Excited About Fiction Projects

Back in November 2009, me and some of my friends decided to sign up for NaNo. And because we live in the same city, we also decided to meet every week to support each other and motivate each other to finish the Nano project.

We actually did just that for several weeks. And even though I didn't manage to write those 50K of words in one month, those weekly meetings helped me get the story further.

The best thing in it all is that we kept meeting once a week. True, right now we don't discuss writing all that much, but it happens from time to time. But during our last meeting, one thing led to another and it somehow ended with me and one of my friends deciding to do a major collaboration project.

Imagine my amusement when I got home and found an article on how to work with other writers. Honestly John, great timing on that one.

This story we started to outline (for the time being let's call it The Epic Collaboration Project) is something I'm really excited about right now.
I haven't been excited about a fiction project since... the bigbang I finished at the beginning of May.

It might sound weird, but those non-profit works I'm doing are really helping me become a better writer. Two years ago, I would laugh if someone told me I can actually write (and finish!) a 20K story. I did that last year. This year, I already finished one 20K story, I have another one to write with a September deadline, I have the ECP in the works (hopefully to be finished by the end of the year).

Not to mention my thesis, which also needs to be written by the end of the year, first bigbang story needs to be edited by July... My writing calendar looks more and more busy.

I love the feeling!

Recently, Linda Formichelli over at The Renegate Writer posted "3 Excuses That Are Keeping You from a Successful Freelance Writing Career" and then asked "What’s Your Excuse?" I decided to answer her question, since I seem to fit her criteria. I have a full time job, writing on the side, earning not much.

Here's why I'm keeping my full time job, why I don't bid on jobs, why I don't send in query letters to big publications, why I write for sites like Helium and Suite101, which pay for page views to my articles and ad-click and require a huge amount of articles to actually turn a good profit:


1. SCHOOL
I'm still pursuing my degree. With a high tuition, I cannot afford a month or two with lower income. Till I graduate, I have to have the safety net that is a steady income from my full time job. To add to that, I'm currently writing my thesis (or... trying, most of the time), that and the regular exams and classes take up a lot of my attention. Attention I cannot afford to give other things at the moment.

It's very possible that once I graduate (and decide not to continue my academic career), I will reevaluate my stance and change the ways I do things right now.

2. PASSIVE INCOME
I have to admit. I am fascinated by the concept of passive income. Even more, I'm completely in love with it. When I had long periods of time when I hadn't written anything and Helium still paid me, I was so high with happiness, it's difficult to describe. And as an extracurricular activity, it's perfect for me.

3. LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY
I'm not going to hide this. Writing short informative articles are easy. I'm writing them mostly from my own experience. It's quick and easy and after a long day at work, the last time I need is stress over deadlines (I have enough of that on my fiction projects)

4. SHORT STORIES, NOVELS
Apart from non-fiction articles and projects, I also write fiction. Short stories, a novella a year for my Fandom bigbang. Sometimes I need to put everything on the side and spend an entire day finishing my story, because OMG there's a deadline! Sometimes I simply need to ignore everything else and put my fiction projects before everything else.
If I had big clients (or any clients at all, in fact), I wouldn't be able to do it. I would have to deliver first to those that trusted me with their projects and paid me obsene amounts of money for my services. I dont deal well with guilt.

5. I ACTUALLY LOVE MY JOB
Yeah. You read that right. I actually love my full time job. And I enjoy it. A lot. Not only that, I know there is still so much I can learn about International Education. I just don't want to miss out on that.

6. NON-US CITIZEN
This means two things. Some writing jobs are out of my reach becaue I cannot fill in the W9 and those other American tax related forms. And due to exchange rates, what may seem like a small payout for American writers is actually a nice one for me. Yes, I recognize that this argument also means that a nice and big payouts for Americans would mean huge ones for me.

FINAL NOTE
I realize that Freelance Writing is not a career for me right now. But it's not a hobby either. I think, in my mind, it's more of a side project. I still want to succeed in it. I still want to develop my skills in various areas and meet people. But I don't live and breathe Freelance Writing yet. There is this one point, my graduation, when I'll be seriously rethinking my approach to life and my future career.

Right now, I have so many plans, writing projects, novels, ebooks, articles etc.
Hopefully, I can achieve at least some of them while still working and being at school.

Discovering Suite101 - First Impressions

I already posted about Associated Content politely telling Non-US writers they don't want us there. I basically spent the day before yesterday trying to figure out where I'm standing and where I want to go.

Since I'm currently freelancing only part-time, I prefer to write more for sites that can offer me some passive income, so I can build up on my portfolio and not stress about having to write something or I won't be able to pay the bills.

Still, I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket. That was the only reason while, even though I'm writing for Helium, and I quite enjoy it, I started to write for Associated Content. I didn't want to get all my revenue from one place, in case something happened. Well guess what, something happened. Just not with Helium.

