The positive side of rejections

Last night, I got a rejection email for a pitch that I sent to a national glossy a couple of months ago. Addressing me by my first name, the editor thanked me but said they’d decided to cover the topic in a different way. As far as rejections go, it was pretty neutral. There was nothing in it to make me hopeful about future pitches (though previous rejections from this editor had encouraged me to send more queries) nor did it make me want to curl up and cry. When I turned off my computer and went to bed for the night, I thought about the rejection again and felt strangely content.

I often feel this way about rejections.

I don’t know how it is for most of you freelancers out there, but I don’t receive a response of any kind for more than half of my pitches. This annoys the crap out of me. I put a lot of effort into each pitch, gathering expert quotes and sources, and make sure to suggest an appropriate department of the magazine for the story. I know editors are swamped, but how hard can it be to type a quick “no thanks” as a courteous nod to the work the pitch entailed? I could understand ignoring the query if it was topically off-base or full of misspelling and grammatical errors, but my queries aren’t.

As I lay in bed, I started thinking about why rejections bring a certain satisfaction to me and came up with the following:

1. Rejections bring closure. I dislike the tired word “closure” but it’s accurate here. I appreciate knowing when a query is officially off the table and I’m free to shop it to the next pub. Of course, since so many editors don’t bother with rejection letters, most of the time I don’t wait for a rejection to send a query off again. Still, it’s nice to know that I can send it elsewhere without any potential awkwardness.

2. Rejections are a form of acknowledgement. A rejection means that my email got to where it was supposed to go (I always fear that it is sitting unread in someone’s spam folder). It also means that someone read it and gave it at least a few seconds of thought, possibly much more.

3. Rejections bring opportunity. Rejections are a good opportunity to contact the editor again. After receiving last night’s rejection, I quickly sent an email to the editor thanking her for her response and promising her another query in the near future. I spent this morning researching other topics so that I can send her another pitch later this week. At the very least, this will help to keep me on her radar screen. Even if she rejects the next pitch, at least I’m taking steps towards becoming a familiar name to her. The more familiar I become to her, the more willing she might be to take a chance on one of my proposals…assuming, of course, that I’m presenting her with good work.

4. Rejections are part of the writing life. To me, rejection is the flip side of publishing an article –a kind of badge of courage. A few years ago several freelancers on the writer's forum that I frequent made goals to receive a certain number of rejections a year instead of acceptances. I thought that was pretty wise. If you’re getting rejections, it means you’re putting your ideas and work out there. It means you’re trying. It means you’re writing. Rejections are an inevitable part of a writer’s life. And somehow it’s the teensiest bit satisfying to receive this confirmation that a writer’s life is indeed mine.

How do you handle rejections? Have you ever had something positive arise out of a rejection?

Deductible Expenses and the Freelance Writer

So, last week found me at my accountant’s office, proudly handing over all my W-2s and other evidence of my income earned for 2009. Although it amounted to less than two week’s salary from when I was a lawyer, he smiled approvingly. For the past couple of years, I’d shown up with a laughably meager income that he sort of waved away. But this time, I could tell that he thought I’d at last gotten serious about my writing. He was right. But evidently, not serious enough.

“Good, good,” he said, flipping through my papers. “And what are your expenses?”

Ah. Those.

While I meticulously kept proof of my income, I hadn’t given much thought to my expenses at all. This year (2010), I had saved the receipt from the computer I bought when my old one went on the fritz, and saved the receipts from expenses incurred from building my clips site, but I couldn’t think of one receipt I had saved from 2009.

“Uh, I didn’t have any.” I said, stupidly.

“You didn’t buy paper?” he asked. “Pens? Books for your research? A library membership? ”

Yes, to all of those things, but I didn’t think to save the receipt for such small fry. But I should have. These little things add up and can make a sizable dent in the amount of taxes owed.

Are you keeping track of the expenses associated with your writing?

