Two Principles to Get Control Over Your Business in Bad Times

In various freelance forums and message groups, I've been hearing an increasing number of people feeling as though they have no control over what happens to them. As a result, they begin to take every setback personally and wonder who to get out of the emotional rut.

There is much in business that is beyond personal control - always. Even in the good times, you might be buoyed by a run of luck or economic conditions where companies are doing things because they think the entire nature of business has changed. We're just getting out of a long run of that. To have a sane relationship to your business, and not go through cycles of elation and depression, you have to start thinking and working above momentary events.

Rejections are almost never personal, and when they are, you wouldn't want to be working with that client anyway. While you cannot control how people react, you can influence it in two ways. One is to focus on how you market and the way you structure pitches and introductions. The more you can figure out what prospects need and focus on that, the more likely you'll catch the group that is willing to do something. You won't get every assignment; you never did. But remember, even when budgets get cranked down, companies still have to do business and publications need material.

That leads into the other way to control things. I remember many years ago reading the book "Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million +". It is a book about executive job change written by an experienced recruiter. He made the point that if someone really wants to get a job, the person should do direct contacts to literally 1,000 firms. The reason is timing and the law of averages. At any one time, a candidate is only going to be a good fit for only some percentage of companies, and at any one time, only some fraction of them will be interested in hiring. By sending out 1,000, candidates start to statistically ensure that they'll get interviews and, likely, a position (assuming that they have the experience and talent).

The way you deal with questionable conditions is to increase marketing. The more feelers you have out -- not even necessarily full-blown queries, but checking with potential clients to see what they are doing these days -- the greater a chance that some of your efforts will turn into sales. Between incresaing your contacts and honing the approach you take, you can start to control things because you're not letting yourself be dependent on what any one given client or prospect might be doing. This will probably mean more diversification in the past, but it will keep the business going well and put you in a position to do that much better when the economic cards turn a different way in the future.

On White Papers

There is some white paper "summit" that a number of people who sell books, courses, and consulting to writers are promoting. Now, this can be a good area in which to work. I know of one writer who has pulled down close to a half million a year at times writing white papers. Sound good? Yes, it does - but he had a deep technical knowledge of the topics he covered and was particularly good at writing about them. His background was not in copywriting, but in journalism.

Some of the points in the summit advertisement -- such as "painlessly" creating white papers, learning "closely guarded secrets," and "discover the deadly mistakes that will bar you from success" -- make me suspicious. They are straight out of copy writing 101, and exactly the sorts of things that won't work in white papers.

So I thought I'd offer a few points that might be helpful to those who want to work in the area:

1. You really need to understand the topic. Forget about faking it, because these papers are usually written for business-to-business marketing. The clients and ultimate target audiences know far too much and want some understanding.White papers are far closer to articles than marketing copy. So forget the hype and focus on the details of the message that you have to get across.These things take time to do well, so plan and price accordingly.Bring some marketing expertise. Help the client remember that they have to consider the audiences they must reach and the messages that might work. After all, you're there to help them communicate, so don't be shy.
2. There are three general sources of white paper business that I know: direct assignments from corporations (which means developing clients the way you would for other corporate work, usually focusing on the corporate communications department); custom publishers (including magazine publishers that have associated custom pub arms; and marketing and advertising agencies.
3. When looking at custom publishers and marketing or advertising agencies, find ones that focus on the industries in which you have some expertise.

Good Post on Business of Freelancing

The next time you get someone asking whether you lounge about in the morning before your two hour and 37 minute workday, point them to this post by Jen Miller. It's in the "X myths of" style, but a good collection that gets past the familiarity of the form. In fact, freelancers who find their businesses lagging might take a look and see if there is a myth or two to which they may have unintentionally subscribed.

Getting "Real" Success Online

There's a profile of Michael Wolff on the LA Times entertainment blog I'd strongly recommend reading. You can get some good insights into making things work on the web. Wolff has been in the media business, has tried to be a media mover-and-shaker entrepreneur (is doing so again with Newser.com), and has learned some things along the way. One is that people want news more than ever, and yet journalists often are too self-involved to give that to people. That doesn't mean you can't add something beyond a vanilla recitation of facts.

For example, I've been writing my BNET blogging for a few months now. Site management asked people to consider doing news round-ups after some focus group or other. I started adding one on weekdays, only different from how many others do them. Instead of one or two sentences and then a link, I actually do a summary, having some fun in the writing. I might even use a couple of different sources to get some perspective in this short form. As a result, there have already been some days when one of these roundups has been one of the more popular items on the site for that period. The reason I do a full summary is that I've done enough work on the web, and monitored my own sites enough, to realize that very few people will actually click on a link. The links help with search engine optimization and generally raising awareness of the site, which is a marketing function, but only a small portion of people, on the order of ten percent, will look farther. I realize I'm working from a limited sample, but I suspect that the data is not entirely unusual.

Another thing to remember is that there's a difference between notoriety and a real business:

“‘Buzz’ doesn’t get you the kind of traffic that you want,” Wolff said. He’s comfortable, he said, with Newser’s incremental growth of traffic over the last year. “The businesses that make money are the ones you don’t hear all that much about. It costs too much money to get buzz.”

As he points out, a reader on the Web often doesn’t even notice the original source of what she’s reading.

Add that to the many challenges of a start-up Web operation: Establishing a name is fine, but without traffic to back it up, the money disappears.

His experience would tend to support my contention that people won't go farther than what is in front of them. In fact, the site's slogan is "Know More. Search Less."

It also suggests why round-ups can be so popular. I know I read them at various sites to quickly get a grasp on what is going on without necessarily having to wade in too deeply. People want some efficiency and yet they prefer it with some entertainment added. If you can start to generate that, then you stand a chance of building an audience that might indulge your interest in longer pieces, or in books and other media. But you have to first give them what they want, and that is going to mean hours a week in research and writing. That shouldn't be a surprise because whether a full-blown site like Newser.com or your own blog, we're talking about building a business. And if you don't have the funds to invest, you're back to sweat equity.

Potential Cost of Online Apps

I know lots of people are enthralled with online applications and services, particularly when they are free. The attraction is clear: you get leading technology, don't have to do much to make it work on your end, and you save money. But there are some downsides, and you can read about a big one in a blog by Chris Brogan. When you depend on online services, you can become stuck with little recourse.

He tells of a colleague whose account was abruptly cancelled by Google:

Suddenly, Nick can’t access his Gmail account, can’t open Google Talk (our office IM app), can’t open Picasa where his family pictures are, can’t use his Google Docs, and oh by the way, he paid for additional storage. So, this is a paying customer with no access to the Google empire.

