The Problem with Case Studies...

This post came about from a recent experience of taking on a commission that I was unsure of and I should have listened to my gut instincts, but didn't.
The job was to find three case studies for a piece about people celebrating Christmas in a different way to most of us and I initially thought I would be inundated with people telling me their tales of reaching the summit of a mountain on Christmas day. Not so - apparently the majority of us would love to do something different, but rarely do.
So after a lot of requests on social networks, and syphoning out the ones who 'would love to do something different' but haven't, I eventually found two people willing to tell me their stories of what they did one Christmas that was out of the ordinary. Both were lovely and were only too happy to tell me of their experiences.
Then came case study number three. An American gentleman contacted me to say he was happy to tell me all about the time he cancelled Christmas. He claimed to be a fellow writer and although he initially thought he was being commissioned to write the piece, he said he was more than happy to tell me his story in the form of an email interview.
One rule you're always taught in journalism (and one that most editors adhere to) is that once you have permission to interview a case study, you do not send the interviewee a copy until it has gone to press. I, on the other hand, feel it's only fair to ask the interviewee to check over my copy, just in case I have misinterpreted something, such as age, location and to make sure they are happy for me to submit the copy.
The original interview had to be heavily edited because the gentleman in question had gone off on a tangent, and the information I required equated to about one paragraph. With a 700 word count to write per case study, I had to fill as much as I could to make up the required amount of words, but on no account did I write anything that misinterpreted what this guy had told me.
I sent the gentleman my copy to verify that he was happy with it and the next thing I know, he has tracked down my editor to question why I had written it in the first person and to question my ability as a journalist.
Anyone who really is a writer will know that real-life case studies are usually written in the first person. I'm very fortunate that I have written for this particular publication for years and my editors are the most lovely people to work with.
Thankfully my editor copied the email this gentleman sent to her about me and copied me into her response, explaining that I was indeed a professional journalist and that I was working to house-style and that this is how we usually handle case studies.
I emailed the gentleman apologising that he was unhappy, but pointing out that I had asked him to come straight back to me if he was unhappy with anything in his story. I told him that I would no longer be using his story because I felt that he had deliberately tried to jeopardise my relationship with my editors, which was both underhand and unprofessional.
I then received another email from him apologising for his behaviour, shortly followed by another scathing email saying he would never work with me again, blah, blah, blah.
I was very tempted to name and shame this individual, but he knows who he is and despite his attempts to discredit me, he just made himself look a fool. Perhaps he thought if he contacted my editors they would commission him to write the piece instead? I don't know.
The moral of this story is; if you are asked to write a case study, follow your brief, write it to the best of your ability and don't send a copy to your interviewee to proof. So long as you have written their story as told to you and have not misinterpreted them and you have kept to the house style, there is no reason why the interviewee should need to see a copy before it goes to press.
Also, always conduct interviews by email and keep all copies of correspondence; then if a situation like this does arise, you can prove exactly what information the case study has provided you with. And if you are unfortunate to have an experience like this, copy your editor into all communication.
The majority of people willing to tell your their stories are lovely and most accommodating, but there will always be odd one who will try to spoil things for you.
Thankfully I managed to find another case study and get my copy filed in time, but I will be more wary in future of who I choose as a case study.

Fifty Shades of Harry Potter...

               

They are both hugely successful in their own right and have made millions for their creators, but does that mean you should piggy back on the success of best-selling titles and copy their style/subject/genre?

When I was asked this question the other day, my initial answer was a resounding no, write your own best-selling book! However, I'm now in two minds about this subject. On the one hand (unless you are one of the lucky few and can turn a book out within a month), if you decide to write a book about bondage-wearing-vampires, who can do magical things with their wand, or whatever the latest best-seller is, then you will miss the boat. Remember, the publishing industry is a slow industry. A book doesn't usually reach the shops until about 18 months after you've written it. If you choose to write about a subject that is popular now, by the time you get it published, a new subject will be doing the rounds. Secondly, I do question why writers would want to piggy back an already successful book. We're often told that copying should be taken as a compliment, but wouldn't you rather be a success in your own right, rather than because of another author?

Having said this, I have recently read some hilarious parodies of best-selling titles. The latest being, The Vacant Casualty: A Parody by Patty O'Furniture, which is obviously a parody of J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy. This book is a very funny read and cleverly written. The same applies with Fifty Shades of Grey. There are many parodies out there to buy from Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland to Fifty Shades of Red Riding Hood and the Kindle number one parody, Fifty Shades of Silver Hair and Socks. All very popular with readers.

