And the biggest laugh of all is how well you are doing, Sharon. Success is indeed sweet revenge on all those naysayers. 😉

Thank you, Lori! I look forward to getting to know you all better!

Although I don’t like hearing people being treated poorly, it is comforting to hear that other writers have experienced some really inappropriate and outrageous things. Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

Mika, now you know how I felt when I first read this — blown away.

Paula is wonderful, and we’re so glad you’re here! I hope you make this your place to hang out. We’d love to have you.

Paula, to that last one, my knee-jerk reaction would have been to reply “Sir, I’ve already come to that conclusion myself.”

I’m laughing at the editor using his position to threaten you with banishment. Let’s see…banishment from a gig you wouldn’t take if you were starving and these were the last two nickels…

Yep. I’m good with that. 😉

Oh. I can play, too!

– “You led me to believe you were a professional,” (said by an editor who provided several sources for me to contact only to reject most of them and give me two weeks, over the holidays, to find and interview new sources then cut those two weeks down to five days—and then axed the article without telling me!)
– “We used to pay 50¢/word, but our new rate is 10¢/word because it’s easy work. You’ll need 12 sources in this 600-word article.” (To which I replied, “If it’s so easy, do it yourself!”)
_ “I thought we were on the same team? You’ll never work for us again!” (Screamed at me by an editor when he learned I went over his head to get paid for an article I’d written 13 months earlier. I said that was fine by me.)

I am completely blown away by these comments. Speechless, actually. Saying “thank you” just doesn’t seem like enough to convey how supported I feel right now. And an extra thank you to Paula, who is always encouraging me and uplifting me. I truly believe she was put in my path for a reason, and hopefully vice versa. And, Lori, thank you again for the opportunity to join your community. What a wonderful place you’ve built here!

If it helps, I still hear this kind of garbage once in a while. We all do. Clients don’t want to pay, so they blame you. They want complete control. Again, you. They’re having a lousy day and can’t yell at their spouses. You. Or they’ve totally botched a project and need to save face. Guess who? Yep. You.

In my decades of writing (only 14 years have been full time), I’ve heard:

– You’re no good at writing (an ex)
– What makes you think you can write? (an HR director)
– There are numerous errors (typically one or two). (several clients wanting to duck payment or who thought their high school English from 25 years ago still applied)
– You are unprofessional. (client who was actually the guilty one)
– This isn’t what we wanted at all. (client whose words I typed up and cleaned up almost verbatim)
– My associates think your editing is horrendous. (client who didn’t want to pay for the remainder of the editing)
– My friends are now going to write it because they see problems with your copy. (client who let six friends give him feedback)
– You don’t understand my business. (client who took an hour to tell me what his business was, and eventually had to refer me to a vague article by someone else because he himself couldn’t land on his objective)
– It looks like you’re in that source’s back pocket. (editor who objected to my using the same source for a very different article in a very different specialty)
– Your pricing is outrageous. (a client prospect who couldn’t figure out simple math)

We survive such things because we have better clients who tell us they value what we deliver. They’re the ones who thank you for “getting” them, for listening, for delivering the right thing on time.

That’s why we do it in spite of any criticism. Because we know there are people who need our words as much as we need to put them on paper.

Hmm, suddenly I’m thinking Mika’s ginormous, lovable, and loyal bulldog, Titan, may be the best life coach ever!

Seriously, when I first met Mika I had no clue she was anything but smart, confident, and strong. She pretty much single-handedly revived our neighborhood association (which includes more than a couple negative Nellies) and brought people together. Only later did I realize how difficult that had to be with those naysayers constantly whispering in the background. (Especially while she was in grad school!)

Mika clearly has the talent she needs to succeed as a writer.

From now on, Mika, anytime some clueless naysayer makes you doubt that fact, come back here, re-read the comments and consider the sources. Who knows more about writing? People who do it for a living, or some boss or co-worker trying to make themselves feel bigger by trying to make you feel small?

Great post!