The colleague eventually was able to get his account returned, but it took "a lot of work." What if you were on deadline? What if you expected an important email from a client? The more you allow others to control your business systems, the more they control your business. This is the reason that I use desktop apps, keep extra physical storage on hand for backups, maintain an old-fashioned wire phone line. When things go wrong, I usually ahve a way to work around the problem, so I lose neither sleep nor business.

Mediabistro for Nothing? (UPDATED)

I saw the story that Forrester bought Jupiter Media for about $23 million. However, Jupiter bought Mediabistro not too long ago for about the same amount of money. So what's going on? My guess is that the MB purchase may have been a not-too-smart acquisition, because what company buys another for X and then sells itself, with said acquisition, for the same amount of money? Jupiter must have been flailing about.

It does make me wonder about the long-term viability of MB. Forrester used to publish its own magazine not too long ago, but apparently didn't like the return they were getting on the investment and so scuttled the whole thing. MB seems to be peripheral to what Forrester does, which is market analysis and research. I'm guessing that they either shut the whole thing down or try to spin it off, though I'm not sure who would pick it up. Here's a tip of the hat to Ms. Touby for fabulous timing and getting out when the market crested.

Big Update

Looks like I am wrong and misread the story in a major way, as pointed out by a reader who used to work at Jupiter. It was JupiterResearch that Forrester bought, not JupiterMedia. The latter sold the former off Jupiter Research a year or two ago to a private equity firm, and it's the private equity firm that did the deal with Forrester. Ah, well, nothing like the dangers of reading and posting too quickly.

Even More Updating

I was curious about the quick spinaround, so I did some poking. The private equity firm, MCG Capital Corporation, bought JupiterResearch for $10.1 million in mid-2006. So it's more than doubled its money in two years. Not bad. Now, quick, someone stop me before I update again.

Cry Me A River: Musician Billy Bragg on the Internet Underwriting Creatives Provide

A reader, catching up on her reading, forwarded a link to a New York Times piece called The Royalty Scam. In it, English songwriter and author Billy Bragg eloquently wrote about the inherent problem occurring on the Internet. In mentioning a conversation with the founder of Bebo.com - a social networking site that just sold to AOL for $850 million - he wrote the following:

In our discussions, we largely ignored the elephant in the room: the issue of whether he ought to consider paying some kind of royalties to the artists. After all, wasn’t he using their music to draw members — and advertising — to his business? Social-networking sites like Bebo argue that they have no money to distribute — their value is their membership. Well, last week Michael Birch realized the value of his membership. I’m sure he’ll be rewarding those technicians and accountants who helped him achieve this success. Perhaps he should also consider the contribution of his artists.

I agree with Mr. Bragg that there is a significant problem for creatives of all stripes. Also, anyone who's been reading my posts for any period of time knows that I'm not a fan of giving work away, whether for "exposure" or not. (Bragg points out that he gets exposure from radio stations; the difference is that they pay for the use of his music.)

However, the Internet issue is also a thorny one because of "monetization." Companies that own sites must find ways to make money not just from their sales, but from their operations. This is a situation that has many CEOs biting their nails late into the night. On one hand, they pay a whopping amount to acquire the social media sites because they're sure that if they don't, their companies will be left behind. But on the other hand, they can't figure out how to make money online.

I don't mean to point this out by way of excusing the system, but rather as a form of explanation. Many of the now hot Internet sites depended on investors for enough money to operate. When they sell, the investors get the money, and there are still those jobs that were created. But the real elephant in the room is that making money is far more difficult than any of the Internet cheerleaders want to admit.

So, do you give a cut to the musicians, particularly "the fledgling songwriters and musicians posting original material onto the Web tonight" whose "first legal agreement that they enter into as artists will occur when they click to accept the terms and conditions of the site that will host their music"? It would seem fair, but how do you calculate it? What is the value compared to, say, the amalgamation of posts and profiles that draw people to sites?

I don't have an easy answer. If I did, I'd be making a whole lot of money from knowing it. The one thing that is clear is that the start-ups, even as they get big, don't have the cash resources to pay everyone, and the corporations that buy them do so assuming that the business model of free content is going to remain. Otherwise, they would need to see enough cash to pay people.

We can draw a lesson. Your work may be wanted on the Web, but you can't depend on others to make a living for you. You must do that yourself. If you're going to use a site to promote yourself, either be comfortable with the thought that you'll never see a dime, or start developing business models now that will let you make money. Perhaps you need a link to an online store. Maybe you need people to come to your own ad-supported site. But certainly you cannot depend on others to make your business work for you. That is your job.

Martha Stewart: Side of Emeril to Go

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has just bought the Emeril Lagasse franchise: books, TV shows, and products. All it cost was $45 million cash and another $5 million in stock. The total price could hit as much as $70 million, should the enterprise hit preset goals. The acquisition doesn't include Lagasse's company, which includes his corporate office and restaurants.

So, why the deal? Remember back with me to late last year, when the Food Network decided to stop filming the show Emeril Live. Here you see an example of real platform. The EL show was fairly popular, got lots of people saying "Bam," and turned Lagasse into a very hot commodity. But while he would still have had the Essence of Emeril show, it was a low-key affair with no screaming audience members and, presumably, a lot less mojo. No inside info here - just what I've seen on the Food Network and from being a food fan.

But I'd argue that this makes business sense, and it shows you the Essence of Platform: screaming fans that want what you provide. Not expertise; the Food Network has been cutting out a growing number of the show hosts that were actually chefs. But when that driving force is taken away, the whole kit and kaboodle is suddenly a lot less desirable on its own.

However, MSLO has the television distribution and already deals with magazines, books, and products. This was a natural match, and a very smart one. Because while MS has platform, the company needs more than her as a brand, or it could literally live or die on her mortal existence. Suddenly they had an opportunity to snag another personal brand that was a compliment, and so they paid a good amount. When an editor talks to you about brand, understand that this is the type of grand notion he or she really wants. Having a blog alone won't do it. Earning a special degree or certification won't do it. Those are the barriers to entry to seem credible. Then you have to get people wanting you. If you can do that, the publishing world will look far more kindly on you than you thought was possible.

Now, if someone can only get Rachel Ray off the Wheat Thins cracker boxes.

