How to Set Fees: An Interview with Business Coach Michael Shapiro—Part 1

21. March 2011 by admin.

By Heather Z. Hutchins

Business Coach Michael Shapiro has 30+ years of business experience. Described by clients as a “sage business mentor” and a “technological social worker,” Shapiro helps small and medium-sized businesses to weather the difficult economy and grow. In addition, he coaches business executives and entrepreneurs via a monthly program he runs that provides accountability and structure overcoming the isolation many entrepreneurs experience. You can find out about Michael at his website: www.dmscoach.com.

 

“Pricing involves selling a product or service at a fair and reasonable price that makes sense to the buyer,” Shapiro says. “Your fee gives a perception to the client, and it’s subjective.”

 

“If the customer knows that you’ve been in the industry for 20 years, have won numerous awards and written hundreds of articles, the client will perceive the value of your service to be quite high and will expect your fee to correspond to that,” he says. “A different person could use the exact same words, but if the person lacks your experience or background, he or she would command half the price.”

 

“In short, setting fees is about the perceived value that the client sees in you and your service,” Shapiro adds.

 

Step 1: Determine the range for similar services in your market.

 

The first step is to ascertain what the going rate is in your corner of the world.

 

“You don’t set prices in a vacuum,” Shapiro says. “What’s the range for services of this type in your market? It will be different in Chicago or New York than it is in the middle of Montana.”

 

You can find out the going rate online, or you can determine your competition’s rate.  Start by picking two or three stars in your industry and find out how much they charge. Then get a sense of their experience and how long they’ve been in business.

 

“My experience is that most people who are working professionally in a field have a sense of what the range is for fees,” Shapiro says. “What they’re really looking for is confirmation.”

 

Step 2: Consider your experience and skills.

 

Once you know the range, you need to think about what you bring to the table. Are you just getting started as a writer or are you an old pro? How many years of experience do you have? What are your skills? What is your education?

 

“I ask entrepreneurs to think about their level of expertise,” Shapiro adds. “I also want them to think about where they want to position themselves in the market.”

 

Step 3: Think about overhead and profit margin.

 

Finally, you need to remember that you have overhead expenses as a small business owner. You want to make a profit, right? Both of these will have an effect on the fees you charge.

 

“Some people start out by figuring what they were being paid as an employee in a company,” Shapiro explains. “Maybe that’s $35 per hour, but as a small business owner you’ve got to take into consideration your overhead expenses—telephone, business cards, computer, wi-fi, etc. In addition, a business should make a profit not just break even. What is the profit margin for your business? Are you trying to make 10% over your expenses or 20%?”

 

 

Posted in setting fees, pricing, business, writing | 3 Comments »

Video: Larry Bodine - what to do with a business card?

28. February 2011 by admin.

If you liked the previous two posts by Heather Z. Hutchins on Larry Bodine’s What to do with a business card, check out this Treat a business card like a nugget of gold video, also available on YouTube:  http://www.lawmarketing.com/. 

 Enjoy!

Lora Freeman Williams
Principal, Freeman Writing Solutions

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The top 5 Things to Do with a Business Card: An Interview with Marketing Guru Larry Bodine—Part 2

24. February 2011 by admin.

By Heather Z. Hutchins

In Part 1 of this article, Marketing Guru, Larry Bodine, explained the first three steps in what to do with a business card. You can view Part 1 here:

In Park 2, Bodine explains why business cards are pieces of gold that people give you.

 

Step 4: Beef up the information over time.

 

Now that you recorded the contact, your job is to beef up the information about the person. Your goal is to develop a relationship, and for that you need data.

 

“Everyone thinks that rainmakers—those attorneys who have a big book of business at their firm—are born that way,” Bodine explains. “But they learned to become rainmakers. You can practice these techniques to get new clients.”

 

“Business comes in through relationships,” he adds. “The reason rainmakers are successful is that they have more relationships than other lawyers. And, the key to a successful business relationship is knowing a lot about the other person.”

