Freelance Writing Jobs - Tips to Help Writers Handle Tough Clients
As an online freelance writer, you'll deal with clients from all walks of life. Some project will be perfect, and when that happens, you can hopefully turn that one project into a long-term relationship. However, no matter how well you write, you will sometimes run across clients who make your job extremely hard. Here's a guide to handling the toughest kinds of clients out there:
THE WRITING JOB CLIENT WHO DOESN'T PAY
As a freelance writer, especially online, you need to protect yourself. There are tons of people who will try to get free work out of you, and online, it is easy to delete an email address and disappear. Before you start a project, make sure you exchange offline contact information (and verify it). You should also sign a contract to protect both of you. If the project is for a significant amount of money, it is also a good idea to arrange for pay in increments, especially when dealing with a client for the first time.
Of course, this doesn't help you if you are already dealing with a client that hasn't paid you. If this is the case, you can pursue the matter in court if you have a contract and contact information. Otherwise, you can use a web search service like www.copyscape.com to look for your work. If you find it online, you might be able to do a search at www.whois.com to find contact information. You can also contact the host provider to alert them that the work has been stolen, and they should respond by taking it down.
THE CLIENT WHO CHANGES HIS OR HER MIND
Nothing is more infuriating than throwing away your hard work because a client changes his or her mind half way through the project - or worse, after you've submitted first drafts. As a freelance writer, you should expect that your clients will want revisions from time to time. After all, no one is perfect. However, if you followed directions and provided a good copy the first time around, clients do not have the right to request major rewrites just because they changed their mind about something.
Be accommodating. If revisions will only take you a short amount of time, sometimes your best course of action is to do the revisions with a smile on your face, collect your payment, and decline future projects or more carefully discuss needs in the future. Your contract should always clearly define what revisions are free and what revisions must be bought.
If your client is asking for total rewrites, even though you did a good job on the originals, be wary. Sometimes, scammers use this technique to get double the amount of work from you, correctly suspecting that most writers never check the web for drafts they didn't officially sell. You should also be wary of clients who cancel the project after you've already done most of the work. Be respectful, but always voice your concerns and ask for payment for the work you've done. You deserve it.
THE CLIENT WHO IS NEVER PLEASED
If you're receiving negative feedback from all of your clients, you might want to reconsider the quality of your work or your readiness for the writing industry. However, if you mainly have happy clients, chances are that continuous negative feedback from one person isn't a reflection of you. Some people are just really hard to please.
It can help if you have very clear expected standards. Here again, a contract comes in handy, but it might also help you if the client sends you an example of the work he or she is looking for from you. Sometimes, you just aren't hitting the mark, and a simple change can clear that up, saving both you and the client time.
Keep in mind, though, that you can never please everyone. If you're dealing with a client who doesn't like your personal writing style or who gives you feedback in a condescending way, sometimes it is simply best if you go your separate ways amicably at the end of your current project.
No matter who your client may be, try to do the best job possible. Some people clash personalities or try to take advantage of one another, but remember that you can always turn down projects and look for new jobs.
About the Author:
To be successful, freelancers need a wide variety of clients sending them lots of writing projects. Learn about writing jobs from Lisa Jenkins, who contributes to JobMonkey - the website for ambitious job seekers. Learn about blogging and building your writing business through social networking and freelance job boards.
