Starving Writer No More, Part Two

By Peter Bowerman

In Part One of this two-part piece (in our 10/4 issue) on the intriguing - and lucrative - field of commercial freelancing, we met veteran freelancer Peter Bowerman, author of The Well-Fed Writer , as he discussed the rich opportunities available for those who choose to pursue this field. To read Part One, click here.  

A Reality Check
Again, stretches like these aren't every week occurrences but they don't have to be to make a good living (and they become more common the more established you become). No question, you'll have your share of $300-400 weeks. In the beginning, with prospecting and marketing, you'll be working a lot harder for a lot less. This is NOT a get-rich quick proposition. Any field that pays $60 to $100+ an hour, is flexible, home-based and can potentially earn you $75K or more annually in the space of a few short years, by definition, is going to require an investment of time to get established. Few professions meet those criteria.

How Good Do You Have To Be?
You do have to be a good writer. No one's going to pay you rates like these if you're lousy (at least not more than once...). But the good news is that many fields - i.e. financial services, healthcare, high-tech, real estate and others - don't expect brilliant prose. They want clear, concise, readable copy.     

That said, the better-paid scribes in this field do more than just craft pretty sentences. They're professionals who take the time to learn about a company - its products, customers and market niche - and what it does better than the competition. He or she then uses this information to help the company craft marketing materials that speak effectively to their target audience. In a nutshell, commercial writers help companies highlight their strong suits and put their best foot forward in marketing materials. It's about talking in language that will resonate with a reader and move him or her to take action. It's selling an idea. It's not journalism. It's not literary masterpieces. It's not supposed to be objective.

Who Will Hire You?
The first broad category of prospective clients are end-users (EUs): various divisions and departments of corporations - ranging in size from 10 to 100,000 employees - not-for-profits, universities, government agencies and others. The second is middlemen (MMs): graphic design firms, marketing companies, PR firms, advertising agencies, etc. MMs are hired by EUs to execute various projects and since most don't staff full-time writing help (larger ad agencies and PR firms will but even they outsource a lot of writing), they'll need to find writing talent to get the jobs done.

Approach EUs through their marketing communications department (also known as "MarCom"), marketing or sales. At MMs, contact the Creative Director, Assistant Creative Director, Marketing Director, Production Manager or Account Executive. For both EUs and MMs, make the first contact by phone or through networking functions (business associations, Chambers of Commerce, etc). And speaking of networking, tap your different circles to land business contacts. Don't feel uncomfortable doing this - it's the way it's done. Referrals are the best way to get in the door. And since your likelihood of being hired rises dramatically once you meet a client face-to-face, always push for a meeting.

What About a Portfolio?
Those coming from a magazine or journalism background could certainly include published articles in a portfolio (especially if you're planning on pursuing newsletter work - a similar project type), but realistically, you'll need to acquire some samples of the types of work corporate clients might hire you to do.

Start with any projects from past/present jobs: manuals, press releases, newsletters, web content, speeches, articles, etc. Do pro bono work for a charity or start-up firm. Team up with a graphic designer, also starting out, and either approach those same type entities together or "create" a portfolio with pieces for real or fictitious companies. You might choose to streamline your marketing (and boost your credibility) by using an online portfolio to showcase your work (check out www.writeinc.biz - my commercial site).  

How Much Can You Make?
I started out at $50 an hour, and am now billing at $100. In the commercial arena, $50/hour will faze no one except you, and in most larger markets, anything lower will have clients wondering how good you really are. For those starting out, once you've built up a decent starter portfolio (or "book"), making $30-40K just isn't that difficult. Get reasonably aggressive about getting the word out and you should start getting into the $50-70K range. Build a good reputation, start getting a lot of referrals and who knows? A healthy number of writers in this business gross $100K annually.

The "Commercial" Downside
But, isn't commercial writing b-o-r-i-n-g mind-numbing stuff? I don't romanticize the field. You won't get all your creative fulfillment here. That said, I've worked on plenty of projects over the years that have been fun, challenging, interesting and personally satisfying. And sure, plenty of others were just jobs. But all of them paid well - and provided nice lifestyle benefits.

One thing is almost certain of most any oft-published writer, author, successful journalist, MFA degree-holder or English major: your writing skills will be good enough for the commercial arena, where mid-to-high five-figure earnings (and higher) are well within reach. They just need to be channeled and refined for a different arena.

Whatever your goals or your circumstances, the commercial field offers a lucrative and growing opportunity for those with even moderate talent and drive.

Peter Bowerman is the author of The Well-Fed Writer (2000) , an award-winning Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and its companion volume, The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds (October 2004). A commercial freelancer and columnist in Atlanta, Georgia since 1993, his client list includes Coca-Cola, BellSouth, IBM, UPS, Cingular Wireless, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, Junior Achievement and others. He has published over 250 columns and articles and leads seminars on writing. www.wellfedwriter.com