Just today I lost a client. Well, I say a client. I had a 6 week trial and was dropped after just 2 (and only one piece). The reason? My writing skills weren't up to scratch.
It's very easy to lose confidence in your writing when that happens. Even though negative reviews and rejection are part of being a writer, it can still sting when it happens. Especially after 7 years of writing and minimal rejections in the last 24 months or so.
This one stung, as it was a client I was looking forward to working with. In the end, the one piece I did was far more work than I thought it would and I questioned whether it was worth the pay, but I figured it was just that first piece.
So what can you do when you get disappointing rejections and negative reviews?
My first thing to do was have a mini rant. I like to get it out of my system.
After that I needed to just clear my head and spend a little time with my girls. I got lots of cuddles, even without asking for them!
The third thing I did was get in touch with an editor at a site I write at. Even though it was one review, I knocked my confidence a little. I wanted to make sure I wasn't so bad at other sites. I knew one editor would be completely honest if there was a problem. This is a site that I've been at for almost 12 months, too, so plenty of time to get an idea of my skills as a writer,
Luckily I got nothing but praise. It was certainly the boost to my confidence I needed. If I had received criticism, well I'd have worked on it.
I will reach out to a couple of other editors and clients, but I know deep down the answers will be the same. Most clients I have I've had for more than 12 months. If there was a problem, I'd have been dropped by them by now.
I'm chalking this up to experience. It was a bad fit style-wise and probably a blessing in disguise. Luckily I didn't do a lot of work on other pieces and they're stuff I can use elsewhere.
Have you been affected by an editor that negatively reviews your work? Share in the comments below and let me know what you did.
It's very easy to lose confidence in your writing when that happens. Even though negative reviews and rejection are part of being a writer, it can still sting when it happens. Especially after 7 years of writing and minimal rejections in the last 24 months or so.
This one stung, as it was a client I was looking forward to working with. In the end, the one piece I did was far more work than I thought it would and I questioned whether it was worth the pay, but I figured it was just that first piece.
So what can you do when you get disappointing rejections and negative reviews?
My first thing to do was have a mini rant. I like to get it out of my system.
After that I needed to just clear my head and spend a little time with my girls. I got lots of cuddles, even without asking for them!
The third thing I did was get in touch with an editor at a site I write at. Even though it was one review, I knocked my confidence a little. I wanted to make sure I wasn't so bad at other sites. I knew one editor would be completely honest if there was a problem. This is a site that I've been at for almost 12 months, too, so plenty of time to get an idea of my skills as a writer,
Luckily I got nothing but praise. It was certainly the boost to my confidence I needed. If I had received criticism, well I'd have worked on it.
I will reach out to a couple of other editors and clients, but I know deep down the answers will be the same. Most clients I have I've had for more than 12 months. If there was a problem, I'd have been dropped by them by now.
I'm chalking this up to experience. It was a bad fit style-wise and probably a blessing in disguise. Luckily I didn't do a lot of work on other pieces and they're stuff I can use elsewhere.
Have you been affected by an editor that negatively reviews your work? Share in the comments below and let me know what you did.
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