~Frozen Nose Hairs~

For many years, “nose-hair-sticking-together-cold” has been a term I use for the kind of weather you are describing. You step outside the house, encased in your state-of-the-art thermal protection, take a breath and ZINGO! It is a startling phenomenon, even for a Chicago-born Midwesterner like me, but the frosted-eyeball occurrence is even more impressive.

Thanks for reinstating my subscription to WW so quickly. Now that I am dubiously relocated to the frigid banks of the Tippecanoe River in Indiana, I think I’ll have more to time to appreciate and apply the invaluable information you so diligently impart to us aspirants.

Take care,
Michelle

~Oh My!~~

Dear Angela,

I hope I don’t offend you by saying this, but . . . oh my Gosh!

This article looks like it was written by me…because I’ve experience almost exactly the same situation! It was strange reading it while, the entire time, thinking, “That’s what’s been happening to me!”

A client actually terminated an agreement we had because, when he asked why I wasn’t producing, I replied that he hadn’t sent in his signed agreement or payment. It was sent to him 45 days prior to his complaint! I felt so guilty because, two weeks before that, he decided not to renew a different agreement we had together for different services. (So, I half expected this to happen.) Anyway, he came back with some really rude comments and terminated the agreement when I politely explained that the payment/agreement needed to be received in order for me to uphold my end of the deal. I was floored! I thought about writing about the experience, but it never occurred to me to keep it anonymous.

For this writer’s sake, I wish I were alone in this circumstance. For my sake, I’m glad I’m not!

Thanks for another great issue! I’ve already fired off three queries.

Have a great day!
Jenn

~Love It!~

Love the article about One Woman’s public stance against unethical clients. Is it my imagination, or is this problem becoming more prevalent? In 2003, I was stiffed in ways I’d never been stiffed before. Not only did I lose money on the job, but then spent more money pondering it in therapy!

In Surviving & Thriving as a Freelance Writer, I have a section on what I call P.I.T.A (pain-in-the-ass) clients and how fees need to be adjusted to accommodate their lunacies. Even so, I continue to bump up against sociopaths with apparently zero or fewer ethics. I don’t know why I continue to be shocked and awed!

Warmth,
Meredith Gould
Supreme Word Goddess of the Universe: Creating & Fixing Everything with Words )