Thanks to the huge success of 5 Q's , I've decided to do it more often. Now, instead of twice a month, I'm interviewing one fabulous author per week! And, while I'm upping the frequency, I thought I would change things up a bit. Based on my highly scientific analysis of StatCounter (which I check obsessively), Wednesday is consistently my highest traffic day of the week. So, I figured, why not move it to Wednesday and give all you fabulous readers more insights into publishing? Feel free to post in the comments or email me if you'd like to be considered! And without further ado, this week's 5 Q's subject is none other than Deborah Ng, freelance writer and creator of the highly popular blog Freelance Writing Jobs (FWJ). I think we all owe Deborah a huge thank you for doing the dirty work and finding tons of great gigs (I know I've scored several jobs from her posts). Here's what she had to say about writing...
Urban Muse: What motivated you to start FWJ ?
Deborah: A couple of years ago I was a member of a content writers Yahoo group. Every day when I looked for work, I'd come across something that was perfect for others in the group, so I'd post them. About the same time we started that group some of us started Writer's Row. It was suggested that I post a few leads every day at Writers Row. After a few weeks I turned it into a blog because a blog is easier to maintain. Also around the same time, I kept running into fellow work at home Moms who (I felt) were being taken advantage of. So I made the decision not to post any job paying under $10. I wanted to show them they didn't have to accept $2 or non-paying jobs to pay their dues. Honestly, I never expected it to take off like it did.
UM: It seems like FWJ would be a big time-consuming endeavor. Any time-saving tips?
D: It takes about two hours each day to go through all of my resources. Subscribing to job board feeds saved me a bit of time as did using the blog editor Qumana . I don't know what else I can do to expedite the process.
UM: There's a fine line between being assertive and annoying, especially when emailing an editor. Any tips on staying on editors' radar in between assignments? Or when you're too busy to write for them but want to maintain the relationship for the future?
D: I agree, you don't want to bug anyone. Many times if an editor doesn't have an assignment for me, I'll propose an article. Also, if I see a news item or blog post having to do with the editor's magazine or website I might send it along with a note saying "I thought this would interest you." No response is necessary, but it keeps my name in mind. If I don't hear from the editor in a while, I might send a note letting her know I'm available for assignments.
UM: How do you balance the demands of work and family?
D: First and foremost, I'm a stay at home Mom. I didn't leave my office job to write, I left to stay home with my son, so he comes first. Until he's in school full time I find blocks of time to work when my son is sleeping or in school. Usually that means waking up very early or working at night.
UM: What do you read for fun?
D: I'm a closet Chick-Lit fan. I just finished the "Shopaholic" series and loved it! The first couple of books especially and I found Something Borrowed and Something Blue to be great reads.Thanks, Deborah! Check out the 5 Q's archive here.