Sometimes Writing and Editing is Boring!
October 1, 2007 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Okay, I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I love writing, ghostwriting and coaching writers. But darn! Sometimes writing, rewriting and editing is just plain boring.
Yesterday and this morning, I went through a 20,000 word manuscript. All sorts of small things showed up, like extra spaces, words that needed to be changed and punctuation clarified. I’ve made my edits on paper with pen. If I had an assistant I’d just hand it to him, but I don’t. Of course, as I edit, I’m also adding some of the clients business rules to the document, and I’m finding some things I missed.
But the truth is, it’s rather boring.
How do you handle the boring parts of freelance writing? Tell us your secret.
Write well and often,
Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.
I use the reward system on myself. I give myself a couple of hours of editing (or writing a rather dry newsletter, as the case is today), then plan to do something more enjoyable once I’ve put in those hours. I might go harvest some vegetables from the garden, or write a blog post I’ve been looking forward to, or work on an idea for an article that will be fun. That works for me!
I concur with AW — rewarding myself for tackling a difficult task is essential to maintaining sanity.
Even with the most enjoyable projects, I find that taking a break and doing something else (like visiting this blog) is just the diversion I need. As long as I keep my breaks short, I will manage my time wisely.
20,000 words?! E-gads.
I make myself a cappuccino and think about the hourly rate I’ll get for doing the work.
lol… I agree with all three of you and use your systems… no vegie garden here, but I do have a wee garden… mowed the lawn yesterday in the middle of a project.
Matt, 20,000 words isn’t that much… about 90 pages… double spaced… most books are 50,000 or so and up.
Whenever it gets boring I remember how much I hated my last job. If I fail as a freelance writer, I’ll have to go back into the corporate world. I love corporate clients. I hate being a corporate employee.
Good point, Shari. My corporate clients are wonderful, but I just cannot imagine working for them!
Yep, rewards system is the way to go! I even took a no-pay monthly column once just because it sounded like a fun and quick project, completely different from the monotonous real estate and financial topics I usually write about. It is indeed a great diversion and – bonus! – wound up offering decent pay after a couple months. It’s motivation to plow through the boring stuff. The driving range works well too.
I look at my giant labrador foot warmers (Mocha and Luke) and think to myself, “If I were not a freelance editor and writer I would have to shower before 4 pm again. I would have to brush my teeth and hair before I logged into the company network. I would have to actually be pleasant to people on a daily basis, face to face!” Then I give my slobbery foot warmers each a head ruffle, pick up their leashes, and go out for a romp in the woods or on the beach. I find this reflective method life affirming and renews my resolve to make my editing/freelance business successful.