Writing Advice for Older Freelance Writers

advice for older writers

Writing doesn’t suffer from quite the same age bias as other media occupations, but there is sometimes a tendency to favor younger writers over older writers. Why? Because younger writers are viewed as having a longer career ahead of them (which means more money for the publisher). Also, the sad truth is that younger writers are viewed as more “marketable.” They look better on book jackets, in magazine pieces, and in TV interviews. They also may be willing to work an absurd amount to break into the business. And, let’s face it, our culture is youth-obsessed. Those “Who to watch under 30,” lists and articles about the teenage wunderkinds sell magazines and fill news hours.

Despite this bias, there is still a chance for older writers to break in and make money. A great story or book is still valuable to a publisher, even if the author has one foot in the grave. Publishing is still a business whose object is to make money and a great book equals money, regardless of the author’s age. That’s the first thing an older writer needs to do and it’s fully within your control: Write the best story or book that you possibly can. Make it impossible for them to say no, no matter how old you are. Beyond that, you don’t want to handicap yourself any more than necessary. Here are some tips to skirt the age bias in publishing.

Don’t mention your age unless asked

Don’t bring it up in your query letter. Don’t send a picture of yourself. Most agents and editors will not admit to an age bias, but if you put it right there in front of them you may trigger their unintentional bias against you. Let your manuscript do the talking.

Don’t mention that you are “retired”

You may have taken up writing in your retirement, but don’t mention that in a query letter. You don’t want an agent or publisher to think of you as old, or as someone treats writing as a hobby. The only time retirement should be mentioned is if it’s relevant, but even then you should try to find a way to avoid it. For example, if you’re written a book about a Navy Seal and you are a retired Navy Seal, you might want to mention that, but rather than saying you are a “retired Navy Seal,” refer to yourself as a “former Navy Seal.”

Don’t mention your limitations

Publishers and agents need people who can get out there and help promote their books. If you have limitations that make that difficult, don’t bring it up until they are so in love with your manuscript that it won’t matter. If you aren’t technologically savvy, don’t bring that up, either, and work to correct it. Publishers expect you to be conversant in the world of Twitter, Facebook, email, and the like, and admitting that you aren’t isn’t a badge of honor, it’s a strike against you.

Draw on your experience and maturity

If you’ve spent any time in the working world, you should have a good idea of how to conduct professional conversations and write professional correspondence. You should be able to turn in projects on time and return calls promptly. You should be able to proofread and turn in error-free work. Not to say that younger writers can’t do these things, but older writers know how businesses work and “how to play the game.” Publishers like writers who are professional, prompt, and reliable.

Don’t date yourself

Along with not mentioning your age outright, don’t make reference to anything that might allow an agent or editor to figure it out. Don’t say, “I spent thirty years with XYZ Corp,” or, “I served in Korea.” Anyone with a brain can figure your probable age from that. Querying isn’t like writing a resume. Publishers don’t need your dates of employment. Leave anything that can date you out of it.

Don’t lie

While you don’t want to put a number on yourself early in the process, you don’t want to lie, either. If someone asks you directly about your age, fess up. The truth will always come out and you’ll be in trouble if you’ve fudged. Chances are, though, that if they’re asking about your age, they’ve already read the book and are seriously interested. Age matters less when the agent or editor feels like there is a salable project in the room. It’s that whole money thing, again.

Demonstrate commitment

While there are plenty of one-hit authors, publishers are usually looking for writers who are committed to producing multiple books. While this may be your first book, don’t mention it. A publisher can read between the lines and know that you’ve never been published if you don’t mention publishing credits, but you don’t need to say, “This is the first thing I’ve ever tried to write, it took me twenty years, and I feel like I’ve left it all on the table. This is my one great masterpiece.” Try to get some stories published in magazines or win some awards for other work to demonstrate that you’re active in the craft. You could also mention that this book is the first in a projected series (if it’s true).

