Copywriter, Author, and Journalist Kristen Fischer Discusses Life as a Freelancer – The Busy Creator 60

06.22.2015 - By Prescott Perez-Fox & friends Play

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Kristen Fischer (@KristenFischer) is an independent copywriter, author, and journalist living and working at the Jersey Shore. Following a stint as a cub reporter, she turned to freelance writing, making efforts to diversify her professional practice along the way.

A proponent of freelancing and professional issues around independent creatives, Kristen co-hosts Freelance Radio and has written When Talent Isn’t Enough, a business guide for creative professionals.

Our conversation covers writing tactics, the relationships between designers and writers, and how Kristen balances client work with authoring books. We also discuss the emotional trials of freelancing and some of the mistakes made and drama faced in her earlier years. Catch up with Kristen via her site, KristenFischer.com

Show Notes & Links

Kristen describes herself as a copywriter, journalist, author

Part of being a business writing is taking less-than-brilliant assignments at times

Two camps of copy — white papers, articles, and other long-form vs headlines, lead-in paragraphs, and short forms

Kristen teams up with designers; the best relationships work when writers think with design in mind and vice-versa

Kristen approaches a project as a journalism, getting right to “the gist”

Prescott wrote for The Triangle, the student newspaper of Drexel University

Kristen studied Environmental Science … naturally.

As a freelancer, Kristen, like Prescott, has worked part-time jobs to cover the gaps

Previous episode with Jeff Goins, author of The Art of Work

“Sometimes freelancing ‘on the side’ is very difficult to manage.”

—Prescott Perez-Fox

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“Don’t ‘take the leap’, instead ‘build a bridge.'”

—Jeff Goins

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The Art of Work by Jeff Goins On Amazon and On Audible

Kristen worked as a night editor for a year while she was building her freelance practice

“The first few years [as a freelancer], I was a hot mess.”

—Kristen Fischer

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Freelancers typically struggle with one of three things: Staying energized, staying motivated, staying organized

Kristen struggles with long-term vision and emotional context, Prescott struggles with focus hour-by-hour

Our previous episode on Mind Hacking with Sir John Hargave

Kristen has a dedicated home office, where her four cats make themselves comfy

Creatively Self-Employed by Kristen Fischer On Amazon

Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes by Kristen Fischer On Amazon

When Talent Isn’t Enough by Kristen Fischer On Amazon

50 Shades of Grey began life as Twilight fan fiction

Kristen Fischer on Twitter

Kristen Fischer on Facebook

Kristen Fischer on Instagram

Tools

Microsoft Word

Galaxy Note

Lenovo Yoga II

Docking station

iPod

Mozy, for backups

FitBit

Techniques

Keep an email headline to 50 characters

Marketing messages differ from subject matter messages

Concentrate on the gist, and add tone after

Write using an “Inverted Pyramid” for articles — if the bottom gets cut off, it doesn’t matter

The order of writing: Intro — Need — Call to Action. But that might change depending on the client and medium.

Keep asking yourself “why am I doing this?” and purse the long-term goals

Learn to develop a thick skin as a freelancer, not to take things personally

Habits

POP your troublesome tasks. (POP = Procrastinate on Purpose)

Schedule admin tasks like invoicing

Schedule time within the routine to work on your book or side project; a big block of time won’t appear

Stay “old school” with software and office tech

Clear your household to-do list so it doesn’t interfere with your business tasks

Give yourself permission to have a flexibility schedule (gym in the morning, when everyone else is at work)