I Missed Three Deadlines Last Week

Last week I broke my life record of never missing an assignment deadline.  I didn’t just miss one deadline.

I missed three.

A friend passed away in a tragic diving accident, leaving behind his wife (a good friend of mine) to settle the details of his passing. It was a very sad week. As our group of friends pooled together our time to help coordinate events, my writing definitely got pushed to the back. At the beginning of the week I sent out an email to the three editors to whom I owed assignments, explaining the situation and asking for leeway if possible.

To say that they were all accommodating is an understatement. All  three gave me an extra week or more and sent follow-up emails later to see how everything turned out with the funeral and how everyone who was affected was doing. It was all very kind, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for their understanding during such a challenging week.

Now, as things get back on track, I find life chugging along what is becoming its regular work pace. I have two potential client meetings today, I received another assignment for a regional publication yesterday (a small 350 word piece, but still), and I’m hearing rumors about another potential assignment from one of my editor’s who referred me to his advertising department (I really want that one!).

I am grateful for my work situation. But more importantly, and especially after last week, I am grateful for a beautiful life full of wonder, love, friends, and family that make me want to live fully and treasure my moments here. 

 

Today’s To-Do List

TODAY’S TO-DO LIST:

• Early morning networking breakfast
• Launch new new branch of services/company at early morning networking breakfast (give me a couple more days before I unveil the website to y’all…tweaking)
• Add new contacts on all social media platforms from early morning networking breakfast
• Cross my fingers, pray, send it out to the universe that new launch will take off
• Count new Twitter followers (yay!)
• Deadline on side-bar for regional publication
• Follow-up emails to sources to wrap up another project with an ASAP deadline
• Write and publish Startup Freelancer post
• Go on a walk
• Take a nap
• Roomie dinner: quinoa pizza (yum!)

Off for more productivity!

Hope everyone is wrapping up a stellar week.

I, personally, am on cloud nine this week.

What Happens to Work When Company Arrives to Hawaii

Last week I had company in town.

Living in Hawaii poses some unique challenges when visitors come to town. My friends and I have often discussed this conundrum:  how to fit your guests’ tropical vacation expectations into your normal life. You, of course, want to play too, but you still have to balance the regular day-to-day. 

While Waikiki could entertain for entire trips, it’s not really a good representation of the island. The inner hostess eventually demands that work cease for a day or two so that guests get a real Hawaii tour–the kind that includes stopping by the best shave ice shacks, walking the cozier beaches, and spotting every honu possible.

Regardless, I have a lot of work (not complaining!), and something had to give. The blog and queries went out the window last week. And I won’t lie, I had to sneak in interviews and other calls between beaches. 

When all is said and done, more work came in (I am now at my max for the month), deadlines were met (of course!), and everyone left a few shades darker and couple pounds heavier.

Mission accomplished. 

Yesterday Rocked My World

I’m doing the happy dance today.

A couple of weeks ago a friend introduced me to another writer and gave us a great business idea. A long story short, it didn’t take long before we were throwing ideas across our little Starbucks table and forming a partnership for a new set of communication services that we want to offer.  

Our simple startup has a simple price, about $500. While I’m totally behind the idea, I didn’t want to siphon cash from my savings or other funds (I’m a stickler for that kind of thing.). Surely, I reasoned with the universe on my drive home yesterday, if this is meant to happen, I can be creative about finding the funding. 

Fast forward two hours. Literally. 

One of the editor’s from my $2,100 day emailed and asked me to develop an additional side-bar for $250, another magazine that I sent a letter of intro (LOI) to called and asked me to take on a very last minute $500 project, and very shortly after that (I’m not joking) another editor from another magazine that I contacted a few weeks ago (again, love that LOI approach) called and asked if I’d like to do a little $100 write-up on worms. (Worms? Ya, I write about sustainability issues.)

As a matter of fact, I told them all, I would love to take on your projects. 

Best of all, I’m sure I’ll turn the two new editors into repeat customers. Regular clients #5 and 6. 

Now, the rub. Do I send more queries or just bust out the work I need to start and finish?

