Demand Studios review time is shortening

It looks like Demand Studios is getting on the ball. Today I had an article approved that I wrote on 8/25 or 8/26. It seemed to be taking a week or more for them to review articles for a while but in the past three days I have had six articles reviewed. They are also very quick to approve suggested assignments--usually within a couple of hours. While I don't agree with everything Demand Studios does as far as editing goes, I have to say they are trying hard to make their writers happy. They just started a Demand Studios blog, so this may be a good step toward improved communication and Demand Studios-writer relationships.

The Power of Networking

Although I've only been in this business a fairly short time, I cannot underestimate the importance of networking. I cannot tell you how many jobs I have gotten and how much advice, story ideas and education I've gotten through networking--it's invaluable. I got my first publisher because of networking, and although I had to back out of it, I wouldn't have gotten there in the first place without knowing someone there. I have heard several stories of authors getting published because they were in the right place at the right time. There is so much competition out there, sometimes just knowing the right person is what you need to get your foot in the door.

There are many different ways to network. The old school way is to join writers' guilds and associations and attend meetings and conventions. A more modern way is to meet people over the internet. I belong to several writing-focused discussion boards (and horse-focused ones) and an email list of equine journalists. This is how I met my mentors and obtained a large amount of work, either by helping them with their workload or following their advice to try sites like oDesk.

I highly recommend you meet and talk to as many writers as you can. Tell everyone you know that you are a writer and try to work in the type of writing you do in conversations--you never know when some work might come your way because of it.

September/October Short Story Contest Announced at Accentuate

Well, as expected, my joke short story entry did not make the finals in the August/September Accentuate Writers short story contest. There were some great entries and everyone who made it should be proud! Michy said she'll post my story on her blog at some point, so I will point to it when she does. It is based on inside jokes at the writing forum, but non forum dwellers will find it funny, too! Heck, why not join the forum so you get the full effect? It's fun, it's free, and there is a lot of good information on the forum.

The September/October short story contest promises to really step up the competition! The announcment was posted last night, and first prize will be $300!! Second will be $150 and third will be $75. Plus, you get published in the short story contest anthology. What do you have to lose? OK, so you might not win...but you will have accomplished something by writing a story and entering it, and chances are good you will receive some valuable feedback on it to improve for next time.

Off to think of a story idea...

How much to charge?

The question of how much to charge for your work plagues every new freelancer. Most, like me, tend to underprice themselves, afraid if they charge too much no one will buy. Further, they don't believe they're worth as much as they could get. It's really hard to break out of that! What I'm doing is I set my hourly rate at $25 per hour. I try to figure out how much time I'll spend researching and writing the piece and guess at a price from there. It's really pretty unscientific. I almost always underestimate how much time something will take...and then, I forget about the whole rewrite thing. While some pieces are just fine the first time I write them, others require rewrites. These are usually minor things; often the editor thought of something I should add after they read the first draft, or they give me some information I didn't have before. It's rarely earth shattering, but it is practically inevitable and I need to remember to build it into my time. I also need to consider the time I sit and stare at my computer, creating the piece in my head before I actually write. It is a process I will probably need to continually readjust.

Are you directing your destiny, or is it directing you?

This woman Greg and I used to work with once said that everything I touch turns to gold. She said it's like I have a charmed life, because I'm always accomplishing things and getting things. Some, more religious than I, might say I am blessed by God or something.

I prefer not to think of it that way. That would indicate some forces outside of myself are responsible for the good things that come to me. In fact, I work very hard to make them happen. I talk to the right people, learn what I need to learn, follow the advice I am given and put in the long hours to get it done. When I decided I wanted a horse, I made sacrifices to afford her. When I decided I wanted to become a writer, I did what I needed to do to make it happen.

Am I blessed? OK, I guess I have to admit that I am blessed in that I have talents, and I am very thankful for that blessing. I am able to learn things quickly and there are a number of things I can do well, and I am lucky in that I am able to make money doing them. However, I could just as easily have decided not to do anything with them and work at McDonald's where no one expects anything of me. However, I chose to capitalize on my talents and put them to their best use.

I have met people in my life who are victims. Everything is going wrong in their life, and they let it drag them down. They wear their problems on their sleeve, display them for the world, and wallow in pity--self- or otherwise. I see other people who have terminal illnesses and all kinds of problems. However, they are bright, positive people who make the best of what life has dealt them.

Why is the second group happy when the first group isn't? It's all about their outlook on life. If you continually see the negative side of life and whine about what you don't have, how can you be happy? If you are religious, one of the Ten Commandments is "Thou Shalt Not Covet". Why is that? When all you do is covet what other people have and you don't, you will not be happy. Instead, enjoy what you have and figure out how to get what you want.

Put your energies toward positive things. If your positive energy and hard work pays off, good things will come to you. However, whether you get what you want or not, why be miserable?

Questions people ask when I tell them I'm freelancing, cont.

Part four in the series:

Will you write me an article on X so I can see a sample of what you will do? I'm not going to pay you for it or use it, I swear!

I fell for this once. I wrote some beautiful ad copy for a potential buyer and they didn't take it. now I use it as a sample, but otherwise it's useless. I wasted my time. Would you ask a store to give you $50 of product so you can make sure the quality is good? I have plenty of writing samples to show my quality of work. I will work with you to make sure you are happy with the end product. Don't ask me to work for free!

Questions people ask when I tell them I'm freelancing, cont.

Part three in the series:

Do you want to help me with [fill in whatever unpleasant chore here] to give you something to do during the day?

No, I don't want to [fill in unpleasant chore]. I have a job. It's called "writing". Now that I'm self employed, I work many hours every day. Like 12. Is it worth it? Yes. I love spending all day doing what I love to do, where I want to do it! However, right now this job I love does not leave much time for anything else. When I do take time off to do something else, it will be something I want to do, not your chores. Unless I really, really like you. And I'm probably getting something out of it!