Tommy, Can You Hear Me?In a conversation with sales guru Todd Cohen, he stressed to me the importance of not just listening to clients, but really hearing them. It got me thinking about the ways we interact with our clients. We listen to what they want, but do we hear how it is they want…
Thievery and Protecting Your Work Deborah Ng had a disturbing experience – it seems her work appeared verbatim on not one, but a number of web sites. While one person gave her a nod, the others simply stole the work. Read her post on what to do if you’re ripped off. How can you prevent…
I’m Ready for My Close-up, Mr. ShymalanI live in a pretty nondescript area. True, I’m a mile from Valley Forge Park and our little town has just undergone an amazing transformation that’s got the streets packed and the stores moving in. But in general, it’s an old steel town that’s transformed into a pretty decent…
Hold Down the Fort, Would Ya?I’m definitely headed out of the country for the remainder of the week. I’ll be back sometime on Monday, folks. See you then!
Going AwayThere’s a good chance I’ll be out of the country tomorrow. There’s a better chance I won’t be. Either way, leaving means informing ongoing clients of my absence. Inevitably, it opens me up to the “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” sentiments. See, I once took time away. It was a vacation,…
Another Official Rant Day
And this time, it’s aimed at writers. Writers – where’s your pride? I saw some job postings recently for those low-paying articles. This one in particular paid $15 an article. I wanted to see what kind of idiot would think we’d work for that kind of money, so I clicked on the link. The note…
The Royal(ty) Pain
I am not really a hard ass. Honest. I was approached recently by a potential client wanting me to write a book manuscript, only with my payout being some sort of royalty arrangement. I had to turn him down. Writing for royalties works in only a few cases – when you’ve hooked up with a…
File This Under Crazy
File This Under Crazy Writer chum Kathy Kerhli tells of a client who rejected her after she’d rejected him. You have to read it to believe it. Do you know of any other professional contract position in which the client dictates how the contractor’s billing is going to happen? Anyone? Yep. Just plain nuts.
The Jitters
The Jitters Got me a second chance with that there client who didn’t care for my second article. (Before you write, the bad grammar there was intended) My third article will be on a different topic (odd, as I was writing a series of three), and he wants to see bullet points. Funny about that…
Jobs for August 7, 2007
Job Listings – August 7, 2007 Bad JuJu Ever wake up after what you think is a great, productive day and find everything falling to bits in front of you? Welcome to my Tuesday. I hit one out of the park last week with a terrific article for a new client. The second article has…