Divine Write Copywriting Forum

Hi all,

I'm new here but have been following the blog for a while.

I had a question for those of you who are established freelance copywriters.

Do you work on one job at a time? Are you able to spend a block of time on one job then switch to another job? Do you just go with the flow and if you have a mental block on one job put that down and pick up the next one, then return to the first?

I'm just curious about what works best for other people.


thanks,
Aprill

Hi April,

I’m a newbie here too, although I’ve been a copywriter for a while now. That said, I’m not a freelancing veteran, like some of the guys on here – I’ve spent most of my career in ad agencies.

For what it’s worth, I prefer to tackle one job at a time. That’s not to say I don’t line the next few projects up, so I know what I’m doing next. Generally though, I like to complete one job before I move on.

Of course, there are occasions when I just run out of steam, perhaps on a bigger or more intense project, in which case I try to take a break. That doesn’t always mean walking away from work altogether – if there’s a smaller or simpler job waiting in the wings, I might get cracking on that (a change is as good as a rest, as they say).

That’s just me. I imagine it’s a case of horses for courses.

Paul

Hi April,

Sorry, just found your post!

Although it'd be lovely to work on just one job at a time, I think for most of us, it's not commercially viable. To earn enough to keep the doors open (and a roof over your head), you have to multi-task. There are too many disruptions (e.g. awaiting info, review process) in every job to have just one running at a time.

I ALWAYS have multiple jobs running at the same time. Right now, I have 15 jobs going. I'm not actually writing the copy for all of them, though. Some are awaiting client info, some are in writing stage, some are in review, some are in final stages of quote/negotiation process.

Cheers.

Thanks for the replies.

Glenn - you are right that we've all got bills to pay. As a newbie, (part-time freelancing around another job), I'm still getting a handle on the management concepts. I have one ongoing client whom I bill at an hourly rate. I'm noticing a lot of copywriters with a similar structure to yours - fixed price quoting. I guess fixed price quotes allow you to pick up and put down different jobs and resume them at different times without having to be too particular about tracking hours.

It's tempting to think that when you work to fixed prices, you don't have to track hours. But to truly know how well you're doing, what your time is really worth, and which sorts of jobs are the most lucrative, you need to be tracking hours just as diligently. I track all time spent, including time spent on business, using a tool called InerTrak. It cost about $50 or something like that.

As you have another job, you're actually in a good position to take on one project at a time. This might be a good idea until you find your feet, and you're confident you can juggle multiple projects at once.

Cheers.