How Has the Business Environment for Writers Changed?

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

We opened the POMA (Professional Outdoor Media Association) panel discussion on business planning for writers in changing times by acknowledging that things indeed are different.

Image: "Crystal Lake, Garnett, Kansas", by Flickr.com user Kansas Poetry (Patrick), shared under Creative Commons Attribution No Derivative Works License. Thank you, Patrick!

When I talk to freelancers and read writers' posts here and there around the Web, I hear things like:

- My usual reliable markets have dried up;
- The editor likes it but doesn't have the budget;
- The magazine I used to sell a lot of work to has folded;
- They're doing everything in house now;
- They're only offering an online version;
- Ad revenues are way down for print.

Where are the Opportunities for Writers?

It's somewhat individual, since each writer has a target market of his or her own. However, here are a few things I picked up at the POMA conference, both in my own panel session with Jay Cassell of Field and Stream and Tack Robinson of Mossy Oak, and at some of the other sessions, and also in hallway conversations here and there.

A Good Story Can Still Find a Home

Maybe that's a platitude, and maybe it's not adding much to what you already know, but it does give hope to writers. That original angle may still open a door. Keep on top of developments in your field, whatever it is. Work with what you're good at, and keep pitching.

When your customers are going through lean times, maybe you create opportunities by finding ways to work with them. If the idea of cutting your per-word rates is totally unpalatable, then try to think of some other way of making your work more affordable.

Is Going Online an Opportunity for You?

It's no secret that I have my feet planted in the online world these days, but I do realize that online writing is not for everyone. However, I would like to say, don't knock it until you've tried it.

I work part-time as an editor for the online site Suite101.com. At the POMA conference, I met two long-time writers (called "Guides") from About.com. While these sites are distinct and different from each other, they do share a common approach to writing, particularly in that most readers find the stories on those sites through search engines. So, if you are willing to learn how to write stories that search engines will find, online writing may work for you.

Another option writers who've done it have recommended is to own your own website. This message comes through loud and clear, but it comes from people whose first objective is to make a living, not necessarily to write for the sake of writing. If that seems like a non-distinction to you, so be it, but for some I think it will hit home.

This takes us back to the self-analysis. In looking over your personal Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, and the ones that seemed most important to you, does it seem like you are desperate to make a living any way you can? Does that outweigh your desire to make a living by writing?

This is a really hard thing to face. One opportunity for you may be to cut your cost of living so you can afford to write. Are you prepared to do that? Or does it seem like a great sacrifice?

One person's opportunity is another's threat.

Next time: we'll do some digging around the Internet for online and offline writing opportunities.

Tip #3: Know Your Business Environment

In going through the four boxes of the SWOT analysis, we've already looked at the external environment.

Today I'd like to direct you to one of the all-time most respected business scholars, the late Peter Drucker.

This link to a publication called The encyclopedia of leadership: a practical guide to popular leadership ..., by Murray Hiebert, Bruce Klatt, should open at section 3.3, on page 76, "SWOT". From here to page 78 it's somewhat technical but even if you just take the passage at face value, I hope it will give you ideas about what to look at in your own external environment.

Remember, focus mainly on the Opportunities. Look at Threats if their impacts are likely to be very serious, and consider how you can guard against the risks they present.

The main purpose of this exercise is to try different ways of discovering opportunities. You may come away with a generic idea, e.g. that new media is in need of fresh content. That tells you where to do further research, which we will talk about in greater detail in another post.

Identifying Opportunities for Freelance Writers (Overview)

The SWOT analysis framework introduced in "Tip #2. Know Yourself" is a useful, simple way to organize your thoughts and show you where to start in planning your business strategy.

The Opportunities square is where you write the positive things in your external business environment.

Image: "Targets of Opportunity", by Flickr.com user Randy Son of Robert, used under Creative Commons Attribution License. Thank you, Randy, for sharing this clever montage.

Think About the Conditions That Will Help You be Successful

The word "Opportunities" makes me think of "markets". The magazines, websites, newspapers, book publishers, and others who might pay for my work. However, for this part of the analysis, let's look more broadly at the business environment in which you operate.

And, just as Weaknesses are often the negative versions of Strengths, so too are Threats often the negative versions of Opportunities. If, while considering Opportunities, you think of Threats, just jot them down in the Threats square on your SWOT matrix.

Opportunities in the Freelance Writer's Environment

Here are some prompts to help you observe and analyse your own business environment.

- The economy at a global, national, regional and local scale. Which of these are relevant to you? Don't worry about the ones that aren't relevant.

- The business success (or lack) of the publications you wish to sell to. Are they cutting back? Expanding? Changing formats? For example, a new publication starting up is an opportunity for writers. When publications are cutting back, it's more of a threat. But don't just think about the general situation, try to think about what's happening in your particular niche.

- The availability of funds, whether that's by loans, grants, support (e.g. press trips), free products (e.g. Google now has free software that is compatible with the Microsoft Office suite).

- The availability of photographs at low cost (e.g. from Flickr.com, which I personally love, and where many photographers share their work at no cost, according to the license terms of each individual picture).

- Major events or seasonal patterns that create opportunities for you (e.g. the Olympics, or annual hunting seasons).

- The growth of websites in need of fresh content.

I hope you can see that "Opportunities" at this point in the analysis means positive things in your external environment, not just a list of markets.

Of course, by all means make note of the particular markets that offer opportunities for you. I'm not saying to overlook them. However, part of what we'll be doing here is to explore ways of finding opportunities that fit you, and to do that, it's good to start with an open mind and a very broad idea of what aspects of your particular business environment will work in your favour.