Gosh, it’s hard to say no, isn’t it?
I don’t mean when your three kids are little and you’ve dragged them all to the grocery store and you’re only in the first aisle and already, each of them have asked at least ten times for Gooey Candy Bars or Krispy Chocolate Cereal or Saturated-with-Sugar Soda. It’s pretty easy to say no then…well, until you get to the last aisle and your head’s about to explode from the 5,769th question and you scream, “Fine. Get the candy! Get the cereal! Get the Coke! I don’t care as long as you don’t ask me ANY MORE QUESTIONS!”
Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, for writers, saying no is a whole ‘nother story. We take jobs we really don’t want to do, or we get involved in jobs that are so demanding that we’re losing money with all the rewrites, or we commit to a project that we know we don’t have time for. And then we’re miserable and wishing and wondering why we didn’t just say no.
I don’t have all the answers, but I had a couple of ideas that might help you the next time you want to say no–when you should say no. Take a look over at The Muffin at “Just Say No: When It’s Time To Give Up A Writing Gig.”
I mean, if you have time to take a look. Or you want to take a look. You can always say no and I won’t mind a bit!
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
NO THANKS !No, I MEANT TO SAY THANKS !Homer
Ha! Thank YOU, Homer! 🙂
Cathy, just finished your most recent blog–Just Say No–and I liked it very much. Hard to know when to walk away from a writing project, but after you do (or don’t), you always know whether you did the right thing. Good job. I started looking at the blogs on the site back through the years and started reading from 2006–Wow! Ten years ago. Now I plan to go back and read some of the older ones every once in a while. They are funny and perceptive–like *The Purple Cow*, for instance, by a woman named Angela, I think. Enjoyable writing, all around. All the best to you, Linda
Oh, thanks, Linda! It’s a lot of reading, but yes, I think you’ll enjoy ’em!
Cathy–I’ve already read your post on the Muffin and enjoyed it. Yes, saying no to some things is easier than saying no to other things.
Um…I agree. (I think) 🙂
You already know I think you’re brilliant. I’m off to the Muffin now to announce it there, too. 🙂
Aw, go on with you, Lisa. *blushing*