Archives for November 2010

How To Throw An Event That Rocks The House

November 24, 2010 by 6 Comments

A Dramatic Reenactment of the Entrance to Word Nerd Networking

Last week, about 75 people crammed themselves into a small back room at the Galway Hooker for an event I’d planned with the fantabulous Marian Schembari.

Needless to say, I was shocked. It was my very first foray into event planning, and I had assumed we’d be lucky if even five people bought tickets.

But apparently, we had hit upon a real need amongst word nerdy types.

In the end, the event was a success. People raved to me about the great conversations they’d had, and the connections they’d made. They even asked me when the next event was taking place! (To which I began laughing maniacally because I was having a nervous breakdown… you’ll soon see why…)

Still — as I assume happens with most events of this sort — not everything went smoothly.

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Filed Under: marketing, networking Tagged With: , , , ,

Reason to Write: It Knocks Celebrities Off Their Pedestal

November 17, 2010 by 11 Comments

Jane Boursaw

Happily, Alisa’s post on her reason to write was so well-received that the pitches just started rolling in! I’m excited to present you with the next installment, from Jane Boursaw. Jane is a family entertainment writer specializing in movies, TV and celebrities. You can visit her at Film Gecko and Reel Life With Jane, and learn how to syndicate her family movie and TV columns in your own publication. Follow her on Twitter; become a friend on Facebook; or email her at jboursaw@charter.net. And if you want to write something for my Reason To Write series, contact me!

When Stephanie mentioned that she was starting a new column on Freelancedom called Reason to Write, a few things immediately sprang to mind for me. Sure, one of the main reasons I write is to get the scoop on what’s new and cool in the entertainment world and pass that along to my readers. But another reason I write involves knocking celebrities off their pedestals.

I don’t mean that in a bad way. Most of the celebrities I interview don’t even want to be put on a pedestal. They just want to do a great job with whatever project they’re working on. It’s our culture that puts them up on a pedestal, and I’ve not been immune to that way of thinking, especially living in the Midwest where I don’t encounter celebrities on a regular basis. You’d never see one shopping for toothpaste at Rite-Aid or sitting in the car next to you at the bank drive-through.

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Filed Under: reason to write, writing Tagged With: , , ,

Want To Work Remotely? How To Ask The Tough Questions

November 16, 2010 by 16 Comments

Not my pretty face, but the cleavage is similar...

About a year ago, I accepted an on-site, part-time position at YourTango, despite misgivings about resuming the dreaded NJ-NYC commute I had left behind several years before.

I was desperate, though. I needed some regular income to supplement the other work I was doing, and I was also badly in need of some quasi-regular human contact. Happily, I ended up enjoying my work at YourTango so much that the commute didn’t seem so bad. Plus, I loved the people I was working with.

Still, it eventually began to wear me out. It ate up my time. It was expensive. And, after almost a year of doing it, I began to resent it.

So at the tail end of September, I requested a new, remote working arrangement and, several weeks later, they approved it. Now, I work with my three cats laying in a semicircle around me. I sleep in a little bit more. I dabble in yoga and take daily walks. I have extra time to work on my other projects and extra time to make plans with… well… other human beings. Once again, I feel like I’ve achieved a healthy balance.

Maybe some of you are a little bit like me. Maybe you have full-time jobs, and squeeze in your freelance work in the evenings and on weekends. Or perhaps, like me, you have a part-time gig, and have to commute in to an office. Maybe you often think to yourself, man, I could totally do this job from home, and it would totally free up some extra time for my personal projects! But you’re afraid to ask permission.

How do you go about proposing such a fan-flippin’-tastic work arrangement to your big-time scary boss?*

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Filed Under: correspondence, Resources Tagged With: , , , , ,

Reason To Write: To Make a Difference

November 11, 2010 by 13 Comments


Alisa Bowman

Alisa Bowman, my blogging BFF.

