A Freelance Companion

Ever since he arrived at our house over a year ago, Butter has been my constant work companion. Basically, that means he snoozes in the living room all day and occasionally stops by the office to make sure I'm still alive.

Now that I'm on my own, he has an even more important role: He's my one and only colleague.

Fortunately it's not a hard job. He does have to put up with my chatter on occasion, because if it's a choice between talking to the wall and talking to the Butter I'll pick the white monster any day. And sometimes I get distracted by work and forget to put him out to do his business until he comes in and reminds me it's time for a break.

Other than that, life is good, and I expect it will only get better. Most days (at least until August, when classes start ...) he'll benefit from longer walks and a bit more time for belly rubbing. And he'll get to listen to me talk about some new! exciting! things! (I hope.)

Plus there's the potential for a few road trips. Yesterday, he got to take a little trip down the street in the car with me to photograph a few things for the new project I can't tell you about quite yet. (Yes, I am evil.)

It was sunny. I rolled the windows down. He was in heaven.


When we got home, he told me that he'd be willing to help me out with that type of work every day. If he had to.

Being My Own Boss

Today is a big day in the World of Julie. Today is the day I embark on a new stage of my life.

You see, Friday was my last official day of work with Lexicon, the custom publishing company I have worked for since before I graduated from Drake. It was a terrific place to work and not an easy place to leave behind, but after thinking long and hard I decided the time was right to make a change.

Now what?

Contrary to what Conservative Boy says, I will not be sitting on the couch all day eating bonbons and watching soaps. (I don't even really like bonbons or soaps, to be honest.) And although being my own boss does open up my schedule so that I can do things like run errands or mow the lawn during the day, I'm serious about moving my freelance writing and editing career into high gear. So I will be working—a lot.

I already have a few steady writing and editing gigs lined up, and I plan to seek out more. Plus I'm working on doing more online writing–not only on my personal blogs, but also for a new online venture I'll tell you about soon. (Sorry, I have to keep you hanging for a few more days!)

And I can promise that this blog won't turn into daily ramblings about the freelance life. That's because I've started another blog to focus on that topic. So, should you be interested in seeing what I'm up to professionally or want some info on the freelance life, just head over to Julie Tries Writing. I'll be posting there a couple of times a week.

And the other piece of the puzzle: grad school. I start environmental law today. It's a two-month summer class that will require a lot of my time, no doubt. Then, starting in the fall, I'll be working on my master's full time so that I can (hopefully) start my thesis at this point next year. That means I'll take at least 12 credit hours in the fall and summer semesters.

The good news? Starting in the fall, the rest of my school bills will be paid for thanks to a graduate assistantship. It's in the sociology/anthropology department at UIS and will involve some writing, editing, and marketing; some teaching and grading; some research; and who knows what else at this point. I've already met the faculty I'll work with, and they're great.

So see? No need to worry about poor jobless Julie. I'll be busy busy busy. Of course, there's still plenty of time for me to try new things, so stay tuned on that front. I have some fun stuff in store for you–promise.

Writing for Lawn & Landscape

I know the topic might not be all that interesting to some of you, but I thought I'd share anyway. I recently started contributing to Lawn & Landscape, a magazine for the original "green" industry (in other words, lawn and landscaping contractors, golf course groundskeepers, etc.). I'm writing an occasional profile for them (when I have time—ha!) about businesses that are doing great things.

I don't do a lot of profile writing in my full-time job so it's a nice change of pace.

Here's the first one: Bright Days for Bryant

And the second: The Road Less Traveled

Another nice thing? I get a byline and a writer bio. Not that it's necessary, but a lot of the writing I do is byline-free, so it's nice to have a few clips that have my name on them!

Freelance Writing

I was chatting with a friend the other day who was lamenting how much she was dreading the job search she likely will undertake soon—updating resumes, sending letters, for all practical purposes "selling" herself to potential employers—and I realized that when you're a freelance writer you are, essentially, in a constant state of job searching. Only instead of a full-time job with built-in opportunities for career advancement, benefits, and the works, when you land a freelance gig, that success only yields a single writing assignment.

And then what do you do? You start all over. Updating resumes. Sending query letters. Selecting the right clips. Selling yourself. For the majority of us who aren't sought-after, big-name writers penning celebrity interviews or thought-provoking essays on demand for top-tier publications, it's an almost-constant cycle.

Granted, at this point in my life I'm fortunate enough that I have a full-time job (doing what I love, namely writing and editing books and magazines). And I have relatively steady freelance income copy editing and proofreading. So as long as that stays the same, I'm not going to be fretting over whether my queries will pay the bills or put food on the table.

Yet I'm still dying to write more. To get my name out there and start getting more of those "yes, please" responses and fewer "no, thanks."

Only it's hard work. It takes a lot of time, more time than I've had lately.

A story query can't be taken lightly. You have to know the magazine you want to write for, inside and out. You have to look into your crystal ball and figure out what stories have already been done, which ones are in the works already, and what won't ever be done. You have to try, as impossible as it sounds, to figure out what the heck the editor you're pitching to is going to like, what she's thinking, even when you've never met her before and probably never will.

What proposal is going to strike a chord when she's likely stressed, overwhelmed, overworked, underpaid, and battling a never-ending barrage of query emails from folks who don't have a clue what they're talking about? That's what you, the intrepid freelance writer, must figure out. Which clips will she find most interesting? Which job should be played up more in the resume? Should the whole package be sent by email or snail mail? How formal should the greeting be?

Welcome to the mind of a freelance writer.

And the clincher is that no matter how stellar the story idea is or how well-researched your query letter might be, if the editor isn't into it on any given day, you're out of luck. The end. Sayonara. Try again, sister.

I've sent a select few queries out in the last year and most have been met with no response or a big fat no. It's a game of chance, really. Especially when you're breaking into a publication you've never written for before. In one instance I had the perfect idea, pitched it to the perfect publication. The only problem? They'd just assigned a similar story for an upcoming issue of the magazine. Too slow. Another time, I sent out a hastily penned query for a story I was incredibly excited to write, only to get a terse "not interested" email two days later. At least I got a response though. The editors a freelancer never hears back from—no matter how many attempts are made—may be the most puzzling and frustrating creatures in the world.

Expect to hear more about the trials and tribulations of this a less-than-part-time freelance writer soon. I sent out another query last week. Any bets on whether they'll say yes?