Aug 17 2010
How to Reach Your Freelance Goals
Writer’s Digest has been putting out some really great articles lately. I loved this article by a fellow writer with the most excellent name of Perry P. Perkins. It’s a VERY nuts and bolts look at how you can make it as a freelance writer, with a good hard look at financial realities and tips on how to use Writer’s Market to expand your pastures and even come up with ideas.
One afternoon, while I sat staring at my monitor, I scribbled the following formula on a handy rejection letter (they make great scrap paper, you know):
(ei/ts) x x = gi
I know what you’re thinking: “Huh?” As a former straight “C” math student, I’m not usually given to scribbling equations of any kind. When we go out to eat, my wife usually has to figure the tip (that’s what happens when you marry a writer).
Still, I can add and subtract as well as the average sixth-grader, and I realized that if X number of submissions equals Y number of dollars, the easiest way to increase my income would be to increase my number of submissions. And thus the formula: TS stands for “Total Submissions.” This includes every written work and query I’ve sent off for possible publication in the last year, whether it resulted in an acceptance or not. EI is “Earned Income”: every penny brought in from my writing in the same period of time. And X is the factor by which I realized I’d need to increase my submissions to reach my Goal Income (GI). Put all this together, and you have a mathematical breakdown of any freelance writing career:
(Earned Income divided by Total Submissions) times X = Goal Income
Now, of course, the process of writing and submitting your work is not an exact science, but what this equation does is illuminate the overall average you need to hit to achieve your writing goals. The simple truth is, if you can produce quality work, then the only other factor you can control is how many paying markets you’re giving the opportunity to compensate you for that work. After “doing the math” I increased my average daily submissions from 2.5 to 15, and my sales figures exploded. Within 90 days, I was achieving my income goals.
Here’s how doing the math can work for you, too.
Read the rest of “How to Reach Your Freelance Goals” here. And leave some feedback — I know most of you write books. Have you considered branching into the freelancer’s world of magazines? Why or why not?
Thanks for posting this! Very helpful. :)
Hmm … that’s an interesting question about freelancing with magazines. I find it SO hard writing articles. Stories are WAY easier! And it takes me a long time to find a home for articles – finding a home and contacting the right people and … all that stuff! Deep down inside, I suppose I’m reluctant to give the time necessary to freelancing. Is that a shocking thing to admit? :) Also … I guess I prefer to present “lessons” in stories rather than articles.
Just curious … why is it that you DO embrace frelancing with magazines so fully? You find it easy writing articles? Or you like the presentation of artilces? Or … ? :) There’s no pressure to answer, but I’d love to read your thoughts!
Good question! I have a few reasons:
1. Message. Some things I have to say are simply better suited to article and magazine formats than they are to novels or other book-length works.
2. Platform and Networking. Writing articles is a great way to get my name out there and establish credibility in areas where I need it.
3. Financial. I write for a living, so I have to find ways to make it pay. Books comprise a very small part of my income. Most of my writing-related income comes from articles.
Wow! Those are all GOOD reasons … in my humble opinion! :) Writing isn’t my only source of income, which is sometimes frustrating but also freeing.
Okay … but here’s another question about #2. And please don’t think I’m criticising you – this is an issue I’m still thrashing out and you’re so honest about it here! :) You say that “… writing articles is a great way to get my name out there and establish credibility …” Do you ever question writing articles FOR THE SAKE OF getting your name out there and establishing credibility? I do have a couple of article / publishing options I can pursue, but I hesitate to do so because I fear that one of my motives for writing the inpsiration articles in question is that when one is published my blog stats go through the roof (by my standards! :) ) and I feel like I’m cheating my readers. Do you have a different perspective? Is this part of the writing deal and something a writer has to come to terms with somehow? Again, please don’t think I’m criticising you – and I’d love to hear your perspective if you’re willing to share!
Thank you … :)
Hi Elisabeth,
Again, great questions. And I’m glad you asked. I can hear where you’re coming from, but the answer is a resounding no :). Here’s why:
1. In any business and even in ministry, it’s necessary to get your name out and establish credentials. If you don’t, no one will know who you are. You are essentially introducing yourself to people — and if your calling is to reach out to people, it’s essential that you do so!
2. If you are offering your readers something of value, then there is no reason to feel that your mixed motives are negative. They’re not. You’re doing something that’s mutually beneficial. (God is very much about mutual benefit. If you study even the Scriptures on giving, you can see this pretty clearly.)
3. Most writers have trouble with “marketing themselves” and doing anything they perceive as commercial, but we need to change our mindsets. For a writer, marketing just means forming relationships — with readers, with customers, with book buyers, and with people who NEED TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. In my opinion, an author who doesn’t do the legwork to get themselves out in the marketplace is only fulfilling half a calling — sort of like a missionary who studies the Bible but doesn’t preach it.
Those are my two cents :). Feel free to ask more if you’re still wrestling with this — the mental switch has taken me a while, too!
I know this is SO old now – I’m sorry ’bout that, I’ve been out of it with a bug, but wanted to pop back and say thank you answering my questions. I REALLY appreciate that – AND what you say. All your points strike me as sound. Very sound. I understand your point about only partly fulfilling callings if we only partly share the messages we’ve been given to share. I think part of my “problem” with this is that I’m tempted to doubt the relevence or vitality of the message I’ve been given to share. I don’t want to be arrogant and assume that everyone “has” to hear it … NOT that I hear THAT spirit in your words! But I also don’t want to be like the guy in the parable who stuck his talent in the ground – he didn’t have five, but he did have one and his master expected him to use that one as wisely as he expected the other guy to use the five. Maybe I’m feeling convicted … ? And if I am, the time it takes to write and publish an article (and for me it takes FOREVER!) isn’t a waste of time but part of the serious business / ministry of writing – of sharing the message. Argh!!! Okay. Anyway … seriously … thank you for all this – it’s great! I’ll let you know if I think of any more questions … :)
Glad this is helping you! You’re right that not everyone needs to hear your message. But some people do. Your task isn’t to make sure everyone hears you, but to the be faithful to the message God has given you. Part of that faithfulness, as you’re recognizing, is making sure the message gets into the world.
It’s kind of like meeting people. Not everyone you meet will become a friend or play a significant role in your life. But if you don’t make an effort to reach out to anyone, you’ll end up passing over the significant ones along with everybody else.