Here are some other expenses that may be deductible:

1. Business-related fees. Are you a paying member of MediaBistro.com? Do you pay for the online Writer’s Market (or the book, for that matter)? Do you pay for the internet, your professional website, a research service (e.g., LEXIS/NEXIS), a premium PayPal account? Business cards? All of these things and more may be tax deductible. Oh, and you know what? Magazine subscriptions might be deductible as well – of course, you have to prove that you used them for business expenses. My accountant says that an emailed print out of a query letter to that magazine, and/or an acceptance or rejection email from the editor of that magazine can help validate your claim.

2. Professional advice. Have you paid professional advice related to freelancing over the past year? An accountant, for example? What about an agent, editor, web designer or lawyer? Their fees might all be able to be written off – and so can the lunches or coffees that you had with them while discussing business.

3. Your home office. This is a complicated deduction and my accountant has never tried to deduct it from my taxes because my office is in a corner of my dining room (my former office now being my kids’ room). But if your office is used purely for business purposes, you may be able to deduct a portion of your annual rent or mortgage (based upon the percentage of space your office takes up) from your taxes.

4. Equipment used in your work. Your computer, printer, fax machine, scanner, cell phone, computer software and even office furniture may be able to be deducted, although it’s rather complicated. Because these things have a long lifespan, some things can be deducted outright, while other items must be amortized or depreciated over a few years. Ask your accountant his or her opinion. My accountant told me that my new computer, for example, would be depreciated over three years.

5. Payments not received. I was happy to hear about this one – a magazine I worked for shut down last year and even though my article was published in its final issue, I never got paid. It wasn’t worth chasing down the former publishers of the magazine, so I just mentally wrote it off. It was very pleasing to learn that this expense could also be formally written off!

6. Travel expenses. Of course, you can’t go on a luxury vacation, write a blog post about it and expense the trip. But if you have an assignment that requires you to travel, you may be able to deduct the business aspects of the trip. Attending writer’s conferences, workshops and retreats may deductible as well.

7. Subcontracted work. Did you ever pay another writer to complete a job you’d contracted for? The fee you paid this writer may be tax deductible.

I’m sure there are plenty of other deductions, but these were the ones my accountant brought up. Of course, not all of these will be applicable to your situation – but start saving those receipts anyway. Not only might it help you save on your taxes, it will help you to think of freelancing as your business, and not just a cool job.

And since none of this relates specifically to taxes for expatriates, here is some information about filing taxes that every expat should know: Foreign Tax Credit and Foreign Earned Income Exclusions. Good luck!

5 ways to make money as a freelancer

A million years ago, when I had that extremely short-lived writers' group, I recall someone asking how one could make real money as a freelance writer. She said that writing for magazines couldn't possibly generate a substantial income.

I think that it's true: most freelance writers can't and don't rely solely on magazines or newspapers for income. If I've learned anything in this career, money from freelancing comes in fits and spurts. Many magazines only pay once the article has been written and "accepted." Others won't pay you until the article is published. And since a lot can happen between the time the article is written and publication (once a magazine folded after I wrote the article and I never got paid even though the piece was published in the final issue), it's hard to count on that money until you're holding it in your hand.

So, one must supplement one's income through other means. Here are 5 alternatives to consider:

1. Blogging

In case you hadn't noticed, these days everybody has a blog. Everyone. Newspapers, businesses, libraries, law firms, hospitals...just everyone. And, of course, people like you and me. But, of course, it takes a whole lotta time to keep blogs updated. So newspapers, businesses, libraries, hospital, law firms, hire people like you and me to keep the blogs updated. It can be fun and easy and can mean regular pay. Plus, for an expat freelancer, it means that you don't have to be in the same country as your employer. I have written for a couple of blogs on a regular basis, and have really enjoyed writing without having to be responsible for finding an audience, advertisers, or even pictures and formatting!

Look at Blogger Jobs and ProBlogger for blogging jobs.

You can also monetize your own blog but I think it takes a very specific idea, a huge following and an incredible amount of time to make it profitable. But I do know of people who receive a solid, steady income through advertisements on their blogs.

