Posts filed under 'Book'
My pals Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears, authors of The Boss of You book and blog, ran a Q&A with me this week. I loved that they asked me this question so much that I’m reposting it here. Before you read it, I’d like to point out that Amazon is currently running a deal where you can pick up both my books + Lauren and Emira’s book for just over $30 — in other words, you get all three books for the price of two. To snatch these up and start your year off right, see the Amazon page for My So-Called Freelance Life or The Anti 9-to-5 Guide.
Okay, enough with the Billy Mays impersonation. Here’s the post…
Lauren and Emira ask: We hear from a fair number of freelancers who got into their careers unconsciously — it’s like they woke up one morning and realized they’d become a freelancer, without necessarily planning it that way. What advice would you give someone in that situation?
I answer: I agree. So many people find themselves freelancing in the wake of a layoff and before they know it, they’re running a full-fledged business. If you too are an accidental freelancer, take stock of the work you do and the clients you do it for. Are these the types of projects you want to be working on and the types of people and organizations you want to be working with? If not, list the kind of freelance projects that interest you most and the names of at least ten organizations you’d love to work for. Then tap your professional and personal networks to see if you can find a way in. If you need to acquire any additional skills or portfolio samples to make yourself attractive to these organizations, get cracking.
Even if you are happy with your clients and workload, it’s important to revisit your freelancing goals – income, creative milestones, client wish list, and so on — at least once a year. (January is a great time for this.) Get too comfortable and you’ll quickly get bored, burn out, or start to feel like an employee all over again.
December 20th, 2008
My Global Career ran a short excerpt from My So-Called Freelance Life last week. Here’s the start of it…
Clients who don’t know what they want can chew up countless hours of your time with exploratory emails, phone calls, meetings, and requests for more details if you let them. Ditto for blood-sucking zombies who milk you for free advice but have no intention of ever hiring you. Here are some suggestions for “training” indecisive clients and weeding out the bloodsuckers:
Cap getting-to-know-me meetings. Bloodsuckers are fans of meetings with agendas like “let’s spend the next four hours talking about how you’d execute our project were we to actually offer it to you.” For this reason, I have a rule about complimentary getting-to-know-me meetings: One hour max is all you get — by bat phone, webcam, or in the flesh — and then I’m billing you for it. Likewise, I don’t dress, drive, and give up my morning for just anyone. Unless there’s big money, repeat business, or real PIE potential, I phone it in.
Use templates. Although I have a bio and work samples on my website, I still need to email interested clients my references, additional samples, and a more detailed bio or resume from time to time. The materials I send vary wildly, depending on whether I’m talking to an arts organization that wants me to teach, a potential copywriting client, or a news website that wants an article written. Rather than reinvent the wheel each time, I have a nice collection of templates I employ: ShamelessInstructorPromo.doc, Fortune500Bait.doc, and MediaWhore.doc.
You can read the rest of the excerpt here.
December 9th, 2008
This promises to an action-packed week. First the mediabistro holiday party I’m hosting on Tuesday, then the DIY-tastic Urban Craft Uprising holiday fair this weekend, where I’ll be signing books both days.
I’m looking for a volunteer or two for Tuesday’s party, to help me greet guests at the door and take a few photos. Could be a fine opportunity for a freelance or media newbie to meet some of Seattle’s most seasoned writers and editors. I’ll throw in a free copy of one of my books too (your choice!). If interested, see event details below. If still interested, email me by Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for playing.
Mediabistro holiday party – December 2
When: 6 to 8 pm
What: Holiday party for freelance, staff, and laid off media professionals. mediabistro’s sponsoring. I’m playing hostess.
Where: Grey Gallery & Lounge, 1512 11th Avenue, Seattle
Cash bar: Happy hour prices till 7 pm
RSVP: Required. RSVP on mediabistro.com.
Book signings @ Urban Craft Uprising – December 6 & 7
When: Saturday signing 12 to 1 pm. Sunday signing 1 to 2 pm. Craft show open from 11 to 5 pm.
What: Fourth annual Urban Craft Uprising, a rocking indie craft show with 130+ vendors
Where: Seattle Center, Exhibition Hall
Info: Free admission. More scoop at Urban Craft Uprising.
