|
free*lance: n (1820) 1 a. usu free lance: a mercenary soldier esp. of the Middle
Ages: condotierre.
Editor: Michael A. Casano
Publisher: George Giokas/StaffWriters Plus, Inc.
Welcome to -30-, found exclusively at the StaffWriters Plus Web site. One of the most
common challenges faced by freelance writers today is keeping up with the latest trends
within the industry and the changing needs of their customers. This is where -30- will
help. Each installment of -30- will deal with a topic or issue of interest to the freelance
community, from ideas on how to grow your current client base to techniques that can enhance
the quality of your work. We hope you find -30- a useful tool in your pursuit of new business.
We also look forward to hearing from you. Please submit your messages and thoughts for future
articles to (info@staffwriters.com).
ABOUT OUR NAME:
Reporters used the symbol -30- at the end of their typewritten copy to indicate to editors
that they have reached the last word.
IN THIS ISSUE:
In this issue of -30-, our main story takes a look a successful corporate communications
writer Mary Moreno, the author of a recently published guide to corporate writing. And our
Q&A looks at Susan Saunders, a writer who has had hobnobbed with some pretty famous characters.
BETWEEN FEEDING THE MUSE AND PAYING THE BILLS
by Michael A. Casano
It's Friday night. You've spent the last two weeks working on a client's video script
and are now ready to return to writing that novel you've worked on for what seems like an
eternity. Suddenly, your phone rings. It's the same client. The ad concepts due next week
must now be written for a Monday morning sales meeting. So much for the novel.
Sound familiar? This scenario is all too common for successful corporate writers who
are also aspiring screenwriters, playwrights and novelists. Their popularity among clients
carries with it an understandable dilemma: the more they are in demand, the less time they
have to explore more personal writing. Inevitably, it leaves most writers frustrated, feeling
they have to sacrifice their own work to handle assignments that "pay the bills."
Freelance corporate communications specialist Mary Moreno is all too aware of this conflict.
Moreno is a Manhattan-based writer with more than 15 years of experience in corporate communications.
As an author, her most recent book, "The Writer's Guide to Corporate Communications," contains
comprehensive information for freelance writers looking to succeed in the corporate field.
Along with handling client demands and running her own business, Moreno still finds time for
her own creative projects. She regularly writes screenplays, short stories and songs, and even
takes a writing workshop or two.
"I love working on several things at once," said Moreno. "It keeps me from getting bored,
even with my creative projects. I've been working on a number of drafts for one screenplay I've
been writing. Sometimes if I have a lot of time to work on it, I'll be kind of cold with it. So,
if I'm juggling it with a couple of other things, I'm really happy to get back to it."
But how does Moreno successfully balance her personal projects and her corporate work? She
believes the key is not to consider each a separate style of writing. Instead, she lets them
feed off each other and, in turn, spark her own creativity.
Adds Moreno: "I think that any kind of writing exercises your creative muscles in some way.
For example, when I write a corporate film and video, I am still writing a script for characters
and dialogue. In fact, one of the most creative projects I ever did was a documentary on Mayan
civilization. And it was corporate."
A common concern many business writers have is that the creative energy spent on corporate
projects takes away from the creativity available for personal work. Moreno disagrees.
"We are an inexhaustible source of creativity," said Moreno. "You just need to know how to
get in touch with it, refresh it and call it up at will. That's especially true in corporate
communications. You can't just turn in a piece of schlock because it's deadline time. You have
to come up with something good."
Over the years, Moreno has developed a series of mediation and visualization exercises to
help refresh her when she becomes tired or distracted during projects. She also recognizes the
importance of knowing when to take a break between assignments.
"If I have a corporate project that keeps me working around the clock on a weekend, then I
might take Monday off and on Tuesday go back to my personal writing," said Moreno. "That way it's
not necessarily that I'm writing six hours on my corporate writing, and four hours on my creative
projects on the same day. I also like to get up in the middle of the night and write, often going
to sleep at 10:00 p.m. and waking up at 2:00 a.m. and write until maybe 4 or 5."
What is something any writer can do to spark creativity? Moreno suggests taking a walk to
completely clear your mind of anything. That can usually release creativity and get your writing
back on track. For the long term, writing workshops may also be a useful tool because they set
specific deadlines for work to be handed in.
