told my yoga instructor about the trip, he was all, “Cool! Are you writing about it!?” And then I hemmed and hawed and finally admitted to him that it hadn’t occurred to me.

But this is only half true. Another part of me had thought about it in passing, and had then decided that I wouldn’t be able to come up with a compelling story angle. Or that it would be too much of a long shot to sell a story that wasn’t about sex. And was it worth the effort? Wasn’t I supposed to be having fun? Unplugging?

I do this all the damn time. Not that my life is a non-stop party, but what about that casserole competition I enter every year? What about the traveling potluck I partake in? What about my very first trip to a fertility center, or my very first trip to a biker bar? Aren’t these story-worthy? Am I surrounding myself with wasted opportunities? Or should I feel okay about not mining every aspect of my life for my writing?

I guess I’m allowed to slack sometimes, but I feel as if it happens way too often. And considering how burnt out I can get on sex writing, I should probably branch out into other content areas. So what holds us back from writing about our outside-the-niche experiences, and how can we push back?

1. It doesn’t occur to us to write about that awesome, fantastic, one-of-a-kind experience, because it’s not work-related.Â

Our minds should always be open to new story ideas, and this means analyzing every experience and interaction with a writer’s eye. Show interest in others’ stories. And show interest in your own, too. Look through your calendar and ask yourself: What can others gain from this super-cool thing I just experienced?

2. We have trouble coming up with a unique story angle.

So I’m going on a yoga retreat. Big deal. Almost every other writer out there has come to make yoga a big part of their lives, and stories about the transformation they’ve experienced through yoga are a dime a dozen. There are even hybrid yoga/writing retreats! No one cares about my experience!

This kind of mindset is poop. Self-defeating poop. Examine your experience from every angle. What sets this one apart from others of its kind? Is there an interesting back story? Did you learn some counterintuitive lesson? Is there a how-to or Q&A that can grow out of this experience? Get creative. I mean, isn’t that your job?

3. We worry about venturing outside our niche.

This is also poop. Plus, I recently wrote about it! Revisit that post to learn more about starting from scratch in a new niche.

Am Â the only one who does this? Or do you regularly use new experiences to break into new niches?

Filed Under: brainstorm, spill it, story idea, writing

Are You a Typical Freelancer?

10

Oct

By Steph Auteri

When Thursday Bram approached me with the idea of a post exploring the idea of the “typical” freelancer, I was intrigued. I’m of the mind that there’s no such thing as “typical,” that the best freelancers carve out their own, unique path, and that a successful freelance career can look different to every freelancer. But as Thursday points out, beginning freelancers often want to know the right way to do things. They’re desperate for answers. So what does the typical freelance path look like? Thursday — a full-time freelancer and the co-founder of Â Enhanced Freelance, a membership site for freelancers ready to up their game — has your answers.

“So, are you a typical freelancer?”

The question honestly threw me. It came from a woman who was considering becoming a freelancer herself, who was trying to figure out what she needed to make the leap.

I told her no, explaining that I started freelancing in high school, continued (along with some odd jobs) through college and went full-time right after graduation. I didn’t know a lot of freelancers who hadn’t had a solid nine-to-five for quite a while.

But the question got me thinking. What’s the typical career path of a freelancer? Is there a right way to do things that guarantee that, when you’re ready to strike out on your own, you get it right?

There’s a lot of standard advice that seems to point to a “right” way to freelance: You’re supposed to take a decent enough job that will let you get established and earn some money. You’re supposed to start taking on freelance work on the side, building up a killer portfolio and a client list that keeps you busy every single hour you’re not in the office, along with a nice fat savings account. And then, when you’re about to collapse from the workload, you’re supposed to quit your day job â€” probably negotiating to keep your ex-employer as a client â€” and freelance full-time.

The problem is that while I know a handful of freelancers who followed that route, they’re something of a rarity. It’s definitely not what I did. It’s not the path taken by anyone who decides to freelance so they can stay home with the kids. It’s not what happens to someone who gets fired and starts freelancing so there’s still money coming in. And, it’s really not what happens to anyone who gets fed up and tells the boss where to stick it on the way out the door.

