Inspired Freelancer

The Harsh Realities of Freelancing

This week I got my first real introduction to the harsh realities of freelancing in a down economy (or any economy for that matter). For the past six months freelancing has been tough, but busy. I've had four regular monthly columns in four different magazines in a family of publications, plus a pretty regular speckling of corporate and agency public relations and writing work. This week, however, my freelancing life suffered a major blow.

Because of the economy, the four magazines, which make up my core business, had to cut their freelancing budgets - severely. I went from about a column a month to perhaps one or two more articles this year. Talk about a shock. I would say that I lost at least 50% of my business, maybe more, in one fell swoop. So now what?

Well, at first I was in a dead panic. The magazine work was so wonderful because it was monthly, I didn't have to go out and look for it, it was fairly well paid and I enjoyed it. On the other hand, it was also tough because it took up a lot of my time and required me to depend on multiple sources who were frequently hard to reach. I spent a lot of time playing phone tag and had a lot of late-night (or all-night) writing sessions to get them completed.

Now I'm preparing to storm back with some business development efforts. I'm going to look for some partnerships, work my network, offer more to my current clients and take some time to build my skills further.

I'm also looking forward to at least one week of "me" time. The past few months I've been working night and day. It would be great to spend a week working on spring (summer?) cleaning, getting my financials together for the first quarter and maybe even reading a book. 

I've learned a valuable lesson: diversify. I write about diversification all the time, but it has really been driven home by this experience. It can be hard to do when one client offers you enough work to fill your days and nights. That means stable work and one contact to communicate with. Still, you should still consider rejecting a little bit of their work to make room for other clients. If you can get no more than 20% of your business from each client, you'll be good to go if one of your clients has to slash their freelancing budget. 

A Dramatic Soprano

(though technically, I'm more of a lyric soprano...)

This Friday was "Opera a la Carte," a performance by the Cleveland State University Department of Music's Opera Theatre Workshop class. I sang La Scia Ch'io Pianga, an aria from Handel's opera Rinaldo. As Almirena, I had been torn from my lover and cast into a hellish place alone. The aria is sad, lonely and angry at at once, and I was happy with my performance. It was also wonderful to see my family and friends come out for the performance. Thanks Kate, Paige, Donna and Michelle, it was wonderful to have you there. Thanks also to Barry and Sue, and of course my Mom.

My favorite thing about these dramatic pre-performance photos, is the overhead projector in the background, reminiscent of eighth grade science class.

Susan Boyle - What's wrong with her cover?

Usually I avoid adding to the commentary about "YouTube" sensations. If someone does something exceptionally well, good for them. If they are terrible or disgusting, I'm glad someone finds it amusing. A very few of them have impacted me enough to inspire me to write something. I am, however, inspired by Susan Boyle. Not by her singing, which is very good. I'm sure she could star on Broadway in any number of shows and be quite successful. 

I'm inspired to write by our reaction to her. If I hear one more person say "It just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover," I am going to scream and throw a book at them.

What is wrong with Susan Boyle's cover? Does everyone really believe that she's that unattractive? Sure, she's not Heidi Klum in the scheme of things, but I don't find her unpleasant to look at. In fact, quite the opposite. She looks like someone who is approachable and pretty in her own way. If I saw her on the street, I would not in any way look at her and say - oh look, an unattractive person.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we're calling her unattractive and even "ugly." This woman is not ugly. This just goes to show that we expect people on television to be the cream of the physical appearance crop and when someone who is just an average person (which means nearly all of us viewers probably look a lot like her in our own average way) appears on the screen, she becomes "ugly." 

Opera Theatre Workshop

Cleveland State University presents "Opera a la Carte," an evening of scenes from popular operas including La Traviata, Carmen, La Serva Padrona, Hansel and Gretel, Rinaldo and Giulio Cesare. The performance features graduate and undergraduate students from Cleveland State University's Department of Music. 

Friday, April 24th at 7:30 p.m., in CSU's Drinko Recital Hall. The hall is located in the Communication and Music Building on the corner of East 21st and Euclid Avenue. The concert is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $6 in the garage on E 21st and Chester.

Happy Easter

Spring has sprung here in Cleveland, and for the first time in several years we had really nice weather on Easter Sunday. I remember two years ago we were buried under about 6 inches of snow, so the sunny, mild weather was a welcome surprise this year. Here are a few of my favorite outdoor photos from our mild and lovely Easter.

Tribute: a"Muse" bouche 1

A tribute to the photos that got rejected - here is the first of three that appeared in my piece a"Muse" bouche. Inspiration that can be consumed in a single bite is one way to describe Jenna, a musician full of passion and smiles all at once.

A composer who works in the medium of electronic music, Jenna showing love to a giant speaker is somehow appropriate. I wanted to call this photo "I sing the body electric" originally.

On Rejection Part 2: The 8 Stages of Rejection

So what was my profound realization about rejection? That it has distinct stages. Once you understand the stages, it's a lot easier to gain some perspective and actually have a good laugh about the whole situation later. I can't promise it will make you feel any better during actual rejection, but I still found it pretty humorous when I realized that I've gone through this process every time I've been rejected my entire life. Next time I get rejected, I'll be able to observe the process even more, not that I'm looking forward to it mind you.

