Sway's Weekend Music Pick: "Over and Over" by Rachael Yamagata

When One Door Closes, The Next May Or May Not Slam In Your Face

In the weeks since the scenario mentioned in one of my most recent posts, in which I discuss losing a client I was previously writing online articles for, I've managed to pick up two new clients.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that, combined, they won't be paying me a whole lot more per month than my former single client was paying me. Although, the work will not be as constant. So I guess I should look at it as "a little more money for about two-thirds the work," right?

Meanwhile, I keep plugging away at my fitness instructor training. I just found out this week that the goal is to have me on the schedule as an instructor beginning in August -- which gives me about a month and a half to pysch myself up for that. Kind of nervous about all of that, but I'm sure it will be fine once I get rolling.

Also, as far as my financial earnings goal for 2011 is concerned ... We're halfway through the year, and I'm coming up about $3,000 short of where I want to be for my yearly earnings. But I'm fairly confident I can make that up throughout the third and fourth quarters ...

I tell you what ... never did I imagine, when I was an undergrad, that the business side of freelancing would be so involved. But it is, and I don't mind it. As long as the companies eventually pay me!

An In-Progress Knitted Citron In The Least Citrus-Like Color Possible

Pictured above: My scrunched-up, in-progress Citron shawl (pattern/completed version pictured here) alongside my iPhone for scale.

I was in need of some mindless knitting at the end of last week in time for the long weekend, and this project has been perfect -- in that it is simple and goes on forever, much like the never-ending-but-equally-beautiful Clapotis pattern ...)

It's similar to the Clapotis I knit for KT (way back when) in another way -- I'm using the exact same yarn: Naturally Caron Country in Deep Taupe (25% merino wool, 75% acrylic). Ever since I finished binding off the Clapotis, the last 1 and 3/4 skeins have been lurking in my stash, waiting to be found again.

I like this yarn a lot; it's easy to work with and has a very subtle sheen to it, which adds a bit of fun. I only slightly regret not going up one needle size (it's currently on 24-inch circular 6's), because I think the extra space in between the stitches would have fit the whimsy of the pattern a little better ... But then again, it is all scrunched up right now as it's still in progress. I think that after I finish, some blocking and a wee bit of stretching could do some good if need be.

Plus, this was my tester, just to see if I could pull off the pattern. For the next one, I'm thinking a much brighter, better-quality yarn. This looks tempting.

Everyone Knows You're Supposed To Fire People At The End Of The Day

I received some disappointing news yesterday morning -- first thing in the morning, no less -- which really cramped my productivity for the rest of the day.

It would seem a certain client of mine, an online publication, is scaling back its range of content. Feeling they've overextended the scope of their website, they have decided to cut certain sections, mine included. Complete bummer.

I've been writing for them on a daily basis for more than a year now, and I've worked hard to build up my contacts with different PR reps, various companies, brands, etc. It's disappointing now to know that next week I'll be publishing my last online article for them and then that will be that.

Not to mention, all the features I was planning on publishing in the upcoming months are now kaputtsville. And moving forward, all the pitches sent to me for the site are now going straight into my email account's "Trash" folder, and there will be the long transition during which I inform every relevant contact that I'll no longer be working in that capacity for that publication.

Fortunately, I'll be fine. Financially, the publication paid 22% of my total monthly earnings -- a significant amount, but still a percentage that I feel I can pick up again within a relatively short time because 1) I'm due for raises with some of my other clients and 2) I live with my boyfriend and even if I lost 100% of my total monthly earnings, I know he would not let me starve. (Mostly because he needs me around to cook the food he buys. Just kidding. Kind of.) And creatively, the client offered me a lot of freedom regarding what I wanted to feature on a daily basis, so that will certainly be missed. But you know what they say about proverbial doors opening and closing ...

Now I can take a breather and think about which direction I want to start heading. Do I want to publish the same kind of content on a daily basis but start my own website? Do I want to start my own website but publish a completely different kind of content? Do I want to use this opportunity to break into a totally new print or web market for myself? Do I want to write a book? Do I want to team up with another local writer/blogger and see what kind of damage we can do on this here interweb?

