We’ve all had our share of flaky clients. By flaky, I mean clients who: Disappear at payment time Reappear three months later to complain about quality (oddly about the same time you’ve threatened litigation/collection) Change the project parameters after you’ve done the work Revise more than twice (my record is 12 revisions) and get farther…
Tag: payment
How To Increase Freelance Article Rates
I love it when someone shines a light on a truth and your own lightbulb comes on. That’s how it was for me in 2013 when Walt Kania (whose blog is pretty fabulous, by the way) wrote this guest post for Writers Worth that still resonates. What you charge is determined by one person —…
Freelance Writing and Why Rate Isn’t Everything
Here’s a freelance fact that may be somewhat unpopular (though no less true): That’s right. I’m saying that while what you charge matters, it matters equal to what you’re getting out of that client relationship. Confused yet? Let me explain myself. Suppose your lowest-paying client funnels monthly projects to you. Let’s say they’re in the…
Freelance Files: Why We Fear Pricing
There’s a custom kitchen installer in our area that we’d been considering. The work they do is absolutely beautiful. More to the point, it’s timeless. We were at a party, and we were admiring the hostess’s kitchen. She’d used this particular company. I commented on how great it looked and asked how long ago it…
How to Remove Freelance Payment Problems
F*ck You. Pay Me. It was, and remains, one of my favorite videos talking about freelance payment problems. Mike Monteiro, design director and co-founder of Mule Design Studio, took the internet by storm back in 2011 when his talk from Creative Mornings Creative Guild went viral. As well it should have. Monteiro started his nearly…
How Corporate Pay Bands Can Help Freelance Writers Earn More
What I’m listening to: Keep On by Portugal. The Man I was reading an article about how freelancers can stop undervaluing themselves (a subject after my own heart) when it occurred to me that corporations don’t have this problem. Let me rephrase — they don’t have a problem determining the value of each position. That…
4 Freelance Writing Safeguards to Protect Your Earnings
What I’m listening to: I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love by Santana with Los Lonely Boys I was reading Jake Poinier’s posts on both the Mode Media bankruptcy and his own experience with a client declaring bankruptcy. It’s a lousy position to find yourself in, and it’s then that you scramble to learn all you…
This Job, Not That Job
What I’m reading: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon What I’m listening to: Incomplete by James Bay Isn’t it fun to spend your birthday doing something you’ve been meaning to do? Isn’t it great to try ticking off the list that one item, say moving a blog, on a day that you’ve…
6 Ways to Increase Writing Income
What’s on the iPod: Sing by Ed Sheeran It’s been a fairly slow week so far. After the last two weeks of 9-hour workdays, I’m glad for the breather. I have a few projects still pending, and I’m working through edits with a current client. I’m marketing (aren’t I always?) and there have been a…
Writer Wednesday: The Great Compromise
What’s on the iPod: Revelation Blues by The Tallest Man on Earth If you want to get anything done, just put a vacation on your radar. So far this week I’ve written two articles and I’m talking with two client prospects on various project possibilities. And I’m probably going to be revising content on the…