 

Among the key points you should find out are:

 

• Names of family members and the ages of children
• The person’s interests
• Job changes or new degrees earned

 

 

You may think that these little things don’t matter, but you’d be wrong. For example, Bodine’s favorite salesman learned that Larry liked to go on roller coaster rides with his son. Every time a new roller coaster opened, that salesman sent him a note or email about it. Bodine loved it.

 

Step 5: Search to find the relationship you need.

 

“Here’s where your contact list becomes a pot of gold,” Bodine explains. “Many times it has happened that I got a voicemail from ‘Cindy’ who didn’t leave her last name, mentioning that we talked six months ago, and her firm is now ready to proceed with the project. Cindy forgot to leave her phone number, and caller ID didn’t capture it.”

 

If Larry relied on his memory, he’d come up blank. But instead he searches his contacts for ‘Cindy’ or types in keywords about the project. Now he can instantly find her, phone her back and pick up where they left off as if it were yesterday.

 

You can do the same thing if you are traveling to New York and want to meet a few business contacts. You search your contacts list for “New York,” and you can find everyone you know who lives there.

 

Bodine’s #1 Tip

“Here’s my number one tip for writers and others who sell professional services,” Bodine says. “Getting new business is all about relationships, so the way you show the other person you care is to remember things about him or her—her favorite dessert, for example, or his favorite movie. I record information about family, so I can ask about their kids on a call.”

 

 

BUSINESS CARD SIDEBAR

 

Larry Bodine offered the following tips to make your own business card unique and interesting:

 

• Buy a unique carrier for your business cards to keep them pristine. Dog-eared cards that you keep in your wallet don’t send the right message.
• Don’t go cheap. Think of your business card as a paper representation of you and your business.
• Add a little color. Don’t make your business card look like everyone else’s. You’re a writer, so be creative. However, skip the trite silhouette of a quill pen.
• Whenever you go out in public, take your cards with you.  Put cards in your car, in the pockets of your jackets and in your briefcase.  Always, always, always, have your cards with you.

 

 

“Here’s a trick that’s not in my book,” Bodine says. “I don’t print my cell phone number on my business cards. Instead, when I give my card out, I’ll say something like ‘I don’t generally give out my cell number, but…’ and I write it on the back of the card. The other person then feels extra special because they’ve gotten my cell number. It’s a great way to start a relationship.”

 

Larry Bodine is a business development trainer. You can contact him at http://www.larrybodine.com or 630-942-0977. 

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The top 5 Things to Do with a Business Card: An Interview with Marketing Guru Larry Bodine—Part 1

16. February 2011 by admin.

By Heather Z. Hutchins

 

Larry Bodine is unique. He’s an attorney who understands marketing. Bodine shares his expertise with law firms around the country, and he’s about to publish his first book, Larry Bodine’s Bag o’ Legal Marketing Tricks.

 

Although he works primarily with law firms, Bodine’s marketing advice works just as well for other professional service businesses such as writing, consulting and accounting. This interview includes excerpts from Bodine’s book.

 

“I think I finally got the message about business cards when I met a woman at a conference and asked for her card,” Larry Bodine says. “She reached into her bag and pulled out this beautiful metal box that looked almost like a piece of jewelry. She extracted a card, and it was in perfect condition. Not even the edge was crumpled. She handed me that card as if it were laid on a silver platter.  It dawned on me that when someone gives you a business card, that person is giving you a treasure. Think of it as a piece of gold and treat it as such.”

 

Step 1: Stop and read the card.

 

“People put a great deal of energy and thought into designing their business cards, so I always stop and read the card right away after I get it,” Bodine says.

 

Notice the person’s title and comment on it. If the card is clever or unusual in any way, make a point of it. Check if the card lists the person’s cell phone number; you may need it one day. Make certain you get the person’s website URL and email address if it’s not on the card.

 

Step 2: Write on the back of it.

 

Now turn the card over and write the following information on the back of it:

 

• Today’s date,
• Where you are at the moment,
• What you talked about with the person and
• Any follow-up promises you made (i.e. to send an article or provide a contact).

 

 

Write this information down right away because you’ll have completely forgotten it by the time you return to the office.

