Freelance Writing Tip #28: Change Your Setting

Writing can be very boring work; especially if it becomes very mechanical when you’re not interested in the subject matter. One of the ways around this is to physically change your writing setting; take a pen, paper and notebook if you’re a cyber-nut, move to a coffee shop with free internet access or a bookstore if you want a different atmosphere. Switching where you write (or what tools you use to write with) can add something a little different to help you get your assignment done.

Many coffee shops and restaurants now offer free Wi-Fi as well–you might have to be a little creative about where these places are, especially since many of the bigger chains do not offer free Wi-Fi. I’ve found that smaller coffee shops are the best bet for saving money and better prices.

Regardless, if you’re feeling stuck, changing where you’re working can help.

July 8, 2007
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Writing Exercises #2: Using your Online Journal

Online communities, blogs, and journals are one of the most popular ways for people to reach out to one another across the web. In this online community toolkit, you can read more articles about how to take advantage of this social networking opportunity for this list of social networking sites.

The nice thing about building an online blog, is that it’s a way to utilize journal writing exercises.

Here are some ideas to utilize your online journal as a way to write more prolifically.

  • Metered Poetry: The cool thing about poetry, is that you have the opportunity to work within tight constraints. Reconstructing sonnets, haikus, or even limericks can provide you with some ideas. Another thing that this exercise can do is to give you other structures to use and integrate within your fiction writing. Choose from several different types of poetry to write what you’re the most comfortable with, and then pick any theme.
  • Meme: Whether someone tags you to write a meme or you pick one from The Daily Meme, you’ll have the opportunity to write about yourself and socially connect. The nice thing about memes is that you’re writing without even thinking about it.
  • Write in Character: If you’re writing a story or novel, sometimes you need to go a little deeper and get in your character’s mindset. Why not write a post from your character’s point-of-view? The easiest way to do that is to pick an emotion, one that you haven’t explored before, to see how your character might react. The hidden benefit of doing this also allows you to subtly promote your work.
  • Promote yourself: Whether you talk about the process of your work or something that you had published, blogs are a great way to promote yourself. Keep in mind, though, that self-promotion needs to happen elsewhere, offline, as well. A good way to talk about self-promotion is to keep the facts short and sweet; talking about he process could take a little longer.

Whatever (or however) you decide to use your blog, keep in mind that it shouldn’t be a burden–it should be fun. If you spend more time blogging and posting than you do writing, then I suggest revisiting your schedule to see why you’re writing less and socializing more. If you’re working a day job, chances are you won’t have much time or energy left over to write. Online communities are a great way to reconnect, but don’t let it stop or prevent you from writing.

July 4, 2007
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Essays: Writers and Depression Part One

According to the mental health statistics found through the National Institute of Mental Health, “Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for ages 15-44.” The site points out that Depression is not something that is just in your head, it’s a “serious medical illness.”

What does this have to do with writing?

The link between creativity, depression and mental illness is one that has claimed the lives of countless painters, poets, philosophers and writers throughout the ages from every culture imaginable. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Jean Améry, Hubert Aquin, Reinaldo Arenas, Thomas Chatterton, Sadeq Hedayat, Ernest Hemingway, Gérard de Nerval, Socrates, Virginia Woolf, and many others are just a few of the authors who took their own lives, affected by depression. After reading a CBS interview about creativity and depression, it seems as if we should pay attention, not only to historical figures who have already committed suicide, but to today’s creative people to support and understand why so many seem to take their lives into their own hands.

After performing extensive research, I have not been able to find any resources offering hard data as to why this may be so. As a writer myself, I can only speculate why that is–it could be that many writers are depressed and don’t even realize it, or maybe they don’t know the difference between “clinical” depression and shrug off their bad moods as a passing “mood swing.”

Whatever the reason, I think that as writers it’s important to understand what mental illness is because, in my opinion, it might be possible that we are more susceptible to poor health simply because of the fact that writing is a very lonely, solitary activity.

My opinion is, in part, supported by this clinical trial about female writers and depression. Their conclusions indicated that, The high rates of certain emotional disorders in female writers suggested a direct relationship between creativity and psychopathology. But the relationship was not necessarily a simple one. As the results of the predictive analysis indicated, familial and environmental factors also appeared to play an important role.“

In this case, “familial and environmental factors” seems to mean the life you have outside of writing. As all of our lives are different, trying to analyze writers for hard data is like trying to barcode human beings.

In Part Two of my article on Writers and Depression, I will share some of the factors that cause depression and talk about some of the things we can look for to catch ourselves from falling. If you have feedback or wish to contribute to the next article for this series, please contact: Monica Valentinelli

July 1, 2007
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Freelance Writing Tip #27: Interview Your Employer

Working with a publisher? Got offered a job? Great! Before you agree to take the job, I highly recommend that before you sign anything or negotiate terms you ask your employer a few questions. Don’t be afraid to find out a little bit more about their business, sometimes you may decide that you don’t want to take a job based on what kind of business you’re working for–especially since companies come and go.

It’s important to ask questions to know who you’re dealing with and whether or not the business is on the up-and-up. Most editors won’t mind sharing a little insight, as long as you are polite and stay focused, asking questions relevant to the job.

Depending upon your deadline and needs, examples of questions might be:

* When can you expect payment?
* Will you have to provide tax information?
* How many rounds of edits will the assignment require?
* How long have you been in business?
* Will you receive an author’s copy of your work? If so, how many?
* How long after you submit your assignment will the work be published?
* Will they provide a reference?
* What other titles or publications do they produce?
* Are they owned by a parent company?
* What rights are you retaining, giving up by working on this project?

If you search well enough, you might be able to find invaluable information online. Sometimes freelance authors will step up and be vocal about non-paying companies or services; while it’s good not to get too heavily involved in forum discussions of that type, it can’t hurt to read information from someone else’s posts.

In those rare cases where you do get offered a full-time position please slow down and ask about their benefits program–you don’t want to get stuck having to pay more for health insurance than you take home every day.

Above all, go with your gut instinct. If you feel a company is being honest and professional with you, they probably are. If you’re not comfortable working without a contract or written agreement and an employer won’t sign? Then that company is probably to risky for you to work with.

Remember, being offered a job is a wonderful thing, but you have to be smart about it as well. If you’re not, you may end up putting in more effort than what it’s worth.

June 25, 2007
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Freelance Writing Tip #26: Write like a Ghost

Frustrated you can’t find any assignments? Consider ghostwriting as an alternate source of income. You won’t get credit for what you write (unless you work that out beforehand), but you may be able to use the author as a reference. In these cases, payment is almost guaranteed because both your reputation as an author and their reputation are on the line.

When you negotiate terms for ghostwriting, there might be a difference between “edited” content and “new” content, not to mention comments about copyright or licensing. So when you ghostwrite, make sure you’re not giving away your best ideas because you will never, ever be able to claim credit for them.

Payment and terms vary widely, and are all over the spectrum from charging by word, page, or hour. Ghost Writers Central has some interesting terms to charge by the minute.

I strongly caution you to do a lot of research before you sign your words away; contracts can be a tricky business and deadlines for ghostwriters are strict–you cannot under any circumstances blow a ghostwriting deadline because you’ll take down both you and the person you’re working for. In this case, the captain will go down with the ship.

For more information about ghostwriting, Sharon Hurley Hall talks about ghostwriting in this article from her work-at-home blog; and Amanda Hurley also gives some great tips through Ezine Articles.

June 25, 2007
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