We all know this business is feast or famine, and when the down times hit, they can hit us hard, threatening our very own sense of self. To avoid losing momentum and giving up, there are steps you can take to start piling stuff on your plate again. I recently polled a handful of writers who offered these tips:
Joanna Nesbit, a Washington state writer, says the first thing she’d recommend is avoid spending hours of that down time on distractions such as Facebook. Instead, she says, use that time on the computer to research new markets. “Be intentional” about it, she says, looking for the markets that are targeted toward the work that you do or want to do more of and not just any market that comes up in conversation.
ASJA member Stephanie Citron says she spends time like this “digging through old pitches.” It usually generates ideas she can use for repurposing. During the dig, she may also uncover editors’ names she’s pitched before but forgotten about.
“For a long time, I would use low times to seek out new work, check in with everyone I freelance for regularly and start looking into new outlets. But work for me has always been a series of floods and droughts,” admits travel writer Margot Bigg.
During those down times, Bigg says she still makes time to seek out new projects and assignments but, more importantly, is careful not to measure her ability to get work as a value of who she is as a person.
“Now I just accept downtime for what it is and use it as unscheduled time off, like a grown-up version of being snowed in from school,” she says.
Similarly, New Yorker and ASJA member Margie Goldsmith insists she prefers to think of these so-called “down times” as “up times.” This way, she views them as opportunities – the time she allows herself to write essays, clean up loose ends, pitch, and to do research on potential projects.
“I also allow myself more time to work out and more time to take my time about everything, as I’m not racing on a deadline,” she says.
Author Diane Covington-Carter says she uses any down time in writing to ramp up on editing and teaching projects. She teaches a class called “Finding your Writing Voice,” and promotes it in the small town where she lives. If all else fails, Covington-Carter uses this down time to clean out the desk and files. In doing so, she says she can usually come up with contacts or writing long misplaced.
“Clearing clutter is magical, in my book,” she says.
Denver-based Irene Rawlings makes lists of editors to query and lists of queries looking for an editor. “Then I work hard to match them up. And sometimes I start a book. That gets me through my down times,” she says.
And Europe-based writer/photographer Lola Akinmade Åkerström says when she’s having a difficult time selling articles, she starts promoting her photography, photo essays, in particular.
“These are usually for online pubs, and it’s a matter of looking through what they already have on-file, looking at my archives, and then pitching [theme-based ideas],” she says, “There are lots of pubs open to photo essays, sites like Travel Channel and BBC travel, that may not necessarily have space for full feature stories.”