To do good writing, read good writing. Here’s the good writing I’ve been reading this week:
I get asked a lot about how I find freelance work. The answer’s simple: most of my work comes from people I’ve worked with before. When you’ve been in the business for a while and you cover the same subject or subjects, you end up working with a lot of writers and editors. People move around in this business, and that’s been the case with editors and writers I’ve worked with. When an editor in a new gig needs a writer or editor for a freelance gig, it’s very likely the first calls they make are to people they’ve worked with before. The second is to people they’ve worked with before who could recommend people they’ve worked with (still following me?).
The interconnectedness of business relationships and freelance work hit home last weekend, when a bunch of writers and editors got together in San Francisco to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first issue of The Industry Standard (I was in New York at the ASJA conference). The tech industry magazine became an overnight sensation chronicling the dot-com era – and selling more ad pages than any other American magazine in 2000 – before flaming out like many of the Internet 1.0 companies it covered.
The Standard was around from 1998 to 2001 and I was a contributing editor for most of that time. More to the point, since the magazine shut down, I’ve worked for at least five former Standard editors, or hired former Standard editors or writers to work with me on the editing gigs I’ve done lately. I recently collaborated with one former editor for the third time, each one for a different publication or company. Work I did for another editor has led to tens of thousands of dollars in freelance income.
My experience isn’t limited to the Standard. I’ve followed multiple other editors from publication to publication.
This phenomenon of working with people you know and like is the subject of a Q&A on hiring the right people that SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership did this week with Portland tech star Amber Case. In it, Case shares her secret formula for finding people to work on her startups:
I ask each employee who the best person is that they’ve worked with in the past. Out of their entire career, who is the most incredible person that they wish they could work with again. They give me a name. I go out and find where that person is working and I hire them. … It helps avoid issues with work culture and conflict. You have people who are so excited because they get to work with the friends again.
What she said. The next time you’re in marketing mode to drum up new work, think about what editors and writers you’ve loved working with in the past. If you’ve lost touch, find them and invite them to connect on LinkedIn, Twitter or wherever else you hang out online. Share what you’re doing. If it feels right, ask if they’ve got work, or know someone who does.
Even the most grueling assignment doesn’t feel as bad if you’re working with your favorite people.
This Week’s Good Reads
Here’s other good writing, good reading and interesting industry news I came across this week:
2013 National Magazine Awards (American Society of Magazine Editor) – Winners include New York, National Geographic, Vogue, Time, Outside and Wired. Online entertainment magazinew Pitchfork won for general excellence in digital media. Last year no women were even nominated in commentaryor feature writing categories, so HuffPost, Jezebel and Poynter played up the fact that women won in both categories in 2012.
Faith in the baby (Salon) – Speaking of women writers, this beautifully crafted essay comes from fellow Portlander Kristin Ohlson, who wrote it in 2001. Ohlson shared a link this week to mark the occasion of her son’s move here from their previous hometown.
Catherine Conlan talks about news writing and content marketing (Reputation Capital) – In this Q&A, the journalist and newest staffer at this content marketing agency explains trends, doing business-to-business writing, and how writers can get into the field.
Spundge in 2 minutes (Spundge) – So many apps, so little time. If you’re not familiar with Spundge, it’s an online tool for organizing story or other research that lets users share what they save with other people. If Evernote and Yammer, the social collaboration tool, got married, their baby would look a lot like Spundge. Watch the video for more, or read my Q&A with Spundge Content Director Craig Silverman.
Facebook Developers Media (Facebook) – Facebook FAQ on how reporters and writers can use the social network to share their stories, grow their FB pages and “encourage more social actions” on their websites.
RapGenius may not have found the future of news, but it has about as much chance as anyone else (paidContent) – Netscape founder and venture capital big wig Marc Andressen recently invested $15 million in the company, which started with a service that lets people annotate rap lyrics, but now is developing a related tool called NewsGenius for annotating news stories. paidContent’s Matthew Ingram writes:
What would happen if the New York Times or Washington Post implemented something like RapGenius, and allowed annotations on top of the text? They might start with approved commenters or loyal readers, or those with some expertise in the topic, rather than encouraging a free-for-all. But the principle at work is the same as that driving any pursuit of “networked” or “open” journalism: namely, the idea that there are people out there who know more than you do.
Very true, what you said about “the interconnectedness of business relationships” and finding freelance work. If you do good work, it speaks for itself. Of course you always need to keep finding new customers on your own, too, but the satisfied ones usually come back – in one form or another.