Yay for feedback!

One thing about being a freelancer that’s very different from working in an office is that you get a lot less feedback. Good, bad, constructive—you just hear a lot less about how your work is being received and what you could be doing differently.

I’m doing regular work with a client whom I’ve never met in person. I have a friend who works with her, and recently he told me that he overheard her raving about my work to another colleague. It was great to hear how pleased she was, but it felt a little strange, almost devious, that I hadn’t heard it from her directly. She had sent me an email that said, “Thanks! Your edits were really helpful.” And I appreciated getting that email, but six words does not a rave make.

Today I got an email from a managing editor of a project I’m working on. I’d emailed him to ask some clarifying questions about things like capitalizing run-in quotes and editing to create parallel structure in this particular text. He answered all my questions clearly and then wrote, “Yay for Janna and competence!!”

So maybe sometimes 5 or 6 words are enough, after all.