A “Spirited Debate.”


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I’ve been coaching one of my non-writer writer friends for the past few months. When he saw the announcement that I was going to be adding a new free report every week, he got a little indignant.

“What’s the deal. You told me that the firs rule of freelancing was to “never write anything for free, unless is has significant PR potential.”

And he’s right. That’s a general rule of mine.

But here’s the deal: this is different.  This is neither PR, nor charity. This is a form of contribution for me. It’s the only way I know to easy my conscience for what God, or karma, of fate, or whatever has given to me.

I’ve told you all about the friends who have given up. But it goes farther than that. Back when I was an English major, there was a certain sense of despair that ran as an undercurrent. There were basically two options that presented themselves to us: remain in academia and teach, or go out, get a real job, and write on the side in hopes of making it big.

That was it. Fight for tenure, or fight for publication. The future of an English major.

I can’t help but wonder where all my classmates are now? How many of them made it into the relatively few teaching positions? How many of them took some other job, and actually saw their work in print? Hell, even the Writer’s Guild had to go on strike just to get a few cents per DVD and download…and that won’t even START for a few years.

And here I am, cruising along, happily writing for a living in my own little bubble of a world!

No, I feel Karma breathing heavily down the back of my neck. So, I’m sharing what I’ve learned since from not only in my 6 years as a copywriter, but the four years before that as manager and trainer. I want to hear those stories a week, or a month, or a year down the road: “I just got my first check!” “I just got my first referral!” “I just got my first long-term retainer check!” I don’t even care if I get a thank-you or not. I just want to know that others are making it; that they’re not giving up.

You get what you give, and that’s not just in terms of effort in your own sales or for your own clients. But in terms of your time and your willingness to help others learn from your experience.

So, yes. I’m writing for free. I’m writing a lot for free. I’m giving away the freaking farm. But that’s between me and the Gods of Copy.

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