It happened. Earlier this week, the editor of a magazine I’ve been writing for told me she can’t buy more freelance pieces until summer because of budget cuts. It’s the first time in years that economic cutbacks have directly affected my business. It’s also bad news because I’d just pitched a story I thought was perfect for the publication.

I was bummed. But I’d just finished writing here about smart things freelancers can do to weather bad times. So I had to take my own advice. Later the same day, I needed to send a separate pitch to a different editor I’ve written for a lot lately but at a rate that’s lower that what I usually make. I’d just turned in a bunch of stories that this editor really liked. So thinking about the client I’d just lost, I wrote the pitch letter and at the end asked for a raise. I heard back the next day – the publication agreed to up my rate by 20 percent. It gets better. I called the editor to say thanks, and in the course of conversation, she mentioned another publication that might be interested in using me and offered to pass along my name.

The moral of the story: Don’t get hung up on bad news. Don’t be afraid to ask. Remember to say thank you. And sometimes it pays to pick up the phone.