2. Copywriting/Commercial Writing

You know all those brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, and other marketing materials that cross our paths every day? People write them. Very often, freelancers write them. And these companies are willing to pay good money for quality writing. If you don’t believe me, check out Peter Bowerman’s classic book (and website): The Well-Fed Writer. According to him, you can achieve self-sufficiency as a freelance writer in 6 months or less. What does self-sufficiency mean? Well, according to him, a “comfortable, not-unusual week nets $2000.” Sounds pretty good. I have never attempted to break into business writing since the language of most of the business ‘round here are French, but I do keep my eyes out for opportunities. And I’m sure it’s possible to break into Anglophone business markets from abroad, but as I’ve never tried, I don’t know how. If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, feel free to share!

3. Editing/Proofing
Many freelance writers supplement their income by offering private editing/proofing services. Tons of businesses, students, and fellow writers will welcome you with open arms. If you know your way around Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style or cackled over Eats Shoots and Leaves, then maybe this is an option for you. If you’re an expat freelancer in a country that doesn’t speak English, I imagine that there would be a wealth of proofing/editing opportunities.

4. Résumé writing.

This is the classic job you can do from anywhere. Again, you’ll need to have stellar proofing skills and an eye for detail. You could either seek work through an already-established resume writing company or you could try to start your own resume writing business. This blog tells you how to get started. As expats, we’re well-placed to target people seeking jobs in our home countries. French CVs and American CVs are quite different. I feel confident that many French people seeking jobs in the U.S. would love to have an American eye assess their résumé.

5. Greeting cards.

If you’re always cracking people up with your witty quips or don’t mind getting really sentimental in your writing, consider writing for greeting card companies. You can make quite a tidy sum scribbling a few lines. According to this article, you can make $3 per line to $150 per verse. When you think about it in terms of "per word" payment that can amount to several dollars per word! Makes a nice break from those .10 per word magazines.

There are plenty of other writing options, but I think it’s dawning on my husband that I’m not actually running the kids’ bathwater. I’d better do a “5 more ways to make money as a freelancer” another time. G’nite!

Deconstructing magazines

You might have noticed a recurrent theme in my posts: where to find Anglophone magazines while abroad. If you're new to freelancing, you might wonder why this is important: if you have access to a magazine name and its website, why is it so important to see the magazine itself?

Pretty much all books on freelancing agree that it is essential to take a good long look at a magazine before pitching to it. Editors hate with a burning white passion to receive pitches that clearly do not fit into their publication. I'm not just talking about sending a pitch about sports cars to a fishing magazine. I'm talking about sending a pitch about fly fishing in New Hampshire to a magazine that only writes about boat fishing in Wisconsin. A freelancer should deconstruct a magazine before pitching to it: she should know the exact kind of articles the magazine publishes, have an idea about which department the article would work well in, and understand the writing style of the publication. When you can, you should even look at several issues of the magazine to make sure your intended topic hasn’t been recently covered.

Of course, you can still land an assignment without having deconstructed or even seen the target magazine first. These days, you can get a lot of the information you need from the magazine’s website. But the more prestigious the magazine and the less experienced you are, the better it is to show the editor that you’ve done your homework. Even if the query is rejected, the editor may remember your professionalism. You definitely don’t want to send a pitch that stands out in the editor’s memory for its failure to adhere to the magazine’s concept – or because it details a story that was on the magazine’s cover last month.

As I’ve written previously, I often go to the American Library of Paris to check out the periodicals there. I also stock up on certain magazines whenever I’m in the U.S. Sometimes I ask friends who are in the U.S. to brings pubs to me when they visit. And of course there are a couple of magazines I subscribe to. I would subscribe to more, purely for research purposes, but that gets expensive. But recently I learned a way to make it a bit cheaper: sign up for free subscriptions.

Did you know that there are tons of free magazine subscriptions out there? Take a look at this site. And this one. All you need is a North American address and the pub is yours! Sure, that’s only part of the problem solved for us expat freelancers: the magazine still has to reach us. But it’s a lot cheaper to pay for postage rather than paying for postage and the magazine. I've gotten subscriptions to a few top parenting magazines this way, in addition to a couple of health magazines I'd like to write for.

Most of the time I don’t have the magazines sent to me: I just ask my mother to do a quick title check to make sure that the topic I’m pitching hasn’t been written about recently. If there’s an article of particular interest to me, I ask her to scan it and email it to me. So, okay, yes, you need an assistant in your home country. But personally, I feel more confident sending off a query knowing that, whatever the editor ultimately decides, I’ve done all that I could to fit my article into the magazine.

