End of the line on what was, in retrospect, a very gratifying week on the East Coast pursuit of the FLCW life.
1. Sunday: I prospected and prepared my pitch e-mail for 50 designers in Atlanta. I normally do 100, and lamented my slacking ways to Caitlin. She reminded me that 50 is pretty good, and I could do more over the course of the week. Oh yeah. Okay!
I wouldn't have time to.
2. Sunday: my partner in L.A. delivered my new logo! In exchange for my logo, I'm rewriting all copy for her website. Networking is good: quid-pro-quo is even better. Partner would like my final drafts Friday. No problem!
3. Monday: a client - director of web services at a community college in MI - e-mails a request for three treatments of three rotating ads for the school's website. He has one ad ready for me, and would like the draft Wednesday morning. Okay!
4. Tuesday: work on ads and website continues. I submit first draft of the college ads. No reply, which means that my first drafts have been accepted. No news - and no reply - is good news with this client, as I've found out.
5. Wednesday: a few celebratory margaritas, and back to work on the website. Wednesday night, the migraine hits. I would be in bed, and out from the day job, until Saturday afternoon.
6. Thursday: I battle through and finish my first draft for the website. Not quite. Partner wants the copy to be as juicy as her design. I start thinking of a strip steak that's rested for five minutes and return to the battle. Unfortunately, migraine is now competing with writers block. Gulp.
7. Friday: I keep battling through and juice up the second draft. Partner loves it! Finished!
8. Sunday: Today I'll write and post my weekly blurbs for my client. I may do a bit of prospecting today. Knowing that oh-by-the-way I don't have to do it all in one day.
So out of a week that started with me thinking I didn't get much done, a lot came out. I love weeks like this: weeks full of the pursuit of the word, the pursuit of a satisfied client, the pursuit of more of all of the above. Very gratifying week, in retrospect. Can't wait for next week.
BW
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Draaaag
Caitlin has provided the West Coast perspective. Time for notes from the East.
I'm psyched to have crossed paths with Caitlin! It's great to have some friendly competition on a weekend like this, where I am absolutely beat to a soft pile of mush from the past week in the cube. And I'm not going to be in the cube forever. My 40th birthday is 09/12/12. My goal, now posted in the town square of the world for posterity, is to make that day the first day of the rest of my life as a self-sufficient FLCW. I therefore don't have time to be tired. It's on! I'm going for it.
So today it's finishing work for next week for my current client, then it's prospecting for new clients. Each weekend I pick a city, google 100 graphic designers, and send out a pitch e-mail on Sunday night, so it lands in the prospective client's inbox first thing Monday morning. Our mutual leader Peter Bowerman has approved of this method, and I'm approving of the results I've gotten thus far. I think I shall continue.
See, because I don't have a choice. This is what I want. This is what I have to do to get there. And I'm cool with that.
Back to work...
bw
I'm psyched to have crossed paths with Caitlin! It's great to have some friendly competition on a weekend like this, where I am absolutely beat to a soft pile of mush from the past week in the cube. And I'm not going to be in the cube forever. My 40th birthday is 09/12/12. My goal, now posted in the town square of the world for posterity, is to make that day the first day of the rest of my life as a self-sufficient FLCW. I therefore don't have time to be tired. It's on! I'm going for it.
So today it's finishing work for next week for my current client, then it's prospecting for new clients. Each weekend I pick a city, google 100 graphic designers, and send out a pitch e-mail on Sunday night, so it lands in the prospective client's inbox first thing Monday morning. Our mutual leader Peter Bowerman has approved of this method, and I'm approving of the results I've gotten thus far. I think I shall continue.
See, because I don't have a choice. This is what I want. This is what I have to do to get there. And I'm cool with that.
Back to work...
bw
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Keep on truckin'
I'll do a more detailed intro post later, when we actually have some readers, but the short version is, we are two cube slaves who are both building up their freelance copywriting business part-time, in order to go eventually go full-time and escape the cube. We met through comments on another blog, and now we cheer each other on.
Sent this e-mail to Brian:
I just hit a query wall today. I'm like, "I don't WANNA write more letters of introduction!! It's so BOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!"
His response?
Do you want to retire from the cube into a life of self-sufficiency as a FLCW? Then you want to write more letters of introduction! ;)
KEEP GOING!!!!
It's true, y'all. The more letters of introduction you send out, the sooner The Law of Averages will kick in, and the sooner you'll get clients, and be able to quit your full-time jobs to be full-time freelance commercial writers/business writers/copywriters.
Sent this e-mail to Brian:
I just hit a query wall today. I'm like, "I don't WANNA write more letters of introduction!! It's so BOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!"
His response?
Do you want to retire from the cube into a life of self-sufficiency as a FLCW? Then you want to write more letters of introduction! ;)
KEEP GOING!!!!
It's true, y'all. The more letters of introduction you send out, the sooner The Law of Averages will kick in, and the sooner you'll get clients, and be able to quit your full-time jobs to be full-time freelance commercial writers/business writers/copywriters.
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