Maddie Cohen Talks About the Ebb and Flow of Her Career as a Writer

Last Saturday afternoon I attended an event at the Duluth Public Library in which successful writers shared insights from their career paths on how to make money by writing. It was a surprisingly rewarding hour-and-a-half, for which I am grateful to Lake Superior Writers for assembling. I was also grateful to Facebook for having sent a reminder an hour beforehand while I was driving in to town. (Social media isn't all bad.)

One of the panelists was Lake Superior Writers board member Maddie Cohen whom I reached out to for this interview.

EN: Let's start with Lake Superior Writers. I see that you are on the board for LSW. How has being on Lake Superior Writers helped you in your writing career?

Cohen is on the board of
Lake Superior Writers

Maddie Cohen: Lake Superior Writers (LSW) has been a fantastic resource. I've met other writers-including some other freelancers-who I now turn to when things get stressful in my work. It's nice to talk to people who understand the ebb and flow of freelance writing.

I've also joined a few writing groups through LSW, and I've gotten some work through the people I've met in the organization. For instance, I proofread the content of a member who ghostwrites financial materials.

EN: Your website introduces you as a writer, editor and content strategist. I like how concise and specific it is. How did you come to choose this specific writing niche?

MC: Carving out my niche was a process of trial and error. Initially I intended to proofread and copyedit fiction, but I came to realize I preferred working on marketing materials and blog posts for corporations. I now write and edit content for a number of companies, and help some of my long-term clients develop content calendars.

What I like most about this niche is that the content has got to be--in your words--concise. My strengths lie in simplifying complex topics.

EN: I'm guessing there were people in the room Saturday who may have been surprised to hear that you make 4K to 7K a month. How long did it take from the first Fiverr assignment to reach this level today?

MC: My income took off when I substantially increased my rates in the spring of 2017. I was taking on more projects than I could handle and needed to manage what was coming in. It took me about two years on Fiverr to achieve this, but I could have done it sooner if I'd had the confidence to charge more earlier on.

Now I'm on Fiverr Pro, a "premium" version of the platform where freelancers are vetted and charge a minimum of $100 per project. With my current fee structure on Fiverr Pro, I make between $50 and $150 per hour depending on the project scope.

Fiverr, however, only accounts for about half of my total income. I also work with clients independently: a hospital, a law firm, and a travel marketing company, among others. These "anchor" clients give me steady work over email each month. More often than not, I'm so busy with these clients that I have to make my Fiverr profile invisible in the search results.

EN: For people who don't know what Fiverr is, can you briefly explain?

MC: Fiverr is an online marketplace where "sellers" (freelancers) list specific services, and "buyers" (clients) hire them to complete projects in their area of expertise. Buyers pay immediately-the site takes a 20% cut, but the commission doesn't bother me because I don't have to chase down late payments-and the platform holds the funds in escrow until the service is completed.

EN: You also do social media consulting. How did that evolve? And what are the biggest mistakes marketers make when using social media?

MC: Social media consulting allows me to combine my skills-writing and photography-into a single service. At one point I was shooting portraits and managing my writing business, and a client recommended that I consider social media strategy so I could make money writing and capturing photos. Now I've done social media for businesses ranging from restaurants to bookstores.

The biggest mistake one can make when using social media? Posting too frequently, or at the wrong time. As much as social media emphasizes "authenticity," you've still got to be strategic. There is definitely a formula for driving engagement and building a following.

EN: In one of your blog posts you mention that the freelance life is feast or famine, so you have to set money aside when you have it. What kinds of things do you do to increase or slow down your workflow?

MC: Fortunately, the last unplanned slow week I had was in November 2016. I followed up with some of my long-term clients during this time, and a few projects fell into my lap. Freelancers should always reach out to their existing clients when they're underbooked--chances are, someone will have work available.

Lately, I've been grappling with too many projects. I increased my rates again, which is one way I like to manage the amount of work that comes in, but I also hope to take a few days off soon to compensate for a recent chaotic period. To slow things down, I let clients know when I'm too busy. Projects are rarely as "urgent" as people say they are.

