Turn gigs you already get into more writing income!
Turn Gigs You Already Get Into More Writing Income! By David Geer
Seven practices to give yourself a bonus!
ASK FOR A BETTER CONTRACT Ask for a better contract when you're
giving up too many rights, you can't figure out what you're
getting paid or when, or you are an authority or have a
demonstrable specialty. Just ask, "Do you have a better
contract?" Let them ask you why you want it. Be prepared with an
answer. They may not ask. They may ritually give better
contracts only to those who ask. It can be as simple as that.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS If you see an expense
reimbursement clause, use it. Adhere to the publication's
instructions on how to get reimbursed. Items taken seriously
include phone charges for interviews or research; postal mailing
charges; travel expenses (discuss before signing) and costs for
other goods or services vital to the assignment. Don't forget to
invoice separately.
ASK FOR A RAISE AFTER FOUR ARTICLES The consensus seems to be
that if you have turned in about four acceptable pieces without
a hitch, you have just become a known quantity, a measurable
asset, and probably worth paying more to keep. Here's a little
secret. Call at 10 a.m. on hump day (Wednesday). Your editor has
had time for coffee and it's mid-week. He or she isn't getting
over Monday or looking longingly for Friday's arrival. Call and
say hello. Ask how they're doing. Confident and cool, in
mid-conversation, just say "I want to negotiate a raise."
PITCH A FOLLOW-UP OR SERIES Be aware of related stories that
break just as your piece is being published or thereafter. Get
the story and pitch a follow-up or series, first to the same
publication, then as a scoop on that publication to their
competitors if they refuse to publish it. In your query, cite
not only the first article but also its popularity by sharing
reader mail. When writing the piece, compare information from
the first story - this will enlarge the readership for both.
TURN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS INTO PROFILES You take an
informational interview for an assignment. You already know a
lot about the person. Depending on their import, fame or
popularity, you may be able to publish their profile in a
national magazine. If not, you shouldn't find it difficult to
publish in a smaller magazine or better-paying newspaper.
Properly written, profiles don't become dated as easily as other
stories, and that's nothing a minor revision won't cure anyway.
This built-in "freshness guarantee" means you can pitch profiles
endlessly until you get published and paid!
KEEP A JOURNAL AS YOU WRITE AND WRITE YOUR MOST INTERESTING
EXPERIENCES INTO SALABLE CONTENT By keeping a journal of your
professional writing life, you store up a slew of material for
courses on writing, or even a book! More than memoirs, these
slices of your writing adventures can become articles, features,
fiction, or meat for your bio or query letters. Journaling is
impassioned, eager writing about what you know well. You
generate twice the material with zero research and then you can
cherish it, learn from it and get paid for it too!
YOUR EDITOR, YOUR FRIEND, YOUR NEXT LEAD! On one occasion when
calling an editor who I really hit it off with, I got a lead
right away to write adjacent material for the editor's friend!
Another time I queried an editor who, unbeknownst to me,
happened to work in a building full of editors in a publishing
district. She gladly volunteered to give my information to all
the other editors in the building! The lesson here is to be
proactively personable with editors.