December 1st, 2008
I have loads of events scheduled for the next couple of months. In Seattle, I’m hosting mediabistro’s holiday party for freelance and full-time (and pink-slipped) media professionals, signing books at Urban Craft Uprising, and doing one last book reading at Third Place Books.
In the new year, I’m giving a couple of teleseminars, including one on dealing with hell clients, sponsored by the Freelancers Union. And in February, I’m heading down to San Francisco mid-month for a couple of talks and signings. (I’m open to more Bay Area events if you have something in mind. If so, email me.)
Event details follow. To stay up to date on my events, visit my Events page or subscribe to my mailing list.
- SEATTLE -
Mediabistro holiday party – December 2
When: 6 to 8 pm
What: Holiday party for freelance, staff, and laid off media professionals. mediabistro’s sponsoring. I’m playing hostess.
Where: Grey Gallery & Lounge, 1512 11th Avenue, Seattle
Cash bar: Happy hour prices till 7 pm
RSVP: Required. RSVP on mediabistro.com.
Book signings @ Urban Craft Uprising – December 6 & 7
When: Saturday signing 12 to 1 pm. Sunday signing 1 to 2 pm. Craft show open from 11 to 5 pm.
What: Fourth annual Urban Craft Uprising, a rocking indie craft show with 100+ vendors
Where: Seattle Center, Exhibition Hall
Info: Free admission. More scoop at Urban Craft Uprising.
Reading, Q&A and book signing – January 15
When: 7 pm
What: New year, new president, new job for you? Come ask me all your burning questions about freelancing.
Where: Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park (North Seattle)
- SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA -
Reading, Q&A and book signing – February 10
When: 7:30 pm
What: Go ahead — try to stump me. Bring your toughest questions on freelancing during a recession.
Where: Books Inc. in the Marina, 2251 Chestnut Street, San Francisco
Info: Books Inc. or (415) 931-3633
Business tips for professional organizers - February 11
When: 6:30 to 8:30 pm
What: Seminar, Q&A, and networking for professional organizers
Where: The Doubletree Inn, 835 Airport Boulevard, Burlingame, CA
Info: National Association of Professional Organizers, San Francisco Bay Area chapter
Registration: $20 members, $25 guests
Co-sponsor: Books Inc.
- ONLINE / VIRTUAL -
Freelancing teleseminar – January 21
When: Time pending
What: Lecture and Q&A for new and seasoned freelancers of all industries
Where: Your telephone
Sponsor: Downtown Women’s Club
Registration: Details to come
“Dealing with the Client from Hell” teleseminar – February 25
When: 7:00 to 8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)
What: Lecture and Q&A for new and seasoned freelancers of all industries
Where: Your telephone
Sponsor: Freelancers Union
Registration: Details to come
November 14th, 2008
I posted about freelancing during a recession last month. Then I wrote an ABC News column about it, did a podcast on it, and gave some advice on mediabistro’s GalleyCat blog about what freelancers can do to stay afloat right now. Some of my top tips follow, all of which I discuss at length in my new book:
Diversify your markets. Have your two or three niches, sure. But make sure that if you’re a health and fitness writer, you’re not just relying on the health magazines and lifestyle section of newspapers. Worm your way into online media outlets like AOL or iVillage. Write for trade and alumni publications. And don’t turn you nose up at writing newsletters for the wellness and medical industries or writing marketing copy for companies selling vitamins, fitness equipment, or any other products in your area of expertise. Even if you just do one trade publication article or copywriting gig a quarter, it’s a foot in the door with another type of revenue stream should the bottom fall out and you lose the bulk of your preferred work.
Diversify your skills. Adopt or beef up any peripheral skills you can. If a writer can edit, project manage, broadcast, podcast, design, code, or teach, she’s just greatly expanded her marketability and income-earning potential. Ditto for the illustrator who also does web coding and design. Or the bookkeeper who prepares taxes.
Stay in touch with all clients you value, past and present. An editor or manager who jumps ship or gets forced out of her current job may very well be willing introduce you to her interim replacement (if there is one) and ”take you with her” to the next company she works for.
If you can’t name at least 10 other freelancers you know, it’s time to make some new friends. Yes, even in your own line of work. As I’ve said before, your fellow freelancers are one of your best sources of referrals. If someone offers me a job I’m not interested in or available for and a trusted freelance pal (note the word “trusted”) is looking for work, you bet your hide I’m going to refer her. Only a scrooge wouldn’t.
