Comments on: Lessons from the Dark Side

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:40:53 +0000

Paula, you were paid well back then! :) I know. Remember when that used to sound like huge money? No? Neither do I - I never thought I was paid well because I wasn't. :) But it was a credible source and I don't regret the time spent there.

Kathy, I'm finding the more time into this career I get, the faster I can spot the "walking away point." I don't think I've had one regret yet. We have that in common, too. :)

By: Irreverent Freelancer

Irreverent Freelancer — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:37:26 +0000

I agree with all of your advice 100% … as usual. ;0) The lesson I've learned the hard way is to walk away from a client/project at the first clear signs of trouble (i.e., trust your instincts). I've never regretted severing ties, but I have regretted not.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:50:56 +0000

Woo-hoo! I think I was getting $50/article from a local paper around 1990! I remember getting the first check and thinking, "Wow! They PAID me to write something!" And about a year later, thinking, "They don't pay me enough to keep writing for them" and moving on.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:53:16 +0000

Wendy, I think we've all fallen for that at least once. :) It's that they want us to buy into their dream. But in order to do that, they need to pay us for it. I still don't understand how some folks don't understand that.

Paula, I think the least I made was while I worked my first job at the newspaper. Back then I was getting $35 an article. That was 1989 and I was STILL making more than the content farms are paying now.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:05:44 +0000

The promise of great riches in the future. You know it goes - "Our website will take off soon and give us more traffic then we'll know what to do with. We'll pay you more at that time. Oh, and you can expect great exposure when the site takes off!"

I'm still wondering what in the heck I was thinking.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:54:47 +0000

Places offering up the idea of oh-so-great residual income instead of payment: Residuals are meant to be payments on top of your original fee, not in place of it.

It is interesting to consider that even the lowest-paying articles I've ever written still paid more than 20-times the average mill rates. And those pieces were written 15-20 years ago.

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:46:11 +0000

Krista, I've learned that same lesson. It's a tough one considering how valuable a freelancer's time is.

#4 is another good one: "Clients who start out dictating your fees to you are going to control your work process, and they're going to hate any feedback." I fell for this a few times when I was first starting out. I've learned to have more confidence in my skills and the rates I charge.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:10:26 +0000

Carson, as I prefaced this post - "These points are based on personal experience, not a rehashing of someone else's idea of what writers and writing are all about." On that point I'm quite clear. This is my personal experience. The point of this entire post is to inspire others to aim higher.

Krista, it's fairly common here, too. I give a two-week window of availability now. I don't wait, either.

By: Krista

Krista — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:20:55 +0000

The lesson I've learned the hard way - you didn't get the project until final instructions arrive in your e-mail.

I can't count the number of times someone has e-mailed me and asks if I'm available for an upcoming project. Then, it falls through or I simply never hear from them again. I used to block off time to complete a project once I received those initial e-mails, but not anymore.

For a while I thought I was doing something the turn them off, but based on what I've read from other writers, it's just part of the job.

By: Carson

Carson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:42:33 +0000

The #1 lesson I've learned over the years: When you see anyone telling you what does or doesn't "work," don't accept it as The Truth.

There are many ways to make GOOD money and what works for me, you or anyone else may not be applicable to everyone's situation.

Consider this post. I'm sure that every recommendation you've made is 100% true--for you. I know for a fact that some of them aren't true for me.

I don't want to go through some line by line argument about the exceptions to your recommendations or how certain strategies that you write off can be productive when used in a different context. That's not my point...

There is a lot of advice floating around there. Some of it is flat-out stupid. Some of it is great. All of it, however, stems from a series of assumptions and biases on the part of the provider. Those looking for advice need to consider to look at those just as carefully as they need to read to advice.