Get an Attitude About Your Writing
BY ANGELA BOOTH
(This excerpt is taken from my new writing
workshop Writing To Sell In the Internet Age.)
Writer John Clausen, in his excellent book about
freelance writing:
Too Lazy To Work, Too Nervous To Steal, recommends that you get
an attitude about your work. And he's right.
Many writers are submissive. This attitude brings
out the worst in others. It leads to people in a position to pay you for
your work taking massive advantage of you, because they figure that
you're not going to do anything about it.
Heck, it leads to business people — editors,
publishers and anyone who hires writers — taking advantage of writers in
general. So, while you're standing up for yourself, tell yourself that
you're standing up for writers everywhere. Because you are.
Getting an attitude doesn't mean that you are rude
or aggressive. You should be completely polite and professional at all
times. However, you do need to be assertive. And to believe in yourself.
As Clausen rightly points out, whenever someone
hires you to write something, or buys from you, they want to believe
that they're hiring and buying the best they can afford. Who will
believe that you're good if you don't?
If you're overly grateful for each job you get,
too thrilled with the idea that the potential buyer is being so nice to
consider your work, you'll get ripped off with every job that you do.
It took me a long time to learn this.
This doesn't mean that you should get a massively
inflated ego. You should have enough perspective to see where your work
needs improvement. If you're prepared to learn, and to practice, your
work will improve each year.
Let's get down to basics. If I don't mean be
aggressive about your work, what do I mean by "get an attitude"?
What I mean is this: know what the kind of writing
you're doing is worth, and what you're worth. And then don't write for
less. This means that you're willing to do some research and thinking
before you accept a writing job.
For example, let's say that a glossy magazine
wants you to write a thousand words on the different kinds of plastic
surgery which are popular at the moment.
The magazine has lots of advertising. By calling
the advertising department, and having their advertising rates faxed to
you, you see that they're charging $10,000 for a full page ad. You've
read that their usual contributor rates are around fifty cents a word.
You're offered 40 cents a word. You haggle, and
you and the editor establish that this is 40 cents for the complete 1000
words, even if the magazine cuts the piece right down. Why did you
agree?
Firstly, you want to break into this magazine.
Secondly, you've done a lot of the research, and the article will be
easy to write. Thirdly, you need the money, and you've heard that this
magazine pays within 14 days of receiving the invoice.
On the other hand, let's say that you've written
for this magazine before. You've written three features which were well
received. You've been getting a dollar a word. For this plastic surgery
story, the editor tells you they've had budget cuts, and she can only
afford to give you 50 cents a word.
You thank her for her time, and tell her that
although you can't afford to do the story for that rate, you look
forward to working with her again.
So getting an attitude means being armed with
knowledge. You know how long and how much effort it will take you to do
the work, and what the client can pay. You know what kind of deal you're
happy with, and what you'll walk away from.
Want another example?
Let's say you're a subcontractor occasionally
working with a graphics design business. They send you an eight page
brochure, and ask for a quote to copyedit it.
You read the copy-heavy brochure, and it's a mess.
You estimate it will take you eight hours to do the work.
They get back to you — eight hours seems too long.
Are you sure it will take you eight hours?
You reply that it will, but if you finish in seven
hours, you will only charge them for seven hours. On the other hand, if
it takes you nine hours, you'll only charge them for eight.
You get the job.
Get an attitude about your work. Know your
markets, and stand up for yourself. Not only will you be happier, but
you'll also make more money from your writing.
Professional writer Angela Booth
developed and runs the
Pro Write:
Professional Writing Secrets website.
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