Freelancing Life - Thank-You Notes. Paying Patron Exclusive. (Patreon)

There are lots of things that are pretty obvious best practices with freelancing. Don't be rude. Don't be late. Format submissions the way your client wants them. There's tons of that advice available in podcasts and seminars sand the occasional book on surviving as a freelancer.

There are also a lot of role-specific things. I can give you advice specific to freelancing as a ttRPG writer, developer, and producer. To a lesser extent, I can make suggestions potentially applicable to other kinds of freelance writing, and some non-writing roles within the tabletop industry. And some of that is broadly applicable to other freelancing roles and industries. But if you want specific advice to help with being a comic book illustrator, I'm the wrong person to listen to.

But there are some less common, broadly applicable practices I have found to be effective both in getting me work, and in building relationships within the industry that have lead to some amazing mentors and valued friends.

Here's one.

Send people thank-you cards.

This falls under one of my major general rules -- As often as possible put your name, in a positive light, in front of people who can get your work.

And sending someone a thank-you card (and yes, I mean an actual, physical card, if at all possible) is a great way to do that.

After I was hired by Wizards of the Coast in 2000, I discovered one reason was that several Wizards managers and directors who has given seminars at the TSR Writer's Workshop I had attended a few years earlier knew my name, and had spoken well of me. One of the things they recalled is that I sent them thank-you cards for speaking at the workshop.

(I have also been told by more than one of the speakers at the seminar that I was the ONLY person there who had followed their point-by-point 'how to get RPG work' advice. THAT included sending Holiday Cards to people who gave seminars you attended. This stuff works.)

The tricky part can be figuring out what to thank people for. In my opinion, if someone within a company or with pull in the industry does ANYTHING you find useful (or can reasonable claim to appreciate), you send them a thank you card, and add them to a holiday card list.

Here are some specific examples:

Spoke at a seminar you attended? Make sure you go up and introduce yourself at the end of the seminar, and give them a business card. Then, within 30 days, mail them a thank-you card. Remind them of the seminar, and that you introduced yourself and gave them a business card.

(Didn't introduce yourself? Send a thank you card now. It'll serve as an introduction. Did they speak at a digital seminar with no opportunity to introduce yourself? Send a thank-you card anyway. Include a business card in the same envelope.)

Did some one organize a blog celebrating something you also celebrate? Thank you card, introduction in card, thank them for the blog, and include a business card in the envelope.

Did you get a tiny piece of work from a developer, and know who edited it? Thank-you cards all around. Thank them for the work, and for their work making the end product so good. Remind them what bit of work you did. Include a business card.

Did you meet a professional at a coffee klatch? Attend an industry dinner and they sat at your table? Did they do an AMA you were present for? Thank them for the event, include your contact info, remind them of your question if you asked one, and include a business card.

Normally you won't have someone's personal address, and that's fine. If they work as an employee of a company, you can get that company's address, and send it the than you card to "Person, c/o Game Company, Address." (c/o stands for "Care Of," for those of you who didn't get taught postal terms in school. :p )

Given how common game companies without an office, and employees doing work-from-home even within companies with offices. sometimes a virtual card is going to be the only realistic choice. That's fine, there are lots of free online ways to create an electronic card and have it say whatever you want. You can send it directly if you know the work email of the person you are trying to thank, and otherwise once again send it to the email of the company itself, with a subject line asking it to be forwarded.

Thank you cards put your name in from of someone again, in a positive light. And it can remind them of what they did you are thanking them for, what smart or interesting question you asked, or if you introduced yourself. None of these things can replace doing good work and being polite and professional. But in an industry where there are always tons of new faces wanting to get their big break or next gig, it can help tip the balance in your favor when all other factors are equal.

This Freelancing Life article is a Paying-Patron Exclusive article, as is every-other article in this series.