Our Egos aren't That Fragile!

The first thing you really learn as a freelance writer is how to roll with the punches. It's a hard lesson and you will probably get a few ego bruises in the process, but just like weight building where you make yourself stronger, your ego will get stronger too. After a while, being told that your article needs revision becomes an enjoyable challenge, not a reason to cry into your cereal.

But it's really hard to make others believe that. After all, we've grown up with the stereotypical artist's ego; something that is fragile and easily offended. But as any professional artist (or writer) will tell you, our egos are actually made from cement and being told that something has to be changed is a challenge to be met. That's how you know that you are not only a professional, but one who can stick with it; when you can be told that something has to be redone and you just roll with it. You may not agree with it, but you roll with it anyway and learn from it.

This mainly comes up in two ways:

1) You are working with a new marketer or client who is nervous about offending an experienced writer

2) You are the subcontractor for another freelancer who has bruised egos and is afraid to damage yours.

In both cases, all you can do is keep telling that person that you will not be offended if you are required to make revisions on your work. Tell them again and again and again! They may never listen to you and end up stewing in their grumpiness about your work not being up to their standards, but at least your position is made clear.

But there is a limit to this. Some clients simply do not know what they want and end up spinning round and round, never able to articulate clearly what it is they expect from you. It is usually a new client who is guilty of this; they have an idea in mind, but they can't express it to you and so the round of revisions starts and usually ends with two very cranky people who never want to see each other again. I've had this happen to me before and believe you me, being fired came as a distinct relief-to both of us! (Another limit of course is being told that you are terrible, you are useless, you are no good to them. At that point, I generally shut the digital door in their faces. That is just plain rude!)

Which leads me to my final point about our ego and writers, gather in and listen well. If there is one thing we are guilty of in this discussion, it's not asking for details about work. I've done it, you've done it, we've done it. We should know better, but we still do it.

Asking is good. If you want clarification, ask. If you're unsure of something, ask. If you just want to make absolutely bloody certain you know what you're doing, ask. It doesn't make you look like an idiot, it makes you look dedicated to delivering the right work the first time. Even if it's a client you've worked for before, ASK! You never know when something will change and your client will probably forget that you're not psychic; particularly if it's a client you've worked with for a while.

Being willing to acknowledge mistakes, make revisions and ask any and all questions are not hallmarks of being novice. Masters know that the only way to do anything right is to keep trying and keep asking questions. Only novices think they know everything and only need to do it once.

Ciao everybody!