Colleagues Not Competition
December 8, 2007 by Deb
Filed under Freelance Writing
Yesterday I came across a post at About Freelance Writing about how the same people you meet at blogs such as this are also your competition. The inspiration from the article came from this one at e Moms at Home. At both blogs I left friendly comments about how all the writers I come across are pleasant and helpful and I consider them colleagues rather than competition.
Oh sure, every now and then you’ll come across one or two insecure writers who do view others to be their competition, but for the most part we’re all friends. In fact, I’ll venture to say that my fellow freelance writers and bloggers are the most helpful people I’ve ever come across. This is so refreshing after dealing with office politics for 20 years.
I’d like to thank all of you for making this community a success and also for assisting your fellow writers here in a pleasant and gracious manner. I’ve never come across such kindness in any other online community or forum. You’re truly the best.
- 5 Reasons You Need to Stop Worrying About Your Competition
- Online Freelance Writing Communities: Why You Should Join and What to Avoid
- The Importance of Networking – With the “Competition”
- Should You Worry About Competition When Applying for Freelance Jobs?
- Freelance Writing Jobs Wins "Best Blog Community" at Performancing’s Reader’s Choice Awards
I believe – and I know – that loners won’t make it on the Internet. To succeed, you have to be more, to network and to run with the wolves, not be threatened by the pack.
We fully embrace our competition. They are not rivals; they are people, like us, who we can learn from, who we can teach, who we can help and who can help us.
Huh… damn that sounded motivational.
Deb:
Most people don’t realize that their true competition is themselves. Not a writer from down the street or around the world. Competition from others should make us raise our collective skill set.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, said something quite concisely regarding the theme of your post.
“When you help others, you help yourself.”
Thank you and Jodee for what you do for the freelance writing community.
James, I am totally motivated now.
And Deb, I am completely with you when you say, “This is so refreshing after dealing with office politics for 20 years.” Indeed, isn’t one of the biggest perks of working at home not having to be a caught up in others’ juvenile drivel?
@ Amanda – I’m more inspirational than I realized!
I agree about the office politics thing. 12 years running an international corporate customer service department taught me a lot about the ugly side of people, the backstabbing and the stepping on heads to help get up the ladder. It’s me, myself and I and god help anyone who should have what truly belonged to me (or so the common thought goes in an office).
Here, I can meet people in less than a few hours and within a day, progress to mutually benefiting deals, glean new knowledge or insight, share a laugh, a little personality and go to bed wishing there were more cool people like that in the world.
Of course, make no mistake – there are a hellufa lot of f**ks out there, too. But I don’t have to share an office with them
Ditto everything you said, Deb. I only started writing a year ago, and only got where I am now because of the kindness and openness of other writers. I was actually very surprised early on to find writers so willing to share.
I think that it helps that we are all so varied in our types of writing & subject matter. And that we know there’s way more work out there than we could handle – or want!
I don’t feel like other writers are my competition. I see them as a support network, one that is there to cheer me on and vice versa. Even when my friend and I both applied for the same job, I was so happy for her when she landed the gig.
Writers are walked on by many in the industry, the pay scale keeps going down for new writers, why in the world would anyone want to be in competition only to undercut that already low scale.
So many new writers have no idea where to go or how to make friends. I’m sure that is where this idea is coming from and every writer I know tries to help the new guys find more work and friends.
Writers love to read. We can never have too many blogs to catch up on. We know that every writer tells it different, even saying the same thing differently, and we can learn from everything.
There’s nothing to say that because ’such and such’ posted about dialogue and ’so and so’ did too, one over the other will get all the readers. Despite having the same topic we WANT to browse BOTH blogs because we’ll learn different things (and the same thing in different ways) from both. The only real problem is there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up with ALL of the fantastic writers’ blogs on the web.
I think that sharing our challenges and experiences is another reason the internet is a fantastic resource for writers. We share common interests and experience. We can commiserate with each other and really understand each other.
It’s great to be able to create so many wonderful friends (and colleagues) around the world.
I don’t see other writers as competition. When someone gets a gig I applied for I am genuinely happy for them. I do, however, see myself as my competition. I feel the constant need to improve to the point of driving myself crazy.
I agree completely. I do something somewhat strange on my blog. I feature other freelancers bios and resumes. Some people might think that does not make sense to put competition on my own blog. Yes, I try to gain new clients for myself through my blog but if I don’t fit their needs, why not provide them with another freelancer that might? I like to make my blog a place that is a true resource for everybody involved in freelancing whether it is someone trying to find work or someone looking to hire. If anybody wants their freelance bio shown, all they have to do is ask. I do it for free, no charge or strings attached. All of the bios done so far have received numerous Google searches so I like to think that led to a job for one of them
I’m a firm believer in “what goes around, comes around.” Every second of time I’ve spent encouraging, advising or listening to another freelancer has come back to me severalfold, not to mention the fact that happy, friendly freelancers are a GREAT way to get overflow work, referrals and support when times are lean!
I too completely agree! I have found the community of writers to be extremely supportive. We all understand rejection and seem all too willing to cheer on a fellow writer when they get a win. I love supporting other writers and when one succeeds well in my mind its a win for the whole team. I learn from the talents of others and am inspired by the successes of my “competitors.” We writers are truly a special group of people and I’m darned proud to call this my profession!
Anyone who considers other freelancers competition — well, it’s their loss, and they have no idea how big of a loss it really is.
I’ve gotten referrals (and, subsequently, work) from other writers who had a full workload or a different specialization. I’ve given referrals, too.
I also once had a situation where a fellow writer helped me to get paid by putting the pressure on a client she knew better than I did.
I’ve had other writers direct me to good job ads, and vice versa.
But most of all, I’ve made friends who do what I do, when where and how I do it. When no one else REALLY understands the eccentricities of the job, it’s nice to talk (read: email) with someone who does once in a while.
I completely agree! I find writers in general to be naturally helpful people. Bloggers even more so, and I think that’s because the blogging model actually turns your competitor into a comrade, with all the linking. You’re right, it’s a huge relief from office politics and cubicle hardball.
-Melissa Donovan
Writing Forward
I don’t consider most of the writers/bloggers I meet online to be competition. We all do different things, and most people wouldn’t want the jobs I’m after. The few people I do know who work in my main niche are folks I’ve met online, and we refer clients to each other frequently. I agree with Katharine; anyone who thinks of other writers only as competitors is only cheating himself.