If anyone out there has a better way (or just a different way) of approaching this problem, please tell me because this is the aspect of expat freelancing that bugs me the most!

Still *another* way to find markets!

Just a quick post to say that I found another great database: Mondo Times. They list over 25,000 media outlets in more than 200 countries. It's not just magazines and newspapers but television and radio, too. You'd think that with all that information it'd be confusing, but it's really easy to navigate. Outlets are divided by topic, country, and city. I'm seeing lots of regional and smaller pubs that don't make it onto other databases. Very cool!

3 Online Tools that an Expat Freelancer Needs

Yesterday I conducted a very satisfying interview on Skype, which got me feeling all affectionate for the service. I do many interviews on Skype, either through their telephone service or IM chat (which I LOVE because your entire conversation is already perfectly preserved). Anyway, Skype got me thinking about the things that make life a bit easier for expat freelancers. Here are my top three.

1) Skype . I imagine most expats know about Skype, but if you don't, download it. Now. Skype is software that allows you to talk with other Skype users through your computer for free. Most of my sources have Skype and, in my view, there's nothing unprofessional about using it to conduct interviews. Did I mention that it's free?

2) eFax. eFax is another free service that is pretty great. When you register with eFax, you are assigned a U.S. fax number. As I mainly target American magazines, this number takes away the worry that editors will be annoyed by having to pay a premium fee when faxing documents (contracts, tax information, etc.) to me. And as it goes right to me my email, I don't need a heads-up about when the fax will arrive.

3) PayPal. Yet another free service! PayPal allows you to send and receive money online. (Actually, the service has dozens of features, but for freelancing purposes, I only use it to receive money). It is so easy. When you register, you provide your bank account information so that when you are paid, you can transfer the money from your PayPal account directly to your bank account. Many online pubs pay through PayPal, and its so much simpler than waiting to receive a paper check, and then going through the bother of taking it or sending it to your bank.

Of course, I'm talking about the basic level for all these services. For a fee you can get all the bells and whistles that these companies offer, but for me the free service works just fine. Check them out!

Markets for Personal Essays

....and I'm back! My second child, Pup, was born goregeous and healthy less than a week after that last post. And the number of items I'm juggling immediately went from, say, 5 to 15. I don't know why one extra child would put so many more balls in the air, but it truly does. It's crazy! But getting easier and more fun everyday. Well, some days.

Part of the reason that I feel so knackered is that I have continued to write. My husband is annoyed with me for not taking a maternity leave, but frankly, it's a relief to have something else to do besides change diapers and get dissed by my toddler. I have researched, written and sent out several excellent queries (if I may say so myself), drafted dozens of articles for DS, whipped up a few articles for Venere.com, restarted work on my non-fiction book, and made a "clips site" which showcases samples of my work. I also tried to form another writer's group, this time seeking only one person to be my "writing buddy." But that fell apart after only two months - she was a mom of five working a full-time job. Guess there's no need to say more.

These days, as ever, the thing I find the most difficult about expat freelancing is finding publications for which I'd like to write. That's why, for the time being, I have turned my attention to writing essays. Essays are great for the expat because tons of online pubs seek them, which means you don't need to find samples in a bookstore. I also like them because they don't involve research, you don't need an expert to back up your opinion, and you can write in your own voice. A nice break from magazine writing! (Well, in my case, magazine querying).

Right now, I'm working on a couple of essays that I hope will be accepted in the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. Here are several more pubs that accept essays - click the links for submission deadlines and writers guidelines. If you know of any other good ones, feel free to share!

Cup of Comfort

Skirt Magazine

The Public Sphere

Common Ties

Underwired Magazine

The Sun Magzine

Newsweek

Marriage Partnership

NPR: This, I believe

Two months since my last post, eh? Well, I guess in terms of blogging, I've gone on early maternity leave. I have been working my butt off on other things, trying to scrape together as much money as possible before #2 comes and I have to stop. I abandoned my previous policy of only working for Demand Studios when I didn't have babysitting help, and have been raking a fair bit of cash. I figured I might as well since getting a plum assignment from a magazine I've been chasing would stress me out beyond belief right now. With DS I can write or not write whenever I feel like it.

