Tag Archive for 'Cheryl Wright'

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WAHM, Dad, Grandparent – Choosing Your Niche (Part 2)

Published on April 27, 2010 in Copywriting. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

As promised, here is part two of Choosing Your Niche. This article covers…

Copywriting

This is an extremely lucrative area of writing to work in, once you’re established.

I found it difficult to break into, but once I got established, it did become much easier. The unfortunate part is you will probably need to work for low pay in the beginning, but as soon as you have the necessary experience (and clips) you can go after higher paying jobs.

I started off charging an extremely low rate, but was able to demand higher fees as time went by.

Many writers erroneously believe if you’re a writer (of any sort), you can be a copywriter. Totally wrong. Like any other form of writing, you need to learn the concepts of copywriting before you can begin to sell your services.

Things I love about copywriting:

Pays very well once you are experienced.

You will often get repeat clients.

You don’t need to know technical aspects of a niche to write about it.

You can specialise in areas of copywriting and get more work as a result. (For instance, I specialise in rewriting non-converting sales pages.)

My policy is to ask for 50% – 100% deposit before work begins. If you charge 50% deposit, balance is due immediately the work is completed. One hundred percent up front is safest, especially when you’ve not worked with that client previously.

*Most of my clients prefer to pay the full amount in advance.

Things I dislike about copywriting:

A lot of potential clients think it’s extremely easy and therefore not worth much in monetary terms.

You can often get overloaded with work if you’re not extremely careful about your time-management. Always use a diary or booking sheets to ensure you don’t double up unintentionally.

Clients often want it yesterday and expect you to drop everything to fit them in. Including other client’s projects.

Payment:

Many writers starting out in copywriting will charge $1-$5 for a 500 word article. Please don’t do this – your time and expertise is worth a lot more money than that.

Plus it also hurts other writers trying to sell their services.

When I began, I was charging no less than $25 per 500 word articles. I now charge $50 per 500 word article, and have no issues getting that amount. That’s because I write high quality articles, and spend time researching the subject matter. And my clients know that’s the case.

I started off writing sales pages for $150, but now charge no less than $425 for a ‘short’ sales page. I know writers who have been doing this for years and still only charge around $100. It can take literally days to write a good sales page, so don’t skimp on your fee.

For some projects I charge by the hour. This can depend on the client – some want an hourly rate, some want a flat rate.

If I’m charging by the hour, which can also depend on the job I’m doing, I charge anywhere from $60 an hour (for proof-reading) up to $140 an hour for more complicated work.

For a simple ‘introductory letter’ for businesses, I charge $120 per two page letter.

This is a business – you must get a decent return on your time, otherwise it’s a hobby, not a business.

Recommended Resources:

“The Ultimate Copywriter” will show you how easy (and lucrative) copywriting can be, when you know how.

“The Wealthy Web Writer” is a fairly new resource, but has proven to be popular. If you want to earn money writing for the internet, definitely check this out.

For more suggestions visit “http://copy.writer2writer.com/resources.htm”

Are You a WAHM, Dad, or Grandparent – Choosing Your Niche

Published on April 26, 2010 in Writing/Publishing. 13 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Introduction

If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know that I earn money from my writing on a regular basis. In this section, we’ll discuss niches that will earn decent money for writers.

Each of the niches discussed are areas where I have earned money in the past, or still earn money.

While writing this part of the series, I decided it was way too long to post as one complete article. So I’m posting each niche as a separate post over several days.

Today’s article covers magazine writing.

Magazine Writing


I found magazine writing the easiest to break into. This won’t necessarily be the case for everyone, and will be dependant on a lot of factors.

For instance, are you an expert in a specific area? Do you have access to certain information that most writers don’t?

These are just a couple of questions to consider.

When I began writing for magazines I pitched myself as a travel writer. I approached the editor of a magazine in the US about writing travel articles about Australia.

But rather than leave it as a broad subject, I dug down into travel writing, saying I would write about places of interest in Australia that couldn’t be found in travel brochures.

That meant locals would know about these places, but the majority of people wouldn’t. Since I spent a lot of my childhood travelling around Australia in a caravan (I think they’re called RV’s or recreational vehicles in the US), I knew about a lot of places that have never featured in travel brochures.

You guessed it, I got the job.

It was a great job too – I got to travel to places I hadn’t been to for years, and was able to negotiate free entry in exchange for an article promoting the attraction.

In most cases I had no issues. Some places never even bothered to respond.

Because I know you aren’t really interested in what I did, I’ll get into the nitty-gritty of magazine writing.

Things I love about magazine writing:


You get to learn things you never imagined learning, or even writing about. Research is a great tool for all writers.

Pick the right magazine and you won’t have any trouble being published in other magazines.

It’s an interesting vocation, and you will normally get a byline. (Byline: your name listed as the writer.)

Free copies of the magazine – in most instances.

Once you’re ‘in’ with a magazine, you could potentially be in for years, or even forever.

Things I dislike about Magazine Writing:


Tight deadlines. (I’ve been given assignments 36 hours before a deadline.)

Can be months upon months before publication, and therefore, clips.

Long wait for payment in most cases. And quite often you have to fight for your money. Payment schedule should be listed in your contract.

Editors will often change their mind about what they want, and rewrites will result. If it’s not mentioned in your contract, you can end up doing 3-6 rewrites, or even more.

