~When Interview Seekers Don’t Respond~

To the Editor:

In the Jan. 12 issue of WritersWeekly, Jacquie wrote: “I have a suggestion for a few of your readers who seek information through your interview request section. When another reader (such as myself) spends the time to respond to these requests, I think he deserves to have his efforts acknowledged…”

I agree with Jacquie completely. When WritersWeekly first started including the interview request section, over a several-month period, I responded to three separate requests, spending around a half an hour on each, detailing my experiences with that particular subject.

I never so much as received a “thank you for taking the time to respond to my interview request.” That’s why I don’t bother responding to the requests any more. Why should I waste my time when my effort is not worth even a simple “thank you?”

As professional writers, we can all learn a lesson from Angela. She must receive hundreds of e-mails every day, and yet, she takes the time to respond to her e-mail. Perhaps that why WritersWeekly.com and Booklocker.com are successful businesses.

LeAnn R. Ralph
https://ruralroute2.co
Author of the books:
* Preserve Your Family History (e-book)
* Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)
* Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam
” A heartwarming anthology of true anecdotes of rural
life on a Wisconsin dairy farm.” — James Cox,
Editor-in-Chief/Midwest Book Review

~On Firing An Editor~

Seems you and I have been freelancing about the same length, Barbra. I read your WritersWeekly.com article and wanted to say how “right on” you are about sometimes needing to fire an editor.

I write for the office products market (Google my name and you can see where I write) and I had one editor who required the sources see (and correct) the story before it went to print. This caused all sorts of problems. Like you, I document quotes and materials very carefully, but found that didn’t stop people from saying “I didn’t say that.” In addition, business people do not know how to write well and particularly about themselves. It was a lose-lose situation and consumed mountains of time.

Needless to say, after a few months, I contacted the editor and quit the job. Best of luck to you and your business and I hope you continue to do well.

Neal McChristy