When you work for an employer, it is easy to take a day off from time to time. After all, you have vacation days as well as sick days that you can use when need be. But as a freelance writer, you are more or less self-employed. Sure, you have to answer to clients to make sure that they get what they want, but you do not have a direct boss. This leads to the question of whether or not freelance writers can take a day off from time to time.
On the surface, it would be appear that you could take off everyday of the week if you so desire. As noted above, you do not have a direct boss so there is nobody telling you that you cannot do this. That being said, if you never work you will never make money and achieve in other areas.
Even though taking off too many days is a bad thing, there is no reason to believe that you do not deserve a break. In fact, a day off here and there can help to protect against burnout. How often you steal a vacation day is up to you. I know some freelance writers who only work four days per week, and of course, others who haven’t taken off a day in years.
If I decide to take a day off, I usually try to plan in advance. This is not always possible if I am forced to miss work due to an illness or emergency. But in most cases, these are few and far between. By planning in advance, it gives me the chance to make sure that all of my clients have what they need, when they need it.
Although not the best idea, I always seem to wonder back to my computer or PDA during these off days. I hate the thought of leaving my clients with questions for too long, and this usually drives me to check my email and voicemail at least once during a day off. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this as long as you do not go overboard.
The bottom line: freelance writers have every right to take a day off when they like they need it.Â
No matter what industry you are in, trust between you and your clients is important. Not only do you need to be able to trust your freelance writing clients, but they should be able to do the same with you. Of course, it is not always easy to trust everybody that you work with. This is especially true if you are new to the freelance writing game, and still trying to get your feet wet. As time goes by, you will begin to find clients that you can trust while also knowing what traits to look for when seeking additional work. In other words, bad clients are not hard to spot once you become familiar with the way that the industry works.
By working with clients that you can trust, you will be able to take advantage of the following benefits:
1. Trust makes for a better relationship. This holds true for you, the writer, as well as your client. Remember, your client is every bit as worried about the “trust factor†as you. Keep this in mind every time you are communicating with a client, or setting up a new project.
2. When you have full trust in your clients it will help to cut stress out of your work related life. As you probably know, working for a client that you do not trust to pay you, for instance, can be quite stressful. Am I going to do all of this work for nothing? What if I do not get paid? Is this all a waste of time? These are all questions that you will probably ask yourself if you do not trust your client.
3. If you trust your clients you can move forward with each project quickly and with gusto. It is hard to fully get behind a project when you are not sure that your client is trustworthy. In the back of your mind you will always have doubt. In turn, this will slow down your progress immensely.
All in all, you always want to make sure that you can trust your freelance writing clients and that they can feel the same way about you.
From time to time, I work with clients who have no idea what they want. Well, they seem to know what they want when we first talk, but over time they change their minds time after time. While I can understand where they are coming from, most of these clients never take the time to think about the writer. Obviously, when a client decides to change direction mid-project it can cause major issues. Not only does the writer have to stop working, but there is a chance that many edits and complete revisions will be requested.
Here are two common “direction changers†that I have run into in the past. Although they may not be common, there is a chance that you will encounter these issues sometime during the course of your freelance writing career.
1. The project is going along just fine, and out of nowhere the client tells you that they are no longer interested in moving forward. I have had clients do this, and then pay me what they owe. But at the same time I have had clients who cancel a project and tell me that they do not have to pay because they don’t want the completed content. Of course, this is not fair to the writer in the least bit.
If you run into a situation where a client does not way to pay after canceling a project, the best thing you can do is explain your side of the story and hope that they will come around.
2. Midway through a project, you get an email or phone call from the client saying that they love your work but the entire scope of the project has changed. For instance, you may have been working on 10 keyword articles on general health when the client tells you that all 10 need to touch on diabetes, symptoms, and treatment. While a similar category, it will be on you to revise the articles. In many cases, a change of direction like this can put you back to square one.
Once again, if you encounter this situation you need to be open and honest with the client. State that you also like working with them, but that you put a lot of time into the initial project. They may offer you a “kill fee†as well as payment for the new project. If you don’t ask, but instead sit back and take it, you will run into this situation time after time without any monetary compensation.
Just like a lot of people in the business world, freelance writing clients have the tendency to change their mind from time to time. You need to make sure that you are as accommodating as possible but that you do not go so far that you put yourself out. Simply put, you should do what the original project guidelines state and then deal with any change in direction as it comes up.Â
