In the interview you’ll find out how my crazy work schedule is working out for me (working Monday – Thursday, usually getting up at 4am and working 5am through noon). You’ll also get some tips on query-free marketing for your freelance writing services and my thoughts on getting work as a freelancer in this day and age when you live in a small town.

I know you won’t learn a lot from me in the process, other than to observe my mistakes (and hopefully a few successes along the way). That’s why I’m not going it alone. My updates will be accompanied by an ongoing interview series with produced screenwriter Xandy Sussan.

You might remember Xandy from her past interview here on getting started in screenwriting or the recent announcement about her (and Merrel Davis‘) Double Feature Story Analysis service. She’ll be answering one or two interview questions for each update I post here about my progress with the screenplay — on idea generation, screenwriting research, outlining, drafting, etc.

Let’s get to it!

From Scaredy-cat to Screenwriter?

This isn’t the first time I’ve wanted to pursue a screenplay. I outlined my first novel back in 2004. I shelved it because when I finished those 70+ pages of outline material, I really felt the story would be better suited for a screenplay (after trimming some of the fat). Then when I was doing the other two novel outlines for readers to follow along with, I had more ideas for pursuing that outline as a novel again. So it’s still shelved until I decide what to do with it format-wise.

Fortunately that wasn’t the only screenplay idea that I had, and I really didn’t have to look far for one. Back in 2008 a friend renewed my passion for the horror genre. I loved it in my younger years, and then became the biggest coward about watching and reading horror for some reason (says the girl who was reading Stephen King by 10 — don’t ask me what my mother was thinking, or if she even knew, but I’m still terrified of clowns thanks to both the print and film versions of IT).

So I knew immediately that I wanted to write a screenplay in the horror genre. The idea seemed so obvious. There was this local legend in my college town. My ex-fiance told me about it (he grew up there). I got tired of hearing about the bullshit stories pretty quickly. You know the type — juvenile males daring each other to do stupid things and thinking it’s going to impress a girl. Yeah. Not so much.

Then a few months back I was reading a book with some area legends and lore, and that story was in it — with more detail than the ex’s version. The story suddenly became fascinating, not because I believed the essence of the tale, but because it turns out there’s possibly some factual back story that led to the legend. That’s what caught my interest.

I wish I could tell you about the specific idea, but I’m not going to. I’ve come across quite a lot of people online openly itching for this story to be turned into a movie, and sharing the overall idea as well as my fictional take on it would defeat the purpose of writing it myself. Besides, I can be pretty damn slow with these types of projects due to other commitments, so the last thing I’d want to do is hand over the idea to others to have them pursue it first.

What’s even better is that I’m reasonably close with a professor at my old college who I worked for at the time. He’ll be able to shed light on one aspect of the town like no other, and when we get to the in-depth research portion of the project and I’m ready to make a trip out there, I’m hoping to get him on a road trip to check out some elements of the story and educate me along the way. We’ll see.

So anyway, that’s the gist of what my screenplay is about — it’s a horror story based on a local legend. I’ll tell you a little bit more when we get to the research phase so you can understand what I’m actually out there doing.

In the meantime here’s some information from Xandy Sussan on screenplay ideas!

Xandy Sussan on Screenwriting Ideas

Where do you get most of your screenplay ideas, and how do your organize them?

I mostly get them from real life. I’m a professional eavesdropper and all-around-nosey-body. I love people and their stories and I always want to know everything about everybody ever. With that comes the unprecedented access to the best stories around. Strangers love to hijack me and confess their darkest sins to me in between the Sharpies and the Uniballs in Staples, in the grocery store, at the doctor’s office. I listen, I remember and I mull over for later.

If you had to choose 2-3 story elements / factors that tell you an idea is appropriate for a screenplay (as opposed to another medium like a book), what would they be?

What tells you that a story is ready for the screen? If a client came to me with a script filled with pages and pages of novelized text and internal thought, you probably have a novel not a screenplay. Novels allow for a deeper exploration of feelings, ideas and inner monologue that has absolutely no room in screenwriting. Screenwriting is a utilitarian pursuit. A script is a literal step-by-step of what to do to make art. Also, novels and most film are finite stories. They take place during a specific time period (even if it spans 100 years) and they have a beginning, middle and end. A television series is open ended. It requires something producers refer to as “legs;” basically meaning, can the show, under certain parameters, maintain it’s exciting adventures week after week with little forward movement? So, those are the things I immediately look for. Otherwise, the difference between a novel and a movie is really the visual component.

I don’t have an exact frequency set for this series. I’ll update as I move from one area to the next. The next post will cover research, and that will depend on when I can schedule in a research trip.

I know not everyone here is interested in screenplays, or novels, or other writing formats. But I hope you’ll bear with us and enjoy this series as it progresses. While we specialize in freelance writing here, we want to encourage writers to pursue their own projects as well — as additional revenue streams, or even just to flex your creative muscles once in a while.

In that spirit, I’ll again put myself on display whether that means succeeding in the project or making a complete fool of myself. We’re all new at something at one time or another, and these kinds of experiments are precisely why I never forget what that newness feels like. And that’s why I’m able to push you to do more and be better in your career — because I’m willing to do it right alongside you.

If I fail, that’s okay too. We’re not all cut out for everything. And worst case? Maybe you’ll get a laugh out of it — and any excuse for a laugh is a good one. :)

As a side note, I have to say I find it impressive that a 17 year old is not only out there pursuing freelancing, but also blogging. She has one of the better looking blogs I’ve seen in the niche — professional and clean — and she didn’t shy away from premium options relatively early on. Nice content. Nice look. Overall nice job with her blog. If you’re looking for examples of ways to keep it simple but effective, WriterSeven.com is a good one.