Some magazines want ‘all rights’ which means you can’t resell the article down the track. Many of them go so far to state you can’t use the same research for other articles on this subject. If this is the case, you need to ask for a decent amount of money as you’re signing away everything.

In the case of travel writing, it got to a point I couldn’t go anywhere without sussing out the potential of the place for an article.

Payment:


Can be anything from one cent per word up to $2 per word. (And occasionally more.) $1 per word is considered a high paying market.

Most magazines don’t pay for at least three months after publication, but does vary with each magazine.

Recommended Resources:


“Write Where the Money Is” is written by a veteran writer with over 30 years experience. When I began to read this book, I planned to read no more than ten pages in one sitting. At page 70, I had to force myself to stop.

Writing for Profit: Break into Magazines – This is one of my top-selling ebooks, and was written with new magazine writers in mind.

“The Wealthy Writer” has proven to be extremely popular with many writers. It offers a variety of options for earning money as a writer.

“Quick Cash Writing ” is great for those people who want to write short articles and earn top dollar.

“Travel Writing Secrets” is for those writers who want to travel the world and get paid to do so.

For more suggestions visit “http://freelance.writer2writer.com/resources.htm”

Resources for Crime Writers

Published on April 15, 2010 in Fiction Writing. 14 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This is a very short post today.  I just came across this resource for crime writers and wanted to make sure you’ve seen it.

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2010/04/exploring-web-resources-for-crime.html

You may have seen some of these links before, but many I’ve never seen, so they may also be new to you.

If you’re into crime writing, you may also be interested in an egroup that discusses the genre.  I’ve been a member of this group for around ten years now, and there’s a wealth of knowledge available through the members.  In addition to published and unpublished writers, we also have FBI agents, police officers, crime scene investigators, private investigators, and more. Everyone is happy to help other members, and will also answer individual questions.

Click to Learn More About the Crime Writers Yahoo Group

Don’t think because you don’t write hard-boiled crime, you can’t join this group.  There are several members (like me) who write romantic suspense, and find the group extremely helpful.

The group covers noir, hard-boiled, cosies, police procedurals, and more.

Work At Home: Getting Started

Published on April 10, 2010 in Home Office and Writing/Publishing. 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Welcome back!

This is the first in a series for WAHM, dads, grandparents, or anyone else who works from home.

Posts will discuss a variety of ways to earn money as a writer working from home, and also show you the pro’s and cons of freelance writing.  However, this information will also be helpful for anyone working from home.

Freelance Writing Defined

When thinking of freelance writing, many people assume the term means writing for magazines.  That is not the case at all.

Freelance writing simply means you are writing as a contractor and not ‘employed’ by anyone.  The dictionary defines freelance as “a self-employed person” and that’s a great way to explain it.

Freelancers are required to keep their own tax/income records, then pay tax on that income at tax time.  That means you should always allow for this when working out your income requirements.

*Please note I am not a tax consultant and any information provided is generalized.  Please consult a tax consultant for professional advice.

Setting Up Your Home Office

Because it’s logical, I’m going to start with setting up a home office.  In the majority of cases, you won’t need anything more than you already have:

Desk
Chair
Computer

*If you’re buying new equipment, make sure your desk and chair are ergonomical.  I’ll discuss this in more depth in a later post.

Those are the basics of a home office, and you probably already have each of those.  There are extras you may need, but aren’t essential at this point:

Fax
Scanner
Printer

Let me discuss each of these –

Fax – I’ve never had a fax, and have rarely been asked to provide a fax number, but I know a lot of WAHM who use them all the time.  It really depends on what you’re doing.

Scanner – more than anything, I use my scanner for clips.  This makes it simple to send proof of past publication to potential markets.

They can be printed out for posting, or they can be saved as pdfs and then attached to an email.

Note:  I haven’t queried a market via snail-mail for over 5 years, so pdfs are the way I work.

Printer – not essential.  I have a printer next to my desk, and I use it more for printing out work for proof-reading than anything.

Getting Organised

I will go into this in more depth in a later post, but organisation is extremely important in a home office.

Every day should start with a plan.  Decide on your work priorities for the day and write them down.  Make sure you tackle those items before anything else, and mark them off as they’re completed.

Not only does this show you what you’ve achieved, it helps you to move onto the next priority project.

A word of warning:  Do not allocate more than five priority items per day, especially when starting out, as you’ll find it overwhelming.

Mindset

This was one of the most difficult things I faced when I began working from home.

Here I was sitting at my desk, working from home, and knowing I had a ton of washing to do, floors to sweep, dishes to put away, beds to make etc.

It took a few months, but finally I was able to get housework out of my head.  Your mind tells you to do those unfinished or not yet started household tasks, but your logical side tells you that work must come first.

And if you’re working for a client then it must.  Because more likely than not you’ll be on a deadline.

If you can’t get beyond that housework mindset, start your day by adding a load of washing to the machine, load the dishwasher, and get the kids to make the beds for extra pocket money.

Doing this will ease your mind, and get your focus back on your workday.

Most people working from home are doing it for a variety of reasons.  Here are a few of the most common reasons:  illness and unable to go out to work, recently had a baby and want to work from home, need extra money.

Your Needs

Okay, that’s it for today, but I am going to set a bit of homework.  I’d like you to think about what sort of work you want to do (if you haven’t already started).

My next post will discuss various forms of writing – what they are, what they pay, and the pros and cons.

Don’t forget to leave your comments about this post!