Two Ways to Change Focus from the Economy to Your Economy

I'm hearing from more and more people the state of the freelance landscape today:

"Since January, I've had three assignments (not high paying) and have sold two essays. My financial situation is far from good, and I'm the only breadwinner in the house."

"I have a large project pending but the client's counsel doesn't seem to be in any hurry to review my contract revisions. I am counting on this project to break my slump. "

"I'm only now seeing positive results, with two assignments I'm working on this week and potentially two more coming in this week. I've been at this almost full time each week since December 15. Getting out queries, LOIs, followups, etc. I can't give you an exact count right now, but I've gotten out at least 100 queries (new, revised or tweaked), more than 100 followups, and dozens of very targeted (with ideas) LOIs."

Still, sometimes, isn't it tempting to think it's YOU? In a way, it's almost comforting: If there really is a cabal of editors out there talking smack about that one article that took tons of revisions, then there's something you can do. You can try to change minds.

Whereas, if it's just the economy and the only answer is to stay vigilant and stay persistent and deepen your patience, then you've got nothing. There's nothing you can do but wait. And entrepreneurs? We're not known for our patience. Especially when the mortgage is due.

I talk a lot about the serenity hypothesis: That serenity isn't being happy all the time or getting everything you want (ask most lottery winners and they'll tell you the same). Serenity is focusing on what you can control and moving away from that which you can't.

And this economy? It's the epitome of what you can't control.

So how do you keep focused and sane and serene right now? Here are two techniques:

Look for role models
If you're a lone freelancer, staring at your barren inbox in frustration and worried about bare cupboards, it's easy to think that something has gone terribly wrong in your business. But if you hear, as I have recently, about tons of other freelancers going through the same thing--and getting through it, surviving and actually thriving--you have a road map.

Ask them:
How did you get through the slow times?
What did you do to keep yourself motivated?
How long did it take for the slump to pass?
How did you occupy your time?
How did you develop patience?

Especially those who say they've been through the slump a million times before--grab them. They're the ones whose resilience you want to learn from.

Pull a switcheroo
Serenity is all about switching focus from the uncontrollable to the controllable. So:

• Instead of focusing on editors not responding, work on a new query.
• Instead of focusing on two months from now when you're sure you'll be destitute and on the street, start teaching yourself a new skill.
• Instead of obsessively crunching numbers, revisit your business plan.
• Instead of replaying every stressful interaction you've had with a suddenly MIA client, send a thank-you card to an editor with whom you've always enjoyed working.

Can you think of more?

Photo by tomsaint11.

When you need more help than an accountant or coach can provide

I've written once here before about 12 step programs that can help you if you find your problems with procrastination and other work-related problems were more than you could handle on your own. So during this tough financial time, I asked a member of Business Debtors Anonymous to share her struggles with her writing and how DA has helped. Here's what she had to say:

I had been a writer for many years before I came to DA. I had done quite a bit of magazine work. I'd also sold a novel and a screenplay to good companies, but for money that didn’t begin to compensate for the time.

When I came into DA, I was dealing with the aftermath of an investigative story I published. So much magazine work is a labor of love, and that piece had definitely involved more time than I was compensated for. New information led to a followup story, then even more information came my way.

I was so broke. I had a young daughter, a mom with dementia, etc. I spent many hours and several hundred dollars of my own money trying to pass along my research to periodicals that had investigative staffs that could cope with it.

The work kept going. I, on the other hand, was stressed out, stretched thin, and in Deprivation City. I walked into my first meeting and decided to keep coming.

After I’d been in DA a while, three of us formed a step group. We usually met once a week, for about four years. It went deep. My stated focus was "writing and money." I thought I was going to roll up my sleeves and finally make this thing work. I wrote a new screenplay that I was quite invested in. It wasn’t badly received by my agent, but he said there were some problems with pacing... this and that needed work...

I was wiped out. I couldn't imagine working on it anymore.

I’d always loved writing and wanted to "be a writer." Not just be a writer, but make my living as a writer. Real writing. Serious writing, though some of it was via comedy. I had access to publishers before I ever figured out what I wanted to do. I tended to twist myself and my story ideas into the shape of those publications rather than stop to ask myself what I really wanted to write. My self-esteem depended to some extent on what I could say I was working on, on where and what I was publishing.

As we neared the end of the steps in that mighty fine little group, in a very natural way, I decided to give up writing. I felt enormously relieved.

For income, my PRG suggested that I go through my Rolodex and ask people I felt warmly toward if they had any work I could do. One was a book designer, and she kept me busy for the next few years editing and rewriting privately published books, and writing copy for travel brochures. Neither was the kind of thing my self-image would have tolerated earlier but we had a great time working together and I found that writing the travel stuff loosened me up. I got an hour's pay for an hour's work -- amazing! -- so I only had to work about ten days a month, giving me time for other responsibilities.

My home DA meeting for years has had a monthly visions meditation. Over time things came up in those meditations that in a lovely way spoke to or produced images about writing.

