Today I’m going to be interviewing Christine Rice - freelance
writer, editor, and author. She has been publishing her writing since 2007. She
is the author of four books - Poetry for the Heart, Essays for the Soul, My
Not-So-Ordinary Life, and Freelance Writing Guide - and is planning on
publishing two more books by the end of 2012. She has been a freelance writer
and an editor since 2011. Her newest book, Freelance
Writing Guide: What to Expect in Your First Year as a Freelance Writer, was
just released in August 2012.
Karen: Christine, welcome to my blog.
Christine: Thanks for having me, Karen. It’s a pleasure to
be here.
Karen: What started you writing? Are you self-taught or did
you study writing?
Christine: Mostly, I learned how to write from being an
English major in college and my specialization was professional and technical
writing. Some of the things I learned were: to conduct effective online
research, write literary analyses, keep accurate bibliographical information, edit
other students’ writing, design brochures and web pages, give proper
step-by-step written instructions, and much more of course. I learned the most
from all the writing practice I got from writing essays and papers, because
there were so many! I received good instruction on how to write clearly and
concisely - to get my message across with using as few words as possible.
College was a great experience and I highly recommend that other writers get
educated on writing. My newest book, Freelance
Writing Guide, has a chapter called “Writing Courses,” which provides
information on how to get educated in writing.
Karen: What is your inspiration?
Christine: Life itself is the main source of my inspiration,
and my ideas come when my mind wanders. I like to brainstorm to come up with
ideas to write about. That was how I came up with the focus for Freelance Writing Guide. I knew I wanted
to write a book about freelance writing, and by thinking about the topic and
writing down thoughts about the topic as they came to me, I discovered the
slant of my book which is reflected in the subtitle: what to expect in your
first year as a freelance writer.
Karen: What made you decide on this topic?
Christine: I decided to write about the business of
freelance writing, because it was a main part of my life, since I was and still
am a full-time freelance writer. I decided on the topic after I had worked very
hard for nine months and had learned a large amount of knowledge about the
career field, and since I was approaching my one-year mark as a freelance
writer, I thought I had enough credibility to write a book about what it’s like
to be a freelance writer during the first year. And when I looked back at all I
had learned and gone through during that time, I wished I had a book, with all
that knowledge bottled inside, to read before embarking on my journey as a
freelance writer, because it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble from
the research I did and the experiences I went through. Wanting to bottle my
experiences in a book to help other inspiring freelance writers was my
underlining reason for writing and publishing Freelance Writing Guide.
Karen: Did something happen in your first year that prompted
the writing of this book? (Or do you explain this in your book?)
Christine: My experiences in general inspired me to write
the book. I had gained a lot of knowledge during my first year, so I had a lot
to share with other people. I had learned about search engine optimization,
online writing communities, networking, marketing, resume writing, writing for
content websites, traditional publishing, and much more, which is all found in
my book.
Karen: As a freelance writer, what is the best advice you
can give to those new to writing or new to freelance writing?
Christine: For writers looking to embark on a freelance
writing career, don’t expect a lot of profit in the first year. I’m sure many writers
don’t want to hear that, but we can’t live in denial. The first year of
freelance writing is about getting acquainted with writing for the Web and
print publications, building a network, starting and maintaining a blog and
website, and finding your niche in the freelance writing world. So if you plan
on quitting your day job to become a freelance writer, you should save up enough
money to cover expenses for the first year before
you become a freelance writer, or make sure your family can cover household
expenses with less income. Also, you may have a lot of business expenses, if
you need equipment and supplies to start, and that would factor into your net
profits. It’s best to have a financial cushion, so-to-speak, so that you don’t
get stressed over money. The profits will definitely increase, but in the beginning
it’s good to have a financial backup.
Karen: What kind of writing goals do you set for yourself?
Christine: My book reviewing goal is three books a month. I
have another goal of writing at least one blog post a week for each of my two
blogs. Mostly, I have a to-do list or a list of goals, but with no deadlines.
I’m very self-motivated and productive, so items don’t stay on my to-do list
for long. When I have things I need to accomplish, I often stay up all night to
get them done, because I don’t like leaving loose ends. My long-term goals are
to publish Chronicles of a Troubled Girl
and Articles for the Mind by the end
of 2012, Freedom from Fat in
mid-2013, and second editions of two of my books in 2013 as well.
Karen: As a freelance writer, how much time do you spend on
marketing your books?
Christine: An average amount, I suppose. Most of the
marketing I do is when the book first gets published. I write and publish a
blog post, a press release, forum posts, and events. After the book has been on
the market for at least a year, I will seek out additional reviews from book
reviewers. I create postcards with my book cover as the image and mail them to
people I know. I have giveaways and discount days. Marketing gets done in short
bursts so to not overwhelm the public with constant promotion.
Karen: All the books you've written are non-fiction. How
does this plan apply to someone who writes fiction? In your opinion, can a
fiction writer do as well in these areas?
Christine: Sure, fiction writers can become freelance
writers. They can publish short stories online or in print magazines, and
novels. And my book talks about all of that. Being a freelance writer is mostly
geared to writing content for websites and clients, which tends to be
nonfiction writing. But some fiction writers I know are great freelance
writers, because they are able to write both fiction and nonfiction. It is
definitely possible for a fiction writer to do well as a freelance writer.