Warning: VistaPrint

I've never used VistaPrint myself, but a writer in an online discussion mentioned that there have been reports of people getting unauthorized charges after placing an order with the company:

• Ripoff Report


• Random Thoughts Review


• Yahoo Finance Message Boards


• SmartMoney

These are just a few hits I got on a Google search on "VistaPrint" and "unauthorized charges." I've never used them and am not saying to avoid or use them. But if you're considering a purchase from them, doing some research before laying down your hard earned money would seem prudent.

Entrepreneurial Skills for Journalists

Thanks to reader Debra Cash, I learned of an article on how some J-schools are trying to teach entrepreneurial skills, as that's what the future is going to require. But a class may not be enough, as Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark noted:

“I got the sense that [the students] have a grasp on the rapid change in the market and that’s helping them out,” Newmark said. “But they, like everyone else, are struggling to connect with the change and prepare themselves for the wild ride. They are clued-in but no one knows what’s going to happen. They’re in the awkward position in that the nature of the world is changing as they take the class.”

That is true - a class, or multiple classes, alone will not teach writers everything they need to know. That requires practice, falling down, and picking yourself up again. And here's an interesting comment about advertising:

“My view is that you need to start treating advertising as content,” he said. “It’s not just the thing that pays our paychecks and otherwise we want to flee from it. Once you realize that, then you think about how to preserve your credibility, and tell people, ‘yes we take advertising’ and show people that it doesn’t affect the editorial. It’s going to require more transparency, which frankly is a healthy thing. It’s not like this fiction that advertising was never there before. The public generally felt that it was affecting the editorial, so there’s an opportunity to explain this to people and distinguish ourselves from sites that don’t care [about a separation between ads and editorial].”

Don't Ignore Monthly Goals, Either

Earlier this week I discussed how you can put too much emphasis on monthly goals, wasting time and effort chasing something unnecessarily. But there is a flip side: complacency. Yes, it is possible to make up a month's revenue short-falling, but the possibility shifts with the circumstances.

Pushing additional revenue needs into a following month is fine if the amount is small. But the larger a deficit you try to cover, the more difficult your task becomes. Now you've committed yourself to longer hours and more work just to get back on track. The key is percentage by which you misss your goal. If you're down by a few percent, that probably isn't going to be impossibly difficult to attain. Hit 15 or 20 percent, and you're working some longer weeks; 50 percent, and you might be giving up sleep.

You might need to spread a large enough deficit over several months, but what happens if you have another off month? Or if you're crowding the end of the year and you want to hit your annual goal? You may have set yourself up to solve a problem that you cannot.

If you find yourself missing a monthly goal, don't panic, but do see what you can learn from it:

• Have you fallen short because of an unexpected event? Consider whether it really was a something that you could not have forseen, or if you might be essentially lying to yourself through overly optimistic estimations of the likelihood of closing business.


• Does your goal show unrealistic expectations for the markets and types of work that you've chosen to do? If so, you must revisit either your business model or your expectations.


• Are you working hard enough in marketing and selling? If not, the work won't come in. You should be pitching to get more business than you need, because not all of your marketing will turn into assignments.


• Are you working hard enough to finish the assignments? It doesn't matter if you've got an assignment; it won't help you meet a monthly goal if you don't finish in time to invoice during that month.


• In a similar vein, are you being realistic in the amount of work you can complete in a month, and how long it will take to do each assignment? If you find that important parts of your goal are going to be done right at the end of the month, assume that the schedule could slip and your revenue could slide out of one month and into another. That's not a big problem (assuming that the client is fine with the change) if you're finished at the beginning of the next month, but let it go too far and you'll be bumping revenue for that month as well, creating a situation where you cannot catch up by earning more than your goal.

Site: How We Became Writers

Knowing the unceasing interest writers generally have in reading, hearing, and talking about writing, here's a site: How We Became Writers. It features writers telling stories of how they ended up doing what they do.

Planning for the Recession

There's talk about a recession, with experts disagreeing as to whether it will happen, it is happening, or already has happened. That's my way of saying that there is always an economic situation. It may be deemed "good," "bad," or "indifferent." No matter what the description, however, that doesn't mean the specifics will be good for you and your business. I've talked to writers who found that their businesses took big hits in the post dot-com recession of 2000 and 2001. I know other writers who saw their businesses take off. At any time, some people will do well and some will do badly.

The difference is that, whether consciously or not, the ones that profit have business strategies matching the conditions. Those that lose have incompatible strategies. Really economically successful writers are aware of changing conditions and adapt their approach as needed. To do that, you have to see that things are changing and then find what will work. That may take some experimentation, but in the end, you can do it.

As an example, let's look at just some of the things happening now. The whole world seems to be slipping into a slump. Banks and other lenders are taking a beating; look at Bank of America, which saw a 95% drop in earnings. The home housing market is slow. Hollywood writers are still on strike. Just these few facts would suggest the following:

• Trying to diversify by going after foreign markets won't necessarily be a help, though Americans might still intelligently make some efforts in this direction because of the current exchange rates.


• Financial services companies may be a poor choice, because many will be cutting corners to restore earnings and regain their stock prices.


• Covering consumer real estate will be tricky, because those in the area will be spending a lot less, which means they will be less interesting for the time being to advertisers, making it difficult for advertisers to justify spending too much on advertising.


• Hollywood has pretty much ground to a halt because of the writers' strike. But signs are that talks may soon restart, and if the two sides come to an agreement, there will be overtime work to get projects moving again. And then, maybe a year down the line (possibly more, depending on how long it takes productions to move from one stage to the next). If you write about entertainment, you might start a particularly heavy marketing phase in a few months. (After the obligatory article on the What The Strike Meant.)

One professional I know said in an online discussion thread that he's concentrating on blue chip clients. That could be wise - assuming that you've got your writing chops to a point that you can satisfy such clients. But remember that even blue chip clients - Bank of America would normally be considered one - can have problems. Read the business news, pay attention to all of the clues, and think about what each implies, and how they all connect.

Finding New Ways to Save Money

You own a business, and every penny that goes to expenses comes out of your pocket. Yes, it's great to have tax write-offs, but it's almost always more profitable to reduce those expenses to a minimum and pay taxes on what you get to keep. To fatten your wallet, it's necessary to emulate an aspect of a successful business owner - being a creative skinflint. It even can become a game, where you look for ways to get what you legitimately need and find ways to pay as little as possible. Here are some examples from my own business:

• Need to rent a car? Try asking for an economy. Sometimes you get stock with a very small car, but when a national chain like Enterprise has run out of the low-end, you get an upgrade while still getting the economy price.


