Tips for Finding New Writing Clients and Book Readers

by Helen Jones

Although I was born (and now live) in the UK,
I started my writing career while living in Australia.

I’d always enjoyed writing but, when the opportunity came to go to university, I chose to do a degree in Visual Communication, rather than taking the place I was offered on a Creative Writing Degree (one of the few regrets I have in life).

I spent the next few years working in advertising, where I took a basic editing course and ended up doing quite a bit of proofreading. However, it wasn’t until my husband and I decided to make a sea change and move to the Mornington Peninsula, just outside Melbourne, that I got back into writing.

I was working at a gallery/bookshop and my boss asked me to write a review for a book. She liked it so much she then asked me to interview an artist booked for an upcoming exhibition and write a small piece about them – this led to more commissions, and I was then recommended to another business.

From there, I was able to build a list of regular clients through word-of-mouth, so I was very fortunate.

As a Freelance Writer, It’s My Job to Find a Point of Interest

In my freelance bio, I state: I’ve written everything from newsletters to brochures to promotional articles, interviewed difficult artists and amiable chefs, written letters to love and leave clients and come up with eight years’ worth of ways to tell people why white is still popular for weddings.

This is absolutely true. I’ve been fortunate to have a diverse range of clients and written for a range of different products.

However, experience has taught me that I’m more comfortable writing content, such as columns, blog posts or articles, rather than short and to-the-point copy. I can do both, but I know which one I prefer!

I also really enjoy doing interviews, something I did for several years while working for a local publication.

It’s always easier to write about a subject when you have an interest in it – however, as a freelance writer, it’s my job to find that angle, or point of interest, whether the product is metal bolts or wedding venues, and convey that to the reader.

When it comes to my own work, I find it difficult to write anything that doesn’t have a small element of fantasy, and these are the types of stories that seem to come to me.

Writing for myself feels wonderfully indulgent when compared to the realities of freelance work.

I’ve Found Writing Clients Through Both LinkedIn and Twitter

Social media is really important – I’ve found clients through both LinkedIn and Twitter – so I believe it’s important to make sure your profile isn’t just full of pre-scheduled messages about your books/work, and that you actually engage with people. It is social, after all.

I’ve also written posts for the Writers & Artists’ website, which, while they don’t pay, look great on a CV or pitch letter. I also have an established body of work I can refer to when pitching to a new client.

The Only Tried and True Method I’ve Found to Gain New Readers

With regards to readers, that’s a little more difficult. The marketplace is so very saturated that it’s difficult to stand out.

When I launched my first novel, I approached local libraries, who were very supportive in terms of featuring my book, purchasing several copies and even giving me an author event!

I also believe that a decent cover goes a long way to stimulating interest, so, for each of my books, I worked with both a professional editor and a cover designer to make sure that I was putting the best possible product out into the marketplace.

That being said, though, the only tried and true method I’ve found to gain new readers is through paid advertising. Any time I run an ad campaign, whether on Amazon or Kobo, I get sales. It’s as simple as that.

I’m not made of money, and I don’t have a huge budget to spend, but it is an important investment as a writer, especially if you want to find those all-important new readers, or to boost sales when things slow down.

It’s Better to Look at Work in Terms of the Time a Project Will Take

When it comes to freelance work, prices can fluctuate from one job to the next, so it’s difficult to say what would be the most lucrative type of work that I’ve done.

Some clients have paid me per word, others for the amount of time spent, and others a fixed price for the end product. It’s probably better to look at work in terms of the time a project will take, be aware of market rates for the type of project, and how much you would be willing to do the job for.

Budgeting is important when you’re a freelancer, so clients who offered regular work, such as monthly magazine columns, articles, newsletters or blog content (all of which I’ve done), were a more sustainable option for me.

However, I’m currently working on a children’s book with someone, and it’s a different situation again, entailing several months’ worth of dedicated work. Therefore, while I’m being paid more than I would be for content work, I still have to be conscious of my budget.

If Business is Slow, Write More!

The only thing I would really say to do to make your business easier is to keep writing.

If business is slow, start a blog. Write your own book. Write pitch articles or short stories. Keep a journal. Writing is a skill that, if you step away from it for a while, becomes rusty.

If you’re serious about writing as a profession, it’s important to write (and read) as often as you can, as it’s the only way to maintain and improve your skills.

Also, get a decent accountant.

Advice for a Young Writer: Work Hard, Network, Get Support, and Find Your Own Voice

That writing is a tough industry; expect to work hard, and sometimes for very little, especially at the beginning.

Network, network, network.

Get yourself a creative support group (I have a couple of fellow writer friends with whom I speak almost daily, sharing creative ideas, celebrating our successes and commiserating when things don’t go quite to plan)

Accept that you may have to do other work while working towards your dream. And possibly even when you do achieve it – writing, for most people, is not a highly-paid profession.

Find your own voice, rather than trying to emulate someone else’s.

Know the marketplace and understand the process of publishing – who the key players are and what they do.

And finally, in the immortal words of Shakespeare…

“This above all, to thine own self be true.”

Writing, after all, is a creative process so, whenever possible, write what makes you happy and creatively fulfilled.

* * *

Helen Jones was born in the UK, then lived in both Canada and Australia before returning to England several years ago. She has worked as a freelance writer for the past fifteen years, with articles published in The Guardian, Toast Weddings, Victorian Lifestyle Magazine and others. She’s published five books and is working on number six. She also runs her own blog and has contributed guest posts to others, including the Bloomsbury Writers & Artists site.

When she’s not writing, she likes to walk, paint and study karate. She has a couple of black belts (helpful when writing fight scenes) and a very nice husband (helpful when writing love scenes). She now lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and daughter, and spends her days writing, cleaning, thinking, and walking her very lively cockapoo.

For more information on Helen and her work, please see her blog, and Amazon author page, or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

---

A Thousand Rooms: Katie, thirty-two, is living a pretty good life.

She has a good job, her own flat, and a fabulous pair of new red shoes. Sure, she hasn’t had a boyfriend for a while, but she figures she still has time.

Until time is taken away.

Hit by a car while crossing the street, suddenly-dead Katie is alone. No angels, no loved ones, no bright lights appear. Katie is a lost soul, wandering the streets of Sydney, trying to figure out what she’s supposed to do next. But Heaven, or wherever she’s supposed to be, eludes her.

A Thousand Rooms looks at life, love, death, and the idea that Heaven is as individual as we are, taking the reader on an uplifting, bittersweet journey that examines what it means to be alive.

Available on Amazon.

Oak & Mist: Take a journey to Ambeth, where time twists and a palace gleams in green gardens. Where Light and Dark hold the Balance of the worlds, and beauty is a birthright, not a gift.

However, appearances can be deceiving.

When Alma stumbles between two trees into Ambeth, she finds she has a choice to make. Three items are lost: A Cup, a Sword and a Crown. Light and Dark are embroiled in a struggle for control. And both sides have been waiting for Alma to arrive…

A hidden world. A family secret. And a choice. But how do you choose between your head and your heart?

Oak and Mist is book one of The Ambeth Chronicles. Books two, three and four are also available, with book five coming soon!

Available at Amazon.