Don’t you hate when you give advice to someone – advice that you have a particular expertise in giving – and they look at you as though you’ve grown three heads? But it happens. Despite our best efforts, some of our clients are going to think we’re nuts or worse, that their friends’ advice is better. And for the most part, there’s not a thing we can do to help them at that point.
A while ago I had a client’s client come to us for help. I returned a document to him that was concise and explained his particular expertise well. He sent it back with revisions, as the clients will often do (I rely on their help to get things accurate). Only his edits? They consisted of stuffing in every single fact available, relevant or not. That’s fine, but his goal was to capture the audience’s attention, not overwhelm and bore them. I explained to him that less is more, that I did X to net Y. I wrote A, B, and C because to add D, E, and F would confuse. Alas, he came back with his edits – including those of his friends. In the end, he got all the wordiness he wanted plus a healthy dose of my concerns and reasons why I didn’t feel his choice would help him reach his goal. At the point when friends enter the picture, clients go deaf to experienced, paid advice. My goal at that point shifted from helping him reach his goal to damage control for when the project bombed miserably. My concerns were on record. And when he comes back, he gets it done my way. That may sound harsh, but I’m paid to do him right. That means doing it right sometimes to his objections.
But posses, those are a different beast. There are times when common sense defers to pleasing the crowd. I have a “no posse” rule with my direct clients – if a third party becomes involved and I’m expected to answer to it, the contract is voided and I’m due payment in full. I believe very strongly in this – too many times have I wasted precious time and overshot my project fees because someone thought that their squash partners or their office mates knew more than I did. Fine. Hire them. I’m a professional writer with experience talking for me. They’re your friends and don’t know your market. You choose. But know this – I answer to paying clients, not friends, friends of friends, or relatives of paying clients.
Yet there are times when I can’t control the third-party input, nor can I change the client’s mind on specifics of the project. In those times, I give those clients very detailed reasons why my approach was chosen, why what they’re doing probably won’t work, and why I advise they stick with the original plan. After that, they get exactly what they want whether it’s good for them or not. I can only warn – I can’t lord over them or mother them.
Have you faced a situation in which your client’s gone deaf? How do you handle it?
OMG, Lori I'm dealing with this VERY issue right now! I wrote an ebook and sales letter for a client and when he sent it back to me for revisions, I also ended up editing a lot of HIS "improvements" (e.g. redundancy, run on sentences, using words that don't actually exist in the dictionary, etc.).
I have explained what I'm doing and why. He has allowed most of my edits to go through, but insists on holding on to some of these "improvements."
When I got the copy for the final revision today I just shook my head, sighed and decided it's easier for us both if I just give him what he wants – whether it's good for him or not. I've done all I can do by gently explaining why I made the original changes. It's HIS baby now.
Oh Kim, I really feel for you! I had one client a long time ago reintroduce every mistake I'd edited out. Run-on sentences, incomplete thoughts, you name it. He didn't want me changing the "sprit" of his book. He didn't mind me taking the blame when his "editors at the office" found the mistakes I'd carefully removed and he'd carefully reinserted.
Just put it on record your objections and reasons why. What I do is mention the effects of the mistakes on their reputations (subtly, but they get the idea, I hope). Like in the case of one guy who insisted on a slew of ellipses in his book – I told him that they indicate incomplete thoughts.
For me, it's more wanna-be writers with no pub credits asking for advice, with a preconceived notion of what they want to hear, and then arguing with me when they don't.
It's fine not to USE advice if you disagree with it. But when you ask, especially from people who have more experience than you do, be gracious. Say "thank you" . Whether you choose to use it or not is a personal choice. But don't be an ass about it.
Exactly, Devon. I get the generic "How do I start?" questions. That's the toughest one to answer, and frankly, it shows a bit of laziness, for blogs around the Internet give step-by-step guidance, this one included.
Yeah. I'm constantly asked on forums for advice by those starting out. I've answered questions in detail dozens of times, and these people can't be bothered to check the archives? Or take a look when I tell them I've already answered that and berate me for not repeating myself?
Lazy.
It's happened to me a lot as well. Usually, I tell them exactly why I wouldn't make the changes. If they still insist and we're still within agreed-upon revisions, I will make the alterations they ask for, but with the explicit instructions that my name is in no way attached to the final copy. Sometimes it particularly ticks me off when the finished product would have made a great portfolio link, but in that case, I save my preferred version and send it as an attachment as opposed to a link.
Kathy, that's the frustrating part. You can't use it as a link because the final version isn't something you'd want anyone to think you're connected to.
"Don't you hate when you give advice to someone – advice that you have a particular expertise in giving – and they look at you as though you've grown three heads?"
As a former high school English teacher, I usually offer an involved, introspective & ultimately unsatisfying answer to the question "so, why did you decide to stop teaching?"
If it's OK with you, from now on I'm just gonna use the first sentence from this post (in fact, I may even print it up on business cards to save time 🙂
Reminiscences aside, I really like the sentiment expressed in "I'm paid to do him right … sometimes to his objections." This doesn't solve every problem, of course, but it's important to remind oneself (& one's customer) that editing decisions aren't personal value judgments, but honest (and experienced, and educated) efforts to put the content — and, by extension, the customer — in the best possible position to succeed.
lol… wonder how often that does happen… friends, the guy in the next cube… some of our clients have no confidence in their own judgement so they don't trust the people they hire… us.
I've gotten more confrontive than I used to be like, "are you sure you want your ex's new husband telling you how this should sound?"
Okay, I made up that example, but the theory works.
If after an explanation and a confontive question they still insist… I do it as quickly as I can so I can move on.
thanks for the post…
Hugh, I can see how that may be the perfect answer in that situation. 🙂
And yes, that's the bottom line. It's the crux of what we do – provide the best possible work to best reflect that client's business needs.
Anne, I LOVE it! I'm going to use lines like that, too! LOL