Busy day to cap off a busy week, so it’s time to break out the ol’ link roundup. (OK, I’ll be honest, I played hooky to be a scorekeeper for my daughter’s golf tournament Wednesday morning.) Without further ado… [Read more…]
Self-inflicted scope creep and perfectionism
Dr. Freelance: I have a tendency to let my perfectionist side get the better of me, kind of like scope creep but it’s not the client’s fault. I’ll start with “just that little bit extra” to make sure that what I turn in is absolutely impeccable, then realize that I’ve spent 2 extra hours that weren’t in my estimate. Doc, save me from myself!—Little Miss Perfect
LMP, I’m going to give you a little tough love here: Every writer, editor, designer or other freelance creative who’s worth a darn has a perfectionist streak, but if you fail to keep it in check, it can be disastrous for your profitability. Take your example, and multiple it out across a couple of clients a month, and you are doing a lot of work for free. You’re not getting $XX per hour, you’re getting $XX-10%. [Read more…]
When you don’t get no client respect
Dr. Freelance: I read with interest your recent article about “Getting started as a ghostwriter.” I’ve been asked to quote for ghostwriting/rewriting a 145-page non-fiction book, probably to make it 125 pages. The potential client says it’s written, I just need to get it into shape. He’s annoyed me and shown no client respect so far by canceling yesterday’s meeting at short notice, when I’d already traveled to the area — not that he knows that. He wasn’t particularly apologetic about it. He rescheduled for tonight at an odd time, 8 p.m. in a hotel lobby. We had a five-minute meeting, and he said he’s interested in me for the job. [Read more…]
Job rejection fail
You don’t have to be a freelancer for very long before swallowing the bitter pill of fail: freelance job rejection. Frankly, I’m good with it: Don’t want me in your club, I don’t want to be a member.
In that vein, I got a good laugh a few weeks ago. A representative of a custom publishing company—which had declined me as a freelancer sometime around the holidays—inadvertently copied me on an email…which said some unflattering things about me! [Read more…]
5 things you need to know about writing for freelance writing companies
You see the ads all the time: “Article writer wanted…” or “Blogger Wanted” or “Ghostwriter Needed.” These often lead to freelance job boards, classifieds and bidding sites that resell your writing to clients. Many are content mills of one sort or another that pay, if you’re lucky, $2 or $3 per 500 word articles when you can collect it.
Are freelancers unique?
I’ve been doing the Freelance Forecast for four years now, and in addition to the many thoughtful responses I receive to the survey itself, it’s always interesting when someone takes the time to offer detailed criticism—constructive, nit-picky or otherwise. So, I thought I’d pass along a piece of correspondence I received the other day for your consideration: [Read more…]