Grateful is becoming a weak word. Like, I’m so grateful I took this leap. Like, I’m so grateful for a steady string of work that is proving that this really is where I’m supposed to be right now. Like, I really need a stronger word. 

Designing My New Website

I’m building a portfolio website. 

Ah, DIY websites. Gotta love ’em.

I’m learning to double the amount of time I think it will take to do every seemingly simple task.

It’s fun though. Especially when I realized I needed some photos. I did what any self-respecting DIYer would do and found a cool wall with some little circle mirrors on it, and plugged in a hair dryer for cool wind effects. Here’s a little teaser before I unveil my site.

Soft Starts: Where I’ve Been

I’ve mentioned a couple of times my “soft starts” and decided today to outline where I’ve been.

From the time I was a kid, I’ve been bursting with story ideas (always non-fiction). In fact, I was a little roving reporter for my city’s newspaper at 13-years-old. But, let’s start somewhere else.

When I was 24-years-old I woke up in the middle of the night and decided my path needed to change and that I needed to write professionally. I wrote a 3 a.m. query letter (the first in several years) and sent it off twenty minutes later as some kind of test to the universe and myself. I got the assignment a week after that, wrote the piece, kept working at my (good, solid, steady) government job, and tried to convince myself that I should continue to receive a salary and prepare for 25+ years of traditional employment and eventual pension benefits. Too late, the idea was already ruminating. Still, let’s start somewhere else. 

Finally late last year, I decided to really get going on it. Like, for reals. 

Let’s start here.

I woke up one morning in the fall with a feeling to apply for an internship at a magazine here in Hawaii. It didn’t make sense for my master’s degree, but the feeling wouldn’t leave. I did apply, interviewed three days later, and convinced my advisor that this was a great investment in my career.

It was. Before my internship ended, I was offered a good freelance assignment. So it began. Client #1.

At the beginning of the year I sent a few queries, but didn’t pursue too many assignments because I had a five week trip planned. Regardless, a couple of those queries resulted in ongoing assignments. This soft start scored clients #2 and #3.

It seems like everyone I meet these days is directly related to  my new path.

Take, for example, a conversation with a new acquaintance the other night who asked if I updated blogs. Why, yes, I do. Client #4. Or a letter of introduction to an affiliate magazine where I did my internship. We’re still throwing ideas around, but hopefully client #5. Even old friends are asking if I’ve ever considered writing professionally (they don’t know what I’m up to yet).

It is, in a word, thrilling.  

What about y’all? Any soft starts out there? 

 

 

Three Mistakes I’ll Never Make Again: Lessons from Previous Assignments

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like submitting a seemingly stellar piece to your editor on time, only to receive an email highlighting a failed expectation. That you didn’t know existed.

In my “soft start” efforts (more on this later), I landed a few assignments that gave me a good launching pad to transition into full-time writing. In completing those assignments, however, I learned some lessons and made adjustments to how I operated. Learn from me; here are three mistakes to avoid.

 #1: Regular feature? Get a back issue.

When dealing with a regular feature (whether it be a magazine’s annual “Best Christmas Gifts” type piece or a regular monthly column),  get your hands on a a back issue and review with your editor any details that will be different. This is helpful in determining format, style, and flow.

I’ve completed a few assignments now with a publication that runs regular, annual features. One of these features required making calls and fact checking some information with several people. After I called them all,  I finally reviewed the back issue and realized I left out a critical question. I ended up calling them all back.

#2: Confirm these specifics about each piece.

It was only after submitting a small 400-word piece with two sources, that my editor let me know that his publication likes three sources, and could I please interview one more and have it back to him within 24 hours or so? Lesson learned. Always confirm how many sources an editor likes. While I’m at it, I make sure I’m clear on: deadline, pay, word count, any particular angle or information that an editor would like included, and if I should try to procure art.

#3: Schedule and conduct interviews as soon as possible.

I’m still getting into a writing routine that works for me. One of my new (and thus far successful) habits is to immediately email potential sources and try to secure interview slots with them as soon as I receive a new assignment. I’ve heard this tip from other writers, and they know their stuff. Even if I can’t start writing a piece until later, it makes a huge difference to my peace of mind knowing that I at least have the interviews scheduled, or even done.

What were some of your big lessons?