I’m starting to spend more time on Twitter, and I love this suggestion from Porter Anderson on agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog about adding your Twitter handle to your blog byline.

I’m trying to learn all that I can about picture books, and this post from Debbie Ridpath Ohi (who also designed my blog header–yeah!) is a wealth of information.

This post from a fellow freelance mom on what your jealousy is trying to tell you resonated with me. Next time I feel jealous, I’m going to embrace the feeling and use it to help me shape my priorities.

This essay on balancing motherhood and career by author Allison Winn Scotch in Pshychology Today is a brilliant piece.

How about you? What were your favorite reads this week?

Do Your Homework: There is no reason to re-hash information during an interview that I can easily find online. I always start with the company’s website and review their recent press releases. I also search the publication I am writing for to see if the source has appeared in print before and learn from what he or she had to say. A simple Google search can also help you find your source in print. If I have time, I also try to find the source on LinkedIn just to learn a little more about him or her.

That basic research ensures I use my time to get to the information that wasn’t online. It also helps me form questions that will elicit good answers. Plus, being prepared garners some respect from my sources and they know I care about the project and their time. It usually makes them a little more willing to share what they know.

I create a list of questions ahead of time, often making notes next to them to help me with follow-up questions that might come up.

Make a Connection: We’re all a little more comfortable around people we know, so I try to build rapport with a source before I launch into my questions. I take a few minutes thank her for  talking with me and bring up any connections we may have if I discovered them while doing my research. It could be that we attended the same conference, share some connections on LinkedIn or that we’ve lived in the same area. I’m originally from Utah and you’d be amazed at how often my sources and I have some sort of a Utah connection.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask the Same Question a Different Way: When I’m doing an interview, I’m not just looking for information, I’m also looking for pithy, colorful quotes. If I’m not quite satisfied for an answer I’ve gotten, I’ll try to re-shape the question so my source will go into a little more detail.

Set a Hard Stop: I allot 30 minutes for most of my interviews and I always let my sources know up front that I have a hard stop. I find this helps us both prioritize. Sometimes sources, particularly if they have a product or service they’re telling me about, can share far more detail than I need for the story. The time limit helps them focus. If I start to lose control of the interview, which can happen, I can always say, “I know we have a limited amount of time, so let’s focus on XYZ.”

Rely on These Go-To Final Questions: One of the most valuable things I learned in J-school was to end every interview with this question: “Is there anything I haven’t asked that I should know?” I can’t tell you how many times that simple question led a source to launch into a great tangent that totally made my story.

Sources often beget sources, so as we’re winding down, I ask my source if there is anyone else I should talk to for the piece. I’ve gotten great leads this way and it also helps break the ice during my next interview. I love when I can call someone new and say, “Hi So-and-So. I just finished an interview with Joe Blow at XYZ Company and he thought you’d be a great person to talk to about blah, blah, blah. Do you have a few minutes to chat?”

Finally, before I hang up, I also ask the source if I can follow up if I come across questions as I’m writing. I ask for an email address and direct line if I don’t already have it. That speeds things up if I’m trying to answer a last-minute question on deadline.

Do you have any tips and tricks for conducting effective interviews? I’d love to hear them.

Photo by Jakub Krechowicz.

But I have a new project I’m working on—one that I’ve been tight lipped about. So, let me tell you a little secret…I am working on writing my first picture book. It seems like such a little thing, but spreading the word about this dream of mine is scary.

When it comes to writing children’s stories, I’m insecure. This is new territory for me and I know I have a lot to learn. The thought of sending my 500-word picture book manuscript off to my four critique partners is far more nerve wracking than waiting for a 2,500-word feature to hit those 25,000 mailboxes.

It isn’t easy to do something new, particularly when we know we aren’t going to be good at it right out of the gate. Yet each week I take Evan to hockey and tell him that he has to practice if he wants to get better. I tell him not to get discouraged when he falls down because that is how he learns. When he whines because skating is hard, I tell him, “In our family, we do hard things.” But I don’t always lead by example. I am guilty of sticking to what I know because it is comfortable.