Since AC gave me a choice to keep writing for free until I can apply for their Feature Writer possition, or I can move on.

I decided to move on.

Suite101 is a website I ran across back in 2008 when I was just starting writing articles for the Internet. It was a bit scary, required me to submit two writing samples and threatened with editors and weird submission policies. Back then I went with Helium, which seemed much more newbie friendly.

But two years later, with numerous clips and a lot of experience, I decided to see if Suite101 would make for a good home. I revised their hiring policy, and how one could actually earn with them. Because, let's be honest, I might love writing, but this I do for money.

And so, yesterday, I created a profile, and wrote my very first article for Suite101. Because I know a lot about studying aborad, that is exactly what my article was about. I wrote about finding good study abroad programs. We'll see how it will go.

According to Suite101 rules, I have to write 10 articles every three months, more if I'd like to become a Feature Writer. What's new for me, is the fact that I'm being paid a percentage of the ad-click revenue. Meaning the page views aren't as important. It's people clicking on ads on my articles that will be bringing me money. I don't know how I feel about it. I know I won't be earning huge amounts right away, I've read both incredible earning stories and those more depressing ones.

For now, I'm a bit shy about this new place, I want to try it out, see what works there and what doesn't. I'll definitely keep you updated.

New AssociatedContent Policy regarding Non-US writers

While I was deep at work finishing the story with the May 1st deadline, I got a surprising email on my inbox.

AssociatedContent was messaging me to inform me of their new and improved policy regarding Non-US writers.

See, I don't hide the fact that I am from Europe. I know that in the online job market the fact that I don't have a Social Security number does mean I miss on some of the opportunities available to my US writing counterparts.

When I decided to check AssociatedContent to see if the site worked for me, I knew that as a European I wouldn't be eligible for their Upfront Payment. But the passive income was still available to me. Meaning I would still get paid for my work.

Well, according to the email I received, that will no longer be the case:

After evaluating our payment policies in regard to international Contributors, our legal team has determined that Associated Content must immediately start withholding a portion of all international Performance Payments pursuant to U.S. tax laws. Due to the cost involved in this process, we can only offer continued Performance Payments to international Contributors enrolled in Associated Content’s Featured Contributors program.

Contributors who are not enrolled as a Featured Contributor, or are not accepted into this program, will no longer be able to earn Performance Payments from Associated Content as of May 1, 2010. If this applies to you, you will receive a final Performance Payment on May 12, 2010 for your page views through April 30, 2010 (if your balance exceeds the current $1.50 payment threshold).

If you are not currently enrolled as a Featured Contributor, we encourage you to apply now. Please note that the program requires you to have top-notch writing skills, and a strong body of work in one of our featured topic areas. You can read all the details and apply to one of the programs here. Note: There is no deadline for applying to the program, but you will not be able to earn further payment until/unless you are accepted.

If you are accepted into the program, you will be asked to submit a United States W-8BEN tax form, enabling Associated Content to withhold earnings on Performance Payments pursuant to U.S. tax laws. In addition, your earning threshold will increase from $1.50 to $100, meaning Associated Content will only process Performance Payments when the total payment balance passes $100. The good news: As a Featured Contributor, you will receive high value assignme nts every month, and will continue earning Performance Payments on all content published.

What that means for me, is that I basically need to continue to write for them, for free, to build up a portfolio in one of their categories to be able to apply for this Feature Contributor possition. And then, I may or may not be accepted. If I am, they will start paying me only for the pageviews, but I won't see the money unless I reach $100...

And they will take away portions of the money I earn.

To be honest, I don't really know how to proceed now. The articles I already published there will no longer bring me any money, unless I decide to tie myself down to the site that doesn't offer me all that many options. I can't delete my content from the site. I don't know if I want to even apply for the Feature Contributor position.

It's basically a weird situation where I can't decide what should be my nesxt step. So, basically, if you have any ideas, please share them.

Defining sick leave

Boy, I think I redefined sick leave. If this was a regular 9 to 5 job I would most likely get fired by now. But after the rather difficult flu, I hit a complete writer's block.

To be perfectly honest I'm still trying to cope as far as my fiction writing goes (the problem is it's not going at all...). And with a deadline just 10 days away, I'm slowly starting to panic. I have to finish this story because it's a big part of my fiction writing plan this year. If I fail,I'll probably won't find the strenght to finish the story at all...

So that's that.

I'm also a bit (a lot) behind on my thesis writing. Again, the deadlines are a bit hectic and I should really turn in *something* just so that my supervisor doesn't get mad. One would think with writing about what I do, the thesis would be easy.
No, not really.

And finally, the area where I actually HAVE written something.
My non-fiction writing seems to be... going is such a strong word... crawling forward. The goal of 40 articles by the end of the year is still there.

