All posts with the ‘ Psychology ’ Tag


No FoMO

The fear of missing out leads a lot of creators to sign bad contracts.

I know, because I’ve talked to a lot of smart, curious, professional creators who’ve signed bad contracts. And I know that signing those contracts had very little to do with how smart the creators were and just about everything to do with the fear of missing out.… Read More

On Being Vulnerable

I took my legal practice full-time in April. Almost every day since, somebody has asked me how I like running my own business. My usual response is a very enthusiastic, “Great! I love it and wish I’d been able to do it sooner.”

This is a true response. I have a very healthy number of clients, I love and am excited about the work I’m … Read More

You Can Hear Yourself

I was talking to a friend last week about her freelance career. She’d accomplished a lot recently, but kept poo-pooing the value of the work she’d done: it wasn’t exciting or lucrative, it was “just” work. I reminded her that all work was important when building a business and warned her against indulging in negative talk about her accomplishments.

Later that night my wife asked … Read More

Less Stressful Negotiations

If just hearing the word “negotiation” makes your stomach hurt, if the idea of conflict makes you tense, if your first reaction to the idea of negotiating anything is to break out in a cold sweat of anxiety, friend, modern science has the cure for you!

This curative has been proven to boost your confidence and dissolve your fears. Tasks that seemed impossible prior to … Read More

Negotiating While Female: Beyond the Headline Hype

It’s not enough to say that women need to “lean in” and ask for what they want.

It’s not enough to say that people react negatively when women “lean in” and ask for what they want.

Neither approach actually helps someone accomplish anything. It just encourages, or discourages, behavior.

Women can negotiate just as well as men, but no one negotiates well if they don’t … Read More

Be Nice to People Who Drive You Crazy

If you find yourself in a contentious negotiation where you’re both digging into your positions and you’re pretty sure everything the other side says is either stupid, crazy or both: I have one, simple piece of advice to help turn things around and get you what you need.

Make friends with that stupid, crazy person sitting across from you.… Read More

How to Negotiate with Jerks and Wizards

One of the lessons about negotiating that was easy for me to understand, but that I still have a hard time incorporating into my practice, is that it’s a waste of time to get caught up in what I think of the person I’m negotiating with.

For instance, if I’m negotiating with someone that I think is a real jerk, it’s not helpful to the … Read More

One Weird Trick to Build Your Negotiation Muscles

If you want to be a better negotiator, you need to train.

You need to exercise your negotiation muscles regularly, executing each exercise with proper form and control. When you first start you can improve very quickly, but you shouldn’t expect mind-blowing results overnight.

Here’s one exercise you can try at home to build muscle and fight the dreaded anxiety of conflict.… Read More

RSS Feed

From the Blog

5 Things to Know Before You Sign Your Publishing Contract

The following is the first of five emails from a free e-course about understanding publishing contracts. You can sign up for the rest of the course here. In any publishing deal, you're in charge. That's because a publishing contract is you giving the publisher permission to use your work. They need permission and

Read more...

Subscribe to the Work Made For Hire Blog

Twitter Updates

Upcoming Workshops

Check back soon!

Email Subscription

Want Katie's tips via email?

Sign up here: