It happens when I’m busiest. Probably happens at the same time for you. The client prospects start showing up in email, on the phone, and inquiring about your services. I’ve been getting quite a few lately (seems to pick up every year as August creeps up). Some are straightforward. Others are loaded with questions. Some…
Tag: client issues
The Tuesday Freelancer: Handling Client Disagreements with Grace
Last week I headed in to the local Macy’s to spend a gift card. I found a few things that I took to the sales desk. That’s when things got, well, weird. The salesperson was a younger woman — mid-thirties perhaps — who was dressed in a really neat rocker-chick style, including awesome makeup. She…
Client Language Warning Flags
Sometimes the blog posts practically write themselves. Like when I get calls and emails from people looking for writers, for content, for freebies, for … fill in the blank. In most cases, anyone can see quickly how you’re about to be used (not hired — used), how this kind of “offer” for “exposure” will not benefit…
4 Issues Every Freelance Writer Will Face
What I’m listening to: Trip Switch by Nothing But Thieves Sometimes you come across something that’s stated simply, and it’s so brilliant that you have to share it. That was the case yesterday when I read this blog post by Jason McDowell. He said this: Never let a client treat you like anything but an equal. Take…
9 Tough Client Conversations (and how to rock them)
What I’m listening to: All Apologies by Nirvana Tuesday already? Wow. I blinked and last week was gone. This one is looking the same. The workload isn’t big, but the marketing for the conference is taking up a lot of time. On a LinkedIn Group discussion, a new writer was asking where she could go…
Keeping Politics Out of Your Freelance Writing Business
What I’m listening to: Hardliners by Holcombe Waller I get to play today! Jenn Mattern and I have a date to do some collaborative projects, and I get to sit in her comfy chair and love up her dog and cats. I love freelance writing. 🙂 Yet because we work with a variety of people and…
Monday Muse: Knowing Your Boundaries
What I’m listening to: Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s After a week that, for the most part, was internet-free, I’m back to a mountain of emails. I was thinking about an encounter I’d had a while back, and it was one that tested my ability to draw clear boundaries. And if you know…
Monday Muse: 6 Warning Signs of a Bad Client/Freelance Writer Match
What I’m listening to: Misery by Green Day In my entire freelance career, I’ve never been so glad to see the backside of a week. I was working through what I thought was a relatively slow week when a writing emergency — an actual one — was dropped in my lap midweek. It was an…
Planning Ahead: What to Do When Clients Disappear
I’m not around this week or next, but I’ve planned ahead. Apropos given the title of this new series, isn’t it? Please keep commenting. I may not be on the same continent, but I’m going to grab the WiFi where I can. I was going over my pre-trip plans the other week, trying to connect…
8 Habits of Bad Writing Clients
What I’m listening to: Whiskey in the Jar by Metallica Wow. It’s mid-March already? I don’t know how you’re doing but my March has been filled with project deadlines and new-client talks. Just as the pile of work starts to dwindle, more work comes in. While it was frenetic at first, now I’m seeing a…