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Topic: In a funk....
| Author | Message |
| newyorker | Posted – 8/14/2007 4:22:15 PM | show profile I've been freelancing for some time now and I can honestly say that for the past few months I have been in somewhat of a funk. I'm tired of searching for article ideas and tired of searching for new jobs. Do other freelancers experience this and how do you snap yourself out of it? |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 8/14/2007 6:11:28 PM | show profile Yup, I feel that way sometimes. Personally, I gave up searching for story ideas. Instead, I target companies and trade pubs that will send me assignments. I haven't pitched in years. |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 8/14/2007 6:33:27 PM | show profile you're never trapped though. if it turns out you think you'd be happy with a full-time job, i'm sure you can find one you enjoy. |
| newyorker | Posted – 8/14/2007 6:41:05 PM | show profile Yes, I would be more happy with a full-time, perm. job but im not having any luck in that department. And with the industry the way that it is, with layoffs and cutbacks and closings left and right, I've just been feeling very discouraged. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/14/2007 6:42:28 PM | show profile What helped me was to look at my own trends. I did the math and discovered that I was making inroads -- several regular clients, bigger assignments instead of little ones. I noticed the things that had helped me the most -- following up, getting to know editors a bit, offering to do other things for people already pleased with my work, branching out and trying new things. This too shall pass. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/14/2007 6:45:00 PM | show profile Where there's layoffs, someone's got to pick up the slack. That's what I did for a large daily here, picking up some steady work that used to be done by staffers. Don't put all your eggs in one basket -- keep looking for new baskets. Mind you, I've worked harder, perhaps, than some people might be willing to work. But it's paid off. |
| aj | Posted – 8/14/2007 9:22:00 PM | show profile Two words... Road Trip. Clears the mind. And somehow, things just start to make sense on some long stretch of highway. You'll return with a new perspective on what's next. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 8/14/2007 9:22:56 PM | show profile Absolutely. It's exhausting and if, as dribbledrive insists is possible, you can get only assignments and never pitch again, go for it. I know no one in this position. However silly it sounds, take a break. If you can afford a vacation and really get 100% away from the treadmill, even for a week (longer if you can) you will find yourself refreshed and the slogging, which will not go away, will at least have disappeared for a while. If all you can do is take a daily break, do that -- and make sure you build it into every single day, no matter how busy you feel you need to be. If you feel like all you do is work for others, without even the relative security of a paycheck or its prospect on the horizon, why wouldn't you burn out? I took a month off in Europe this summer, doing one story interview and three job interviews in that time. Few freelancers would risk it, I'm aware, but it allowed me to return with a more positive outlook and renewed energy and ideas. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 8/14/2007 9:57:13 PM | show profile me too! (You can see my whining on part of this issue in a post titled "feast or famine." ) Just last night I realized that when I was left my F/T staff newspaper job one of the things I was so grateful to leave behind was the constant fierce competitiveness. Every day for more than a decade I was frantically trying not to get scooped on something. Now that stress has been replaced with the feast or famine conundrum, the fact that dealing with editors now is like blind dating (does he really like me???) I just got my zillionth rejection on a personal essay and I'm wondering why I keep trying. I totally agree with caitlin - this month I dont' have a lot of deadlines so instead of frantically looking for new clients, new pitches, I'm trying to take it easy. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 8/15/2007 12:58:02 AM | show profile My suggestion is to develop a specifically plan of attack. Start by identifying your key stressors. If that is needing to develop more money work, put an aggressive plan to develop those. Frankly, generating income by developing and selling individual pitches is tough. (If this has become drudgery, that's especially the case.) So consider going after trade magazines or search for regular gigs -- columns, retainers. Try searching for corporate work. I would rather have a .75 a word client that keeps coming to me with steady work than a $2 a word article I have to do a lot of work to land. And that's what runs a lot of freelancers down -- the one-and-done assignments are grueling because landing them is so time consuming and draining. After that need is met, you can focus on other needs -- like personal expression through your personal essays. I used to write a lot of essays. My philosophy was never to get too hung up on any one. I'd rarely spent more than a few hours on one and then send it out to as many magazines as I could think of -- and then forget it. If it sold, it sold. These days, I ping-pong among all sorts of projects -- mystery novels, children's