Comments on: Why Don’t I Get A Response? Ask Anne, The Pro Writer

By: annew

annew — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:37:49 +0000

Well said, Kelly.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:42:57 +0000

I have been freelancing full time now for more than 10 years and I do still respond to job posts, etc. And I agree it is very frustrating when you don’t get responses, especially when you know you are fully qualified for the job. There have been months when I’ve applied for forty or fifty gigs and didn’t get a single response, and there have been months when I only applied to ten and got responses from half of them. Unfortunately you just never know when your cover letter and resume will strike the right chord with the employer. Make sure your cover letter and resume do address all of the listed requirements in the ad and let the employer know you are confident you can meet their needs. After that, there’s not a lot you can do except just don’t get discouraged and keep at it. You will start getting responses, and I’ve found that the more experience (especially high profile experience) that I get, the more often potential clients/employers are interested in hiring me. So each time you get another client/gig, make sure to update your resume.

Hope that helps!
Kelly

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:44:52 +0000

Thomas http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/2009/02/setting-your-freelance-writing-fees-part-1/ will give you a whole series on setting fees. See if that helps.

By: thomas

thomas — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:35:05 +0000

i am frist time writer how much should i charge for gov writing

By: Anne

Anne — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:59:36 +0000

Good points, although I don’t really believe in competition… I’ll blog about that soon.

By: T

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:19:54 +0000

I think this is a question a lot of writers have, especially right now. So many people are looking for work--writing and otherwise--that employers are overwhelmed with responses to their ads. A month or so ago I read an article that said the biggest complaint most job seekers were voicing (and it applied to all job seekers, not just writers) was lack of response. I must confess that during one of my stints as an editor, I did, in fact, let one query go without a response because I was in the midst of transitioning out of that publication. Lack of response from an editor/publisher may be due to any number of reasons. Also, I think writers must keep in mind that many fields connected to professional writing have been hard hit during the recession, which means the competition for writing gigs is that much fiercer at the moment. .-= T´s last blog ..Thanksgiving & Other Writing Prompts =-.

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:05:44 +0000

Kathleen, as you’ve discovered things like “let me know either way” don’t work – keep pitching and keep looking elsewhere for gigs. Work to not take the lack of response personally, it isn’t.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:45:17 +0000

Miss Anne and Miss Ngozi –
Thanks for sharing this with us all. I found myself reflecting on how many jobs I have bid on and the number of responces I have received, even when I included “please let me know either way” in my cover letter.

I also found myself doing a mental check to see if I was succfully hitting all of the pints that Miss Anne was pointing out. I found a couple of things I want to tighten up on the next letters!

Again, I am thankful for finding this website, it’s been a great help, source of encouragement and source of useful information over the years.

This is one thing I reminded that I am Thankful for.

Kathleen

P.S.
Best of luck Miss Ngozi!