Monday, November 26, 2007

Writing Question of the Week: Holiday Slowdown

Good morning, fellow freelancers. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This week, I'd like to talk about your workload during the holidays. Does it tend to slow down? How do you plan for a decrease in workload around the holidays?

I generally notice a decrease in the amount of available jobs during the holiday season, but thankfully I have a few long-term clients on the back burner that should get me through this year. Fingers crossed, anyway!

I'd like to hear your feedback, and how you tend to fare as a freelance writer during the holidays.

Best,

Denise

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5 Comments:

At 8:09 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When all else fails, I go local. I check Pittsburgh's Craigslist, browse through local companies and check in with the Beaver County Times.

I just landed a decent gig through a local company that should get me through the holidays.

If everything fails, I just go loco with coupons and cutbacks.

 
At 10:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Normally my slowest week of the year is the week before Thanksgiving. This year there wasn't as much of a slow-down, and I had plenty of my own projects to spend time on though, so it was a pretty full schedule.

Starting on Black Friday I get orders coming in like crazy (even though I stay off through that weekend). I'm still on a heavier-than usual ordering period.

It usually slows down a little before Christmas, but not much (last year I was bombarded with orders on Christmas Eve - it happens when you work with an international audience I guess).

Then in the New Year I get hit hard in the beginning because people are launching new businesses and want PR work done for the launches. :)

 
At 11:24 AM, Blogger Denise said...

Tammi,

I definitely understand where you are coming from. Congrats on the local gig :)

Jenn,

The week before Thanksgiving was super busy for me - I'm the exact opposite of you. For me it gets super slow before Christmas. Luckily I have a few long-term clients who should be able to get me through the lean spots.

 
At 2:33 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

I just survived my first ever famine! It slowly began to creep up a week before Thanksgiving and has finally ended. (Thank God!)

I wasn't prepared for it at all. (when you have loads of work on your plate you tend to think you're invincible!)

On the plus side, the dry patch helped me understand the importance of having a passive income. I used all the free time to put my own blogging plans in motion. I am all set to launch my preschooler blog now. I would never have had the time if I was busy writing for other people , so I guess the slowdown was a blessing in disguise!

 
At 3:03 PM, Blogger Denise said...

Shabana,

I am glad you were able to turn your dry spell around into something productive. Slowdowns can be scary, but they do allow us ample time to work on our own projects!

 

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