Avoid Writing Income Disasters With These Five Tips - Part Two
http://www.articleland.co.uk/articles/70561/1/Avoid-Writing-Income-Disasters-With-These-Five-Tips---Part-Two/Page1.html
Angela Booth
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Published on 05/16/2008
These days, writers can make an unlimited income If you set your mind to it, you can make as much income as you choose
These days, writers can make an unlimited income. If you set your mind to it, you can make as much income as you choose. Many writers are earning six figures. You can too, as long as you avoid common writing income disasters.
In the first part of our article, we discussed three of the most common disasters:
1. Not asking for a retainer
If you don't ask for a retainer of at least 50 per cent, you have no way of knowing whether or not a client is genuine, or whether he's a scammer.
2. No writing services agreement
Without a writing services agreement, you're in a very bad place.
3. Procrastination
When it's time to write, write. The more you write, the more you earn.
You can read about the above three disasters in detail in Part One of this article.
Now let's focus on the other two most common disasters I see.
4. Writing for low pay
Assuming you have some writing credits (in other words, someone, somewhere, sometime has paid you for your writing), you can charge appropriately.
Writing for higher pay is actually easier than writing for low pay, and here's why: clients who pay you appropriately know their business and they know the value of writing. They're successful, so they want the best writers.
Many writers start their writing career on the out-sourcing sites. Now, while I have nothing against these sites, once you have a couple of writing credits it's time to get away from those sites, and FAST.
Why? Because of the "rush to the bottom" mentality that abounds on these sites. The writers on these sites use them inappropriately - they want to win projects by under-bidding each other. They've never learned any marketing skills.
Nobody wins when writers do this. Not the writers and definitely not the clients.
The writers don't win because they're forced into writing like battery hens are forced into laying eggs. They write so much the quality suffers. They have no time to get out of the writing ghetto and look for better writing jobs. They have no time for self-promotion, which would ensure that they get better writing jobs.
The clients don't win because sub-standard writing ensures that their projects are sub-standard.
Now let's look at the next writing disaster.
5. Forgetting to promote yourself
Writers need to learn self-promotion, and then they need to promote themselves.
Want to know the easiest way to spot a newbie writer? OK. Here it is: the newbie writer creates a name for their writing "business", like "The Write Standard", or "Writing Wonder Words" or "Just a Another Writer" or whatever... Please note that all these names are fictional, as far as I'm aware. I made them up; I certainly hope that no one's using them - if anyone is, I'm sorry, because I'm not referring to you specifically.
Big, big tip: a professional writer uses his or her own name ONLY. They realize that promoting anything is hard work, so they might as well turn their own name into a brand, rather than creating a ditzy name for their business.
Use your own name. It helps you to build your credits. Editors, publishers and clients will remember your name, so use it.
Please avoid all five writing disasters, now you know what they are. When you treat your writing with the respect it deserves, you will make an income beyond your dreams, and you'll richly deserve it too.
In the first part of our article, we discussed three of the most common disasters:
1. Not asking for a retainer
If you don't ask for a retainer of at least 50 per cent, you have no way of knowing whether or not a client is genuine, or whether he's a scammer.
2. No writing services agreement
Without a writing services agreement, you're in a very bad place.
3. Procrastination
When it's time to write, write. The more you write, the more you earn.
You can read about the above three disasters in detail in Part One of this article.
Now let's focus on the other two most common disasters I see.
4. Writing for low pay
Assuming you have some writing credits (in other words, someone, somewhere, sometime has paid you for your writing), you can charge appropriately.
Writing for higher pay is actually easier than writing for low pay, and here's why: clients who pay you appropriately know their business and they know the value of writing. They're successful, so they want the best writers.
Many writers start their writing career on the out-sourcing sites. Now, while I have nothing against these sites, once you have a couple of writing credits it's time to get away from those sites, and FAST.
Why? Because of the "rush to the bottom" mentality that abounds on these sites. The writers on these sites use them inappropriately - they want to win projects by under-bidding each other. They've never learned any marketing skills.
Nobody wins when writers do this. Not the writers and definitely not the clients.
The writers don't win because they're forced into writing like battery hens are forced into laying eggs. They write so much the quality suffers. They have no time to get out of the writing ghetto and look for better writing jobs. They have no time for self-promotion, which would ensure that they get better writing jobs.
The clients don't win because sub-standard writing ensures that their projects are sub-standard.
Now let's look at the next writing disaster.
5. Forgetting to promote yourself
Writers need to learn self-promotion, and then they need to promote themselves.
Want to know the easiest way to spot a newbie writer? OK. Here it is: the newbie writer creates a name for their writing "business", like "The Write Standard", or "Writing Wonder Words" or "Just a Another Writer" or whatever... Please note that all these names are fictional, as far as I'm aware. I made them up; I certainly hope that no one's using them - if anyone is, I'm sorry, because I'm not referring to you specifically.
Big, big tip: a professional writer uses his or her own name ONLY. They realize that promoting anything is hard work, so they might as well turn their own name into a brand, rather than creating a ditzy name for their business.
Use your own name. It helps you to build your credits. Editors, publishers and clients will remember your name, so use it.
Please avoid all five writing disasters, now you know what they are. When you treat your writing with the respect it deserves, you will make an income beyond your dreams, and you'll richly deserve it too.