The Article Writer

When I’m stumped for a writing idea or I simply want a change, my inspiration and relief oftentimes comes from my fellow writers. No, not with some local group who hangs out at a nearby coffee shop talking about their latest book project, but through my personal circle of writers who also happen to be bloggers.

Lately, I’ve taken the time to visit a number of these sites and am happy to see that mostly everyone is plugging away in the blogosphere while pursuing a freelance writing career. It isn’t an easy balancing act and I did learn on Lori Widmer’s Words on the Page that one of our colleagues quit blogging when her honesty was met by wrath by some of her readers. Tess Gerritsen decided to stop blogging instead of battling with her readership, not a decision that I would make, but I wish her the best.

Who wants to fight?!

The following are some of my most recent reads, duly noted:

• All right, I haven’t read all of Lillie Ammann’s ongoing Building Long-Term Client Relationships series, but I am a frequent visitor to her blog and will certainly see what she has to say. If you’re new to freelance writing, Lillie generously dispenses advice from her blog on a regular basis, in a mentoring sort of way, something that benefits me as well. Go to her blog and bookmark it — you’ll be a frequent return visitor as am I.

• If you have young children, then you understand the importance of reading to them. But, if you want your children to learn some very good habits — let them observe you reading too. Georganna Hancock passes on some sound advice shared by Laura and Jenna Bush — I like it!

• When I could use a chuckle or if I feel a bit impish, I visit Screw You! to see what Kathy Kehrli has to say. Never a loss for words (gotcha, Kathy) I can find out which bad client is being skewered and what Craigslist job posting is being hammered. I am sure Kathy is an excellent writer, but I am just as certain that if you get on her bad side you’ll be outed on her blog. Way to go, Madelyn Wattigney!

• You know that you are an “old person” when you tell a younger colleague or protege to “pay their dues” first before pursuing their dreams. Jennifer Williamson believes otherwise and shares her experience in this area. Kudos to Jennifer — there are many negative voices out there who do not want you to succeed or are jealous because you have the moxie to pursue something on your own terms.

• Are you a sheep or are you the shepherd? I’m not talking about a Christian analogy as I know my place — baaaaa! But, when it comes to your writing, do you lead or follow? I hate to say this but plenty of what I read online is rehashed material, a variation on what has already been said. I’m not against covering a subject ad nauseum, but my stomach churns when a fresh perspective isn’t offered. The guys over at Men with Pens articulate this point well, so check out what they have to say.

Now that I am inspired, it is back to the keyboard for me!

Q. How did you preserve your existing client base when you increased your rate?

I’m writing at $.03 per word. I’d love to reach $.05, but I’m fearful that my clients will chase cheaper services.

Did you have this problem? Would you be able to give me any insight about how you avoided/resolved it?

A. First of all, let me congratulate you on your choice of profession. Freelance writing is an enjoyable (and rewarding) job choice, not for everyone, but something talented writers should consider.

Secondly, my most noticeable rate increase happened two years ago and it wasn’t without much difficulty. Essentially, I quit writing for all of my lowest-priced clients and began pursuing higher quality, more lucrative projects. One very large, on-going project had recently ended while two others were done, but I knew they’d be interested in using me again in the near future. However, I was no longer interested in writing for them and quit accepting new work when offered.

Of course, if you want to keep your current clients and raise your rates, you can always ask them to pay you at the new, higher rate. However, since your current clients are looking for a bargain (and at .03 per word, that is what you are offering), they’ll probably look at the change to .05 per word as a 60% price increase and resist. In this case you have three choices:

1. Keep working for less money.
2. Drop your current customers.
3. Keep your customers until better paying opportunities come along.

I did lose quite a bit of money until I was able to make the adjustment, but I’ve managed to land several better paying opportunities, including a pair of ongoing magazine gigs which is the direction I planned on going eventually. I’ve been writing about my favorite topics, cars, a lot lately which also helps because I’m excited about my work instead of feeling as if I have to produce work on subjects which aren’t of much interest to me.

Finally, when you do get to the point of having a name for yourself, you’ll be able to cherry-pick projects as they come along. Sure, I work my tail off for my customers, but I also want to produce work that satisfies me. It has taken me three years to get to this point, but I like the direction that I am going.

Best wishes to you in all of your pursuits.

This just in: women really enjoy reading The Article Writer blog. At least women here in the U.S. do.

All right, perhaps I’m interpreting something different about the survey released by BlogHer/Compass Partners, the people who conducted the 2008 Social Media Benchmark Study. But the survey reveals several things about American women and the way that they approach the blogosphere: they like it a lot.

According to the survey, 36.2 million women actively participate in the blogosphere every week with 15% posting an article to a blog at least once each week and 21% reading and commenting to blogs weekly. Most interesting of all, more than 40% of the women surveyed consider blogs to offer a reliable source of information and advice for them. Shockingly, when it comes to things that women would give up for blogging, 20% would give up chocolate to keep up with blogging (can this be true?!)

The survey cited an increasing lack of trust in established institutions as one reason why women enjoy the blogosphere. Many women distrust the government, corporations, and the media and enjoy blogging to discuss topics that are important to them including which household products to choose, the presidential candidates, and the ungrateful guys in their lives (I threw that one in ). The study has shown that blogging is all about relationships — for women participants, in this case.

As far as us guys go, we weren’t surveyed but I know that there are a few things that we would never give up for blogging. I’m thinking about NASCAR — what did you have on your mind?

Photo Credit Matthew Bowden.