October 2007

After spending several hours today catching up on submissions to write-from-home.com, I’m feeling inspired to offer up a few essential tips for writing a decent query letter. If you’re new to freelance writing, a query letter is your letter to the editor pitching an idea you have for their publication.

1. Your chance to tell your sob story.

I’m kinder than most editors probably are. I have a heart, and I care about people. That said, if your query letter begins by telling me your piece has been rejected 27 times and you really need me to accept it so you can pay for your daughter’s braces, that’s a little more information than I really need to know.

2. A great place to flaunt every publication credit from everyplace you’ve ever written.

I run a website for writers. I don’t care that you write great articles about the environment, table tennis or the stock market. Gear your letter toward the publication, and only mention the most impressive credits as related to the publication’s subject matter. Don’t go nuts and list 45 links to online clips. No editor is that bored. A few of your best clips will suffice.

3. An opportunity to plug your latest product.

I’m happy to know you’ve created what you believe to be the next best software in internet dating. I wish you much success, but I’m not going to invest. Your ability to create software for the dating market tells me nothing about what you can bring to my readers. Even if your product is related to the publication, no editor wants to read anything that sounds like a sales pitch.

1. What you’re going to write about.

This might sound like an obvious point, but you’d probably drop dead if you saw all the emails I get titled “Query” that don’t include a pitch. Telling an editor you’re a freelance writer interested in writing for the publication doesn’t give an editor what they need. Editors need not only the topic you plan to write about, but some points on how you plan to cover the topic. Telling me “I’d like to write about balancing parenting and writing” isn’t enough. I need to know how you’re going to cover the topic. I’m nice enough that I’ll generally write back and ask for these details. “Real” editors will trash your letter.

2. A brief bio.

Let me emphasise the word brief. Editors do care about your relevant experienced and/or where you’ve been published. They don’t care about every single class you’ve ever taken, your entire publishing history, or the life story of how you became a writer.

3. What you can bring to the table that others can’t.

As an editor on a budget, I look for articles that bring something unique to the table. If I’ve got the full article in front of me, it’s fairly easy to judge. If I’m reading a query, I want to know what will make your article better than the twelve other writers who have already queried on the subject. If you have a very unique idea, you’re already bringing something new to the table. If you’re querying on a common topic, you’d better make a convincing argument.

Have more query letter tips? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear what’s worked for you or what hasn’t.

My pet peeve of list-making is no big secret. Thus, I’m not generally on the prowl for organizational software of the list-making variety. However, while searching for something completely unrelated, I came across wridea.com.

Wridea.com offers writers unique options for organizing ideas and collaborating on projects. I signed up just to take a look, and I found it very impressive for a free service. I just played around with it, but I didn’t find any annoying bugs or kinks. Those of you who are organization freaks might want to try it out.

If you’re already using wridea.com, or if you decide to give it a go, leave a comment! I’d love to know your opinion.

In Circle Pets is a new online community for pet lovers. They’re seeking stories with a local slant (the first edition is San Francisco). Examples of stories they’re looking for include:

• ordinary people who have extraordinary bonds with animals
• unusual goods or services for pets
• sports and activities for dogs
• depiction of pets in the arts
• famous human/pet relationships in local history

They pay 50 cents per printed word. Most articles run 250-500 words.

Click here for guidelines.

As I mentioned last week on my personal blog, working through the stomach flu is no fun. In outsider theory, the freelance lifestyle is packed with proverbial goodies such as setting our own hours (I wish that were always true), working in our pajamas (ok, this one I sometimes abide by) and firing the clients we hate (unless, of course, we can’t afford to).

Unfortunately, along with all that tasty freedoms comes a few drawbacks, like not getting paid time off, having to deal with lots of neurotic ‘bosses’ rather than just one, and feeling obligated to tote our laptops with us to the potty when we’re puking.

So, maybe that last point was an exaggeration. But seriously, freelancing isn’t as rosy as some people who don’t freelance seem to think it is.

Here are my top five complaints for today:

1. The job market’s riddled with… riddles.

Ever had those days where your morning starts out with reading a job ad that’s super vague, and it ends with banging your head against the wall when your response for clarification turns up as an auto-response trying to sell you the latest Want to make MORE MONEY as a FREELANCE WRITER resource for $9.95? While it might be a lovely resource packed with truly exclusive information (although I doubt it), it’s not a job offer, which means this ad doesn’t belong on a job board. But hey… we writers live to laugh.

2. The knocking neighbor syndrome is haunting.

A “can I borrow an egg” here and a “come out and see my dog’s new trick” there make concentrating on a Saturday afternoon project rather spotty. A response of “I’m busy working” usually gets a glazed over look that faintly whispers of “Why don’t you ever take time off?” Sometimes they actually say it.

3. Some clients are just clueless.

There will be clients who think telling you your invoice landed in their spam folder is a good excuse. There will be clients who can’t spell or even bother to use a spellcheck but then question your use of the word “their” instead of “there” — as in, “Shouldn’t you have used “there” their?” There will be clients who think they can pay you in donuts. If you’re super lucky, they’ll all be the same client.

4. Other clients simply have personality disorders.

The passive aggressive is pleased until it’s time to pay the bill. The borderline personality loves you until he hates you. And the schizophrenic refers to himself (and sometimes you) in the third person.

5. Self-employed health insurance deductibles make health vs death worth debating.

You’ve come down with what you can only describe to your doctor as a vague plague, one which if left untreated you anticipate might kill you. Do you pay the $3000 deductible and get those tests run, even though you know the tests will most likely reveal nothing (or something that can’t be cured without thousands of dollars worth of medication), or do you risk death and pay your rent instead?

I hope you’ve enjoyed my freelance rant. I’ll be back soon with the regularly scheduled helpful tips.