What Should Writers Charge for Freelance Writing?

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

Setting freelance writing rates is one of the most difficult parts of launching a writing business. Writers can find plenty of work if they’re willing to work for $5 per article or $8 per hour, but for those of us who are professionals doing this full time, we need to earn a living wage.

It’s tricky to figure out an ideal freelance writing rate since every client and project is quite different. One potential client had a 200 page double-spaced document that she wanted me to edit for $50—total. I didn’t take that project on.

Here are a few guidelines I follow in setting my price:

What is the nature of the freelance writing work?

Am I researching, development editing, blogging, proofreading, writing from scratch, or developing an entire plan for communication and marketing? Certain kinds of projects are more demanding, and therefore the price goes up. My lower prices are reserved for research and proofreading with development editing and communications work hit the higher range.

Who is the client?

Depending on the situation, I sometimes give clients price breaks. In the case of self-publishing authors, I’ll try to aim lower since all of the expenses are coming out of their pockets, and they can’t possibly understand how difficult and costly it will be to market their books! In the case of business clients, I may consider discounts for regular clients who consistently provide me with work.

What are the industry price guidelines for freelance writing?

Industry standards vary according to regions and segment of the writing business. The Writer’s Market guide has an extensive pricing list that puts my kind of work in the $15-$60 per hour price range depending on what it is. I try to aim somewhere in the middle to low middle of that price range, with $15 being my lowest rate for very specific projects and situations.

The number of clients who have balked at my prices are roughly equal number to those who have signed me on. I hope that enables me to focus on serving clients who truly value my services, rather than having to work at minimum wage for clients who don’t appreciate what a writer can do.

Why Hire a Professional Writer? 5 Reasons to Hire a Writer

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

Perhaps you’re running a business, and you’re considering whether it’s really worth hiring a writer to put together a communications piece. Or perhaps you’re a writer hoping to be hired by a company, but you aren’t quite sure how to quantify the value you bring.

Based on my experiences as a freelance writer over the past five years, here are some reasons why it’s worth hiring a professional writer:

  • Writers offer an outside perspective and feedback that add clarity to a message.
  • Writers choose stronger and fewer words in the pursuit of clarity.
  • Writers know how to delete the parts of a message that aren’t working.
  • Writers have experience quickly recognizing problems in a book, article, or communications piece.
  • Writers with experience know techniques and forms that work for particular writing pieces.

Whether editing a book or writing copy for a web site, I find that my clients usually hire me because I can quickly write something clear and concise. Most of my clients feel lost in a forest of words and ideas, and I chop out the non-essentials that are obscuring the path forward, leaving the sturdy trees and adding blazes so they know which way to go.

In fact, my book A Path to Publishing does something quite similar for prospective authors.

Ironically, even the most talented authors need talented editors, who are also skilled writers by another name, to eliminate rabbit trails and dead ends. That’s because no matter how good you are, when it’s your own book, article, press release, web site, newsletter, or whatever else, you’re often too close to the material to effectively evaluate its clarity.

That’s where writers can prove invaluable. Every author and business has something to communicate, and writers help send that message out quickly and effectively.

However, the monetary value of a writer’s work is quite another matter, even if we can all appreciate the need for writers today. A fair wage for writers is where we’re going next, though I can’t promise to be completely objective on that one.

The Stages of Studying for Finals

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

The following may or may not have any correlation with observations in a café near a major university…

I’ve got so much work to do, I’m going to fail and my parents will disown me.

It’s OK, I can study, I can do this. I’ll study right after I check facebook.

My friends wrote on facebook that they will meet with me for a study session. I’m saved!

It’s way more fun to text message and talk about complicated relationships than study right now.

I’m screwed, the exam/paper is taking place/due tomorrow! I need to get to work!

This makes sense, I know this. Studying is working!

This makes no sense, I’m screwed. Studying isn’t working!

Everyone looks way more worried about the test/paper. I’m in good shape.

I think I missed a few questions, but I think everyone did. The prof will probably grade on a curve.

Actually, the test/paper wasn’t too hard. Good thing I hardly worried about it.

I probably failed my test/paper.

Oh, I got a B. It could have been worse I guess.

But I studied so hard and I only got a B???

I got a B because my professor is a jerk.

Oooo, cake popsicle at Starbucks…

The Benefits of a Limited Social Media Fast

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

During the 40 days of Lent, I decided to fast from social media in a limited sort of way. While I know it’s probably more common to quit these things cold turkey, I didn’t think that 40 days separated from social media would actually provide the benefits I needed for the long term.

