What I’m reading: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
What’s on the iPod: Call Girl Blues by Diamond Rugs
Friday already? Where did the middle of the week go? I’ve been busy, not extremely so, but a focused sort of busy. Time flew by. As this project winds down, another one is about to ramp up. My TGIF celebration may have to wait.
In a conversation with a client not long ago, I learned I wasn’t the first freelance writer they’d worked with. At first, he just mentioned it briefly as I explained how to work with a freelance writer (not condescendingly, but “here’s the way I usually work”). Then as the conversation continued and became more relaxed, he said it again–the company had worked with a freelance writer in the past, but the writer was horrible.
Horrible? Yes, that’s what he said. He qualified it further — this freelancer gave them content loaded with spelling errors.
Really? Do we really have to be reminded to use Spell Check? Apparently.
I don’t know if there were other issues with this writer, but to lose a client over something so…basic is just stupid. Honestly, if I’d handed a client something riddled with spelling errors, not only would I apologize for being so stupid, but I might rethink my career. Everyone makes a mistake now and then, but making them constantly is just sloppy, lazy writing.
It’s just one of those lessons we freelancers need to learn when starting our business. These are things you’re not going to learn in books (except for the spelling part). These are little lessons that slap you in the face when you least expect it.
For those of you who are professional freelance writers running a writing business, this advice may be moot. For the rest who are just starting or who are struggling and can’t quite figure out why, consider these lessons:
Learn to spell. Can a person be called a writer if he or she can’t spell? This is America — you can call yourself whatever you damn well please. However, that doesn’t make it true. Yes, we all make mistakes. However, Word makes it simple to avoid many of them by simply clicking that Spell Check icon. Beyond that, proofread your stuff before you send it out.
Learn to take criticism. It always surprises me when a client apologizes for revising something — it’s not my baby they’re dressing, so to speak. It’s their project, their image, their company, etc. You may hand them what you think is perfect prose (it may well be, too). However, if it doesn’t fit with their tone, focus, audience or some other factor, they’re going to want to change it. News flash — nearly every client will change something. Resist the urge to pitch a fit — do what they ask. And yes, there are times they make it worse (or unintelligible). Advise them in writing, make the changes, and let it go.
Learn to filter. That’s good advice that you can apply to nearly any facet of your freelance writing career. Filter out the bad job offers, the lousy advice, the nasty comments from clients, or the piece of your mind you’ve been dying to give that client. Step back, remove the emotion completely, and filter your response or your reaction from a detached perspective. If you have to, pretend you’re someone else — like the Queen. Would the Queen work for a content mill? Would she tell off a client? She might say “We are not amused” but that would probably be the extent of it.
Learn to let go. Toughest part of the job sometimes, isn’t it? As I said before, this is not your baby. Your words are your tools. You use them to build things for other people. If they don’t like how you’re building something, they have every right to say so. They may have the writing skills of a half-dead octopus. Doesn’t matter. If they don’t like how you’ve phrased something, it’s up to you to please them, not please yourself. Do what you can to protect their image, but know when it’s time to lose the battle or lose the client.
Writers, what have you learned that you won’t find in a book?
My #1 would be Learn to listen. When you master that, you stop many problems from ever forming.
Amen, Cathy Miller. Amen.
I'm much better at filtering things out that I used to be. I used to let even the slightest criticisms sap my confidence, but at some point I decided to consider the source. I'm a good writer. My long-time clients know I'm a good writer. But sometimes new clients have different expectations that they haven't made clear, which can result in copy that doesn't fit their needs.
The only time it isn't easy to let go is when your byline is on copy that's so far off from what your wrote that you wish your name weren't on it.