Just like any business, as a freelance writer you are going to run into clients who are a nightmare to work with. Although you will probably do your best to avoid these people, there is no way of knowing when they are going to pop up in your career. Even if somebody appears to be respectful and easy going when you talk with them the first time, this can change soon enough.
The question is: do you deal with nasty freelance writing clients? Or do you simply get rid of them and move on with your career? Personally, I do not take a stance in one way or the other. Instead, I make a decision on a case by case basis. If you have a hard and fast rule for getting rid of disrespectful clients, you may make the wrong decision from time to time.
There are several things that I take into consideration when trying to decide if I should get rid of a client. First and foremost, it is important to take a close look at what they are doing to you. Are they sending you nasty emails when your work does not meet their expectations? Or are they holding payment over your head in some way, shape, or form? Maybe both? If you are dealing with a serious situation like this, it is time for you to kick the client to the curb. Remember, there is no reason that you should have to take part in these games. Simply put, collect any payment that you are owed, and then send a quick note to the client telling them that it is time to part ways.
Of course, you will want to consider how much the project is paying before you make a rash decision. If you are earning a lot of money from the client, it may be worth it to put up with their bad attitude and snide comments. This is a decision that you will have to make. What is more important to you: money or your self worth? It may depend on what other projects you have going on.
A couple days back I received a note from a past client asking if I was available for work. Although I broke things off with them a few months back because of a slow payment problem, I was feeling generous, so I agreed to hear them out. Before they even sent the details of the new project, an email came across saying that they would not be paying any portion of the project fee upfront. In other words, they wanted me to work for them on their timeline and their terms. It only took me a few seconds to respond and say, “thanks but no thanks.â€
If you feel that a client is treating you poorly, it may be time to move on. The bottom line is that you are a professional and you deserve the same respect that you give.
As a freelance writer, one of the best ways to garner business is to show interested clients your past work. Not only will this give them a chance to become familiar with your style, but they will also get the feeling that you are a professional since another company or publication was willing to work with you. As you build your clips folder, you are going to be in a much better position as your freelance writing career moves forward.
If you are lucky enough to have your work published in a magazine or newspaper, it is important to get at least one copy for your records. This will allow you to keep your portfolio up to date. Believe it or not, most publications are more than happy to send you at least one free copy showing your work. In some cases you may have to ask, but this should never be a problem. If for some reason it is, there is nothing wrong with paying for a copy.Â
In many cases, your work may not be published in-print, but instead online. If this is where the majority of your work appears, you should still keep track of your accomplishments. The best way to do this is to keep a “links folder†on your computer. This will allow you to organize and save the links to all your articles that have been published online. When sending a cover letter, resume or query via email, you will be able to include these links for the recipient to check out.
As your freelance writing career grows, the size of your clips and link folders are going to get out of control. You may think that this will never happen, but a year from now you will have more samples than you know what to do with. This is why it is very important that you stay organized from day one. The clips and links that you collect will go a long way in helping to secure future work.
While keeping track of these clips and links can be time consuming, you should keep in mind that it is also enjoyable. After all, there is nothing better than seeing your name next to a piece that you put a lot of time into!Â
Just like every freelance writer, you are probably most interested in high paying jobs that are fun to work on. For instance, I have completed 1,500 word feature articles on various sporting events for close to $1,000. Unfortunately, these jobs come around only so often. Of course, as you grow your freelance writing career, they are sure to become more and more common.
The question is: what are you going to do until you can build up a decent amount of high paying work? For me, chasing high quantity, average paying projects is the way to go. As you can imagine, “high quantity†and “average pay†means something different to every freelance writer. Generally speaking, it depends on what stage of your career you are in, how fast you work, and what you currently charge clients.
I recently picked up a job that I would describe as high quantity with average pay. I am being paid $250 per week for five articles per day of 250 to 300 words. This is not a large project by any means, and some may even see it as a time waster. But for me, it works out to an extra $1,000 per month for a relatively small amount of work.
If you are searching for jobs that fit these criteria, make sure that you are very careful. You do not want to accept a job that requires 100 articles per month for a total pay of $200. If you do, you will find out soon enough that you are not spending your time wisely. It is always important to breakdown any project offer that you receive. By break down I mean find out how much time you will have to put in, and what per hour rate you will be able to earn. This will give you an answer as to whether or not you should accept the project.
Until you start to consistently reel in high paying regular jobs, you may want to consider those that are high quantity with average pay.