 

Don’t worry that you might annoy the person who has given you the card. That person will be flattered because you’ve made the receipt of the card an event. You took time to put your thoughts on it.

 

Step 3: Record all the information in Outlook.

 

Once you get back to the office, enter all the information from the card into your Outlook contacts list (or whatever program you use to store client information).

 

The most important part is the Notes box: type in what you wrote down on the back of the card. In the future, you will be adding information in this box as you learn the contact’s family names, interests, dislikes and avocations.

 

The reason the information must go into Outlook contacts is because it is searchable and sort-able.

 

To find the person, all you need to do is enter key words into the “Search Contacts” box and bingo: you’ve found her. This will be very important when you have thousands of contacts.

 

Next week, read the rest of Bodine’s advice and find out why business cards are pieces of gold that people give you.

 

Larry Bodine is a business development trainer. You can contact him at http://www.larrybodine.com or 630-942-0977.

 

 

Posted in marketing. business development, business card, business, writing | 1 Comment »

Letters of Agreement - II

13. January 2011 by admin.

This is the second in a two-part series on letters of agreement, by Heather Z. Hutchins.

Part 5: Project Requirements

In this section, I try to spell out any other considerations, including style or tone. I also add anything that doesn’t exactly fit under scope of work. I also add the information about what happens f the client asks me to do work OUTSIDE of this scope of work.

In the business, it’s called “scope creep” because it’s so easy for clients to ask you to just do a little  something extra here or there. You want the work, and you like the client, so before you know it, your one brochure has turned into a feature article, a brochure, and some Web copy.

Scope creep is the main reason that I’m so specific about what exactly I’m doing for the client. Clear and specific requirements will make it easy for you to see what is and what is NOT within the scope of the project.

Project requirements:

I understand that the tone of this brochure should be business-like but with a more informal style befitting a younger audience. In addition, I understand that this copy will be delivered to you via email. Any work beyond the scope of work or project requirements as stated herein will be charged at the rate of $100 per hour. 

Part 6: Due Dates
This part and the fees section are the two most important parts to the client. Don’t agree to a due date if you think you won’t be able to deliver. And be specific about when exactly you will send the materials. Don’t say end of day or 5 PM or even noon unless you can finish the project by that time.

Due Date(s):

The due date for the FINAL draft of the brochure copy is Monday, September 15. 

I propose that I will email the outline of the introductory copy for the brochure copy to you by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 2. Once I have your approval, I will email the first draft of the completed copy by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 8. That will give us a week to finalize the copy before your deadline to the designer.

Part 7:  Work-for-Hire and Confidentiality Clauses

This part can be a little tricky to understand. Clients want to know that the copy you’re writing for them is theirs alone. They may want to use that brochure copy on their Website or as a banner in an ad. They don’t want to worry that you’re going to claim some kind of copyright infringement.

If you’re writing for magazines, you may want to keep your copyright. However, if you’re doing writing for businesses, they will want to own all the rights to the work. In addition, you want to assure them that you will keep any specialized information (such as the capabilities of their new software update or their client list) confidential. Clients who are worried about this sort of thing will have their own confidentiality forms for you to sign.

Work-for-Hire and Confidentiality:

I agree to keep the nature of this and all other projects for ABC Corp. confidential. In addition, any written work is considered work-for-hire and becomes the exclusive property of ABC Corp.

Part 8: Cancellation Clause

I’ve added to this letter over the years, and each time the addition had something to do with a client situation that went wrong. In this case, Client A engaged me to do some writing. I turned down work from Client B because I wouldn’t have time to do both assignments. Then, Client A canceled the project. Hence, this clause in my letter.

Cancellation:

Since the contractor may turn down other projects to provide ample time for the successful completion of this work, following cancellation clause is in effect: If all or part of this project is canceled by the client, the client is still responsible for the agreed-upon fee specified in this document.

Part 9: Hold Harmless

What I write is not rocket science, but I added this clause just in case someone wants to sue me over a misplaced modifier.

Hold Harmless

You agree to indemnify and hold Heather Hutchins harmless against all costs, claims, damages and expenses arising from any work she produces for you. 

