I'm willing to be proactive in this case, knowing this is a client with whom I've worked well in the past. I'm just not going to wait around any longer.

Glad you liked that one, Hugh. I've learned that for people who enjoy control, this is essential to putting their minds at ease (and getting them off your back a bit). And like you said, the added bonus of the accountability makes things easier on my side, too.

I'd like to give a special shout-out to "Provide daily or weekly updates." As someone who occasionally neglects to do this, I can attest to the importance (and the benefits) of concise & organized updates.

It may seem like extra work, but I've found great value in taking the time to ensure the client/customer knows what you've completed, what you're working on at the moment & what you have planned for the immediate future. Among other advantages, I think regular updates or progress reports accomplish the following:

1. Lets the customer see that you're organized & focused.

2. Reminds the customer that he/she is dealing with a professional (i.e. hopefully sends a "relax, I got this" message that precludes micromanagement or the sweating of the proverbial small stuff)

3. Gives the writer one more way to set goals, track progress, and hold him/herself accountable.

4. As cliched & buzz-wordy as this sounds, it puts the writer in a position of being proactive rather than reactive. You're not just responding to queries about your progress — you're putting the client's mind at ease while also influencing the tone/content of the conversation: Here's what I've already done for you, here's what I'm doing for you this week, & here's what I'll be doing for you next.

I think it was very generous of you to call the client who "forgot". If a project isn't important enough for a client to remember — or look at his schedule when he's supposed to call — I'm going to charge him up the ying yang for wasting my time and probably not work with him again. to me, that type of "forgetting" is disrespect — I don't believe for one second it's genuine. That's one of my "you better not cross that line" points.

If a client chooses to be disorganized, it's going to cost more. Because disorganization IS a choice –if you can't get it together, you shouldn't be in a job with responsibility.

I remember turning down a project because, well, he couldn't figure out what his project was. The main issue was he was tying very personal goals to this business goal. It wasn't going to work. The business goal had to have its own separate purpose.

Well, that and I didn't want to be his therapist.

Once a woman wanted a series of articles, but since she wanted them to be very detailed and informative; I thought it would be better to have a report or ebook instead that she could sell for a small price. She liked the idea and made a good profit from it in the end. (I made more money from my suggestion then I would have if it was left the way they originally planned it.)

Sometimes, it doesn't work so good. I had told one guy that the speech he wanted written on dealing with grieving wasn't going to fly with the ton of humor he asked to have in it. When I told him that, he basically told me where to go and that was the end of that project. (No, I didn't waste any time crying over it.)