Jake, I can see why they're one of your best clients. And you're right – what you project in negotiations makes a difference.

Valerie, that speaks to the level of professionalism of that client (and that would be a former client if it were my client). The attitude isn't that of the majority, but it's often enough to notice.

Wendy, good for you! I too refuse to deal with posses. They can send me whatever they like – it's all going into the trash folder. I work for the person writing the check, not the friends, coworkers, aunts, acquaintances who think they know what they're doing.

Ashley, very true. In fact, I had one client incident recently in which I was told "We didn't use it and didn't have time to get revisions to you" and as a result, no check. No more. It's pay the bill or get a view of my back as I depart permanently. I cannot work for people who won't pay the bill. Ever. I'd end up resenting them and being pissed at myself. In fact, I've already begun resenting them. That creeps into the work.

Exactly, Stacey. Even so, if the client's not going to pay, it's not going to matter. Still, getting it out there may deter them or at least make them pause before attempting it with their next writer. Doubtful, but if they get enough pushing back, they'll eventually have to amend the approach.

You're well rid of that one, Paula. Great way to frame it with him, too.

Hugh, it sucks that this is indeed the way a lot of businesses are run. However, economies being cyclical, wait until they're on the receiving end. Employees who are overworked now are going to remember the treatment they received when the market picks up again. And even companies have to worry about reputations. I remember sitting in a conference round-table session once, just after the insurance market softened, and laughing as these corporate customers took the insurance company CEOs to task for being such hard-asses when the money was plentiful. Lots of those CEOs lost their customers to smaller players because of their blase attitudes toward their customers. It was sweet payback.

Katharine, that's what kills me. They have the gall to demand services they haven't paid for and won't treat you like a pro. As Kathy would say, screw them!

Remember that "Little Irksome Things" post from a coupla days? For *way* too many managers these days, the way they "incentivize employees to propel past their goals" is to pile on the work, repeat "we need to do more with less" ad nauseum, and make more than a few passing references to the hordes of unemployed who'd be more than happy to do twice as much as you did yesterday for 1/2 the price.

Kudos to your friend for bringing a momentary (though unfortunately most likely also a fleeting) glimpse of reality to this client's day.

I said, "That's not how it works. If I put in the time and effort to write something at your request, you pay me regardless of what you do or don't do with it. After all, you don't go into a store walk out with something saying you'll pay them if and when you use it. You pay for what you get."

Never heard from him again.

This is not a get-a-refund-if-you-change-your-mind kind of business. It's not like I can resell the same product to someone else and call it even. Just like that same plumber installing sinks, if you decide you don't want that sink later after all, you're still going to owe him for the labor/time he put into the job.

I was tempted to reply to the posse members stating my case, but I thought it over and decided it wasn't worth it. I just responded to the client- the one who hired me in the first place. I expressed my concerns to them adding copies of the emails from the unidentified editing team. This is what happens when too many people get involved. I didn't get any more emails from them and the client took the project as I had written it.

Revisions are fine if you're making minor changes. If the focus of the project completely changes then it's a whole different rate of pay.

They don't try to skeeze me out of a revision that deviates from the original assignment. It's a respectful, respectable way of doing business, and that's why I like working with them, even though their deadlines are sometimes pretty outrageous. It's also a behavior I emulate when contracting stuff out to graphic or web designers.

I don't find as much push-back in that scenario as I do the client that likes to call with the "oh could you just look this over and give me your thoughts" or some other "off-the-cuff" request. When I tell them I would be happy to and here is my consulting fee, that usually stops the conversation.

If I don't treat my business as a business, why should the client?