A veteran freelancer and cheerleader for writers everywhere, Linda Formichelli is the co-author of The Renegade Writer and runs the Renegade Writer blog. She and pro writer Carol Tice (whom we interviewed last year) offer the Freelance Writers Blast Off for Newbies, a 4-week group mentoring course for new writers that helps them define their niche, develop a marketing plan, pinpoint the perfect markets, learn to write a kick-butt query, and run their writing business. (Coincidentally, the next Blast Off starts on January 17).
In her interview with Ebyline, Formichelli shared a blooper from her freelance past and explained why she thinks now is a great time to be freelancing.
What are the most common issues your writing students or coaching clients face? How do you suggest they work through those challenges?
The biggest one is fear. New writers are afraid of rejection, afraid of doing it wrong, even afraid of success — because they then have to put themselves and their writing out there.
I’ve taken most of the fears I’ve heard and addressed them in blog posts that I point my students to when they need it. But in short, I tell them that there IS no wrong way to write and market — the way that works for you is the way you should use. And that we all face rejection as writers — heck, I’ve been doing this full-time for 15 years and I still get rejected — and that rejections aren’t a criticism of the writer or her writing. They’re a business decision.
Writers need to develop a thick skin, and the only way to do that is to rack up rejections. If you’re not getting rejected, you’re not trying hard enough.
You’ve been freelancing since 1997. How has the business changed since then?
Oh my goodness, it has changed immensely. When I started out, I was using a 1200-baud dial-up modem, finding magazines to query through the print version of Writer’s Market, and finding my interview sources through actual — gasp — phone calls. Now, writers can do everything they need to, from research to interviewing to writing, without ever having to leave their chairs.
The Internet has also bred a whole culture of web content writers who write for pennies for content mills and expect that’s the best they can get. There are tons more markets out there than when I first started, but many of them pay peanuts or nothing at all. Part of my calling as a writing teacher is to help new writers break out of the content mills and start earning real money from their time and skills.
Tell us about the Freelance Writer’s Blast Off group. How does it differ from other classes or coaching options?
With the Blast Off, you get the benefit of learning from two long-time professional writers about developing your writing niche, exploring potential markets, marketing your writing and running your freelance business. I think it’s really neat in the webinars how Carol and I complement one another but also sometimes contradict one another and even disagree on certain points. I’ve learned a lot from hearing Carol’s point of view on these calls. But the thing we’re teaching in that regard is to choose the tactic that resonates with you and test it for yourself.
Also, we offer three levels at different price points — from simply auditing the course to getting phone mentoring with Carol and me — so the course is affordable for everyone. Because of the way we’ve revamped the class, we have a virtually unlimited number of seats in the levels without phone mentoring; we used to sell out all our spaces in as little as four hours and leave a lot of writers in the cold, and we wanted to remedy that
How do freelancers know if the time is right to negotiate a higher rate or move onto bigger markets? Any tips on that?
That’s a good question, and it’s hard to pinpoint when to negotiate a higher rate because I do it by feel. After writing for someone for a while, and noticing that they always like my work, I simply feel that it’s time to ask for a raise. I’ve had good luck with that strategy.
As for moving into bigger markets, the time is now. You don’t need anything more than a kick-ass idea in a well-written query to get an assignment from pretty much any market. I’ve had students for my Write for Magazines class break into magazines like SELF and Woman’s Day with zero clips.
So don’t wait until you have what you imagine is “enough” clips, experience, whatever. Keep writing for your old markets, but carve out some time to pitch your dream markets as well.
What was your wackiest assignment ever? Perhaps an unusual topic or an obscure publication?
Here’s the lede I wrote for an article for Boating Industry magazine in 1999:
We all recognize the tight plastic wrap that adorns most of the products we buy, from CDs to toiletries. That same shrink wrap protects boats during transport and storage. What are the latest developments in shrink wrap, and how are environmental restrictions affecting importers and exporters in the US and Europe?
All I can say is…yikes.
Any closing thoughts on this brave new world of online journalism?
Even with the economy being soggy, I think this is the best time ever to get into freelance writing. You can still find tons of good magazine and website markets, and now you also have the opportunity to become even more valuable to clients by learning SEO, podcasting, blogging, and more. Freelance writers can now also earn income through information products like e-books, tip sheets, e-courses, and webinars — which I never even dreamed of when I started writing 15 years ago.