Balance is key to maintaining a steady workload. On the rare occasion I work 12 hours straight, I'll reward myself by taking the next day off. When I'm on a tight deadline and log a 60-hour workweek, I'll make a point of cutting myself off after 20 hours the following week. These are some of the strategies I rely on to take back control of what is often an unpredictable work schedule. By doing so, both the busy times and the slow times feel deliberate.

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Need a competent and responsible Freelancer? You can find Maddie through her website at www.maddiecohen.com

Writers Share Insights On Making Money As Writers (And Don't Underestimate the Power of Fiverr.)

On Saturday the Duluth Public Library hosted an event for writers titled Writing for Money. Four local writers who make a living using their writing skills were assembled for a 90-minute panel discussion on a topic that eludes many beginning writers and stymies others. If you are a writer or writer-wannabe, you would have found this a valuable and informative way to spend your Saturday afternoon. It was seriously good, even inspiring.

The first 45 minutes consisted of each panelist sharing their writing journey for ten minutes. How they started, how they chose writing as a career and where it has taken them. After a short break there was a Q&A period as members from the audience submitted questions for the panel to answer.

Three of the panelists were young people who seemed to be in their stride, working hard because there was plenty to do. They were writing and getting paid for it, and still learning, with their lives ahead of them. The fourth panelist was Marie Zhuikov of the Lake Superior Writers, closer to the far shore of her career, yet still exploring new territories.

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Writing for Money was the second of three events designed to help writers move forward in their careers or with their dreams. The first focused on helping writers write for literary journals. Here are the stories each told about themselves in the first half of the program.

Maddie Cohen, a full-time freelance content writer, spoke first to the attentive group gathered in the Duluth Public Library's Green Room. Cohen began as a TV reporter in Montana. Building on a lead from Business Insider she decided to move in a new direction and now makes 4K to 7K a month.

The first step was surprising to me. She set up a profile on Fiverr, a website in which people offer to do various service for $5.00, like design a logo, write a jingle, do a voiceover or write a blog post. I'd been to this site before, but I hadn't realized the manner in which these five dollar gigs could be leveraged into full time assignments. Maddie is also fluent in French, so that this could be leveraged into translation work that paid some serious dollars.

Cohen shared how she once felt like getting a byline was what she wanted. Today she sees the value of corporate work and is eating it up. You can find her website here.

Gia Bellamy shared next. Her role, she said, is helping brands find their voice. In high school she found that she enjoyed taking essay-format tests because they permitted more nuanced answers as opposed to multiple choice quizzes and tests. She enjoyed essays so much that her motto became "Essay Questions Forever."

She went to St. Thomas University and began blogging at that time, with a focus on marketing and advertising. The blog helped her get an internship which led to a copywriting job. From there she went to work with a marketing team at another company, learning more skills and lessons along the way. When she moved back to Duluth she began working for Swim Creative. Now, she works from home, collaborating on teams from all over the hemisphere.

Chief lessons she's learned thus far in her writing career:
1. Do more.
2. Everything's a draft.
3. Kindness wins.

Marie Zhuikov is a writer who works at Wisconsin Sea Grant and has recently published a pair of Eco-Romance novels and was editor of the short story collection Going Coastal.

Like nearly every one of the panelists, Zhuikov began writing in high school. She also did lots of reading,  and was so into poetry that she would re-type the poems she liked and noted that she "has been sitting in front of typewriter" her whole life. As a teen she wrote on a teen page for the Duluth News Tribune. In college she started toward a biology major but switched to science journalism. Her dream at the time was to become Jacqui Cousteau.

After school she became an environmental reporter for the Minnesota Daily and also did freelance newsletter work, wrote for fitness magazines, and the Hennepin County Medical Center. She shared details from the long and winding road that led her back to the Northland. Her experiences were more numerous and varied, with writing the thread that stitched it all together. When she add up all the revenue generated from her writing experiences it was a substantial number, which she contrasted with the 6K she's made with her novels.

Investigative reporter Brooks Johnson writes for the Duluth News Tribune. He also produces a weekly business column. His story was as equally entertaining as the others. Johnson was nicknamed Tolkien in school because he was reading Tolkien all the time. A teacher complained to his parents that he was always reading and his parents asked, "Is that a problem?"