The other week, I wrote the kick-off post in a new Freelancedom series — Reason To Write. It was a post about how writing had provided me with the opportunity to experience new things, and discover new passions… like recreational cooking (I’m too much of a disaster in the kitchen to actually call myself an amateur cook, or a foodie). I invited readers to share their own stories.My first guest blogger in the series is the fabulous Alisa Bowman, a laugh-out-loud funny blogger, and the author of the forthcoming Project: Happily Ever After (SUCH a good read!). Her reason to write? Well… read on…

Many years ago, as a newspaper reporter, I wrote because I wanted to make the world a better place. Then, three years into the job, I found myself standing across the street from the house of a woman who had just lost all three of her children. Her ex-husband had shot them all in the head and then set them on fire. Then he’d shot himself.

I was supposed to knock on her door, ask her how she felt and see if she might lend me some photos of her children.

I felt like a slimeball.

I’d just covered a murder like this the week before — and another one the week before that. In the state of Delaware, fathers killing their children had become a “trend,” one that had gained national media attention. News vans and reporters lined the street. This grieving mother could not leave her house without someone sticking a microphone or a camera in her face.

They all wanted a comment from her about how she felt.

I already knew how she felt. She felt like she wanted to die. She felt like she was about to throw up. She felt worse than she’d ever felt in her life.

I didn’t need to ask her how she felt to know that.

I stared at this woman’s front door. I took a deep breath. I let it out with a sigh. I wiped a tear from my cheek. I looked at the other reporters. I sighed again. I got back into my car. I drove to a florist. I sent her flowers.

And then I started combing the want ads.

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Filed Under: reason to write, writing Tagged With: , , ,

How To Build Your Network Without Having a Panic Attack

November 10, 2010 by 17 Comments

That time you saw me at that thing? I was screaming on the inside.

There are sooo many things that terrify me about networking events. I agonize over the best way to approach people, and then wuss out and don’t approach anyone. I assume that, when people see me cowering in the corner alone, they instantly know I’m lame. I worry that my obvious social awkwardness is turning off anyone I happen to be speaking with. I berate myself for being so completely boring.

I’m an introvert. Extended social interactions exhaust me and, after awhile, I hit a wall. I also have social anxiety. Drinking helps. My shrink has suggested pot. My Xanax just puts me to sleep.

But as I mentioned yesterday, taking networking from online to in-the-flesh is SO. IMPORTANT. It can solidify a relationship that you’ve developed online, or lead to new, promising connections. Also? Despite the fact that y’all terrify me so damn much, I love meeting new people and forging new connections. It’s just so gratifying to connect with someone who shares my interests… who can act as a sounding board… who I can swap tips and war stories with. And maintaining those relationships can be key in moving a career forward. Remember my post on bringing in new projects without lifting a finger? The bulk of the work that comes to me nowadays is thanks to people I’ve worked with in the past, or people I BS with on Twitter, or people I’ve met at this or that networking event, thanks to several large glasses of wine.

I want you guys to have that, too.

I’ve been reading Networking for People Who Hate Networking, and the book mentions several times that introverts benefit the most from events that combine structure and open time. Which is pretty darn great, because Marian Schembari and I have been masterminding an absolutely EPIC event.

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Filed Under: networking, shameless self-promotion Tagged With: , , ,

Networking For People Who Hate Networking: Network Roulette

November 9, 2010 by 3 Comments

A few months ago, I read a piece over at Lemondrop on IRL Syndrome, and immediately diagnosed myself as a victim of the disability.

As I read through the piece, I nodded with dawning recognition at passages like these:

“When I email a gal, I’m imbued with all these crazy powers. Confidence! Wit! Charm! On my Powerbook or my iPhone, I’m George Clooney at a cocktail party. On a date, without my assorted Apple products, I become … the Mac guy.”

I knew of what he wrote. Because, you see, I’m better in writing, too.

It makes the prospect of building my professional network somewhat daunting. And while being an introvert doesn’t necessarily have to be a liability (as I’m coming to learn from reading books like Networking for People Who Hate Networking), social interactions don’t only drain me of energy. They also terrify me. Which means I have to ease myself in slowly.

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Filed Under: networking Tagged With: , , , ,