Q. When identifying a contact, how senior should you go? I’ve run into top names CEO, VP’s, but no marketing or creative names. It would seem that the most senior people wouldn’t be the one handling freelancers. Even an Exec VP of Marketing probably hands it off to an associate. I don’t want to bother … Read more
Q. How long would you recommend that I do pro-bono work for charities until I build up a heavy portfolio? Do you recommend starting to look for writing gigs while I am writing pro bono? A. It’s always a good idea to at least have your radar up for paying work, or even be actively … Read more
Q. My partner and I have read your books and are both interested in attempting to begin our careers as freelance writers. We were wondering, however, whether it would be useful for us to both form a single company or whether each of us doing it on our own would be better. The main consideration … Read more
Q: I read your book, “The Well-Fed Writer,” and one thing I was looking for answers on was who were the best people to contact for the work you talk about. If it’s writing a speech for a company, what’s the title of the person to approach? If it’s a brochure, is it the same … Read more
Q: My business requires that I create a monthly newsletter for my clients. My goal is to create a professional looking newsletter that I can send in PDF form, but which cannot be edited by its recipients. What is the best way/program to use in order to do this? A: Microsoft Publisher is a good program … Read more
Q. I have been following the advice in your books about starting my copy-writing business. I may be going overboard on this (engineers tend to do so) but I’m looking ahead to see what other things I should be doing to help me build a list of potential clients – besides cold calling and letter … Read more
Q. Should writers still primarily target local markets or has the Web changed that? Having seen all of this take place, what advice would you give a new freelancer who has some published clips and wants to start making real money? Stay local or storm the World Wide Web? A. I say you’re confusing two … Read more
Q. I followed your example and started clarifying on my job proposals a list of what my quote includes. One of the specifics I list is “two rounds of revisions.” Do you also have a set fee if the client asks for a third revision? I’m working on a book right now for a client … Read more