I Saw Your Resume on Craigslist

In a recent post I talked about an idea I got from a fellow freelancer for posting an ad on craigslist. I decided to post an ad myself and see what happened. So far, the results have been completely lackluster. As with anything like this, when you post something, you open yourself up for all kinds of replies that don't interest you. Even though you are asked to indicate whether or not you want to be contacted by recruiters or for other services, many people don't follow these.

So far, I've received no legitimate responses to my ad, but several from people trying to get me to use a job search site or offer me a job completely unrelated to my post. In fact, I can tell none of these people even read my ad or just don't care about relating their e-mail to my ad, because most of them say "I saw your resume on craigslist." Mind you, I didn't post my resume, just an ad.

Still, I've decided to rerun my ad when it expires. Here are my reasons:

1. I've already written the ad, so it will take very little work to post it again, even if I change it around a little.
2. Someone someday, when I least expect it might actually see it and send me some work.
3. It doesn't cost anything.
4. It takes about two seconds to delete an undesirable e-mail and I probably only got about 10-15 of them in the span of a few weeks.

Good Idea

As I've mentioned here before, I spend a lot of time on Freelance Writing Jobs. I look at the job postings there on a daily basis, but I also find it a good resource for information. Often the information I get is from other readers, so I always make sure to read the comments section.

Yesterday I posted a comment about how unlucky I've been with getting any gigs from the ads and wondering if I should continue answering them. Others seem to post comments about landing jobs fairly often and I was feeling discouraged. Ann G., a frequent commenter on the site, was encouraging, but also shared a great idea with me.

She said she had actually posted an ad on craigslist for a writer needing work and had some success with it. To me it seems like a no-brainer. It doesn't cost anything and a lot of people look at craigslist. I think it's certainly worth a try.

Working Smarter

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I've had a recent growth in the amount of work I have. Though I'm certainly excited to have work to do and the hope of some money with which to pay my bills, it means I have to function more efficiently to meet my goals. And while I've applauded my ability to get work done during the day rather than being lured into the dens of iniquity that are satellite t.v. and the Internet, I've had to examine my time a little more closely. Though I realize I do spend a lot more time working than not working, I also discovered I have a tendency to get distracted and to rearrange my priorities for the day on a whim. If I don't feel like tackling the task at hand, I often put it off and disguise it by doing something else productive.

Even so, I do like having variety in my days. One of the things I enjoy most about working from home is that I can have lunch with friends without being at the mercy of a time clock. I also enjoy being able to complete the occasional household chore and take my dogs to the dog park while there's actually some semblance of daylight. I don't want to ban all these activities from my day because I think that would be defeating the purpose. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd been open to hearing them.

For now, though, my plan is to make a list of things I want to do at the beginning of the day, number them in order of priority and stick to the numbers. I'll also schedule a couple of breaks for myself and make a commitment to containing my non-work-related Web reading to those times. Hopefully, that will allow me to work more efficiently as my workload increases.

P.S. I got tagged by Sarah a couple days ago and later today I'll have a bonus post just for fun.

Hard to Hear

Last week, I sent my first article in to an online cycling magazine. After I answered their ad and sent them my clips and a link to my cycling blog, they contacted me and asked me to do a short (two paragraphs) piece as a trial for them. Some freelancers refuse to do trial pieces that are unpaid, but I base my decision on the situation. I was willing to do it for this one since it was so short and they were looking for a vastly different type of writing than what is represented in any of my clips. Besides, I really wanted this gig because cycling is my most significant hobby and I am thrilled to write about something for which I genuinely have a lot of interest. They really liked my sample piece and called me a few days later to talk about my first article.

It gets better. It turns out that they wanted art for the article, too, and they were willing to pay for any photos I had that went with the article. Well, it just so happens that my husband, who has a cushy State job in IT, is an amateur photographer with a decent entry-level SLR camera that takes pretty good pictures. He's also a cyclist and bike racer. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be able to sell some of his photos.

I submitted my first draft of the article early last week. I wasn't overwhelmed with the result—for some reason I was having trouble getting into it and it was hard writing in the style they wanted. I turned in the article because I didn't want it to be late, but I'll admit it wasn't my best work. It wasn't total crap, but I knew I could do better.

Luckily, they gave me some positive feedback, but asked me to add a few more details. I was so glad they did because the second time around I got really into it and I was so much more pleased with the product and they were, too. It went to the editor for final editing and they chose several photos to complement the article.

When I received the edited version, it was prefaced by an explanation from the editor. He indicated that he had edited it a lot more harshly than he normally would, just because he wanted me to get used to the style they wanted. He did tell me that I was still free to propose changes. I got the message on my BlackBerry while I was out and was on pins and needles until I could get home to open the attachment.

The first time I read through the article I started crying. I wasn't that attached to the article, but just the suggestion that I was inferior because of how much he changed was so upsetting. It didn't look anything like what I had submitted. After letting myself calm down for a few minutes, I read through it a second time and I saw something a little different. Most of the wording really was mine—he had just rearranged the order and changed the punctuation to come up with an altered flow.

We got a sneak preview of the article last Friday and I am so excited to be able to post the link on my blogs and on Facebook when it's released to the public. I'm just amazed at how good it looks with all of the photos. It's written in a very conversational, first person style and any of my English teachers would cringe at the way it's punctuated (or not, as the case may be), but I'm still very proud of it. It's amazing how any reservations I had just disappeared when I saw the end result.

I want to post some analysis of my reaction to the edits, but this post is already far too long, so I'll save that for another day.

What's in a Name?

I've been noticing some confusion among people I meet when I explain to them that I'm a freelance writer. Yesterday, someone asked me if I just wrote articles and sent them to magazines hoping they'd publish them. After laughing internally, I politely explained that I was mostly interested in writing communications materials for businesses. I'm not making much money now, but I certainly wouldn't be making any if all I did was sitting around writing articles, hoping someone would publish them and pay me for them.

It made me think a lot about using the term "freelance writer" to describe myself. To me, it makes sense. "Freelance" means I'm working for myself and not tied down to any company. "Writer" describes the activity. However, it does seem that the phrase conjures up pictures of magazine articles in peoples' heads.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I can't or won't write magazine articles. In fact, I think I already mentioned that I'm working on an article for a local publication right now. It's just that's not the kind of writing I really want to focus on doing. In an ideal world, I'd have a few good business clients who would give me work on a long-term basis. It would be outstanding if they were from different industries so I could have varied experience, and I would enjoy a good mix of projects, both online and print.

But how do I communicate this to people when I only have a limited amount of time to talk? If I give them my card and they visit my site, they can read about all the services I provide, but what if they don't get that far? What if they don't make the connection that I can help them with their business? If I have a chance to explain what I do it helps, but what if I can only introduce myself?

I've toyed with the idea of using the phrase "freelance commercial writer." I've even used it a few times, but that seems to make people think I write commercials. "Business writer" is also an option, but to me that sounds like I want to write about business topics. That's not it, either.

If anyone is reading this blog, anyone at all, I wish they'd give me a few suggestions. For now, though, I'm just really thankful when someone follows up my declaration of being a freelance writer with the question "What kinds of things do you write?"