Stay away from projects that scream, “Senior Citizen”

Unfortunately, memoirs and family histories not only give away your age but are often pegged as one hit wonders, if they’re a hit at all. The agent or editor sees these and thinks, “This person just wants to see this one project published before they die. They’re not a serious author.” Worse, the history or memoir that seems momentous to you is seen by the agent or editor as ho-hum. Unless your memoir or history is about something truly spectacular, you’ll probably want to stick with self-publishing for that.

Older writers can certainly break in, but they have to first write a book or story that is beyond reproach. Give a publisher something valuable and age starts to matter much less. Beyond that, though, it can’t hurt to keep your age out of the process for as long as possible. You don’t want someone to write you off before they even read your work. Sure, we should all be judged solely on our work, but it’s a sad truth that you have to outwit those who carry a bias against older writers.

(Photo courtesy of Aurelio Asiain)

Why You Should Avoid Writing for Content Mills

don't write for content mills

Many freelance writers work or have worked for a content mill at some point. Many have regretted the experience. Content mills are websites devoted to posting tons of articles on almost every subject imaginable (and some that aren’t, see number six, below). Quality standards vary and most pay very little for the work required. While some writers hope that content mills will help them break into freelancing or be a way to make some extra cash, both are unlikely. There are many good reasons to shun the mills. Here are some of the best:

Paltry pay

There are two issues with this. First, content mills pay pitiful rates, some as low as a penny per word. This means that a 700-word article would only net you $7.00. The federal minimum wage is higher than that. To make just $20,000 a year you’d have to write 2,857 articles. That’s nearly eight articles per day. Every day. No vacations or weekends. Even if you can crank out one per hour, that’s an eight-hour workday every single day of the year. And you’d still only make $20K. There are much better ways to make money.

Second, the low pay of content mills contributes to a growing problem for writers: The desire of content providers to get quality work for low pay. When other content providers see the mills paying such paltry rates they figure, “Hey, why should we offer more? The low pay model seems to be working for them.” It gets harder for writers to command the rates that they deserve when there are so many low paying markets out there having no trouble filling writing positions. Stick up for yourself and your worth and refuse to work for less than you legitimately deserve.

The mills stifle creativity and quality

Content mills are oriented toward one thing: Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. This means that your articles will be crammed with specific keywords that will try to bounce that article to the top of any search for those keywords. The problem is, it’s difficult to do this well and still produce a high quality, creative article. You’ll be churning out work that fits a very narrow set of requirements. There’s no room for your unique voice or any facts or issues that deviate from the narrow focus required by the mill.

You probably won’t gain any respect

Some writers believe that the mills are a way to “break in” and gain writing credits that can be parlayed into higher paying gigs. This is rarely the case. Because these pieces are rarely your best work (written quickly, skimpy on details, etc.), you may not even want to submit them as credits. And even if you do, most reputable, higher paying markets will not view them as quality credits. You may be able to get away with listing some content mill pieces in an otherwise robust portfolio of work, but as your sole credits those pieces will not gain you the respect you need to get ahead.

Hoop jumping

You’ll likely have to jump through a lot of hoops (submit an audition piece, articles have to go through an approval process before being accepted, there may be a probation period where you have to submit articles but you won’t get paid, etc.). You may play their game and go through all of their processes and still not get paid or hired on as a contributor. You’re probably better off writing for publications that have much clearer acceptance and employment processes.

Frustrating guidelines

Many content mills have a lot of guidelines for their writers, and some are not clear or are ever changing. For example, they may place limits on the sources you can use for research to keep you from using competing publications. However, you may not be provided with a list of banned sources until your turn in an article that includes one. Then your article gets rejected. You probably won’t work with one editor all the time, either, and each one may have a different set of expectations and standards. What is accepted by one may be denied by another, even within the same section of the website. Formatting may be another area where one segment of the site follows one set of rules while another follows something else. These formats may not be expressed clearly in the beginning leading to more rejected articles. Sometimes it can feel as if the mills are doing everything they can to make your job harder.

You may end up churning out ridiculous, nonsensical work

Content mills often come up with the title and then expect you to write the article to match. Since most of the sensible titles have been used, you get some strange titles that are largely just hot SEO keywords lumped together. They may make no sense at all and there may be no way to write an article that makes any sense. Writing about “Clay Aiken The Pokemon Earthquake” would be a stretch for even the most gifted writer.