The Problem

I was using Twitter and Facebook as sources of constant distraction from my work, family, and spiritual life. I wanted to use social media as a tool to communicate with potential readers, to network with fellow writers, and to keep in touch with friends. Instead I checked them both an unseemly number of times in search of links, conversations, or anything that I could read.

I responded to any mention or post immediately. Links to interesting posts were pursued, and I left comments without thinking about the time they consumed.

Any time I hit a tough spot in my writing, I’d drop by Twitter or Facebook.

I needed to break my dependency on these tools, while learning how to use them in healthy ways. It wasn’t going to help me if I could quit cold turkey for 40 days, learn a few lessons, and then gradually forget them over the following months while rediscovering the lure of social media again.

I needed a practical way forward so that my personal, spiritual, and work times were equally guarded that would last beyond Lent.

The Plan

I settled on a plan to spend only 30 minutes each day on Twitter and Facebook. To be honest, that seems absurdly long, but in practice the time goes by quickly! I broke it into 3 ten-minute slots. This meant that I needed to make the most of my time online and if I really wanted to interact with people, I needed to space my time out.

This required a decent amount of discipline, since I wanted to think of interesting things to say, but I also wanted to read what other people were sharing. I didn’t have unlimited time to follow blog posts and links.

In addition, effectively tracking your friends on a tool like Tweetdeck, as I do, I needed to leave Tweetdeck open for a while before I could look at it. I hide my menu bar so as to limit the temptation, but I still knew it was there.

The Results

While I certainly missed my sources of distraction, I soon appreciated the limits of my fast. Sometimes I followed links and ended up reading them beyond my time limit, so I had to subtract time from my next 10-minute session. I probably interacted online a lot less to my detriment in some ways, but I also thought a lot more about effectively using my limited time, which is a real benefit.

I’m most grateful that I broke the habit of checking social media first thing in the morning. Instead I spend my early morning time writing fiction, drinking coffee, reading scripture, and praying. My mornings are SO much better without Twitter and Facebook.

Waiting until 11 AM or later for social media really helps me use my most productive times in the most effective ways—both for work and spiritual growth. I never catch myself thinking, “Damn, I wish I’d spent 30 minutes on Twitter this morning instead of praying or editing my novel!”

In addition, HubSpot marketing found that more people are willing to retweet something on Twitter around 11 AM, so I really have no reason to use Twitter before 11 AM. I can share my links and socialize at 11 AM just fine.

Perhaps my biggest problem was that I found new distractions such as checking my e-mail, but even that was a bit easier to resist since it’s much easier to convince myself that no new e-mails have arrived in the past 15 minutes. Twitter guarantees fresh content. In addition, an empty inbox isn’t all that distracting even on my worst day.

Here are some outcomes from my limited fast:

  • I now budget an extra 30 minutes for blog reading and networking.
  • I stick to the 3 ten-minute social media sessions on Tweetdeck and Facebook. I aim for 11 AM, 2 PM, and 5 PM.
  • I try to avoid social media at night. If I want to drop someone a note or need to send a message via Facebook, I can drop in, send the note, and then log off.
  • I allow myself to visit Twitter online if I want to post something, but I can’t do anything else.

How have you dealt with your bad habits in social media? Have you tried sometime different that worked? 

Why I Don’t Have Joy

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

We like being happy. We crave joy. However, do we have joy? Do we even know what joy is? And lastly, if we don’t have joy, why not?

Here are a few thoughts on why we don’t have joy and how to find it":

Are Joy and Happiness the same?

Probably not. At least, a brief scan of other blog posts suggests that most people don’t think they’re the same. I dig a little digging of my own, and here’s what I found:

Happiness is more of an emotional reaction or something that is temporary based on circumstances. Joy can be manifested as happiness, but it has more to do with an attitude or state of mind—not necessarily reacting to circumstances. Joy also refers to happiness at a higher level. Dictionary.com defines it as: “emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.”

So the question remains: Why don’t I have joy?

I Look for Joy in Circumstances

I’m really good at trying to control my circumstances. Even if I manage to yield myself to God’s will in one situation, another one comes along that is slightly different, and it’s like, “Oh no! God obviously didn’t see THIS coming. I’d better worry and try to control this!”

It’s as if he’d never done anything for me before. When my efforts to control life fail or things don’t pan out in the way I expect, I certainly won’t find joy. And even if things do work out sometimes, the joy I seek will not last. There will always be something else that will bring worry and threaten my ability to control circumstances.

I Expect Joy to Just Happen

Besides the times I try to control life in order to produce joy, I can also miss it by waiting for it. If I keep out of trouble, I expect joy to come knocking one day like Ed McMahon—“You’re a winner!” We don’t win joy like a lottery ticket. It is not won so cheaply.

