Freelance Writer and Social Worker

5 Important Lessons I Learned Writing for Content Mills

Over the years, content mills have gotten a bad reputation, and it's not all undeserved. They pay rock-bottom prices. Much of the material they publish is inaccurate or just plain incomprehensible, they stifle any glimmer of creativity shown by their writers, and they value quantity over quality.

That said, I'm not ready to grab a torch and lead the townspeople to burn down the nearest content mill. I actually started my writing career working for content mills. They have helped pay off my student loans, sent me on more than one fabulous vacation, and helped me keep my utilities on when cash was short.

Although they're no longer my bread and butter, I'll still zip over to one of the mills and churn out a few articles if business is slow.

I would also be remiss if I did not give content mills credit for five of the most valuable lessons I've learned as a writer.

1. Writing quickly. I used to be a slow writer who agonized over making each word perfect, but when you're racing a six hour deadline, it doesn't take long to replace perfect with "eh...good enough." Now I always pound out my first draft as fast as possible, often within a matter of minutes. Of course, my first draft is not my last draft, and revisions can be a painstaking process, but at least I've learned how to get my initial thoughts down on paper where I can play with them and reword them to my heart's delight.

2. Writing plainly. When you document in a medical chart, you say a patient "ambulates." When you write for a content mill, you say she "walks." I once got into an argument with an editor about whether or not I had used a word correctly. "I found it in the dictionary," I emailed. He shot back, "You don't understand. Our readers don't want to have to go to the dictionary." Point taken. I made the revisions he requested.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Combining Work and Play

January 19th was my birthday, and a friend and I were lucky enough to snag tickets to a concert featuring two of my favorite theater stars, Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. The last time these two lifelong friends appeared onstage together was when they played Eva and Che, respectively, in the Broadway run of Evita.

If I've listened to the Evita soundtrack once, I've listened to it a thousand times. Just ask my poor parents who had to hear it, too. I've probably got the only mother in the United States who wishes her kid had been into death metal!

Just being in the same room with those two magnificent and familiar voices gave me shivers. And okay, I'll admit it, when Patti LuPone hit the last note in "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," I teared up.

I expected the duo to be fantastic, and they were. Based on their reputations, I expected them to work their tails off to put on a brilliant show, and they did. What I didn't expect was that they would have so much fun. Although the songs were utterly amazing, my favorite moments were the ad libs, the gentle back-and-forth teasing, and the shared smiles and looks which spoke eloquently of a friendship lasting more than 30 years.

Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin not only put on a once-in-a-lifetime show for their audience, they clearly enjoyed every minute of it. That was what made the concert truly magical.

Defending Your Work Day as a Freelance Writer

"It's so great that you don't have to work," one of my friends told me recently. "I feel like I can just call you for anything."

I had mixed feelings about that. Of course I want my friends to see me as helpful and reliable, but I hadn't realized I "didn't have to work." In fact, I could have sworn I'd stayed up until 3:00 A.M. just that morning to help one of my many clients finish a last-minute editing project.

I know I'm not the only freelancer who runs into this dilemma. Many of the writers I know who work from home report that their friends and family members feel free to call, drop by, or ask them to run errands during the days.

These same people, of course, would never dream of barging into a brick-and-mortar workplace with similar demands.

So, what can you do if your loved ones treat you as though you don't have a "real" job?

These suggestions may help.

1. Commit to working a certain number of hours. Right now, my goal is a 50-hour work week: Eight hours Monday through Friday with half days on the weekend. I allow for some flexibility, for instance, if I have a daytime appointment, I might work a half day on Tuesday and a full day on Saturday, but the 50 hours is non-negotiable. Knowing that I'm accountable for those hours makes it easier to plan my time and set boundaries.

2. Practice saying "no." No is a word that doesn't come easily to most women and many men. We've been told that it's wrong to appear harsh, uncompromising, or perhaps worst of all, indifferent to the needs of others. When we do say no, we try to sugarcoat the message with excuses or promises of assistance in the future. The truth is, when you can't do something, it's okay to say no and leave it at that. Stand in front of the mirror and practice saying, "I'm sorry; I won't be able to help you with that." Keep saying it until the words come naturally.

3 Reasons Why Writers Miss Deadlines...And How to Stop Doing It

When I first started freelancing, a friend of mine who had been in the business for years explained due dates to me: "They're called deadlines, because dead is what your career will be if you miss too many of them."

Now, I'm certainly not saying I've never, ever missed a deadline, but keeping my friend's advice in mind has ensured that I don't miss them very often. I've also acquired a few clients who told me that they had ended working relationships with other freelancers because they were chronically late when it came to turning in their projects.

If you have a problem with missing deadlines, it's likely that one of three things is going on. See if you recognize any of these reasons:

1. You're procrastinating. Procrastinating means deliberately putting off tasks that you know must be done. People procrastinate for a variety of reasons including dislike for the project at hand, fear of not doing the work right, hope that someone will step in and do the project for you, and addiction to the adrenaline rush that often accompanies postponing a job until the last possible moment.

If you're a procrastinator, you need to make your calendar and your "to do" lists your very best friends in the whole world. As soon as you receive a new assignment, look it over and break it up into small, manageable chunks that are not at all intimidating. Then, schedule time to complete each chunk. Plan to finish your project a couple of days before the actual deadline, just in case you run into unexpected complications.

This method may feel unnatural the first several times you try it, but after a few successes, you'll wonder how you ever muddled along without it.

7 Secrets of Stellar Customer Service

Winning new clients can be expensive, exhausting, and time-consuming. While writers should never stop their marketing efforts--doing so is a one-way ticket to eating cat food if your regular streams of income run dry--it's always nice to have as many repeat customers as possible.

