If you have been working as a freelance article writer for a while, the holidays are not your favorite time of year. Everything slows down. Magazine editors are impossible to contact. You\u2019re hard-pressed even to receive rejection letters this time of year. You wonder, \u201cWhere did everyone go?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t they have magazines to get out?\u201d<\/p>\n
It has always been a puzzle to me\u2014why it is so difficult to communicate with someone about your pending story, your idea or even your paycheck during the summer months and the major holidays. I imagine huge offices going vacant this time of year except for a lonely janitor tidying up while the phones are ringing off the hooks. Where are the employees? Home preparing Thanksgiving dinner, decorating their trees, shopping for gifts, I suppose. Maybe they\u2019re traveling to warmer locations or to visit family in other states. <\/p>\n
You know how the janitor feels as he or she rattles around in the expansive New York office building alone. You feel alone in your attempt to place your articles this time of year. <\/p>\n
When I was writing articles full-time, I tried to keep up with the game all summer and during the fall\/winter holidays. I continued my routine of coming up with article ideas, conducting research and interviews, sending out query letters and writing requested articles. But I felt as though I was in it all alone\u2014that New York had disappeared from the face of the earth or at least had closed down for the winter. I also felt frustrated and a tad angry. Here I was working as usual and nobody cared. <\/p>\n
If you have experienced this phenomenon or if you begin to experience it this year, I have a few suggestions. Rather than trying to conduct business as usual all by yourself, you might adjust your mindset, way of pursuing your work and your expectations. Here are some ideas:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tCatch up on your bookwork and organize your workspace or office while sipping on a hot toddy and listening to holiday music.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tResearch new outlets for your articles. You\u2019ll be prepared when everyone gets back to work.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tContact several smaller publications with your article ideas. They seem to keep to the grindstone like you do. They may pay less, so think volume.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tGo into idea mode. This is a good time to read magazines and newspapers with a pen and pad nearby. Study the news and current trends with an editorial eye. Listen as people converse. Watch talk shows on TV. Locate new ideas or find ways to put a new twist or spin on older news\/concepts.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tRecycle some of your articles. This might be a good time to send out reprints.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tTackle that major piece you\u2019ve been wanting to write. Start with the research and interviews you need to conduct in order to write a powerful query letter.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tNext year, leading into the summer and holiday seasons, shift into high and crank up your query and article submissions considerably to help cover the weeks (or months) that little is happening in your profession.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tWork hard all year and take a few weeks off during the holidays. You won\u2019t even notice that no one is home in New York.<\/p>\n
Are you aware of the phenomenon I\u2019ve touched on here today\u2014the absence of editors during the holidays? How do you handle your freelance business during these times? We\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n
Learn more about me and my work here: If you have been working as a freelance article writer for a while, the holidays are not your favorite time of year. Everything slows down. Magazine editors are impossible to contact. You\u2019re hard-pressed even to receive rejection letters this time of year. You wonder, \u201cWhere did everyone go?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t they have magazines to get out?\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a>
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