Sometimes you have to give up a content-writing gig

Earlier this year, I accepted a writing job at a technology Web site called Digital Media Buzz. It's a quality Web site run by a strong editor. Unfortunately, it was a job that wasn't right for me.

The main problem was time. I like technology. I think I know a bit -- just a bit -- about social marketing. But I'm no expert in either. And unfortunately, that's what Digital Media Buzz focused on.

I was able to write a few stories for them. And the editor did pay me exactly on time, which is always nice these days. But I found that it was taking me far too long to write the stories for the payment I was getting. Like most online writing jobs, this one didn't pay great. But if I was able to complete the stories quickly enough, it would have been a nice, steady bit of income I could have counted on every month.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that. I had to do too much research, not to mention some interviews, and that sucked up all the time I wanted to devote to these stories.

So sometimes you do have to give up a perfectly good job because it's not the right one for you. It's unfortunate but true.

A good month so far

So far for June, I'm on pace to make about $1,200 in content writing online. That combines with my regular salary editing a trade magazine plus the stories I've nabbed from my regular print and trade magazine clients.

It's a busy month, then. There have already been several late nights at the keyboard pounding out stories about the Royal Canadian Mint or hammocks. But I'm trying to strike while things are suddenly hot.

It's always this way in this business. It's like a drought some months; Your regular clients have abandoned you. New ones are hard to find.

Then, all of a sudden, everyone's back, and they all want something from you.

That's where I'm at in June. Who knows what July will bring, though?

My advice: Don't turn down work these days. Grab as much of it as you can, even if it means you feel tied to the keyboard. Then you'll at least have a financial cushion for the inevitable slow periods.

An unprofessional move

I took on too much this week. It sounded good adding new assignments late last week, all with due dates of this week. But finally today, I cracked: I had to call a client and tell him that I wouldn't be able to take on his assignment.

It was a tough one, at least for me, on incentive deals with mobile phones. The work was tedious and time-consuming, and involved several rewrites. As I sat down to write, I just couldn't do it.

For the first time in my freelance-writing career, I passed on an assignment that I'd already accepted.

Now, I've turned stories in late before. Too many times, probably. But to not complete the assignment? That's terrible. It's unprofessional, and very disheartening.

But for my sanity, I did it.

The client didn't seem too upset. But I know I'll never get work from him again.

There's a lesson here: It's not wise to take on too much work, even in these terrible economic times when assignments are gold. Sometimes you do have to say "no." You have to know your limits.

I'm just too old to pull an all-nighter these days.