www.inkthinkerblog.com — Freelance writers seem to come in two varieties: generous folk who operate under the abundance theory of business and who want to help other writers, and cutthroat morons who give the rest of us a bad name. Here are seven examples of the evil side of freelancing.

1. Publicly badmouthing companies/editors/etc. when you’re not hired or when you’re fired. Warning other writers about a bad situation like a scam or nonpayment is a nice thing to do (though it could have legal ramifications that you will need to discuss with your lawyer). The only thing you accomplish when you publicly rant about how stupid your client/editor/whoever is and how you’re so SMART and they’re LOSERS who don’t know what they’re TALKING ABOUT is making yourself look like an unprofessional, petulant brat. Throw in a comment about how they’re “not getting enough” when they let you go or decline to hire you, and you could even be as memorable as this guy. Talk about how to make sure you never get another job for them or anyone associated with them! And if you post your rant in a blog, forum, MySpace bulletin, Twitter update, or other publicly available media, way to let the world know you’re a sore loser. Righteous indignation is one thing, and it’s possible to be indignant without being obnoxious. But being a baby is completely another. Heinous.
2. Visiting other writers’ blogs for the sole purpose of harassing them and/or making trouble. Respectfully disagreeing with a blog post or sharing a differing point of view is what the blogosphere is all about! But heckling other bloggers is rude and it definitely doesn’t make you any friends in the freelance writing world. Again, you just look like a moron, and you create a public record of your stupidity for all the world to see. This also applies to e-mailing people angrily when they do or say things on your blog or elsewhere related to their freelance writing business that you just don’t like. Heinous.
3. Visiting others’ blogs for the sole purpose of promoting your products and/or services. Being a spammy commenter is possibly more obnoxious than being a mean commenter. MY blog does not exist to promote YOUR product for free, and you can safely assume that other bloggers share the same opinion of their respective blogs. That’s why so many people sell advertising. So how do you comment appropriately? Michael Martine of Remarkablogger has a good explanation. And he’s also fed up with comment spam, and even updated his comment policy because of it. Twice. Spam = heinous.
4. E-mailing the poster of every Craigslist/Guru.com/Elance.com ad that you think is offering compensation that’s too low. It’s one thing to say something polite like, “You might have better luck with this ad if you try [area that’s know for lower rates],” but even that is pushing it. A genuine question, like, “Did you mean for the decimal point to be in a different place?” is okay if you really mean it and aren’t just baiting the poster. But under no circumstances should you send a diatribe to some random stranger on Craigslist because you can’t keep your snotty comments to yourself. If you’ve done it in the past, stop now. It’s tempting — good Lord, it’s tempting — but grow up. Go apply for an ad you’re interested in instead of making freelance writers as a class look bad. You’re only hurting yourself. And if you really, really can’t take it, go over to Craigslist Curmudgeon and get your fill of snarkitude there instead of creating more yourself. Heinous.
5. Flagging or otherwise deleting a job ad, or badmouthing it, after you’re responded to deter the competition. This is a new concept for me, but the comment trail on one of Deb Ng’s recent job listings at FWJ clued me in to this particularly heinous practice. The commenters were disappointed that a particularly appealing Craigslist ad had been flagged and was no longer available for viewing. Said commenter Errika, “Some moron jack-a$$ flagged it. This flagging system by CL has got to go. What complete moron came up with this program that allows self-appointed do-gooders to take it upon themselves and decide an ad is illegit? Or maybe that person flagged it to knock out the competition.” BooBoo responded, “I’d definitely say it was flagged to knock out the competition. I try to visit this site early and copy ads into Word specifically for that reason.” Huh. Who knew? Heinous.
6. Bugging your writing pals for work when things are slow and never (a) saying thank you or (b) reciprocating. I suppose if I gave you a multi-thousand-dollar job and you reciprocated by sending one back my way, I wouldn’t be too bothered if you forgot to say thank you. But if you neither thanked me nor reciprocated in any way, or if you got mad at me when I asked you for lead, I would never want to help you again. Do it often enough, and you’ll burn all of your freelance writing bridges. Go, Team Henious!
7. When someone does give you a referral, do a bad job or otherwise embarrass them and make them regret helping you. This is kind of a corollary of #6, but it deserves a mention all its own. Imagine recommending a colleague to one of your favorite clients, giving the colleague your seal of approval, and then getting an angry phone some indeterminate time later with your angry client on the other end of the phone because the person you recommended and you vouched for blew the gig. No, it’s not technically your fault, but that doesn’t mean your relationship with your client can’t still be irreparably damaged. Don’t accept a referral if you don’t intend to follow through and do a good job. Yes, we all screw up (and when you do, apologize genuinely to mitigate some of the heinousness, and feel bad enough about it not to do it again). But when other people’s reputations are on the line, it’s a whole lot worse than when it’s just you. Heinous.

