"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find out what it means to me." Sometimes, my idea of respect is completely different from their idea of it. For instance, I don't want to be chastised for not getting back to an email you just sent 2 minutes ago. Give me some time to read it through and respond or respect that I might be working on someone else's stuff, or maybe I'm just done for the day.

When I get respect, I'll give it back.

Ashley, totally agree!

I have my fingers crossed too, Paula. When the editor is bad, it's tough to deliver quality.

I was excited to learn that an irksome editor is out of a magazine I once wrote for. It pays really well, so when I got that first assignment two years ago I was excited. Problem? She assigned a first-person account of my extended family's experience exchanging handmade Christmas gifts, but she kept changing things midstream – without bothering to tell me.

I turned the first-person piece in early, explaining that I wanted to get in in ahead of time in case she needed changes. She said she'd look it it right away but sat on it for over a month, then asked me to rewrite it as a third-person roundup of quick & easy holiday gifts you can make in under 30 minutes (ha!). Wanting to show I'm a team player, I agreed to do the rewrite, pointing out no gifts that can be made in that short of time are worth giving – unless you're a child. She upped it to one hour. I dug up three projects, provided URLs, everything. I was paid. She said she'd send me an issue, but didn't. I later found it online – she'd only kept one of my examples and reworked it so much I couldn't tell I'd written it. Frankly, I wish my name weren't on it.

Looking back, there were signs. For several months she promised to send me sample issues, but they never came. I politely reminded her I needed to see them to help match their style. She finally sent them after I'd finished the re-write!

Here's hoping her new replacement is more professional and easier to work with.

Wouldn't the world be a happier place? It definitely applies to the relationship between writers and clients!

One way to deal with it is having one person accountable and even if you are not dealing with them directly, they are cc'd on all decisions so if there's a difference of opinion, the players can work it out before the writer goes down the "wrong" path.