Skip to main content
Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri


Ebyline contributor Steph Auteri boasts an impressive list of publishing credits including Nerve.com, Time Out New York, and YourTango.com. She also pens ebooks, blogs about freelancing, and advises other publishing pros through Word Nerd Career Coaching. Here’s an excerpt from Ebyline’s chat with Auteri about her career evolution and the future of freelancing.

You have what Marci Alboher calls a slasher career. How do you juggle coaching, cantoring, writing, and all the other stuff without going crazy? Is there such a thing as over-diversification?

The secrets to my sanity are: 1. Google Calendar. I put all of my deadlines (and client calls) in there, and then set up email alerts so that I always have plenty of time to complete a project. Seeing it all laid out on my calendar helps ensure that I never overbook myself. 2. I also schedule in personal time, so that I never (well, almost never) feel frantic or burnt out.

In the end, uber-diversification works for me because it keeps things from getting too static, or stale. I like to keep things interesting, and challenging. Also, all of my services (aside from the funeral singing) are in some way connected, so it feels cohesive. I think the danger in over-diversification pops up when you’re doing so many things that it keeps you from moving forward toward your ultimate goal.

What are the mistakes or issues you’ve noticed most often in dealing with coaching clients. What holds word nerds back the most and how can they overcome it?

Fear and self-doubt. My clients tend to be afraid of a lot of things: Sending out query letters that aren’t perfect. Not being able to hustle enough to pay the bills. Losing a possible client because of high rates or an attempt at negotiation. But the biggest fear by far is the fear that they’re not worth it. They’re not worth the professional rates.

No amount of market research (seeing what the market will bear, or comparing one’s rates with the rates of one’s competitors) can ease this fear. It’s all about changing your mindset. Word nerds need to realize they have a skill that not everyone has. If someone needs or wants something they can’t do for themselves, they’ll be willing to pay professional rates for it … And if someone isn’t willing to pay your professional rates, they’re not a client worth having.

You’ve taken the Word Nerd brand in a variety of directions: in-person networking events, a newsletter, coaching. What’s next?

I’ve actually been thinking about how I can make Word Nerd Networking even bigger. The one-year anniversary of that first event is coming up and, despite how successful it was, I’ve only hosted a handful of virtual events since then. But it’s great to be able to put newbies in direct contact with industry experts. It’s something I would have loved to have access to when I was just starting out. And it’s awesome to see first-hand how new collaborations and relationships can be born out of my own, already-existing network.

I’ve actually been chatting with several people about collaborating on a variety of events. A digital publishing panel. A yoga-journaling hybrid workshop. I’m excited by all the possibilities!

I’m also working on my own book proposal. Writing ebooks for clients has shown me that I can do something book-length. Now I want something that’s completely my own.

Any closing thoughts on this brave new world of online journalism?

Online journalism and website content writing services aren’t all rainbows and glitter. Content mills and low-quality content have proliferated. Rates have dropped. Print magazine I loved have folded, because monetizing content has become more and more difficult with all of the free content available online.

But I feel as if the world of online journalism holds so much possibility.

Because of the recession, entrepreneurship is on the rise… something that is made even easier by the fact that more and more content — and more and more communication — is online. I think it’s great that so many people are able to take control of their own destinies, building their own job security.