You’re not building a network that you can draw upon later

When you’re writing for the mills, you’re not working with reputable professionals who can help you make contacts or navigate the publishing world. You’re not working with publishers, agents, and editors that garner respect in the writing world. They won’t make useful references or help you further your career.

You don’t care, and it shows

Writing for a content mill is about one thing: Generating a lot of words quickly. It doesn’t matter whether you care about the topic or not. It doesn’t matter whether you know anything beyond the basics or not. All that matters is the words. As a result, the articles show no passion and no depth. They read like what they are: Something rushed together without a care about the subject. If you want to be known as a writer who writes compelling, accurate, engaging, and informative pieces, a content mill is not for you.

You’re not learning anything

There are no professional editors helping you polish your work and teaching you how to become a better, more engaging writer. They may check for basic grammar and spelling errors, but that’s it. You’re not learning how to research or conduct interviews because you’re simply culling the most basic information off a list of pre-approved sources. You’re not learning how to market your work because the site is doing that for you. You’re not learning any of the skills that a professional writer needs to succeed. All you’re learning to do is write to a specific formula that is useless in any field other than the content mills.

The ratio of time to money is way off

You’ll spend the better part of a day churning out an article that might pay you $5. Even if you’re super fast at writing and researching, you’re still going to put in a lot of time for very little money. Time is the one resource you can’t get back. It’s generally better to spend your time working on things that will grow your “brand” as a writer and lead to better paying work. Work on your own website/blog that you can monetize, pitch articles to well-paying publications and sites, seek out corporate clients, work on that novel, or get that non-fiction book proposal together. Sure, not everything you try will lead to big bucks, but if you’re only going to earn pennies anyway, it might as well be in the service of something that you can build on and control rather than a content mill that is taking your labor and giving you nothing in return.

The mills are like quicksand

It’s too easy to get sucked in. You start out just trying to bridge the gap so you can make rent this month or put aside a little fun money. Before you know it, though, you’re working day and night for the mills because you need the income. You think you’re making some sort of progress in your career, but all you’re really doing is wasting time that could be better spent putting together higher quality gigs. You can’t get out because you need the money, but the mill is sucking up all of your time that you could use to look for better work. It becomes a vicious circle.

Opportunity rarely knocks

When you write for reliable, reputable publications and websites you’ll probably be surprised at the opportunities that surface. People see your work and ask you to write for them, or ask if they can obtain the rights to publish your piece elsewhere. This doesn’t happen with the mills. People may see your work, but they aren’t likely to care.

You have no protection or control

If the content mill folds, you’re out of work and you likely won’t be paid for any outstanding work. They can terminate your account at any time and for any reason. They can refuse your article for any reason and not pay you. As a professional freelancer, you should have more protection than this. Most legitimate freelance projects come with contracts that cover what happens in the event your article is rejected or needs more work, the editors/owners change, etc. There is more protection for you than you’ll ever get with the mills.

The only reason to write for a content mill is if you really enjoy the process or you’re just killing time and want a little extra cash. That might make all of the other hassles worth it. If you’re looking to advance your career, however, the mills are largely a waste of your time. There are far better ways to make money, improve your writing, and build your writing “brand.” Spend your time wisely by seeking out legitimate clients and working with true industry professionals. The mills will simply take your time and give you little in return.

(Photo courtesy of Johann Dreo)

How to Make Sure You Hit Your Writing Deadlines

How to meet your writing deadlines

Ever notice how you tend to deal with things that have a due date or an expiration date (and a punishment for missing that date) first while you let other things slide? You read your library books before the books from your own collection because they’re due on a certain date. If you don’t return them you’ll owe money. You eat the food that’s about to expire even if it’s not what you’d prefer because the uneaten food is a waste of money. You hurry up and finish the project for which you borrowed a neighbors’ power saw because if you don’t return the saw on the date you promised, you’ll jeopardize the friendship. You write the article that has a deadline because missing it means no paycheck (and probably no further work from that publication).