Part 10: Time Limit on Editing

This is another example of a clause I added because something went wrong with a client. Most clients are in a hurry to get to their content, so they edit it immediately. However, one client just couldn’t get around to it. I couldn’t bill the client until the project was finished, but the client was sitting on the copy. So, I wrote this addition to my letter.

Time Limit on Editing:

XYZ Corp. has one month from the due date of this project to provide editing changes to the contractor, Heather Hutchins. If the contractor does not receive written or verbal editing changes by October 31, 2003, the contractor will immediately bill the client for the entire project, including the editing.

Part 11:  Proposed Fee

For most clients, the fee is the most important part of the document. They want to know how much the brochure or Website or article is going to cost. Make the amount very clear, and also make it clear how and when you plan to bill them.

I also give a deadline to the price and the proposal itself. This gives clients more of an incentive to sign the letter and get it back to me.

Proposed fee:

Given these requirements, my proposed fee to research, write, edit and rewrite the brochure copy for XYZ Corp. is $3,000.

This proposal, including the proposed fees, will expire on Friday, August 29, 2003 at 5:00 p.m.

Part 12: Agreement and Signature Lines

I like the agreement and signature lines because the client actually has to sign the letter to agree to it. This way the client knows exactly what you will be doing and exactly what it will cost. To-date, I’ve never had a client refuse to pay after signing this letter of agreement.

If you agree to the details contained in this letter, please sign on the line below and fax it back to me at 773.913.6177. I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Heather Z. Hutchins

 

 

Romeo Johnson, VP, XYZ Corp.                                                  Date

 

 

 

 

 

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How to use a letter of agreement with your clients - I

10. January 2011 by admin.

Heather Z. Hutchins

It doesn’t matter if you are a newbie writer or a hardened veteran. You need to use a letter of agreement with your clients.

First, you need to use a letter of agreement so that you and the client know what it is you will be writing and what your fees will be. The client cannot say later that he or she didn’t understand if a letter of agreement has been signed.

Second, the letter spells out the “just in case” information so that the client knows what to expect from you. I’ll go over this more specifically later on, but that information includes when the client will be bill and how soon you expect the client to edit the writing.

Third, you need a letter of agreement because it sends the correct message to clients that you’re a professional.

So how do you construct a letter of agreement? Easy. I’ll let you borrow mine. When I was starting out, my friend, Jennifer Alten (writer, marketer and photographer extraordinaire) let me use hers, so I’m happy to return the favor to all of you.

One caveat: I have never asked a lawyer to look over my letter. I cobbled it together from bits and pieces as I went along so use it at your own risk. However, there’s no copyright on it, so feel free to use it as you will.

Part 1:  Address

It does seem obvious, but I put my address and contact information on the top of my letter, and I center it. Here’s an old address of mine, so you can see how I do it. I also bold it in 14 p. type.

Heather Z. Hutchins
Writer
2257 North Sawyer Avenue
Apartment #1
Chicago, IL 60647
Tel. 773-489-6447
Fax 773-918-6178
hzhutchins@mindspring.com

Part 2: Date
I want clients to sign my letter of agreement by a certain date, so I always put the current date at the top of the letter.

March 28, 2001

Part 3:  Client Information

Again, this is probably obvious. Put the client information at the top. In most cases, I email these letters, but I still use the old block letter format. Why mess with a classic?

Rick Johansson
Marketing Specialist
ABC Corporation
Palatine, IL

Part 4: Scope of Work

Here’s where we get to the heart of the matter. The scope of work explains exactly what you will be writing for the client. I know, this probably seems obvious, too. You’re going to be writing a brochure, right? But how many pages or panels will it have? How many people will you interview? How much research will you do? And, most importantly, how many rounds of editing are you giving the client?

I also add any interviewing or researching that I will need to do. it’s important so that you spell out exactly what you are doing for your fee.

Dear Roger:

This letter is a proposal regarding my work writing a four-panel brochure for XYZ Corporation. 

Scope of Work:

As I understand it, the project will include: 

• Reading all previous brochures for the company;
• Interviewing the two partners for information about how the company was formed;  
• Writing the brochure copy; and
• Rewriting and editing through two (2) sets of revisions.

