Real Words

I have never really done well in my collaborations with other creative people. My brother told me once that this is because I never played team sports. I think that he might be right about that; I always did everything on my own so I never quite learned how to adjust to working with others on things. However, I think that collaboration is a great thing and I’m working on learning how to do more of that. The few projects that I’ve started exploring collaboratively lately really have me excited.

The main one that I want to highlight here is my participation in the I Live Here: SF project which I think is important because it’s not really about writing but it inspired my writing. This is a great local (San Francisco) photo project through which a local photographer (Tangobaby) is photographing the people who live here. She pairs up with San Franciscans from various walks of life, photographs them in the settings here that really symbolize the city for them and then works with them to edit down and choose the photos that will be included in the project. And I was lucky enough to get to be a part of that recently.

The experience of it really inspired me. One of my biggest beliefs about the writing life is that it is crucial for writers to involve themselves in arts that are not about writing. Writing is all about experiencing life and then putting it into words. By attending dance performances and taking sewing classes and playing with fingerpaint and doing photo projects, writers experience the many senses of life and this is what informs and enriches their writing and makes it real and beautiful.

My part of the collaboration in this project, besides just being the one in the photographs and choosing some of the locations and pictures for use in the project, was to write up a post for the project’s blog that is all about how I feel about San Francisco. My writing for that post was directly inspired by the experience of being out and about in the city taking those photographs. Meeting someone new (the photographer), spending time in places I enjoy but don’t visit often enough (like Macondray Lane) and working on something that isn’t just my normal web writing all combined to light a flame of creativity for me. It’s not a flame that can be lit solely by working all day alone on my writing.

What was great about this project as a collaboration for me was that it wasn’t a collaboration with another writer. You see, I think that it’s difficult for people working in the same medium to collaborate effectively. Not impossible, just difficult, and really tough for me to learn which is why I don’t think that it has been successful for me so far. However, this act of combining my writing talents with someone else’s other artistic talents has made collaboration a success for me.

I am exploring other projects that may also allow for this to happen. I’ve been working on a set of fairy tale / nursery rhyme based poems for a long time, playing with it here and there, and I recently gave some to an artist friend to see if she is at all inspired to illustrate them. She may not be but the act of considering this collaboration has given me renewed excitement about the project and made me feel like trying to work more with others at the same time.

I think that collaboration can be a really powerful creative thing. I think it can truly end up being more than the sum of the parts that each individual contributes. And I think that this is something we should try to add to our working lives now and then. (Incidentally, the photographer who does the I Live Here SF project has another collaborative project called The Julie Project that is also worth checking out.)

What do you think? What are your experiences with creative collaboration?

I mentioned earlier this week in my article on finding support for your freelance career that one of the best places to get support is through your online social networks. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week because I’ve had the opportunity to really develop some great connections with other writers and bloggers online.

More so this week than any other time in the past, I’ve had people contacting me via Facebook and Twitter and trying to connect. These aren’t people who are just adding me and then forgetting about me or adding m solely to ping me with news about their work online. These are people who actually ask me questions about my writing and seem interested in the answers.

Because they’ve been reaching out to me in this way, I find myself feeling really excited about online social networking and the sharing of writing that takes place there. I feel like I’m really learning how to connect with the online world in a new way. Sure, I’ve always been on these sites but there’s something different about the true and honest communication with strangers that I’ve been experiencing recently.

Does anyone have any similar stories to share about how their online social networks have transformed from just web chatter to real communication? I’d love to hear those tales!

I have written in the past about the many different places that there are to look for freelance writing work. There are classified ad sites like Craigslist where jobs are advertised. There are bid sites like Elance that you can sign up to participate in (although I’ve never liked that option much). There are proactive options like coldcalling and contacting potential new clients via email.

I have used all of those at one time or another and still do use them regularly (minus the bid sites). However, the thing that I do most frequently to look for new freelance writing work is to check the links on the websites that offer freelance job leads. These job leads may come from the individual sites (like Craigslist) or may be in the form of posts about individual jobs. Either way, they typically provide a good collection of leads that point me in the right direction for what work is being offered out there.