• When you're traveling and need to be in touch, consider using Skype Pro, a software package and service that turns your computer and broadband connection (make that laptop and hotel or public wireless hotspot) into a phone. For $3/month, you get up to 3,000 minutes per month of calls to landlines and cell phones in Canada and the US, and another $36 a year (total of $6/month) gets you an inbound phone number that will follow you. Depending on your phone use, that can be a good alternative to a cell phone. Check the site for info on international calling.


• While on the topic of telecommunications, need a fax number? I get mine through Faxaway.com. The downside, if this is one, is that it comes with a Washington state area code. All faxes come in as emails, and the cost for unlimited fax reception is $1 a month.


• Ink jet cartridges can be expensive, and most of your printing is probably black and white text. Consider getting a used laser printer. One cartridge at about $60 can cover thousands of pages of printing, reducing the per page price to a few pennies at most. Connect the laser through the printer port on your PC and hook the ink jet through the USB connection (most have them). Then pick whichever printer works best for you.


• Are you a member of AAA, AARP, or any other organization? You may be eligible for discounts on hotels, car rentals, and other expenses. If you can get a lower price, might as well take it.


• Try negotiation. Ask for better rates, upgrades, etc., and you may get them.


• If you need a digital camera or consumer electronics device, make the business models of the manufacturers work for you. Generally new models come out every six months or so, and everyone starts discounting to get rid of the old and ring in the new. Get a model or two back, and you'll find plenty of features at an attractive price. For digital SLRs, the turnover in models is a bit slower, but the principle holds true - buy a model or two back, and chances are you'll get everything you need.

Learning Everyday Business Analysis

A writer on an online forum recently noted in passing that Writers Digest seems to have shifted its editorial focus, targeting would-be writers rather than experienced working writers. There's a lot to learn from this observation, and much to be gleaned for the way that I think writing is moving.

Why WD would shift audience definition comes down to money. Compared the the number of people who think they would like to be writers, I suspect there is a relatively small pool of those actually in the business.

The publisher needs to make a lot of money to pay for articles, marketing, design, production, printing, and everything else that is part of publishing. The money has to come from a combination of advertising and subscriptions. Remembering the concept of different business models in the writing and publishing world, either you pay, the audience pays, or someone else pays. One aspect of third parties paying is that they must think they'll get more back in business or value than they money they pay to the publisher. In the case of a publication aimed at writers, I suspect the expectations are low, because we are, let's face it, such an incredibly cheap lot.

That means the money coming from readers - subscriptions and news stand sales - are going to be the big driver of revenue. There are two ways of getting this money: charging a small number of people a lot, or charging a lot of people relatively little. In other words, you have to balance real niche publishing (vehicles that address the interests of small audiences who badly want something) against mass market (getting less money per copy, but selling many).

To make niche publishing work, you'd have to charge a premium price and get the audience to pay. Think of it this way: you have a collection of four targeted articles in a month. Each runs 1500 words. If the articles' writers are going to get even $1 a word, that's $6000 in labor. A subscription base of 1000 would have to pay at least $6 a month, or $72 for a subscription, just to cover the writing labor, with no money for design, marketing and sales, and production. Roughly double that to cover other costs and leave some profit for the publisher, and consider whether the audience members will pay $140 or $150 a year. Are you providing something of such value that it becomes worth it to them? And are they the type of people who will recognize the value and appreciate it?

There are newsletters that get have these types of subscription fees, and some that charge much more. But I'm not sure writers are good candidates for being willing to pay that sort of premium. And so, the publications like WD fall back to the least common denominator, publishing articles for people who aren't in the business but wish they were. Get an audience of 20,000, and the money you need from an annual subscription of those four articles (at least distributed electronically) goes down to $7 or $7.50 - low enough that many people will take it on impulse.

I think this is an example of the types of calculations we're all going to have to start making. What is the audience for a particular piece of writing? What will they pay? How much does it cost to reach them? Quotidian business planning and analysis is as necessary as a firm grasp on grammar, and a darn sight more important than excellent spelling. You can always use a spell checker, but there's no such thing as a business checker.

Keeping a Standard

I was talking with a friend and colleague the other day, and we were both shaking our heads at some writers we've heard boast of knocking off a thousand word piece in a very few hours, including interviews and research. Apparently the clients didn't mind, and the results were high hourly rates and, in the case of one, a high annual gross.

I'm all for making money, and I'm all for being efficient. But there is something about the take-two-interviews-and-write-a-thousand-words-by-morning approach that bothers me. I could put it off to jealousy, and yet I don't get that way about some colleagues who I know pull down far more than I do, and yet still undertake what I'd see as a reasonable number of interviews for a single article. (For those doing corporate work, feel free to substitute a lot of interviewing of people in the company and researching the product or service.)

What bothered me, I think, was the process of cutting corners. Writing has to be about more than just making money. If you're interested only in the monetary world, there are many occupations and businesses that can deliver in greater abundance. I've found myself similarly bristling when hearing, "Because I'm only getting paid X, there's only so hard I'm going to work on the assignment."

I really don't get that attitude. If you have a connection to the craft of writing, then you have respect for the process and what it can do. Good writing requires putting the needs of the story and the craft first - while ensuring that you've made arrangements for sufficient remuneration to keep your life from rising up and revolting. (Or so your life isn't revolting, for a different view.) If I've taken a shot at an assignment and it legitimately needs a rewrite, I rewrite. It comes with the territory, and if you're going to spend the time doing something, you might as well be proud of what you have done.

There are secondary business benefits. For example, if you keep hacking through assignments, then your clips will read like hack work, and you'll find it more difficult to land assignments at top publications, or even to muster the writing muscle to tackle various types of articles to your satisfaction. Given the large amounts of snow that have fallen in the last two weeks where I live, I'll use a winter analogy told to me by a pastor. He and his wife lived for years in northern Maine. He remembered their first snow fall there, and he was perplexed to see people plowing not only their driveways, but their entire yards. "I soon learned why," he said. So much snow fell annually that residents had to clear room so by the end of the season, they could still remove the snow from their sidewalks and driveways and have somewhere to put it.

Throughout your career, you need to make room for new techniques and approaches to story telling. When a writer takes the easy way out, he or she is actually only plowing the driveway and not the lawn in those first snowfalls. You become fixed in your approach, because you're now focusing on speed and efficiency, not on quality.