Want to know more about letters of agreement? We’ll have the second installment coming in a few days…join our RSS feed, if you’d like to be notified when the next part of this article comes out!

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Reducing stress in the freelance lifestyle

7. January 2011 by admin.

An Interview with Jasmin Cori, licensed therapist and author

 

By Lora Freeman Williams

 

I had the opportunity to sit down with Jasmin Cori in her Boulder, Colorado

(USA) office in late November, 2010. The wind was howling outside, but Jasmin’s

office was an oasis of calm. She has a psychotherapy practice in which she

specializes in trauma, and she is also a published author of multiple books.

She speaks from a wealth of experience and wisdom in dealing with stress.

She offered some tips to the Freelance Writers’ Connection for reducing stress

in the freelance writing life.

• When people live very busy lives, they need to schedule in time for self-care. In order to qualify as self-care, it needs to be attuned. So check in with yourself - daily.
• Use a concrete tool to remind yourself to check in. For example, wearing either a bracelet or handling prayer beads can serve as a visible and tangible prompt to remember and take care of yourself.
• If there’s a big push on a project, schedule catch-up time afterward. And remember that rest are underrated in our culture. Sometimes they’re better for us than going out.
• If we ignore any aspect of ourselves, we pay for it. Pay attention to body, soul, emotions.
• Remember that relaxed energy and good self-care will help you pull good things in.
• If you’re afraid to slow down, speak to that part of yourself that is afraid to slow down. Provide reassurance to that part of yourself by reminding yourself of objective reality: you have what you need. This is essential in assisting a person in shifting focus from fear for our survival to a focus on quality of life that is supportive to us.
• Our attitude toward ourselves is crucial: using the same level of tenderness and caring for ourselves that we would toward a friend or a child makes the difference between being a “tough mother” and a wise mother to ourselves.
• After every big push, take a moment to say, “Good job!”

Remember: self-care grows out of self-love, and it also grows self-love.

Jasmin has written a few books, including Healing from Trauma:  A Survivor’s Guide to Understanding Your Symptoms and Reclaiming Your Life.  If you like what you read in this article, you can read more on her website:  http://www.jasmincori.com/content/what-good-self-care.

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Gifting clients: should you or shouldn’t you?

7. January 2011 by admin.

Heather Z. Hutchins

You probably already made this decision eons ago, and you’ve never revisited it since. But, maybe now is the time to rethink.

Should you give gifts to clients once a year (at the holidays or at another time) or shouldn’t you?

 

No matter what you decided long ago, you may want to reconsider giving gifts to clients for three reasons:

 

 

·        You want to remind clients in a good way that you exist.

 

·        Gifts are a way to deepen your relationship with clients.

 

·        Saying THANK YOU to clients can be the best way to get more business.

 

And before you return to your solitaire game or online crossword puzzle with a cry of “Bah Humbug,” remember that you need to differentiate yourself from the competition even more in these tough economic times.

 

Don’t believe me. Go to any business during the month of December, and you’ll see boxes and boxes of edible gifts sitting around the office. Vendors who provide everything from printing to housekeeping send both holiday cards and holiday gifts to maintain their good relationships with their clients.

 

Don’t get me wrong. Gifting to clients isn’t some panacea. It isn’t going to help you hold on to clients who are going under or those who are determined to go elsewhere for writing services. However, an annual gift can be a good way to remind clients that you exist and to further your personal relationship.

 

How do I know? Personal experience.  I’ve been giving a gift to my clients pretty much every year since I started my business way back in 2000.

 

Here are three reasons why I give gifts to clients.

 

#1: A gift reminds clients about me and my services.

 

My clients are busy. They aren’t constantly thinking about me, but I want to remind them in a good way that I exist.

 

So, I send them decorated sugar cookies that I baked or chocolate-covered cherries from Cherry Republic or tins of Chicago’s own Garrett’s Popcorn. In a tough year, I do more of the baking myself. In a good year, I might buy gifts online and have them delivered to clients.