While knowledgeable, Moreno freely admits there were times during her career where she wasn't
able to balance her schedule. When Moreno worked as a full-time writer and producer at Avon
Cosmetics, she was kept pretty busy during the day because of meetings and product reviews. As
a consequence, she would often either stay late at the office or work at home on specific scripts,
limiting time to work on her own projects.
"I did go through a period of total resentment about this situation for about a year, but I
coped with it," remembered Moreno. "Then I gradually turned my thinking around and got myself to
the point where I was really enjoying my job. And when I changed my attitude, suddenly I was able
to accommodate my creative work. So, I think attitude and creativity are kind of interlinked."
Regardless of your situation, the one thing Moreno stresses is not to use being a corporate
writer as the reason for not succeeding with your personal writing. Instead, remember that corporate
communications writing is an opportunity to sharpen your skills and practice your craft, while at
the same time supplement your dreams of more commercial writing.
"What you should realize is that full-time writers of screenplays and novels face the same
issues that freelance business writers do," said Moreno. "You're going to have to push your book
at bookstores and talk to people during your speaking tours. So, in essence, learn your business
sense through the freelance writing you're doing because if you're looking down the road to be a
screenwriter, you'll find you're going to have to use those very same skills."
Copyright © 1998 Michael Casano
FROM THE FRONT
by Christine Montemurro
Not many people can list Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy as former co-workers, but Susan Saunders
can. A 1988 graduate of Emory University, Saunders spent seven years with the classic Muppet
characters while working as marketing manager for Jim Henson Productions. While at Henson,
Saunders was able to handle a variety of responsibilities in the development of Muppet video
projects.
Since leaving Jim Henson Productions two years ago to pursue freelance writing full time, Susan
has prospered, working for various clients ranging from Dean Witter Reynolds to the Arthritis
Foundation. She also continues to work on developing story ideas for children's books, already
having written two joke books for young people.
Q: What was it like working for Jim Henson Productions?
SUSAN:It was a great learning experience. I was exposed to all areas of business. Because the company was small, it was easier to be involved
in other areas. The opportunity was just great.
Q: It sounds like a great working environment. What made you decide to become a freelancer?
SUSAN: After working for seven years, I felt that it was time. I had worked hard for someone else and wanted to go out on my own. I enjoy being my own
person now. I have become a better salesperson because I had to sell myself in the right way.
Q: What skills do you feel are necessary to become a successful freelancer?
SUSAN: You definitely need to learn the business side, like marketing, not only for
other people, but for yourself as well. You need to be disciplined, survive on little hours
of sleep, be able to deal with a lot of different personalities, and quick to understand people's
styles. Also, you need to adapt to different environments.
Q: What do you feel is the greatest obstacle facing freelancers?
SUSAN: When you work at home it is hard to convince people that you really are working!
I have received [some negative] comments about being a freelancer because people don't think
that you have a real job. If you don't work for a corporation, people don't take you seriously.
Q: How do you set your fees?
SUSAN: I think setting fees is the most difficult part of the job (for me) because I prefer
to work on a per project basis instead of against the clock. I set my fees usually with a
client's budget and then work within their realms. It also depends if a project is receiving
national or international exposure. My freelance agency also negotiates fees. It was harder at
the beginning because I relied more on my clients.
Q: What is a typical day for you?
SUSAN: No day is typical. Some days I work on assignments, go after new clients, or handle
personal projects. I have recently been working in the office so I have a lot of meetings
with clients. I don't feel like I'm working alone.
Q: How does the writing process work for you?
SUSAN: Each assignment is different in that that there really isn't a process. All projects
require a different approach. I brainstorm and think of anything and everything. Eventually
that leads to other ideas and then I fine-tune it.
Q: What do you do if you struggle with a piece?
SUSAN: If I see that I'm not producing, I'll leave a project and do something
else. I don't think specifically of it when the answers come to me.
Q: What gives you the greatest satisfaction of being a freelance writer?
SUSAN: Going out and landing a new client and providing them with something that you created
all by yourself. Also, going out and doing something that others are afraid to do.
Q: How do you budget your time when you have to balance more than one client?
