GHOSTED!

 

I've made tons of mistakes as a freelance writer.

The past few years my struggle with mental health has taken its toll on my career and self-worth. As I'm now going through counseling, immersing in therapy, and taking medication, I also know I can't always blame myself. 

In recent months, I've received a few emails from editors and clients who have praised my portfolio and skills, and shown interest in moving forward in the hiring process. This is great and awesome. We'll usually have a few back-and-forths, and then I'm promised they will get back to me shortly. 

 

Then nothing. 

Just the dark and silent abyss. 

My follow-up emails spiral off a cliff. I never hear from them again. Sometimes this happens even before we first start communicating, and the nothingness takes hold after I reply to their initial interest in moving forward. 

 

I used to blame myself. Was my email that awful? Did they somehow smell my stench creeping through the fiber optic and WiFi? Did they suddenly realize they sent the email to the wrong person? Did they get around to reading my stuff and realize I suck. 

 

Maybe. 

But I probably at least deserved a quick response. 

'Sorry, we've decided to move forward with someone else.' 

'There has been a change of plans, and you don't fit them' 

'FART!' 

 Any of those would have been nicer than a flashback to high school right after I showed interest in a girl. But at least, she the excuse of washing her hair before never talking to me again. Instead, I'm left wondering what was so bad that they wanted to cut off all ties and not even send a one-sentence response. Or is there some technical issue that is causing my emails to get lost or steered into the Junk folder? 

I don't know, because I'm getting ghosted. I also realize it isn't my fault. If you happen to be one of those people, it is okay to reject me or let me know you've gone with someone else. There are tons of amazing and talented writers. 

But a quick reply would be nice, so a freelancer can move on.