I don't know how many of you have had or have writing jobs, but I know at least a few of you have. No matter what kind of writing job it was were you working on a trial basis first, and if so how did you get it to turn into a permanent position? What sort of things are editors looking for during this trial time? How do you know if you're giving them what they really want and expect? I mean it's nice to hear you're doing a good job, but that's not the same thing as the job is yours. Are they likely to wait until the trial has expired before making a decision or is there something that can be done or happen for them to bring you on permanently before that?Ever almost have something you want so bad? What sort of things can you do to make sure you get it? I'm really just looking for some tips from people who might have been in this position. I know, of course, I've got to deliver the good and meet deadlines, but it's hard to know if that's going to be enough. Why do places hire on a trial basis first with some writing jobs? I mean, it seems just as easy to let someone go if it's not working. And obviously you're not hiring a writer without knowing how they write and their experience. So, why a trial basis anyway?
I wouldn't say I have ample experience but I did freelance for a while. I only had a handful of companies I worked for and only one turned into a long term agreement. That was mostly about luck, I think. They were a local company that needed a particular type of person. After realizing I was local they gave me precedence over all the other applicants. I think a lot of companies run through a lot of writers and so it is easier to have a trial basis that makes the process easier for them. Almost all the jobs I had were a trial thing in some way or another. That's just how it works for freelance most the time--at least from my experience. As far as knowing what they want and how to improve...that's hard information to get sometimes. It just depends on the client. Some people simply just don't know what to say to these things, or they feel uncomfortable. Some are very good at being specific. I think it depends on experience. Before you even start writing ask about examples of work they want yours to be like, or if they can describe the tone they are looking for, and ecetra. Not sure I really have enough experience to give you much more information. I was a freelancer on Upwork for only a couple months (slowly building work experience in the field) before I hooked a long term contract. I decided to solely concentrate on that so I wasn't really "in the game" for long. Also, the long term contract was dropped abruptly when they no longer needed my position. I worked for them a year and they promised a full time position that instead turned into me being flat on my ass, haha. Don't rely on long term promises that keep failing to materialize (aka "don't pull all your eggs in one basket").
They might just be testing your ability to meet deadlines comfortably, and to continue to produce work at the pace they require. Just looking at samples of your work won't let them know about this aspect of your writing ability. Even though I've produced a novel, I could never take on a job that required me to produce a novel every two years. Big fail.
Depending on your jurisdiction, it may in fact be very difficult to get rid of an employee once they're hired for good. Legislation designed to protect employees from capricious bosses has, at least in some places, made it mandatory for businesses to follow fairly rigid procedures in order to fire someone. A certain number of unsuccessful performance reviews, mandatory periods of re-training/instruction between reviews, etc. So it's possible that trial periods are set up because "just not quite what we're looking for" isn't a good enough reason to fire someone in a lot of places. ETA: Also possible that benefits don't apply to employees on trial periods, which can save the company a lot of money. There's no point in them making a big effort to retain an employee until they're sure they WANT the employee.
I'm struggling a bit with deadlines. Those of you who know me off the forum have an idea why, but let'r please not discuss any of that on here. Still, it has me worried a bit. I feel really lucky to have something steady, and I don't want to lose it. I'm handing in my work in a timely fashion, but I struggle with getting all the edits done fast enough. I like my editor and he's right about most things. It just stings a little when I get my work handed back and realize there is a lot more work to do. And since what I'm doing is creative writing, most of the edits are directions to take to improve the work, leaving it up to me to actually figure out how to make such changes. I've done a lot of different writing and worked with many editors and publishers. This is my dream job, though not full time or high paying, but it allows me to still focus on other writing projects. I guess I just have to see how it goes. I messaged a couple of you who I've gotten to know though the forum, but we've traded work in the past. I do like keeping me identity private on here for the most part. So, other than posting things here. How do you grow readership. I've done social media and the place I'm working for does come with a readership already. I just think if I could somehow get noticed more that would help. I guess we're all trying for that. A special thanks and shoutout to those who have shared my work on social media. I did hear from my editor that what I'm writing seems to be getting more attention than what was expected. This is hard. I also wonder if when my trial ends a second trial period will begin. Is that something that happens? Can you go from one trial to the next with the same company? This is not a full time job and I'm not trying to make it one. I just would like to reach the level where it's more "for real" if that makes any sense. Thanks for the replies.
Most full-time jobs in most fields have trial periods. It's concealed as one of the reasons benefits don't kick in for 30-60-90 days from the date you start. Aside from newspapers (which are falling away more and more) and magazines (which mostly go the freelance route these days), there are only a handful of opportunities for full-time writing work. I share your pain about self-editing your work after feedback - which is normal - except getting feedback from those who have a different method/ideology about the creative can be challenging. I work as a copywriter for a big retail company with a small in-house marketing agency. So I write website content, newsletters, blogs, promotional ads, etc. all critiqued by different people with different agendas and ideas on who the audience is, how things should be written, and not always "getting" the subtle creative things I drop in. Part of that is submitting work to those who aren't writers/editors themselves. So it's a constant flow of write-critique-edit-rewrite-critique. But that will happen everywhere. If the feedback you're receiving is that your work is getting more attention than anticipated, that's a good thing! Gaining readership isn't exactly easy, or quickly done. Just make sure to get as many eyeballs on it as you can. Share it to all social channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and tag the proper people/businesses, and use hashtags too. Your audience will build over time.
Most of my experience here comes from copywriting - both being hired and doing the hiring. It doesn't sound like that's what you're doing, but I'd imagine your editor is after similar things. In my case, a trial period is so: - You can make sure the writer actually wrote those samples they provided - You can make sure the writer can write in the voice you want - You can make sure the writer is reliable - they're available when you ask them to be available (these were entirely remote positions, maybe not so relevant in your situation) - You can make sure the writer works well in your team - You can make sure the writer is responsive to feedback And while you may not like hearing this since you've said you were struggling with it above, it's probably worth knowing: the most important thing that comes from a trial is finding out if a writer can hit their deadlines. People are rubbish at this. A writer who can hit deadlines reliably is the most valuable kind you can find - I'll take a B-grade thing on time over an A*-grade thing two weeks late every single time. The hiring decision was always before the trial period - I'd chosen someone I wanted to work with long term. The trial period was there in case I'd fucked up. I never ran a second trial period after the first - not really sure why you'd do that. If a candidate was that borderline I'd probably be looking for someone else.
Thanks for the responses. I've worked with deadlines in the past, but it was more for journalism and travel writing and I often had done most of the work I needed or even written the whole piece before pitching an editor. This is the first creative writing work I've done with deadlines. And if life would just calm down a little I know I would have an easier time. I'm not making excuses. I know that sort of thing doesn't matter. And I've gotten my work in on a timely matter. But there is a pretty extensive editing process involved. My editor is smart and really knows how to elevate my writing, but I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I get the edits back and it's not something I can just do on the spot. I need to kind of digest the edits and give them some thought before I can just do them. This is the part that's taking longer than I should. But it's also something I don't think can or should be rushed. I just need to get faster on this part of it. It's kind of tough. Even when I sell fiction, the edits take me some time to figure out because in both cases this goes a lot farther than line edits and the editors offer direction, but they're not really rewriting anything for me. I'm okay making changes. I'm okay making almost every change. After all, they are paying me and this is my dream job. It just seems to take me longer than it should to figure out how to do all this. How do you get faster?
