Oh, Sabastion that's too bad. Sorry about the loss, it's gotta suck. Unfortunately, lesson learned the hard way.

I agree. It's not the end. I was just excited. So much experience!

Today I will open an account on Odesk. I will work harder and play the angles. I'll hustle my ass off and never have to buss another table.

You are one lucky man!

If she would really understand, she would have hired you. This only tells you that she is a liar. I guess you don't need that.

It might look like not optimum right now. But what if you would have grown ulcers after writing for her.

HP

I took the post to mean that since she didn't receive a reply, she went ahead and hired someone else.

Keep in contact just in case the other writer disappoints or otherwise flakes out.

I put the odds at about 50-50.

Sebastion;

I know you're using Elance as a major platform to launch yourself and that's great. One word of caution:

Always message from within the PMB. Here's why:

Email servers- ESPECIALLY free ones like Yahoo and Gmail, are often extremely delayed when integrating with Elance. Meaning, let's say you open your email and you see one there from an Elance client. You read it and respond directly through your email, but it doesn't show up in the PMB for sometimes HOURS!

This can be a critical consideration on Elance. Years ago when we did a lot of work there, we would often target projects where the person needed it done NOW. We discovered the email delay between independent servers and Elance this way, because we sent messages from email or received messages from Elance that were actually sent on the PMB hours before it was received in our (or our client's) inbox.

So, always use the PMB; it's just safer and in the case of your OP, it would have saved you $1800. However, listen to what Daniel said: Writers on Elance often flake out or just don't perform. If you've handled yourself professionally then she'll be back if this happens.

But really, it doesn't matter much, because you'll never make this mistake again. ;-)

I feel your pain, and I'm not sure where you live, but $15 per hour isn't all that.

Especially if you already have a job. I know it's about experience, but there are tons more opportunities out there with higher pay and better experiences to be had.

Chin up

I agree with Nick's sentiments.

I'm sorry you lost out on this opportunity - but look at it this way: Now you have more time to spend pursuing better-paying copy jobs!

Trust me, you can make a lot more than $15/hr writing copy

Just remember to not let this get you down. Keep moving forward, work smart, eat/sleep/drink copy and you'll get to where you want to be before you know it.

Maybe email her a "$XXXX Discount Voucher" or something, considering you fudged up.

As you were her first choice it might put you in good standing for future work.

I don't agree with the "$15/hr isn't all that" sentiment... clearly it's worth something to you, considering this post. When I was learning I'd write for free. Folk will tell you that's stupid, but I'm doing great now.

Colm

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Feel sorry about that, ... Keep looking for another job

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I do most of my business on Skype. You can see and talk to the client in real time. You can also video-conference - which is handy when its a partnership or you want to bring the designer in on the conversation.

I'm a little late but did want to say that it is probably just as well this opportunity was missed.

For all that the client said she understood... Obviously she didn't and might have gone on to make the other writers life miserable.

In the future triple check every "sent" message just to be sure things go through. Also, BCC yourself if you want to be extra careful.

Ouch! Lesson learned. Next time, remember to double check.