Comments on: How to Screw Up Your Freelance Writing Career in One Move

By: p

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:23:13 +0000

In reply to lwidmer. I feel honored.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:01:57 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Mattern. Thank you for clarifying the distinction, Jenn. I didn't mean everyone who's being nice is a louse. I'm saying people who are nice to further their own causes.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:00:58 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Mattern. LOL Since I'll never be able to separate it now, I second the motion.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:00:21 +0000

In reply to Cathy Miller. Same here, Cathy and Michael. I think Facebook isn't the right medium. I know people use it successfully, but it's not conducive to what I do necessarily.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 19:44:29 +0000

Now Lori, don’t go scaring them off just because someone’s willing to be buddy-buddy with them. Some of us do (you too I reckon) simply because we’re not assholes. As long as it’s not followed by the sales pitch, you’re probably good.

And better to find colleagues willing to engage in a bit of banter than ones who aren’t willing to acknowledge your existence until you pay up.

We’re not all greedy, conniving, louses that thrive on our own self-importance. Some actually care about helping. Promise. It’s just a shame the bad ones have gotten so good at wearing their “mentor” masks.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 19:36:51 +0000

In reply to lwidmer. Given that we know exactly who she's talking about Lori, I move to permanently adopt the "manatee" title for her mentees / followers / minions.

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 19:15:41 +0000

In reply to Michael LaRocca.

Michael, I am so happy you brought up that bit of MUST do about Facebook. I admit, I originally signed up for Facebook at the beginning of my freelancing career, thinking I would use it for business. I hated the format and business practices.

I never did set up that business page (thank goodness) and am only on it to share family photos and such. The only somewhat work-related activity I have is an automated post when I create a new blog posts (because friends requested it).

Like you, Michael, this was a MUST I could live without. ☺

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:40:44 +0000

In reply to Paula Hendrickson.

Manatees — that’s funny!

I had similar experiences with so-called experts, Paula, as you well know. In fact, I saw more than one of my blog posts revised and reposted on one popular blog. This was from a writer who’s said openly and often that the “mashup” articles are perfectly legit. No, it’s called theft.

Oddly, I have said “I wrote for them? I don’t remember!” But I wouldn’t claim it if I wasn’t sure.

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:03:06 +0000

In reply to Paula Hendrickson. Could I have included my typos if I tried? Yikes!

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:01:04 +0000

When I first joined LinkedIn, who I presumed as a fellow freelancer and I followed each other and exchanged a handful of direct messages. It was clear she was fairly new to freelancing despite boasting about all of her “mentees” (which for some reason I always read as “manatees”). She was trying to get info about a couple of my clients, too, which was funny since she claimed to have written for one of them a few years earlier. I think she asked who my editor was, but of course it wasn’t the same one she worked for. I decided to check the publication’s online database which archives pretty much everything, and her name didn’t come up anywhere. Sure, I’ve written things for round ups that have a collective “staff” byline, but they typically won’t assign those to people who haven’t already written for them. When I told her I’d looked for her articles but didn’t find any, she suddenly said, “Oh, it must have been XYZ instead of ABC. It’s so long ago I can’t remember.”

Right. What writer do you know who “forgets” which major market publications they’ve written for?

That was the last time I heard from her personally. But I was included in one of her mass LinkedIn messages touting her coaching services. I replied asking to be removed from the list since I had far more experience and credits than she did.

Within a couple of years that same person was a very prominent “self professed gurus.” Pity her “mentees.” (Yep. Still picturing manatees.)