Let me tell you about Joy Drohan. A number of years back, Joy reached out and thanked me for my part in a joint webinar Jake Poinier and I had held that Joy had attended. We got to talking (with me, we always get to talking). She’s now my accountability partner, and — I’m admitting…
Author: lwidmer
Writers Worth: That Other F Word
Cathy Miller is my phone buddy. It’s not unusual for the phone to ring and for Cathy to be on the other end. We’d spent many years in what I call a Writer Gang — Jenn Mattern, Yo Prinzel, Cathy, and me. It transitioned easily to phone calls. And boy, do we talk! Typically we…
Jake Poinier on Facing Freelance Fears
I consider myself lucky — I’ve met Jake Poinier and have shared caffeine with him. We were in Arizona for family reasons, and I remembered Jake was in the area. I sent an email. Before too long, we were sitting outside a Starbucks on a gorgeous day in April, talking as though we’d known each…
Writers Worth: Controlling Both Sides of Fear
Join us on Twitter today at Noon ET for the first of two Writers Worth Month chats – Use hashtag #WWMchat to take part! — One of the first people I met in this writing gig, both online and in person, was Devon Ellington. And I felt like I’d met a long-time friend. She’s a…
Writers Worth: Fear and Competition
Welcome to Week Two of Writers Worth Month! Even amid our annual celebration, there’s room for a Marketing Monday or three, don’t you think? That’s because marketing never ends, particularly as we’re learning to overcome fear. This Week’s Marketing Move: Lose Your Fear of Competition How many times have you said or even thought something…
WritersWorth: Fear of the Unfulfilled Dream
Nancy Oliver is just one of those people. We got to know each other over LinkedIn, and hellos turned quickly into wicked, laughter-inducing conversation. She’s a Southern-bred lady, which basically means all bets are off. Or as she puts it: “I am Southern — I am always slightly a-flutter.” Our recent conversation involved a new…
Writers Worth: Keeping Fear at Bay
Mika Doyle is a breath of fresh air. She’s one of those writers who brings a sincerity to everything she touches. Example: when I asked her to write a post, she was in mourning. She’d lost a beloved professor, and it had hit her particularly hard as she hadn’t been in touch with him in…
Writers Worth: Using Yes to Combat Fear
Let me tell you how many ways I love Anne Wayman. She was one of the first freelance writers I knew who was actually helping other writers. Sure, I’d met plenty of friendly, helpful people on newsgroups (remember those?), but no one was running a website for the express purpose of helping other writers. At…
Writers Worth: Starting Out Fearless
Welcome to Writers Worth Month 2018! Since 2008, we’ve been gathering here to share encouragement and kicks in the ass about taking ourselves seriously and accepting that our skills have value. We’ve shared it all — encouragement, our journeys, our roadblocks, you name it. What we haven’t shared perhaps often enough: our fears. That’s about…
The Freelance Writer’s Waiting Game (and how to stop it right now)
What I’m listening to: The Waiting by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers The waiting is the hardest part… It’s rare when the song I’m listening to coincides with the theme of my post. Today, it’s intentional. I saw a disturbing series of exchanges recently that made me realize just how stuck we freelance writers can…