 

Oh, and I always announce the gift to the client via email. First, I don’t want anything I baked to get lost in the mail or accidentally left on somebody’s desk. Second, I want to get full credit for sending a gift, so I announce it. You’d be amazed at how much traction you can get from the anticipation of a homemade gift flying your way.

 

One of my clients always goes to lunch with his wife when one of my gifts is due because otherwise the poor woman would never get a sugar cookie. This thin, debonair attorney who never misses a workout will gobble up every single cookie the minute he gets the box unless I warn them both in advance.

 

Yes, he remembers me and sends me work. And, for him, the gift is always homemade sugar cookies because he likes them so much.

 

#2: A gift is a way that I can relate personally to clients.

 

Buying or making a gift for clients is a method I use to cement our personal relationship. No matter what anybody out there tells you, business is about relationships. Clients like to do business with people they like—even if those people might charge a little more than the other guys.

 

My first year in business, I was so happy that I contemplated buying really expensive gifts for every single client. Linda Jordan, who has been a freelance graphic artist for years, gave me the best possible advice. She told me that it’s about making an effort for clients, and it’s all about presentation.

 

So I baked cookies in alphabet shapes that spelled out each client’s name, frosted them with Martha Stewart’s best icing, and boxed them in beautiful green tissue-paper-lined boxes from Williams-Sonoma. And I spent 20 minutes tying each bow, so that they looked just right.

 

Did my clients notice? Oh, yes. Several of them sent emails (and pictures) to show how happy they and their co-workers were to get my gift. A couple asked for my recipe, and every single client wanted to know where I’d gotten the elegant boxes.

 

But, after that first year, I got smarter about my gift. For one thing, I was up night and day getting the cookies baked and frosted. I wasn’t planning to go through that again. And, I was annoyed that my gift was mixed up with all the prepackaged fruitcakes and boxes of nuts from the other vendors out there.

 

So, I decided to make Client Appreciation Day a part of my Valentine’s Day celebration.  Now, I say “I heart clients” by sending actual heart-shaped cookies in various shades of red icing. I buy claret-colored boxes from Williams-Sonoma at Christmas, and hold on to them until February. And now my gift is unique and original because nobody but spouses and boyfriends send gifts on VD.

 

Every year, I try to include some kind of homemade touch. One year, I knitted little red bags out of a luxe yarn from Berroco that was supposed to look like silk saris. I filled each bag with a mix of chocolate-covered cherries with red and white candy coatings. And, I put each bag inside of a translucent plastic Chinese take-out container filled with shards of silver tinsel courtesy of The Container Store. I’ve seen for myself that clients kept both the bag AND the plastic container. The cherries were gone within minutes of opening the box, and I have some credible intel that very few if any of them were shared with co-workers.

 

In my experience, it’s not about how much you spend. It’s more about being creative. And, since you’re a writer-type, creativity probably comes second nature to you, right?

 

#3: A gift is a way to say, “Thanks for the business.”

 

Obviously, my gifts to clients are a way of saying, “thanks for the business.” However, if money is really tight this year, you can send actual THANK YOU notes to clients.

 

My rule about this kind of note is that you have to be genuine. Don’t write one generic note and copy it over for every client. And DO write it by hand no matter how terrible your penmanship. The idea is to show how much you care.

 

Clients love to be thanked and may just call with a project or two because you reminded them (again) of how much they like working with you. Or, they may call just to thank you for the THANK YOU card. Either way, your clients are going to remember you fondly.

 

This is yet another way to showcase your writing and creative skills. After all, you’re a writer. If you can’t conjure up 100 words of thanks, who can?

 

The Only Downside

 

There’s only one downside to gifting to clients, and it’s obvious. Once you start sending out a yearly gift, you need to keep doing it.

 

What that means is that every year you need to think of something new to send to clients. For me, the challenge is part of the fun. I try to top myself from year to year. But you may find the gift giving to be just another business chore and no fun at all.

 

In the end, it comes down to your comfort level and your relationship with clients. While sending gifts won’t keep clients from leaving, it can be an ideal way to showcase your individuality and your creativity.

 

You’re a writer, after all, shouldn’t creativity be at the center of what you do?