Here are the ten sites that I’m checking most frequently for job leads in 2009:

1. Freelance Writing Gigs. Deb Ng continues to be the best provider out there for daily leads on jobs. There’s a list of links up every weekday (and some weekends) as well as smaller individual posts from specific potential clients.
2. About Freelance Writing. Deb Ng pointed readers in the direction of leads on this site recently which turned me on to the site. There are fewer leads here but they’re posted steadily and they are sometimes different from what you’re seeing on the other sites.
3. All Freelance Writing. The same post by Deb that pointed me in the direction of About Freelance Writing also pointed me here. Same deal. Good stuff.
4. Problogger. I continue to check the Problogger job leads daily for info on potential blogging jobs that may be available.
5. Performancing Blogger Jobs. This one isn’t nearly as good as problogger but people seeking blogging work may find the occasional good lead here.
6. Freelance Job Openings. Usually only a few posted here each day but often ones worth pursuing.
7. Online Writing Jobs. This is a comprehensive list of what’s out there. It can be overwhelming but you can filter by the type of jobs that you want to look at (blogging, articles, books, etc.) so that makes it easier to find the work that you want.
8. Absolute Write. Only a couple posted here each day but always different from what’s being advertised elsewhere.
9. Media Bistro. Many of the jobs here are on-site jobs but you can sometimes find telecommute work.
10. Journalism Jobs. Same deal as Media Bistro but often worth a look.

Where else do you check for freelance job leads?

I love being part of great blog carnivals that bring posts about writing together in one place. I’ve got two posts in recent blog carnivals. The other posts at those carnivals should be of interest to you if you’re a writer. Both of the posts were designed to inspire writers.

The first one is for a really inspiring blog carnival called a carnival of inspirational quotations. I love all of the inspiring words that are linked to here! The post that I included was Digging Deep Down Inside of Ourselves which includes quote that has resonated with me for years. Other posts in this blog carnival were contributed by Rough Fractals, Enhance Life, Parasites of the Mind, ManyHeavyThoughts, tarot13, GeekMBA360, Lady Green, Jody Fransch, Jacob Duchaine, OhMishka, Pet Chatter, Hammarskjold Blog and Raw Living.

The other post here that was recently included in a blog carnival here was Valuing What We Write Well which was included at the Carnival of Beginning Writers. It’s in the inspiration category along with posts on finding good ideas, doing creative writing exercises and muscle building in your writing. Other categories in the blog carnival included writing experience, giving opinions, samples from poems and short stories. There was also specific advice on topics including article submission, yoga for bloggers, and writers’ websites.

Happy reading!

One of the things that I really love to do to get inspiration as a writer is to attend open mic events, poetry slams and literary readings where people read their writings from the stage. I think it’s great to experience the written word in the spoken format. It changes it, adds a new dimension and makes it something slightly new.

Attending these events always inspires me. Sometimes I hear a word or phrase that sparks something for my own writing. Sometimes I consider exploring a new form of writing after hearing it aloud.  And sometimes it’s just the energy of the crowd that makes me want to write.

What’s interesting is how many different types of writing events there are and how different each one is in terms of the energy and ambience of the event. Some of the ones that I most commonly attend include:

• Open mic poetry events. This is where people of any age and writing level sign up on a list and get to read their own work for a certain amount of time. These can vary widely in style depending on the host and may even end up more like a variety show with comedians and musicians being included. I typically find these events to be interesting (albeit slightly overstimulating) because of the diversity of the group that comes to read although this, again, can vary a lot depending on venue.
• Poetry slams. I discovered these back in my college days and then lost touch with them again until just the past few months. These are events where people sign up to compete against each other for cash prizes. They get a certain amount of time to read one poem which is voted on by a set of audience members. Here it’s more about the performance than the words themselves (although the words matter) so you get a totally different vibe that’s almost more like theatre than poetry reading.
• Multiple writers reading together at an event. One of my favorite writing events in San Francisco is Writers with Drinks. At this event, five or six different authors are invited on stage to read from their works for about fifteen minutes each. They get enough time to really explore their genre but you get exposed to the writing of several different people. This is usually less intense than a poetry slam but not as laidback as most open mics I’ve been to. Each author brings his or her own following so there’s a lot of support and you really sense a writer’s community at things like this.
• Single writers reading their work. This is what you typically get when you have an author reading at a book signing in a store. They read a specific work for an extended period of time so you really get to know the work. Then they usually take questions so it’s a great way to learn a lot about a writer’s process. However, I usually don’t love these events unless I’m specifically interested in the author and have read at least some of his or her work.
• Erotica readings and performances. There is a whole other set of literary readings which is geared entirely around sex. Sometimes these are erotica authors reading from their books at book signings. Other times they are open mics of erotic poems. Or sex workers’ performance art shows that include authors reading. Whatever the format, the underlying vibe of these is sexuality so it’s a different feeling than what’s at other writer’s events.

What other types of events do you go to where writers read their works?

I believe that it’s really important for everyone to keep a journal. I know that not everyone feels the same way and I respect that. But diaries and journals have been such an important part of my life for so long – and I have experienced so many benefits from them – that I really feel like it’s something that everyone should try to do.

I especially think that writers should keep journals. Here are ten of the top reasons that I believe this this is true:

1. A daily journal means that you write every day. Even if a million other things are going on and you can’t get any other writing done, at least you wrote in your journal.
2. You get your thoughts out of your head. A journal clears all of the mess in your head. This leaves your brain free to have more creative thoughts which benefits your writing.
3. Ideas and characters will come to mind. Many of the ideas that I have which turned into poems and books and projects began as thoughts and random lines in journals.
4. It gives you a chance to write longhand. I firmly believe that diaries should be written by hand. I think that the writing process is different than it is on a computer and I think it’s beneficial to practice that now and then.
5. You get to know yourself. The better you know yourself as a person, the stronger of a writer you will be.
6. It provides the comfort of ritual. If you commit to journalling for a certain amount of time each day, you create a sense of stability for yourself through ritual. I believe this is something that is very important for all writers to have.
7. You learn to really tell the truth in your writing. Sometimes we hold back in our fiction and poetry and web writing because we know others may read these things. The diary is private and it teaches us how to write the truth.
8. You are honoring yourself as a writer. It isn’t always easy to carve out that time for dairy writing every day. However, a consistently-met commitment to doing that shows you that you’re honoring yourself as a writer. This is important since you are your own greatest support system for your writing career.
9. It creates a history of your work and process. This is something that you can come back to again and again to see your own growth as a writer, get new ideas and track your history of writing over time.
10. It could get published someday. Hey, you never know. If you end up successful in your writing, that diary could be worth something in the future!

What do you think? Do you keep a daily journal? Should you?

One of the writing blogs that I read had a post this week on a really interesting topic – the topic of who in our lives supports our freelance writing careers. I have seen several freelance writing friends choose to leave the business of freelance writing because their spouses didn’t support the career. I have also seen freelancers lose faith in themselves, get frustrated with the business and just generally slack off because they weren’t getting support from enough people in their lives about the decision to freelance.

The decision to do any kind of freelance work, including freelance writing, isn’t easy and it’s a commitment that we have to make to ourselves over and over. There are tough times when the work isn’t coming, the bills aren’t getting paid, the hours are rough, the clients are mean and the industry is in transition. In those tough times, we really need people who support us. We need people who will listen to us vent about our writing, people who will read what we post online even when no other traffic is coming through and people who will tell us that it’s going to be okay when it feels like it won’t.