If you care at all about the writing craft, you have to keep reaching to do better, research more deeply, understand more thoroughly. All of this increases your ability to tell a story. To do that, you push aside the old tricks and concepts and keep turning into a wide-eyed student, always trying to grasp what it possible. That way, what you write becomes better and has more substance to it. You may make fewer dollars, but I've found that people who rely on their income as a measure of their self-worth always sound a little hollow. At least in my opinion, that's no way to go through life.

Finding Balance

Writers often find themselves either feeling strung-out over lack of work or drowning and not having the time they'd like for other things - the stereotypical feast or famine situation. Someone on a discussion board asked if it was possible to find a balance between work and live, and I think it is, although running your own business generally requires more hours than punching a clock.

Part of the answer is to realize that there will be an ebb and flow. There are times I'm flat out with work and can't do anything else. Then there are times I goof off, hang out with my family, cook dinner, work on personal projects, and generally enjoy myself. The question is where things are on the average, and not having what I want at every minute, which is unrealistic.

But if you find that you feel overwhelmed too often, you might want to consider a few ways of analyzing your situation a bit more:

1. Be harshly honest with yourself. Generally when you find yourself in a situation over and over again, there is something you like about it. Now, there may be stretches where one thing tips into another and upsets what you'd really like for months, or even a year or more. But if you've been in the business for a number of years and still find that you end up in the same situation, you have to realize that you're probably trying to solve a problem doing more of the same, and you have to ask why you're so attached to what you have always done.



2. Really look at the trade-offs. What is it that you get from the business? Do you really need the amount of work/money you're bringing in? If you do need it, then maybe you have to reevaluate the balance you might reach. Or it may be that you're driving yourself to meet a requirement that actually isn't there.



3. If you're working too long and too hard, then you should reconsider the statement that you love the mix of clients. Sounds like it's time to do a profitability analysis - not just revenue, but dollars per hour - on your clients to see how they really stack up. If there is any way to quantify a PIA factor, then do that as well. Maybe, without thinking about it too much, give a ranking from 1 to 10 of each in terms of how much of a pain it is. Then you could find the average PIA number and see how far each deviates from that average, or maybe divide profitability by the PIA number. It might be that you need to get some different clients that are less demanding, or that pay so much more for the demands that you can afford to do less work overall.

Why You Need to Plan Your Business Today

In the middle of teaching one of my periodic online business planning classes, I've had some students saying that they're getting behind because they're too busy now. You may have said the same thing yourself - I'll start my business planning next week, or at the end of the year, and then you never get around to it. But planning isn't an affordable nicety.

I don't mean writing a formal business plan to shove into the drawer. Planning is the process of knowing where you need to go, where you are now, and how to get from point A to point B. It's a process, not a single activity, so there is no perfect answer. You might make some decisions only to find that they put you in a direction away from where you want to go. That's fine, so long as you keep looking at your client mix, the money you're making, the money you need to make, your pipeline of possibly work, level of marketing activity, cash flow, and other metrics critical to the running of any business. If you want to write for a living, then whether you like it or not, you have to treat this as a business.

Would you say you're too busy to send letters of introduction to prospects or queries to editors or proposals to corporate clients? You might, but you'd soon be in desperate financial straits, because only continued marketing keeps you solvent. Would you say you're too busy to send invoices? In that case, you could find yourself out of money, if not assignments, because you haven't kept up with what others owe you.

A process of business planning is just as important to your business as marketing and invoicing. The point isn't to come up with "the" answers. Instead, it's to start building a planning process, so you can move ahead over time. So, for example, if you can't analyze the profitability of all your clients, analyze that of the top few, to start. If you can't go through your entire old client list, at least examine a promising few.

Delaying planning to some future time offers no benefit, because you're still thinking in terms of a light switch: Today I'll plan and then everything will suddenly be OK. It won't, though. Only by continuously planning over time can you eventually make progress toward your goals. It's like hiking toward a mountain. You keep checking your progress, examining your direction, and noting the terrain and how you may have to adjust your gait to meet it. Eventually you get to the mountain, and every step brings you closer. If you wait to do the planning until you're there, you could end up tumbling down a ravine.

Managing Assignment Risk

Whether you work in editorial, corporate, non-profit, or even fiction, you still have to run a business. One of the big areas that established businesses consider is risk. The idea is actually simple, and you do it every day in your life. When crossing a street, for example, you look both ways. What you're doing in that moment is assessing risk by determining if there is any oncoming traffic. Obviously if there's a car right a few yards away, you stay on the curb. Similarly, if there isn't a vehicle in sight, you can cross at your leisure.

But what if there is traffic coming from one or both directions at varying distances? You may have enough time to safely cross or not, and you make that judgment based on your past experience. What you're doing subconsciously is identifying a potential source of danger and calculating how likely it is to cause a problem.

Think about it and you'll see how amazing this is: you estimate speed and position, take into account direction and your own pace, mentally calculate whether you and the car will intersect at any point, adjust your own speed as a consequence, consider how urgently you need to get across the street, and then make a decision as to whether it is "safe" for you to cross at that time.

You can do the same thing, often with as little effort, in your writing business. All it requires is for you to put at bay your eagerness at getting work. Instead, you take a few minutes when hearing of an assignment and consider the following points, at least:

• Pay - Well, of course you consider that. Or do you? If you find yourself making excuses for why a low pay assignment is acceptable to take, then you're not bringing a critical view that you need.


• Timing - Is the schedule one you can live with? You have to consider when it must start, when the work is due, how much time it would take, and how fully you are booked.


• Profitability
- Take the pay and divide it by the time you estimate that the assignment will take. You now have a dollar per hour figure that should be at least above your minimum. (See my article on business planning to the left under Writer Resources.) This is another point where you should be brutally honest. If you aren't going to make enough for the time you invest, think carefully whether you want to get involved, as it could be a huge mistake.

• Getting Paid - You want to be sure that you get the money you're earning. Check out the current reputation of the client. If you hear of others getting stiffed, or even greatly delayed, pass on the assignment. If you're working with someone unknown to you, limit your exposure. Take only one assignment at the start and see how it goes. If it's a large assignment, break the tasks and deliverables into multiple parts, billing (and, hopefully, collecting) for each before continuing to something else. Too many writers have found themselves waiting for thousands of dollars because they didn't use this approach.


• Business Fit - Generally not as major a consideration, it should still be one. Will you see any disadvantage from the association with the client? If so, can you remove it by working under a pseudonym?


