A service that pays for editing had me try out for a contract job using a segment of a real-life manuscript. And do this for free. Ignoring my own advice (NEVER ignore your own advice!) I did it, and mailed it back, but received no acknowledgement, reply or thanks. And they got about 4 hours of my work for free. This refreshed my memory of a lesson I had learned before, and forgotten:
Act out of desperation and you will be treated like a bar rag.
"Desperate" and "despair" have the same root, "without hope." Thus desperation is a state of mind. I'm not saying "trouble is a state of mind." There is such a thing as real trouble: illness, no money, tragedies, threats.
But how many of us have had even 10 weeks of full-time training in how to handle trouble -- the one thing we know we will have? If you're like me and not very good at it, you might, "unencumbered by the thought process," fall straight into desperation, where you are vulnerable to exploitation, like the poor soul who calls a $3.99/minute psychic hotline to ask if he'll win the lottery.
We've all had our hands or minds wrung by desperate people. It is natural to flinch from them. And it is somehow natural, if a desperate person hangs around a lot, to want to injure them further, if only to make them go away. To take what they offer (anything! everything!) and escort them out. To shut the door in their faces. Or not answer the door.
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Published in
Sanity Bubble 2011
Catherine Rankovic
Writer, with 30+ years' writing and publishing experience, 20+ years' teaching experience. Last book read: Mrs. Lincoln by Catherine Clinton.
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3 comments
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Sunday, 09 June 2013 09:37
posted by escort geneve
Very informative post. Thanks www.bookeval.com for taking the time to share your view with us.
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011 20:30
posted by Laurie Vincent
"Act out of desperation and you will be treated like a bar rag."
This is great. -
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Tuesday, 12 July 2011 09:57
posted by Julia
I once had an "interview" for an advertising agency. They gave me some "real-life examples" from accounts they were working on, and asked for my ideas. Then they had me edit some things, and write some copy. All told, I spent over half a day there. I felt very good about my "interview", until I learned this was standard practice and when they interviewed twenty others the same way, all their work was done for free.
It's a dirty world out there if you're not careful. You are absolutely right. Your record has already proven yourself. I learned the hard way, as well.
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