Paula Hendrickson: “No-ing” Your Limits

Join Paula and me today at 11 am ET for another Writers Worth Twitter chat! Use the hashtag #WWMchat to participate. Bring your questions and stay for the whole hour or just ten minutes. See you there!

I promised you this past May that Writers Worth Month is probably ending. But Writers Worth? That is now being extended throughout the year.

Today’s one such day.

Today’s post, written by Paula Hendrickson, echoes today’s chat theme — saying no. More specifically, when and how to say no. Paula goes over a few examples here on when she’s had to say no, and when not saying no is the right thing for that moment.

For more conversation on the art of rejecting offers, join our Twitter chat this afternoon.

No-ing Your Limits

by Paula Hendrickson

As writers, we’ve all seen—or received—job offers so ludicrous that they leave you thinking, “No. Nope. I will never be that desperate.” Lori’s ongoing series of “This Job Not, That Job” posts breaks down some of the worst job offers around (and provides better alternatives), but just when you think she’s found the worst job listing ever, an even worse one pops up.

Worse yet? Sometimes we’re approached by would-be clients offering unacceptable terms.

Over 15 years ago, a newsletter that had been paying me 50-cents a word for articles was bought out by another company. The editor I’d been working departed. A few weeks later his replacement called me to assign some work. She wanted 12 sources crammed into a 600-word article, all for the generous fee of $60; she tried arguing that was the industry standard, and I’d been overpaid by the previous publisher.

That was an easy “No.”

Did I mention that happened when I was in the middle of a lengthy slump? Two magazines I’d been regularly writing for had ceased publication, and I’d recently fired a long-term client who was ignoring past-due notices and had literally told me freelance writers were a dime a dozen (his cliché, not mine). But it was still an easy “No” because I can’t work for someone who disrespects me or my profession.

Some offers aren’t as easy to decline. Occasionally, you might consider taking on lower-paying gigs to further your own goals.

Maybe it’s in a niche you’re eager to cover. Perhaps it’s for a cause you’d like to support. Or maybe you simply want to build your clips or demonstrate a different skillset. Those are the kinds of jobs that force you to really weigh the pros and cons. When you’re getting something out of the deal and aren’t tying yourself to a long-term arrangement or agreeing to so much work that it steals valuable time from better-paying jobs—and looking for better-paying jobs—it might be worthwhile. But once you have a foothold in that niche, collected a couple of decent clips, or mastered that skill—move on.

I’m facing a similar situation right now.

Unfortunately, I lost one of best clients earlier this year. Overnight, one of my main sources of revenue was gone because the publisher decided to drastically cut the outlet’s use of freelancers. There’s a slight chance it could be temporary, but right now the situation doesn’t look promising.

Along with increasing my marketing efforts, I looked for other types of writing and editing opportunities to bring in steadier revenue.

I saw a social media post about a company who needed writers and editors to edit college entrance essays. Before I applied, I did a bit of research. The company is legitimate. It pays you to take an online training course, and it pays a reasonable (though not exactly lucrative) hourly rate which increases depending on how many hours of work you complete each week. The minimum commitment is four hours per week.

Carving out four actual hours of time each week isn’t a problem (unless I have back-to-back-to-back deadlines like I did a couple weeks ago).

The work itself—coaching students to improve their writing skills—is interesting and kind of fun. It’s way better than writing resumes. The company pays several times more than minimum wage. The people are really pleasant to deal with. And I’d love to earn a couple hundred “extra” dollars each week while honing my editing skills.

While I know it’s not worth my time as a full-time job, I still haven’t determined if it’s worth my time as filler work. Like I said, it beats resume writing, and I did that on the side for a couple of years. The manager told me it takes about 20 essays before most editors feel comfortable and more productive. Once I hit that threshold, I’ll re-evaluate the job’s value to me.

Why? Because I value myself—and my time—enough to say no if it’s not the right fit.

How do you determine which jobs to accept or reject? What are some reasons you’ve said no?