• Client Satisfaction - Taking business that only has the opportunity for single assignments is largely a waste, because you can't leverage the marketing you just did and the time it takes to set up a client and have it set you up as a vendor on its accounting system. If there is the chance for continuing assignments, be sure you can deliver on what the client needs and wants. If not - if you don't have particular skills or expertise the client needs - then determine whether getting up to speed is possible. If not, then refer the client to someone who can do that particular job. You avoid wasting everyone's time and actually build relations with the client.

This doesn't have to be an onerous process. Just consider the signs you can see, what your experience and that of others tells you, and make an informed decision. You won't be right all the time, but you're unlikely to get as seriously run over as you might otherwise.

Doing Things When You Can't

Some writers - and people, in general - seem flustered when they must develop new skills or capabilities, like calling prospects and selling, or interviewing intimidating people. "But I can't do that," they say.

There is a chance that if you're reading this, you fall into this category at least part of the time. We all do. But you can't let that distract you. Of course there are aspects of this business that you can't do. No one is born ready to run a business. People with the most natural affinities for business must learn - a lot. No, you don't know how to do all of this this, but you can develop the skills and experience you need. Just start. Pick an aspect of what you don't know how to do, and then do it. Even if you do it badly, that's fine: Do it again. Again. And again. If you have ever learned how to ride a bike, then you've gone through the process. Eventually you suddenly find yourself doing what was impossible. That's how you grow your business, the impossible made possible, one step at a time.

Writers' Business Planning Course

I'm thinking of teaching another business planning for writers online course. It would run from late Sept./early Oct. to the middle of Nov., ending before Thanksgiving. Here's the info, and if you're interested, please click on my profile and drop an email.

Learn how business planning can help you take control, get more done, make more money, have more fun, and generally see things take off.

This isn't some dry, head-pounding, hair-tearing forced march to a written business plan, but practical techniques that can help you make the big decisions and then put them into practice. Calculate just how much money you actually need, and explore what is important to you and how that can connect to your business. Rank your clients and assignments to see how they fit with your goals, and use simple analysis to anticipate assignment and pay crunches while you can still do something about it. The course ends with some time-management techniques that will help you keep on top of what you want to achieve.

Here's what some people who have taken the class in the past have said:

• "I really got a lot out of this class. It forced me to make some decisions that are actually getting me to move ahead, and that is very good news."


• "I just wanted to let you know how much I learned from the biz planning class ... What was most beneficial to me was developing formulas to track, on an ongoing basis, which clients/types of work represent the majority of my income."


• The frame of reference you've provided is quite useful, and I feel I've already gotten my money's worth."

The class runs six weeks and is meant for people who already have some experience in freelance writing.

Planning Class Syllabus:

• The need to plan


• Self examination to set the direction


• A layered approach to planning


• Using results to improve planning


• Baseline financial analysis


• Establishing bare bones and and full budgets


• Performing a time utilization analysis


• Determining client and assignment mixes


• Identifying personal inertia points


• Taking personal work inventories


• Evaluating past and current clients


• Calculating minimum rates


• Building a foundational financial plan


• Identifying areas for expansion


• Balancing work/client categories for plan optimization


• Taking stock of planning efforts so far


• Creating a planning feedback loop


• Cash flow analysis


• Discounting expectations and assignment values


• Other metrics


• Time management


• Developing time-based plan implementation


• Juggling tasks

Check on Invoices Early and Often - at First

I find that most companies have their own rhythms when it comes to payment - their own processes, cash flow, and requirements. Often the buyer at the client - whether editor, corporation, or organization - doesn't think much about those processes. Your first invoice with someone is always tricky because the accounting department has to get you into the account payable system as a vendor, which might require additional authorization than just getting an invoice signed and passed in.

So on that crucial first invoice, I check right when it's due - sometimes asking the person I dealt with, but more frequently, now, going right to the accounts payable department. These people aren't shy about talking money and actually expect to hear from their vendors with problems and questions. Call and ask how the process works and see if they have your invoice. Explain that this is a regular process you go through to make sure things are working smoothly and to better understand their process, and that you're not standing over their shoulder about when you will be paid for this particular check. If there is a problem, like someone not filling out paperwork or an invoice not arriving from the buyer, then you can start taking corrective action rather than waiting weeks more and getting your stomach in a know. It's just business - so just take care of it.

Business, Accident, and the Law of Averages

Accident plays a much larger part in business than most of us like to think. I don't mean that the people who do well are only lucky, though some seem to be. But by and large, you actually make your own luck. If you are working enough, and in an effective way, then assignments, whether corporate or editorial, will come your way.

It's law of large numbers - that is to say, the law of averages. This concept is that when things happen at random - that is, by accident - and there are enough of them, you will inevitably see patterns come out. The end results are predictable, like dropping marbles down one of those devices that are a board with lots of pegs, so they can bounce this way or that. You can't predict where any single marble will land, but you know that some small percentage will be all the way at the ends and that the numbers increase until they hit a maximum in the middle, producing the classic bell curve.

There is a lot of accident in business. Sometimes clients need writing, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they'll want certain topics or treatments, and sometimes others. Sometimes it's one person at a company or publisher who needs something, and sometimes it's another. You don't know for sure which one will need help on any given day. But, you know that if you take enough clients together, some of them will need help on any given day. The more with whom you're in contact, the greater a chance that you'll talk to the ones that need the help when you'd like the work.

To make marketing effective, you have to take the long view. You also have to be in contact with enough people that you hear about the work coming in that is available. That's why numbers are so important in marketing and sales, and why you must keep making marketing efforts even when the work is coming in.

Sometimes it will seem that work comes in for no particular reason, but I've found that such happy occurrences generally happen when I'm working hard at developing my business, and it's the constant effort that makes things work. If you don't make the marketing effort, well, you might have some business show up of its own accord, but chances are that you won't be making much of a living. If you do make the regular and sustained efforts, you will eventually have success - it's mathematical.

The Passionless Pursuit of Profit

I'm going to mention a few situations that writers often find themselves in. See if you notice what is common - or if you can see yourself in any of these situations:

• I'm so mad! I've sent yet another email to that editor and haven't gotten a response. If they want queries, why don't they have the courtesy to reply?


• The pay is really low, but I really like the editor and I want to keep the relationship.


• I really need this assignment, so I can't try to get changes in the contract, because I can't afford to have them decide not to use me.


• I'm so excited! I'm in the running for a big project. Oh, I really, really hope I get it!

The common thread is unrestrained emotion: anger, desire for friendship, fear, and excitement. Obviously there is nothing wrong with emotion, per se - it's a human characteristic. But when you go into business dealings from an emotional framework, you are toast facing a world of sharp knives and orange marmalade at 8 in the morning.

