Comments on: Free Advice Friday: Why Your Writing Business is Failing

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 19:06:47 +0000

Paula, my machine is so old they just don't make those parts anymore (think Montgomery Ward).

Patient. There you go. I just had an issue with patience. Can't divulge much other than the waiting was threatening to push beyond the deadline the client had stated. At some point, it's out of our control, but the blame will be ours to keep, you can bet. :)

Elna, those job boards are good for the hit-or-miss projects, but I get so depressed when I spend more than five minutes on them.

You're definitely smart enough to be getting a better client, too. Do you do any direct introductions? If not, check out the LOI tags here (letter of introduction). Paula pretty much walks us through how to snag clients who pay more.

By: Elna Cain

Elna Cain — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 18:51:41 +0000

Lori,
Great post! For me, the biggest thing is finding the right clients. I still hunt the job boards, but I get more clients that pay crappy than clients that pay well (but I have snagged some).
Most of my clients come from inbound marketing, but I'm still not hitting my monthly goal. Work isn't consistent and that sucks.

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 18:23:18 +0000

Watch it, Lori. You analogy pretty much describes the state of my sewing machine. ;-)

(It's so old it's been in the shop nearly 10 months while they search for the right part.)

My biggest issue is being too nice. Not passive as much as patient. There are times when my almost limitless patience is a good thing, but others when it's a liability.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 16:14:50 +0000

Isn't that a neat analogy? Visions of Project Runway in my head. :)

Everyone has doubts, Keri. I do still. I think it would be the foolish person who doesn't have doubts. That's usually someone deluding themselves. "Imposter syndrome" -- I love the term! But it's okay to try something. My objection is when we try this then that then this without really giving anything a long-enough, committed-enough attempt.

And I'm glad you're not content with the status quo. You're much too bright for that. :)

By: KeriLynn Engel

KeriLynn Engel — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 15:59:35 +0000

Love that image of stuffing fabric into a broken machine!! Sewing machines can be very frustrating when they won't work - there are so many moving parts, it's hard to pinpoint exactly why it just won't GO sometimes. I guess a writing business can be like that sometimes :)

I deal with doubts and "imposter syndrome" sometimes... but I can usually talk myself out of it pretty quickly. I've definitely dealt with trying to follow every bit of advice I read, only to be completely overwhelmed!

But I never think I'm set, and I'm never satisfied with the status quo! I always want to be doing more, doing better :)