Tom Leykis is not my favorite celebrity. He’s probably not the misogynistic, aging frat boy he makes himself out to be — but he encourages a lot of otherwise harmless people to engage in irresponsible behavior.

However, he does have one recommendation that can be useful for working writers.

Leykis recommends maintaining a “bullpen” of women (or men), each of whom you call occasionally to fulfill your…um…physical needs. None of them provides the “time on task” you’d expect from a full-time partner. Between all of them, though, you get what you need.

Freelance writers can do well by maintaining a bullpen of their own. I have a major client who covers the majority of my monthly needs. I also have several other clients who want between $100 and $300 per month in assignments each. And I have clients who hit me up for occasional work.

I get that extra work because I ping those clients every once in a while. I’ll send a holiday greeting, or a quarterly email asking if they plan to use me — no pressure, I’m just putting my quarterly projections together. This keeps me in their minds if need pops up.

Whether you do ad copy, government reports, books or what-have-you, your client could dry up. If you have the bullpen in place, you have other sources of income. You can also use those sources even while working for your major clients. It expands your portfolio, gives you practice in producing excellent copy, and can help boost your income.

Now, I don’t recommend treating your bullpen clients with the cavalier attitude Leykis recommends treating his. But the idea of rotating through several clients with whom you retain a relationship — that’s nothing but good sense.

Thanks for listening.

I apologize for five consecutive days of “radio silence” —  including no Friday Fun or Sunday Accountability Report. I was at a conference run by Tom Callos for local martial arts school owners.

Tom is the leader of the Ultimate Black Belt Test and The One Hundred — two progressive martial arts associations. He’s my mentor and friend, and I’ve mentioned him before at this blog. His seminars are designed to help people improve how their schools are run, and the impact their dojos have in the local community.

I don’t run a martial arts school anymore. I teach a small group of private clients. However, Tom’s advice is applicable to many businesses.

Including the business of writing.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some thoughts and resources about how to better run your writing like a business. Right now, since Tom’s seminar included about three metric buttloads of getting thrown around the mat, I’ll just throw down a preview of topics before my arms give out entirely.

1. Goal-based budgeting rather than income-based budgeting.
2. The importance of metrics.
3. New media opportunities for creative professionals.
4. The scale of audience in the new pulp era.
5. Lifestyle design.
6. Life lessons from peaceful martial artists.
7. Making your passion your profession.