How to Feel Terrible: When a Client Disappears Edition

What do you make of it in the world of freelance writing when a client goes from enthusiastic communication loving your work and wanting more....

to total radio silence, so-to-speak?


Panic

Obviously you did something wrong and they hate you now.  They probably spend hours throwing darts at pictures they imagine look like you rather than do a quick check in to say what is going on and if they are going to continue to use your work.  Make sure you have a stack of paper lunch sacks nearby to hyperventilate into.  Likely you'll blow through a few of them while you decide your next move.  Maybe you should contact them five or six times in the next hour, just to let them know how much you love working for them.  If you need to cry, don't do it on the keyboard as it could short out.


Obsess Over the Details of the Last Thing You Gave Them

Did you have spelling errors?  Probably.  Could that one sentence have been more tightly written? Definitely.  Remember, everything can be done better, especially your last project.  It may be too late to turn in a new version, but that doesn't mean the worrying and obsessing about what has been done should stop.  In fact, it's time to ramp those doubts up to ten on the worry scale!  Stop being satisfied that you did your best and start really considering what it means to fail.  The closing ideas you had for a review?  That was probably terrible.  You transitions from one point to the next?  Those were also likely abysmal.  Don't even get started thinking about your usage of commas.  Not only did you more than likely screw that up, but the client is likely sharing your travesty of comma use around the office and with total strangers.


Count Your Failures

The age old adage about "Counting your blessings" is a lie, and you know it.  So why not count up your failures instead?  No, I'm not talking about that last assignment or job offer you tried out for.  I am talking about everything that you can possibly remember that you failed at.  Your choice to have spaghetti the other day was a disaster from the get go and you know it.  That time you thought about leaving your "safe" Joe job to pursue your dreams?  What a mistake that turned out to be, right?  In high school, yes, they really were  all looking at you and wondering why another human being would comb their hair and dress that way.    That time in kindergarten when you colored outside the lines? Yes, even that can be counted against you when it comes to the failure tally.  You need to dig deep when it comes to this one.  Think hard now, do you remember those first steps you took as a baby?  You can be pretty sure your parents hung their heads in shame when your diapered duff hit the floor before you even managed to plant one foot in front of the other.


Right about now you should be in the fetal position sucking your thumb.

Never Try Anything Ever Again

Don't do anything ever again.  No, not don't do anything new.  Tons of people never do anything new each and every day.  It's time to consider total inertia as an option for your future.  Doubtless your client's failure to respond mean that think a rock could have done a better job writing what you turn in, and maybe it is time to stop thinking of all you can accomplish and time to start thinking of how living as a solid state block of matter can help you avoid future disappointments.


Remember, you can't do well all the time.  So embrace the mediocrity and failure that has come to pass.

 Unless the client just made simple mistake and still loves your work, but didn't have time to get back to you.  In which case, you're totally fine and can ignore the advice previously given.

Ramping Up For The Big Game--er--Contest: Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Okay, things are finally getting back on track.

As I've mentioned before, I've been sick, my kid is teething, and my wife was hospitalized and needs gall bladder surgery early next month.

But otherwise things are on track--writing wise that is.

I've got a small time gig doing a blog for a BBQ catering company which doesn't take too much time, but provides a little pocket money.  My brother and I have been building up the One More Rewrite Podcast.  I get a little work here and there.  One of my bigger hopes comes in the form of a job I applied for but am still waiting to hear back if I made the cut.  I hope so.  I could use the money, it sounds like fun, and it would be a nice way to get my name out there.  So, what do I have on the agenda for April.

The Beginning of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Contest.

I hope you read that in a deep, echoed voice with lots of reverb.  Because that's how it sounds to me when I read it.  This is hands down, one of my favorite writing contests to prepare for.  In previous years I've thought about doing it.  I did a little leg work but didn't follow through.  There was always an excuse not to do it, always something that sounded like a reasonable argument for me not to do it.  Well, I am tired of being one of my biggest detractors.  This year I plan on submitting again.  I have managed to pull it off once before, get a draft in on time to enter.  I even paid the extra fees to get an evaluation of the work and see what else I needed to do with it.  There was some real beneficial feedback there, but I didn't get the polish I wanted in time.  The frustrating thing was that it seemed the three judges really liked the chapter I submitted, but because I had a bevy of grammatical errors, I did not make it as a finalist.  I got the sense that I could have made it had I given myself more time.  Had I just pushed myself rather than settling.

Well, that was years ago and I have been pushing myself harder ever since.  I will no longer settle for just a some nice compliments and a nudge that I need to do better on the basics.  I will get in as a finalist, at least I hope so.  I will not give up on hope until I get the manuscript back that says that I need more work.  Until that point, anything is possible.  If you are out here in Colorado or are interested in the writing contest  experience, take a gander at their site here:

If you are interested:

 http://rmfw.org/contest/

A word to fellow writers considering submitting for this or other such contests.  I can only speak for myself (obviously) but....

Having sprung for the extra bucks to have the evaluation of my manuscript, it was definitely worth it.  My world was not shattered, my heart was not crushed, and my dreams were not dashed by the pen marks and lengthy comments left by the judges.  I also don't want to say something arrogant or self-aggrandizing like, "It grew me so much as a writer," or "I've been enlightened by the experience," or some other horse-hockey meant to make me look like I've reached the next stage of pok-e'-lution for my particular pokemon type.  The comments were solid, they pointed out where I made mistakes (and not just in grammar) and I hope that I'm not too silly as to make the same plotting and characterization errors in the future.  I'd rather be nervous that I'm going to screw-up, and therefore pour over a creative writing piece again and again than spend time patting my own back over how well I adapted to criticism.