To be honest, I've also haven't posted because I've been rather frustrated with my progress in determining what makes for a successful expat freelancer. My "expat mom's writer's group" has not met since that first time. I have sent out emails trying to set up dates for meeting....and when I got no responses, I sent an email asking whether anyone was still interested and to (at least) confirm that they had received my emails! Only one person responded - she was still interested but was busy writing a novel and wouldn't be available to meet until fall. So...looks like I'll have to find new expat freelancers to meet with. Hopefully ones that aren't beginners and are serious about making a career of it. Where I'll find them I don't know....

Another frustration I've been dealing with is the lack of access to my target magazines. Any writing guidebook will tell you that you should know a magazine inside and out before querying - but for an expat, that's a tall order if you don't have regular access to magazines that you would like to write for. I got a "good" rejection for a magazine that I'd like to write for, wherein the editor gave me her personal email address (not just the general one for the magazine) and told me to send her more ideas. I have more ideas, but I don't know whether they've been covered recently in the magazine. It would be horribly embarrassing and unprofessional to pitch something that has recently appeared in the mag. How do other expat freelancers get around this dilemna? I would love to hear any suggestions.

Still, it's not all bad. I'm still receiving checks for articles written in the past year. And in addition to DS, I've been writing the occasional travel article for the blog at Venere.com , which has been good for making a little extra money and learning more about Paris. And most fun of all, since I've decided to not send out anymore queries until well after the baby is born (which should be next week, God willing), I've been working on a few fiction pieces. I just sent one in to the Write to Win! Contest with Writer's Journal. I guess some freelancers would say just focus on either fiction or nonfiction, but it felt great to do something different. Plus, I say that a freelancer has to be flexible about how she earns her dough! One day I think I'll do a blog post on the various ways a freelancer can earn money...but probably not until after the baby is born!

Wish us luck over here!

Making fast, easy money...a price.

*Yawn* Oh boy, am I tired. I guess I haven't mentioned here that I am seven months pregnant. And being heavily pregnant, running after a toddler, trying to build/sustain a writing career, and doing all the other stuff that one must do, is really taking its toll on me. I used to be a monster of efficiency during the 12 hours of babysitting I have a week. Now, I find myself trying very hard not to spend most of that time napping.

Because I'm getting close (sort of) to my due date, I've slowed down on writing queries. Usually, I spend most of my time working on pitches for features for my dream magazines. Now, I am afraid that one of these magazines might actually pick up on my pitches. Wouldn't it figure if I get my first dream assignment right around the time my baby is due? Ugh, I get all tense and quivery at the very thought. So, instead of pitching feature ideas, I'm working on "front-of-the-book" pitches, articles which don't require as much research and have a low word counts.

But I've been working on something else lately that doesn't require much time and that I can stop and start whenever I want: writing articles for a website that funnels your content to other websites. I write for Demand Studios, which I think has one of the most reliable and well-paying programs of all the content sites I've looked into. You're not going to get rich writing for them - a 400 word article only pays $15 - but it has been great to have some spare cash, and to see my bank account increasing on a regular basis. Plus, the articles are easy to write and you don't have to spend much time thinking about what you're going to write, as DS provides the titles for you.

This is how it works: you apply by filling out an online application, providing a CV and three short writing samples. After your application is accepted, you are allowed check out the thousands of titles of the writing assignments available. There are about 15 broad categories, including subjects such Animals, Computers, Business, Health& Fitness, Sports & Recreation, Science, Weddings, Travel, and hundreds of subcategories for each topic. When you see a title you're interested in writing, you click on the assignment and it goes into your personal queue. Initially, you are allowed 10 assignments in your queue and have one week to complete them. Each article is reviewed by an editor after your turn it in, and either it is approved or you are required to do additional work.

