Carol Tice has made a name for herself in the writing industry. Not only is this Seattle area resident a well-known wordsmith, but she’s carved out a niche for helping other writers to establish and grow their talents through her award-winning blog, makealivingwriting.com and her eBook by the same name. I spoke to Carol to find out how she’s been so successful as a freelance writer.
Q: You have previous experience as a journalist. Why did you start freelancing?
I?d been at the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) for nearly seven years under a great team of editors…and then they both left, and it just wasn?t the same. It was time to move on.
Q: How did you transition into freelancing?
Into the pool with no preparation really, but a five-figure severance check did help me get started. I?d been thinking about doing it, I knew it wasn?t working out, and then one day I was headed home on the ferry with all my belongings in a big box, and it was time to freelance. I initially thought I?d just freelance until I found another job, but I started earning fairly quickly, and pretty soon I couldn?t imagine going back. I have three kids and two are special needs-ish, so it allows me flexibility in my schedule that I need to help and advocate for them.
Q: Were there any challenges and how did you overcome them?
Oh, you mean like needing to feed my family? Yeah.
Q: That’s a challenge for most of us. But additionally, with getting used to freelancing and all.
I?d freelanced before, way back when my monthly nut was a whole lot less. So I knew the basic drill, but I needed to find a lot more work this go-round.
To sum up a lot, I ramped my business by marketing my ass off. I began by telling all the good sources I?d had at PSBJ I was leaving…one of them offered me some writing work right away. One of my editors had gone to the Seattle Times, and he referred me for some work on their special sections. Within about six months I had a pretty steady income again. I?ve used LinkedIn a lot and Twitter, sent queries, answered ads, you name it.
Q: What milestones developmentally have you hit during your last five years as a freelancer?
I earned more each year since 2006, straight through the downturn. I?m really proud of that. Started my blog in ?08 and spun it off to its own site in early ?09. Last year, it was named one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers on Write to Done. Still blown away by the recognition. I won several first-place Society of Professional Journalists awards for 3,000-word articles I wrote for Seattle Magazine, which felt great, and I loved the opportunity to write long-form, fully-reported stories.
I’m also proud to be a regular guest blogger on Copyblogger, and the anchor blogger for Entrepreneur magazine. It?s fun to be involved in this emerging medium.
Frankly, every day is a blast, even if the deadlines are pretty relentless. I continue to learn tons about the technical requirements of running your own successful blog ? about blog design, how to put on webinars, launch a membership community (coming next), and on and on.
Q: How has your newsroom/publishing experience helped you with your freelancing? (Many people start out freelance writing without this–and it’s so valuable!)
I think it helps tons. When you?ve filed four stories a week plus a daily web update for 12 years straight ? I had a five-year trade-pub gig before PSBJ ? you know how to find ideas, plan your schedule, get your interviews, and get stories written on time. You also understand the ethics of reporting, something that?s sadly lacking in a lot of the blogging world. I think that background has given me a real edge in getting hired both by companies and publications.
Q: What’s your typical day like?
Well, in the ideal, I get up at 6:30 am, get my kids off to school, and then walk mostly uphill for an hour around my house. Take a shower and by 9 I?m at my desk. If I worked too late the night before (pretty common for me these days!) I might skip the exercise and crawl right to my desk by 7:30 or 8. In the morning I?m often working on stuff for my blog, promoting it in social media, or doing interviews. In the afternoon and evening I usually write. I often use evenings for blog learning ? how to use a new plug-in or something, or writing materials for an upcoming webinar for writers or such.
If I didn?t walk in the morning, I try to walk or bike with my kids before or after dinner, or garden. You gotta keep your body moving to stay sharp and come up with great story and blog-post ideas.
On Saturday, I am never, ever on any electronic device or even thinking about work. That?s my real best secret. So many people in blogging seem to be on 24/7, and that way lies burnout. Don?t forget to live.
Q: So true! How do you get clients–what’s your best “secret”?
My best secret is there is no magical secret to getting clients. Keep networking. Keep querying. Keep calling up companies and saying, ?Do you use freelance writers?? I did an analysis of where I got clients in 2010, and each came from a different type of marketing. Have a multi-pronged marketing approach to get the most clients.
As of summer 2010, I?m not really having to actively market my writing anymore. I?m fully booked, and get a lot of leads through referrals, my Entrepreneur blog, my LinkedIn profile, and my website, which usually tops the Google search for ?Seattle freelance writer.? I pass on a lot of offers, and keep raising my rates. It took several years of grueling marketing to get here, and it feels great to have my pick of assignments.
Q: Is more of your work securing partnerships with writing outlets and getting work fed to you or is it more of querying various publications for one-time pieces?
I don?t do either of these, really. I?ve had a couple gigs through an agency, but they never pay as well as when you land your own clients. And one-time pieces are not how you make a good income. My goal with every connection and first assignment I make is to Casablanca it ? you know, it?s going to be the start of a beautiful friendship. Most of my clients I write for nearly every month.
Little work is ?fed to me? ? I come up with ideas for articles and blogs. A lot of people hire me because they?ve heard I?m the idea queen. I never run out of ideas, so I can blog for a client three times a week, month after month. I have maybe one to two corporate clients where they develop the ideas and need me to execute them.
Q: Do you handle any other types of editorial work?
I do a mix of blogging, article writing for publications both online and off, and article writing for companies. I?ve also done a ton of web content ? static pages, case studies, white papers.
Q: What is the key to landing a writing gig?
Keep trying, every way you can think of, to connect with prospective writing markets. If you have no samples, create one free ? maybe a brochure about your writing business, or web content for a local business. Have a marketing plan and stick to it. If it?s not working, try some new approaches. Make up your mind that you are an unstoppable force and will keep going until you are earning the income you want.
Q: What strategy do you find that works best to retain clients?
Blow their minds with the quality of what you deliver ? and do it on time. Every time.
Q: What are some of your favorite writing resources?
I like Linda Formichelli, the Renegade Writer, also Anne Wayman of About Freelance Writing and Jenn Mattern of All Freelance Writing. Copyblogger and Problogger, of course. That and my tweetstream.
Q: Many writers create content for farms as a way to build clips. What do you think of that and what advice do you have for them?
It seems like a losing strategy for most who do it, and now that Google changed its algorithm, mill writers should realize this whole world may fade away. They need a Plan B.
As fans of my blog know, I?m down on the mills. I think they work best for subject experts whose full-time gig is some other profession, not writing. Same with revshare, free-article sites, bidding sites. It?s all a race to the bottom you want to stay out of.
In general, I just don?t think it?s necessary to work for such low wages, unless you are totally unwilling to market your business. If you market yourself, you can find better pay fairly easily. I?ve never done a single assignment for any of these low-paying places.
Q: You contribute to several outlets to share your writing expertise. What is one mishap you see among aspiring and beginning writers?
I?d say three things: They are often overwhelmed by all the possibilities in freelance writing, so they do nothing.
They?re not willing to do anything to make their writing career happen, except answer Craigslist ads. They don?t learn. They don?t invest in their career.
Their vision of what they could achieve with their writing is so limited. They think the whole world is $20 blog posts you write in an hour.
When I tell them I get $2,000 an article and $150 an hour, that they can find real pay if they go out and look, some think I?m making it up. They don?t understand mills are a new underworld that?s sprung up for writers, but that the regular world is still there. Something like 379 million copies of print magazines were sold last year. Send a query! Businesses are all ramping up their marketing. There is SO much opportunity out there, if you?re willing to get out and look.
Thank you so much for your insights, Carol!
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