A haunted house, but... 🏚️

🐺…it’s Anonymous Wolverine, lurking in your draft

It’s hunched in the corner of the porch, surrounded by the most menacing aura you’ve ever encountered. Right now, it’s just watching you make edits, but its presence fills you with dread. Do you carry on or close the tab before it’s too late? If you stick around long enough, it might start leaving comments before you’re even done editing! You hurry inside.

🧟 …it’s the comment section on a call for freelancers LinkedIn post

The horde staggers toward you down the front hallway, arms outstretched. They’re groaning something, just one word. Not “braaaaiins,” but “interrrestedddd.” One of them raises a cadaverous hand. “DMing you!” he bellows. You duck into the dining room.

🧛 …it’s that same LinkedIn post, when they shares their rates

He seems reasonable enough, with his simple request for an expert B2B SaaS writer. But after someone (probably Kaitlyn Arford) asks about rates, the fangs come out. He recoils from the question as if from sunlight, but then he surges forward, toward your neck. “Rates are very competitive,” he hisses through his fangs. You grasp a loose spindle of a dining chair and plunge it into his chest as he wheezes, “Ten cents a worrrdd…” You escape to the living room.

👻 …it’s a prospect who seemed so enthusiastic on your discovery call two weeks ago

They were almost ready to sign the agreement, but when you sent your proposal and rates, they vanished into thin air. Now, they’re back to haunt you, asking for a completely different scope of work and an extremely tight turnaround…with no rate change. The white specter circles you threateningly before floating through the wall with a mournful wail: “We dooooon’t have the buuuudget right noooow.” You run up the stairs.

🕳️ …it’s your bank account after a slow month

At the top of the stairs, you stop abruptly. There’s a vast void stretching in front of you. The last time you checked your balance, you had plenty of money for this month’s expenses! Then you remember your automatic payment for quarterly estimated taxes. The void expands, almost touching the tips of your toes on the landing. You rush back downstairs.

🪦 …it’s a request for just one more round of edits

You scramble out of the back door, only to find yourself amidst a field of comments popping up like headstones. “Not sure about this title,” says one. “Can we make this more dynamic?” says another. This project was finalized weeks ago, and now a new stakeholder is weighing in. A hand shoots up from the damp earth, grasping at your ankle. You quickly resolve the comments and sprint for the gate…

You gasp awake, heart pounding as you glance around your dark bedroom. Thank heavens, it was all just a bad dream. As you take a deep breath and close your eyes, your phone lights up with an email notification: 

From: Nightmare Client 

Subject: Quick Question

See you next week

…if we both make it,

Kara 🎃 

Out of Office

What I’m doing when I’m not working

• I started reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a book that has been on my to-read list for at least ten years. I am loving the dark academia vibes — this is the perfect choice for the fall-to-winter transition.

• For more mystery/thriller and spooky season vibes, I watched Gone Girl for the first time! One of the twists was spoiled for me, but I was still totally enthralled. I’m not super into horror movies, but I like to watch something a little unsettling around Halloween.

• It’s my 4th wedding anniversary today! Here’s what 4 years of marriage taught me about B2B content writing: Just kidding, lol 🍾🤍 💌 

P.S. Got a question about self-employment, anti-hustle culture, business books, or something else?

Kara Detwiller is a writer and creative based in small-town Saskatchewan. She specializes in long-form content writing for enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients. She is also working on her first novel, among other creative pursuits. To connect, reply to this email or find Kara on LinkedIn. To support her work on Wishful Working, share this email with someone or buy her a “coffee.”

Why Wishful Working? I write this newsletter because I want to see more people enjoy a life not centered around work. For some, the path to freedom and flexibility is through self-employment, but we also need to challenge cultural norms and champion healthier working conditions and work/life balance for all types of workers.