I wrote a review of Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and a list of 10 movies worth watching with your Mom during Mother's Day.

Additionally, I have several ideas for more articles, but I'm not certain if I shouldn't wait with them and concentrate on the story and (maybe :-P) my thesis first...

Wish me luck

Freelancer on sick leave

For the last two weeks I've been battling the flu. Not the swine flu or anything, but the regular, nasty kind. You know, the usual: fever, headache, feeling as if you'll cough out your lungs... I'm all better now, thank you.

My point isn't what type of flu I had. It's more the fact that during those two weeks I have written... nothing. Zilch, Zero, Nul. Exactly 0 words in two weeks. No progress on my short stories, nothing new on the bigger project. No research done, no articles published.

I basically disappeared from the face of the Earth and am still recovering and trying to wrap my head around all the things that didn't get done during my "sick leave".

And while I recover it's unlikely I'll start writing with the previous speed right away. To be perfectly honest it's unlikely I'll write anything before February starts. And that means that the only money I earned was at the very beginning of the month and whatever passive income I made off of Helium and AssociatedContent.

Which, in turn, made me wonder, how would it all look like if I didn't have the full time job and income from that to fall on. It made me wonder about all those deadlines I would have to meet despite the high fever that made thinking seem like a superhuman ability. The image that appeared in my mind was quite scary, to be honest.

I don't get seriously ill too often. It's basically once a year, twice if I'm really stressed and tired. So it's between two and four weeks out of the entire year when I wouldn't be able to earn any money, not counting the passive income. Not factoring in the fact that I would work a lot more with actual clients, if I was pursuing the freelance career full-time, it means that four weeks in a year I would risk deadlines, disappointed clients and any future income they could've bring me.

All this paints a rather depressing image of what could happen to me and my career if I dare to have a flu while working fulltime as a freelancer. It does not encurage me in any way to quit my office job and switch completely to freelancing.

Are there ways to ensure that if you get sick your career won't fall into pieces? What failsafes one can instal into the business model to give oneself time to recover?

Anyone?

Write what you know and how I had

If you start reading various sites that are designed to help writers, sooner or later all of them will mention one thing.

That you should write what you know.

Which is also exactly what I tell people when they are looking for inspiration for an article or a blog post (If they need help with fiction, I send them to the Almost Totally Random Prompt Generator). And I also followed that advice, always picking the article topics I knew something about. Mostly because it required less research from me, and we all know time is money.

After I gave it some thought, at the very beginning of my freelance adventure, I decided to write about something I know and what other people are no doubt interested in. Writing.

You can see my interest in that topic from the numerous posts at Scribophile (when I was still writing for them) and from my various articles at Helium and AssociatedContent.

But recently I decided to start sharing my knowledge about another topic I'm quite familiar with. Studying Abroad.
Apart from being a freelancer, I have a full time job at the University where I work with international students and help students of our University apply for different student exchange programs. That means I not only have the know-how, but I also know quite well what the students are most interested in.

So just to see what would happen, I wrote the first article in December (How important is studying abroad for your career?). I was surprised to see it become one of my top earning articles. So to continue with the experiment, I wrote three more articles (yes, an article a day. It happened without me realizing it):

Determining if studying abroad is right for you
Advice to people thinking of studying abroad
Studying abroad without blowing your budget

Each of them turned out to be among my most popular articles. I am THRILLED.

And just because I didn't want to slow down when I'm on the roll, I did something about one of my New Year's Resolutions and I created a Helium Zone connected to, you guessed right, studying abroad.

You can easily say that three days into the 2010 I'm rediscovering how awesome it is to track my statistics.

So when next time you read how you should write what you know, BELIEVE IT.

First steps into the new 2010

I hope your holidays were relaxing and enjoyable. I know mine were. And even though I gave in to the general laziness and haven't written a word, I managed to actually sit down and think about where I want to take my writing in the upcoming year.

Resolutions for 2010:

- Write enough Reviews to finally get paid at ReviewStream.com
It's embarassing to say, but I completely ignored that site in favour of other revenue sources. But it feels like wasting the money I already earned there. So this year (hopefully sooner than later), I resolve to write enough reviews of pretty much everything to qualify for payment. The minimum payout is $50, which is the highest among all the sites I write for.

- Experiment and create a Zone at Helium
Zones are a feature that has been introduced at Helium this year and I have to say,I've been a little unsure as to what to do with them. But recently I got an idea for a zone that could not only work, but remain within my area of expertise and interest. I'll need to research the topic of zones a bit more before doing something, but it's definitely worth checking out.

