I may or may not have struck out on my current ghostwriting project. We’re in the early stages, and it’s not yet committed. And so far, the client has suggested some very challenging objectives for the writing, and rejected significant elements of the tone I’ve been using. When problems arise in any freelance project, it’s…
I’m going to let somebody down this week. I have to choose one of the following options: Something’s gotta give My simple philosophy on working with clients is: start strong, continue strong, finish strong. My objective is that at any given time, anyone who contacts the client about me will hear, “Yes, he’s excellent to…
I’ve bought a lot of things in my life. Computers, cars, houses, smartphones, snowblowers, refrigerators, socks. I’ve got 50+ years of experience in buying things. The most important question is not the price. It’s not the features. It’s not the reviews. The things you purchase look great when they’re nice and shiny in the store,…
Newsletter 55: Why paying people by the hour is the most pervasive and perverse trend in business. Plus the Hugos reject automated entries, JD Vance gets rich off his VP nod, Ingram bans a book about AI in publishing, three people to follow and three books to read. Nobody smart or skilled should work by…
Google used to embrace the principle “Don’t be evil.” Even if that’s no longer central to their way of doing business, it should be to yours. As a freelancer, you might be asked to do anything. And as an employee, you might face difficult ethical choices. In the back of your mind is a thing…
Nine years after I started my freelance career, I’ve become an overnight success. In the last two weeks, these leads all came my way: “I was a participant in your writing workshop a few years ago, now I want to do one for my own department.” — Executive at Fortune 50 firm. “You edited my…
If you’re considering hiring me as a writer or editor, we’ll have to discover a few things about each other. You’ll likely interview me. And you might send me some samples of your writing and your ideas. I’ve been through this so many times that I no longer worry about the impression I’m making. I…
Book publishing nearly always requires a team of people: editors, copy editors, designers, publishers, publicists, researchers, and so on. But when I’m hired as a developmental editor, a coach, or a ghostwriter, I have only only one rule: I work for the author. Life is just simpler if you serve only one master. What does…
In the nine years I’ve been freelancing, I’ve chosen not to work with a number of potential clients. There were also a few I probably shouldn’t have worked with. I thought you might benefit from seeing why I say no to business. To be clear, these are a small percentage of the opportunities I see….