novels, technology marketing pieces, email campaigns, magazine profiles. My personal work is fiction; my money work corporate writing and the occasional magazine article that an editor assigns me. Also, breaks and vacations are important. Sometimes I take off a few days just to read, if I've had a very heavy workload or finish a big project like a novel or white paper. --Just last night I realized that when I was left my F/T staff newspaper job one of the things I was so grateful to leave behind was the constant fierce competitiveness. Every day for more than a decade I was frantically trying not to get scooped on something. Now that stress has been replaced with the feast or famine conundrum, the fact that dealing with editors now is like blind dating (does he really like me???) I just got my zillionth rejection on a personal essay and I'm wondering why I keep trying. I totally agree with caitlin - this month I dont' have a lot of deadlines so instead of frantically looking for new clients, new pitches, I'm trying to take it easy. -- |
| seeattleme | Posted – 8/15/2007 1:13:38 AM | show profile i say get a job in a bookstore or something. Just to pay the bills. make the freelancing you do an aside from that. If you get a job in a little out of the way bookstore and bring your lap top to work, you'll get a lot of work in. Ask customers for story ideas: what would they want to read in magazines? You can quit a job like that in a month or two without it having any ramifications on your work. Or get a job in a bar or coffee shop--something that puts you in touch w/ people you can talk to. |
| EuroWriter | Posted – 8/15/2007 8:35:20 AM | show profile | email poster the funk Of course, even freelance journalists get the blues -- it amazes me what romantic notions other people have about this business -- but I find it helps to whine a little, take some time off if needed and possible, and start looking for new assignments. Sending out invoices is always good for a quick -- albeit shortlived -- perk. But I keep telling myself that the ups and downs are part of it, the price of freedom. I'd definitely take the right job if it came along, but the more time that passes since my last F/T newspaper job, the more I get used to my routine the fewer jobs are out there that seem worth the trade. I try to keep a pile of easy-to-do colorful stories that I clip from local papers (I'm in Europe), so that if nothing else is working, I can pull one out, put a new spin on it and pitch it to a few US papers. That kind of stuff keeps the ball rolling and keeps me busy, which keeps the funk at bay, at least temporarily. >>I would rather have a .75 a word client that keeps coming to me with steady work than a $2 a word article I have to do a lot of work to land. And that's what runs a lot of freelancers down -- the one-and-done assignments are grueling because landing them is so time consuming and draining.<< It's not either or. I find that I need to have both. A steady stream of incremental income, but to keep developing as a journalist, I want to be in better markets, which isn't only about the money. At the end of the day it's about getting to do the better stories. So I try to have enough incremental income to cover my basic expenses, but to be sure to save enough time in the month to be working on bigger projects. Sometimes it works really well. Sometimes I have to pull an all-nighter to meet deadlines. My two cents, fwiw. cheers. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 8/15/2007 11:25:01 AM | show profile dribble always has such good advice - but re essays; How do you do it!? How do you detach from such a thing!? ;) These days I find myself whirling between narcissim and insecurity - "Yes! I'm brilliant. Wait! No - everyone thinks I'm worthless!" I write these kind of things to snap out of my funk but then wind up getting mired back down when no one wants to publish them. I'll second dribble's nomination on finding a good bread and butter client - I've got a trade pub that is boring as dry toast but they call me every month and with at least one assignment - complete with sources and background too. Pays about .50 a word but little re-write, no pitching, phone interviews, etc. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/15/2007 11:32:43 AM | show profile Ha! Friday ... I can identify on waivering between narcissism and insecurity. It's easy enough to do when you legitimately seem to get those messages from people! ;) I have a couple dry toast clients, and I wash them down just fine with their regular paychecks. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 8/15/2007 12:30:29 PM | show profile Thanks. For me, it's just keeping busy. If you write one essay, and that's the only essay, you will brood on it. If you send out the essay, and then write another the next week and send it out, and then another the next week, etc. Having a lot of irons in the fire keeps you from worrying too much about anyone. --dribble always has such good advice - but re essays; How do you do it!? How do you detach from such a thing!? ;)-- |
