Words on the Page

Writers Worth: Fear and Your Worth

Posted on by lwidmer

I get by with a little help from my friends. — John Lennon and Paul McCartney The end of the month. This month. Writers Worth Month. This has been a surprisingly impactful event this year. It started with me coming up with a post idea for one person to write about fear. Then it hit…

Writers Worth: Forward Together, Fearlessly

Posted on by lwidmer

It’s Paula Hendrickson’s fault. No really, it is. Paula is the reason we have a month-long Writers Worth event. Paula is the reason I have enlisted guest posters for content. She’s the reason we now have Twitter chats. She’s the reason Writers Worth has become such a large part of my life, and hopefully of…

Writers Worth: Your Freelance Competition

Posted on by lwidmer

Confession Time: I worked a little yesterday. Yea, I know. Yesterday was the post about taking time away. I have a good excuse: I took off early on Friday. And I’d forgotten to schedule this week’s posts. So at 6:45 am on a holiday, I was here making sure this post would be waiting for…

Writers Worth: Fear Not Your Time Away

Posted on by lwidmer

Some lessons are easy to adopt. Today is one of those lessons. Today’s Marketing Move: Take Time Off Seriously, it’s Memorial Day. If you’re working, stop it right now. Who cares if you have deadlines? Work late tomorrow. Today, don’t be afraid to walk away from the lists and the deadlines and the research. Today…

Writers Worth: Coming Out of the Shadows

Posted on by lwidmer

This post is proof that Emily Montgomery knows how to conquer fear. I’d read a post on Devon Ellington’s Biblio Paradise last week. A great post. Emily’s post (her first, it seems). I sent a quick email to Devon — would Emily contribute here? The next day, Emily’s first email to me came in. In…

Writers Worth: When Fear Has Many Faces

Posted on by lwidmer

Jenn Mattern is one of the most fearless people I know. She’s an aggressive marketer, planner, and writer. I don’t know a time since I’ve known her that Jenn hasn’t had several projects going on at once. Her whiteboards in her office (she has a few) scare the hell out of me. They’re loaded with…

Writers Worth: Fear Without Apology

Posted on by lwidmer

There’s an honesty about Yolander Prinzel that is what I would call refreshingly disturbing. It’s refreshing because she gives you her genuine feelings. It’s disturbing because her words often make you face the very shit you’ve been trying to cover and hide from. I adore Yo because she’s never afraid to say what she’s thinking,…

Writers Worth: When Fear is Your Friend

Posted on by lwidmer

Join us on Twitter today at Noon ET for the second Writers Worth Month chat – Use hashtag #WWMchat to take part! Reasons why I adore Paula Hendrickson: She showed up one day and made friends quickly She volunteered to run this blog when a liver surgery sent me into a nine-day hospital stay She…

Writers Worth: Fear of Taking it Seriously

Posted on by lwidmer

I need to stay off writers’ forums. A recent conversation that started seriously enough turned ridiculous far too quickly. The guy asked a serious question: How do you know if freelance is your choice? Facing a full-time offer, he was having second thoughts about taking that offer. While right there he’s pretty much answered his…

Writers Worth: Kicking First

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m a Sharon Hurley Hall fan. In fact, I sort of stalked Sharon for years on social media. I was there, hanging in the background, hoping to get a chance to reach out. Why I was nervous about saying hello is beyond me, and now that I know Sharon, I realize how silly it was…

Cathy Miller

Sharon, I have so enjoyed getting to know you (virtually). I have seen such tremendous growth in you, and you were pretty darn successful when I first got to know you! I love that fear is a motivator for you. That’s a great perspective.

What stands out to me when I look at your success is your work ethic and how hard you work to produce your very best. It shows. Continued success, my friend. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.

1. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  Thanks so much, Cathy! You’re an inspiration to me.:)
Jake Poinier

This is excellent, Sharon! On the “disappearing clients” front, I have a folder on my computer that’s labeled “dormant.” It contains a subfolder for almost every client I’ve ever worked with but who hasn’t been active for a year or two, or they were a one-and-done. There are a LOT of names—and your post reminds me that I’ve survived the departure of every darn one of them without long-term damage, no matter how much of a gut-punch it was at the time. Thank you! 🙂

1. Devon Ellington
  
  Yup. I actually like the one-offs because of the variety. And both Sharon and Jake are right — the departure makes way for the next tier of client.
2. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  It’s amazing how much you grow year by year as you trade old clients for new ones, and seize new opportunities, right, Devon?
3. Devon Ellington
  
  Yeah, when I look back at some of my former clients — glad I worked with them, but unless they, too, have grown, wouldn’t do it now.
4. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  Thanks, Jake. 🙂 I definitely have a large list of dormant clients. The interesting thing is that sometimes they come back, up to a couple of years later.
5. Jake Poinier
  
  I didn’t mention it in my comment, but that happened to me last week–contacted out of the blue by a company I did a ton of work for in 2011-13, then my main contact left. Turns out the CEO really liked my work, but the new marketing director had her own stable of freelancers. Always fun to move someone from “dormant” back to “in progress” folder!
6. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  For sure!
7. lwidmer
  
  That’s so validating, isn’t it? I had that recently, too. I was let go by the first person, who’d said the client didn’t like my work. Fast forward two years — I’m now working for that very client (who likes very much what I produce) and that first person is now history.
  
  Sometimes we’re shown the door because someone is fighting to remain relevant. Time eventually sorts that out nicely, though. 🙂
Paula Hendrickson

Wise words. I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to get to know you through the Five Buck Forum, Sharon. You’re always there to support your fellow writers and share your vast knowledge—especially on the techie stuff that baffles me.

1. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  I got lots of helpful guidance when I first started freelancing, Paula, and I’m always happy to pay it forward. 🙂
Devon Ellington

One reason I’m a writer is to live many lives, learn what I don’t know. The firsts are one of the reasons I do this! And learning to say no has done more to increase income than many other things!

1. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  “Live many lives” – I love that, Devon. 🙂 I always say that any day I learn something new is an especially good day. Writing is a big help with that, for sure.
lwidmer

Sharon, I’m sorry I was absent on Friday — it’s my day to watch the grandson. 🙂

Thank you again for both the great post and the lively conversation here in comments. It’s why we adore you — you’re always giving us something that’s thought-provoking.

1. Sharon Hurley Hall
  
  And thanks for having me, Lori. It’s always a pleasure to connect with all these great writers. 🙂