The answer in becoming a success on the back of another author's idea is above; it has to be cleverly written. If you try to emulate Stephanie Myer's work for example, it won't work unless you have the skills to write a parody (this has also been done for one of Stephanie's books, with the title being New Moan by Stephfordy Mayo).

My suggestion is to admire best-selling authors from afar and create your own characters and plot lines. Who wants to be known as the author who copies other people's ideas? Write your own ideas down and you never know you might be that author that other people copy.

 

Real Lives...

Love them or loathe them, the majority of newspapers and magazines rely heavily on real life stories nowadays. No longer reserved for the tabloids, real life stories are found in almost every printed publication, from the broadsheets, specialist titles, the weeklies and glossy monthlies. Why? Because real life stories attract readers and readers attract good sales figures.
Our thirst for looking through a window into other people's lives is at an all time high. You only have to read the viewing schedules in the TV mags to get an idea of what the general public are watching. Whether it's Big Brother, BGT, The Biggest Loser or the Apprentice, the premise is the same - we all love to observe others. Sometimes we empathise with the people on our screens, other times we laugh at them. Often we watch because it  makes us feel better about ourselves and our own lives.
And magazines/newspapers are no different. Editors know we devour these stories, which is why it is big business in the media.
I subscribe to a press agency that supplies details of editors looking for real life stories on a daily basis. Publications range from titles such as Love It! to the Guardian. Whether it's a request for stories about women who have had bottom implants or stories about drug legalisation in the UK, they are all desperate for real life experiences and stories.
So, what does this mean for the freelance writer?
It means that if you can learn to spot a good story, as a freelancer you will never be out of work ever again. If you have good interviewing skills and can empathise with people from all walks of life, you can earn a fortune from writing for the real life market.
I have sold several real life stories for people over the years and have met some really lovely people in the process. Stories can come from all sorts of places. You could overhear a conversation at the supermarket checkout or at the school gates about someone who lost ten stone by eating nothing but carrots. One of your work colleagues might mention that her sister is taking her own son to court because he borrowed her car without asking permission. You might discover that your lovely elderly neighbour is a serial bigamist or that the butch lorry driver who lives down the road, is a big kid at heart and saves up every year to go to Disneyworld.
Even if you tend to specialise in subjects such as health, you will, with a bit of investigation, soon discover that there are people all happy to discuss their personal stories with you, in return for publicity, notoriety or payment.
Talking of payment: if you find someone who wants to sell their story, and find an editor interested, it usually works like this: You stay in contact with the person wishing to sell their story, you interview them and agree a fee with your editor. Depending on how topical or big the story is, will depend on the fee the editor is willing to pay. If you have an interview with someone who has already been mentioned the press, or is famous or even infamous, then the fee can easily run into the thousands. For smaller stories, such as health, affairs of the heart, or lottery/competition wins, fees start at a few hundred pounds for the interviewee and the same for the writer. Sometimes the publication will ask the freelancer to sort out paying the interviewee, but more often than not the commissioning editor will arrange to pay the interviewee themselves and pay you your fee as usual.
We all have experiences and stories that we can share, and whilst it may be tempting to sell your own life story to a magazine or newspaper, I would advise against it. Yes, you could make a fortune selling that story about the time you caught your partner in bed with the milkman, but whilst you might make a few hundred pounds, it won't do much for your reputation as a freelance writer. As a rule you can only generally sell a real life story once. Better to be the one selling other people's stories for them, than get your own skeletons out of the closet for all the world to see.



Beware, freelance jobs advertised on the internet...



 

This post is going to be dedicated to those just starting out as a freelance writer and came about after a discussion on a LinkedIn post after someone had posted a request for freelance writers. The post was obviously a scam - clues being that the poster had used an online stock image for their photo and left no details other than a gmail address.

One LinkedIn member, who claims to be a freelance writer earning over $70,000 dollars per year from online writing, decided to tackle me on my view of scam adverts, telling me in no uncertain terms that I was wrong, including some disparaging remarks - shame she didn't read my earlier post about being careful what you write on a forum really before she hit the send button. I did question why she had needed to respond to this particular advert if she was already earning a fortune from online writing.

But how do you know if an online job is genuine or not?

Firstly there are some obvious giveaways such as the poster using a stock photo image, using a free email address, such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc. Other signs are the promises of earning 'as much as you want' and other such claims. Another sign that you're dealing with someone who, even if they are offering a paying gig, will pay a pittance, something in the range of $1 per five hundred words, is that they leave no company details to be researched.

