I’ve mentioned this in passing both here and on my own blog, where the discussion went a bit further in the comments, but I thought I should highlight it here because it’ll happen to you one day, if it doesn’t already: you’ll get offered a job that’s not part of your line-up of services.
As professional writers, we get ambushed all the time by non-writers who believe that we do anything word-related under the sun, up to and including painting billboards. It’s hard to dissuade them, but it has to be done if you want to build a portfolio worth showing prospects you’d rather be working for. So what do you do?
Most of us create webpages and profiles explaining what we do. We tend to make it very (too?) inclusive, since sometimes one project can bleed and blend in three different services.
And we expect people to contact us asking for one of those services or more than one of those services, or a description of something that sounds like them, anyway. We don’t expect people to ask us about something totally beyond our purview, and we don’t expect them to be hard to say “no” to. But sometimes they are.
Suppose a major newspaper asks you to write a report about the global conversion of young professionals into small business owners. They attach a good-sized price tag, too. Imagine the ego-stroke! Imagine the fame! Imagine the influx of business… from… the nonprofit charity clients… you’ve been dreaming of working with…
See what I mean? You’re not a match–even if, for one glorious instant, you almost believe you are.
You have to say no.
And you have to keep saying no as each wonderful-if-you-were-a-different-writer-with-different-goals opportunity comes your way.
But you get sick of it after a while (and who can blame you?).
So what can you do? How many qualifiers can you fit into a tagline? Should you add Only as in “I edit academic material Only?” Should you write up a note at the bottom of your home page or services page describing the kinds of services you don’t offer?
No.
The answer is to build your network. Meet and keep in contact with people who aren’t your kind of writer. Stay in touch with new writers and veterans, specialists and generalists, and don’t forget virtual assistants (they do quite a bit of important types of writing you don’t).
The next time someone offers you a job you can’t fulfill, pick up the phone, scan your email contacts, open a direct message in Twitter, or send a message to your LinkedIn network or Facebook friends.
Connecting people is empowering–and you have the opportunity to be remembered as “the writer who introduced me to my favorite freelance professional.” Not bad for a “Not For Sale” sign.
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