As my daughter got older and I found a good situation for my mom, I more or less started over with writing. For the next couple of years, I went to my writing room every morning, sometimes scribbling whatever occurred to me, sometimes using a book that offered lists of open-ended starters. My mantra was, "Am I having fun? Do I like it?" I didn't show anything to anybody.

At the same time, I developed a really firm habit of not just reading positive material every morning, which I'd done for a long time, but also meditating for twenty minutes, which I'd never been able to do consistently.

After I'd filled three books, I reviewed them for bits I liked, and sometimes fleshed those out. The writing felt much more like whatever it was I'd meant to write all along -- the way writing felt in fourth grade or seventh grade. I'd gathered enough material to go for a long time. Some pieces began to roll themselves into balls, to grow.

Gradually I tiptoed back into allowing input from other people. That part is still hard for me, not to get lost in what other people have to say and abandon my own sense of what I want to do. For quite a while I practiced that -- getting input, backing off, noticing how I was sometimes thrown by it, then correcting my course...

Out of that process have come the makings of six books, which I'm working on. I send pieces out occasionally, but for me, it's better to make my living some other way, so I stay true to myself and my writing. Just for today.

30-Day Economic Stability Challenge: Three Ways to Increase Your Income This Month

In a pinch?

So often on freelance boards, writers pose the hopeful question: What do you do to bring in more money this month? We aren't talking about raising your income in the long run. Sometimes, you just need money now.

There are a few options, but proceed with caution: These suggestions are not a replacement for a business plan or a marketing plan. You will not last as a freelancer if you try to use these suggestions to keep your business afloat. They are stop-gap measures, and as such take you away from the focus you've created with your plan. As writer Merydith Willoughby replied when I posted this question on LinkedIn:

Writing has to be considered a business: You will have to make your mark in the particular genre you write in, be excellent in your field and work your butt off to make links, contacts, etc. Once you've achieved all that, yes you can achieve your goal. It takes time, hard work, years, stamina and patience and a willingness to always improve what you are doing. Other than that, yep - it's easy.

The other bad news is that there aren't many options that both pay well and pay quickly. Usually you get one or the other. What's that old saying? "I can do it quickly, I can do it well or I can do it cheaply. Choose two." The same usually goes for freelance writing, only instead of choosing between cheap and fast, you're choosing between well-paying and fast.

Having said that, here's what my LinkedIn colleagues had to say:

Option #1: Low-paying but regular clients

In Six Figure Freelancing, one of the things Kelly James-Enger impresses upon new freelancers is that it's important to just get a stream of money coming in. For her, it was writing for hospitals. For me, it was doing movie reviews and advertorial. Sure, they paid terribly and took up a bunch of my time, but I like movies, and they paid a week after I turned in the reviews.

This is what freelancer (and full disclosure: friend) Vanessa Richardson does. "[My way of making money quickly from writing] is writing a lot of blog entries for this AOL website that pays little but at least pays on time."

Finding these can be relatively simple. Low-paying work is available on Craigslist, MediaBistro and elsewhere. The key is to keep it a small part of your income stream and your time commitment so you don't fall into the trap I did: Spending so much time doing low-paying work you don't have time to query higher-paying markets. If you've managed this, I'd love to hear about it.

Option #2: Tutoring

If you're a decent editor and can get your hands on a Chicago Manual of Style or other style guide, you can post signs around local universities, advertising your editing skills for students needing help with their essays. You won't make $1/word rates, probably, but you will make a decent amount to fill the gaps.

Or, go more global with your teaching. Rob Duncan, keynote speaker and self-described "innovation catalyst" suggests you "teach others how to write through college night courses, seminars, the Learning Annex, webinars or paid speaking gigs. Plug your nose, and sell the dream!"

Option #3: Editing Resumes and Cover Letters

The same goes for this idea. Dave Gardner, a writer and editor with 27 years experience has a lot of practice "getting new jobs after others go south." This is one of the ways he does it.

"I've been helping folks with their resumes and cover letters," he says. "The economy makes resumes and cover letters something a lot of folks need. They need them now, they pay quickly, and they appreciate what you've done for them. It just takes a little advertising (a flyer at the local unemployment office and at the temp agencies works well) and networking when out and about."

Option #4: Selling a Story a Minute (Almost)

Outgoing? Like strangers? This idea might be for you--emphasis on might.

"There used to be a guy in Chicago who would set up his manual typewriter on a street corner and write a 2-minute novel about your life," says writer Bob Rosenbaum. "He'd ask you about five questions and then bang out two paragraphs about you with a beginning, middle and end. All for whatever amount you wanted to put into his typewriter case."

What I didn't include
You may have noticed that I didn't include those freelance boards where you compete with other writers to land short-term assignments. That's because I consider them both not writing and not useful to any kind of freelance writing business model. Think about it: It's about stringing keywords together to lure eyes to ads, not writing. And for the pleasure of doing work that isn't fulfilling, you'll get to compete with other freelancers, drive down the price, and usually pay some kind of monthly fee. That's not worth it, and I'm willing to bet you deserve better.

Have other writing-related ways to make quick cash? Share them in the comments.

Photo by zzzack.