The Library Hotel

by Catherine L. Tully

Writers love to read. Those words are the inspiration behind this travel destination for writers—the Library Hotel in New York. This property has ten floors which reflect ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Choose from: technology, social sciences, literature, languages, math & science, history, the arts, religion, philosophy and general knowledge. Better yet—each floor has a variety of subcategories which focus in on a section of the main theme. Each room features themed art and provides guests with a hand-picked selection of books that are related to the subject…

… Continue Reading

Writers: Get Active

by Catherine L. Tully

I know. You probably won’t want to see this. But as a writer, you really do need to read on. Unless you plan some activity into your lifestyle, chances are good that the weight will creep up on you, and, eventually, your health will start to suffer. The New Year is as good a time as any to add a little exercise to your routine.

If you don’t own some hand weights (see left), why not get a pair? They are a great tool that you can use when you are taking a break between queries. Find some stretching exercises and bookmark them on the internet. Plan to take walking breaks–and then stick to it. If you can loop some activity into your day and start making it a part of your writing routine, you’ll be feeling better all the way around. Do it now. You’ll thank yourself down the line. I guarantee it.

New Year, New Goals

Have you taken the time to sit down and write out your career goals for 2010? It doesn’t have to be an elaborate process…but I believe it is an important one. Setting concrete goals is something that keeps you moving forward, and I know from personal experience that it works. At least for me…

If you haven’t created a few goals for yourself, why not give it a try? Every year I set the simple goal of making more money than I did the year before. And I have yet to be disappointed. Doesn’t that sound nice?

So what are my other goals for the year? Here they are, for all to see…

+ Continue building my new dance blog.

+ Do more outreach to writers in the form of classes and seminars.

+ Each year I pick out a few magazines I would like to try and get published in. Then I work on query ideas for them throughout the year. Although I don’t have mine picked yet, I know I will try for at least 3 new, big mags. Perhaps an in-flight…

If you feel like sharing, you can list yours here. Either way, all the best to reaching them in 2010!

Putting a Price on Your Work

by Mike O’Mary

Hello Friends! Throughout my career as a writer, I’ve done creative work (mostly for fun) and corporate work (mostly for income). On the corporate side, I’ve worked as a corporate employee who sometimes hired freelancer writers and editors, and as a freelance writer and editor who sought work from corporations. 

One of the things I learned by working both sides of the corporate fence is that corporations think in terms of budget, whereas most freelancers think in terms of hourly rate. Even I made the switch when I went from being a corporate employee to being a freelancer… … Continue Reading

Get In On The Freelance Forecast For 2010

by Catherine L. Tully

Everybody should do this. Seriously.

Fellow writer Jake Poinier has a survey out that will allow him to compile data for the 2010 Freelance Forecast–Boomvang Creative Group’s second annual survey of creative freelancers and the clients who hire them. This is a great resource, and if you fill the form out, you’ll not only be helping clients understand writers better, but you’ll also be entered into a drawing for a $100 iTunes or STAPLES gift card.

Not bad! (And if you can get a client to take the survey, you’ll have good karma. Jake says so. I have asked several of mine to participate….good karma is mine!)

Dream Of Things

by Catherine L. Tully

Today I have the pleasure to share with you something really interesting. Editor and writer Mike O’Mary has come up with an idea for writers that I think will go far, and I interviewed him via e-mail so that I can share his ideas with Freelance-Zone readers here today. Let me know what you think, and be sure to sign up for more information at Dream Of Things.

FZ: Tell me a little about your background as a writer/editor.

Mike: I like writing essays, and I’ve also written fiction, drama and sketch comedy. The highlights are the essays I’ve published in various Sunday magazines, and writing and producing sketch comedy in Chicago. As for editing, I’ve edited several books, and I’ve written and edited lots of speeches and annual reports. So I’m a pretty good editor, but to me, writing is more fun.

FZ: What is Dream of Things?

Mike: Dream of Things is a book publisher and producer of videos and whatever else we decide to produce. It’s also an online community where writers and other artists can come together to 1) suggest ideas for books we’d like to see, and 2) write or contribute to books built around themes/ideas that spark our interest. Dream of Things will publish the books, and writers and other contributors will share in the royalties.

FZ: How did you come up with the idea for this?

Mike: I have always enjoyed working with creative people…writing workshops…working with actors, directors and musicians on theater productions…working with photographers, illustrators, graphic designers and video producers on other projects. I am very fortunate to have a lot of very creative people as friends, and I wanted to find ways for us to work together more often. I also hope to make a lot of new friends and to work with many of them… … Continue Reading

10 Gift Ideas For Writers

by Catherine L. Tully

Well, the holidays are right around the corner–so I thought I would do a “gift ideas” post for writers. Most of us are friends with other writers, so it goes without saying that we not only would like to get some of these, but can give a few as well. Please share if you have others!

