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Letting go of mistakes

ByJennifer Lawler

Once upon a time, I trained in the martial arts. When I was a brown belt, I hit someone pretty hard and broke his rib. We were supposed to demonstrate excellent physical control, and accidentally breaking someone’s rib does not equal excellent physical control. I felt terrible for causing him pain and for not having…

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Toxic Freelance Relationships

ByJennifer Lawler

I wrecked two Christmases in a row as a freelancer for a publisher client. I was trying to salvage disasters that someone else had caused, so there I was, working feverishly all Christmas Eve and half of Christmas Day, trying to fix it. I couldn’t enjoy the season or time with my family because of…

Doubting Your Work vs Doubting Yourself

ByJennifer Lawler

Newer editors often struggle with imposter syndrome, which is the feeling that they’re not really good at their work and pretty soon everyone will see right through them and point their fingers and laugh. I’ve struggled with this (imposter syndrome, not pointing fingers and laughing) off-and-on throughout my career, as do most people who want…

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Characteristics of Successful Freelancers

ByJennifer Lawler

My daughter likes the idea of dogs more than she actually likes the reality of them, sort of like me and home ownership. So we both enjoy these things safely at a distance. “What a cute house!” I say as I walk on by. “What a cute dog!” she says as she walks on by….

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Don’t Wait to Start

ByJennifer Lawler

Once upon a time, I was a magazine editor, and every year the January issue would include some form of “New Year, New You!” article. I probably used that exact title more than once. People often use the beginning of something to start a new habit, such as learning a new skill. The start of…

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How to Avoid Being a Chump

ByJennifer Lawler

I’m a daily reader of the ChumpLady website, which is a great resource for people who are dealing with cheaters in their romantic relationships. I read it not because I’ve ever lived with or left a cheater but because it offers incredible insight into narcs and other personality disordered types, which I have had to…

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How Not to Network

ByJennifer Lawler

A while back, I wrote a post on LinkedIn about income freelance editors could expect to make, and a bunch of editors responded, and one lone writer asked me to look at his book because he was sure I would love it. I haven’t been in book acquisitions for ten years, and even if I…