Once you’ve gotten started, the question of where your freelance career can take you gets complex. For many of us, the goal is first and foremost to build up a list of clients that pay us a lot of money â€” but just how much is a lot can vary. There are freelancers who make six figures a year just from client work. That route requires choosing high-paying clients and work. But because most of us bump into the fact that there are literally only so many hours in the day that we can work, there are a lot of other paths that freelancers take:

Â Teaming up with other freelancers to create an agency
Subcontracting out work and building a team of your own
Creating products that answer some of your clients’ questions
Building products based on your expertise in other areas

The different routes a freelancer can take are endless. The only one that I would recommend against is not moving forward at all. It can take some trial and error to find the right approach to freelancing for your personal interests and priorities, but the alternative is just picking up work as you come across it. That approach can make you money but it can also let you stagnate. Don’t be the freelancer who doesn’t make a change in her career for years at a time.

Filed Under: career path, freelance

How to Start from Scratch with a New Niche

27

Sep

By Steph Auteri

This is a metaphorical lump of dough.

Like any good love affair, even a thriving writing career can get into a slump. And by “slump,” I’m not referring to the lean times in your typical feast-or-famine cycle. I’m referring to a successful business that — for some reason or another — you just feel bored with.

You know the feeling: Every targeted press release seems to say the same thing. Every forthcoming book you’re offered for review seems to have the same premise. And when your favorite sex toy purveyor offers you the latest and greatest vibrator with all the bells and whistles, you just feel meh.

While your niche may once have been a passion (and perhaps still is), it doesn’t seem to leave room for all the new interests in your life.

But is it worth it to switch gears? Will food editors be interested in a piece from a veteran health and wellness writer? Will tech editors care what the go-to sex columnist has to say?

I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago. Way back when, after stumbling upon an internship creating adult content for a personals site, I threw myself into the sex content niche for very personal reasons. I was interested in exploring sex positivity within the contexts of feminism, sexual dysfunction, and past abuse.

These days, I’m cool with the sex writing, but it’s not all I am. I also sing funeral masses. I love hoop dancing. I’m addicted to yoga. I’m a disaster in the kitchen, but I love cooking, too. I go wine tasting with my husband. And I’m a crazy cat lady.

Gee whiz. It sure would be fun to write about those things, too.

And I can but, in order to succeed, I need to take a lesson from those days when I was just starting out. Luckily, while I may — for the most part — be starting from scratch, I still have one of those pre-made crusts to work with. (Too much? Too corny? To hell with it.)

Step One — Research New Markets:

As has become pretty apparent here lately, I have a new hobby. It involves doing headstands and acquiring a hot ass. I’m also into dance-based workouts like belly dancing and hoop dancing, have been doing callanetics for 12 years, walk wherever I can, read books like French Women Don’t Get Fat and The Flex Diet, and enjoy cooking things from scratch. So why the hell does my writing only focus on sexual health?

Wanting to rectify that, I recently took a field trip to Barnes & Noble and picked up copies of Om Yoga & Lifestyle, Yoga Journal, Women’s Health, Fitness, and Whole Living. I flipped through the magazines, bookmarking the masthead, making note of the story layouts, and familiarizing myself with the various magazine sections. I asked myself: What story could I write to fit this publication?

If you’re considering a new market, you should do the same. Visit your local bookshop and browseÂ the magazine racks. Check out mediabistro’s How To Pitch series, which allows you to search publications by category. Search sites like Alltop by subject matter, or scour the blog rolls on popular blogs. And of course, there’s always the good old Writer’s Market.

Step Two — Expand Your Network:

You have 1,981 followers on Twitter. The entire Internet knows about your experience with the Sexerciseball. At this point, all the “how to boost your libido” blog posts and mythology-based erotica essays are coming to you. But you know what’s not coming to you? Anything that’s not about your vagina.Â Obviously, you need to expand your circle in new directions.