When your emotions run like a roller coaster through your working days, you will end up battered (if not buttered). Here are the possible outcomes:

1. Everything moves towards being a high or low, yanking you this way and that and making work much more difficult.


2. You create a sense of neediness in yourself and broadcast it to all around you. When that happens, you will come out on the losing side of any negotiation, which means any conversation with a client. If you cannot even consider walking away from the deal - the very definition of neediness - then you cannot improve it because the other party doesn't need to change a thing.


3. The emotional reaction causes you to take everything personally. That clouds your vision. Instead of seeing business relationships, you see personal relationships that really don't exist (no matter how much you like most of your clients). That puts a burden on your clients, who really aren't your best friends and shouldn't have to be. It also keeps you from treating them in a way that is appropriate and respectful.


4. When you react from emotion, you start making assumptions that may or may not be valid. That can lead you to expecting revenue from assignments that won't end up happening or not taking the extra step that might actually result in work that you've presumed is lost.

We all need to learn to take the emotion out of our dealings, and this is a day-at-a-time process. Start with reserving judgment. When you find yourself ready to jump for joy or sink into despair, tell yourself that you don't really know what it going on outside of yourself ... because you don't. It may be that something good will come of a conversation, or perhaps not. Eventually you'll see.

Also, very few of us are in the position of being in life-and-death situations. There will be other clients and other assignments. If you work hard at marketing, you'll get enough possibilities that some of them are bound to fall into place. Make it a matter of numbers, not a matter of how you feel that day.

Finally, for today at least, keep your work and home lives separate. Be cordial with clients while remembering that you aren't looking for friends and don't expect them to serve that function. When you need to make a hard decision, then it really is just a matter of business. Save your passion for your writing; use your head in your business dealings.

Never Walk Away From the Good Fight

There will be times (if you haven't already seen them) that you are in conflict with a client. Perhaps it wants to unreasonably delay payment or demand significant more work for no extra compensation or ask you to shoulder other burdens that never were mentioned during discussions of the assignment. You may have talked to the people involved, trying to get a resolution, but to no avail.

I understand the reluctance to take significant action. A number of thoughts are running through your head - don't want to lose the client, I'm friends with the editor, what if they get angry because I hate conflict - as your emotions bubble over. And I certainly understand how you would prefer a reasoned solution that got you what you needed. Obviously if that is possible, then it's a good outcome.

But there will be times that does not happen, and the company is happy to string you along or out or whatever preposition best describes your state of misery. In those circumstances, for your own sake as a human being, you cannot back down or give in. To do so is to allow yourself to be stepped on. That sets a bad precedent for the future and puts you further into a frame of mind where you feel like you're getting what you actually deserve: "If it's happening, then I must have done something to bring it on." This is the abused spouse mindset, and one that you must discourage.

That doesn't mean you necessarily become crazed and demand a knock-down, drag out fight. However, you stand firm for what is right and take the actions necessary to see it happen. It's good for you, it's good for your family and friends - it's particularly important if you have children, because somehow they know when you act in a righteous, and not self-righteous, manner and it teaches them to stand up for themselves. It's good good for the writing community, and it's good for the world. If people firmly planted their feet at such times, we'd have far fewer tragedies, because we would not let things go so far.

Be firm and hold your ground. You did the work and they owe you the money. If they want more work, they can pay more money. Insist that they make good. And when they do act in a reprehensible manner, add your voice to the others descrying such atrocious behavior. The more you do this, the lest often you'll find people ready to take you on. You don't go into new business relationships with a chip on your shoulder and frothing at the mouth because you won't have to. People will just know. And, more importantly, you will know. You may win, you may lose, but you'll feel better about yourself no matter what.

Practice Makes Perfect Sense

At some time in your writing career, you will find the overwhelming desire to coast. You might notice it as a greater reliance on formula writing, where you use the same types of openings, always make the third paragraph the nut graph, and go out on an ironic quote. Coasting might come up in pitching to familiar editors only, or in always pursuing a specific topic or story type. You might keep doing the same amount of work.

No matter how the coasting starts, the taste of sameness is always there. One story sounds like the next. Each day becomes a slogging through a business that might as well be working for someone else. Then you start thinking that maybe, just maybe, the problem is with freelancing and that a change in what you do would solve all your problems. There would be enough money, adequate insurance (at least at an affordable rate), interesting people to speak with, challenges, and the possibility of advancement. But there won't be, because the problem isn't with circumstances; it's with how you meet them.

Granted, some people are not cut out for the freelance life and never will be. They really would be much better off working for someone else, or possibly doing something completely different from writing. But for those who really are suited to freelancing, this sort of feeling is a sign that you've forgotten an important life lesson: practice makes perfect.

We all know that the more you do something, the better you get at it. But doing isn't the rote replication of action. By essentially writing the same story and undertaking the same assignments, you aren't doing. Instead, you're working on an intellectual assembly line and just becoming more efficient at fixing the nut onto the bolt. That's unfulfilling because it misses the human inner drive to achieve something more. When you perform by rote, you work without really being present; you cease to exist. Any wonder why that would leave you unhappy?

To find meaning and fulfillment, keep practicing amd challenge yourself so that you must be present to solve the problems that will arise. Of course some of your work will be similar, but it won't be identical or rote. Push into new markets and talk to new editors. Improve the approach to your profession so that you stretch your skills and increase your knowledge of craft. Toss the web for a week and use a library for research. Go on location to do some reporting. Try a different way of writing an article, even if think the results might not work. Just keep pushing - keep practicing. You'll never reach perfection, but you will gain satisfaction, and that's something that few jobs ever offer.

Short Guide to Guidebooks at Joshua Berman Blog

Joshua Berman is an experience travel writer and guide book writer, and at his blog he has a great entry about writing guide books. It's in a Q&A format and is a must-read for those who want to write one of these. A short take: better have a good reason to do one because the advance will probably only cover your expenses if you do it right and have to travel to the destination. He notes that he only knows of "a handful" of writers who actually make a living doing this type of work. Even spinning off magazine articles doesn't seem to do the trick, so he takes season work as well to make ends meet.

The Temptation to Diversify

I'm not generally someone who believes that writers should have only one specialty. It's a model that works for some, though I prefer spreading my business risk over multiple areas, so a downturn in one area won't necessarily affect all of my income. Yet you want to expand, not expend. When looking to enter an area new to you, it is dangerously easy to become distracted and waste time and energy. For example, I know a writer now that is considering trying a travel book. I've known others that have as well, and have even done one myself.