I know it's tempting when you do a Google for freelance writing jobs and pages upon pages come up, offering you work. You think, great, this is my chance to be a proper freelance writer! In reality, even if you get offered work, it will be generic articles and you will often be tied into writing a minimum of 10 per week, at 500 words a piece and for very little pay, if you're paid anything. Many content mill companies work on a pay-per-click policy, so if no one reads your article, you won't get paid.

Now before I get inundated with more comments telling me how wrong I am and that you work online and earn a fortune, I am not saying that ALL freelancing jobs online are scams. Big companies such as AOL, Google and other major online companies pay very well, as do other genuine companies that rely on online only content. What these companies don't do is post on public forums, requesting freelance writers. They advertise in the right channels such as Gorkana, which is a source for journalists and PR companies. They don't hit public forums with, 'Freelance writers wanted! Earn a fortune!' promises.

Of course, if you want to get experience of writing to a deadline and are just writing to get your name out there, by all means write for a content mill company. However, if you wrote 10 pieces at 500 words a week for a total of $5, you could have written three magazine articles in the same amount of time and earned yourself $1100.

Added to this, even if you start writing online content so that you can build up your portfolio, editors of paying mainstream publications will hardly be impressed with your boasts that you've written 50,000 articles for a content mill.

So, when you see those adverts telling you that you can earn a fortune from the comfort of your own home by writing for them, do your research and ask yourself why they haven't gone through the right channels and are resorting to click-to-pay ads and public forums to recruit staff?

 

 

To Specialise or Not...

 

Many people have specialist knowledge in subjects that other people know nothing about, whether it's knowing how to grow the perfect marrow, having a natural flare for fashion or knowing the history of the British Empire inside out. Specialising in writing about a subject can be a double-edged sword.

On the one hand if you are an expert in a certain subject and can write about it in a way that will inform others, you can build up a good client base of buyers for that particular subject. You can very often become a columnist in your subject, or have a list of regular titles all willing to pay you for your knowledge.

On the other hand, you can limit yourself and your potential for work. Particularly if the subject you specialise in is so specialised that you end up limiting your markets for work. For example; you may be very knowledgeable in the railway network, but the markets for your knowledge are very slim, with only a handful of publications on this subject being available.

If, however, you specialise in say, natural health and healing, your potential market will be much greater. Most national magazines and newspapers like to promote natural health/healing in some form or another, so specialising in a subject such as this will open up a much wider area for you to work in.

When I first started writing for magazines and newspapers I wrote general lifestyle pieces because I knew that the majority of publications would print this type of story, giving me better odds of getting published with them. Because I've always been interested in the mind, body and spirit side of things my writing eventually leaned more to the magazines that have a spiritual or natural health slant to them. I have now written for every MBS title in the UK at one time or another, most of the women's magazine titles and for many of the national newspapers. I have even secured two regular columns with two national MBS magazines. Because mind, body and spirit covers a wide area, I haven't limited myself too much, but if you specialise in a subject that is too specialised, you might just find that although you are classed as an expert in your field, your workload might become too slim for you to survive as a freelance writer.

So, to specialise or not? It all depends on your market. Are there enough publications out there to make it worth your while. If not then broaden your horizons a bit more.

 

Career Success or Career Suicide?

 

We're talking social media today. Now, whilst I'm not an expert in the field of this relatively new phenomenon (I still have no idea what a hash-tag is or how I would use one), I do have a Facebook page and I know how to Tweet, if the need arises, and this is a fantastic way to keep in touch with what other people are doing, even if it's just to know what they are planning to have for tea that evening.

 

What I have noticed though is the amount of writers who spend a lot of time and energy detailing their rejections and bemoaning their lack of success in the publishing industry. Whether it's not getting a positive response from an agent or struggling to find a publisher, they feel they have to tell the world about it. There's truth in the saying, 'Don't put anything on the Web that you don't want the world and his wife to know about!'

 

Humans are naturally judgemental beings and how you present yourself is crucial to what people think of you. Whilst other writers connected to your blog or writers' forum may well sympathise with your writing woes, the only thing you are doing is telling the world that you're not worthy of being published; that your writing is unpublishable.

 

We all experience rejections, rubbish reviews and have files of unpublished works growing virtual cobwebs stored on our computers, but by telling the world about it all does you no favours. People are often surprised when I tell them it's not only writers who read your words online - it's commissioning editors, publishers and the general public too. If you portray yourself as someone who constantly moans about being rejected, or says things like, 'I couldn't get a proper publisher, so I self-published, please buy my book!' you've just informed everyone who looks you up that you're not very successful in your field. That you're a wannabe, rather than a success. And that includes commissioning editors.

