Doing the hard stuff...every day

As writers, we write. But we're also salesmen and women and marketers of our word products. Not everyone likes to 'sell,' though. My daughter told me once that she could never be a salesperson. I shot back, and with fervor, that she is a salesperson every day; she sells me on ordering pizza instead of cooking, or going to the library today, not tomorrow.

The subject of an e-newsletter I received today reminded me of the difference between successful salespeople, and those who fail. Neither likes to do the hard stuff like make cold calls, or talk to prospects who aren't friendly or nice to them. But---and here's the winning difference---the successful salespeople do those things, anyway.

Tim, my television advertising sales manager, was first a salesman for the station. He was phenomenally successful (he told me once it was because "they didn't tell me I couldn't be successful"). I rode with him when I first started and observed how he handled himself on his calls. Whether he said it in these words or not, his message was always the same: Mr. Businessowner, you don't just want to stay in business, you want to grow your business, and I have what you need to accomplish that. Tim kept those balls in the air, prospecting, making callbacks to cranky or nice businesses, whatever it took. He was a guy to imitate.

His style translates to the writing business, as well. That magazine editor who wants profiles of women doing the extraordinary needs content to fill each issue. I have the story that will accomplish that need.

I constantly keep in mind that what I write, I must sell. To sell it, I have to market myself and my product. Sure, I'd prefer to skip the marketing part and just write. But if I want to be a successful work-at-home writer, I have to do the hard stuff, too.

Things getting intense? Take a break...

As you build your work-at-home writing business, your income may be---how shall I say it?---puny, nearly non-existent. In the early days of establishing yourself, you'll spend more time looking for markets than writing. Good opportunities for making a living as a work-at-home writer do exist (check out the links). More than likely, hitting the big time won't come right away. Keeping those balls in the air, like my old sales manager Tim used to tell me, is the long road to success.

Most workdays will be intense, fretful. Bills are piling up, and there's more space in the fridge than food. Should I be searching for a day job, you ask yourself (maybe daily, at first), or can I make it in this crazy world of wordsmithing? Your batteries are running low and need to be recharged. Money's tight and jetting to the Caribbean isn't an option...for now. You still need a cheap getaway.

My answer? To turn off the computer, pop in a classic old movie (my favorite), and lose myself in the moment. Oh, and grab a healthy snack and cool beverage. I'm ready to do just that soon. My choice will probably be, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House." (I like the word dream). Cary Grant's comic genius is not to be missed. It's not far-fetched to believe that one art---whether it's acting, music, photography---can inspire the art of writing. I expect to be rejuvenated, ready to race for the page and create anew when the last scene plays. All thanks to Cary who did what he did so skillfully that I want to duplicate it in the art I've chosen.

What Winston Churchill said...

We all learn little tricks to keep our feet on the path, and our toes pointed straight ahead to the goal we're headed for. Seems no job needs those helps more than a writer working from his or her home office. It gets lonely sitting there, facing the page. Some days, the writing goes well; some days, not so well. Some days, finding markets goes well, some days, it doesn't go at all.

I rifled through my happy quotes today for a little inspiration. Here's one I like, compliments of Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." He packed a lot of good stuff in those words, don't you think?

When he uttered those words, he was probably thinking of the B-I-G picture---winning the war for England and the rest of the world. Like the lyrics in the love songs that you know were written just for you, this quote seems to have been written for me.

The words tell me not just to have the courage to keep a-going'; they're telling me that when I do get there not to get too high-and-mighty, 'cuz it ain't gonna last forever. It's a humbling thought, one I'll be sure to remember.

Whine, but only a little

Crummy days. No matter where you work, in an outside office, or at home, you get 'em. Yesterday was my crummy day, one of the worst. (Note to reader: Do feel free to unload details of a crummy day you've lived through, and how you survived it.)

What happened to bring on this whine session? Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

I sent countless e-mail follow-ups (Dear Editor: Will you be able to use the piece I sent three months ago? You prefer single as opposed to simultaneous submissions, and I just wondered if...), tried to locate sources for another project, froze the computer twice on a research mission, left phone messages to set up interviews, and, zip, nothin'. By the way, part of e-mail's allure is that responses are instantaneous, right? So...where are they? Is anybody home???

As my Mother and Rock of Gibraltar would have said, Simmer down, you!

So I did. That small action actually saved the day. Look at the situation through their lens, I told myself. I may be in a hurry for a reply, but maybe they're waiting for a reply before they can get back to me. My Solution: Be patient a little longer.

Then I asked myself, Have I really researched that market well enough to place a piece there? Solution: Do like the guidelines say; study the publication first. Then submit.

Finally, this burning question begged for an answer. Undoubtedly, I have the passion to write and be read. But do I also have the passion to slog through the valleys as well as enjoy the peaks? Solution: Take a closer look at my commitment.

It takes more than writing well to be a successful freelance writer. It takes perseverance, day in, day out, crummy days or no.

No pressure, no diamonds. That's Mary Case's simple but profound gem. Four words that could have helped me skip that whine party.

When NOT to Give Up

When do you NOT give up? When you're hot...when you've sold something. When you're not hot...when you're not selling anything. Whether you work at home as a writer, photographer, artist, designer, baker extraordinaire, it's advice that could likely save you from wondering why incoming projects have dried up. It's advice I learned the hard way...

For quite a few years, I was a television account exec for a CBS-affiliate station. My territory took me to parts of three states. I cold-called on businesses in tiny towns, mid-sized towns, and a few bigger towns.