All of these scenarios have a due date and a punishment attached for missing that date. The deadline and the punishment combine to motivate you to do these things, even if you’d rather be doing something else. This aversion to punishment can be used to further your writing career and help defeat procrastination. But what about the problem of not all writing projects having due dates? When you’re working on your first novel, non-fiction book proposal, or collection of short stories and you don’t have a contract, how do you impose due dates and punishments?

There are a couple of ways to do this. First, you can simply write the date on your calendar and come up with a punishment that you will impose on yourself if you don’t make it. Maybe you won’t take that weekend trip you’ve planned and for which you’ve already paid a non-refundable deposit, or you won’t go to that concert for which you’ve already bought tickets. Whatever punishment you choose, it has to hurt. You can’t just say, “Oh, I won’t watch my favorite TV show.” That’s not enough pain because, really, you can catch the show later. The punishment has to hurt monetarily or emotionally. Or you have to also attach the risk of hurting other people, such as by skipping that family trip or backing out of a an event that you promised to organize.

And the biggie: You have to stick to the punishment. You can’t let yourself off the hook even once. Do it once and you’ll do it every time. You have to go through with whatever punishment you choose or it won’t be an effective way to boost your output. You have to choose a punishment that not only hurts, but one which you will actually impose. “I’ll throw myself off a cliff if I don’t finish this book by July 22nd,” isn’t realistic. (Unless you have some serious issues, in which case you need a mental health professional. Right now.) “I’ll sell one-third of my beloved jazz records if I don’t make the deadline,” is more realistic.

If you’re not willing or able to impose your own punishments, enlist someone else to help you. Make yourself accountable to a friend or family member. If you set a due date and miss it, have that person come stand over you until you complete the punishment. Make them stand over you until you make the call to cancel that trip. Have them stand over you while you run those concert tickets through the shredder. Make them stand by while you tell those people who were counting on you that you won’t be able to do whatever it was you promised you’d do. Choose your person wisely. They have to be tough enough not to give in when you beg and pushy enough to make you do what you need to do.

Yes, this is a harsh way to improve productivity and make sure you reach your daily word count. Not everyone will respond to these tactics, but it is human nature to do those things with due dates first. This is simply a way of making human nature work for you. If you have trouble completing open-ended projects because they can always be done “later,” try imposing due dates and punishments on yourself. Remove “later” from the equation and see if you don’t work harder and smarter to avoid those punishments.

(Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver)

Don’t Forget Offline Writing Research

Places for writing research offline

It’s great that we live in an age where information is just a couple of mouse clicks away. Gone are the days when we had to slog through the stacks at the library for even the simplest research. Unfortunately, too many of us have become excessively reliant on the Internet for our research needs. It’s so convenient that we are often reluctant to take the time leave our comfy chairs and go out into the world to do our research. There are some things, however, that the Internet cannot give us and to exclude them from our work for the sake of convenience is to produce a weaker work, one that is devoid of sensory details and the personal touch.

If you want to produce a rich, true account of your character’s experiences or fill your non-fiction work with the details and facts that will set it apart from competing work, you’re going to have to go offline for at least some of your research. Here are some offline places and methods that will bring that spark of life into your work.

Libraries

Even though all kinds of books and references are online, there is still no substitute for an old-fashioned library. Not only do they have resources that you may not be able to get online (microfiches of old local newspapers, locally published books/histories, and out of print books that are no longer available, for a few examples), they are filled with people who can help you. Employees may be well versed in local history, for example, or have already helped someone else track down that obscure fact that you’re looking for.

Museums/national parks/preservation efforts

If your work requires a trip into the past, there are no better places to see actual battlefields, historic homes, artifacts, clothing, and artwork than at museums and parks dedicated to preservation. Sure, you can see that clothing, artwork, or artifact in an online catalog, but getting up close to it will reveal the tiny details you can’t see in a picture. And there’s nothing like being in a historic place to give you a sense of what the people who lived there experienced as far as weather and scents. They are also great places to get writing ideas.