For the record, in the past three weeks I’ve had one client close their doors to freelancers, another lay off 10 percent of their staff (no news yet on what, if anything, this means for their freelance budget), a couple projects that were supposed to start early November get delayed indefinitely, one of those delayed projects come back to life with a vengeance (supposedly with three to four times the workload than originally anticipated), two former clients offer me a fair amount of new work, a couple periodic clients say they didn’t have any work for me at this time (I’d called to check), and a three new contacts say, “Yes, yes, yes! Please send me your bio/samples. I need to increase my freelance pool.”
I could have written the above paragraph two years ago, pre-recession. This is the way it always is for freelancers. Clients come, clients go, and the self-employed soldier on. They key to not going hungry is to keep as many pans in the fire as you can and never get too comfortable.
November 9th, 2008
If you’re in the Seattle area and missed my big fat book launch shindig last week, don’t fret. We’ll have the opportunity to meet this weekend at my Elliott Bay Book Company reading and Q&A.
The agenda:
- Elbow-rubbing with like-minded indie professionals and creative types
- Your best attempts to stump me with “freelancing during a recession” questions
- Talking shop about the freelance life in the Pioneer Square pub of our choosing after the reading
The details:
When: Saturday, October 25, 2 p.m.
Where: Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 South Main Street, Seattle
Co-sponsor: Hedgebrook
Can’t make this event? Check my events page for others. Or join my mailing list to get notified about future events and classes.
October 23rd, 2008
In case I haven’t said as much in the last 24 hours, here are the deets on my book launch party in Seattle. Tonight!
Book launch party – Thursday, October 16
When: 6 to 10 p.m.
What: Reading and Q&A at 7 p.m. Plus: Schmoozing/boozing before and after. As well as: Prizes! Snacks! Book signing! And of course, meeting of like-minded freelance minds!
Where: Office Nomads, a fabulous coworking space @ 1617 Boylston Ave, Second Floor, Seattle [map]
Co-sponsors: University Book Store and Office Nomads. This event is held in conjunction with Office Nomads’ Fall Open House.
“Local author Michelle Goodman has done what so many of us are terrified to do (and may all be forced to do in our looming recession economy): cut the strings for a completely freelance existence. Luckily, she made all the mistakes first, then compiled her wisdom in My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire (Seal Press, $15.95). It’s a well organized how-to book about overcoming all those fears that keep us clinging desperately to our cubes. Turns out, getting a business license isn’t as hard as it sounds. And health insurance doesn’t have to be something you’ll just learn to live without. How much are your services worth? Goodman helps you evaluate your rates, along with advice on pitching, contracts, and learning when and how to say no. Freelancing isn’t easy, As Goodman readily admits. But at tonight’s book launch she’ll answer questions and possibly allay anxieties about your bedroom-to-living room commute. At the very least, it’ll be a great opportunity to network your ass off.”
–Seattle Weekly
October 16th, 2008
In honor of My So-Called Freelance Life “officially” publishing today, I thought I’d post a short excerpt from a great Q&A that fellow freelancer Susan Johnston did with me on the fantastic webzine Women on Writing. It’s on my favorite topic: procrastination. You don’t have to be a writer to appreciate the sentiment.
But first (heh — geddit?), I’d like to thank Tara Swords for taking the day-making photo above, Toni Martin for rocking my world with the book’s first Amazon review, and the Feminist Review’s Brittany Shoot for her kickass write-up of the book.
Okay, back to the question at hand….
Susan/WOW asks: A lot of writers (including yours truly) find themselves procrastinating online when they ought to be working. How do you stay disciplined when you have a deadline coming up?
I answer: As you’ll probably glean from the book, I still fall prey to the dreaded P-word from time to time. (Damn you, YouTube!) When a deadline is dire, I’ll have to shut off the phone and unplug the modem. Otherwise, finishing the project just doesn’t happen, or at least, it doesn’t happen without involving an additional six hours of emailing and IM’ing friends about nothing of consequence.
This probably goes without saying, but if you don’t work, you don’t eat, so there’s always that motivation. I’m single and bootstrapping it all the way, so it’s not like I have anyone to pay my bills for me. Besides, the more deadlines you have on the calendar, the more you learn to just motor through the pile of articles or projects on your plate. When you’re mistress of your own schedule, it doesn’t take long to realize that if you have three 1,000-word articles due in a week — articles that require locating and interviewing sources — you need to start now, not the day before they’re due.