Last month I took Evan to a rock-climbing party. My little guy wanted to scale the wall, but fear kept him from reaching the top. I knew how much he wanted it, so right before the party ended, I climbed with him. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I stepped out of my comfort zone and loved the adventure.

Jumping into the world of children’s literature is a new and exciting journey, but I know the path to publication is long and hard. I’ll be putting myself out there and learning from my mistakes. I’ve read that picture books are one of the hardest markets to break into. I’d love to get a picture book published (who wouldn’t!?!), but delving into children’s literature is about more than that. It is about learning new ways to play with words and making a new group friends along the way.

Next month I’ll be spending a full weekend at the New Jersey Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators conference. I can’t wait to take in everything the conference has to offer. Writing for kids is a new avenue to explore and I’m looking forward to connecting with a whole new group of writers. It is a fun addition to my life as a full-time freelancer and mama.

I know we’ve all heard the saying, but sometimes it helps to repeat it. If you’re like me, you can become paralyzed by the enormity of a project, particularly ones that are abstract. Telling myself I need to work on my blog is less effective than committing to drafting three new posts this week. Small, actionable steps make any project doable. So, this week, I’m breaking down the items on my seemingly insurmountable to-do list and tackling them head on. By changing my thought process I’ve gone from feeling overwhelmed to empowered.

The clock is ticking and I can’t wait to see how much I can do in the next seven days. I’ll report back next week and I’d love to hear more about what you plan to accomplish this week.

I found writing inspiration in so many places throughout the trip. If it weren’t for the amazing imaginations and willingness of so many to put pen to paper, Evan wouldn’t get to battle Darth Vader and Miss Madelyn wouldn’t get to give Minnie Mouse a hug.

At Universal Studios we wandered through the Harry Potter section and I stayed up late each night to read the Hunger Games Trilogy.

The trip reminded me how grateful I am to those who create the fantasy worlds we all love to slip into and enjoy.

Today I’ll embrace the structure of real life. I’ll unpack our suitcases and prepare for the week ahead, but I’ll also sneak in a few minutes with my Kindle and do some writing of my own. I’ll read books with talking fish, trains and animals to my kiddos, because they love the little escape books provide, too. And, I’ll continue to be grateful for the writers who create them.

Ever since we met I’ve been curious about being a professional gag writer, so I asked Bill to answer a few questions. Being funny for money isn’t easy, but Bill is making it work by leveraging his connections and writing tons of gags. Bill shared his insight, and a handful of the gags he has written. Enjoy!

Q: How long have you been writing gags and how did you get started as a gag writer? 

A: In the mid 1980′s my wife worked with pulitzer prize winning editorial
cartoonist Jeff MacNelly’s third wife, Scottie. The four of us would often go out
together and have fun. Jeff had started the comic strip “Shoe” in 1977. As a lark I wrote some and he bought two. I was paid $25 each. He gave me the original
which now hangs proudly in our “Elvis/Beatles/Pop Culture” “Guest Suite”. Jeff & Scotty went their separate ways, as did our foursome. I was having brunch with Scottie in late 1999 and she mentioned Jeff was really sick and why don’t I send him some gags. I did and he liked what I sent in. Unfortunately he passed away way too young in the middle of 2000. The strip was continued on by Susie MacNelly (Jeff’s fourth wife), Chris Cassatt (producer) and Gary Brookins (he draws it). They decided to keep me on as one of the gag writers. I send 85 gags to them a week, here is is example of what my gags look like that I send:

B17–Scene: Sky & Cosmo at home watching TV…
Panel 1: Sky: “Uncle Cosmo?”
Cosmo: “Yes?”
Panel 2: Sky: “What reality shows did you have as a kid?”
Cosmo: “The 10 O’Clock news.”

We have a six-week lead time which is why most comic strips aren’t that topical. If I write a gag about something that happens today, it most likely won’t be
relevant 6 weeks from today (exception to the rule: insert wacky republican
hijinx gag here…).