Johnson wrote poetry and wrote album reviews. He loved writing and decided to do it as a career. Beginning as a writer for the student newspaper his junior year, he's been writing ever since.

When he graduated college he wrote 29 letters to find a job before the 30th one landed him a position in Oregon. While writing for the paper he practiced different ways of telling a story. He enjoyed burying cultural references in his work. His next job was in Fargo, where he continued to learn from others and from experience. Finally he landed this position in Duluth. The best advice he got from an editor was this: "Tell me what you are going to tell me."

After the break the panelists answered questions from the audience, some directed to specific people and some directed to all.

To Maddie: WHAT DID YOU WRITE ABOUT CARDBOARD BOXES?
(In response to an anecdote she'd shared, she explained that it was a blog post about shipping.) I like writing about dull topics, making them humorous. (EdNote: Me, too)

DOES ONE NEED TO KNOW THE LANGUAGE OF FOREIGN SPEAKERS WHEN IMPROVING THEIR ENGLISH?
Maddie again: It helps.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE WRITERS JUST STARTING OUT WHO DO NOT HAVE A DEGREE IN JOURNALISM?
Maddie: I didn't have a degree in journalism. I had a bachelors in another discipline, but in small markets you can knock on doors.
Marie: You can write a free blog and show off your work.
Brooks: Read, research… persistence, knocking on the door.

A QUESTION ABOUT PITCHING STORIES TO MAGAZINES
Marie: Get familiar with the magazine and see what they cover already. If you think it will fit, you say "here is my idea, here is how I would approach it and here is why I am the best person to write this story."
Maddie: Let the editor know your idea will be helpful to readers.

HOW WOULD I GET MY STORY OUT?
Maddie: Different routes. Pitch story. Or blog on LinkedIn Pulse.
I get some jobs via LinkedIn. Write it, blog it.
Gia mentioned Medium.com.
Maria: Writers Market

WHAT KIND OF WRITING DO YOU PREDOMINANTLY DO?
Maddie: Ghost blogging and ad copy. Almost easier to create from scratch than to edit messy stuff.
She told a story about an NFL player's wife wanted to be on reality TV and hired her to do a blog for her. "There is so much ghost writing. You never know what you are really reading."

WHAT IS WEIRDEST ASSIGNMENT YOU EVER TOOK?
Marie: How to prevent earwax buildup.
Brooks: Journalism first person things. "Go where you are afraid to go. Good stories there."

WHAT ARE SOME WEBSITES WRITERS CAN USE?
UpWork.com
Fiverr.com
Hubstaff Talent
LinkedIn Pulse
Don't ignore Networking.

HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY TO ASK FOR?
Maddie: I either work by the hour or per job. Know your worth and set your rates accordingly.
A freelancer who refers work to her makes 150K. Her first year she made 25K and now makes 60K.
Gia: Google it. There are resources to help you get a sense of your worth.

WHAT IS AN ECO-ROMANTIC NOVEL?
Marie: Take ecological problems and fictionalize them. Then add kissing.

DID YOU PLAN TO BE A BUSINESS WRITER?
Brooks: It's rewarding. The best editors have had a background in business.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET REJECTED?
Brooks: Learning how to work with an editor is learning how to let go of your worst work. I pitch ideas to editors and they guide.
Marie: I've had more experience with rejection of short stories. Opportunity to work on the stories more. Learned to have a spreadsheet and keep submitting.
Gia: I pitch ideas all day and most get rejected.
Maddie: Rejection hurts but it doesn't mean your work isn't good. Isn't easy to get feedback from clients… A lot easier now that I am more confident.
In advertising/marketing, you are on a team so have to let go.

CLOSING ADVICE
Maddie: Jump into it and let it happen.
Don't hesitate to take weird projects until you get to pick and choose.
Gia: Look at everything as an opportunity to get better and grow.
Marie: Writing for news media is satisfying and pure, because you are trying to uncover truth. More money in PR, but important to do PR that fits with your values.
Brooks: Story telling is the heart of experience. There will always be a need for storytellers. Think about how you consume stories…

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If this blog post were a Yelp Review I would give the program Five Stars. Thank you to the Duluth Public Library and everyone involved who made this happen.