Freelance Writers and the Fear of Success and/or Money
October 7, 2007 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Over in our forum, Barb asked if I had ever written about freelance writers and the fear of money.
I hadn’t, but as I watched the thread develop, I saw some themes, including fear of success, fear of talking about money, fear of making money, etc. etc. etc.
Of course, not every freelance writer has a fear of success or a fear of making money – far from it. But several people, including me, identified.
Money and Self Esteem
I don’t know how it happens, but for many of us, money – our ability to earn it, our right to have it, our very thinking about the whole subject – gets hooked with our self-esteem or self-worth. Generally, at some deep level, we don’t think we’re enough, or we don’t think we deserve enough to support ourselves Some of this, maybe even most, probably comes out of childhood; other pieces come from society’s messages about self-worth and money.
For the freelance writer, this lack of true self esteem often results in:
• not recognizing and accepting our talents as writers
• not charging enough for our work
• not following through with invoicing and other money management necessities
• not following through with potential clients
Any of these symptoms, and many more, result in under earning, also known in some circles as self-debting.
You Are Not Alone With Money Crazies
If money makes you crazy, the first thing to recognize is you’re not alone! You’re not crazy, either, although it sure seems like it sometimes.
Implicit in recognizing you’re not alone is also the acceptance that you’ve got a problem. Denial, or waiting for the big score won’t solve it.
Solutions
There are all sorts of solutions to lack of self-worth and its resultant money problems. Sometimes just naming it and talking it through with a close friend is enough to create a shift. Often, however, more specific action is required.
One approach is through Debtors Anonymous – yep, another 12 Step Program. DA doesn’t deal only with debt, but also addresses debt causes and under earning is certainly one cause of debt.
Professional help is also available and can certainly be worth the price. And there are professional counselors who are well equipped to help you deal with money issues.
Fear of money, fear of success, self-esteem and self worth issues won’t go away simply by wishing they would… I know. Reaching out, however you choose to do it, is the solution. My suggestion is simply go for it.
Write well and often,
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Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.
A version of this article first appeared at www.aboutfreelancewriting.com
FWIW, in my experience with my students, this syndrome is not a fear of money. Money just happens to be the symbol.
Rather than money, discomfort with getting paid to write seems to be due to: a general lack of confidence, which in turn is due to a lack of experience of writing to sell.
Writers tend to be introverts and to devalue what comes easily to them. They (usually) tend to be good at writing. They think the rest of the population is like this – they have no idea how bad most people are at expressing themselves and communicating.
It takes a few sales and experience in working with writing clients before they have a light bulb moment: “Hey! I can do this better than other people and I deserve to be paid.”
My recommendation to my students with this “money” fixation is to get clients and write. They soon get perspective. :-)
Cheers
Angela
Angela… you have a good point.