Use sites like LinkedIn or Twitter to find contact info for the editors at your new dream magazines. (And while the mediabistro How To Pitch articles may not be up to date in terms of contact info, you can always use them to snag a magazine’s email format and then pop in the latest names on the magazine’s masthead.) Send these editors LOIs (letters of interest), or ask them if they’d be up for an informal chat about their experiences within a niche. Tell them you’d love to hear more about what they’re looking for. (I’ve landed many lunch invites this way.)

Or connect with other freelance writers who are active in a subject area you’d like to expand into. Having a strong freelance network is key for swapping tips, clips, stories, advice, and sometimes even important contacts. I never would have written about my cats for Petside, for example, without a tip from a fellow freelancer writer. The site just wasn’t on my radar.

Finally, attend networking or industry-specific events. As a sex writer, I’ve attended my share of dating blogger happy hours and dating site parties. Do your homework and see if the writers in your new niche are doing something similar. Or attend those professional conferences in order to make valuable industry contacts or gain inspiration for future stories. For example, if you’re looking to break into Psychology Today, check out Psychotherapy Networker to see what’s what in the world of the mind.

Step Three — Start Small:

Despite being a total sexpert, I once wrote the Ultimate New Jersey Wine Tour for a regional magazine based upon the strength of my pitch alone. And I’ve written a roundup on fitness classes that make you laugh for a newer, regional magazine. While it helped that my query letters were kick-ass (more on that in the next step), the fact that I was aiming for regional — rather than national — markets was probably also a factor. Oftentimes, the smaller publications are far more willing to take a chance on new writers.

So if you’re having a hard time getting in the door at the major glossies, pretend you’re building up your portfolio all over again and aim a bit lower.

Step Four — Wow Them With Your Letter:

I’ve raved about the importance of a strong letter in the past. And I’ll do it again. When you’re lacking clips in a certain niche, a strong query letter can showcase your writing ability, spotlight a brilliant idea, and act as proof that — despite the skimpy portfolio — you’re the best writer for the job, whether because of expert contacts, personal experience, or certified expertise.

Step Five — Don’t Discount Your Prior Experience:

This is where that pre-made crust comes in. (And I always cheat by using the pre-made crust though, in this case, I think you’ve earned it.) Â Basically, even though you’re a newbie to the niche, you still have a leg up by being an established, professional writer. What does this mean? It means that you have a proven track record of producing Â brilliant content under deadline. It means you know your way around an expert interview, and rock the house at research. It means you have an already-existing readership. It means that you’re worth those professional rates.

So please. For the love of god. Don’t shortchange yourself. Realize that if you did it before, you can do it again.

And p.s. Don’t be a wuss. Always negotiate for higher rates. You’re worth it.

Filed Under: career path, clips, niche, portfolio, starting over, writing

Want Freelance Success? Watch Your Health

22

Sep

By Steph Auteri

At the beginning of June, I started ghostwriting an ebook with a very aggressive timeline. I didn’t take on many other projects during that time, aside from a blog post here and there, and some copyediting work. I also didn’t take breaks for lunch. I stopped going on my afternoon walks. My topless living room yoga sessions became far less regular. And I ate a lot of takeout Chinese.

Finishing that project (the last of the edits were completed in mid-August) was like coming up for air. It was freeing, but I also felt burnt out and unmotivated. I lost all momentum. For weeks, I did the bare minimum, telling myself I’d get back in the saddle after “that trip” or “that holiday weekend.” But I never did.

Then I started making yoga a bigger part of my life* and, suddenly, I was able to jump into new coaching work, start singing funerals again, and write a book proposal. Magic? Not quite.

Yesterday, I had a free wellness coaching session with Linda Formichelli. I had previously only known Linda as a freelance guru and writing coach, but I was intrigued when she announced the launch ofÂ HappyFit Coaching.Â To me, it made sense to see her expand her business to include health and wellness. Why? Because incorporating exercise and other positive health practices into your work day is about much more than achieving optimal work/life balance.