SUSAN: Sometimes you have to take each piece by itself and put the other projects aside. Most
importantly, you have to stick to deadlines.
Q: Do you regret anything? Would you change the way you have done things?
SUSAN: No, not at all. I have learned more alone in the two and a half years that I've been a
freelancer. I had several opportunities to go back to (working) full time but I am used to the
luxury of being my own person. I don't have to answer to anyone.
Q: What advice can you give to other writers?
SUSAN: Believe in yourself because you're your own product, and project an image that will help
you get more clients.
Copyright © 1998
Scribbler's Scrapbook
by Melanie Hauser
I did a very shameful thing the other day.
It was one of those good days, writing-wise. The kids were at school; the phone didn't ring;
there wasn't anything tempting on TV. I sat at the keyboard for hours immersed in work, as
thoughts and ideas no sooner occurred to me than did the perfect words fly from my fingertips
to describe them. Man, I was smokin'.
When I turned my computer off that afternoon, it was with a sense of satisfaction. I eagerly
looked forward to the morrow, modestly certain that genius would again emerge.
Then I looked at the calendar, and gasped. Genius would have to wait. On the morrow, yon
authoress had volunteered to chaperone her first grader's class picnic.
Oh, the injustice of it all! Genius would have to be postponed, and as we all know, has a sneaky
way of disappearing for weeks on end. I moaned and grumbled about the rest of the afternoon.
Until my son appeared, tired and cranky, right before dinner. I felt his forehead (warm),
looked in his throat (dark and mysterious; I never know what I'm looking for when I check
down there, but I know I'm supposed to), and felt suddenly hopeful.
If he was sick tomorrow, he couldn't go to the picnic. And if he couldn't go, I couldn't go!
I could stay home and work! I could just picture it, my sick (but not too sick) child
sleeping all day, leaving my free to create! Reinvigorated, I rushed around the kitchen
fixing dinner, humming a little song, feeling my son's forehead from time to time.
When my husband came home, I shared with him my day, and confided my plans for tomorrow.
He looked at me dubiously. "Do you mean," he said slowly, "you actually want our son to be
sick so you can stay home and write?"
"We-ell, I wouldn't put it that way," I tried to weasel, but I knew he spoke the truth.
Yes, I did want my son to be sick (but not too sick), so I could write. I hung my head in
shame. I was the most horrible mother who ever lived.
But I couldn't stop hoping for it to be true. And do you know what?
That evening, he broke out in chicken pox. And as I drove to the drugstore to load up
with calamine lotion, pain reliever and many comic books to assuage my guilt, I couldn't
help but giggle a little at my good fortune.
However, as you may suspect, the morrow did not turn out quite as I envisioned.
You see, a child in the first stages of chicken pox is not really that sick. He doesn't itch
yet, the fever is gone, he's not on any medication that causes drowsiness. In short, if he is
seven and misses his brother and not very good at amusing himself, he is kind of a pain in the
neck.
My much-anticipated rendezvous with genius went something like this:
(Type a couple of sentences). "Mom! Can I have another breakfast?"
(Complete a paragraph. Start to review it.) "No, son, don't watch cartoons down here. Mommy
is trying to work!"
(Actually finish a page.) "Mom! Guess what? I have the big dipper on my stomach!"
After confirming that yes, indeed, the pox on his belly did resemble that particular
constellation, I realized three hours had passed. I had one poorly conceived and written
page finished, and it was time for an oatmeal bath (for him, not me). I turned my computer
off and did not turn it back on for another five days.
Is there a moral to this? Probably. I didn't earn any mother-of-the-year points by wishing
sickness upon my son. On the other hand, it's not a terrible thing to be happy in your work
and look forward to the process, confident in your ability to tell a wonderful story or unearth
an important truth.
But just be careful of what you wish for.....
Copyright © 1998 Melanie Hauser
Past Issues:
[March '00 Newsletter]
[December '99 Newsletter]
[June '99 Newsletter]
[April '99 Newsletter]
[February '99 Newsletter]
[November '98 Newsletter]
[September '98 Newsletter]
[June '98 Newsletter]
|
"JOB SCOUT: Weekday: February 15, 2010"
