The Article Writer

Q. I am wondering if it would benefit me to join a writers association. Specifically, I think that connecting with other writers would advance my career and raise my visibility. What are your thoughts?

A. I haven’t joined a writers guild or association, but I’m not opposed to them. Therefore, I cannot share my personal experience with them and exactly what sort of benefit they could have for you.

I am familiar with the IABC — an association of business communicators whose members somewhat parallel the services that I provide. The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a worldwide organization, that seeks to provide a professional network for business communicators. The IABC throws a very wide membership net to include graphic artists, HR folks, and video producers along with all types of people who provide corporate writing.

I can see how a writers group can be beneficial especially if connecting at conferences, taking workshops and attending classes appeals to you. In some cases a writers association offers other tangible benefits, namely group health insurance coverage and other perks. You might also find that members share job or project opportunities not posted elsewhere, therefore by having your face and name “on the roster” could help you cross paths with people who can help you out.

At the very least, make sure that you have both a LinkedIn and Facebook account. I’m much more active with LinkedIn, but lots of business people are on Facebook, making it the preferred business networking site online.

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.

Q. I get hung up sometimes on my blogging writing style. Sometimes I feel as if I write too informally while other times I think I may be too rigid. Help!

A. If I understand you correctly you are experiencing the same thing that all good writers go through: you wrestle over your words. In my opinion, you may want to focus more on what you want to say rather then how to say it.

Writing styles have changed over the years — particularly everything pertaining to the web — and a much more informal style is acceptable. One of the benefits of the web is that it has gotten people to write again, something that had fallen into disfavor over the past few decades.

Will you always like what you write? No way. Strike a balance and write with style and flair, then move on.