There are really so many possibilities; I get a little overwhelmed when I start thinking about all of my ideas at once. I'll have to spend the next few days and weeks weeding out all my bad ideas and narrowing my focus.

[Sway goes into her serious audiobook voice:] And so, in summation, letting go of a job you really cared about presents a variety of challenges as well as an opportunity to take some lessons to heart and experience personal growth.

Blah blah blah. What I'm trying to say is: If you're a newbie full-time writer, or you plan on becoming a newbie full-time writer in the near future, here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Diversify your client roster. Even if you only write about a single subject, i.e., gardening, travel, crafts, fashion, whatever, you never ever want all your income to come from a single source. Unless, of course, you have some kind of iron-clad contract with them or just happen to like surprise financial disaster emergencies.

2. In that same vein, it might help you to figure out for yourself what your monthly earning cap for any single client should be. This is a percentage that only you need to know, and only you can decide. For example, I know a writer who doesn't like for any one of his clients to make up more than 15% of his total monthly income. But this means that at any given time, he's juggling close to 10 different clients and numerous projects. However, some fields are more conducive than others to a large client base. If you write mainly for magazines, let's say, you might have a lot of different clients, because the time frames between submission and publication and payment are so long. On the other hand, if you're copy editing content that requires extremely tight turnaround, you may not be able to juggle nearly as many projects/clients.

3. Understand that you could lose your client at any given time. Not even because they don't like you or think you're bad at your job. You might be really, really good at your job. But the client may go under, their budgets may get cut, they may downsize your department (see above), or they could be taken in the rapture. You just never know, so plan accordingly. For example, if you've written almost 400 articles in a year for an online publication (my scenario), you should have been preserving your best content for your writer's portfolio as you went along. [Note: I did do this. Thank god.]

4. I repeat: Understand that you could lose your client at any given time. And actually, it's pretty much inevitable that you will, someday, for one reason or another. So save up some moolah while the checks are rolling in to float you during the times they're not.

OK, that's it, kids. Tune in next week when I discuss how to convince your parents, friends and other members of your family that yes, as a writer you do actually work every day during the week -- sometimes the weekends, too -- and yes, it is possible to earn a good, honest living at this.

Actually, I don't really know how to convince your family of all that stuff. If you're a writer, it doesn't matter what you say, they're just going to think you sleep all day anyway.

Just Like Vertical Horizon, I'm Still Here

Hello, and thank you for not leaving during the intermission.

So, I know I've been MIA for about ... oh, three months ... but I promise my hiatus has come to an end.

Here's what you missed during the break ...

-I turned 27 earlier this month.

-I wrote and copy edited. A lot.

-I've spent an infuriating amount of time tracking down payments from people who have "forgotten" to pay me or have "lost" my invoices.

-I took a weeklong trip to Hong Kong in March.

-I finally had a freelance month in which my gross earnings matched my former full-time monthly salary at the magazine (where I worked survived between 2008 and 2010). I'm singing the "Hallelujah" chorus right now as I type this, because that is seriously a HUGE achievement for me.

-I took a beginner's ballet class at my local community college this past spring semester.

-I began training to become a fitness instructor. (Not as a personal trainer; I'm being trained in a specific method, it's a kind of ballet barre/Pilates/yoga technique. If all goes well, I'll be teaching classes by the end of summer.)

-I joined the Arizona Chapter of Fashion Group International.

-I kicked my professional website/portfolio into high gear -- because man, that corner of the web needed organizing in a big, big way.

-And did I already mention I did a lot of writing and copy editing?

Next week it will have been one year ago exactly that I walked through the doors of the magazine for the last time (OK, so I've been back a few times to visit former co-workers since then, but those don't count) and officially began my freelance career. So what have I thought of the ride so far?

It's sucked.

Just kidding. It's actually been so rewarding that even though opportunities to apply for other full-time, in-house writing and editing positions have come along (and some of them have even been miiighty tempting) in the past 12 months, I've ultimately shrugged them all off. The truth is, once you become your own boss and see what that kind of life can be like, the idea of going back to a 9-to-5-er seems ridiculous.