Here are my ten suggestions:

1. Stephen King’s book, On Writing. It’s terrific.

2. A gift card for a nice meal out…. … Continue Reading

Using Twitter With Purpose

by Catherine L. Tully

Do you just get on Twitter and tweet away about whatever comes to mind? If so, you aren’t taking full advantage of the power of this social networking tool. Writers need to be thinking about how they are marketing themselves and their services when they post.

To that end, I’d like to point out a Twitter Guide that breaks a lot of the information out there down in a very palatable way. Mashable divides things up into three common sense categories… … Continue Reading

Social Media Tips

by Catherine L. Tully

Everyone is using social media these days–including savvy writers. If you are looking to stay on top of what is going on, try out Social Media Today for some good info. You can find everything from places to find plug-ins for Wordpress to how to chart your website’s social graph.

Quips and Tips For Successful Writers

by Catherine L. Tully

I just wanted to pass along this resource for writers because I find it interesting. Quips and Tips for Successful Writers is a blog that has some terrific information, and it is presented well. Author Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen has such a great tone and she offers useful tips for both new and established writers on her site.

If you get a minute to check it out, I think you will enjoy….

Writers And Calories

by Catherine L. Tully

Being a writer means you sit a lot. Sitting a lot means you can’t eat a lot. If you do, you’ll gain weight. It’s just the way it goes. Contrary to popular belief, calories in and calories out are the two main things to think about when you battle the pounds that want to creep up on your writer’s body. The good news? You can fight it. The bad news? It takes some work. Here are a few suggestions for you that can help:

+ Don’t use up calories on beverages. Drink water, sparkling water, coffee, tea (no sugar) or something like that. Pop and juice add big time calories.

+ Keep low-cal snacks handy. Don’t buy junk food–you’ll eat it. Instead, get things such as fruit, veggies and low-fat yogurt to snack on. String cheese isn’t bad either. And don’t snack mindlessly. It’s easy to put away a lot of food if you are just eating while writing. If you’re going to snack, stop writing, eat, then go back to it. … Continue Reading

Writers: Time Is Money

by Catherine L. Tully

After reading Yo’s post today on how to manage money, I realized something. Many of the things that we talk about on blogs are things we see writers doing wrong. Sometimes they are mistakes we have made ourselves, but more often than not, posts relate directly to actions we see writers taking (or not taking) that can hurt their career. The one I see most often is… … Continue Reading

Writers And Specialization

by Catherine L. Tully

I’m going to kick off with a strong statement here: writers should specialize–especially when they are first getting started. I know that some of you are probably thinking that I’m wrong…but I’m not. Specialization is your friend, and it will get you a lot more work that being a generalist writer.

When I started out, I specialized in writing about dance. I wrote for a multitude of dance publications and got some good credits built up. Then I began branching out into the arts a bit. Singing. Acting. Using one specialty to move into another. Pretty soon I was getting my name out there as an “arts” writer… … Continue Reading

Computer Maintenance For Writers

by Catherine L. Tully

As a freelance writer, the computer may well be your most important tool. With this in mind, it is important to perform weekly and monthy maintenance tasks. Do you know what you should be doing? If not, check out this resource by the Southern Tier Library System which gives a breakdown of the things you need to do to keep your machine in tip top shape.

When You Don’t Get Paid

Work as a freelance writer long enough and you will have some kind of issue with getting paid. Since writers often work on a tight schedule–and budget, this can be more than a mere inconvenience. There are some things you can do to try and rectify the issue. Try these:

• Screen clients when possible. Try to check out a client ahead of time if you can. If you don’t feel good about taking them on, then don’t. Sometimes your gut instinct is right.
• Give a little time. I can’t tell you how many checks came two or three days after I was ready to pick up the phone and call. Try to build in a grace period if you can.
• Follow up politely. Often a missing check is just an oversight, and one that can be fixed quickly. Don’t have an attitude when you follow up. It won’t get you anywhere.
• Ask when you can expect payment. Once someone has followed up on the issue, be sure to nail down a time frame within which you can expect your check.
• Get it in writing. Do your follow up by e-mail whenever possible. This gives you a solid record of all communications. Even if you don’t plan small claims court action, people tend to feel more nervous about going back on something they put in writing.
• Be persistent. I once had to follow up…you won’t believe this…twelve times before I got paid. I think they just got totally sick of me and wanted me to go away. I sent reminders on a regular basis.
• Add a late fee. If you are coming up with a project bid, tack on a late payment fee.
• Go over the person’s head. I only recommend this in cases where the person you are dealing with doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Do a little investigating and see if you can come up with a contact that is higher on the food chain.

If you have had success at getting a payment from a client who initially didn’t make it on time, please feel free to share your techniques here for others. After all, we’re all in this together, right?