Freelance Writing Blog

Why Marketing Isn’t All That

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lwidmer

Three more days until the LinkedIn Secrets & Success Webinar with Urban Muse Susan Johnston! Susan, author of LinkedIn and Lovin’ It, will answer questions on LinkedIn, social media, and e-publishing. If you join the Five Buck Forum, you can get the webinar for a mere $10. That’s $39 off the price for non-members. Plus…

Monday, Monday, Sniff, Sniff

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lwidmer

Just a reminder that the LinkedIn Secrets & Success webinar is this Thursday at 2 pm ET. Save $39 off the price by joining the Five Buck Forum – for $15, you get forum access and discounts, plus a place at the webinar and a chance to win Susan Johnston’s book, LinkedIn and Lovin’ It….

Link Love Friday

Posted on October 21, 2011 by lwidmer

It’s been quite a week. It started slowly, with little going on, but as the week progressed, the workload intensified, as did the contact with clients. I’m still trying to get to an agreement with one client, but in the meantime another contact from my magazine editor days got in touch. Seems I’ll be working…

More Bang-bang in Your Shoot-em-up

Posted on October 20, 2011 by lwidmer

Yesterday was a lesson in wheel-spinning. I got one article completed, then set out to get my new website put together. The one I have I really don’t like, so I’m revamping everything. Websites should show personality, not what you think clients want to read. So they’re getting me this time around. The copy is…

Committed

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lwidmer

Wow, yesterday was a struggle just to sit myself down in front of this computer screen. I remembered I wanted to get a hair appointment, called, and was in her chair instead of this one until lunchtime. In the afternoon I worked on an article, then on more marketing. I tutor my Vietnamese student Tuesdays,…

Diversifying

Posted on October 18, 2011 by lwidmer

There was an article posted last week about Demand Media’s move to shed itself of writers. What I find interesting wasn’t in the body of the story, but in the comments. There are a lot of angry people out there, but seeing a few of them virtually lynching other writers for offering help is, well,…

Weekend Warrior

Posted on October 17, 2011 by lwidmer

Don’t forget to check out Anne’s and my Webinar with The Urban Muse Susan Johnston. Susan will be giving us advice from her new book LinkedIn Secrets & Success. I’ve read it – it’s a terrific resource. If you sign up, you’re also entered to win your own copy. Please join us. Some weekends just…

Worthy Advice: Demand More

Posted on October 14, 2011 by lwidmer

Looking to make the most of LinkedIn? Join Anne and me and special guest Susan Johnston, author of LinkedIn and Lovin’ It for a one-hour Webinar on how to propel your profile and get more gigs. Register here and you have a chance to win a copy of Susan’s book. Good day yesterday. I finished…

More Competition or Better Odds?

Posted on October 13, 2011 by lwidmer

There’s plenty that ticks me off when it comes to retailer behavior these days. Customer service is nonexistent (in my area, anyway), companies make excuses, choose to ignore customers or worse, blame them for not doing something correctly. Instead of fixing an issue and retaining customer loyalty, they operate on the “gee, that’s just too…

The Client’s Client’s Client

Posted on October 12, 2011 by lwidmer

Ooo, this is a good one: Join Anne Wayman and me, along with our special guest, The Urban Muse Susan Johnston, for LinkedIn Secrets and Success, a one-hour Webinar revealing how you can capitalize on LinkedIn’s untapped potential! For information and registration, click here. Yesterday was slightly more productive than Monday. I managed to get…

Devon Ellington

October 12, 2011

My solution: don't subcontract. I deal directly with clients, not the client of a client. No middleman. Better rates, better communication, less b.s.

Anne Wayman

October 12, 2011

Gee, didn't realize you'd been looking for an html editor… I use komposer through firefox's seamonkey… not great, but it works.

I'd so much rather work directly with the client – when it gets interpreted it usually goes, if not wrong, at least not right.

Those who won't let us deal direct are afraid and I'd rather not work with them either come to think about it. I've never stolen a client and I'll bet you haven't either.

hugs

Jake P

October 12, 2011

Being a third party is like trying to do surgery with mittens on. (And I say that as a quasi-healthcare professional, haha.) I won't do it for very long without weaseling my way into a direct relationship.

It's a bit of a flipside to the Freelance Follies video I promised the other day and put together yesterday–"A Second Opinion"–with a client who decided to overcomplicate the approval process by dragging a bunch of outsiders into it. Drives me nuts!

Lori

October 12, 2011

Devon, I agree with that premise entirely. But there have been times when I've been hired at my rate and there's been a third party involved. It happens. Most times it works, but there were those few times it went horribly wrong.

I'm like you, Anne. I like working directly with people. It does cut out a lot of misinterpretation and miscommunication. But there have been those times when corporates hire me to please their clients. I'm okay with that as long as my rates are met and I have access to those clients. The few times I didn't have access, it all blew up.

Lori

October 12, 2011

Jake, I have a very clear no-posse clause in my contracts. If there's a third party giving an opinion, they have to be named at the outset in the contract. Otherwise, it's a voided contract and I'm owed cash.

Currently I work with a PR person whose clients don't know I exist. She realized her skills lie in marketing and branding – not writing. I'm fine with that because she handles the clients and she and I have a great relationship. It can work. It just requires a strong relationship with the client and the understanding that misunderstandings will happen and I should be given the chance to fix it.

Jake P

October 12, 2011

The no-posse clause is a good idea. Frankly, it didn't even occur to me that something like that could happen in this particular circumstance.

Basically, I was writing a Q&A for a guy to appear in a trade magazine. I recorded the whole interview, so pretty much anything I wrote was exactly as he said it–with grammar corrections as needed to smooth things out while retaining his voice.

I attribute his desire to send it around to unfamiliarity with editorial etiquette rather than malice. Anyway, it all turned out OK and he was happy with the final product…just a little more byzantine than I prefer.

Paula

October 12, 2011

I've done some sub-contract editing, with no direct access to the client. It's like having both hands tied behind your back.

When I asked my client if it was possible for me to work directly with her client, she said she'd prefer that, too, but her client was a Fortune 100 company that required all outside vendors to go through a rigorous approval process that can take several weeks, but since she was already approved she could hire me herself and still meet the deadline.

Either way, I got paid the same rate. I would have preferred direct access to the client, but it's their inefficient system, not mine.

Wendy

October 12, 2011

The whole posse thing drives me nuts. If I'm spending a lot of money on something, like a used car, I would want a second opinion. But, I would bring someone knowledgeable about cars to look it over.

In a lot of these cases, the second opinion person ends up being their sister-in-law, who sends text messages to their friends, daily. Somehow that makes her the expert over me. That's when it gets on my nerves.

Lori

October 12, 2011

That IS bizarre, Jake! I wouldn't have expected it, either. Wow. Glad it worked out.

Agreed, Paula. Though I will say I've had good luck in one instance with it.

Wendy, I wish I could bottle you and sell your wisdom to those who think they need a posse. 🙂 Well said.