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A writer’s best friend: the editorial calendar

7. January 2011 by admin.

Lora Freeman Williams

When you’re the one responsible for the content of an on-going project, it can feel overwhelming to come up with topics, content, and sources. An editorial calendar can be your best friend at times like these.

Heather Hutchins is a seasoned, energetic freelance writer with decades of writing experience under her belt, and we’ve partnered to beef up the Freelance Writers’ Connection group on LinkedIn and provide varied content for this blog. We’re excited as we head into the fall season to offer the topics that members of that writing group have clamored for, but we also felt an urgent need to produce a calendar that would guide us.

What are we going to write on a weekly basis that speaks to the freelance writer’s needs?  When you’re the one solely responsible for providing content, an editorial calendar can keep a writer from going into creative block by giving you a place to start:  a topic.

The editorial calendar is relatively simple to assemble. Begin by brainstorming all your ideas for content and making a simple list, in no particular order. Then follow these simple steps:

• Use any calendar technology (including paper).
• Mark seasonal events that might be relevant to your audience (back-to-school, religious holidays, tax season, New Year’s resolutions, and so on) in order to tie-in your topics/titles with the seasons.
• Take all the topics you have on-hand, along with the sources (i.e., people you plan to interview or published resources you plan to read) and place them at the intervals required (our goal with blogs is to provide one weekly). Notice if there are recurring themes - you may find a series there. We noticed that business, self-care/lifestyle, and customer relations issues were some of the subjects for which we had multiple topics. Those topics will become monthly/quarterly themes that repeat.
• Fill in your calendar as far ahead as helps you. Our goal was a six-month editorial calendar, so we wouldn’t ever need to panic for a topic. We ended up with a 15-month calendar from all the brainstorming we did! We’re set, and this relieves our stress significantly.

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Where to start? Moving from academic to commerical writing

7. January 2011 by admin.

Lora Freeman Williams

Veronica is a member of the Freelance Writers’ Connection group on LinkedIn, and she asked me for tips on how she can make the transition from academic publishing to more commercial exposure.  Following is an edited version of our communication, with some tips that I hope will be helpful to others in similar situations.

Veronica shares that she is…

…moving from Academic to Commercial Publishing, while I have flexible working hours for the University. I would like to write some articles or columns. I have never done it before - my writing skills are limited to the research I have made during my studies, so I am very familiar with the academic writing. I was wondering, if you could give me a tip where should I start or whom should I contact with this matter? Basically, I just want to try myself out in writing articles and develop my writing skills. I speak and write fluently in four languages: Finnish, Russian, English and German. I love writing about social happenings and problems, expat experiences, historical and political facts, education, family matters - basically about all those things that are so human, so everyday and should be so simple, but due to our predetermined social stubbornness they tend to grow into little monsters of society.

My response…

I’m glad to hear you are a part of our group - you bring a great deal of knowledge and life experience to us.

In terms of getting started writing columns/articles, I would start with periodicals you enjoy reading. Choose something you enjoy reading because it’s more likely you will be a good fit with that publication. Then think of a list of possible article topics in your areas of expertise that you could imagine writing. Next, find the angle that would make that topic timely and different from what anyone else might write - it could be your personal life experiences, a particular spin on a philosophical perspective, something in the news that makes a topic of particular interest, etc. Lastly, find the editors for those magazines (via the magazine’s masthead, networking contacts or via the internet), and write a query letter proposing that idea in an engaging way - selling why you should be the person to write that article. It’s important to realize that editors are on the lookout for content - so if you have an idea that is in alignment with their magazine’s general feel and your idea fits with their production schedule, they will be eager to take it.

In the meantime, you may also want to consider writing things for free that will serve as a portfolio. This may include a very professional/polished blog (with no personal blogging), finding online areas to which you can contribute for free (not-for-profits are a good place for this). That way, when you pitch your idea to an editor, you have a body of work to which you can refer that proves you can do what you are proposing to do.

Finally, always make sure your query letter is polished and represents your writing - it’s the first thing an editor will read of yours, and you don’t want it to be the last!

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