Personal interviews

Never underestimate the power of actually talking to someone who knows what you want to know. Whether you’re interviewing a CEO for an article about life behind the desk, or a zookeeper about his work (since your novel’s main character is also a zookeeper), there is no substitute for the experience of actual human beings. You’ll not only hear about what their life is like, you may also get to watch them in action.

Archives

There are archives at almost every level of government. Some schools, churches, and businesses also keep archives. You may be able to find old yearbooks, original editions of books and manuscripts, letters, photographs, and many other documents of historical importance. Many of these things are not made available online due to their size or the fact that they can’t be put into a scanner due to their age.

Universities

Colleges and universities are a treasure trove of information. Their libraries often subscribe to journals and newspapers that municipal libraries don’t carry and which may not have an online presence (or, if they do, you as an individual will have to pay to subscribe). You can talk to professors that teach and research the topic you’re working with. If your work is fiction and set at a college, you can spend a few days observing the students and their activities. Some larger universities also have collections of artifacts or documents related to local history, art, and culture.

In-person visits

Sure, you can Google the location for your next novel and see pictures and maps, but there’s nothing like being there. When you actually visit a place, you can experience the people, traffic patterns, weather, and architecture in a way that pictures and maps can’t convey. You can hear the sounds and smell the smells, as well. All those details will lend an authenticity to your work that you can’t get from the Internet. If your desired location is too far away, try setting your book closer to home or at least let a native of the area read your work to see if it feels authentic to them.

Support groups

If your character is an addict, an abused spouse, going through a divorce or dealing with grief, it can be hard to put yourself in those types of situations. If you’re writing non-fiction about these tough topics, you’ll need more of a personal experience than books can give you. Support groups, though, are full of people dealing with those types of situations. You may be able to sit in on some group meetings if you ask in advance and mention that you are doing research for a book. You’ll likely be asked to keep in the background and to keep anything you learn confidential, but hearing the stories and seeing the emotions can give you what you need to make your work authentic.

Reenactments

Reenactments aren’t limited to just the battlefields, although those are invaluable if your work covers historic battles. Places like Williamsburg, Virginia and other “living history” museums reenact everything from the nightly lamp lighting in a village to butter churning. Seeing how a process actually worked is better than reading about it and then trying to recreate it on the page.

Observation

This is simple. Get out and watch what people do. If your character is a teenager, spend some time watching what they do and how they act with each other. If your character is a teacher, ask if you can shadow a class for a day. Is your character a farmer? Tag along with a farmer for a day. Find ways to observe the people you want to write about. It’ll make for a more authentic work and it may take your character beyond the stereotype that you would have otherwise created.

Businesses, organizations, and associations

There are all kinds of organizations that might have the information you need. Whether you’re looking for information on how a product is made or how a rescue organization does its work, for example, you can find it by visiting various organizations and asking for information or observing how things work. Unless the information is proprietary or confidential, many organizations are wiling to share.

Hobby groups

If you need to know what it’s like to be someone who flies model airplanes, scuba dives, restores old cars, or plays Dungeons and Dragons every weekend, you might want to visit some local hobby groups. Many don’t require membership and are happy to show off their hobbies to others. You don’t have to learn how to do the activity yourself, but watching other people do it and asking questions can yield a deeper understanding than simply reading about the hobby online.

Veteran’s groups

Want to know what a certain battle was like, or what the uniforms of the time felt like? There are no better people to talk to than those who were there. While you can only speak directly to veterans of more recent wars, you can find groups dedicated to preserving the memories and information gleaned from those who served in older wars. There are also groups dedicated to the experiences of women on the home front.

Courthouses

Courthouses have records of births, deaths, real estate transactions, and business filings. Not to mention all of the criminal files. Much of this information is public record. They also house some historic documents and records that are open to the public. If your character is a lawyer (or criminal) you can even spend some time in the courtroom watching actual cases unfold as many trials are open to the public.

The Internet can be a good place to begin your research or gather general facts, but when it comes to the small details and personal experiences that make a work authentic, there’s no substitute for getting out into the world and observing how actual people live their lives. And who knows? Maybe in the process of researching one work you meet someone or hear a story that is just so fascinating that it becomes the idea for your next work.

(Photo courtesy of Ellen Forsyth)

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