Licking procrastination is all about playing mind games with yourself. These days, I’m loving the piecemeal approach to writing articles (write the intro one day, the middle the next, and the ending the day after that) while I research and edit other articles on my plate. So, instead of having to write 1,000 words in one four- to eight-hour sitting, I may only have to write 300 words over the course of an hour or two. Much easier to face.
Bonus answer: In both my books, I talk about some of the tricks we freelancers have to play on ourselves to lick procrastination. The Pretend You Have To Be Somewhere At 6:00 P.M. approach is currently my favorite. Anyone who’s ever made plans with me during the past, oh, decade knows that, as weird as it may sound, I tend to get stressed if I have too many evening outings scheduled during the workweek (and by “too many” I mean, “more than one”). But that doesn’t mean I can’t pretend I need to leave my office by 5 P.M., a tactic that miraculously lights a five-alarm fire of productivity under my butt. Who knew that kicking the I Don’t Need to Crank Today — After All, I’m Here Till Midnight mentality could be as simple as telling yourself a bunch of lies?
October 1st, 2008
This all happened so fast that I have not even seen a printed copy of my own book yet. But you can. Amazon is now shipping My So-Called Freelance Life, a week before the actual pub date. (In a later post, I’ll tell you more about the publishing process and how it is that I have a book about to hit bookstore shelves just four months after I finished writing it.)
Meanwhile, if you’re in Seattle and want me to add you to the evite for the book launch party on October 16, drop me a line. Or leave a comment on this post. I’ll send the evite out today or tomorrow (finally).
September 22nd, 2008
Hi there. It’s 4:30 a.m. and I am doing that awful “not sleeping” thing that I’ve become so good at these past couple of years. And I’m thinking about the fact that I desperately needed to update this site two months ago to reflect the fact that I am now whoring two anti-cubicle books. In other words, I need to make room in the nursery for baby #2.
Here are a few of my favorite author websites:
MaryRoach.net
NoOneBelongsHereMoreThanYou.com
OffbeatBride.com
While I don’t have Mary Roach’s budget, Miranda July’s dry-erase-tastic stove, or Ariel Meadow Stallings‘ drive to scour the web for the most gorgeous photos ever and Ning-ify the whole beautiful thing, I do have some ideas about small features and static pages I’d like to add to this site. As well as a WordPress coder who’s willing to help me.
But I’m stumped on the header art. The site will continue to be called “The Anti 9-to-5 Guide” (which is also the name of my first book) because that’s what everyone knows it as. But I think the header art needs to change so it doesn’t look just like the first book. Maybe just a cute font or something. Possibly even with a new image (me in bunny slippers?). What do you kids think?
I’m also torn about whether to give each book its own “about the book” and “stuff the media has said about me” page or lump both books together on those respective pages. I really like how Mary Roach’s site — though not a blog — devotes a few static pages to each book: brief synopsis (+ a bevy of “buy now!” buttons), media raves, excerpts, and tables of contents. I’d love to do a slightly less extensive variation on this approach, but I worry about having too many static pages on a blog. Is there such a thing? Or maybe it’s okay to have as many static pages as I want, as long as I don’t have a dozen different tabs at the top of the site and limit it to a simple few. Would love to know what you all think.
Finally, I’m not sure I should keep — and have my coder tweak — the WordPress theme I have now (Blix) to make room for these new pages, or start fresh with a new theme. Maybe the flexibility of the code in the template will dictate that. But if anyone has any experience with one way being better than the other, I’d love to hear it.
I’m also curious to know if people prefer one sidebar or two, one flanking each side of the page. I’m torn. Sometimes I think two sidebars is too dang busy looking. Then again, it’s a great way to fit in more fun links. Maybe I just need to go back to bed.
UPDATE on 10/1: Just want to say thanks again to everyone who emailed and commented with input and kickass ideas. I kind of have a plan now (better late than never, eh?) but don’t want to bore you with all the details, as this isn’t a Design 101 blog. But I did want to say that I found another author site I love: HeyMarci, the site of writer Marci Alboher. I love how well it integrates all the different facets of her work: her career book, her New York Times column and blog, and the teaching, speaking, and mentoring she does. Plus, I love the site name. Fun.
September 14th, 2008
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