Become a Six-Figure Writer - May ezine issue

Subscribers to my Become a Six-Figure Writer ezine have been asking to see back issues, so I've decided it makes the most sense to post them here when the new one comes out, like an archive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Become a Six-Figure Writer

Tips and Techniques to Build
a Six-Figure Writing Business

May 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snapshot of Six-Figure Writers Revealed

A couple of months ago I asked my colleagues in the
American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
and Freelance Success to complete an anonymous,
10-question online survey about their income and writing
habits. My goal was to identify what writers who earn
$100,000 or more a year do differently
from writers who don’t yet earn that much.

A total of 113 writers participated, including me, and I wanted
to share with you some of the most striking results.

Of the 113 respondents, 17 writers make more than $100,000 a
year and four of those make more than $150,000. Yes, the sample
probably isn’t large enough to be statistically significant, but
there are still lessons to be learned.

First, writers making six figures earn that money from a variety
of sources – magazines, books, web content, corporate writing,
teaching, newspapers, and editing. Writing magazine articles,
however, was the one income source common to all six-figure writers.

While some six-figure writers made the bulk of their money from
a handful of profitable projects (1-9 projects per year), the vast
majority of writers completed at least 20 projects last year, with most
writers tackling more than 40. Yes, six-figure earners are busy.

The good news is that they’re not killing themselves to earn all
that money. Very few six-figure writers work more than 50 hours
a week – most work less.

And they can make a six-figure living because the value of each
project they take on is typically worth at least $1500 if not
more. At that rate, they need no more than 67 projects annually
to hit the $100,000 mark.

What was most interesting to me, however, was the breakdown of
marketing activities six-figure writers invest in. Just under
100% of the six-figure writers reported having their own website
(but 100% of those making more than $150,000). And nearly 100%
of the writers send out queries, probably because everyone is
working with magazines. Most surprising to me was that private
meetings with editors was the third most common marketing
activity of writers making more than $150,000 – 46.2% of writers
making more than $100,000 also set up these editor meetings.

Many writers also sent out letters of introduction and
book proposals. Writers in the $100,000 camp, however, were more
likely to pay for online directory listings and online ads and
to participate in associations, like ASJA, while those in the
$150,000 and up category were more likely to have a blog and to
pursue publicity.

So what’s the take-away from all this? I’d say it’s that you
don’t have to be a workaholic to earn six-figures, nor do you
need to focus on landing that $10,000 feature from O or Vanity
Fair, although it certainly wouldn’t hurt. But do take another
look at your marketing plan for the year and consider adding
some editor visits to your to-do list.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT

Although I must admit I go into withdrawal without my regular
dose of incoming email messages, I’ve recently heard from
several experts, including Timothy Ferriss, author of The
Four-Hour Workweek, who advocate cutting yourself off from
constant email.

Instead, schedule two or three times a day when you’ll take a
look at your email inbox. By limiting your access, you can
reclaim minutes or even hours of productive time every day.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

COOL TOOL

Anyone trying to map out a complex project, such as a feature
article or book, take a look at this mindmapping website:
www.bubbl.us.

You can start with your core pieces of information and add more
over time. It will help you keep track of those brilliant
thoughts that come to you, as well as helping spot the
connections between all the pieces.

I just used Bubbl to map out a new book project. Seeing all
the pieces in front of me helped generate new chapter
ideas.

And it’s FREE! How cool is that?!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Become A Six-Figure Writer is a free monthly e-newsletter
for freelance writers. Feel free to share this newsletter in
its entirety with anyone who may be interested, or sign up
for your own copy at www.becomeasixfigurewriter.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Email: marcia@becomeasixfigurewriter.com
Web: www.becomeasixfigurewriter.com
Blog: becomeasixfigurewriter.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2007 Marcia Layton Turner