Well, $%^#, where’d the year go?

Well, clearly my plan to blog about my work every month went to pot. But as Fred and Ginger say: Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, start all over again.

I’m reevaluating whether this monthly tactic is best for 2022, or if another way will work better, but for now, here are some of the highlights that happened in the last quarter of 2021:

• Worked on several stories for the College of Education at the University of Maryland, one of my longest-term clients. After our interview about a lecture he gave, Professor Cam Scribner told me: “you really nailed down all of the exact sort of complexities that I would have brought up if we were teaching in a graduate seminar.”

• Wrote a story for Goucher College on alumni entrepreneurs in the food business. I used to write a lot of food stories in my newspaper days, then I wrote for the now-defunct food section of Paste Magazine, but I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to write content marketing or copy about food. It’s a topic near and dear to my heart, so I’d love to get back into it.

• My friend Melanie Padgett Powers, who is the managing editor of Dateline Federation Magazine for the Hemophilia Federation of America, recruited me for a piece on hemophilia families and adoptions. It was a pleasure getting to speak to the families.

• I wrote a piece for marketing recruitment agency Torchlight Hire on what to know about paying a freelance writer. Writers are notoriously undervalued, and I hope marketing directors will pay attention and heed my words. For example, promising “great exposure,” but no/meager pay just doesn’t work. You wouldn’t expect your plumber/dentist/hairdresser to work for “exposure,” would you?

• Wrote two pieces for ASJA Magazine, and continued my work as editor of the Weekly newsletter. One member described it as: “Lots of meaty information told in a brief, breezy style.”

• Continued working as blog editor and strategist with designer Christy Batta. I love helping a business, whether a solo business or a large corporation, tell its stories. And as much as I enjoy doing the actual writing myself, I love the process of guiding and supporting someone else through the process of just as much.

In 2022, my goals include doing more content strategy, diving back into the food niche, continuing to build a niche in ad tech, writing even more stories about interesting people doing fascinating things, and building great relationships with clients and fellow writers and editors. You can email me at hello@redpeneditorial.co, or find me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year.

Then Came the Last Days of May

May was a busy month. I began work with two clients I’d been courting for a long time. Running a freelance business takes a lot of patience, which is not necessarily a natural gift for me. Obviously, I’m still catching up on these blog posts. The goal is to be up to date by mid-September, then continue monthly from there. Any feedback on what is or is not helpful to let you get to know me better as a business owner, freelancer, writer/editor, and person is appreciated. Without further ado, here’s how May shaped up:

• Helped graphic designer Christy Batta of Christy Batta Designs go behind the scenes of her work creating a logo for Discover Bonifant, a coalition of small businesses in Silver Spring, Maryland. I love my collaboration with Christy. My role is to help guide her through creating her monthly blogs — asking questions, giving feedback, making suggestions — from the incarnation to the publication. It’s a combination of coach and editor, almost like a blogging doula.

• Continued working to edit DE&I and sustainability reports for a major media corporation through my aforementioned (see April entry) NDA client, henceforth referred to as Client Z. And at another juncture, we’ll talk about NDAs. Throughout the process, a lot of questions about conscious language arose, such as whether the term BIPOC or person of color is preferable. I offered to create a conscious language guide for the company to have as a resource for clients who might not have set standards on certain usages.

• Began working on a feature story for CASE, Council for Advancement and Support of Education. I did some copy editing and fact-checking for CASE a few years ago and have since kept in touch, through a few rounds of editors, but this was my first time writing for them. Freelancing can be a long game, which is hard when you like instant gratification (who doesn’t?!)

• Edited weekly newsletters for ASJA, the American Society of Journalists and Authors. This is a volunteer position, and the ONLY work I do for no pay. I consider it a contribution to my community and an investment of time into networking.

• Wrote a pillar page on leveraging audio advertising for Viant by Adelphic, an omni demand-side platform. I started working with Viant in late 2020. The content manager is a friend and was a classmate at Medill. It’s my first foray into ad tech writing and though I admit I’m a little intimidated, I hope to continue to develop this niche.

• Began work with a new client, American Communities Project, on a story about the challenges faced by parents in the urban suburb of Silver Spring, MD (where I happen to live) to find affordable childcare. I first connected with the editor of ACP, Ari Pinkus, in 2017 as she was departing the National Association of Independent Schools. Since then we’ve stayed in touch intermittently. We were glad to finally have an opportunity to work together. This is definitely an example of how so much of the key to growing your freelance business is building relationships.

• On the note of relationships, through ASJA I randomly reconnected with a former colleague I’d worked with almost 20 years ago. I love these small world moments.

• Also through ASJA I participated in TeleConnections, which provides members with the opportunity to sign up for fast (9-minute!) introductory phone calls with the leaders of numerous publications, content marketing agencies, and publishing houses. I felt like my calls all went well, but my biggest challenge is probably going to be coming up with pitches. I often find pitch culture to be discouraging.

• Wrote and submitted a story to the University of Pennsylvania on alumnus Chris Bennett, founder of Wonderschool — a platform and software to support early education programs and microschools.

I’m still catching up and getting the hang of these monthly summary posts, figuring out the best use to make of this blog. Get in touch with me at hello@redpeneditorial.co.

To Those Who Love a Freelancer

I’ll get to you in a minute. First, I’m going to address my brethren.

Dear fellow freelancers, tell me if this sounds familiar: While exploring prospective clients, you realize that someone you are close with knows a person at a company you’d like to connect with. So falling back on the old “it’s who you know” adage (#networking!), you contact your friend or family member and say something along these lines: “Hey, I see you know Person A at Company B. I’d love to offer them my writing services. Would you mind introducing me so I can ask the best way to go about that?”

Sound familiar so far? And now here’s the kicker. Your friend/relative/colleague responds with: “Well, I don’t want to impose” or “I’d be uncomfortable asking for a favor.”

Sigh.

Dear folks who love a freelancer: Thanks for waiting. Now I’ll get to you.

If you’ve uttered words such as cited above, you need to reframe your perspective. When your freelancer friend or family member — and we’re talking about people who are experienced, published writers — asks you to make an introduction, don’t look at it as asking for a favor. Look at it as presenting an opportunity.

Companies are increasingly using content marketing to educate and retain customers. That means smart companies want strong writers. When we freelance writers introduce ourselves to a prospective client, either via a letter of introduction (LOI) or a personal contact (that’s you), we are not begging for work. We are offering our services — services that have the strong potential to improve business-client/customer relationships.

So the next time your freelancing loved one asks, “Hey, can you introduce me to your friend at Company B*?” remember: You aren’t “asking for a favor.” You are fostering an introduction that will hopefully lead to a mutually beneficial business relationship.

Isn’t that a better way to look at it?

* If “Company B” makes you hear “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in your head, a virtual handshake and tip of the hat to you.