Words on the Page

The Writing Freebie

Posted on by lwidmer

I read with interest and a little more sarcastic laughter than I’d planned a post or two by people on other blogs basically scoffing and calling professionals who hold themselves to a higher earning standard hypocritical. At issue – the fact that we “bemoan” writing for too little, then post free weblogs. Oh, if only…

If It’s December, It Must Be June

Posted on by lwidmer

Short and sweet today – I’m trying to get a holiday going here. Diane Parkin is ahead of the rest of us, and I thank her for it. Did you ever get a great idea about a summer vacation, but can’t market it because hey, it’s summer already? Diane’s posted some excellent prompts on her…

Who Wears What Pants?

Posted on by lwidmer

With the Internet world still reeling from James Chartrand’s recent confession, we’re all left wondering exactly what gender has to do with anything. But it does, doesn’t it? Whether you’re a writer or a CEO, you’re judged on many factors, gender being one of them. Think about how many times you’ve encountered gender bias. I…

The Lost Art of Competence

Posted on by lwidmer

Maybe it’s my karma to end up with payment issues and all things monetary driving me up the wall at Christmas. Yesterday’s installment was a credit card company telling me that yes, I did mail my payment in time, but I got a late fee anyway. Pour quoi? Apparently, I needed to pay the bill…

Taking the High Road

Posted on by lwidmer

With a raging debate being rehashed over on dear friend Anne Wayman’s site, I added my thoughts once more on the side of writers valuing their skills enough to demand more than $10-20 an article. The resistance by one poster in particular was so caustic I’ve decided no more. No more will I add my…

Worthy Tip: Give Yourself 15 Minutes

Posted on by lwidmer

Oh, did I raise an eyebrow or two when I mentioned this week that I spend 15 minutes a day marketing! You don’t believe it, do you? But it’s true. I don’t spend a ton of time marketing. My marketing is virtual and quick – therefore, it shouldn’t take much time. Oh, not every marketing…

Being the Project Gatekeeper

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m about to advocate a little bit of hand-holding. All writers should own their own process in every project, but sometimes we have to perform beyond our own processes so our clients’ business can thrive. Let me explain. In the past, I’ve had clients who are hopelessly unorganized, terminally late, or too overworked to take…

Spinning Wheels Require a Slip Differential

Posted on by lwidmer

Monday was exactly as busy as I expected it to be. I had a call to Belgium in the morning. Lovely person on the other end of the phone and hopefully the project I’m doing for him will net him the results he hopes for. Two other calls. The first one missed the scheduled appointment…

The Marketing Myth

Posted on by lwidmer

If I hear one more person say that it takes tons more time to market a higher-priced article than it does to funnel something through a content mill, this last nerve of mine will snap. Three times this week and once last week, people have actually told me that selling an article that pays, say,…

Sprinting Through the Week

Posted on by lwidmer

It’s tough to relax over the weekend when you know your day is going to start early and end late Monday, isn’t it? That’s my day today with three client calls and one project due. I’m exhausted thinking about it. Worse, last week ended with rather rudely. Incompetence threatened to ruin my day. Not my…

Krista

Clients who don't feel the need to answer e-mails unless they need something. Clients who don't answer project questions until the last minute but then expect you to still meet deadlines.

Devon Ellington

The movers got my goat, with fees never discussed in the estimate.

Oh, stop by today's blog, Lori — I write about seeing my play and how it feels to watch my work . . .

Wendy

My favorites are the clients that have the attitude that they paid good money for you to do a project for them, so that means that you should be at their beck and call 24/7. And you should be jumping to their every whim.

Also, you are expected to respond to their emails within 5 seconds of them sending it. It doesn’t matter that it might take 5 minutes to read through their emails and another 5-10 minutes to type out a response. If they don’t get a response within 5 seconds they will send another one to ask why you haven’t responded to the first one. By the time I get done typing out one email, I’ve got 3-4 others asking why it’s taking so long to get a reply.

The postal delivery gets to me too. We’ve had some of our bills get stuck in someone else’s box and I don’t get it back until the day before the bill is due or I don’t get it back at all. (Filing complaints hasn’t helped so far)

Paula

– The cable company. Two of their employees promised my VCR would still work with the new digital cable box. They left out the part that it will no longer be able to record something I'm not watching, or program the VCR to record shows on more than one channel while I'm away – it only records the channel the cable box is set at. And there is no volume control during playback. When I complained, they tried to upsell me on their DVR service for "only" $10 a month. This is the same cable company that said the digital cable box was FREE. On my bill this month it states I'm receiving a credit of about $3.24 per month for the cable box, and that "credit" expires in April. I hate hidden fees.

