By Paul Lima

    Ask most freelance writers what their biggest fear is, what holds them back, and they'll probably say: "Fear of failure." They might not use those exact words. They might say "fear of rejection." Or "fear of erratic income levels." Or "fear of having to go look for a real job." It all means the same thing. They are afraid to fail, so they don't try. And end up failing any way.

    Over the recent holidays, I had a chance to talk to a person who makes his living in sales. As you can imagine, sales reps face "failure" and "rejection" daily. Sometime many times in a day. I asked him how he coped with the fear of failure.

    "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he said. But he did not leave it at the cliché. "Either you embrace failure and rejection and learn from it, or you let it drive you nuts. And whatever you do, don't take it personally, or you are nuts!"

    He elaborated: "Call it failure. Call it rejection. Call it not good enough to succeed. Call it what ever you want, if it makes you happy, label it. But whatever you call it, expect it. It's part of the business process. And if you don't realize that, and can't accept it, then get a straight job."

    His advice: If you don't make the sale, ask why. Learn from so-called failure and improve.

    Translated for writers: If a query is rejected, ask the editor (perhaps by email) if she can briefly explain why she passed on the idea. Tell the editor you want to learn from each query and improve your presentation.

    Your goal is to find out what was rejected: the idea in itself, the idea in relation to the publication, the way you structured your query, your writing as displayed in your query.

    Don't expect every editor to reply but learn from those who do. And please do not go into a defensive snit if you don't like what you hear. If you do so, your will totally alienate a prospective client who responded to your request for help. In addition, you will never learn; you will continue to fail. So listen, learn, move on.

    The sales rep also suggested rehearsing your pitch or query before you send it. "Why go in cold when you can rehearse and improve your pitch before you present it to your audience?" he asked.

    Show your query to other writers or editors you know and get some feedback on it. Revise it based on feedback before you submit it. (Also read 21 Rules for Writing Stellar Query Letters.)

    Then he asked me if I thought writers feared success as much as they feared failure. "How so?" I asked back.

    Most sales people, he explained, close the sale and turn the order over to a manufacturer, distributor or some other third party. They do not have to deliver the goods. But if they don't believe in the product they are selling or if they doubt the third party's ability to deliver, they actually fear success. They fear closing the sale. He wondered if some writers who have to deliver when their queries are accepted might doubt their ability to do so, hence the fear of success. It may not even be a conscious fear, but if it's there it can cause the writer to sabotage his or her query effort.

    This got me reminiscing on how I swore I would never pitch another article idea shortly after landing my first feature. It was difficult to research and write and felt I was doing a pitiful job of it. I didn't want to put myself in that position ever again. But I wanted to be a freelance writer! Can you spell conundrum?

    So I took a "Feature Writing for the Freelance Market" continuing education course at Ryerson. That gave me a much needed writing confidence boost and the instructor, Paul McLaughlin, has had me back a number of times to speak to his new students. So I guess I've done okay since.

    The business of sales, no matter what you are selling -- words or widgets -- is complicated, the sales rep and I concluded. But if you want to make it as a freelancer you need to think like a successful sales person. Expect, embrace and learn from what feels like failure. Improve your pitches and keep on selling.

    Look yourself in the mirror and determine if you have the tools to succeed or if you fear success. It sure helps to make it as a freelancer if you know what you are doing.

    With that in mind, if you haven't resolved to invest in your personal and professional development this year, now might be a good time to do so!

(Paul Lima is a freelance writer, writing instructor and media interview trainer. He is a member of the Toronto Chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. You can read samples of his business and periodical writing, and more about his writing and media interview training services, online: www.paullima.com) 

Paul Lima
VP Communications
PWAC Toronto
www.pwactoronto.org
© 2003 Paul Lima 

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