Hiya writer friends,
I’ve bitten off all my nails because I’m nervous. My Life in the UK test is tomorrow and whether I continue living in this country or get booted out and sent back home to India depends on my knowledge of the population of the UK in the 1600s (among other not-so-useful things). I’ve been studying all week, and my editors have been wonderful. One sent me a new assignment and said he hoped it would provide a distraction. (It did!)
I quit a prestigious freelance gig this week. The client wanted me to be available at short notice for breaking news and travel, and had promised a story a week. You know where this is going—it ended up being a story a month, despite my sending half a dozen pitches they didn’t bother to look at.
So, I ended it.
The reason I mention this is that some people (editorial clients, usually) are still shocked that a freelancer would walk away from assignments or bylines. Publishers and agents are still surprised when a writer has the gall to turn them down. (Ask me how I know.) The entitlement remains high.
I go over and above for the clients and editors I write for. In return, I expect the same level of thoughtfulness and respect.
Publications need writers. Businesses need writers. Our talents are massively in demand.
The only people I want to work with now—whether as a freelancer or in publishing—are people I feel fully and completely aligned with.
This is my business. And I’m incredibly picky about who gets to play in it.
Cheers,
Natasha