Comments on: Things That Make My Head Explode, Part Six https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html a freelance writing resource. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:01:56 +0000 hourly 1 By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9831 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:01:56 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9831 Amen! Good to hear, Amelia!

]]> By: Amelia Ramstead https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9829 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:13:39 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9829 Yup — I actually called the business licensing office to find out what was needed. As far as the P.O. Box goes, I'm not sure, it didn't occur to me to check. My state license is already at my own address though, so I might not have been able to pull that one off!

I do have letter in hand, though, so application will be filled out and sent in TODAY! So glad — I've got a list a mile long!!

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9828 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:22:05 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9828 Amelia, how did it go? Do you really have to get permission to market? That's nuts. Would a PO box avoid that nonsense?

Jenn, I agree with you there. If they're not paying now, they're not getting a word out of me later.

I suspect there will always be wanna-be writers there to fill the vacancies. Dabblers don't quite know yet that their skills are marketable to a better client. Some may never know or care. That's fine, but don't call yourself a professional if you're not going to bother learning the business and going about it professionally.

]]> By: Jennifer Mattern https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9827 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:10:12 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9827 Have to second all of those in your list Lori (especially the idiotic top blog lists).

Amanda — It makes me wonder what they're going to do when all of those amateurs who are just doing it for "experience" suddenly feel experienced enough to get paid. The point is to get exposure or experience so you can get a paying job with the bigger players. If those amateurs feel like they'll never move up or never be compensated, eventually they'll tell these greedy execs where to stick their no-pay policies. It sucks for others in the meantime. But hey. At least we're finding out who respects us as professionals and who to stay away from (even if they come begging with pay later).

]]> By: Amelia Ramstead https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9825 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:27:22 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9825 I'm really frustrated with my apartment complex manager. To market to people in my own city, I have to have a separate city business license. To get that, I have to have permission from the apartment manager to operate a business from my apartment. Yes, I need permission to sit at my desk and type. Sigh.
I've been bugging her about this for weeks and every time I call she "just stepped out." I just got word that she's actually in the office (on a Sunday, of course), so I'm taking down a letter I wrote so all she has to do is slap her signature on it. I really need to get this done!

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9823 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:04:29 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9823 Precisely how I would have handled it, J. If he comes back, the price is still the price and now he waits in line until other, more decisive clients get their projects done.

]]> By: J https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9821 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:17:55 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9821 GahhH!!

I just had one who wanted a website rewritten in a few days!

I told him 2 weeks (minimum, with rush rates, and 40 hours of work).

Then he couldn't make the decision to go ahead (had to ask daddy).

Funny thing though, he never asked the actual price!

Buh, bye!

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9818 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:17:02 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9818 Pushing to see what happens – excellent way to put it, Paula. That's exactly what they're doing. In my mind, that's game playing and I don't have time for it.

Two days? Good luck with that!

]]> By: Paula https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9817 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:26:30 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9817 If someone expects me to be available at their beck and call, the only way it would happen is with a very hefty monthly retainer, paid up front.

Whether it's Lori's client, the person expecting Damaria to drop everything and work for $10/hour, or major outlets choosing free content over professional content, it seems as if they're all pushing to see what happens.

Each person who gives in to those kinds of demands helps those cheapskates set a dangerous precedent that harms us all. (It even harms the people who demand perfection and refuse to pay for it.)

Nothing in particular is making my head explode right now, other than knowing I have two days to put up the tree (a one-day project in an of itself), the holiday village (about a 6 hour project) and decorate the rest of the house – and put all the boxes back in the basement. Thankfully I put the outdoor decorations up last weekend!

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html#comment-9816 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:11:08 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2011/12/things-that-make-my-head-explode-par-4.html/#comment-9816 Sixteen? Jeezuz, that's nuts, Amanda! Like you, I'm prone to pick up the phone and solve it already!

Ridiculous that they'd fire professionals because hey, we can get amateurs for nothing! And you get what you pay for….

She was a little whacko, Ashley. I'd told her I was out of the office for three days (my family was in and my daughter was graduating). She had the nerve to call four times and leave lengthy messages. Why? Because the project I'd sent her a week and a half prior was due that coming Monday and she'd just gotten off her arse to look at it. That was the last thing I worked on with her, but oddly it wasn't her behavior that did it. It was her boss's behavior – he wanted me to work without a contract and he'd "round down" the rate based on what he felt like publishing. And when I insisted on the contract, he became beligerent and added the "how dare you doubt me" tone to his emails. Buh-bye.

Good for you not dropping everything to meet ridiculous demands. We aim to please, but that doesn't mean we aim to kill ourselves and ignore other clients as a result.

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