Freelancers who (a) believe they are God’s gift the written word, (b) think other people exist solely to serve them, and (c) feel compelled to make things more difficult for others because they lack confidence in their ability to succeed without sabotaging the competition are the ones who make up the truly heinous group of freelancers who are the minority but seem to be the ones at the forefront when dealing with the public, especially online.

What heinous freelance writing practices drive you crazy? Leave a comment.

Tags: freelance writing blog, freelance writing, freelance, writing, advice for freelance writers, what not to do, evil blogging practices, evil writing practices, evil business practices, bad business practices, inkthinker, kristen king

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Updated @ 9:45 a.m.! And for those wondering what a preempt is…

From this morning’s Publishers Weekly “Deal” report (boldfacing and links mine):

Kate Miciak at Bantam Dell preempted North American rights to Emily Winslow’s The Whole World in a two-book deal with Cameron McClure at Donald Maass. This debut begins with an American student who moves to Cambridge to escape her past, but when her boyfriend disappears in a replay of the tragedy she’s been trying to forget, she sets a series of crimes in motion.

Yes, that is the same Emily Winslow whom I interviewed in October of 2007 (after I finished editing and critiquing the manuscript and made the exciting but vague announcement), when she secured representation and started shopping her first novel. That was five months ago. Five months! And for those who aren’t familiar with Kate Miciak, she’s VP executive editor at Bantam, which is part of Random House.

According to Emily, Miciak loved the book so much that she got approval, negotiated the contract, and shook hands (over the phone) on the deal in a single business day. AND she’s editing it herself, not passing it on to an associate. That’s gotta make a writer feel good!

The Whole World is aimed to be released in hardcover in summer 2009, with a second book (already well into the first draft) to follow in summer 2010.

This is proof that it happens, folks. Don’t give up the dream. And don’t forget to come back later this week for more news on this — Emily agreed to another interview.

Tags: freelance writing blog, freelance writing, freelance, writing, emily winslow, the whole world, kate miciak, bantam dell, north american preempt, north american rights, camerone mcclure, donald mass, debut novel, two book deal, 2 book deal, publishers weekly, writer sells book, author success stories, writer success stories, author sells book, literary agent, agent, inkthinker, kristen king

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — I’ve long been debating making an entree into the world of video blogging, and I think I’m going to start making some video posts later this month. But because I hate working without a plan, I’m sketching out a series ahead of time to make sure I can actually sustain this for at least a little while! So here’s my thought:

Back to Basics: Starting and Running Your Freelance Writing Business

In a combination of text and video posts, I’ll answer YOUR questions about freelance writing. Everything from “What’s a query letter?” to “Should I hire a personal assistant?” to “Is outsourcing for me?” and anything else you can think of. I’ve got quite a list of questions that I get over and over again, but I know there are more out there.

SO! What do you want to know about starting and/or running a freelance writing business? Leave your question in the comments (anonymous is fine, but make up a name or steal one from a literary character rather than just using “anonymous” — it’s so boring!) and I will add it to the list.

Tags: freelance writing blog, freelance writing, freelance, writing, starting a freelance writing business, running a freelance writing business, how do I start my freelance writing business, advice for new freelance writers, advice for freelance writers, freelance writing tips, freelance writing advice, inkthinker, kristen king

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Brian Clark of Copyblogger is offering a new tool to help writers succeed: a job board. It’s organized by date, searchable, and offers an RSS feed and e-mail alerts. There’s also a handy list of categories hanging out on the side to help you streamline your gig-hunting experience. Jobs at this writing include numerous species of bloggers (travel, electronics, IT certification, marketing), copywriters, content writers, creative directors, full-time in-house writers, and more. Check it out!

Here are some other sources for freelance writing jobs:

• ProBlogger.net
• Freelance Writing Jobs
• About Freelance Writing
• All Freelance Writing
• Freelance Writing
• Freelance Daily (annual fee)
• Craigslist (I know, I know, but read Responding to Online Ads and Why I love Craigslist (part 1 of approx 1 million))
• Freelance Switch

For even more sources, check out 23 Places to find freelance writing jobs and freelance blogging jobs.

(Copyblogger hat tip: The Golden Pencil)

Tags: freelance writing blog, freelance writing, freelance, writing, freelance writing jobs, freelance writing gigs, freelance job leads, problogger, about freelance writing, all freelance writing, freelance daily, craigslist, freelance switch

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King