Published monthly, on the 15th of each month
Published and edited by Angela Booth

In this issue:

Editorial: Get Rich Quick... Slowly

Article: Keep The Cash Flowing

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Editorial: Get Rich Quick... Slowly

Sorry this issue is a couple of days late. I've had several weeks where everyone wants everything — yesterday. Please forgive any typos!

Our theme this month is "get rich slowly." I've been thinking about instant riches because of the proliferation of easy-money sites online.

If you want to make money from your creativity, you CAN do it. Of course you can. However, you need to be prepared to do what it takes. If you do what it takes, you will make it. You have to hold out until success comes to you.

As you might expect, I get lots of messages from beginning writers. I hope that I help some of them, even if I do hint gently that reaching the top of the bestseller list might take a little longer than a year.

I wrote on the blog recently:

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Want to be an overnight success as a writer? Pay your dues.

The Music Business blog has an excellent item that applies to ALL artists, including writers: "Overnight = 7-10 Years."

http://www.indiemusician.com/2005/02/overnight_710_y.html

What a kick in the head. Seven YEARS?

The item notes:

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We, the music industry, make things look really easy.  That's our job.  We want the public to think that somebody was just plucked out of their job at the local fried chicken place when a record executive heard her singing and two weeks later, she's on MTV, getting ready to headline an arena tour, and making millions of dollars with record sales and endorsements.

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I'm convinced that the same time frame works for a writing – or any – creative career. You've got to put in the time. You've got to write and sell and promote a lot, so that people start to recognise your name.

Yep, seven years and over sounds about right to me.

This is a good thing. If you're whimpering because you've been writing for six weeks and sent out two short stories and a poem which have had zero effect on the literary world, keep writing and sending.

Are you willing to pay your dues?

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This month we're rerunning an article "Keep the Cash Flowing" that I wrote back in 2003, because it fits with our editorial.

Until next month keep focused on your creative work, stay safe, and have fun.

All best wishes from

Angela

P.S. Scroll down to see what's happening on Pro Write: free ebook writing manuals, and video tutorials coming soon.

Copyright © 2003 by Angela Booth. All rights reserved.

Without a steady cash flow, your business dies. This means that you need to be focused on your cash flow situation at all times: you need to know how much cash you have and how much is coming in. If you can see that you're likely to have problems, the time to take action is — NOW.

This constant awareness of your finances is especially vital for creatives. Writers, artists and designers are in a unique situation. Not only are we creators, we're also marketers and salespeople. Combining these two functions is so difficult that at times it feels as if it’s impossible. However, it can be done.

Whether you're starting your own business, or have been in business for a while, here are some ways to keep the cash flowing when business is slow —

Start your business with six months' worth of expenses

If you're going fulltime in your own business, you need a cushion. It's best to have at least six months' worth of expense money to keep you going. Then, when you've been in business for a year, always keep at least three months' worth of expense money in your account. Do whatever it takes to get that three months' cushion.

No cash? Moonlight until things improve

Business works in cycles. It's always either feast or famine. You either have more work than you can handle, or not enough. If you're going through a famine cycle — and these can last for several months — moonlight. There's a reason actors and actresses work as bartenders and taxi drivers.

Consider working part-time for someone else

Just because business is slow at the moment, it doesn’t mean that your business idea is terrible. To ease the situation, take a part-time job. Although you'll be busier than you'd like to be, the fact that you have money coming in regularly lets you relax, so that you can enjoy working in your business again.

Get an anchor client or product

You need an anchor client. This is a client who brings in a quarter of your earnings — you may need three or four clients to achieve this. These are regular clients, the bedrock on which your business is based. They pay your expenses, and keep you in business.

If you’re a writer or designer, you may also have an anchor product. This may be a book which brings in royalties every six months, or artwork you've sold under license for which you receive royalties.

It's worth working sixteen-hour days for a few months to create an anchor product. Once you've created it, the anchor product works for you.

Follow up on slow/ no payers

You can't afford to let people owe you money indefinitely. This means that you’re providing interest-free loans. Worse, if someone owes you substantial money, you're an unsecured creditor. If they go down, they'll take you with them.

Chase up slow payers. Send a friendly reminder email or fax once a week — every week, until they pay.

Don't pile up debt

Try not to go into debt. It's not worth it. It's better to work part-time for someone else, or to cut back on expenses, rather than go into debt. You don’t know how long the slow period will last, and saddling yourself with debt is a dead-end solution.

It IS possible to run your own business, and be relaxed about it, knowing that you can survive the bad times. If you need to go and work part-time, don’t look on this as failure — it's a win. You're doing what you need to do, to keep your business viable until the sun shines and the good times roll. You can do it.

http://www.prowrite.biz/

This month and next month, Pro Write is giving you a free ebook writing manual as part of your Pro Write membership.

Download Tell, Yell and Sell: Marketing Skills for Writers today, and next month, enjoy Writing to Sell in the Internet Age: the ebook.

Tell, Yell and Sell: Marketing Skills for Writers shows you how to market your writing like a pro.

Writing to Sell in the Internet Age: the ebook helps you to discover how to develop an UNLIMITED writing income in the new global marketplace.

Each book is yours, completely free to download and keep, exactly as sold on our Digital-e site.

We've got lots of new material coming soon on Pro Write, including video tutorials.

Enjoy.