Give back sometimes

Hello to all!

Today, I  want to talk about leaving your writing for a while. Many people advocate this, but I really am not sure about doing that. In this crazy world of speed, no one really does have time to put their work away for a week

When you are making a type of living from article writing, you simply do not have the time for really fixing your work. Most probably send the work back as what would be a first draft any other time. This does not do the employer any good at all. Result: You and them end up with substandard work that is luckily accepted most times, but you end up with very little repeat work from this employer.

This attitude is not good. From the employer especially. Okay, you are busy. That's a given. Your work has to be accepted to wherever you want it to be. So you pay someone the lowest rate you can get away with, then swear about the crap you get back and either repeat this cycle or do it yourself. Or maybe you fix it and send it off, but refuse to pay the writer and get rid of them. Plenty more in the pond to fish out and again use.

Finding someone who could be good may be quite simple. The problem is their writing itself. Then why not take even ONE of these writers and try to make them better? At least to your standards anyway? Sure, it's going to take you time, but isn't it going to be worth it? After all, it was often the way the old-fashioned employers went about staffing, and it worked just fine. Workers that they took the time to educate were worth thousands to their business. You don't have to overwork these exclusive writers. You can always outsource other work, or train another one or two as you build up.

I am not advocating you do this. I am simply pointing out something that is going to be to your benefit. No one is ever going to write exactly as you do. That's just not going to happen, unless you have yourself cloned. but this way, your 'permanent' staff can take other work, if you have not much on one day or another. Or you can share this person with your friends. You still have all the perks of not having to buy space and pay insurance for this employee, but you also get their help willingly, which is worth uncounted money to you.

One of the best employers I have ever had worked on this principle. He picked and chose from candidates and worked one -on-one with his choices. They had 10 minutes online with him every day, as well as their work, and he granted this time gratis, in order to help/teach. If he hired three, then three got worked on. He kept a list of the first rejects and went back to them when the first ones were competent to work without his supervision and input.

At the end of 3-6 months, he was ready to let them go, should they want to go. he even helped some get further employment. If they wanted to stay, then they usually were farmed to friends whose work they had unknowingly done during this period. No one was ever abandoned to fend for themselves.

This man taught me much. for the year or so I spent with him, I enjoyed his stern, gentle tone and teaching habits. I figured he'd been in the game for 30 years, he should know what he was talking about. Now, I try to model myself on him and another female mentor who was similar but a little more expecting of me. From both I learnt many things and that caring about strangers is one of them. Not being able to see your writers does not mean that you do not have to care about them, or  just see them as dollar-signs.

They are, at the bottom, people with feelings and dreams. Just like us, in fact.

Next time, I will look at the argument from the other side: the employee's side.