A good friend of mine is terribly slow at replying to his emails. He explained to me, once, how he agonized over the best way to respond to emails. In the end, his neuroticism creates beautiful, wonderful emails that I enjoy and crack up over every time I receive one. The downside, however, is that they are few and far between.
As I seem to discover time and time again. It's exactly the opposite of this approach to emails that tends to play well to editors.
My friend's patient crafting leads to beautiful emails, but it takes time--both to craft and to read. And these are two drawbacks that make it the wrong approach to take with pitching.
Pitching, it seems, should be done in a casual, brief manner. It shouldn't be sloppy, but pitches are more about high numbers and being brief than about being comprehensive or well-crafted.
Also important for the right freelancing attitude seems to be a sort of nonchalance that is the exact counterbalance to my friend's neuroticism. Editors often don't reply; don't worry about it, just send out another email. The right attitude involves not taking things personally.
2009年1月31日星期六
The Difference Between Freelancing and Holding a Stable Job
What's the difference between freelancing and holding a stable job?
When you have a stable job, payment continues during your time off.
This is a lesson I've learned first hand as my extended Chinese New Year vacation winds to a close. Last year, when I was a teacher at a high school, I earned the exact same amount of money whether on vacation or working. In fact, I received a bonus when Spring Festival came around.
This year, however, I've seen my bank account dwindle as I travel around the country. Whoever said freelance was a stable line of work?
There is a bright side, though. Freelance can be done anytime, anywhere. I have been able to pick an odd article during my travels to help tide things over. Also, as soon as I can find the time to stop, rest, and get a stable internet connection, I can send out pitches inspired by my travels. Plus, there's always the late-cashed deposit! Or perhaps I should start pressing people I meet for the tradition money-filled hongbao given at Chinese New Year. Freelancers, after all, have to be multi-talented.
When you have a stable job, payment continues during your time off.
This is a lesson I've learned first hand as my extended Chinese New Year vacation winds to a close. Last year, when I was a teacher at a high school, I earned the exact same amount of money whether on vacation or working. In fact, I received a bonus when Spring Festival came around.
This year, however, I've seen my bank account dwindle as I travel around the country. Whoever said freelance was a stable line of work?
There is a bright side, though. Freelance can be done anytime, anywhere. I have been able to pick an odd article during my travels to help tide things over. Also, as soon as I can find the time to stop, rest, and get a stable internet connection, I can send out pitches inspired by my travels. Plus, there's always the late-cashed deposit! Or perhaps I should start pressing people I meet for the tradition money-filled hongbao given at Chinese New Year. Freelancers, after all, have to be multi-talented.
2009年1月17日星期六
A New Personal Record in Pitches
I recently received an email from a name I didn't recognize. The letter sitting in my Gmail read:
C------ to me
show details Jan 16 (2 days ago)
Reply
Dear Thomas,
Thank you for your query. However, this is not a fit for our needs at this time. I appreciate your thinking of us.
Kind regards,
C---- ----
Executive Editor
Entrepreneur Magazine
www.entrepreneur.com
A pretty run of the mill rejection letter. What stood out was what I discovered when I scrolled up to find out what I had sent and why my memory was so spotty.
The next message up was an auto reply to my original message:
I will be out of the office until Thursday, Sept. 25. I'll respond to your message as soon as possible once I return.
And the date on my message sitting atop the thread of messages? September 24th.
That's right: nearly 4 months had passed between my original response and the rejection letter. I've said over and over that editors are busy, but this sets a new record.
C------ to me
show details Jan 16 (2 days ago)
Reply
Dear Thomas,
Thank you for your query. However, this is not a fit for our needs at this time. I appreciate your thinking of us.
Kind regards,
C---- ----
Executive Editor
Entrepreneur Magazine
www.entrepreneur.com
A pretty run of the mill rejection letter. What stood out was what I discovered when I scrolled up to find out what I had sent and why my memory was so spotty.
The next message up was an auto reply to my original message:
I will be out of the office until Thursday, Sept. 25. I'll respond to your message as soon as possible once I return.
And the date on my message sitting atop the thread of messages? September 24th.
That's right: nearly 4 months had passed between my original response and the rejection letter. I've said over and over that editors are busy, but this sets a new record.
2009年1月14日星期三
Is this the time for freelancing?
Is this the time to get into freelancing? According to nearly everyone I've talked to on the inside, the answer is simple: no.
Newspapers have long been on the decline as people are reading less and getting more and more information from the internet. Newspapers and magazines, according to many, are taking less and less freelance, cutting jobs, and generally reducing size and operations.
To add to the problem, the recent financial crisis has added to the hardship of the news industry. According to my elder sister, a former writer for the Associated Press, the decline of the auto industry, a large source of advertising revenue, has hit newspapers hard. Similarly, the popularity of Craigslist has undercut classifieds, another source of revenue.