Q: How did/do you connect with the cartoons you write for?

A: When Johnny Hart passed away (creator of B.C. & “Wizard Of Id”) in 2007 the Hart family asked my “Shoe” people if I’d like to write for them also, my “Shoe” people asked me if I would like to and I said sure if they didn’t mind. They didn’t mind. I usually try to send the Hart family 50 gags a week (25 B.C. & 25 “Wizard of Id”).
Q: What is the process for pitching? 

A: It is a VERY hard business to break into. As you read I only got into by
knowing the people involved then being recommended by them to others. I have
tried contacting other cartoonists (because I have a backlog of ten years of
unsold gags) through their syndicates, through snail mail or email, and the results
have been very disappointing. Either they don’t want to deal with the hassle of
buying freelance gags or they prefer writing them themselves. OR they don’t
want to pay or pay very little. The going rate today is around $75-$100 a gag if
they buy it. Although one strip that I won’t mention (or I would ever write for
again) paid me $20 not that long ago!

Q: I am sure it is a lot harder than people think to be funny for money. What are some tips you can offer for people who are looking to get into comedy writing? 

A: DON’T!!! But if you must… Get a THICK SKIN!!! Gag writing is NOT for the faint-hearted folk who take rejection personally. Out of the 85 gags I send in a week, I’m lucky if I average THREE sold (that’s 82 unsold that go in the files!)

Q: Why don’t you have a blog?

A: What’s a blog?

Q: You are a great entertainer on Facebook. How do people find you on FB? 

A: People can find me on Facebook under “Bill Linden.” There’s lots of Bill Lindens but I’m the only one with a profile picture of me standing between Marilyn Monroe’s legs looking up her skirt. But hurry. There’s a 5,000 friend limit and I already have 873!

About Bill: Bill’s occupations in previous lives include bitter and disillusioned graphic designer/art director for the Chicago Sun-Times, bitter and disillusioned 
Hollywood screenwriter, and a bitter and disillusioned gag writer for comic strips. When not writing gags, photographing Chicago or being bitter and disillusioned, Bill finds his charity work with the elderly quite rewarding. Once a week he takes his dear, feeble, white-haired mother, Josephine, to Denny’s® for a “Moons Over My Hammy”®. Once every six weeks, he even buys.” Bill lives by the mottos, “If you can’t beat ‘em, mock ‘em!” and “That what does not kill me makes me bitter and disillusioned.”

1. Protect your work time—both the daytime and the nighttime hours. I have limited daytime hours, and I have to use them wisely to ensure I can take care of client calls and interviews. I don’t meet up with friends for coffee, shop or chat on the phone with friends or family. I head straight home after dropping my kids off and as soon as I walk in the door, I head downstairs to my home office and start working. I look past dishes that may need to be done or laundry I should fold, which means my house is not nearly as tidy as I would like, but I am able to grow my business and meet my clients’ needs. I take care of my household chores in the morning before I take my kids to school, evenings as I’m prepping dinner and on the weekends.

My nighttime hours are just as valuable as my daytime hours, so I usually spend those at the laptop, too. I wrote about skipping happy hour in this post.

2. Be flexible. As a freelancer, customer service is paramount. I have to deliver on the projects I take on, so my number one goal is to get the job done. Not everyone works mommy hours and there will be times when a source or client needs to talk with you outside of your scheduled work time. There are plenty of times I need to call in a sitter or set my kids up with an activity that will keep them entertained for a half hour or more. If I know I’m going to have a heavy workload on a day my kids don’t have school, I try to tucker them out in the morning to take advantage of long naps in the afternoon. Just last week I had four interviews lined up for Friday afternoon—a time when my kids will be with me. My kiddos each had classes in the morning (Evan at preschool and Madelyn at Little Gym), then we hit the park for a picnic and a few hours of playtime. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home and I was able to knock out all of my calls. I also recognize that this nap time was a gift from the gods, because it doesn’t always work out this way, but I am oh-so happy when it does!

3. Be honest. When I first started freelancing, I tried to hide the fact that I work around my kids’ schedules. I would create little activities to entertain Evan if I needed to take a call after he was home from preschool and rarely asked someone if he could offer up another, more convenient time to talk. As I’ve gotten more stable (and comfortable) as a freelancer, I’ve been able to rein in some of that and tell people upfront what times I’m available. Being honest about what times work for me hasn’t hurt my career and, if anything, it can be an icebreaker when I’m talking with other working parents. I think becoming more comfortable and confident with where I am in life right now has actually helped my business. Plus, I am proud that I am able to keep “mommy hours” and build a successful freelancing business, so here is no reason to hide it. That being said, refer back to tip #2.

4. Plan ahead. To maximize my daytime hours, I spend time each evening plotting out how I’m going to structure the coming day. I review my calendar, ensure I have all of the contact information I need for reaching sources and send any emails that I need to get out. I also look a few weeks out so I keep all of my deadlines straight and can prioritize the interviews I need to get done. I do most of my actual writing in the evenings and on the weekends, so I’ll often schedule certain stories or editing projects for certain nights. Taking a broad look also lets me find time to volunteer at my kids’ school or schedule in doctor and dentist appointments that I have to take care of during preschool time.

5. Be grateful. I know that working mommy hours is a gift. Not everyone has that luxury, so even on the days that are hectic and I’m trying to figure out how to get it all in, I give thanks for ability to work around my kids’ schedules as much as I do. That helps me keep perspective and see those late nights or crazy afternoons as a gift and not a burden. Plus, I know these years are going to go by in the blink of an eye. Evan turned five this month and today we are having a meet and greet with his kindergarten teacher. Starting in the fall, my little guy will be in school all day five days a week. I’m sad he’ll be away from me so much, but I am certain I will use that time wisely.

I was requiring long hours, making do with technology that wasn’t working quite right and I’d completely neglected employee motivation. I started making a few changes and I’m happy with the results. Here’s what’s changed:

Bonuses: Honestly, the “bonuses” in my business are hockey lessons for Evan and Little Gym for Madelyn—not to mention the occasional trip to Toys R Us for the two of them. That’s great, but it doesn’t always give me the boost I need to do my job better. So, as a little treat, I renewed subscriptions to some writing magazines I like that I had let lapse. I love getting some monthly doses of inspiration delivered right to my mailbox. I also had an amazing illustrator create a new banner for this blog. I loved working with her and was inspired by the whole creative process. Now I just have to get it up!

Oh, and, my hubby and I started treating ourselves to take out a few times a month. After the kids go to bed, we order in, and sit down and have dinner together. We don’t spend a lot of money on eating out and would spend even less on it if I weren’t working, so this is a special treat for us. Plus, it is something I really look forward to each week. Sometimes it the little things that can make the biggest difference.

Create a Pleasant Work Environment: In my last full-time office job, the company kept the refrigerator stocked with Diet Coke. I can’t tell you how often I reached for a soda around 3:00 to give myself an energy boost. Those sodas made me happy, and a happy employee is a productive one. I keep my fridge at home stocked and I hit it frequently during the day. I look at the expense as a cost of doing business. Music, a (sometimes) clean workspace and an awesome office chair I splurged on last year also add to my work environment.

Create Convenience: There are little things in my home office I had learned to work around because I didn’t want to invest the time or money necessary to fix them. Of course, if I worked in an office I’d have been on the line to tech support months ago. I finally took the time to troubleshoot a few things and the end result made my life a lot easier. And, they were a lot easier than I’d expected to fix.

What’s next? I’d like to start making an effort to celebrate milestones. I don’t necessarily measure milestones like I did when I first started freelancing, which makes it hard to celebrate them, but I’m going to get better about it. Whether its meeting financial goals or turning in a certain number of features, there are dozens of ways I can measure success.

How about you? How do you stay motivated?