Comments on: 4 Ways to Kill Your Writing Business https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html a freelance writing resource. Wed, 30 Oct 2013 22:03:55 +0000 hourly 1 By: Peter Bowerman https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12544 Wed, 30 Oct 2013 22:03:55 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12544 That just blows my mind. I mean, talk about chutzpah! What are these people thinking?

And one more total mind-blower… Had another writer tell me how they'd informally mentored a young writer (via email) who'd reached out for help, going so far as to discuss pricing for different projects. The little snot goes to the writer's site, looks up their client list, calls one of this writer's bigger clients, undercuts
their price, and the client ends up dropping the first writer and giving the new one all the work!

Think that writer's going to offer much help to writers in the future?

Crazy stuff…

PB

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12536 Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:30:14 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12536 Wow, great story, Peter! Love your add, too. I've had writers ask me directly to refer them to my clients, as if I'd just hand over the work I've won the hard way. I never quite get how anyone thinks that's okay.

]]> By: Peter Bowerman https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12535 Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:19:56 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12535 Great post Lori,

And what all of you said…;)

Piggybacking on your #1 and #3, here's a jaw-dropper. A colleague shared a story of a writer who did a guest post on his blog, in which he discussed a particular client scenario in more detail than he ultimately realized he should have.

Some time later, that client mentions to the writer, that a few months earlier (right about the time the blog post hit, in fact), he'd suddenly gotten a bunch of calls from freelance writers (something that'd never happened before). The writer checks his own web site, and discovers that ALSO, around that same time, his "Clients" page had gotten an unusually high number of hits. So, apparently, writers were reading the post, then looking at the "Clients" page on his site to find the client that matched the details he offered in the post, and then a bunch of them were calling. Not that it made any difference, since the client was quite happy with his writer.  

But, seriously?

So, to your list, I'd add something like, "Quit operating out of a mindset of lack and scarcity. Believe there's plenty of work for everyone (because there is)." Put another way, get your own clients – don't poach others.

]]> By: Anne Wayman https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12515 Wed, 23 Oct 2013 19:43:50 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12515 Missing deadlines… which might also mean over promising.

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12514 Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:08:06 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12514 That's what's needed sometimes. I love when someone gives me feedback I can use. I remember not long ago, some anonymous poster on another blog bitching at me, mostly useless tripe, but one of the complaints this person had was that my blog site was housed on a free Blogger platform. I thought that was fair enough, so that day I bought a domain for it.

Even the ones acting like utter idiots with their anonymous comments can make a point. 🙂

]]> By: Cathy Miller https://wordsonpageblog.com/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html#comment-12513 Wed, 23 Oct 2013 12:42:43 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2013/10/4-ways-to-kill-your-writing-business.html/#comment-12513 There was a discussion in a Group in LinkedIn that caught my eye. I only saw it because the last responder is one of my Connections so it hit my feed.

A writer was bemoaning the fact that he had spent 18 months on his blog/social media and had very little to show for it.

Fellow writers admired his baring of soul, but one very well-known, successful writer commented with constructive criticism.

He pointed out that his tagline under his site's header listed about 5-6 different niches – he was everything from a business writer to chief bottle washer.

The successful writer explained how a narrowed focus on a specific niche could help. It was all done very professionally and I applauded the frank, constructive feedback he provided.

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