By Denene Brox
Most budding writers are thrilled to write whatever assignments come their way. I know I was nearly four years ago when I started freelance writing part-time. I have always dreamed of being a writer, and seeing my name in print in more than a dozen publications and Web sites during the past several years has been a thrill.
I was a writer even before I knew what a writer was. As a young girl living in America I used words on paper to bridge the distance between me and my British grandparents and cousins. I wrote about my thoughts and feelings with abandon. I wrote from my heart back then, but lately I write from my brain — a totally different animal motivated by something beyond passion — money.
I made my first successful effort at being published in 2005 after a three-week language study vacation in Florence, Italy. My article combined the practical side of traveling with my own experiences as a tourist. I submitted my article to alternative travel magazines and Web sites (the types of publications that take readers beyond traditional tourism and deeper into the cultures of countries all over the world). I was elated and stunned when I was offered $25 for one of my articles. Mere pocket change with great significance: a publication was willing to pay me for my writing. It is the greatest form of validation for a beginning writer. My article wasn’t lost in the slush pile with other hopefuls. For the first time in my life I felt like a real writer.
High from the validation of selling my first article, I became of student of freelance writing books and Web sites. It was like a drug that feed a deep hunger within me to use my talent. I became addicted to selling articles. I learned that some writers make a strikingly higher amount per article than my $25. I read about writers that made upwards of $2,500 per article writing for major women’s magazines such as Redbook, and I wanted to be one of them.
I studied marketing strategies, query letter writing, paying taxes, record keeping, and how to work with editors. I was constantly on the prowl for story ideas: interesting people, new ways to save money on groceries, strategies for managing a career. Slowly I began to get more assignments, with my biggest success coming from trade magazines where I was assigned to write about a certain topic which required hardly any creativity on my part. I would get the facts, organize them, and write them up. I wrote article after article, conducted dozens of interviews — all while working a full-time marketing job for a non-profit. Even though I was good at writing articles, I wasn’t giving much thought to what I was passionate about. Burn out was fast approaching.
So last summer I took a deep breath and did the unthinkable — I stopped seeking and accepting assignments. I have been using the time since then to reconnect with what I really want to write about. I’m slowly discovering a new path by using journal writing as a way to explore my passions.
There’s a concept in the book Stand Up For Your Life by Cheryl Richardson called “passing up good for great.” Good for me would be to keep going for assignments that pad my bank account. Great is going for assignments that pad my bank account and allow me to write about the things I’m passionate about such as self-empowerment, inspirational people, and my own personal story. Richardson acknowledges that the concept of passing up good for great is scary, and you will be tempted with less than great offers (such as that article that pays a lot but doesn’t interest you at all and would actually be painful to write).
I’m finding that one of the biggest advantages to maintaining my day job is that I have the freedom to devote my writing time to my passions without worrying about paying the rent or putting food on the table.
I’m still a writer that has to market myself and my ideas. I’m just refocusing my efforts. With a full-time job and limited time and energy for writing, I want to begin building the bridge to a full-time writing life that I truly love getting paid for.
How about you? Do you write for love, money, or both?
Denene Brox is a Kansas City-based writer who is hard at work on projects to inspire and enlighten you. Visit her at www.DeneneBrox.com and at her blog, Style & Inspiration