Perils of a Disorganized Freelancer

The problem today is not that I don't have any articles to write, but that I have too many, and am managing not to get any of them finished!

This is a problem I haven't often had yet as a freelance writer - I spent so many months figuring out how to get magazine work, now have to figure out how to make a workable writing schedule now that assignments are coming in.

The part I have been trying to work on is sending out pitch/query letters even when I have some nice assignments in. When I first started out, if I had an assignment to write I let querying fall to the wayside. Then of course, when the assignment was finished I didn't have any more work lined up. So, even when I am writing on assignment, I still try and bang out 10 pitch letters a week - some weeks with more success than others!

Personally, my other big problem is managing cash flow. On the one hand I want to focus my time on the better paying markets - on the other hand, those aren't guaranteed for me just yet, and some take several months to pay. So I was filling in with low-paying jobs doing web site content. But when I am writing one genre, I always worry I might be better off focusing on the other!

In addition, I write two web sites WWW.Knitting.AllInfoAbout.com, and WWW.RomanticVacations.AllInfoAbout.com (Romantic Vaca isn't live yet - another thing on my to-do list!). While I know these will provide long term income, they aren't generating much in the way of cash just yet. So we have the two hands again - am I better off expanding these sites so they get bigger (and produce more income) faster? Or am I better off squeezing these pages in when nothing else is going on, and spending my efforts on queries?

As of this moment, I suspect I should stop procrastinating here, and get back to the queries!

Have a great (and productive!) day -
MBT

Welcome!

Greetings all - this is my first post, not only for Writer's Row, but my first blog post ever.

In 6th grade, all I wanted to be was a writer. I had the most amazing teacher who encouraged me to write stories, enter contests, just keep at it. But other interests prevailed, and I never tried to actually make a living at writing until this year, some 30 years after 6th grade!

I have two books published, both of which came out of other projects. RescuingVintage Textiles came out in September of 2000, and was written because at the time I was working as a dealer of antique and vintage textiles. I was tired of people who came into my booth at antiques shows and took up my time asking questions about how to take care of their own collections, when they never had any intention of spending any money with me! My second book, Touring New Jersey's Lighthouses came out in June of 2004, and was a way for me to work with my sister who is a photographer, and a lighthouse junkie.

In May of 2004, due to the poor economics of the situation, I sold my antiques business. While I still have some contacts in the entertainment industry (I used to be a wardrobe supervisor for film, tv and Broadway), I didn't want to work those crazy hours full time. (I have a child in grammar school and a husband who works odd hours). I toyed with the idea of writing full time, I started sending out the odd pitch or two that summer.

I read about a jillion articles, web sites, and how-to books about how to be a freelance writer. I always joke that I spent so much time reading last summer that I didn't have any time to write. Then I read a book that started to turn things around for me - The Renegade Writer by Linda Formicelli and Diana Burrell. I finished reading it on a Monday, and made my first magazine sale on Friday of the same week. I was ecstatic, but still having a hard time getting it all together from a career perspective.

On January 1 of 2005, I decided to stop screwing around and give all I had to making a real career as a writer. At least now, if it doesn't work out for me, I will know I gave it my very best shot.

My purpose in writing this blog is to share with other aspiring writers the process, not of writing itself, which I think others are much more eloquent about than I could ever be, but the process of trying to build a career rather than just see one's name in print for the glory of it. I have said this on another forum, but I think a chimpanzee could get published - once. I think building a career is a whole other ballgame. How-to books are great - but if you keep up with me here, you can follow my ups and downs as they happen. Maybe I am doing better than you are sale-wise, maybe a lot worse, maybe on a par. But what I have learned from some of my internet writing buddies (many of which will also be part of Writer's Row), is that we can learn strategies that work from each other. I have gained so much help and support, just knowing that I am not alone, and that this task is NOT insurmountable. It can be done, by me, and probably by you too. But it takes some time, some time management skills, and some dumb luck. Join me in my journey, if you like....