I will move forward with my creative writing, try to distance myself from it but still care for it as my own, proof read the final outcome, and then send it off while hoping and praying for the best.  Time to get the ball rolling on that first draft for my story.



Of course, this is when the self-doubt really begins...

Easy Come, Easy Go: Writing Job Woes

Six hundred-plus words written, possibly for naught.  Even in the world of freelance writing gigs that sometimes is a hard blow.  I was so certain that this one job that I got through a freelance writing site was going to deliver a steady few bucks each week. I don't mean that in a cocky way, just that I was offered a trial spot, was given a prompt and told to write something short. So, I wrote a 600 word article, sent it off, and....a week later I still hadn't heard anything back.

So I did a bit of poking around, and by poking around I mean I went to the website that had said they were going to hire me, but wanted to test my skills first.  There on the site I find an article with a theme similar to the prompt I was given that went up two days after they said that they were likely to hire me.  Now, opportunities come and go in this business.  Sometimes sure things are not so sure, some times you land something semi-steady.  Sometimes you see stuff dry up.  There are feast times and famine times.  I guess I would call this "food snatched off the plate times" if I had to put a name to it.  Funny thing is it would not bother me as much if I had been told by the client that they went another direction--like, incredibly short copy.

I wrote 600 words and spent a few hours on my article.  The article they went with on the site was roughly 150 and is something I could punch out in roughly 30 minutes. 

That kinda stings.  

Funny enough I put in that many hours, sometimes more, when I do an article for another freelance site where I am not even trying to do a contract.  You basically follow a writing prompt, put the work out there, and hope the client likes it.  Sometimes you wait weeks (or months depending on your place in the que) to here back on whether they've bought the post, seen the post, or rejected the post.  Maybe it is a pressure thing.  There is no pressure when I write those blog posts.  They may take it, they may not.  My feelings are not hurt either way.  However, I guess it hurts a little when you actually contact the person and talk to them rather than do all business anonymously.  

On to other projects I suppose.

The Junk Journals go well.  I think I've reached the end of what I can actually pare down in my home (for the time being) and now I have to take these numerous notes, essays, and observances and see if they work as well as I hope for self-help book to post on Amazon.  Maybe it will go well, maybe it will not see the light of day as sometimes happens with creative projects.  Either way, things are what they are.  I have my hopes for other projects, but I don't always want to talk about those things in a public way.  You have to keep some stuff to yourself until it is ready.  Right?

Anywho.  I'm working on another writing tips/advice article for tomorrow, so I hope to "see" you again tomorrow.  Talk to you then!

Turned Down from a Low Paying Job: Good or Bad?

So, I actually got a response the other day for what I think of as a "throw away" job.  As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I did not get said job. Here is just a little bit about the job that I was turned down for:

-The pay was ridiculously low, but wouldn't be that time consuming
-There was a "possible" bonus if the work was completed in less than a day.
-The client required a resume', cover letter, filling out a "why are you applying for this job" was required, and a writing sample (which although standard in most applications, seemed a bit over-the-top considering the other info they wanted) in order for you to be considered for said job.
-It took me about a half hour to apply for the job.
-Turn around time for hearing back from any job is usually around 24 hours, I got a response within 20 minutes.


I am left wondering whether I should feel insulted or grateful that I didn't get the job.  It wasn't like this would make or break me to do the job.  A bit of extra cash in the pocket is nice, and resume padding to show that I am working is also nice.  Should I keep trying to apply to jobs like this though?  They eat up about an hour, sometimes two, of my time when I get them and they pay next to nothing.  I mean sure, every dollar I make is a dollar more that I did not have.  Every dollar earned puts food on the table, helps keep the electricity running, and all of those other little necessities in life.  Occasionally I can use these throw away jobs for fun personal expenditures like an old Nintendo games, money toward summer vacation, and other such diversions.  But in the end is it worth it?

Should any writer be okay with taking the super-low paying jobs?  I truthfully do not know because I feel as if the case could be made for it being helpful or hurtful.  On the one hand, one could argue that the Joe jobs help writers to flex the literary muscles, get typing speed up or least in shape, and build character and knowledge.  I admit that through a series of lower paying jobs I feel like I have gotten to know a bit more about everything ranging from retro television to different facets of the culinary world.  However these were blog articles that were not exactly helping me to do a little something I call "meet basic needs."  Sure, I feel like the experience has helped me to keep my fingers limber and my mind churning, but in the end have I gained enough intangible benefits to justify continuing to take on a job that pays very little, monetarily speaking.

Yes, I am building character, but am I character building?  Is the willingness to take on the small jobs costing me the opportunity to work on personal creative writing projects in a way that may not cost money now, but may cost me later in a more personal way?  I guess any of us who write, draw, or engage in other artistic endeavors face this sort of time management question every day.  Will I be spending time on my work or a client's?  Whatever choice we make, we are committed 100% to getting the job done in the best way possible.  A 500 word article on gas grills for a client, or part of the first chapter for a new book, which choice should I make?  I truthfully am not quite sure at times which choice to make.  I wonder how often my artist friends from Woot go through this same sort of decision process.  Do I pick my stuff that "may" make money in the future, or a client's stuff that will make money now.  Do I start a project that I have high hopes will become known in my field, or do I tackle a sure fire job that will keep my name in the work pool?

For now I am glad to not have the landed the low paying job.  If I delay my own hopes and dreams too long they become a pocket full of never realized wishes.  I know that there will be plenty of days when I will take such a job because I need the work not just for a bit of money, but to keep my mind in shape.  Today I work on my stuff and my dreams though, if only for a short while.