Confessions of an Editor: Karma For Freelancers

There are two kinds of karma a freelancer can earn. In the earliest days of my career as a writer/producer for radio and television, I had three people who took the time to pass on some genuine wisdom about how to survive and grow in the craft. One was exceptionally generous–even monetarily. I was in my early 20s at the time and had a lot to learn, so for anybody to take a snotnosed, know-it-all punk in tow had to have a great deal of patience.

Especially with ME.

One thing that my three mentors passed on to me was the notion that I didn’t owe them anything except one thing: when I had the opportunity to do the same for someone else, I’d be obligated to do so.

Many years later I find that opportunity again and again. Every time I have an opportunity, I feel obligated to at least try to do SOMETHING. It’s the only way I can pay back the people who took the time and energy to help polish my rough edges off.

The thing is, freelancer karma works both ways.

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away I had to let a freelancer go. It was someone I had tried to work with, giving a lot of advice, fine tuning, trying to work with someone who clearly needed some guidance. The problem was, this was a writer in the early stages of a career and didn’t a lot of polish. In fact, the skills were really quite basic, but I took a chance on this person anyway. I thought I saw some potential, but when the going got tough, the effort just wasn’t there and we had to part ways.

The business relationship didn’t last a terribly long time, just long enough for an editor to figure out what the writing on the wall was saying and terminate things before they got truly awful. Unfortunately, when it came time to part ways, the writer didn’t take it very well. This person did not go gentle into that good night. In fact, with apologies to Dylan Thomas, they did seem to come within spitting distance of raging. Of course, it’s human nature to get angry when one is fired, and it’s not shocking for there to be heated words fired at the person who has the unmitigated gall to tell you they won’t pay your fees any more. So be it.

Unfortunately for this freelancer, the timing of the outburst following the termination of our relationships was very bad. I absolutely HATE to fire people, and always feel guilty afterwards even if I know I’m 100% in the right. But the heated words that came my way removed any guilt I might have felt.

Imagine my surprise when my phone rang two days after those angry words were hurled. I was being asked for a reference for the Angry Freelancer. Three guesses how THAT one turned out. Petty? Vindictive? Honest? Any way you slice it, it wasn’t going to go well for the Angry Freelancer.

Karma is a funny thing. It pays to be professional, even when you’re being handed what you think is a large, steaming pile on a silver tray. The world is an increasingly small place, and editors TALK to each other. If you decide to burn a bridge, it’s a damn fine idea to make absolutely sure that bridge doesn’t go anywhere you might want to travel later.