 

You will never see a famous author bemoaning the fact that their latest book had to go through five rewrites before their publisher would consider taking it. The only time you hear from an established author about how hard it was to get published, is once they are famous. And you certainly won't find Stephen King or J K Rowling on any social networks tweeting how much they hate their agent or that their publisher doesn't know a thing about the industry. They (or their publishers) use social networking as a tool to promote their career, not destroy it.

 

Social networking can work wonders for your career, but it's all about how you present yourself. If you have self-published your book, instead of making the world think that it's because no publisher would sign you up, say it was your decision because the royalties are much higher than going down the traditional route. If an agent has turned you down, do you really need to tell everyone about it? Could you not just keep it to yourself or say you decided that a particular agent wasn't right for you? Yes, writing forums can be helpful, particularly for those just starting out and can be a tremendous source of support, but as Rhonda Byrne (author the the highly successful The Secret) points out, the more you tell yourself and others that you are unsuccessful, the more you will attract the very same thing.

 

By all means use social networking as a promotional tool for your writing, or just as a means to connect with the outside world, but always remember; people only know about you by what you tell them, so make sure it's only positive news!

 

And whilst I'm on the subject, watch what you say on other people's blogs, forums or when writing a book review. Your words will reflect who you are as a person. If you review another author's book in a nasty or negative light, people will just assume that you're jealous. If you don't like a particular book, don't bother commenting about it. People can make up their own minds. If you decide to get into a controversial conversation, your words are there for all to see, so always think before you hit the send key - you never know who might be reading it!

All Round the Houses...

 

This morning for the first time in Lord knows how many years, but quite a lot, I sat in a classroom doing maths (or math, as our American friends would call it). My daughter's school think it's a jolly good idea to get parents involved in what they are doing during their six hours at school. They were learning long division - ah, no problem, despite failing my maths exam, I can successully work out how many Mars bars I can eat in one day before I use up my daily quota of 2000 calories. Simples. You'd think, wouldn't you? Not so.

The new division system had us all (kids included) scratching our heads in mutual confusion as we all muttered, 'well, that's a long-winded way of going about it!' The system involved a very lengthy way of working out just how many pages of his book ten-year-old Billy would have to read if he wanted to finish it during his two week holiday. I've had three children, all who have been ten-year-olds at one time or another and I've never known them to actively seek to read a book on holiday, much preferring the log flume, but I digress. Whilst I did eventually work out just how many pages Billy would have to read, it took me half an hour to do so, and I was so excited that I even put my hand up, shouted 'Me, Miss!' and blurted out the answer, (12 with 2 remaining), looking rather smug that I, a forty-something woman, had outsmarted the ten-year-olds. Oh yeah! 

So, what has this got to do with writing?

I'm glad you asked.

Two things, actually:

Firstly; very often when freelancers are starting out they will go to great lengths to compile an article, spending hours upon hours, sometimes weeks perfecting it, so that it will have the best possible chance of being accepted by an editor. That's fine if you have plenty of time on your hands, but you're not making the most of your freelancing time. Whilst we all want to submit the best possible work we can, time is money and spending weeks perfecting one pitch is not only eating in to your writing time, it is also counter productive. Most editors will want to make changes to your original idea, or will have to cut sections out in order to make it fit. As I mentioned earlier, they may have already commissioned a similar idea, or have one in stock, so all your invested hours and hard work may amount to nothing.

I never write a full article until I've secured a commission. Instead I write a short brief outlining the subject I'm intending to write about, why I'm writing it and why I think it will appeal to a particular publication's readership. Then I email it to an editor. If she is interested and wants a more detailed outline I send her one. If she wants it, she will commission it - then and only then will I write it. Not only does this save you hours of wasted time, the editor will very often ask you for extras such as box outs or as recently happened to me, ask you to turn it into a quiz style piece.

Secondly; editors are very busy peeps and they really don't have the time to read through pages of attachments. They want to know what your idea is and why their readers would want to read it. End of. They don't want writers who go all round the houses, sending them articles they don't want (or even have time) to read. They don't want a very involved and lengthy email either, informing them all about your life, how you became a writer, or that you have a cat called Norris (unless of course Norris is significant to your article).

In short editors want you to get to the point. They don't need you to show your workings out; they just want the answer!