So where do you turn if you don’t feel like you’re getting support in your life? Here are fifteen different individuals or groups who might support your freelance work:

1. Spouses/ romantic partners/ significant others. Not every freelance writer feels supported by their spouse. In some cases, spouses may even resent that you don’t have a normal career. This can be devastating to some freelancers so it’s an important issue to work through. Your partner doesn’t have to read everything you write but you should feel at least some support for your work coming from this person so it’s worth trying to deal with this issue over time as the relationship (and your career) continue.
2. Parents. There are certainly some people whose parents aren’t supportive of their freelance writing but many times parents are a great place to turn for a little support because they’re inevitably proud of your accomplishments. Share your work with them, especially anything with a byline or anything that mentions them positively. They’ll want to share that with others and you’ll feel supported. Parents may not be the best people to talk to about freelance writing career problems because they’ll worry about you and that may lead to them saying things that aren’t supportive but they’ll definitely be a great support in celebrating your successes.
3. Children. Teach your children that you value the work that you do and they will probably learn to value it. Celebrate your writing successes with them in small ways. Include them sometimes in your career by taking on projects that let you do fun research at places like children’s museums. Their involvement will feel like support for why you do what you do and they’ll probably grow up to be adults that support your work over time.
4. Siblings. This just depends on what your siblings are like and how close you are. Some siblings never read a thing that you write and get bored if you talk about your work. But in the end, siblings are usually there when you need them so if you’re feeling unsupported in your work then you may just want to ask them for a little support.
5. Old Friends. Support for your career among friends will be varied. Some will be jealous of your freelance life and that may come across as a pleasant kind of envy or it may come across in a meaner form. Some friends will read your stuff and others won’t be interested. But somewhere in your group of friends, you should be able to find the ones that support what you’re doing. Identify these friends and mentally bookmark them for those times when you’re feeling in need of some support for your writing.
6. New Friends. Sometimes it can be beneficial to go out and meet new people. When you first meet someone, they only know what you tell them. Tell them that you’re a web writer and they’re going to be ask you about that. Their interest in it will help you feel better about what you do and talking about it might make you feel excited about it again.
7. Your online social network. These are the people who read your blogs and comment on them. They follow the links that you post on Twitter and Facebook. They are the people who you know from web writing and they can sometimes be the biggest support system that you have for your writing.
8. Your in-person writing groups. Any group that you’re in that has to do with writing will probably feel like a form of support. Everyone who joins these groups is committing to the importance of writing in their lives. Just doing that creates a sense of support for the work. Whether or not the group is for the writing you do for a job (ie it’s a creative writing group and you’re a news blogger), it is still a positive environment that supports your writing.
9. Any group or person you do reading with. Join a book club. These are even better than writing groups sometimes because they are filled with people who appreciate the written word but who don’t necessarily write themselves. They’ll be interested in your writing and you’ll feel a swell of pride for your work while you’re there.
10. Your online critics. Okay, these people don’t feel like they’re supporting you and it takes a tough person to see it that way. But the truth is that if they take you seriously enough to criticize your ideas online then they’re paying attention to what you write. Chalk it up to attention and turn it into a positive thing.
11. Your clients. They can sometimes be a pain in the butt but these are the people who are giving you actual money to do your writing. That says they value your work even if they’re not always easy to deal with. And those great clients who are easy to work with and who actually tell you that they appreciate your writing are people whose support is invaluable!
12. Your customers. If you sell anything at all that’s related to your writing then every person who buys from you is someone who is supporting your work. If you sell personal poetry zines at media festivals, ebooks on your website or books through Amazon then any customer at any of those places is a supporter. You should gather as much contact information from those people as you can to create an email group just for them so that you can contact them whenever you’ve got new news. At least a percentage of them will probably support it.
13. People you can subcontract to or who guest post for you. The support of these people is unique from the support that you get elsewhere. These are people who are essentially saying that they think that you’re credible enough that they’ll do writing for you and have their name possibly linked with yours.
14. People who refer you to others. These can be old clients, friends, online people – various people from the other segments of your life already mentioned – but the point is that they are supporting your work by spreading the word and that counts for a lot in this business.
15. You. Ultimately the most important person that you need to be able to count on when it comes to support for your writing is you. Commit to your writing. Value your writing. Take time not only to write but also to do other things that inspire you so that you have the creativity and rest required for ongoing writing. Be there for yourself. The more you support yourself, the more likely it is that others in your life will take your writing seriously and support you as well.