Some articles pay a flat-fee of $5-15, others are valued through a revenue-sharing program. This means that you get paid a portion of the revenue that the article brings in, presumably from advertising. The idea is that the article will eventually earn more than the $15 flat-fee you would have been paid up front. But it’s definitely a gamble. Me, I prefer receiving the money upfront rather than getting it in dribs and drabs. (Then again, I’ve only been doing it for about six weeks. I’ll be watching my revenue-sharing articles closely to see how much they earn – so far, I’m not wildly impressed. )

I have always hesitated about writing for such websites - and now I see my hesitation was well-founded. First, writing for DS threatens to be a huge distraction from my “real” writing. It’s so nice to see cash flowing into my bank account on a weekly basis that I am tempted to write for them more and more and more. Writing queries gobbles up far more time and energy that writing these short, easy articles. And even as I write the queries, I know that I might get absolutely nothing in return from all my hard work. No money and not even a rejection letter from an editor. So, working for DS provides a certain satisfaction that my other writings don’t: I’m guaranteed to be paid for my work and words. But it’s not the writing that really thrills me. I write on topics like, “Urinary Tract Infections in Infants,” and “How to Establish Revocable Trust,” and “The Health Benefits of the Goji Berry.”

My second reservation is that writing for DS does not produce great writing. You write in an extremely stylized way (basically, you’re just plugging information into a prepared form)* and the work can’t be used as a writing sample for a reputable magazine. Sure, you have to be grammatical and interesting, but let’s just say that no one will win a Pulitzer for such content. The gig is only profitable if you write as fast as you can, and fast writing usually doesn’t equate quality writing.

On the whole, I can recommend Demand Studio as a solid way to earn money. And it’s a gig you can do it as an expat freelancer as long as you’re an American citizen, have an address to which they can send a tax earnings form at the year-end, and have a PayPal account. But be careful! Don’t let the money distract you from your larger writing goals.

As a compromise, I almost never write DS articles when I have a babysitter. I write them early in the morning before the kid wakes up, during his naps, or when he’s playing quietly by himself (ha!), or after he’s gone to bed. My babysitter time is reserved for complex, career-advancing work. And naps.



*I know there are other online content websites, such as Associated Content, where you have more flexibility in how you structure the articles you write. AC pays less up-front (from $2-15 an article, with most articles averaging around $7), but also pays you a share of revenue earned through the number of page views your articles receive. So, it’s in your interest to promote your AC articles heavily to make money. But I don’t have time for that. Moreover, it's still not a great writing sample since the editors accept pretty much anything that is grammatically correct. Magazine editors like to see writing samples that have met stringent standards.

Yet another way to find markets!

For me, one of the most aggravating aspects of being an expat freelancer is not having ready access to most of the magazines for which I'd like to write. I'm always stocking up when I go home, or asking friends visiting Paris to smuggle some over when they come. But recently I had an experience that showed me a new, simpler way to find/obtain markets: ask your source.

Earlier this year, I sent a query to four popular pregnancy magazines - and got dinged from all of them. (Though I did receive a rather nice rejection from the editor Pregnancy magazine, who explained that they were already running an essay on my intended topic.) Anyway, I searched and searched on the internet for other appropriate magazines, but nothing seemed to fit the bill. Finally, I gave up. But a few days ago, I received an email from the secretary of one of the sources I'd interviewed for the query, wanting to know the status of the article. I told her that it had been passed over by four magazines, that I'd run out of ideas on where to submit it, and did she have any ideas?

Well, she did.

She gave me the name of three regional markets that clearly fly under the radar of most big magazine databases and offered to send me a copy of the magazines. So, now I'm working on revamping the query for these local markets. Fingers crossed that something comes of it. But even if these pubs don't work out either, I'm really pleased to discover that there's no shame in asking a source for ideas on where to submit a pitch. As a matter of fact, I've decided to ask all my sources for this query about pregnancy magazines in their regions!

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Okay, this is just a drive-by post*: I wanted to share a really cool blog I recently discovered that offers non-fiction writing prompts. We've all had those days where we've had no idea what to write about - well, this clever person who runs All Writing Ideas offers writing prompts on a daily basis. Some are for fiction and poetry, but there are plenty for articles and blogs.

A great idea, no?



* This is a post is copied from a blog of mine that I abandoned for this one. Just so no one thinks I'm plagiarising my own work!