I Turned Down A Writing Job Yesterday

Two weeks ago I got an email asking me what I’d charge to write four articles in the financial management field. Although the correspondent didn’t say so, I assumed these would be SEO articles and since that’s not my favorite kind of writing I put a high price on the project, expecting to hear no more.

Much to my surprise another email arrived a few days later asking for my credentials and explaining they hoped to get placement of the articles in four specific magazines. I wrote back with a link to www.annewayman.com and said I, of course, couldn’t guarantee placement.

There were a couple of additional email exchanges. I gathered the person I was corresponding with was not the one who would hire me, but was trying to interpret the needs/requests of a boss. It struck me that neither of them understood the writing game well.

I sent another email suggesting maybe they wanted a PR firm and telling them what I knew about each magazine. I explained I had contacts with only the smallest and I offered to discuss the project with them by phone, not with the idea of hiring me, but with the idea I might be able to shed a little light on what they were trying to do.

Yesterday I got another email asking if I had any contacts with the magazines in question. Sigh. I realized that even if I doubled or trebled my price, it simply wasn’t going to be worth it. I did again offer to answer any questions about the process simply because I like to leave potential clients with something.

Sometimes you can tell in advance a project isn’t going to be worth it, no matter what.

Write well and often,

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