| inkblot | Posted – 8/15/2007 6:55:02 PM | show profile I hear ya Newyorker I'm in a funk, too. I quit my newspaper job and moved to a different city (personal reasons). Haven't had much luck finding another newspaper job. I've been unemployed about 3 months now and I'm depressed and scared that I won't find another journalism job that suits my experience level in the new town where I live. I don't want to move again. But there's more to it. I DO think the overall picture of the industry in turmoil is a big part of my funk. I'm getting big mixed messages about the future of journalism being renegade and online and open to anybody who wants to be a pioneer, versus the reality of how everyday readers (and ad dollars) still stick to their local paper for information. It still seems that newspapers are the only ones paying people to report and write. And established newspaper brands are still the go-to place for online news. I've been mulling starting my own community news blog/online paper. But then I realize I still need a job to pay the bills. To make matters worse, I've looked into being a stringer for some area papers, and the pay is criminal. One paper wants me to write some high-profile stuff for $35 a story. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/15/2007 7:54:32 PM | show profile Inkblot, time to move up. Most papers pay crap. Get you a list of regional magazines for starters. I have been exactly where you were -- twice -- following my husband to his new jobs. It can be very scary. And I think you're right -- journalism is changing, and fairly fast. The good news as far as I'm concerned is that the very technology that's driving the changes is my ally as I freelance for publications far afield. Roll with it, if there's nothing else you can do, I say. I'm sure the communications skills you have built up will stand you in good stead. Make a plan and work it. All kinds of people are doing online papers -- I don't know enough about it to advise, but I'd do research and see how others are doing it, and read books and things on it. And there's no law against hedging your bets and getting something that pays the bills too -- although if your site is competition to your job, that won't work, most likely. Others have done it. Good luck to you! |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 8/15/2007 7:54:52 PM | show profile inkblot you may need to spend some serious energy freelancing while you also look for a new FT spot...the industry does look like the Titanic right now...and you'll make a lot more than $35 for a magazine story. If it was me, (but it's not), I'd cold-call every magazine anywhere near you -- while also searching for local stories you can sell to regionals or national mags who will pay decently. It's not always easy or simple, but it's better than being scared and depressed. |
| inkblot | Posted – 8/16/2007 11:19:21 AM | show profile Thank you, posters Thank you writesonwater and caitlinkelly, for the encouragement. Just reading and responding to your comments has given me some hope. I know part of succeeding is adapting and patience, which can come in short supply when you are frustrated. You're right, I do need to check magazines for freelance contributions. I can come up with a pretty good story idea now and then, and my strength is feature writing.... I guess I'm kind of scared to start pitching publications cold because of the ol' fear of rejection thing. I have never formally pitched a publication where I wasn't already employed. I've written exactly one pitch letter in my life, and that was as an exercise in my college feature writing class. But I do have ideas brewing (when you have nothing but time on your hands and a little desperation, you can think up some pretty wild ways to make money or fulfill an abstract desire). Maybe I can realize one and it will stick? One positive is I relocated to a lively economic growth area in Pennsylvania, so there is attention being paid to the happenings in the region. Lots of stuff to write about. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 8/16/2007 11:36:49 AM | show profile Well, depending where you are regional magazines don't pay crap, either. One I know (in California) pays $18,000 a year for an assistant editor position, and they aren't the only ones. One freelancer/author I know takes the entire month of October off. He uses it to recharge and says it makes him sane and healthy. I think that's a great idea but I was too freaked to give up a month. So I basically worked Mon.-Thursday. Fridays were completely useless in my opinion, so I checked my e-mail, sent follow-ups and then took off for the day. Sometimes I think we forget that we make our own schedule. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 8/16/2007 11:48:24 AM | show profile inkblot, I've worked staff at three big dailies, in each newsroom (having started my career freelance before those jobs) was surprised at how terrifying freelancing seemed to many if not most of my colleagues who had never tried it and seemed to consider it almost impossible. Even when on staff, you still had to find ways to pitch your ideas to your editor(s), no? If you only did assignments given to you, you may face a much steeper learning curve in finding and developing solid ideas. I'd suggest Lisa Collier Cool's book about pitch letters. As for the rejection thing, it's the old cliche...can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. If you've sidelined your own career for this move, you may already be feeling a little shaky professionally, not a great place to start out from. When you're staff, even stories held, spiked or butchered still earn you a paycheck and a title and colleagues and you get to come to work the next day; as a freelancer you got nothing but isolated frustration. Fun, huh? Once you start selling a few freelance stories, your confidence will bloom, I'm sure. |