The best way I know to earn repeat business is to provide five-star customer service. After all, most people won't go through the hassle of finding another provider if they believe they're already getting the best.

What does stellar customer service look like? Here are some ideas.

1. Respond promptly to inquiries. In the electronic age, the old cliche, "You snooze, you lose," has never been more accurate. I've found that if I don't respond within a few hours of receiving an inquiry, my would-be customer has usually already tracked down another provider.

2. Get the facts. Ask your prospect lots of questions to make sure you fully understand the scope of the project as well as your client's expectations. If something seems unclear, don't be embarrassed to keep asking in different ways until you get an answer that makes sense. Most clients won't be in the least annoyed by your questions. They would rather give you a lot of information at the beginning of the project than have to request extensive revisions on down the road.

How to Handle a Bad Review

If you write for any length of time and if you allow others to see your work, it will happen--you'll get a bad review. I've had editing and coaching clients call me practically hysterical because their books got a one-star rating on Amazon. I've also felt the pain of poor ratings and criticisms that seem unfairly harsh.

My knee-jerk response is to quote one of my favorite Clint Eastwood lines, "Opinions are like a**holes. Everybody has one."

But bad reviews can cut deep, and it's a good idea to develop a strategy for handling them with grace. The following ideas have worked for me.

1. Acknowledge your feelings. Share your pain, anger, and disappointment with someone you trust, or pour your feelings out to your pet or your journal. Some people find that physical activity like taking a brisk walk or rearranging the living room furniture can help to discharge painful feelings.

2. Don't retaliate. One of the worst things you can do is flame the reviewer or leave an angry or defensive message on the reviewer's blog explaining why the review was unfair. You won't change the reviewer's opinion of your book, and you'll make yourself appear childish and insecure in the eyes of others.

Don't Waste Time When Work Is Slow

Have you ever noticed that the freelance life is either feast or famine? Sometimes, you're trying frantically to balance 20 clients at once as that vaguely-remembered state of consciousness called sleep becomes a distant memory. Other days, you can't pay someone to give you a gig.

When the slow times come--and they will--don't declare a vacation and party until the work starts trickling in again. Instead, use the time to strengthen and build your business to minimize the financial impact of dry spells in the future.

Here are five ideas to get you started.

1. Market, market, market.

Try cold-calling, warm-calling, email campaigns, direct mail campaigns, and tapping into social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Take out a paid ad through Google or Facebook. Go back to your client list and touch base with the people you haven't heard from in a while--nothing high-pressured, just a short email that asks how they're doing and lets them know that you're still available to take on projects. I've even been reduced to going around town and leaving my business cards and brochures at any business with a community bulletin board.

2. Catch up on the business end of things.

If you've been letting the business end of your freelance career slip, now is a great time to get caught up. Send all those invoices you've been putting off, and follow up with non-paying clients. Now is also a good time to get a simple accounting program and enter your business's expenses and income. Granted, it doesn't really make for a good time, but think how pleased your accountant will be with you.

7 Benefits of Setting Goals

A popular quote among the self-improvement crowd, typically attributed to Zig Ziglar states that if you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time.

Most people can see the wisdom in this, but many still put off setting goals and memorializing them in writing. "I know what I want," the say, "so why bother with all that goal-setting crap?"

I know what they say, because I used to be one of the people saying it. But since I've become a fulltime freelance writer and editor, I've found myself being won over by the whole idea of setting specific, measurable, action-oriented, reachable, and time-limited (SMART) goals.

Goal-setting has several advantages.

1. It separates your intentions from your wishes and dreams.

T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, one said, "All men dream, but not equally." We all have things that we'd kind of like to do, but not badly enough to work to make them happen. Then, there are those dreams we would do anything to make come true. You can make these dreams your goals--your intentions--and figure out the steps you need to take to make them come true.

2. Goal-setting gives you an end point.

If you've ever been on a road trip with a small child, you know that the four most annoying words in the English language are, "Are we there yet?" When we don't set specific goals, we put ourselves in the same position as a bored, travel-weary child. We don't know when we're getting close to our destination, and we don't know when we've reached it. Suppose, for instance, your goal is to reduce your weight. Would you be "there" if you lost half a pound? Probably not. "I will weigh 135 pounds by March 31, 2012," lets you know exactly where you're going and how close you are to getting there.

Freelance Writers Need Vacations, Too!

This December, I reached another milestone in my writing career. I took a vacation. Granted, it wasn't a very long vacation, but from December 22 through December 26, I didn't write a single word...unless you count shopping lists.

The time away was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries. I spent the time with my parents and we laughed, talked, exchanged stocking gifts, watched holiday movies on TV, and even sang Christmas carols (not my dad). Did I mention that I didn't write a word?

I have to admit, though that the whole vacation concept was just a little scary for me. What if a rush job came in and I missed it? What if all my clients jumped ship and found other writers or editors?

To alleviate these fears, I took a few proactive steps to carve out the time I needed for myself; since I didn't lose a single client while I was gone, I guess my techniques worked.

What Being an ER Social Worker Taught Me about Writing

In 1997, I got my first job as a master's level social worker providing crisis services and bereavement support in an inner city emergency room popularly known as "The Knife and Gun Club."

Oddly enough, I loved the work, and many of the lessons I learned in the ER turned out to be great preparation for my career as a freelance writer.

1. What an emergency is...and what it isn't.

In the emergency room where I worked, the staff got pretty excited when someone's heart stopped beating or when a patient came in spurting gouts of blood from a wound or an orifice. Other than that, we were a laid-back crew.

Similarly, I don't get terribly worked up when a client calls me with an "emergency." I respond in a prompt and professional manner, but I figure if the client still has a heartbeat and is capable of speech, we have time to work things out.

It was also working in the emergency room that taught me one of my all-time favorite quotes: "Lack of prior planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."