I Look for Joy in the Wrong Places

It seems there is a counterfeit for every good thing in life. We can seek love in all the wrong places and even sing a song about it. Joy has many short-term counterfeits that typically are based on the happiness brought about by circumstances,  not the lasting joy that comes from outside of ourselves.

I Forget Where Joy Comes From

I’ll be honest: I haven’t experienced a lot of joy. At least, I feel like I should be experiencing a lot more joy than I currently experience since I’m an expert at keeping busy and avoiding God. The greatest moments of joy come when I’ve opened myself to God and allowed him to speak in my life. When I’m encouraged by the joy that comes from God, I have a sense of acceptance, comfort, and love that can overcome my circumstances.

When I’m filled with God’s joy, I can share it freely with others. I’m aware of someone larger than myself and can take my eyes away from my fears and desires. God’s joy teaches me to delight in the things he values.

When God’s joy is streaming into my life, there is no way that anyone or anything can stop it or bottle it up.

For More Posts on Joy: Read Bonnie Gray’s “Top 3 Misconceptions about Joy.”

Should You Edit Your Twitter Updates?

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

Yesterday I almost sent out a press release with a horrendous sentence in it that would have made nuns weep. Are you ready for this?

“Actor NAME will be dramatizing the birth of Jesus.”

I wrote the release late one night, sent it to someone else, edited it the next day with that person’s feedback, and then I opened it the following day to give it one last read-through.

Then I caught it.

Two sets of eyes reading through the release a total of four times before catching that whopper of a sentence. And that got me thinking, are there any other forms of communication where we need to exercise extra caution with the words we use?

If there’s one medium that welcomes, nay begs, for gaffs and awkward statements, it has to be Twitter. Designed for quick, instantaneous communication, Twitter allows us to share anything we’re thinking with thousands of people with a tap of the finger.

The possibility of saying something so stupid, so quickly to so many takes my breath away.

I worry about having moments like Michael Scott (a la The Office) where I’ll mean one thing and inadvertently say something offensive or rude when the words leave my lips. That’s why I fear on Twitter.

While I may have deleted a few tweets in my day, more often than not I simply abstain from tweeting anything that could possibly be misconstrued. In addition, I read and reread my tweets before I send them out into the world.

And yet, I still worry about writing something dumb.

How I communicate with others is important, and I want everything I send out to have some kind of value as information, humor, a question, or encouragement. Misspelled words, bad grammar, or a careless phrase damages the overall impact and value of the rest of my communication on Twitter.

Even if a tweet can be deleted, damage may be done among those who read an errant tweet before it’s removed. The words we use matter, even they’re part of an endless stream of 140-character messages that flood the internet. The last thing you want is to be noticed for the wrong kind of message.

10 Lessons from a Year of Magazine Writing

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

A year ago I started sending magazine queries to editors on a regular basis. Just the other day I looked over some old queries from last August and September. Man, they were awful.

I should have just followed up my query with a plea to not even read them.

You could say I’ve learned something over the past year, especially since my number of accepted and published articles has significantly increased over the past three months. Here are some lessons that may help you as you query magazine editors:

  1. Brevity. Lead your query with two sentences—three maximum. Check a Writer’s Market for sample letters.
  2. Ask about theme lists before querying. If the guidelines are not listed online, e-mail about them too. Make your first contact with an editor a positive one.
  3. Scan the magazine and read a bit of it to get an idea of the tone and the departments. Most editors say, “Read several editions of our magazine.” Most published freelancers say, “Yeah, whatever.”
  4. Query often. Get so many queries out there that you practically lose track of them.
  5. “No” is not the same as a ban from sending future queries. Try something else.
  6. Feedback in a rejection letter is a good sign. Send another query within two weeks.
  7. Focus on practical, how-to articles in the beginning. Ask yourself, “What do readers of this magazine need to know about?” “What are the problems they’re trying to solve?”
  8. Don’t pitch 3,000 word feature articles right off the bat. Query short, 200-500 word pieces.
  9. Proof read query letters 3 times, with an hour break in between your second and third reading.
  10. Work from small to large. Aim for smaller magazines with less circulation and lower pay before shooting for the big guys. You have a lot to learn if you’re starting off. When you do shoot for the big guys, write on spec. It will eventually pay off, but you need to work your way up.

As with any tips in writing, these are not hard and fast rules. The rules of writing are made to be broken. However, these ten lessons are often on my mind as I send out queries to magazines. Good luck!