First, you can read my interview with Peter Bowerman (author of The Well-Fed Writer series, including the new release combining information from his first two books) over at QueryFreeFreelancer.com. We talked about self-publishing nonfiction books, which can be a valuable part of a freelance writer’s platform.

Then, if you’d like, you can read an interview Michelle Oxman conducted with me for Fuel Your Writing. There you’ll find out a bit about how I started out, some of my writing-related pet peeves, and more.

Recently Chris blogged about reaching the $9k level during a month through his freelance writing work. Seeing the reaction on a particular forum, I thought I’d nag him for a chat, pick his brain a bit, and see what we could get him to tell you about his success and how you can do the same.

What Chris Does

To kick things off, I wanted to know exactly what kind of freelance writer Chris is. He covers a variety of types of projects, noting recently on his blog that the bulk of his work falls within three categories: feature articles, corporate blogging, and keyword articles.

Upon asking if he takes on any other types of freelance writing gigs, Chris said “I have written more sales letters than I can remember. Some of these are used for online “landing pages” and others in direct mail packages. To go along with this, I am asked for an occasional press release, but this is not an area that I concentrate a lot of my time.”

Feature Articles

Let’s face it – “feature article” can mean a lot of things. Does Chris ghostwrite, or does he stick to bylined work? Does he generally write Web features or does he write for print publications. In fact, he likes to mix it up. Here’s what he had to say:

“To answer your first question, I would say that it is about 50/50 as of late. Some publications only publish the articles online, others only in print, and some do both. Although I like to get a byline where possible, a lot of times this is not always the case. Check out [this link] for a feature that appeared both online and in print!”

Keyword Articles

Chris also mentioned that he writes keyword / SEO articles. These are the types of articles that tend to give Web writers a bad name. You know the ones I mean – the “I’ll pay you $5 to write an incoherent 500 words on something you know nothing about, even if you can’t speak English, just as long as you throw these keywords in there at this density level,” types of gigs.

But not all keyword articles are poorly paid. Some are well written. Some clients even combine feature articles with SEO articles. Honestly, I love this type of work when it pays well. I usually get these clients through my freelance writing site or referrals, but I know a lot of writers pick up SEO writing gigs solely from answering ads. Let’s see where Chris finds his keyword article gigs:

“Most of my new clients find me in one way, shape, or form. Some come from blog, others from referrals. I will respond to ads, but as I have become more established, I am definitely more selective when doing so.”

Corporate Blogging

I have to admit, I don’t do as much blogging for others as I’d like to, but when I do, they’re some of the best gigs out there (for private clients – not talking about blog networks here). They’re also some of the least-advertised positions, so you often have to be more aggressive in finding and getting corporate blogging gigs (which can pay very well by the way). Chris shared his thoughts on corporate blogging and tells you how he gets the gigs:

“Corporate blogging has quickly become one of my favorite writing activities. I love working with these clients because the projects are fun, and I can learn quite a bit along the way. Most of these projects come from referrals. For instance, a past client of mine sent my name to several “partner” companies and several of them hired me within a couple of weeks. If you do good work, your clients are definitely going to pass your name along to others; you don’t even have to ask in most cases.”

In the Money

OK. I know what you really want to know – what about that $9k?? How long did it take Chris to reach that income level? What’s different between his writing career now and when he was still a newbie? Well, I asked him:

“I have been a full-time freelance writer for three years or so, but worked on “side projects” well before that. Within three months of going full-time I was earning a full-time income, and from there I continued to build my business to this current level of income.

The biggest difference between my career now and when I started was the clients that I work with. I am still the same person, but I have learned that there are high paying clients out there and it is important to seek them out.”

I know Chris doesn’t like to share too many details on specific clients, but I’m nosy. So I wanted to know, if he won’t tell us who he’s working for now, what his favorite gig was (to give you a more specific example of the kind of work he’s doing).

“As a huge sports fan, anything that has to do with this topic is always exciting. Perhaps my favorite gig was my most recent book, Open your Hearth with Basketball. When writing this book I had the opportunity to interview many of the biggest names in the basketball world. The completed project was approximately 150 pages, and to tell you the truth, it was one of the most difficult tasks of my career. Writing a book can take up a lot of time; and this one wasn’t even that long. The nice thing about this book was that I earned a small advance, over $1k, and I also earn royalties every quarter.”

How NOT to Earn Like Chris

Are you content not earning as much as you could be from your freelance writing? Probably not. Here’s what Chris thinks your biggest mistake may be if you’re not at an income level you’re happy with yet:

“The biggest mistake in my mind is that freelance writers are content working for low wages and staying in this rut year in and year out. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with getting your feet wet; even if the rates are a bit low. But this is not something that freelancers should get used to. In order to reach a higher level of income you need to find clients that pay better; it is that simple!”

Final Thoughts

And you know I have to go all stereotypical on you and ask the classic question: what advice does Chris have to share with all of you newer writers (or established writers feeling that they’re in a rut) out there?

“New freelance writers should concentrate on offering high quality content and pleasing every client. Money is good, but if you are only working for the pay it is going to show in the work that you complete.

Established freelance writers who are struggling to progress their career should do three things: network, network, network. While that is really only one thing, it is very important in my eyes. If you want to grow without having to market your services day in and day out, there is no better way of doing this than networking which will in turn lead to more work and referrals.”

Now – it’s time to go check out ChrisBlogging for yourself.