The most important things to remember when you’re feeling unsupported in your freelance writing career are that there are many different places that you can get support and many different kinds of support that you can get. A friend may not ever read your blog but she may introduce you to others as “my friend who writes a blog”. A parent may gripe that you don’t have a traditional job but keep your books on the bookshelf where everyone can see them. Learn to recognize the support that you do get, turn to many different sources for it and ask for more from the right people when you need it. It’ll help your career for a long time to come.

I recently posted my thoughts here on whether or not you should reveal your writing rates on your blog or website. That sparked some discussions with my Facebook friends and Twitter friends about writing rates in general. What I learned is that a lot of my writing friends don’t actually have any set writing rates.

I found this to be somewhat shocking. I am definitely flexible about my own writing rates. I offer discounts to certain types of businesses (particualrly green businesses and local businesses). I take on jobs that don’t meet my standard writing writes because the jobs interest me or they seem easy enough or, frankly, because I need the money at that time.

But despite being flexible about my rates, I think it’s extremely important that I do have set rates. It makes discussing work with clients easier and it makes me feel more stable in my work. It’s professional and, in my opinions, it’s a necessity.

There are many many great articles out there on how to set your own writing rates. But I just came across a set of three posts that were recently done over at About Freelance Writing that I think sums it up best. These posts discuss how to track expenses and consider your need for a savings account so that you can determine your rates.

I think that most freelance writers are setting their rates based on the market value of their work. That’s definitely something to take into consideration. However, as a business person, you really need to have an understanding of what amount of money you need to be making to figure out if your business is worth staying in. If you spend more than you make for too many years in a row, you’re not going to last as a freelance writer.

How is everyone else figuring out their writing rates? And how flexible are you about them?

Writers are hot. (That’s why you should date one.) But are we really people that typically smell good? I mean, I don’t think that most writers smell bad. But do you think of writers as having a particular smell. Coffee maybe, which is appealing to some people and not to others.

I can picture writers of yore having a charming alluring smell. A combination of clove cigarettes and some fancy old perfume that harkens back to the days of the novels set during the time periods they were writing in. But in modern times, we work on computers and probably just smell like whatever our homes smell like.

If you were to think romantically of a writer’s scent, what would you think of? Would the smell of libraries come to mind? That scent of old books that brings writers to their knees with a strange combination of bookstore-browsing nostalgia and inspiration?

If so, then perhaps you’d be interested in In The Library, a perfume that is designed to smell just like an old book (in a good way). (It’s described on the site as the smell of an “English Novel taken from a Signed First Edition of one of my very favorite novels, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish.” I found out about this from a Facebook mention about it from sex blogger Shanna Katz. A quick look online shows that there are definitely some people out there who think it’s hot.

What do you think? Should writers wear book-scented perfume to be taken more seriously as hot literary creatures?

As mentioned earlier this week, most of my news about blog carnivals is going to be featured over at my new blog – Diary of a Smart Chick. What I’m doing over there is commenting on all of my various work around the web which is something that might be of interest to other writers who also write on a diverse range of different topics.

Real Words is returning to be just a blog about writing and the process of writing and what it’s like to live a writer’s life. But part of living a writer’s life is indeed – at least for me – submitting posts about writing to blog carnivals as a means of networking and sharing work with other writers. So those writing posts that come from this blog that end up on blog carnivals will indeed get mentioned here in the hopes that other writers will find those links interesting.

There were two posts of mine that were from this blog that were lucky enough to be included at blog carnivals this week. My thoughts on valuing what we write well were included in the Mad Editor’s Round-Up alongside other writing tips on things like writer’s block, writing from the heart, perfectionism and finding good ideas. My links to hundreds of resources for writers was part of the Writing Success blog carnival with loads of other great posts on writing.

It is my hope that writers who read my blog will be interested in the posts about writing that are at many different blogs – both new and established. I think it is through reading other people’s thoughts on writing that we clarify our own thoughts on our chosen work. What do you think?