The effect seems to have reached even publications that I've written for in China. The editor for That's PRD (Pearl River Delta) informed me recently that he was no longer able to accept freelance travel pieces, which means one less outlet for my travel stories.
The outlook is not entirely bad news, though. Websites have been growing, so that anyone looking to freelance should look to place articles with travel websites or other websites with specialized focuses. For example, after a series of my environment articles fell along with the demise of a local art & design magazine, a friend recommended that I try placing them at treehugger.com.
In my experience, websites pay less that paper publications, but opportunities are more plentiful.
In the words of an editor who gave me advice back when I was getting started:
"On the upside: [energy and talent] can take you a long ways. Reporters who pound away and don't take no for an answer almost always do well. But here's the deal and [your sister] will back me on this: you gotta love doing it. it's gotta be a total blast, or it probably won't work, or at least, you won't be very happy."
Newspapers have long been on the decline as people are reading less and getting more and more information from the internet. Newspapers and magazines, according to many, are taking less and less freelance, cutting jobs, and generally reducing size and operations.
To add to the problem, the recent financial crisis has added to the hardship of the news industry. According to my elder sister, a former writer for the Associated Press, the decline of the auto industry, a large source of advertising revenue, has hit newspapers hard. Similarly, the popularity of Craigslist has undercut classifieds, another source of revenue.
The effect seems to have reached even publications that I've written for in China. The editor for That's PRD (Pearl River Delta) informed me recently that he was no longer able to accept freelance travel pieces, which means one less outlet for my travel stories.
The outlook is not entirely bad news, though. Websites have been growing, so that anyone looking to freelance should look to place articles with travel websites or other websites with specialized focuses. For example, after a series of my environment articles fell along with the demise of a local art & design magazine, a friend recommended that I try placing them at treehugger.com.
In my experience, websites pay less that paper publications, but opportunities are more plentiful.
In the words of an editor who gave me advice back when I was getting started:
"On the upside: [energy and talent] can take you a long ways. Reporters who pound away and don't take no for an answer almost always do well. But here's the deal and [your sister] will back me on this: you gotta love doing it. it's gotta be a total blast, or it probably won't work, or at least, you won't be very happy."
2009年1月1日星期四
Tips for Pitching Articles
Anticipating what publications will accept is a big part of freelancing, and accomplishing this is no simple task. There are, however, a few tips that I've picked up that make the task a touch easier.
-Look for themes: For travel stories especially, look for themes that you could center stories around. A trip to a certain country could focus on its colonial history, beaches, ski resorts, etc. An article pitched with a specific focus comes off as more professional than a travel such-and-such locale.
-Anticipate holidays and festivals: Many publications produce issues related to various holidays or events--everything from New Year's to the local anniversary of a city's founding. These are great opportunities to contribute content to a publication, but the trick is that you have to anticipate the holidays and be able to get a related story on track well in advance of the actual holiday. For this, try focusing on preparation work or events that are in the preparation stage.
-Check out the columns a specific publication has: Magazines virtually always have a number of regular columns that are great targets for pitches. A Hong Kong-based magazine might have a 400-word news/event feature, for example. To pitch to a specific column (e.g., "This would be a great fit for the Kooky Hong Kong News of the Week column") is a great help.
-Research who writes the columns: To go along with the above, make sure to check through the magazine's past issues to see if the column has a regular, employed contributor from the magazine. If so, they're almost certainly not hungering for freelance contributions. Some publications take freelance work cover to cover, but most only take freelance for certain types of columns.
-Look for themes: For travel stories especially, look for themes that you could center stories around. A trip to a certain country could focus on its colonial history, beaches, ski resorts, etc. An article pitched with a specific focus comes off as more professional than a travel such-and-such locale.
-Anticipate holidays and festivals: Many publications produce issues related to various holidays or events--everything from New Year's to the local anniversary of a city's founding. These are great opportunities to contribute content to a publication, but the trick is that you have to anticipate the holidays and be able to get a related story on track well in advance of the actual holiday. For this, try focusing on preparation work or events that are in the preparation stage.
-Check out the columns a specific publication has: Magazines virtually always have a number of regular columns that are great targets for pitches. A Hong Kong-based magazine might have a 400-word news/event feature, for example. To pitch to a specific column (e.g., "This would be a great fit for the Kooky Hong Kong News of the Week column") is a great help.
-Research who writes the columns: To go along with the above, make sure to check through the magazine's past issues to see if the column has a regular, employed contributor from the magazine. If so, they're almost certainly not hungering for freelance contributions. Some publications take freelance work cover to cover, but most only take freelance for certain types of columns.
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