Unfortunately, the money in guidebooks tends to be, at best, mediocre. Someone looking to do this would have to start with some hard financial questions:

1. What opportunities am I giving up?


2. What is the difference between what I'd get and what I give up?


3. What natural opportunities would this tangent open?


4. What are the revenues that these would likely deliver?


5. To what degree are these additional revenues additional to what I'd make anyway?


6. After all is said and done, am I financially better off, worse off, or would the experience be a wash?

Once you've gone through this list, you have a sense of your net investment and what your resulting financial position will be. Then, unless the money is a non-issue (and that is true for some people), you can look at the other factors - fun, ego, resume burnishing, perks, satisfaction, and so on - more than balance things out. You might decide that what you get out of a project might even be worth a financial loss. That's fine - so long as you go into the opportunity with your eyes open, and not just your wallet.

Value and Pricing

Pricing seems one of the most contentious business issues that writers face, if posts on every writing board I've ever seen are an indication. People want to know what others charge, what they should charge, how to bill it, when to bill it, and in what form the invoice should be.

Unfortunately, while the information someone gains could be useful, it often isn't. Pricing is an individual thing, not a regurgitation of all that the market will bear, because what it will bear for one it will deny another. A large company in the high tech industry is likely to pay significantly more for a press release than the mom-and-pop local business, largely because they will require a significant level of experience as well as relevant knowledge on the part of the writer. A corporate writer experienced in navigating the regulatory requirements of the SEC will command significantly more to write an annual report for a public company than one with less experience. That's because there is a difference in the value offered.

Price is the compromise between the value a writer can offer and the value the client perceives. You start with your own hourly price and then do research to try and find what equivalent work from writers with equivalent background and experience for similar types of clients might command. That tells you if there is additional you *could* charge because the client is likely to expect it. Then you layer on the specific value that you bring. For example, I've charged companies $150/hour and more at times to write marketing materials, but I had significant experience in the specific type of work and could bring a lot in specialized knowledge of the customers and products. I can think of a time that I literally got 20% more than another experienced writer because of a specific value edge.

But there is another part of the value equation - what value you receive. Value is more than the money you receive. I've recently embarked on a large project (not the speechwriting I previously mentioned) for less than I might ordinarily charge, but then I'm gaining a credit in a particular type of project that will let me win more bids in the future and charge more. Don't just look at what the market will bear when pricing a project. Consider the value you offer, the value you gain, the money you need to make for the time invested, and market realities. Then you can intelligently use the feedback you get from other writers.

Will Write for Experience

I just wrote a 2,200 word speech for less than I'd typically charge for a front-of-book magazine short, let alone a press release. That might seem crazy to many. Obviously I could have researched the market, determined how much such work "goes for," and then priced accordingly.

But I deliberately shunned the "smart" approach and charged a pittance. However, i did so for solid reasons. I knew the person and her likely available resources, so knew that charging more wouldn't work. She sent the payment ahead of delivery, so getting stiffed wouldn't be a problem. And, most importantly, I went through the value calculation.

Clients determine whether they are getting value for their money. Most work with budgets and have an idea of how much they're willing to pay for something, depending on the value to them. But the value has many components: specialized knowledge of the writer, ability to provide material in specific formats, time pressures, and so on.

Writers have to make a similar calculation. yes, money is important, but is there reference value to client, so getting work from others becomes easier because you have a marquee accomplishment? Do you learn a new skill or area that increases the value you can provide in the future to others? Are you getting a first chance to break into a new type of writing? Will you be paid faster than usual?

In my case, I was breaking into an area that I knew I could do, but where I had never done professional work. Saying, "Oh, I write plays and give public talks" doesn't necessarily translate into confidence that you will produce a decent speech. But now I can give a reference to a real client who needed to speak before a prestigious national legal conference.

That alone brings a lot of future value - potentially many times more than the money I didn't get, as speechwriting is usually a pretty well-paid type of work. Don't generally do cut-rate work, but consider it when the results are a solid investment in your business.

Inspiration, Perspiration, Desperation: Sayings for Writers

I figured a collection of sayings about writing, work, business, and life. Hope it makes for a fun break:

• Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two. (Anon)


• Your failure to plan is not my emergency. (Anon)


• I usually get more for that. (Tim Harper)


• When the going gets tough, remember the assignment will eventually end. (Erik Sherman)


• Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it. (Hannah Arendt)


• Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else. (Sir James Barry)


• Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. (Flannery O'Connor)


• To be prepared is half the victory. (Miguel Cervantes)


• Publication - is the auction of the Mind of Man. (Emily Dickinson)


• Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to those who have none. (Jules Renard)


• Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for. (Alice Walker)


• Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs. (John Osborne)


• Always be smarter than the people who hire you. (Lena Horne)


• I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork. (Peter DeVries)


• No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work. (Mother Theresa)


• The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time. (Abraham Lincoln)


• Women do not always have to write about women, or gay men about gay men. Indeed, something good and new might happen if they did not. (Kathryn Hughes)


• Most writers regard truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are most economical in its use. (Mark Twain)


• Critics are by no means the end of the law. Do not think all is over with you because you articles are rejected. It may be that the editor has his drawer full, or that he does not know enough to appreciate you, or you have not gained a reputation, or he is not in a mood to be pleased. A critic's judgment is like that of any intelligent person. If he has experience, he is capable of judging whether a book will sell. That is all. (Lavina Goodell)


• Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. (Robert Heinlein)


• If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves. (Lillian Hellman)


• Television has raised writing to a new low. (Samuel Goldwyn)


• Writers will happen in the best of families. (Rita Mae Brown)


• In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning. (George Orwell)


• I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on. (Beryl Pfizer)


• Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers. (Jimmy Breslin)


• Writing is one of the few professions in which you can psychoanalyse yourself, get rid of hostilities and frustrations in public, and get paid for it. (Octavia Butler)


• Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. (Jules Renard)


• If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we'd all be millionaires. (Abigail Van Buren)


• Every writer I know has trouble writing. (Joseph Heller)


• If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to. (Dorothy Parker)


• It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write. (Sinclair Lewis)


• It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business. (Gertrude Stein)


• I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off! (Matt Groening)


• Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. (Harriet Braiker)


• The wastebasket is a writer's best friend. (Isaac Bashevis Singer)


• Too many people go through life waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen. (Sasha Azevedo)


• English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education -- sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street. (E.B. White)


• I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. (Helen Keller)


• Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else. (Ivern Ball)


• Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night. (Marian Wright Edelman)