A Classic Case of the Cobbler's Kids

I have spent my working life as a writer and a tester. Quality Assurance that is, process improvement and software testing. It's been a nice career. Whether my focus is on software or writing depends on my current contract, and even my software positions turn into a great deal of writing in the end.

My writing contracts have been primarily corporate. But lately I've been moving more towards freelance work. It's been a great deal of fun. It also gives me more flexibility when dealing with my father's health issues and traveling back and forth to see him.

Then I got the brilliant idea to do some writing work in the quilting industry. Something I've never done before. How exciting, I thought, now I can finally merge my income with one of my passions.

So, I approached it from the aspect I have always used and contacted a large company with a proposal. The project is one I've executed many times for many companies, but the subject-matter was new. After some interesting discussions, I was dropped from consideration. Do you know why? Was it because my writing samples and corporate contacts were badly executed?

NO! My resume is brilliant. My clips are solid and my corporate contacts are stellar! Do you know why I was dropped from consideration? It's because my quilting blog hasn't been professionally executed. OUCH!

The worst part is…. The worst part is that it's true. It's a classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. I have never considered this blog anything more than a hobby to exercise my quilt-y habits. It never occurred to me that I might lose a job over it.

All I can say is…. OUCH!

The funny thing is I was more disappointed about losing this job over losing a bid on any of my corporate contracts. I've dusted myself off and picked up two more jobs. One of them is even quilt related. Still, now I know how those cobbler's kids feel – neglected and under-appreciated.