Today, I spoke to Lisa Hoover, who is a freelance writer and professional blogger. Her work includes being a contributing editor for Lifehacker and other major blogs. In this interview, Lisa talks about how to she become a professional blogger, who she admires, how she balances her time with multiple children, and some lessons learned.
How did you get started as a professional blogger? What obstacles did you face in the beginning?
I was working full-time for a technology Web site and blogging part-time for a couple of Web sites on the side. Eventually I was faced with the decision of whether to continue where I was or focus more on blogging. My gut told me blogging was the right decision so I dove in full-time. Now the site I was working for is defunct and I support my family through blogging so I guess I made the right decision. 🙂
The biggest obstacle was, and continues to be, people taking professional blogging seriously. It is a very real job with its own pitfalls and peaks. Interestingly, it’s often other writers who show the most disdain for the professional blogging industry even though most of us hold ourselves to the same standards of professionalism expected of any writer. As with any profession, there are people who cast a pall on the industry but, overall, the bloggers I know and work with are wonderful and amazingly professional.
Who do you admire online and what have you learned from them?
I admire Brian Clark so much for his ability to be consistently fresh, insightful, and informative. He manages to engage his audience in a way that makes readers feel like they’ve known him forever.
Matt Haughey of MetaFilter fame has built an amazing site where smart, articulate people gather to seek advice and learn from each other. I’m constantly amazed at what a tight, kind, and thoughtful community MetaFilter is, and that kind of thing doesn’t happen by accident. Matt has obviously spent a lot of time grooming and cultivating MetaFilter to make it what it is today.
How do you balance your time between your three children and your work?
Very, very carefully. 🙂 Since I’m a single mother and I homeschool my kids, it means getting up extra early in the morning to get work done before they need me during the day. I try to structure schoolwork, homeschooling group activities, and field trips during late morning and middle of the day. While they have neighborhood friends over, I work on my laptop amid the chaos, then I use the time after they go to bed to pick up the slack on anything I missed during the day.
Every now and then we need a break from it all so I get my work done early, then toss them in the car and go somewhere to play hooky all day. It’s a lot to balance, but it’s worth it all to me in the end.
You write about a variety of different topics, from parenting to linux. Do you ever have trouble with switching between them?
Actually, I don’t have trouble adapting thanks to the old adage, “write about what you love” — I love technology, love being a parent, and thoroughly enjoy most of the other topics I cover. In fact, I really enjoy learning new things so I’m always looking for new things to write about. If I had to only cover the same two or three things day in and day out, I’d get bored pretty quickly.
What three lessons learned would you give to new bloggers or freelance writers right now?
- Check your ego at the door. Bloggers and freelancers can best serve themselves by listening to their editors, readers, and colleagues. Editors can help you become a stronger writer and often what you learn from one will help you in other assignments down the road. Readers are an excellent source of guidance and ideas, as are your colleagues and peers. When you encounter rude commenters, just let it roll off your back and don’t take it personally (easier said than done, I know) — it goes with the territory.
- Never, ever, ever, give your work away for free. There are too many Web sites that will take advantage of a writer’s willingness to work for nothing just to get name recognition, but you must put a value on your work or no one else will. Writers who are just starting out may not be able to command as much money as those with a long work history, but there’s no reason to simply give work away. If you’re trying to build a portfolio, pick one or two charity organizations and volunteer to write for them in exchange for using them as writing samples to land work.
- Make your editor’s life easier and you’ll have a gig for life. Hit your deadlines, follow their style guide, and be consistent, and editors will welcome you back time and time again. Freelance writing and blogging is a crowded field and there are a lot of talented people out there. Everything else being equal, editors will assign work to freelancers who get their work done on time or early, and turn in clean work. Being a reliable writer who’s easier to work with will get you invited back, and a good reference for future work.
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Lisa Hoover is a freelance writer and professional blogger. Her work includes being a contributing editor for Lifehacker, blogging for OStatic & The Apple Blog for GigaOm, blogging for SourceForge.net, and writing and editing for TypeAMom.com. She writes about lots of different topics but my passions are technology, social media, emerging Web services, Linux and open source, parenting, and homeschooling.