In chatting with Linda about my love affair with yoga, I admitted to her that, aside from making me feel stronger, more balanced, and more toned (you should check out my ass), yoga has also:

helped me wake up in the morning, making the transition from sleep to work a lot less excruciating.
given me a much-needed break in the middle of the day, allowing me to come back to the computer screen feeling refreshed and ready to kick some ass.
stretched me out, which is great when you experience chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain from being hunched over your computer for the majority of your existence.
quieted my mind, which is nice when you’re stressing the eff out over late-paying clients, scope creep, deadlines, and life in general.
helped me get to sleep at night, which was previously impossible due to my inability to turn my brain off.

In short, being healthier made me a lot more productive.

Wouldn’t you like some of that?

Your own healthy habits don’t have to include yoga, but they should include activities that invigorate you, stretch you out, and give you an endorphin high. You should also eat nutritious meals (the pre-cooked chicken wings at the supermarket don’t count), so that you feel less horrifically sluggish, and you should make sleep a bigger priority. No more all-nighters, yo!

I’m not a health professional (which would be obvious if you ever secretly observed me), but I can point you toward some of the things that have inspired me to lead a healthier life.Â French Women Don’t Get Fat, for example, taught me a lot about mindful eating. And The Flex Diet – which isn’t actuallyÂ a diet — provided me with lots of suggestions for eating healthier and enjoying my workouts.

And if you can’t afford a gym or studio membership, no worries. I rent belly dancing, hoop dancing, and yoga DVDs from Netflix all the damn time. Oh. And walking is free. (Don’t ask me to run, though. I don’t go above a power walk.)

Have you been giving your health short shrift? Do you think it may be negatively impacting your work? What one health-related change can you make to your day in order to boost productivity?

*Why yes, I AM obnoxiously obsessed with yoga lately. I”m sorry. You’re gong to have to deal with it. I’l try to mix up the yoga mentions with photos of my cats.

Filed Under: balance, fitness, health, linda formichelli, productive, productivity, wellness, wellness coaching, yoga

Should You Add Ghostwriting to Your Freelance Toolbox?

16

Sep

By Steph Auteri

Just the other month, I asked if you write for the bucks or the byline. As someone who had stumbled into a fairly steady stream of ghostwriting and co-authoring work completely by accident, I wondered: Is my ego too big to give up the byline? Should I suck it up because the money is good? How do other people feel?

Then I decided, why not just add it to the mix? Because — as someone who juggles sex writing, career coaching, funeral singing, and (now) ghostwriting — I’m all about finding that perfect mix.

Of course, if I was going to be serious about this, there was only one person I could turn to: the lady who wrote the book on ghostwriting.

I had seen Kelly James-Enger’s name here and there throughout the Twittersphere, and knew her as someone who created helpful how-to content for other freelance writers. I had also started reading her column in The Writer magazine. When I realized she’d written the book on ghostwriting — Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer’s Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books – I knew it was bound to provide valuable insight into an area of freelance writing I had not yet fully explored.

She did not disappoint.

As with all my favorite how-tos, James-Enger really went into the nuts and bolts of how to make it as a ghostwriter. While many of the tips she includes throughout the book can be applied to other aspects of freelancing, this book goes beyond what you’ll find on the average freelance writing blog, providing, among other things:

descriptions of the types of clients who typically need ghostwriters or coauthors, and how to target them.
what to ask a possible client before negotiating your price, and signing on to the project.
what should be included in the ghostwriting contract.
actual examples of ghostwriting contracts.
sample pitch letters.
stories, tips, and examples from other ghostwriters.
additional resources.

By the end, it had earned a spot on my permanent writer’s reference shelf (which, at the moment, is a tiny drawer in my tiny desk; sigh).

And for those of you still on the fence about ghostwriting? Those of you who are still wondering if ghostwriting is a tool you should have in your freelanceÂ toolbox?Â James-Enger even includes a quiz to help you figure out whether or not this type of work is the right choice for you.

Ghostwriting: It isn’t for everyone, and that writerly ego can easily get in the way. But man I do love those paychecks.

Filed Under: book review, ghostwriting, goodbye byline hello big bucks, kelly james-enger, writing