Not to say this has been a picnic. And I think my boyfriend has probably forgotten what I look like without my laptop.

But, the need to occasionally detach from work is what drove me to get out of the house and take my ballet class a few times a week, plus go to classes at the fitness studio. Actually, I got so hooked on the fitness classes that the owner invited me to become an instructor. So now once a week I attend a workshop for about an hour and a half, in addition to taking three classes per week so that I don't lose my form. I'm also required to observe the instructors in a minimum of 10 classes, then I help with correcting clients for a minimum of eight classes, and then voila! I'll be telling people to get down and give me 20. Just kidding. We don't do that at the studio. We ask much more politely. And we do yoga pushups. Not military pushups. Actually, that's a lie. We do both. But still, we do ask much more politely.

OK, that's all for now. More tales from a writing and copy editing fitness instructor and knitter later.

Promise!

For KT (And Anyone Who Needs A Laugh)

Sway's Weekend Music Pick: "Down By The Water" by The Drums

New Terminology To Impress Your Magazine Industry Friends With

The past few weeks have been a blur of holiday gift guides and New Year's resolutions compilations.

Around this time every year, the whole magazine industry compresses. Publications that put out 12 issues a year have to do all the work they normally complete in four weeks in just three, and they have to do it two months back to back, in November and December. The December issue has to be on newsstands -- or at least off to the presses -- before Thanksgiving break, and the December issue has to be done before the holidays hit. I'll let you in on a secret: the technical term for this time of year is known in the industry as a "$#!^storm."

Needless to say, stress levels run high and sometimes it all gets to be a little too much. Maybe this explains why I've had a particularly rough month with a few of my clients. But then, I would argue that maybe you haven't really become a full-fledged, full-time freelancer until someone screams at you in all caps over e-mail for something that is ultimately determined to have not been your fault in the first place. Good times.

And admittedly, I have been no peach these past several days, either. I haven't screamed at anyone in all capital letters via e-mail ... My breakdowns have been more of the tearful, blubbering, sleep-deprived sort. On the up side, this has been my most (financially) successful freelance month since I began halfway through May. On the down side, it's taught me that working around the clock and being tethered to my iPhone during every daily activity is really no way to live. I think I've finally discovered that magical "threshold" I was looking for, the one where I have enough clients/projects on my plate and it's time to stop trying to acquire more unless I want to run myself into the ground.

I'm strongly considering trading in my credit card reward points for a "no one ask anything of me" kind of vacation over next summer. And if my boyfriend forgives me for blubbering at the most random things this past month, maybe he can even come, too. I'm thinking an island. Where there's no Wi-Fi signal and no cell phone reception. But not this island. That wouldn't help anything.

In the meantime, I think I need to finally stop saying "yes" to everything and learn when to say "no."

No.

See, there, I just did it.

No.

This will be easier than I thought.

Cissie

Last weekend was fashion week here. Technically, it's only three days long, rather than a legitimate week, but they pack a lot into those three days.

One of the PR companies I work with a lot in town actually reps Ted Baker London locally and one of the PR girls contacted me to ask if I wanted to wear something from the TBL winter collection to fashion week Saturday night. Umm ... yeah!

So I got to go to the store the day before and try on a number of really fun, really cute dresses, but in the end, I chose this one:

It's called "Cissie." I loved that it was bright red (my favorite color), and that it was kind of corseted and even had pockets. I paired it with some black patent pumps from Target and some sparkly jewelry, and I was good to go. The shows I got to see that night included Neiman Marcus, Tory Burch, Ted Baker London (of course) and Betsey Johnson. It was fun, and my boyfriend didn't even mind (too much) being dragged along and having to wear a suit.

And I would have had some video from the runway shows to post, but the mini video cam I ordered got delayed and wasn't delivered until two days later, on Monday. Ah well. Best laid plans, right? Hopefully I'll get video at something other interesting event so I can try out the cam.

Sway's Weekend Music Pick: "Chasing Pirates" by Norah Jones