I joined Twitter because many of you convinced me I’d have access to, and possibly work from, other tweeters. Lo and behold, I did get a note from someone looking for exactly my writing experience, but I’m not getting the job. See, it’s the same company I’d turned down once before. They pay well, but the stipulations weren’t something I could live with.
You may remember them – the publisher was in no way interested in signing a contract with me after my initial article with them. In fact, he said he’d rather not because it wasn’t necessary. But it became increasingly necessary as he spelled out the rather ambiguous agreement we were to have. I was to write 2K words. He’d pay me for what he used and round it down to the nearest ten. Couple things wrong with that, wouldn’t you say?
When I insisted politely that we put it in writing because, as I put it, it would be a shame for me to assume I’m writing and getting paid for 2K words when he uses just 200 words. He countered that he’d never do that – he’d just not use the article if that’s all he could use. And that was supposed to make me feel better? When I said I’d never in my career heard of anyone rounding down, he countered that he’d never in all his career had anyone question his integrity. And he was livid. Only … there really wasn’t a reason for him to be livid. I’d not said or done anything that was out of the ordinary scope of negotiations or business professionalism.
Let’s just say there were many red flags flying. I bowed out and did not finish the second article assignment because he would not put in writing that I’d be paid for it. I doubted I’d see the check for the first article. To his credit, I did. But the allergic reaction he had to contracts made me pretty sure that there was something amiss. I know I did the right thing. So when the managing editor got in touch last week, I knew when I answered him I’d never hear from him again.
Employers – while you may need writers, you need to understand that we conduct business. We don’t write for you based on blind faith. That’s just plain stupid. And it’s something you should never do, either. Again, stupid.
What’s the strangest client situation you’ve found yourself in?
Legitimate businesses are not allergic to contracts. Period. Stay away from them.
Found the video clip I mentioned yesterday. Rant will go up tomorrow. Maybe you should contact him about covering Writers’ Worth Day.
Not a bad idea, Devon!
Just finished the logo, but knowing me, it’s not small enough. I’ll try getting it up here today.
I’ve had a couple of prospects/clients who were quick to send the deposit, or even payment in full, but didn’t sign and fax the contract. They did everything they could to stall. “Oh, didn’t it come through? I faxed it” or “I don’t have your fax number,” etc. I have a clause in every contract which says client assumes all liability issues arising from the copy, so I am not going to move forward without having that signed. I even had one jerk one time “sign” his name with a typewritten signature and insisted it was always done that way in his industry. These days, I just will not budge. You can throw all the money in the world at me, but until you sign on the dotted line, I won’t move forward.
I once had a client that I had completed a project for ask me to do another for him. When I sent over the contract, he became irate and told me he felt offended that I would send over an agreement after he had paid me for the last job. He felt that showed he was trustworthy so he should not have to waste time signing contracts whenever he needed to submit a new contract. I kindly explained that signing the contract protected us both and that was how I conducted my business.
I meant to say “whenever he needed to submit a new project.”
Exactly, Eileen. There’s not one single reason why any client should find it offensive to sign a contract. On the contrary, it protects them, as well.
Since the dude in question in my scenario had not signed one, I was not obligated to meet his deadline. I HATE sticking anyone who’s against a deadline, but in this case it was unavoidable. And smart.
I don’t get it, Kimberly. Why do they get offended? It’s business! This is a business – it’s not two friends sharing work over coffee. Businesses require contracts. Would he hire a contractor to put in a $50K kitchen without a contract because the guy has a nice demeanor? Hell no!
Lori, you did the right thing by walking away. My weirdest client request was someone who only wanted to pay me for words with at least 3 letters. MS Word has no way to count this, so I would have to do it manually. No thanks!
I had a client ask for a certain word count and then insist on paying me for words used. It was with a publishing house where I was working with another editor, and he was great and didn’t have the same policy, so I put up with it the first time. I submitted 800 words and got paid $800.
The second time, I was asked for 800 words, submtitted the article, and then was told I’d be paid $750. But there was no discussion of what had been cut and why. I was just supposed to suck it up.
The third time the editor asked me to do an assignment, I said I’d be happy to if we could agree on a word count and stick with it. She declined, and I’ve never heard from her again.
Susan, I remember that one!
Gabriella, that’s just nuts, isn’t it? So they would edit it to fit and you’d be penalized for space issues they were having? That’s crazy.
Also, I didn’t mention that this was the same job where the editor expected me to be on IM from 7 am to 9 pm for her convenience. And after I told her I was out of the office for the next week due to out-of-town guests and my kid’s graduation party, didn’t she call the house numerous times – and during the party – to fuss because she needed me NOW for edits. Hey, I gave you a head’s up a week in advance. File your lack of planning under the “not my problem” category.
Hmm. I probably wouldn’t have taken a job like that. I ask my clients to provide the word count and I try to get within 50 words. The rate is fixed. For website copy, I charge by the page – one rate for 100 words or less, another for 100-350 words, and so on. I would never go for what your client requested. I think you made the right choice by walking away.
Yea, that’s exactly what I said too, Melissa. The first article was a “let’s see if you can write for the industry” paid tryout. That went well, and we both decided to go forward.
It was after that things got ugly. When I asked for a contract, I got a flip “Don’t need that sort of thing!” response. When I pressed, saying yes, I did need that because I wanted to protect his interests and mine, I got the most obtuse “guidelines” for payment and acceptance I’d ever faced. It’s when I said, “No, I really need a contract” and questioned why the rounding down that he went ballistic and I went “See ya.”