Coffeehouse Theology Event at CLC Bookcenter in Moorestown, NJ

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

coffeehousetheology230 The press release for my next book event follows:

South Jersey native Ed Cyzewski will be discussing his book Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life at the CLC Bookcenter in Moorestown, NJ on Saturday, September 25th at 11 AM.

Cyzewski will address where our beliefs about God come from, including the impact that cultural values have in shaping Bible reading. The talk will cover how to study the Bible, how the Bible shapes our beliefs, and how our beliefs impact our actions. Coffeehouse Theology is an ideal introduction to theology for Christians who want to dig deeper into what they believe.

Reviewer David Swanson writes in Leadership Journal, “I would recommend the book to almost any member of my church.” Publisher’s Weekly writes that Cyzewski “urges readers to explore theology while reassuring them that they don’t have to become postmodern philosophers: theology can be considered, as it were, in the coffeehouse,” and adds, “Personal anecdotes of his own growth in faith are disarming in their honesty”

Ed Cyzewski has contributed to several books including the NLT Holy Bible Mosaic and written for numerous magazines such as Adirondack Life and Leadership Journal. He blogs at www.edcyz.com. For reviews and sample chapters of Coffeehouse Theology, visit http://www.navpress.com

The CLC Bookcenter is located on 401 RT 38 across from the Moorestown mall. For more information, call 856-866-2688

Why the First 5,000 Words of a Book Are Easy to Write

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

NotebookPen3

As I work on book ideas, map out proposals, and tap away at sample chapters, I have noticed one consistent trend: the first 5,000 words are easy. Then the rest ranges between trudging through a mud pit and swimming against a rip tide.

Progress can be made, but it won’t be easy.

I typically find the first 5,000 words to be a breeze since I can see an idea or story clearly. I know how I want to begin, why it’s important, and who I’m writing for. I don’t need piles of research to get started since I’m focusing on launching or summarizing the story/idea.

However, once I move beyond the first or second chapter, I run into my information/story wasteland where the initial enthusiasm and sparks fizzle. Though I want to do nothing more than write, I need to do something else.

A book requires outlines, research, brain storming, and a lot of planning. An editor from a major Christian publisher once mentioned that Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz is one of the most carefully planned books out there, even though readers often think it reads like he just wrote down random stuff that came to mind.

In planning the books I want to write over the next five years, a significant part of the process involves very little writing. In fact, the writing will be terrible if I don’t have the structure and substance on hand. I may be able to write a clever sentence or tell a fun anecdote, but at a certain point readers will wonder where it’s going and what I actually have to say.

Getting beyond those first 5,000 words to a substantive book is quite difficult. It’s way more challenging than I would have guessed. However, if you invest enough time in laying the groundwork of your book on the front end of the process, you’ll find that the rest of your book will begin to flow, even if it’s not as easy as those first 5,000 words that seemed to walk out of your head and onto your screen with hardly a nudge.

Outline, research, and review your plans. Take your time, and dive into your writing when you have enough pieces in place. You just may break free from the mud pit or figure out a way around the current’s pull.

A Writer’s Secret Weapon: Honest Feedback

Posted on by Ed Cyzewski

redpen

When I wrote a short story for a contest a few months ago I gave it to my wife and to a friend for feedback. They both love to read, but I hadn’t anticipated the results.

My wife felt comfortable telling me that it was terrible. My friend just said it was alright.

I thought they would both say something similar, but my wife ended up giving me the feedback I needed in order to rework my story. She was right. The original one didn’t work.

Paying $15 to enter a lousy story into a contest is not my goal.

Just about every article that passes the “wife test” is accepted by an editor or at least receives praise. One story, that passed the wife test, even received an honorable mention in a Glimmer Train contest.

I’m lucky to have such a talented reader in my home that I can trust implicitly to provide honest feedback. She is my secret weapon who has saved me a lot of disappointment and frustration in the long run.

I have read similar stories from writers who rely heavily upon one trusted reader who is sometimes a spouse and other times a member of a critique group. Keep in mind that a spouse is not always the best choice for feedback.

What to look for in a reader:

  • Interest in the same subject matter.
  • Attention to the details in your genre (eg. what makes for a good plot in a novel).
  • Trust and comfort to tell you the truth.

No writer can catch all of his/her mistakes. If there’s a hole in an argument, a weak point in the plot, or an explanation that falls flat, oftentimes an attentive and critical reader is one of the safest bets in finding them. If you’re waiting for an editor to catch your mistakes, chances are you’ll just receive a form letter saying, “Your work does not meet our current needs.”

That could be a clue that you really need better feedback before you submit your work.