- Publish an e-book
A few months ago I got an idea for a non-fiction e-book for newbie freelance writers with extra information for freelancers not located in the US. I then set myself a goal of finishing it by June 2010. But with writing my thesis, it appears it would be safer to assume August 2010 for the first draft and October 2010 for publication. Nonetheless, the idea isn't lostand will very much happen.

- Write at least 40 new articles
Last year, I've written 34 articles. With other writing projects (the e-book and fiction that I write) I think it's a very realistic goal. For full time freelancers this is of course not nearly enough to be able to support yourself on your writing, but if adding the passive income I have from articles already written, it should be a nice additional income.

I also reviewed the year 2009 using an article I've written in December 2008. 6 New Year's Resolutions for Freelancers. I was pleased to see that I managed to do most of what I invited other people to try.

And on that happy note, I hope your New Year's resolutions will come true. Good luck in the New Year 2010!!

Creativity, productivity and December in general

Half way through December and I don't feel like slowing down at all. It might be the fact that Christmas are closer and closer and I will finally have some time off before I have to go back to work, or maybe simply seeing the results of my work makes me all warm and fuzzy inside...

Chris, over at Chrisblogging, posted an interesting question, whether or not Freelance writers need a business plan. That post made me think, because it's an interesting dillemma.

By all means, a writer needs a business plan like a fence needs a hole; which is: not much. But once said writer decides to go freelance, decides to earn money with his or her writing, a business plan should be among the first things they write.

See, in my opinion, once you decide to make money with your writing, you need to start thinking about your writing as a business. And treat it as such. Numerous pro bloggers and freelance writers agree on this one. If you don't treat your writing as a business, it won't bring you much money.

I wrote a business plan for myself, when I decided to start freelancing. I took into the account the fact that I have a rather limited writing time, at the moment, that I work fulltime and I don't want to quit my job just yet, and I had to remember that I study on the weekends, so I can use that time to move my writing forward.

To be honest, I completely forgot about my little business plan untill that question, Chris posted. It also promtem me to join in on the fun and I wrote a small article on how writers can create a business plan. I hope those of you who haven't yet attempted a business plan will find it useful. It's definitely good to set up long-term and short-term goals and set up some sort of a road to success.

To move to other topics I wanted to cover.

While I already told you how nice it was to see that despite my complete lack of activity anywhere I earned money at Helium anyway. The truth is both Helium and AssociatedContent earned me money, but only Helium saw such a nice increase in the revenue. But in no way, I want to just sit around and hope for the best during December.

I already wrote four new articles and I'm in no way done for the month.

Practical guide to visiting Madrid, Spain
Creating writer's business plan
How to choose a blog name
How important is studying abroad for your career?

I also have several ideas for other articles, only hoping I'll have enough time to write them all.

I'm also thinking about reevaluating the business plan I wrote, adapt it to my current situation and the goals that changed a bit since the first time I decided to make money with my writing.

If it so happens that I don't post again before Christmas, I want to wish you all Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and good luck in the New Year.

Residual income vs upfront payment

I did mention in my previous post the big dicussion about content mills that's been making its rounds around the freelance community. I've also expressed my opinion in various places, which is that I have nothing against content mills, I quite enjoy them in fact. I can understand writers who are strongly against, quoting low, "insufficient" pay, hourly rates or pay-per-word. It all valid arguments.

Me? I enjoy the fact that Helium paid me in November, even though I hadn't written a word. I like to know I can write on any subject that strikes my fancy for AssociatedContent and still have those article bring me a penny or two. And I fully intend to post articles I'll be writing formy ebook online, before gathering them all in one nicely done pdf file.

Passive income is definitely something I will be pursuing even after I move to bigger projects. Simply because I know that while I'm not getting paid immediately after writing the article, those articles will be earning money for me over and over again, even years into the future.

Obviously, another revenue stream I considered is upfront payment. The lack of it available for non-US citizens such as myself made me ignore AssociatedContent for a long time. I did get a taste of being paid for my articles when I soldmy article at Helium Marketplace and when I was writing Press Releases for one of the online SEOs companies. It was an interesting experience. I certainly learned about bidding for jobs, applying and selecting samples.

The rejection is still something I'm not entirely sure how to deal with, but it is a part of a freelance life. And since upfront payments are something I want to explore further and soon, it's something I need to familiarize myself with. Though, hopefully, I won't have to (yes, I'm staying possitive).

Nonetheless, I decided to look for something long term (as I prefer to stick to one place... It's in my nature, you might say) and I applied to Lovetoknow.com.
Now, most of the writers out there would probably call that site a "content mill" and they would probably be right. The site pays $20 per article of min. 650 words. It's not the highest price for an article, though it is one of the highest upfront payments on content mills I've seen. They also require a lot of commitment, but I applied for "Study Abroad" section and "Travel"; categories I have a lot of experience in and I love them dearly. I'll keep you updated, of course (hopefully they both will like my application and hire non-US writers).