Dr. Freelance: I have a client who is constantly asking me how much time it will take me to write copy for their website. I feel self-conscious, because I typically consider myself to be a slow writer (and I pride myself on being precise). Nonetheless, he wants to know how long it takes me to write a 500-word article with little research involved. It usually takes me about 60 minutes from start to finish. Do you think that is an appropriate time? Or do you think I should be faster or slower?—Got the Time [Read more…]
Freelance Forecast survey results
It’s here! Download Freelance Forecast 2011 (pdf, 1.5MB).
Many thanks to all the freelancers and freelance clients who contributed their opinions and insights to the third annual Freelance Forecast. Bookmark or RSS this blog for the announcement of the 2012 survey in December. If you participated this year, you’ll automatically be notified when the new survey comes out. If you didn’t participate this year, please subscribe and indicate your survey preference through the signup form in the right-hand column.
Hey freelancers, check out Writers’ Week
I have quite a few posts in the hopper after my extended summertime hiatus, but in the meantime wanted to give a quick plug for Emily Suess’s Writers’ Week project, scheduled for September 12-16. She’s lined up a writing contest (with some sweet prizes), educational resources for writers and freelancers, and a ton of guest blogs—should be a fun freelance community event! (And if you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities for your business, ebooks, mentoring, etc., you can find out more about Emily here.)
Who’s your longest-term freelance client?
My friends Lori Widmer of Words on the Page and Anne Wayman of About Freelance Writing hosted a nifty little Twitter confab yesterday, #writingsquared. During the session, I asked the crowd, “Who’s your longest-term freelance client, and how did you acquire them?” One person cited a 19-year relationship that came after a speaking engagement — pretty impressive. My record for loyalty goes back to my second year in business (2000), one of the very first cold calls that I made based on Peter Bowerman’s Well-Fed Writer cold-calling technique. [Read more…]
Freelancing in the sticks
Today’s guest blogger is Bruce Farr, a writer in my freelance stable during my staff editing days, a client during his corporate days, and a wise friend for the duration. (He’s a holdout on blogging, but here’s a quick article about his background, which includes writing and recording commentaries for NPR’s All Things Considered.) Here’s his response to a question the Doc received about freelancing in the sticks. [Read more…]
Can this client relationship be saved?
Dr. Freelance: I recently sent a client an email letting him know that a certain task was going to take time beyond the agreed-upon scope and therefore cost more, and asking whether he wanted to proceed. In response, he “reviewed” my services (i.e., enumerated all of the ways that I was falling short, basically questioning my fees. He softened the blow a bit by listing what he considered my “most significant contributions,” but it was still an unexpected blow. Anyway, I responded back with a list of my own honest thoughts about the relationship. I’ve been thinking about dumping him as a client anyway (he’s a chronic slow-payer) so I don’t really care what happens, but would like your perspective on how best to handle this type of thing. — Blindsided
Dear Blindsided: Based on that type of email “review,” not to mention the pay and myriad other underlying issues, I can understand why he got under your skin. It sounds like he is far underestimating how much work you’ve been putting into his projects. I’ve dealt with that type of client relationship many times before — heck, it was part of the disaster I shared the other day on my Jake’s Take blog. [Read more…]
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