Here we go again – another month, another assessment of the marketing and business plan. And once again, I invite you to share your own results, be they good or be they not so good. It was a bit of a transitional month for me. I had just returned from vacation two weeks prior and…
Month: September 2009
Waving Goodbye
As I pull in a rather lucrative ongoing client project, I wave goodbye to one I’m glad to see going. (I have amended some of the facts so as not to embarrass those who are guilty, though I don’t know why.) I took it with the promise from the client that related projects would pay…
Going to the Vet
Today I start work with a new client – ongoing work. Can you hear me cheering loudly? My goal has always been to work with at least two ongoing clients. Amen that I replaced the last one whose budget dried up. This work, for now, will be steady and lucrative. Travis brought up an interesting…
An Open Letter
Dear Clients Who Want Me to Work for Nothing: How do I say this? You know when you hired me you were getting the best possible writing out of me. I wouldn’t give anything less. But lately I’ve had something on my mind, something that’s uncomfortable to bring up, but I can’t ignore it. Clients,…
Upping Your Game
If you regularly work the $1-an-article jobs, ignore this post. Better yet, leave freelancing and get a “real” job that pays minimum wage – you’ll be light years ahead of the game and we won’t have to keep preaching to one more person why that kind of “work” is sucking the life out of journalism….
Plagiarism Explained
The ad read: “Seeking a writer to create 12 business start-up how-to articles. Articles target couples thinking of starting a business together, explaining everything from picking the right business to marketing and more. Articles should be approx. 3 pages in length.” I applied. The response came. It read:“These projects pay $6 per page (approx. 420…
Funky Town
I’m in a funk today. When work is completed and the desk is thin with more work, I get like this. But I’m not going to dwell on it because it’s boring. Keeping it short today. I saw my parents over the weekend and my mom was relating a story about someone from her class….
Going Professional
Amie over at Written Expressions has a neat discussion going about talking about someone else’s work in a negative light and getting called on it. We’ve all done it at some point, and some of us have lost jobs (well, there were other things going on there, but yes, I did lose a job), lost…
Banding Together
Some very interesting discussion is going on over on the Certified Professional Writers Association on LinkedIn. What options can we choose to help improve our profession and stabilize earning power among the ranks? I highly suggest you join the discussion (and the group – group leader Leon Sterling is a staunch supporter of protecting freelancers’…
Client Boo-boos That Become Yours
I was listening to a friend lament about a client who is a blamer. Apparently this client, a woman, doesn’t make mistakes, nor does she forget anything. My writer friend knows this because the mistakes and forgetfulness of this client are passed right down the food chain into said writer’s lap. I sympathize. I’ve been…