– The postal service. I had the correct address, the correct postage, yet the papers I'd mailed to a client were returned to me about two weeks later. Even my letter carrier was perplexed. She said the local carrier on the other end should have stamped and noted on the left-hand side the reason it was "undeliverable." She also didn't understand why it took a couple of weeks to come back. I triple checked that I hadn't transposed any numbers. There were no mistakes on my end. I just hope my second attempt goes through.

– The (now former) president of the neighborhood group. I volunteered to edit a quarterly newsletter for the group. She e-mailed me exactly what she wanted it to include. At the next meeting she cornered me, crossly saying, "Who told you to say there wouldn't be a December meeting? That hasn't been decided yet." Um, you did, honey. She denied having told me to include it, and went on about the "conspirators" going behind her back to get their own way….so when I got home I forwarded her own e-mail back to her, highlighting the part she titled "Things to be sure to include." The top thing on the list? No December meeting. Naturally, she never apologized for accusing me of trying to subvert her authority, and she never acknowledged that she had indeed told me to include that information.

Lori

I saw your experience, Devon! How cool is that? I'd be like you, too – a bit nervous and feeling somewhat exposed. How neat, though!

Ditto that, Krista. I hate the dead silence, especially if it's followed with all sorts of hell should you get it wrong.

Wendy, exactly! I had one client send seven emails in less than 30 minutes. It took me longer to read them all than to respond with a "sent it yesterday" note!

Paula, volunteer jobs are pretty awful. You take abuse for no pay. Where is that fair? I wouldn't suspect she'd send an apology – people who fuss for control rarely do.

Lori

Today's annoyance – waiting for the conference call that isn't happening (it's been an hour). If it were the first time, I'd understand. However, this makes at least eight times. Repeat behavior requires extra payment to compensate my waiting. However, I no longer wait. I schedule work right through the appointment times. If anything, I've learned the pattern and have learned to be pleasantly surprised should the call actually go through as planned.

hugh.c.mcbride

Was just about to post an "actually, things are fairly frustration-free at the moment" comment.

Then I read this article about how Time Inc. is offering pay freelancers (a) what they're owed and (b) in a timely manner — just as long as the freelancers don't, ya know, mind GIVING UP A PERCENTAGE OF WHAT THEY'RE OWED: http://bit.ly/7vqnCO.

Sigh …

[Note: My anti-spam word for this entry was "chill." Perhaps the computer gods are sending me some not-so-subtle guidance?

Lori

My gawd, is that ever ridiculous, Hugh! They actually have a chart showing how much of your pay you have to give back in order to receive your damn check in a timely manner.

I say write the copy yourselves, fools. When the hell did we allow this denegration of business ethics to take hold?

Kimberly Ben

Lori, you had me standing up applauding as I read this post. You deserved your weekend off!

I have a new client *trying* to harsh my mellow by rushing me to start a job I have yet to receive the deposit for. He's trying to make it seem as if it should be no big deal to go ahead and get started on the work, but if it's no big deal then where the heck is the deposit???

Lori

You are SO smart to hold out, Kimberly! Too many people have tried the same thing with me. It's ridiculous. No money, no work. Stick to your guns, girl!

Paula

Well, I've only done the one volunteer job. Past tense, thanks to what that ex-president pulled. (Somehow, single-handedly, and with no input from any neighborhood association members, she declared the association "legally dissolved" yet after a year will still not provide any evidence of her imaginary dissolution. So now our Community Police Officer – a special department of the city's police force – and a non-profit city-wide neighborhood organization is trying to revive the association, but now need to get the City Attorney's involved to clear up the mess made by the ex-president.)

I haven't attended any of the monthly meetings in quite a while. I might go to the one next week, just to see who's there. The tragedy is we're in a "transitional" neighborhood that is transitioning in reverse, due to 17% unemployment and an influx of gang members and drug dealers who were ousted from the really bad parts of town thanks to a successful (for those neighborhoods) Weed & Seed program. So right now, more than ever my area needs an active association. As a property owner/life-long resident, I have a vested interest in the success of the group. So if I can help in the future, I will. as long as that woman is not involved.

Lori

Oh Paula, I sympathize completely. What a mess! Oddly, my sister had a similar run-in with a woman who took over my sister's committee chair A) without telling her and B) fired her via voice mail from a group she never belonged to or ran. I hear the committee is in shambles and the organization that benefits is up in arms over the amount of donations lost thanks to this woman's mismanagement.