As a freelance writer, are you  saving words on the back end of a job by spending a few on the front end, or do you not care that every re-write you do as a freelancer cuts your pay in half? That’s right, every extra word digs into your pocket by taking time away from potential projects, as well as diluting your charge per word by fifty percent.

The best way to avoid unnecessary reworking is to ask questions up front. When was the last time this happened between you and the plumber you trust:

“ABC Plumbing,”

“Hey Bill, it’s John Doe over in Anytown”

“Hey John! What can I do for you?”

“I have a water problem at the house, and I’m at work.”

“I’ll be right over to fix it.” Click.

I’m betting on never. Even the best plumbers know to ask the right questions before getting off the horn and heading over to the trouble site.

Being a freelance writer means that you should too.

Ask the obvious as well as any not so obvious questions:

• What is the target audience?
• What SEO are you expecting?
• Word count minimums and maximums?
• Do you have examples of what you want?

Of course, you should always wait until the first submission has been accepted and signed off before you submit the next piece (for those jobs on a run of submissions); this way you have a reference in case of a rewrite request later.

Another very important step to take is to keep communication between you and your client open, friendly, and clear. Sort of like that refrigerator magnet with the plumber’s name and number on it.

On long running jobs, it is natural to drift off course, even slightly, so it is a good idea to perform a reality check with your client from time to time to ensure that the course is kept true. Most clients will tell you when things are running out of whack, but by showing the initiative and asking  your client how your work is looking can help keep re-writes down to a minimum.

Beware though; too many inquiries and you are a spineless pest. At least that’s what your client will be saying about you around the water cooler.

Get the answers up front, monitor your work along the way, and you will be well down the road to earning exactly what you contracted for as a freelance writer.

Can you think of any questions or tips to be added here?

© 2010, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

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Okay, so you can write and you are ready to become a hired gun. You have polished your shooting irons and the town hall clock is slowly ticking towards high noon. Standing in the dusty street, duster tails blowing around your legs, palms sweating and itchy.

Suddenly, the target appears down the street from you, or you assume it is the target. The overhead sun is bright and blazing, causing sweat to blur your vision.

Then, just as your nerve pushes you to draw, a gunshot rings out and dust is violently thrown up at your feet. You look around and realize the target is not alone as there are nearly 15 guns scattered on rooftops and front porches out in front of you…

Being a freelancer is so much more than just writing. Being a freelance writer is an occupation and as like any other form of self employment, a freelance writer has to wear many hats.  Freelancers have to know how to write various types of content, know how to market their skills, know about customer relationships, know about bookkeeping, know about SEO, know about, know about, know about…

Most of this stuff is typically learned through experience and common sense, but because you wear a bright and  shiny tin star, there is help on your side of the dusty street…

The Freelance Writing Jobs Network

If there is a more complete and in depth  support resource for freelance writers available, I’ll eat my sweat laden stetson.

Deb Ng started The Freelance Writing Jobs Network as a classifieds (if you will) listing for freelance writing jobs available, but today the site is so much more.

So much more.

Today, FJWN is a complete community where a freelancer can amass all manners of knowledge relating to the business of being a writer for hire. Take this  FWJN post for instance, Do You Have the Confidence to Apply For the Big Jobs?; the idea of gaining confidenece is explored and handy tips are doled out so that we writers may help ourselves land the bigger jobs we wouldn’t have gunned for because we didn’t think we were good enough.

Looking across the top of the site you can see that the community offers guidance on business, article writing, blogging for living, grammar, and job hunting tips.

Oh yeah…there are still writing jobs listed too. I have snagged all of my freelance gigs from the lists at the site.

When you are staring down all the barrels pointed straight at you has a hired pen, there is not a better posse to have your side than FWJN.

© 2010, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

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Ever looked at a client’s web site and tell yourself that they need more than a writer? Maybe the graphics just were off or out of date, or maybe the SEO had cobwebs on it. Egads, you say as you look further. What a mess.

Oh well, I did my part. Gave the client the three hundred words and now I’ll just sit and wait. After all, they came to me because they DID need a writer. Now is about the time a huge car should happen to drop on me from the heavens. Or maybe I could get away with a duh-oh!.

We writers (yes, I’ll include myself this time) are generally Jacks and Jills Of All Trades out of necessity, well okay, more out of hunger. So why not make use of that? We often forget to include all of our talents when we hang our our shingles , and potential clients may never know what we can do. They will often hire out job specific and not once ask if we can perform other tasks.

But, we are all different and about half of us will say “Hell with that. I’m not doing any more than I’m asked,” while the other half will tell ourselves, “That is ugly and I know I can fix it, but I won’t intrude. Wouldn’t want to piss off the client, you know.”

I’ll just say this; Fuck that.

What if the client would love to bundle services? Don’t you like having all of your related services bundled? I mean, I think it’s dang cool to have a homeless crack whore stop by once in a while. Love, drugs, and the convenience of not having to take her home. So why wouldn’t your client jump at the chance to get a bundled deal?

The only non-benefit I see is the ability for our clients to get work completed on parallel paths. But if we give them a package quote, they may be willing to give a little on the time needed side. Certainly, when we really think about the logistics of seeking more work and having a schedule blocks filled, a bundled deal could pay off for us, the freelance writers.

Next time you find someone in the need of a writer, look around and see if you can offer more. What’s the worst that could happen? A persistent itch or rash? Petty annoyances when it comes to mullah.

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

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