I loved one town in particular, a rivertown, population 17,000. The people there were genuine, and had a lot of town spirit. I met the businessman who was the center of influence, and through him, rolled out the campaign idea that 126 businesses signed into. It was one of the best campaigns that had ever hit that part of the state. I poured extra effort into it. For five straight weeks, I thought of little else. I met with 126 businessowners, wrote most of their copy, snapped all of the photos. I was passionate about my purpose there. Sure, the money would be nice. More importantly, I wanted their advertising investment to pay off, help their businesses prosper.

Over and over, my sales manager patted me on the back. A couple times, the station manager congratulated me, even smiled at me (something he rarely did). I couldn't spend the kudos I received, of course, but they were a nice affirmation of my work.

I was a hot commodity. But one who'd forgotten a key element to future success: Don't stop when you're ahead. No one had taught me that part of sales, to live not just for the moment but for the next one, and the one after that.

I never repeated that success. I'd lost my momentum.

Something good did come from it, though. I've never repeated that mistake (others, just not that one). Now when I get a pat on the back, I thank God for the success...then return to the page.

Working at home, it's especially important not to get caught up in the successes. A better approach is to do what Tim, my sales manager, told me once: Keep those balls in the air. Translation: Produce, produce, produce.

Qualifications for a Work from Home Writer

One of my favorite quotes comes from Jessamyn West. "Talent is helpful in writing but guts are absolutely essential." In my opinion, she just defined a key qualification for work from home writers. Hers is a quote I keep on a 3x5 card, and read for a little quick inspiration. It came in handy today when I received an editor's response to an e-query I'd sent a few days ago.

The letter was brief. No, they can't use my piece. I didn't take the rejection personally. I know that editors need good writing to fill their pages, and even though I'd studied the magazine and their guidelines, the idea just wasn't right for them at this time. I sent him a quick thank-you-I'll-try-again e-mail.

Maybe that's what Jessamyn means, in part, by guts. The guts to put yourself back mentally as quickly as possible, and try again. For as long as it takes.

I sold television and radio advertising for a number of years. It, too, was tough, and I didn't have the guts right away to handle those not-so-subtle messages from businessowners 'Get-outta-here-I-don't-want-to-advertise-on-your-lousy-station.' Then Tim, my sales manager and a super-salesman, gave me the best piece of advice I've ever gotten: "Keep those balls in the air." Simple, huh? Tim defined that six-word inspiration like this: Make your cold calls, make proposals, and you'll get your percentage of the sales. It worked then, and it'll work in other sales settings. Writers are, after all, salesmen, too.

Talent is the foundation to your life as a writer. Guts build the house.

Think this positive thought

Finding work-at-home opportunities was fairly easy in pre-Internet days. Flip to the classifieds in the back of most magazines, and entrepreneurs found enticing possibilities like these:

Learn to repair plastic furniture or car seats. (First, you bought the program, and practiced, practiced, practiced with the materials they supplied);

Make doormats from used tires. (You merely cut tires you got free or bought for cheap into strips, then assembled them into attractive, useful mats);

Sew and sell baby bibs. (Even skilled seamstresses like my friend Kathy failed to sell her bibs back to the company.)

Not only did you have to be skilled enough to produce desirable products buyers wanted, you had to learn where to find those buyers. Every program required an investment. If you didn't succeed, more than likely, you were out the money. It was difficult to make a go of these businesses, let alone make and sell products consistently enough to say goodbye to the day job and the security of a steady income.

Writing is the best of the best at-home businesses, no doubt. Do it anywhere, full-time, part-time. This work-at-home job doesn't require an inventory of costly materials; instead, your inventory consists of ideas. And the market is big enough that you will find buyers of your product, your words.

Which leads me to this positive thought, by Wayne Dyer: "There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen."
Apply those 24 words to your writing (or making rubber mats from tires, for that matter) and you'll keep your feet on the path to success.

Working from home takes commitment

One of the perils of working from home is that it's so easy to put off the work we love in favor of the mundane things; weeding the garden, cleaning the cabinets, all necessary things, just not at the time you should be working. Procrastination is a good word for it. I know people can move beyond it. My Dad was a good example. According to my Mom, he was a huge procrastinator, maybe even a charter member. Yet, he achieved the highest educational level possible, the Ph.D. That gives me, a fellow member of Ye Olde Procrastinator's Club, lots of hope.

I just purchased Bob Bly's how-to e-book on writing e-books. In itself, it's no guarantee that I'll write income-producing e-books. That's where commitment comes in. Bob's e-books are comprehensive, and I know if I read it carefully, then get busy following his methods, I will have a pretty good chance of succeeding. It's all in the commitment.

Don't go your work-at-home writing life alone

Established: The writing life isn't the easy life, but it is the life that many of us want. As you face the page, it is you and you alone who sit there, so, in that respect, it is lonely. But, happily, we don't have to stay alone. Not with helps like these.

Like good writing publications (Writers Journal, ByLine, The Writer, and Writer's Digest, my favorites), where we're invited into the lives of others who have made the journey. We learn about their struggles, their problems and how they solved them; their low moments, their high ones; how they approach the good life they, too, have chosen to live. The magazines are valuable helpmates.

Along the way, I've found another enormous help, Filbert Publishing, an online resource, who publishes not only a fantastic, free e-zine, Writing, Etc; they publish e-books that provide knowledge designed to help you succeed at the writing life. We all need to stay upbeat, positive, and regularly think 'can-do' thoughts; like the monthlies and bi-monthlies I mentioned earlier, Filbert's publications help you stay in the zone.

I was giddy with anticipation when I read an ad for their new e-book, 101 No Cost (And Low Cost) Techniques to Turbo Charge Your Freelance Income. I could use a little turbo-charging, I admitted to myself, so I ordered it. I just have to say that it's everything I hoped it would be.

Don't go it alone if you want to succeed in this business. Surround yourself, as I do, with good books, magazines, e-helps. Let them inspire you, too!