The Stages of Rejection:

Just like the stages of any experience, you may or may not experience all of these each and every time. In fact, maybe I'm the only person who goes through this. Anyway, here they are:

1. Shock

I think the amount of shock depends on how sure you were that you would not be rejected, but there's almost always some shock associated with rejection. You stare in disbelief, you hope you're dreaming, you just can't imagine that they would reject you. But there it is staring you in the face. REJECTED. When my art was rejected, I stood there outside the bathroom looking at the frames in a pile and my stomach sank. After a few double-takes, the idea starts to settle in and you move to the next step...

2. Hurt

In the hurt stage, you are the most vulnerable. You are genuinely wounded by the rejection. Depending on how important acceptance was, you may actually cry or put your head in your hands with genuine disappointment. If it was a small rejection, you might just have a tiny moment of internal pain, but regardless, this is the stage where you feel the pure "ouch" of rejection. Once the hurt is sufficiently realized, you move on to...

On Rejection

It has happened to all of us at one time or another. We put ourselves out there in a query letter, in a bid or in my most recent case, by submitting photographs to the student art show. We wait a week or two, feeling hopeful about the situation, and then without warning we are summarily rejected. Rejection is a major part of being a freelancer and a major part of being human. You can't win 'em all. 

My most recent bout with rejection happened at the Cleveland State University Student Art Show. Posters for the show were plastered all around campus, and since I've been doing some exciting things with my camera lately, I thought it was the perfect time to get involved. I went to a framer and paid an exorbitant amount (in my mind anyway) of money to have some of my favorite photos framed. I waited in line to drop them off at the art gallery and grabbed a receipt for them. I had even struggled to pick clever names for them.

This rejection was so potent because I didn't see it coming. Never having entered an art show before, I did not understand the concept of a "juried" show. I thought that juried meant a few people won ribbons or prizes. I didn't think I'd win anything, but I was excited that my work would be shown, so I invited about 30 people to the show. My choir director announced it to the entire choir too - that I would have photos in the show.

Fast forward a week and as I'm walking through the art building on my way to class, I see a sign that says "You can check to see if your work was accepted on Monday." Accepted? Wasn't all the work accepted? Apparently not - that's what juried means. Only some work is accepted - only the best. I walked in to the gallery and asked the girl how I could find out if my work had been accepted. "Do you see it on the walls?" she asked. I did not. So she directed me to the pile of rejects by the bathrooms, where my three frames were sitting, looking all dejected.

There was a lump in my throat and my stomach was turning over. Mind you, this was following an all-night writing session and I was tired. I walked to the car, clutching my photos and burst into tears. I proceeded to call a few friends and leave them messages about the rejection, letting them know that the photos I had taken of them would not be featured and apologizing profusely for my misunderstanding. I thought that everyone who turned in art would have it showcased, and I was oh so wrong. The embarrassment, paired with the cold I have been trying to fight off for weeks, sent me straight home and into bed.

It also led me to a profound realization about rejection... it happens in stages. Part 2 of this entry will deal with the stages of rejection. Suffice it to say that this particular rejection hit me harder than most because I didn't see it coming. I don't see myself attending the student show, except perhaps to jeer at the photos that did make it - but more on that in part 2.

Proof or Pay

As a freelancer writer, you would think that proofreading would come naturally to me, and it does. But only when I'm doing client work. Often when I throw a post up on the blog, I want to pour my ideas onto the page and post it while it's still steaming hot. The only problem with that is, two days later I will open up my blog and find embarrassing mistakes. From typos to sentences that I wrote and incorrectly rewrote during my first attempt, I almost always find at least one boo-boo after the fact.

I often wonder if I find them later because at that point I'm far enough removed and have a pair of fresh eyes, or if it's because I just wasn't all that careful the first time I posted. If you had already read my last entry, you may have noticed a few small issues, which have now been corrected. 

I was reminded of the importance of proofing by an email I received today. It was a prospective client who was writing to let me know that he had checked out my website. My website? Oh yeah, that web address that's in my professional email address and that I'm pushing everywhere from my business card to my email signature. The first thing I thought was, "what is the first post right now?" So, I went and read it and found no less than three major errors caused by careless rewrites.

This served as a major reminder. Even though this blog is just that, a blog and not a professional brochure, it's still the place that many prospective clients come to sample my writing. That makes it as much a portfolio as a platform for my musings on freelancing and life. So, I've been formally reminded: proof or pay.

Are you Taking Advantage of Cleveland's Music Scene?

Ok Clevelanders, are you taking advantage of all that Cleveland's Music Scene has to offer? Do you even know what I'm talking about? I have to wonder after Friday night. On Friday night, Cantores Cleveland had a free concert at the Christ Episcopal Church in Shaker Heights. The concert featured early music by Wise, Gesualdo and Byrd and integrated the visual image and the spoken word into the experience. It was by far one of the most beautiful performances I've heard in a while. And given that I am an active and avid musician, that's saying something.

Early music is not always beautiful in performance. It's not particularly easy and requires both musicianship and excellent vocal technique. The artists of Cantores had both, and a number of times during the performance the soaring soprano lines or the fluid inner melodies raised goosebumps on my arms. The entire concert I sat there, running the visual projection portion of the show, and feeling especially proud to be in any way associated with these skilled musicians and artists.

There was only one disappointing aspect of the evening for me, and that was the turnout. The concert was (amazingly) free of charge and yet the church pews were not full. As the freelance marketing specialist for the group this might have been a bigger blow to me, but still. I had sent out hundreds of emails, forwarded the press release and begged the Cleveland media to list the performance. Even with listings on cleveland.com and elsewhere, the turnout was not as I had hoped.